No inspiration? Chema Madoz (www.chemamadoz) to the rescue!

Shot near Calle Real, Goleta, CA

 

This shot is laden with my copyright watermarks (23 to be precise). Want to know why, then read on.

 

I am no pro-photographer, and I don't make money by selling my shots. The only reward I get for all the shots that I post here is the appreciation and comments that I get from you my friends and I am satisfied with that for now. I put a watermark to just let people know who took the shot, and I try hard to place it in locations that don't interfere with the subject of my shots. I have no problems with people using my shots, as long as they let me know about it and give me credit when they use my work. In fact on many occasions, I have given out non-watermarked photos of mine to complete strangers for use in their work, on the sole promise that they would give me credit when they use it.

 

Recently I found out about someone who was using my photo as his facebook profile picture. He had cleverly cropped out my copyright watermark from the image border. That particular shot had a lot of shares and likes on his page. While I was happy to see my shot do so well, I was saddened by the fact that all those people who liked my shot, wrote back comments and shared the pic didn't know that it was my creativity, and not his. Inspite of my polite request to give me credit for the shot that fellow didn't oblige. Finally last week I took the tough decision of complaining to Facebook about violation of copyright, and within hours the photo was removed. And with it all the shares, the likes and comments had also vanished. All he lost was that one profile pic. But I lost a chance of getting recognized by all those people who liked my work and shared it unknowingly :(

 

In view of these events I have decided to make it harder for people to crop and use my shots without my permission. Now you know the story behind the watermarks.

 

Press L to view large and Press F to fav :)

Precise breed of dogs or Cadillac unknown

Davis Mountains State Park, Fort Davis, Texas

Hasselblad 500 C/M, Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 C T*, Fuji Velvia 50

 

The sky is where we should have started.

A window without a windowsill, without a frame, without a pane.

An opening wide open, with nothing

beyond it.

 

I don’t have to wait for a starry night,

nor crane my neck,

to look at the sky.

I have the sky behind me, and close at hand and on my eyelids.

It is the sky that wraps me tight

and raises me from underneath.

 

The highest mountains

are no closer than the deepest valleys

to the sky.

No place has any more of it

than any other place.

A cloud is as thoroughly

crushed by the sky as a grave.

A mole is as high, sky high

as an owl beating its wings.

Whatever falls into an abyss,

falls from sky to sky.

 

Friable, fluid, rocky,

flammable, volatile stretches

of sky, crumbs of sky,

gusts of sky, heaps of sky.

Sky is omnipresent,

even in darkness under the skin.

 

I eat the sky, I excrete the sky.

I’m a trap in a trap,

an inhabited inhabitant,

an embrace embraced,

a question that answers a question.

 

Dividing earth and sky

is not the right way

to think about this wholeness.

It only allows one to live

at a more precise address—

were I to be searched for

I’d be found much faster.

My distinguishing marks

are rapture and despair.

 

~ Wislawa Szymborksa, Sky

 

www.charlesathomas.com

Tango Night at Arribal Gourmet, Morelia, Michoacan

Traveling the beautiful country along the dreadful Norseman-Hyden Track in Western Australia. © Su Schaefer 2015

 

Signage at the (Norseman-side) start of the track. I love this sign and whoever made it and installed it. It is everything a sign should be: functional, accurate, precise.

When the tri-axles came to town - well, Ashton-under-Lyne to be precise. After just 6 years of front-line service in Hong Kong, what were the last Leyland Olympians delivered to China Motor Bus found themselves on a vessel to the UK bound for an unlikely new home in Greater Manchester. Although refurbished and repainted in Hong Kong before their export, they had only been used in their attractive red and yellow PMT-style livery for a matter of weeks before Barbie blandness was applied, as seen here in this view of the former LM 9 (FW 2788) taken exactly 20 years ago from the date of this upload.

 

This image is copyright and must not be reproduced or downloaded without the permission of the photographer.

   

One from the archives, Feb 2014 to be precise. Amazing how time flies, I love finding shots that I still enjoy today. This is one of my favorite Auckland City shots. I have a tonne of Auckland shots as Cityscapes were what I wanted to learn first. I found pretty much all the nooks and crannies to view the city from just to get the best angle.

 

I found this viewpoint to be one of my favorite, you can watch the ships go by but still get a clean shot of the water in the foreground as there's no boats at anchor here.

 

www.facebook.com/mackphotographynz/

A stunning new addition to the photographic record of Pu'er's resident Limacodid caterpillar population.

 

In my tradition of allocating relatable nicknames to the Limacodid caterpillars in lieu of specific IDs, the first thing that sprang to mind on seeing this one (clearly I have my priorities in order) was the leader of the Transformers, Optimus Prime.

 

I "get" adaptive evolution. I comprehend aposematism (warning colouration). Yet it is still mind boggling from a simplistic viewpoint how biological, environmental and genetic factors can arrive at such precise geometry, colour combinations, even absurdity in a creature that can't itself appreciate the way it looks…..

 

Globally, the connection between adult cup moths and their caterpillars remains sketchy. Although many, and increasingly more, of the moths are being identified, their life cycles have not been studied or recorded. This is particularly apparent regionally. As fascinating as these caterpillars are, few can be linked to their night-flying mature forms. Hence, should you be browsing my Flickr set of Limacodid Caterpillars, the majority are generically named and only tentatively identified.

 

Pu'er, Yunnan, China

216 hours later, to be precise.

The Met Office gave out an Amber 'be prepared' warning for western Fife yesterday for thunderstorms, hail, intense rainfall and flash floods. Fortunately it didn't happen but the sky was ominous all afternoon/evening and it was very muggy. Went back to the field to find it has grown. Got set up and waited for the sun to appear below the cloud to light up the crop. Decided not to use any ND grad filters as they would darken the sky and tree too much. Went for 4 exposures in the end, metering off the sun, the sky, the tree and the field and then manually blended them together using layer masks in photoshop. Quite enjoyed doing this as I could see the image develop with each mask I applied.

to be more precise in dutch these are known as a stroopwafels. they are more of a confection than a breakfast but they do have syrup inside and, after you heat them for 30 seconds, it just oozes out. (i don't know dutch but the first ingredient is stroop which makes up 34% of the ingredients and after that it says glucose-fructosestroop, so i am guessing that is sugar in any language :)

for size comparison-- they are about 9 cm (or 3 &1/2 inches) in diameter... yes, it is a little plate.

 

my DD sent them along with the little ceramic sewing machine from holland for mother's day. they had brought me some at christmas time and the addition to the mother's day box was unexpectedly sweet :)

 

june scavchal14

assignment52-232012

ODC "starts with W"

To be precise, it's "Papaver Orientalis Curlylocks". From early June they bloom for around six weeks and sadly, this already seems past it's prime

Emotionally precise and extremely talented Spencer Lajoye is definitely worth a listen. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVj4OLNnvFw&list=PLz5XZHP_15X...

Precise use of the caves under the limestone outcrop are not known, but two theories predominate. One being the mummification of the dead - there is a consistent temperature and air flow and the second, sacrifice. Which ever is true, this rock's surface has been carved and smoothed out to form a lying out area.

take

Leica M3

Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f5.6

EPSON GT-X970

AGFA precise

The precise origin of Carew Mill is uncertain. It is possible that a mill worked by a leat running from the Carew River pre-dated the building of the causeway which retains the huge tidal millpond. Documentary evidence indicates a mill of some kind existed as early as 1542. Records show that in 1558 John Bartlett leased the mill for the sum of 10 sovereigns per annum.

 

The present building dates from the early 19th century and indeed one of the two mill wheels carries the date 1801. The term “French Mill”, often used about Carew, may be a reference to the use of French burr stones.

 

Activity finally ceased in 1937 and from that time onward the building lay derelict. Tie bars were later fitted to the south side to save the now splitting structure.

 

Renovation was carried out with the aid of funds from the Historic Buildings Council of Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembroke Rural District Council. This work was completed in 1972 and received an award in The Times Conservation Award Scheme. The National Perk Authority acquired the lease of the mill in 1984 and has continued with restoration and improvement work, including the provision of the reception area and audio-visual facilities. It is hoped that the south wheel will at least be able to turn some of the auxiliary machinery on a regular basis in the future.

Source: www.welshmills.org.uk/carew.m0.html

 

(Don't bother with audio - it's ambient sounds of people walking by.)

 

I had the pleasure of watching this spider construct her web in the company of jciv and his dad when they visited Virginia earlier this month. We enjoyed a slow amble through the woods and into the wetlands of this park, with a particular eye out for spiders, so finding this bright lady was a treat. I stopped recording after 25 seconds because a couple people stopped to ask about the spider, but I got enough to see how the spider takes the currently extruded web strand and very purposefully sticks it to the "spokes" with a foot.

 

Happy Arachtober 30 pt 2!

 

Marbled Orbweaver, Araneus marmoreus

Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, VA

This is one of these pictures I wanted to take for a long time in forced perspective. Allas, I was too obcessed by the "pen holding" that I forgot to remove the noise in the backgroud....

 

Ho well.

Boston (to be more precise Cambridge) is a wonderful place to live. All kinds of great places around you to shoot photos. I wished I would have more time to do that. But hopefully in the future there is more freedom.

 

This photo was done at one of my last photo walks near Harvard Square. It was a warm and nice summertime evening and the lights were great. Don’t know exactly what building that is, but I liked the white shiny top of it.

 

For the technique behind this shot and more, please visit my website: bit.ly/wernersworld

 

!!! creative commons: Feel free to use photos with credits and links. No commercial use without permission. For commercial use, please contact me on my website and we will find an agreement for the permission!!!

USS Wasp (CV-7)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other ships of the same name, see USS Wasp.

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2010)

USS Wasp (CV-7).jpg

USS Wasp entering Hampton Roads

Class overview

Name: Wasp-class aircraft carrier

Operators: United States Navy

Preceded by: Yorktown class

Succeeded by: Essex class

Built: 1936–40

In commission: 1940–42

Planned: 1

Completed: 1

Lost: 1

History

United States

Name: Wasp

Namesake: USS Wasp (1814)

Ordered: 19 September 1935

Builder: Fore River Shipyard

Laid down: 1 April 1936

Launched: 4 April 1939

Sponsored by: Mrs. Charles Edison[1]

Commissioned:

 

25 April 1940

(first Commanding Officer: Captain John W. Reeves, Jr.)

 

Struck: 15 September 1942

Honors and

awards: American Defense Service Medal ("A" device) / American Campaign Medal/European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (1 star) / Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star) / World War II Victory Medal

Fate: Sunk by IJN I-19, 15 September 1942

General characteristics

Type: Aircraft carrier

Displacement:

 

As built: 14,700 long tons (14,900 t) (standard)

19,116 long tons (19,423 t) (full load)

 

Length:

 

688 ft (210 m) (waterline)

741 ft 3 in (225.93 m) (overall)

 

Beam:

 

80 ft 9 in (24.61 m) (waterline)

109 ft (33 m) (overall)

 

Draft: 20 ft (6.1 m)

Installed power: 70,000 shp (52,000 kW)

Propulsion:

 

2 × Parsons steam turbines

6 × boilers at 565 psi

2 × shafts

 

Speed: 29.5 kn (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph)

Range: 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)

Complement:

 

1,800 officers and men (peacetime)

2,167 (wartime)

 

Sensors and

processing systems: CXAM-1 radar[2]

Armament:

 

As Built:

8 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns

16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft guns

24 × .50 in (13 mm) machine guns

 

Armor:

 

As Built:

60 lb (27 kg) STS conning tower

3.5 in side and 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)50 lb deck over steering gear

 

Aircraft carried: As built: Up to 100

Aviation facilities:

 

3 × elevators

4 × hydraulic catapults (2 flight deck, 2 hangar deck)

 

USS Wasp (CV-7) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier commissioned in 1940 and lost in action in 1942. She was the eighth ship named USS Wasp, and the sole ship of a class built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time. As a reduced-size version of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier hull, Wasp was more vulnerable than other United States aircraft carriers available at the opening of hostilities. Wasp was initially employed in the Atlantic campaign where Axis naval forces were perceived as less capable of inflicting decisive damage. After supporting the occupation of Iceland in 1941, Wasp joined the British Home Fleet in April 1942 and twice ferried British fighter aircraft to Malta. Wasp was then transferred to the Pacific in June 1942 to replace losses at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. After supporting the invasion of Guadalcanal, Wasp was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-19 on 15 September 1942.

 

Contents

 

1 Design

2 Service history

2.1 Inter-war period

2.2 World War II

2.2.1 Atlantic Fleet

2.2.2 Pacific Fleet

3 Loss

4 Awards

5 References

6 External links

 

Design

 

Wasp was a product of the Washington Naval Treaty. After the construction of the carriers Yorktown and Enterprise, the U.S. was still permitted 15,000 long tons (15,000 t) to build a carrier.

Wasp was the first carrier fitted with a deck edge elevator.

 

The Navy sought to squeeze a large air group onto a ship with nearly 25% less displacement than the Yorktown-class. In order to save weight and space, Wasp was constructed with low-power machinery (compare Wasp's 75,000 shp (56,000 kW) machinery with Yorktown's 120,000 shp (89,000 kW), Essex-class's 150,000 shp (110,000 kW), and the Independence-class's 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)).

 

Additionally, Wasp was launched with almost no armor, modest speed and, more significantly, no protection from torpedoes. Absence of side protection of the boilers and internal aviation fuel stores "doomed her to a blazing demise". These were inherent design flaws that were recognized when constructed but could not be remedied within the allowed tonnage.[3] These flaws, combined with a relative lack of damage control experience in the early days of the war, were to prove fatal.[citation needed]

 

Wasp was the first carrier fitted with a deck edge elevator. The elevator consisted of a platform for the front wheels and an outrigger for the tail wheel. The two arms on the sides moved the platform in a half-circle up and down between the flight deck and the hangar deck.

Service history

Inter-war period

 

She was laid down on 1 April 1936 at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts; launched on 4 April 1939, sponsored by Carolyn Edison (wife of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison), and commissioned on 25 April 1940 at the Army Quartermaster Base, South Boston, Massachusetts, Captain John W. Reeves, Jr. in command.

 

Wasp remained at Boston through May, fitting out, before she got underway on 5 June 1940 for calibration tests on her radio direction finder gear. After further fitting out while anchored in Boston harbor, the new aircraft carrier steamed independently to Hampton Roads, Virginia; anchoring there on 24 June. Four days later, she sailed for the Caribbean in company with destroyer Morris.

 

En route, she conducted the first of many carrier qualification tests. Among the earliest of the qualifiers was Lieutenant, junior grade David McCampbell, who later became the Navy's top-scoring "ace" in World War II. Wasp arrived at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in time to "dress ship" in honor of Independence Day.

 

A fatal incident marred the carrier's shakedown. On 9 July, one of her Vought SB2U-2 Vindicator dive bombers crashed 2 nautical miles (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) from the ship. Wasp bent on flank speed to close, as did the plane-guarding destroyer Morris. The latter's boats recovered items from the plane's baggage compartment, but the plane itself had gone down with its crew of two.

 

Wasp departed Guantanamo Bay on 11 July and returned to Hampton Roads four days later. There, she embarked planes from the 1st Marine Air Group and took them to sea for qualification trials. Operating off the southern drill grounds, the ship and her planes honed their skills for a week before the Marines and their planes were disembarked at Norfolk, and the carrier moved north to Boston for post-shakedown repairs.

 

While at Boston, she fired a 21-gun salute and rendered honors to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose yacht, Potomac, stopped briefly at the Boston Navy Yard on 10 August.

 

Wasp departed the Army Quartermaster Base on the 21st to conduct steering drills and full-power trials. Late the following morning, she got underway for Norfolk, Virginia. For the next few days, while destroyer Ellis operated as plane guard, Wasp launched and recovered her aircraft: fighters from Fighter Squadron 7 (VF-7) and scout bombers from Scouting Squadron 72 (VS-72). The carrier put into the Norfolk Navy Yard on 28 August for repair work on her turbines – alterations which kept the ship in dockyard hands into the following month. Drydocked from 12–18 September, Wasp ran her final sea trials in Hampton Roads on 26 September 1940.

 

Now ready to join the fleet and assigned to Carrier Division 3, Patrol Force, Wasp shifted to Naval Operating Base, Norfolk (NOB Norfolk) from the Norfolk Navy Yard on 11 October. There she loaded 24 Curtiss P-40 fighters from the Army Air Corps' 8th Pursuit Group and nine North American O-47A reconnaissance aircraft from the 2nd Observation Squadron, as well as her own spares and utility unit Grumman J2F Duck flying boats on the 12th. Proceeding to sea for maneuvering room, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take-off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role that she performed so well in World War II.

 

Wasp then proceeded on toward Cuba in company with destroyers Plunkett and Niblack. Over the ensuing four days, the carrier's planes flew routine training flights, including dive-bombing and machine gun practices. Upon arrival at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Wasp's saluting batteries barked out a 13-gun salute to Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis, Commander, Atlantic Squadron, embarked in battleship Texas on 19 October.[1]

 

For the remainder of October and into November, Wasp trained in the Guantanamo Bay area. Her planes flew carrier qualification and refresher training flights, while her gunners sharpened up their skills in short-range battle practices at targets towed by the new fleet tug Seminole.

Wasp on 27 December 1940

 

Her work in the Caribbean finished, Wasp sailed for Norfolk and arrived shortly after noon on 26 November. She remained at the Norfolk Navy Yard through Christmas of 1940. Then, after first conducting degaussing experiments with the survey ship Hannibal, she steamed

independently to Cuba.

 

Arriving at Guantanamo Bay on 27 January 1941, Wasp conducted a regular routine of flight operations into February. With destroyer Walke as her plane guard, Wasp operated out of Guantanamo and Culebra, conducting her maneuvers with an impressive array of warships—battleship Texas, carrier Ranger, heavy cruisers Tuscaloosa, Wichita, and a host of destroyers. Wasp ran gunnery drills and exercises, as well as routine flight training evolutions into March. Underway for Hampton Roads on 4 March, the aircraft carrier conducted a night battle practice into the early morning hours of the 5th.

 

During the passage to Norfolk, heavy weather sprang up on the evening of 7 March. Wasp was steaming at standard speed, 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h). Off Cape Hatteras, a lookout spotted a red flare at 22:45, then a second set of flares at 22:59. At 23:29, with the aid of her searchlights, Wasp located the stranger in trouble. She was the lumber schooner George E. Klinck, bound from Jacksonville, Florida, to Southwest Harbor, Maine.

 

The sea, in the meantime, worsened from a state 5 to a state 7. Wasp lay to, maneuvering alongside at 00:07 on 8 March. At that time, four men from the schooner clambered up a swaying Jacob's ladder buffeted by gusts of wind. Then, despite the raging tempest, Wasp lowered a boat, at 00:16, and brought the remaining four men aboard from the foundering 152 ft (46 m) schooner.[1]

 

Later that day, Wasp disembarked her rescued mariners and immediately went into drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The ship received vital repairs to her turbines. Portholes on the third deck were welded over to provide better watertight integrity, and steel splinter shielding around her 5 in (130 mm) and 1.1 in (28 mm) batteries was added. Wasp was one of 14 ships to receive the early RCA CXAM-1 radar.[2] After those repairs and alterations were finished, Wasp got underway for the Virgin Islands on 22 March, arriving at St. Thomas three days later. She soon shifted to Guantanamo Bay and loaded maritime supplies for transportation to Norfolk.[1]

 

Returning to Norfolk on 30 March, Wasp conducted routine flight operations out of Hampton Roads over the ensuing days, into April. In company with Sampson, the carrier conducted an abortive search for a downed patrol plane in her vicinity on 8 April. For the remainder of the month, Wasp operated off the eastern seaboard between Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk conducting extensive flight and patrol operations with her embarked air group. She shifted to Bermuda in mid-May, anchoring at Grassy Bay on the 12th. Eight days later, the ship got underway in company with the heavy cruiser Quincy and the destroyers Livermore and Kearny for exercises at sea before returning to Grassy Bay on 3 June. Wasp sailed for Norfolk three days later with the destroyer Edison as her anti-submarine screen.

 

After a brief stay in the Tidewater area, Wasp headed back toward Bermuda on 20 June. Wasp and her escorts patrolled the stretch of the Atlantic between Bermuda and Hampton Roads until 5 July, as the Atlantic Fleet's neutrality patrol zones were extended eastward. Reaching Grassy Bay on that day, she remained in port a week before returning to Norfolk, sailing on 12 July in company with heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa and destroyers Grayson, Anderson, and Rowan.

 

Following her return to Norfolk on 13 July 1941, Wasp and her embarked air group conducted refresher training off the Virginia Capes. Meanwhile, the situation in the Atlantic had taken on a new complexion, with American participation in the Battle of the Atlantic only a matter of time, when the United States took another step toward involvement on the side of the British. To protect American security and to free British forces needed elsewhere, the United States made plans to occupy Iceland. Wasp played an important role in the move.

 

Late on the afternoon of 23 July, while the carrier lay alongside Pier 7, NOB Norfolk, 32 Army Air Forces (AAF) pilots reported on board "for temporary duty". At 06:30 the following day, Wasp's crew watched an interesting cargo come on board, hoisted on deck by the ship's cranes: 30 P-40Cs and three PT-17 trainers from the AAF 33rd Pursuit Squadron, 8th Air Group, Air Force Combat Command, home-based at Mitchel Field, New York. Three days later, four newspaper correspondents – including the noted journalist Fletcher Pratt — came on board.

 

The carrier had drawn the assignment of ferrying those vital army planes to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings. The American P-40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial American occupying forces. Wasp slipped out to sea on 28 July, with the destroyers O'Brien and Walke as plane guards. The heavy cruiser Vincennes later joined the formation at sea.

 

Within a few days, Wasp's group joined the larger Task Force 16—consisting of the battleship Mississippi, the heavy cruisers Quincy and Wichita, five destroyers, the auxiliary Semmes, the attack transport American Legion, the stores ship Mizar, and the amphibious cargo ship Almaack. Those ships, too, were bound for Iceland with the first occupation troops embarked. On the morning of 6 August, Wasp, Vincennes, Walke, and O'Brien parted company from Task Force 16 (TF 16). Soon thereafter, the carrier turned into the wind and commenced launching the planes from the 33rd Pursuit Squadron. As the P-40s and the trio of trainers droned on to Iceland, Wasp headed home for Norfolk, her three escorts in company. After another week at sea, the group arrived back at Norfolk on 14 August.

 

Wasp put to sea again on 22 August for carrier qualifications and refresher landings off the Virginia capes. Two days later, Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet, shifted his flag from the light cruiser Savannah to Wasp while the ships lay anchored in Hampton Roads. Underway on the 25th, in company with Savannah and the destroyers Monssen and Kearny, the aircraft carrier conducted flight operations over the ensuing days. Scuttlebutt on board the carrier had her steaming out in search of the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, which was reportedly roaming the western Atlantic in search of prey. Suspicions were confirmed for many on the 30th when the British battleship HMS Rodney was sighted some 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) away, on the same course as the Americans.

 

In any event, if they had been in search of a German raider, they did not make contact with her. Wasp and her escorts anchored in the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad on 2 September, where Admiral Hewitt shifted his flag back to Savannah. The carrier remained in port until 6 September, when she again put to sea on patrol "to enforce the neutrality of the United States in the Atlantic".

 

While at sea, the ship received the news of a German U-boat unsuccessfully attempting to attack the destroyer Greer. The U.S. had been getting more and more involved in the war; American warships were now convoying British merchantmen halfway across the Atlantic to the "mid-ocean meeting point" (MOMP).

 

Wasp's crew looked forward to returning to Bermuda on 18 September, but the new situation in the Atlantic meant a change in plans. Shifted to the colder climes of Newfoundland, the carrier arrived at Placentia Bay on 22 September and fueled from the oiler Salinas the following day. The respite in port was a brief one, however, as the ship got underway again, late on the 23rd, for Iceland. In company with Wichita, four destroyers, and the repair ship Vulcan, Wasp arrived at Hvalfjörður, Iceland, on the 28th. Two days earlier, Admiral Harold R. Stark, the Chief of Naval Operations had ordered American warships to do their utmost to destroy whatever German or Italian warships they found.

 

With the accelerated activity entailed in the US Navy's conducting convoy escort missions, Wasp put to sea on 6 October in company with Vincennes and four destroyers. Those ships patrolled the foggy, cold, North Atlantic until returning to Little Placentia Bay, Newfoundland on the 11th, anchoring during a fierce gale that lashed the bay with high winds and stinging spray. On 17 October, Wasp set out for Norfolk, patrolling en route, and arrived at her destination on the 20th. The carrier soon sailed for Bermuda and conducted qualifications and refresher training flights en route. Anchoring in Grassy Bay on 1 November, Wasp operated on patrols out of Bermuda for the remainder of the month.

 

October had seen the incidents involving American and German warships multiplying on the high seas. The Kearny was torpedoed on 17 October, the Salinas on the 28th, and in the most tragic incident that autumn, Reuben James was torpedoed and sunk with heavy loss of life on 30 October. Meanwhile, in the Pacific, tension between the U.S. and Japan increased almost with each passing day.

 

Wasp slipped out to sea from Grassy Bay on 3 December and rendezvoused with Wilson. While the destroyer operated as plane guard, Wasp's air group flew day and night refresher training missions. In addition, the two ships conducted gunnery drills before returning to Grassy Bay two days later, where she lay at anchor on 7 December 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[1]

World War II

Atlantic Fleet

Wasp and the heavy cruiser Wichita in Scapa Flow.

 

Meanwhile, naval authorities felt considerable anxiety that French warships in the Caribbean and West Indies were prepared to make a breakout and attempt to get back to France. Accordingly, Wasp, the light cruiser Brooklyn, and the destroyers Sterett and Wilson, departed Grassy Bay and headed for Martinique. Faulty intelligence gave American authorities in Washington the impression that the Vichy French armed merchant cruiser Barfleur had gotten underway for sea. The French were accordingly warned that the auxiliary cruiser would be sunk or captured unless she returned to port and resumed her internment. As it turned out, Barfleur had not departed after all, but had remained in harbor. The tense situation at Martinique eventually dissipated, and the crisis abated.

 

With tensions in the West Indies lessened considerably, Wasp departed Grassy Bay and headed for Hampton Roads three days before Christmas, in company with the Long Island, and escorted by the destroyers Stack and Sterett. Two days later, the carrier moored at the Norfolk Navy Yard to commence an overhaul that would last into 1942.

 

After departing Norfolk on 14 January 1942, Wasp headed north and touched at NS Argentia, Newfoundland, and Casco Bay, Maine. On 16 March, as part of Task Group 22.6 (TG 22.6), she headed back toward Norfolk. During the morning watch the next day, visibility lessened considerably; and, at 06:50, Wasp's bow plunged into the Stack's starboard side, punching a hole and completely flooding the destroyer's number one fireroom. Stack was detached and proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where her damage was repaired.

 

Meanwhile, Wasp made port at Norfolk on the 21st without further incident. Shifting back to Casco Bay three days later, she sailed for the British Isles on 26 March, with TF 39 under the command of Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Jr., on the Washington. That force was to reinforce the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. While en route, Rear Admiral Wilcox was swept overboard from the battleship and drowned. Although hampered by poor visibility conditions, Wasp planes took part in the search. Wilcox's body was spotted an hour later, face down in the raging seas, but it was not recovered due to the weather and the heavy seas.[1]

 

Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, who flew his flag on the Wichita, assumed command of TF 39. The American ships were met by a force based around the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh on 3 April. Those ships escorted them to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. While there, a Gloster Gladiator flown by Captain Henry Fancourt of the Royal Navy made the first landing of the war by a British plane on an American aircraft carrier when it landed on Wasp.[citation needed]

 

While the majority of TF 39 joined the British Home Fleet — being renumbered to TF 99 in the process — to cover convoys routed to North Russia, Wasp departed Scapa Flow on 9 April, bound for the Clyde estuary and Greenock, Scotland. On the following day, the carrier sailed up the Clyde River, past the John Brown Clydebank shipbuilding facilities. There, shipyard workers paused long enough from their labors to accord Wasp a tumultuous reception as she passed. Wasp's impending mission was an important one – one upon which the fate of the island bastion of Malta hung. That key isle was then being pounded daily by German and Italian planes. The British, faced with the loss of air superiority over the island, requested the use of a carrier to transport planes that could wrest air superiority from the Axis aircraft. Wasp drew ferry duty once again to participate in Operation Calendar, one of many Malta Convoys.

Spitfires and Wildcats aboard Wasp on 19 April 1942.

 

Having landed her torpedo planes and dive bombers at Hatston in Orkney, Wasp loaded 47 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V fighters of No. 603 Squadron RAF at Glasgow on 13 April, then departed on the 14th, this was the start of "Operation Calendar". Her screen consisted of Force "W" of the Home Fleet – a group that included the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the anti-aircraft cruisers HMS Cairo and Charybdis. Madison and Lang also served in Wasp's screen.

 

Wasp and her consorts passed through the Straits of Gibraltar under cover of the pre-dawn darkness on 19 April, avoiding the possibility of being discovered by Spanish or Axis agents. At 04:00 on 20 April, Wasp spotted 11 Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters on her deck and quickly launched them to form a combat air patrol (CAP) over Force "W". Meanwhile, the Spitfires were warming up their engines in the hangar deck spaces below. With the Wildcats patrolling overhead, the Spitfires were brought up singly on the after elevator, spotted for launch, and then given the go-ahead to take off. One by one, they roared down the deck and over the forward rounddown, until each Spitfire was aloft and winging toward Malta.

HMS Eagle accompanies Wasp on her second voyage to Malta

 

When the launch was complete, Wasp retired toward Gibraltar, having safely delivered her charges. However, those Spitfires, which flew in to augment the dwindling numbers of Gladiator and Hurricane fighters, were tracked by efficient Axis intelligence and their arrival pinpointed. Most of the Spitfires were destroyed by heavy German air raids which caught many planes on the ground.

 

As a result, it looked as if the acute situation required a second ferry run to Malta. Accordingly, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing that Malta would be "pounded to bits", asked President Roosevelt to allow Wasp to have "another good sting." Roosevelt responded in the affirmative. Wasp loaded another contingent of Spitfire Vs at King George V Dock Glasgow and sailed for the Mediterranean on 3 May. Again, Wasp proceeded unmolested. This time, the British carrier HMS Eagle accompanied Wasp, and she, too, carried a contingent of Spitfires bound for Malta. The Spitfires for Eagle had been loaded at Greenock, James Watt Dock, from lighters. This was the start of Operation Bowery.

 

The two Allied carriers reached their launching points early on Saturday, 9 May, with Wasp steaming in column ahead of Eagle at a distance of 1,000 yards (910 m). At 06:30, Wasp commenced launching planes – 11 Wildcats of VF-71 to serve as CAP over the task force. First, Eagle flew off her 17 Spitfires in two waves; then Wasp flew off 47 more. The first Spitfire took off at 06:43, piloted by Sergeant-Pilot Herrington, but lost power soon after takeoff and plunged into the sea, with loss of pilot and aircraft. The other planes flew off safely and formed up to fly to Malta. An auxiliary fuel tank on another aircraft failed to draw; without the additional fuel the pilot could not make Malta, and his only alternatives were to land on board Wasp – with no tailhook – or to ditch and take his chances in the water.

 

Pilot Officer Jerrold Alpine Smith chose the former. Wasp bent on full speed and recovered the plane at 07:43. The Spitfire came to a stop just 15 feet (4.6 m) from the forward edge of the flight deck, making what one Wasp sailor observed to be a "one wire" landing. With her vital errand completed, Wasp set sail for the British Isles while a German radio station broadcast the startling news that the American carrier had been sunk; on 11 May, Prime Minister Churchill sent a message to Wasp: "Many thanks to you all for the timely help. Who said a wasp couldn't sting twice?"[1]

Pacific Fleet

 

Early in May 1942, almost simultaneously with Wasp's second Malta run—Operation Bowery—the Battle of the Coral Sea had been fought, then the Battle of Midway a month later. These battles reduced the U.S. to three carriers in the Pacific, and it became imperative to transfer Wasp.

 

Wasp was hurried back to the U.S. for alterations and repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard. During the carrier's stay in the Tidewater region, Captain Reeves – who had been promoted to flag rank – was relieved by Captain Forrest P. Sherman on 31 May. Departing Norfolk on 6 June, Wasp sailed with TF 37 which was built around the carrier and the battleship North Carolina and escorted by Quincy, San Juan and six destroyers. The group transited the Panama Canal on 10 June, at which time Wasp and her consorts became TF 18, the carrier flying the two-star flag of Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes.

 

Arriving at San Diego on 19 June, Wasp embarked the remainder of her complement of aircraft, Grumman TBF-1 Avengers and Douglas SBD-3 Dauntlesses, the former replacing the old Vindicators. On 1 July, she sailed for the Tonga Islands as part of the convoy for the five transports carrying the 2nd Marine Regiment.

 

Meanwhile, preparations to invade the Solomon Islands were proceeding to disrupt the Japanese offensive to establish a defensive perimeter around the edge of their "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere".

Wasp's flight deck, 1942.

 

On 4 July, while Wasp was en route to the South Pacific, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal. Allied planners realized Japanese operation of land-based aircraft from that key island would imperil Allied control of the New Hebrides and New Caledonia area. Plans were made to evict the Japanese before their Guadalcanal airfield became operational. Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley — with experience as Special Naval Observer in London— was detailed to take command of the operation; and he established his headquarters at Auckland, New Zealand. Since the Japanese had a foothold on Guadalcanal, time was of the essence; preparations for an allied invasion proceeded with secrecy and speed.

 

Wasp — together with the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise — was assigned to the Support Force under Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. Under the tactical command of Rear Admiral Noyes, embarked on Wasp, the carriers were to provide air support for the invasion and initiation of the Guadalcanal campaign.

 

Wasp and her airmen practiced day and night operations to hone their skills until Captain Sherman was confident that his airmen could perform their mission. "D-day" had originally been set for 1 August, but the late arrival of some of the transports carrying Marines pushed the date to 7 August.[1]

 

En route, Wasp's engines became a problem with a 14 July message from CTF 18 to CINCPAC reporting that she had suffered a casualty to her starboard high pressure turbine that even at lowest speeds was making a loud scraping noise limiting speed to only fifteen knots under her port engine thus making air operations entirely dependent on favorable wind. The ship's company was undertaking repairs, including lifting the turbine casing. Repairs to the rotor itself were proposed at "BLEACHER" (Tongatapu, Tonga Islands),[4] where the destroyer tender USS Whitney (AD-4) was stationed, with four days estimated for the work there. Wasp arrived 18 July for those repairs and on 21 July (21 0802 July) CTF 18 reported Wasp had successfully completed a trial making turns for twenty-seven knots with pre-casualty twenty-five knot operations possible with reduced reliability. Replacement blades available at Pearl Harbor and replacement of all three rows of blading was recommended after the ongoing operations were completed.[1][5][6]

 

Wasp, screened by the heavy cruiser San Francisco and Salt Lake City, and four destroyers, steamed westward toward Guadalcanal on the evening of 6 August until midnight. Then, she changed course to the eastward to reach her launch position 84 nautical miles (97 mi; 156 km) from Tulagi one hour before dawn. Wasp's first combat air patrol fighter took off at 05:57.

 

The early flights of Wildcats and Dauntlesses were assigned specific targets: Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Halavo, Port Purvis, Haleta, Bungana, and the radio station dubbed "Asses' Ears".

 

The Wildcats, led by Lieutenant Shands and his wingman Ensign S. W. Forrer, patrolled the north coast toward Gavatu. The other two headed for the seaplane facilities at Tanambogo. The Grummans, arriving simultaneously at daybreak, surprised the Japanese and strafed patrol planes and fighter-seaplanes in the area. Fifteen Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boats and seven Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane fighters were destroyed by Shands' fighters during low-level strafing passes. Shands was credited with four "Rufes" and one "Emily", while his wingman, Forrer, was credited with three "Rufes" and an "Emily". Lieutenant Wright and Ensign Kenton were credited with three patrol planes apiece and a motorboat tending the "Emilys"; Ensigns Reeves and Conklin were each credited with two and shared a fifth patrol plane between them. The strafing Wildcats also destroyed an aviation fuel truck and a truck loaded with spare parts.

 

Post-attack assessment estimated that the antiaircraft and shore battery sites pinpointed by intelligence had been destroyed by the Dauntless dive bombers in their first attack. None of Wasp's planes was shot down; but Ensign Reeves, landed his Wildcat aboard Enterprise after running low on fuel.

 

At 07:04, Wasp launched 12 Avengers loaded with bombs for use against land targets, and led by Lieutenant H. A. Romberg. The Avengers silenced resistance by bombing Japanese troop concentrations east of the knob of land known as Hill 281, in the Makambo-Sasapi sector, and the prison on Tulagi Island.

 

Some 10,000 men had been put ashore during the first day's operations against Guadalcanal, and met only slight resistance. On Tulagi, however, the Japanese resisted stoutly, retaining about 1⁄5 of the island by nightfall. Wasp, Saratoga, and Enterprise — with their screens – retired to the southward at nightfall.

F4Fs launching off Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942.

 

Wasp fighters led by Lieutenant C. S. Moffett maintained a continuous CAP over the transport area until noon on 8 August. Meanwhile, a scouting flight of 12 Dauntlesses led by Lieutenant Commander E. M. Snowden searched a sector to a radius of 220 nautical miles (250 mi; 410 km) from their carrier, extending it to include all of the Santa Isabel Island and the New Georgia groups.

 

The Dauntless pilots made no contact with the Japanese during their two hours in the air; but at 08:15, Snowden sighted a "Rufe" some 40 nautical miles (46 mi; 74 km) from Rekata Bay and shot the plane down with fixed .50 in (13 mm) machine guns.

 

Meanwhile, a large group of Japanese planes approached from Bougainville to attack the transports off Lunga Point. Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner ordered all transports to get underway and to assume cruising disposition. Eldridge was leading a formation of Dauntlesses from VS-71 against Mbangi Island, off Tulagi. His rear seat gunner, Aviation Chief Radioman L. A. Powers, assumed the formation of Japanese planes were friendly until six Zeroes bounced the first section with 12 unsuccessful firing passes.

 

Meanwhile, the leader of the last section of VS-71 – Lieutenant, junior grade Robert L. Howard – unsuccessfully attacked twin-engined Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" medium bombers heading for the American transports, and was engaged by four Zeroes escorting the bombers. Howard shot down one Zero with his fixed .50 in (13 mm) guns while his rear gunner, Seaman 2nd Class Lawrence P. Lupo, discouraged Japanese fighters attacking from astern.[1]

 

Wasp's casualties for the entire action on 7 and 8 August were:

 

One fighter pilot, Ens. Thaddeus J. Capowski, missing in action when he was separated from the formation. His parents (Mr and Mrs Walter Capowski of Yonkers NY) were notified of TJC's MIA status in early September 1942; shortly thereafter TJC was found safe and alive.

One scout bomber shot down; pilot Lieut. Dudley H. Adams wounded by explosive bullets and recovered by Dewey; Radioman-gunner Harry E. Elliott, ARM3c, missing, reported to have been killed before the crash.

One fighter landed in the water due to propeller trouble; pilot recovered.

One fighter crashed on deck; pilot injured; plane jettisoned overboard.

One fighter crashed into barrier first day; repaired and flown second day.

 

Total plane losses for Wasp were 3 Wildcat fighters and 1 Dauntless scout bomber. Against these, her planes destroyed 15 enemy flying boats, 8 floatplane fighters, and 1 Zero.[7]

 

At 18:07 on 8 August, Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher recommended to Ghormley, at Nouméa, that the air support force be withdrawn. Fletcher, concerned by the large numbers of Japanese planes that had attacked on the 8th, reported that he had only 78 fighters left (he had started with 99) and that fuel for the carriers was running low. Ghormley approved the recommendation, and Wasp joined Enterprise and Saratoga in retiring from Guadalcanal. By midnight, the landing had attained the immediate objectives. Japanese resistance – except for a few snipers – on Gavutu and Tanombogo had been overcome. Early on 9 August, a Japanese surface force engaged an American one in the Battle of Savo Island and retired with minimal damage after sinking four Allied heavy cruisers off Savo Island, including two that had served with Wasp in the Atlantic: the Vincennes and the Quincy. The early and unexpected withdrawal of the support force, including Wasp, when coupled with Allied losses in the Battle of Savo Island, jeopardized the success of the operation in the Solomons.

 

After the initial day's action in the Solomons campaign, the carrier spent the next month engaged in patrol and covering operations for convoys and resupply units headed for Guadalcanal. The Japanese began transporting reinforcements to contest the Allied forces.

 

Wasp was ordered south by Vice Admiral Fletcher to refuel and did not participate in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August. After fueling on 24 August Wasp hurried to the battle zone. Her total aircraft group was 26 Wildcats, 25 SBD Dauntlesses, and 11 TBF Avengers. (One SBD was earlier lost on 24 August by ditching in the sea because of engine trouble).[8] On the morning of 25 August, Wasp launched a search mission. The SBD of pilot Lieut. Chester V. Zalewski shot down two of Aichi E13A1 "Jake" floatplanes of the Atago (Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō's flagship). But the SBDs sighted no ships. The Japanese fleet had withdrawn out of range. At 13:26 on 25 Augustus, Wasp launched a search/attack mission of 24 SBDs and 10 TBFs against the convoy of Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka that seemed to be still within range. Although the SBDs shot down a flying boat, they couldn't find the enemy ships anymore.[8]

 

During the battle on 24 August Enterprise was damaged and had to return to port for repairs. Saratoga was torpedoed a week later and departed the South Pacific war zone for repairs as well. That left only two carriers in the southwest Pacific: Hornet—which had been in commission for only a year—and Wasp.[1]

Loss

 

On Tuesday, 15 September 1942, the carriers Wasp and Hornet and battleship North Carolina—with 10 other warships—were escorting the transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements. Wasp had drawn the job of ready-duty carrier and was operating some 150 nautical miles (170 mi; 280 km) southeast of San Cristobal Island. Her gasoline system was in use, as planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions; and Wasp had been at general quarters from an hour before sunrise until the time when the morning search returned to the ship at 10:00. Thereafter, the ship was in condition 2, with the air department at flight quarters. There was no contact with the Japanese during the day, with the exception of a Japanese four-engined flying boat downed by a Wasp Wildcat at 12:15.

 

About 14:20, the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight Wildcats and 18 Dauntlesses and to recover eight Wildcats and three Dauntlesses that had been airborne since before noon. Lt. (jg) Roland H. Kenton, USNR, flying a F4F3 of VF-71 was the last aircraft off the deck of Wasp. The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes, she then turned easily to starboard, the ship heeling slightly as the course change was made. At 14:44 a lookout reported "three torpedoes ... three points forward of the starboard beam".[1]

 

A spread of six Type 95 torpedoes were fired at Wasp at about 14:44 from the tubes of the B1 Type submarine I-19. Wasp put over her rudder hard to starboard to avoid the salvo, but it was too late. Three torpedoes struck in quick succession about 14:45; one actually broached, left the water, and struck the ship slightly above the waterline. All hit in the vicinity of the ship's gasoline tanks and magazines. Two of the spread of torpedoes passed ahead of Wasp and were observed passing astern of Helena before O'Brien was hit by one at 14:51 while maneuvering to avoid the other. The sixth torpedo passed either astern or under Wasp, narrowly missed Lansdowne in Wasp's screen about 14:48, was seen by Mustin in North Carolina's screen about 14:50, and struck North Carolina about 14:52.[9]

Wasp on fire shortly after being torpedoed.

 

There was a rapid succession of explosions in the forward part of the ship. Aircraft on the flight and hangar decks were thrown about and dropped on the deck with such force that landing gears snapped. Planes suspended in the hangar overheads fell and landed upon those on the hangar deck; fires broke out almost simultaneously in the hangar and below decks. Soon, the heat of the intense gasoline fires detonated the ready ammunition at the forward anti-aircraft guns on the starboard side, and fragments showered the forward part of the ship. The number two 1.1 in (28 mm) mount was blown overboard.

 

Water mains in the forward part of the ship had been rendered inoperable: there was no water available to fight the fire forward, and the fires continued to set off ammunition, bombs, and gasoline. As the ship listed 10-15° to starboard, oil and gasoline, released from the tanks by the torpedo hit, caught fire on the water.

 

Captain Sherman slowed to 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h), ordering the rudder put to port to try to get the wind on the starboard bow; he then went astern with right rudder until the wind was on the starboard quarter, in an attempt to keep the fire forward. At that point, flames made the central station unusable, and communication circuits went dead. Soon, a serious gasoline fire broke out in the forward portion of the hangar; within 24 minutes of the initial attack, there were three additional major gasoline vapor explosions. Ten minutes later, Sherman decided to abandon ship, as all fire-fighting was proving ineffectual. The survivors would have to be disembarked quickly to minimise loss of life.

 

After consulting with Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes, Captain Sherman ordered "abandon ship" at 15:20. All badly injured men were lowered into rafts or rubber boats. Many unwounded men had to abandon from aft because the forward fires were burning with such intensity. The departure, as Sherman observed it, looked "orderly", and there was no panic. The only delays occurred when many men showed reluctance to leave until all the wounded had been taken off. The abandonment took nearly 40 minutes, and at 16:00—satisfied that no one was left on board—Sherman abandoned the ship.

 

Although the submarine hazard caused the accompanying destroyers to lie well clear or to shift position, they carried out rescue operations until Laffey, Lansdowne, Helena, and Salt Lake City had 1,946 men embarked. The fires on Wasp, drifting, traveled aft and there were four violent explosions at nightfall. Lansdowne was ordered to torpedo the carrier and stand by until she was sunk.[1] Lansdowne's Mark 15 torpedoes had the same unrecognized flaws reported for the Mark 14 torpedo. The first two torpedoes were fired perfectly, but did not explode, leaving Lansdowne with only three more. The magnetic influence exploders on these were disabled and the depth set at 10 feet (3.0 m). All three detonated, but Wasp remained afloat for some time, sinking at 21:00.[10] 193 men had died and 366 were wounded during the attack. All but one of her 26 airborne aircraft made a safe trip to carrier Hornet nearby before Wasp sank, but 45 aircraft went down with the ship. Another Japanese submarine, I-15, duly observed and reported the sinking of the Wasp, as other US destroyers kept I-19 busy avoiding 80 depth charges. I-19 escaped safely.[1][11]

Kryžių kalnas, or the Hill of Crosses, (Lithuanian: Kryžių kalnas) is a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania. The precise origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain, but it is believed that the first crosses were placed on the former hill fort after the 1831 Uprising in Poland, Lithuania, and other western regions of the Tsarist Empire. Over the generations, not only crosses and crucifixes, but statues of the Virgin Mary, carvings of Lithuanian patriots and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by pilgrims. The exact number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 100,000 at present.

 

Over the generations, the place has come to signify the peaceful endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism despite the threats it faced throughout history. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863. These two uprisings are connected with the beginnings of the hill: as families could not locate bodies of perished rebels, they started putting up symbolic crosses in their memory.

 

When the old political structure of Eastern Europe fell apart in 1918, Lithuania once again declared its independence. Throughout this time, the Hill of Crosses was used as a place for Lithuanians to pray for peace, for their country, and for the loved ones they had lost during the Wars of Independence.

 

The site took on a special significance during the years 1944–1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. Continuing to travel to the hill and leave their tributes, Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, religion and heritage. It was a venue of peaceful resistance, although the Soviets worked hard to remove new crosses, and bulldozed the site at least three times (including attempts in 1963 and 1973). There were even rumors that the authorities planned to build a dam on the nearby Kulvė River, a tributary to Mūša, so that the hill would end up underwater.

 

On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses, declaring it a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice. In 2000 a Franciscan hermitage was opened nearby. The interior decoration draws links with La Verna, the mountain where St. Francis is said to have received his stigmata. The hill remains under nobody’s jurisdiction; therefore people are free to build crosses as they see fit.

 

Occasionally, significant parts of the site burn down in accidental fires. The site attracts pilgrims from across Europe, but especially Lithuania and Poland.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

(DSCN1914PowerLinesflickr102318)

 

My map location is not very precise because Flickr's maps are pretty screwball sometimes, but I gave the general idea.

 

"My thin white border is not so much a frame as a defense against Flickr's all dark background"

WWI @ Fort George NOTL, Ontario.

Kryžių kalnas, or the Hill of Crosses, (Lithuanian: Kryžių kalnas) is a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania. The precise origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain, but it is believed that the first crosses were placed on the former hill fort after the 1831 Uprising in Poland, Lithuania, and other western regions of the Tsarist Empire. Over the generations, not only crosses and crucifixes, but statues of the Virgin Mary, carvings of Lithuanian patriots and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by pilgrims. The exact number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 100,000 at present.

 

Over the generations, the place has come to signify the peaceful endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism despite the threats it faced throughout history. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863. These two uprisings are connected with the beginnings of the hill: as families could not locate bodies of perished rebels, they started putting up symbolic crosses in their memory.

 

When the old political structure of Eastern Europe fell apart in 1918, Lithuania once again declared its independence. Throughout this time, the Hill of Crosses was used as a place for Lithuanians to pray for peace, for their country, and for the loved ones they had lost during the Wars of Independence.

 

The site took on a special significance during the years 1944–1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. Continuing to travel to the hill and leave their tributes, Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, religion and heritage. It was a venue of peaceful resistance, although the Soviets worked hard to remove new crosses, and bulldozed the site at least three times (including attempts in 1963 and 1973). There were even rumors that the authorities planned to build a dam on the nearby Kulvė River, a tributary to Mūša, so that the hill would end up underwater.

 

On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses, declaring it a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice. In 2000 a Franciscan hermitage was opened nearby. The interior decoration draws links with La Verna, the mountain where St. Francis is said to have received his stigmata. The hill remains under nobody’s jurisdiction; therefore people are free to build crosses as they see fit.

 

Occasionally, significant parts of the site burn down in accidental fires. The site attracts pilgrims from across Europe, but especially Lithuania and Poland.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

I'm struggling to identify my precise movements on this afternoon, as my notes are sparse and I didn't have a current timetable. Often I found that by April stocks of the timetable book had sold out, with the new one coming into force in late May. No internet back then!

 

Anyhow, this is taken from the platform at the small halt here. The two locos in the yard appear to be 1042.545 and .517.

 

This place has a dark history, falling as it did in the Soviet zone of Austria, occupied from 1945-55 after which independence and neutrality for the country were agreed by the Allied powers. In the immediate aftermath of WW2 part of the works was taken over by the Soviet secret police (then NKVD), and used for torture and executions.

A Great Grey Owl lands perfectly on a stump in the open field

Official Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (GAEC) photo of the ubiquitous (at that time) and coveted (to this day) desktop model of the Lunar Excursion Module, manufactured by Precise Models, Elyria, Ohio. Appropriately enough, where I grew up.

A long, hand-held, over-exposed, tilt/shift image taken with a homemade lensbaby earlier this year at the Oregon coast, Cannon Beach to be precise. The combination of its imperfections grew on me. This is one thing that is unique about film though, that being the manner it behaves when extremely over-exposed. Whereas digital just blows out and detail fades to white, film still retains detail even when over-exposed, albeit with certain side effects such as color shifts, increased grain, lowered contrast, etc. Actually at a certain point you can turn the sun from a white circle to a black one with the right settings.

 

I deal with a lot of misconceptions when it comes to film, the most common being that film is dead. It always surprises me just how often I get asked this. Or maybe it just surprises me at how quickly people forget. They forget that silver based emulsions have been around for over 100 years, that through all this time film has been perfected and improved upon, that it still continues to advance, quietly keeping pace with digital advances, while in certain ways it runs far ahead. Many don't realize that film is even a viable way of capturing images anymore, adopting a digital or nothing approach, like film is obsolete. We tend to embrace the latest technology as an all or nothing, maybe that helps us justify all the money we spend on it while it is still in its infancy and we are operating under the yoke of planned obsolescence.

 

I choose to move pretty freely on both sides of the spectrum though. I realized long ago that it is limiting to take a "one or the other" approach and like to play to the strengths of each.

 

But I do admit, that while film is certainly not dead, nor is it even dying, the market does change, driven by supply and demand. And as the demand for some film shrinks, they disappear. Some are replaced, some aren't. Some new films come around. And some are just gone forever, such as HIE, Techpan, and soon Kodachrome. Lately it seems one of my favorite high speed films, Neopan 1600 is on its way out. That is a real shame, one less tool with which to create, to imagine, to dream with. You know? And I cannot help but feel a bit, just a tiny bit mind you, bitter when I see ads for Alien Skin or the Hipstamatic plug-in allowing people to mimic film qualities without actually having to shoot film, when that very lack of use is what is driving those same films away from the reach of film users. A weird irony that.

 

Anyway, did not want to get into a rant, and this isn't meant to be one. Just commenting on the circumstances. I have never been one to linger on what is lost or changed, but to rather concentrate on what I can do with what is at my disposal. Afterall, I like to find ways to push film and cameras beyond their designed and accepted uses.

 

Hence, this image. ;-)

Breitling Jet Team pulling up over the top at the Abbotsford International Airshow, part of their summer North American Tour. Thank you for coming.

County Waterford, Ireland.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012)

Lismore Castle

County Waterford, Ireland

Irland 2010.08.18 026.jpg

Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford

Lismore Castle is located in Ireland Lismore CastleLismore Castle

TypeVictorian

Site information

OwnerCavendish family

ConditionInhabited, grounds open to the public

Site history

Builtmost current structures circa 1850[1]

Built byDukes of Devonshire

MaterialsAssorted

Lismore Castle is a stately home located in the town of Lismore in County Waterford in Ireland, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire. It was largely re-built in the Gothic style during the mid-nineteenth century by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire.

 

Contents [hide]

1 Early history

2 The Earls of Cork & Burlington

3 The Dukes of Devonshire

4 References

5 External links

Early history[edit]

The castle site was originally occupied by Lismore Abbey, an important monastery and seat of learning established in the early 7th century. It was still an ecclesiastical centre when Henry II, King of England stayed here in 1171, and except for a brief period after 1185 when his son King John of England built a 'castellum' here, it served as the episcopal residence of the local bishop. In 1589, Lismore was leased and later acquired by Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh sold the property during his imprisonment for High Treason in 1602 to another infamous colonial adventurer, Richard Boyle, later 1st Earl of Cork.

 

The Earls of Cork & Burlington[edit]

Boyle came to Ireland from England in 1588 with only twenty-seven pounds in capital and proceeded to amass an extraordinary fortune. After purchasing Lismore he made it his principal seat and transformed it into a magnificent residence with impressive gabled ranges each side of the courtyard. He also built a castellated outer wall and a gatehouse known as the Riding Gate. The principal apartments were decorated with fretwork plaster ceilings, tapestry hangings, embroidered silks and velvet. It was here in 1627 that Robert Boyle The Father of Modern Chemistry, the fourteenth of the Earl's fifteen children, was born. The castle descended to another Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Cork & 3rd Earl of Burlington, who was a noted influence on Georgian architecture (and known in architectural histories as the Earl of Burlington).

 

Lismore featured in the Cromwellian wars when, in 1645, a force of Catholic confederacy commanded by Lord Castlehaven sacked the town and Castle. Some restoration was carried out by Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork (1612-1698) to make it habitable again but neither he nor his successors lived at Lismore.

 

The Dukes of Devonshire[edit]

The castle (along with other Boyle properties - Chiswick House, Burlington House, Bolton Abbey and Londesborough Hall) was acquired by the Cavendish family in 1753 when the daughter and heiress of the 4th Earl of Cork, Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754) married William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, a future Prime Minister of Great Britain & Ireland. Their son, the 5th Duke (1748-1811) carried out improvements at Lismore, notably the bridge across the river Blackwater in 1775 designed by Cork-born architect Thomas Ivory.

 

The 6th Duke (1790–1858), commonly known as 'the Bachelor Duke', was responsible for the castle's present appearance. He began transforming the castle into a fashionable 'quasi-feudal ultra-regal fortress' as soon as he succeeded his father in 1811, engaging the architect William Atkinson from 1812 to 1822 to rebuild the castle in the Gothic style, using cut stone shipped over from Derbyshire. Lismore was always the Bachelor Duke's favourite residence, but as he grew older his love for the place developed into a passion. In 1850 he engaged his architect Sir Joseph Paxton, the designer of The Crystal Palace, to carry out improvements and additions to the castle on a magnificent scale - so much so that the present skyline is largely Paxton's work. At this time J.G. Crace of London, the leading maker of Gothic Revival furniture and his partner the leading architect A.W.N. Pugin were commissioned to transform the ruined chapel of the old Bishop's Palace into a medieval-style banqueting hall, with a huge perpendicular stained-glass window, choir-stalls and Gothic stenciling on the walls and roof timbers. The chimney-piece, which was exhibited at the Medieval Court of the Great Exhibition of 1851, was also designed by Pugin (and Myers) but was originally intended for Horstead Place in Sussex, it was rejected because it was too elaborate and subsequently bought for Lismore - the Barchard family emblems later replaced with the present Irish inscription Cead Mille Failte: a hundred thousand welcomes. Pugin also designed other chimney-pieces and furnishings in the castle and after his death in 1851 Crace continued to supply furnishings in the Puginesque manner.

  

King Edward VII visiting the Duke of Devonshire in May 1904

In 1858, the Cavendish family sponsored a new bridge over the Blackwater, which replaced the one built in 1775. This new construction followed designs by Charles Tarrant and was done by E.P.Nagle and C.H.Hunt.[2]

 

After the bachelor Duke's death, Lismore remained substantially unaltered. Fred Astaire's sister, Adele lived in the castle after marrying Lord Charles Cavendish, a son of the 9th Duke and, after his death in 1944, continued to use the castle until shortly before her death in 1981.[3] The castle was inherited by his brother, Lord Andrew Cavendish upon Adele's remarriage in 1947.[4] It is still owned by the Dukes of Devonshire, but it is lived in for only a short part of the year. Chatsworth House is the main family seat and the home of the Dowager Duchess.

 

The 12th Duke, who succeeded to the title in 2004, continues to live primarily on the family's Bolton Abbey estate. His son, William Burlington maintains an apartment in the castle and recently converted the derelict west range (2006) into a contemporary art gallery, known as Lismore Castle Arts. For most of the year the family's private apartments at Lismore are available to rent by groups of up to twenty-three visitors.

 

In 2004 The Robert Boyle Science Room was opened nearby in the Lismore Heritage Centre dedicated to his life and works where students have the opportunity of studying science and participating in scientific experiments.

 

Recently Lismore Castle was used as Northanger Abbey in the 2007 ITV dramatisation of that name during its Jane Austen season.

 

The castle's gardens are open to the public and feature contemporary sculptures, including works by Anthony Gormley, Marzia Colonna and Eilís O'Connell. The upper garden is a 17th-century walled garden,[5] while much of the informal lower garden was designed in the 19th century.

  

Once upon a time - well around 1560 to be precise Mary, Queen of Scots loved to indulge herself in this the most famous of bath houses. It's built on two floors and was once attached to a boundary wall enclosing King James V's privy garden, sometimes acting as a summer house or little pavilion.

 

Scotland's Queen Mary had other ideas and during her 25 year reign, from 1542 to 1567 (her father died when she was 6 days old) legend tells the story that she would often come here to bathe in 100 bottles of the very finest (sweet) French wine, well when she became of age I guess!

 

Seemingly, when her washing was complete (nobody ever saw what she did) the wine would then be re-bottled by her servants and, on her own instructions, was to be presented as gifts to the residents who abided on the High Street.

 

Some Edinburgh tour buses often present this story although rumours that Scotland's Queen was also heard playing the Jew's harp while bathing here are firmly denied!

 

This new Edinburgh Tour bus, Volvo B5TL / Wright Gemini 3 number 236 (SJ16 CTZ) has quite a crowd on board and they're about to arrive at Holyrood Palace and Ms Sturgeon's house.

 

Lothian's new tour fleet is proving very popular with drivers and Julian Halstead says:

"The new buses are such a step change from the old ones. It's like driving a Rolls Royce round town all day!". JH.

 

For a numerical tour of Lothian's new tour fleet please click here as the story unfolds:

www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=one_set72157672...

The Church of St Thomas the Martyr (known as St Thomas' Newcastle) in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a prominent city centre landmarks, located close to both universities, the city hall and main shopping district in the Haymarket.

 

It is a 19th-century Anglican re-foundation of a medieval chapel, traditionally said to have been created by one of the assassins of Thomas Becket. Revitalised and appointed as Resource Church for the Diocese of Newcastle in 2019, with a new minister and staff team, it has now become a popular church for students and young adults.

 

History

Dedication and foundation

The church is dedicated to St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in 1170 by a group of four English knights acting – so they mistakenly believed – on the orders of Henry II. Since Becket had defended the privileges of the Church against Henry, he was regarded as a martyr and canonized in 1173. The four murderers were instructed, in order to atone for their sins, to serve a period as confreres (associate brothers) of the Knights Templar, but it is believed that one of them, Hugh de Morville, also elected to found a chapel dedicated to the saint as a private penance. It was this chapel which would eventually become the Church of St Thomas the Martyr. The precise foundation date is uncertain, but probably in the 1170s, and certainly by the early 13th century.

 

De Morville’s chapel

De Morville – if indeed he was responsible (there is no absolute proof) – set up his chapel at a riverside location, next to what is now the Swing Bridge but what was then a wooden affair and the only bridge across the Tyne at Newcastle. By 1248 both bridge and chapel were in the care of a Keeper, known only as Lawrence. In that year much of the town was destroyed by fire; the chapel escaped, but the bridge was badly damaged and Lawrence was given responsibility for raising money for rebuilding, which included the reconstruction of the bridge in stone.

 

In 1329 one William Heron founded a Chantry within St Thomas’, dedicated to St Anne and endowed with £4 17s per annum; a second Chantry, dedicated to St Mary, had £4 3s 6d a year. In 1339 the chapel bridge was once more severely damaged, this time by flood, and it remained ruinous for much of the 14th century.

 

The chapel possessed three cellars, one of which was rented out by William Spyn, the then chaplain, at 14 shillings a year in 1347. Further income was raised through a windmill below Jesmond (confirmed as the chapel's property in 1408) and more land, in Whickham, left to the chapel in the will of Roger Thornton in 1429.

 

St Mary Magdalene’s Hospital and the move to the new site

The Hospital of St Mary Magdalene was founded just outside Newcastle by Henry I to cater for those afflicted with leprosy, a disease brought to the Country by returning Crusaders. The hospital was located near what is now the northern end of Northumberland Street. Although a religious house, the hospital was overlooked in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century English Reformation, and the Hospital continues to operate into the present day, though evolving into a charity rather than a working hospital by the early 19th century. James I incorporated the hospital and the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr into a single institution under the government of a Master, the first of these being a Mr Jennison.

 

In 1732 the Mayor and Corporation of Newcastle, who acted as patrons of the united hospital and chapel and who were empowered to alter the statutes, beautified the chapel and made it a Chapel of ease for St Nicholas Church. At that time it seated 300 people.

 

Alterations were made to the chapel in 1770 and subsequently, but it was damaged in a great flood in 1771. Although the building was not substantially affected, by 1827 it was felt the old chapel needed replacing and it was closed in March that year, with a replacement built on the site of St Mary Magdalene's Hospital.

 

1830 new church

The Newcastle architect John Dobson was hired to design the new church, and he produced an elegant Gothic-style building at a cost of £6000. The present church was built by John Dobson, between 1827 and 1830. Galleries were added in 1837 and the seating was replaced in 1881. In 1972 the level of the High Altar was lowered, the chancel screen removed and the chancel extended into the nave, with a nave altar. The present church is a Grade II* Listed Building.

 

Exodus to Jesmond

1856 saw the untimely death of Rev Richard Clayton, Master of St Thomas's, and a local evangelical light. In his place the city authorities decided to appoint Clement Moody, vicar of Newcastle and a high churchman opposed to evangelicalism. A large number of the congregation of St Thomas's were deeply unhappy. A committee was formed with the intention of planting a new church nearby, which "will form a central point for the maintenance and promulgation of sound scriptural and evangelical truth in a large and populous town."[citation needed] A new church building, Jesmond Parish Church, was designed by the architect John Dobson and consecrated by 1861.

 

The modern church

Legal status

The modern St Thomas the Martyr has no parish, but neither is it a Peculiar (ecclesiastical enclave), making it unique in the Church of England. It is governed by the Body Corporate (comprising the senior priest and Churchwardens) and ultimately through Acts of Parliament. It lies within the Diocese of Newcastle, the Archdeaconry of Northumberland and the Deanery of Newcastle. It was formally separated from the Hospital of St Mary Magdalene in 1978, but the senior priest of the church is still referred to as the Master.

 

Services and civic function

Despite having no parish, the church maintains a normal routine of regular weekly services. Currently, these consist of 10.30am Communion service (Eucharist) and a 6.30pm communion service on Sundays and a service of Holy Communion at 12.30pm on Wednesdays.

 

However, the church is regarded as serving the whole city, the universities and various organisations and communities. Consequently, it serves as the venue for a busy programme of civic and private services. Its proximity to the City Hall and to both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities mean it acts as semi-official church to these institutions, but it also provides regular services for the Royal British Legion, various Regimental Associations and the Mothers’ Union, amongst other groups. In recent years, conductor and organist Miles Cragg has presided at the organ for a number of carol services. A choir comprising members of King's College, later Newcastle University, always sang at the University Carol Service in December and occasionally for funerals of members of staff of the University.

 

St Thomas' launched in October 2019 as the Resource Church for the Diocese of Newcastle. A new staff team were employed and a team from St Michael le Belfrey in York was sent to relaunch the church. The congregation very quickly grew and the church now attracts large numbers of young people each week.

 

Ethos

St Thomas's has a reputation for involvement in social issues, most notably trade justice, developing countries' debt and related subjects. This has been expressed through major campaigns, such as involvement in the Jubilee 2000 and Make Poverty History movements, and also on a smaller scale, such as support for Fair Trade and sale of fairly traded goods in the church's One World Shop. In addition a variety of national, international and local charitable causes are supported through a range of methods.

 

2019 building project

Starting in 2019, plans were drawn up for a major renovation and reordering of the Church building, and was completed in 2022. As part of the work, the floors were removed and rebuilt, new partitions were inserted in order to create meeting rooms and other spaces in the former aisles of the church, and the 19th century bench seating was removed and replaced with standard stackable chairs. The galleries of 1837 have been enclosed in glass, and the raked seating has been floored over in order to create additional rooms. A full-immersion font was installed in the nave of the church.

 

List of Masters

Laurence, in 1269.

William of Stanhope occurs in 1289 and 1297.

Nicholas de Stockton occurs in 1341.

William Spynn was master and keeper of Tyne Bridge in 1347 and 1352.

John Wernmouth occurs in 1411 and 1413.

John Crofte appointed by the corporation in 1426.

Thomas Scott occurs in 1498.

John Brandlyng, clerk, appointed 30 August 1538.

Cuthbert Ellison held this office before 13 March 1556.

Sir George Carr, priest, appointed 24 July 1565.

Robert Jennison 1611 - 1652

Cuthbert Sydenham 1652 - 1653

Samuel Hammond 1653 - ????

Robert Bonner 1662 - 1676

Thomas Davison 1676 - 1716

John Chilton 1716 - 1717

Robert Thomlinson 1717 - 1748

Henry Featherstonehalgh 1748 - 1779

Nathanael Clayton 1779 - 1786

Henry Ridley 1786 - 1825

John Smith 1825 - 1826

Richard Clayton 1826 - 1856

Clement Moody 1856 - 1871

Marsden Gibson 1872 - 1894

Alexander James Harrison 1894 - 1914

Jesse Hickling Ison 1914 - 1940

George Edwin Jenkins 1941 - 1947

Albert John Bennitt 1948 - 1969

John Lloyd Rochfort Crawley 1969 - 1974[3]

Ian Harker 1975 - 1983

David John Parker 1984 - 1989

Ian David Houghton 1990 - 1995

John Christopher (Kit) Widdows 1995 - 2007

Catherine Mary Lack 2009 - 2018

Ben Doolan 2019–Present

 

Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.

 

Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, the settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the industrial revolution. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it separated and formed a county of itself. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear. Since 2018, the city council has been part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

 

The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.

 

Roman settlement

The history of Newcastle dates from AD 122, when the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at that point. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the Roman wall built across northern England along the Tyne–Solway gap. Hadrian's Wall ran through present-day Newcastle, with stretches of wall and turrets visible along the West Road, and at a temple in Benwell. Traces of a milecastle were found on Westgate Road, midway between Clayton Street and Grainger Street, and it is likely that the course of the wall corresponded to present-day Westgate Road. The course of the wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend, with the fort of Arbeia down-river at the mouth of the Tyne, on the south bank in what is now South Shields. The Tyne was then a wider, shallower river at this point and it is thought that the bridge was probably about 700 feet (210 m) long, made of wood and supported on stone piers. It is probable that it was sited near the current Swing Bridge, due to the fact that Roman artefacts were found there during the building of the latter bridge. Hadrian himself probably visited the site in 122. A shrine was set up on the completed bridge in 123 by the 6th Legion, with two altars to Neptune and Oceanus respectively. The two altars were subsequently found in the river and are on display in the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

 

The Romans built a stone-walled fort in 150 to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge, and this took the name of the bridge so that the whole settlement was known as Pons Aelius. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge, on the site of the present Castle Keep. Pons Aelius is last mentioned in 400, in a Roman document listing all of the Roman military outposts. It is likely that nestling in the shadow of the fort would have been a small vicus, or village. Unfortunately, no buildings have been detected; only a few pieces of flagging. It is clear that there was a Roman cemetery near Clavering Place, behind the Central station, as a number of Roman coffins and sarcophagi have been unearthed there.

 

Despite the presence of the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not particularly important among the northern Roman settlements. The most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum (York) through Corstopitum (Corbridge) and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger and more populous than Pons Aelius.

 

Anglo-Saxon development

The Angles arrived in the North-East of England in about 500 and may have landed on the Tyne. There is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon settlement on or near the site of Pons Aelius during the Anglo-Saxon age. The bridge probably survived and there may well have been a small village at the northern end, but no evidence survives. At that time the region was dominated by two kingdoms, Bernicia, north of the Tees and ruled from Bamburgh, and Deira, south of the Tees and ruled from York. Bernicia and Deira combined to form the kingdom of Northanhymbra (Northumbria) early in the 7th century. There were three local kings who held the title of Bretwalda – 'Lord of Britain', Edwin of Deira (627–632), Oswald of Bernicia (633–641) and Oswy of Northumbria (641–658). The 7th century became known as the 'Golden Age of Northumbria', when the area was a beacon of culture and learning in Europe. The greatness of this period was based on its generally Christian culture and resulted in the Lindisfarne Gospels amongst other treasures. The Tyne valley was dotted with monasteries, with those at Monkwearmouth, Hexham and Jarrow being the most famous. Bede, who was based at Jarrow, wrote of a royal estate, known as Ad Murum, 'at the Wall', 12 miles (19 km) from the sea. It is thought that this estate may have been in what is now Newcastle. At some unknown time, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester. The reason for this title is unknown, as we are unaware of any specific monasteries at the site, and Bede made no reference to it. In 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Danish Viking conqueror of York, led an army that attacked and pillaged various monasteries in the area, and it is thought that Monkchester was also pillaged at this time. Little more was heard of it until the coming of the Normans.

 

Norman period

After the arrival of William the Conqueror in England in 1066, the whole of England was quickly subjected to Norman rule. However, in Northumbria there was great resistance to the Normans, and in 1069 the newly appointed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines and 700 of his men were killed by the local population at Durham. The Northumbrians then marched on York, but William was able to suppress the uprising. That same year, a second uprising occurred when a Danish fleet landed in the Humber. The Northumbrians again attacked York and destroyed the garrison there. William was again able to suppress the uprising, but this time he took revenge. He laid waste to the whole of the Midlands and the land from York to the Tees. In 1080, William Walcher, the Norman bishop of Durham and his followers were brutally murdered at Gateshead. This time Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, devastated the land between the Tees and the Tweed. This was known as the 'Harrying of the North'. This devastation is reflected in the Domesday Book. The destruction had such an effect that the North remained poor and backward at least until Tudor times and perhaps until the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle suffered in this respect with the rest of the North.

 

In 1080 William sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'. This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey). It was this castle that gave Newcastle its name. In 1095 the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, rose up against the king, William Rufus, and Rufus sent an army north to recapture the castle. From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons. The Northumbrian earldom was abolished and a Sheriff of Northumberland was appointed to administer the region. In 1091 the parish church of St Nicholas was consecrated on the site of the present Anglican cathedral, close by the bailey of the new castle. The church is believed to have been a wooden building on stone footings.

 

Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte and bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,444. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III. There were at that time no town walls and when attacked by the Scots, the townspeople had to crowd into the bailey for safety. It is probable that the new castle acted as a magnet for local merchants because of the safety it provided. This in turn would help to expand trade in the town. At this time wool, skins and lead were being exported, whilst alum, pepper and ginger were being imported from France and Flanders.

 

Middle Ages

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, the centre for assembled armies. The Border war against Scotland lasted intermittently for several centuries – possibly the longest border war ever waged. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, David 1st of Scotland and his son were granted Cumbria and Northumberland respectively, so that for a period from 1139 to 1157, Newcastle was effectively in Scottish hands. It is believed that during this period, King David may have built the church of St Andrew and the Benedictine nunnery in Newcastle. However, King Stephen's successor, Henry II was strong enough to take back the Earldom of Northumbria from Malcolm IV.

 

The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle, in 1174, after being captured at the Battle of Alnwick. Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town and Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.

 

Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river, an indication that trade was increasing in Newcastle. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Most of the Newcastle merchants were situated near the river, below the Castle. The earliest known charter was dated 1175 in the reign of Henry II, giving the townspeople some control over their town. In 1216 King John granted Newcastle a mayor[8] and also allowed the formation of guilds (known as Mysteries). These were cartels formed within different trades, which restricted trade to guild members. There were initially twelve guilds. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields.

 

In 1265, the town was granted permission to impose a 'Wall Tax' or Murage, to pay for the construction of a fortified wall to enclose the town and protect it from Scottish invaders. The town walls were not completed until early in the 14th century. They were two miles (3 km) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. They had six main gates, as well as some smaller gates, and had 17 towers. The land within the walls was divided almost equally by the Lort Burn, which flowed southwards and joined the Tyne to the east of the Castle. The town began to expand north of the Castle and west of the Lort Burn with various markets being set up within the walls.

 

In 1400 Henry IV granted a new charter, creating a County corporate which separated the town, but not the Castle, from the county of Northumberland and recognised it as a "county of itself" with a right to have a sheriff of its own. The burgesses were now allowed to choose six aldermen who, with the mayor would be justices of the peace. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold borough courts in the Guildhall.

 

Religious houses

During the Middle Ages a number of religious houses were established within the walls: the first of these was the Benedictine nunnery of St Bartholomew founded in 1086 near the present-day Nun Street. Both David I of Scotland and Henry I of England were benefactors of the religious house. Nothing of the nunnery remains now.

 

The friary of Blackfriars, Newcastle (Dominican) was established in 1239. These were also known as the Preaching Friars or Shod Friars, because they wore sandals, as opposed to other orders. The friary was situated in the present-day Friars Street. In 1280 the order was granted royal permission to make a postern in the town walls to communicate with their gardens outside the walls. On 19 June 1334, Edward Balliol, claimant to be King of Scotland, did homage to King Edward III, on behalf of the kingdom of Scotland, in the church of the friary. Much of the original buildings of the friary still exist, mainly because, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the friary of Blackfriars was rented out by the corporation to nine of the local trade guilds.

 

The friary of Whitefriars (Carmelite) was established in 1262. The order was originally housed on the Wall Knoll in Pandon, but in 1307 it took over the buildings of another order, which went out of existence, the Friars of the Sac. The land, which had originally been given by Robert the Bruce, was situated in the present-day Hanover Square, behind the Central station. Nothing of the friary remains now.

 

The friary of Austinfriars (Augustinian) was established in 1290. The friary was on the site where the Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682. The friary was traditionally the lodging place of English kings whenever they visited or passed through Newcastle. In 1503 Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England, stayed two days at the friary on her way to join her new husband James IV of Scotland.

 

The friary of Greyfriars (Franciscans) was established in 1274. The friary was in the present-day area between Pilgrim Street, Grey Street, Market Street and High Chare. Nothing of the original buildings remains.

 

The friary of the Order of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, was established in 1360. The order devoted a third of its income to buying back captives of the Saracens, during the Crusades. Their house was on the Wall Knoll, in Pandon, to the east of the city, but within the walls. Wall Knoll had previously been occupied by the White Friars until they moved to new premises in 1307.

 

All of the above religious houses were closed in about 1540, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.

 

An important street running through Newcastle at the time was Pilgrim Street, running northwards inside the walls and leading to the Pilgrim Gate on the north wall. The street still exists today as arguably Newcastle's main shopping street.

 

Tudor period

The Scottish border wars continued for much of the 16th century, so that during that time, Newcastle was often threatened with invasion by the Scots, but also remained important as a border stronghold against them.

 

During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was leased to nine craft guilds to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day. The priories at Tynemouth and Durham were also dissolved, thus ending the long-running rivalry between Newcastle and the church for control of trade on the Tyne. A little later, the property of the nunnery of St Bartholomew and of Grey Friars were bought by Robert Anderson, who had the buildings demolished to build his grand Newe House (also known as Anderson Place).

 

With the gradual decline of the Scottish border wars the town walls were allowed to decline as well as the castle. By 1547, about 10,000 people were living in Newcastle. At the beginning of the 16th century exports of wool from Newcastle were more than twice the value of exports of coal, but during the century coal exports continued to increase.

 

Under Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annexe Gateshead as its suburb. The main reason for this was to allow the Newcastle Hostmen, who controlled the export of Tyne coal, to get their hands on the Gateshead coal mines, previously controlled by the Bishop of Durham. However, when Mary I came to power, Dudley met his downfall and the decision was reversed. The Reformation allowed private access to coal mines previously owned by Tynemouth and Durham priories and as a result coal exports increase dramatically, from 15,000 tons in 1500 to 35,000 tons in 1565, and to 400,000 tons in 1625.

 

The plague visited Newcastle four times during the 16th century, in 1579 when 2,000 people died, in 1589 when 1700 died, in 1595 and finally in 1597.

 

In 1600 Elizabeth I granted Newcastle a charter for an exclusive body of electors, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses. The charter also gave the Hostmen exclusive rights to load coal at any point on the Tyne. The Hostmen developed as an exclusive group within the Merchant Adventurers who had been incorporated by a charter in 1547.

 

Stuart period

In 1636 there was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in Newcastle. There had been several previous outbreaks of the disease over the years, but this was the most serious. It is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via ships that were trading between the Tyne and that country. It first appeared in the lower part of the town near the docks but gradually spread to all parts of the town. As the disease gained hold the authorities took measures to control it by boarding up any properties that contained infected persons, meaning that whole families were locked up together with the infected family members. Other infected persons were put in huts outside the town walls and left to die. Plague pits were dug next to the town's four churches and outside the town walls to receive the bodies in mass burials. Over the course of the outbreak 5,631 deaths were recorded out of an estimated population of 12,000, a death rate of 47%.

 

In 1637 Charles I tried to raise money by doubling the 'voluntary' tax on coal in return for allowing the Newcastle Hostmen to regulate production and fix prices. This caused outrage amongst the London importers and the East Anglian shippers. Both groups decided to boycott Tyne coal and as a result forced Charles to reverse his decision in 1638.

 

In 1640 during the Second Bishops' War, the Scots successfully invaded Newcastle. The occupying army demanded £850 per day from the Corporation to billet the Scottish troops. Trade from the Tyne ground to a halt during the occupation. The Scots left in 1641 after receiving a Parliamentary pardon and a £4,000,000 loan from the town.

 

In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles realised the value of the Tyne coal trade and therefore garrisoned Newcastle. A Royalist was appointed as governor. At that time, Newcastle and King's Lynn were the only important seaports to support the crown. In 1644 Parliament blockaded the Tyne to prevent the king from receiving revenue from the Tyne coal trade. Coal exports fell from 450,000 to 3,000 tons and London suffered a hard winter without fuel. Parliament encouraged the coal trade from the Wear to try to replace that lost from Newcastle but that was not enough to make up for the lost Tyneside tonnage.

 

In 1644 the Scots crossed the border. Newcastle strengthened its defences in preparation. The Scottish army, with 40,000 troops, besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison of 1,500 surrendered. During the siege, the Scots bombarded the walls with their artillery, situated in Gateshead and Castle Leazes. The Scottish commander threatened to destroy the steeple of St Nicholas's Church by gunfire if the mayor, Sir John Marley, did not surrender the town. The mayor responded by placing Scottish prisoners that they had captured in the steeple, so saving it from destruction. The town walls were finally breached by a combination of artillery and sapping. In gratitude for this defence, Charles gave Newcastle the motto 'Fortiter Defendit Triumphans' to be added to its coat of arms. The Scottish army occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years. The coal taxes had to pay for the Scottish occupation. In 1645 Charles surrendered to the Scots and was imprisoned in Newcastle for nine months. After the Civil War the coal trade on the Tyne soon picked up and exceeded its pre-war levels.

 

A new Guildhall was completed on the Sandhill next to the river in 1655, replacing an earlier facility damaged by fire in 1639, and became the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council. In 1681 the Hospital of the Holy Jesus was built partly on the site of the Austin Friars. The Guildhall and Holy Jesus Hospital still exist.

 

Charles II tried to impose a charter on Newcastle to give the king the right to appoint the mayor, sheriff, recorder and town clerk. Charles died before the charter came into effect. In 1685, James II tried to replace Corporation members with named Catholics. However, James' mandate was suspended in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution welcoming William of Orange. In 1689, after the fall of James II, the people of Newcastle tore down his bronze equestrian statue in Sandhill and tossed it into the Tyne. The bronze was later used to make bells for All Saints Church.

 

In 1689 the Lort Burn was covered over. At this time it was an open sewer. The channel followed by the Lort Burn became the present day Dean Street. At that time, the centre of Newcastle was still the Sandhill area, with many merchants living along the Close or on the Side. The path of the main road through Newcastle ran from the single Tyne bridge, through Sandhill to the Side, a narrow street which climbed steeply on the north-east side of the castle hill until it reached the higher ground alongside St Nicholas' Church. As Newcastle developed, the Side became lined with buildings with projecting upper stories, so that the main street through Newcastle was a narrow, congested, steep thoroughfare.

 

In 1701 the Keelmen's Hospital was built in the Sandgate area of the city, using funds provided by the keelmen. The building still stands today.

 

Eighteenth century

In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century.

 

In 1715, during the Jacobite rising in favour of the Old Pretender, an army of Jacobite supporters marched on Newcastle. Many of the Northumbrian gentry joined the rebels. The citizens prepared for its arrival by arresting Jacobite supporters and accepting 700 extra recruits into the local militia. The gates of the city were closed against the rebels. This proved enough to delay an attack until reinforcements arrived forcing the rebel army to move across to the west coast. The rebels finally surrendered at Preston.

 

In 1745, during a second Jacobite rising in favour of the Young Pretender, a Scottish army crossed the border led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Once again Newcastle prepared by arresting Jacobite supporters and inducting 800 volunteers into the local militia. The town walls were strengthened, most of the gates were blocked up and some 200 cannon were deployed. 20,000 regulars were billeted on the Town Moor. These preparations were enough to force the rebel army to travel south via the west coast. They were eventually defeated at Culloden in 1746.

 

Newcastle's actions during the 1715 rising in resisting the rebels and declaring for George I, in contrast to the rest of the region, is the most likely source of the nickname 'Geordie', applied to people from Tyneside, or more accurately Newcastle. Another theory, however, is that the name 'Geordie' came from the inventor of the Geordie lamp, George Stephenson. It was a type of safety lamp used in mining, but was not invented until 1815. Apparently the term 'German Geordie' was in common use during the 18th century.

 

The city's first hospital, Newcastle Infirmary opened in 1753; it was funded by public subscription. A lying-in hospital was established in Newcastle in 1760. The city's first public hospital for mentally ill patients, Wardens Close Lunatic Hospital was opened in October 1767.

 

In 1771 a flood swept away much of the bridge at Newcastle. The bridge had been built in 1250 and repaired after a flood in 1339. The bridge supported various houses and three towers and an old chapel. A blue stone was placed in the middle of the bridge to mark the boundary between Newcastle and the Palatinate of Durham. A temporary wooden bridge had to be built, and this remained in use until 1781, when a new stone bridge was completed. The new bridge consisted of nine arches. In 1801, because of the pressure of traffic, the bridge had to be widened.

 

A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The facilities at the Castle for holding assizes, which had been condemned for their inconvenience and unhealthiness, were replaced when the Moot Hall opened in August 1812.

 

Victorian period

Present-day Newcastle owes much of its architecture to the work of the builder Richard Grainger, aided by architects John Dobson, Thomas Oliver, John and Benjamin Green and others. In 1834 Grainger won a competition to produce a new plan for central Newcastle. He put this plan into effect using the above architects as well as architects employed in his own office. Grainger and Oliver had already built Leazes Terrace, Leazes Crescent and Leazes Place between 1829 and 1834. Grainger and Dobson had also built the Royal Arcade at the foot of Pilgrim Street between 1830 and 1832. The most ambitious project covered 12 acres 12 acres (49,000 m2) in central Newcastle, on the site of Newe House (also called Anderson Place). Grainger built three new thoroughfares, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street with many connecting streets, as well as the Central Exchange and the Grainger Market. John Wardle and George Walker, working in Grainger's office, designed Clayton Street, Grainger Street and most of Grey Street. Dobson designed the Grainger Market and much of the east side of Grey Street. John and Benjamin Green designed the Theatre Royal at the top of Grey Street, where Grainger placed the column of Grey's Monument as a focus for the whole scheme. Grey Street is considered to be one of the finest streets in the country, with its elegant curve. Unfortunately most of old Eldon Square was demolished in the 1960s in the name of progress. The Royal Arcade met a similar fate.

 

In 1849 a new bridge was built across the river at Newcastle. This was the High Level Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, and slightly up river from the existing bridge. The bridge was designed to carry road and rail traffic across the Tyne Gorge on two decks with rail traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower. The new bridge meant that traffic could pass through Newcastle without having to negotiate the steep, narrow Side, as had been necessary for centuries. The bridge was opened by Queen Victoria, who one year later opened the new Central Station, designed by John Dobson. Trains were now able to cross the river, directly into the centre of Newcastle and carry on up to Scotland. The Army Riding School was also completed in 1849.

 

In 1854 a large fire started on the Gateshead quayside and an explosion caused it to spread across the river to the Newcastle quayside. A huge conflagration amongst the narrow alleys, or 'chares', destroyed the homes of 800 families as well as many business premises. The narrow alleys that had been destroyed were replaced by streets containing blocks of modern offices.

 

In 1863 the Town Hall in St Nicholas Square replaced the Guildhall as the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council.

 

In 1876 the low level bridge was replaced by a new bridge known as the Swing Bridge, so called because the bridge was able to swing horizontally on a central axis and allow ships to pass on either side. This meant that for the first time sizeable ships could pass up-river beyond Newcastle. The bridge was built and paid for by William Armstrong, a local arms manufacturer, who needed to have warships access his Elswick arms factory to fit armaments to them. The Swing Bridge's rotating mechanism is adapted from the cannon mounts developed in Armstrong's arms works. In 1882 the Elswick works began to build ships as well as to arm them. The Barrack Road drill hall was completed in 1890.

 

Industrialisation

In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle's development as a major city owed most to its central role in the production and export of coal. The phrase "taking coals to Newcastle" was first recorded in 1538; it proverbially denotes bringing a particular commodity to a place that has more than enough of it already.

 

Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the following:

 

George Stephenson developed a miner's safety lamp at the same time that Humphry Davy developed a rival design. The lamp made possible the opening up of ever deeper mines to provide the coal that powered the industrial revolution.

George and his son Robert Stephenson were hugely influential figures in the development of the early railways. George developed Blücher, a locomotive working at Killingworth colliery in 1814, whilst Robert was instrumental in the design of Rocket, a revolutionary design that was the forerunner of modern locomotives. Both men were involved in planning and building railway lines, all over this country and abroad.

 

Joseph Swan demonstrated a working electric light bulb about a year before Thomas Edison did the same in the USA. This led to a dispute as to who had actually invented the light bulb. Eventually the two rivals agreed to form a mutual company between them, the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan.

 

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine, for marine use and for power generation. He used Turbinia, a small, turbine-powered ship, to demonstrate the speed that a steam turbine could generate. Turbinia literally ran rings around the British Fleet at a review at Spithead in 1897.

 

William Armstrong invented a hydraulic crane that was installed in dockyards up and down the country. He then began to design light, accurate field guns for the British army. These were a vast improvement on the existing guns that were then in use.

 

The following major industries developed in Newcastle or its surrounding area:

 

Glassmaking

A small glass industry existed in Newcastle from the mid-15th century. In 1615 restrictions were put on the use of wood for manufacturing glass. It was found that glass could be manufactured using the local coal, and so a glassmaking industry grew up on Tyneside. Huguenot glassmakers came over from France as refugees from persecution and set up glasshouses in the Skinnerburn area of Newcastle. Eventually, glass production moved to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. In 1684 the Dagnia family, Sephardic Jewish emigrants from Altare, arrived in Newcastle from Stourbridge and established glasshouses along the Close, to manufacture high quality flint glass. The glass manufacturers used sand ballast from the boats arriving in the river as the main raw material. The glassware was then exported in collier brigs. The period from 1730 to 1785 was the highpoint of Newcastle glass manufacture, when the local glassmakers produced the 'Newcastle Light Baluster'. The glassmaking industry still exists in the west end of the city with local Artist and Glassmaker Jane Charles carrying on over four hundred years of hot glass blowing in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Locomotive manufacture

In 1823 George Stephenson and his son Robert established the world's first locomotive factory near Forth Street in Newcastle. Here they built locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, as well as many others. It was here that the famous locomotive Rocket was designed and manufactured in preparation for the Rainhill Trials. Apart from building locomotives for the British market, the Newcastle works also produced locomotives for Europe and America. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until 1960.

 

Shipbuilding

In 1296 a wooden, 135 ft (41 m) long galley was constructed at the mouth of the Lort Burn in Newcastle, as part of a twenty-ship order from the king. The ship cost £205, and is the earliest record of shipbuilding in Newcastle. However the rise of the Tyne as a shipbuilding area was due to the need for collier brigs for the coal export trade. These wooden sailing ships were usually built locally, establishing local expertise in building ships. As ships changed from wood to steel, and from sail to steam, the local shipbuilding industry changed to build the new ships. Although shipbuilding was carried out up and down both sides of the river, the two main areas for building ships in Newcastle were Elswick, to the west, and Walker, to the east. By 1800 Tyneside was the third largest producer of ships in Britain. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, lack of modernisation and competition from abroad gradually caused the local industry to decline and die.

 

Armaments

In 1847 William Armstrong established a huge factory in Elswick, west of Newcastle. This was initially used to produce hydraulic cranes but subsequently began also to produce guns for both the army and the navy. After the Swing Bridge was built in 1876 allowing ships to pass up river, warships could have their armaments fitted alongside the Elswick works. Armstrong's company took over its industrial rival, Joseph Whitworth of Manchester in 1897.

 

Steam turbines

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine and, in 1889, founded his own company C. A. Parsons and Company in Heaton, Newcastle to make steam turbines. Shortly after this, he realised that steam turbines could be used to propel ships and, in 1897, he founded a second company, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend. It is there that he designed and manufactured Turbinia. Parsons turbines were initially used in warships but soon came to be used in merchant and passenger vessels, including the liner Mauretania which held the blue riband for the Atlantic crossing until 1929. Parsons' company in Heaton began to make turbo-generators for power stations and supplied power stations all over the world. The Heaton works, reduced in size, remains as part of the Siemens AG industrial giant.

 

Pottery

In 1762 the Maling pottery was founded in Sunderland by French Huguenots, but transferred to Newcastle in 1817. A factory was built in the Ouseburn area of the city. The factory was rebuilt twice, finally occupying a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site that was claimed to be the biggest pottery in the world and which had its own railway station. The pottery pioneered use of machines in making potteries as opposed to hand production. In the 1890s the company went up-market and employed in-house designers. The period up to the Second World War was the most profitable with a constant stream of new designs being introduced. However, after the war, production gradually declined and the company closed in 1963.

 

Expansion of the city

Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835: the reformed municipal borough included the parishes of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St Andrew, Newcastle St John, Newcastle St Nicholas, and Westgate. The urban districts of Benwell and Fenham and Walker were added in 1904. In 1935, Newcastle gained Kenton and parts of the parishes of West Brunton, East Denton, Fawdon, Longbenton. The most recent expansion in Newcastle's boundaries took place under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, when Newcastle became a metropolitan borough, also including the urban districts of Gosforth and Newburn, and the parishes of Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, North Gosforth and Woolsington from the Castle Ward Rural District, and the village of Westerhope.

 

Meanwhile Northumberland County Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1888 and benefited from a dedicated meeting place when County Hall was completed in the Castle Garth area of Newcastle in 1910. Following the Local Government Act 1972 County Hall relocated to Morpeth in April 1981.

 

Twentieth century

In 1925 work began on a new high-level road bridge to span the Tyne Gorge between Newcastle and Gateshead. The capacity of the existing High-Level Bridge and Swing Bridge were being strained to the limit, and an additional bridge had been discussed for a long time. The contract was awarded to the Dorman Long Company and the bridge was finally opened by King George V in 1928. The road deck was 84 feet (26 m) above the river and was supported by a 531 feet (162 m) steel arch. The new Tyne Bridge quickly became a symbol for Newcastle and Tyneside, and remains so today.

 

During the Second World War, Newcastle was largely spared the horrors inflicted upon other British cities bombed during the Blitz. Although the armaments factories and shipyards along the River Tyne were targeted by the Luftwaffe, they largely escaped unscathed. Manors goods yard and railway terminal, to the east of the city centre, and the suburbs of Jesmond and Heaton suffered bombing during 1941. There were 141 deaths and 587 injuries, a relatively small figure compared to the casualties in other industrial centres of Britain.

 

In 1963 the city gained its own university, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, by act of parliament. A School of Medicine and Surgery had been established in Newcastle in 1834. This eventually developed into a college of medicine attached to Durham University. A college of physical science was also founded and became Armstrong College in 1904. In 1934 the two colleges merged to become King's College, Durham. This remained as part of Durham University until the new university was created in 1963. In 1992 the city gained its second university when Newcastle Polytechnic was granted university status as Northumbria University.

 

Newcastle City Council moved to the new Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968.

 

As heavy industries declined in the second half of the 20th century, large sections of the city centre were demolished along with many areas of slum housing. The leading political figure in the city during the 1960s was T. Dan Smith who oversaw a massive building programme of highrise housing estates and authorised the demolition of a quarter of the Georgian Grainger Town to make way for Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Smith's control in Newcastle collapsed when it was exposed that he had used public contracts to advantage himself and his business associates and for a time Newcastle became a byword for civic corruption as depicted in the films Get Carter and Stormy Monday and in the television series Our Friends in the North. However, much of the historic Grainger Town area survived and was, for the most part, fully restored in the late 1990s. Northumberland Street, initially the A1, was gradually closed to traffic from the 1970s and completely pedestrianised by 1998.

 

In 1978 a new rapid transport system, the Metro, was built, linking the Tyneside area. The system opened in August 1980. A new bridge was built to carry the Metro across the river between Gateshead and Newcastle. This was the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, commonly known as the Metro Bridge. Eventually the Metro system was extended to reach Newcastle Airport in 1991, and in 2002 the Metro system was extended to the nearby city of Sunderland.

 

As the 20th century progressed, trade on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides gradually declined, until by the 1980s both sides of the river were looking rather derelict. Shipping company offices had closed along with offices of firms related to shipping. There were also derelict warehouses lining the riverbank. Local government produced a master plan to re-develop the Newcastle quayside and this was begun in the 1990s. New offices, restaurants, bars and residential accommodation were built and the area has changed in the space of a few years into a vibrant area, partially returning the focus of Newcastle to the riverside, where it was in medieval times.

 

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide and 413 feet (126 m) long, was completed in 2001. The road deck is in the form of a curve and is supported by a steel arch. To allow ships to pass, the whole structure, both arch and road-deck, rotates on huge bearings at either end so that the road deck is lifted. The bridge can be said to open and shut like a human eye. It is an important addition to the re-developed quayside area, providing a vital link between the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.

 

Recent developments

Today the city is a vibrant centre for office and retail employment, but just a short distance away there are impoverished inner-city housing estates, in areas originally built to provide affordable housing for employees of the shipyards and other heavy industries that lined the River Tyne. In the 2010s Newcastle City Council began implementing plans to regenerate these depressed areas, such as those along the Ouseburn Valley.

I am not certain of the precise location of this view and have not found any other references to a Fairy Glen at Hurn (so it might just be the publisher's fancy) but, if anyone knows more, I'd be glad to hear. For purposes of geo-tagging I have assumed it is in the network of streams wher the Moors River joins the Stour, because this is quited wooded, by this is only a guess.

 

Ivory Series by J. Ll. Evans, publisher, Bournemouth.

Postally unused.

A while back (March 2014 to be precise), I posted some photos from this point of the A87. It might just look like anywhere in Glen Shiel but there's an intriguing feature in this photo. It's a little hard to make out but the River Shiel takes a short plunge into darkness. Naturally, I've been wanting to take a look inside the tunnel for a while now.

 

Back in March 2014, I attempted to go in but the water was fast flowing and high. On this occasion, this wasn't an issue (mostly, I never got wet but I can't speak for everyone). I'd imagine thousands of people drive past here daily and don't have the urge to go inside but I'm not most people...

For ODC-Even. Getting a bunch of images ready for my gallery show. Hurry up, it starts Tuesday.

or 12:04, to be precise.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Leica M3 / Summicron 50mm F2 Dual Range

Agfa Vista 200

 

my instagram: www.instagram.com/ol.lazarev

Canon 5D Mark II

Taken in RAW

Processed with Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop CS5

 

A coastline or a seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the Coastline paradox

 

The term "coastal zone" is a region where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs. Both the terms coast and coastal are often used to describe a geographic location or region; for example, New Zealand's West Coast, or the East and West Coasts of the United States.

 

A pelagic coast refers to a coast which fronts the open ocean, as opposed to a more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, can refer to parts of the land which adjoin any large body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore). Similarly, the somewhat related term "bank" refers to the land alongside or sloping down to a river (riverbank) or to a body of water smaller than a lake. "Bank" is also used in some parts of the world to refer to an artificial ridge of earth intended to retain the water of a river or pond; in other places this may be called a levee.

 

While many scientific experts might agree on a common definition of the term "coast", the delineation of the extents of a coast differ according to jurisdiction, with many scientific and government authorities in various countries differing for economic and social policy reasons. According to the UN atlas, 44% of people live within 150 kilometres (93 miles) of the sea.

Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mood disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally-elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. A self-disorder, also called ipseity disturbance, is a psychological phenomenon of disruption or diminishing of a person's sense of minimal (or basic) self-awareness. The precise mechanisms that cause bipolar disorder are not well understood. Bipolar disorder is thought to be associated with abnormalities in the structure and function of certain brain areas responsible for cognitive tasks and the processing of emotions. A neurologic model for bipolar disorder proposes that the emotional circuitry of the brain can be divided into two main parts. The ventral system (regulates emotional perception) includes brain structures such as the amygdala, insula, ventral striatum, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, and the prefrontal cortex. The dorsal system (responsible for emotional regulation) includes the hippocampus, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and other parts of the prefrontal cortex.The model hypothesizes that bipolar disorder may occur when the ventral system is overactivated and the dorsal system is underactivated.Other models suggest the ability to regulate emotions is disrupted in people with bipolar disorder and that dysfunction of the ventricular prefrontal cortex (vPFC) is crucial to this disruption.

 

If the elevated mood is severe or associated with psychosis, it is called mania; if it is less severe, it is called hypomania. During mania, an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy or irritable, and they often make impulsive decisions with little regard for the consequences.[5] There is usually also a reduced need for sleep during manic phases.[5] During periods of depression, the individual may experience crying and have a negative outlook on life and poor eye contact with others.[ The risk of suicide is high; over a period of 20 years, 6% of those with bipolar disorder died by suicide, while 30–40% engaged in self-harm. Other mental health issues, such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, are commonly associated with bipolar disorder. The sense of minimal self refers to the very basic sense of having experiences that are one's own; it has no properties, unlike the more extended sense of self, the narrative self, which is characterized by the person's reflections on themselves as a person, things they like, their identity, and other aspects that are the result of reflection on one's self. Disturbances in the sense of minimal self, as measured by the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE), aggregate in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders, to include schizotypal personality disorder, and distinguish them from other conditions such as psychotic bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. The minimal self has been likened to a "flame that enlightens its surroundings and thereby itself." Unlike the extended self, which is composed of properties such as the person's identity, the person's narrative, and other aspects that can be gleaned from reflection, the minimal self has no properties, but refers to the "mine-ness" "given-ness" of experience, that the experiences are that of the person having them in that person's stream of consciousness. These experiences that are part of the minimal self are normally "tacit" and implied, requiring no reflection on the part of the person experiencing to know that the experience is theirs. The minimal self cannot be further elaborated and normally one cannot grasp it upon reflection. The minimal self goes hand-in-hand with immersion in the shared social world, such that "[t]he world is always pregiven, ie, tacitly grasped as a self-evident background of all experiencing and meaning." This is the self-world structure. De Warren gives an example of the minimal self combined with immersion in the shared social world: "When looking at this tree in my backyard, my consciousness is directed toward the tree and not toward my own act of perception. I am, however, aware of myself as perceiving this tree, yet this self-awareness (or self-consciousness) is not itself thematic."[5] The focus is normally on the tree itself, not on the person's own act of seeing the tree: to know that one is seeing the tree does not require an act of reflection. In the schizophrenia spectrum disorders, the minimal self and the self-world structure are "constantly challenged, unstable, and oscillating," causing anomalous self-experiences known as self-disorders. These involve the person feeling as if they lack an identity, as if they are not really existing, that the sense of their experiences being their own (the "mine-ness" of their experiential world) is failing or diminishing, as if their inner experiences are no longer private, and that they don't really understand the world. These experiences lead to the person engaging in hyper-reflectivity, or abnormally prolonged and intense self-reflection, to attempt to gain a grasp on these experiences, but such intense reflection may further exacerbate the self-disorders. Self-disorders tend to be chronic, becoming incorporated into the person's way of being and affecting "how" they experience the world and not necessarily "what" they experience. This instability of the minimal self may provoke the onset of psychosis. Similar phenomena can occur in other conditions, such as bipolar disorder and depersonalization disorder, but Sass's (2014) review of the literature comparing accounts of self-experience in various mental disorders shows that serious self-other confusion and "severe erosion of minimal self-experience" only occur in schizophrenia; as an example of the latter, Sass cites the autobiographical account of Elyn Saks, who has schizophrenia, of her experience of "disorganization" in which she felt that thoughts, perceptions, sensations, and even the passage of time became incoherent, and that she had no longer "the solid center from which one experiences reality", which occurred when she was 7 or 8 years old. This disturbance tends to fluctuate over time based on emotions and motivation, accounting for the phenomenon of dialipsis in schizophrenia, where neurocognitive performance tends to be inconsistent over time. The disturbance of the minimal self may manifest in people in various ways, including as a tendency to inspect one's thoughts in order to know what they are thinking, like a person seeing an image, reading a message, or listening closely to someone talking (audible thoughts; or in German: Gedankenlautwerden). In normal thought, the "signifier" (the images or inner speech representing the thought) and the "meaning" are combined into the "expression", so that the person "inhabits" their thinking, or that both the signifier and the meaning implicitly come to mind together; the person does not need to reflect on their thoughts to understand what they are thinking. In people with self-disorder, however, it is frequently the case that many thoughts are experienced as more like external objects that are not implicitly comprehended. The person must turn their focus toward the thoughts to understand their thoughts because of that lack of implicit comprehension, a split of the signifier and the meaning from each other, where the signifier emerges automatically in the field of awareness but the meaning does not. This is an example of the failing "mine-ness" of the experiential field as the minimal self recedes from its own thoughts, which are consigned to an outer space. This is present chronically, both during and outside of psychosis, and may represent a middle point between normal inner speech and auditory hallucinations, as well as normal experience and first-rank symptoms. They may also experience uncontrolled multiple trains of thought with different themes simultaneously coursing through one's head interfering with concentration (thought pressure) or often feel they must attend to things with their full attention in order to get done what most people can do without giving it much thought (hyper-reflectivity), which can lead to fatigue.In a 2014 review, Postmes, et al., suggested that self-disorders and psychosis may arise from attempts to compensate for perceptual incoherence and proposed a hypothesis for how the interaction among these phenomena and the person's attempts to resolve the incoherence give rise to schizophrenia. The problems with the integration of sensory information create problems for the person in keeping a grip on the world, and since the self-world interaction is fundamentally linked to the basic sense of self, the latter is also disrupted as a result. Sass and Borda have studied the correlates of the dimensions of self-disorders, namely disturbed grip (perplexity, difficulty "getting" stuff most people can get), hyperreflexivity (where thoughts, feelings, sensations, and objects pop up uncontrollably in the field of awareness, as well dysfunctional reflecting on matters and the self), and diminished self-affection (where the person has difficulty being "affected" by aspects of the self, experiencing those aspects as if they existed in an outer space), and have proposed how both primary and secondary factors may arise from dysfunctions in perceptual organization and multisensory integration. In a 2013 review, Mishara, et al., criticized the concept of the minimal self as an explanation for self-disorder, saying that it is unfalsifiable, and that self-disorder arises primarily from difficulty integrating different aspects of the self as well as having difficulty distinguishing self and other, as proposed by Lysaker and Lysaker: Ichstörung or ego disorder, as they say, in schizophrenia arises from disturbed relationships not from the "solipsistic" concept of the self as proposed by Sass, Parnas, and others. In his review, Sass agrees that the focus of research into self-disorder has focused too much on the self, and mentions attempts to look at disturbances in the person's relationship with other people and the world, with work being done to create an Examination of Anomalous World Experience, which will look at the person's anomalous experiences regarding time, space, persons, language, and atmosphere; he suggests there are problems with both the self and the world in people with self-disorder, and that it may be better conceptualized as a "presence-disturbance".Parnas acknowledges the Lysaker model, but says that it is not incompatible with the concept of the minimal self, as they deal with different levels of self-hood.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-disorder

 

Late adolescence and early adulthood are peak years for the onset of bipolar disorder.The condition is characterized by intermittent episodes of mania and/or depression, with an absence of symptoms in between. During these episodes, people with bipolar disorder exhibit disruptions in normal mood, psychomotor activity (the level of physical activity that is influenced by mood)—e.g. constant fidgeting during mania or slowed movements during depression—circadian rhythm and cognition. Mania can present with varying levels of mood disturbance, ranging from euphoria, which is associated with "classic mania", to dysphoria and irritability. Psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations may occur in both manic and depressive episodes; their content and nature are consistent with the person's prevailing mood. According to the DSM-5 criteria, mania is distinguished from hypomania by length: hypomania is present if elevated mood symptoms persist for at least four consecutive days, while mania is present if such symptoms persist for more than a week. Unlike mania, hypomania is not always associated with impaired functioning. The biological mechanisms responsible for switching from a manic or hypomanic episode to a depressive episode, or vice versa, remain poorly understood.The causes of bipolar disorder are not clearly understood, both genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role. Many genes, each with small effects, may contribute to the development of the disorder. Genetic factors account for about 70–90% of the risk of developing bipolar disorder. Environmental risk factors include a history of childhood abuse and long-term stress. The condition is classified as bipolar I disorder if there has been at least one manic episode, with or without depressive episodes, and as bipolar II disorder if there has been at least one hypomanic episode (but no full manic episodes) and one major depressive episode. If these symptoms are due to drugs or medical problems, they are not diagnosed as bipolar disorder. Other conditions that have overlapping symptoms with bipolar disorder include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, and substance use disorder as well as many other medical conditions. Medical testing is not required for a diagnosis, though blood tests or medical imaging can rule out other problems. Mood stabilizers—lithium and certain anticonvulsants such as valproate and carbamazepine—are the mainstay of long-term relapse prevention. Antipsychotics are given during acute manic episodes as well as in cases where mood stabilizers are poorly tolerated or ineffective or where compliance is poor. There is some evidence that psychotherapy improves the course of this disorder. The use of antidepressants in depressive episodes is controversial: they can be effective but have been implicated in triggering manic episodes. The treatment of depressive episodes, therefore, is often difficult. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective in acute manic and depressive episodes, especially with psychosis or catatonia. Admission to a psychiatric hospital may be required if a person is a risk to themselves or others; involuntary treatment is sometimes necessary if the affected person refuses treatment. Bipolar disorder occurs in approximately 1% of the global population. In the United States, about 3% are estimated to be affected at some point in their life; rates appear to be similar in females and males. Symptoms most commonly begin between the ages of 20 and 25 years old; an earlier onset in life is associated with a worse prognosis. Interest in functioning in the assessment of patients with bipolar disorder is growing, with an emphasis on specific domains such as work, education, social life, family, and cognition. Around one-quarter to one-third of people with bipolar disorder have financial, social or work-related problems due to the illness. Bipolar disorder is among the top 20 causes of disability worldwide and leads to substantial costs for society. Due to lifestyle choices and the side effects of medications, the risk of death from natural causes such as coronary heart disease in people with bipolar disorder is twice that of the general population. Also known as a manic episode, mania is a distinct period of at least one week of elevated or irritable mood, which can range from euphoria to delirium. The core symptom of mania involves an increase in energy of psychomotor activity. Mania can also present with increased self-esteem or grandiosity, racing thoughts, pressured speech that is difficult to interrupt, decreased need for sleep, disinhibited social behavior, increased goal-oriented activities and impaired judgement, which can lead to exhibition of behaviors characterized as impulsive or high-risk, such as hypersexuality or excessive spending.To fit the definition of a manic episode, these behaviors must impair the individual's ability to socialize or work.[ If untreated, a manic episode usually lasts three to six months.

In severe manic episodes, a person can experience psychotic symptoms, where thought content is affected along with mood. They may feel unstoppable, or as if they have a special relationship with God, a great mission to accomplish, or other grandiose or delusional ideas. This may lead to violent behavior and, sometimes, hospitalization in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. The severity of manic symptoms can be measured by rating scales such as the Young Mania Rating Scale, though questions remain about the reliability of these scales. The onset of a manic or depressive episode is often foreshadowed by sleep disturbance. Mood changes, psychomotor and appetite changes, and an increase in anxiety can also occur up to three weeks before a manic episode develops.[medical citation needed] Manic individuals often have a history of substance abuse developed over years as a form of "self-medication". Hypomania is the milder form of mania, defined as at least four days of the same criteria as mania, but which does not cause a significant decrease in the individual's ability to socialize or work, lacks psychotic features such as delusions or hallucinations, and does not require psychiatric hospitalization. Overall functioning may actually increase during episodes of hypomania and is thought to serve as a defense mechanism against depression by some. Hypomanic episodes rarely progress to full-blown manic episodes. Some people who experience hypomania show increased creativity, while others are irritable or demonstrate poor judgment. Hypomania may feel good to some individuals who experience it, though most people who experience hypomania state that the stress of the experience is very painful. People with bipolar disorder who experience hypomania tend to forget the effects of their actions on those around them. Even when family and friends recognize mood swings, the individual will often deny that anything is wrong. If not accompanied by depressive episodes, hypomanic episodes are often not deemed problematic unless the mood changes are uncontrollable or volatile.Most commonly, symptoms continue for time periods from a few weeks to a few months. People with bipolar disorder who are in a euthymic mood state show decreased activity in the lingual gyrus compared to people without bipolar disorder. In contrast, they demonstrate decreased activity in the inferior frontal cortex during manic episodes compared to people without the disorder. Similar studies examining the differences in brain activity between people with bipolar disorder and those without did not find a consistent area in the brain that was more or less active when comparing these two groups. People with bipolar have increased activation of left hemisphere ventral limbic areas—which mediate emotional experiences and generation of emotional responses—and decreased activation of right hemisphere cortical structures related to cognition—structures associated with the regulation of emotions. Neuroscientists have proposed additional models to try to explain the cause of bipolar disorder. One proposed model for bipolar disorder suggests that hypersensitivity of reward circuits consisting of frontostriatal circuits causes mania, and decreased sensitivity of these circuits causes depression. According to the "kindling" hypothesis, when people who are genetically predisposed toward bipolar disorder experience stressful events, the stress threshold at which mood changes occur becomes progressively lower, until the episodes eventually start (and recur) spontaneously. There is evidence supporting an association between early-life stress and dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis leading to its overactivation, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. Other brain components that have been proposed to play a role in bipolar disorder are the mitochondria and a sodium ATPase pump. Circadian rhythms and regulation of the hormone melatonin also seem to be altered. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for mood cycling, has increased transmission during the manic phase. The dopamine hypothesis states that the increase in dopamine results in secondary homeostatic downregulation of key system elements and receptors such as lower sensitivity of dopaminergic receptors. This results in decreased dopamine transmission characteristic of the depressive phase. The depressive phase ends with homeostatic upregulation potentially restarting the cycle over again. Glutamate is significantly increased within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the manic phase of bipolar disorder, and returns to normal levels once the phase is over. Medications used to treat bipolar may exert their effect by modulating intracellular signaling, such as through depleting myo-inositol levels, inhibition of cAMP signaling, and through altering subunits of the dopamine-associated G-protein.[81] Consistent with this, elevated levels of Gαi, Gαs, and Gαq/11 have been reported in brain and blood samples, along with increased protein kinase A (PKA) expression and sensitivity;[82] typically, PKA activates as part of the intracellular signalling cascade downstream from the detachment of Gαs subunit from the G protein complex. Decreased levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, a byproduct of serotonin, are present in the cerebrospinal fluid of persons with bipolar disorder during both the depressed and manic phases. Increased dopaminergic activity has been hypothesized in manic states due to the ability of dopamine agonists to stimulate mania in people with bipolar disorder. Decreased sensitivity of regulatory α2 adrenergic receptors as well as increased cell counts in the locus coeruleus indicated increased noradrenergic activity in manic people. Low plasma GABA levels on both sides of the mood spectrum have been found.[83] One review found no difference in monoamine levels, but found abnormal norepinephrine turnover in people with bipolar disorder. Tyrosine depletion was found to reduce the effects of methamphetamine in people with bipolar disorder as well as symptoms of mania, implicating dopamine in mania. VMAT2 binding was found to be increased in one study of people with bipolar mania.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder

Yet another self portrait !

 

My final shift at Barnetby East was a Saturday night, Saturday 18th December 2015 to be precise.

 

The shift saw no trains as is the norm these last few Saturdays as the last trains have been cancelled to ensure the engineering possessions get taken on time.

 

The B.East has been the short straw on a Saturday night for quite some time now as it involves taking two back to back possessions. As a controlling box (times 2) there are a lot of phone calls to make and people to talk to.

 

The easterly possession was from New Barnetby to Stallingborough and Immingham West (but not the Barton branch) so just the 6 boxes involved there [Brock, Ulceby, Reception, West, Roxton & Stallingboro'].

The Westerly possession was to Scunny Foreign Ore Junction, Brigg & Holton le Moor so again 6 boxes to talk to [Wrawby, Elsham, Appleby, Scunny, Brigg & H le M]

 

In total 12 boxes to go through possession limits with, check that lines are clear, sigs at Danger / Most restrictive aspect, Block Indicators at Train on Line, etc then the same twelve to be rung again once the possession is granted to advise them of the details.

 

It normally takes an hour or more of continuous phone activity. This week a further irritant was the new 2 2 2 bell code required to be sent when going to Train on Line, a first for all of us when taking a T3 on this occasion.

 

That aside I'm getting pretty slick at taking these as I seem to draw that short straw I mentioned earlier on quite a regular basis !

 

05.51 Hours on Sunday morning and my relief is imminent, all levers in the frame save for New Barnetby crossing release.

Reminders on the blocks and levers.

 

As the numbers of home signals is significantly greater than the number of reminder appliances (lever collars) available I generally only place them on the controlling signals (in this case that's BE 22, 56 & 57) and a couple or more selected signals.

 

Barnetby East Signal Box, 05.51 Hrs, Sunday 19th December 2015.

Admirers learned of its loss when they hoped to see the phenomenon at exactly 4:33 pm on Sunday, when the Earth's axis was directly perpendicular to the sun -- marking the first day of spring.

STRASBOURG : The stained glass at a cathedral in eastern France will no longer produce a distinctive green ray seen just twice a year, on the spring and autumn equinoxes, after the precise pane was replaced...

 

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2283094/strasbourg-cathedral-loses-famed-green-ray-to-fans-chagrin. View our policies at goo.gl/9HgTd and goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

  

The green equinoxial light of Strasbourg cathedral...The sun darkens its light from Chaldea to the base of the midnight mountain. But men do not notice it, they are blinded by the appearance of falsehood, by the Appearance of crept gold.

 

The light of the ray indicates a new time and certainly that the emperor Guillaume in 1871 wished to find a symbolych with the architect Klotz, and Knauth took again this Babylonian symbolism in the Egyptian writing. The bible blends with the book of Enoch and the Zohar, so the green ray is a bit like announcing a new time. The concave structure of the foot stems from a piece of kheops that was probably also used to illuminate the royal tomb in the heart of a stone mountain. we find the story of Goethe's Green Serpent. Many good people fall, many deceitful people rise up in their place. Damaged her horrible breath reverses most people's thoughts. What is pure will go down, what is unclean will go up. What was downstairs will be upstairs; the places swap evil and good. People will be drunk. Delusions will rule the world. to the land of the north.The light of the north is the star that guides us, it should be noted that the green ray comes from the east.(orient) From whose maltreated earth the deliverer ascends, the avenger: The Third Sargon! And from north to south, the lone righteous shall rise up and will be mighty, and will strike the fire like a storm and carry it forward, all of which burns badly everywhere, yes, everywhere. He would set the course that had to be set - on behalf of the Godhead - so that fulfil what is prophesied: the birth of the New Golden Age! The Germans had to do it. they who are divinely destined and called to do so, they had to establish the new kingdom - not but for the whole world! Presumably in August of 1917, four men and women met at the Viennese café "Schopenhauer" and a woman to set the course for the future of humanity. It was the German adventurers and esoteric Karl Haushofer and Rudolf von Sebottendorff, the medium Maria Orschitsch from Zagreb. the young engineer and pilot Lothar Waiz and the prelate Gernot von der Geheimnisen "Community of the Knights Templar Heirs" (Societas Templi Marcioni).Your spokesman was certainly Rudolf von Sebottendorff, and I think we can reconstruct quite well, what he may have first recited to the Templar - Prelate in order to present his and his friends to prove their skills:How our solar year is divided into twelve months according to the twelve moon orbits - i. e.

the twelve zodiacs of astrology - the orbit around the great central sun is the same of our Milky Way into twelve animal or Tyre districts; this is done in cooperation with the

precession, the conical inherent motion of the earth due to the inclination of the axis, which is different ages of the world. Such a "cosmic month" lasts about 2155 years, the

"cosmic year" is about 25,860 years.Now we are at the end of the Fish Age and the beginning of the Aquarian Age - the

New Golden Age, in which the Millennial Kingdom of Peace will also come, from in the twentieth chapter of John Revelation.However, there is not only a normal change of age ahead, but the end of a cosmic year and the start of a completely new one. We have completed the approximately 25,860-year-old precession and change from the darkest, weakest, darkest age, the age of fish, into the the age of Aquarius. At the same time as the age of fish, the "potash -

Yuga ", the age of sin according to the indo-Aryan definition.

 

The green ray is therefore a clock to measure the time that separates us from the golden age.

 

Due to the combined effect of precession and elliptical orbit around the large central sun, wich now stands a completely different divine - cosmic radiation and a dramatic of the circumstances on Earth. This is especially important because the large central sun - the Black Sun "of ancient myths - is to be seen as a source of power for the Godhead, whose

will soon exercise its influence undisturbed.All changes in the age have led to major changes in political, religious and social life.of this scale. This will now be the subject of a new cosmic year at the upcoming change of age. be much stronger. Anything that is not suitable for the new age of light will perish. A completely new order will take hold of the whole earth. We are now in the in the final stage of the final battle in the great intercosmic battle of the world. The Powers of Darkness re-grow up again to fight wildly. Just as consistently and with the weapons of light, we must face it.

  

In June 1984, Mr Maurice Rosart, an ENSAIS engineer, revealed in the course of his of a conference he gave, whom he had discovered in the Cathedral a phenomenon of exceptional luminous light and rare beauty, which could not a priori be the fruit of a coincidence.In fact, this exceptional green light is caused by the rays of the sun which pass through the green transparent glass of the left foot of Judah, ancestor of Christ, appearing in the second and third parts window of the fourth span at the southern triforium. It should be noted that similar luminous manifestations of light have been shown in the following ways especially during the solstices, in other cathedrals and in other cathedrals. especially at Notre-Dame de Chartes. To determine the instant of a phenomenon caused by the sun comes back to endo an astronomical analysis. Indeed, the interplay of shadows and light produced by the sun, through a painted stained glass window, is a function of the position and the motion of this star on the celestial vault. Astronomical analysis of the equinoxial luminous phenomenon has shown that that the green ray, contrary to what had been assumed to be a premium mentioned by the press, passes over the head of Christ about one hour before noon, i. e. before the moment when the the sun occupies the highest position during the day, and one or two days after the spring equinox and one or two days after the spring equinox days after the fall equinox. In addition, due to the presence of obstructions that obstruct the operation of the roof of the south sill and the triforium gallery, the green light is not visible, from the axis of the pulpit, around the equinoxes, that for a period of approximately one month, i. e. approximately 12 days before and 20 days after the spring equinox, as well as 20 days after the spring equinox before and 12 days after the fall equinox. From the results of the astronomical analysis, we can deduce various interpretations of the phenomenon according to the moment when it is considered to occur.

period of visibility of the light or architectural motif, and

the green ray. The mechanism that makes up the green plate on Judah's left foot,more transparent than the other parts of the stained glass, and the vertical axis of the cross with its center can be considered as a sundialquinoxial. It's a way to spot the time of the change of season: winter-spring passage around 20 March and summer passage fall around 22 September. The whole thus constitutes in some respects

sort of an astronomical clock. The green ray is only visible from the axis of the pulpit during a period of one month at each equinox. During this period, it scans the whole pulpit from top to bottom in spring and from bottom to top in

fall. The phenomenon can thus be interpreted as a general

value of the pulpit and jewel of flamboyant gothic art that it

constitutes. The ray of light passes over Christ's head in the vicinity of the spring equinox near the Easter feast. So we can to consider the green ray as illuminating and radiating Christ on the the cross of Golgotha on the eve of his resurrection on the morning of Easter morning at Easter.

new light of spring. Luminous effects caused by stained glass were observed in various cathedrals where medieval glass artists searched for express their mystical and religious feelings. What about the effect optics in the Cathedral of Strasbourg? Is the phenomenon the fruit of an intention on the part of the master glassmaker, creator of the stained-glass window of Judah, or is it just a coincidence whose effect is particularly significant happy?To try to answer these questions, we must look back to the time which created the stained glass window of Judah and the artist who designed the cardboard.In 1843, Louis Schneegans and Frédéric Klein drew up an inventory of stained glass windows. With regard to triforium, the southern triforium, they noted that in the first three eastern fenestrelles were the busts of Jesus Christ, Melchi and Semei. The warheads of other fenestrelles ornaments decorated with geometric, floral and foliated ornaments. The medallions contained busts, stars, clovers and other medallions motives. As for the window currently occupied by Jacob and Judah in the green ray phenomenon, they noted that in the a clover and in the warheads a leaf was found in a clover, and in the warheads a erased drawing, foreign pieces and blackened glasses. These canopies were remodeled from 1848 to 1850 by Ritter and Baptiste.

Petit-Gérard by applying the conservation principle. They have and supplemented by floral motifs such as those which

still exist today in the windows of the sixth bay of the

South triforium. The busts of Christ, Melchi and Semei were at this time in this church. opportunity taken and put in deposit at the shop of the Work of Notre-Dame

in the Impasse des Trois-Gâteaux. Of course the two lower panels of the canopies, which at the time were filled with white glass, were equipped with painted stained-glass windows. But as early as 1848, even before the restoration was undertaken, the abb. Gerber and others felt that the genealogy of the Christ according to St Luke, part of which was restored by Marshal and Gugnon from 1847 to 1848, was already present in the northern triforium. From 1873 to 1875

floral motifs made a quarter of a century ago have been

replaced by footed characters from the genealogy of Christ' s Melea to God according to the Gospel of St. Luke (3:31-38) according to the Gospel of St. Luke. Vulgate Clementine who was the authoritative Vulgate at that time. The work has

executed by Pierre, son of Baptiste Petit-Gérard and Ferdinand Huguelin on the basis of the cartons drawn by the painter "d' histoire". Louis Steinheil Parisian but born in Strasbourg.

 

The stained glass window of Judah which

was received by Gustave Klotz on August 8,1875.

In 1897, the Ott-Frères company was commissioned to restore these stained glass windows consisting of reusing the lead plating with reuse of all old glasses even broken and complemented by glass antique.

 

At the beginning of the last war, in September 1939, most of the stained-glass windows were placed under the direction of architect C. Czarnowsky Historic Monuments. Stained glass crates were sent the Prefecture of the Dordogne Department and finally put in security at the Château de Haute Fort. In the autumn of 1940, the stained-glass windows were claimed by the authorities German occupiers. They were brought back to Strasbourg, and put in storage

in the chapels of the Cathedral and in the cellars of the Lycée Fustel de Coulanges, the Grand Séminaire and the Maison de l' Oeuvre NotreDame. In the summer of 1941, the Interim Museums Directorate had an Archaeological and photographic survey of all the glass windows.Unfortunately, the collection of photographs has disappeared. However, it is

is possible that it still exists and may be stored somewhere

in Germany.After the bombardments by the American Air Force on August 11 and 25 On 1 September 1944, the German authorities responsible for safeguarding the

artistic treasures decided to transfer the stained-glass windows to a salt plant Heilbronn. For the pulpit whose centre of the cross is swept by the green equinoxial light, it was carved and installed from 1485 1487. It was removed in 1793 and restored in 1804 probably exactly at its old location. Since then, she hasn't had any not even during the last three wars. As for the roof of the southern sill, whose roof limits the duration of the roof. green light, it has been the subject of extensive work by 1843 to 1844, when it was covered with copper plates in Replacement of tile roofing. Since then, it has not been the subject of than repair and maintenance work. After the war, in September 1945, the boxes containing the glass windows were recovered and brought back to Strasbourg. In 1946, before their panels of each stained glass window, particularly those of the southern triforium, were photographed by the Taon company for the first time.

account of the central administration of the Monuments Service History. A collection of photographs is currently kept at the Photographic Archives of Historic Monuments at Fort Saint Saint Cyr 78390 Bois dArcy. The pictures of the three panels of the Judah stained glass window wear the M. H. number. 302,325 to 302,327. Some of the panels, including those in Judah's stained glass window, were a new

photographed by Riotte between 1947 and 1950 after their restoration by the Ott-Frères House. The unnumbered photos are currently kept at the Bas-Rhin Departmental Architecture Service. Around 1950, the exact year could not be determined, and the stained-glass windows of the

triforium were rested by Ott-Frères. During this operation, the interversions have occurred. A comparative study of the disposition with the continuation of the ancestors of Christ according to the Gospel of St Luke (3,23-38) in accordance with the Vulgate Clementine has made it possible to locate

these interversions. They affect more than a third of the stained-glass windows in both galleries of triforium, but fortunately they do not concern the stained-glass windows in the fourth bay of the southern triforium, and in particular

not the position of Judah who intervenes in the phenomenon of light equinoxial green.

 

Around 1972, Maurice Rosart observed for the first time that the equinoxial green light caused by the sun's rays.

sun rays passing through the glass plate representing the foot left of Judah. Now this piece of glass, which is tinted green in the the mass, kept its transparency. So she seems to have been treated different from the other parts of the stained glass.

 

This fact was confirmed, after an on-site examination in February 1985, by Mr. Hubert Werlé, glass painter in Haguenau. In addition, this glassmaker is of the opinion that the part in question is made of antique glass of manufacture and it appears to have been introduced into the stained glass window while it was in place, probably during a repair. Transparency measures carried out in September 1985 with the help of a luxmeter showed that the ratio between the transparency of the foot. The right foot and left foot is about 1 to 10. the same glass of the right foot is treated in such a way that it is possible to see the glass of the right foot. so that the formation of a light beam is impossible.In addition, a comparison of the current state of the stained glass window with its condition reveals by photographs taken between 1946 and 1950 shows the the left foot of Judah at that time wore the foot neck trace whereas at present there is no longer such a trace. The between 1950 and 1972 and it turns out that the repair was carried out in the period 1950-1972. date and 1st reason for the repair as well as the date of the repair. glass quality of the plate that the glassmaker replaced.

 

We therefore consulted with Fernand Guri, architect of the

Retired buildings in France and Messrs. Lucien Schaeffer,

master glassmaker, and Frédéric Bangratz, glass painter, two retirees from the Ott-Frères House. The three persons contacted were of the opinion that, given

the period of time during which the repair appears to have been carried out, the the glass replacement was certainly made by the Ott Frères company, but they don't remember. They believe that the employment of a untreated glass proves that the work performed was in the area of

the ongoing maintenance of stained glass windows and that it will therefore be difficult to find the date and reason for the repair. In fact, it will be as much more difficult than the archives of the Ott-Frères House concerning this

no longer exist. But we do think we should find out

details of the remedy and the date of the resting

of the triforium stained-glass windows after 1946 in the M. H. archives. conserved at the Bas-Rhin Departmental Architecture Service.

From this, a number of conclusions can be drawn

The stained glass window of Judah, which is at the origin of the equinoxial green ray, was created by the Holy Spirit.

around 1875. It was therefore posed after the restoration of the pulpit in the Cathedral in 1804 and after the last major works at the the roof of the southern sill, which was completed in 1843 1844. This stained glass window is therefore very recent and modern. In addition, its directors are well known.Therefore, if the equinoxial luminous phenomenon was really the not by chance, the authors could not be the result of an intentional that, on the one hand, the glass painters Pierre Petit-Gérard and Ferdinand Huguelin and, on the other hand, the history painter Louis Steinheil. He's got born in Strasbourg and author of the stained-glass cardboard could have be aware of an equinoxial optical effect caused by the probably before 1848, at the time when the sun's rays were first observed. The lower panels of the lancets were still made of white glass. Examination of Judah's cardboard could provide some clues in this regard. But this cardboard can't be found. The same applies to coloured drawings stained-glass windows of the southern triforium, which were to be executed after the completion of panels in accordance with Gustave's instructions Klotz.

 

On the other hand, the examination of the photographs of the lower stained-glass panel of Judah performed by Taon in 1946 and Riotte between 1947 and 1950 presumes that the treatment of the glass of the two feet of Judah was practically the same since each piece bears the trace of the elbow-foot

The transparency of the glass of Judah's left foot was therefore significantly increased as a result of the replacement of the original glass by a untreated glass, probably in case of repair, at least of the stained glass window that must have taken place at the around 1950. The phenomenon of green equinoxial light

seems to have been strengthened or perhaps even created during this period.repair.As a result, it can be concluded at first glance that the phenomenon of equinoxial green light is very likely to have a purely accidental nature.But there are still some doubts. First of all, we don't have found in the archives of the recent repair of the stained glass window of

Judah. Secondly, we have so far ignored the attitude of

of the character of Judah. According to Mr. Maurice's interpretation, this one Rosart, direct his gaze on the circular medallion, which could represent the solar disk, and shows the solar disk with the index finger of the right hand.

left foot of green color which, him, is at the origin of the green ray. What is the significance of this attitude? Should it attract attention? on the luminous phenomenon of the equinox? The current state of our knowledge doesn't allow you to say it!

In summary, if indeed the phenomenon of green light

quinoxial was due only to a combination of circumstances, chance would have done things really well and would have caused an effect particularly happy and wonderful, attracting each time a lot of more and more admirers.

 

Louis Tschaen

Bulletin de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg, XVII, 1986

 

michel.lalos.free.fr/cadrans_solaires/autres_depts/bas_rh...

Toute aide pour une identification précise serait appréciée.

Any help for identification will be much appreciated.

  

▌    À voir en grand ici ! • Please view it large here!

 

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It's the truth though. Normal Stormies seem to be horrible marksmen while Sandies seem to be very precise. I wonder how much money they'll get in the settlement.

Day 748 Y3D19

Final image; of a fun day & night - three shows. They were

great! Precise and professional - Bravo - Little River Band

 

EPCOT ~ Spring 2018 ~ Orlando, Florida U.S.A.

2018 International Flower and Garden Festival

 

Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975. The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on

the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only Australia, but also in the United States. During its career, the band sold more than 25 million records and achieved 13 U.S. Top 40 hits - to add to many awards gained in Australia. In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "Cool Change" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. They were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association's Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards in 2004. Great band!

 

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Top 10 Little River Band Songs

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrXThXQegsY

 

"Cool Change" - Little River Band

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bKwRW0l-Qk

 

"Lady" - Little River Band (1978)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrnZv7fHGSE

 

"Take It Easy On Me" - Little River Band (1981)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFTzuWKR-qc

 

"Lonesome Loser" - Little River Band

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf-AmedKfRc

 

"It's A Long Way There" - (all guitar licks)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDY4SvTKWJ4

 

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*[The lead singer joked that you can walk into any

grocery-store and hear LRB music playing ... lol]

 

About LRB en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_River_Band

 

www.littleriverband.com/

 

(seven more photos 'from this day' in the comments)