Linnaeus put Golden Plovers in the genus Pluvialis, which means relating to rain, as in Sweden they were known as Rain Pipers (Regnpipare) because they were thought to call before rain. This one actually did call its plaintive whistle just before the rain started, but that is just coincidence. Its specific name apricaria means basking in the sun, probably because of the golden, spangled upperparts. Birds in the south of their breeding range (ie Britain) are less marked with black below, particularly around the face, but you can see the black belly. They also have an interesting division of labour between the sexes. Females incubate the eggs during the night, then go off to feed in fields as a single sex flock during the day time. Males take over incubation during the day and go off to feed on different fields at night. So I suspect this daytime bird on pasture is a female.

Rick Mercer's video "Plus 1 in Canada". I can so relate to this - so funny! And, yes, it's snowing AGAIN today, heavily. Temperature this morning is -19C (windchill -27C). Wish I could say that it will be yet another day at home, but I have to somehow drive half way across the city for a regular dental appointment. I can barely tell where the road is. We are still under a Winter Storm Warning, with a total of up to 35 cm of snow expected.

 

youtu.be/wkDvqQKGgDA

 

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Needless to say, this is not a photo that was taken in the wild! I would never be able to get such a close shot or even a close view like this, unless the bird was captive for one reason or another. This bird had just had some flight training and was given a hosepipe shower to cool off.

 

This particular Bald Eagle resides at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta. This is a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, including educating the public away from the Centre. Sometimes, a bird is also used as a foster parent.

 

I often see Bald Eagles flying wild, both in the city and in the surrounding areas. Usually when I see one, it is flying or perched far away. Too far away to see any detail at all, which is why I love going to this Centre, to see raptors up close.

 

"Once a common sight in much of the continent, the bald eagle was severely affected in the mid-20th century by a variety of factors, among them the thinning of egg shells attributed to use of the pesticide DDT. Bald eagles, like many birds of prey, were especially affected by DDT due to biomagnification. DDT itself was not lethal to the adult bird, but it interfered with the bird's calcium metabolism, making the bird either sterile or unable to lay healthy eggs. Female eagles laid eggs that were too brittle to withstand the weight of a brooding adult, making it nearly impossible for the eggs to hatch. It is estimated that in the early 18th century, the bald eagle population was 300,000–500,000,[118] but by the 1950s there were only 412 nesting pairs in the 48 contiguous states of the US. Other factors in bald eagle population reductions were a widespread loss of suitable habitat, as well as both legal and illegal shooting. DDT was completely banned in Canada in 1989, though its use had been highly restricted since the late 1970s." From Wikipedia.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle

 

Last summer (2017), we had practically no 'normal' summer days. Most were too hot thanks to an almost endless heatwave, and also too smoky thanks to all the wildfires in British Columbia and Alberta. The weather forecast for 3 August 2017 looked good; sunshine all day, with rain forecast on several of the coming days. I decided to finally do a drive all the way down south to near Lethbridge, so that I could again visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale. The previous year (2016), I did this drive for the very first time on my own and I wanted to make sure I didn't lose my courage to do it again. During the 511 kms that I drove, I had to ask for help with directions twice - both times in the same small hamlet. It was a hot day, with a temperature of 31C when I was at the Centre.

 

Though the forecast was for sun all day, there was no mention of the smoke haze that completely blocked out the mountains and pretty much the foothills, too. Very quickly, I was almost tempted to turn around and come home, but I had noticed rain in the forecast for the coming days. I reckoned I would still be able to photograph the fairly close birds at the Centre, which worked out fine.

 

Amazingly, I managed to make myself get up early that morning, and set off just before 8:30 am. My intention was to drive straight to Coaldale without stopping anywhere en route. Not an easy thing for me to do, as I much prefer driving slowly along the back roads rather than the less interesting highways. However, I knew it would take me a few hours to get there and I wanted to have as much time as possible down there. On the way home, I drove one dusty, gravel road, but saw nothing but a couple of Horned Larks perched on fence posts. A couple of old barns (that I had seen before) and a few scenic shots, were more or less all I took.

 

I finally arrived home at 8:30 pm, after a 12-hour day, totally tired out, and my car was just about out of gas. So happy to have been down there again, though.

ift.tt/1L2Qu9W @trunkieygm collabs with @georgethepoet on the song entitled Pavements/Relate. Out 3pm on @linkuptv #UKMUSIC #CAM #LINKUPTV #PavementsRelate

Watching over the Canyon in sort of a protective manner. I can relate to just how overwhelming looking out over this canyon can be! What an IMMENSELY awesome thing to see! :-)

 

The Trip to the Grand Canyon from Vegas seemed like it took FOREVER! I had left Vegas after midnight after a very long day! I had started off the day in the northern area of Death Valley after spending the night in a tent at a campsite that Darren and I had grabbed the day before. During the night I just knew that the Mountain Lions were ganging up and circling the tents and planning their strategy for some tasty meals! Okay... so it could have been just a few Kangaroo Mice instead! Or maybe just the wind! :-D Anyway, I had passed out on Darren the previous night at Racetrack Playa basically from being so totally exhausted that I just couldn't go anymore. So I could have just been dreaming! ;-)

 

After a restless night, Darren and I got up and made our way south and stopped along the way to see some of the other sites in Death Valley. It was getting very HOT in the middle of the day but we did make it to the Devil's Golf course and a few other places as well. I needed to start heading back towards Dallas and at about 2 or so in the afternoon, I bid farewell to Darren and started heading east.

 

That evening I stopped in Vegas to meet up with Marisa and one other photographer that lives there in Vegas as well. We spent a little time at the Red Rock Park just on the Northeast side of Las Vegas. After dropping off Marisa at her car and thanking her for the time she spent with us, I started making my way towards the Grand Canyon. At least my plan was to drive for as long as I could and then pull over to get some sleep somewhere. I was not in Arizona too long before I had to stop and found a parking area with a scenic overlook area and laid back the seat to get some rest.

 

I woke up the next morning as the sun was rising and got back on the road shortly thereafter. Still didn't get much sleep but I was ready to hit the Grand Canyon and see if I could find a secluded area to get some Light Painting Shots in that evening.

 

I arrived at the Grand Canyon at about noon after a few pit stops for food and fuel and there were people EVERYWHERE! As I walked around the Grand Canyon Village area taking pics here and there, I was also watching the people that were obviously here from all over the world to see this awesome spectacle of nature! So many different languages being spoken that I could not even start to guess what most of them were. It was pretty cool to be standing in the middle of this big melting pot of people from every corner of the planet.

 

With all of the people around this main area, I decided it was best to venture to the east a bit and see if I could find a nice overlook area not only to catch a nice sunset with the canyon in view, but a spot that would be a good place for some light painting a little later when the moon came up. It was now Monday, May 7th and the full moon occurred two days prior to this. So it would rise roughly two hours after sunset... Plenty of time to get settled! :-)

 

I drove down East Rim Drive towards Cameron, Arizona. (Cameron loved the fact that "the town was named after him!" when we made a trip to the Grand Canyon in 2001!) Ha! I was so busy looking at the forest and the occasional views over the canyon that I didn't pay much attention to the signs along road as I went. This would come back to bite me a little later! ;-) I stopped at several overlook areas along the way and finally made my way to Navajo Point which is about 20 miles away from the main visitor center. The view from this point was awesome! The canyon made a bend here and the sun would set over the canyon to my west, and you could see the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon in spots towards the west and in a large area heading to the north east from here. I took a few photos and looked around a bit and found a spot where I could do some Light Painting without fear of falling off into the dark canyon below. At least not TOO much fear! ;-)

 

So after a little more exploring of the area, I settled down in a good spot to get some shots of the sun setting and just kicked back for a while enjoying the view. Off to the east, I noticed some clouds and it looked like they might have some rain mixed in with them as well. Rain is sort of an unusual thing and you really don't see clouds that often here either so I didn't think much about them other than the fact that I thought it would be cool if some clouds would make an appearance in some of my shots. Well, be careful what you wish for! As the sun was getting closer to the horizon, an overcast moved in and caught up with the sun as well and it was starting to look like there wasn't going to be any sunset shots at this point. It was also looking pretty bad for the Light Painting shoot that I had planned for later as well since this would block the moon from making the landscape visible during the session! 8-O Wow!

 

Well, just as the sun was getting close to the horizon, it broke back out of the cloud bank and did end up putting on a bit a a show for us. I say "US" because at this point, there were probably 50 other people gathered at the same area hoping to get a shot of the sunset also! ;-)

 

Anyway… After getting some shots of the sunset and letting it get a bit dark, I headed back towards Grand Canyon Village to see if I could find a place to get some food and do some waiting to see if the clouds would break up at all. On my way back though, I spotted some of the signs that I had missed on the way in! There was one that REALLY stood out and was on the road near the point I had chosen for my Light Painting session that night! It was like the familiar Deer Crossing warning signs that most everyone has seen before, but this was different! Instead of the silhouette of a deer on the sign, it was the silhouette of a Mountain Lion!!! 8-O A Cougar! A Puma! A BIG Cat!! One that HAS been known to attack and kill humans!! I distinctly remember reading that these cats are normally shy and solitary animals, BUT, they DO occasionally attack people, usually children or solitary adults, and that there are about four attacks per year with one fatality each year!!! Great!!! Here I am, in an area where they thought it NECESSARY to put up a sign warning drivers about them and I was going to be a SOLITARY ADULT out in the middle of the night in the middle of NOWHERE!!

 

I have said it before and I will say it again! One my biggest fears is being eaten alive! Particularly by one of these cats!! It is not the first time I have been in an area where they are known to be, and I am sure it wont be the last! But usually I am with someone else! This time, it was just me! So.. as I dwelled on that thought all the way back to civilization and on through dinner while waiting for the moon to pop out of the clouds, I wondered if I should try to find a different area in the dark or go through with my plans. Things were really not looking too good anyway with the cloud cover so I was starting to think that I would not get any Light Painting shots at the Grand Canyon this go around anyway. :-\

 

As it starting getting close to midnight, I was getting ready to give up on the moon when I noticed it lighten up a bit outside! Sure enough! The clouds were breaking! Cool! I was at least going to see if I could get a few shots in before hitting the road again to get back to Dallas! So... I made my way back out to Navajo Point and was reminded of the Mountain Lion threat several times along the way! I had convinced myself that I would just try to play it as safe as possible and keep aware of my surroundings as much as possible, but if it was my time to go at the claws of a big cat, then I guess it was time! :-)

 

When I reached Navajo Point, I got all my gear together and made the short hike over to the rim of the canyon and got things set up. I kept a very bright flashlight turned on and searched the area for glowing eyes at every chance as I got everything ready to shoot. The moon was still at an angle that was causing some unwanted shadows but I just had to deal with the situation I had at the moment and started shooting. Each shot was a little over a 10 minute exposure and it was difficult to NOT turn on the spotlight to look for eyes during the exposures but I refrained. The wind was blowing fairly strong as well, so it was hard to hear anything but the wind blowing through the trees. As soon as I would end an exposure, I would turn on the spotlight to scan for glowing eyes and keep it on the entire time that I was checking the shot. I would scan the trees again before taking the next shot and this went on like this for the next two hours.

 

After I had created several shots, and at about 2:30 in the morning, my nerves were shot and I was exhausted once again! So I packed things up and high tailed it away from any further threat of being eaten alive that night! I still felt good about the fact that I was FINALLY able to Light Paint the Grand Canyon! :-)

 

Light Painting - Single Exposure

In the style of Denis Smith (biskitboy)

Relating to my RT on the 165 shot at Rainham is a view of the more normal RML on this route - RML2367, passing RT4087 in Mungo Park Drive, South Hornchurch on 17/4/71.

The Moon has reached the first quarter of it's phase, but it's been

so cloudy, misty, foggy and rainy that I haven't been able to see it!

I took this photo on leap day 29th February 2012 when the Moon was at a similar phase as it is now. I love the way that the craters show up so well on the terminator when the sun is shining at an angle.

 

Highest position in Explore: 112 on Thursday, November 22, 2012

 

#29 - Leap Day (Any shot to be taken on, or relating to 29th February 2012) in 112 pictures in 2012

I'm away until this eveninig, but will be around to visit later today and tomorrow morning.

 

From my set entitled “Colonial Williamsburg”

www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157606227083949/

In my collection entitled “Virginia: Beach, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown: May 2008”

www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760622...

In my photostream

www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/

 

Reproduced from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg is the historic district of the independent city of Williamsburg, Virginia. It consists of many of the buildings that, from 1699 to 1780, formed colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of two of the original shires of Virginia, James City Shire (now James City County), and Charles River Shire (now York County). For most of the 18th century, Williamsburg was the center of government, education and culture in the Colony of Virginia.

 

Colonial Williamsburg is meant to be an interpretation of a Colonial American city, with exhibits including dozens of authentic or accurately-recreated colonial houses and relating to American Revolutionary War history. Prominent buildings in Colonial Williamsburg include the Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol, The Governor's Palace, and Bruton Parish Church. However, rather than simply an effort to preserve antiquity, the combination of extensive restoration and thoughtful recreation of the entire colonial town facilitates envisioning the atmosphere and understanding the ideals of 18th century American revolutionary leaders. It was here that Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, James Madison, George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, and dozens more helped mold democracy in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.

 

The Historic Area is located just east of the College of William and Mary, founded at Middle Plantation in 1693, just prior to the establishment of the town as capital of Virginia and its renaming. The university's historic Wren Building stands at the west end of Duke of Gloucester Street.

 

Colonial Williamsburg is a major source of tourism to Williamsburg, as well as a touchstone for many world leaders and heads of state, including U.S. Presidents. The United States hosted the first World Economic Conference at Colonial Williamsburg in 1983. It is the centerpiece of the surrounding Historic Triangle of Virginia area, which has become a popular tourist destination for visitors domestic and foreign. The other two points of the Historic Triangle are Jamestown and Yorktown.

Contents

 

Early in the 20th century, the restoration and recreation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest historic restorations ever undertaken, was championed by the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin and the patriarch of the Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., along with the active participation of his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who wanted to celebrate the patriots and the early history of the United States.

 

Many of the missing Colonial structures were reconstructed on their original sites during the 1930s. Other structures were restored to the best estimates of how they would have looked during the eighteenth century, with all traces of later buildings and improvements removed. Dependency structures and animals help complete the ambiance. Most buildings are open for tourists to look through, with the exception of several buildings that serve as residences for Colonial Williamsburg employees.

 

Notable structures include the large Capitol and the Governor's Palace, each carefully recreated and landscaped as closely as possible to original 18th century specifications, as well as Bruton Parish Church and the Raleigh Tavern.

 

The major goal of the Restoration was not to merely preserve or recreate the physical environment of the colonial period, but to facilitate education about the origins of the idea of America, which was conceived during many decades before the American Revolution.

 

In this environment, Colonial Williamsburg strives to tell the story of how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality.

 

Post Processing: PhotoShop Elements 5: sharpen, straighten, darken, dry brush

Topaz Add-On: Detail (HDR)

 

The Symptoms of Kali-yuga

www.vedabase.com/en/sb/12/2

 

This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.

 

As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.

 

When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.

 

The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.

 

SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.

SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.

SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.

SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.

SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.

SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.

SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.

SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.

SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.

SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.

SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.

SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.

SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.

SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.

SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.

SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.

SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.

SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.

SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.

SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.

SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.

SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.

SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.

SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.

SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.

SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.

SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”

SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.

SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.

 

~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2

 

#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam

 

Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊

 

Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧

18th April, 2019

Enjoy a richer visual experience when you View On Black

 

San Simeon Pier is a wooden structure with pristine ocean views. It is very near Hearst Castle, one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of California.

 

The small town of San Simeon is steeped in history, much of it relating to Hearst Castle. There is a state park and a state beach at San Simeon. They are located on the beach side of California Highway 1 directly below Hearst Castle, and, along with the castle, are operated by the California State Park system. The 1,000 foot-long fishing pier and crescent shaped beach of William R. Hearst Memorial State Beach offers a family picnic area with a grassy lawn on a hill above the beach. The facility measures only 2 acres but is a beautiful spot with a protected cove perfect for relaxing and swimming.

 

In 1878, Senator George Hearst (father of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst) had a new wharf constructed. The wharf extended 1000 feet into the water that was deep enough to handle the largest ships of the era. Rails were laid on the pier to allow flat cars to move cargo to and from the new warehouse on shore. The pier handled shipments for the quicksilver (mercury) mines in the area. This was necessary because there way no road that could sustain the area which was thus isolated and could be accessed only by boat. California scenic SR1 connecting San Luis Obispo with the Monterey Peninsula, which passes the beach, was not completed until the 1950s'. From 1919, all of the building materials for the Hearst Castle and other buildings on the Hearst estate were landed at the pier. William Randolph Hearst, built other warehouses near the pier to house material and goods, which were later taken to the castle.

 

Today the pier, located on William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach, is used for fishing and is a tourist attraction in itself. Near the pier and within the San Simeon State Park are several large beach front homes belonging to the Hearst Family, a one room school-house built in the nineteenth century and an nature interpretive center.

 

Tamron 10-24 mm AF @ 10mm. Exposure 1/400 of a second, f10, ISO 200 SOOC. That is not an optical illusion at the ocean end of the pier, it is not leaning. The pier was built with a 30 degree angle turn to the left to make docking and offloading easier.

  

© Lawrence Goldman 2012, All Rights Reserved

This work may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.

Chinese visual artist and political activist Ai Weiwei visited the Greek island of Lesvos in 2015, to witness the influx of refugees in Europe. Deciding to create a documentary on the topic, he and his family and film team travelled to over 40 refugee camps in 23 countries in one year. The resulting photographing series, consisting of 17000 photographs exhibited here at the FOMU in Antwerp, attempt to depict the scale and impact of the global refugee crisis.

Here is another scan and retouch that relates a lot of history. It was a snap of Alice and Katherine at Alice's Wild Basin cabin at the Copeland Lake area of the south end of Rocky Mtn. National Park. Was the old ice chest on the north of the cabin still in use? It stands in front of the cabin that was originally the recycled ice house at Copeland Lake. At some time, Jim Coulihan of St. Catherine's Chapel, built a new addition to the origins. Grandmother, Alice, spent every summer at her cabin right near the Wid Basin Lodge and walked to The Meeker Park Store of groceries. Down the hill from the porch on the other side was the North St.Vrain River scrambled down the canyon, filled with all those trout. The cabin was ever a mellow place to stay in 1943.

 

Talk about a mellow place to stay, the entire world would like to pack in here this summer. At Longmont, the nights are seldom dropping to 60 and below so far. So much for T-Rump's Tirade against the Environment (his TTE - Trade the Environment for money policy); it's starting to really pay off with rain in the Arctic and state sized bergs calving in the Antarctic.

 

The water supply for the uninsulated cabin was directly pumped from the river when there was no thought about the quality of the water supply. Do I remember something about tumbling streams purifying in a 1/4 mile? Nobody ever gave a thought about drinking from the stream that fed Longmont's water supply.

 

As usual, the negative and contact printing left a lot of flecks, white and black, and garbage across the image. In close, it looks like a shotgun blast. As always, it provides plenty of practice whether needed or not. I used the same two techniques, the Stamp and Brush to work on the image. Unfortunately, the scanner usually features all the defects on old snaps like this. I suppose that it will always be possible that this family will exchange the digital shots and spread them far enough that my labor won't be entirely wasted.

 

Generally, I gang output these to high resolution PDFs that can be printed at home of taken to Fed-X Kinkos for their color printing. I have enough to output another sheet. Their output never seems to waver from the quality of the PDF.

  

France is famous for its cuisine, and with establishments ranging from three-star Michelin gastronomic havens to sidewalk crêpe stands doling out thin pancakes with Nutella, the choices are varied.

 

For most tourists passing through Paris, however, the day-to-day meal falls along the curve of the typical Parisian bistro-brasserie-café-wine bar. But what is the difference?

 

The answer? Not an easy one… Mostly because, like with most issues relating to food (or, let’s be frank, relating to anything), every Frenchman has an opinion, and every opinion is slightly different.

 

This Cafe Bar in Hoxton, London has an eye catching window and a quirky interior. Food I'm not sure about but coffee, beer and wine? Certainly but at a price

 

The full version of this video is available on YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7zEW6GHH3Q

For best viewing please adjust your settings to 1080P

 

Two carved stone coats of arms are located, one on each side of the main entrance. The one on the left has the motto “LOCK SICKER” meaning ‘Be Sure’ and relates to the seat of Shoto Douglas, Earl of Morton. The other coat of arms on the right-hand side has the motto “GUXGITE SURGAT” meaning 'He rises up'.

 

Two miles from Donemana stands the impressive ruin of Altnachree Castle, one of the finest Victorian mansions to have been constructed in Ireland. Located on the main B49 Longland Road from Donemana (Donemanagh or Dunamanagh) to Claudy, Altinaghree Castle or Liscloon House known locally as Ogilby's Castle was built around 1860 by:

 

William Leslie Ogilby (b.1804 d.1 Sept 1873)

William Ogilby, Justice of the Peace (JP) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB), (many authorities state b.1808 d.1873. He was born at Liscleen House, Donemana the only son of Leslie Ogilby Esq. (b.c.1764 d.1845) of Liscleen (Liscloon), Co. Tyrone who owned a bleaching green at Lackagh in the parish of Dungiven. The Ogilbys had been active in the linen trade since the mid-eighteenth century, and William's uncle Robert Ogilby (b.c.1761 d.1839), having amassed a fortune from a linen factor in Dublin, bought the lease of the 22,000 acre Dungiven Castle estate and was reckoned "the wealthiest commoner in the North of Ireland, possessing it is said between ten and twenty thousand pounds a year". The fortune of William's father was more modest but sufficient to buy the 3,170-acre Terkernaghan and Altnachree estate in Donagheady, County Tyrone, in 1829.

 

William’s family roots lay in Aberdeenshire. He was educated at a small academy kept by a clergyman in Macclesfield before proceeding to Belfast Academical Institution and thence to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1824. (BA 1829, MA 1832) and was called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn on 20th November 1832 and practiced as a barrister in London to 1846 living in Portman Square, Marylebone, London, before settling back in Ireland.

 

He was also High Sheriff of County Tyrone in 1852.

 

At the birth of James Douglas’, the family was living in Belfast. Thereafter they moved to a location between Dunamana and Ballyneaner, County Tyrone. There William undertook the construction of the family home.

He started building Altnachree Castle in the 1840s, just as the Great Famine (1845-1851) struck. The castle was completed in the 1860s. Unlike many landlords, William kept on all his workers and fed them by importing grain. Seemingly, he carried out intensive land improvements and is reputed to have planted 11 acres of Cedrus Deodara at Altinaghree castle, which is a species of cedar trees that live in the western Himalayas and eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and north-central India.

He was reputed to be a descendant of the notable family of Ogilby of Ardnargle House, Limavady and Pellipar House, Dungiven.

William aged 22 married Matilda Doria di Spineto aged 20. His wife Matilda was born circa 1810, in Cambridge, England and died on 29th October 1849, aged 39 at Rockfort House, Buncrana, County Donegal.

Matilda’s father was Marquis Doria di Spineto, born in 1774, in Italy and her mother was Elizabeth Doria di Spineto (born Campbell 1787, in Scotland). William and Matilda had no family.

 

At the age of 43 William married, Adelaide Charlotte Douglas on 7th February 1851, in Donagheady, Co. Tyrone, who was daughter of the Honourable and Reverend Charles Sholto Douglas of Earls Gift (Donemana) (brother of George Sholto Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton - 23 December 1789 – 31 March 1858), by his first wife, the Lady Isabella Douglas (born Gore), daughter of Arthur Saunders, 2nd Earl of Arran.

 

They had 8 children:

1. Claude William Leslie Ogilby (b.3rd Nov 1851 d.1894)

2. James Douglas Ogilby (b.16 Feb 1853 d.11 Aug 1925)

3. William Charles Ogilby (aged 3 weeks b.16 Dec. 1855 d.8 Jan 1856 in Liscleen, Donamana, Tyrone);

4. Adelaide Charlotte Ogilby ll (b.17 May 1855 d.28 Jun 1935)

5. Isabella Caroline Ogilby (b. unknown d. unknown)

6. Beatrice Emma Elizabeth Ogilby (b.22 Feb 1858 d.4 May 1938).

7. Louisa Ogilby (b.29 May 1860 d. unknown)

8. Edith Sophia Ogilby (b. unknown d. unknown)

 

He wrote such papers as "Descriptions of Mammalia and Birds from the Gambia" (1835), “Exhibition of the Skins of Two Species of the Genus Kemas” (1838), and "Observations on the History and Classification of the Marsupial Quadrupeds of New Holland" (1839), all published in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. He was a Fellow of the Linaean Society of London (the world’s oldest active biological society) and was an Honorary Secretary of the Zoological Society of London (London Zoo) for seven years from 1839 to 1846 where he crossed swords a number of times with John Edward Gray (b.1800 d.1875) of the British Museum.

He was well known to Charles Darwin, and served with him on a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science charged with drawing up rules for standardising zoological nomenclature. He was a member of the scientific elite of his day and it is likely that he took part in early discussions about the significance of fossils in the lead up to the publication of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” in 1859. (Desmond, p.314, Correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1847-50, 1860, p.215, p.437).

William passed away on 1st September 1873, at age of 65 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Claude William Leslie Ogilby. William was buried on 5 September 1873 alongside his first wife, Matilda Doria Ogilby (d.1849), in the Donagheady Old Burial Ground, associated with St. James's Church of Ireland, Church Hill, Donemana, County Tyrone.

Adelaide died at the age of 72 on 16th March 1903 at Donaghadee, Co. Down.

 

Claude William Leslie Ogilby (b.3rd Nov 1851 d.1894)

Williams oldest son, Claude William Leslie Ogilby is listed as the castle occupier in 1876. Claude wed his cousin, in 1875, Bessie Henrietta Douglas who was daughter of Captain William Grant Douglas (died 25 Feb 1824), in a childless marriage. Not much information is available on Claude, however I believe he was a Lieutenant in the 31st Regiment of Foot.

 

The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881.

 

Claude William Leslie Ogilby who is listed as the castle occupier in 1876 was reputed to be something of a spendthrift and fell heavily into debt. Claude, died at the early age of 43, but apparently left the castle 6 years before his death for a room in a public house in Donemana. The fact that his affairs were in the hands of trustees suggests that he was bankrupt. A contemporary newspaper article implies that the upkeep of a large castle had perhaps proved overwhelming, following Gladstone’s Land Acts of 1870 – 1909.

 

A house first appears on the site on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1853, captioned ‘Liscloon House’. By the third edition, this has been replaced by a different structure, captioned ‘Altinaghree Castle’, surrounded by a wall. ‘Liscloon Cottages’ and a ‘Lodge’ are also shown nearby. On the fourth edition the castle is shown in ruins. Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) lists a ‘house, offices and land’, with buildings initially valued at £62, and eventually reduced to £14. The reduction appears to be due to separating off farm, outbuildings and cottages from the main house. Buildings listed include stables, a garden house, stalling house, granary, cow house, steaming house and piggery. The house is owned by William Ogilby in fee. In 1861, Annual Revisions note, ‘This house is throwing down. Mr Ogilby is building a very fine new house, value when completed’. A further note reads, ‘Value new house in 1864’. The house has been valued by 1865 at £190 and is listed as a house, offices, gate lodge, land and plantation.

 

However, from 1888 when the house is listed as ‘vacant’ and leased from the Trustees of Claude W Ogilby, the building deteriorates and decreases in value. The first reduction is to £78, then to £70 in 1889, when the house is first described as a castle. In 1892 it is described as ‘dilapidated’ and the value is reduced to £5. Samuel A.C. Eaton becomes the lessor in 1905. A note of 1909 reads, ‘floors and windows gone, a ruin’ and in 1910 it is deleted from the record altogether, although the gate lodge continues to be occupied.

 

A box of documents in PRONI Ref: LR 1005/8/1 also contained sale documents of land in townlands of the parishes of Drumragh and Dromore. All the documents related to sales under the Irish Land Commission and all were dated between 1901 to 1904. Each document begins

"In the matter of the estate of William Grant Douglas, Gordon Douglas and James Hannay, trustees for the sale of the estate of Claude William Leslie Ogilby under deed dated 28 Nov 1877."

The sale includes lots of land as small as 3 acres (Samuel McGonigle Liscloon Lower) to larger plots 187 acres (James Throne, Tirkernaghan). The land was located in the townlands of Ballyneanor, Ballynacross, Gortaclare, Carnagribbin, Claggan N, Glenmorning, Liscloon Lower, Liscloon Upper, Lisloon Lower, Moneycannon & Tirkernaghan.

 

Note: It is not clear from the document whether one William Robinson bought several parcels of land, or whether there was more than one William Robinson. Documents marked #1 signed by J Mark, Solicitor, as a witness 3 Aug 1904, and Those marked #2 were witnessed by J Stack Murphy, Barrister, 22 June 1904.

 

“Entered through a porte-cochere (this is currently not evident) on the side along the axis of the central corridor, with the three main rooms strung out along the garden front. The main staircase set into triple-arched composition, but taking up the minimum of space, all like an office block. Four-storeyed towers in the centre of each front; three floors elsewhere.

 

Bessie wed a 2nd time in 1895 at St Pancras, London by marrying a Friedrich Wilhelm Hugo Bartels who was born in Germany in 1863. Bessie died 12th October 1938.

 

James Douglas Ogilby (b.16 February 1853 d.11 August 1925)

He received his early education at Winchester College, England between the ages 13 to 16, and for a year between 1871-72 (ages 18 to 19) from Trinity College, Dublin. Douglas, as he was called excelled at athletics, winning many medals, chiefly for running and was also noted as being neat and precise.

After he completed his studies, James Douglas sought and obtained a position with the British Museum in London. Sharing his knowledge of Ireland, he contributed notes on Irish fishes and birds that were published in the Zoologist (a respected publication for naturalists in the United Kingdom) over the period of 1874 to 1876.

 

One of the most important aspect of his time spent in London is that he met and fell in love with Mary Jane Jamieson (died 1894), a seamstress working in a local factory. He introduced her to his family and announced their intention to wed.

James’ mother Adelaide forbade the marriage, believing Mary Jane to be beneath her son’s station in life, and sent James to live in Texas around 1875.

 

Not much is known about his time in America, but it is known that he was not happy. He continued in his interest in nature (eventually having a paper, Catalogue of the Birds obtained in Navarro County, Texas published in the Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society in 1883, but his love for Mary Jane was still strong.

 

He returned to Ireland from America in 1884 and on November 24th of the same year, at age 31 married the 20-year-old Mary Jane at Donagheady parish church, Donemana, County Tyrone.

 

James knew that his bride would be unaccepted by his family so shortly after their marriage, they emigrated to Australia, arriving sometime before the end of 1884 where later he attained an appointment as scientific assistant (zoology) to the Australian Museum, Sydney.

 

James began work at the museum on 14 February 1885 at a salary of £250 and proved an enthusiastic and energetic worker, publishing numerous notes, papers and reports on reptiles and mammals as well as fish. The following year he compiled the catalogue of fishes for the report of the Commissioners of Fisheries for New South Wales and in 1887 published Catalogue of Fishes and Other Exhibits at the Royal Aquarium, Bondi. That year he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society of London.

 

Dismissed in 1890 after many warnings for drunkenness on the job, Ogilby continued his prodigious research activities outside the museum on a contract basis; he published a valuable ‘Catalogue of Australian Mammals’ in 1892 having described over 7,000 new species. He was the author of numerous scientific papers on reptiles, and he described a new species of turtle and several new species of lizards and Edible Fishes and Crustaceans of New South Wales in 1893, prepared for the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago. Between 1885 and 1899 he published over eighty papers and notes (including twenty-two with E. P. Ramsay) in the Proceedings of the local Linnean Society.

 

Tragically, in 1894, Mary Jane Ogilby died in Sydney at the age of 29. The marriage had produced no children, and James would remain a bachelor for the rest of his life.

 

About 1903 James moved to Brisbane; he was employed as an ichthyologist by the Queensland Museum where the specimens were happily preserved in formalin and not alcohol! In 1913-16 he published a series of papers on the edible fish of Queensland in the Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. For a time, he belonged to the Royal Society of Queensland.

 

James Douglas Ogilby was primarily a taxonomist but his work had important commercial significance. His research, like that of his friend and collaborator Allan Riverstone McCulloch (b.1885 d.1925), was described by the noted American ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (b.1851 d.1931) as of 'a very high order'.

James died after a long illness in Diamantina Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland on 11 August 1925 and was buried in the Church of England section of Toowong cemetery.

 

For some years he had been honorary museum curator for the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of Queensland which perpetuated his memory by erecting the “J. Douglas Ogilby Cottage” for the use of its members on Bribie Island, a popular fishing resort in Queensland.

When finished Ogilby’s Castle was vast and beautiful, lavishly furnished and with a banquet room that was reported to be unequalled throughout Tyrone, boasting among its guests Bishops and Politicians from London, Dublin and Belfast.

 

Despite its short existence, it was associated with two significant figures in natural history, William Ogilby and his son James Douglas Ogilby, and these two survive in the memories of those in the locality.

 

A house first appears on the location on the second edition of the Ordnance Survey map of 1853 captioned ‘Liscloon House’. By the third edition, this has been replaced by a different structure, captioned ‘Altinaghree Castle’, surrounded by a wall, Liscloon Cottages’ and a ‘Lodge’ are also shown nearby. On the fourth edition the castle is shown in ruins. Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) lists a ‘house, offices and land’, with buildings initially valued at £62, and eventually reduced to £14. The reduction appears to be due to separating off farm, outbuildings and cottages from the main house. Buildings listed include stables, a garden house, stalling house, granary, cow house, steaming house and piggery.

 

In 1861, Annual Revisions note, ‘This house is throwing down. Mr Ogilby is building a very fine new house, value when completed’. A further note reads, ‘Value new house in 1864’. The house has been valued by 1865 at £190 and is listed as a house, offices, gate lodge, land and plantation.

William died in 1873, not long after completing Altinaghree Castle, when it then passed to his eldest son, Claude William Leslie Ogilby who is listed as the occupier in 1876.

 

William Charles Ogilby (aged 3 weeks, 16 Dec 1855 - 8 Jan 1856)

Information extracted from Donagheady Parish Death Announcements, 1786-1869

Deaths recorded in the parish of Donagheady, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, extracted from personal notices inserted in the Strabane Journal, Strabane Morning Post, Dublin Evening Post, Londonderry Journal, Londonderry Sentinel, Londonderry Styandard & Tyrone Constitution.

January 11 1856: OGILBY. At Earlsgift, on Tuesday, the 8th inst., WILLIAM CHARLES, the infant son of MR. and MRS. OGILBY, aged 3 weeks.

 

Adelaide Charlotte Ogilby ii (17 May 1855 – 28 Jun 1935)

Was born in Tyrone, Northern Ireland on 17 May 1855 to William Ogilby and Adelaide Charlotte Douglas. Adelaide Charlotte Ogilby ii married Reginald Charles Moore Miller and had 6 children, she passed away on 28 Jun 1935 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Isabella Caroline Ogilby (unknown – unknown)

 

Beatrice Emma Elizabeth Ogilby (22 Feb 1858 – 4 May 1938)

Born in Glen View House, Formoyle, Longford, Ireland on 22 Feb 1858 to William Ogilby and Adelaide Charlotte Douglas. Beatrice Emma Elizabeth Ogilby had 6 children. She passed away on 4 May 1938 in Cross Cottage, Bovey, Tracey, Devonshire, England.

 

Louisa Ogilby (29 May 1860 - unknown)

Louisa Ogilby was born in Liscloon (Liscleen) House, Donaghedy on 29 May 1860 to William Ogilby and Adelaide Charlotte Douglas, However.

 

Edith Sophia Ogilby (unknown – unknown)

 

The Strabane Weekly News of 4th January 1975, reports on some of the local stories surrounding the castle, which was built entirely of cut stone and surrounded by a wall of the same type. The stones were brought by horse and cart from Dungiven, County Londonderry.

Stonecutters from the Baronscourt Estate, Newtownstewart, Co, Tyrone were employed at the castle. Masons were paid one shilling per day, and labourers paid 10d.

 

According to the Natural Stone Database, the stones used are local Dalriadan Schist and Barony Glen Sandstone.

 

When finished, its banqueting room was said to be unequalled throughout the county. Ogilby was known locally simply as a successful farmer and proprietor who entertained on a lavish scale, bringing in cooks from Belfast and Dublin for his banquets, although it is not clear whether it is the older, William Ogilby or the younger, Claude Ogilby that is remembered in this way. I suspect it was probably the latter.

“In the possession of the present owner, Mr S.A.C. Eaton…is an invitation card, dated 12 December 1872, requesting his grandfather and his wife to attend a dinner party”. Dinner was to be served at 3pm.

 

The mansion was said to be splendidly appointed and had a banqueting room. Altinaghree was abandoned in 1885 after falling into disrepair, a mere twenty-five years after its construction. Today as you can see, 160 years later, only a shell survives, it cannot be listed because it’s roofless.

 

The ruin of Ogilby's Castle can be seen clearly from the public road, it’s on private farmland and can be visited but it’s suggested permission should be sought from the land owner.

 

St.James Church, Donagheady, Donemana

There has been an Anglican Church in the parish of Donagheady since the early 17th century, when a church at Church Hill was built during the plantation of Ulster. All that remains of this church is one gable wall and a small graveyard. Around 1790 a new church, St. Michael’s, was constructed in what is now known as St. Michael’s cemetery and again a portion of the gable wall remains standing to this day.

In the late 19th century urgent repairs to St. Michael’s were needed and an approach was made to Mr. Claud Ogliby of Altinaghree Castle to request financial assistance. Mr. Ogiliby refused this request but instead offered £500.00 towards the building of a new church. On 28th November 1879, St. James, Donemana was consecrated by the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Rt. Rev.William Alexander.

   

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

 

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Common Moorhen / gallinula chloropus. 05/08/18.

 

'HOT WEATHER REMEDIES'.

 

This heatwave summer has been quite a talking point and has presented many challenges to both the human population and to the natural world.

 

The Moorhen shown above demonstrated its way of dealing with the high temperature one afternoon. It kept to the shaded areas beneath shrubs and held both wings well away from its body. Even when it walked short distances, the wings were flexed outwards. At first, I thought it was drying off after bathing, but on closer observation I could see this was not the case...its plumage was completely dry.

 

Based on the past few months, I'm pretty certain we can all relate to the Moorhen's desire for shade and an airflow under the 'pits'!

  

I'm really hoping to finish her by Sunday!

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

 

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

 

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

 

Inspiration: Cost of living, finance, savings, work, money...

Turn of a Friendly Card

************************************************************

Based on a true adventures of a rogue active in the waning years of the 1930’s as discovered in the criminal archives of Chatwick University.

 

Act 1

I begin my tale in the present…

 

That afternoon a soiree was given as part of the purchase price of the tickets for the annual Autumn Charity Ball to be presented later that evening at the manor’s great house. Since I was alone, I just went mainly for the free food and to rub my elbows with the wealthy guests who would be in happy attendance there, and at the Ball. I was alone, but certainly not bored. There was a game I enjoyed playing to pass the time at these affairs that entailed scoping out by their dress and day jewels worn, those ladies whom would be most likely to be wearing the better costumes and sparklers that evening. It often proved to be a most beneficial insight into the actions and mannerisms of the very rich. I walked amongst the cheerful guests, eying one here ( a lady in satin and pearls) and another there( a high spirited girl with a diamond pin at the throat of her frilly silken blouse). It was as I was passing the latter that the friend she had been talking too (dressed like a vamp), bumped up against me. I caught her, steadying her as they both giggled. I didn’t mind, for the lassie’s too tight satin sheath tea dress had been an enticement to hold, and the gold bracelet that had been dangling from her gloved wrist had been a pleasure to observe. I kissed her gloved hand, rings glittering, as I apologized gallantly for my clumsiness. Her eyes were bright, almost as bright as the twin necklaces of gold that hung swaying down pleasantly from between her ample bosom. I left them, moving on to greener pastures, and it was very green, all of it….

 

It was then that I detected another pretty lassie. It was her long fiery red hair with falling wispy curls that first captured my attention. She was wearing a fetchingly smart white chiffon party dress that commanded me to acquire a closer examination. She appeared to be a blithe spirit, seemingly content with just being by herself and roaming about with casual elegance, the extensive grounds of the manor proper. I began to discreetly follow her at a distance. Although she did not wear any jewelry, her manner and the eloquent way she moved is what attracted me the most. It would be very interesting to seek her out later that evening and she what she would have chosen to decorate herself with. I followed her as she sojourned into the depths of a traditional English garden with a maze of lushly green trimmed 8 foot high hedges

 

As I strolled through the hedgerows in her wake I allowed my mind to wander its own course. Suddenly I straightened up, my reverie broken by an epiphany of sorts. I allowed myself to grin and the lady whose enchantment I was swollen up in, at that moment turned, and seeing my beaming smile assumed it was for her and gave me a rather cute nod of her head. I answered in same, as I headed en route to a nearby stone garden bench to allow my thoughts to think through themselves.

 

But before I go on, allow me the pleasure to sojourn and reminisce about an incident that occurred several years prior:

*******************

I was still working unaided in those days, travelling on to a new next quest that would take me just outside of Surrey.

I had just purchased my train ticket and had seen my luggage safe on board when I decided to rest in the lounge, it being some 45 minutes before allowed to enter personally aboard. Being so early the lounge was almost deserted, only one other occupant. I assumed she was waiting for someone on an incoming train due to the fact she carried no luggage. She was obviously well off, well dressed in satins and lace, and her jewels shone magnificently in the dim lights. Especially one of her rings, noticeably lying loosely around a finger, it sparkled with an expensive brilliance. I had seen one like it in a tiffanies store, worth almost 250 pounds. But she did not appreciate the show her jewelry was putting on under the lounge lights, for she was fast asleep.

 

I circled around her, aiming for a seat next to her, eyeing her and her possessions carefully. I noticed her purse had fallen off her lap and lay on the floor. An idea popped into my head, and I picked the purse up, and looked around carefully, before placing my plan into action. But I was thwarted as an older, matronly lady was spotted heading our way. I slipped the purse into my jacket and moved off before I was noticed. Of course she came in and took the empty seat across form the sleeping princess, and soon busied herself with knitting. As the older lady had sat down, not quietly, the wealthy lady stirred waking up at the noise. I went into a corner and sat, waiting. The two ladies soon fell into conversation; the minute’s ticked by excruciatingly slow. Soon I noticed we even had more company.

He was a lad of only fourteen, but with a devilish look about him that marked him a kindred spirit to meself, and his quick eyes were darting about taking it all in as he stood outside the paned glass window.

 

It was as the first announcement of boarding the train that I saw a chance for opportunity to strike.

The older lady folded up her knitting and clinching her bag, bid adieu to her new friend,( befuddled a little by the old ladies constant stream of gossip), and headed to the train. I was twenty steps ahead of her and was standing behind the youth as she left the lounge. I tapped him on the shoulder; he looked around at me suspiciously, and then caught sight of the shilling I was holding in front of his nose. I quickly whispered a few words into his ear on how he could earn it, and his grin spread as he bought into my story. I still held onto the shilling as he darted around and inside the lounge. I watched as he ran up behind the lady, circling her, then running in front of her he tripped over her leg, as she helped him up, her hand with the ring reaching down, he turned and spat onto the wrist and sleeve of that hand, than standing he ran away. Running alongside me, I handed him the shilling in passing as he ran off, disappearing in to the street.

 

I went inside and approached the astonished lady, as she was looking for her purse to get a handkerchief, confused as to its absence, while she held up her soiled hand( ring glittering furiously) in utter disbelief. I approached, catching her attention by the soothing words I uttered to her. I took her hand, unbelieving with her at just had happened, and I as I apologized for the youth of today I produced my own silk handkerchief and starting with her silky sleeve, began to wipe it off, continuing my tirade of displeasure and contempt at what had just occurred to the dear lady as I did so. As I finishing wiping her down, ending with her warm slender fingers, I kissed them, just as the last boarding announcement came over (perfect timing!) I let her go, explaining that I must catch my train. I turned and without looking back made the train just as it was letting off steam before chugging off.

 

I gained my private carriage just as the train began to lurch away. It wasn’t until after the train began its journey that I casually removed my silk handkerchief from my pocket and unwrapped it carefully, admiring up close the shimmering, valuable tiffany ring that was lying inside. I pocketed it, and then remembered the purse. I took it out and examined its contents: coin and notes equaling a handsome amount, a gold (gilded) case, embroidered lacy handkerchief, small silver flask of perfume, and ( of all things)a large shimmering prism , like one that would have dangled from a fancy crystal chandelier. A prism?, I questioned with interest as I examined it. It was pretty thing, about the circumference of a cricket ball, but shaped like a pendulum, it shimmered and glittered like the most precious of jewels. Why she had it in her purse? I couldn’t guess, and I saw no value in it, so I pocketed it and allowed it to leave my mind.

 

As I settled into my seat I began to think of the lad I had just met, I had been right on the money as far as his eagerness for mischief. Actually he reminded me of myself at that age, and I wondered if that lad with the shifty eyes would also turn out to follow the same course I had explored.

 

Which Begs the question, what had I turned out to become. And since I’m still reminiscing

I’ll give little background material about me, hopefully I don’t come across as being too conceited about my self-taught skills..

 

I had never been one to take the hard road, and even at a young age I was always looking for angles, or short cuts to make some money.

Once, while watching for some time a street magician and his acts. I observed a pick pocket working the crowd. He approached a pair of well-dressed ladies in shiny clothes, and standing behind them bided his time and then lifted a small pouch from one velvet purse, and a fat wallet from a silken one, then he moved on. Now both ladies were wearing shiny bracelets, one with jewels. I thought that he could have realized a greater profit if he had nicked one or both of the bracelets first, than try for the contents of their purses. The bracelets’ alone would have realized a far greater profit than what he lifted from their purses. It further occurred to me that by mimicking some of the sleight of hand tricks and misdirection that the magician was using on his audience, it could be accomplished. A hand placed on the right shoulder and as the lady turned right, whisk off the bracelet from her left wrist, and excuse oneself, that sort of thing.

 

So, I practiced (on my sisters, who proved to be willing accomplices to “my game”) and learned to pick their purses and pockets. I than moved onto their jewelry, starting by lifting bracelets and slipping away rings, before advancing to the brooches, necklaces and earrings they were wearing. After I was satisfied at my skill level, I went out and worked the streets. Sometimes using my one sister who was also hooked on what I was doing as a willing partner.

But I found myself still not being satisfied, in the back of my mind I thought there had to be a more lucrative way to turn a profit.

 

I’d found my answer when an attractive lady in a rustling satin gown zeroed in on me while I was “visiting” a ballroom. She was jeweled like a princess right up to the diamond band she wore holding up her piles of soft locks like a glimmering crown. The more she drank, the closer she got and I decided that her necklace would definitely help pay my expenses more than the contents of her purse (although I had already lifted the fat wallet from her small purse), and I did have very expensive tastes to pay for. So I took her onto the dance floor.

 

I was amazed at how easily I had been able to open the necklace’s clasp , slipping it over her satiny shoulder, lifting it off and placing it safely in my pocket with almost no effort. Then she decided to be playful once the song ended and brushed up against me. She felt the necklace in my pocket and before I could act she had her hand in and pulled it out.

 

The silly naive twit thought I was teasing her and told me that for my penance I had to go up to her suite in order to put it back on for her. I kept up the charade as best as I could.

 

And that’s where we ended up. A little bit of light fondling began as I placed the necklace back around her throat. I began to tease her, plied her with more and more alcohol as I tried to keep my distance, and virginity. Finally she passed out in a drunken stupor, but not before I had learned where she hid her valuables by suggesting she should lock her jewels up for the night..

 

With her safely unconscious, I began to strip her clean off all her jewels, reclaiming the necklace first. Then I visited all her jewelry casket and began looting it. I even took her small rhinestone clutch with the diamond clasp; of course I already had liberated its small wallet.

 

When I’d left her lying happily asleep in bed, still in her satin gown( the only item left to her that shined), I knew I had found a much more profitable line of “work”

 

So I began making circuits around to the haunts of the very rich, I still kept may hand in pickpocketing, so to speak, but centered only on those “pockets” containing mainly jewelry. I also began to carefully explore new ways of acquiring jewels” in masse”, so to speak.

 

Soon I had accumulated many tricks and tools, having them at my disposal to put into action once required, and for the remaining years up till the present had managed to live quite comfortably off of the ill-gotten gains using them allowed me to acquire.

 

Which brings me back to the train ride, my prism, and the rest of my background story before I retun to the present tale. Please be patient.

*****

So, anyway, I reached Surry without any further incident and disembarking, made my way out to the large country house where I would be staying to take a short rest, vacation if you will. But, pardon the play on words, for there is never any rest for the wicked, is there?

 

I had become acquainted with a servant of the old mansion ( almost a small castle, really) , that was about a mile off. I managed to learn a great deal, and soon found myself, on the pretense of visiting her, exploring the grounds. There was to be a grand ball taking place a couple of weekends away , and the maid had filled my ears with the riches that would be displayed by the multitude of regal ladies making an appearance. I began to think about trying to make a little bit of profit from my vacation. I am not sure how the idea developed, but the prism that I still had in my possession, came up centrally into my plans.

 

Late on the evening of the regal affair, I snuck over, covered head to toe in black, with my small satchel off tools by my side. I set up a candle behind an old stone ivy covered wall in a far corner of the rather large and intricate English garden that surrounded the inner circle around the mansion. I than strung the jewel-like prism in front of it. Standing behind the wall, I would strike the prism with a long stick I was holding whenever I observed sparkles emanating from silkily gowned ladies walking in the distance, solitary or in pairs. The prism would flash fire, sort of like a showy lure being used when fishing in a crooked trout stream. Only I was fishing for far sweeter game than trout. My objective was to trick certain types of jeweled ladies (scatterbrains some may call them) by luring them down onto the path beyond the wall, using their natural curiosity to my advantage.

 

I had at least two strikes rise up to my lure in the second hour.

On was a pretty lady in flowing green satin number, decorated with plenty of emeralds, which, hidden in the shadows, I observed were probably paste. I let her wonder about; as she looked and played with the shiny toy, remaining hidden until she grew bored and wandered off.

The second was a slender maiden wearing a long sleek black gown with long ivory silk gloves. I had never before seen a lady so decked out in jewels, literally head to toe. With the exception of the rhinestones adorning her heels, the rest of the lot was real, so valuably real that I could feel my mouth salivating at the thoughts of acquiring her riches. Now in Edwardian times only older, married ladies would be allowed the privilege of wearing a diamond Tiara. But in these modern times, it had become culturally acceptable for any well-to do lady, single or otherwise, to wear one out in society. Even so, they were still rarely worn, and seldom seen outside the safety of large gatherings. But there it was, a small, delicately slender piece of intricate art that glistened from the top of her head like some elegant beacon. That piece alone was probably worth more than I had made all the last four months combined!

I began to skirt around in the shadows, placing myself in position to cut off her retreat. Her diamonds blazed as she approached, eyeing the swinging prism with total concentration. Which was unfortunate, because as I was about to leave the shadows, she walked into the thorns of a rose bush, screeching out, and attracting the notice of a pair of gentlemen who had just crossed the path quite a ways off, called out when they heard the commotion. She started to become chatty with them, obviously coming on to her rescuers, my prism all but forgotten. Than before I knew it, in a swishing of her long gown, she was gone, “swimming” off before I was able to set me ”hook”.

 

Which I was able to do on the third strike, almost an hour later, just as I was beginning to ponder wither I should call it off and head back home..

 

They were a pair of young damsels in their young twenties. They may have been sisters, or cousins at the least. I still remember how my heart leapt into my throat as they observed my colourful prism and turned down the old flagstone path. I had not seen anyone out and about for some time, so I knew they would be no would be rescuers around to come to their aid

And, best of all, they were both dressed for the kill!

One, the blonde, was clad in a black velvet number that one could cannily describe as quite form fitting. As were the small ropes of pearls that hung from all points of interest, pretty with a matching pricelessness.

But her cousin, as I will refer to her, out shone black velvet quite literally.

This one, a stunning raven haired beauty, wore a long streaming gown of liquid ivory satin. A diamond brooch sparkled as it held up a fold of the gown to her waist. The fold allowed her to show a rather daring amount of a slender bare calf. The brooch was not paste, but a real jewel that had been added for the nights festivities ( To be successful, one learns to read these signs accurately) Her ears and neckline were home to a matching set of pure white diamonds. A wide diamond bracelet graced a bare right wrist ,so she must be left handed I instinctively thought, an observation that would have aided me if I were planning on having a go for slipping the bracelet from her wrist, but tonight I was planning a much more daring attempt to empty the entire jewel casket, so to speak.

 

They went to the prism, playing with it a bit, I had begun to circle around, when I noticed black velvet pointing out with multiple ringed fingers, to something further down the path past the wall.

 

With a clicking of heels I let the pair pass, they apparently wanted to see what was on the other side of the wall. I followed; it was not hard, because the necklace the raven haired one wore, diamonds fully encircling her throat, rippled and sparkled from their perch, caught in the full harvest moon’s cast, giving me more than enough light to shadow them quietly .

 

After a while they caught on that something/someone was following them, but as they turned they could see nothing. I was in black, and hooded, invisible to them in the shadows of the trees. They whispered amongst themselves, now worried, realizing that there were dangers lurking beyond the pale, in their case, the safety of the gardens , especially for ones decked out as they were. They then turned and headed right back from where they had come, right into my waiting arms.

 

It is interesting what good breeding does for young, poised ladies. For, as I stepped out of the shadows, a finger of my right hand to my lips, my Fairborn in my left hand, its black blade glinting wickedly in the moonlight , they did not scream out or shout for help. Instead the pair merely let out small gasps, and then they both, in a quite charming synchronized display of disbelief, place each one hand over their open mouths, and the other upon their perspective necklaces.

 

And as I flourished my wicked looking Fairbairn–Sykes blade in their direction, they unquestioningly reached around and undid those pretty necklaces, tremblingly handing them out to me, like actresses following a well-read script. I took the little pretties and after stuffing them into my satchel, held out again my free hand, my fingers beckoning. Not a word was spoken between us, as the frightened pair of young ladies began removing their shimmering jewels and added them in a neat little growing pile along my open palm. The raven haired girl even undid her brooch without me having to command her to do so. Once I had stashed it all away, I motioned for them to turn back around, than with a little helpful prodding on my part, they began moving forward back down the hill, away from the garden. The one in white hobbling a little now as she kept tripping over the hem of her dress, now no longer held up by the stolen brooch.

 

After we had traveled about 200 meters I had them stop, and take off their high heels. Then picking the pretty things up, I motioned them to turn back around and made them walk back the way we had come in their bare feet, watching the pair awkwardly hobble barefooted down the wooded path. They would be quite a while on their journey back, allowing me more than ample time to make me escape. I threw their shoes off to the side and went briskly the other way, reaching the place was staying at , gaining my room without notice. But not before I had hidden the jewels inside an old stump to retrieve them at a later date. I never really heard so much as a whisper of the incident, other than from the pretty lips of my friendly maiden. The wee hours of the morning before my early departure for the train station found me revisiting the stump and retrieving my satchel and its precious cargo. After hiding it all in a false bottom of my case I laid my head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep as I wondered what had happened to the little prism, marveling at how useful it had ended up proving to be.

 

So, how does this story (journey rather) relate to the one I had already started? Please read on, and enrich your curiosity… my dear readers.

****************************************************************************

Act 2

 

So, with apologies for my lengthy elucidation, but I now return you back to the garden party I was now attending on that warm fall day. But, as you will see, my prism story needed to be told in order to add a bit of flavor to what was about to unfold.

 

As I sat on the garden bench I formulated my plans. I should be able to acquire the main piece tonight at the Ball, I would have time this afternoon to retrieve my ever handy satchel and its array of tools and have it hidden at the spot I had already selected. It was perfect, located at the end of the path I had found, or rather the charming lady in the smart chiffon dress had found for me. A gas lamp would provide adequate light for my “lure”, and it led to a back wood where I could lead any victims away and liberate them of their valuables before making my escape. I rose, just enough time to walk my escape route, before setting up and then be dressed for the evening’s festivities. I looked around, I was alone now, my lady in white had disappeared, following her own course, whatever it may have been.

 

The Autumn Ball that evening was in full swing by the time I arrived. Being a cool fall day, most of the women were wearing long gowns and dresses, and that, for whatever the reason, usually meant they were decked out with more layers of jewelry than say , if it had been the middle of summer. In order to put my plan in action I need and intrinsic piece of the trap, a prism. The one I had once had was long ago lost, a minor pawn in a game to take a pair of princesses.

 

I knew exactly the type of prism required for my plan, and so began mingling amongst the guests with that in mind.

 

I started out by walking through to the chamber like ballroom where a full orchestra was starting to play. The first person I saw from the garden party was the little tramp who had been wearing the too tight satin tea dress. That dress had been replaced with a long silky gown, her gold jewelry replaced with emeralds; including a thin bracelet that had taken the place of the gold one that she had so obligingly dangled in my larcenous path. I decided to avoid her In principle, and in doing so spied someone quite interesting.

 

That someone was a pretty lady in a long velvet gown standing off to one side, idly watching the many dancers out on the floor. The dancing couples were forming an imagery of a rainbow coloured sea of slinky swirling gowns and with erupting fireworks of sparkling jewels, ignited by pair of immensely large chandeliers that hung over the dance floor, setting them off. I made my way, skirting the dance floor to reach her, my eyes on her jewels, which were making pretty fireworks of their own. I happened to walk up just as a waiter with a tray of drinks was passing by. Plucking off a drink I offered it to the lady with one hand, my other hand placed on her back as If to steady myself. She laughed prettily, and taking the drink I met her eyes, as she was focused on reaching and holding the glass in her slippery gloved hand, mine was on the ruby and diamond necklace. My hand behind her had flicked open the simple hook and eye clasp of the antique piece and was in the process of lifting it up and whisking it away from her throat. As I said a few words to her, I pocketed it, while also taking in the rest of her lovely figure and its shiny decorations, before biding adieu. She smiled, her pale bare neckline now quite glaringly extinguished of its fire.

 

It was about an hour later, after spotting, but unable to make inroads with several likely candidates, that I finally struck gold (figuratively). It came in the form of a young couple arguing between themselves in a far corner of the chamber. She was lecturing a rather handsome man in a tux, her jeweled fingers flying in his face. If she hadn’t been moving about in such an animated fashion as she lectured, I may not have even noticed her. But as it happened I did, especially noticeable was the sanctimonious lady’s wide jeweled bracelet that was bursting out in a rainbow of colorful flickers as her hand was emphatically waving, as her long gown of silk swished around with every movement she made. Perfect. I watched for a bit, and sure enough they moved off, the man heading for the patio leading outside, the wealthy girl following him, still giving him lashes with her tongue. I moved and managed to have her bump into me simply by stepping on the hemline of her long gown. For a few seconds I was the one on the receiving end of her wrath, but I took it like a man, I could see in the eyes of her tongue lashed husband, that he was grateful for the respite. I was also grateful; grateful for the quite wide, very shimmering, bracelet that I had removed from her wrist and now was residing in my pocket.

 

I began to leave the patio, but was stopped by a matronly lady in ruffles, laces and pearls, her breath heavy with alcohol. She started to question me on what the couple had been on about. Then without waiting for an answer she launched herself into a tirade of her own, her gem encrusted, silken gloved fingers, waving in my face for emphasis. It was almost ten minutes before I was able to make my escape. Which I did, but not before slipping off one of the lecturing ladies vulgarly large cocktail rings.

 

I headed onto the patio; the time was getting ripe for my plan, which I was now ready to put into motion, now having acquired its most essential piece. I went to the end of the large patio, weaving in and out of the by now well liquored guests whom had assembled there. Across the way I saw a lady tripping over her own gown. By the time I reached her she had fallen down, giggling merrily. Two of us rushed to her aid, she was busy gushed her thanks to the rescuer she knew, while ignoring the one she didn’t! Which was unfortunate on her part, for by ignoring me, she also was ignorant of the fact that I was busy lifting the small stands of black pearls from her wrist. I left unnoticed, much like a shadow fading out of the light, or at least that’s how it seemed. Finally I reached the patios outer edge without further incident, or gain. I went on the grass and turned a corner with the intention of going, post haste around the house to reach the gardens by the long way, hoping not to be seen by anyone. But I no sooner turned the corner, when I realized that it was not to be the case.

 

It was my blithe spirit in white chiffon from the garden party, pardon me, soiree. She was unescorted, looking up at the moon above a stone turret with one lit window, so intently that my presence had not been noticed. I had been absolutely correct in my observation of her as far as what she would be wearing for the evening. For what she had lacked in ornaments at the soiree, she had more than made up for in the evening festivities. She was absolutely gorgeous, resplendent in as beautiful a silvery satin gown that I had ever witness. It was just pouring down, shimmering along her delightful figure. Her long blazing red hair was still curling down and free, but now a pair of long chandelier earrings cascading down from her earlobes, were peeking out every now and then as they swayed with her every movement. Her blazingly rippling necklace was all diamonds, dripping down the front of her tightly satin covered bosom, twinkling iridescently like an intensively glimmering waterfall. Her slender gloved wrists were home to a pair of dangling diamond bracelets that were almost outshone by her many glistening rings. All in all she was quite a lure all too herself

 

I came up to her, starling her from her reverie. Taking up her hand, I looked into her startled, suddenly blushing face. I complimented her on the fine gown she wore. She thanked me, and I could see I that she suddenly remembered she me as the chap who she thought smiled to her in the garden. She seemed to accept my compliment quite readily. I chanced it( although Lord knows I was short on time) and asked her to a dance. I did not think she would agree, so it was with a little bit of surprise, hoping she would politely decline and walk off, leaving me free to go about my business unobserved. But she accepted, and I will admit that my heart leapt as she agreed (although in the back of my mind I knew I should be off if my plan was to work). The music had stopped so we made small talk as we slowly walked back to the ballroom. Her name was Katrina. It seems she was waiting for someone, which suited my plans, but he was late and so she had time. Which may have sounded dismissive, but from the apologetic way she said it, it was anything but the sort.

 

The orchestra started to tune back up as we entered, and taking her offered hand up, was soon lost in the elegance of my appealing partner. It was a long dance, and a formal one, but I could tell she was subtly anxious to be off on her meeting, as I was to be off to my own adventure. But Katrina did not really allow it to show, which was very uncharacteristic of her someone with her obvious breeding. So I was ready when the by the end of the music she begged her condolences and took flight. I watched her as she fluidly moved away, her jewels sparkling, all of them. On her mission to meet Mr. X I thought, for whom I was already harboring a quite jealous dislike. I should be off I thought to meself.

 

But I stood, still as stone; totally mesmerized by the way Katrina’s swirling silvery satin gown was playing out along her petite, jewel sparkling figure. It wasn’t till the last of her gown swished around a corner out of sight that I moved, but not without having to shake my head to clear the thoughts of her out of it. Well old son, focus. For by now the guests were starting to wander a bit afield in the waning hours of the Autumn Ball, and my small window of opportunity was closing fast. If my little plan was going to have any chance of success it would have to be now.

 

I walked out and made my way to one of the outside exist of the garden wall. Reaching into my pocket as I did so, fingering the bracelet, now cold, that had belonged to the quarrelsome lady,and soon would be playing another role, far from one its former mistress would ever have dreamed off. I also felt my new acquisition, still warm from my dance partner’s body. I will admit that I had felt a twinge of regret for taking it from a lady I had found to be most charmingly captivating. But slipping off the diamonds up and away from her throat had been as temptingly easy as it had been automatic. I had advantageously made use of the sleekness of her scintillatingly silky gown, and with the distractions created by the movements of the dance, successfully managed to keep Katrina’s attention safely diverted from the reality of why my fingers were ever so gently, caressingly sliding along her slippery gowns neckline. The truth was I had originally placed my hand there because it had felt so right, and I was a little startled when my fingers had subconsciously started playing with her necklaces clasp. Before I knew it, they had flicked open the gemstone clasp of her obviously expensive diamond necklace, and had lifted up. As I watched out of the corner of my eye, almost like I was a spectator, as opposed to being the perpetrator, I saw the chain move up and over her shoulder; its diamonds sparkling with is as the necklace disappeared from view behind her back.

It was a favored technique that I had perfected to the point that by this stage of my career I nearly always acquired my objective. But, as odd as it sounds, I was not happy with myself on this occasion.

 

But I did not long dwell on my mixed feelings on taking the charming lass’s diamonds, for by now I had reached my place of ambush. It was in one of the farthest reaches of the garden, at a bend on the end of a long path that, with a gas lamp at its beginning just off the patio, would allow me to see from some distance off. Behind me was a break in the hedge wide enough for a person to walk through comfortably. It was here, off a tree limb, underneath a second ornate cast iron gas lamp, which was now lit, that I hung the shimmering bracelet that I had sought out and acquired for just that reason

 

I walked around and saw that it could be seen flickered off in the distance from the woods, Perfect! Earlier I had hidden my satchel with a hood and knife and bit of rope in the hollow of an old tree. I now retrieved them, and after getting ready, found my position and waited. At 10 minutes past the first hour of my wait, with nary a single glimpse of anyone, I started to fidget. My corner may be just a bit too desolated I was beginning to admit to myself. It seemed that most of the guests were staying by the patio. I was starting to think that I should pack it in, possibly rejoining the guests for one last parting( of someone from her Jewelry). I was just reaching down to pick up my satchel when I suddenly saw something flash under the gas lamp at the beginning of the path, and my senses immediately perked up. I watched as the wisps of rich shimmery satin moved closer, I stiffened, drooling with anticipation, the game was afoot.

  

I could see clearly the flickering jewels she wore, and by their blazing sparkles of rippling fire, I knew that my long vigil would not have been in vain. As the lady drew I recognized her gown of silvery satin! I knew who was making those tantalizing flashes of appealing treasures. Katrina!

 

I watched as she approached, in all her glittering elegance. My heart and conscious was in turmoil, but I knew I probably would not get a second chance. I could not let her get away unscathed. Beside, from the shock of being confronted with a masked scoundrel wielding a wicked blade, she would be in no shape to recognize her assailant. She stopped, apprehensively looking back towards the bright lights of the Manor, Then turning back I saw she had a self-satisfied smile creeping upon her face. She reached up, and undoing her hair, shook it down, curls of softness cascading down, hanging loosely down. It was as she performed this provocative act, that I saw her eyes open wide in curiosity; she had spied my pretty little “prism”. The charming fish was hooked.

 

I waited, watching her approaching ever closer to fate, and from my concealment, I basked in her glow. My heart beating fast, my adrenaline pumping, for the remaining jewels (I thought of her necklace in my custody) that she possessed I already had witnessed were quite valuable. She passed my hiding spot and went to the hanging, shimmering object. As she reached up, looking around, she failed to see me approaching in the shadows. I came up from behind, jabbing a finger in her back as I reached her, I gruffly in no uncertain terms, snarled for her to freeze and make no sound. She stiffened under my touch, but made no move or outcry. I went around; pointing my knife in her direction, looking into her sad doe wide eyes as she realized what was going to happen next. She was trembling; from fear I guessed, and knew I had her right where I wanted. As I made my demands upon her, gimme them jewels sister, she, not surprisingly, was very compliant in giving them up to me. She reached for her necklace last, and looked entirely shocked to find her throat bare, as she searched the neckline of her gown I saw her look into my hand, now dripping with her precious jewelry, almost as if to see if she had not already removed it. She looked apologetically into my eyes, startled; almost pleading that she didn’t know what had happened to it. I just played dump. She than spoke for the first time, sir, may I ask to keep my purse? Her words would have instantly melted even the coldest chunk of ice, I looked down at the little silvery clutch hanging from her arm on its rhinestone chain, I nodded, indicating that she could, and saw relief wash over her face. I told her she now needed to turn around and walk off into the woods ahead of me. She hesitated, and I told her no harm would befall her, I had no intentions along those lines.

 

About 5 meters in I stopped her, and had her remove her shoes, as she bent over to undo the high heels rhinestone clasps I watched her gown tightly outlining her figure. She tripped on the hem of her gown, and as she attempted to keep her balance, accidently let her purse slip off her shoulder. Without thinking I reached down to pick it up for her as she tried reached for it simultaneously

 

The small purse was far heavier than it should have been. Curious I opened it, finding that it contained a rather extensive array of mismatched jewelry, glittering in unbelievably expensive fire . I looked into Katrina’s horror struck eyes dumb founded, as she looked guiltily into mine. The gig was up. The jewels belonged to the lady of the manor, my muse in silver was a thief, a female version of me very self.

 

Aye, what’s this than luv? I questioned her as she looked into my eyes, hers large with a mixture of fright and disbelief. She melted before me, fainting, I caught her in my arms, and it was no ruse. I held her as she came to, holding her warm, silky figure lovingly to mine. I did not know what to think. Nor could I ever explain what possessed me to do what I did next. As she came to, her eyes opened, and I removed my mask, looking back into them deeply.

 

Oh, she gasped, I’m glad it was you, startled that she had said the words out loud. She than started to coyly blushes, quite demurely. Something sparked in me, and unless she was an incredibly good actress, it did also for Katrina. Our eyes both looked into the others, melting away in the lust of the moment. We embraced, deeply, and I held her squirming warm slick figure tight in my enveloping arms. I looked over her shoulder, eyeing the glistening bracelet hanging from its branch. To catch a thief, the thought suddenly opened in my mind, what a great title for a novel I thought to myself, as I buried my nose into Katrina’s luxuriously soft hair.

 

We talked for a bit, walking off into the woods, then she looked into my eyes again, a coy, look that melted me on the spot, and that was the end of it, we embraced again, and wholly gave ourselves to one another. What about your man I asked suddenly remembering, my man she questioned , than oh, you mean the Lord, I was waiting for him to come down from smoking in his tower study, that’s where the lady’s jewels are kept. She broke into an Irish brogue as she said the last bit, and that I guessed was her natural tongue. she laid a hand on the side of my face, thanks for being jealous though, me lad.

I should collect my lure I said, which made her smile; it was such an enticing smile at that. We started to head back and watched as it dangled in front of us flickering. With a far off look in her green eyes, Katrina spoke as if in deep though.

 

The daughter of the house, she has a bracelet on like the one you have dangling, a bracelet of diamonds that I had taken a fancy to, wishing it had been in the safe along with the rest of the ladies of manors jewelry. I knew who she was talking about. The one in green taffeta I asked? Aye lad, that’s the one. Actually her necklace would be just as easy, and worth more I said. Just then her bright green eyes gleamed, Give me about a half an hour, she told me, we will put your little lure to use again. She noticed my hesitation, don’t worry luv she said soothingly placing a gloved hand to my cheek, no longer was it sparkly with its stolen bracelet and rings. I’ll leave my purse with you, can’t very well be carrying it around now can I? I nodded my consent, my mind burning with the thoughts she had alluringly placed there.

  

She turned, and then hesitated; turning back she said I probably should not go back in naked luv. I smiled, reaching in I pulled out her necklace and placed it around her throat. With a little gasp she blurted, so it was you, I was wondering who and when it had happened. It’s not the first time I’ve had me jewels lifted, but it’s a bloody annoyance to have to let them get away with it, crawls under my skin to have pretend not to notice so that I don’t draw any attention to me self before making my move to steal the posh ones jewels.

 

But you, mister, I never felt as much as a prickling. I was ready to assume my pretties had been a victim of a broken clasp this time. I gave a little nod in acceptance. That wasn’t exactly a compliment lad, she said in what I hopped was a subtle jest. Just last summer some clumsy bugger slipped of me earrings, my favorite pearls, as we were danc… she stopped, seeing the guilt in my eyes. Men! As thieves you are all of the same skin she spat out angrily, or attempted to sound angry, for the look in her eyes to me she wasn’t. I best be off, before I change me mind about out little endeavor.

 

With that she swirled around on her heels, and started off, but not before turning and giving me an extremely coy look of interest. As she swirled back around I heard her say loud enough for my ears, I’ll learn me self to be a picker of pockets, see how males like to be taken advantage of in their vulnerabilities! She nodded to herself as she said it. Then suddenly she stopped, than twirled on her heels, her gown swirling enticingly along her figure. Looking me dead in the eye she said, “Vie ne est pas d'attendre que la tempête , mais d'apprendre à danser sous la pluie” !

 

What does that mean? I questioned in a low voice, perplexed.

 

Maybe, Mon Cheri, someday I will tell you… And with that she turned on her heel, her gown once again swirling about, and went, determinedly, swishing her way back up the path. I just watched. I had never heard anyone speak French with an Irish Brogue and I had found it to be rather provocative!

 

I watched as she swished and swayed her way back through the hedge and regained the path leading back to the manor. Her plan was simple; she would lead the daughter of the house to my corner and as she had done, go out with her to look at the swinging charm. I would then make my appearance, rob both ladies of their finery, and telling the daughter to wait until I released her friend, walk off with Katrina as a hostage, and we would both take off and make good our escape. A simple plan, so simple it should actually work.

 

So, there I was. Holding a purse with a small fortune in jewels, my pocket full of more jewels worth an additional pretty farthing, and her charms were wearing off by her leaving. And my thieving nature coming back, reawakened from the spell they had been under!

 

The devil of my conscious crept out on my shoulder, the angel markedly absent from the other.

 

Look mate, she may not be all she seems, and possibly has some other game in mind. Maybe she does have a male confidante helping her out… and was actually on her way to fetch him. He said in my inner ear. And, after all, you took her diamonds twice, didn’t ye now? Do you really think shell forgive you of that me lad?

 

And there is no honor amongst thieves, as the saying goes, he added as a closing argument...

 

I rolled it over in my mind…I could leave, absconding with it all, book a cruise to the states or down under where there lay untried fertile grounds to ply my trade. Not to mention working over my fellow passengers aboard the cruise ship while they attended the fancy affairs that were always going on, or so the brochures always seemed to show……

 

Then In the distance I caught a wisp of Katrina’s long silvery gown. She was coming, and not only with the daughter of the manor, but also with a spare. For I could see a purple coloured gown swishing alongside with the prey in rustling green taffeta.. I watched as all three ladies, resplendent with the rippling fiery gems they all possessed, came up the path, gowns sweeping out , shimmery from the now misty distance.

 

The thought of making my escape with all the loot continued to haunt me, there was still time now to take off without notice, or I could rob all three, and leave with purple silk as my hostage, Katrina would not be able to say anything on chance of giving up her part of the game, or I could just be a good lad and sty with the script that Katrina had written. Take a chance, roll the dice and believe that she was all she had me believing she could ever be.

 

As they came closer I knew my time was running out. The thoughts of just looking out for myself kept coming up playing the devil with my conscience as the precious seconds ticked away…

 

No honor amongst thieves…

What will it be, old boy I challenged myself,

What will you have it be?........

To see what his decision ultimately was, and the eventual path it led to, see the album question answered)

*************************************************************************************

Life is not about waiting out the storm, but about learning to dance in the rain.

Vie ne est pas d'attendre que la tempête , mais d'apprendre à danser sous la pluie .

*************************************************************************************

Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

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These photos and stories are works of fiction. Any resemblance to people, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

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stepping out of my body boundary to receive you.

 

Tottori 2014.

The Symptoms of Kali-yuga

www.vedabase.com/en/sb/12/2

 

This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.

 

As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.

 

When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.

 

The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.

 

SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.

SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.

SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.

SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.

SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.

SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.

SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.

SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.

SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.

SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.

SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.

SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.

SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.

SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.

SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.

SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.

SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.

SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.

SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.

SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.

SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.

SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.

SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.

SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.

SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.

SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.

SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”

SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.

SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.

 

~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2

 

#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam

 

Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊

 

Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧

18th April, 2019

Does this Sabrina relate to Sabrina the 1954 romantic comedy film "Sabrina," directed by Billy Wilder and starring Audrey Hepburn, or the 2018-2020 Netflix series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," or perhaps to Sabrina Carpenter who was recently announced as a performer at the 2026 Grammy Awards, or maybe none of these?

 

I can relate with the Celts when I see this. Mystical and magical a place for the Fairy Folk.

Blithfield Reservoir Staffordshire August 2017

As I was cleaning up this morning I found my mother's beloved 4711 Cologne (Echt Koelnish Wasser).

Just opening the bottle, the light beautiful delicate scent immediately brought back memories of my mother, my childhood. The love I felt for my mother and this scent on her was overwhelming....and for that split moment I felt her presence and how close we were in those happier times.

Amazing how scent can evoke memories of the past. The people, the moment, the emotions and all that is attached to this scent. I do hope you have pleasant memories too.

What is your special scent that evokes such strong emotions?

 

Addit: Oh I love all your stories so far. See how wonderful the sense of smell is.

 

My two daughters always says to me....oh Mum that perfume bottle always reminds me of Nan. They loved that scent on their Nan as well. This too will stay with them forever.

Wonder if they will relate my Dior J'adore to me one day ?

The Symptoms of Kali-yuga

www.vedabase.com/en/sb/12/2

 

This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.

 

As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.

 

When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.

 

The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.

 

SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.

SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.

SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.

SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.

SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.

SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.

SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.

SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.

SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.

SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.

SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.

SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.

SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.

SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.

SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.

SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.

SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.

SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.

SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.

SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.

SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.

SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.

SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.

SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.

SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.

SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.

SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”

SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.

SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.

 

~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2

 

#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam

 

Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊

 

Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧

18th April, 2019

"Dreams relating to a house often refers to various aspects of yourself. When trying to analyze the house in your dream, consider also how the house is kept and the condition of it. The rooms in the house relate to facets of your personality. To see an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings."

-Dream Dictionary

Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo

Work Day / Social Distancing Day 92, 06/15/2020, Manhattan, NY

 

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The Symptoms of Kali-yuga

www.vedabase.com/en/sb/12/2

 

This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.

 

As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.

 

When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.

 

The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.

 

SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.

SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.

SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.

SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.

SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.

SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.

SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.

SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.

SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.

SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.

SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.

SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.

SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.

SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.

SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.

SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.

SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.

SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.

SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.

SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.

SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.

SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.

SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.

SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.

SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.

SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.

SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”

SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.

SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.

 

~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2

 

#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam

 

Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊

 

Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧

18th April, 2019

Built in 1870, this Richardsonian Romanesque-style former psychiatric hospital was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson to serve the population of the rapidly growing urban areas in Western New York with more advanced mental health treatment. Sitting among a large park-like campus designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the rusticated Medina red sandstone and brick structures of the hospital are laid out primarily according to the Kirkbride plan. The the largest commission by footprint and square footage designed by Richardson during his storied and significant career, being one of the earliest examples of his signature Richardsonian Romanesque style, which mixes rusticated stone with Romanesque architecture to create romantic picturesque compositions reminiscent of Medieval castles and churches in Europe.

 

The campus was expanded over time with the construction of additional wings in red brick on either side of the original Medina sandstone buildings, which consists of the central five wings, the three brick wings at the eastern end of the complex having been removed in the 1970s to make way for a modern psychiatric facility, despite the complex’s historic and architectural significance having been recognized during the 1960s. Additional buildings not in the kirkbride formation were scattered around the grounds, including a greenhouse behind the main building, several smaller service and utility buildings, and buildings that were constructed to provide additional wards to house patients during the early 20th Century, as well as buildings meant to house staff.

 

When the hospital was in operation, patients were segregated by sex, with male patients being housed in the eastern pavilions, and female patients being housed in the western pavilions. The building was utilized as a psychiatric hospital known as the Buffalo State Asylum until the 1970s, when changing methods of treating psychiatric illness were developed, leading to the building becoming obsolete and newer facilities being built on the grounds. The central wing of the complex, however, remained in use as administrative offices for the still-operating psychiatric treatment facilities on the property until 1994.

 

The building went through a period of significant and prolonged deterioration and uncertainty between the 1970s and 2008, with the unsecured facility becoming vandalized, decayed, and unsafe. However, in 2008, in the wake of a successful lawsuit filed by the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, the State of New York was forced to commit $100 million in order to rehabilitate the structure. Between the spring of 2008 and the fall of 2012, the complex was stabilized, and in 2013, the South Lawn was converted from parking lots back into the original, verdant green space it was meant to be. In 2017, the first phase of the building's adaptive reuse and rehabilitation was completed, which transformed the central three pavilions into the Hotel Henry and Conference Center, with the Buffalo Architecture Center also opening in the renovated structure. The plans for the complex were to convert the remaining intact but vacant pavilions into additional space for the Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center, which would have been spectacular once it transformed and revitalized the amazing historic structure. However, due to restrictions and economic effects relating to the recent pandemic, Hotel Henry became insolvent and closed in 2021.

 

The complex consisted of a central wing with two tall towers that housed administrative facilities, flanked by five pavilions on each side, which progressively stair-step north from the central pavilion, a key feature of the Kirkbride plan, with a total of 11 structures in the complex, with three brick pavilions having been removed from the east side of the complex. The central wing features two towers with steeply-pitched copper-clad roofs, turrets at the corners, shed dormers, and corbeling, hipped dormers of varying sizes, with recessed panels and windows of varying sizes helping tie it back to its medieval aesthetic inspiration. The wing also features wall dormers, windows with arched transoms and stone trim, gabled roofs, and two-story arced connecting corridors that link it to the pavilions next to it on either side, features that are shared with the other medina sandstone buildings in the Richardson-designed portion of the complex. The front of the central wing features a porch with arched openings supported by columns with ornate capitals, tile mosaics on the faces of the vaults and blind arches on the porch, and a central doorway with an arched transom. The rear facade has been slightly modified with the installation of a curtain wall where an addition had been connected to the building in the mid-20th Century, which was added to serve as a primary and fully accessible entrance to the hotel that formerly operated in the building, with a large metal canopy having been added to this side of the building in 2021-22. To either side of the main wing are a total of four medina sandstone wings that formerly housed patient wards, which are largely identical and feature hipped and gabled roofs, wall dormers, windows with stone trim and arched transoms, arced two-story connecting corridor structures, and chain link-enclosed steel and concrete porches on the unrestored outer wings, which were once present on all of the wards, but were removed on the wards that were restored.

 

To the north and west of the sandstone structure are a series of red brick wings and buildings in various states of deterioration, with the two western wings being similar in appearance to the medina sandstone wings, but one floor shorter, blocky four-story red brick wings with low-slope roofs to the rear of the outermost sandstone wings, and two one-story service buildings behind the middle wings that flank the central wing, which feature hipped roofs, and differ a lot in materiality and details. At the very end of the western wings is a wing that is turned 90 degrees from the wing it is attached to and is roughly H-shaped, being only one story in height, featuring a gabled roof, a wooden porch with doric columns at the northwest corner, and a one-story bay window in the middle of the north facade. These wings are in much worse condition than the sandstone portions of the complex.

  

The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The complex’s future is presently uncertain, with a large section of copper missing from the north side of the roof of the east tower on the central wing, many of the wings still languishing in abandonment and severe disrepair, and no longer having an anchoring business to preserve and reuse the buildings.

www.maxtutanoronha.com

My son in law and my daughter are going to build a small community here for people that are sensitive to EMF's, RF's, things like 5G antenas, Radio frequencies, Power stations, bluetooth, body electrical voltage and people with symptoms that tradicional medicine are still refusing to treat or diagnose in America.

At first I wasn't buying it, the kids came to my house, waved some magic wands, meters and recorded some high numbers.

They proceeded to tell me that the Spanish flu was caused by the introduction of electricity in 1918 and every time that man messes with the natural order of things, some tragedy happens, and I could relate to it by thinking that every time that man got out of space, something also happened to us, like a Tsunami, earthquake or the likes.

After their findings, they installed filters in every electrical outlet in my house to clear the dirty electricity from the wall, they got someone to install a electricity filter on or near my digital electric meter, they recommended that I hot wire my house for internet, they asked us to give up the Apple Watches, good bye to my beloved Alexas, amplifiers for my TVs, sound bars and subwoofers, they installed switches to cut the power to the TVs when we are not watching it, (smart TVs are always looking for the WiFi), they disconnected the power to my sleep by number beds, as a matter of a fact, they disconnected the switch from the electrical panel and now I don't have electricity at all in my bedroom so my body voltage at night is zero and the door to my microwave is tapped so it's not functional.

My exposure to my own Celular phone is kept to a minimal, yea, I got a land line as well, my house is almost EMF free.

Well, sorry for sharing this with you, you can buy Dr.Brian Humrich's books on Amazon, and you might be doing something good for yourself or for your kids.

As you can see by my gramatical errors that I don't have any former education, as a matter of a fact I'm a High School drop out, NYC was my life's university, Brazil was my kindergarten and God, what nice place to learn a lot about lots of things.

They're both Doctors, and if there prediction is right, they could be sitting in a gold mine, if not, it's so pretty just to seat and zip a glass of wine and watch the stars against a peach black sky, where I'll doing some night photography soon.

by iammikehughes ift.tt/1KeYEf8

Can you relate?

 

Model: Skye McLeod Fairywren

Skin & Mesh Head: Sadie with Freckles, Eyes, Neck, Eyelids, Makeup and Expression HUD by LOGO (Skin Fair 2014)

Hair: Quiet Afterthought by Exile

SLINK Hands & Feet

SLINK Nails: Silvertips by Flair

Blazer: Pink by Belgravia

Pink Piggy Pocket Pet: Birdy

Jehan Necklace & Earrings by !Elemental

Pose: Breezy 3 by Adorkable

Windlight Setting: Diamond by Strawberry Singh

Sim: Caledon Oxbridge Sandbox

Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery has a few large older grave markers.

 

This one has a story to tell - courtesy of Vancouver archives.

 

About Robert Clark:

Robert Clark was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1845 (a discrepancy with the grave marker date of 1843). A prominent Vancouver merchant, he died 05 May 1909 at 65 years old.

 

Clark had an important influence on the business life in Vancouver.

 

Clark's first job was in a grocery store, but then he learned the ship-builder’s trade. 01 May 1871, at age 25, Clark left Scotland for Canada.

 

Clark built the first steamer that sailed on Lake Manitoba. “Going into the forest,” the 1906 B.C. Illustrated News relates, “he picked out the trees, hewed the lumber and with help whip-sawed the lumber. He then built and launched the boat and delivered her to the owners, a craft one hundred feet in length.”

 

Clark then moved to the US and worked in various cities until he came to Victoria in 1875.

 

In 1880 Clark opened a men’s wear store in Nanaimo, and moved it to Yale a year later.

 

Then his Yale store burned down. “He remained at Yale until the spring of 1886,” the Illustrated News continues, “when owing to the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad he returned to Vancouver.

 

Clark then opened his haberdashery store on Hastings and ran a large and successful business.

 

Clark also assisted in building the first Presbyterian church in Vancouver, and topped the Vancouver aldermanic polls in 1887, ’88 and ’89.

 

This excerpt from the web site of the Vancouver Board of Trade indicates the key role Clark played in the early business life of Vancouver:

 

“Following the disastrous fire of June 13, 1886, when all but one of Vancouver’s buildings were destroyed, Vancouver businessmen held a number of meetings to discuss the need for some kind of business organization that could help to rebuild the young city.

 

22 September, 1887, such a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Alderman Robert Clark and the decision was made to form a Board of Trade . . . On November 24, 1887, a Charter was issued which made the new organization official and gave it its name—The Vancouver Board of Trade.”

 

Robert Clark is one of 576 Clarks found in Mountain View. The cemetery web site offers a useful tool to find grave sites by name.

 

The inscription across the base reads "Tho Lost to Sight to Memory Dear".

The world will be destroyed by good people who do nothing. We must act now.

 

The Symptoms of Kali-yuga

www.vedabase.com/en/sb/12/2

 

This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.

 

As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.

 

When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.

 

The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.

 

SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.

SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.

SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.

SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.

SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.

SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.

SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.

SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.

SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.

SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.

SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.

SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.

SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.

SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.

SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.

SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.

SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.

SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.

SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.

SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.

SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.

SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.

SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.

SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.

SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.

SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.

SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”

SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.

SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.

 

~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2

 

#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam

 

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Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧

18th April, 2019

Zylophagy relates to animals that eat wood. A great many insects are 'Xylophagous', especially in their larval stages. Termites come to mind when we think of insects that eat wood and cause a great deal of damage to wooden structures.

In this photo, a slice of a grand hickory tree shows the larva of a Hickory borer (Megacyllene caryae). The feces, left behind as it burrows, is packed almost as hard as the hickory wood! The adult looks like www.flickr.com/photos/centavo/8143693572

 

And this is a no-glam biology major idea of a "Holiday Ornament", made of a piece of hickory with the bored tunnels carved free and washed. You can see that a heavy infestation leaves almost no wood left! www.flickr.com/photos/goat_mountain/22939061584

God has the ability to relate interpersonally, and he does so. God is neither aloof nor disinterest in his creation. God is aware of, and concerned about, the detail of our lives - Brad Hambrick

 

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; nyou are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because7 the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

 

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Every mother can relate to this.

 

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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and, with an engine installed, first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, matching or bettering that of the Luftwaffe's fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns. From late 1943, P-51Bs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also in service with Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theaters, and saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters such as the F-86 took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing, and increasingly, preserved and flown as historic warbird aircraft at airshows. In April 1938, shortly after the German Anschluss of Austria, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given overall responsibility for Royal Air Force (RAF) production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman, the "Air Member for Development and Production". Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply (or "Supply Committee") and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was very limited, as no U.S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards, with only the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk coming close. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply. North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. The Commission stipulated armament of four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine, a unit cost of no more than $40,000, and delivery of the first production aircraft by January 1941. In March 1940, 320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the executive head of Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and the contract was promulgated on 24 April. The NA-73X, which was designed by a team led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era, but included several new features. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). These airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. During the development of the NA-73X, a wind tunnel test of two wings, one using NACA 5-digit airfoils and the other using the new NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, was performed in the University of Washington Kirsten Wind Tunnel. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils. The other feature was a new radiator design that exploited the "Meredith Effect", in which heated air exited the radiator as a slight amount of jet thrust. Because NAA lacked a suitable wind tunnel to test this feature, it used the GALCIT 10 ft (3.0 m) wind tunnel at Caltech. This led to some controversy over whether the Mustang's cooling system aerodynamics were developed by NAA's engineer Edgar Schmued or by Curtiss, although NAA had purchased the complete set of P-40 and XP-46 wind tunnel data and flight test reports for US$56,000. The NA-73X was also one of the first aircraft to have a fuselage lofted mathematically using conic sections; this resulted in the aircraft's fuselage having smooth, low drag surfaces. To aid production, the airframe was divided into five main sections—forward, center, rear fuselage and two wing halves — all of which were fitted with wiring and piping before being joined. The prototype NA-73X was rolled out in September 1940 and first flew on 26 October 1940, respectively 102 and 149 days after the order had been placed, an uncommonly short gestation period. The prototype handled well and accommodated an impressive fuel load. The aircraft's two-section, semi-monocoque fuselage was constructed entirely of aluminum to save weight. It was armed with four .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns, two in the wings and two mounted under the engine and firing through the propeller arc using gun synchronizing gear. While the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) could block any sales it considered detrimental to the interests of the US, the NA-73 was considered to be a special case because it had been designed at the behest of the British. In September 1940. a further 300 NA-73s were ordered by MAP. To ensure uninterrupted delivery Colonel Oliver P. Echols arranged with the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission to deliver the aircraft, and NAA gave two examples (41-038 and 41-039) to the USAAC for evaluation.

 

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" !

 

Commentary.

 

As its name suggests this village refers to a real forest, namely Ashdown Forest, an upland heathland in East Sussex.

Along with places like the New Forest, Great Windsor Park and Richmond Park it was one of many areas used by medieval Royals and landed gentry as a hunting ground, particularly for deer, wild boar and game birds.

Several other local villages have names linking to their forested/heathland hinterland.

These include Chelwood Gate, Hartfield (“hart” relating to a male deer or stag), Ashurst Wood (“hurst” referring to a woodland clearing), Withyham ( “withy”) referring to willow trees) and Coleman’s Hatch (“hatch” referring to a woodland gate) because “forests” or hunting grounds were often fenced off with six-foot fences to prevent deer from eating farm produce and sapling trees.

As for Forest Row itself, it is a village south-east of East Grinstead where the modern A.22 turns from south-east to south towards Eastbourne.

In this image Holy Trinity Church is on the left.

Just right of centre is the colourful and elaborate frontage of the Village Hall.

A turning to the right of this image connects to Ashdown Forest and Hartfield.

For me and countless others, these two places will always be the land of Winnie the Pooh.

A.A. Milne, the writer of Pooh stories, lived at Cotchford Farm, near Hartfield, with his son Christopher Robin from 1925 to 1956 when Milne died.

Thousands of people every year visit the “real” sites of the inspired fictitious locations including:

Pooh Sticks Bridge, Galleons Lap, The Enchanted Place and (Five) Hundred Acre Wood and many others.

I have visited these places myself and found them so “real” that I half expected Tigger to bounce from behind a tree at any moment.

Such is the power of the well written word!

 

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