Rochester is a town and historic city in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is situated at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London.

 

Rochester was for many years a favourite of Charles Dickens, who owned nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham,[1] basing many of his novels on the area. The Diocese of Rochester, the second oldest in England, is based at Rochester Cathedral and was responsible for the founding of a school, now The King's School in 604 AD,[2] which is recognised as being the second oldest continuously running school in the world. Rochester Castle, built by Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, has one of the best preserved keepsin either England or France, and during the First Barons' War (1215–1217) in King John's reign, baronial forces captured the castle from Archbishop Stephen Langton and held it against the king, who then besieged it.[3]

 

Neighbouring Chatham, Gillingham, Strood and a number of outlying villages, together with Rochester, nowadays make up the MedwayUnitary Authority area. It was, until 1998,[4]under the control of Kent County Council and is still part of the ceremonial county of Kent, under the latest Lieutenancies Act.[5]

 

Toponymy[edit]

The Romano-British name for Rochester was Durobrivae, later Durobrivis c. 730 and Dorobrevis in 844. The two commonly cited origins of this name are that it either came from "stronghold by the bridge(s)",[6] or is the latinisation of the British word Dourbruf meaning "swiftstream".[7]Durobrivis was pronounced 'Robrivis. Bede copied down this name, c. 730, mistaking its meaning as Hrofi's fortified camp (OE Hrofes cæster). From this we get c. 730 Hrofæscæstre, 811 Hrofescester, 1086 Rovescester, 1610 Rochester.[6] The Latinised adjective 'Roffensis' refers to Rochester.[7]

Neolithic remains have been found in the vicinity of Rochester; over time it has been variously occupied by Celts, Romans, Jutes and/or Saxons. During the Celtic period it was one of the two administrative centres of the Cantiaci tribe. During the Roman conquest of Britain a decisive battle was fought at the Medway somewhere near Rochester. The first bridge was subsequently constructed early in the Roman period. During the later Roman period the settlement was walled in stone. King Ethelbert of Kent(560–616) established a legal system which has been preserved in the 12th century Textus Roffensis. In AD 604 the bishopric and cathedral were founded. During this period, from the recall of the legions until the Norman conquest, Rochester was sacked at least twice and besieged on another occasion.

The medieval period saw the building of the current cathedral (1080–1130, 1227 and 1343), the building of two castles and the establishment of a significant town. Rochester Castle saw action in the sieges of 1215 and 1264. Its basic street plan was set out, constrained by the river, Watling Street, Rochester Priory and the castle.

Rochester has produced two martyrs: St John Fisher, executed by Henry VIII for refusing to sanction the divorce of Catherine of Aragon; and Bishop Nicholas Ridley, executed by Queen Mary for being an English Reformation protestant.

The city was raided by the Dutch as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, commanded by Admiral de Ruijter, broke through the chain at Upnor[8] and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing part of the English fleet and burning it.[9]

  

The ancient City of Rochester merged with the Borough of Chatham and part of the Strood Rural District in 1974 to form the Borough of Medway. It was later renamed Rochester-upon-Medway, and its City status transferred to the entire borough. In 1998 another merger with the rest of the Medway Towns created the Medway Unitary Authority. The outgoing council neglected to appoint ceremonial "Charter Trustees" to continue to represent the historic Rochester area, causing Rochester to lose its City status – an error not even noticed by council officers for four years, until 2002.[10][11]

Military History

Rochester has for centuries been of great strategic importance through its position near the confluence of the Thames and the Medway. Rochester Castle was built to guard the river crossing, and the Royal Dockyard's establishment at Chatham witnessed the beginning of the Royal Navy's long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of fortresses; the inner line built during the Napoleonic warsconsists of Fort Clarence, Fort Pitt, Fort Amherst and Fort Gillingham. The outer line of Palmerston Forts was built during the 1860s in light of the report by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdomand consists of Fort Borstal, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Luton, and the Twydall Redoubts, with two additional forts on islands in the Medway, namely Fort Hoo and Fort Darnet.

During the First World War the Short Brothers' aircraft manufacturing company developed the first plane to launch a torpedo, the Short Admiralty Type 184, at its seaplane factory on the River Medway not far from Rochester Castle. In the intervening period between the 20th century World Wars the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the Singapore, Empire 'C'-Class and Sunderland. During the Second World War, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined bomber, the Stirling.

The UK's decline in naval power and shipbuilding competitiveness led to the government decommissioning the RN Shipyard at Chatham in 1984, which led to the subsequent demise of much local maritime industry. Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting. On the closure of Chatham Dockyard the area experienced an unprecedented surge in unemployment to 24%; this had dropped to 2.4% of the local population by 2014.[12]

Former City of Rochester[edit]

Rochester was recognised as a City from 1211 to 1998. The City of Rochester's ancient status was unique, as it had no formal council or Charter Trustees nor a Mayor, instead having the office of Admiral of the River Medway, whose incumbent acted as de facto civic leader.[13] On 1 April 1974, the City Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, and the territory was merged with the District of Medway, Borough of Chatham and most of Strood Rural District to form a new a local government district called the Borough of Medway, within the county of Kent. Medway Borough Council applied to inherit Rochester's city status, but this was refused; instead letters patent were granted constituting the area of the former Rochester local government district to be the City of Rochester, to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said City".[14] The Home Officesaid that the city status may be extended to the entire borough if it had "Rochester" in its name, so in 1979, Medway Borough Council renamed the borough to Borough of Rochester-upon-Medway, and in 1982, Rochester's city status was transferred to the entire borough by letters patent, with the district being called the City of Rochester-upon-Medway.[13]

On 1 April 1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of Medway. The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions informed the city council that since it was the local government district that officially held City status under the 1982 Letters Patent, the council would need to appoint charter trustees to preserve its city status, but the outgoing Labour-run council decided not to appoint charter trustees, so the city status was lost when Rochester-upon-Medway was abolished as a local government district.[15][16][17] The other local government districts with City status that were abolished around this time, Bath and Hereford, decided to appoint Charter Trustees to maintain the existence of their own cities and the mayoralties. The incoming Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, it was advised that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office's list of cities.[18][19]

In 2010, Medway Council started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by the Advertising Standards Authority.[20]

Governance[edit]

Civic history and traditions[edit]

Rochester and its neighbours, Chatham and Gillingham, form a single large urban area known as the Medway Towns with a population of about 250,000. Since Norman times Rochester had always governed land on the other side of the Medway in Strood, which was known as Strood Intra; before 1835 it was about 100 yards (91 m) wide and stretched to Gun Lane. In the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act the boundaries were extended to include more of Strood and Frindsbury, and part of Chatham known as Chatham Intra. In 1974, Rochester City Council was abolished and superseded by Medway Borough Council, which also included the parishes of Cuxton, Halling and Cliffe, and the Hoo Peninsula. In 1979 the borough became Rochester-upon-Medway. The Admiral of the River Medway was ex-officio Mayor of Rochester and this dignity transferred to the Mayor of Medway when that unitary authority was created, along with the Admiralty Court for the River which constitutes a committee of the Council.[21]

  

Like many of the mediaeval towns of England, Rochester had civic Freemen whose historic duties and rights were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. However, the Guild of Free Fishers and Dredgers continues to the present day and retains rights, duties and responsibilities on the Medway, between Sheerness and Hawkwood Stone.[22] This ancient corporate body convenes at the Admiralty Court whose Jury of Freemen is responsible for the conservancy of the River as enshrined in current legislation. The City Freedom can be obtained by residents after serving a period of "servitude", i.e. apprenticeship (traditionally seven years), before admission as a Freeman. The annual ceremonial Beating of the Boundsby the River Medway takes place after the Admiralty Court, usually on the first Saturday of July.

Rochester first obtained City status in 1211, but this was lost due to an administrative oversight when Rochester was absorbed by the Medway Unitary Authority.[10] Subsequently, the Medway Unitary Authority has applied for City status for Medway as a whole, rather than merely for Rochester. Medway applied unsuccessfully for City status in 2000 and 2002 and again in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year of 2012.[23] Any future bid to regain formal City status has been recommended to be made under the aegis of Rochester-upon-Medway.

Ecclesiastical parishes[edit]

  

There were three medieval parishes: St Nicholas', St Margaret's and St Clement's. St Clement's was in Horsewash Lane until the last vicar died in 1538 when it was joined with St Nicholas' parish; the church last remaining foundations were finally removed when the railway was being constructed in the 1850s. St Nicholas' Church was built in 1421 beside the cathedral to serve as a parish church for the citizens of Rochester. The ancient cathedral included the Benedictine monastic priory of St Andrew with greater status than the local parishes.[24] Rochester's pre-1537 diocese, under the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome, covered a vast area extending into East Anglia and included all of Essex.[25]

As a result of the restructuring of the Church during the Reformation the cathedral was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary without parochial responsibilities, being a diocesan church.[26] In the 19th century the parish of St Peter's was created to serve the burgeoning city with the new church being consecrated in 1859. Following demographic shifts, St Peter's and St Margaret's were recombined as a joint benefice in 1953 with the parish of St Nicholas with St Clement being absorbed in 1971.[27] The combined parish is now the "Parish of St Peter with St Margaret", centred at the new (1973) Parish Centre in The Delce (St Peter's) with St Margaret's remaining as a chapel-of-ease. Old St Peter's was demolished in 1974, while St Nicholas' Church has been converted into the diocesan offices but remains consecrated. Continued expansion south has led to the creation of an additional more recent parish of St Justus (1956) covering The Tideway estate and surrounding area.[28]

A church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin at Eastgate, which was of Anglo-Saxon foundation, is understood to have constituted a parish until the Middle Ages, but few records survive.[29]

Geography

Rochester lies within the area, known to geologists, as the London Basin. The low-lying Hoo peninsula to the north of the town consists of London Clay, and the alluvium brought down by the two rivers—the Thames and the Medway—whose confluence is in this area. The land rises from the river, and being on the dip slope of the North Downs, this consists of chalksurmounted by the Blackheath Beds of sand and gravel.

As a human settlement, Rochester became established as the lowest river crossing of the River Medway, well before the arrival of the Romans.

It is a focal point between two routes, being part of the main route connecting London with the Continent and the north-south routes following the course of the Medway connecting Maidstone and the Weald of Kent with the Thames and the North Sea. The Thames Marshes were an important source of salt. Rochester's roads follow north Kent's valleys and ridges of steep-sided chalk bournes. There are four ways out of town to the south: up Star Hill, via The Delce,[30] along the Maidstone Road or through Borstal. The town is inextricably linked with the neighbouring Medway Towns but separate from Maidstone by a protective ridge known as the Downs, a designated area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

At its most limited geographical size, Rochester is defined as the market town within the city walls, now associated with the historic medieval city. However, Rochester historically also included the ancient wards of Strood Intra on the river's west bank, and Chatham Intra as well as the three old parishes on the Medway's east bank.

The diocese of Rochester is another geographical entity which can be referred to as Rochester.

Climate[edit]

Rochester has an oceanic climate similar to much of southern England, being accorded Köppen Climate Classification-subtype of "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate).[31]

On 10 August 2003, neighbouring Gravesend recorded one of the highest temperatures since meteorogical records began in the United Kingdom, with a reading of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit),[32]only beaten by Brogdale, near Faversham, 22 miles (35 km) to the ESE.[33] The weather station at Brogdale is run by a volunteer, only reporting its data once a month, whereas Gravesend, which has an official Met Office site at the PLA pilot station,[34] reports data hourly.

Being near the mouth of the Thames Estuary with the North Sea, Rochester is relatively close to continental Europe and enjoys a somewhat less temperate climate than other parts of Kent and most of East Anglia. It is therefore less cloudy, drier and less prone to Atlanticdepressions with their associated wind and rain than western regions of Britain, as well as being hotter in summer and colder in winter. Rochester city centre's micro-climate is more accurately reflected by these officially recorded figures than by readings taken at Rochester Airport.[35]

North and North West Kent continue to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest area of the country, eg. on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees.[36]Additionally, it holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 degrees[37] and 31.7 degrees C.[38] Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 degrees C., the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October.

North and North West Kent continue to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest area of the country, eg. on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees.[36]Additionally, it holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 degrees[37] and 31.7 degrees C.[38] Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 degrees C., the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October.

 

Building

Rochester comprises numerous important historic buildings, the most prominent of which are the Guildhall, the Corn Exchange, Restoration House, Eastgate House, as well as Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral. Many of the town centre's old buildings date from as early as the 14th century up to the 18th century. The chapel of St Bartholomew's Hospital dates from the ancient priory hospital's foundation in 1078.

Economy

  

Thomas Aveling started a small business in 1850 producing and repairing agricultural plant equipment. In 1861 this became the firm of Aveling and Porter, which was to become the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery and steam rollers in the country.[39] Aveling was elected Admiral of the River Medway (i.e. Mayor of Rochester) for 1869-70.

Culture[edit]

Sweeps Festival[edit]

Since 1980 the city has seen the revival of the historic Rochester Jack-in-the-Green May Day dancing chimney sweeps tradition, which had died out in the early 1900s. Though not unique to Rochester (similar sweeps' gatherings were held across southern England, notably in Bristol, Deptford, Whitstable and Hastings), its revival was directly inspired by Dickens' description of the celebration in Sketches by Boz.

The festival has since grown from a small gathering of local Morris dancesides to one of the largest in the world.[40] The festival begins with the "Awakening of Jack-in-the-Green" ceremony,[41] and continues in Rochester High Street over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

There are numerous other festivals in Rochester apart from the Sweeps Festival. The association with Dickens is the theme for Rochester's two Dickens Festivals held annually in June and December.[42] The Medway Fuse Festival[43] usually arranges performances in Rochester and the latest festival to take shape is the Rochester Literature Festival, the brainchild of three local writers.[44]

Library[edit]

A new public library was built alongside the Adult Education Centre, Eastgate. This enabled the registry office to move from Maidstone Road, Chatham into the Corn Exchange on Rochester High Street (where the library was formerly housed). As mentioned in a report presented to Medway Council's Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 28 March 2006, the new library opened in late summer (2006).[45]

Theatre[edit]

There is a small amateur theatre called Medway Little Theatre on St Margaret's Banks next to Rochester High Street near the railway station.[46] The theatre was formed out of a creative alliance with the Medway Theatre Club, managed by Marion Martin, at St Luke's Methodist Church on City Way, Rochester[47] between 1985 and 1988, since when drama and theatre studies have become well established in Rochester owing to the dedication of the Medway Theatre Club.[48]

Media[edit]

Local newspapers for Rochester include the Medway Messenger, published by the KM Group, and free newspapers such as Medway Extra(KM Group) and Yourmedway (KOS Media).

The local commercial radio station for Rochester is KMFM Medway, owned by the KM Group. Medway is also served by community radio station Radio Sunlight. The area also receives broadcasts from county-wide stations BBC Radio Kent, Heart and Gold, as well as from various Essex and Greater London radio stations.[49]

Sport[edit]

Football is played with many teams competing in Saturday and Sunday leagues.[50] The local football club is Rochester United F.C. Rochester F.C. was its old football club but has been defunct for many decades. Rugby is also played; Medway R.F.C. play their matches at Priestfields and Old Williamsonians is associated with Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School.[51]

Cricket is played in the town, with teams entered in the Kent Cricket League. Holcombe Hockey Club is one of the largest in the country,[52]and is based at Holcombe Park. The men's and women's 1st XI are part of the England Hockey League.[53] Speedway was staged on a track adjacent to City Way that opened in 1932. Proposals for a revival in the early 1970s did not materialise and the Rochester Bombers became the Romford Bombers.[54]

Sailing and rowing are also popular on the River Medway with respective clubs being based in Rochester.[55][56]

Film[edit]

The 1959 James Bond Goldfinger describes Bond driving along the A2through the Medway Towns from Strood to Chatham. Of interest is the mention of "inevitable traffic jams" on the Strood side of Rochester Bridge, the novel being written some years prior to the construction of the M2 motorway Medway bypass.

Rochester is the setting of the controversial 1965 Peter Watkins television film The War Game, which depicts the town's destruction by a nuclear missile.[57] The opening sequence was shot in Chatham Town Hall, but the credits particularly thank the people of Dover, Gravesend and Tonbridge.

The 2011 adventure film Ironclad (dir. Jonathan English) is based upon the 1215 siege of Rochester Castle. There are however a few areaswhere the plot differs from accepted historical narrative.

Notable people[edit]

  

Charles Dickens

The historic city was for many years the favourite of Charles Dickens, who lived within the diocese at nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham, many of his novels being based on the area. Descriptions of the town appear in Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations and (lightly fictionalised as "Cloisterham") in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Elements of two houses in Rochester, Satis House and Restoration House, are used for Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations, Satis House.[58]

Sybil Thorndike

The actress Dame Sybil Thorndike and her brother Russell were brought up in Minor Canon Row adjacent to the cathedral; the daughter of a canon of Rochester Cathedral, she was educated at Rochester Grammar School for Girls. A local doctors' practice,[59] local dental practice[60] and a hall at Rochester Grammar School are all named after her.[61]

Peter Buck

Sir Peter Buck was Admiral of the Medway in the 17th century; knightedin 1603 he and Bishop Barlow hosted King James, the Stuart royal familyand the King of Denmark in 1606. A civil servant to The Royal Dockyardand Lord High Admiral, Buck lived at Eastgate House, Rochester.

Denis Redman

Major-General Denis Redman, a World War II veteran, was born and raised in Rochester and later became a founder member of REME, head of his Corps and a Major-General in the British Army.

Kelly Brook

The model and actress Kelly Brook went to Delce Junior School in Rochester and later the Thomas Aveling School (formerly Warren Wood Girls School).

The singer and songwriter Tara McDonald now lives in Rochester.

The Prisoners, a rock band from 1980 to 1986, were formed in Rochester. They are part of what is known as the "Medway scene".

Kelly Tolhurst MP is the current parliamentary representative for the constituency.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_Kent

  

Baby Octopus at the Venice fish market.

Campaign against censorship at flickr!

 

flickr sperrt uns aus! Und auch Dich!

Seit dem 12.06.2007 werden für deutsche Nutzer keine Bilder mehr angezeigt, die als 'moderate' oder 'restricted' markiert sind! Es gibt keine Möglichkeit das umzustellen - das ist eine grobe Unverschämtheit und Frechheit von flickr!

 

We are the users - don't forget that flickr!

 

Deswegen treten wir gemeinsam in Aktion und zeigen allen, das uns das nicht gefällt was flickr mit uns macht! Füge das Bild zu deinen Favoriten hinzu und poste es!

 

In English:

If your Yahoo! ID is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea, you will only be able to view safe content based on your local Terms of Service, and therefore won’t be able to turn off SafeSearch.

In other words, german users can't access photos on flickr that are not flaged "safe" ... only flowers and landscapes for the germans ...

We won't let this happen! Copy and upload this picture to your account - show flickr who we are.

 

Espanol:

No sé cuando, pero muy recientemente a las cuentas de Alemania, Hong Kong, Corea y Singapur les han prohibido ver las fotos que están en el Safe Search, las mismas en las que a nosotros nos dan la opcíón de ver o no ver. A ellos simplemente se lo prohiben. Chale no?

 

Francais:

Si votre compte Yahoo! est basé à Singapour, à Hong Kong, en Corée ou en Allemagne, vous ne pourrez voir que les photos qui n'ont pas été marquées comme ayant un contenu qui peut choquer. Toutes les autres ne vous seront pas accessibles. Vous serez donc condamnés à ne voir que des paysages et des fleurs. Il ne faut pas laisser faire ça. Envoyez cette photo sur votre compte pour montrer à Flickr que nous savons nous mobiliser contre la censure !

 

繁體中文

如果妳/你的Yahoo!個人帳號隸屬於新加坡 德國 香港 或是韓國, 那麼依據各自所屬的當地使用者條款限制下, 妳/你將只能在瀏覽觀看Flickr網站上標示有安全註記的照片與內容. 所以也無法將安全搜尋的功能關閉. 換句話說, 德國的使用者除了花卉與風景外, 是完全無法在Flickr網站上觀看未被標示安全的相關內容.

 

我們不期望註冊使用者的權益有任何不平等待遇, 歡迎自行複製文宣圖片轉貼聲援.

  

Spread the image!

  

Lade dieses Bild runter und poste es in deinem Account! Lass uns das Bild überall auf flickr verteilen und es in 'Interestingness' heben!! So geht es nicht!

» Blue Ribbon version: farm2.static.flickr.com/1390/549088925_30a7a0ac66_o.jpg

» Original Version: farm2.static.flickr.com/1299/543864623_7aadef1e69_o.jpg

» Link to the original Thread here: http://flickr.com/photos/atomtigerzoo/543864623/

 

Weitere Infos:

» www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/91085

» www.flickr.com/groups/404938@N23/discuss/72157600347681500/

» www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

 

Wer einen Blog besitzt oder Kontakte zu den Medien hat: Weiterleiten!

 

Das Bild und der Text kann einfach kopiert, genutzt, verändert werden - macht damit was ihr wollt - Hauptsache es trägt zur Sache bei, dass diese Unsinnigkeit aufhört!

M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer "Porc Epic"

 

The M10 Wolverine Tank destroyer "Porc Epic" belonged to the 3rd Squadron of the French 8th Regiment of the "Chasseurs d’Afrique" (the hunters of Africa) which had been temporarily attached to the 1re Division Française Libre in order to liberate the "Colmar pocket".

 

On January 23rd, 1945, the 1re Division Française Libre of Géneral Pierre Garby situated on the left flank and to the north of the US 3rd Infantry Division, started the attack towards the east with the sole purpose of reaching the River Rhine.

 

During this attack it faced four Battalions of the 708. Volksgrenadier Division which was supported by tank destroyers as well as heavy artillery. The Germans had created deep defense lines by using the location of the small villages as well as the shattered woods in order to control the wide open spaces in front of them. Next to that, they tried to check the French advance by laying many mine fields.

 

Two German battalions counterattacked the French bridgeheads across the River Ill towards the end of the afternoon of the 23rd January, but were rebuked. Géneral Garby ordered the 1st brigade to concentrate on the road from Illhaeusen to Elsenheim. He planned to advance along this road in order to avoid the woods around Elsenheim where the German Infantry had dug themselves in with the heavy artillery. On 26 and 27 January the 1st brigade concentrated its actions to open up this route and circumvented the woods of Elsenheim which were attacked on 27 January by the 3 me Batallion de la Legion Etrangère (the French Foreign Legion). On 28 January the village of Grussenheim was liberated with support of the tanks of the 2 me Division Blindée and at the cost of heavy losses. Against a weakening German defense the French advanced slowly but on January 31st the villages of Elsenheim and Markolsheim were liberated and they reached the River Rhine the next day.

 

The "Porc Epic" was taken out during the action on the road from Illhaeusern to Elsenheim at the present place on January 26th , 1945. Three of the crew of five were killed. Near the Tank Destroyer a memorial stone refers to the bloody battle that raged here during the end of January 1945 and which has cost the lives of 121 soldiers.

 

The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requested a vehicle with a gun in a fully rotating turret after other interim models were criticized for being too poorly designed. The prototype of the M10 was conceived in early 1942 and delivered in April that year. After appropriate changes to the hull and turret were made, the modified version was selected for production in June 1942 as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10 (or M10 GMC). It mounted a 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun M7 in a rotating turret on a modified M4 Sherman tank (the M4A2 production variant) chassis. An alternate model, the M10A1, which used the M4A3 variant chassis, was also produced. Production of the two models ran from September 1942 to December 1943 and October 1942 to November 1943, respectively.

LORDS

A stitched panorama made from 11 photos.

This image is better viewed: LARGE

 

Benched in Southern California

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

داستان9.3 مثنوی معنوی قصه اعرابی و ریگ در جوال کردن و ملامت کردن آن فیلسوف او را

 

Story 9.3 The story of an Arab and that he threw sand in his camel bag and the philosopher rebuked him

 

کمی که رفتند مرد عرب گفت: ای مرد بزرگوار، کمی درباره خودت بگو. آیا تو دانشمندی؟

همسفرش گفت: « نه، دانشمند نیستم.

- پس حتماً وزیر یا مشاور وزیری!

- نه، نیستم

.- پس لابد تاجری بزرگ و ثروتمند هستی!- نه، نیستم.

- پس لابد شتر و گاو و گوسفند و اسب فراوان داری ...

- نه، من از مال دنیا، هیچ ندارم.من یک مرد معمولی ام. نه گاوی دارم، نه اسبی و نه شتری. نه وزیرم و نه مشاور وزیر. تاجر هم نیستم. یک مرد فقیرم.

- مرد عرب با تعجب پرسید: این همه دانش، ثروتی برایت به بار نیاورده است؟

- نه، من هیچ وقت به دنبال ثروت نبوده ام.

- پس تو یک مرد دانای فقیر هستی؟

- آری، مردی فقیرم.

 

As soon as they went, the Arab man said: O noble man, tell us a little about yourself. Are you a scientist?

"No, I'm not a scientist," said his companion.

- So definitely a minister or a ministerial advisor!

- no. I'm not

. - So you must be a rich businessman!

- no. I'm not.

- So you probably have a lot of camels, cows, sheep, and horses ...

- No, I have nothing of the world. I'm an ordinary man. I have no cows, no horses, no camels. I am neither a minister nor an advisor to the minister. I am not a businessman either. I am a poor man.

The Arab man asked in surprise: Has not all this knowledge brought you wealth? -

No, I have never been looking for wealth.

- So you are a poor wise man?

- Yes, I am a poor man.

   

I rebuke those crazy eBay prices I've seen for the AA Happy Family Grandpa...so I'm using what I have. 😉

Can I have a big mac? make it a meal with a coke no ice... And a mc flurry thingy. Bet they see all sorts at a drive through. Had someone behind me honking her horn because I wouldn't move forward and block the exit. She srugged her shoulders as if to say what are you man. Well I did the only thing I could. Let my window down gave her finger with the biggest redest nail ever and srugged my shoulders in return. Only she shut up after that. Probably thought I was a guy at first due to what I was driving. Then changed her tune when she thought I was in her tribe.

 

Not sure why people rebuke people they don't know it can be so dangerous.

 

Anyway I got my burger parked up in the adjacent car park only to see said woman do the same. Looks like she wasn't in a rush after all.

  

So Heather says this:

"The central problem is that Germany has much more stringent age verification laws than its neighboring countries and specifies much harsher penalties, including jail time, for those with direct responsibility (in our case, it would be our colleagues in the German offices and we're not willing to make a call that has that kind of consequence for them)."

 

...and that's true. So the answer would be to hold off the global launch until they could work out all the hiccups.

 

I just hate when a company bats its eyes and tries to act innocent.

 

UPDATE: PHOTOS OFF OF EXPLORE.

Here's the statement -- at least it's not from Heather-

" Stewart says:

 

Yep - we started getting complaints from people who actually want to see photographs and since that's what the feature is for, we've removed things that aren't photos. This is a return what we normally do, by the way: we temporarily stopped so people could let off steam, but it's not fair to disrupt others' experience of Flickr to get a point across.

 

Plainly, not all "traces" of the protest are gone. Your own streams are fair game (and, e.g., I'm happy to leave people's protest pics in comments on my stream), plenty of groups have been created, there's plenty of mainstream press and blogging going on, and there is an intensely active thread in these very forums, which is covering this same topic, starting at this point in the thread. "

A man, their horse and their dog went for a highway. When they passed near an enormous tree he/she fell a ray and the three they died fulminated.

 

But the man didn't realize that he had already abandoned this world, and his road continued with its two animals (the deads sometimes take a certain time before being aware of its new condition...)

 

The highway was very long and hill up. The sun was very intense, and they were sweated and thirsty. In a curve of the road they saw an I magnify marble portal that led to a square paved with paving stones of gold.

 

The walker went to the man that guarded the entrance and you/he/she began with him, the following dialogue:

 

- Good morning.

 

- Good morning - the guardian Responded.

 

- How is this place so beautiful called?

 

- This is the Sky.

 

- How well that we have arrived to the Sky, because we are thirsty!

 

- You can enter and to drink so much water as he/she wants. And the guardian

 

it pointed out the source.

 

- But my horse and my dog are also thirsty...

 

- I sit down it a lot - the guardian Said - but here the entrance is not allowed to the animals.

 

The man got up with great displeasure, since he was very thirsty, but he didn't plan to drink alone. He/she gave those thanks to the guardian and it continued ahead.

 

After walking a good while it costs up, already exhausted the three, arrived to another place whose entrance was marked by an old door that gave to an on the way to surrounded earth of trees. To the shade of one of the trees had a tossed man, with the covered head for a hat. He/she possibly slept.

 

- Good morning - the walker said. The man responded with an expression of the head.

 

- We are very thirsty, my horse, my dog and me

 

- There is a source among those rocks - the man said, indicating the place.

 

- You can drink all the water like you want. The man, the horse and the dog went to the source and they calmed their thirst. The walker returned behind to give those thanks to the man.

 

- You can return whenever you want - he/she responded Him this.

 

- On purpose How this place is called? - did the man ask.

 

- SKY.

 

- The Sky? Yes? But if the guardian of the marble portal has told me that that was the Sky!

 

- That was not the Sky. It was the Hell - the guardian answered. The walker was perplexed.

 

- You should prohibit them to use your name! This false information should cause big confusions! - the man noticed.

 

- Of none the man manera!-rebuked - in fact, they do us a great favor, because there they stay all those that are able to abandon his best friends...

  

(Paulo Coelho)

Taken from the hills above Cornholme across the A646, the 10.27 from York, formed of a 3-car Class 158, approaches Portsmouth Infant, Junior & Nursery school on its way to Blackpool.

Again guided to altitude by David Hayes this was a cracking spot, although my knees are still rebuking me for the climb two days on!

Glasses: Wuhein - Valium Glasses - @GothCore - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CORE/128/241/3501

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cannon%20Cove/55/30/623

 

Shadow & Blush: [REVERIE] Dusk Eyeshadow & Blush - @GothCore - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CORE/128/241/3501

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Escapes/236/26/1506

 

Gauges: [SG] Isto Gauges w/HUD - @Planet29 - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Planet29/87/126/21

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/yam%20yam/132/150/21

 

Tattoo: -XTC- Nera Tattoo - @GothCore - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CORE/128/241/3501

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Argentum/195/207/22

 

Top: [DumDum] Crescent Top - @GothCore - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CORE/128/241/3501

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chill%20Thrill/168/165/18

 

Tights: NANITAS DESIGNA - Gothingham Socks - @GothCore - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CORE/128/241/3501

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/xLUMINOUS%20HALLWAYx/185/9...

 

Gloves: " BADA " beuroll gloves f&b - @Planet29 - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Planet29/87/126/21

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Planet29/211/91/22

 

Purse: .Tardfish. Anti-Sheep Bag - main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Great%20Staughton/85/133/44

 

Pup: Aardvark : Pawradise Pup - @Uber -

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Uber/159/156/22

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aardvark/123/120/38

 

Shoes: (HERME) Vision Boots - @GothCore - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CORE/128/241/3501

main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Northwood/80/35/29

 

Backdrop: The Bearded Guy - Rebuke Phat Backdrop PBR - main store - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moonwall/169/121/32

The woman is now coming up to me and give me in English a rebuke ... and I shrug my shoulders and say 'anlamam' ..;-) ...

For Legends of Brickdom. location details etc. to follow...

  

When Venerable Monk Han-Zeng rebuked the Dark Gods he was murdered by his deputy Kabukuto. Kabukuto believed he had surpassed the limits of the knowledge of his sensei, his martial arts skills were unmatched but his mastery of Chi energy magic was limited and his master would teach him no more....

 

The Order rose up against Kabukuto and his four loyal apprentices. But the dark gods had gifted the evil doers with magical weapons and immense fighting skill. Unleashing his new found magical fury the temple was burnt black and it's order decimated. All but one of the faithful good monks was slaughtered.

 

The price of power was far greater than Kabukuto was aware. Once gifted with the arcane mark he began to mutate sprouting bat like wing appendages and fearsome claws. For now he is trapped within the confines of the Temple unable to leave it's grounds. The battle with the order has left him weak - his mortal frame is till adapting to the excesses of using such power.

 

The Weapon masters are now nomads acting as his agents of chaos, they travel far and wide through brickdom. They have no obvious agenda but dark plans may lurk on the horizon.

  

Tagged inspirations :) Three of these guys just make Lego better for me personally. The other two lads are Masters of Brickdom and to my mind seem to put a huge amount of effort into making Brickdom into the beast that it is.

No photoshop necessary!

Golden West Service

Benched in Houston

we don't need another brick in the wall!!! we're adult and can decide what we can take, don't censor our pics or the ones we would like to see!

 

If your Yahoo! ID is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea you will only be able to view safe content based on your local Terms of Service so won’t be able to turn SafeSearch off.

In other words that means, that german users can not access photos on flickr that are not flaged "safe" ... only flowers and landscapes for the germans ...

We will not let this happen! Copy and upload following picture to your account, you can change it or leave it as it is, then paste and spread it everywhere on flickr! make it get into interestingness on explore !!! (Ein Bild zum Weiterverteilen gibt es hier) :

 

farm2.static.flickr.com/1299/543864623_7aadef1e69_o.jpg

 

please use the tag: "thinkflickrthink" - show flickr who we are!

 

more information / weitere infos:

- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/91085

- www.flickr.com/groups/404938@N23/discuss/72157600347681500/

- www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

  

Dear flickr members: support us! Comment on these pictures, take them as favorites or whatever. also please join these groups:

www.flickr.com/groups/againstcensorship/

and www.flickr.com/groups/keine_zensur/

 

Dear flickr group admins: please do not delete these images now. Help us to reach as many users as possible! This censorship can't go on!

 

thanks for everybody's attention and help!

 

and awww, thanks to all my flickr friends living outside the german borders for their help! you're wonderful!!!

 

some of their quotes: *Let people decide what they can see and do!* HARRY HARRIS

*You know the saying "power is given - not taken?" So let's not give them the power.* GÄBII IN GIIVÄTÄYIIM

  

A new documentary film "Roman Polanski : Wanted and Desired" ( wanted in the US as a fugitive from justice for the past 30 years, desired in France where he is admired and respected for his brilliant talent and honoured as an exemplary citizen ) focuses on the 1977 court proceedings of the film director's criminal trial for unlawful sex with a minor. The late Judge Laurence J. Rittenband is presented as the villian of the piece, not Polanski. And today both the crown prosecutor on the case and Polanski's lawyer rebuke the celebrity-status seeking late judge's unethical, bordering on illegal, behaviour & say that Polanski's flight from justice on the eve of sentencing 30 years ago was an understandable action. That justice was NOT about to be served. The 13 year old girl in the equation, now 43, has long ago made a public statement of forgiveness toward Polanski and stops very short of apologizing for the unstoppable press-frenzied chain of events that shaped the rest of the director's life. Polanski is not interviewed for the film but powerful archival footage fills in all the gaps in his life : the recklessness & indulgences as well as his early family life & his career. The coverage of his relationship with his wife, Sharon Tate, prior to her murder by the Manson cultists in 1969 & his emotional state after the event is poignant beyond words. Conclusion : you'd have to be a cold-hearted cynic to not feel some degree of compassion for Roman Polanski after viewing this excellent film.

 

image : sunset skies over florence, italy.........Thanks for coming by. Have a great day.

 

View Large On Black....................................face in the clouds or wild imaginings?

_____________________________

 

NB : I'm reposting this, given current events (first time I've ever reposted anything) Originally posted July 29th 2008, it had a closed comment box at the time. The comment box is now open if anyone wishes to express an opinion on Polanski's arrest this week after 31 years. Justice or persecution? Is it a controversial issue?.

 

I'll be back soon. Thanks for coming by.

  

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

If God is Love, He is by definition something more than mere kindness. And it appears from all the records that though He has often rebuked us and condemned us, He has never regarded us with contempt. He has paid us the intolerable compliment of loving us in the deepest, most tragic, most inexorable sense.

 

- C.S. Lewis

Lower Manhattan, 9:28 PM. The air is muggy, ensured by a constant drizzle that pelts the brick and mortar labyrinth. On a particular branch of this urban stretch sits a defunct sauna which, in outward appearance, is of no more import than its neighbors.

 

Through the natural drum of the downpour, a series of unorganized whirs and clanks can be identified, and then, a disproportionate shape lurches out of the grey veil and stalks along the parking lot on tall, winding stabilizers. It is a man riding atop them, his torpid state in opposition with the arms’ erratic lunging. They allow him to descend gradually as he reaches the awning outside the dead establishment, and the ensemble of flesh and machinery bobs to a standstill.

 

With an efficiency gained through repetition, Doctor Otto Octavius commands a tentacle to pluck the damp trilby from his head, resulting in a few droplets tagging his neck. He huffs, and sways a little like he wishes a bed would catch him. Then his lower-left pincer punches the lock out of the door and he lumbers inside.

 

Rain patters against the panes and roof. The sauna’s interior is even heavier than it is out in the streets; clearly, the back rooms are not out of service, nor locked. The light implements, on the other hand, are characteristically dark.

 

“Sauron!” barks the arrival. “It’s a dungeon in here! … Even Warren’s lairs aren’t this repellent…”

 

Over the din of the weather, a response slithers to Octavius’ ears:

 

“I hear now that thou wouldst barter with me. What is thy price?”

 

“Quoting the Silmarillion, hmph. So you do take your name from Tolkien,” a blasé Octavius verifies. “I happen to be aware of the swift betrayal met by the character offered the same. Come to think of it, it was the undoing of his companions as well. Showing our hand a tad early, are we?”

 

“As if.”

 

Sounding like a heavy tarp being splayed, something unfolds from the rafters above the waiting room, to Octavius’ left. It swoops down, and across to the reception area. Octavius sizes up the wide figure; its only prominent features in the gloom are three points, devilishly crowning its shoulders and head.

 

“Plead your case, Doctor, and I, Sauron, will be the godsend to your campaign.”

 

One of Octavius’ claws snips at the air. “It’s you who needs to impress me, Doctor.”

 

“Bah!” Sauron screeches. “You were not already satisfied by my resume?!”

 

“As for my ‘price’,” Octavius reprimands, “I submit to you a part to play in removing the thorn in our sides: Spider-Man. My end of the bargain was final; your contribution is what we will be reviewing.”

 

This ruffles Sauron. “I just wanted to say the quote, damn you!”

 

Octavius, frowning, flips open the dossier provided by a tentacle rooting through his trench coat. “Firstly, you claim a kill on one of the X-Men operatives. ‘Cannonball’.”

 

“Yes. Full disclosure: He came around.”

 

“From dying.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Isn’t it just the way?” Octavius muses, continuing. “Flight capabilities. Energy-draining touch. Expertise in genetic modification. Professional hypnotherapist, and by extension, able to turn desired targets against one an-“

 

“FFFFIRE-breathing!” reminds Sauron, as he belches out a cone of flame over the duo’s heads. His form—that of an anthropomorphic pteranodon—is brilliantly exposed for an instant.

 

Octavius rubs the indentations on his nose, made by his shades. “I have a man that flies. I expect to be bringing in more that specialize in illusions and biological weapons. Should I become truly desperate, I do, regrettably, know a particularly intolerable vampire. With ALL of these candidates, in fact, I have greater familiarity, than I do you. Bearing this in mind… tell me why I might have need of you.”

 

“Did I not breathe fire before your mammalian eyes?!”

 

“I’m enthralled,” Octavius snarls. “You have thoroughly wasted my time. Good night!”

 

“I have the Spider-Man’s true name!” Sauron squawks after his departure.

 

“YOU-“ Octavius’ arms rattle, and he slams the door shut, jerking back around. “LEAD WITH THAT! BLAZES, MAN!”

 

Sauron hops over to a specific drawer in the front desk, crestfallen. “Just once I would like fire-breath to seal the deal.”

 

“How on Earth could you know the man behind the wall-crawler’s mask?”

 

“As it were: By saving his life. My other half did, that is.”

 

Octavius looks at his claws. They look back. “Your marital partner..?”

 

“What?” Sauron blinks softly, then shakes his beak. “… No, my former identity, Karl Lykos; that veritable pheasant! He banished himself to the Savage Land, allowing himself no interaction with superpowered persons, that which must be consumed to bring forth my glorious form!”

 

He produces a videotape from the drawer, and motions for Octavius to follow him to the flatscreen intended for patrons. There, Sauron had seemingly brought his own cassette player. Octavius’ lower-right tentacle sighs.

 

Sauron pops in the tape. “But much to Lykos’ dismay, the Savage Land beckoned adventurers. Spider-Man arrived and, unprepared for the trials that awaited him, was transformed, by the mutant Brainchild, into a feral arachnoid beast-“

 

“Why couldn’t he have contacted me?..” laments Octavius.

 

“-and was set loose upon the nobler natives of the Savage Land. Lykos prevented a massacre by sapping the false mutation from the Spider-Man, but at the cost of unleashing me! Lykos witnessed the vigilante’s face as he reverted… and I was freed.”

 

“And you managed to put the face to a name, how? Lykos knew his alter-ego?”

 

Sauron tuts. “Now now, if I told you everything, it would take no time at all for a man of your acuity to piece things together… and—my usefulness expired—you would cast me off.”

 

“Like a broken. Crayon,” says Octavius darkly.

 

“In that event, I shall keep my leverage! Ah, it wasn’t rewound.” Sauron pecks at his remote, and the VCR begins complaining.

 

“Armed with this secret,” Sauron resumes, “I made my way to New York. The brief ’taste’ I got of the Spider-Man’s power told me that he was… an individual kind of delicacy; the likes of which, I have found in only the most astonishing of X-Men. A full meal of one such person… I imagine it could facilitate my control over Lykos for years. A decade, even.”

 

“The X-Men, again,” Octavius notes the recurring topic, unsure. “Are you yourself, categorically, a ‘mutant’?”

 

“A titan among mortals, created by a metamorphic virus carried by apex organisms that were thought to be long-extinct!” boasts Sauron. “Oh yes, but ‘mutant’ will do. Blasphemy! Lumping me in with the same barbarians that…”

 

Sauron irascibly tosses around more cables.

 

“‘That’, what?” Octavius presses.

 

“Never mind, you! See here, my near-triumph over our common enemy!”

 

On cue, the display’s fuzzy picture and static subsides into the rustling of foliage. The camera was being pushed in short bursts through dense grass. Narrating the footage was an extraordinarily phony English accent; it was Sauron’s.

 

“It is here, in the undergrowth, where we will have a chance-“

 

Sauron grunted from behind the camera, likely performing a leopard crawl.

 

“-to spot Ka-Zar’s courtship ritual with the She-Devil.”

 

Sauron—not in the video—starts mashing buttons feverishly. Octavius grimaces.

 

“Never before has this unique mating behavior been documented to be released to the general… oh. Oh balls.”

 

The choppy audio picks up the far-off bellows of a woman, then those of a man. The camera view is shown shuffling for a moment, when a wooden spear embeds itself in the muck, inches from the lens. The visuals blur, and flapping can be heard. Then a very deep, feline snarl. Then a girlish yawp from Sauron. The last image is of two rows of pure-white incisors, when present-day Sauron finally locates the fast-forward feature.

 

The rain still beats down while the tape zips along.

 

“I was feeling silly.”

 

“You are detestable.”

 

“Yes, well… never let it be said that Sauron, Master of Malice, was too much the Boy Scout!” the villain recovers. “NOW, see here…”

 

The video plays at regular speed, and one of Sauron’s hands is seen clutching a mason jar, turning it over to agitate the sizable arachnid it houses. The creature has an atypically vibrant exoskeleton, and repeatedly attacks the glass at the slightest upset of its prison. The chuckling of both Saurons harmonizes.

 

“Before stowing aboard a ship braving the Drake Passage, I stowed with me a deadly specimen: One of many ready-made weapons housed by the Savage Land,” Sauron explains proudly. “Aggressive on her best days, and positively bloodthirsty when she’s carrying her young.”

 

A zoom-in showcases scores of fibrous pouches speckle the animal’s abdomen.

 

“My plan was direct. Elegant. No extraneous moving parts… so to speak.”

 

The perspective cuts to Sauron’s feet lighting on the uppermost ledge of an apartment building.

 

Octavius shoves past Sauron to absorb every pixel on the monitor. “This is where he lives? Where is this??”

 

Sauron ignores him. “The first snag came up before I even began. Spider-Man somehow saw me coming.”

 

Doctor Octopus’ concentration on identifying any landmarks on the skyline is broken. He squints at Sauron, almost disgusted. “That’s half of his act: Sensing things. I’m sorry, how many times did you say you actually fought-“

 

“Watcha doin’ up here, bud? Migration been rough this year?”

 

Sauron rack-focused to Spider-Man, on the adjacent ledge.

 

“Orchestrating your demise, morsel. You and I have a dinner engagement.”

 

Sauron smiles approvingly at his own delivery in the video. “I had that one written beforehand.”

 

Spider-Man tilted his head. “Oh hey, you’re recording this? Hi future-me, who’s going to be looking at this and finding all of bird-man’s embarrassing shower karaoke.”

 

“Lord above, he doesn’t shut up for anyone,” Octavius mutters.

 

The screen rocks from Sauron hobbling to a ventilation duct. “Mock your doom. Mock Sauron the Unspeakable! But YOU will be the one caught in a web this time.”

 

Sauron brandished the jar containing his spider.

 

“Awww…” Spider-Man cooed at it, wiggling a finger playfully. “Here’s the thing: I don’t have your Ring of Power or whatever you’re here for, but I’m going to have to insist you round up any and all Shelobs you have on your person and hit the road. I’m telling you, they’ve got a serious policy about pets, the guy two doors down from me had to have a friend look after his chinchilla for-“

 

“Quit your drivel! I am antagonizing you!”

 

“-of course Ms. Rasmussen has an emotional-support dog, that’s really the only exception! Hey! If your spiders help you detect low blood-sugar, you may be able to convince the landlord-“

 

“Enough!” Sauron crowed. His wicked smile could practically be heard through the recording. “They’re waking up.”

 

“That’s ominous,” Spider-Man decided. “‘kay I’ll take that now.”

 

The vigilante’s web-shooters both fired; the left, snaring the spider’s glass, and the right tangling around Sauron’s wing, and part of the camera’s lens. Before Spider-Man could reel in his catch, Sauron coughed up a fiery jet that snapped the sticky band leading to the jar, then dashed the vessel straight through the grating of the duct beside him.

 

The eyes on Spider-Man’s mask enlarged. “Oh god!”

 

He sprang after the lost jar, but the camera swirls and Sauron’s great wingspan blindsided the hero back onto the gravel at the far end of the roof. Sauron jabbed through the remaining webbing as his adversary rolled upright. Spider-Man didn’t try for the vent again; he flipped over the ledge, calling,

 

“Storks are really supposed to deliver babies wrapped in blankets! Just sayin’!”

 

Sauron pursued, capturing the image of Spider-Man swinging himself through a window two stories below.

 

“This,” Octavius commentates, “is not… entirely uninspired. Having him chase thousands of tiny tasks with minds of their own…”

 

“… so that he’s too distracted and tired to stop my killing stroke,” Sauron finishes.

 

The escapade carried on with Sauron peaking into the apartment. Spider-Man had interrupted a family of four’s board game.

 

“I’m real sorry but I need you to call the hospital,” he appealed to the parents, “tell them there might be a whole bunch of people with venomous spider bites at this location! You need to help me get everyone… where’s all the vents in-“

 

A clump of infant spiders dropped out of the hallway air conditioning system and spread like water across the wood flooring. The family screamed, and Spider-Man yanked a bookcase off the wall to spin one-hundred-and-eighty degrees on its corner and flatten the horde. He then webbed over the vent.

 

“REALLY sorry,” he apologized again. “Please go, bang on doors, and don’t let these things get on you!”

 

Spider-Man perked up as if he heard something, and immediately launched through the front door. Sauron clambered inside, trailing the family as they too exited. From the apartment entryway, the mic picked up Spider-Man’s cries for the building to be evacuated. Bouncing from one room to the next, he would pound on and occasionally break open the door in order to block off the endless invasion of hatchlings. Soon after multiple tenants had become wise to the situation, the fire alarm was activated.

 

Sauron kept his distance all the while, observing Spider-Man’s fatigue from his unabating alertness. The hero traversed the walls; back and forth he sped, several minutes into fighting the disaster and only just now moving on to clear the next floor of danger. Back and forth, for all the good he could do. His shouts had grown hoarse. Back and forth.

 

“EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET OUT! … -J’s going to burn me at the stake when this story makes the ne… ‘-ider-Man unleashes minions on unsuspecting families!’… -lding that dumb coffee mug, and using that voice, too!”

 

Doctor Octopus appears bored with the uncut footage. “Let’s cut to the chase, yes?”

 

“This… is the chase… Oh, very well,” Sauron begrudgingly conforms, realizing Octavius’ limbs are poising threateningly.

 

The tape skips, and Spider-Man—defending a male resident—is facing a kitchen teeming with the newborn killers. Sauron had been gradually encroaching on his prey as the exertion took its toll on the web-slinger’s faculties, and had now barged through the home’s entrance, meters away.

 

To make an example, the monstrous hybrid roasted some of the furnishing to his left, then pointed the camera back to Spider-Man.

 

“Are you quite through?”

 

“Running late, dear,” Spider-Man shot back unenthusiastically.

 

He bumped the civilian out the window to their backs, hastily calculating and fastening to the poor man a web that would rappel him to the street. The hero salvaged his own fall with three fingertips on the sill, shifting his momentum with a kick that would send him into the next apartment over. Sauron, anticipating the maneuver, crossed his room with a combative glide and ripped down the dividing wall, right onto the arriving Spider-Man, who was pummeled by insulation, a metal stud and a full china cabinet.

 

Sauron put the heat on his opponent by slicing his shin. Spider-Man retaliated with more webbing, but his larger rival shielding himself with the backs of his wings, then subsequently pulled the young man—and his left-hand web-shooter—into his waiting beak, which wedged into the gadget, rendering it inoperative. This was followed up by a stab to the do-gooder’s abdomen, pinning him to the carpet for agonizing seconds. The villain then gripped Spider-Man by the throat, a portion of which was no longer even negligibly protected by red and blue spandex, due to a tear. The captive choked and flailed. As his very life-force was being stripped, Sauron relished his prize off-camera.

 

“Ah. As good as I remembered.”

 

Spider-Man built up some vitality, and cracked him over the jaw. Sauron’s taloned foot put the second web-shooter out of the fight.

 

“Rest now,” Sauron chided. “Rest. It’s possible you saved them all; isn’t that a lovely thought? And you can always hope the first-responders are prepared. The spider’s toxicity is of a most exotic variety, however…”

 

Spider-Man’s words were strangled. “You endangered all these people… AAUGH… to get to me. Big…”

 

One hand tore free from Sauron’s trap,

 

“BIG”

 

and then the other.

 

“Mistake,” he said ferociously, as though possessed by an unrevealed, primal side of himself.

 

He took Sauron’s webbed wings in each fist, shredding palm-sized sheets out of them. Now it was Sauron who screamed. The image quakes violently from a wild blast of fire. The screen then goes blue.

 

The sauna is again silent; even the rain has moved on. Sauron hangs his head.

 

Octavius starts at the blank display, feeling cheated. “Well?”

 

“I fled! Time had run out, and there was no leeway in my plan for trading blows. It was only for his incomplete commitment to rescuing the building that the Spider-Man gave me up.”

 

Sauron hits “Eject”.

 

“I failed to factor in that his concern for bystanders might be as emboldening, as much as detrimental, to him.”

 

“There is much to repurpose with this course of action. Your efforts are commendable,” Octavius praises, but seems perturbed. “… In all my years, trying to best him, I’ve never seen him use his adhesion so… ruthlessly.

 

“It wasn’t that alone,” Sauron corrects. “It burned. Enough to undermine my own hold. These mutants, they’re full of such surprises. Tricky little devils.”

 

Octavius’ demeanor is made irritable in an instant. “No… now this has been avoided far too long: Your obsession with the mutants. You mean to tell me you’ve thought Spider-Man is one of their kind??”

 

“Naturally. They worked side-by-side in the Savage Land-“

 

Octavius’ upper-right tentacle squeaks as a pained rodent would. The doctor’s face nearly glows red. “Know-nothing! … inept layman! You almost killed the Spider-Man, robbing the rest of us... when you have no quarrel with him?!”

 

“Do not try to disillusion me, Octopus!” Sauron rebukes. “You wish to get rid of me, but recycle my genius! Spider-Man is one of the Brotherhood, and I-“

 

“He is neither an X-Man nor part of that supremacist cabal… THOSE are separate entities too, you might be interested to learn!” growls Octavius, pacing as he does so. “They wear uniforms and start wars! Spider-Man helps old ladies with their grocery bags and throws the same three puns at you when you happen to be given the name ‘Octopus’ by the news!”

 

The gears turn in Sauron’s brain. “… I would… still very much like to feast on his energies…”

 

Octavius roars, hurling a magazine rack. “You’ve been cutting in on our vendetta… the TRUE foes of Spider-Man! How could you be so blinded to the obvious? What did the Brotherhood do to you warrant this utter lapse in reasoning??”

 

Sauron squirms, like a child caught fibbing. “Nothing. Nothing of-“

 

“WHAT, you boob?!” Octavius demands.

 

“They killed my wife!”

 

…

 

“They wanted my power, and they used me to kill my… my Tanya. Oh…”

 

Sauron burrows into the waiting room’s sofa, weeping.

 

Knee-deep in the exceedingly awkward interlude, Otto Octavius finds himself whisked into the past: An unprecedented, reflective condition for him, since having chosen this sinister path. A fateful day pierces the villain’s psyche. A particular laugh embraces a small, brackish heart, confronting him with a name he had hoped yet hated to drown.

 

“Mary.”

 

Sauron slurps up some snot. “Who?”

 

Octavius’ resentment of Sauron transitions to momentary pity. Pity, to envy. Envy, right back to resentment.

 

Octavius stares down at him. “Maybe there’s less distinction between you and Lykos than you’d care to admit, or maybe there never was a distinction. Whatever the case, whichever of you is in there, I’m speaking to a lovesick idiot! And your wife lies dead, waiting for you, still!”

 

“I-I don’t…”

 

“YOU SHOULD FEEL BLESSED! Having faces to put to the injustice! That she wasn’t taken from you by an accident, and all you have left is an abyss to yell into! You have the opportunity to exact your pound of flesh! Find the ones that wronged you… Get it RIGHT this time, and end them! Let your wife rest!”

 

“You…” Sauron sits up. “You should really see someone about these types of things.”

 

Octavius gnashes his teeth, and stomps toward the VCR player.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Collecting my compensation!” Octavius jiggles the device, unsure of how to dislodge the halfway-expelled cassette. “If you insist on being a useless dolt, I will use this tape to extract any and all clues to Spider-Man’s identity!”

 

Sauron dives for the tape, snatching it away and defensively backing into a potted fern. “No! My home movies are on there too!”

 

“Out of my way!”

 

Sauron’s mouth glows like a forge. “Never!”

 

Octavius curses in frustration. Weighing the odds, he gives it up and storms off once more through the parking lot.

 

Sauron peeks out from the business’ entrance. “W-where are you going?”

 

“To rethink EVERYTHING to do with how I will find competent applicants! Never, I repeat, NEVER contact me. And I do mean ‘ever’!”

 

The doctor’s lower-right tentacle waves a goodbye to Sauron. Octavius keeps grumbling, well out of earshot of his bane.

 

“Four hours walking through sewers… for this. Never again. They’ll come to me. I’m in charge. A nice office to work from… yes…”

  

***

  

“Aaaaalllright, so you’ve got your account’s password, bio, all of that how you want it?”

 

“I believe so,” Sauron acknowledges, nibbling on a claw.

 

“Great! You can click the ‘Complete’ button; it’ll be green,” Screwball instructs over the video chat.

 

Sauron complies. “… There are little hearts raining down.”

 

“That should mean you’re all set, let me refresh. Ooh, sweet PFP my guy!”

 

The icon shows Sauron lounging in a wingback chair, with a derby hat precariously positioned on his crest.

 

“Oh, yes, well-“ Sauron blushes.

 

“On. Fleek.”

 

“I really should repay you in some way,” maintains Sauron.

 

“Listen, you hold onto Spider-Boy’s real name for me if I’m ever hurting for views, and that’s payment enough.”

 

Sauron glances over his desk to at a folded Daily Bugle newspaper, preserved from years past: The last piece he had needed, to the puzzle of the person behind Spider-Man’s mask. In an undeservedly small article, abruptly detailed is an expedition, taken by the socialite Warren Washington III, into the mystifying, Antarctic region dubbed “the Savage Land”. As photographed, accompanying Washington had been the column’s own author: An unassuming journalist named Peter Parker. His was the face Lykos had seen appear on the monster that he stopped all that time ago, just before Lykos himself had become another monster needing to be cured.

 

“Certainly, but,” Sauron taps his mousepad, evaluating. “you’re sure you wouldn’t like me to put in a word for you with this alliance Octopus is convening?”

 

Screwball sticks her tongue out. “They’re way too mainstream, my audience would think I’m getting desperate. But hey, if you ever get back into a crime kick, I could always use a camera with wings!”

 

“My leave from supervillainy will be… quite extended. Recent events have caused me to, well, reconsider where I may find fulfillment.”

 

“C’est la vie. Caaatch you later, dino-dude!”

 

Screwball’s feed closes out.

 

“They’re not dinosaurs…” Sauron protests, but returns to his new media platform.

 

“A match, already? … ’madamedracheXO : 33, mutant : Self-made entrepreneur : Flexible with long-distance relationships, fire-breathing is big plus.’ Hmm.”

  

***

  

~ DOCTOR OCTOPUS’ nefarious exploits will return in INTERVIEW WITH AN OCTOPUS: BLACK CAT! ~

Jesus Calms the Storm

 

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

 

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

 

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

 

[Matthew 8:23-27 NIV]

 

5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

 

1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)

 

2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)

 

3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)

 

4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)

 

5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)

 

Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!

"Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen."

 

Painting by Zuccari in the Chapel of the Angels in the Jesuit church of Il Gesù in Rome.

Shot with my 8mm fisheye lens.

This image is better viewed: LARGE

 

Benched in Southern California

finds it refreshing to watch the U.S. Democratic presidential candidates debating solutions to issues which actually can benefit people and make his country better and stronger. In contrast he is frightened, especially today, when the sociopathic person currently in charge of his country rebukes an entire city. In all history, he recalls, a despot characterizing fellow citizens in such a way occurs only when the government is trying to suppress its own citizens. Photo by Frank.

Photo of a friend of mine rebuking his daughter after another tantrum

  

Taken on Bettystown beach

Once upon a time, there was a Bishop of Exeter who lay very ill at Dawlish, and among those who visited him frequently was the parson of an inland parish who was ambitious enough to hope that, should the good bishop die, he would be chosen to take his place.

 

This parson had a violent temper, and his continued visits to the sick man did not improve this, for his journey was a long and dreary one and the bishop, he thought, took an unconscionable time In dying. But he had to maintain his reputation for piety, and so it happened that on a winter night he was riding towards Dawlish through the rain, guided, as was his custom, by his parish clerk.

 

That particular night the clerk had lost his way, and, long after he and his master should have been in comfortable quarters at Dawlish, they were wandering about on the high rough ground of Haldon, some distance away. At last, in anger, the parson turned upon his clerk and rebuked him violently. ''You are useless,'' he said; '' I would rather have the devil for a guide than you.'' The clerk mumbled some excuse, and presently the two came upon a peasant, mounted upon a moor pony, to whom they explained their plight.

 

The stranger at once offered to guide them, and very soon all three had reached the outskirts of the little town. Both parson and clerk were wet through. and when their guide, stopping by an old, tumble-down house, invited them to enter and take some refreshment, both eagerly agreed. They entered the house and found there a large company of wild-looking men drinking and singing loud choruses. The parson and his servant made their way to a quiet corner and enjoyed a good meal, then, feeling better, agreed to stay for a while and join their boisterous companions.

 

But they stayed for a very long while. The drink flowed freely and both grew uproarious, the parson singing songs with the best of the company and shouting the choruses louder than any. In this manner they spent the whole night, and it was not until dawn broke that the priest suggested moving onward. So none too soberly he called for the horses.

 

At this moment the news arrived that the bishop was dead. This excited the parson, who wished at once to get to work to further his ambitious designs, so he pushed the clerk into the saddle and hastily mounted himself. But the horses would not move. The parson, in a passion, cried, ''I believe the devil is in the horses!'' '' I believe he is,'' said the clerk thickly, and with that a roar of unearthly laughter broke out all around them. Then the now terrified men observed that their boisterous friends were dancing about in glee and each had turned into a leering demon. The house in which they had passed the night had completely disappeared, and the road in which they stood was transformed into the sea-shore, upon which huge waves were breaking, some already submerging the clerk. With a wild cry of terror the parson lashed once more at his horse, but without avail. He felt himself growing stiff and dizzy - and then consciousness passed from him.

 

Neither he nor his clerk ever returned to their parish, but that morning the people of Dawlish saw two strange red rocks standing off the cliffs, and later, !earning this story, they realised that the demons had changed the evil priest and his man into these forms. Time and weather have wrought many changes in the Parson and Clerk Rocks, not the least curious being to carve upon the Parson Rock the semblance of the two revellers. From certain positions you may see today the profiles of both men, the parson as it were in his pulpit, and the clerk at his desk beneath him.

 

THE REASSURING VOICE

 

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

 

"Be of good cheer; it is I--be not afraid." Matt. 14:27

 

It surely was an exceptional season of fear and unrest with the disciples, that night-storm on the Sea of Galilee.

 

The saddest feature of the moment was that faith--the strong resolute faith of other times--had now deserted their better natures. They could see nothing but perilous environment, the surging billows and the darkness--for "it was the fourth watch of the night," about three o'clock, when the gloom was deepest, and no flush of morn as yet had tinted the wild hills of Gadara. Strangely different from their experience on a former occasion! He was then with them. Though asleep on "a coil of ropes for His pillow," He was there. They had the comfort of His Presence. They could awake (as they did awake) the weary slumberer; and the voice of the God within the toil-worn man rebuked the waves and turned the storm into a calm. Now it was different--their despairing monotone rather was, "How has He left us at the moment we most needed Him?" "Surely the Lord has forsaken me, and my God has forgotten me!" No, more, when He at last appeared on the crest of the waves, instead of recognizing Him with a shout of adoring welcome, they in their superstitious fear imagined that a demon of the deep, an apparition premonitory of death, had come from the spirit-world. Their cry was a cry of trouble.

 

To such unworthy turbulence and misgiving truly they need not have given way. We know from the context where He had been all night--on some adjoining mountain engaged in prayer--engaged in prayer for them, watching through the darkness their tempest-tossed bark, in sympathetic touch with their palpitating hearts, and eager to speak His word of power. At last it is spoken. He who comes down from the mountain oratory to tread the waters, pronounces His gracious rest words--the reassuring "It is I" (literally, I AM). It is preceded and followed by "Fear not"--"Be not afraid." There can be no mistake. "O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto You? You rule the raging of the sea--when the waves thereof arise, You still them."

 

It is a parable of profounder spiritual realities. In the unrest of the soul, amid the swirls and eddies of life's ocean, Jesus comes to His people--most often, too, when darkness is deepest. The sensible tokens of His love and mercy seem withdrawn. In their misgiving and incredulity they wail out the plaintive cry, "Where is now my God?" He seems, in accordance with the narrative of the storm, "as if he would pass them by." "My way is hidden from the Lord, my judgment is passed over from my God."

 

"Be still!" Let patience have her perfect work. He will in His own time and way change the storm into a calm. We are, alas! often ourselves responsible for our unworthy despondencies. We turn our backs to the Sun of Righteousness. There is a shadow projected, but that shadow is our own. We conjure up some phantasms of unbelieving doubt. We say, like the disciples, "It is a spirit," and we "cry out for fear." Let us look away from ourselves, the surging waves and billows within us and around us, and keep the unwavering eye of faith on Him who is waiting to give rest to the weary, and peace to the troubled, and hope to the desponding. To revert to our figure, He has His Hospice built at every turn of the perilous way. He fences it with these same two buttresses--"Fear not; IT IS I; be not afraid."

 

"O Redeemer! Shall one perish

Who has looked to You for aid?

Let me see You, let me hear You,

Through the gloomy midnight shade,

Utter You Your voice of comfort–

'It is I; be not afraid!'"

 

In all time of our tribulation He will be true to His promise--"I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." As the Hospice is most valued by the tempest-beaten traveler, so every trial is a fresh reason for resorting to "the Refuge from the storm, the Covert from the tempest." And when the last trouble of all, the hour of departure arrives, the Hospice-gates will be opened by the Divine Promiser of Rest, and the triplet-comfort fall for the last time on the ears of the weary and heavy laden– "Fear not; it is I; be not afraid."

 

"This is the resting place, let the weary rest. This is the place of repose." Isaiah 28:12

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

 

[James 1:5-8 NLT]

 

5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

 

1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)

 

2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)

 

3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)

 

4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)

 

5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)

 

Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!

Have a beautiful weekend my friends :-)

Revelation 17:12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.”

 

The Wall Street Journal: Scientists Resort to Once-Unthinkable Solutions to Cool the Planet

 

www.wsj.com/science/environment/geoengineering-projects-c...

 

“Dumping chemicals in the ocean? Spraying saltwater into clouds? Injecting reflective particles into the sky? Scientists are resorting to once unthinkable techniques to cool the planet because global efforts to check greenhouse gas emissions are failing.” “These geoengineering approaches were once considered taboo by scientists and regulators who feared that tinkering with the environment could have unintended consequences, but now researchers are receiving taxpayer funds and private investments to get out of the lab and test these methods outdoors.”

 

What could go wrong? They reject God, yet they want to play god.

 

“This month, researchers aboard a ship off the northeastern coast of Australia near the Whitsunday Islands are spraying a briny mixture through high-pressure nozzles into the air in an attempt to brighten low-altitude clouds that form over the ocean. Scientists hope bigger, brighter clouds will reflect sunlight away from the Earth, shade the ocean surface and cool the waters around the Great Barrier Reef, where warming ocean temperatures have contributed to massive coral die-offs.”

 

Luke 21:25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.”

 

The imagery of the sea in this verse is a picture of great distress. Calamities will come on the world like a storm. Calamity will crash on the nations of the earth, wave after wave. The nations of the earth will be agitated by these surging waves. In the midst of this storm, a beast will come out of the sea (Revelation 13:1). No one will escape this storm: “For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth (Luke 21:35).” This time of tribulation will happen just before Christ returns. When Christ returns, He will calm the sea: “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm (Mark 4:39).”

 

“When we start interfering with nature, we risk it also having many very negative consequences that we cannot control and that we cannot foresee.” Cooling the planet carries unknown risks, “such as depleting the protective ozone layer, harming marine life, damaging crops or altering rainfall patterns.”

 

Revelation 11:18 “The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

 

Patents for weather control or modification:

 

patents.justia.com/patents-by-us-classification/239/2.1

   

The Walk upon the Waters

Francis Bourdillon, 1864

  

Matthew 14:22-33.

And immediately Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the evening was come, He was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" — and they cried out for fear.

 

But immediately Jesus spoke unto them, saying, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."

 

And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, bid me come unto You on the water."

 

And He said, "Come."

 

And when Peter had come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, "Lord, save me!"

 

And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

 

And when they went into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

   

This was just after Jesus had fed the multitude with the five loaves and the two fish. Before they went away, and probably while they were still sitting on the grass, He made His disciples get into a ship (most likely a fishing-boat) and cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then He sent the people away, and He Himself went up into a mountain to pray; and there He was alone when night came on.

 

Doubtless He was many hours in prayer. Meanwhile how did it fare with the disciples in the boat? They had no easy work. The wind blew strong against them, the waves were rough, and, though they rowed hard, they made but little way. Did their Master forget them? No! Mark tells us that "He saw them toiling in rowing" (Mark 6:48). His eye was upon them, even when He was far away. And though engaged in prayer, His thoughts were with them still — perhaps He was praying in part for them. Even from where He was on the mountaintop, He saw them on the rough sea. Their difficulty and trouble were not unknown to Him — not unknown, and not uncared for.

 

Sometimes when we are in trouble, we are ready to think that we are forgotten by God. We do not see Him; there is nothing to show us that He is near; our feeling is that we are helpless and alone. But it is not really so! The believer is never helpless and alone. In himself, he is helpless indeed; but his Savior is a sure helper and an ever-present friend. While he is "toiling" with difficulties, and buffeted by the rough waves of trouble, and while all things seem contrary to him — Jesus sees him and cares for him. From that high and glorious place where He is, the Master's eye is upon him — perhaps He is even then pleading for him there.

 

We like to read that Jesus saw the disciples "toiling in rowing," and that when they thought they had gone quite away from Him, His eye was upon them still — let us believe the same about ourselves when we are in trouble.

 

Jesus had sent them away — yet still He kept them in view. Sometimes He sends us away too — away from friends, away from home, away from comforts, away from spiritual privileges — and thus seems, as it were, to send us away from Himself. But He does not do so really; for He Himself tells us to abide in Him. He would have us seek that His presence may be always in our hearts by the Spirit.

 

Even if He does send us among rough waves and contrary winds, into sickness and trouble and difficulty — yet He does not send us away from Himself. He is always near. He always cares for us.

 

This went on for hours — Jesus on the mountain and the disciples toiling on the sea. In the same way, our troubles often do go on for long — but that is no proof that we are forgotten. At length, "in the fourth watch of the night," that is, when night was almost over, Jesus went to them.

 

But how? "Walking on the sea." He could do even that, for He could do everything. His feet did not sink when He stepped upon the water — for the water, like all other things, was subject to Him, and it was His will that it should bear Him up. So He "went unto them, walking on the sea."

 

Were they not glad? Not at first. Seeing Him in the dim light coming toward them on the water, they thought He was a ghost, and cried out for fear. They ought to have thought of the five thousand people which He fed with five loaves, and to have believed that He who could do that, could do anything. But they did not. Fear seems to have been their only feeling.

 

Knowing, as we do, who it was, and that He went to them for the very purpose of helping and comforting them — we are surprised at their being afraid of Him. But have we never been afraid of Him when He came in a different way from what we expected? The very troubles we have had, the very things that have made us think ourselves forsaken — were perhaps in reality God's messengers, sent to us in mercy to do us good, and sent in answer to our prayers. Thus these very things were, in fact, Jesus coming to us — but, because it was in a strange way, we did not know Him; we only feared. Ought not all that He has done for us, and all that He has been to us — make us know Him even when He comes to us, as it were, in darkness?

 

But their fear did not last long. The voice of Jesus reassured them. As soon as Jesus said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid," Peter knew Him and wished to go to Him. "Lord, if it is You, bid me come unto You on the water."

 

"If it be You" — was there a lingering doubt then still? Perhaps there was. But, at all events, his belief prevailed and even led him to ask that he might walk on the water too, to meet the Lord. It was a bold request — yet it was granted. Jesus bade him come, and Peter stepped on the water. But then his faith could hold out no longer. The rough wind made him afraid; and the moment he feared, he began to sink, for it was only by faith that he had been upheld. But in the very act of sinking, feeling the water giving way beneath him, he cried to Jesus again, "Lord, save me!" — a cry of weak faith, but still a cry of faith.

 

It was heard. Jesus rebuked him for doubting, but not until He had made him safe. First He "stretched forth His hand, and caught him," and then said, "O you of little faith — why did you doubt?"

 

How much we may learn about faith from this! Here was one enabled even to walk on the water while he had faith — but sinking the moment faith failed — and then again saved when faith put up a feeble prayer. Here we see strong faith encouraged; and weak faith rebuked — and yet helped. Yet there is nothing here to encourage a fanciful or visionary faith. Faith without a Scriptural warrant is not faith, but presumption. But Peter's faith had a warrant. Jesus said, "Come!" That was the warrant. Upon that word he might have gone boldly on. If Jesus had not said, "Come!" his stepping on the water would have been a presumptuous tempting of God. That one word made it an act of faith.

 

In the same way, it is with us. If we have a Scripture to go upon — then we may trust and not be afraid. We are told in the book of God that "all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28); let us believe that, however dark things may look.

 

We read in the same blessed book, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1); that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7); "therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Here is a warrant for our faith. Let us trust our souls to Christ; let us believe that in Him we are cleansed and justified. Let not faith fail. That one word of Jesus — "Come!" would have held Peter up, if he had trusted still.

 

Oh! How many words of Jesus have we to trust in! Yes, and more than words — His precious blood that was shed for us, and His mediation and intercession are for us even now.

 

As soon as Jesus was in the boat with them, the wind ceased. No more "toiling in rowing," no more rough waves and boisterous wind then — the presence of Jesus brought peace. It always does. Trouble may be all around — but in that heart where Jesus dwells, there is peace. Nothing else can give it.

 

All our circumstances may be smooth and prosperous — yet, without Him, there is no true peace. We must seek our peace in Him. He Himself said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27). How does He give peace? By giving us Himself. When we have Christ — then we have peace. Never until then.

 

When the disciples saw that the wind ceased at the presence of Jesus — then they worshiped Him. "Truly," they said, "You are the Son of God." Every deliverance from trouble, every fresh help, and all the peace that we find — comes from Jesus, the Son of God!

L'assassinio: la forma estrema di censura. (George Bernard Shaw)

 

The murder: the extreme shape of censorship. (George Bernard Shaw)

“Look your hardest, dear. I wouldn’t hide if I could. We didn’t idealize each other. We tried to keep no secrets. You knew most of the rotten places in me already. If you now see anything worse, I can take it. So can you. Rebuke, explain, mock, forgive. For this is one of the miracles of love; it gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.” [C.S. Lewis / A Grief Observed]

 

Church of St Anne, Beeley Derbyshire - Before the 1066 Norman Conquest there was a small hamlet here with a chapel of rough and cast timber from the neighbouring wood

The present church dates from c 1150 with 14c, 15c additions;

heavily restored / rebuilt in 1882-4

In 1192,Bakewell church, with all its appurtenances and chapels, was given by Earl John to Lichfield cathedral, and this gift included the chapel at Beeley. A priest was appointed with a stipend of 40 marks (£13-6-8), and other provisions for its maintenance. “It consisted of a nave, and a lean-to aisle, divided from the nave by round arches resting on massive round columns of stone with a square base. The nave was low, and roofed with a flat wooden roof. At its east wall was a wall pierced by a low round arch leading into the oblong chancel, against the east wall of which was the altar. The deeply-splayed windows on either side of the nave and the east end of the chancel admitted little light. No benches or carved woodwork ; In winter, terribly cold, in summer, dark"

 

c1192 the first stage of the tower was built, the masonry as far up as the stringcourse beneath the belfry windows being of the Early English period. there used to be two shallow buttresses on the outside of the west wall, but one was removed at the 1883 restoration when the 2 large buttresses at the angles were added. The walls and doorway of the chancel are said to be of this date.

In 1280 Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury. made his visitation of the Diocsese of Lichfield and strongly rebuked the Dean and Canons for their gross neglect of the spiritual necessities of Bakewell and its independent chapelries. With regard to Beeley, he ordained that “the chancel should be kept in repair by the inhabitants, who were also to find a chalice and a missal, but that the rest of the fabric, books and ornaments were to be supplied by the Dean & Canons” The parishioners of Chelmorton were also ordered to pay 2.5 marks to the chaplain of Beeley, which, with one mark received from the very small curacy endowment, together with 20s to be raised annually from the inhabitants (amounting in all to 5 marks ie £3-6-8) was the annual stipend of the priest officiating at Beeley, a drop of £10 pa on what it was in 1192.

In 1315, the Dean & Chapter of Lichfield granted 20s to the chapelry of Beeley, to be paid yearly. They further permitted “that certain honest and chief men “ which shall be mete for the bringing of holy water may be named by the parishioners,” Their duty was to take holy water for its use from the church at Bakewell.

Also at this time considerable alterations were again made to the church. The tracery of the east window was inserted as we see it now, and both the narrow window on the north side of the chancel and the upper portion of the tower were added; Also the tower and chancel arches

 

The nave was rebuilt being finished on July 7, 1375, and consecrated March 10, 1378. The battlements & pinnacles were also placed on the tower top.

 

In 1819, the nave was again rebuilt, the Norman pillars with Early English arches separating the north aisle from the nave being removed, (Three times begging letters for money were allowed to be read out to every parish in the Country, the results were not satisfactory and by 1826 there still remained the sum of £880 to be paid which the inhabitants of Beeley were unable to raise. Money to pay off the debt appears to have been borrowed from private sources, the final payment of £150 being made in 1837.

 

In 1817, George Meynell visited and reported that there was stained glass window in the north window showing the crowned figure of St Catherine with a wheel in her hand. Upon a seat-door in the chancel was carved “Godfrey Barker, sete made by A.B. (Adam Barker) 1660”. On a stone in the middle aisle was a Latin cross the full length of the stone and on the wall of the church a hatchment with the arms of the Saviles, - both now missing.

In place of what must have been a picturesque nave with aisle was substituted what the Rev H.C. Sculthorpe describes as an “oblong, barn-like structure with flat whitewashed ceiling and walls. Their chief aim seems to have been to erect a Musicians’ Gallery, as it came to be called, at the west end and the nave was filled with high box pews which later became rickety and worm-eaten. The gallery was approached from outside by a stone staircase. The so-called communion table was a common four-legged deal table, covered with a green baize cloth.” Rev Sculthorpe , appointed in 1864 also said the altar-plate in use was of a debatable metal pewter, or some other alloy.

 

In 1882-4 the church was restored by H Cockbain, when the porch and nave were rebuilt, and the north aisle added, in the Decorated style to match the east and west arches; the large window on the south side of the chancel was reconstructed and set lower than the original.

 

A tablet in the vestry is to the memory of George Savile of Beeley, of the ancient family of Savile of Howley, Yorkshire, who died September 16, 1675. Also to the memory of his brother William Savile, who died June 9, 1676. They were both sons of William Savile of Bakewell, whose brass is in Bakewell church. flic.kr/p/dABuXC Another tablet on the south wall of the chancel states that “Near this place lies the body of George Savile of Southouse Grange, Co Derby, and John his brother, sons of William Savile of Hill Top in the said county, and of Dorothy, his wife. John departed this life October 1, 1733, George on May 16, 1734. The Saviles bought Beeley manor in 1689, and occupied the residence formerly called “The Greaves”, but which they renamed “Hill Top”.

There is a gravestone in the Baptistery on which is engraved the Greaves family crest, with the inscription: “This marble stone doth press but not oppress the body of John Greaves son of john Greaves of Greaves, who was always a true son of the Church of England, merciful and charitable to ye poor, patient and courageous in a tedious sickness, and at length being full of faith and hope did exchange this troublesome world for a better, upon ye 13th day of October in ye year of our Lord 1694.” A stone in the north aisle to the memory of his wife “her better part to blissful regions ascended the 25th day of May, Ann Dni 1700”.

John Calver 1710 shown in brass lies in his shroud www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/R2626Q

 

Being near to the large Cavendish estate there are stained glass windows in memory of the family, including the east window in memory of Lord Edward Cavendish 1891 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/a27c6a & the south window to William Cavendish , 7th Duke of Devonshire 1891 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/k4vti3

 

The tower has 3 bells which appear to have been cast in the reign of Elizabeth I and are inscribed “God save the Church” ; “Ste Georgi O.P.N.” (Sancti Georgi, ora pro nobis) & a maker’s mark of George Heathcote, bell-founder, of Chesterfield, who died in 1558

 

The font may possibly be pre-Norman, but it was much altered in 1883 that it has entirely lost its original character. Francis Bond speaks of it in his book on ‘Fonts’ as “apparently destroyed”. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/f1Y6Sr

 

In the graveyard is a stone in memory of “Mary Woodson, who departed this life January ye 8th, 1785, age 27”. and is said to have died suddenly on her way to church to be married.

 

the fly lords

20070 leads 20005 into Wilford Road yard Nottingham, 29th June 1976. In the background is Nottingham Castle although the present building replaced the original castle in the 1660’s and is actually a stately home built for the Duke of Newcastle. The building was attacked and looted by rioters in 1831 following the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to parliamentary reform. The house was gutted internally by fire and the Duke as a rebuke to the people of Nottingham left the ruined building un-repaired for forty five years. Eventually the site was purchased by the City and in 1875 work commenced to repair the building and convert it to a municipal museum and art gallery, which was opened by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in 1878.

 

Locomotive History

20070 was originally D8070 and was built by English Electric at the Robert Stephensons and Hawthorn works, Darlington, entering traffic in June 1961. It was allocated to Eastfield MPD for Scottish lowlands duties, particularly in the Forth-Clyde area, and the Fife coalfield and in common with most class 20’s initially allocated to Scotland has the cab recess for single line token exchange equipment. Transferred to Toton in May 1973 and apart from a very brief spell at Tinsley in 1986 followed by two years at Thornaby it would remain a Toton engine until withdrawn in April 1991. It was broken up in February 1992 by MC Metals, Glasgow. 20005 entered traffic in September 1957, was withdrawn in July 1989 and broken up during December 1990 by MC Metals, Glasgow.

 

Praktica LTL, Orwochrome UT18

 

THE ‘O’ WORD — Just minutes before a midnight deadline, the Justice Department filed a stunning response to former President DONALD TRUMP’s request for an independent review of the documents seized from his Florida home earlier this month.

 

The 36-page document is chock-full of previously unknown information, providing an extensive timeline of how the government worked to recover classified material before the unprecedented search of Mar-a-Lago. It is the clearest and most detailed account yet offered of what preceded the Aug. 8 seizure and forcefully rebuts attacks from Trump and his allies — going so far to claim that “government records were likely concealed” from prosecutors and “efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”

 

The DOJ filing says Trump’s request for a special master “is unnecessary and would significantly harm important governmental interests,” dismissing it as an attempt to slow down the investigation. It also claims Trump has no standing to sue because the records belong to the government, not to him. And, notably, prosecutors placed a photo of some of the seized documents — strewn across a Mar-a-Lago carpet with their classified markings plain to see — into the public court record.

 

Trump and his allies have claimed executive privilege over the documents, but prosecutors rejected that assertion — arguing that executive privilege is usually invoked to protect communications from the legislative or judicial branch, not within the executive branch itself. The prosecution team, led by DOJ counterintelligence chief JAY BRATT, also points out that Trump never once asserted executive privilege or declassified the documents prior to the search.

 

As our Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney write, “Even if there were circumstances in which a former president could assert privilege, Bratt argues, this scenario would not come close. Intelligence officials are currently reviewing the recovered files to assess risks to national security, and any disruption to that could jeopardize the review DOJ contends.”

 

In an eye-popping statement that underscores how sensitive the documents were, the prosecutors write that “even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents.”

 

An interesting nugget from NYT’s Glenn Thrush, Charlie Savage, Alan Feuer and Maggie Haberman : “The department’s decision to use a court filing as a vehicle to provide a more extensive explanation of the government’s actions — and a rebuke of Mr. Trump’s rotating roster of legal representatives — evolved over the last few days and lawyers wrangled over small details until moments before it was filed, according to people familiar with the situation.”

 

The most serious revelation … In the filing, the DOJ says the reason they sought a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago in the first place was only after (1) they obtained evidence that classified material was likely moved and concealed and (2) Trump’s lawyers worked to mislead the government about their cooperation in identifying and recovering the sensitive docs.

 

“That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the ‘diligent search’ that the former President’s counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter,” Bratt wrote, referring to an unnamed Trump rep’s affidavit.

 

The filing also challenges Trump allies’ claims that the former president’s team was cooperative, as WaPo’s Devlin Barrett writes : “In parts of the filing, using only their job descriptions, prosecutors paint Trump’s lawyer, EVAN CORCORAN, and custodian of records, CHRISTINA BOBB , as so uncooperative as to lead agents to suspect the Trump team might be obstructing the investigation.”

http://www.flickr.com/groups/againstcensorship/

 

Since yesterday users from Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong and South Korea are restrained from seeing 'moderate' and 'restricted' photos.

 

Flickr is a user-based site, it's content is made only by its users.

I can't imagine that flickr just hasn't the balls to oppose any local policy of hysteric goverments.

Yahoo seems to be eager to become the world's biggest brother!

 

I'm a user and I can't accept this.

   

more info:

- www.flickr.com/help/filters/#249

 

- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/91085

- www.flickr.com/groups/404938@N23/discuss/72157600347681500/

- www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

    

12 months.

The most beneficial year of my life.

  

Two years ago, I met a boy.

A year I spent with him.

Loving him.

I truly thought I had found it.

Found the happiness I was searching for for so long.

My future was laid out in front of me.

I could touch it.

It was him.

My best friend.

He was right next to me and I was invincible.

Last year's September 3rd was not like this one.

I was not laughing.

I was not smiling.

I was not moving.

I was not breathing.

The boy's name I would write so proudly in my journal was leaving me.

Everything had stopped.

Abrupt.

And numbness was welcomed back with heavy arms.

Happiness left me and so did the color in my face.

I was finding out that it wasn't just about him.

Everything left me.

Always.

Everyone I ever loved would leave me.

A disappearing act that I couldn't seem to solve.

And I was fading away too.

 

My bed would make way for my tired bones but it never would give me rest.

I was terrified of sleep.

Nightmares were my normalcy only for me to be left over and over again.

An endless cycle.

An echo.

 

Everyone would tell me that a day would come.

That I would eventually smile again.

Eventually wasn't enough.

Every piece of advice given to me was thrown into the garbage.

No amount of words could take away my grief.

But everyone would keep at me.

Poking.

Prodding.

Telling me that I'm loved.

Loved by them. Loved by God.

They would never let up.

I was so far away but these people that I never before thought twice about cared when I didn't.

If I couldn't help myself, they would do it for me- even with my kicking and screaming.

 

In my vacancy, Stephanie wrote me a letter.

The kind of letter you keep in your memory box on your bedside table.

 

Sarah-

As I was praying for you, God gave me a picture of you in the middle of an ocean on a tiny boat. The waves were crashing against you, getting bigger and bigger and more violent. You felt helpless and insecure until you called out to the Lord and immediately He calmed the waves.

Then I saw another picture of God in the sky and you reaching up for Him but not being able to touch Him. I heard Him say this- "I want Sarah to see Me as her Daddy. Im as close to her as the skin on her bones but she doesn't believe I love her as much as I do. All she needs is to accept My unconditional, uncontrollable love for her and she will see how truly close I am. I want her to let Me open her eyes and her heart to My Fathers heart for her. She just doesn't realize how irrevocably I adore her because she is my girl! All she has to do is fall into My open arms and accept My affection and let Me tell her how amazing she is. Thats how easy it is to be filled with My joy. I want to be everything to her. I want to show her how crazy fun it is to have a dad like Me. I want to fulfill her wildest dreams and go above and beyond her wildest expectations. All she has to do is let Me! I want to take Sarah on adventures she's never dreamt shed get to do in her lifetime. I'm so jealous for her whole heart. I know her and there isn't a part of her I don't love."

  

Everyone that I felt had disappeared, my friends, my family- slowly began to reappear.

One by one.

My breaths became lighter and my strides became longer.

This painfully slow year of sadness was transforming into a fast year of hope.

Always a word thats definition was unknown to me.

  

When I thought all had left me, He was closer than He had ever been.

He was here with me.

Under my skin.

The front of my mind.

In my being.

He was here- all 365 days

 

He was doing it for me.

So I began praising Him.

Praising Him for aches and numbness.

Because I have overcome it.

He sent the enemy running away screaming.

 

___________

 

But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

 

HE is my provider.

  

Thank you to everyone that has supported me.

I love you all.

 

When selecting a portrait for one's eternal resting place, folks tend to go with smiling visages or at least neutral expressions.

This tough customer is quite another story. He looks, to borrow a Wodehouse phrase, like a Scotch elder rebuking the sins of his flock.