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Proving that tiny is mighty, this motor mote jams park-anywhere practicality and electric performance into a fashionably compact skin.
This is a revisiting of the very first car I ever shared on Flickr, 9 years ago.
More photos available in the build album.
©2022 Chris Elliott, All Rights Reserved.
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A fluorescent microscopic view of cells from a type of bone cancer, being studied for a future trip to deep space – aiming to sharpen our understanding of the hazardous radiation prevailing out there.
Today’s astronauts orbiting close to Earth are protected from most space radiation by our planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field.
In future, astronaut missions are planned to Mars and beyond. But heading farther out to space would increase crews’ radiation exposure, not just from the charged particles expelled by our own Sun but also the heavy ions thrown out by the rest of the cosmos, known as ‘galactic cosmic radiation’.
Concern is greatest around the 1% of cosmic radiation nuclei the size of an iron atom or more – known as ‘high-ionising high-energy particles’ or HZE for short.
Accelerated close to light speed by magnetic fields as they cross the Universe, HZEs can slice right through DNA. The most serious class of damage is termed ‘double-strand breaks’, leading to loss of genetic information and potentially triggering cancer
“However cells do have an ability to repair double-strand breaks, and this is what we want to study,” explains Yassen Abbas, a young graduate trainee at ESA’s Life, Physical Science and Life Support Laboratory.
“The aim is to follow the repair process in real time; the cells we are using have a marker which will express a dedicated fluorescent fusion protein, allowing us to monitor the formation of DNA repair.”
The test subjects are osteosarcoma cells – a type of bone cancer – that have been selected because of their rapid growth characteristics. “The more cells per sample, the higher the chance of observing a radiation event,” adds Yassen.
The proposed experiment would include a camera to trace the progress of the repair process, returning images to the ground in real time.
But this isn’t an experiment that can be done on the International Space Station, or anywhere else in low-Earth orbit. Instead the proposed payload will have to be placed in deep space, while also keeping the cell samples alive and comfortable.
Yassen has been working on the practicalities of achieving this on a fully automated basis.
He adds: “At one time we were planning to fly as a passenger on ESA’s now-cancelled Lunar Lander. As an alternative, missions to other deep-space destinations could be considered, or else a dedicated CubeSat.”
The image has been fluorescently stained to visualise the cells’ nuclei in blue and their surrounding cytoskeleton in red. The image covers a length of approximately 305 micrometres (equivalent to 0.305 millimetres) The scale bar measures 25 micrometres across.
Credit: ESA-Yassen Abbas
LIFTING THE LID ON SPACE.
BMW’s “Nullzwei” (02) range of models wrote the first chapter in its unique and successful history in 1966. From day one, its sporting blend of superior performance and practicality hit the spot with customers. However, the Nullzwei was essentially only available in a single body variant in the early years – a two-door sedan with classically protruding boot.
The sole – and rather handsome – exception was the Convertible, built by Baur in Stuttgart. Its one visually distinguishing feature from tin-top 02s was its retractable roof. And it was only a bit-part player in terms of production numbers.
Reimagining the 02 concept.
BMW hesitated long and hard before adding the new touring (note: touring with a small “t”) to the range in 1971. The powers-that-be were keen to broaden the reach of the 02, which had been on the road for five years by this point. But the development of a totally new body type would be quite the wallet-lightener, not to mention a risky proposition. The new variant was intended to share the front and side sections of the existing 02, but then offer buyers genuine variation from the B-pillars back. Enhanced versatility and functional appeal made an excellent fit for the evolving zeitgeist; customers now demanded extra practicality from their car, but that didn’t mean they wanted to confuse it for a van.
A compact and multifunctional start to the seventies.
And so the new touring defied classification as either a coupe or an estate car in the classical sense. Instead, it carved out a distinctive and previously uncharted niche for itself. The touring was 12 cm shorter than its sedan stablemate (and 3 cm lower), but its large tailgate combined with the split/folding rear seat backrests to create a load area of eye-catching dimensions, one which could swallow some really quite large items of cargo. Added to which, the rakish new design provided the universally familiar 02 range with a dramatic refresh. Such a youthfully sporty Nullzwei caught everyone by surprise.
Trusted technology.
The touring took its technical cues from the sedan, sharing the same range of engines to start with and only changing its nameplates. For example, the badge on the rear of the 2-litre model initially read “BMW touring 2000” (it was another two years before the planets re-aligned and it was changed to “2002 touring”). From model year 1974, the touring was also available in 1802 guise with a 90 hp engine, the 1.6-litre 85 hp entry-level model having been given the chop back in 1972. The range-topping versions of two body variants were cut from the same cloth. The 2002 tii with Kugelfischer injection pump and 130 hp offered sports-car performance in both the sedan and touring, the 17/1971 edition of auto motor und sport magazine recording a heady top speed of 189 km/h (117 mph) and 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.2 seconds. Editor Helmut Eicker declared himself impressed by how quickly the car could cover ground – and how sublimely it went about the task. “The tii in particular (…) radiates true driving pleasure. Its estate car identity can be seen but not felt.” The latter part of Eicker’s observation revealed the widely held reservations about estate cars at the time, whose typically bulked up rear axles and suspension could have a seriously negative impact on its ride comfort and handling skills.
Taking the sedan a stage further.
The touring was always a touch more expensive than its similarly-powered sedan counterpart, initially selling for a minimum 11,544 marks in BMW 2000 touring form (2002 sedan: 10,880 marks). A “rally pack” brought sports seats as good-looking as they were comfortable, plus light-alloy wheels and wider tyres – which fitted its overall profile rather neatly. Indeed, customers could pick from an extensive options list when specifying their touring.
The sedan gained new, rectangular rear lights as part of an extensive facelift in 1973, but the touring retained its circular lights – now very much a signature of the 02 – until the end of production in 1974. The touring never matched the high production figures achieved by the sedan, but it remained the variant of choice for customers who needed extra practicality but still appreciated the sporting alacrity of the “small” BMW. All in all, 30,000 or so examples of the touring were built over its lifetime.
Ilford XP2
Zeiss Ikon Colora
This is as far west as you can get in Europe, taken at the end of the Dingle Peninsula overlooking the Atlantic. Beyond those islands? Newfoundland.
This was possibly the first glimpse of land that Charles Lindbergh had when making the first solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927. Forsaking creature comforts for practicalities, Lindbergh's plane - the Spirit of St. Louis - didn't even have a forward facing window, it had a periscope instead. On sighting the Blaskets, he immediately turned south and flew to France.
Scotland baked in the sun today 25/5/2018, with the sun beating down it felt like a day to get out and about, I decided to revisit one of my favourite sites
Dunnottar Castle as it is located
40 minutes drive from my home in Aberdeen,a piper played as visitors and tourists arrived , what a magnificent sight.
I wandered along the base of the castle and enjoyed the bay with its calm waters and great views, after an hour or so it was time to leave and climb the numerous stairs back up the hill to the car park.
Castles History.
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.
First visit of 2019 for me to this stunning castle today Thursday 28th March 2019.
Dunnottar Castle.
The rock the Castle sits upon was forced to the surface 440 million years ago during the Silurian period. A red rock conglomerate with boulders up to 1m across known as Pudding Stone is incredibly durable.
The ancient Highland rock pebbles and cementing matter is so tough that faults or cracks pass through the pebbles themselves.
I first visited Dunnottar Castle summer 2017, this magnificent castle sits high on a hill, last time I visited I captured my shots from the cliffs overlooking the site, though today I made the journey up the hill and entered the castle walls , wow what a magnificent experience, just perfect with loads of great photo opportunities to capture real Scottish history,after two hours wandering around and capturing as many shots that caught my eye , I made my way home, a magnificent experience indeed.
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.
I'm sure Mr Weller won't mind me pinching his lyrics for a title.
This is what remains of the Taff Bargoed Joint Line to the west of Cwmbargoed. Opened in 1881 the line linked up with the Brecon & Merthyr Railway at Dowlais. It was closed west of Cwmbargoed in 1937. In 2013 a rail study group proposed extending the passenger rail network to Bedlinog via Nelson and Trelewis along the existing freight line from Ystrad Mynach to Cwmbargoed. Merthyr Tydfil Council and Caerphilly Council commissioned this study to examine the practicality / cost and business case implications of extending the proposed service further north to Dowlais Top to the northeast of Merthyr Tydfil.
It's presumably been filed for the time being....
Trying to while away the hours during lockdown, I've taken to following the 'Foxes Afloat' vlog which tells the stories of two people who have chosen to live on a narrowboat and explore the waterways of England. To date, they have 137 videos on You Tube each of approximately 20 minutes duration.
Apart from the lure of 'virtual travelling' in these times, I'm curious about some the practicalities when you are not living in a fixed place. For example, where is your registered doctor? Where shall I pick up my parcel?
Anyway, this a point on which they passed last autumn and one that I visited, by car, some years previous.
Marsworth, Hertfordshire
6th March 2017
20170306 IMG_4126
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), or the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge since 2013, tied to the sponsorship of Bridgestone Corporation is the world's most well-known solar-powered car race event. A biennial road race covering 3,022 km (1,878 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory, to Adelaide, South Australia, created to foster the development of experimental, solar-powered vehicles.
The race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations, although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 32-year history spanning fourteen races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987. Initially held once every three years, the event became biennial from the turn of the century.
Since 2001 the World Solar Challenge was won seven times out of nine efforts by the Nuna team and cars of the Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands, with only the Tokai Challenger, built by the Tokai University of Japan able to take the crown in 2009 and 2011.
Starting in 2007, the WSC has been raced in multiple classes. After the German team of Bochum University of Applied Sciences competed with a four-wheeled, multi-seat car, the BoCruiser (in 2009), in 2013 a radically new "Cruiser Class" was introduced, racing and stimulating the technological development of practically usable, and ideally road-legal, multi-seater solar vehicles. Since its inception, Solar Team Eindhoven's four- and five-seat Stella solar cars from Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) won the Cruiser Class in all three races so far.
Remarkable technological progress has been achieved since the GM led, highly experimental, single-seat Sunraycer prototype first won the WSC with an average speed of 66.9 km/h (41.6 mph). Once competing cars became steadily more capable to match or exceed legal maximum speeds on the Australian highway, the race rules were consistently made more demanding and challenging — for instance after Honda's Dream car first won the race with an average speed exceeding 55 mph (88.5 km/h) in 1996. In 2005 the Dutch Nuna team were the first to beat an average speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).
The 2017 Cruiser class winner, the five-seat Stella Vie vehicle, was able to carry an average of 3.4 occupants at an average speed of 69 km/h (43 mph). Like its two predecessors, the 2017 Stella Vie vehicle was successfully road registered by the Dutch team, further emphasizing the great progress in real world compliance and practicality that has been achieved.
The World Solar Challenge held its 30th anniversary event on October 8–15, 2017.
The 2019 World Solar Challenge will take place from 13 to 20 October. 53 teams from 24 countries have entered the competition. The same 3 classes, Challenger (30 teams), Cruiser (23 teams) and Adventure will be featured.
With its wild wings, futuristic curves, and total lack of practicality, the Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione was the quintessential concept car. A radically designed prototype, the Competizione combined typical Ferrari values of charm, charisma, and technically advanced engineering prowess.
The Dino name in the Competizione's title is in reference to Enzo Ferrari's son, Dino. When Ferrari first developed a V6 engine for the 1957 Formula 2 series, he named it Dino. After that, the name of Enzo's son was used to designate six-cylinder and lower-cost Ferraris. The 206 nomenclature used on Ferrari's 1967 prototype indicates that it was built on a 206 S chassis. The 206 S was a capable racing car, with a body that resembled that of the V12-powered 330 P3. Using 206 S chassis #10523 to underpin the Competizione gave the car racer roots that were rarely seen on concept cars. The Dino 206 Competizione distinguished itself as a concept that was not just functional, but built on a thoroughly race-proven chassis.
That proven chassis was endowed with four wheel disc brakes, front and rear independent suspension, and an advanced steel space frame design that gave high strength in a lightweight package. The total weight of the 206 Competizione was just 1,400lbs, making even its small engine more than enough to create an unquestionably fast car.
The Dino V6 used in the Competizione displaced just 2.0-liters, but was able to generate 218bhp. Peak power was reached at redline, which was 9,000rpm. The lower rotational inertial of the small V6 gave an even higher redline than the V12 mounted in the 330 P series. The V6 was constructed of aluminum and mounted amidships within the space frame of the prototype, as it was in the standard 206 S. A 5-speed transaxle directed the engine's power to the rear wheels.
Despite its racing car foundation, the Dino 206 Competizione was not created to compete. As a dedicated concept car, it was created to showcase excellent design and possible styling cues for Ferrari's future. The Competizione had an advanced appearance that flaunted the talents of a young designer named Paolo Martin. Only 23 when he designed the car, the Competizione came very early in Martin's career. He later would admit he felt 'a very strong emotion' as he watched his project unfold into a true supercar.
Paolo Martin was working under Pininfarina when he developed the Competizione's styling, so the car wears Pininfarina 'f' badges. Pininfarina was also responsible for the construction of the prototype's body. Martin's shape was free of hard edges, with abundant curves and a large glass area with a circular cross-section. Viewed from some angles, the odd shape of the car's glass lends the greenhouse a bubble-like appearance. This is particularly evident from the front, where the vast windshield sweeps up and to the sides like a bulbous take on a jetfighter's canopy.
The Competizione had exaggerated mid-engined proportions, with a short, low nose and a long, high tail. The front lighting fit the shape perfectly, with transparent, aerodynamic coverings over clusters of three lights. The light clusters were angled down towards the center of the car's nose. The lighting's covers blended seamlessly with the unusually round curve at the front of the car, and combined with front vents ahead of the large windshield to create a design that looked organic, but not earthly. From the front, the design had a cartoonish look that was exotic and alien, as if the Competizione was designed on a different planet to resemble some distant species.
Distinctive spoilers added to the effect. Though the strange spoilers didn't seem out of place on the car, they almost looked as if they were tacked on as an afterthought. This was not surprising, as Paolo Martin himself admitted that the spoilers 'were added only at the last minute, since the Management thought the design had to be enriched.' The spoilers used black wings attached to the body by metal arms that looked too much like pieces from an Erector Set to match the rest of the design.
All of the vents and air intakes found on the Dino 206 Competizione—and there were plenty—blended gracefully with the smooth curves on which they were placed. They looked like gills, and they enhanced the car's alien image. A single windshield wiper protruded like a tentacle reaching towards the windshield. Gullwing doors with a huge glass area contributed to the otherworldly effect, as did the jarring, bright yellow paint that covered the prototype's aluminum skin.
James Glickenhaus, a wealthy car collector with a special interest in Ferraris, recently became the first private owner of the Dino 206 Competizione. The car had been kept in Pininfarina's museum for over thirty years until a purchase was agreed upon in 2007 and Glickenhaus bought the stunning vehicle. Since Glickenhaus purchased the car, it has been shown with success and driven regularly.
[Text from Conceptcarz.com]
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z17222/Ferrari-Dino-206-Compe...
This Lego miniland-scale Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione (s/n 10523 - Carrozzeria Pininfarina - 1967) has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 94th Build Challenge, - "Appease the Elves Summer Automobile Build-off (Part 2)", - a design challenge combining the resources of LUGNuts, TheLegoCarBlog (TLCB) and Head Turnerz.
Happy Veterans Day 2020! And speaking of veterans, here's an old veteran that's a little worse for wear. So what are we looking at here?
This 3-engine KC-135R, 63-8886, was involved in a ground collision on 26 Sep 06 at Manas Air Base (Manas International Airport) in Kyrgyzstan after returning from a combat mission over Afghanistan. In short, a Tupolev TU-154 that was cleared for takeoff prior to the KC-135 clearing the runway ran into the stopped tanker, damaging both planes. Fortunately (and miraculously), there were no fatalities. Details of the incident can be found here:
aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20060926-1
So how did I come upon this photo opportunity less than a week later, especially since I never deployed to Manas AB, which was typically staffed with Fairchild AFB crews and planes. McConnell crews and tails were at Al Dhafra in the UAE, while Grand Forks crews (like me) and tails were out of Al Udeid in Qatar. For some reason, and my memory is growing foggy with the passage of time, but some Al Udeid crews had to forward-deploy to Manas. I can't remember if it was because Fairchild crews were hung up deploying or if they needed to ramp up tails at Manas. Either way, one of our crews had forward-deployed and was operating out of Manas when, for some reason, the aircraft commander lost track of time or something and was unable to make it back out of Afghanistan in time to meet the daily runway closure curfew at Manas and ended up having to divert to Al Dhafra. Well, military leadership doesn't like it when one of their assets doesn't return like it's supposed to and is now somewhere else in the Area Of Responsibility, The crew flew their tanker back to Manas the next day, but the hammer dropped and that crew was then grounded. That's where I come into the picture. I was tasked with flying a combat mission over Afghanistan, and instead of coming back "home" to Al Udeid, I was to continue on to Manas to pick up the grounded crew and their belongings and fly them back the next day.
Operating out of Al Udeid, 95% of my missions were north over Iraq. The 5% that went to Afghanistan were much different, mostly because you had to deal with Pakistani controllers and the communication with the command and control was spotty at best. I had not been to Manas AB before, but here I was going in there, in the mountains, at night. No big deal, honestly, but it was weird in a couple of different ways. First, everything was in meters over there. All my previous flying time had been in feet, so this was something different...I had to figure out how to make the altimeters read meters rather than feet. Second, tower control was staffed by some Kyrgy guy who typically spoke only in Russian but sputtered out English-sounding words when he was speaking to an American plane that was inbound. Because of that, there was an English-speaking liaison in the tower you had to listen to on a different radio who basically interpreted for you. And that setup is why that TU-154 and KC-135 ran into each other less than a week before.
Because I hadn't been to Manas before, I brought my Canon Digital Rebel XT along to document the scene. It just so happened that as we were being driven off the flight line to our rooms, we were passing by the doomed-to-the-scrap-yard KC-135. I whipped out my camera, opened the sliding door on the bread truck, and snapped a series of photos, paparazzi-style, as we drove by. Highly not allowed, but this shot is seeing daylight for the first time here. I figure the statutes of limitations have long since expired, so here's a rare look at a 3-engine KC-135...still far more amazing than the tri-jet, tanker wanna-be KC-10!
Anyway, I basically spent one night in my entire USAF career in Manas, and it was noteworthy beyond just the weird metric altitudes on approach, the controller with needed-interpreter, and the 3-engine KC-135. For one, Manas AB was the first base in the AOR (I believe) to implement mandatory USAF PT Gear for USAF personnel when not in uniform. At Al Udeid, we were still wearing civilian workout clothes, so this was my first opportunity to wear the USAF's overly-complicated, over-designed, no-thought-to-practicality polyester-plastic PT Gear. And, as you'd expect from a government acquisition process, the PT shirt could not be washed with the PT shorts as one required hot water while the other required cold water.
Anyway, after we got to our rooms and settled, we donned our polyester and plastic PT Gear and headed for the chow hall. Enroute, we passed by a Marine Corps Lt Col who stopped us and asked, "Don't you salute in the USAF?" Forgetting that we were in an actual, designated military uniform, I apologized and we rendered a proper salute. BTW, the food was basically truck-stop sandwiches and granola bars. Shockingly, the food at Al Udeid was better (which isn't saying much). The rooms were much nicer at Manas though.
Then, when we left the next day with the grounded crew, we couldn't just fly straight back to Al Udeid; they wanted us to refuel a B-1B over Afghanistan on the way. No problem, but because of the runway closure at Manas, we had to take off much earlier than we would have to meet the bomber, so we ended up burning holes in the sky for a couple hours waiting for the B-1B's refueling time. Once he was on the boom, the crew informed us that they were dealing with a Troops in Contact situation and were doing shows of force. To translate, that meant the enemy was engaged with our ground troops and the B-1B was buzzing the bad guys on the ground. If you've never been around or had a B-1B fly over at low altitude in full afterburner, you're missing out...and apparently it would scare the hell out of the people messing with our troops. Anyway, the B-1B crew asked for additional gas beyond what they were frag'd for, so, since they were actually involved in combat stuff protecting our ground forces and the command and control communication was so poor over there and would take time to get approved, I made the command decision on the fly to offload what they needed (just make sure we had enough gas left to get to Al Udeid afterwards).
Once the offload was complete, we radioed the command and control guy and gave him the code phrase requesting our departure from the country and he came back saying we were assigned to refuel a pair of A-10s an hour later. "Oh sh*t!" I thought. Nobody told us that beforehand; we didn't have the fuel to do that since we offloaded extra to the B-1B! As we were working with the command and control guy (who was relaying, ironically, back to higher command and control at Al Udeid), I heard another tanker check in over Afghanistan. I asked if he had enough fuel to cover those two A-10s that were assigned to us and fortunately he did. We relayed that down to the command and control guy, and we were given the green light to head "home". During the rest of the flight back, I was writing down notes on all that had happened and why I made the decisions I did based on the information I had at hand because I assumed a couple of days later when the rolling ball of feces from not refueling those A-10s finally got far enough down the hill to my Director of Operations, he'd need answers to give those higher up the hill as to why we were unable to refuel those A-10s. But the call to his office demanding explanations never came and my backside never got bubblegum'd.
So there's the story of my one and only time in Kyrgyzstan along with a 3-engine KC-135R! I figure experiences like that justify the free $5 lunch my work provides us veterans on Veterans Day!
When his brother John was killed in North Africa, Digby Tatham-Warter volunteered for the British Army's Parachute Regiment. Digby was chosen to lead the 2nd Parachute Battalion into the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden. Because he was concerned about the unreliability of radios, he taught his men how to communicate with bugles if the radios failed. Also, Digby took an umbrella with his kit as identification because he had trouble remembering passwords and thought that anyone who saw him with it would think that only a “fool of an Englishman" would carry an umbrella into battle.
After parachuting into the Battle of Arnhem, Digby led his men through the back gardens of houses to evade the Germans. His company traveled 8 miles in 7 hours, communicated with bugles, seized a German bridge, and killed or captured 150 German soldiers. During the battle, Digby disabled an armored car by poking the umbrella through the car's observational slit and jabbing the driver in the eye. When a fellow officer questioned the practicality of Digby's umbrella, Digby exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, but what if it rains?”
After the battle, Digby was wounded and captured. But he escaped out of the window of a German hospital with his second in command and joined the Dutch resistance. Then, he bicycled across the Dutch countryside and assembled an escape party of over 100 soldiers consisting of paratroopers, airmen, a Russian, and an Indonesian officer of The Royal Netherlands Navy. After successfully escaping to Britain, Digby was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
God bless!
-The Historian
Saturday 7th July 2018, a revisit to my favourite place, Stonehaven a 25 minute drive from my home, I can never visit without taking in Dunnottar Castle views, today she looked magnificent.
The rock the Castle sits upon was forced to the surface 440 million years ago during the Silurian period. A red rock conglomerate with boulders up to 1m across known as Pudding Stone is incredibly durable.
The ancient Highland rock pebbles and cementing matter is so tough that faults or cracks pass through the pebbles themselves.
I first visited Dunnottar Castle summer 2017, this magnificent castle sits high on a hill, last time I visited I captured my shots from the cliffs overlooking the site, though today I made the journey up the hill and entered the castle walls , wow what a magnificent experience, just perfect with loads of great photo opportunities to capture real Scottish history,after two hours wandering around and capturing as many shots that caught my eye , I made my way home, a magnificent experience indeed.
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.
1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Blue. 2174cc. Petrol.
Lotus Cars (Automotive company). Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk.
The Lotus Éclat (Type 76 and Type 84) is a sports car built from 1975 to 1982 by Lotus. It was based on the Elite but had a fastback body style which offered more practicality with storage in the boot. In 1982, the Éclat was developed into the Éclat Excel (later badged simply as the Lotus Excel), which used the same engine, but a modified version of the chassis, altered bodywork, a Toyota gearbox, driveline, and brakes.
This 1983 Lotus Eclat Excel is presented in Metallic Light Blue with grey interior.
1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Aug 2022 (1)
1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Aug 2022 (2)
1983. Lotus Eclat Excel. A481 GLA. Aug 2022 (3)
Album: Notts Classic Car & Motorcycle Show. Thoresby Park, Nottinghamshire. Aug 2022
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No Group Banners, thanks.
Prince Charles Edwards' attempt to escape Scotland via Stornaway was nearly successful. Donald Macleod went on ahead and precured a 40-ton brig for 100 pounds (although the price went up once the captain figured out who his passenger was to be!), but somehow the word got around Stornaway that the prince was nearby (he was just 2 miles away), and the townsfolk of Stornaway refused him entry. An argument ensued over the practicality of sailing their little boat back to the mainland, which abruptly ended when they saw the sails of warships in The Minch. There was nothing for it but to turn back south to the Uists - during which journey they were twice pursued by warships, but managed to lose them amongst the islands and shallow waters.
On reaching Benbecula, now in a pretty sorry state, both mentally and physically, they were visited again by Old Clanranald, who brought them some provisions and advised them to head for Corrodale on South Uist, which he considered to be a good refuge. They set off on foot and reached Corrodale on May 14th. Clanranald's advice was good. Corradale (Choradail) is protected by the mountains of Hecla and Ben More to the west and by a rocky coast with few landing places to the east. The prince remained here for 3 weeks while the hue and cry went on around him. He 'settled into a routine of hunting and fishing, punctuated by visits from his Jacobite friends.'
Earlier, on the 3rd of May, the most serious naval battle of the '45 had taken place in Loch-nan-Uamh - the place the prince had left the mainland from a week previously. Two French privateers were in the process of landing gold to support the Jacobites (which remains unaccounted for to this day!) and taking aboard some senior Jacobites, when they were surprised by three British warships. At the end of the ensuing 6 hour gun-battle, the 'English' ships had been dismasted and the French ships were obliged to leave for France without further delay. The prince actually saw them leaving in the distance and knew them to be French ships! The event did at least buy him some time, as Cumberland was convinced the prince had escaped on the French ships.
The respite didn't last long. The naval ships were fairly quickly repaired and joined by others, so that by late May, there were 9 warships searching the Outer Isles for him. Informed that troops had landed on the Long Island, the prince decided it was time to move. They attempted to go north again, but the country was crawling with militiamen, so they turned back south in the hope of getting help from Macdonald of Boisdale (Clanranald's half-brother). There were now 15 enemy ships 'around Loch Boisdale' and parties of militiamen scouring the neighbourhood. To make matters worse, they got the news that Boisdale had been arrested.
On 17 June they 'finally entered Loch Boisdale and took shelter in an old tower in the mouth of the loch.' Calvay's last resident had arrived!
A nice photo-mosaic of lunar images taken by Mariner 10 shortly after launch.
~8.5” x ~11”. From the estate of Eric Burgess.
From the following extract of the online version of NASA SP-424, “The Voyage of Mariner 10”. Additionally, the image, linked to below, was used in Figure 5-9:
“…Very soon after launch, the planet-viewing experiments were turned on, a first time for planetary missions. The aim was to calibrate the instruments in the well-known environment of the Earth-Moon system. The charged particle telescope was turned on within 3 hours of liftoff, the ultraviolet experiment within 7 hours, and the TV cameras shortly thereafter. First TV pictures of Earth were obtained 16 hours and 15 minutes after liftoff.
There were some problems. The two thermal strap-heaters surrounding the aluminum lens barrels of the cameras were designed to hold the camera system at a temperature of 4 to 15°C (40 to 60°F). But they failed to operate as programmed following launch. Mission controllers, watching the engineering data coming back to the Mission Operations Center, saw that the heaters were not activated. Quickly a command was sent to the spacecraft to deactivate the heaters and then to activate them by triggering the relay switch, which seemed to have stuck. Nothing happened. The telescopes continued to cool down.
There was concern that without the heaters operating the television cameras would cool down too much and affect sensitive optics so as to distort pictures of the planets and cause a degradation of camera focus. Part of the problem was caused by the screening of the spacecraft against solar heating. It was so protected by a sunshade and by surface coatings and thermal blankets that when the camera heaters failed to come on, the cameras began to cool. Engineers from JPL and Boeing studied the problem to determine how heat might pass from the rest of the spacecraft in place of that missing from the heaters. They found that the thermal insulation of the spacecraft was so good that there was no way to heat the cameras from the spacecraft itself. The fall in temperature had to be lived with. They also checked the backup spacecraft poised at Cape Kennedy in an attempt to determine what might have caused the relay to stick. Had this problem degraded the spacecraft capability to an unaccepted degree, it would have been necessary to launch the backup.
Fortunately, the cooling stabilized at an acceptable level, and the cameras did maintain their sharp focus. The lens elements and the optical tube elements were self-compensating to changes in temperature. But an ever-present danger was that the Invar rods might contract, fracturing the vidicon potting compound if the temperature fell below -40°C ( - 40°F). Project scientists halted this temperature drop by keeping the vidicons switched on to maintain some heat within the cameras. Normally the vidicons would have been rested in the cruise between the planets, but it was considered prudent to change this mode of operation and take the chance that the lifetime of the vidicons might be shortened somewhat rather than risk the cameras' becoming too cold. This [47] being done, the temperature of the cameras stabilized, at low but livable values-the vidicons were about -10°C ( + 14°F), the backs of the optics were -20°C ( - 4°F ), and the telescope fronts were about -30°C ( - 22°F).
Mariner's cameras transmitted good pictures of the Earth and the Moon despite the temperature problem. The pictures of Earth (Fig. 5-2) provided stereo photographs of clouds with revealing depth and structure. They appeared to be the clearest pictures yet received from a television camera in space. If the spacecraft returned similar-quality pictures from Venus, the project could obtain a completely unprecedented look at the brilliant clouds of that mysterious planet.
In all, Mariner 10's cameras provided a series of five Earth mosaics (Fig. 5-3) within the first few days of flight. These mosaics revealed intricate cloud patterns at about the same resolution expected during the Venus flyby. The Earth pictures could provide valuable comparisons with the Venus clouds. Earth observations also provided in-flight verification of the cameras' "veiling glare" performance, thus confirming that the preflight calculations of settings of camera exposures for Venus were correct. This was important, since Venus encounter geometry did not allow an incoming far-encounter sequence to check the exposures.
Another problem arose almost at the beginning of the flight when, on November 5, the plasma science experiment was turned on. Scientists were surprised to find that no solar wind particles were being observed. There appeared to be a good vacuum in the detectors, and the device was scanning back and forth as it should. Engineers performed a series of tests and sequences of switching commands without positive results. One possibility was that the instrument door had failed to open so that plasma could not enter the detector. Another was that the high-voltage sweep was stuck at the high end, thus permitting only a few high-energy particles to register. The operation of this experiment was, unfortunately, restricted throughout the mission, and it was concluded that the protective door had failed to open fully. However, plasma data were obtained by the scanning electron spectrometer part of the instrument, which was unaffected by the failure of the door.
As the spacecraft left Earth, the ultraviolet air glow instrument looked back at the home planet, observing the same emission regions that it expected to check later at Venus and Mercury. Lyman-alpha hydrogen emission was recorded, together with helium emission at 584 angstroms.
All subsystems of the spacecraft were performing exactly as expected. The trajectory was also very good; less than 8 m/see (27 ft/sec) of the spacecraft's total maneuvering capacity of 120 m/sec (396 ft/sec) was expected to be needed to move the Venus aiming point of the spacecraft and change the arrival time about 3 hours to bring Mariner 10 to its later pass within 1000 km (600 mi) of Mercury's surface.
Mariner 10's series of five Earth mosaics was intermixed with six mosaics of the Moon (Fig. 5-4) within the first week of flight as calibration tests for the Mercury encounter. The path of Mariner allowed images to be obtained of the north polar region of the Moon (Fig. 5-5), which, because of constraints on paths of other space vehicles, had previously been covered only obliquely. The Mariner 10 photographs provided a basis for cartographers to improve the lunar control net, the relationship of points on the lunar surface one to another in precise definitions of lunar latitude and longitude of craters and other features. The exercise in lunar cartography provided a useful prelude to applying the same techniques to map Mercury using the images to be obtained during the flyby.
Diagnostic tests were conducted on November 6, including photography of stars (Fig. 5-6) and additional tests on the Moon (Fig. 5-7). The Moon tests, as well as providing better information about how the TV system was performing, allowed scientists to evaluate the practicality of proposed measurements of the diameter of Mercury. At this stage of the mission, optical performance of the television system continued to be good even though the TV optics had not yet stabilized in temperature. As of November 7, Mariner 10 had returned almost 900 pictures to Earth. Experimenters were enthusiastic about the excellent quality. The Moon pictures recorded objects a mere 3 km (2 mi) across (Figs 5-8 and 5-9 ).
history.nasa.gov/SP-424/p53.jpg
Since the pictures to be returned from Mercury were expected to be of three times higher resolution than those of the Moon, there was good reason for excitement. At last, it seemed, mankind would have a chance to resolve those dusky markings on the innermost planet, those indistinct features that earlier astronomers had interpreted as Marslike, even erroneously with linear "canal" type features. Another test conducted was photographing the Pleiades cluster in the constellation of Taurus: a galactic cluster in the Milky Way which is visible to the unaided human eye as seven faint stars and is often called the "Seven Sisters". These stars are about 20,000 light years from the Sun and are immersed in nebulosity. A total of 84 pictures were taken, verifying the focus of the television system.”
Above at:
First of July 2017 I made my way to Stonehaven, a small fishing town a few miles from Aberdeen, while there the sun shone high in the blue sky making it a perfect day to capture the scenery and landscape surrounding me, hence I packed my Nikon D750 and made full use of it, I left Stonehaven around 16pm and drove the few miles to this wonderful location Dunnottar Castle, absolutely breathtaking , I post a few of the photos I have taken along with a brief history of castles heritage .
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.
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Ford Model 48 (1935-36 *Engine 221 cu in (3600cc) Flathead V8
Registration Number 393 UYG (1st registered in the UK 2014 on a date related number allocated for the West Riding, Yorkshire)
FORD USA SET
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623789312836...
The Model 48 was an update on Ford's V8-powered Model 40A, the company's main product. Introduced in 1935, the Model 48 was given a cosmetic refresh annually, The 1935 Ford's combination of price, practicality, and looks vaulted the company ahead of rival Chevrolet for the sales crown that year, with 820,000 sold. Visually, the 1935 Ford was much more modern with the grille pushed forward and more integrated wimgs and boot. Two trim lines were offered, standard and DeLuxe, across a number of body styles including a base roadster, five-window coupe, three-window coupe, Tudor and Fordor sedan. Options included an oil pressure gauge (costing $4) and two windshield wipers were optional
* 393 UYG
This car was purchased in original condition from the States in 2014. The Flathead Ford V8 engine and gearbox has been replaced by a Chevrolet 350 cu in V8 and TH350 autobox. The manually operated brakes are upgraded to power assisted hydraulic brakes and new shocks fitted.and electrics have been upgraded to 12 volt
The car was resprayed in 2014 after appearing as a yellow cab in the Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant film Florence Foster Jenkins
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Shot 15.05.2016 at the Gaydon Motor Museum, Warwks REF 116-220
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The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was printed in England by Fincom Holdings Ltd. The photography was by Bryn Colton, and the card has a divided back.
The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday 29th. July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The groom was the heir to the British throne, and the bride was a member of the Spencer family.
The ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service. The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral Alan Webster presided at the service, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie conducted the marriage.
Notable figures in attendance included many members of other royal families, republican heads of state, and members of the bride's and groom's families. After the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
The United Kingdom had a national holiday on that day to mark the wedding. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry.
Their marriage was widely billed as a 'Fairytale Wedding' and the 'Wedding of the Century'. It was watched by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million people.
Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding. Many street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate the occasion.
The couple separated in 1992, and divorced in 1996 after fifteen years of marriage.
The Tragic Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales died after a high-speed car crash at the age of 36 on the 31st. August 1997 at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris.
When Diana married Charles, she was a naïve yet hopeful young woman seeking true love. But by the time she died, Diana was jaded, bitter, and impossibly scarred by her disastrous marriage and being hounded by the media.
Twenty years after Princess Diana's funeral, people recall the iconic moments, from the sea of flowers and mementos left outside Kensington Palace to the heart-breaking image of Prince William and Prince Harry walking behind their mother's casket.
Diana’s younger brother Charles, the ninth Earl Spencer, held nothing back during his funeral oration. Funeral attendees may have been expecting a tearful remembrance of Diana’s life. Instead, they felt the full brunt of her brother’s fury at those he felt were responsible for her death.
In paying tribute to his sister, the 9th Earl Spencer reportedly angered the Queen and created a rift in the royal family that has only begun to heal in recent years with the births of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
What Charles Spencer said in Westminster Abbey is as follows:
Charles Spencer's Funeral Speech
'I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief in a country in mourning before a world in shock.
We are all united not only in our desire to pay our respects to Diana but rather in our need to do so.
For such was her extraordinary appeal that the tens of millions of people taking part in this service all over the world via television and radio who never actually met her, feel that they too lost someone close to them in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is a more remarkable tribute to Diana than I can ever hope to offer her today.
Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity. All over the world, a standard bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality. Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic.
Today is our chance to say thank you for the way you brightened our lives, even though God granted you but half a life. We will all feel cheated always that you were taken from us so young, and yet we must learn to be grateful that you came along at all. Only now that you are gone do we truly appreciate what we are now without, and we want you to know that life without you is very, very difficult.
We have all despaired at our loss over the past week and only the strength of the message you gave us through your years of giving has afforded us the strength to move forward.
There is a temptation to rush to canonise your memory, there is no need to do so. You stand tall enough as a human being of unique qualities not to need to be seen as a saint. Indeed to sanctify your memory would be to miss out on the very core of your being, your wonderfully mischievous sense of humour with a laugh that bent you double.
Your joy for life transmitted where ever you took your smile and the sparkle in those unforgettable eyes. Your boundless energy which you could barely contain.
But your greatest gift was your intuition, and it was a gift you used wisely. This is what underpinned all your other wonderful attributes and if we look to analyse what it was about you that had such a wide appeal, we find it in your instinctive feel for what was really important in all our lives.
Without your God-given sensitivity we would be immersed in greater ignorance at the anguish of AIDS and H.I.V. sufferers, the plight of the homeless, the isolation of lepers, the random destruction of landmines.
Diana explained to me once that it was her innermost feelings of suffering that made it possible for her to connect with her constituency of the rejected. And here we come to another truth about her. For all the status, the glamour, the applause, Diana remained throughout a very insecure person at heart, almost childlike in her desire to do good for others so she could release herself from deep feelings of unworthiness of which her eating disorders were merely a symptom.
The world sensed this part of her character and cherished her for her vulnerability whilst admiring her for her honesty.
The last time I saw Diana was on July the 1st., her birthday in London, when typically she was not taking time to celebrate her special day with friends but was guest of honour at a special charity fund-raising evening. She sparkled of course, but I would rather cherish the days I spent with her in March when she came to visit me and my children in our home in South Africa. I am proud of the fact apart from when she was on display meeting President Mandela we managed to contrive to stop the ever-present paparazzi from getting a single picture of her -- that meant a lot to her.
These were days I will always treasure. It was as if we had been transported back to our childhood when we spent such an enormous amount of time together -- the two youngest in the family.
Fundamentally she had not changed at all from the big sister who mothered me as a baby, fought with me at school and endured those long train journeys between our parents' homes with me at weekends.
It is a tribute to her level-headedness and strength that despite the most bizarre-like life imaginable after her childhood, she remained intact, true to herself.
There is no doubt that she was looking for a new direction in her life at this time. She talked endlessly of getting away from England, mainly because of the treatment that she received at the hands of the newspapers. I don't think she ever understood why her genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down. It is baffling. My own and only explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum. It is a point to remember that of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was this -- a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age.
She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys William and Harry from a similar fate and I do this here Diana on your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair.
And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as you planned.
We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them in their royal role. But we, like you, recognise the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us.
William and Harry, we all cared desperately for you today. We are all chewed up with the sadness at the loss of a woman who was not even our mother. How great your suffering is, we cannot even imagine.
I would like to end by thanking God for the small mercies he has shown us at this dreadful time. For taking Diana at her most beautiful and radiant and when she had joy in her private life. Above all we give thanks for the life of a woman I am so proud to be able to call my sister, the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds'.
Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal, was born Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise on the 15th. August 1950. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King Charles III.
Anne is 16th. in the line of succession to the British throne, and has been Princess Royal since 1987.
The Princess Royal's ancestry can be traced as far back as Cerdic, King of Wessex (519–534).
Born at Clarence House, Anne was educated at Benenden School and began undertaking royal duties upon reaching adulthood.
She became a respected equestrian, winning one gold medal in 1971 and two silver medals in 1975 at the European Eventing Championships.
In 1976, she became the first member of the British royal family to compete in the Olympic Games. In 1988, the Princess Royal became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Princess Royal performs official duties and engagements on behalf of her brother, the King. She holds patronage of over 300 organisations, including WISE, Riders for Health, and Carers Trust.
Her charity work revolves around sport, sciences, people with disabilities, and health in developing countries. She has been associated with Save the Children for over fifty years, and has visited a number of their projects.
Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973; they separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992. They have two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and five grandchildren.
Within months of her divorce, Anne married Commander (later Vice Admiral) Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mother's equerry between 1986 and 1989.
Princess Anne - The Early Years
Anne was born during the reign of her maternal grandfather, King George VI, at Clarence House on the 15th. August 1950 at 11:50 am, the second child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, later Queen Elizabeth II from 1952, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
A 21-gun salute in Hyde Park signalled the birth. Anne was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on the 21st. October 1950 by the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett.
At the time of her birth, Anne was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her mother – at that time Princess Elizabeth – and older brother, Charles. She rose to second after her mother's accession; she is currently 16th in line.
A governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed to look after Anne and her other siblings, Charles, Andrew, and Edward, and was responsible for her early education at Buckingham Palace. After the death of George VI in February 1952, Anne's mother ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II.
Given her young age at the time, Anne did not attend the coronation in June 1953.
A Girl Guides company, the 1st. Buckingham Palace Company to include the Holy Trinity Brompton Brownie pack, was re-formed in May 1959, specifically so that, as her mother and aunt had done as children, Anne could socialise with girls her own age.
The company was active until 1963, when Anne went to boarding school. Anne enrolled at Benenden School in 1963. In 1968, she left school with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels. She began to undertake royal engagements in 1969, at the age of 18.
In 1970, she briefly had a relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles, who later married Camilla Shand. Shand much later married Anne's brother Charles as his second wife. Anne was also briefly linked to Olympic equestrian Richard Meade.
Princess Anne's Equestrianism
In spring 1971, Princess Anne finished fourth at the Rushall Horse Trials. At age 21, Anne won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship, and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971.
She also rode winners in horse racing, competing in the Grand Military Steeplechase at Sandown Park Racecourse and Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot.
For more than five years, Anne also competed with the British eventing team, with her home-bred horse, Doublet suffering an injury during the 1972 Badminton Horse Trials, and winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in the 1975 European Eventing Championship.
The following year, Anne participated in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a member of the British team, riding the Queen's horse, Goodwill, in Eventing.
Anne suffered a concussion halfway through the course, but remounted and finished the event; she has stated she cannot remember making the rest of the jumps. The British team had to pull out of the competition after two horses were injured.
Anne finished sixth at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1979.
In 1985, she rode in a charity horse race at the Epsom Derby, finishing fourth. Anne became President of the Fédération Équestre Internationale from 1986 until 1994.
On the 5th. February 1987, she became the first member of the royal family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz show when she competed on the BBC panel game A Question of Sport.
The princess has been a patron of the Riding for the Disabled Association since 1971, and became its president in 1985, a position she still holds.
Princess Anne's Marriages and Children
-- Marriage to Mark Phillips
Anne met Mark Phillips, a lieutenant in the 1st. Queen's Dragoon Guards, in 1968 at a party for horse lovers. Their engagement was announced on the 29th. May 1973.
On the 14th. November 1973, the couple married at Westminster Abbey in a televised ceremony, with an estimated audience of 100 million. They subsequently took up residence at Gatcombe Park.
As was customary for untitled men marrying into the royal family, Phillips was offered an earldom, which he declined; consequently their children were born without titles. Anne and her husband had two children: Peter (born 1977) and Zara Phillips (born 1981). Anne and Phillips have five grandchildren.
On the 31st. August 1989, Anne and Phillips announced their intention to separate; the couple had been rarely seen in public together, and both were romantically linked with other people.
They shared custody of their children, and initially announced that there were no plans for divorce. However, on the 13th. April 1992 the Palace announced that Anne had filed for divorce, which was finalised ten days later.
-- Marriage to Sir Timothy Laurence
Anne met Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, a commander in the Royal Navy, while he was serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Their relationship developed in early 1989, three years after he was appointed as an equerry to the Queen.
In 1989, the existence of private letters from Laurence to the Princess was revealed by The Sun newspaper. The couple married at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral Castle in Scotland, on the 12th. December 1992.
Approximately 30 guests were invited for the private marriage service. Unlike the Church of England at the time, the Church of Scotland permitted the remarriage of divorced persons under certain circumstances.
Anne became the first royal divorcée to remarry since Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
For the wedding ceremony, Anne wore a white jacket over a demure, cropped-to-the-knee dress and a spray of white flowers in her hair. Her engagement ring was made of a cabochon sapphire flanked by three small diamonds on each side.
Following the marriage service, the couple and guests headed to Craigowan Lodge for a private reception. Laurence received no peerage.
The Kidnapping Attempt
On the 20th. March 1974, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace from a charity event when a Ford Escort forced their Princess IV car to stop on the Mall.
The driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol. Inspector James Beaton, Anne's personal police officer, exited the car to shield her and to try to disarm Ball.
Beaton's firearm, a Walther PPK, jammed, and he was shot by Ball, as was Anne's chauffeur, Alex Callender, when he tried to disarm Ball. Brian McConnell, a nearby tabloid journalist, also intervened, and was shot in the chest.
Ball approached Anne's car and told her that he intended to kidnap her and hold her for ransom, the sum given by varying sources as £2 million or £3 million, which he claimed he intended to give to the National Health Service.
Ball told Anne to get out of the car, to which she replied, "Not bloody likely!" She reportedly briefly considered hitting Ball.
Eventually, she exited the other side of the limousine, as had her lady-in-waiting, Rowena Brassey. A passing pedestrian, a former boxer named Ron Russell, punched Ball and led Anne away from the scene.
At that point, Police Constable Michael Hills happened upon the scene; he too was shot by Ball, but he had already called for police backup. Detective Constable Peter Edmonds answered, gave chase, and finally arrested Ball.
Beaton, Hills, Callender, and McConnell were hospitalised, and recovered from their wounds. For his defence of Princess Anne, Beaton was awarded the George Cross by the Queen, who was visiting Indonesia when the incident occurred.
Hills and Russell were awarded the George Medal, and Callender, McConnell, and Edmonds were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.
It was widely reported that the Queen paid off Russell's mortgage, but this is not true. Russell said in 2020 that a police officer suggested that it might happen, so he stopped paying his mortgage in anticipation, and nearly had his house repossessed after four months.
Anne visited Beaton in hospital and thanked him for his assistance. In 1983, she spoke about the event on Parkinson, saying she was scrupulously polite to Ball as she thought it would be 'silly to be too rude at that stage'.
Beaton, who had been Anne's sole bodyguard, later said about royal security:
"I had nothing… There was no back-up
vehicle. The training was non-existent;
but then again, we thought nothing was
going to happen.
They are highly specialised now, highly
trained."
Immediately after the attack, the use of only a single protection officer was stopped, and the Walther PPK pistol was replaced.
Ball pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. As of September 2022, he was still detained under the Mental Health Act at Broadmoor Hospital, having been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne was the focus of the Granada Television-produced docudrama To Kidnap a Princess (2006) and inspired story lines in Tom Clancy's novel Patriot Games.
Activities
Anne undertakes a number of duties and engagements on behalf of the sovereign. Kevin S. MacLeod, the then Canadian Secretary to the Queen, said of Anne in 2014:
"Her credo is, 'Keep me busy. I'm here
to work. I'm here to do good things.
I'm here to meet as many people as
possible'."
It was reported in December 2017 that the Princess Royal had undertaken the most official engagements that year out of all the royal family, her mother the Queen included. Among her royal visits, the Princess has toured Norway, Jamaica, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, and Australia.
Anne's first public engagement was at the opening of an educational and training centre in Shropshire in 1969. Anne travels abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom up to three times a year.
She began to undertake overseas visits upon leaving secondary school, and accompanied her parents on a state visit to Austria in the same year.
Her first tour of Australia was with her parents in 1970, since when she has returned many times to undertake official engagements as a colonel-in-chief of an Australian regiment, or to attend memorials and services such as the National Memorial Service for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Melbourne on the 22nd. February 2009.
In 1990 she was the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to the Soviet Union when she went there as a guest of President Mikhail Gorbachev and his government.
Anne is involved with over 200 charities and organisations in an official capacity. She works extensively for Save the Children, serving as president from 1970 to 2017, and has been patron since 2017. Anne has visited the organisation's projects in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As a result of her work, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 by Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia.
She initiated The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in 1991.
Anne is the patron of Transaid, a charity which aims to provide safe and sustainable transport in developing countries. She is also the royal patron of WISE, an organisation that encourages young women to pursue careers in science, engineering and construction.
Her extensive work for St. John Ambulance as Commandant-in-Chief of St. John Ambulance Cadets has helped to develop many young people, as she annually attends the Grand Prior Award Reception.
Anne is patron of St. Andrew's First Aid. She is a British representative in the International Olympic Committee as an administrator, and was a member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. She also serves as president of the British Olympic Association.
She was president of BAFTA from 1973 to 2001. In 1985 she became president of the Riding for the Disabled Association after serving as their patron for fourteen years.
In 1986 she was appointed Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen. She maintains a relationship with student sport, and is the patron of British Universities and Colleges Sport.
Anne has been patron of the Royal National Children's Foundation since 2002 and the Industrial Heritage Museum since 2016.
Following the retirement of the Queen Mother in 1981, Anne was elected by graduates of the University of London as the Chancellor, and has been in the position since that year.
Throughout May 1996, Anne served as Her Majesty's High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and held the post again in 2017.
In 2007, she was appointed by the Queen as Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, a position her grandmother had also held.
Anne is a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society, and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Royal Fellows are members of the royal family who are recommended and elected by the Society's Council.
Anne was elected Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh effective 31st. March 2011, succeeding her father, who stepped down from the role in 2010. Likewise, she accepted in 2011 the roles of president of City and Guilds of London Institute, Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, and president of the Royal Society of Arts, also in succession to her father.
Anne has been the president of the Commonwealth Study Conference, an initiative founded by her father. She is also patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Royal College of Midwives, Magpas Air Ambulance, Edinburgh University's Royal School of Veterinary Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London, International Students House, London, Acid Survivors Trust International, Townswomen's Guilds, Citizens Advice, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Anne represented Great Britain in the International Olympic Committee at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. In August 2016, she returned to the country to visit the Russian city of Arkhangelsk for the 75th. anniversary of Operation Dervish, which was one of the first Arctic convoys of World War II.
In September 2016, the Princess had a chest infection and was required to cancel official engagements. In late October 2016, she visited the Malaysian state of Sarawak for a two-day study tour.
In 2017, she became Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and a Governor of Gresham's School.
In 2021, Anne became patron of Mercy Ships, an international charity that operates the largest non-governmental hospital ships in the world.
In April 2022, Anne and her husband toured Australia and Papua New Guinea to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. In the same year, Anne was named honorary chair of National Lighthouse Museum's Illuminating Future Generations campaign, a project aimed at raising funds for the museum's gallery space.
On the 12th. September 2022, in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Anne became the first woman to participate in a Vigil of the Princes, guarding her mother's coffin. This was repeated at Westminster Hall on the 16th. September.
It was later revealed that she had been the informant at her mother's death at Balmoral, a witness who signs, along with the doctor, the death certificate.
Princess Anne's Public Image and Style
Anne has been called the royal family's "trustiest anchor" and a "beacon of good, old-fashioned public service", having carried out over 20,000 engagements since her 18th. birthday.
In her early adulthood, she was cited as a "royal renegade" for choosing to forgo titles for her children despite being the "spare to the heir".
The media often called the young Anne "aloof" and "haughty", giving her the nickname "her royal rudeness".
She spurred controversy for telling photographers to "naff off" at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1982. Vanity Fair wrote that:
"Anne has a reputation for having
inherited her father's famously
sharp tongue and waspish wit".
Of her early public role, Anne has said:
"It's not just about 'can I get a tick in the box
for doing this?' No, it's about serving…It took
me probably 10 years before I really felt
confident enough to contribute to Save the
Children's public debates because you needed
to understand how it works on the ground, and
that needed a very wide coverage. So my early
trips were really important."
Anne remains one of Britain's most popular royals. Telegraph Editor Camilla Tominey called her a "national treasure", writing that she is "hailed as one of the great English eccentrics", whose work ethic contributes to her regard.
Tominey wrote that Anne's public role is:
"A contradiction of both protocol
taskmaster and occasional rule-
breaker".
Reportedly, Anne insists on doing her own make-up and hair, and drives herself to engagements, having pleaded guilty to two separate speeding fines on account of being late.
She does not shake hands with the public during walkabouts, saying:
"The theory was that you couldn't
shake hands with everybody, so
don't start."
Members of the public have seen her mending fences at Gatcombe Park, and queuing up for the Portaloos at her daughter's horse competitions.
Her reputation is also coupled with her advocacy for causes out of the mainstream, such as Wetwheels Foundation's commitment to accessible sailing and the National Lighthouse Museum.
On her 60th. and 70th. birthdays, the BBC and Vanity Fair both asked whether she would retire, and she denied it both times, citing her parents' example as well as her commitment to her royal duties.
Anne's public personality has been described as "not suffering fools lightly" while maintaining a "still-impressive level of grace and courtesy".
British Vogue editor Edward Enninful has said that:
"Princess Anne is a true style icon
and was all about sustainable fashion
before the rest of us really knew what
that meant".
Her style has been noted for its timelessness; she relies almost solely on British fashion brands, with tweed and tailored suits as her hallmarks.
She is known for recycling outfits, such as her floral-print dress worn both to the wedding of the Prince of Wales in 1981 and the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor in 2008.
Anne is the patron of the U.K. Fashion and Textile Association. She has been noted for wearing "bold patterns and vibrant pops of colour".
Her style choices often reflect her equestrian interests as well as the practicality of her fast-paced schedule.
In the 1970's and 1980's, she was often photographed wearing trends such as puff sleeves, cardigans, bright floral patterns, and multicoloured stripes. Anne is also one of the few women in the royal family to wear a military uniform.
According to The Guardian, she is rarely seen without a brooch during royal events. Her millinery styles have included jockey caps and hats of multiple colours and bold patterns.
She presented the Queen Elizabeth II award for British design at London Fashion Week in 2020.
Anne has appeared on three British Vogue covers; after first appearing on the 1971 September issue at age 21, she also featured in the May and November 1973 issues, commemorating her engagement to Mark Phillips. She was featured in the cover story for the May 2020 issue of Vanity Fair.
Anne is the first member of the royal family to have been convicted of a criminal offence. In November 2002, she pleaded guilty to one charge of having a dog dangerously out of control, an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and was fined £500.
For someone like me, who has set himself the task to visit and document photographically as many as possible of those wonderful Romanesque churches and monasteries, a trip to Normandy is both cause for despair and for enchanted amazement. Despair, because the Norman architect, at the time of the Romanesque which coincided with the conquest of Britain by Duke William in 1066 and the tremendous influx of power and riches that ensued, that architect is above all focused on efficiency in the projection of power and majesty. For that architect, the absolute must, the beginning and the end of church building, is the wall. Sculpture doesn’t matter. When it exists at all, it is often relegated to simple modillions under the cornice that supports the roof. The bare wall, perfectly aligned and appareled, reigns as the undisputed king of Norman Romanesque. He who likes to smile and wonder at the ingenuity and inventiveness of Mediæval sculptors, is most of the time sorely disappointed by the utter lack of adornment of those great and tall Norman churches, next to which the barest Cistercian sanctuaries look positively alive and overflowing under the comparatively unbridled abundance of rinceaux, human figures and assorted creatures.
No sculpture to speak of, then, is the norm in Normandy. But on the other hand, the masterfulness of the architects and masons turns the job of putting one stone on top of another into a veritable art: it is here, in Normandy, that was first experimented the very innovation that would bring about the end of the Romanesque: the voûte d’ogives, the rib vaulting from which the whole world of Gothic derives. It is in Normandy that it was first imagined and implemented, even as the 11th century hadn’t yet come to a close. We will see where, and how.
My photographic tour of Lower Normandy had to begin, of course, by the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen. Now that we have covered those, I would like to show you a few other Romanesque churches, much less well-known, yet fully worthy of our interest.
The first documentary source I consulted when I was preparing this trip was, as usual, the Normandie romane book published by Zodiaque —both volumes, as Romanesque Normandy is so rich that two books were needed to properly cover it. Unfortunately, and owing to some of those unforeseen circumstances that so often intrude upon our lives, I do not have those books with me at the moment. Therefore, I am not able to use the valuable material they hold to compose my captions; still, I will do my best in their absence... with my apologies. I hope the books will be sent back to me by whoever I made the mistake to leave them with, so that I won’t have to buy new copies.
•• Contrary to abbey and priory churches, which were often built in quiet and peaceful (not to say lonely) locales, away from the hustle and bustle of villages and towns (even if such cores of human activity often ended up growing from scratch around them!), parochial churches were usually erected in a village or very close by.
Dedicated to Saint Peter and listed as a Historic Landmark on the very first list drawn up in 1840 by Minister Prosper Mérimée (which says a lot about its architectural and artistic value, even by 19th century standards), the church of Thaon was built in a lonely vale because the parish, at the time, did not include a village per se, but was rather a collection of scattered hamlets: the church was built more or less in the middle. Tradition has been upheld up to present day: the church is still alone, with only one mill built nearby to benefit from the driving force of the current of River Mue —although, if truth be told, I have to admit that, with the concept of practicality emerging in the 19th century, a new church was consecrated in 1840 smack in the center of what had in the meantime become the most important of those hamlets of old: Thaon. Saint Peter was henceforth known as “the Old Church”.
Archæological digs carried out between 1998 and 2011 have shown that the locale was used during the Antiquity as a fanum, probably in connection with a nearby ford that allowed for crossing the river. A small necropolis developed during the 300s and 400s, then a first paleo-Christian edifice was built during the 600s, replaced by a new one in the next century. A first Romanesque church was erected around 1050–80, of which only the bell tower remains today. It is the oldest part of the second Romanesque church, the one we can still admire today, which was built in 1130–50 as an extension of the older church in all directions: the nave was extended by two rows to the West, a wider and much deeper choir was built with a flat apse and aisles were added. It is surrounded by more than 400 tombs from the 7th to the 18th century, which have been excavated and studied by archæologists.
During the Romanesque Age, the land was owned by the powerful barons of Creully, who possessed large tracts of land in Lower Normandy; this probably accounts for the architectural quality of the old church, which was placed under the direct patronage of the chapter of canons of the Bayeux Cathedral. This monument has come to us practically intact, except for the aforementioned aisles that were razed around 1720, probably because the terrain had become marshier and threatened the stability of the entire building. Around the same time, the floor level was raised to help fight dampness, of which the inside still exhibits many traces.
In the previous photograph of the southern elevation, you can see that the upper part of the side wall of the church, on the nave side of the bell tower (as opposed to the choir and apse side), is decorated with a row of lovely blind arches enhanced with a low-relief motif made of billettes. This is a closeup photo of that motif, including two sculpted modillions: one human face and one animal.
First of July 2017 I made my way to Stonehaven, a small fishing town a few miles from Aberdeen, while there the sun shone high in the blue sky making it a perfect day to capture the scenery and landscape surrounding me, hence I packed my Nikon D750 and made full use of it, I left Stonehaven around 16pm and drove the few miles to this wonderful location Dunnottar Castle, absolutely breathtaking , I post a few of the photos I have taken along with a brief history of castles heritage .
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south...
Ah, the joys of rural life, where it’s all about practicality. Never one to tolerate waste, the gunsmith brings home roadkill for The Lion who, frankly, has had enough of wild life and besides, only has three teeth.
After a while, the deer leg will migrate to the garden where it will feed first coyotes and magpies, then insects and bacteria. When the bones are bare, the gunsmith will use them like sticks to mark his rows of carrots and spinach. Out here, everything has its purpose.
One of the most important factors of the success of Stockholm’s bicycle network is that it is conceived and perceived as a system. This means that one can find different categories of bicycle lanes, starting from those that cross the city and connect it to nearby towns, to the neighborhood lanes which take you to the local store, school or the nearby metro station.
www.slowtravelstockholm.com/resources-practicalities/biki...
This is another hurried shot with a Google Pixel phone in the midst of a regular fashion shoot in a Bangalore studio.
The saree, is a timeless garment that has draped the women of India for centuries. It is more than just a piece of clothing; it is a tapestry woven with rich history and cultural significance. Its origins can be traced back to the history of the Indian civilisation, where it was not only a symbol of grace but also practicality. Over the years, the saree has evolved into countless styles and forms, showcasing an array of types of weaves that reflect regional craftsmanship and artistry.
From the intricate Banarasi silk to the soft cottons of Bengal, each weave tells its own story. The drapes vary dramatically too—some are elegant and flowing while others are structured and bold. This diversity is what makes the saree so fascinating; it adapts to different contexts, occasions, and personal styles.
However, it is essential to critique how it is perceived in contemporary society. While many embrace its elegance during festivals or special events, there remains a disconnect among younger generations who might view it as outdated or cumbersome. The challenge lies in bridging this gap—encouraging modern interpretations while honoring traditional roots. Ultimately, the saree's journey continues to unfold as it navigates through time and trends.
PXL_20230907_120105575 2025
2,000 views - 16th December 2013
1,000 views - ??th November 2013
In case anyone should wonder WHY the Force was called NORTHERN Constabulary, here is PC 216 Harry Edwards demonstrating EXACTLY why. Where were these photographs taken? –well, you simply cannot drive a vehicle any FURTHER north in the United Kingdom. Harry was the beat bobby for Unst until he retired in 1997.
Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third largest island in Shetland after the Mainland and Yell. It has an area of 46 square miles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unst
Just offshore at the northernmost tip of Unst is the islet of Muckle Flugga, and Robert Louis Stevenson's father and uncle were the main design engineers for Muckle Flugga lighthouse. Robert Louis Stevenson visited Unst, and the island is claimed to have become the basis for the map of the fictional Treasure Island.
The Lighthouse is visible in both photos.
The police vehicle is a Vauxhall Corsa M377VAS, newly supplied to Harry.
The car bears the Livery of PERIOD 2 (1980-1995) roundel era (CC: Henderson/MacMillan)
Small cars such as this were undoubtedly economical, but their practicality was suspect since bobbies tended not to be small of stature. I recall one instance where a Corsa was allocated to a one-man station near Inverness, despite the officer there being probably the tallest in the force – and he was proportionately built too. To witness him exit from the vehicle was akin to seeing a genie emerge from a bottle!
Harry clearly was taken with his last beat, as he stayed on, continuing to live on Unst after retirement.
The northern end of Unst is dominated by the hill of Saxa Vord, which housed the Saxa Vord Royal Air Force radar station which closed in 2006, with the loss of more than 100 jobs. RAF Saxa Vord was a vital part of Britain's air defence during the Cold War.
RAF Saxa Vord was further north than Leningrad, and on the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. The station was named after Saxa Vord, which is the highest hill on Unst at 935 ft (285 m). It holds the unofficial British record for wind speed, which in 1962 was recorded at 177 mph (285 km/h) — just before the measuring equipment blew away.
Saxa Vord is as near to Bergen (Norway) as it is to Aberdeen, and as close to Dresden as it is to London!
Indeed the “adjoining” beats to Harry’s were :
- west-north-west - the Faroe Islands (Royal Danish Police);
- north west – Iceland; and
- east - Bergen (Norwegian Police).
To the north ………… well, there is nothing (except sea and then ice to the North Pole)!
There is no longer a permanent police presence on Unst, but in years gone by – in addition to the Northern Constabulary officer – the island also had a detachment of Royal Air Force Police, who were based at RAF Saxa Vord.
As the crow flies (or as the Viking longboat sailed) , it is some 250 miles from Unst to Bergen. If however Harry wanted to liase with his “adjoining beat” officer (in Bergen), driving from one to the other would entail travelling 2100 miles, involving 2 Shetland inter-island ferries and 3 major sea crossings (Lerwick-Aberdeen; English Channel and Skagerak) -and passing through 7 countries (Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway). That would have used up all his mileage for the year!!
Many thanks to 216 for supplying the photos and information. Harry, you are a legend!
Photos were taken by a Northern Constabulary officer.
E52
Chassis n° WBAEJ110X0AF77846
RM Sotheby's
Place Vauban
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2020
Estimated : € 200.000 - 250.000
Unsold (Highest bid : € 170.000)
Inspired by BMW’s achingly beautiful 507, the Z8 was masterfully penned by Henrik Fisker and perfectly melded classic looks with modern performance. Under the bonnet was the E39 M5’s 4.9-litre V-8 mated to a proper six-speed gearbox and producing 400 bhp.
This particular Z8 is finished in the popular colour combination of Titanium Silver over a two-tone Sport Red and Black leather interior. The car was sold new in August of 2000 to its first owner, Oliver Lange of Lugano, Switzerland. Lange owned the car until February of 2001, at which time it had travelled just 2,155 km and was purchased by its second owner, with whom the car has remained ever since.
With the current owner, the car has recently had its nose and bonnet repainted by Loris Kessel in Lugano to rectify stone chips, and the VANOS control unit was repaired in November of 2014 by Rolando Agustoni SA, the authorized BMW dealership in Balerna, Switzerland. Importantly, the car is accompanied by its original hardtop and stand, car cover, as well as some previous service invoices.
Beautifully designed, the Z8 is perhaps the perfect modern convertible for a two-person weekend trip, providing excellent performance, sublime comfort, and practicality. This attractive example surely will not disappoint.
This is "some bank" park located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the aptly named Green Bay Booyah. The team name is excellent--Booyah is a locally made soup one can find at church socials and fire department benefits--good stuff. The Booyah are part of the Northwoods League, a wonderful upper midwest minor league-like baseball league for college players.
The ballpark is new this year, and I really want to like it. It is uber practical -- comfortable seats and all concrete, a 100% artificial turf to keep costs down, a playing field that allows for a semi-professional soccer team to play here as well (the configuration of the field includes an especially short porch in right field), built in a light industrial area near Lambeau Field (they got a deal from the town of Ashwaubenon), and as noted named after some bank that most likely helped pay for many of the amenities.
For all of the practicality and the newness, they left out an important feature -- esthetics. The short porch in right field features a wall reminiscent of the "Green Monster" at Fenway Park, but it instead features blinding digital ads that run during the duration of the game (its genuinely difficult to see a ball hit to right field if you are sitting on the 3rd base side of home plate. The view past the outfield fence features a factory--not the brick and mortar type, but one that is more recently constructed out of pole barn material. Hopefully the Booyah will begin attracting more of a crowd -- I think a little energy would help.
With all of this said, it is a huge upgrade from the previous park, and the people who work here are great--from ticket office on up. I guess I'm just disappointed that they were not able to work out a deal with the city of Green Bay--the original idea was to have a park in downtown along the Fox River--would have been a beautiful setting. With all of this said, they have the bones of a good ballpark, but need to change a few things up.
A treasured sight of many pilgrimages, both for practicality and superstition’s sake, the Aquam de Petra lies deep within the rocky crags of the North Hills, and is one of the main tributaries of the Great River. This seemingly bizarre phenomenon – a life-giving spring in the midst of a stony wasteland – has caused hundreds through the ages to revere this spot as a source of Life. Some even believe that a cup filled at this spring will give the drinker eternal life.
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Wow, it feels so good to be posting! This is a project I’ve been working on for the last months in between school and stuff, after scrapping some summer WIPs. Not really sure how much I like it…it really good from some angles irl, and not so good from others. It was pretty intense fun to build though! ;)
Now to begin work on some CCC entries! :D
Soli Deo Gloria!
Wikolia is one of those outfits that adapts to your mood even before it adapts to your body. Clean lines, a flawless fit, and a contemporary aesthetic that balances comfort with urban style. The set includes top, pants, and sneakers, making it perfect for anyone who loves effortless yet well-curated looks.
The real highlight?
💡 A fully loaded HUD with multiple color options for each individual piece, allowing endless combinations: casual, sporty, chic, or street — Wikolia evolves with you.
Designed to flatter every silhouette, the outfit is available for a wide range of mesh bodies:
♥ Fitted Mesh for Maitreya | Maitreya Petite
♥ Fitted Mesh for Lara X | Petite X
♥ Fitted Mesh for Legacy | Perky | Bombshell
♥ Fitted Mesh for Kupra
♥ Fitted Mesh for Reborn | Waifu
♥ Fitted Mesh for Peach
♥ Fitted Mesh for GenX Classic | GenX Curvy
♥ Fitted Mesh for Star
A look that blends practicality, customization, and attitude, perfect for standing out without sacrificing comfort.
Wikolia isn’t just an outfit — it’s a strong foundation for expressing your style, every single day, in a different way.
♥ STORE: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LeLa%20Island/145/80/2233
Other outfit details on my BLOG:
www.suggestions-by-tilly-opaline.com/blog/2958162_wikolia...
I saw him chatting with a friend on the steps of the university Student Learning Centre. My eye was immediately drawn to his bright outfit with red turban matching his red coat. As I approached he immediately greeted me and I explained my project and my wish to photograph him, citing his matching turban and coat as features which I thought would contribute to a nice street portrait. He was receptive right away and looked at my contact card to get a better idea of what would be involved. I said five minutes should be enough. I knew they were both hungry and talking burritos but they said they’d be happy to put off lunch another few minutes. We shook hands. Meet Harjas.
I suggested we move across the street to get out of the bright sun. Today was very cold (-22C with the wind chill) but very bright. I used a somewhat grimy loading dock area for the background, a location I have used before and for which I offered an apology. It worked photographically, but it wasn’t very pleasant. At my request Harjas removed his backpack and his friend Mark stood guard to make sure no traffic came our way. Photos taken, we stood to the side and chatted.
Harjas came to Canada 2.5 years ago for his university education. He is from the northern part of India. He is studying Financial Math, a relatively new specialty, but one which I suspect will give him considerable value when he enters the job market. When I asked him what his challenge is presently, he said “Balance. I need to multi-task and do a lot of juggling so keeping school and other activities and interests in balance is important, but not always that easy.” When I asked if he had a message to share with the project he once again referred to the importance of balance. “I agree with the statement that we should all follow our passions in life, but sometimes we have to factor in other considerations such as practicality and rationality.”
Harjas’ friend Mark had waited patiently and was actively interested in the project, noting that it sounded like Humans of New York. Mark is another mathematician, but he is studying “pure math.” Harjas and Mark are good friends so I asked Mark how he would describe Harjas. He said without hesitation “very kind, very nice, and very helpful.” I said I could understand why he had befriended Harjas. My own experience in the short time we had together was that Harjas seemed gentle, polite, and thoughtful.
As an afterthought, I took a photo of Harjas and Mark together to document two friends whose friendship bridges national and cultural differences but it clearly a very strong one. When it was time to part, I told Harjas and Mark that I didn’t want to keep them from their burritos any longer. They actually invited me to come along and join them which was very kind and said a lot about their trust and good will. I thanked them but said I really had to get home.
Thanks Harjas and Mark, for taking the time to meet and for participating in my photo project, The Human Family.
This is my 162nd submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Follow-up: When I sent Harjas his photos I invited him to review what I had written and let me know if there was anything he wanted me to remove or add and I got the following thoughtful email back which seemed very much in keeping with this thoughtful young man:
“The pleasure is all mine. With regards to whether I would want to add/modify anything I would simply say that the truth is revealed when someone is caught off guard. It is all too easy to sit down and change things in hindsight or write something inspirational, but what I said that day is symbolic of my inner turmoils, so I'd prefer sticking to that :)
Have a great week!
Warm regards”
On display at the Stepevi store in London, this wall of silk slippers not only caught my eye, but raises the question on the practicality of such items. At least they have almost every colour, though I wonder if they also have every size in every colour!
Sicily. Piazza Armerina
Villa Romana del Casale
Late spring break.
Semi-circular portico
This space introduced the rooms of the master's southern apartment and its semi-circular form functioned to connect the various rooms that it opened onto. As is often the case in the villa, practicality is not detached from architectural precision: the little courtyard was enriched with a fountain and a nymphaeum that provided cool air and a constant supply of water.
On the Island as a member of the GSC Events Fleet to check the practicalities of using articulated buses for events such as the Festival and Bestival.
First visit of 2019 for me to this stunning castle today Thursday 28th March 2019.
Dunnottar Castle.
The rock the Castle sits upon was forced to the surface 440 million years ago during the Silurian period. A red rock conglomerate with boulders up to 1m across known as Pudding Stone is incredibly durable.
The ancient Highland rock pebbles and cementing matter is so tough that faults or cracks pass through the pebbles themselves.
I first visited Dunnottar Castle summer 2017, this magnificent castle sits high on a hill, last time I visited I captured my shots from the cliffs overlooking the site, though today I made the journey up the hill and entered the castle walls , wow what a magnificent experience, just perfect with loads of great photo opportunities to capture real Scottish history,after two hours wandering around and capturing as many shots that caught my eye , I made my way home, a magnificent experience indeed.
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.
The 1948 De Havilland D.h.A. 3 Drover was presented to the people of Mount Isa and district by a combined group of local volunteers who recovered the machine from its crash sites in Western Queensland and restored it to its original condition. The aircraft was unveiled as a permanant memorial to the work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) by Doctor T. J. O'Leary C. B. E on the 27th of June 1981.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is dedicated to providing vital health care to anyone travelling, working, or living in rural, remote, and regional Australia. The RFDS's emergency retrieval service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the organisation also provides regular transfers of patients for life-saving surgery such as organ transplants and heart surgery. The RFDS also provides a broad range of essential health care services to rural and remote communities, including general practice, Indigenous health, child and family health, social and emotional wellbeing, women's health, and health promotion. Today, the RFDS provides the finest care to more than 270 000 Australian's each year - - that is one person every two minutes.
The First flight occurred on the 17th of May 1928, in a single engine De Havilland aircraft that took off from Cloncurry and flew to Julia Creek, some 85 miles away. On board were Arthur Affleck and Doctor Kenyon Saint Vincent Welch. This flight was both the culmination of more than a decade of planning, experimenting, and fundraising and the beginning of a new era for the people of inland Australia. This was the maiden flight of the Australia Aerial Medical Service, which was later renamed the Flying Doctor Service.
John Flynn is known as the founder of the Australian Aerial Medical Service. The idea of 'sky doctors', or doctors who travelled by air, began as the dream of the Reverend John Flynn (1880 - 1951). John Flynn was ordained as a Presbyterian Minister in 1911 and, when the Australian Inland Mission (AIM) was established by the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1912, Flynn was appointed its first Superintendent. Flynn travelled through the outback most of his life and witnessed firsthand the daily struggle of the 'inlanders'. He was concerned about the physical, social, and spiritual needs of those who lived in the vast interior of the continent, where just two doctors provided the only medical care for an area of almost two million square kilometres. A practical man, Flynn's response was to set up hostels and bush hospitals for pastoralists, miners, and other settlers.
"If you start something worthwhile, nothing can stop it." - John Flynn.
Flynn was already well aware of the difficulties of providing medical care to the tiny and scattered settlements of the island when he heard the story of Jimmy Darcy, a stockman from remote Halls Creek, in 1917. Injured after falling from his horse, Darcy survived two operations carried out by the local postmaster, following instructions relayed from Perth by morse code. A doctor set out from Perth for Halls Creek, but the journey almost took two weeks and the doctor arrived to find that Darcy had died only a short time earlier. Darcy's story was well known at the time, and it is believed that the young stockmans's fate inspired Flynn to look to the developing technologies of aviation and wireless radio to provide a 'mantle of safety' through the delivery of emergency medical services and primary health care for people living in the outback.
By the turn of the 20th Century, only the larger towns had even the most basic telephone and telegraph links with the outside world, and beyond them, families could be hundreds of miles from their nearest neighbours, with no means of communication. Loneliness caused depression and alienation, and the lack of communication often resulted in death in the case of serious illness and accidents. Radio technologies was in its infancy, but Flynn realised that without a wireless transmitting station at every homestead, an aerial ambulance service would be of limited use. He also said that to be a practical solution for isolated families, wireless radios needed to be reliable, light enough to be lifted by a woman, straightforward enough to be operated by a child, and affordable.
Alred Traeger, a brilliant engineer from Adelaide, invented a pedal-operated generator to power a radio receiver which was developed to meet Flynn's criteria. In 1929 the Cloncurry Base radio station was established and the first of the outstations were equipped with Traeger pedal transceivers. In the 1920s, most radio communication used Morse code, but the 1930s saw the introduction of voice communication and radio sets powered by the car batteries, replacing the need for pedal power generation.
Wireless radios also eased the loneliness of bush life. Women took on the role of radio operator and developed a community over the airwaves, chatting together over long distances. This regular, friendly conversation was known as the 'Galah Session', named after the noisy, chattering pink and grey native parrot.
With the introduction of single sideband transmission in the 1970s, the RFDS undertook a major re-equipment program, using new radio sets that were more reliable, with less static interference. Since then, the telephone has largely replaced radio communication in the outback, and satellite technology now offers reliable mobile telephone communication.
In 1917, Flynn received an inspirational letter from Clifford Peel, a young medical student and pilot. His letter outlines the safety, capabilities, and costs of using aircraft to deliver medical services, convincing Flynn of the practicality of the idea. Sadly Peel was killed during World War I and never knew of the role he played in the creation of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In the 1920s, Flynn met Hudson Fysh, one of the founders of Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS). This was the beginning of an important partnership, and following its establishment in 1928, the Aerial Medical Service went on to lease both aircraft and pilots from QANTAS for a number of years. With the introduction of Australia's two-airline policy in the 1940s, QANTAS became Australia's international airline and handed over all Australian domestic operations, including the Flying Doctor's Cloncurry and Charleville services, to the newly introduced Trans Australian Airlines (TAA) in April 1949.
In 1927 the Presbyterian Church of Australia accepted the recommendations of the AIM and approved of Flynn's proposal for a 12 month experiment providing an aerial medical service for the inland. Cloncurry was selected as the site for the first base, and the service began in May 1928. The first Flying Doctor was Doctor Kenyon Saint Vincent Welch, who left his family and medical practice in Sydney to take part in Flynn's experiment. A highly qualified and highly respected doctor, he had been unable to take part in World War 1 and was keen to make a contribution to his country. The first pilot was Arthur Affleck, a QANTAS pilot. He was selected based on his flying skill and his knowledge of the local area, given that very few maps of the areas covered were in existence and local pilots had to navigate using landmarks such as river beds, fences, and telegraph lines. In its first year, the Aerial Medical Service flew approximately 20 000 miles in 50 flights to 26 different centres, held around 50 consultations with local doctors and treated some 250 patients.
The first RFDS aircraft was a De Havilland DH50A, a single engine biplane with a canvas covered timber frame, which was named Victory. With a cruising speed of 80 miles per hour and a range of 500 - 600 miles, Victory could carry a pilot and four passengers and could accommodate a stretcher. QANTAS charged two shillings per mile for use of Victory during the first year of service. Victory went on the fly 110 000 miles for the RFDS from 1928 - 1934.
Schools, like medical services, were difficult to provide in the sparsely populated outback. Primary education was limited to correspondence education, with children taught by their mother or a governess. With typical foresight, Flynn felt that providing education was another area which radio communication could help with, and as early as 1934, Traeger believed that it would be possible to build a radio-telephony set for this purpose. Another iconic Australian 'invention' to address the tyranny of distance, the first Australian School of the Air began in 1951. The first school operated out of the RFDS Base in Alice Springs, with the teacher utilising the Flying Doctor's radio equipment to speak with her students. In Queensland, School of the Air operations commenced in Cloncurry in 1960. Tied to the RFDS radio technology, the School was related along with the RFDS to Mount Isa in 1964, and officially re-opened in 1985. The School of the Air is now located in Abel Smith Parade, Mount Isa, and is open to daily visitors.
Source: The Combined Services Club of Mount Isa.
Found on yet another Cemetery Road, this one fine gravel.
Owners came out as I was walking back to the bike, asking if I'd wanted any, or at least one. While my wife would say "yes!", I play the bad cop with practicality in mind. Besides, I'd never get one to sit still on the pillion seat.
Using duct tape to fix either roses or bananas to a wall isn't ideal. Here are some considerations for each:
Roses
Aesthetic and Practicality: Roses are delicate and can be damaged by duct tape. Instead, consider using floral wire or adhesive hooks designed for hanging lightweight items. This will preserve the beauty and integrity of the roses.
Bananas
Durability and Cleanliness: Bananas are heavier and can ripen quickly, potentially causing a mess if taped to a wall. Using a banana hanger or a hook is a better option to keep them fresh and avoid damage.
In summary, neither roses nor bananas should be fixed to a wall with duct tape. Using appropriate tools for each will yield better results and maintain their condition.
Source: Conversation with Copilot, 11/28/2024
Manufacturer: Rogue Automotive
Country of Origin: USA
First assembled: TBA 2061
Birthplace: Lemont, Illinois
Powertrain: 4 Brushless Electric Motors w/ 200 kWh Graphene Solid-State Battery
HP: 1,800+ HP
0-60: 3.2 seconds
Top speed: 184.47 MPH
Rogue Automotive is a performance luxury brand that's been in the business since the mid 1950s. Starting as a manufacturer of humble industrial vehicles, Rogue would make a dramatic entry into the world of high performance cars by the 2040s with their first hypercar, the Firepower GT. This notably coincided with current head of the Rogue "empire" being handed off to Adam Guerini, after his father retired. Rogue's automotive branch would grow quickly to have a large roster of performance-oriented cars, from luxurious cruisers, all-terrain trucks, and extreme motorsport-inspired hypercars. Besides having the deep pockets of an industrial empire behind them, Rogue grew so quickly due to their reputation of making some of the craziest, most outlandish cars on the market. Their latest hypercar, the Supernova, was no exception. A hybrid hypercar powered by electric motors and a hydrogen turbine producing 1,700 horsepower was something unlike anything seen on the road at the time, and later variants only got crazier. The Supernova's time is coming to a close, however. Production is ending by 2060, with a new flagship model set to take its place. Many enthusiasts wondered what could possibly take the Supernova's place. It seemed to be the peak of high-performance automotive insanity that Rogue was famous for. Where could they go from here? An answer came at the 2059 Chicago Auto Show. Turns out Rogue's next flagship would broaden its horizons beyond the tarmac, and on to rougher terrain. The Rogue Wildfire RS was here, and it claimed to be the world's first all-terrain hypercar. The Wildfire isn't the first time Rogue's taken it's high-performance aptitude off-road. It isn't even the first time they've taken a flagship hypercar off the pavement. Every flagship model had an "AT-H" variant that focused on taking the hypercars off-road, but those were always very limited in production and based off cars made for use on-road. The Wildfire is the first of Rogue's hypercars to be designed from the ground-up to take whatever terrain is thrown at it. The Wildfire has a standard ride height of 7.5 inches, and a maximum of up to 13 thanks to an advanced magnetic ride suspension setup. Strong titanium skidplates keep the underside well-protected from debris. Special all-terrain tires made just for the Wildfire are used, and those tires are kept in check with an advanced traction management system. All four wheels are independent of eachother, and the systems can determine how much power should go to an individual wheel for maximum performance. Each one of those wheels get their own motor, which all together produce an earth-shattering, all-electric 1,800 horsepower. This give the Wildfire a 0-60 of just over 3 seconds, and a top speed limited to over 180MPH. Active aero systems throughout the Wildfire make sure it's able to put all that speed and power down, which Rogue states in can do on nearly any terrain. Despite the eye-watering numbers the Wildfire makes, it's not completely savage. A luxurious interior and various comfort settings can make the drive to the trails quite serene, and the lack of a large combustion engine means the Wildfire has plentiful storage in both its front and rear compartments for great practicality. Rogue offers plenty of extras to improve the Wildfire experience, including an "overlander package" which includes, among other options, a portable solar generator, military-grade emergency tracking beacons, and a whole extensive camping kit complete with a compact tent for two. The Rogue Wildfire's development, while clearly successful, had some notable setbacks, including the alleged theft of one of the prototypes. Despite this, it's set to hit the trails in the currently-standard RS trim by 2060.
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Pinin Farina
Chassis n° B521004
n° 1 of 7
Bonhams
Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris
The Grand Palais Éphémère
Place Joffre
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2023
Estimated : € 800.000 - 1.000.000
Sold for € 718.750
"The car body is characterised by its streamlined silhouette, tapered toward the tail, the smooth sides, the raised circular front air intake, which generates the central part of the hood, also circular in cross section. Evidently there is the influence of the aeronautics of the era." - Antoine Prunet, Pininfarina.
Offered here is the very first of Pinin Farina's PF200 show cars, built for promotional purposes to generate publicity and never intended for series production, although Pinin Farina (as it was then) went on to build a further six examples, some open, some closed. The seven PF200s were slightly different from one another, although all featured the signature circular front air intake reminiscent of the North American F-86 Sabre jet fighter. The concept made its debut in 1952 when this very car, chassis number '1004', was displayed on the Pinin Farina stand at the Turin Motor Show. Italian film star and lover of fine cars, Renato Rascel (real name Renato Ranucci) met Sergio 'Pinin' Farina at the 1952 Turin Show and purchased '1004'. The side air intakes and six exhaust pipes are delightful details, while instead of stowing the soft-top behind the seats, like many open cars of the period, Pinin Farina arranged for the PF200's hood to fold down out of sight within the body, thus preserving its streamlined appearance.
The PF200 used the chassis and running gear of the Lancia Aurelia B52, one of the most advanced sporting cars of the era. At this time Pinin Farina had yet to supplant Carrozzeria Vignale as Ferrari's coachbuilder of choice, and much of its best work from this period was on Lancia chassis. One of the most influential designs to emerge from Italy post-WW2, Lancia's classic Aurelia was the first car ever to employ a V6 engine. Designed in wartime by Francesco de Virgilio and launched at the 1950 Turin Motor Show, the Aurelia B10 was powered by a 1,754cc 60-degree V6 of all-aluminium construction that used overhead valves operated via short pushrods instead of Lancia's traditional overhead camshafts.
An advanced unitary-construction design, the Aurelia retained Lancia's 'sliding pillar' independent front suspension, first seen on the Lambda, but used a novel semi-trailing-arm layout at the rear, another world first. The transmission too, was unusual, comprising a two-piece prop-shaft and combined gearbox/rear transaxle on which were mounted the inboard brakes, though for once this was not an entirely new departure. The original B10 saloon was joined the following year by the landmark, Pininfarina-styled B20 Coupé, a fastback '2+2' on a shortened wheelbase which, with its combination of sports car performance and saloon car practicality, can be said to have introduced the Gran Turismo concept to the world. Models with longer wheelbases and larger engines in various states of tune followed. To cater for independent coachbuilders, Lancia offered the longer-wheelbase (291cm) B50 chassis, based on B10 mechanicals, and later the B52, which came with the 2.0-litre engine of the B20/B21. In total Lancia built only 98 B52 chassis, the last of which was delivered in 1953.
Bought new by famous Italian film star, Renato Ranucci, in 1952 at the Turin Motor Show, '1004' changed ownership in 1958 and a couple of times more between then and 1961. It then seems to have remained in the same family for some 13 years before being bought by the current owner in 1974.
A passionate collector of classic cars, with a passion for flying, the current owner is himself a pilot of light aircraft, and during military service also of jets. He found the Lancia in a very poor condition; the car was in pieces but what caught his eye was the circular front air-intake: it looked more like a jet than a car so you can imagine how his passion for cars and aircraft coalesced in the same object - it was love at first sight.
The car was restored in the 1980s by the current owner, who commissioned what were then the best specialists for the job. The painstaking professional restoration took almost 10 years, a period in which the owner and the restorer, Mr. Giancarlo Cappa, became very close friends after doing a lot of research about this Pf200 together. During the restoration and despite the time-consuming research, some details had to be altered as replacements for some of the unique parts were unobtainable. The restoration notes/receipts for 35,000,000 liras are on file, an astronomical amount for a restoration if you know that a monthly salary for a worker at that time was around 300.000/350.000 liras. The car is finished in the lovely colour scheme of dark grey with a tan interior.
Once the Lancia came finally 'home', the owner put the car in one of the living rooms of the main house, which had ramp access. It was here that the family spent most evenings, especially at weekends. The car stood in the middle of the room as the centrepiece. The owner's rationale was very clear: the PF200 is a masterpiece and a work of art, which fully justified having it in your main living room. If you are not driving the car, indoors is the best place to enjoy it the most!
In the 1990s the engine failed and was removed, and it was then decided to replace it with one of an identical type (no. B21*2700*). Unfortunately, the original block was not retained, the importance of 'matching numbers' not being appreciated at that time. Carefully looked after by its long-term custodian, the car is presented today in mainly preserved condition following its 1980s restoration, which is now showing signs of age, especially in the paint. Residing for almost 50 years with the same owner, the car has its own dedicated space in the garage with magnificent 'Lancia PF200' badging on the wall.
On old Italian plates, the car has featured on posters and in magazines, etc and comes with an Italian libretto and a quite exceptional history file. The latter contains important correspondence with Pininfarina dating from 1981, which confirms that the car belonged to Renato Rascel; that it is the example exhibited at the 1952 Turin Motor Show; and that it was the first of a 'series' of seven PF200s of the same type built by hand, each of them different from the others even if only by some small functional or ornamental details, very often requested by the customer. Unfortunately, a fire at the Pininfarina factory destroyed all records of the PF200s and there are no photographs of this car's interior. The fascinating history file also contains lots of other correspondence; various articles; period photographs (1970s onwards); restoration photos (1980s); and the all-important Automobile Club D'Italia document confirming build details and ownership history. With the recent announcement of the re-birth of the Lancia Aurelia model, this unique car will become all-the-more collectible and is a unique opportunity for any major collector.
From a felted chair resembling mushrooms to a rocking chair made from 3-D printed recycled plastic, Conversation Pieces features 45 works of furniture that prioritize meaning and material choice over function and practicality.
Kālī, also known as Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका), is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, shakti. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga (Parvati). The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death: Shiva. Since Shiva is called Kāla— the eternal time — the name of Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in "time has come"). Hence, Kāli is the Goddess of Time and Change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation of evil forces still has some influence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess. Kālī is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. Shiva lies in the path of Kali, whose foot on Shiva subdues her anger.
ETYMOLOGY
Kālī is the feminine form of kālam ("black, dark coloured"). Kāla primarily means "time" but also means "black" in honor of being the first creation before light itself. Kālī means "the black one" and refers to her being the entity of "time" or "beyond time." Kāli is strongly associated with Shiva, and Shaivas derive the masculine Kāla (an epithet of Shiva) to come from her feminine name. A nineteenth-century Sanskrit dictionary, the Shabdakalpadrum, states: कालः शिवः। तस्य पत्नीति - काली। kālaḥ śivaḥ। tasya patnīti kālī - "Shiva is Kāla, thus, his consort is Kāli" referring to Devi Parvathi being a manifestation of Devi MahaKali.
Other names include Kālarātri ("black night"), as described above, and Kālikā ("relating to time"). Coburn notes that the name Kālī can be used as a proper name, or as a description of color.
Kāli's association with darkness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, who manifested after her in creation, and who symbolises the rest of creation after Time is created. In his supreme awareness of Maya, his body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit: śmaśāna) where he meditates, and with which Kāli is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.
ORIGINS
Hugh Urban notes that although the word Kālī appears as early as the Atharva Veda, the first use of it as a proper name is in the Kathaka Grhya Sutra (19.7). Kali is the name of one of the seven tongues of Agni, the [Rigvedic] God of Fire, in the Mundaka Upanishad (2:4), but it is unlikely that this refers to the goddess. The first appearance of Kāli in her present form is in the Sauptika Parvan of the Mahabharata (10.8.64). She is called Kālarātri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams, until finally she appears amidst the fighting during an attack by Drona's son Ashwatthama. She most famously appears in the sixth century Devi Mahatmyam as one of the shaktis of Mahadevi, and defeats the demon Raktabija ("Bloodseed"). The tenth-century Kalika Purana venerates Kāli as the ultimate reality.
According to David Kinsley, Kāli is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE, and these texts "usually place her on the periphery of Hindu society or on the battlefield." She is often regarded as the Shakti of Shiva, and is closely associated with him in various Puranas. The Kalika Purana depicts her as the "Adi Shakti" (Fundamental Power) and "Para Prakriti" or beyond nature.
WORSHIP & MANTRA
Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is mostly worshiped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali or Bhadra Kali (Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshiped as one of the 10 Mahavidya forms of Adi Parashakti (Goddess Durga) or Bhagavathy according to the region. The mantra for worship is called Devi Argala Stotram.
Sanskrit: सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
ॐ जयंती मंगल काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तुते ॥
(Sarvamaṅgalamāṅgalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē . śaraṇyē tryambakē gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.
Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī . durgā kṣamā śivā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stutē.)
TANTRA
Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of Tantra Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities. Although Parvati is often said to be the recipient and student of Shiva's wisdom in the form of Tantras, it is Kāli who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals. In many sources Kāli is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The Nirvana-tantra says the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The Niruttara-tantra and the Picchila-tantra declare all of Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kāli vidyas (manifestations of Mahadevi, or "divinity itself"). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of the Mahadevi.
In the Mahanirvana-tantra, Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:
At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.
The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the Pancatattva ritual, the sadhaka boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation. This is clear in the work of the Karpuradi-stotra, a short praise of Kāli describing the Pancatattva ritual unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)
He, O Mahākāli who in the cremation-ground, naked, and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.
The Karpuradi-stotra clearly indicates that Kāli is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves Durga or Shiva. Here, she is identified as the supreme mistress of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation. In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids the sadhaka of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.
BENGALI TRADITION
Kali is also a central figure in late medieval Bengali devotional literature, with such devotees as Ramprasad Sen (1718–75). With the exception of being associated with Parvati as Shiva's consort, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.
The Tantric approach to Kāli is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee appropriates Kāli's teachings adopting the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are well addressed in Rāmprasād's work. Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:
Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother.
You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but you will not listen.
To be a child of Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.
A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kāli as its central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet ("Music of the Night"). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of the finest singers of Shyāma Sāngeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.
In Bengal, Kāli is venerated in the festival Kali Puja, the new moon day of Ashwin month which coincides with Diwali festival.
In a unique form of Kāli worship, Shantipur worships Kāli in the form of a hand painted image of the deity known as Poteshwari (meaning the deity drawn on a piece of cloth).
LEGENDS
SLAYER OF RAKTABIJA
In Kāli's most famous legend, Devi Durga (Adi Parashakti) and her assistants, the Matrikas, wound the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabija he reproduces a clone of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates. Durga, in need of help, summons Kāli to combat the demons. It is said, in some versions, that Goddess Durga actually assumes the form of Goddess Kāli at this time. The Devi Mahatmyam describes:
Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.
Kali destroys Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body and putting the many Raktabija duplicates in her gaping mouth. Pleased with her victory, Kali then dances on the field of battle, stepping on the corpses of the slain. In the Devi Mahatmya version of this story, Kali is also described as a Matrika and as a Shakti or power of Devi. She is given the epithet Cāṃuṇḍā (Chamunda), i.e. the slayer of the demons Chanda and Munda. Chamunda is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.
DAKSHINA KALI
In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, popular legends say that Kali, becoming drunk on the blood of her victims on the battlefield, dances with destructive frenzy. She is about to destroy the whole universe when, urged by all the gods, Shiva lies in her way to stop her. In her fury, she fails to see the body of Shiva lying amongst the corpses on the battlefield and steps upon his chest. Realizing Shiva lies beneath her feet, her anger is pacified and she calms her fury. Though not included in any of the puranas, popular legends state that Kali was ashamed at the prospect of keeping her husband beneath her feet and thus stuck her tongue out in shame. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which goes into great depths about the goddess Kali, reveals the tongue's actual symbolism.
The characteristic icons that depict Kali are the following; unbridled matted hair, open blood shot eyes, open mouth and a drooping tongue; in her hands, she holds a Khadga (bent sword or scimitar) and a human head; she has a girdle of human hands across her waist and an enchanted Shiva lies beneath her feet. Each of these icons represent a deep philosophical epithet. The drooping out-stuck tongue represents her blood-thirst. Lord Shiva beneath her feet represents matter, as Kali is undoubtedly the primeval energy. The depiction of Kali on Shiva shows that without energy, matter lies "dead". This concept has been simplified to a folk-tale depicting a wife placing her foot on her husband and sticking her tongue out in shame. In tantric contexts, the tongue is seen to denote the element (guna) of rajas (energy and action) controlled by sattva.
If Kali steps on Shiva with her right foot and holds the sword in her left hand, she is considered to be Dakshina Kali. The Dakshina Kali Temple has important religious associations with the Jagannath Temple and it is believed that Daksinakali is the guardian of the kitchen of the Lord Jagannath Temple. Puranic tradition says that in Puri, Lord Jagannath is regarded as Daksinakalika. Goddess Dakshinakali plays an important role in the 'Niti' of Saptapuri Amavasya.
One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes up residence in the forest of Thiruvalankadu or Thiruvalangadu. She terrorizes the surrounding area with her fierce, disruptive nature. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while performing austerities, and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, claiming the territory as her own. Shiva challenges Kali to a dance contest; both of them dance and Kali matches Shiva in every step that he takes until Shiva takes the "Urdhvatandava" step, by vertically raising his right leg. Kali refuses to perform this step, which would not befit her as a woman, and became pacified.
SMASHAN KALI
If the Kali steps out with the left foot and holds the sword in her right hand, she is the terrible form of Mother, the Smashan Kali of the cremation ground. She is worshiped by tantrics, the followers of Tantra, who believe that one's spiritual discipline practiced in a smashan (cremation ground) brings success quickly. Sarda Devi, the consort of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, worshipped Smashan Kali at Dakshineshwar.
MATERNAL KALI
Another legend depicts the infant Shiva calming Kali. In this similar story, Kali has defeated her enemies on the battlefield and begun to dance out of control, drunk on the blood of the slain. To calm her down and to protect the stability of the world, Shiva is sent to the battlefield, as an infant, crying aloud. Seeing the child's distress, Kali ceases dancing to care for the helpless infant. She picks him up, kisses his head, and proceeds to breast feed the infant Shiva. This legend is notable because it shows Kali in her benevolent, maternal aspect, with which she is not usually identified.
MAHAKALI
Mahakali (Sanskrit: Mahākālī, Devanagari: महाकाली), literally translated as Great Kali, is sometimes considered as a greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality of Brahman. It can also be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali, signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time (which is interpreted also as Death), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of the Devi Mahatmya. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as Shakti. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.
Kali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which vary in different accounts, but each of these represent the power of one of the Devas or Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through Her grace.
ICONOGRAPHY
Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication, and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path.
In the ten-armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces and ten feet and three eyes. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.
The Kalika Purana describes Kali as possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding a sword and blue lotuses, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful.
In spite of her seemingly terrible form, Kali Ma is often considered the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses, as she is regarded by her devotees as the Mother of the whole Universe. And because of her terrible form, she is also often seen as a great protector. When the Bengali saint Ramakrishna once asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, "Maharaj, when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"
According to Ramakrishna, darkness is the Ultimate Mother, or Kali:
My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda Satchidananda; indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black. The waters of the ocean depths are the same; The infinite is always mysteriously dark. This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA
This is clear in the works of such contemporary artists as Charles Wish, and Tyeb Mehta, who sometimes take great liberties with the traditional, accepted symbolism, but still demonstrate a true reverence for the Shakta sect.
POPULAR FORM
Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:
Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.
Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (blessing) mudras, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshipping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.
She has a garland consisting of human heads, variously enumerated at 108 (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on a Japa Mala or rosary for repetition of Mantras) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, Devanagari. Hindus believe Sanskrit is a language of dynamism, and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore she is generally seen as the mother of language, and all mantras.
She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering of Maya since she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss and far above prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities - she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, bad do not apply to her - she is the pure, un-manifested energy, the Adi-shakti.
SHIVA IN KALI ICONOGRAPHY
In both these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or dead body of Shiva. There is a legend for the reason behind her standing on what appears to be Shiva's corpse, which translates as follows:
Once Kali had destroyed all the demons in battle, she began a terrific dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds or lokas began to tremble and sway under the impact of her dance. So, at the request of all the Gods, Shiva himself asked her to desist from this behavior. However, she was too intoxicated to listen. Hence, Shiva lay like a corpse among the slain demons in order to absorb the shock of the dance into himself. When Kali eventually stepped upon Shiva, she realized she was trampling and hurting her husband and bit her tongue in shame.
The story described here is a popular folk tale and not described or hinted in any of the puranas. The puranic interpretation is as follows:
Once, Parvati asks Shiva to chose the one form among her 10 forms which he likes most. To her surprise, Shiva reveals that he is most comfortable with her Kali form, in which she is bereft of her jewellery, her human-form, her clothes, her emotions and where she is only raw, chaotic energy, where she is as terrible as time itself and even greater than time. As Parvati takes the form of Kali, Shiva lies at her feet and requests her to place her foot on his chest, upon his heart. Once in this form, Shiva requests her to have this place, below her feet in her iconic image which would be worshiped throughout.
This idea has been explored in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana and is most popular in the Shyama Sangeet, devotional songs to Kali from the 12th to 15th centuries.
The Tantric interpretation of Kali standing on top of her husband is as follows:
The Shiv tattava (Divine Consciousness as Shiva) is inactive, while the Shakti tattava (Divine Energy as Kali) is active. Shiva and Kali represent Brahman, the Absolute pure consciousness which is beyond all names, forms and activities. Kali, on the other hand, represents the potential (and manifested) energy responsible for all names, forms and activities. She is his Shakti, or creative power, and is seen as the substance behind the entire content of all consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva or act independently of him, just as Shiva remains a mere corpse without Kali i.e., Shakti, all the matter/energy of the universe, is not distinct from Shiva, or Brahman, but is rather the dynamic power of Brahman. Hence, Kali is Para Brahman in the feminine and dynamic aspect while Shiva is the male aspect and static. She stands as the absolute basis for all life, energy and beneath her feet lies, Shiva, a metaphor for mass, which cannot retain its form without energy.
While this is an advanced concept in monistic Shaktism, it also agrees with the Nondual Trika philosophy of Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism and associated most famously with Abhinavagupta. There is a colloquial saying that "Shiva without Shakti is Shava" which means that without the power of action (Shakti) that is Mahakali (represented as the short "i" in Devanagari) Shiva (or consciousness itself) is inactive; Shava means corpse in Sanskrit and the play on words is that all Sanskrit consonants are assumed to be followed by a short letter "a" unless otherwise noted. The short letter "i" represents the female power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and complement in Shaktism or the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism.
To properly understand this complex Tantric symbolism it is important to remember that the meaning behind Shiva and Kali does not stray from the non-dualistic parlance of Shankara or the Upanisads. According to both the Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras, there are two distinct ways of perceiving the same absolute reality. The first is a transcendental plane which is often described as static, yet infinite. It is here that there is no matter, there is no universe and only consciousness exists. This form of reality is known as Shiva, the absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda - existence, knowledge and bliss. The second is an active plane, an immanent plane, the plane of matter, of Maya, i.e., where the illusion of space-time and the appearance of an actual universe does exist. This form of reality is known as Kali or Shakti, and (in its entirety) is still specified as the same Absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda. It is here in this second plane that the universe (as we commonly know it) is experienced and is described by the Tantric seer as the play of Shakti, or God as Mother Kali.
From a Tantric perspective, when one meditates on reality at rest, as absolute pure consciousness (without the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to this as Shiva or Brahman. When one meditates on reality as dynamic and creative, as the Absolute content of pure consciousness (with all the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to it as Kali or Shakti. However, in either case the yogini or yogi is interested in one and the same reality - the only difference being in name and fluctuating aspects of appearance. It is this which is generally accepted as the meaning of Kali standing on the chest of Shiva.
Although there is often controversy surrounding the images of divine copulation, the general consensus is benign and free from any carnal impurities in its substance. In Tantra the human body is a symbol for the microcosm of the universe; therefore sexual process is responsible for the creation of the world. Although theoretically Shiva and Kali (or Shakti) are inseparable, like fire and its power to burn, in the case of creation they are often seen as having separate roles. With Shiva as male and Kali as female it is only by their union that creation may transpire. This reminds us of the prakrti and purusa doctrine of Samkhya wherein prakāśa- vimarśa has no practical value, just as without prakrti, purusa is quite inactive. This (once again) stresses the interdependencies of Shiva and Shakti and the vitality of their union.
Gopi Krishna proposed that Kali standing on the dead Shiva or Shava (Sanskrit for dead body) symbolised the helplessness of a person undergoing the changing process (psychologically and physiologically) in the body conducted by the Kundalini Shakti.
DEVELOPMENT
In the later traditions, Kali has become inextricably linked with Shiva. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her just as only Kali can tame Shiva. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness.
The ancient text of Kali Kautuvam describes her competition with Shiva in dance, from which the sacred 108 Karanas appeared. Shiva won the competition by acting the urdva tandava, one of the Karanas, by raising his feet to his head. Other texts describe Shiva appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling.
Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Kali's role sometimes grew beyond that of a chaos - which could be confronted - to that of one who could bring wisdom, and she is given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi (the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all devis).
The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion, Mahamaya or Durga, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.
Like Sir John Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of liberating oneself from the confines of such things. Shiva, symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same - totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the "two." Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as complementary.
Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and personal level of unfolding. Just like modern chemists or physicists use a variety of molecular and atomic models to describe what is unperceivable through rudimentary, sensory input, the scientists of ontology and epistemology must do the same. One of the underlying distinctions of Tantra, in comparison to other religions, is that it allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of complementary symbols and rhetoric which suit one's evolving needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of Devi's more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.
A TIME magazine article of October 27, 1947, used Kali as a symbol and metaphor for the human suffering in British India during its partition that year.
Swami Vivekananda wrote his favorite poem Kali the Mother in 1898.
IN NEW AGE & NEOPAGANISM
An academic study of Western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment." The adoption of Kali by the West has raised accusations of cultural appropriation:
A variety of writers and thinkers have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably feminists and participants in New Age spirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition. The majority instead rely chiefly on other popular feminist sources, almost none of which base their interpretations on a close reading of Kali's Indian background. The most important issue arising from this discussion - even more important than the question of 'correct' interpretation - concerns the adoption of other people's religious symbols. It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available.
WIKIPEDIA
If You're Going to Whitefish, Be Sure To Wear a Flower in Your Helmet… This strange adaption of a line from Scott McKenzie’s 1967 generational anthem about San Francisco could be applied to the 60th annual nordic themed Whitefish Montana’s Winter Carnival in 2019. This year the carnival salutes the 50th anniversary of Woodstock with the theme Woodstock Whitefish. It is a marrying of a nordic celebration with the hippie culture with some entertaining results like ladies with flowers in their Viking helmets. These ladies posed as they were getting ready to march in the parade on Saturday afternoon.
I learned something new this weekend during the festivities. There is no evidence that Vikings ever wore the iconic horned helmets. According to the History Channel: “…despite years of searching, archaeologists have yet to uncover a Viking-era helmet embellished with horns. In fact, only one complete helmet that can definitively be called ‘Viking’ has turned up. Discovered in 1943 on Gjermundbu farm in Norway, the 10th-century artifact has a rounded iron cap, a guard around the eyes and nose, and no horns to speak of.
The popular image of the strapping Viking in a horned helmet dates back to the 1800s, when Scandinavian artists like Sweden’s Gustav Malmström included the headgear in their portrayals of the raiders. When Wagner staged his ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ opera cycle in the 1870s, costume designer Carl Emil Doepler created horned helmets for the Viking characters, and an enduring stereotype was born.
Malmström, Doepler and others may have been inspired by 19th-century discoveries of ancient horned helmets that later turned out to predate the Vikings. They may also have taken a cue from ancient Greek and Roman chroniclers, who described northern Europeans wearing helmets adorned with all manner of ornaments, including horns, wings and antlers. But not only did this headgear fall out of fashion at least a century before the Vikings appeared, it was likely only donned for ceremonial purposes by Norse and Germanic priests. After all, horns’ practicality in actual combat is dubious at best. Sure, they could help intimidate enemies and maybe even poke out a few eyes, but they would have been even more likely to get entangled in a tree branch or embedded in a shield.”
Reference: www.history.com/news/did-vikings-really-wear-horned-helmets
Started as an attempt to build the pizza van from 79104 The Shellraiser Street Chase, and ended up as more of a mod due to parts and practicalities. Probably needs a sticker on the side for some graphics.
E36/7
Bonhams
Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris
The Grand Palais Éphémère
Place Joffre
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2023
Estimated : € 35.000 - 45.000
Sold for € 57.500
A brilliant exercise in 'retro' styling that recalled its fabulous '328' sports car of pre-war days, BMW's Z3 was introduced in 1996. The original four-cylinder 1.9-litre Z3 was more of a stylish boulevard cruiser than out-and-out sports car, a successful concept, and would prove equally appealing to both men and women drivers. The arrival of the 2.8-litre six-cylinder engine in 1997 transformed the Z3, endowing it with a level of performance that at last matched the promise of its looks. Six-cylinder cars enjoyed a lengthier equipment list than the 'fours', which included an electric hood (roadster), leather upholstery, and 16" alloy wheels.
The first M-Power Z3 appeared in January 1997. Built until February 2001 when the model was revised, the first-series Z3 M Coupé and Roadster were powered by the 3.2-litre S50 engine producing 316hp and 236lb/ft of torque - figures that translated into a tyre-smoking 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 248km/h. The fastest-accelerating BMW ever at the time of its introduction, the Z3M boasted a generous specification that included electric windows, ABS, PAS, air conditioning, heated seats, driver/passenger air bags, six-speaker stereo system, alarm/immobiliser, heated exterior mirrors, 17" alloy wheels, and a limited-slip differential as standard. Combining outrageous looks and performance with impressive practicality, the Z3M was not replaced within BMW's line-up after its deletion in 2002 and is surely destined for 'highly collectible' status in the future.
This Z3 M Roadster was built in October 1996 (official production would not start until 1997) and is one of only 25 pre-production press or test cars. Only seven of this batch were finished in 'Evergreen'; most of them were 'Imolarot' or 'Estoril Blau' (nine were red, seven green, and nine blue). Boasting two-tone Walk Nappa/Evergreen leather interior, chassis number 'LD20069' is believed to be the first 'Evergreen' Z3 M Roadster built. As a special option in the list we find 'Sonderkontrolle Pressefahrzeuge', referring to the special inspection for press vehicles that was carried out at BMW. The BMW Archivist has confirmed in an email the production details of this 'pre-production' example, which include a 25% differential lock.
This car was registered new to BMW M GmbH on 6th November 1996 with the registration plate 'M-RC1584' and was reregistered only a month later to Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG) on the same registration plate. The car remained with BMW up to 2000, when it was sold to Sweden with 15,000 kilometres recorded.
A printout of the BMW service history shows that the car was regularly serviced, and that since it moved to Sweden covered between 10,000 and 15,000 kilometres per year. By 2015, when it moved to the current owner in Belgium, the BMW had covered 86,000 kilometres. Since then it has scarcely been driven but regular servicing has been maintained: 2016 (90,033km) up to 2021 (94,509km) by a BMW specialist. Clearly well looked after, the car is in lovely condition both inside and out.
BMW's proven S50 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine in an extremely light car makes for an exciting combination. Magnificent, strong, reliable, light and fun, this beautiful BMW Z3 M is certain to delight the fortunate next owner.
Taken with the nightmarish 18-70mm packaged lens that came with my alpha a200 in order to get a wider shot. Sorry about that.
Work to the left and play to the right. This is how I chose to divide my work area at home. The monitors are connected to multiple sources (macbook pro, dell laptop, PC under the desk). Simple enough, this just gives my the flexibility to use the screen real-estate where I need it most.
I've been here just over a year, and as such I wanted to share my home office setup in the far east. Real estate is at premium on the tiny island nation of Singapore. This room doubles as my home office (where I spend at least 7 or so hours a week outside my work office) and a guest room. It's diminutive size means you have to be smart and not over do it.
And yes, the Macbook Pro is from early 2008 (a graduation gift from when I got my BS). I'm not the kind of IT geek that feels the urge to upgrade for sake of upgrading. It's meets all my needs still and has never given me any trouble at all (unlike ALL of the PC's I own, including the little Dell laptop to the left which is my work laptop).
Future plans: Although I don't care for glossy plastics, I must say the 23" Philips IPS display in the centre is superb value for money. I am considering replacing the 20" Dell display (which I've owned for 5 years and is showing it's age) with a 2nd 23" inch Philips monitor.
Although I do have an iPad (first gen, 32gb, wifi, centre of the picture), I'm considering buying a Macbook Air 11" once Ivy Bridge drops in a few months. The iPad has been great and will continue serving a purpose, but it would be nice to have a Mac at work with me and it would prove more versatile on trips.
The audio setup is another future plan. I'd like to purchase a smallish receiver and decent book shelf speakers to replace the OK JBL Creature III's on the desk now. The problem alas is space.
Finally, on under the desk hidden in this photo is the only Windows PC I own. A custom built unit housed in an NZXT Vulcan mATX chassis. IMHO the best mATX case ever made, very interesting design language and practicality. This system is a light gaming machine, but also used to rip my DVD library and run VMs for testing.
The Core 2 Duo e8200 (2.66/6mb) and GT440 1gb (Also very good value for money when it comes to meeting the needs of non-hardcore PC gamers) are sufficient for the moment. This may be replaced with either a newer MB and CPU (i5/i7) or I may decommission it entirely in favor of an Alienware X51 small form factor PC (though the idea of buying anything Dell has a stake in doesn't sit well with me). Time will tell.
Enjoy my modest setup and feel free to comment below.
CPWebb.com
Entitled Chinese Family [c1875]. Found in The Face Of China As Seen By Photographers & Travelers 1860-1912, authored by L. Carrington Goodrich, with historical commentary by Nigel Cameron (published in 1978, the book is still in print & is available from Amazon.com). The photograph was retouched to eliminate spots and scratches, and contrast was elevated to improve visual impact.
I just love this photograph.
Knowing nothing at all of the actual people; that is, who they were or what social or political connections they had, we can only make educated assumptions and guesses about their milieu, based on what is believed or understood about Chinese culture during the late 1800's. From the outset, the viewer is particularly struck by the rather formal arrangement of the seated individuals, and then immediately notes the contrasting inconsistency offered by the starkly informal positioning of the man to the left rear. Further, the setting itself is rather peculiar; the seating is positioned directly in the path of a moon door walkway, which one sees is a part of a weathered wall. One then realizes that this setting is outdoors, perhaps located in a private courtyard, and was most likely artificially arranged for the purpose of the photograph. The wet ground between the paving stones reinforces that the setting was outdoors. It was likely chosen because the visual impact of the doorway lent itself to the creative thought process of the photographer, as well as the practicality of affording enough light to record the image.
The purpose of the photograph is another issue. In our present day, a picture being recorded is so uncomplicated and common that we give it scant thought. However, we must appreciate that to the people of those times, being recorded in a photograph was as unlikely and as monumental an undertaking for them, as perhaps a ride on the space shuttle would be for us. My speculation is that the photographic session was arranged for by the man in the photograph to the left. In my view, he is definitely the master of this house, and the others in the picture were his wives and children. The photographic opportunity was likely initiated as an effort to produce a record of his family, as it became highly fashionable for affluent Chinese in the late 1800's to have such portraits taken. The man is standing to the rear (normally a servant's position), but by his very nonchalant stance, and to be so close in physical proximity, that is, to be nearly draped over one of the ladies of the house; reveals clearly that he is not one of the household help, but also reveals that he was not intended to have been in the picture. That is, had he been intended or would have been planned to be in the picture in the first place, where should one expect him to be? I would think that he should have belonged in the center of the photograph, occupying the most important position of all, telling anyone who sees it that he is the master of this setting. So, on that basis, I surmise that this was first intended to be a picture of only the wives and children, and not of him at all.
So, if that was the case, what then, is he doing in the picture? His positioning to the far left side is telling. My hypothesis is, that similar to spectators at crime or accident scenes, the man was so caught up in his curiosity to observe that he failed to realize that he had strayed into the scene and had become a part of the event. The look of the man's face strongly suggests that he was so raptly focused on what the photographer was doing, that he didn't know that he had stepped out of the sidelines and had put himself into the picture. One can only imagine that had the man not been so hypnotically distracted to have thus entered the picture, how much poorer the image would have been.
Socially, the furniture belies a family of some affluence. The wooden foot stools at the time were used not for the height challenged but rather to provide insulation against having to put one's feet onto a cold and unheated floor. The man has four wives, all of which seem to have bound feet (except for one who's feet we cannot see) bespeaking already his ability of a high degree of financial security. In the center, the most politically powerful position in any family portrait, is probably the first wife. Seated next to her is the eldest child, likely the first wife's daughter. To the far right is probably the second wife based on appearance of age. Next to her is probably her son, whose importance as heir mandated that despite his reluctance, his presence in the photograph was a considered must. This is evidenced by the notable steadying hand against fidgetting, of an off camera person (probably a servant) holding him in position. On the far left, the two seated ladies are likely wives three and four, with wife (probably) three, holding the third child of the house (borne from her), on her lap. The remaining wife was childless to that point, but still had her youth. The fine embroidary of their clothing further reinforces that these were women of importance, that is, they were all wives and not a wife's personal maid attendant or any member of the serving class.
Aus dem Concept car,
iM4,
IM4 - MT-4/L - MF Kleinwagen -
Kleinstwagen,
kei car,
wurde Suzuki Ignis
Dual Injection, Micro-SUV.
Laut ADAC der sparsamste Benziner.
der ultra-kompakte SUV IGNIS - von Suzuki
Suzuki Ignis with Mild Hybrid GLX
GLX = shine = comfort+
HSN/TSN
7102 AFC
HSN und TSN
Herstellerschlüsselnummer (HSN) und Typschlüsselnummer (TSN) identifizieren einen Fahrzeugtypen eindeutig. Man sollte sich nie auf Handelsbezeichnungen verlassen, denn diese können mehrdeutig oder irreführend sein. Dieser Artikel erklärt, was HSN und TSN sind und wie man sie herausfindet.
Als Dashboard wird im Informationsmanagement eine grafische Benutzeroberfläche bezeichnet, die zur Visualisierung von Daten dient.
Armaturentafel - Simple, communicates easily - Information mapping - Technical communication - Comunicación técnica
Der Begriff Armaturenbrett (dashboard) stammt vom Armaturenbrett im Auto, wo der Fahrer über die Instrumententafel die wichtigsten Funktionen auf einen Blick sieht.
The term dashboard originates from the automobile dashboard where drivers monitor the major functions at a glance via the instrument panel.
www.suzuki.at/auto/modelle/IGNIS/ignis-hybrid/technische-...
The 2021 Suzuki Ignis Sz-T hybrid SHVS has just been released in the UK and I explore this new compact SUV / City car. We look at the styling, practicality and driving experience this new car has to offer.
The Ignis has a distinctive small car, with strong SUV styling; it’s compact, light and efficient, but has big personality and an adventurous spirit. It’s small enough to fit easily into a space outside your favourite hangout, but inside it’s surprisingly spacious.
Im März 2015 stellte Suzuki das allradgetriebene Konzeptauto Suzuki iM-4 auf dem Genfer Auto-Salon vor. Im Oktober des gleichen Jahres wurde auf der Tokyo Motor Show bereits die Serienversion als dritte Version des Ignis präsentiert
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Die erste Generation des Ignis (Typ FJ/GH-HT51S) wurde von 2000 bis 2003 mit Steilheck und drei oder fünf Türen verkauft.
heute optimiert: 2020 facelift Ignis III.
35.000 sind in Deutschland zugelassen.
Fiat Panda oder Mitsubishi Space Star sind Konkurrenten, jedoch ohne die luxuriöse Ausstattung, welche Suzuki mit Comfort Plus bietet.
Allradgetriebene, Automatik oder 5 Gang Schaltung ist möglich.
3,9l nach NEFZ kombinierter Verbrauch!
keijidōsha
Als Kei-Car (japanisch 軽自動車, keijidōsha wörtlich „Leichtautomobil“) werden in Japan Kleinstwagen bezeichnet, für die Hubraum- und Größenbeschränkungen gelten.
Idee: geringe Unterhalts- und Anschaffungskosten
WLTP ist gesetzlich,
für schon auf dem Markt befindlichen Serien Fahrzeuge,
nicht voll umgesetzt worden.
Deshalb gelten die alten Verbrauchsangaben indirekt weiter.
WLTP hat keine Kategorie für Kleinstwagen, und ist deshalb unfair gegenüber Fahrzeugen mit wenig Motorleistung.
4 Sitzer: 58 € Steuern
WLTP:
Je nach Modell muss 20%, bzw. ein bis zwei Liter zum NEFZ Wert gerechnet werden.
Tests ergeben 5.5l Super E10, genügt auch.
Maximum an Performance:
20.000 km im Jahr :
Energiekosten hier: Super 100, 1,80€ = 1.980 €
168€ im Monat
Minimum, sparsame Fahrten:
20.000 km im Jahr :
5.0 l Super E10, 1,55 € = 1.550 €
130€ für Sprit im Monat
Differenz etwa 500€/Jahr
Allgemein:
5 bis 6 l, je nach Strecke, Fahrweise und Beladung.
Manche Ignis Besitzer geben unter 5l an,
sie sind 30.000 km gefahren;
in ganz Europa unterwegs, vom Nordkap bis Rom.
Auto Tests ergeben 5.5l, Super:
E10 genügt auch; Leistung reduziert!
51 mpg UK / 43 mpg US
Über 140 km/h bis 165 km/h und mehr steigt der Verbrauch überproportional auf bis zu 10 Liter.
Für sehr schnelle Autobahn Fahrten ist er nicht konstruiert.
In Indien und Indonesien sind solche Flitzer häufig anzutreffen.
Subaru hat ein baugleiches Modell.
Subaru ist technisch am Suzuki Ignis beteiligt gewesen.