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In un vecchio capanno semiaperto in campagna, appese ad un chiodo riposavano le mitiche cioce, e al loro fianco, curiosa, l'immagine su un calendario pubblicizzava un negozio di abbigliamento di Pescara. Erano lì, dimenticate, con il loro carico di storia. Erano contadini e pastori gli uomini e le donne che le portavano ai piedi. Un ricordo lontano che ogni tanto, sempre più raramente, ritorna durante le feste in costume. Non è solo la calzatura in sé ad essere stata abbandonata, ma con lei un modo di vivere.
"La ciòcia o zampitto, chiòchiera o, in nap., sciòscio, è una calzatura tradizionale tipica del Lazio, Abruzzo e Molise, diffusa anche in Calabria e nei Balcani.
La parola deriverebbe dal latino soccus attraverso il romanesco e il dialetto ciociaro, nome di una antica calzatura. Le cioce che diedero il nome agli abitanti di buona parte della Campagna e Marittima, ciociari, da cui poi emerse il nome Ciociaria (secondo un uso iniziato a Roma), sono calzature composte da ampie suole di cuoio trattato che avvolgono il piede fermate alla gamba con delle corregge.
Erano le calzature tipiche di contadini e pastori, indossate sia dagli uomini che dalle donne; flessibili ma ben ancorate alla gamba, si adattavano a tutti i terreni lasciando gran libertà di movimento nel lavoro. Il loro uso si è andato progressivamente perdendo; oggi è ancora possibile vederle ai piedi dei pochi zampognari (suonatori di zampogna accompagnati dai suonatori dell'oboe detto ciaramella) che ancora itinerano nella Ciociaria ed in occasione di eventi folkloristici in cui vengono indossati i costumi tradizionali.
Le cioce tradizionalmente si indossano assieme alle così dette "pezze" (un'unica fascia di tessuto bianco che avvolge completamente piede, caviglia e polpaccio), dagli uomini sotto a dei pantaloni lunghi fino al ginocchio, stretti inferiormente da lacci, dalle donne invece sotto le gonne."
www.flickr.com/photos/mariarita-g/2829128700/in/set-72157...
Purchased some more mini tiles for fill in, and one wall and the tops of the sides of the hot tub are coming along. What takes the longest doing this is tiling and allowing it to dry before moving on to the next wall.
Cob walls require a wide foundation, and solid ground, hence the trench for the foundation is so wide. A high fly ash (40%) concrete was used to limit the amount of Portland Cement.
Photographed berthed at the East Quay in Newhaven Harbour, East Sussex on June 8th 2020 is the Portuguese registered general cargo ship Spanaco Progress. Built in 2007 and originally named Chyra the Spanaco Progress has a gross tonnage of 5581.
My traveling letterpress printshop is starting to take shape!
Currently housing Sigwalt Chicago #9, an unidentified 8pt all-caps serif font, silver and bronze powder, boxed roller (courtesy of Fedir Shulga), a tube of black ink (Dave Robinson rocks), some spaces and furniture.
Still to be done: more restrains for the cast-iron press, an imposing stone, place for a hand brayer, a recess for securing the inkdisk, a carrying harness, small composing stick, oil and kerosene bottles.
Tramping in style!
The signs of "progress" are everywhere. A new "Vader" signal is awaiting the day it will replace the CPL at the north side of the NS/CSX diamond in Leipsic Ohio. The cantilever has its days numbered, even though there aren't replacements up yet these are rumored to be one of the next ones to go. Then comes the "SpongeBob Cab SD40-3 that are becoming all to common on the CSX.
"Progress" is everywhere on the railroads today. Some argue that the "progress" is a way of sterilizing the history of railroading in the U.S. and turning everything into the same everywhere. Other argue that "progress" is a way of making the railroads a safer place to work and for the public.
UPDATE: As of the morning of 2/22/16 these signals are no longer standing as the new signals were put into service that morning.
Leipsic, OH 1/3/16
Now as Christian was walking solitary by himself, he espied one afar off come crossing over the field to meet him; and their hap was to meet just as they were crossing the way of each other. The gentleman’s name that met him was Mr. Worldly Wiseman: he dwelt in the town of Carnal Policy, a very great town, and also hard by from whence Christian came. This man then, meeting with Christian, and having some inkling of him, (for Christian’s setting forth from the city of Destruction was much noised abroad, not only in the town where he dwelt, but also it began to be the town-talk in some other places)—Mr. Worldly Wiseman, therefore, having some guess of him, by beholding his laborious going, by observing his sighs and groans, and the like, began thus to enter into some talk with Christian.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: How now, good fellow, whither away after this burdened manner?
Christian: A burdened manner indeed, as ever I think poor creature had! And whereas you ask me, Whither away? I tell you, sir, I am going to yonder wicket-gate before me; for there, as I am informed, I shall be put into a way to be rid of my heavy burden.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: Hast thou a wife and children?
Christian: Yes; but I am so laden with this burden, that I cannot take that pleasure in them as formerly: methinks I am as if I had none.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: Wilt thou hearken to me, if I give thee counsel?
Christian: If it be good, I will; for I stand in need of good counsel.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: I would advise thee, then, that thou with all speed get thyself rid of thy burden; for thou wilt never be settled in thy mind till then: nor canst thou enjoy the benefits of the blessings which God hath bestowed upon thee till then.
Christian: That is that which I seek for, even to be rid of this heavy burden: but get it off myself I cannot, nor is there any man in our country that can take it off my shoulders; therefore am I going this way, as I told you, that I may be rid of my burden.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: Who bid thee go this way to be rid of thy burden?
Christian: A man that appeared to me to be a very great and honorable person: his name, as I remember, is Evangelist.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: I beshrew him for his counsel! there is not a more dangerous and troublesome way in the world than is that into which he hath directed thee; and that thou shalt find, if thou wilt be ruled by his counsel. Thou hast met with something, as I perceive, already; for I see the dirt of the Slough of Despond is upon thee: but that slough is the beginning of the sorrows that do attend those that go on in that way. Hear me; I am older than thou: thou art like to meet with, in the way which thou goest, wearisomeness, painfulness, hunger, perils, nakedness, sword, lions, dragons, darkness, and, in a word, death, and what not. These things are certainly true, having been confirmed by many testimonies. And should a man so carelessly cast away himself, by giving heed to a stranger?
Christian: Why, sir, this burden on my back is more terrible to me than are all these things which you have mentioned: nay, methinks I care not what I meet with in the way, if so be I can also meet with deliverance from my burden.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: How camest thou by thy burden at first?
Christian: By reading this book in my hand.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: I thought so; and it has happened unto thee as to other weak men, who, meddling with things too high for them, do suddenly fall into thy distractions; which distractions do not only unman men, as thine I perceive have done thee, but they run them upon desperate ventures, to obtain they know not what.
Christian: I know what I would obtain; it is ease from my heavy burden.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: But why wilt thou seek for ease this way, seeing so many dangers attend it? especially since (hadst thou but patience to hear me) I could direct thee to the obtaining of what thou desirest, without the dangers that thou in this way wilt run thyself into. Yea, and the remedy is at hand. Besides, I will add, that instead of those dangers, thou shalt meet with much safety, friendship, and content.
Christian: Sir, I pray open this secret to me.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: Why, in yonder village (the village is named Morality) there dwells a gentleman whose name is Legality, a very judicious man, and a man of a very good name, that has skill to help men off with such burdens as thine is from their shoulders; yea to my knowledge, he hath done a great deal of good this way; aye, and besides, he hath skill to cure those that are somewhat crazed in their wits with their burdens. To him, as I said, thou mayest go, and be helped presently. His house is not quite a mile from this place; and if he should not be at home himself, he hath a pretty young man to his son, whose name is Civility, that can do it (to speak on) as well as the old gentleman himself: there, I say, thou mayest be eased of thy burden; and if thou art not minded to go back to thy former habitation, (as indeed I would not wish thee,) thou mayest send for thy wife and children to this village, where there are houses now standing empty, one of which thou mayest have at a reasonable rate: provision is there also cheap and good; and that which will make thy life the more happy is, to be sure there thou shalt live by honest neighbors, in credit and good fashion.
Now was Christian somewhat at a stand; but presently he concluded, If this be true which this gentleman hath said, my wisest course is to take his advice: and with that he thus farther spake.
Christian: Sir, which is my way to this honest man’s house?
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: Do you see yonder high hill?
Christian: Yes, very well.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman: By that hill you must go, and the first house you come at is his.
Long-haul flying is so painful for smokers like me - so why make it worse with a Passenger Pain Progress announcement Qatar Airways?
The Postcard
A postcard that was produced by Adrian that was posted in New York on Sunday the 31st. July 1938 to:
Miss F. Quaddel,
38, Ladbroke Grove,
London W. 11,
England.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dear Frida,
Just a word to let you
know I'm alive & kicking.
The weather has been
miserable but pretty
warm here.
We're leaving tomorrow
for Halifax on a cruise
and arrive back Friday.
We will be back on the
12th.
Love,
Bunny."
Grant's Tomb
Grant's Tomb, officially the General Grant National Memorial, is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th. president of the United States, and his wife, Julia Grant.
It is a classical domed mausoleum in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in NYC. The structure is in the middle of Riverside Drive at 122nd. Street, across from Riverside Church to the southeast and Riverside Park to the west.
Upon Grant's death in 1885, his widow declared that he had wished to be buried in New York, and a new committee, the Grant Monument Association, appealed for funds. Progress was slow at first, since many believed the tomb should be in Washington, D.C., and also because there was no architectural design to show.
Eventually they selected a proposal by John Hemenway Duncan for a tomb of "unmistakably military character," modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, with twin sarcophagi based on Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides.
The tomb was completed in 1897, and the National Park Service has managed it since 1958. After a period of neglect, it has been restored and re-dedicated.
The mausoleum is a prominent architectural land feature visible from the Hudson River. In addition to being a national memorial since 1958, Grant's Tomb was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated an official New York City landmark in 1975.
The Creation of the Grant Monument Association
On the 23rd. July 1985, Ulysses S. Grant died of throat cancer at the age of 63 in Wilton, New York.
Within hours of Grant's death, William Russell Grace, the Mayor of New York City, sent a telegram to Julia Grant offering NYC to be the burial ground for both Ulysses and Julia.
Grant's only real wish when he died was to be next to his wife when he was buried. In practice this eliminated all military cemeteries and installations (such as West Point) from consideration, as they did not permit women to be interred at the time. Grant's family agreed to have his remains interred in NYC.
Grace wrote a letter to prominent New Yorkers the following day in order to gather support for a national monument in Grant's honor:
"Dear Sir: In order that the City of New York, which
is to be the last resting place of General Grant,
should initiate a movement to provide for the
erection of a National Monument to the memory of
the great soldier, and that she should do well and
thoroughly her part, I respectfully request you as
one of a Committee to consider ways and means
for raising the quota to be subscribed by the
citizens of New York City for this object, and beg
that you will attend a meeting to be held at the
Mayor's office on Tuesday next, 28 inst., at three
o'clock."
The preliminary meeting was attended by 85 New Yorkers who established the Committee on Organization. Its chairman was former President Chester A. Arthur; its secretary was Richard Theodore Greener. The organization came to be known as the Grant Monument Association (GMA).
Funding of the Monument
The Grant Monument Association did not originally announce the function or structure of the monument; however, the idea of any monument in Grant's honor drew public support. Western Union donated $5,000 on the 29th. July, the day the committee announced its proposal.
The GMA continued to receive donations of large and small amounts. At a membership meeting, former New York State governor Alonzo Cornell proposed a fundraising goal of one million dollars.
Private enterprises such as insurance and iron-trading companies donated funds to the project. For every ton of coal the Consumers Coal Company sold, it gave a donation of 37½ cents to the GMA.
However although there was great enthusiasm for a monument to President Grant, early fundraising efforts were stifled by growing negative public opinion expressed by out-of-state press. The Clay County Enterprise in Brazil, Indiana, wrote:
"We have not a cent for New York in the
undertaking, and would advise that not
a dollar of help be sent to the millionaire
city from Indiana. If the billions of New York
are not sufficient to embellish the city, let
the remains be placed in Washington or
some other American city."
The opposition was vocal in the view that the monument should be in Washington, D.C. Mayor Grace tried to calm the controversy by publicly releasing Mrs. Grant's justification for the New York site as the resting place for her husband:
"Riverside was selected by myself and my family
as the burial place of my husband, General Grant.
First, because I believed New York was his preference. Second, it is near the residence that I hope to occupy
as long as I live, and where I will be able to visit his
resting place often. Third, I have believed, and am
now convinced, that the tomb will be visited by as
many of his countrymen there as it would be at any
other place. Fourth, the offer of a park in New York
was the first which observed and unreservedly
assented to the only condition imposed by General
Grant himself, namely, that I should have a place by
his side."
Criticism was not limited to the debate about the monument's location. According to The New York Times, there was discontent even with the internal management of the GMA.
Although the GMA members were among the wealthiest in New York, they were making comparatively small donations to the effort that they themselves were promoting. The New York Times characterized the members as:
"Sitting quietly in an office and signing
receipts for money voluntarily tendered."
At this early stage, the GMA did not have a model for what the monument was to be; it continued to ask for donations without explaining its purpose, which frustrated and discouraged donors. Joan Waugh captured the feelings of the average citizen in her book, 'American Hero American Myth':
"Why should citizens give money to
build a monument whose shape was
still a mystery?"
The GMA did not propose a definitive plan for the monument until five years later. During its first few years, the GMA fell short of the fundraising expectations originally set by Alonzo Cornell. In the first year, 1885, the GMA raised just over $111,000, 10% of its goal. In the two years that followed, it raised just $10,000.
The slow pace of fundraising caused some trustees to resign. No design for the structure yet existed, and without such a design, it was believed that fundraising efforts would continue to remain low.
The Design Competition
On the 4th. February 1888, after a year's delay, the GMA publicly announced the details of a design competition, in a newsletter entitled 'To Artists, Architects, and Sculptors'.
This information was made public to the entire nation; it was also published in Europe. The GMA also proposed a new estimate for the monument's cost, which ranged from $500,000 to $1 million. The deadline for all designs was rescheduled three times, and was then set for a final date of the 10th. January 1889.
The competition received 65 designs, 42 of which came from international entries. The GMA did not award an overall winner, and a second design competition was ordered.
In April 1890, the GMA selected, from only five commissioned entries, the design of John Hemenway Duncan, who estimated his design would cost between $496,000 and $900,000. In 1883, Duncan designed the Washington Monument at Newburgh, the Newburgh Monument, and the Tower of Victory.
Duncan built these structures to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the U.S. Revolutionary War, and he became a member of the Architectural League in 1887. Duncan cited as his design's objective:
"To produce a monumental structure
that should be unmistakably a tomb
of military character."
He claimed that he wanted to avoid "resemblance of a habitable dwelling," as the structure was meant to be the epitome of reverence and respect.
The tomb's granite exterior is modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus with Persian elements, and but for the Ionic columns of the exterior rotunda and the Doric columns of the porch, it resembles the Tropaeum Alpium.
Within the tomb, the twin sarcophagi of Grant and his wife are based on the sarcophagus of Napoleon Bonaparte at Les Invalides.
Construction of the Monument
By 1890, the GMA had a defined design and architect. Although the GMA was becoming more organized and the reality of the monument was becoming clearer, the debate over the monument's location re-opened in Congress.
In October 1890, U.S. Senator Hale introduced legislation to have the sarcophagi placed at a monument in Washington, DC. The legislation did not pass, but the effort re-opened the debate over the proper place for the remains of Grant.
A ground-breaking ceremony had already been scheduled for the 27th. April 1891, and although the parties had not agreed on a location for the monument by that date, a ground-breaking ceremony was nevertheless held.
In June 1891, deliberations ended; the monument was to be built in NYC, and that month, the GMA hired a contractor named John T. Brady.
Construction began that summer, and by August, preliminary excavation was complete. Construction was on schedule until the GMA asked Duncan to alter his design in the spring of 1892. This was because the design could not be as elaborate as originally planned, because of the Association's inability to raise sufficient funds.
Construction was also slowed by a stonecutters' strike in 1892. After 1894, construction proceeded at a faster pace, and by 1896, work on the outside of the tomb was nearly complete. One innovative feature of the tomb construction was the use of Guastavino tile vaulting to support the circular floor above the perimeter of the downstairs atrium.
On the 17th. April 1897, Grant's remains were quietly transferred to an 8.5-ton red granite sarcophagus and placed in the mausoleum. The monument was dedicated ten days later on the 27th. April 1897, on the 75th.-anniversary ceremony of Grant's birth on the 27th. April 1822.
Julia Grant, Grant's wife of nearly 40 years, died five years later in 1902, and was placed in a matching sarcophagus and laid to rest in the mausoleum beside her husband.
The sarcophagi are placed above ground, leading to a common riddle by comedian Groucho Marx, who often asked contestants on his radio and television quiz show You Bet Your Life:
"Who was buried in Grant's Tomb?"
The riddle is based on the use of the word "buried", and since neither of the Grants' tombs are underground, the correct answer is "no one".
However, Marx often accepted the answer "Grant" and awarded a consolation prize to those who gave it. He used the question, among several other easy ones, to ensure that everyone won a prize on the show.
Decay and Restoration of the Monument
The initial restoration project began in December 1935 (38 years after the tomb opened), when Works Progress Administration laborers installed new marble flooring in the atrium. The WPA played a large role in sustaining the monument.
Joan Waugh explains that:
"In the 1930's the tomb was barely
maintained by funds from the Works
Progress Administration."
Shortly after the restoration project began, the old New York City Post Office was being demolished, and donated two statues of eagles to decorate the front of the Grant Monument.
The laborers of the WPA worked on several projects throughout the 1930's, including roof restoration, electric lighting and heating systems, and removal of the purple stained glass windows. The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company installed amber glass to replace the purple stained glass.
Toward the end of the 1930's, a project began to restore the two reliquary rooms, where battle flags were displayed in trophy cases, and murals of a map in each marked Civil War battles.
In 1938, the Federal Art Project selected artists William Mues and Jeno Juszko to design the busts of William T. Sherman, Phillip H. Sheridan, George H. Thomas, James B. McPherson, and Edward Ord. The WPA installed the five busts in the circular wall of the atrium surrounding the sarcophagi.
After the many contributions of the WPA, the Grant Monument Association held a re-dedication of the tomb on the 27th. April 1939.
National Park Service Control
In 1958, the National Park Service (NPS) was granted authority to oversee the monument. According to an NPS report, a historian admitted that when the NPS first assumed authority over the tomb, they "had no program for the site."
Combined with the mismanagement and devastation that NYC was going through financially in the 1960's to the 1990's, that led to great neglect of the site, particularly in the maintenance of the monument.
By the 1970's, the tomb was marred by vandalism and graffiti. Many places in the city, including Times Square, were in the same condition. Trash had heaped up around the monument, its exterior recesses were being used by drug users, the homeless, and criminals for hideouts. Graffiti covered the walls and pedestals, and vandals chipped away at the masonry.
The NPS undertook a plan to remove the trophy cases in the reliquary rooms.
Restoration in the 1990's
The abuse of the monument continued until renewed restoration efforts began in the early 1990's; in 1991, Frank Scaturro, a student at Columbia University and volunteer with the NPS, launched an effort to restore the tomb, and brought his concerns to Congress.
The tomb was still marred by graffiti and, at the time, there were only three maintenance workers and three rangers on daytime duty, with a yearly budget of $235,000.
For over two years, Scaturro battled the National Park Service, which was charged with maintaining Grant's Tomb. He sent weekly memos, including a 26-page report in the summer of 1992. After two years of unsuccessful attempts to navigate the bureaucracy of the NPS, Scaturro published a 325-page whistle-blower report, which he sent to Congress and the President.
Scaturro's efforts drew national media attention, and resulted in a $1.8 million grant to restore Grant's Tomb. According to Mr. Scaturro:
"Whistle-blowing was the last resort.
I only did what I did because I had no
other resort ... the only thing left was
abandoning the site and that was not
an alternative to me."
The tomb was in great need of renovation.
Scaturro's efforts to expose the monument's poor condition caught the attention of two Illinois state lawmakers. State Sen. Judy Baar Topinka and State Rep. Ron Lawfer sponsored a resolution to compel the NPS to meet its obligations in maintaining and restoring Grant's tomb.
If the NPS did not comply, then Topinka and Lawfer demanded that Grant's remains be transported to the state of Illinois. Senator Topinka said:
"He would be better off anywhere
than New York, but my argument
is not with New York; it's with the
National Park Service."
The demands for restoration did not stop at the state level. In 1994, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to:
"Restore, complete, and preserve in
perpetuity the Grant's Tomb National
Memorial and surrounding areas."
The legislation set by the House required that the restoration be completed by the 27th. April 1997, the tomb's 100th. anniversary and Grant's 175th. birthday. On the 27th. April 1997, the restoration effort sanctioned by Congress was completed and the tomb re-dedicated.
General Grant's descendants, who were appalled by the condition of the tomb, called Scaturro a hero for his efforts.
Accessibility
The visitor center is located about 100 yards to the west of the mausoleum and contains a bookstore, memorabilia, a movie about Grant's life, and restrooms. The visitor center is accessible to people with disabilities, but the mausoleum is not.
Both are open Wednesday through Sunday, year-round; the visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. while the tomb is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Photography is allowed in the tomb, but cellphone use, eating, drinking, smoking, and gum chewing are prohibited. Flash photography is discouraged inside the tomb.
Events
Concerts are regularly held at or right outside Grant's Tomb. Examples include Jazzmobile's annual Free Outdoor Summer Mobile Concerts at Grant's Tomb, and the annual Grant's Tomb Summer Concert, which in 2009 featured West Point's United States Military Academy Band.
Every year on the 27th. April, the anniversary of Grant's birth, a ceremony celebrating his life is held at the memorial.
Art
A sculpture consisting of seventeen concrete benches bearing colorful mosaics was created around the monument in the early 1970's. The sculpture, entitled The Rolling Bench, was designed by artist Pedro Silva and the architect Phillip Danzig, and was built with the help of hundreds of neighborhood children over a period of three years.
The sculpture underwent restoration during the summer of 2008 under the supervision of Silva. According to NYC Parks:
"Some popular local folk art in
Riverside Park contrasts strikingly
with the Tomb's severity".
The Comedian Lee Wilson
So what else happened on the day that Bunny posted the card?
Well, the 31st. July 1938 marked the birth in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, of Lee Wilson.
Lee was an English stand-up comedian best known for his performances on the ITV Television show The Comedians.
Lee attended King's Hill School, Wednesbury and served in Malaya with the Cheshire Regiment of the British Army where he was in an entertainment troupe.
After winning talent contests as a singer and forming a band called The Kingsford Four, he added comedy to his act. He then won New Faces in 1976.
Wilson later performed on cruise ships for P&O and became an after-dinner speaker.
Lee died of pancreatic cancer on the 3rd. June 2013, at the age of 74.
Final Thoughts From Ulysses S. Grant
"The friend in my adversity I shall always
cherish most. I can better trust those who
helped to relieve the gloom of my dark
hours than those who are so ready to enjoy
with me the sunshine of my prosperity."
"My failures have been errors in judgment,
not of intent."
"If you see the President, tell him from me
that whatever happens, there will be no
turning back."
"I have nothing to do with opinions. I deal
only with armed rebellion and its aiders
and abettors."
"I propose to fight it out on this line
if it takes all summer."
"If men make war in slavish obedience
to rules, they will fail."
"Nations, like individuals, are punished
for their transgressions."
"In every battle there comes a time when
both sides consider themselves beaten,
then he who continues the attack wins."
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out
where your enemy is. Get at him as soon
as you can. Strike him as hard as you can,
and keep moving on."
"Everyone has his superstitions. One of mine
has always been when I started to go anywhere,
or to do anything, never to turn back or to stop
until the thing intended was accomplished."
"I suffer the mortification of seeing myself
attacked right and left by people at home
professing patriotism and love of country
who never heard the whistle of a hostile
bullet.
I pity them and the nation dependent on
such for its existence. I am thankful,
however that, though such people make a
great noise, the masses are not like them."
"There never was a time when, in my opinion,
some way could not be found to prevent the
drawing of the sword."
"Leave the matter of religion to the family
altar, the church, and the private school,
supported entirely by private contributions.
Keep the church and state forever separate."
"I appreciate the fact, and am proud of it,
that the attentions I am receiving are
intended more for our country than for me
personally."
"I have never advocated war except
as a means of peace."
"I know only two tunes: one of them is
'Yankee Doodle', and the other isn't."
"I know no method to secure the repeal
of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as
their stringent execution."
"It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called
to the office of Chief Executive without any
previous political training."
This one is just for my memory -- this huge plot next to Grand Central and the MetLife building is under construction after a long time fenced off and inactive. I'll be curious to see how the whole area is changed once this enormous structure is finished (I hear it's supposed to be the tallest commercial building in the city once it's done).
I did get a M10, and I like it a great deal. I also got a Tri-Elmar, and I like it a great deal less.
The MV Vectis Progress is a general cargo vessel built in 2012 and operated by Carisbrooke Shipping under the Isle of Man flag. Measuring nearly 124 meters in length, it features two 80-ton cranes and can carry up to 484 containers, offering flexible cargo handling capabilities across a wide range of ports and conditions.
A key feature of the vessel is its ice-class 1A certification, allowing it to safely navigate ice-covered waters.
Had this portrait been taken in 1964 rather than 2014, this indeed would have been Western Progress. By 1964, the ex-GW system north of Aynho Junction was firmly in the grasp of the rival London Midland region, but the Western had left it's mark.
Banbury's ramshackle wooden station had been replaced by a spanking new brick, concrete and glass structure in 1958, the King class locomotives were ousted from duty by Westerns and Warships, mark 1's and 2's were taking over from Great Western Clerestory stock.
50 years on and Banbury thrives. Chiltern Railways have considerable presence in the town as the Birmingham Mainline gains ever more traffic and riders. Even the locomotive hauled train survives with more to come as Chiltern increases it's use of the 67 hauled mk3 Silver sets on Birmingham services.
Still, it can never harm to review what's been and gone. And what better way than riding in a PV early mk2 with twin Maybach's providing the power?
The Chiltern Champion waits to head back to Marylebone with D1015 at the helm. Champion? I'll say...
9 February 2014
And before anyone starts, I'm aware the Turbo unit behind wouldn't be there in 1964. It's a class 117 DMU really. Just use your imagination eh? :D
windows and dormers were installed a few weeks ago. also glued on some of the newly stained shingles! love this stain colour!!
Lily and I were dismayed to see that one of our favourite forest walking paths has been cleared for an industrial park.
Made us both sad. Oh well, more exploring required!
Decades ago people attempted to create farmland out of the natural wetlands south of town. It was never successful and they have now become a source of pride in the community. At the same time, a highway meant to circle the town to relieve traffic was planned to cross this area, but was stopped by local opposition.
The end result was a road half constructed which ended in a bridge over the main highway sound but which leads nowhere.
Now there is attempts at compromise. Hundreds more acres have been allowed to return back to wetlands to compensate land which will be lost by the highway.
Will it be a win-win situation or a lose-lose situation is the question...
Wednesday -hang in there!
In early August 2015 in India, (foreground, left-right) Nabin Chandra Gayali and his wife, Bhuljhara Gayali, sit outside their home in the village of Shakdah, Nadia District, West Bengal State. Behind them are: (left-right) their 16-year-old daughter, Bishaksha Gayali, a student in secondary school; their daughter-in-law Swarga Mala Gayali and their son (Swarga Mala’s husband) Monodish Gayani, who are washing the family’s cow, Kangali; their son Krishna Chandra Gayali, an attendant at a mobile phone shop; and their 18-year-old daughter, Beauty Gayani. Near them are 11 large plastic containers bearing a cumulative total of 220 litres of water, the amount the family uses daily. Thirty litres go toward cooking and drinking, 60 toward bathing, 20 toward cleaning their homes, 70 toward washing laundry and dishes, and 40 go to Kangali. They draw all their water from a hand pump, which is drilled about 60 metres into the ground. Because of its very high iron content, the water emits a pungent stench, turns a murky colour when exposed to oxygen and causes digestive problems in those who drink it for prolonged periods. “Our water is not so good,” says Nabin Chandra. “It has a lot of iron in it. You can see the deposits in the water after its come out of the pump, and it causes us digestion and stomach problems.” Prior to the hand pump being installed three years ago, Swarga Mala fetched water from a neighbour’s home, a couple hundred metres away. “I used to make the trip about forty times a day. I felt like I was walking back and forth all day just to get water,” she said. “When I was young, there was no hand pump,” said Nabin Chandra. “It was very convenient to take a dip in the pond water. We don’t get the pleasure of the pond and the freshness of that experience with the hand pump, so we’ve lost that. I’m in a second childhood stage. When I was a boy, my parents used to take me to the pond to play. Now that I’m old, I’m a child once again, and I dream of being taken to a pond to swim.”
In 2015, 663 million worldwide still do not have access to improved drinking water sources although the global target for safe drinking water was met in 2010 – well ahead of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce by half the proportion of the population without safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Over 90 per cent of the world’s population now has access to improved sources of drinking water. However, 2.4 billion still lack improved sanitation facilities and 946 million still practice open defecation. Access to safe water and sanitation is a human right, and water and sanitation are fundamental to human development and well-being, as well as critical to achieving other development objectives. The world has made significant progress in water and sanitation but challenges persist, and much remains to be done to ensure that everyone is reached. Inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation exist, including between rural and urban areas and the rich and the poor, and also include the gender burden of water collection; and the persistent exclusion of the poor from water and sanitation services. As of 2012, the latest year for which data are available, 93 per cent of people in India had access to an improved source of drinking water. When dis aggregated by locale, the number falls to 91 per cent for persons living in rural areas but rises to 97 per cent for urban dwellers. Only 36 per cent of people countrywide have access to improved sanitation facilities. In rural areas, only 25 per cent do, 60 per cent in urban ones.
Kitty Blue progress shot.
'Mrs Mouse's Cupcakes' published by Templar UK April 2011. All design, toys and artworks strictly copyrighted to Gretel Parker and Templar Publishing UK.
My first upload in over a year. Hopefully something should be arriving weekly now, as John and I have restarted our photo challenge.
My first word was 'progress'. This is rather a literal interpretation, but also has metaphorical meaning behind it as this train journey started in a place of sadness and ended at a place a hope.
John's word was 'roots' and you can see his photo here.