Unfortunately the actual model got lost in the tribulations of time.

---

In August 1962 production of the Taunus P1 came to an end. The car was replaced by the Taunus P4 which retained the “Taunus 12M” name, but applied it to a Ford’s first German built front-wheel drive model, powered by a modern compact V4 engine.

---

Ford Taunus P4 - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Production 1962–1966

Assembly Cologne-Niehl, Germany. Genk, Belgium

Powertrain: Engine 1183 cc V4 cylinder water-cooled

1498 cc V4 cylinder water-cooled

 

The Ford Taunus 12 M was a small family saloon/sedan produced by Ford of Germany between September 1962 and August 1966. The Taunus 12M name had been used for the car’s predecessor and it would apply also to subsequent Ford models which is why the 12M introduced in 1962 is usually identified, in retrospect, as the Ford Taunus P4. It was the fourth newly designed German Ford to be launched after the war and for this reason it was from inception known within the company as Ford Project 4 (P4) or the Ford Taunus P4.

 

More unusually, the car was originally designed not for production in Germany but to be produced in North America and sold as the Ford Cardinal, a home-grown competitor for the Volkswagen. A last minute change of strategy saw the US production plans cancelled, and in 1960 Ford of Germany received a fully developed modern new design which they adapted for German conditions in order to replace their own by now badly outdated Ford Taunus P1.

 

North American design

 

The 1952 Ford Taunus had received a stylish new body, but its engine was little changed from the (originally British designed) unit fitted in 1935 to the Ford Eifel and other underpinnings, including its rear axle and suspension, were little changed from those of the 1939 Ford Taunus G93A. By contrast, the P4, originally designed for large scale manufacture in North America, was technically innovative, featuring a newly developed compact V4 engine which would provide the basis for engines designed and produced by Ford of Germany for twenty years. The Taunus P4 was also a front-wheel drive design at a time when other German auto-makers were still avoiding what was then seen as an unnecessarily complicated lay-out.

 

The decision, taken only after the new model had been prepared for production, not to build the Ford Cardinal in North America was the result of a review of “marketing opportunities” in the US market. In 1960 a prototype was delivered to Ford in Cologne. The form of the model that emerged from the production line at Koln-Niehl two years later would be unchanged. The single all-red rear light cluster was seen as a tell-tale sign of the car’s US provenance at a time when rear-mounted direction indicator lights on European cars still tended to be separate from the other light units or at least to use separate bulbs. The dished steering wheel was another feature not normally found in European designs of the time.

 

The Taunus P4 came to market in September 1962: it enjoyed a reasonably positive reception. It was obviously a modern car. Its North American designers had come up with a car that was far larger and more spacious than the standard set by the Volkswagen which by now dominated the small sedan class in Germany. Unfortunately P4s suffered from numerous different teething troubles, however, suggesting that adaptation of the car to German conditions may have been a somewhat rushed exercise. Over its four-year model life the Taunus 12M was produced at an averaged rate of more than 150,000 per year which made a useful contribution to the sales figures, but did very little to trouble the market dominance in the small car sector of the Volkswagen Beetle which at this time was held back chiefly by shortage of production capacity.

 

The new V4 engine was mounted well to the front of the car, its centre ahead of the front wheels. It incorporated a balance shaft in order to try to compensate for some of the imbalance resulting from the unconventional positioning of the four crank pins in relation to the three bearings for the crankshaft. At this stage commentators nevertheless found the V4 unit “rougher” and noisier than comparable in-line units. The water pump and thermostat were housed in a sealed unit permanently protected by anti-freeze. The fan was thermostatically controlled which was still an unusual feature at this time. An eye catching feature introduced under the bonnet/hood in 1964 was color-coding on the rocker cover according to the engine type. 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp) engines were coded green, 50 PS (37 kW; 49 hp) blue and 65 PS (48 kW; 64 hp) red. (The 55 PS (40 kW; 54 hp) version was replaced in the same year by the more powerful 65 PS (48 kW; 64 hp) unit.)

 

The modern compact V4 engine placed Ford of Germany in the hitherto unfamiliar position of setting the pace, and the company were able to sell the unit to other smaller European manufacturers. This was the engine that Saab later used for their 96 model after they abandoned their commitment to two-stroke power. Ford’s compact V4 engine also found its way into the unusual Matra 530 sports car.

Power was transferred through a single dry plate clutch to the front wheels. The four-speed manual gear box featured synchromesh on all four ratios, and was controlled by means of a column-mounted lever. The universal joints necessary to combine power transmission with steering and suspension functions involved a combination of engineering and materials technologies which at the time was still regarded as “leading edge” although front-wheel drive applied to lighter cars with s lighter and less powerful engines had become mainstream in Germany over the three previous decades, following the pioneering application of the various technologies involved in Auto Union’s DKW badged small cars.

Along with the innovative front wheel drive, an idiosyncratic feature at the front of the Taunus P4 involved the front suspension arms which were connected to the engine/gearbox block, thereby fulfilling an unconventional supporting function. Above them, the transversely mounted leaf-springs were linked to a cross-member which was attached to the floor pan, and thereby part of the monocoque bodyshell. In Autumn 1964 the various elements were rearranged and it became possible significantly to soften the front suspension: after this it was reported that the level of engine vibration reaching the driver was much reduced. However, these rearrangements also incorporated a weakening of the anti-roll control at the front of the car which now was in danger of leaning excessively when cornering. This effect was countered by the substitution of more firmly set up shock absorbers while two additional support connections were added at the front in order to make the steering and tracking more precisely controllable.

At the end of 1964 disc brakes replaced drums on the front axle. (Ford’s larger sister model, the Ford Taunus P3, had received this same upgrade the previous year.)

The Taunus P4 used a 6 volt electrical system which was by now becoming unusual in Germany, although at this stage the Volkswagen Beetle, too, had not yet migrated to a 12 volt electrical system.

Taunus P4s came as two or four-door saloon/sedans. A three-door station wagon was also offered: this did not use the “Turnier” appellation from the larger 17M station wagon, although the “Turnier” name would later become used by Ford of Germany for all their station wagons. The station wagon also provided the basis for a panel van. In addition Ford offered a factory built two-door coupé which was in effect simply a two-door saloon/sedan with a shortened roof-line and a steeply raked rear window. The coupe provided exactly the same interior space as the two-door saloon/sedan up to the level of the car’s waistline, but head-room for those on the back-seat was severely restricted.

The rear light units each had an all-red cover and contained only two bulbs. One of the bulbs operated as a conventional brake light. The other rear light bulb contained two filaments, one of which came one with the light switch and the second of which flashed when the turn indicator switch was used, so following traffic saw just a single light becoming successively and rhythmically brighter and less bright when the car was about to turn. The effect will have been unremarkable to North American drivers, but triggered comment in Europe. Here, even where single piece rear light units are fitted, rear indicator lights were and are normally included in their own separate part of the overall light cluster units.

The principal changes during the car's four-year production run took place under the skin, and received only muffled publicity since many involved suspension modifications which a slower and more careful development process might have made unnecessary.

A significant change in the light of subsequent developments was the transfer of production from Ford's German plant to a newly opened modern plant at Genk, in Belgian Limburg, an hour to the west of the company's Cologne head office. Initially the P4 was built exclusively at Ford's Cologne plant, but from August 1963 the P4 became Genk's first volume model and by the time the P4 was replaced three years later almost all the cars were being produced there. The Genk plant subsequently became the lead plant and then the sole plant for production of the Ford Sierra before being retooled for the launch of the front wheel drive Mondeo.

During 142 days in 1963 a standard specification Ford Taunus 12M travelled 356,273 kilometers (221,378 mi) round a disused race track at Miramas at an average speed of 106.48 km/h (66.18 mph). The resulting publicity will have been intended to counter the adverse impression created by the P4’s early teething troubles.

The Taunus P4 was replaced in 1966 by the Ford Taunus P6 which followed broadly the same architecture but was slightly larger, and therefore even more spacious than the Volkswagen, Germany’s top selling small car throughout this period.

By the time of its replacement the Taunus P4 had notched up sales of 672,695 during a four-year production run. The sales total was a significant improvement on the sales volumes achieved by its predecessor, but the overall market size was also growing during the early 1960s, and within its class the Ford 12M was pushed into third place on the domestic market by the reappearance in the segment of Opel, reviving with a new model the Opel Kadett which, like the Ford, appeared in 1962. The Kadett was replaced by an improved model after only three years by when the Kadett’s three-year production volume of 649,512 was less than 5% short of the total production achieved by the Ford over four years. (Wikipedia).

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version.

 

With a Hapag-Lloyd B737-400 and a Delta B757-200 in the background.

Originally conceived by British Leyland, the Metro was built to similar principals as those of the Mini it was intended to replace, with a small, practical platform with as much use available to the passenger as was possible. The car came under various initial guises, including the Austin Metro, the Austin miniMetro, the Morris Metro van and the MG Metro, a version of the car with a 1.3L A-Series Turbo Engine.

 

Although the car was launched in 1980, development of a Mini replacement had dated back to the beginning of the 70's. Dubbed ADO88 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 88), the Metro was eventually given the go ahead in 1977, but wanted to have the appeal of some of the larger 'Supermini' (what a contradiction in terms) cars on the market, including cars such as the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5. Designed by Harris Mann (the same guy who gave us the Princess and the Allegro), the car was given a much more angular body for the time, but despite its futuristic looks did share many features of the earlier Mini, including the 675cc BMC-A Series engine that dated back to 1959, and the gearbox. Initial cars also included the Hydragas Suspension system originally used on the Allegro and the Princess, though with no front/rear connection. The car was also built as a hatchback, which would eventually be a key part of its success as the Mini instead utilised only a small boot.

 

The Metro was originally meant for an earlier 1978 launch, but a lack of funds and near bankruptcy of British Leyland resulted in the car's launch being pushed back. This delay however did allow the folks at Longbridge to construct a £200m robotic assembly plant for the new Metro line, with the hope of building 100,000 cars per year. Finally the car entered sales 3 years late and got off to quite promising initial sales, often being credited for being the saviour of British Leyland. The Metro was in fact the company's first truly new model in nearly 5 years, with the 9 year old Allegro still in production, the 1980 Morris Ital being nothing more than a 7 year old Marina with a new face, and the 5 year old Princess not going anywhere!

 

As mentioned, an entire myriad of versions came with the Metro, including the luxury Vanden Plas version and the sporty MG with its top speed of 105mph and 0-60mph of 10.1 seconds. Eventually the original incarnation of the car, the Austin Metro, went on to sell 1 million units in it's initial 10 year run, making it the second highest selling car of the decade behind the Ford Escort. However, like most other British Leyland products, earlier cars got a bad reputation for poor build quality and unreliability, combined with the lack of rustproofing that was notorious on many BL cars of the time.

 

The show was not over however, as in 1990 the car was given a facelift and dubbed the Rover Metro. The 1950's A-Series engine was replaced by a 1.1L K-Series, and the angular bodyshell was rounded to similar principals as those by acclaimed styling house Ital to create a more pleasing look for the 90's. This facelift, combined with an improvement in reliability and build quality, meant that the car went on to win the 'What Car?' of the Year Award in 1991.

 

In 1994 the car was given yet another facelift, with once again a more rounded design and removal of the Metro name, the car being sold as the Rover 100. Engines were once again changed, this time to a 1.5L Peugeot engine and more audacious colour schemes were available for the even more rounded design of the new car. However, the car was very much starting to look and feel its age. Aside from the fact that the design dated back to 1977, the new car was not well equipped, lacking electric windows, anti-lock brakes, power steering, or even a rev counter! In terms of safety, it was very basic, with most features such as airbags, an alarm, an immobiliser and central locking being optional extras.

 

Eventually the curtain had to fall on the Metro, and in 1997, twenty years after the initial design left the drawing board, it was announced that the car would be discontinued. Spurred on by dwindling sales due to lack of safety and equipment, as well as losing out to comparative cars such as the ever popular Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Vauxhall Corsa, with only fuel economy keeping the car afloat, Rover axed the Metro in 1998 with no direct replacement, although many cite the downsized Rover 200 a possible contender. Stumbling blindly on, the next car to fill the gap in Rover's market was the 2003 CityRover, based on the TATA Indica, which flopped abysmally and pretty much totalled the company (but that's another story).

 

In the end only 2,078,000 Metro's were built in comparison to the 5.3 million examples of the Mini that it was meant to replace. The main failings of the Metro were down to the fact that the car was too big compared to the Mini, and the rounded old-world charm of the Coopers and Clubmans was replaced by the angular corners. Because of this the car simply didn't have the novelty that the Mini continued to claim even 20 years after the first ones left the factory, and the Mini would even go on to outlive the Metro by another 2 years, ending production in 2000, then going on to have a revival in the form of BMW's New Mini Cooper that's still being built today. Unlike the Mini, the Metro also failed to conquer the international market in the same way, scoring its 2 million units pretty much in Britain alone, although some cars were sold in France and Spain, but only to the total of a few hundred.

 

The Metro however survived only on fuel economy and its spacious interior, but by the early 1990's, whilst other car manufacturers had moved on leaps and bounds, Rover continued to be stuck in the past with not the money or the enthusiasm to change what was a terribly outdated and extremely basic car. Towards the end the Metro, which had only a few years earlier won awards for its practical nature, was ending up on lists for Worst car on the market.

 

Today however you can still see Metro's, later editions are especially common on the roads of Britain. Earlier models built under British Leyland have mostly rusted away and are apparently only down to about a thousand nowadays, but the Rover 100's and Rover Metros continue to ply their trade, a lonely reminder of how here in Britain, we can never ever seem to move on!

Linemen replace a wood H frame transmission structure.

Replaced April 7, 2014 with a re-processed version that I think gives it more depth, so I'm placing it at the front of my Photostream. Some leaves were just beginning to change here in Portland, Oregon on this bright October day with the sun low in the sky.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 06-Nov-22.

 

Leased to Mexican start-up Aladia for winter 2006/07, this reverted to its original UK registration, G-JMCE, on return.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1795B, this aircraft was delivered to GATX and leased to jmc AIR as G-JMCE in Jun-00. It was wet-leased to Ryan International Airlines, operating for Apple Vacations (USA), between Dec-01/Apr-02, Dec-02/Apr-03 (jmc Air had officially been renamed Thomas Cook Airlines on 31-Mar-03) and again between Dec-03/May-04 and Dec-04/May-05.

 

In Nov-06 the aircraft was sub-leased to Aladia,com (Mexico) as XA-JPB, it returned to Thomas Cook in May-07. For two winter seasons, Nov-10/Apr-11 & Dec-11/Apr-12, the aircraft was sub-leased to Jazz Air (Canada) as C-GJZH and operated on behalf of Thomas Cook Canada. In Jan-14 it was wet-leased to Thomas Cook Scandinavia and returned to Thomas Cook UK in Apr-14.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor in May-15 and was stored at Southend, UK. It was sold to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest as N169CR in Aug-15, as trustee for Shun Feng Airlines (SF Airlines, China). It was transferred to SF Airlines three weeks later as B-7082 and ferried to Xiamen, China in Sep-15. It was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Dec-15. The aircraft entered service with SF Airlines in early Jan-16. Current, updated 30-Jul-21.

 

Once the hub of the farm family, this house now plays an unheard second fiddle to the new house on the property.

Replacing 175111, Transport for Wales 158829 stands in platform 3 with Fugro's RILA Track Data System attached to the rear of the train prior to working 1V42 12.31 Manchester Piccadilly - Milford Haven service from Cardiff.

Originally conceived by British Leyland, the Metro was built to similar principals as those of the Mini it was intended to replace, with a small, practical platform with as much use available to the passenger as was possible. The car came under various initial guises, including the Austin Metro, the Austin miniMetro, the Morris Metro van and the MG Metro, a version of the car with a 1.3L A-Series Turbo Engine.

 

Although the car was launched in 1980, development of a Mini replacement had dated back to the beginning of the 70's. Dubbed ADO88 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 88), the Metro was eventually given the go ahead in 1977, but wanted to have the appeal of some of the larger 'Supermini' (what a contradiction in terms) cars on the market, including cars such as the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5. Designed by Harris Mann (the same guy who gave us the Princess and the Allegro), the car was given a much more angular body for the time, but despite its futuristic looks did share many features of the earlier Mini, including the 675cc BMC-A Series engine that dated back to 1959, and the gearbox. Initial cars also included the Hydragas Suspension system originally used on the Allegro and the Princess, though with no front/rear connection. The car was also built as a hatchback, which would eventually be a key part of its success as the Mini instead utilised only a small boot.

 

The Metro was originally meant for an earlier 1978 launch, but a lack of funds and near bankruptcy of British Leyland resulted in the car's launch being pushed back. This delay however did allow the folks at Longbridge to construct a £200m robotic assembly plant for the new Metro line, with the hope of building 100,000 cars per year. Finally the car entered sales 3 years late and got off to quite promising initial sales, often being credited for being the saviour of British Leyland. The Metro was in fact the company's first truly new model in nearly 5 years, with the 9 year old Allegro still in production, the 1980 Morris Ital being nothing more than a 7 year old Marina with a new face, and the 5 year old Princess not going anywhere!

 

As mentioned, an entire myriad of versions came with the Metro, including the luxury Vanden Plas version and the sporty MG with its top speed of 105mph and 0-60mph of 10.1 seconds. Eventually the original incarnation of the car, the Austin Metro, went on to sell 1 million units in it's initial 10 year run, making it the second highest selling car of the decade behind the Ford Escort. However, like most other British Leyland products, earlier cars got a bad reputation for poor build quality and unreliability, combined with the lack of rustproofing that was notorious on many BL cars of the time.

 

The show was not over however, as in 1990 the car was given a facelift and dubbed the Rover Metro. The 1950's A-Series engine was replaced by a 1.1L K-Series, and the angular bodyshell was rounded to similar principals as those by acclaimed styling house Ital to create a more pleasing look for the 90's. This facelift, combined with an improvement in reliability and build quality, meant that the car went on to win the 'What Car?' of the Year Award in 1991.

 

In 1994 the car was given yet another facelift, with once again a more rounded design and removal of the Metro name, the car being sold as the Rover 100. Engines were once again changed, this time to a 1.5L Peugeot engine and more audacious colour schemes were available for the even more rounded design of the new car. However, the car was very much starting to look and feel its age. Aside from the fact that the design dated back to 1977, the new car was not well equipped, lacking electric windows, anti-lock brakes, power steering, or even a rev counter! In terms of safety, it was very basic, with most features such as airbags, an alarm, an immobiliser and central locking being optional extras.

 

Eventually the curtain had to fall on the Metro, and in 1997, twenty years after the initial design left the drawing board, it was announced that the car would be discontinued. Spurred on by dwindling sales due to lack of safety and equipment, as well as losing out to comparative cars such as the ever popular Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Vauxhall Corsa, with only fuel economy keeping the car afloat, Rover axed the Metro in 1998 with no direct replacement, although many cite the downsized Rover 200 a possible contender. Stumbling blindly on, the next car to fill the gap in Rover's market was the 2003 CityRover, based on the TATA Indica, which flopped abysmally and pretty much totalled the company (but that's another story).

 

In the end only 2,078,000 Metro's were built in comparison to the 5.3 million examples of the Mini that it was meant to replace. The main failings of the Metro were down to the fact that the car was too big compared to the Mini, and the rounded old-world charm of the Coopers and Clubmans was replaced by the angular corners. Because of this the car simply didn't have the novelty that the Mini continued to claim even 20 years after the first ones left the factory, and the Mini would even go on to outlive the Metro by another 2 years, ending production in 2000, then going on to have a revival in the form of BMW's New Mini Cooper that's still being built today. Unlike the Mini, the Metro also failed to conquer the international market in the same way, scoring its 2 million units pretty much in Britain alone, although some cars were sold in France and Spain, but only to the total of a few hundred.

 

The Metro however survived only on fuel economy and its spacious interior, but by the early 1990's, whilst other car manufacturers had moved on leaps and bounds, Rover continued to be stuck in the past with not the money or the enthusiasm to change what was a terribly outdated and extremely basic car. Towards the end the Metro, which had only a few years earlier won awards for its practical nature, was ending up on lists for Worst car on the market.

 

Today however you can still see Metro's, later editions are especially common on the roads of Britain. Earlier models built under British Leyland have mostly rusted away and are apparently only down to about a thousand nowadays, but the Rover 100's and Rover Metros continue to ply their trade, a lonely reminder of how here in Britain, we can never ever seem to move on!

CN C44-9W 2689 leads CN SD60F 5557 and its mixed freight from Toronto MacMillan Yard to the CSX Stanley Yard in Toledo, OH. This train is already 10 hours or so late and will fall back a few more on its journey south to Toledo thanks to the Conrail in Detroit. The signal here at MP 54.6 on the CN Mt. Clemens Sub will soon be replaced.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 05-Aug-17.

 

KLM UK was renamed from Air UK and operated ATR.72's and Fokker 100's until it was absorbed into KLM Cityhopper in Holland. The ATR's were disposed of and the Fokker 100's were re-registered in Holland

 

First flown in Sep-96 with the ATR test registration F-WWLT, this aircraft was stored at Toulouse, France until it was delivered to ATRiam Capital and leased to Air UK as G-UKTN in Jun-98.

 

It was repainted and renamed KLM uk in Apr-99. The aircraft was withdrawn from service abd stored to Norwich, UK in Nov-99. It ferried to Jersey, Channel Islands, UK in basic KLM livery in Dec-99 and was used as a back-up aircraft by British Regional Airlines operating for British Airways Express.

 

The aircraft was stored at Norwich again in Oct-01 and returned to service with KLM uk in Feb-02 for the summer season and was stored at Norwich again in Sep-02. In Nov-02 KLM uk became KLM cityhopper UK while G-UKTN remained stored.

 

It was returned to ATRiam Capital as F-WQNL in Jun-03 and was stored at Toulouse until it was leased to Cimber Air, Denmark as OY-RTF in Nov-04. Cimber Air was renamed Cimber Sterling in Dec-08 after it bought parts of Sterling Airways after it ceased operations two months earlier.

 

It was wet-leased to AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines in Oct-11 and returned to Cimber Sterling in May-12 when they ceased operations. The aircraft was stored at Soenderborg, Denmark.

 

It was sold to Danish Air Transport Leasing as OY-LHB in Apr-13 and operated as Danish Air Transport A/S. In Jul-13 the aircraft was wet-leased to Aer Arran and operated flights on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional for one month, it returned to Danish Air Transport in Aug-13.

 

In Jul-18 it was wet leased to an Italian subsidiary, DAT Volidisicilla and operates local flights within southern Italy. On 27-Mar-19 Danish Air Transport became known as DAT A/S, the services for DAT Volidiscilla continued. Current, updated 22-Feb-25.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 19-Apr-18.

 

This aircraft was delivered to Air France as F-GBYK in Apr-83. It was sold to a lessor in Jun-99 and leased back to Air France. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Sep-00 and sold to Triton Aviation Services as N242TR the same day. It was leased to Austral Lineas Aereas (Argentina) as LV-PIS in Nov-00 and was re-registered LV-ZXB the following month. In Nov-03 it was returned to the lessor and leased to Aerolineas Argentinas in Dec-03. The aircraft was permanently retired at Buenos Aries - Ezeiza International in Nov-09. It was auctioned off for scrap in Jul-11 and subsequently broken up.

Scroll down!

 

Montblanc Hommage à N. Copernicus - Limited Edition Patron of Arts 2003 fountain pen.

 

Nicolaus Copernicus’ view of the universe is the model for the Limited Edition created in his honour. Nine rings in 925 sterling silver encircle the anthracite-coloured lacquer barrel. The sun is symbolised by the greenish-glowing faceted meteorite stone that decorates the clip.

 

In Edition 888 this is replaced by a yellow diamond, and the barrel is made of 750 white gold – like the rings, which are set with nine yellow diamonds. On the rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib of both Limited Editions, there is a delicate engraving of Copernicus’ orbital charts.

 

Astronomy was Nicolaus Copernicus' only love. He followed the orbits of the heavenly bodies with his naked eye, and created the basis for today's view of the universe - the heavenly bodies with his naked eye, and created the basis for today's view of the universe - the heliocentric system. Considering all his achievements based on his teachings that still hold today - including the reform of the Prussian coin system and the calendar - Copernicus is one of the greatest cultural figures in the history of mankind.

 

Nicolaus Copernicus' view of the universe is the model for the Limited Edition created in his honor. Nine rings in 925 sterling silver encircle the anthracite-colored lacquer barrel. The sun is symbolised by the greenish-glowing faceted meteorite stone that decorates the clip. In Edition 888 this is replaced by a yellow diamonds. On the rhodium-plated 18-carat gold nib of both Limited Editions, there is a delicate engraving of Copernicus' orbital charts.

 

Montblanc celebrates the brilliant mind of Copernicus, who developed the theory that the sun is the center of the universe and that Earth is just one of the many planets that revolve around it. The cap and body are made of dark lacquer covered resin divided by nine sterling silver rings, which symbolize the planets orbit around the sun. The clip houses a green meteorite stone.

 

In every sense of the word he engendered a new way of thinking: Nicolaus Copernicus, the discoverer of our world order and cosmology. His doctrine opened up new ways for poets, thinkers and artists - and finally revolutionised the credos of mankind.

 

Nine 925 Sterling Silver rings encircle the barrel like the concentric circles of the earth's orbit around the sun. The clip bears a green shimmering piece of meteorite and the hand-worked, rhodium-plated 18 Karat gold nib is delicately engraved with Copernicus' historic sketch of the orbit of the planets. This edition is limited to 4810 pens.

 

Launch: 2003

Limitation: 4810 Fountain Pens

Characteristics: Anthracite-coloured lacquer

925 sterling silver

Greenish meteorite stone set in the clip

Rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib.

 

Xiao Xiang-Yu, China:

 

Xiang Yu (Chinese: 項羽; pinyin: Xiàng yǔ, c. 232–202 BC), born Xiang Ji (項籍), was the Ba Wang (霸王) or Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynastyand became a prominent warlord. He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公) by King Huai II of the restoring Chu state in 208 BC. The following year, he led the Chu forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu was enthroned as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (西楚霸王) and ruled a vast area covering modern-day central and eastern China, with Pengcheng as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, in a long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention, which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia. He committed suicide at the bank of the Wu River.

 

Names and titles:

 

Xiang Yu's family name was Xiang (项; 項; Xiàng; Hsiang; Hong6) while his given name was Ji (籍; Jí; Chi; Zik6) and his courtesy name was Yu (羽; Yǔ; Yü; Jyu5). He is best known as Xiang Yu.

 

Xiang Yu is popularly known as "Xi Chu Ba Wang" (西楚霸王; Xī Chǔ Bà Wáng; Hsi Ch'u Pa Wang; Sai1 Co2 Baa3 Wong4), which has been translated as "Overlord of Western Chu", "Hegemon-King of Western Chu", "Conqueror of Western Chu", "King of Kings of Western Chu", and other renditions. This title is sometimes simplified to "Ba Wang" (霸王; Bà Wáng; Pa Wang; Baa3 Wong4), without the link to "Western Chu". Since Xiang Yu's death, the term Ba Wang has come to be used specifically to refer to him. Xiang Yu's subjects sometimes address him as "Xiang Wang" (项王; 項王; Xiàng Wáng; Hsiang Wang; Hong6 Wong4), which literally means "King Xiang".

 

Family background:

 

There are two accounts of Xiang Yu's family background. The first claimed that Xiang Yu was from the house of Mi (羋), the royal family of the Chu state in the Zhou dynasty. His ancestors were granted the land of Xiang (項) by the king of Chu and had since adopted "Xiang" as their family name. The other account claimed that Xiang Yu was a descendant of a noble clan from the Lu state and his family had served in the Chu military for generations. Xiang Yu's grandfather Xiang Yan [zh] was a well known general who led the Chu army in resisting the Qin invaders led by Wang Jian, and was killed in action when Qin conquered Chu in 223 BC.

 

Xiang Yu was born in 232 BC in the late Warring States period when the Qin state started unifying the other six major states. According to the descendants of the Xiang family in Suqian, Xiang Yu's father was Xiang Chao (項超), Xiang Yan's eldest son. Xiang Yu was raised by his elder uncle Xiang Liangbecause his father died early. In 221 BC, when Xiang Yu was about 11 years old, the Qin state unified China and established the Qin dynasty.

 

Xiang Yu had a double pupil in one of his eyes[1] just like the mythical Emperor Shunand Duke Wen of Jin. He was thus seen as an extraordinary person because his unique double pupil was a mark of a king or sage in Chinese tradition. Xiang Yu was slightly taller than eight chi (approximately 1.85 metres, about 6' 1") and possessed unusual physical strength as he could lift a ding (an ancient Chinese vessel resembling a giant cauldron on tripods).[1]

 

Early life:

 

In his younger days, Xiang Yu was instructed in scholarly arts and swordsmanship but he did not manage to master what he was taught, and his uncle Xiang Liang was not very satisfied with him.[1] Xiang Yu said, "Books are only useful in helping me remember my name. Mastering swordsmanship allows me to face only one opponent, so it's not worth learning. I want to learn how to defeat thousands of enemies."[1]Hence, his uncle tried to educate him in military strategy and the art of war instead, but Xiang Yu stopped learning after he had grasped the main ideas; Xiang Liang was disappointed with his nephew, who showed no sign of motivation or apparent talent apart from his great strength, so he gave up and let Xiang Yu decide his own future.[1][2]

 

When Xiang Yu grew older, Xiang Liang killed someone so they fled to Wu to evade the authorities. At the time, Qin Shi Huang was on an inspection tour in that area and Xiang Yu and his uncle watched the emperor's procession pass by. Xiang Yu said, "I can replace him."[1] Xiang Liang was shocked and immediately covered his nephew's mouth with his hand. Afterwards, Xiang Liang began to see his nephew in a different light.

 

Revolution against the Qin dynasty:

 

In 209 BC, during the reign of Qin Er Shi, peasant rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow the Qin dynasty, plunging China into a state of anarchy. Yin Tong [zh], the Administrator of Kuaiji, wanted to start a rebellion as well, so he invited Xiang Liang to meet him and discuss their plans. However, the Xiangs lured Yin Tong into a trap and killed him instead, with Xiang Yu personally striking down hundreds of Yin's men. Xiang Liang initiated the rebellion himself and rallied about 8,000 men to support him. Xiang Liang proclaimed himself Administrator of Kuaijiwhile appointing Xiang Yu as a general. Xiang Liang's revolution force grew in size until it was between 60,000 and 70,000. In 208 BC, Xiang Liang installed Mi Xin as King Huai II of Chu to rally support from those eager to help him overthrow the Qin Dynasty and restore the former Chu state. Xiang Yu distinguished himself as a competent marshal and mighty warrior on the battlefield while participating in the battles against Qin forces.

 

Later that year, Xiang Liang was killed at the Battle of Dingtao against the Qin army led by Zhang Han and the military power of Chu fell into the hands of the king and some other generals. In the winter of 208 BC, another rebel force claiming to restore the Zhao state, led by Zhao Xie, was besieged in Handan by Zhang Han. Zhao Xie requested for reinforcements from Chu. King Huai II granted Xiang Yu the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公), and appointed him as a second-in-command to Song Yi, who was ordered to lead an army to reinforce Zhao Xie. At the same time, the king placed Liu Bang in command of another army to attack Guanzhong, the heartland (capital territory) of Qin. The king promised that whoever managed to enter Guanzhong first will be granted the title "King of Guanzhong".

 

Battle of Julu:

 

Main article: Battle of Julu

 

The Chu army led by Song Yi and Xiang Yu reached Anyang, some distance away from Julu (巨鹿; in present-day Xingtai, Hebei), where Zhao Xie's forces had retreated to. Song Yi ordered the troops to lay camp there for 46 days and he refused to accept Xiang Yu's suggestion to proceed further. Xiang Yu took Song Yi by surprise in a meeting and killed him on a charge of treason. Song Yi's other subordinates were afraid of Xiang Yu so they let him become the acting commander-in-chief. Xiang Yu sent a messenger to inform King Huai II and the king approved Xiang's command.

 

In 207 BC, Xiang Yu's army advanced towards Julu and he sent Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo to lead the 20,000 strong vanguard army to cross the river and attack the Qin forces led by Zhang Han, while he followed behind with the remaining majority of the troops. After crossing the river, Xiang Yu ordered his men to sink their boats and destroy all but three days worth of rations, in order to force his men to choose between prevailing against overwhelming odds within three days or die trapped before the walls of the city with no supplies or any hope of escape. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Chu forces scored a great victory after nine engagements, defeating the 300,000 strong Qin army. After the battle, other rebel forces, including those not from Chu, came to join Xiang Yu out of admiration for his martial valour. When Xiang Yu received them at the gate, the rebel chiefs were so fearful of him that they sank to their knees and did not even dare to look up at him.

 

Zhang Han sent his deputy Sima Xin to Xianyang to request for reinforcements and supplies from the Qin imperial court. However, the eunuch Zhao Gao deceived the emperor and the emperor dismissed Zhang Han's request. Zhao Gao even sent assassins to kill Sima Xin when the latter was returning to Zhang Han's camp, but Sima managed to escape alive. In dire straits, Zhang Han and his 200,000 troops eventually surrendered to Xiang Yu in the summer of 207 BC. Xiang Yu perceived the surrendered Qin troops as disloyal and a liability, and had them executed by burying them alive at Xin'an (新安; in present-day Yima, Henan). Zhang Han, along with Sima Xin and Dong Yi, were spared from death. Xiang Yu appointed Zhang Han as "King of Yong", while Sima Xin and Dong Yi were respectively conferred the titles of "King of Sai" and "King of Di".

 

Feast at Hong Gate:

 

Main article: Feast at Hong Gate

 

After his victory at the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu prepared for an invasion on Guanzhong, the heartland of the Qin dynasty. In the winter of 207 BC, the last Qin ruler Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang in Xianyang (Qin's capital), bringing an end to the Qin Dynasty. When Xiang Yu arrived at Hangu Pass, the eastern gateway to Guanzhong, he saw that the pass was occupied by Liu Bang's troops, a sign that Guanzhong was already under Liu's control. Cao Wushang (曹無傷), a subordinate of Liu Bang, sent a messenger to see Xiang Yu, saying that Liu would become King of Guanzhong in accordance with King Huai II's earlier promise, while Ziying would be appointed as Liu's chancellor. Xiang Yu was furious after hearing that. At that time, he had about 400,000 troops under his command while Liu Bang only had a quarter of that number.

 

As strongly encouraged by his advisor Fan Zeng, Xiang Yu invited Liu Bang to attend a feast at Hong Gate and plotted to kill Liu during the banquet. However, Xiang Yu later listened to his uncle Xiang Bo and decided to spare Liu Bang. Liu Bang escaped during the banquet under the pretext of going to the latrine.

 

Xiang Yu paid no attention to Liu Bang's presumptive title and led his troops into Xianyang in 206 BC. He ordered the execution of Ziying and his family, as well as the destruction of the Epang Palace by fire. It was said that Xiang Yu would leave behind a trail of destruction in the places he passed by, and the people of Guanzhong were greatly disappointed with him.[3]

 

Despite advice from his subjects to remain in Guanzhong and continue with his conquests, Xiang Yu was insistent on returning to his homeland in Chu. He said, "To not return home when one has made his fortune is equivalent to walking on the streets at night in glamourous outfits. Who would notice that?"[1] One of his followers said, "It is indeed true when people say that the men of Chu are apes dressed in human clothing." Xiang Yu had that man boiled alive when he heard that insult.[1]

 

Division of the empire:

 

See also: Eighteen Kingdoms:

 

After the downfall of the Qin dynasty, Xiang Yu offered King Huai II the more honourable title of "Emperor Yi of Chu" and announced his decision to divide the former Qin Empire. Xiang Yu declared himself "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (西楚霸王) and ruled nine commanderies in the former Liang and Chu territories, with his capital at Pengcheng. In the spring of 206 BC, Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms, to be granted to his subordinates and some leaders of the former rebel forces. He moved some of the rulers of other states to more remote areas and granted the land of Guanzhong to the three surrendered Qin generals, ignoring Emperor Yi's earlier promise to appoint Liu Bang as king of that region. Liu Bang was relocated to the remote Hanzhongarea and given the title of "King of Han" (漢王).

 

Xiang Yu appointed several generals from the rebel coalition as vassal kings, even though these generals were subordinates of other lords, who should rightfully be the kings in place of their followers. Xiang Yu also left out some other important rebel leaders who did not support him earlier, but did contribute to the overthrow of Qin. In winter, Xiang Yu moved Emperor Yi to the remote region of Chen, effectively sending the puppet emperor into exile. At the same time, he issued a secret order to the vassal kings in that area and had the emperor assassinated during his journey in 205 BC. The emperor's death was later used by Liu Bang as political propaganda to justify his war against Xiang Yu.

 

Shortly after the death of Emperor Yi, Xiang Yu had Han Cheng (King of Hán) put to death and seized Han's lands for himself. Several months later, Tian Rong (chancellor of Qi) took control over the Three Qis (Jiaodong, Qi and Jibei) from their respective kings and reinstated Tian Fu as the King of Qi, but he took over the throne himself afterwards. Similarly, Chen Yu, a former vice chancellor of Zhao, led an uprising against the King of Changshan, Zhang Er, and seized Zhang's domain and reinstalled Zhao Xie as the King of Zhao.

 

Chu–Han Contention:

  

Battle of Pengcheng:

 

In 206 BC, Liu Bang led his forces to attack Guanzhong. At that time, Xiang Yu was at war with Qi and did not focus on resisting the Han forces. The following year, Liu Bang formed an alliance with another five kingdoms and attacked Western Chu with a 560,000 strong army, capturing Xiang Yu's capital of Pengcheng. Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu led 30,000 men to attack Liu Bang and defeated the latter at the Battle of Pengcheng, with the Han army suffering heavy casualties.

 

Battle of Xingyang:

 

Liu Bang managed to escape after his defeat with Xiang Yu's troops on pursuit. Han troops retreated to Xingyang and defended the city firmly, preventing Chu forces from advancing west any further, but only managed to hold on until 204 BC. Liu Bang's subordinate Ji Xindisguised himself as his lord and surrendered to Xiang Yu, buying time for Liu Bang to escape. When Xiang Yu learned that he had been fooled, he became furious and had Ji Xin burned to death. After the fall of Xingyang, Chu and Han forces were divided on two fronts along present-day Henan. However, Xiang Yu's forces were not faring well on the battlefront north of the Yellow River, as the Han army led by Han Xin defeated his troops in every single battle. At the same time, Liu Bang's ally Peng Yue led his men to harass Xiang Yu's rear.

 

Treaty of Hong Canal:

 

By 203 BC, the tide had turned in favour of Han. Xiang Yu managed to capture Liu Bang's father after a year-long siege and he threatened to boil Liu's father alive if Liu refused to surrender. Liu Bang remarked that he and Xiang Yu were oath brothers,[4] so if Xiang killed Liu's father, he would be guilty of patricide. Xiang Yu requested for an armistice, known as the Treaty of Hong Canal, and returned the hostages he had captured to Liu Bang as part of their agreement. The treaty divided China into east and west under the Chu and Han domains respectively.

 

Battle of Guling:

 

Shortly after, as Xiang Yu was retreating eastwards, Liu Bang renounced the treaty and led his forces to attack Western Chu. Liu Bang sent messengers to Han Xin and Peng Yue, requesting for their assistance in forming a three-pronged attack on Xiang Yu, but Han Xin and Peng Yue did not mobilise their troops and Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu at the Battle of Guling. Liu Bang retreated and reinforced his defences, while sending emissaries to Han Xin and Peng Yue, promising to grant them fiefs and titles of vassal kings if they would join him in attacking Western Chu.

 

Defeat and downfall:

 

Main article: Battle of Gaixia:

 

In 202 BC, Han armies led by Liu Bang, Han Xin and Peng Yue attacked Western Chu from three sides and trapped Xiang Yu's army, which was low on supplies, at Gaixia. Liu Bang ordered his troops to sing folk songs from the Chu region to create a false impression that Xiang Yu's native land had been conquered by Han forces. The morale of the Chu army plummeted and many of Xiang Yu's troops deserted in despair. Xiang Yu sank into a state of depression and he composed the Song of Gaixia. His wife Consort Yu committed suicide. The next morning, Xiang Yu led about 800 of his remaining elite cavalry on a desperate attempt to break out of the encirclement, with 5,000 enemy troops pursuing them.

 

After crossing the Huai River, Xiang Yu was only left with a few hundred soldiers. They were lost in Yinling (陰陵) and Xiang Yu asked for directions from a farmer, who directed him wrongly to a swamp. When Xiang Yu reached Dongcheng (東城), only 28 men were left, with the Han troops still following him. Xiang Yu made a speech to his men, saying that his downfall was due to Heaven's will and not his personal failure. After that, he led a charge out of the encirclement, killing one Han general in the battle. Xiang Yu then split his men into three groups to confuse the enemy and induce them to split up as well to attack the three groups. Xiang Yu took the Han troops by surprise again and slew another enemy commander, inflicting about 100 casualties on the enemy, while he only lost two men.

 

Death:

 

Xiang Yu retreated to the bank of the Wu River (near present-day He County, Maanshan, Anhui) and the ferryman at the ford prepared a boat for him to cross the river, strongly encouraging him to do so because Xiang Yu still had the support of the people from his homeland in the south. Xiang Yu said that he was too ashamed to return home and face his people because none of the first 8,000 men from Jiangdong who followed him on his conquests survived. He refused to cross and ordered his remaining men to dismount, asking the ferryman to take his warhorse, Zhui (騅), back home.

 

Xiang Yu and his men made a last stand against wave after wave of Han forces until only Xiang himself was left alive. Xiang Yu continued to fight on and slew over 100 enemy soldiers, but he had also sustained several wounds all over his body. Just then, Xiang Yu saw an old friend Lü Matong among the Han soldiers, and he said to Lü, "I heard that the King of Han (Liu Bang) has placed a price of 1,000 gold and the title of "Wanhu Marquis" (萬戶侯; lit. "marquis of 10,000 households") on my head. Take it then, on account of our friendship." Xiang Yu then committed suicide by slitting his throat with his sword, and a brawl broke out among the Han soldiers at the scene due to the reward offered by Liu Bang, and Xiang Yu's body was said to be dismembered and mutilated in the fight. The reward was eventually claimed by Lü Matong and five others.

 

After Xiang Yu's death, Western Chu surrendered and China was united under Liu Bang's rule, marking the victory of the Han dynasty. Liu Bang held a grand state funeral for Xiang Yu in Gucheng (穀城; in Dongping County, Taian, Shandong), with the ceremony befitting Xiang's title "Duke of Lu". Xiang Yu's relatives were spared from death, including Xiang Bo, who saved Liu Bang's life at the Feast at Hong Gate, and they were granted marquis titles.

 

Depiction of character:

 

Xiang Yu is depicted as a ruthless leader, in sharp contrast to his rival, Liu Bang. He was a mass murderer, ordering the massacres of entire cities even after they surrendered peacefully. This often led to cities putting up strong resistance, as they knew they would be killed even if they surrendered. The most notorious example of his cruelty was when he ordered the 200,000 surrendered Qin troops to be buried alive after the Battle of Julu,[5][verification needed][6][verification needed] and the gruesome methods of execution he employed against his enemies and critics. Conversely, Liu Bang is portrayed as a shrewd and cunning ruler who could be brutal at times,[7] but forbade his troops from looting the cities they captured and spared the lives of the citizens, earning their support and trust in return. Xiang Yu's story became an example for Confucianists to advocate the idea that leaders should rule with benevolence and not govern by instilling fear in the people. However, his ambitions ended with the collapse of Western Chu, his defeat by Liu Bang, and his death at the early age of around 30.

 

Song of Gaixia:

 

The Song of Gaixia (垓下歌), translated as The Hegemon's Lament by Burton Watson,[8]was a song composed by Xiang Yu while he was trapped by Liu Bang's forces at Gaixia.[citation needed]

 

The lyrics in English as follows are based on Burton Watson's translation:[9]

 

^ "Dapple" is Watson's translation of the name of Xiang Yu's warhorse Zhui (騅)

^ This "Yu" refers to Xiang Yu's wife Consort Yu

EvaluationEdit

The historian Sima Qian, who wrote Xiang Yu's biography in the Records of the Grand Historian, described Xiang as someone who boasted about his achievements and thought highly of himself. Xiang Yu preferred to depend on his personal abilities as opposed to learning with humility from others before him. Sima Qian thought that Xiang Yu had failed to see his own shortcomings and to make attempts to correct his mistakes, even until his death. Sima Qian thought that it was ridiculous when Xiang Yu claimed that his downfall was due to Heaven's will and not his personal failure.[1]

 

Liu Bang's general Han Xin, who was one of Xiang Yu's opponents on the battlefield, made a statement criticising Xiang, "A man who turns into a fierce warrior when he encounters a rival stronger than he is, but also one who is sympathetic and soft hearted when he sees someone weaker than he is. Neither was he able to make good use of capable generals nor was he able to support Emperor Yi of Chu, as he killed the emperor. Even though he had the name of a Conqueror, he had already lost the favour of the people."[10][verification needed]

 

The Tang dynasty poet Du Mu mentioned Xiang Yu in one of his poems Ti Wujiang Ting (題烏江亭): "Victory or defeat is common in battle. One who can endure humiliation is a true man. There are several talents in Jiangdong, who knows if he (Xiang Yu) can make a comeback?"[11][verification needed] However, the Song dynasty poet Wang Anshi had a different opinion, as he wrote, "The warrior is already tired after so many battles. His defeat in the Central Plains is hard to reverse. Although there are talents in Jiangdong, are they willing to help him?"[12][verification needed] The Song Dynasty female poet Li Qingzhao wrote: "A hero in life, a king of ghosts after death. Until now we still remember Xiang Yu, who refused to return to Jiangdong."[13][verification needed]

 

Mao Zedong also once mentioned Xiang Yu, "We should use our remaining strength to defeat the enemy, instead of thinking about achieving fame like the Conqueror."[14][verification needed] In 1964, Mao also pointed out three reasons for Xiang Yu's downfall: not following Fan Zeng's advice to kill Liu Bang at the Feast at Hong Gate and letting Liu leave; adhering firmly to the terms of the peace treaty (without considering that Liu Bang might betray his trust); building his capital at Pengcheng.

 

Xiang Yu is popularly viewed as a leader who possessed great courage but lacked wisdom, and his character is aptly summarised using the Chinese idiom you yong wu mou(simplified Chinese: 有勇无谋; traditional Chinese: 有勇無謀; pinyin: yǒu yǒng wú móu),[15]meaning "has courage but lacks tactics", "foolhardy". Xiang Yu's battle tactics were studied by later military leaders while his political blunders served as cautionary tales for later rulers.[citation needed] Another Chinese idiom, si mian chu ge (Chinese: 四面楚歌; pinyin: sì miàn chǔ gē; lit.: 'surrounded by Chu songs'), was also derived from the Battle of Gaixia, and used to describe someone in a desperate situation without help. Another saying by Liu Bang, "Having a Fan Zeng but unable to use him" (有一范增而不能用), was also used to describe Xiang Yu's reliance on his advisor Fan Zeng and failure to actually listen to Fan's advice.[citation needed]

  

《垓下歌》

力拔山兮氣蓋世。

 

時不利兮騅不逝。

 

騅不逝兮可奈何！

 

虞兮虞兮奈若何！

 

The Hegemon's Lament

My strength plucked up the hills,

My might shadowed the world;

But the times were against me,

And Dapple[a] runs no more;

When Dapple runs no more,

What then can I do?

Ah, Yu,[b] my Yu,

What will your fate be?

 

Cultural references:

 

Xiang Yu's might and prowess in battle has been glorified in Chinese folk tales, poetry, and novels, and he has been the subject of films, television, plays, Chinese operas, video games and comics. His classic image is that of a heroic and brave, but arrogant and bloodthirsty warrior-king. His romance with his wife Consort Yu and his suicide have also added a touch of a tragic hero to his character.[original research?][citation needed]

 

Poetry, folk tales, novels:

 

Xiang Yu's might and prowess in battle appears in Chinese folk tales and poetry, e.g., in his final battle.[16] The Meng Ch'iu, an 8th-century Chinese primer, contains the four-character rhyming couplet: "Ji Xin impersonates the Emperor". It referred to the episode in the Battle of Xingyang when Ji Xin and 2,000 women disguised themselves as Liu Bang and his army, to distract Xiang Yu in order to buy time for Liu Bang to escape from the city of Xingyang.[17]

 

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Sun Ce is nicknamed "Little Conqueror" (小霸王) and is often compared favourably to Xiang Yu by his contemporaries.[citation needed] Sun Ce is best known for his conquests in the Jiangdong region that laid the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms era. In Water Margin, another of the Four Great Classical Novels, Zhou Tong, one of the 108 outlaws, is nicknamed "Little Conqueror" for his resemblance to Xiang Yu in appearance.

 

In Jin Ping Mei, (Ci Hua edition) Xiang Yu (项籍) is mentioned as an example of a tragic character in the song at the opening of the first chapter.[18]

 

The character Mata Zyndu in Ken Liu's epic fantasy novel The Grace of Kings is based on Xiang Yu.

 

Operas:

 

A famous Beijing opera, The Hegemon-King Bids His Lady Farewell, depicts the events of Xiang Yu's defeat at the Battle of Gaixia. The title of the play was borrowed as the Chinese title for Chen Kaige's award-winning motion picture Farewell My Concubine.[citation needed]

 

Television:

 

Portrayed by Shek Sau in the 1985 Hong Kong television series The Battlefield.

Portrayed by Hu Jun in the 2003 Chinese television series The Story of Han Dynasty.

Portrayed by Kwong Wah in the 2004 Hong Kong television series The Conqueror's Story.

Portrayed by Tan Kai in the 2010 Chinese television series The Myth.

Portrayed by Peter Ho in the 2012 Chinese television series King's War.

Portrayed by Ming Dao in the 2012 Chinese television series Beauties of the Emperor.

Portrayed by Qin Junjie in the 2015 Chinese television series The Legend of Qin.

Portrayed by Tim Yu in the 2018 Chinese television series Hero's Dream.

 

Film:

 

Portrayed by Ray Lui in the 1994 Hong Kong film The Great Conqueror's Concubine.

Portrayed by Feng Shaofeng in the 2011 Chinese film White Vengeance.

Portrayed by Daniel Wu in the 2012 Chinese film The Last Supper.

 

Video games:

 

Xiang Yu is one of the thirty-two historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.[citation needed] He is also featured as a non-playable character (NPC) in the action role-playing game Prince of Qin.[citation needed] Xiang Yu is one of the main two characters in the 1990s Super Nintendo historical simulation game Rise of the Phoenix by the Koei corporation, the other being Liu Bang. Xiang Yu is a playable character in the online mobile role-playing game Fate/Grand Order.

 

References:

 

Citations:

 

^ a b c d e f g h i Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 7, Annals of Xiang Yu.

^ "Xiang Yu - Famous Leader of Uprising in Ancient China". Cultural China. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 1, Biography of Emperor Gaozu.

^ Liu Bang and Xiang Yu became sworn brothers in a ceremony with King Huai II of Chu as their witness in 208 BC.

^ 王杰. 项羽坑杀了二十万秦朝降兵吗? (in Chinese).

^ “火烧阿房”：蒙的什么冤，平的什么反？ (in Chinese). 陕西新闻网.

^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 8.

^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2010. Writing Sima Qian's Rhetorical Style into English—On Burton Watson's Translation of Records of the Grand Historian. Xiuying Li, Dalian University of Technology.

^ Minford, John, ed. (2000). An Anthology of Translations Classical Chinese Literature Volume I: From Antiquity To The Tang Dynasty. Columbia University Press. pp. 414–415. ISBN 0-231-09676-3.

^ (遇強則霸的匹夫之勇，和遇弱則憐的婦人之仁。既不能任用賢能將帥，又曾遷逐楚義帝，用兵趕盡殺絕。雖名為霸王，其實民心盡失。)

^ (勝敗兵家事不期，包羞忍恥是男兒。江東弟子多才俊，捲土重來未可知。)

^ (百戰疲勞壯士衰，中原一敗勢難回。江東子弟今雖在，肯與君王捲土來。)

^ (生當作人傑，死亦為鬼雄，至今思項羽，不肯過江東。)

^ (宜將剩勇追窮寇，不可沽名學霸王。)

^ 看《神话》穿越历史 西楚霸王项羽有勇无谋 (in Chinese). 半岛网 (www.bandao.cn). January 27, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011.[verification needed]

^ Xiang Yu (Chinese rebel leader) Britannica Online Encyclopedia

^ David Johnson, The City-God Cults of T'ang and Sung China, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Dec., 1985), pp. 363-457

^ "Text of Jin Ping Mei". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

 

Sources:

 

Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 7.

Ban Gu et al. Book of Han, Volume 31.

Sima Guang. Zizhi Tongjian, volumes 8, 9, 10, 11.

 

Hegemon-King of Western Chu

House of Xiang

Born: 232 BC Died: 202 BC

Titles in pretence:

Preceded by: Emperor Yi of Chu— TITULAR —

Hegemon-King of Western Chu. 206–202 BC

Reason for succession failure:

Chu–Han Contention Succeeded by: Han Xin as King of Chu

 

— TITULAR —

 

Emperor of China: 206–202 BC

Reason for succession failure:

Chu–Han Contention Succeeded by: Emperor Gaozu of Han.

 

Gilles Fuchs, France:

 

Enjoy the last segment of the series, introducing Gilles Fuchs--founder of the Marcel Duchamp Award, which is a key point of this exhibition, and currently a representative of the Association for the International Diffusion of French Art (ADIAF)--whose responses exude his abundant love of art.

 

Profile:

 

Establishing the Association for the International Diffusion of French Art (ADIAF) in 1994, serving as a representative of that organization since 1998, and establishing the Marcel Duchamp Award in 2000, Gilles Fuchs serves as a spokesman for the development of French contemporary art.

 

Q: Please describe about your profession?

A: I am now retired (I previously was in the fashion and perfume business) but I have been for nearly fifty years an "addict" art collector.

Upon my retirement I created with some friends an Association to promote French artists abroad. (ADIAF)

We were convinced that the French way of life or "civilisation" should be taken with more consideration than it is presently the case.

The main art stream (under the fallacious reason that it should be better understood by" every one") has aimed at being spectacular, "sensational" and out of measure with some tendency to vulgarity.

French art is by tradition based on reflection, elegance and sense of measure. It is a humanism. Two different aims; one, provocative to the extreme; the other one discreet and trying to convince.

 

Our association is composed exclusively of contemporary art collectors (about 300).

We wish to underline the choices of collectors, with modest means, what play an active part in the present art world distinct from the overwhelming institutions or "institutional collectors".

Their choices are not based on speculation but on their deep taste and reflection. The value or symbolic financial status of a work of art is far from their main preoccupation.

They never forget Leonardo Da Vinci: "art is cosa mentale"

It is a sort of democratic alternative.

 

Q: Frankly why do you collect the art?

A: Collectors are "maniac"; it is part of their character and they cannot live without indulging in this side of themselves.

 

You may collect everything from stamps to "white elephants" but it is theoretically a finished world. There is a day when your collection is completed.

 

This is not the case when you collect contemporary art. There is always something new happening and like mushroom in autumn, new artists spring from anywhere with something new to say or a new way to say it.

 

This is the interest of collecting an art that is always challenging

 

Art is the soul of its time:To be in close contact with it is essential. To learn about it when it has become historical loses some impact.

Art is a choice of society .There is no aesthetics without ethics.

 

Q: Among many high-profile artists, whom are you keeping eyes on?

As I told previously I am more interested in emerging artists than in celebrities. It is then that you may feel the vulnerability of a work as well as its raw boldness. Creation is always stimulating. I am not a prophet, I like to discover.

Celebrities have to consolidate their works, to make them more understandable, more acceptable. But there may be repetitions (with no real meaning) or even complaisance.

 

It is like the story of the 3 little pigs.

One builds his house quickly in straw.

The second one is more cautious and makes it in wood.

 

The third one works for eternity and builds it in stone.

I may often prefer the first one.

 

Relevant information:

 

・The answer from the collector participating in "French Window" exhibition

- File01. Jerome and Emmanuelle de Noirmont

- File02. Alex and Greta Vanden Berghe

- File03. Michel Poitevin

- File04. Gilles Fuchs:

 

・The Answer from the artist participating in "French Window" exhibition.

- File01. Mathieu Mercier

- File02. Pierre Ardouvin

- File03. Thomas Hirschhorn

- File04. Camille Henrot

- File05. Claude Closky

- File06. Valerie Belin

- File07. Philippe Mayaux

 

・"French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"

 

・Mori Art Museum on Flickr:

Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-1

Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-2

Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-3.

 

Günther Jauch, Germany:

 

Günther Johannes Jauch (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʏntɐ joˈhanəs ˈjaʊx]; born 13 July 1956) is a German television presenter, television producer, and journalist.

 

Biography:

 

Jauch was born in Münster. He is known for a unique style of informing and entertaining people that is generally considered witty and funny. He won several awards for his appearances in German television. Jauch also owns the production company "i&u TV", which stands for Information und Unterhaltung("information and entertainment"). He is known to make large donations to charity from money he receives from his appearances in advertisements and other promotional work.

 

Jauch has used his personal wealth to purchase and restore several historic buildings in and around Potsdam, his current town of residence.

 

In the 1980s, Jauch worked for radio programs of Bayerischer Rundfunk. Jauch has produced and hosted the prime time TV programme stern TV [de], a television news magazine programme, on the private German RTL national TV network since 1990. The programme caused some sensation due to the transmission of falsified articles delivered by the journalist Michael Born who was subsequently convicted to a four-year prison sentence in 1996, a few other prominent German TV networks had also been deceived with such material.[1] In January 2011, after celebrating the end of his 21-year reign hosting stern TV [de], Jauch will now host a weekly political talkshow on the national German public TV network Das Erste ("The First").[2]

 

In 2005, Jauch was named by Stern magazine the most famous German in the world. In late 2006, Jauch announced that he would only host the first broadcast of the Four Hills Tournament (from Oberstdorf) and celebrate New Year's Eve with his family. Jauch had hosted all events of the Four Hills Tournament since 2000. The 2007 season tournaments from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen were hosted by Marco Schreylinstead.[3]

 

Jauch, together with Thomas Gottschalk, is also part of the German TV show Die 2 - Gottschalk und Jauch gegen alle.[4]

 

In 2015, shortly after Stefan Raab had announced the end of his TV career, Jauch declared publicly that he intends to gradually reduce his appearance on TV too; stating that he will eventually give up his political talk show Günther Jauch on ARD and to focus on his other TV shows such as Wer wird Millionär? on RTL.[5][6]

 

Personal life:

 

After 18 years of common-law marriage, Jauch married Thea in the Orangerie at Schloss Sanssouci in Potsdam in 2006.[7][8] He is a member of the Hamburg Jauch family.

 

Jauch and Thea have two biological daughters, Svenja (born in 1989) and Kristin (born in 1993). The couple adopted two orphaned daughters in 1997 and 2000, named Katja and Masha.[9][3]

 

Philanthropy:

 

Jauch is characterised by his secluded lifestyle. He stated in interviews that he takes the liberty of leading a life that does not correspond to his supposed economic possibilities. According to his own statement, he has spent considerable amounts of his income, including all the profit from advertising jobs, on charitable causes since the early years of his career.[10] In 2002, he made significant financial contributions to the reconstruction of the Fortunaportal (Gate of the Fortuna) at the Potsdam Stadtschloss city palace. Jauch has also given financial support to other projects in Potsdam, e.g. the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg, (where he got married in 2006), the Potsdam city canal, the Kloebersaal,[11] a hall in the north wing of the Marmorpalais (Marble Palace), which is opposite his villa at Heiligen See lake, as well as the restoration of the Neptungrotte (Neptune Grotto) in the palace gardens of Schloss Sanssouci.[12] Furthermore, he supported the construction of the Marienschule Potsdam, a co-educational Roman-Catholic school for primary and secondary education, which belongs to the archdiocese of Berlin.[13][14] The prime minister of Brandenburg, Matthias Platzeck, called him a citizen every mayor could ever wish for.[15] Jauch was an ambassador for the Berlin Pro-Reli-Kampagne, a petition which aimed to change the Education Act of the state of Berlin in order to introduce religious studies as an elective subject instead of ethics as a sole compulsory subject. The campaign eventually failed in April 2009.

 

Jauch’s ancestress on his grandmother’s side, Anna Weißebach, founded the CaritasKonferenzen, the German branch of the International Association of Charities. Jauch’s own family set up soup kitchens in Hamburg as early as the 19th and 20th century and founded and maintained poorhouses in Hamburg and other places. In line with his family’s tradition of charitable foundations, Jauch endowed the founding of a branch of Die Arche in Drewitz(Potsdam) in 2009, which provides free meals for children in need. He also covers ongoing property and personnel expenses.[16] Die Arche – Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk e.V. is a Christian organisation for children and adolescents.

 

Vineyard owner:

 

Günther Jauch is also continuing a 200 year-old family tradition of wine-growing.[17] In 2010, he successfully applied for membership in the German Prädikat Wine Estates VDP (German: “Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter”), in order to acquire a relative’s vineyard (Othegraven in Kanzem) which was approved by VDP that certifies Germany’s wines that meet the organizations requirements.[18] The entire property, including a mansion and an English Garden, has been subject to preservation orders since 2003.

 

Günther Jauch’s family has been running the winery since 1805, when his ancestor and merchant Emmerich Grach bought the property. Jauch’s grandmother Elsa von Othegraven, his grandfather Hans Jauch and his father Ernst-Alfred Jauch were part of the community of heirs. However, in 1996 the winery was inherited by a distant relative.

 

In order to ensure that the winery was not going to be sold to a party outside the family, Günther Jauch decided to buy it.[19] One of the previous owners had been Jauch's famous great-great-uncle, Franz Weißebach. According to the VDP, the vineyard is a gem of a vineyard, rare in its quality and attractive location.[17] In 2011, Jauch acquired a further vineyard (Wawerner Herrenberg) in Wawern that is 3.5 acres.[20] It had also belonged to his ancestor Emmerich Grach. Günther Jauch also co-produced wines that supermarket chain Aldi has been selling under his name since 2018.[21]

 

Dispute about privacy:

 

Günther Jauch wanted to legally prohibit any type of media coverage in the preparation of his wedding in July 2006. The Landgericht Berlin granted him an interim injunction against the newspaper Bild and other publications of the Springer publishing house.[22] The Kammergericht Berlin, however, decided against a prohibition of general media coverage in June 2006 due to his celebrity status. According to the judges, they were allowed to report about the date and place of the wedding.[23] After the magazine Bunte published photos of the wedding and details about the ceremony, Thea Jauch went to court against the publishing house to demand damages and compensation for pain and suffering totalling 325,000 Euros. The Landgericht Hamburg awarded her only 25,000 Euros compensation in January 2008. The judgment was set aside by the Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht in October 2008. As a public figure, interest in Jauch’s wedding was legitimate, it said. An anew appeal was refused by the Federal Constitutional Court. The demand for damages by Günther Jauch in a separate lawsuit was in vain as well.

 

The couple then went before the European Court of Human Rights to claim that the German justice system did not protect Jauch's right to privacy sufficiently and breached his right to protection of property, because they did not award him damages for the published photos. The court in Strasbourg affirmed the public’s interest in his wedding and therefore, their claims were without cause. German justice had carefully weighed between the right to privacy and the freedom of the press, it said. The complaint was declared inadmissible.[24]

 

Shows hosted:

 

1985–1987: Live aus dem Alabama

1988–1997: Das aktuelle sportstudio (Up-to-date Sport news)

since 1989: Menschen, Bilder, Emotionen (People, Pictures, Emotions)

1990–2010: Stern TV

since 1999: Wer wird Millionär? (German version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?)

2000–2006: RTL-Skispringen (ski jumping)

2001–2004: Der Große IQ-Test (The Big IQ Test)

2001–2009: 5-Millionen SKL Show

2002–2004: Grips-Show (Brain Show)

since 2009: 5 gegen Jauch (5 against Jauch)

2011–2015: Günther Jauch (Sunday evening political talkshow on Das Erste)

2013–2017: Die 2 – Gottschalk & Jauch gegen alle (with Thomas Gottschalk and Barbara Schöneberger)

2016–2017: 500 – Die Quiz-Arena

since 2018: Denn sie wissen nicht, was passiert – Die Jauch-Gottschalk-Schöneberger-Show (with Thomas Gottschalk and Barbara Schöneberger)

since 2019: Bin ich schlauer als Günther Jauch? (Am I smarter than Günther Jauch?)

 

Awards:

 

1988: Goldene Kamera

1989: Bayerischer Fernsehpreis

1990: Bambi

1998: Bayerischer Fernsehpreis together with Marcel Reif

2001: Goldene Kamera, Bayerischer Fernsehpreis, Bambi for Wer wird Millionär?

2002: Adolf-Grimme-Preis

2003: Unsere Besten, Rank 29, Osgar, Bambi

2006: Deutscher Fernsehpreis

2010: Deutscher Fernsehpreis

2011: Goldene Kamera, red dot design award

2012: Goldene Kamera

 

Products advertised:

 

Krombacher (beer)

Karstadt Quelle (a department store / mail-order company)

Süddeutsche Klassenlotterie [de] (a lottery)

DHL (a postal service owned by Germany's Deutsche Post alongside Thomas Gottschalk)

World Wide Fund for Nature (a nature preserve organization)

 

References in popular culture:

 

Jauch is mentioned in the song Rot by Markus Henrik, in his role as the host of the show Wer wird Millionär? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?).

Jauch is also mentioned in the Blumentopf song "Warum eigentlich nicht?"

 

References:

 

^ Thomas Pritzl: Der Fake-Faktor. Spurensuche im größten Betrugsfall des deutschen Fernsehens. kopäd, 2006, ISBN 3-938028-69-6

^ "Günther Jauch ab 2011 im Ersten". Das Erste (in German). Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

^ a b "Der Familie zuliebe: Jauch tritt kürzer". Der Spiegel (in German). 27 December 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2006.

^ "RTL: Die 2: Gottschalk und Jauch gegen alle" (in German).

^ "Südddeutsche: Zum Rückzug von Günther Jauch" (in German).

^ "Spiegel: Abschied von Jauchs ARD-Talk: Es wurde Zeit" (in German).

^ "Günther Jauch heiratet seine Thea" (in German). 28 March 2006.

^ "IMDb: Günther Jauch - Biography".

^ "Günther Jauch adoptiert zweites Waisenkind" (in German). 7 May 2000.

^ "Jauch verschenkt "jeden Cent"" (in German). Archived from the original on 2005-02-03.

^ "Ein Fall für Jauch: Kloebersaal wieder geöffnet" (in German). 27 June 2003.

^ "Schlosspark Sanssouci: Günther Jauch spendet eine Million für Grottensanierung"(in German).

^ "Opus Dei erhält Schulverbot". F (in German).

^ "Günther Jauch und Katherina Reiche stehen Pate" (in German).

^ "Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award 2003" (in German).

^ "Geldflut für die "Arche"" (in German).

^ a b "VDP Prädikatsweingüter: Günther Jauch aufgenommen | News | DER DEUTSCHE WEINBAU".

^ "Günther Jauch wird Winzer" (in German).

^ "Spiegel-Gespräch : "Ich bin angstfrei" - Der Spiegel 26/2011" (in German).

^ "Günther Jauch: "Ich dachte, ich werde da mal ebenso rotnasig wie freundlich auf der Veranda sitzen"". Die Zeit (in German). 21 September 2011. ISSN 0044-2070.

^ "Jauch verrät neue Details zu seinem Aldi-Wein" (in German). 3 April 2018.

^ "Bild darf keine Einzelheiten über Jauchs Hochzeit verbreiten" (in German).

^ "Netzeitung Medien: Jauchs Berichterstattungsverbot eingeschränkt" (in German). Archived from the original on 2006-07-01.

^ "Günther Jauch und seine Frau scheitern mit Klage vor Menschenrechtsgerichtshof" (in German).

 

Andy Lou, Hong Kong:

 

Andy Lau Tak-wah BBS MH JP[3] (traditional Chinese: 劉德華; simplified Chinese: 刘德华, born 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time.[4] In the 1990s, Lau was branded by the media as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop and was named as "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVBduring the 1980s[5]

 

Lau was entered into the Guinness World Records for the "Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist". By April 2000, he had already won an unprecedented total of 292 awards.[6] Lau also holds numerous film acting awards, having won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actorthree times and the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor twice. In 2005, Lau received the "No.1 Box office Actor 1985–2005" award of Hong Kong,[7] yielding a box office total of HK$1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years,[6][8] and in 2007, he received the "Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia" award by the Nielsen Company (ACNielsen).[3] On 25 June 2018, Lau was invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[9][10]

 

Early life:

 

Andy Lau was born in Tai Po, Hong Kong, a son of a fireman Lau Lai (劉禮). He was the fourth child of the family; he has three elder sisters, one younger sister, and a younger brother named Lau Tak-sing. His family was considered to be wealthy as his grandfather was a landowner, but his father left with him to the slums of Diamond Hill when he was six, where the area was full of wooden houses, and was burnt down when he was eleven. As a young boy, Lau had to fetch water for his family up to eight times a day because their house was not equipped with plumbing.[6] He graduated from a Band One secondary school, Ho Lap College in San Po Kong, Kowloon.[11] He was named as Lau Fook-wing (劉福榮) during his academic years. He also practices Chinese calligraphy.[8] Lau converted to Buddhism in the 1980s.[citation needed] He was raised in a nominally Buddhist household and is now a follower of the Lingyan Mountain Temple in Taiwan.[12]

 

Career: Actor

See also: Andy Lau filmography

 

In 1981, Lau signed up for the artist training program offered by TVB, which is where his acting career began.[1] The lead role which led to his initial popularity was in the 1982 TVB series The Emissary. In 1983, Lau's role as "Yang Guo" in the TVB wuxia series, The Return of the Condor Heroes (神鵰俠侶) further increased his popularity. From then on, he would take on many of the lead roles in many TVB series.

 

In September 1983, TVB was looking to increase their ratings in competition with Korea and Japan for the best variety show. The station then created the show TVB All-star challenge (星光熠熠勁爭輝) featuring almost the entire line-up of the most popular actors and singers at the time.[13] Lau, along with Tony Leung, Michael Miu, Felix Wong, and Kent Tongwere branded as the "Five Tiger Generals of TVB" (無線五虎將) due to their popularity on the show.[13]

 

In the late '80s, Lau left TVB due to contract problems. TVB wanted to bind him to an exclusive five-year contract which Lau refused to sign, so TVB blacklisted him. He then focused on his film career.[6]

 

In 1981, Lau made a guest appearance in one of Susanna Kwan's music videos and caught the eye of the manager Teddy Robin.[14] Teddy Robin then gave Lau a chance to play a small role in the film, Once Upon a Rainbow.[14] This was the first step in Lau's film acting career.[14] He landed a role in Ann Hui's 1982 film, Boat People.[1] Later in 1983 he had his first leading role in the Shaw Brothers-produced action film, On the Wrong Track.[15]

 

One of his early leading roles included the more serious 1988 film, The Truth (法內情).

 

However, Lau is best known in films for his (often) recurring roles as a "Heroic Gangster", such as Wong Kar-wai's 1988 film As Tears Go By, and Benny Chan's 1990 film A Moment of Romance.

 

Though a respectable actor, Lau was initially known more for his handsome features. Some people he has worked with have called him a matinee idol, but he has claimed to be an artist.[4] Lau has proved his acting skills in many of his films. His first major acting prize came with A Fighter's Blues, which was his first Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor.[16]He would win the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor award that year for Running Out of Time.[17] In 2004, he won the prestigious Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor for his performance in Infernal Affairs III, the second sequel to the popular Infernal Affairs.[18]He is also known to Western audiences for starring in wuxia films such as House of Flying Daggers, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

 

In 2005, Lau received the "No.1 Box office Actor 1985–2005" award of Hong Kong, yielding a box office total of HKD 1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years.[6][8] The aforementioned figure is as compared to the first runner-up Stephen Chow's (HKD 1,317,452,311) and second runner-up Jackie Chan's (HKD 894,090,962). "I've never imagined that it would be as much as 1.7 billion!" he told reporters. For his contributions, a wax figure of Lau was unveiled on 1 June 2005 at the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.[19] In 2007, Lau also received the "Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia" award by the Nielsen Company (ACNielsen).[3]

 

Film producer:

 

In 1991, Lau set up his own film production company, Teamwork Motion Pictures, which in 2002 was renamed to Focus Group Holdings Limited. His contributions in the film industry as well as his involvement in nurturing new talent in the Asian film industry led him to winning the "Asian Filmmaker of the Year" award in the Pusan International Film Festival in 2006.[3] Some of the films Lau has produced include award-winning films, Made in Hong Kong and A Simple Life, his 100th film, A Fighter's Blues, the Chinese digital film Crazy Stone, and big budget action blockbusters, Firestorm and Shock Wave.

 

Musical career:

 

Lau released his first album "Only Know that I Still Love You" (只知道此刻愛你) under Capital Artists in 1985.[6] This album was not a big hit,[6] but despite having a voice not traditionally associated with popular music, Lau's hard work and perseverance resulted in him becoming one of the most successful singers in Cantopop. His singing career reached stellar status in 1990 with the release of the album

entitled "Would It Be Possible" (可不可以), and his subsequent releases only solidified his status as a marketable singer.[6] For that song, he would win his first 1990 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. He would then win at least one RTHK award category every year consecutively until the year 2007.

 

From Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards he has won the "Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist" award 7 times and the "Asia Pacific Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist" award 15 times.[6]He was also entered into the Guinness World Records for "Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist". By April 2000, he had already won an unprecedented total of 292 awards.[6]

 

Many of Lau's songs quickly topped the music charts not only in Hong Kong, but also in Taiwan, Mainland China, and in many different parts of Asia. Some of his most notable hits include "The Days We Spent Together" (一起走過的日子), "If You Are My Legend" (如果你是我的傳說), "The Tide" (潮水), "Forget Love Potion" (忘情水), "True Forever" (真永遠), "Chinese people" (中國人), "Love You Forever" (愛你一萬年), "You Are My Woman" (你是我的女人), and "Secret Admiration" (暗裡著迷). Besides singing in Cantonese and Mandarin, he has also sung in other languages such as English, Japanese, Malay, and Taiwanese Hokkien. One example of a Hokkien song was (世界第一等), and he has also performed a Cantonese cover of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (我恨我痴心).

 

Since the early 1990s, Lau, along with Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok, and Leon Lai have been referred to by the Chinese media as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings.[5]

 

Lau sang alongside Jackie Chan during a part of the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on 24 August 2008. In addition, Lau, who has been supporting disabled athletes in Hong Kong for more than a decade, was appointed as the Goodwill ambassador for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[20] He led other performers in singing and performing the song "Everyone is No.1" at the Beijing National Stadium just a few hours before the 2008 Paralympics opening ceremony began.[21] He also sang the theme song "Flying with the Dream" with Han Hong during the Paralympics opening ceremony on 6 September 2008.[20]

 

As a songwriter, most of Lau's creative works are as a lyricist. To date, Lau has composed five songs, which include "Missing You Everyday" (天天想你), co-composed with Eric Moo,[22] "If One Day" (如果有一天),[23] "Happiness Is So Far... So Sweet" (幸福.這麼遠.那麼甜),[24] "Spending the Rest Our Lives Together" (餘生一起過),[25] all of which he also sang and wrote the lyrics, and "Brothers" (兄弟), the theme song of his 2004 film, Jiang Hu, which he wrote the lyrics for but was sung by co-star Chapman To.[26] Most of the songs he has written have been for himself.

 

Books written:

 

To date, Lau has written and published two books. They include his 1995 autobiography, This Is How I Grew Up (我是這樣長大的) written in prose,[27] and his 2012 book, My 30 Work Days (我的30個工作天), which is a collection of his 30 personal diaries he wrote while working on the 2011 film, A Simple Life.[28]

 

Appearance in other media:

 

Lau is alleged to have been featured as a non-player character (NPC) as a random pedestrian in a sandbox-style action video game called Prototype. On 6 July, the Hong Kong local newspapers Headline Daily and Sing Tao Daily reported on Lau's cameo.[29]

 

Community service:

 

In 1994, Lau established the Andy Lau Charity Foundation which helps people in need and promotes a wide range of youth education services.[3] In 1999, he received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World award, being the third person from Hong Kong at that time to receive this distinguished honour.[3] In 2008, Lau took a main role in putting together the Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign for relief toward the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[30] It was one of the largest and most ambitious charity events ever assembled in the territory.

 

Lau was noted for his active involvement in charity works throughout his 30 years in showbiz and honoured as a "Justice of Peace" by the Hong Kong SAR government in 2008.[31] In May 2010, he received the "World Outstanding Chinese" award and an "honorary doctorate" from the University of New Brunswick, Canada.[32] On 14 December 2017, Lau was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree from the Hong Kong Shue Yan University, with the citation highlighting his popularity among locals which stated: "His low-key, modest, friendly and approachable personality has endeared him to millions of fans and ordinary folks alike, who also consider him to be a 'heartthrob' and the 'unofficial Chief Executive of Hong Kong".[33]

 

Lau was also named in the Panama Papers leak.[34]

 

Personal life:

 

In 2008, Lau married Malaysian Chinese Carol Chu (朱麗倩) after 24 years of speculation over their relationship, both are vegetarian and devout Buddhists.[35] The couple married in Las Vegas.[35] On 9 May 2012, Chu gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Hanna.[36] In January 2017, Lau was seriously injured after being thrown off and stomped by a horse during a commercial shoot in Khao Lak, an area three hours outside of Thailand's capital city, Bangkok.[37][38] However, Lau was able to make a full return to work in August 2017, stating he has recovered 95 per cent from his injuries and has fully recovered by the end of the year.[39][40].

 

Lau never had a motorcycle-class driving license, so most of the scenes on Full Throttlewere done by a stunt double. When he performs with one, the engine is never on.[41][42]

 

Awards and nominations:

 

Year, Award, Category Nominated work, Result:

 

1983 Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Performer Boat People Nominated

1989 Best Actor As Tears Go By Nominated

1990 Golden Horse Film FestivalBest Supporting ActorKawashima Yoshiko Nominated

1992 Hong Kong Film Awards Best ActorLee Rock Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer) Casino Raiders II Nominated

1995 Best Original Film Song (Singer)Tian Di Nominated

1996 Best Actor Full Throttle Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer/Lyricist) Nominated

1998 Best Film (Producer) Made in Hong Kong Won

Best Original Film Song (Singer) Island of Greed Nominated

1999 Best Original Film Song (Singer) The Longest Summer Nominated

A True Mob Story Nominated

Best Film (Producer) The Longest Summer Nominated

2000 Best ActorRunning Out of Time Won

Golden Bauhinia Awards Nominated

2001 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor A Fighter's Blues Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards A Fighter's Blues Won

Golden Horse Film Festival Love on a Diet Nominated

2002 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer/Lyricist) Shaolin Soccer Nominated

2003 Best Actor Infernal Affairs Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer with Tony Leung) Nominated

Golden Horse Film Festival Best Actor Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards Nominated

2004 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Running on Karma Won

Golden Horse Film Festival Infernal Affairs III Won

Golden Bauhinia Awards Nominated

Running on Karma Nominated

2005 Golden Bauhinia Awards A World Without Thieves Nominated

2006 Hong Kong Film Awards Wait 'Til You're Older Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer/Lyricist).Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actor Nominated

2007 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Asian Film (Producer) Crazy Stone Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actor Battle of Wits Nominated

2007 Asian Film Awards Best Actor Battle of Wits Nominated

2008 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Protégé Won

Best Actor The Warlords Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer with Eason Chan/Lyricist) Brothers Nominated

2011 Best Film (

Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in Downtown Detroit. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, replacing Tiger Stadium in 2000.

 

The park is named after Comerica Bank, which was founded in Detroit and was based there when the park opened. Comerica's headquarters have since been moved to Dallas, though the bank still retains a large presence in Detroit. The stadium's seating capacity is 41,297. There is a Detroit People Mover station about a block from the stadium (at Grand Circus Park). Comerica Park sits on the original site of the Detroit College of Law.

 

Since their founding in 1901, the Tigers had played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues in Detroit's Corktown section. For the last 88 of those years, they played at what eventually became Tiger Stadium. By the mid-1990s, it had become apparent that the much-beloved park could not be renovated any further.

 

Groundbreaking for a new ballpark to replace Tiger Stadium for the Tigers was held on October 29, 1997 and the new stadium was opened to the public in 2000. At the time of construction, the scoreboard in left field was the largest in Major League Baseball. The first game was held on April 11, 2000, against the Seattle Mariners. The new stadium is part of a downtown revitalization plan for the city of Detroit, which included the construction of Ford Field, adjacent to the park. In December 1998, Comerica Bank agreed to pay $66 million over 30 years for the naming rights for the new ballpark. Upon its opening, there was some effort to try to find a nickname for the park, with the abbreviation CoPa suggested by many. It is often referred to simply as Comerica. The first playoff game at Comerica was played on October 6, 2006 against the New York Yankees. It hosted its first World Series later that month.

 

In contrast to Tiger Stadium, which had long been considered one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, Comerica Park is considered to be extremely friendly to pitchers. Except for dead center—420 feet (130 m) versus Tiger Stadium's 440 feet (130 m)—the outfield dimensions were more expansive than those at Tiger Stadium. This led to complaints from players and fans alike, most famously from Bobby Higginson who sarcastically called the venue Comerica National Park. After Minute Maid Park reduces its center field fence from 436 feet (133 m) to 409 feet (125 m) in 2017, 420 feet will be the longest in baseball.

 

Although a few public figures—notably radio announcer Ernie Harwell—supported the dimensions, most agreed that the left-field wall, in particular, needed to be brought closer to home plate. Before the 2003 MLB season the club did so, moving the distance from left-center field from 395 to 370 feet (120 to 113 m). This also removed the flagpole from the field of play, originally incorporated as an homage to Tiger Stadium. Two years later, the bullpens were moved from right field to an empty area in left field created when the fence was moved in. In place of the old bullpens in right field, 950 seats were added for a new capacity of 41,070. This made one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks transform into the third most batter-friendly (with extra bases also taken into account).

 

Also of note, the current layout of the playing field at Comerica Park means that when a player is at bat, the direction he is facing looks farther to the south than at any other Major League Baseball park.

 

The stadium also includes many baseball-themed features, including a "Monument Park" in the deep center field stands, complete with statues of former Tigers Ty Cobb, Hal Newhouser, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline, and Willie Horton.

 

Entrance to the ballpark is located across from the Fox Theatre and between two historic downtown churches, St. John Episcopal Church and Central United Methodist Church. Outside of the main entrance to the stadium there is a tiger statue that is approximately 15 feet (4.6 m) in height. There are 8 other heroic-sized tiger statues throughout the park, including two prowling on top of the scoreboard in left field. These tigers' eyes light up after a Tigers home run or a victory and the sound of a growling tiger plays as well. The tigers were originally created by sculptor Michael Keropian and fabricated by ShowMotion Inc. in Norwalk, Connecticut. Along the brick walls outside of the park are 33 tiger heads with lighted baseballs in their mouths.

 

The field itself features a distinctive dirt strip between home plate and the pitcher's mound. This strip, sometimes known as the "keyhole", was common in early ballparks, yet very rare in modern facilities (the only other current major-league park to feature one is Chase Field in Phoenix).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comerica_Park

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 05-Jan-25

 

The early version of Ryanair's livery.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1786B, this aircraft was delivered to Ryanair as EI-CSF in May-00. Blended winglets were added and 'eyebrow windows' were removed in Jan-07.

 

The aircraft was sold to CIT Aerospace International in Mar-08 and immediately leased to The IMP Group Ltd, trading as CanJet Airlines as C-FTCX. It was sub-leased to Travel Service Airlines (Czech Republic) as OK-TSJ in May-15 for the European summer season.

 

In Sep-15, The IMP Group made the decision to close down CanJet's own flight operations due to high losses, retaining some of the aircraft for sub-lease to other airlines. OK-TSJ was returned to IMP Group/CanJet in Nov-15, becoming C-FTCX again.

 

It was sub-leased to Air Transat in Dec-15 for the winter season, returning to IMP Group/CanJet in May-16. At the end of May-16 the aircraft was re-registered SP-ENO and sub-leased to Enter Air, Slovak Republic.

 

It was sold to Avolon Aerospace in Apr-17 while the lease to Enter Air continued. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and parked at Warsaw, Poland(?) at the end Oct-23. It was ferried to Knock, Ireland at the end of Nov-23 and stored.

 

It was returned to the lessor as EI-CSF, again, in Jan-24. The aircraft was broken up at Knock in Jul-24.

Replaced the previous photo with this one May24th 2012

On 27 July 2016, 142046 arrives at Brough on the 1052 Doncaster - Hull. The semaphores have now been replaced.

Replaced Mercerville Acme around a mile away

Replaced 1990s Pony kiddie ride "Kiddie's Pony" (Yellow) At Angels World New York in 5502 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY. It played Take Me Out To The Ballgame. Manufactured by Paul W. Hawkins Mfg Co in 1970s. Replaced into 1980s Horse kiddie ride "Carnival Horse" (Bright pink)

“Replacing the Daedalus-Class of Ships in 2196, for the next three decades these ships were crewed with Starfleet's best and brightest." (Federation: The First 150 Years)

 

Instructions are available at Rebrickable: Einstein Class

Stagecoach NE 22067 NK54BFO and 39702 NK09EDR seen inside top shed at Chichester. 22067 was taking off the 17/18 services and replaced with 35191 to let 22067 run the X34. (04/01/14)

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 05-Jun-25.

 

Named: "Dufourspitze 4634m" later "Zurich" (Apr-07)

 

First flown in Jul-03 with the Airbus test registration F-WWJL, this aircraft was delivered to Swiss International Airlines as HB-JMB in Sep-03. It was withdrawn from service and stored at Amman, Jordan in Mar-21, returning to service in Aug-21. Current.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 30-Dec-17, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 29-Oct-23.

 

Taken through glass with some reflection.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWJV, this aircraft was delivered to Singapore Airlines as 9V-SJM in Apr-98. Singapore Airlines A340-300 fleet was traded in to Boeing in 2003 in part-exchange for new Boeing 777-300ER's.

 

This one was registered to the Boeing Aircraft Holding Company as D-ASIJ in early Jun-03 and was leased to Gulf Air as A4O-LH three weeks later. It was sold to Novus Aviation Capital in Apr-07 while the lease to Gulf Air continued.

 

The aircraft was re-registered A9C-LH in Nov-07 after Oman Air left the Gulf Air consortium. In Jun-11 the aircraft was repainted in Hellenic Imperial Airlines livery for an upcoming sub-lease as SX-TIG.

 

However the lease fell through and the aircraft returned to service with Gulf Air in Oct-11, still in Hellenic Imperial livery. It was withdrawn from use and stored at Bahrain in Jan-12.

 

The aircraft was noted on maintenance at Singapore in Oct-12 in Hellenic Imperial livery but now with a Garuda Indonesia tail logo prior to an expected Haj Pilgrimage wet-lease. However, that didn't happen either and the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Abu Dhabi in early 2013.

 

It was noted stored at Abu Dhabi in Apr-13. It was due for lease to Plus Ultra Linhas Aereas in the 2nd quarter of 2014 but the lease didn't happen and the aircraft was still at Abu Dhabi in Jan-15 bearing the registration EC-MDH (not taken up).

 

It was eventually leased to Plus Ultra as EC-MFB in Apr-15 but was stored on delivery at Teruel, Spain. It finally entered service in May-16. The aircraft was permanently retired at Kemble UK on 08-Dec-19.

 

Note: The stock of Gulf Air was jointly owned by Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE (Abu Dhabi Government) and Oman with all the aircraft being registered in Oman.

 

After the Dubai Government had formed Emirates Airline in 1985, it became the dominant force in the Gulf region and some members of Gulf Air wanted to form their own airlines.

 

First to leave was the Abu Dhabi Government who formed Etihad Airways, then Qatar left followed by Oman. The remaining member of the Gulf Air consortium, Bahrain, became the sole operator of Gulf Air and the aircraft were all re-registered in Bahrain.

Hide #1

Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham. Replacing the Highfields Park Pavilion in 2001 was the D H Lawrence Pavilion, designed by March:Grochowski Archiects, and completing the Lakeside Arts Complex at the University of Nottingham. This now comprises, across three locations, a theatre, recital hall, museum, several galleries, together with bars and cafes. The Djanogly Theatre has 213 seats, permanently fixed on the upper level and retractable on the lower level. It is designed (although rarely applied) to also operate as a ballroom / function room, with retractable side walls opening out to allow views across the lake. It has come to specialise in productions for children and families.

 

www.lakesidearts.org.uk/

 

City of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England - Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts Centre, University of Nottingham Campus

January 2025

Replacing an earlier scanned slide with a better version 10-Jul-15, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 20-Sep-23.

 

N792FT was built with a main-deck cargo door and could be used as a passenger, freight or 'combi' aircraft. It was delivered to Flying Tiger Line in Mar-69 and leased to AFA American Flyers Airline two months later in late May-69.

 

It was returned to Flying Tiger in May-70. In Jan-84 it was converted to DC-8-73CF standard with CFM.56 engines and sold to Emery Worldwide.

 

In Sep-99 it was sold to Cumberland Leasing Co and leased back to Emery. It was returned to Cumberland Leasing in Sep-01 and stored at Roswell, NM, USA. In Aug-02 it was sold to Logair LLC and sold again in Nov-02 to Aerofreighter LLC.

 

It was leased to ATI Air Transport International as N604BX in Mar-05. It was sold to CAM Cargo Aircraft Management Inc in Jan-10 while the lease to ATI continued. The aircraft was permanently retired at Marana, AZ, USA in Dec-12 and subsequently broken up.

And be sure to check by my other acount: www.flickr.com/photos_user.gne?path=&nsid=77145939%40..., to see what else I saw recently!!

 

Yes I'm back again.

However due to my main computer on which I edit my work being struck down with a big bad virus, this picture and all the others I am uploading, were Unedited but have now been replaced with Edited versions. So enjoy and Thanks for your patience and understanding.

 

I do still hate everything about this shit that is new Flickr and always will, but an inability to find another outlet for my work that is as easy for me to use as the Old BETTER Flickr was, has forced me back to Flickr, even though it goes against everything I believe in.

 

I don't generally have an opinion on my own work, I prefer to leave that to other people and so based on the positive responses to my work from the various friends I had made on Flickr prior to the changes I have decided to upload some more of my work as an experiment and to see what happens.

 

So make the most of me before they delete my acount: www.flickr.com/photos/69558134@N05/?details=1, to stop me complaining!!

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 17-Jul-19, plus DeNoise AI 24-Dec-22.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1786B, the aircraft also used N1782B before being delivered to Pembroke Capital and leased to Azzurra Air (Malta) as EI-CRQ in Apr-99.

 

It was returned to the lessor in Apr-02 and immediately leased to Hamburg International Airlines as D-AHID. It returned to the lessor in Apr-08 and was stored at Istanbul, Turkey. It ferried to Maastricht, Netherlands in Dec-08 where it was fitted with blended winglets before being leased to Aires Colombia in Jan-09 as HX-4608-X.

 

The '-X' suffix was dropped later that year when it became HX-4608. The aircraft was re-registered EI-EEV in Apr-10 while the lease to Aires Colombia continued. In Dec-11 Aires Colombia was renamed LAN Airlines Colombia. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Jan-14.

 

In Mar-14 it was leased to Europe Airpost as F-GZTG [Note: up to that point Europe Airpost had been primarily a cargo and French Postal Service operator but branched out into passenger service, initially with 2 B737-700's].

 

In Nov-14 the aircraft was leased to Air Transat as C-GTQI for the winter season, returning to Europe Airpost in Apr-15 as F-GZTG. In Jun-15, Europe Airpost was merged to the ASL Airlines Group, becoming ASL Airlines France.

 

The aircraft was again leased to Air Transat as C-GTQI in Nov-15, returning to ASL France in Apr-16, this time as F-GZTN. The winter sub-lease to Air Transat as C-GTQI was repeated between Nov-16 / Mar-17 (returning as F-GZTQ), Nov-17 / Apr-18 and Oct-18 / Apr-19.

 

The aircraft was removed from service in Apr-22 and ferried to Blytheville, AR, USA for storage. It was returned to Fortress Transportation (FTAI) in Sep-22 and permanently retired at Blytheville. Updated 24-Dec-22.

Inexplicably to be replaced by plastic tat characterless rubbish that doesn't even function properly, the superb HST will be consigned to the history books.... Operating 1E13, the 07:55hrs from Inverness to King's Cross, passing through Killingworth. Other than test runs, I stood at the bridge behind me to view the first service HST.... 254010 on the front, 254003 on the rear.... Absolutely superb units indeed. Whether a Paxman Valenta power unit, or an MTU, the presence is still there.

Replacing the Echo in Toyota’s U.S. product lineup and making its debut at the LA Auto Show, the 2007 Yaris is the second generation of a car that was Toyota’s best-selling model in Europe. With 3-door hatchback and 4-door sedan body styles with modern styling and upscale interiors, Yaris is aimed at youthful buyers. Powering the Yaris will be a 1.5-liter, 106 horsepower 4-cylinder engine mated to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version, plus DeNoise AI, 10-Feb-23.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration D-AVZS, this aircraft was delivered to Kingfisher Airlines (India) as VT-KFY in Nov-07. It was sold to AWAS Ireland Leasing on delivery and leased back to Kingfisher.

 

Kingfisher ceased operations at the end of Sep-12 and the aircraft was stored at Delhi. The closure of Kingfisher was a mess and the lessor was unable to repossess the aircraft until Jul-13 when it was re-registered OE-ICK.

 

In the runup to their closure, Kingfisher had been 'borrowing' parts off grounded aircraft to keep others flying and it was early Jan-14 before the lessor was able to ferry the aircraft via Dubai to Dublin, Ireland.

 

After two months in maintenance and storage at Dublin, the aircraft was leased to Aegean Airlines (Greece) as SX-DGP in Mar-14. It was withdrawn from service and stored at Athens, Greece in Sep-22.

 

The aircraft was ferried to Antayla, Turkey in Jan-23 and returned to the lessor as 2-XDGP. Currently parked at Antalya it's awaiting lease to a new Turkish company, BBN Airlines. Updated 10-Feb-23.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 13-Mar-25.

 

This aircraft was delivered to ILFC International Lease Finance Corporation and leased to Air Europa, Spain as EC-HKS in May-00. It was returned to ILFC in Apr-07 and leased to Zoom Airlines UK in May-07.

 

Zoom Airlines UK ceased operations on 28-Aug-08, the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA and later at Dothan, AL, USA. It was re-registered N201LF in Oct-08.

 

In Feb-09 the aircraft was leased to RAM Royal Air Maroc as CN-ROV and returned to the lessor in Jan-19 when it was stored at Shannon, Ireland. In Feb-19 it was sold to DHL Holdings as N276DH and ferried to Mexico City for freighter conversion.

 

It was converted to full freighter standard with a main deck cargo door in Nov-19. It was leased to Kalitta Air in Dec-19 and operated on behalf of DHL Airways. In May-22 it was transferred to DHL Air UK as G-DHLN. The operation for DHL Airways continued.

 

In Oct-23 the aircraft was transferred to DHL Air Austria as OE-LYA and operated for DHL Airways. Current, updated 13-Mar-25.

Completely forgot about this one, seen during a brief visit to Maidenhead last year. Happily still going too, quite pleasing how clean it appeared to be, although the sight of a diesel nose with a 2000cc Petrol engine suggests the owner, either past or present, replaced the oil burning lump.

Replacing the iMac in the kitchen that died, I put my recently retired MacBook Pro in an Ergotron Slim CPU wall mount and purchased an inexpensive Samsung 18" monitor

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 18-Feb-24.

 

Another long history. This aircraft was delivered to Britannia Airways as G-OBYC in May-96. It was sold to a lessor on delivery and leased back to Britannia Airways.

 

It was sub-leased to Britannia Airways GmbH (Germany) as D-AGYC in Apr-98 and returned to Britannia Airways (UK) as G-OBYC in Apr-99. It was leased to Britannia Airways GmbH as D-AGYC again between Mar / Nov-00.

 

The aircraft was wet-leased to Garuda Indonesia Airlines in Jan-03 for a Haj Pilgrimage operation, returning to Britannia Airways in Mar-03. The wet-lease to Garuda was repeated between Dec-03 / Mar-04 and Dec-04 / Feb-05.

 

Britannia Airways was renamed Thomsonfly .com in May-05 and the Haj Pilgrimage wet-lease to Garuda was repeated between Dec-05 / Feb-06. In Jul-06 the aircraft was returned to the lessor and leased to Air Italy as I-AIGG in Aug-06.

 

Air Italy operated Haj Pilgrimage flights for Saudia - Saudi Arabian Airlines between Dec-09 / Jan-10, Oct / Dec-10, Sep / Nov-11 and Sep / Nov-12. In Apr-13 Air Italy merged with MeridianaFly to form the 'new' Meridiana. The Meridiana name was discontinued when it became Air Italy again in Mar-18.

 

The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Milan - Malpensa in Jan-19. It was ferried to Tel Aviv, Israel in Mar-19 and returned to the lessor.

 

It was sold UPS United Parcel Service a few days later and converted to full freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Aug-19 when it was registered N392UP. The aircraft entered service in Sep-19. Current, updated 18-Feb-24.

replaced 7/15 X(

The Jaguar XJ series was introduced in September 1968 to replace the Jaguar 240 and 340 series.

The XJ series was designed by William Heynes (UK, 1903-1989) and William Lyons (co-founder of Jaguar, UK, 1901-1985).

The Jaguar XJ series was redesigned in Autumn 1973 by William Heynes, and subtly again in April 1979. This time by Leonardo Fioravanti (Milano, 1938) and Lorenzo Ramaciotti (Modena, 1948) at Studio Pininfarina (note the black rubber bumpers and the 'Hofmeister kink' at the C-pillar).

The Jaguar XJ series was related to the 1966-1983 Daimler Sovereign series.

 

4235 cc L6 patrol engine.

169/205 bhp.

1720 kg.

Production Jaguar XJ series: Sept. 1968-2019.

Production Jaguar XJ series Mk3: April 1979-1992.

Production Jaguar XJ6 this 4.2 version: April 1979-early 1987.

Original first reg. number: Jan. 1, 1981 (estimated).

New Dutch reg. number: May 6, 2009 (private import)..

Still with first Dutch owner since import.

 

Photo taken by © Mees.

 

Near Serooskerke (Zeeland), Sept. 4, 2022.

 

© 2022 Sander Toonen Halfweg | All Rights Reserved

Replacing an earlier scanned 6"x4" print with a better version 17-Feb-19.

 

Operating a Football Charter bringing fans of Galatasaray who were playing Manchester United. It was a 3-3 draw.

 

The only Istanbul Airlines B737-400 to have round 'dots' over the i's, all the rest had square 'dots'. Hows that for a piece of useless information!

 

A long history and a lifetime of mostly short leases... This aircraft was delivered to the GPA Group Ltd and leased to SAHSA Airlines (Servicio Aéreo de Honduras S.A.) as HR-SHL in Aug-90, it didn't stay long and was returned to the lessor in Feb-91.

 

It was leased to VASP Brasil as PP-SOH in Apr-91 and returned to the lessor in Mar-92. In Apr-92 the aircraft was leased to MAS Malaysian Airline System as 9M-MJR and returned to the lessor in Apr-93.

 

Two weeks later it was leased to Istanbul Airlines as TC-AYA. It was wet-leased to Carnival Airlines (USA) between Nov-95/Apr-95, and to Myanmar Airways International between Nov-96/Jun-97. It was returned to the lessor in Jul-00 as N683GE and stored (Istanbul Airlines ceased operations in Aug-00!).

 

The aircraft was leased to Garuda Indonesia Airlines as PK-GWW in Jan-01 and it returned to the lessor in Feb-06. It was re-registered N683GE again the Mar-06 and leased to Orenburg Airlines (Orenair) as VP-BGQ later that month. It returned to the lessor as N837TM in Apr-14 and was stored at Roswell, NM, USA.

 

It was sold to Jetran LLC in Dec-14 and moved to San Jose, Costa Rica is Jan-15 where its storage continued. In Apr-15 the aircraft was sold to the Texas Aviation Group LLC and remained stored at San Jose until it moved to Dothan, AL, USA in Sep-15 for freighter conversion.

 

It was converted to freighter configuration in early 2016 and was due to be leased to Modern Transportes Aereos (Brasil) as PP-YBB but the lease was cancelled.

 

Instead, it was sold to Airwork Flight Operations Ltd (New Zealand) as ZK-PAT in Jul-16 and operates on behalf of Parcel Air. Now 32 years old it continues in service. Updated 19-Oct-22.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version.

 

It was only when I was cleaning this photo up after scanning it that I realised how dirty the aircraft was. I guess the awful dark green colour doesn't help.

Immediately prior to these units being replaced by electric services on the Hastings line.

Running around its train at Peterborough's Nene Valley station is ScotRail liveried Class 47, 47765.

 

The Class 47/7's were derived from the original fleet of Class 47's to replace earlier diesel locomotives used between Edinburgh and Glasgow. By the late 1970's the service was operated by top n' tail Class 27's which, due to their age, were starting to suffer from unreliability. As such, British Rail organised the conversion of several Class 47's to be able to work with push-pull stock by fitting TDM equipment. This was combined with the conversion of several MkII BSO (Brake-Standard-Open) carriages to be fitted with cabs, these being designated DBSO (Driving-Brake-Standard-Open).

 

In all, twelve Class 47/4's were converted to 47/7's, being fitted with TDM equipment and longer range fuel tanks. Performance wise, the locomotives were upped to 100mph operation so as to maintain a faster schedule.

 

The first locomotives were converted in 1979, and by 1980 had begun operations on the premier service. With this, the previous Class 27's were either withdrawn or put onto the Edinburgh to Dundee semi-fast services, eventually ending their days in around 1987, being replaced by Class 150 DMU's.

 

As for the new Class 47/7's, they lived a charmed life working their push-pull services, operating a fairly reliable service, with push-pull operations being extended further to services between Glasgow and Aberdeen. However, on July 30th, 1984, disaster struck when at Polmont, a service from Edinburgh to Glasgow (led by a DBSO) struck a cow which had gained access to the track through a damaged fence from a field. The result was the death of 13 passengers and 61 injured. With this, doubt surrounded the future of push-pull operations, but thankfully these services continued to operate until the end of the 1980's.

 

In 1989, the introduction of Class 158 Express DMU's saw the push-pull service brought to an end. As such, these locomotives were moved en masse to the south, ending up on services from London Waterloo to Salisbury and Exeter working for Network SouthEast. However, the stop-start nature of the service took their toll on the reliability of the locomotives, which operated better on express trains with limited stops. This, however, was but a stop gap until the new Class 159 DMU's could be introduced in 1993.

 

This wasn't the end of the Class 47/7's however, as their push-pull capabilities made them ideal to work with the Royal Mail's PCV (Propelling Control Vehicle) services, which were converted Class 307 EMU's. As such, these locomotives were put to work on the extensive mail train operations up and down the country. Two Class 47's also had the distinction of being put on prestigious duty for Her Majesty the Queen, 47798 Prince William and 47799 Prince Henry becoming the motive power for the Royal Train.

 

The 47/7's however truly began to show their age towards the end of the 1990's, and a new form of motive traction had to be found. In 2000, EWS, holder of the Mail Train contract, brought into use Class 67's built by Alstom. By 2002, the Class 47/7's diagrams had been largely reduced to zero, and with a few occasional services, they were made largely redundant and many scrapped.

 

Today however, some have made a comeback, with eight registered for mainline use working for Colas Rail and West Coast Railways. On the preservation front, four have been preserved, including the two Royal Class 47's, of which three are mainline approved and frequently appear on the network.

Originally conceived by British Leyland, the Metro was built to similar principals as those of the Mini it was intended to replace, with a small, practical platform with as much use available to the passenger as was possible. The car came under various initial guises, including the Austin Metro, the Austin miniMetro, the Morris Metro van and the MG Metro, a version of the car with a 1.3L A-Series Turbo Engine.

 

Although the car was launched in 1980, development of a Mini replacement had dated back to the beginning of the 70's. Dubbed ADO88 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 88), the Metro was eventually given the go ahead in 1977, but wanted to have the appeal of some of the larger 'Supermini' (what a contradiction in terms) cars on the market, including cars such as the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5. Designed by Harris Mann (the same guy who gave us the Princess and the Allegro), the car was given a much more angular body for the time, but despite its futuristic looks did share many features of the earlier Mini, including the 675cc BMC-A Series engine that dated back to 1959, and the gearbox. Initial cars also included the Hydragas Suspension system originally used on the Allegro and the Princess, though with no front/rear connection. The car was also built as a hatchback, which would eventually be a key part of its success as the Mini instead utilised only a small boot.

 

The Metro was originally meant for an earlier 1978 launch, but a lack of funds and near bankruptcy of British Leyland resulted in the car's launch being pushed back. This delay however did allow the folks at Longbridge to construct a £200m robotic assembly plant for the new Metro line, with the hope of building 100,000 cars per year. Finally the car entered sales 3 years late and got off to quite promising initial sales, often being credited for being the saviour of British Leyland. The Metro was in fact the company's first truly new model in nearly 5 years, with the 9 year old Allegro still in production, the 1980 Morris Ital being nothing more than a 7 year old Marina with a new face, and the 5 year old Princess not going anywhere!

 

As mentioned, an entire myriad of versions came with the Metro, including the luxury Vanden Plas version and the sporty MG with its top speed of 105mph and 0-60mph of 10.1 seconds. Eventually the original incarnation of the car, the Austin Metro, went on to sell 1 million units in it's initial 10 year run, making it the second highest selling car of the decade behind the Ford Escort. However, like most other British Leyland products, earlier cars got a bad reputation for poor build quality and unreliability, combined with the lack of rustproofing that was notorious on many BL cars of the time.

 

The show was not over however, as in 1990 the car was given a facelift and dubbed the Rover Metro. The 1950's A-Series engine was replaced by a 1.1L K-Series, and the angular bodyshell was rounded to similar principals as those by acclaimed styling house Ital to create a more pleasing look for the 90's. This facelift, combined with an improvement in reliability and build quality, meant that the car went on to win the 'What Car?' of the Year Award in 1991.

 

In 1994 the car was given yet another facelift, with once again a more rounded design and removal of the Metro name, the car being sold as the Rover 100. Engines were once again changed, this time to a 1.5L Peugeot engine and more audacious colour schemes were available for the even more rounded design of the new car. However, the car was very much starting to look and feel its age. Aside from the fact that the design dated back to 1977, the new car was not well equipped, lacking electric windows, anti-lock brakes, power steering, or even a rev counter! In terms of safety, it was very basic, with most features such as airbags, an alarm, an immobiliser and central locking being optional extras.

 

Eventually the curtain had to fall on the Metro, and in 1997, twenty years after the initial design left the drawing board, it was announced that the car would be discontinued. Spurred on by dwindling sales due to lack of safety and equipment, as well as losing out to comparative cars such as the ever popular Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Vauxhall Corsa, with only fuel economy keeping the car afloat, Rover axed the Metro in 1998 with no direct replacement, although many cite the downsized Rover 200 a possible contender. Stumbling blindly on, the next car to fill the gap in Rover's market was the 2003 CityRover, based on the TATA Indica, which flopped abysmally and pretty much totalled the company (but that's another story).

 

In the end only 2,078,000 Metro's were built in comparison to the 5.3 million examples of the Mini that it was meant to replace. The main failings of the Metro were down to the fact that the car was too big compared to the Mini, and the rounded old-world charm of the Coopers and Clubmans was replaced by the angular corners. Because of this the car simply didn't have the novelty that the Mini continued to claim even 20 years after the first ones left the factory, and the Mini would even go on to outlive the Metro by another 2 years, ending production in 2000, then going on to have a revival in the form of BMW's New Mini Cooper that's still being built today. Unlike the Mini, the Metro also failed to conquer the international market in the same way, scoring its 2 million units pretty much in Britain alone, although some cars were sold in France and Spain, but only to the total of a few hundred.

 

The Metro however survived only on fuel economy and its spacious interior, but by the early 1990's, whilst other car manufacturers had moved on leaps and bounds, Rover continued to be stuck in the past with not the money or the enthusiasm to change what was a terribly outdated and extremely basic car. Towards the end the Metro, which had only a few years earlier won awards for its practical nature, was ending up on lists for Worst car on the market.

 

Today however you can still see Metro's, later editions are especially common on the roads of Britain. Earlier models built under British Leyland have mostly rusted away and are apparently only down to about a thousand nowadays, but the Rover 100's and Rover Metros continue to ply their trade, a lonely reminder of how here in Britain, we can never ever seem to move on!

Replaces my previous version. Changes include removal of upper nose sensor, removal of windscreen green sun tinting, landing gear doors closed (as would be on the actual aircraft), revision of the camoflauge scheme to to more accurate colors and pattern, and new armament including 2 Mk84 2000lb LGBs, 2 LAU-19 FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket) pods, 2 AIM-9 Sidewinder air to air missiles, and the retained 25mm belly gun pod system.

Replacing a regular King County Metro coach on route 57

I turned a little bit in Lille taking quite "knock bars" from strangers and I decided to give up when I met Thierry on Republic Square.

 

Thierry is a freelance engineer in biotechnology. He helps companies in managing projects from conception to completion in a very specific area.

 

So, biotechnology ... Even if I saw basically what it was, I had no idea of concrete projects that could develop businesses.

 

To give an example, Thierry told me about a project of biological basin. The chemicals are replaced by bacteria and plants that do the same job but that are less harmful. Scientific checks are made regularly to ensure proper functioning of the basin.

 

I loved to discuss with him because it was a job I did not know at all. As usual, I did not want to bother him too long.

 

"- I have time, I'd get me a McDonalds!"

 

Thanks to him!

 

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

 

Canon EOS 500D

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM

 

Find the french description on my portfolio