The Creature Walks Among Us, 1956 One Sheet

youtu.be/cfLKIq8XZ0M?t=2s Full Feature

This is the third "Creature" movie. Universal left their options open at the end of second with the exact same ambiguous ending. While sequels to sequels tend to be poor fare, gill-man fans tend to regard Creature Walks Among Us (CWAU) as being as good as the first.

CWAU shares many B-movie weaknesses. It follows formula plot elements that were hallmarks of the first movie, but it also ventures into some new material. This new ground gives CWAU some muscle of its own. The first movie had a tiny bit of science blather about evolution. The second movie didn't bother. The third, however, tried to re-inject some science into the fiction.

Synopsis

A rich scientist mounts an expedition to find the gill-man who has escaped into the Florida swamps. A local fisherman reports being attacked by a man-like "diablo" so they investigate. Using an underwater radar device (not sonar), they track him down to a narrow bayou. Here he attacks their small boat, but is set on fire by spilled gasoline. Badly burned, the gill-man collapses. The scientists take him back aboard their 100' yacht and head for San Francisco. They've bandaged him up (head to toe) and are monitoring his vital signs. During the trip the complex soap opera develops. Dr. Barton (Jeff Morrow) is the rich, but jealous husband. Mrs. Barton (Liegh Snowden) is the blonde babe no longer in love and resentful of her husbands attempts to control her. Dr. Morgan (Rex Reason) is the concerned friend. Jed Grant is the buff playboy helper. Innuendo and misunderstandings keep the pot simmering.

Along the way, the doctors find that gill-man's gills are too badly burned to supply his body with oxygen. An x-ray reveals that he has lungs but that they're collapsed and closed off. They operate to open them. He can breathe air now. They also comment about how the burns have cause the fish-like layer to fall away, and a more human-like layer of skin to develop. Gillman awakens and interrupts Jed forcing himself on Marcia. He then dives into the sea, but must be rescued before he drowns.

Back in San Francisco, Gill is taken to Dr. Barton's estate and put into an electrified pen with some other animals. He looks somewhat longingly to the water's edge, but is docile. When a mountain lion gets into the pen and kills a sheep, Gill kills the big cat. When Dr. Barton pistol-whips Jed and puts the body in Gill's cage (to frame him for the murder), Gill goes nuts, tears up the house looking for Dr. Barton, finally killing him. Gill then wanders off the estate. With everyone in funeral attire, there's a mild suggestion that Dr. Morgan will come to call on the widow Barton when a respectful time has passed. The movie closes with Gill walking down the beach towards the sea. The End.

Once you've gotten into the gill-man saga, the plot of CWAU takes it to a new level which is more thoughtful than simply another monster movie. It's also fun to see the team of Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason again -- two good actors -- who starred in This Island Earth ('54).

The original movie had two gill-man suits -- a smaller one for the underwater shots, and a larger one for the above-water shots. The second movie, Revenge, made two new gill-man suits along the same lines. For the third movie, they didn't put too much into a new gill-man suit. They created a new gill-man head and hands, but dressed him the crude sailcloth shirt and pants so as to not have to make more. For the pre-changed gill-man, they used footage from the first two movies. The only scenes which needed a new gill-man suit was where he attacked the small boat and was burned. These scenes are so quick and dark, that the lower quality Gill-Man III is not apparent.

Arthur Ross, who co-wrote the original opted for a more thoughtful script. Are we what we are because of our genes, or because of our environment? Dr. Barton is excited that the gill-man is becoming more human. The fire burned away his "old self", releasing the new. "Change the metabolism and man will change." Dr. Morgan disagrees. Science can't create a new species. They may have altered gillman's skin, but inside he's the same. As though mankind would not be fit for space travel until he evolved into something better. This is a natural sort of thought for scientism which denies there being any divine element to man. How else to define man? Our human physiology is all we have. This is reminiscent of the premise underlying The Island of Dr. Moreau. Give animals human shape, human features, and they'll become people.

The Nurture part comes where the scientists theorize that the Gill-man as a "new" man will behave good or bad, depending on how he's treated. The assumption of the Tabula Rasa.

A notion floated in the dialogue is that ordinary humans are "built" for the earth and not suitable to space. The scientists pontificate about how the aquatic gill-man was "built" for life in the water. Man, therefore, was "built" for terrestrial life. That build would not work in space, they say. "We all stand at a crossroads between the jungle and the stars." If gill-man could become a new creature, maybe man could too. Since the changed gill-man could not really become human, the inference is that man can't become this Nietzchean over-man either.

Some aspects of CWAU have spiritual parallels. The before-creature is the old "animal" nature -- rash, violent, lustful. The after-creature is the new "human" self. He's no longer lustful or rash. He's violent only as defense. At the end, he's violent but driven by a sense of justice. There's also a parallel to the biblical "fall of man" described in the Book of Genesis, in that the before creature was innocent. He needed no clothes. After the change, he needed clothing. There's also a parallel to New Testament verses which talk of the old man having to die (metaphorically) before the new man could emerge. This adds some twist to the movie's title. Our own struggles with our animal side with our divine. Dr. Barton and Jed Grant are examples of those who gives in to their animal side. Dr. Morgan and even Marcia Barton are examples of people who maintained morality.

Old Home -- Dr. Barton's estate was one of Universal's stock houses. Used in many movies, such as Tarantula

Bottom line? CWAU will appeal to gill-man fans. Since it's not simply a re-remake of the first two "Creature" films, it has some appeal to others too. It's a bit lighter on the action but more cerebral. It's worth a watch.

Better than REVENGE, but nowhere near the glorious heights of the first film (which is really the only CREATURE that you absolutely must see).

Part of a Set / Slideshow documenting the art works on display at the touring exhibition "Postcards from Japan", subtitled "A message from Tohoku artists". The photographs were taken while the exhibition was hosted by the Embassy of Japan, London, UK.

Title: Under the Same Sky

Artist: Kate THOMSON ケイト・トムソン - living in Iwate / Edinburgh

Artist's website: www.ukishima.net/ [日本語 and English]

Media: Photographs taken in the sky from Scotland to Iwate; Collage of inkjet prints on paper.

The exhibition has been curated and organised by Scottish and Japanese artists and sculptors Kate THOMSON and KATAGIRI Hironori. They are based both in Scotland and their Ukishima Sulpture Studio in Iwate prefecture, part of the Tohoku region. They were living and working in Iwate when the Great Earthquake and Tsunami struck the pacific coast on 11th March 2011.

Electricty, telephone and internet services (fixed and mobile) all stopped (or had to be prioritised for emergency relief purposes), and retail supplies of bottled drinking water and petrol (gasoline) quickly ran out.

Japan Post proved the most resilient communications service for people living in the affected areas. It was often the first service available for people to check on the welfare of friends and relatives. This is the inspiration behind the theme of the exhibition. All the works are A5 postcard sized - measuring 21 x14.8 cm (approximately 8.3 x 5.8 inches).

St Johns Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ

6 - 29 August 2011

Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017

7 October 2011 - 27 November 2011

Embassy of Japan, 101/104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT

12 December 2011 - 31 January 2012

Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HS

15 February 2012 - 22 April 2012

The exhibition is part of the Postcard project [www.postcardproject.org/], the catalogue is available for purchase online [scroll down to foot of page] with profits used to sustain the project.

The exhibition has been supported by the The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.

Long exposures on a tripod enabled the use of a slow - low noise - sensor setting and small aperture settings to optimise the depth of field. The frames were glazed, and so the art works were photographed at an angle - to avoid reflections of the camera and tripod. A dark coat was also used to minimise visible reflections. The images were subsequently adjusted to appear rectilinear - using Photoshop's lens correction "Perspective" and "Barrel Distortion" functions, and also the "Distort" transformation. This is why the images of the frames have one point perspective, with an offset vanishing point. Some "Smart Sharpening" was also selectively used.

This set mixes it up a bit with both a pretty blonde and brunette goddess! You can see them both modeling the Gold 45 Revolver swimsuits as well as a 45SURFER camera bracket mount for shooting stills & video at the same time.

Here's some epic video of the beautiful goddesses:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=txvupr5xOZ4 (modeling swimsuit)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G5w3u6L8x8 (modeling swimsuit)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pYrQbPayZs (modeling the bracket)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSVw9jbAR0 (pretty closeups!)

Nikon D800 Photos of Brunette and Blonde Swimsuit Bikini Goddesses with Pretty Green Eyes and Pretty Blue Eyes shot with the Nikon D800E and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens!

Shot in both RAW & JPEG, but all these photos are RAWs finished in Lightroom 4 ! :)

All the Gold'N'Virtue swimsuits with the main equation to Moving Dimensions Theory on the swimsuits: dx4/dt=ic. Yes I have a Ph.D. in physics! :) You can read more about my research and Hero's Journey Physics here:

herosjourneyphysics.wordpress.com/ MDT PROOF#2: Einstein (1912 Man. on Rel.) and Minkowski wrote x4=ict. Ergo dx4/dt=ic--the foundational equation of all time and motion which is on all the shirts and swimsuits. Every photon that hits my Nikon D800e's sensor does it by surfing the fourth expanding dimension, which is moving at c relative to the three spatial dimensions, or dx4/dt=ic!

Modeling both the the Gold 45 Revolver(TM) Gold'N'Virtue(TM) Black Bikini and the Red, White, an Blue American flag bikini!

May the HJM Goddesses guide, inspire, and exalt ye along yer heroic artistic journey! all the bets on your Heroic Journey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!

This is on the same site where I was trapped with Katie and the girl scouts after a tree fell during a storm, blocking the exit and knocking out the power and water. Our cabin was a short walk away.

"A Girl Scout camp is built on the Bell Plantation, which was part of the Underground Railroad. There is a deep sub-basement where the story goes that slaves died hiding from the Southerners. Unusual events take place in the house, lights going off and on by themselves, the radio turning on and changing channels. There is also a large chimney left over from another home that was burned down by the solider because the women was friends with the both the North and South. The women hid her children in the chimney when she heard the soldiers surrounding her home. They came into the home and took her out of the house and set it on fire. The children burned up in the house. The story is told that on moonlit nights the children can be heard crying in the chimney." (sic)

(source: www.marylandghosts.com/haunts/index.html#cecil)

See also:

weirdmaryland.blogspot.com/2007/03/anyone-missing-their-c...

St. Paul, Minnesota

May 13, 2013

Thousands of people gathered at the Minnesota state capitol building during the Minnesota Senate debate on a same sex marriage bill. The bill passed the Minnesota House of Representatives on May 9 by a vote of 75 to 59. The Minnesota Senate passed the bill this day by a vote of 37 to 30. The law delineates the rights of gay and lesbian couples to marry.

2013-05-13 This is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution to: Fibonacci Blue

Gay Pride Parade, Seattle, 2018.

Mohammed & Ali Hassan AlSaeed Arab Sheikh Costume Portrait at Home Studio

After a long day of me driving, my dad rests in a cheap hotel in Fillmore, Utah

In grade school I was horrified to learn that my dad was the same age as my classmates’ grandfathers. I began to obsess about about his imminent death. Grandfathers die, ergo, he would die, probably soon. I started coming home from school, expecting to find the worst. I stood motionless in doorways, monitoring his ribcage when he was sleeping. It was easy to imagine that he was’t breathing. Sometimes I would sneak in to the room to get a better look and examine his face, the deep wrinkles on his cheeks, the slightly angled incisors, visible confirmation I was his daughter.

When I moved out of my childhood home to my own life, every call that went to a voicemail-that-was-not-set-up-yet, inspired an image of him lifeless, ashen, splayed in awkward position on his kitchen floor. More than once I have braced myself, “Ok, this is finally really happening,” and called the police in his small town to go check if he was still alive.

There is a photo of him and me from 1972 laying on a bed covered in a mustard colored bedspread with pompom fringe. I was a few months old. Laying on my side, his head is next to me in profile gazing in to my eyes and the look between us is pure love. It’s a pity the undeveloped synapses didn’t leave me with the memory of that time, it is buried under complicated geological epochs. The years that followed were hard, a few sweet memories might have been a salve for teenage angst. There was chasm of nearly half a century between us. I struggled to win his approval but couldn’t bend myself to his elusive ideal of an obedient preacher’s daughter in the 1930’s.

In the decades that followed, there have been countless arguments and reconciliations. But, the nebulous biological tether that connected us was more forgiving than we were. One Christmas I gave my dad a photo of myself with President Clinton. I knew was not a fan, but I figured when your kid gets to meet a president, that’s a good thing. He was apoplectic and kicked my husband and I out of his house on Christmas eve. We didn’t speak for a year. One day he called me out of the blue as if nothing had happened. It was implied that if I went along with it, we could act as if nothing ever happened. I was so relieved and emotional, my chin trembled but I managed to keep my voice mostly steady. I got my dad back, and the price was pretending he hadn’t been a jerk.

Thankfully, decades of worrying have been for nothing. Today, my dad is 91 and fueled by a rage that cannot be extinguished; rage at his atrophying body, at Obama, but including all democrats, at the cost of living, at his ex-wife my mother, at me for my liberal views. Rage and isolation have made him strong. He lives alone with one eye and a twice healed shattered pelvis that has rendered him the most stereotypical of shufflers.

In the winter, my dad lives on the third floor walk-up of modest condo in sunny Arizona. He believes the stairs keep him fit. He gets coffee every morning at an affluent grocery store in Scottsdale. He brings his own mug and gets a deep discount. He likes to sit and socialize with the other seniors taking advantage of the bargain. They camp out around terracotta tables with a mismatched mugs and talk about recent medical procedures, their families, and politics. Later in the afternoon he takes a nap, listens to Rush Limbaugh, then goes to the VFW for a beer. Dinner is a handful of raw almonds from Costco. I often encourage healthier eating and the reply is “I’ve eaten healthy my whole life, from now on I’m going to eat whatever I want.”

In the summer he lives in Ashton, Idaho, near his farms. He built his house himself with the help of my brother one summer in the 1990’s. Neither of them are expert craftsmen. Yellow mesh dry wall tape can be seen under badly applied plaster in the corners, the porch can only support the weight of one human or risk collapse, the hot water is where the cold water should be. All the furniture has been bought at the DI, which is a cute nickname for the Mormon thrift store in the neighboring town. Everything functions marginally, but nothing works perfectly, not unlike our relationship.

My dad was once a good driver. Family holidays of my childhood consisted mostly of driving hundreds of miles to stay at a destination one night before a the return journey home. In the last decade, however his skills have declined. The drivers of Arizona have been generous and explicit with their feedback. My dad is oblivious to crude gestures, and not worried about the anxiety his driving may cause others. A man who never tips more than a dollar, is not terribly concerned with what others may think of him. He once told me “ A tip is a gift and you never have to give a gift.”

This year he agreed to let me take him to Idaho. I called him the night before I flew in to confirm he’d pick me up. “Oh, are you coming tomorrow?” he joked. “Saturday is a big day. It’s steak night at the VFW.” He says “doubleya” just like George Bush.He was waiting for me in the exact right place at the exact right time. I saw his truck in the distance and walked towards it. My sleeping bag winter coat was rolled up and shoved in to my now bulky carry-on. It felt good to walk in the warm Phoenix air. As I got closer, I looked more carefully. Where was he? I could see the headrests outlined clearly on both sides of the car,It looked empty. After a few more steps his face began to appear through the dusty windshield. He was there, shrunken within the silhouette of where he used to be.

He got out beaming and shuffled around the hood to me. I hugged him hard to feel if he was any less solid than he was a few months ago. He felt the same. I lifted my suitcase in the back of the truck, which was full of stones and we drove off. Rocks tumbled and clattered around the back, at every turn, start and stop. “Did you see my rock collection?” he asked as an orchestra of pebbles ping-ponged over the truck bed.

Before I had a chance to reply, he started to pull out on to a five lane road in front of a stream of fast moving cars. “Dad! Wait! Don’t you see those cars?” I shouted, immediately reproaching myself to soften my tone. “We’re not in a hurry. Let’s wait until the coast is clear.” I tried out an angelic voice, twisting like a yoga pose to look out the back window. “Ok, after this guy, you can go now.” He lurched into the second and third lanes at about 20 miles an hour. A few moments later he tried to use the indicator, but missed and the windshield wipers began to squeak and jump across the dry glass. We both laughed.

We set off the next morning. He made it clear that he wanted to get to Idaho as fast as possible, no stopping for fun or sightseeing. The endless chime of his unfastened seatbelt accompanied us as we navigated from driveway to road to highway.

Google maps suggested the fastest way is to go north over the Grand Canyon. Incredulous, my dad insists the fastest way is through Las Vegas. “I hope you’re not planning to squander my inheritance in some casino” I say as part of an ongoing joke we have about how much he spends in casinos. He’ll often call me to report excitedly he won $50 or so, and then reveal he spent $100 to do it.

We headed west and passed through boring places with interesting names like “Surprise” or ‘Nothing.” Comfortable silence took over over but not before he tried to needle me a little about politics. He follows the Republican party like a sleepwalking lemming and gleefully mentions he supports outlawing abortion. I took the bait and told him, “As your daughter, you are telling me that you don’t support me or my choices, it’s insulting. Plus you are an atheist.” He replied “I’m a Christian atheist.” I couldn’t argue with that.

I sipped truck stop coffee out of a trough-sized reusable cup, ignored him, and watched the landscape transition from beige to red. Saguaro cacti gave us the finger for a couple hundred miles. My dad fell asleep to the drone of the wheels on the seams of the highway.

A few years ago I got my dad an iPad, hoping that we could share photos and that he could enjoy the splendors of the modern age. It didn’t really work. He has two bookmarks in his browser; one for a site that publishes the daily price for alfalfa, and the obituary page of the Rock Springs Rocket, the newspaper from his hometown.

When we got to Idaho we had dinner at the local diner use their wifi. “Dead, dead, dead” he said to himself as he drew a finger down the screen. “I’ve outlived just about everyone I know, and that in itself is an achievement.” I asked him if he’s afraid of dying. He looks at me like I just asked him to teach me to tie my shoes and answer’s “Not all all, why? Do you think I should be? I’m going to die Natalie, there is not doubt about that. When, where, how, I don’t know, maybe it will happen in 10 minutes. When you get to be 90 years old, you are kind of living are borrowed time, so I am just going to live my normal life.” He's been living on borrowed time my whole life, I think to myself.

Los Angeles, California 2014.

Hasselblad Xpan on Ilford HP5 Plus.

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The Garuda is a large bird-like creature, or humanoid bird that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Garuda is the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila. The brahminy kite and phoenix are considered to be the contemporary representations of Garuda. Indonesia adopts a more stylistic approach to the Garuda's depiction as its national symbol, where it depicts a Javanese eagle (being much larger than a kite).

ABOUT GARUDA

In Hinduism, Garuda is a Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. This ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun.

Garuda is known as the eternal sworn enemy of the Nāga serpent race and known for feeding exclusively on snakes, such behavior may have referred to the actual short-toed eagle of India. The image of Garuda is often used as the charm or amulet to protect the bearer from snake attack and its poison, since the king of birds is an implacable enemy and "devourer of serpent". Garudi Vidya is the mantra against snake poison to remove all kinds of evil.

His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that a dependent Upanishad, the Garudopanishad, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda - Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna, Tarkshya, Vainateya, Vishnuratha and others. The Vedas provide the earliest reference of Garuda, though by the name of Śyena, where this mighty bird is said to have brought nectar to earth from heaven. The Puranas, which came into existence much later, mention Garuda as doing the same thing, which indicates that Śyena (Sanskrit for eagle) and Garuda are the same. One of the faces of Śrī Pañcamukha Hanuman is Mahavira Garuda. This face points towards the west. Worship of Garuda is believed to remove the effects of poisons from one's body. In Tamil Vaishnavism Garuda and Hanuman are known as "Periya Thiruvadi" and "Siriya Thiruvadi" respectively.

In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 30), in the middle of the battlefield "Kurukshetra", Krishna explaining his omnipresence, says - " as son of Vinata, I am in the form of Garuda, the king of the bird community (Garuda)" indicating the importance of Garuda.

Garuda wears the serpent Adisesha on his left small toenail and the serpent Gulika on his right cerebral cortex. The serpent Vasuki forms his sacred thread. The cobra Takshaka forms his belt on his hip. The snake Karkotaka is worn as his necklace. The snakes Padma and Mahapadma are his ear rings. The snake Shankachuda adorns his divine hair. He is flanked by his two wives ‘Rudra’ and ‘Sukeerthi’ or (Sukirthi). These are all invoked in Vedanta Desika's Garuda Panchashath and Garuda Dandaka compositions. Garuda flanked with his consorts 'Rudra' and 'Sukirthi' can be seen worshipped in an ancient Soumya Keshava temple in Bindiganavile (or Mayura puri in Sanskrit ) in Karnataka state of India.

Garuda Vyuha is worshiped in Tantra for Abhichara and to protect against Abhichara. However, the interesting thing is that Garuda is the Sankarshna form of the lord who during creation primarily possesses the knowledge aspect of the lord (among Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha forms). The important point is that Garuda represents the five vayus within us : prana, apana, vyana, udana, samana through his five forms Satya, Suparna, Garuda, Tarkshya, Vihageshwara. These five vayus through yoga can be controlled through Pranayama which can lead to Kundalini awakening leading to higher levels of consciousness.

Garuda plays an important role in Krishna Avatar in which Krishna and Satyabhama ride on Garuda to kill Narakasura. On another occasion, Lord Hari rides on Garuda to save the devotee elephant Gajendra. It is also said that Garuda's wings when flying will chant the Vedas.

With the position of Garuda's hands and palms, he is also called 'Kai Yendhi Perumal', in Tamil.

IN THE MAHABHARATA

BIRTH AND DEEDS

The story of Garuda's birth and deeds is told in the first book of the great epic Mahabharata.[4] According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing their plea, reduced himself in size and energy.

Garuda's father was the creator-rishi Kasyapa. He had two wives, Vinata and Kadru, who were daughters of Prajapathi Daksha. Kasyapa, on the pleadings of his wives, granted them their wishes; Vinata wished for two sons and Kadru wished for thousand snakes as her sons. Both laid eggs, while the thousand eggs of Kadru hatched early (after steaming the eggs to hatch) into snakes, the hatching of two eggs of Vinata did not take place for a long time. Impatient, Vinata broke open one egg, which was half formed with the upper half only as a human and was thus deformed. Her half formed son cursed her that she would be slave for her sister (she was her rival) for a long time by which time her second son would be born who would save her from his curse; her first son who flew away and came to prominence as Aruna, the red spectacle seen as the Sun rises in the morning, and as also charioteer of the Sun. The second egg hatched after a long time during which period Vinata was the servant of her sister as she had lost a bet with her. When the second egg hatched, a fully grown, shining and of mighty sized bird form emerged as Garuda, the king of birds. Garuda was thus born.

One day, Vinata entered into and lost a foolish bet, as a result of which she became enslaved to her sister. Resolving to release his mother from this state of bondage, Garuda approached the serpents and asked them what it would take to purchase her freedom. Their reply was that Garuda would have to bring them the elixir of immortality, also called amrita. It was a tall order. The amrita at that time found itself in the possession of the gods, who guarded it zealously, since it was the source of their immortality. They had ringed the elixir with a massive fire that covered the sky. They had blocked the way to the elixir with a fierce mechanical contraption of sharp rotating blades. And finally, they had stationed two gigantic poisonous snakes next to the elixir as deadly guardians.

Undaunted, Garuda hastened toward the abode of the gods intent on robbing them of their treasure. Knowing of his design, the gods met him in full battle-array. Garuda, however, defeated the entire host and scattered them in all directions. Taking the water of many rivers into his mouth, he extinguished the protective fire the gods had thrown up. Reducing his size, he crept past the rotating blades of their murderous machine. And finally, he mangled the two gigantic serpents they had posted as guards. Taking the elixir into his mouth without swallowing it, he launched again into the air and headed toward the eagerly waiting serpents. En route, he encountered Vishnu. Rather than fight, the two exchanged promises. Vishnu promised Garuda the gift of immortality even without drinking from the elixir, and Garuda promised to become Vishnu's mount. Flying onward, he met Indra the god of the sky. Another exchange of promises occurred. Garuda promised that once he had delivered the elixir, thus fulfilling the request of the serpents, he would make it possible for Indra to regain possession of the elixir and to take it back to the gods. Indra in turn promised Garuda the serpents as food.At long last, Garuda alighted in front of the waiting serpents. Placing the elixir on the grass, and thereby liberating his mother Vinata from her servitude, he urged the serpents to perform their religious ablutions before consuming it. As they hurried off to do so, Indra swooped in to make off with the elixir. The serpents came back from their ablutions and saw the elixir gone but with small droplets of it on the grass. They tried to lick the droplets and thereby split their tongues in two. From then onwards, serpents have split tongues and shed their skin as a kind of immortality. From that day onward, Garuda was the ally of the gods and the trusty mount of Vishnu, as well as the implacable enemy of snakes, upon whom he preyed at every opportunity.

DESCENDANTS

According to the Mahabharata, Garuda had six sons (Sumukha, Suvarna, Subala, Sunaama, Sunethra and Suvarchas) from whom were descended the race of birds. The members of this race were of great might and without compassion, subsisting as they did on their relatives the snakes. Vishnu was their protector.

AS A SYMBOL

Throughout the Mahabharata, Garuda is invoked as a symbol of impetuous violent force, of speed, and of martial prowess. Powerful warriors advancing rapidly on doomed foes are likened to Garuda swooping down on a serpent. Defeated warriors are like snakes beaten down by Garuda. The field marshal Drona uses a military formation named after Garuda. Krishna even carries the image of Garuda on his banner.

IN BUDDHISM

In Buddhist mythology, the Garuda (Pāli: garuḷā) are enormous predatory birds with intelligence and social organization. Another name for the Garuda is suparṇa (Pāli: supaṇṇa), meaning "well-winged, having good wings". Like the Naga, they combine the characteristics of animals and divine beings, and may be considered to be among the lowest devas.

The exact size of the Garuda is uncertain, but its wings are said to have a span of many miles. This may be a poetic exaggeration, but it is also said that when a Garuda's wings flap, they create hurricane-like winds that darken the sky and blow down houses. A human being is so small compared to a Garuda that a man can hide in the plumage of one without being noticed (Kākātī Jātaka, J.327). They are also capable of tearing up entire banyan trees from their roots and carrying them off.

Garudas are the great golden-winged Peng birds. They also have the ability to grow large or small, and to appear and disappear at will. Their wingspan is 330 yojanas (one yojana being 8 miles long). With one flap of its wings, a Peng bird dries up the waters of the sea so that it can gobble up all the exposed dragons. With another flap of its wings, it can level the mountains by moving them into the ocean.

There were also the four garuda-kings: Great-Power-Virtue Garuda-King, Great-Body Garuda-King, Great-Fulfillment Garuda-King, and Free-At-Will Garuda-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.

The Garudas have kings and cities, and at least some of them have the magical power of changing into human form when they wish to have dealings with people. On some occasions Garuda kings have had romances with human women in this form. Their dwellings are in groves of the simbalī, or silk-cotton tree.

The Garuda are enemies to the nāga, a race of intelligent serpent- or dragon-like beings, whom they hunt. The Garudas at one time caught the nāgas by seizing them by their heads; but the nāgas learned that by swallowing large stones, they could make themselves too heavy to be carried by the Garudas, wearing them out and killing them from exhaustion. This secret was divulged to one of the Garudas by the ascetic Karambiya, who taught him how to seize a nāga by the tail and force him to vomit up his stone (Pandara Jātaka, J.518).

The Garudas were among the beings appointed by Śakra to guard Mount Sumeru and the Trāyastriṃśa heaven from the attacks of the asuras.

In the Maha-samaya Sutta (Digha Nikaya 20), the Buddha is shown making temporary peace between the Nagas and the Garudas.

The Thai rendering of Garuda (ครุฑ Krut) as Vishnu vehicle and Garuda's quest for elixir was based on Indian legend of Garuda. It was told that Garuda overcame many heavenly beings in order to gain the ambrosia (amrita) elixir. No one was able to get the better of him, not even Narai (Vishnu). At last, a truce was called and an agreement was made to settle the rancor and smooth all the ruffled feathers. It was agreed that when Narai is in his heavenly palace, Garuda will be positioned in a superior status, atop the pillar above Narai's residence. However, whenever Narai wants to travel anywhere, Garuda must serve as his transport.

The Sanskrit word Garuda has been borrowed and modified in the languages of several countries. In Burmese, Garudas are called galone (ဂဠုန်). In Burmese astrology, the vehicle of the Sunday planet is the galone. In the Kapampangan language of the Philippines, the native word for eagle is galura. In Japanese a Garuda is called karura (however, the form Garuda ガルーダ is used in recent Japanese fiction - see below).

For the Mongols, the Garuda is called Khan Garuda or Khangarid (Mongolian: Хангарьд). Before and after each round of Mongolian wrestling, wrestlers perform the Garuda ritual, a stylised imitation of the Khangarid and a hawk.

In the Qing Dynasty fiction The Story of Yue Fei (1684), Garuda sits at the head of the Buddha's throne. But when a celestial bat (an embodiment of the Aquarius constellation) flatulates during the Buddha’s expounding of the Lotus Sutra, Garuda kills her and is exiled from paradise. He is later reborn as Song Dynasty General Yue Fei. The bat is reborn as Lady Wang, wife of the traitor Prime Minister Qin Hui, and is instrumental in formulating the "Eastern Window" plot that leads to Yue's eventual political execution. It is interesting to note The Story of Yue Fei plays on the legendary animosity between Garuda and the Nagas when the celestial bird-born Yue Fei defeats a magic serpent who transforms into the unearthly spear he uses throughout his military career. Literary critic C. T. Hsia explains the reason why Qian Cai, the book's author, linked Yue with Garuda is because of the homology in their Chinese names. Yue Fei's courtesy name is Pengju (鵬舉). A Peng (鵬) is a giant mythological bird likened to the Middle Eastern Roc. Garuda's Chinese name is Great Peng, the Golden-Winged Illumination King (大鵬金翅明王).

As a cultural and national symbol

In India, Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia the eagle symbolism is represented by Garuda, a large mythical bird with eagle-like features that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology as the vahana (vehicle) of the god Vishnu. Garuda became the national emblem of Thailand and Indonesia; Thailand's Garuda is rendered in a more traditional anthropomorphic mythical style, while that of Indonesia is rendered in heraldic style with traits similar to the real Javan hawk-eagle.

INDIA

India primarily uses Garuda as a martial motif:

Garud Commando Force is a Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force, specializing in operations deep behind enemy lines

Brigade of the Guards of the Indian Army uses Garuda as their symbol

Elite bodyguards of the medieval Hoysala kings were called Garudas

Kerala and Andhra pradesh state road transport corporations use Garuda as the name for a/c moffusil buses

Garuda rock, a rocky cliff in Tirumala in Andhra pradesh

13th century Aragalur chief, Magadesan's, insignia was Rishabha the sacred bull and the Garuda

INDONESIA

Indonesia uses the Garuda, called the Garuda Pancasila, as its national symbol, it is somewhat intertwined with the concept of the phoenix.

Garuda Pancasila is coloured or gilt gold, symbolizes the greatness of the nation and is a representation of the elang Jawa or Javan hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi. The black color represents nature. There are 17 feathers on each wing, 8 on the lower tail, 19 on the upper tail and 45 on the neck, which represent the date Indonesia proclaimed its independence: 17 August 1945. The shield it carries with the Indonesian Panca Sila heraldry symbolizes self-defense and protection in struggle.

Indonesian national airline is Garuda Indonesia.

Indonesian Armed Forces United Nations peacekeeping missions is known as Pasukan Garuda or Garuda Contingent

Airlangga University, one of the oldest and leading university in Indonesia uses Garuda on its emblem. The emblem, containing a Garuda in a blue and yellow circle, is called "Garudamukha", and depicts Garuda as the bearer of knowledge, carrying a jug of Amrita, the water of eternity, symbolizing eternal knowledge.

In Bali and Java Garuda has become a cultural symbol, the wooden statue and mask of Garuda is a popular artworks and souvenirs.

In Bali, we can find the tallest Garuda statue of 18 metres tall made from tons of copper and brass. The statue is located in Garuda Wisnu Kencana complex.

Garuda has identified as Indonesian national football team in international games, namely "The Garuda Team".

The stylized brush stroke that resemble Garuda is appear in the logo of 2011 Southeast Asian Games, held in Palembang and Jakarta, Indonesia.

The stylized curves that took form of Garuda Pancasila is appear in the logo of Wonderful Indonesia tourism campaign.

THAILAND

Thailand uses the Garuda (Thai: ครุฑ, khrut) as its national symbol.

One form of the Garuda used in Thailand as a sign of the royal family is called Khrut Pha, meaning "Garuda, the vehicle (of Vishnu)."

The statue and images of Garuda adorned many Buddhist temples in Thailand, it also has become the cultural symbol of Thailand.

MONGOLIA

The Garuda, known as Khangarid, is the symbol of the capital city of Mongolia, Ulan Bator. According to popular Mongolian belief, Khangarid is the mountain spirit of the Bogd Khan Uul range who became a follower of Buddhist faith. Today he is considered the guardian of that mountain range and a symbol of courage and honesty.

The bird also gives its name to Hangard Aviation

Khangarid (Хангарьд), a football (soccer) team in the Mongolia Premier League also named after Garuda.

Garuda Ord (Гаруда Орд), a private construction and trading company based in Ulaanbaatar, also named after Garuda.

State Garuda (Улсын Гарьд) is a title given to the debut runner up in wrestling tournament during Mongolian National Festival Naadam.

SURINAME

In Suriname, there is a TV channel called Garuda. Suriname has a lot of people from Indonesia and Java, as it is a multicultural country.

WIKIPEDIA

Dixon Ridge Farms, Winters

***Found out she puts Vodka in her pie crust!

Anyway..... we all had a great time:-)

I googled Why put Vodka in pie crust? and here's the reason:

www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=11482

*** I did not print out their recipe, but here's the info about the Vodka, of which they use more Vodka than Stacie***

"Foolproof Pie Dough

From America's Test Kitchen Season 9: The Best Blueberry Pie

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

Unless you’re a practiced pie baker, it’s hard to get the same results every time. We wanted a recipe for pie dough that rolls out easily every time and produces a tender, flaky crust.

The first step was to determine the right fat. As with our basic dough, a combination of butter and shortening provided the best balance of flavor and tenderness. Once again, the best tool to cut the fat into the flour was the food processor. To ensure same-sized pieces of butter time after time, we eliminated the pieces entirely and made a paste instead. Rather than starting with all the flour in the processor, we put aside 1 cup of flour and processed the remaining 11/2 cups with all of the fat until it formed a unified paste. We added the reserved flour to the bowl and pulsed it until it was just evenly distributed. Finally, we tackled the tenderness issue, which is partially determined by the amount of water added. In order to roll easily, dough needs a generous amount of water, but more water makes crusts tough. We found the answer in the liquor cabinet: vodka. While gluten (the protein that makes crust tough) forms readily in water, it doesn’t form in ethanol, and vodka is 60 percent water and 40 percent ethanol. So adding 1/4 cup of vodka produced a moist, easy-to-roll dough that stayed tender. (The alcohol vaporizes in the oven, so you won’t taste it in the baked crust.) (less)

For one 9-inch Double-Crust Pie

Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (1/4 cup must be used to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter). "

**Although if you roll out the dough between parchment paper... more flour is not needed. I it just does't stick!****

August 26

And here we are, in Loveland. Still. The air con meant we slept like logs all night, and so woke refreshed and delighted to see another fine sunny day outside. We pack the cases, I mean the final pack, other than an overnight plastic carrier bag, ready for the flight on Sunday.

Downstairs for breakfast, to find there is a queue for the waffle machine. I like waffles, but not enough to queue for them as you have to make them yourself. In fact, apart from cereal, and coffee, we don’t eat much, somehow the sausage tastes the same whether is in in links or in a patty.

I have been friends online with someone from the Denver area since 2001 when I first went into the digital world. Over the years I have read Dawn’s mails and blog posts about her life, trials and tribulations, her marriage fall aprt and then she bring her three children up on her own. We have never met, and flying in/out of Denver I hoped it would be possible to meet up.

And it did.

Aurora was an hour’s drive from Loveland, braving Denver’s interstates and motorways, and marvelling as drivers ignored speed limits, and all other rules of the road. I take us along at the speed limit, following the instructions from the sat nav, along the busy main road to downtown before heading east. Traffic calmed down at least, and by the time we pulled off the interstate, it was almost rural with ploughed fields and dead grass abound.

Dawn lives in a trailer park, at the back of it, with views over the farmland. We drive round the park to find her waiting for us, waving like crazy. One of my best friends, and yet the first time we had ever met. It is the modern way.

We park the car round back, get out and hug like crazy. What a wonderful meeting it was, a first time meeting and yet best friends, best friends who knew so much about each other thanks to the words we both write.

Her fiance had driven over from Iowa to meet us too, and Doug was a fine gentleman for sure, and we greeted him with warm handshakes too.

They had planned a day out for us, up in the mountains and the words “cog railway” was mentioned. I was excited, but had no idea what to expect.

We got in Doug’s car, and we set off for Colorado Springs, along another interstate sandwiched between two railroads, and I was very happy as both lines were busy with long freight trains. The land began to rise quickly, and soon we were back in the mountains, the rusty red Jurassic rock contrasting well with the blue skies above.

From Colorado Springs, we drive to Manitou Springs, where despite it being the height of f the tourist season, the local council seemed to be digging up every road in the picturesque town centre. We drive along and find a car park, so for five dollar, we park until ten at night, if we wanted.

Manitou Springs is a thriving town, lots of ftny independant arty shops, restaurants and bars, we walk along the main street and decide it was lunch time. So go into a place beside the river, although they didn’t seem too keen on serving us at first, but we get a table outside under the awning, and the menu is splendid, I could have had it all, but have a sausage taster platter, four local bangers, different meats and spices, with some pickled onion rings.

The we did some more wandering, window shopping, until the ex-armourer suggested that we might go into a bar to try some of the local craft ales. All agreed and then had to keep up with me as we searched for a bar with an empty table. Three pints of IPA were ordered, and an orange juice for Jools, as down in the deep valley, no air was moving, and it were mighty warm. So a cool frosty beer was just what was needed.

After drinking up, it was time to go back to the car for the short drive to the cog railway, where Doug had reserved us places on the quarter to three train up the mountain.

The car parked, tickets collected, we wait on the short platform fo the train to come down, disgorge passengers so we could climb on board. Jools and I were entranced by two hummingbirds buzzing about taking nectar from a feeder a few feet above our heads.

Three blasts on a whistle meant that the train was near to returning, so I go to the end of the platform to snap its arrival. I was the only person who did this, but I don’t care. A two car diesel came rattling down, bright red in colour and looking very Swiss.

Once the previous passengers had gotten off, we were allowed on, we all had reserved seats, so there was no need to worry, and we had seats on the left hand side, which, as it turned out would have the finest views once the train got above the treeline. But that was a long ride ahead.

Once the train was full, we clanked off, lurching onto the rack and hauling us up the mountain. The Pike’s Peak Cog Railway is the longest in the world, and highest in America. We go up through a narrow valley, crossing and recrossing a tumbling alpine stream, while a young lady gave us a puntastic commentary on stuff we might find interesting; diamond shaped rocks, waterfalls higher than Niagara, abandoned houses, demolished hotels. And wildlife.

Plentiful lower down the mountain were Aspen trees, like a paler silver birch, and looking fabulous, might be my new favourite tree. And there were pines. Lots of lines, and as the land opened out, the trees covered the slopes of the lower hills.

Just over halfway up, we passed through the treeline, meaning our views were uninterrupted to the higher peaks. At one of the crossovers, we spotted a couple of Marmots, beaver-like creatures who gladly accept any seeds or trail mix passengers might like to throw his way.

Up and up we went, closely following a single car train, meaning if you could just swivel round, you could get shots of it as it tackled the 1:4 gradient ahead.

We reach the peak, some 14,115 feet above sea level, the tracks stop with a simple buffer on the edge of a sheer drop hundreds of feet down. Sun shone brightly on the summit, making the red locos shine, it was fabulous, even if walking around made you breathless even on the slightest incline. I take hundreds of shots, of course, and it was quite crowded, as there is also a road up the mountain, and I spoke to one gentleman in his 60s who had cycled up it. I took my hat off to him, and he was rather pleased his effort was appreciated.

There is a shop up there, and a place selling “world famous donuts”, people sitting with us on the train had some and said the donuts were average. So maybe famous for being average?

Two toots on the whistle at quarter to five meant that we should reboard and get ready for the great descent down the mountain. Jools and I swapped places, so I now had a window seat, so I get a few more shots once we start down. Going back down would mean it would be warmer again, as it was only about 14 degrees at the peak, but 30 in the valley below.

Down and down we go, no waiting for other trains coming up at the switchovers as the line was closing, so we make good progress getting to the bottom in just over an hour. On the way down Jools and I spot flowers and fungi, but really there was so much to look at as we dropped down.

It was six when we got to the bottom, we huffed and puffed our way to the car from the station, up a slight rise in the road that made me breathless, it easy to forget even at the bottom of the hill we were over 6000 feet above sea level.

Doug started the car, fired up the air con and set course back home, the same route as before, but bathed in evening sunshine.

Dawn wanted to take us to her favourite restaurant, so we go to an outdoor mall made to look like a town centre, we find a parking spot, and walk to the McCabbes, only to find it closed and clearly not going to reopen. But there were other dining options, over the road a Montana grill, so we get a table there, and I have bison steak again, and Jools, Dawn and myself have huckleberry margaritas. As you do, and very nice they were.

Darkness had fallen, and Doug raced us back to the trailer, where he cracked open the 101 proof bourbon. Oh dear. Anyway, we talk and listen to music for an hour or so as the bottle empties and my memories are a little hazy after that.

And I suppose that means we went to bed at some point.

----------------------------------------

The Broadmoor Pikes Peak Cog Railway (also known as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway) is an Abt rack system cog railway with 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge track in Colorado, USA, climbing the well-known mountain Pikes Peak. The base station is in Manitou Springs, Colorado near Colorado Springs.

The railway is the highest in North America by a considerable margin. It was built and is operated solely for the tourist trade

The railway was started by Zalmon G. Simmons, inventor and founder of the Simmons Beautyrest Mattress Company. The company was founded in 1889 and limited service to the Halfway House Hotel was started in 1890. On June 30, 1891, the first train reached the summit.

A number of steam locomotives were built for the line by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, all rack-only locomotives with steeply inclined boilers to keep them level on the average 16% grades. Operating steam locomotives on such a line was back-breaking work and expensive, so when more modern forms of traction became available, the railway was eager to modernize.

A gasoline-powered railcar #7 was constructed in 1938. It was designed to be a cheaper alternative to the steam locomotives enabling economic service during quieter times of the year. Proving a huge success, the railway soon bought more internal combustion engined trains. This car is still on property having been re-engined with a more modern Cummins diesel.

The next were five 'streamlined' diesel locomotives from General Electric, which were equipped with matching passenger cars, acquired from 1939 onward.[1] These slowly supplanted the steam locomotives, though some steam operations persisted until the 1960s as backup power and to operate the snow-clearing train (where their greater weight meant they were less likely to derail). A number of the steam locomotives are now on static display, in Manitou and elsewhere, and the Railway still has an operational steam locomotive (#4) and an original coach. The steam locomotive was put out of service for many years before being retrieved from a museum and brought back to service in 1980.

In 1964 the railway needed more equipment, but General Electric was not interested in the business[citation needed]. The railway went abroad, to Switzerland, home of most of the world's cog railways. In 1964, the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in Winterthur provided two bright red railcars (railcars contain a seating compartment as well as engineer stand, eliminating the need for a separate pushing locomotive), very similar to equipment used on many Swiss railways. Unit 14 was delivered in 1964 with a pair of air cooled 8 cylinder diesel engines that proved to be less than satisfactory on the railroad above treeline. Unit 14 was returned to Switzerland and redesigned to have facilities for water cooling. Unit 14's twin, Unit 15, was also rebuilt to house a pair of water cooled Cummins 724's. Two more (Units 16 and 17) were built in 1968 to increase the railroads capacity. All four of these units eventually received new Cummins 855 diesels. As of 2017 all four original Swiss trains are still in operation at the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

As tourism increased in the 1970s the railway needed more capacity. In 1976 M&PPRy took delivery of two larger two-car articulated railcars from the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works of Winterthur, designated Train 18 and Train 19. Passing sidings were built in several places at about the same time, allowing trains to pass at various points on the mountainside. Trains could previously pass only at the Mountain View siding, permitting only three trains a day up the mountain. Eight trains per day became possible with the new equipment and sidings (two additional larger railcars were delivered from SLM; Unit 24 in 1984 and the last, Unit 25, in 1989).

Rolling stock on the M&PPRy consists of four 214-passenger articulated Swiss-built railcars, four 78-passenger Swiss-built railcars, four GE built locomotives (one being rebuilt in 2017 to modern specifications), one snowplow (#22 - built upon the frame of a GE locomotive), one 23-passenger diesel railcar (#7), one steam locomotive (#4 - built by Baldwin), a Winter-Weiss "streamliner" coach, and an original Wasson wooden coach (#104). Only the Swiss-built railcars carry regular passengers. The steam locomotive and passenger coaches are used on rare special occasions.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_and_Pike%27s_Peak_Railway

Same waterfall, different angle.

It is not often you can set a 5 second exposure in Wellington and get away without too much wind motion blur ;-)

..same flower from our garden. Experimenting with layers and selection tools in CS3. Tried a radial colour gradient background layer from white to dark green. I thought it might be a more nature-oriented background and help the flower pop out a bit. I can't decide if I prefer this or the black background...so why not have both!!!

slr680 x ip600

sorry. sorry.

Il Nuovo allestimento del museo Same - Treviglio - BG - 11/2018

Fiera in campo - Caresana Blot - VC - 3/2018

This fledgling cutie (same female red winged blackbird baby as previous post) was settling back down after a feeding. It was yet another hot day; I felt bad for the poor little thing!

Dedicated to him

Large size

Do you come together ever with him?

And is he dark enough?

Enough to see your light?

And do you brush your teeth before you kiss?

Do you miss my smell?

And is he bold enough to take you on?

Do you feel like you belong?

And does he drive you wild?

Or just mildly free?

What about me?

Well I know I make you cry

And I know sometimes you wanna die

But do you really feel alive without me?

If so, be free

If not, leave him for me

Before one of us ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzTRmFpXc_w

SAME DA 30

Cavalo Valpolicella Vr 23.08.2012

Same concept but with the extra block lines erased...

Asta RB Ritchie Bros - Caorso - PC - 12/2019

Raduno Same "Le Tigri Meccaniche" - Treviglio - BG - 4/2018

Same ole same ole me and what I do best.

Nikon D810 & 4K Sony Camcorder & 45surf Achilles' Odyssey T-shirt Photos Taken by the Nikon D800E! She (The d800E) Was Jealous, But I still Love Her!

The 45surfer bracket setup for simultaneous stills and video (Nikon D810 + 150-600mm Tamron Zoom Lens for Nikon + the new 4K Sony FDR-AX100/B 4K Video Camcorder) allows me to shoot 4K video alongside 36mp stills of the Surf Goddesses! Will be using this setup at the Vans US Open of Surfing in late July in Huntington Beach (Surf City USA!), and the Hurley Pro at Trestles in September! This power was simply inconceivable a few short years ago! There was a lull so I shot some of the 45surf t shirts and 45surf hoodies too! Fall is around the corner when I sleep in my hoody every night as the Malibu Canyons nights get cold!

The Nikon D810 is the hottest model I have shot to date, up there with the swimsuit bikini model goddesses! :)

JK, I could shoot the bikini models with a Canon 5D MK3 even and they'd still look good.

Shown with the Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Nikon ! For shooting Alana Blanchard & the surf goddesses at the Van's US Open in a couple weeks!

Nikon D810 + Sony FDR-AX100/B 4K Video Camcroder Photos Taken by Nikon D800E! She (the D800E) Was Jealous, But I still Love Her!

The Nikon D 810 is mounted on a sturdy aluminum Vanguard Tripod or quality Manfroto Monopod! I prefer the alunimum over the carbon as it is thinner and heavier and has less of a chance of getting caught in a gust and tipping over! Although it happened once at the grand canyon, but I caught it! But the lightweight carbon-fiber with the wider legs would blow away! :)

All the best on your Epic Hero's Journey from Johnny Ranger McCoy! :)

I began the Kent church project back in 2008, and Barham was one of the first dozen I visited. I took a few shots, and from then I remember the window showing a very fine St George and a balcony from where the bells are rung giving great views down the church.

I have not stepped foot inside a Kent church since the end of September, and so I felt I needed to get back into it, as the orchid season is possibly just four months away, and then I will be lost for months.

Barham is like an old friend; it lies on a short cut from the A2 to the Elham Valley, so I pass down here many times a year, zig-zaggin at its western end as the road heads down towards the Nailbourne.

You can see the spire from the A2, nestling in the valley below, and yet being so close to a main road, the lane that winds it way through the timber framed and clapboard houses is wide enough to allow just one car to pass at a time.

Unusually, there is plentiful parking on the south side of the church, and from there there is a great view of the southern face of the church with its magnificent spire.

As hoped, it was open, and the church has so much more than I remember from what, eight years back.

Rows of modern chairs have replaced pews, but it looks good like thet. The church has a good collection of Victorian glass, some better than others, and there is that St George window at the western end of the north wall.

------------------------------------------

A long and light church, best viewed from the south. Like nearby Ickham it is cruciform in plan, with a west rather than central, tower. Sometimes this is the result of a later tower being added, but here it is an early feature indeed, at least the same age (if not earlier) than the body of the church. Lord Kitchener lived in the parish, so his name appears on the War Memorial. At the west end of the south aisle, tucked out of the way, is the memorial to Sir Basil Dixwell (d 1750). There are two twentieth century windows by Martin Travers. The 1925 east window shows Our Lady and Child beneath the typical Travers Baroque Canopy. Under the tower, affixed to the wall, are some Flemish tiles, purchased under the will of John Digge who died in 1375. His memorial brass survives in the Vestry.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Barham

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Many churches in Kent are well known for their yew trees but St. John the Baptist at Barham is noteworthy for its magnificent beech trees.

The Church guide suggests that there has been a Church here since the 9th Century but the present structure was probably started in the 12th Century although Syms, in his book about Kent Country Churches, states that there is a hint of possible Norman construction at the base of the present tower. The bulk of the Church covers the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular periods of building. Many of the huge roof beams, ties and posts are original 14th Century as are the three arches leading into the aisle..

In the Northwest corner is a small 13th Century window containing modern glass depicting St. George slaying the dragon and dedicated to the 23rd Signal Company. The Church also contains a White Ensign which was presented to it by Viscount Broome, a local resident. The Ensign was from 'H.M.S. Raglan' which was also commanded by Viscount Broome. The ship was sunk in January, 1918 by the German light cruiser 'Breslau'.

The walls contain various mural tablets. Hanging high on the west wall is a helmet said to have belonged to Sir Basil Dixwell of Broome Park. The helmet probably never saw action but was carried at his funeral.

The floor in the north transept is uneven because some years ago three brasses were found there. According to popular medieval custom engraved metal cut-outs were sunk into indented stone slabs and secured with rivets and pitch. In order to save them from further damage the brasses were lifted and placed on the walls. The oldest dates from about 1370 is of a civilian but very mutilated. The other two are in good condition and dated about 1460. One is of a woman wearing the dress of a widow which was similar to a nun. The other is of a bare headed man in plate armour. These are believed to be of John Digges and his wife Joan.

At the west end of the church is a list of Rectors and Priests-in-Charge - the first being Otho Caputh in 1280. Notice should be made of Richard Hooker (1594), the author of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. The tiles incorporated into the wall were originally in place in the Chancel about 1375. They were left by John Digges whose Will instructed that he was to be buried in the Chancel and "my executors are to buy Flanders tiles to pave the said Chancel".

The 14th century font is large enough to submerse a baby - as would have been the custom of the time. The bowl is octagonal representing the first day of the new week, the day of Christ's resurrection. The cover is Jacobean.

The Millennium Window in the South Transept was designed and constructed by Alexandra Le Rossignol and was dedicated in July 2001. The cost of the project (approximately £6,500) was raised locally with the first donation being made by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey.

The porch contains two wooden plaques listing the names of men from the village who were killed in the Great Wars - among them being Field Marshall Lord Kitchener of Broome Park.

www.barham-kent.org.uk/landmark_church.htm

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ANTIENTLY written Bereham, lies the next parish eastward. There are five boroughs in it, viz. of Buxton, Outelmeston, Derrington, Breach, and Shelving. The manor of Bishopsborne claims over almost the whole of this parish, at the court of which the four latter borsholders are chosen, and the manors of Reculver and Adisham over a small part of it.

BARHAM is situated at the confines of that beautiful country heretofore described, the same Nailbourne valley running through it, near which, in like manner the land is very fertile, but all the rest of it is a chalky barren soil. On the rise of the hill northward from it, is the village called Barham-street, with the church, and just beyond the summit of it, on the further side Barham court, having its front towards the downs, over part of which this parish extends, and gives name to them. At the foot of the same hill, further eastward, is the mansion of Brome, with its adjoining plantatious, a conspicuous object from the downs, to which by inclosing a part of them, the grounds extend as far as the Dover road, close to Denne-hill, and a costly entrance has been erected into them there. By the corner of Brome house the road leads to the left through Denton-street, close up to which this parish extends, towards Folkestone; and to the right, towards Eleham and Hythe. One this road, within the bounds of this parish, in a chalky and stony country, of poor barren land, there is a large waste of pasture, called Breach down, on which there are a number of tumuli, or barrows. By the road side there have been found several skeletons, one of which had round its neck a string of beads, of various forms and sizes, from a pidgeon's egg to a pea, and by it a sword, dagger, and spear; the others lay in good order, without any particular thing to distinguish them. (fn. 1)

In the Nailbourne valley, near the stream, are the two hamlets of Derrington and South Barham; from thence the hills, on the opposite side of it to those already mentioned, rise southward pretty high, the tops of them being covered with woods, one of them being that large one called Covert wood, a manor belonging to the archbishop, and partly in this parish, being the beginning of a poor hilly country, covered with stones, and enveloped with frequent woods.

BARHAM, which, as appears by the survey of Domesday, formerly lay in a hundred of its own name, was given anno 809, by the estimation of seven ploughlands, by Cenulph, king of Kent, to archbishop Wlfred, free from all secular demands, except the trinoda necessitas, but this was for the use of his church; for the archbishop, anno 824, gave the monks lands in Egelhorne and Langeduna, in exchange for it. After which it came into the possession of archbishop Stigand, but, as appears by Domesday, not in right of his archbishopric, at the taking of which survey, it was become part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, under the title of whose lands it is thus entered in it:

In Berham hundred, Fulbert holds of the bishop Berham. It was taxed at six sulings. The arable land is thirty two carucates. In demesne there are three carucates, and fifty two villeins, with twenty cottagers having eighteen carucates. There is a church, and one mill of twenty shillings and four pence. There are twentlyfive fisheries of thirty-five shillings all four pence. Of average, that is service, sixty shilling. Of herbage twenty six shillings, and twenty acres of meadow Of pannage sufficient for one hundred and fifty hogs. Of this manor the bishop gave one berewic to Herbert, the son of Ivo, which is called Hugham, and there be has one carucate in demesne, and twelve villeins, with nine carucates, and twenty acres of meadow. Of the same manor the bisoop gave to Osberne Paisforere one suling and two mills of fifty sbillings, and there is in demesne one carucate, and four villeins with one carucate. The whole of Barbam, in the time of king Edward the Confessor, was worth forty pounds, when be received it the like, and yet it yielded to him one hundred pounds, now Berhem of itself is worth forty pounds, and Hucham ten pounds, and this which Osberne bas six pounds, and the land of one Ralph, a knight, is worth forty shillings. This manor Stigand, the archbishop held, but it was not of the archbishopric, but was of the demesne ferm of king Edward.

On the bishop's disgrace four years afterwards, and his estates being confiscated to the crown, the seignory of this parish most probably returned to the see of Canterbury, with which it has ever since continued. The estate mentioned above in Domesday to have been held of the bishop by Fulbert, comprehended, in all likelihood, the several manors and other estates in this parish, now held of the manor of Bishopsborne, one of these was THE MANOR AND SEAT OF BARHAM-COURT, situated near the church, which probably was originally the court-lodge of the manor of Barham in very early times, before it became united to that of Bishopsborne, and in king Henry II.'s time was held of the archbishop by knight's service, by Sir Randal Fitzurse, who was one of the four knights belonging to the king's houshould, who murdered archbishop Becket anno 1170; after perpetrating which, Sir Randal fled into Ireland, and changed his name to Mac-Mahon, and one of his relations took possession of this estate, and assumed the name of Berham from it; and accordingly, his descendant Warin de Berham is recorded in the return made by the sheriff anno 12 and 13 king John, among others of the archbishop's tenants by knight's service, as holding lands in Berham of him, in whose posterity it continued till Thomas Barham, esq. in the very beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated it to the Rev. Charles Fotherbye, dean of Canterbury, who died possessed of it in 1619. He was eldest son of Martin Fotherby, of Great Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, and eldest brother of Martin Fotherby, bishop of Salisbury. He had a grant of arms, Gules, a cross of lozenges flory, or, assigned to him and Martin his brother, by Camden, clarencieux, in 1605. (fn. 2) His only surviving son Sir John Fotherbye, of Barham-court, died in 1666, and was buried in that cathedral with his father. At length his grandson Charles, who died in 1720, leaving two daughters his coheirs; Mary, the eldest, inherited this manor by her father's will, and afterwards married Henry Mompesson, esq. of Wiltshire, (fn. 3) who resided at Barhamcourt, and died in 1732, s. p. and she again carried this manor in marriage to Sir Edward Dering, bart. of Surrenden, whose second wife she was. (fn. 4) He lest her surviving, and three children by her, Charles Dering, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Farnaby, bart. since deceased, by whom he has an only surviving daughter, married to George Dering, esq. of Rolling, the youngest son of the late Sir Edw. Dering, bart. and her first cousin; Mary married Sir Robert Hilyard, bart. and Thomas Dering, esq. of London. Lady Dering died in 1775, and was succeeded by her eldest son Charles Dering, esq. afterwards of Barhamcourt, the present owner of it. It is at present occupied by Gen. Sir Charles Grey, bart. K. B. commanderin chief of the southern district of this kingdom.

THE MANORS OF BROME and OUTELMESTONE, alias DIGGS COURT, are situated in this parish; the latter in the valley, at the western boundary of it, was the first residence in this county of the eminent family of Digg, or, as they were asterwards called, Diggs, whence it gained its name of Diggs-court. John, son of Roger de Mildenhall, otherwise called Digg, the first-mentioned in the pedigrees of this family, lived in king Henry III.'s reign, at which time he, or one of this family of the same name, was possessed of the aldermanry of Newingate, in Canterbury, as part of their inheritance. His descendants continued to reside at Diggs-court, and bore for their arms, Gules, on a cross argent, five eagles with two heads displayed, sable, One of whom, James Diggs, of Diggs-court, died in 1535. At his death he gave the manor and seat of Outelmeston, alias Diggs-court, to his eldest son (by his first wife) John, and the manor of Brome to his youngest son, (by his second wife) Leonard, whose descendants were of Chilham castle. (fn. 5) John Diggs, esq. was of Diggs-court, whose descendant Thomas Posthumus Diggs, esq. about the middle of queen Elizabeth's reign, alienated this manor, with Diggs-place, to Capt. Halsey, of London, and he sold it to Sir Tho. Somes, alderman of London, who again parted with it to Sir B. Dixwell, bart. and he passed it away to Sir Thomas Williams, bart. whose heir Sir John Williams, bart. conveyed it, about the year 1706, to Daniel and Nathaniel Matson, and on the death of the former, the latter became wholly possessed of it, and his descendant Henry Matson, about the year 1730, gave it by will to the trustees for the repair of Dover harbour, in whom it continues at this time vested for that purpose.

BUT THE MANOR OF BROME, which came to Leonard Diggs, esq. by his father's will as above-mentioned, was sold by him to Basil Dixwell, esq. second son of Cha. Dixwell, esq. of Coton, in Warwickshire, then of Tevlingham, in Folkestone, who having built a handsome mansion for his residence on this manor, removed to it in 1622. In the second year of king Charles I. he served the office of sheriff with much honour and hospitality; after which he was knighted, and cveated a baronet. He died unmarried in 1641, having devised this manor and seat, with the rest of his estates, to his nephew Mark Dixwell, son of his elder brother William, of Coton above-mentioned, who afterwards resided at Brome, whose son Basil Dixwell, esq. of Brome, was anno 12 Charles II. created a baronet. He bore for his arms, Argent, a chevron, gules, between three sleurs de lis, sable. His only son Sir Basil Dixwell, bart. of Brome, died at Brome,s. p. in 1750, and devised this, among the rest of his estates, to his kinsman George Oxenden, esq. second son of Sir Geo. Oxenden, bart. of Dean, in Wingham, with an injunction for him to take the name and arms of Dixwell, for which an act passed anno 25 George II. but he died soon afterwards, unmarried, having devised this manor and seat to his father Sir George Oxenden, who settled it on his eldest and only surviving son, now Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. who is the present owner of it. He resides at Brome, which he has, as well as the grounds about it, much altered and improved for these many years successively.

SHELVING is a manor, situated in the borough of its own name, at the eastern boundary of this parish, which was so called from a family who were in antient times the possessors of it. John de Shelving resided here in king Edward I.'s reign, and married Helen, daughter and heir of John de Bourne, by whom he had Waretius de Shelving, whose son, J. de Shelving, of Shelvingborne, married Benedicta de Hougham, and died possessed of this manor anno 4 Edward III. After which it descended to their daughter Benedicta, who carried it in marriage to Sir Edmund de Haut, of Petham, in whose descendants, in like manner as Shelvington, alias Hautsborne, above-described, it continued down to Sir William Haut, of Hautsborne, in king Henry VIII's reign, whose eldest daughter and coheir Elizabeth carried it in marriage to Tho. Colepeper, esq. of Bedgbury, who in the beginning of king Edward VI.'s reign passed it away to Walter Mantle, whose window carried it by a second marriage to Christopher Carlell, gent. who bore for his arms, Or, a cross flory, gules; one of whose descendants sold it to Stephen Hobday, in whose name it continued till Hester, daughter of Hills Hobday, carried it in marriage to J. Lade, esq. of Boughton, and he having obtained an act for the purpose, alienated it to E. Bridges, esq. of Wootton-court, who passed away part of it to Sir George Oxenden, bart. whose son Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome, now owns it; but Mr. Bridges died possessed of the remaining part in 1780, and his eldest son the Rev. Edward Timewell Brydges, is the present possessor of it.

MAY DEACON, as it has been for many years past both called and written, is a seat in the southern part of this parish, adjoining to Denton-street, in which parish part of it is situated. Its original and true name was Madekin, being so called from a family who were owners of it, and continued so, as appears by the deeds of it, till king Henry VI's reign, in the beginning of which it passed from that name to Sydnor, in which it continued till king Henry VIII.'s reign, when Paul Sydnor, who upon his obtaining from the king a grant of Brenchley manor, removed thither, and alienated this seat to James Brooker, who resided here, and his sole daughter and heir carried it in marriage, in queen Elizabeth's reign, to Sir Henry Oxenden, of Dene, in Wingham, whose grandson Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. sold it in 1664, to Edward Adye, esq. the second son of John Adye, esq. of Doddington, one of whose daughters and coheirs, Rosamond, entitled her husband George Elcock, esq. afterwards of Madekin, to it, and his daughter and heir Elizabeth carried it in marriage to Capt. Charles Fotherby, whose eldest daughter and coheir Mary, entitled her two successive husbands, Henry Mompesson, esq. and Sir Edward Dering, bart. to the possession of it, and Charles Dering, esq. of Barham-court, eldest son of the latter, by her, is at this time the owner of it. The seat is now inhabited by Henry Oxenden, esq.

There are no parochial charities. The poor constantly maintained are about forty, casually fifteen.

THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanryof Bridge.

The church, which is dedicated to St. John Baptist, is a handsome building, consisting of a body and side isle, a cross or sept, and a high chancel, having a slim tall spire at the west end, in which are four bells. In the chancel are memorials for George Elcock, esq. of Madeacon, obt. 1703, and for his wife and children; for Charles Bean, A. M. rector, obt. 1731. A monument for William Barne, gent. son of the Rev. Miles Barne. His grandfather was Sir William Barne, of Woolwich, obt. 1706; arms, Azure, three leopards faces, argent. Several memorials for the Nethersoles, of this parish. In the south sept is a magnificent pyramid of marble for the family of Dixwell, who lie buried in a vault underneath, and inscriptions for them. In the north sept is a monument for the Fotherbys. On the pavement, on a gravestone, are the figures of an armed knight (his feet on a greyhound) and his wife; arms, A cross, quartering six lozenges, three and three. In the east window these arms, Gules, three crowns, or—Gules, three lions passant in pale, or. This chapel was dedicated to St. Giles, and some of the family of Diggs were buried in it; and there are memorials for several of the Legrands. There are three tombs of the Lades in the church-yard, the inscriptions obliterated, but the dates remaining are 1603, 1625, and 1660. There were formerly in the windows of this church these arms, Ermine, a chief, quarterly, or, and gules, and underneath, Jacobus Peccam. Another coat, Bruine and Rocheleyquartered; and another, Gules, a fess between three lions heads, erased, argent, and underneath,Orate p ais Roberti Baptford & Johe ux; which family resided at Barham, the last of whom, Sir John Baptford, lest an only daughter and heir, married to John Earde, of Denton.

¶The church of Barham has always been accounted as a chapel to the church of Bishopsborne, and as such is included in the valuation of it in the king's books. In 1588 here were communicants one hundred and eighty; in 1640 there were two hundred and fifty.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp350-358

"We are the Same", say Jewish and Arab youth.

"Wow wow wow, I have no specific words to describe two of the most spectacular days I have ever had in my life,” wrote Eman Darawshe, English Language coordinator at Iksal High School on her FaceBook page. Her eleventh-grade grade Muslim students met with Jewish students from Afula for a two-day intensive negotiation workshop facilitated by NGO Pathways. The program uses Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation (PON) methodology, specifically designed to teach over 400 eleventh-grade students from 16 high schools around the country. The workshop pairs together schools from different communities, whose students learn basic negotiation skills by participating in simulations and exercises to reinforce these life skills. This unique program opens up new lines of communication between Arab and Jewish youth who seldom have the opportunity to meet one another by providing a platform to break down stereotypes and prejudice and explore areas of mutual respect, tolerance and understanding.

Raduno Same "Le Tigri Meccaniche" - Treviglio - BG - 4/2018

Established in 1753 as the first publically owned museum in Europe, The British Museum houses more than 7 million objects that illustrate and document human cultural history. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887. Until 1997, when the British Library opened to the public, it was unique in that it housed both a national museum and library in the same building.

Originally based on the collections of physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane, the museum opened to the public on January 15, 1759, in the Montagu House. The first notable addition to the collection of antiquities was by Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador to Naples, who sold his collection of Greek and Roman artifacts to the museum in 1782. After the defeat of the French in the Battle of the Nile in 1801 the British Museum acquired more Egyptian sculpture and the Rosetta Stone. Many Greek sculptures followed, notably the Towneley collection in 1805 and the Elgin Marbles in 1816. The museum started to outgrow its surroundings. The 1822 donation King George III's personal library of 65,000 volumes, 19,000 pamphlets, maps, charts and topographical drawings necessitated a redesign.

The new building's Greek Revival façade facing Great Russell Street is a characteristic building of Sir Robert Smirke, with 44 columns in the Ionic order 13.7 metres high, closely based on those of the temple of Athena Polias at Priene in Asia Minor. The pediment over the main entrance, decorated by sculptures by Sir Richard Westmacott depicting The Progress of Civilization, consisting of fifteen allegorical figures, was installed in 1852.

The construction commenced around the courtyard with the East Wing (The King's Library) in 1823-28, followed by the North Wing (now the Welcome Gallery) in 1833-38, and then northern half of the West Wing (The Egyptian Sculpture Gallery) 1826-31. The Montagu House was demolished from 1842 to make room for the final part of the West Wing, completed in 1846, and the South Wing, with its great colonnade, completed in 1847 when the Front Hall and Great Staircase were opened to the public.

Under the supervision of Italian librarian Antonio Panizzi, called the "second founder", the British Museum Library quintupled in size. The quadrangle at the centre of Smirke's design proved to be a waste of space and was filled, at Panizzi's request, by a circular Reading Room of cast iron, designed by Smirke's brother, Sydney Smirke, from 1854-57. At 42.6 metres in diameter it was then the second widest dome in the world, the Pantheon in Rome being slightly wider.

The next major addition was the White Wing in 1882-84 by architect being Sir John Taylor. In 1895 the Trustees purchased the 69 houses surronding the Museum with the intention of filling the block with new galleries. Only the Edward VII galleries in the centre of the North Front were ever constructed, though. It was built from 1906-14 to the design of Sir John James Burnet and now houses the Asian and Islamic collections. The Duveen Gallery, housing the Elgin Marbles, was designed by the American Beaux-Arts architect John Russell Pope. Although completed in 1938 it was hit by a bomb in 1940 and remained semi-derelict until reopening in 1962.

The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, opened in December 2000 at the center of the museum, is the largest covered square in Europe. Designed by engineering firm Buro Happold and architect Norman Foster, the roof is a glass and steel construction with 1,656 panes of uniquely shaped glass panes. At the centre of the Great Court is the Reading Room vacated by the British Library.

A walking trail in another area of Wascana Park, following the shoreline of the lake of the same name.

King County Executive Dow Constantine issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples just after midnight on December 6th, 2012 at the King County Administration Building in Seattle, Washington.

After midnight there were a couple hundred people congratulating newly licensed couples as they left the building, which happened every 3-4 minutes. By 2 AM only a handful of supporters remained, enthusiastically congratulating the couples, giving them roses and gift bags and taking their photos, still coming out at the rate of roughly one couple every 3-4 minutes. I left at about 4 AM, nearly hypothermic for the second time in a week...even the broadcast media people were holed up in their vans, almost all of the volunteers had gone home, and it was just like any other night...except that every 3-4 minutes, a happy, exhausted couple would leave the administration building with big marriage license certificates. And Dow Constantine would be doing one of three things: signing certificates, shaking hands, and sometimes having his photo taken as he signed a couple's certificate. Solid. For all I know he's still there now.

The people leaving the King County Administration building on December 6th 2012 were almost totally unremarkable. They were of no particular age bracket, no single race seemed disproportionately represented, relative to the population of Seattle as I know it. There was nothing unusual about these people: they didn't even seem to be particularly gay, except the couples were of the same gender. And I guess that's my point: there is nothing more normal, or less unusual, than one man helping his spouse transition from his walker to a wheelchair after 37 years of partnership.

I'm thankful I saw this day come to pass. I'm not used to feeling hopeful about the future but I can't help but think today's events are part of a trend where "normal" is going to get a lot more normal. Finally.

(Want to use this photo online or in print? Email michael@michaelholden.com and we'll get you squared away asap)

St. Paul, Minnesota

May 16, 2011

Protesters gathered inside the state capitol building to protest against the upcoming vote by the Minnesota House of Representatives to put an anti-gay marriage amendment on the 2012 election ballot. There were two events going on at the same time on this day. African American Lobby Day was held on the first floor while protestors against the constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage almost filled the halls on the second floor.

2011-05-16 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

"America's Oldest Dime Store" -- Berdine's Five and Dime, Harrisville, WV

From their website:

berdinesdimestore.com/

Welcome to Berdine's Five and Dime, a small, special corner of “Almost Heaven” West

Virginia.

Berdine's Five and Dime has been in continuous operation in Harrisville, West Virginia

since 1908. We are pleased as we complete a century of service to our community,

neighbors and patrons from afar. We continue to celebrate the simpler times, slower pace

and nostalgia for a time gone by.

We are America's Oldest Dime store. With our pressed tin ceilings, bins of novelties, tin

toys, bulk candies, and almost anything we provide the same friendly service decade

after decade. Since 1908 we are where generations have come for gifts and practical

items. Called one of West Virginia's “Best Treasures” by one of our state’s Charleston

newspapers, Berdine's continues to evoke memories while providing practical and purely

nonsensical merchandise. Bulk candy from our antique oak case, bins of old time and

inexpensive toys that you remember from your childhood, gifts for special occasions that

you will not find elsewhere. If you cannot find it anywhere else - try Berdine's! Your

grandparents did!

Our family, the Six family, have been the owners of Berdine's since purchasing it from Fred

W. Berdine in 1983. When we acquired it efforts to modernize and “compete” with newer and

chain stores had lead to decline. We removed much of the modernization: out went

fluorescent lights, flower power bright plastic contact paper hiding older, darker solid oak

counters came off, the classic bins and price labels on the bins were dug out an put back in

use. The electric cash register went as did many other “improvements.” Time rolled

backward.

Originally it was brothers Dean and “Bub” Six who purchased the store but in the 25 years

since, their mother, Eleanor, has become active in operations and, at various times, so has

everyone in the family including the now grown grandchildren, Samantha and Rob.

Karen Harper had begun work for Fred Berdine upon completing high

school. When the Six’s acquired the store a few short years later Karen

remained. Thank goodness. As store manager Karen has often been

the person most customers and visitors associate with the face of the

store. Her easy people skills, light hearted chatter and real ability to

connect with folks have made many visitors feel like they are family.

Indeed she exchanges Christmas cards and notes with several families

and sometimes their now grown children.

Also on the Berdines help staff is Monika Crum, Mary Margaret Smith

and at times friends and family of us all! Come see us and learn for

yourself!

Visiting us is not a step back in time, it is like taking a giant leap

back in time! Back to the days when going to the Five and Dime

meant getting supplies as well as the neighborly news and maybe a

spool of thread. Life was perhaps a little easier back then, certainly

a little slower. Visiting our store brings back the feel and experience

of those bygone times when a friendly visit was assured and it still

is! We are always glad to welcome and assist you at Berdine's.

You may visit us here on line at any time, or you may come and visit

us in person in West Virginia. We're open every day 9-5, except

Sunday. We are at 106 North Court Street, Harrisville, West Virginia

26362. Telephone us at (304)643-2217.

The story of Berdine's begins in 1908

when K.C. Berdine and his brother,

Lafayette relocated from

Pennsylvania to Harrisville, West

Virginia after a brief effort to establish

a store in Weston, WV.

Harrisville was then winding down

from an oil and gas boom that had

turned Harrisville into a bustling town

almost overnight. K.C. and Layfayette

opened the doors to Hunt & Berdine's

Five and Dime, locating their store on

the corner of Court and Main Streets.

By 1909 Layfayette had withdrawn from the business for other ventures and K.C. became

sole owner. K.C. (Kit Carson) married a local girl and his ties to the community were set.

K.C. and his wife worked to meet the needs of local customers, guaranteeing no prices

would be higher than 10 cents. In 1915, the business moved to its present location on

Court Street. The new location was also then a new building with the first floor built

specifically to accommodate the 5 & Dime. The name was changed from Berdines Five and

Dime to Berdines Variety Store, though many local residents continued to refer to it as

“The Five and Dime.”

Fred Berdine worked in his fathers store from the time he

was tall enough to peer over the counter, and in 1954, Fred

took over the store from his father. K.C. successfully ran

the store for 46 years, and Fred operated the store for the

next 28 years. In 1982 the store was purchased by the

current owners, the Six family of Harrisville.

In the 25 years since the time the Six family acquired the

store, they have returned the store to its original look and

feel. Modern “improvements” were stripped away and

golden oak counter tops re-emerged and glass divided

bins and classic clip on price tags all re-appeared. Today

Berdines stands as a piece of history to locals while those

traveling from states away to enjoy it’s diverse and fun

products as well as the feel of yesterday. Many locals recall

family members shopping there for generations. The

store's philosophy remains just the same as it was when K.

C. first opened its doors a century ago: treat each

customer special while solving to maintain

necessary and novel products in a pleasant,

friendly shopping experience. Today, every

customer is greeted warmly, with our

employees understanding that treating others

with civility is more important than making a

sale. Today, after a century, it is the place for

which children save their money to shop at

for candy or the special odd toy.

This radio was also sold under the Empire, Silver and Suntone brand names, all with the same 6TR-100 model number.

I have always thought that Elmstone was the only Kent church without dedication to a Saint/King or Martyr, but it seems East Farleigh has has St Mary foisted upon it.

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The middle part of Heritage Weekend was a disappointment, as church after church was found locked and no prospect of when they would be open again.

West Farleigh did have people on duty for Ride and Stride, but told me they did not have a key and the church had been closed since March.

I guess the same was true of West Farleigh, but there was no sign, no one on duty, nothing, just views out over the Medway Valley.

In fact, St Mary was hard to find. I missed it earlier this year, and would have again except taking the turning into the car park for the village hall, once the old school house, I saw a sign pointing the way to the church.

So I parked, grabbed my camera and walked down the narrow alleyway that looks so urban, round the old church hall and out into the churchyard to find it locked.

John Vigar makes it sound interesting, but I will have to wait until next year, I guess.

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Who would have thought that 150 years ago the picturesque church perched high above the River Medway was the scene of fierce dissent over ritualistic practices? The church was one of the first in the country to have a robed choir. The sunken path from the south shows how much the ground level has risen over the centuries and leads to a porch with a fine parvise. Although the church has been rather heavily restored it contains much of interest. Of special note is the Tudor font cover which sits on a fourteenth century font. The chancel and south chapel were both embellished by the firm of Powell's and much glass and wall decoration is by them. They created a rich focus for Eucharistic worship as a contrast to the rather plain nave and aisles. The south chancel window, with WW1 scenes is a fine example of their work.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=East+Farleigh

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EAST FARLEIGH.

NORTH-WESTWARD from Linton, on the opposite side of Cocks-heath, and on the southern bank of the river Medway lies the parish of East Farleigh, so called to distinguish it from the adjoining parish of West Farleigh, in Twyford hundred. It is called by Leland, in his Itinerary, Great Farleigh.

In the record of Domesday it is written Ferlaga, and in the Textus Roffensis, FEARNLEGA, and most probably took its name, as well as the parish of West Farleigh, from the passage over the river Medway at one or both of these places, fare in Saxon signifying a journey or passage, and lega, a place, i. e. the place of the way or passage.

THE PARISH of East Farleigh is situated about two miles from Maidstone, it lies on high ground, the soil a loam, covering but very slightly a bed of quarry stone. It is exceeding fertile, especially for fruit trees and the hop-plant, of which, especially about the village, there are many plantations. Its extent is about two miles each way; the river Medway is its northern boundary, over which here is an old gothic stone bridge of five arches, which is repaired at the county charge. The tide, in memory of some now living, flowed up as high as this bridge, but since the locks have been erected on this river to promote the navi gation, it has stopped from flowing higher than that just above Maidstone bridge. From the river the ground rises suddenly and steep southward, forming a beautiful combination of objects to the sight, having the village and church on the height, intersected with large spreading oaks and plantations of fruit, and the luxuriant hop, whilst the river Medway gliding its silver stream below, reflects the varied landscape. The village, through which the road leads from Tovill to West Farleigh, stands on the knole of the hill, about a quarter of a mile from the river, having the church and vicarage in it; eastward lies the hamlet of Danestreet, and further on Pimpes-court, at the extremity of this parish next to Loose, in which part of the lands belonging to it lie. At a small distance westward of the village of East Farleigh, is a genteel house, formerly belonging to a family of the name of Darby, some of whom are mentioned in the parish register as inhabitants of it, as far back as the year 1653. Mr. John Darby, the last of them, died in 1755, and by will gave this house to his widow, (Mary, daughter of Captain Elmstone, of Egerton) who re-married Mr. James Drury, of Maidstone, by whom she had one daughter, Mary. Since his death in 1764, she again became possessed of it, and resides in it; from hence the ground keeps still rising southward to Cocksheath, between which and the village is the manor of Gallants, part of the heath is within this parish, which reaches within a quarter of a mile of the house called Boughton Cock, part of Loose parish intervening, and separating the eastern extremity of it entirely from the rest. In this part of the parish are some quarries of Kentish rag stone, commonly called the Boughton quarries, from their lying mostly in that parish, and on the banks of the Medway there are more of the same fort, wholly in this of Farleigh.

A younger branch of the clerks of Ford, in Wrotham, resided here in the reigns of queen Elizabeth and king James I. as appears by the parish register. Dr. Plot mentions in his natural history of Oxfordshire, some large teeth having been dug up here, one of which was seven inches round, and weighed five ounces and an eighth, but I can gain no further information of them.

THIS PLACE was given by queen Ediva, or as she is called by some Edgiva, the mother of king Edmund and Eadred, in the year 961, to Christ-church, in Canterbury, free from all secular service, excepting the repairing of bridges, and the building of castles; (fn. 1) and it continued in the possession of that church at the time of the taking the general survey of Domesday, in the year 1080, being the 15th of the Conqueror's reign, in which it is thus described, under the general title of Terra Monachorum Archiepi, or lands of Christ-church, in Canterbury.

The archbishop himself holds Ferlaga. It was taxed at six sulings. The arable land is 26 carucates. In demesne there are four, and 35 villeins, with 56 borderers, having 30 carucates. There is a church and three mills of twenty-seven shillings and eight pence. There are 8 servants, and 6 fisheries, of one thousand two hundred eels. There are 12 acres of pasture. Wood for the pannage of 115 hogs.

Of the land of this manor Godefrid held in fee half a suling, and has there two carucates, and seven villeins with 10 borderers having three carucates, and four servants, and one mill of twenty pence, and four acres of meadow, and wood for the pannage of 30 hogs.

The whole manor, in the time of king Edward the Confessor was worth sixteen pounds, and afterwards as much, and now twenty-two pounds. What Abel now holds is worth six pounds, what Godefrid nine pounds, what Richard in his lowy, four pounds.

In the time of king Edward I. the manor of East Farleigh, together with the estate belonging to Christchurch, in the neighbouring parish of Hunton, was valued at forty-two pounds per annum.

King Edward II. in his 10th year, confirmed to the prior of Christ-church free warren, in all the demesne lands which he possessed here in the time of his grandfather, or at any time since. (fn. 2) This manor continued part of the possessions of the priory, till its dissolution in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. when it was surrendered into the king's hands, who that year granted it, among other premises, to Sir Thomas Wyatt, and his heirs male, to hold in capite by knight's service, but his son, Sir Thomas Wyatt, having raised a rebellion in the 1st year of queen Mary was attainted, and his estates became forfeited to the crown, and were together with the reversion of them, assured to the queen and her heirs, by an act passed for that purpose. After which, though the queen made a grant of the scite and capital messuage of this manor, to Sir John Baker, as will be further mentioned hereafter, yet the manor itself continued in the crown, and remained so at the death of king Charles I. in 1648. After which the powers then in being, passed an ordinance to vest the royal estates in trustees, in order for sale, to supply the necessities of the state, when on a survey taken of this manor it appeared, that there were quit-rents due to the lord from freeholders, in free socage tenure in this parish, and within the townships of Linton and East Peckham, and from several dens in the Weald; that there were common fines from the borsholders of Stokenburie, in East Peckham, and of Badmonden, Stoberfield and Rocden, the produce of all which yearly, with the fines, profits, &c. of courts, coibus annis, amounted in the total to 56l. 7s. 7½d. That there was a court ba ron and court leet; that the freeholders paid a heriot on demise, or death of the best living thing of any such tenant, or in want of it, 3s. 4d. (fn. 3)

Soon after which this manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it continued till the restoration of king Charles II. when it again became part of the revenues of the crown.

The grant of it has been many years in the family of his Grace the duke of Leeds, who now holds it at the yearly fee farm rent of ten shillings.

BUT THE SCITE and capital messuage of the manor of East Farleigh, now called the COURT LODGE, with all the demesne lands of the manor, about two hundred acres, in East Farleigh and Linton, was granted, anno 1st and 2d Philip and Mary, to Sir John Baker, one of the queen's privy council, (fn. 4) to hold in capite by knights service. (fn. 5) He died in the 5th and 6th years of that reign, and by will devised it to his second son, Mr. John Baker, of London; whose son, Sir Richard Baker, the chronicler, about the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, alienated it to Sir Thomas Fane, of Burston, in Hunton; who died in 1606, without issue, and bequeathed this among the rest of his estates to Sir George Fane, second son of Sir Thomas Fane, of Badsell, by Mary his wife, baroness le Despenser; he was succeeded in 1640, by his eldest son, colonel Thomas Fane, of Burston, who in the reign of king Charles II. alienated it to Mr. John Amhurst, who then resided at the court lodge as tenant under him.

He was the grandson of Nicholas Amerst, for so he spelt his name, who was of East Farleigh, in 1616, to whom William Camden, clarencieux, in 1607, assigned this coat of arms, Gules, three tilting spears, two and one, erected in pale or, headed argent, who dying in 1692, was buried in this church, as were his several descendants. His eldest son, Nicholas Amherst, for so he wrote his name, became his heir, and resided as tenant at the Court lodge, and died in 1679.

John Amhurst, gent. his eldest son, resided at the Court lodge, which he afterwards purchased of Col. Fane above mentioned; he served the office of sheriff in 1699, and kept his shrievalty here; though married, he died in 1711, s. p. and by will gave this estate to his brother, captain Nicholas Amhurst, of Barnjet, who died in 1715.

He married Susannah Evering, by whom he had issue fifteen children; John, who resided at the Court lodge, and died in his life time, whose grandson, John Amhurst, esq. is now of Boxley abbey; and George, the second son, who was twice married, but left issue only by his second wife, Susan, the eldest of whose sons was John Amhurst, esq. late of Rochester. Nicholas, the next son, died in 1736, unmarried. Stephen, another of the sons, was of West Farleigh, and dying in 1760, was buried at West Farleigh, leaving three sons; John Amhurst, esq. now of Barnjet; Edward, who was of Barnjet, and died in 1762, aged 20, and was buried near his father; and Stephen Amhurst, esq. now of West Farleigh, and four daughters. Edward, another son, was of Barnjet, and died in 1756, without issue, and was buried at Barming.

Of the daughters, Susan married Edward Walsingham, of Callis court, in Ryarsh, who left by her two daughters; Susan, married to Sir Edw. Austen, bart. of Boxley abbey; and Mary, married to John Miller. Jane, married to James Allen, by whom she had two sons, James, now deceased; and William, devisees in the will of Sir Edward Austen; and a daughter, married to Nicholas Amhurst, father of John, of Boxley abbey.

George Amhurst, gent. above mentioned, the second but eldest surviving son of Nicholas, by Susan nah Evering, had the Court lodge by his father's will, who having neglected to cut off an entail of it, his three other sons, Nicholas, Stephen, and Edward, claimed their respective shares in it; the entire fee of which, after much dispute, partly by purchase, and partly by agreement, became vested in Edward Amhurst, gent. the youngest son, who died, s. p. in 1756, and devised it by will to his next elder brother, Stephen Amhurst, esq. gent. of West Farleigh; who, at his death, in 1760, gave it to his eldest son, John Amhurst, esq. now of Barnjet, the present possessor of the Court lodge, and the estate belonging to it.

The mansion of the court lodge is situated adjoining to the west side of the church yard; it has not been inhabited but by cottagers for many years; great part of it seems to have been pulled down, and the remains make but a very mean appearance.

GALLANT'S is a manor in this parish, which seems to have been in early times the estate of a branch of the eminent family of Colepeper, whose arms yet remain in the windows of this church, and in which there is an ancient arched tomb, under which one of them was buried.

By inquisition, taken after the death of Walter Colepeper, at Tunbridge, anno 1 Edward III. it was found that he held in gavelkind in fee, certain tenements in East Farleigh, of the prior of Christ church, by service, and making suit at the court of the prior of East Farleigh, that there were there one capital messuage, with lands, and rents in money and in hens, by which it appears to have been a manor, and that his sons, Thomas, Jeffry, and John, were his next heirs. The above premises seem very probably to have been what is now called the manor of Gallant's, which afterwards passed into the family of Roper, who held it for some length of time, this branch of them, who possessed this manor, being created by king James I. barons of Teynham, one of whom, John Roper, the third lord Teynham, died possessed of it in 1627, as appears by the inquisition then taken. His grandson, Christopher lord Teynham, gave it in marriage with his daughter Catharine, to Wm. Sheldon, esq. whose descendant, Richard Sheldon, esq. of Aldington, in Thurnham, gave it by will to his widow, who soon afterwards, in 1738, carried it in marriage to Wm. Jones, M. D. who died in 1780, leaving his two daughters his coheirs; Mary, married to Lock Rollinson, esq. of Oxfordshire, and Anne to Tho. Russel, esq. and they, in right of their wives, are at this time respectively entitled to this manor.

The manor house has an antient appearance, both within and without, the doors being arched, and as well as the windows, cased with ashlar stone, and much of the walls built with flint.

PIMPE'S-COURT is a manor and antient seat in this parish, the mansion of which is situated at the southern extremity of it next to Loose. It was formerly part of the possessions of the family of Pimpe, being one of the seats of their residence, whence it acquired their name in process of time, among other of their possessions in this neighbourhood and else where in this county. It appears to have been antiently held of the family of Clare, earls of Gloucester; of whom, as chief lords of the fee, it was again held by this eminent family of Pimpe, from whom though it acquired its name of Pimpe'scourt, yet their principal habitation seems to have been in the parish of Nettlested, not far distant. Rich. de Pimpe of Nettlested held it in the reigns of Edward I. and III. as did his descendant, Sir Philip de Pimpe, in the begining of that of Edward I. being at that time a man of great repute. His widow, Joane, married John de Coloigne, who together with her son, Thomas de Pimpe, paid aid for this manor in the 20th year of king Edward III. Philipott says, Margaret de Cobham, wife of Sir William de Pimpe, died in 1337, and was buried in this church. Her tomb is yet remaining, but the inscription, then visible, is gone. Wil liam, son of Thomas de Pimpe, of Nettlested, died in the time of his shrievalty, anno 49 Edward III. and his son, Reginald, who then resided here at East Farleigh, served out the remainder of the year. His descendant of the same name resided here at the time of his shrievalty, in the 10th year of king Henry IV. to whose son, John, two years afterwards, John de Fremingham, of Loose, gave by will his estate there and elsewhere, in this county, in tail mail, remainder to Roger Isle, as being of the nearest blood to him. His descendant, John Pimpe, esq. kept his shrievalty here in the 2d year of king Henry VII. whose only daughter and heir, Winifrid, carried this seat in marriage to Sir John Rainsford, who passed it away to Sir Henry Isley, who by the act of the 2d and 3d of king Edward VI. procured his lands in this county to be disgavelled.

Soon after which he seems to have settled this manor on his son, William Isley, esq. but being both concerned in the rebellion raised by Sir Thomas Wyatt, in the 1st year of queen Mary, they were then attainted, and Sir Henry was executed at Sevenoke, and the lands of both became forfeited to the crown; after which, queen Mary that year granted this manor, by the name of Lose, alias Pimpe's court, with its appurtenances, in Lose, East Farleigh, Linton, &c. to Sir John Baker, her attorney general, to hold in capite by knights service. (fn. 6) In his descendants the manor of Pimpe's court continued till Sir John Baker, bart, about of the end of king Charles I.'s reign, alienated it to Thomas Fsloyd, esq. of Gore court in Otham; one of whose descendants alienated it to Browne, in which name it remained till, by the daughter and heir of Tho. Browne, esq. it went in marriage to Holden; and their son, Richard Holden, of Coptford hall, in Essex, died without issue, in 1772, and by will gave it to his widow, whose maiden name was Anne Blackenbury; and after her decease, to his sister's daughter's son, a minor, by Mr. William Vechell, of Cambridgeshire.

The present house of this manor is a modern building; the ruins of the antient mansion are still to be seen about the present house; the south-west end is still remaining, and by tradition was called the Old chapel. Further towards the north is a room with a very large chimney, and an oven in it, no doubt the old kitchen. The gateway, with a room over it, was taken down within memory; by the remains, it seems as if the house and offices belonging to it, when intire, formed a quadrangle. There is a court baron held for this manor.

CHARITIES.

JOHN FRANCKELDEN, citizen of London, in 1610, left 100l. to build six cottages for poor people to live in, rent free, vested in the parish officers.

THE REV. ARTHUR HARRIS gave, by will, in 1727, 2l. 10s. per annum for ever, to be paid out of Half Yoke farm, to be distributed in linen.

THOMAS HARRIS, esq. who died in 1769, left 5l. per ann. for fifty years, to be given to the poor in bread, 2s. every Sunday, excepting Easter and Whitsunday, vested in the executors of John Mumford, esq.

Mr. THOMAS FOSTER, in 1776, gave by will 130l. the interest of it to be laid out in linen and woollen, and to be given to the poor who do not receive alms at Christmas; from which money, 225l. confol. 3 per cent. Bank ann. was bought in the name of trustees, now of the annual produce of 6l. 15s.

EAST FARLEIGH is within the ECCLESTASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.

The church, which is a handsome building, with a spire steeple at the west end, stands at the east end of the village, and consists of two isles and two chancels; that on the south side belongs to Pimpe's-court. It was repaired in 1704, by Dr. Griffith Hatley, who had married the widow of Mr. Browne, and possessed that estate in her right. The whole was, through the laudable care of the late vicar, Mr. De la Douespe, new pewed and handsomely ornamented.

In the rector's chancel are several memorials of the family of Amhurst, and within the altar rails two of Goldsmith. On the north side of this chancel is a very antient altar tomb for one of the family of Colepeper, having their shield, a bend engrailed, at one corner of it, most probably for Sir T. Colepeper, who lived in the reign of king Edward III. and is reputed to have been the founder of this church. His arms, quartered with those of Joane Hadrreshull, his mother, Argent, a chevron gules between nine martlets, are still remaining in the east window of the south chancel, called Pimpe's chancel, in which is an antient plain altar tomb, probably for one of either that or of the Pimpe family. There seems once to have been a chapel dependent on this church, called in the Textus Roffensis, Liuituna capella Anfridi.

The patronage of the church of East Farleigh was part of the antient possessions of the crown, and remained so till it was given to the college or hospital for poor travellers, in Maidstone, founded by archbishop Boniface. Archbishop Walter Reynolds, about 1314, appropriated this church to the use and support of the hospital. In the 19th year of king Richard II. archbishop Courtney, on his making the church of Maidstone collegiate, obtained the king's licence to give and assign that hospital and its revenues, among which was the advowson and patronage of the church of Farleigh, among others appropriated to it, and then of the king's patronage, and held of the king in capite, to the master and chaplains of his new collegiate church, to hold in free, pure, and perpetual alms for ever, for their better maintenance; (fn. 7) to which appropriation Adam Mottrum, archdeacon of Canbury, gave his consent.

¶The collegiate church of Maidstone was dissolved by the act of the 1st of king Edward VI. anno 1546, and was surrendered into the king's hand accordingly with all its lands, possessions, &c. Since which the patronage and advowson of the vicarage of East Farleigh has remained in the hands of the crown; but the parsonage or great tithes was granted to one of the family of Vane, or Fane, in whom it continued down to John Fane, earl of Westmoreland, who at his death, in 1762, gave it by will, among the rest of his Kentish estates, to his nephew, Sir Francis Dashwood, lord Despencer; since which it has passed, in like manner as Mereworth and his other estates in this county, by the entail of the earl of Westmoreland's will, to Thomas Stapleton, lord Despencer, the present owner of it.

In the 15th year of king Edward I. the vicarage was valued at ten marcs; in the year 1589, it was estimated at 16l. 8s. yearly income. In the reign of king Richard II. the church of Ferleghe was valued at 13l. 16s. 8d. This vicarage is valued in the king's books at 6l. 16s. 8d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 8d.

John, son of Sir Ralph de Fremingham, of Lose, 12 Henry IV. by his will gave certain lands therein mentioned to John Pympe, and his heirs male, to find a chaplain in this church, in the chapel of the Blessed Mary, newly built, to celebrate there, for twenty-four years, for the souls of himself, his wife, &c. and all of whom he then held lands, the said John Pympe, paying to the above chaplain the salary of ten marcs yearly, &c.

The vicar of East Farleigh is endowed with the tithes of corn growing on the lands belonging to the parsonage of East Farleigh, and of certain pieces of land, called garden spots, which lie dispersed in this parish. It is now of the clear yearly value of about one hundred and thirty guineas.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol4/pp371-383

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Bedfordshire Police has released the results from its Christmas anti-drink-and-drug driving campaign to show the number of people arrested for driving while under the influence.

During Christmas 2012, 80 people were arrested for testing positive, refusing or failing a breath-test, which is a decrease of 11 compared with the same period the year before.

The campaign ran from 1 December 2012 to 1 January 2013. Inspector Colin Bonner from the Beds and Herts Roads Policing Unit said: “It's encouraging to see a decrease in the number of people putting themselves and others at risk by drinking and taking drugs before driving over Christmas, but while people continue to flout the law, my message to them is our work to combat this dangerous crime doesn't stop now the festivities are over.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Olly Martins said: “This welcome fall in drink/drug-driving arrests underlines how socially unacceptable driving while impaired has become. Personally I have long believed there is no safe alcohol limit for driving other than zero and I am glad that this view too is increasingly taking root. I also support the call for members of the public to report drink drivers. Drink driving is a killer and we all have a responsibility to prevent it”.

Bedfordshire Police advises the following alternatives to drink driving:

If you have to take the car, make sure you stick to non-alcoholic drinks rather than having one glass of wine or a pint of beer and hoping you’ll be under the legal limit – you can’t calculate your limit so don’t try to.

Take it in turns for one of your party to be the designated driver on nights out.

Leave the car at home and use public transport or take a registered taxi - why not pre-book one with a reputable company before you go out?

Stick to soft drinks – it tends to be a cheaper alternative as well as helping you avoid that ‘morning after the night before’ feeling.

"There's no excuse for drinking and driving,” Colin concluded. If you do go out for a drink, never try to calculate whether you're under the legal limit. Arrange a safe way to get home, such as a lift from a trusted friend who hasn't been drinking, or use a registered taxi."

If you know a drink driver, you can help by calling us on 101 and telling us where and when they drink. If you know someone has been drinking and is about to drive, always dial 999.

The Penalties

If you are found to be driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs you can face

A minimum of a 12-month disqualification, as well as a fine and/or imprisonment

The offence of causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs now carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment and a disqualification of at least 2 years.

The legal alcohol limit for driving is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood but there is no failsafe guide to the amount of alcohol that a driver can safely consume. The amount and type of alcoholic drink, the weight, sex and metabolism of the driver all play a part. Any amount of alcohol affects driving ability - a motorist’s ability to judge speed and distance may be impaired, their reaction times may be slowed and their judgement of risk seriously affected.

The Bedfordshire anti-drink-driving campaign supported the national initiative by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) which ran from December 1 to January 1.

At Bedfordshire Police our aim is "fighting crime, protecting the public."

We cover 477 square miles, serve a population of around 550,000 and employ in the region of 1,260 Police Officers, 950 police staff and 120 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). For more details about the force, visit our website www.bedfordshire.police.uk

Same unflattering skirt, but the blouse tail is tucked in.

Shows that I have no butt to speak of.

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June 2015, Seacliff, East Lothian

Bass Rock & St. Baldreds Boat

Toward St. Baldreds Boat

Toward St. Baldreds Boat

Crossing to St. Baldreds Boat

Bass Rock

Bass Rock

Tantallon

Bass Rock in the Gloaming #1

Bass Rock in the Gloaming #2

Land of Fire & Honey

Jupiter, Venus, the Moon & Tantallon Castle in the Gloaming

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Same exposure settings as other shot, higher power on Elinchrom but no reflector.