View allAll Photos Tagged specific
I went down to Docklands to take a specific couple of pictures and ended up taking pictures of pretty much everything else. Not least because I came across a sculpture that I know. By Eduardo Paolozzi. Vulcan: the Roman God of fire.
The one in Edinburgh is fabulous (in the Modern Art Gallery). This one down by the Royal Docks is pretty good too. I've tried to make it suitably imposing: he's half man, half machine and a monument to the modern age. Docklands couldn't be more appropriate. More pictures to come . . .
www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/p/artist...
DB Cargo Class 152, number 152 136-8 heads north through Mainz Kastel bahnhof with a long rake of Eaos-x and Eanos-x loaded scrap wagons. The loco is branded in Transfracht AlbatrosExpress livery, a partnership between DB and TFG. If this train was headed up the Rhein, then it could be EZ 51848 Mannheim Rbf - Gremberg Bs running 30 minutes late or GM 60437 Karlsruhe Hafen - Köln Kalk Nord Kw running 60 early. The consist was just box wagons so I suspect it was a company train for a specific customer, so may well have been a "GM" or "GB" train.
As for the location of the girls and the level crossing - all I can say is that here in the UK this simply would not be allowed on a 4 track railway. I've actually got a photo of a cyclist still on his bike holding the handrail waiting for the barriers to go up with his back to the line and clearly sticking out onto the track. If a train had been coming from behind him, he wouldn't be alive to tell the tale. Both times I've been here, there have been various times when I've been worried for the safety of people waiting for the barriers on the left to go up, so they can cross the line - of course you are not allowed to do this, but there is not much to stop you doing it!
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
The floor below the Cardinal's personal apartments contains a series of highly decorated rooms, each decorated with a specific theme, all connected to nature, mythology, and water. The rooms are less formal than those of the apartment above; they were used for private moments in the life of the Cardinal; listening to music or poetry; conversation, reading, and religious reflection. They are reached by a large ceremonial stairway that descends from the courtyard, and are connected to each other by a long narrow corridor with a high vaulted ceiling, which receives light from a series of openings to the courtyard above. The ceiling of the corridor is decorated with mosaics from the late 16th century, representing a pergola inhabited by colorful birds, making the corridor seem a part of the garden. The corridor also features three elaborate rustic fountains. containing miniature grottos framed with columns and pediments.
The Hall of Noah, like the other rooms on the floor, has walls covered with frescoes designed to resemble tapestries, intertwined with scenes of classical landscapes, ruins, rustic farm houses, and other scenes covering inch of the ceiling and walls, This room is dated to 1571, at the end of the decoration of the villa, and is attributed to Girolamo Muziano, who was famous for similar scenes of Venetian landscapes. The major scenes portrayed are the Four Seasons, allegories of prudence and temperance, and the central scene of Noah with the ark shortly after its landing on Mount Ararat, making an agreement with God. A white eagle, the symbol of the d'Este, is prominently shown landing from the Ark.
The next room, the Hall of Moses, features a fresco in the center of the ceiling showing Moses striking a rock with his rod and bringing forth water for the people of Israel. This was an allusion to the Cardinal, who had brought water to the Villa gardens by making channels through the rock. Other panels show scenes from the life of Moses, a hydra with seven heads, the emblem of the family of Ercole I d'Este, an ancestor of Ippolito, and fantastic landscapes.
The Hall of Venus originally had as its centerpiece a large fountain, with an artificial cliff and grotto framed in stucco. The fountain a basin of water and a classical statue of a sleeping Venus, but in the 19th century the basin was removed and the Venus, which had been removed after the death of the Cardinal, was replaced by two new statues of Peace and Religion, representing a scene at the grotto of Lourdes. The original terra cotta floor is still in place, featuring the white eagle of the d'Este family. The only other decoration in the room is the 17th century painting on the ceiling of angels offering flowers to Venus.
The First and Second Tiburtine Halls were created at the same time by a team of painters led by Cesare Nebia, they were made before 1569. and they both have a common plan; The walls are covered with painted architectural elements, including columns and doors and elaborate painted moldings and sculptural elements, which give the rooms symeframe large number of frescoes. Floral designs fill the spaces between the painted architecture, along with medals, masks, and other insignia. The decoration of the two rooms illustrates stories from mythology and the history of Tiburtine region, where the villa is located.
The main theme of the Second Tiburtine Hall is the story of the Tiburtine Sibyl: According to mythology, Queen Ida was punished by Jupiter for having raised young Bacchus To avoid the madness of her husband, Atamante, Venus and Neptune transformed her into a seer, Leucotea. She traveled to Italy where she lived in the TIburtine forests, giving prophecies, and predicting the birth of Christ. Another TIburtine legend illustrated in the room is that of King Annius, who chased Mercury, the kidnapper of his daughter Cloris, and was drowned in the river Aniene, which takes his name, and which provides the water for the fountains of the Villa. The Sibyl, King Annius, and the personification of the Aniene River all appear in the frescoes of the room, along with the Triumph of Apollo.
The First Tiburtine Hall illustrates the story of legendary three Greek brothers, Tiburtus, Coras, and Catillus, who defeated the Sicels, an Italic tribe, and built a new city, Tibur (now Tivoli), Their battle illustrated in the central fresco of the ceiling, as are other events in the founding of the region. The decoration of the room also includes the Tenth Labor of Hercules, where he steals a valuable herd of cattle, and is rescued by Zeus, who showers his enemies with stones; as well as pairs of gods and goddesses in painted niches; Vulcan and Venus; Jupiter and Juno; Apollo with Diana; and Bacchus with Circe. On wall is an illustration of the oval fountain, which Ippolito was building at the time the room was decorated.
The Hall of the Fountain was used by Cardinal Ippolito as a reception room for guests who had just arrived through the garden below, and for concerts and other artistic events. The room was designed and made between 1565 and 1570, probably by Girolamo Muziano and his team of artists. The central element is a wall fountain, covered with multicolored ceramics and sculpture, encrusted with pieces of glass, seashells and precious stones, and crowned by the white eagle of the d'Este family. The fountain was finished in 1568 by Paolo Calandrino. The basin of the fountain rests on two stone dolphins. The reliefs in the central niche depict of the fountain the Tiburtine acropolis and Temple of the Sibyl. On the other walls are images of the house and unfinished garden and fountains, and a small illustration on the opposite wall from the fountain of Ippolito's villa in Rome, on the Quirinal Hill, now a residence of the Pope. The paintings on the ceiling are devoted scenes of mythology; each corner has portraits of a different gods and goddesses - Tradition says that the painting of Mercury is a self-portrait of Muziano. The central fresco on the ceiling depicts the Synod of the Gods, with Jupiter in the center surrounded by all the gods of Olympus. The fresco is modeled after a similar work by Raphael in the Loggia of Psyche in the Villa Farnesina. The hall connects with the loggia, and from there a stairway descends to the garden.
The Hall of Hercules dates to 1565–66 and is also by Muziano. The paintings on the ceiling depict eight of the labors of Hercules, surrounded by depictions of landscapes, ancient architecture, and the graces and the virtues. The central painting of the ceiling shows Hercules being welcomed into Olympus by the gods.
The Hall of Nobility was the work of a different artist, Federico Zuccari, and his team of painters. The central fresco on the ceiling depicts "Nobility on the throne between Liberality and Generosity". The decoration on the walls includes paintings of busts of Plato, Pythagoras, Diogenes, Socrates and other classical philosophers, the Graces and Virtues, and Diana of Ephesus, the goddess of Fertility, who also has a fountain dedicated to her in the garden.
The Hall of Glory was completed between 1566 and 1577 by Federico Zuccari and eight assistants. It is a masterpiece of Roman mannerist painting, with painted illusions of doors, windows, tapestries, sculptures, and of everyday
objects used by the Cardinal. The central painting of the ceiling, the Allegory of Glory, has been lost, but there are allegorical depictions of the virtues, the Four Seasons, and of Religion, Magnanimity, Fortune and Time.
The Hall of the Hunt is later than the other rooms, from the end of the 16th or beginning the 17th century, and is in a different style; it features hunting scenes, rural landscapes, hunting trophies, and, oddly, scenes of naval battles. A stairway of travertine stone, called the "snail stairway", descends to the garden. It was originally built to access a pallacorda Court, an ancestor of tennis, which Ippolito imported into Italy from the French Court. The space where the court was located now houses the cafeteria and bookstore.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ISSUE CONTAINS GRAPHICALLY DEPICTED VIOLENCE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION
Klarion the Witch Boy had teleported himself to the headquarters of the illegal smuggling organization “The Otherkind”, in hopes of purchasing an item he’d had his eyes on for quite a while. “The Helm of Flame”. An ancient weapon, myths say that the mask can transform your body into that of a demon, if you read a specific ancient script. There is no known proof of this, however. On opposite sides of the room stood several members of the group, working in different ways, like stocking shelves or chopping up wood to make more shelves. Waiting to purchase this item, Klarion had stood silent in the dark, cold, damp cement building, unnoticed.
Klarion: …Ahem?
A bearded man was sitting on the floor, who now looked up from his can of tomato soup to look into Klarion’s demonic eyes.
Bearded man: Eh? Oh, uh… Is this the guy?
The bearded man spoke with a raspy Russian accent, before looking up to The Rip, who was the organization’s leader. The Rip’s appearance was an odd one. A silhouette, entirely blacked out, standing at roughly 6’7”.
The Rip: Indeed it is. Klarion. It is an honour to meet you.
The Rip spoke in a very smooth but deep voice. It wasn’t loud, but when he spoke, it felt as if it was the only thing you could hear. It grabbed your attention instantly.
Klarion: Why, thank you. You know what I came for, yes?
The Rip: I do remember, yes. The Helm of Flame.
Klarion: Mhm! Now shall your servant fetch it for me, along with the script?
The Rip: I’d prefer if you weren’t to degrade my coworkers, but yes, Alec shall grant it to you. Alec?
He turned to the bearded man… Or at least Klarion assumed he did. With a man who appears physically as a mass of darkness it’s hard to tell.
Alec: Alrighty… Just a second…
He took one last spoonful from the tin can, a small portion of it spilling on his bright blue overcoat before he stood up. He set the can and spoon on the filthy stone floor before he waddled to the Helm of Flame on the shelf, before handing it to Klarion.
Alec: Here ya’ go.
Klarion: …There’s chowder on the script. It’s filthy, and that’s unacceptable..! Fetch me another.
Alec: Uh… Y’know there’s only one of ‘em, right?
The Rip walked over to Klarion, and tapped his fingers against the corner of the script.
The Rip: Ghålli-shï.
Suddenly, the script was cleaned.
Klarion: Thank you, that is much more adequate… Now, how much for each?
Klarion rummaged through a leather wallet, while holding the helm and script under his arm.
The Rip: 1.5 million in total-
Klarion: 5 million, you say? Alrighty…
Klarion handed The Rip the 5 million dollars.
The Rip: Ötałlo-kå.
With a poof of purple smoke, the money vanished.
Klarion: Pleasure doing business with you.
The Rip: The pleasure is mine, Klarion.
Klarion: Shalån-Greėm.
Klarion vanished. A moment after, a worker in an orange sweater walked from the shadows. He hadn’t been doing anything to help the organization, unlike the others.
Man in orange: What a brat.
Both Alec and The Rip turned to the man in orange…
The Rip: …What did you just say, Walter?
Alec: Sh#t, dude…
The two other members of The Otherkind stopped working and turned to “Walter”. One was a man in a black coat and orange scarf, the other a young woman in a purple sweater.
Man in scarf: Oh, dear lord…
The woman in purple simply put her hands over her mouth in shock.
Walter: I’m just sayin’. What? You all thought it, be real.
The Rip: You understand in the 2 months of being here you’ve done nothing but stand around, correct? Watching your coworkers work painfully hard while all you have to do is stock shelves, and yet you can’t even do that right? The others have been doing their jobs correctly for years, and after being here for 2 months, you can’t even manage to be kind to my client.
Walter: I really don’t see what the big deal is.
Alec: Shut up! Dude, seriously!
The Rip: I hadn’t had to speak to you about your laziness, as much as it had frustrated me. But this? Mocking a client? You think you have the right to do that?This is where I draw the line.
The Rip walked slowly and ominously towards Walter while speaking…
Walter: He was just a kid, who cares?
The Rip: You’re not listening to me, are you? You never listen to me. You don’t deserve to be part of this organization. You have such little respect that probably didn’t even attempt to remember my name.
Walter: “Rip”, right?
The Rip stood in place…
The Rip: Yes. Surprisingly, you got that right… But do you know why that is?
Walter: Uh… No.
The Rip: Well… Let me show you.
The Rip’s chest and stomach spread open like a vertical mouth, pointed with jagged fang-like spikes. From the gaping void in his torso appeared long, reddish tendrils. The first latched around Walter’s right arm. Then the left. And then his legs. This was the first time The Rip had seen Walter express genuine fear.
Walter: Agh, Christ..! I-… I can’t move!
The rest of The Otherkind were silent, watching what was happening. The tentacles seemed to grow even longer, pulling Walter high into the air as his eyes opened wider, his forehead shining with sweat. More tendrils appeared, rubbing their pointed tips against Walter’s freakishly warm skin. The man in the scarf ran to help Walter, only to be knocked back by one of the tentacles, causing him to be bashed against a stone wall.
Man in scarf: *uff*!
The Rip: Stay back, Malcolm. This is necessary.
Suddenly, one of the tentacles tore the left leg straight off of Walter, it dropped to the floor, blood spilling out from the gaping wound and onto the limb in puddles. Walter tried to scream, but his mouth was being filled by the tentacles. Tears ran down both his and most of the other members’ faces.
Alec: What the hell!?
Malcolm: Jesus…
The woman in purple was silent, her pupils microscopic, her whole body was shaking. This horrific sight had seemed to effect her the most out of the members. Through the gaps between the hands covering her eyes she noticed the tentacles tugging even harder on each of the limbs, the sound of cracking bones echoed through the room. Eventually all three remaining limbs split apart, leaving a pile of broken pieces on the floor. Walter was nothing but broken bones, torn skin, muscle, and large masses of blood. Walter’s head was still fully intact when it hit the floor, however, his eyes were still wide open and his jaw fully extended, staring into the souls of the remaining members.
Woman in purple: No… No no no…
She fell to her knees, her hands dropping to the floor, her tears breaking through like a waterfall. Malcolm stood beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder to comfort them. Meanwhile all the tentacles sucked themselves quickly back into The Rip, before he reached his hand down to Walter’s mutilated corpse.
The Rip: Ötałlo-kå.
What was rest of Walter disappeared. The Rip turned to the other members.
The Rip: I am deeply sorry if you found the visuals of Walter’s deserved punishment a tad graphic.
Malcolm: “A tad”? You slaughtered the poor guy. Look at Cindy here, look what you did.
“Cindy” looked up at The Rip, a hint of rage behind her tears.
Cindy: You monster!!!
She got up and lunged at The Rip, only for him to put his hand forward in a shielding position.
The Rip: Hīdoth-pöl.
She teleported back where she was before.
The Rip: Your anger is justified, though please, take this experience as a lesson. I love you all deeply, you’re like family to me. I’d rather not be forced to punish one of you like I did today. So stay in line. Thank you. Now, back to work.
~Madam Web
Midnight Shadows
Part 1
Maybe is because of the specific role-play games my twin and I grew up playing. Maybe it’s also because of My love of dressing up in elegant attire and the wearing of jewellery. Or just maybe I am one of those mystic magnets of a soul that attracts this sort of thing to happen?
I had actually written this one out a year after it happened because someone suggested to me to do so, but wish now I had done so right after it happened so I would have a more descriptive memory of it.
It’s brief because the actual incident as it played out, happened so fast that it all was such a blur, there are no real recollections as far as detailed descriptions go.
Not even sure if it fits in with this collection of stories based on role play and similar games from youth and young adulthood.
For it may have been a game, but it certainly was not one of ours.
££££££££££
This rather harrowing experience occurred on the evening of a fancy dress Girl’s only party I attended some years ago.
My twin brother I were 22 years old at the time, as was my best friend Ginny.
The party mentioned was a BAFTA themed get together held in the nearby city.
Ginny and I were both attired for the party as though we were attending the real thing, which was the idea. And we were not alone in dressing up like that.
For at this annual party held by a university chum’s older sister, everyone attending was mandated to dress up like an actress attending the awards ceremony.
Ginny, as always when she does fancy proper, was drop-dead gorgeous.
She looked smashing, poured into her shimmering, off one shoulder gown of thin silk, silver with copper threads woven in. The gown really had a nice sexy fluid flow as she moved. Long elbow-length gloves of a dark copper satin, finished the effect.
She was wearing her good earrings. A pierced ear style set with real diamonds(1/2 Carat diamond with a dangling a pear-shaped 1 1/2 carat diamond), a diamond rhinestone choker, a matching rhinestone bracelet, and two cocktail rings. The 2 carat earrings and one of her rings were real, the rest good quality antique rhinestones.
Her silky hair, a darker natural red than mine, was worn up with an elegant bun held with a long silver clip on one side. Several strands purposely fell alongside her freckled face, adding a rather far too cute effect.
Myself, I was wearing a pretty party dress of Mum’s. One that I (and Papa) felt she looked breathtakingly beautiful wearing it on a night out.
It was a solid coloured sky blue taffeta dress that shone with a tight sleekness down along my figure. Maybe a bit too tight for it outlined my every curve, making me look sexier than I knew I was. The skirt was higher in front( touching just below my knees) than in the back where it swished a few inches above my ankles and my deep blue silk stiletto heels. The neckline of the dress was of a long open scoop and had wavy ruffles running along with its opening, the sleeves went to my elbows, ending in ruffles. With it, I was also wearing deep blue 3/4 length satin gloves.
For jewellery, I wore mum’s full set of enticingly sparkling rhinestones. The pricey imitation diamonds that Papa teased he needed sunglasses to look at her whenever Mum wore them out, which was a lot.
The centerpiece of the set was undoubtedly the long glittery necklace that looked like an upside-down,loosely attached, elongated pyramid filled with blazing diamond-like stones.
This eye-catcher hung down low along the open neck of the dress, swaying a few inches up from my (small)cleavage.
The set also had a matching bracelet, long earrings, and a ring. I added two more of my real gemstone rings for effect.
My own freshly washed long, naturally red hair was pulled back in a plait and I had a thin diamond chip encrusted silver Tiara to hold it all in place.
Please get a good mental picture of how Ginny and I were dressed up for the affair before reading on( and I hope you will read on) it should add a little clarity to the story.
Midnight Shadows
Part 2
To fit in with the party theme my twin brother actually was able to again borrow papa’s friend’s elegant antique car. An old dark purple Rolls Royce.
My brother dressed the part as a chauffeur( at Ginny and my puppy-eyed request), wearing a suit, formal shirt, and bow tie. He refused to wear the white gloves or hat though.
He thoroughly was into playing his role, opening the door for each of us as we were helped into the back, with him sitting alone upfront.
The party was at a house 30 minutes away in the city, with about 25 guests expected to attend.
All of whom had gone wild with their fancy dress ideas.
Gowns and formal dresses, many of which were old bridesmaids affairs, flowed, shined, and shimmered along with our fellow guest's youthful female figures.
Copious amounts of Gemstones, mostly rhinestone with more than a few real ones, were glittering with amazing brilliance from their mistresses.
As you can imagine, I was really into that atmosphere and it was really for me, a quite enjoyable and engaging experience.
The party itself was a lot of fun and very enjoyable for all in attendance. This was the pre-cell phone era, so we all were quite focused on the party.
On and off we watched the awards show, but the main attraction was the drinking and guessing games we played.
We also had a fashion show with a makeshift red carpet that everyone did a catwalk along.
My mum’s rhinestone attracted a lot of notice, they sparkled so much.
And yes, once when mum was wearing them out a lady actually asked if they were real. We all had a good laugh over that.
My brother and even Ginny commented on how they would sparkle in the city street lamps as we drove under them on the way in.
By the time the party was winding down we all
were feeling pretty well lit, and very huggy.
All too soon it was time to go.
After my twin brother had dropped us off, he waiting for us at the riverside pub named Poet and the Peasant.
He told us to call at the pub and then wait inside the house for him to arrive. The neighborhood was nice enough, but still, it was the city, so he felt more comfortable if we were to not be out wandering.
He would honk the Roll’s horn at the curb to let us know when he was there.
We called from the house after midnight when ready and he told us he’d be there in about 15 minutes after leaving the pub where he was playing darts with a few lads.
We had told others about the Rolls Royce, and some had asked to see it. So, ignoring my brother’s request, we all gathered outside to wait.
Twenty minutes later my brother drove up, spying our group he honked the horn as he pulled up curbside.
Playing the part in front of so many well-dressed ladies, my brother was in his glory as helped each of us slip into the back seat of the rolls Royce, closing our doors like a gentleman, before hopping back in the driver's seat to take us home. Honking the horn again to the few remaining jealous admirers who waved us on.
We felt like real movie stars at that.
And like real movie stars, we soon had a following.
Midnight Shadows
Part 3
It was after my brother turned off the street where the party house was located, that he first noticed the red auto behind us.
He was not sure where it had come from, but, something he could never put a finger on, made him think that it was a deliberate appearance
The red auto, keeping about two car lengths behind, began to match my brother’s turns as he began to take his usual way home. The car never signaled its turns he noticed.
Not saying anything to us chattering away in the back leather seats, he turned off into a side street at random to see what would happen. The auto turned down the same street following, again no turn signal.
My brother then turned down another street and pulled the Rolls over midway along it, stopping at the curb directly in front of a house, so the auto could pass if he also turned In behind.
It did come around the same corner, but instead of passing the parked Rolls, the red auto ominously pulled to the curb about three houses behind us, leaving its lights on.
Ginny and I had been chatting happily in the back seat, my brother stopping the Rolls Royce first drew our attention that something was up.
When asked what’s going on, he said that he thinks someone in an automobile is following us.
We laughed at him, thinking he was trying to play games with us.
On the way to the party, he kept teasing us on how sparkly our jewels were in the rearview mirror when illuminated by street lights.
I had snickered saying
“it’s a good thing your here to protect us then Luv.”
He had looked back at me with a wicked smile in his eyes. “Ah, true lass, but what if I was a thief in disguise?”
So now we both thought he was just trying to put a scare into us playing off on those remarks.
Not smiling at our taunts, he sternly told us to just turn around and watch the auto parked down the road with the headlights on.
Midnight Shadows
Part 4
We both turned in our seats, surprised to see that he was right.
“Who do you think it is?” Ginny asked reasonably.
“Really don’t know, Luv?” He answered putting the Rolls in gear.
He pulled away, and after a few seconds so did the auto with the headlights on.
My brother then took two more random turns down roads and we realized he was really telling the bloody truth.
We knew then it wasn’t something my brother had dreamed up as role-play with his lads. He would not stoop this low and besides, to tell the truth, he was not all that good of an actor to pull it off.
The auto kept pace, matching
us turn for turn.
I would think by then whoever was in the red Auto knew that we realized they were tailing us. But they still kept following.
I remember as we watched from the back, Ginny and I turning to look at each other, both of us not really knowing what to do if even there was anything we could have done?
I can also clearly recollect how Ginny’s diamond earrings were glimmering as I looked into her concerned face. But bit my tongue.
I did not want to alarm her with my thoughts. Knowing how expensive her earrings were. That, plus the fact most of the jewellery I was wearing belonged to Mum, really gave me worries. Still, I knew Ginny was also harboring similar unsaid concerns.
Neither of us daring to give voice to those worries, lest it became a reality.
But two elegantly clad young ladies being driven around inside a Rolls Royce with a chauffeur at the wheel could say the least, easily attract notice. Something we had not given any thought to as we planned out this evening.
Inviting attention, both when arriving in the city, and as well as when they were leaving it.
Both of us turned back to look out the window.
Again watching the bright headlights, I shuddered at another thought that popped into my head.
What if the occupants of the red auto had followed us in, and while we were enjoying the party, had been waiting patiently for us to leave it?
That really creeped me out and I shivered.
My brother, silent with unspoken worries of his own, was keeping to the well lit, residential streets while trying to think of how to get out of this if he needed to.
It could be just two joyriders doing this on a lark after all.
A second issue was that the big Rolls Royce was a lumbering beast not made to outspeed pursuit.
Then there was a third issue: He also did not want to lead our shadowers near to where Ginny or we both lived.
We still lived in a rambling country cottage with my parents. Ginny lived a few houses over in the old stone house that had once been a summer home for a large, prewar, estate owner.
Not voicing any of these concerns to his passengers, my brother stayed in the city, which he knew quite well.
Turning up a boulevard he saw a traffic light ahead.
We pulled up to it and the Red Auto stopped about a car length back.
We could make out the shadowy figures of two unmistakable males, talking to each other as they were pointing fingers.
They were not just pointing at us, but past us. That gave me the creeps as I told my brother what the occupants were doing.
The light turned green, and without signaling, he turned the Rolls to the right, entering a Main Street.
The red auto did the same, not signaling either.
Approaching another light as it was turning red, my brother ran it, cutting off a lurching double-decker just coming into the intersection.
As we received a blast of horns for our transgression, my brother shifted into a higher gear and forced the whining old Rolls into its top speed.
All I remember at that point, was thinking we were not going fast enough at all.
But this maneuver held up the red auto only long enough for us to turn down an alley between two businesses about 3/4 of a block past the red light. I was watching our rear and I knew the red auto, just leaving the intersection, had seen us turn.
My brother knew that the alleys on this street all let out onto a road that ran along the grounds of a rugby stadium.
There were street lamps on the opposite side of the road from the stadium. There were no lights on at all on the stadium side, making the area darker at night than India ink.
We pulled out of the alleyway without seeing any following headlights yet coming in behind us.
“There is usually a patrol car parked along the stadium at night, “my brother said.
“Keep an eye out”
But of course, tonight was the exception, no cars were parked there.
I was looking back at the alleyway we had left and I saw headlights casting along the brick walls.
I gave warning, but it came out as a girlish shriek.
“I see it.” My brother said, he had killed the headlights and was already turning into the exit end of the stadium’s long parking lot
My twin pulled the Rolls under the shadows of some trees that lined the inner side of the parking lot, facing the way we had come.
We all scrunched down and waited.
Midnight Shadows
Part 5
A few very long seconds later, the red auto, driving slowly, appeared at the end of the alley and stopped.
Then, without signal,
it slowly turned off onto the street and started going in the opposite direction, at a crawl.
Looking For our Rolls Royce we probably rightly suspected.
Our hearts were pounding and I believe we were all holding our breaths with disquieting
trepidation.
The red auto went down past that end of the stadium.
My heart leaped into my throat as I put a hand to my beating breasts, watching it turn up the next street leading back to the intersection with the red light we had blown through.
My brother put in the clutch, keeping the headlamps off, he slowly turned the auto around.
Ginny and I sat up and watched behind us.
We turned off the parking lot went back the opposite of where our pursuers had gone.
Once in the street my brother turned on the headlamps and gave the old engine some gas. We turned up the next street and then some side streets.
Nervously we watched the streets behind us. But only saw a few headlights coming on the road, and they were all false alarms.
Finally circling around we made it back to the Main Street that led to the highway turnoff.
Nervously all three of us scanned the cars parked along both sides of the streets. But no one pulled out behind us that seemingly going on forever stretch of road.
Apparently we had lost our shadowers in the red auto.
We made it to the turnoff without further mischief befalling us and went onto the highway and headed back home.
We never saw the red auto again.
Ginny and I were spending the rest of the weekend in her basemen bedroom at her house, her parents bring out of town.
Neither of us was ashamed to admit we accepted my brother’s offer to spend the night upstairs.
When we got to her place, Ginny helped us raid Uncle’s small bar in the basement. We sat up for the rest of the early morning, still fully dressed, talking it over.
We all believed was no lark, hoax, or a joke being played on us. The occupants of that red auto seemed all too intent on something.
To this very day, none of us have any real idea of what that intent may have been, just only our speculation.
I do remember that we had come up with a whole gauntlet of theories before turning in.
But we are all quite ok with not finding out which theory was the correct one that night.
And Like me, I’m sure we all finally drifted off to sleep considering what may have played out if...?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Would love to hear thoughts on this in the comments below. Especially if anyone has ever had a similar experience.
If you have followed my blog at all you have certainly noticed that one specific aspect in my pictures is connected to colors. For some unknown reason I've always been very drawn to colors when dealing with photography (I cannot do b&w stuff). I could even say that because of this preference my early experiences with digital cameras were mostly disappointing: I couldn't stand the standard look of the early digital cameras because colors were so different and flat compared to golden era of film photography. And because of this disappointment 'getting good colors' became the thing that I kept of chasing for years.
It's one thing to recognize that the flat look and 'the standard and objective' colors, which most of the current digital cameras provide out of the box, doesn't actually carry any resemblance to the visual legacy that was left from the era of film photography. Just take a look, for example, old Kodachrome slides and compare them to your JPEGs and you should see two very different interpretations of colors and also become aware that these differences are not only about 'technological advancement' but also artistic choices. Behind the Kodachrome (and other films) there is a artistic interpretation of 'what looks good' and how the colors should be reproduced. JPEG on the other hand is much more 'objective' (read: flat) with some minor contrast and skin color correction thrown in. No wonder why standard JPEGs from the camera look so boring (though they have really been getting better with time).
While it's easy to point JPEGs with your finger, it's entirely different thing to determine what are 'good colors'. For example, while I like film era colors, I don't think we should concentrate to reduplicate them as they were – instead I think we should bring in some influences from that visual era there but then continue to define what are good colors at 21th century photography. Rather than ready-made-Lightroom-presets this calls for a cultivated taste regarding colors, which is much harder. I would love to transfer something from the film era legacy to today's photography, but at the same time I don't want photographs to look like they were taken 20 or 30 years ago (read: faded look) as I think it is intellectually dishonest to add a feeling of nostalgia to a picture from a digital filter. Like I said, it's a difficult question.
So how I have I solved this 'getting good colors' so far? I believe everyone has to develop their own 'theory of good colors' and 'methodology' to get there eventually. For me it's a three part response: Zeiss glass, VSCO-presets as a starting point and editing. I used to search for clear and bright colors and ultimately found my answer from Zeiss lenses. I'll be first one to admit that there are also other manufacturers out there who deliver great equipment color wise, but for some reason I found Zeiss to provide those small nuances which made difference to me (from my current setup I think the Batis 2/25 is the best followed by the Touit 2.8/50M). Then I use VSCO-presets as a starting point. They give me an easy way to explore whole bunch of different looks which I would never come across without them. Do they look like film? In some cases yes, but I usually erase the vintage look by editing. If I would recommend some of their film packs I would say that the Film Pack 04 is great and Film Pack 07 provides pretty nice starting points for general explorations as well – other ones are way too much vintage for my taste. But even with Zeiss glass and VSCO-presets it comes down to editing. Sometimes it's easy to see what the picture asks for, but sometimes it takes much longer to realize what is wrong with colors or how I should adjust them. It looks like I will never get rid of this task as much as I would like to. Like I said, colors are complicated thing once you step outside of the supposition of objective colors.
Ps. For this particular picture I used Provia 100F emulation from the VSCO Film pack 04. One of my favorites, but most often provides way too much contrast which is frustrating with some images. It also shifts the white balance in a nonlinear way that it's difficult to edit. I've also noticed that one cannot just slap on slide film preset to any picture as the end result would look just bad. Slide film emulations, such as the Provia 100F, works as a good starting point when used with conditions that would be similar to real world use of that particular film - in this case it means a lot of sunlight.
Days of Zeiss: www.daysofzeiss.com
Volvo P1800 (1961-63) Engine 1986 cc S4 OHV .
Registration Number ERP 660 K (Northampton)
VOLVO ALBUM
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623738795351...
Long gestation involved the project beginning in 1957 under engineering consultant Helmar Pettersson with design work being done by his son Pelle Pettersson who worked for Pietro Frau. Volvo always insisted the car was designed in Italy by Frau but in 2009 Frau admitted that though they built the first three prototypes they were not responsible for the design. There then followed a protracted search for a company to build the car and Karmann initially agreed only for the deal to be scuppered by Volkswagen, Karmann biggest customer. Eventually Jensen Motors who then had spare capacity were approached and agreed a contract to build 10,000 cars Jensen sub contracted Pressed Steel in Linwood to build the uni-body shell and transport them to West Bromwich by rail the first P1800 being completed in 1960. The B18 1800cc engine (with a different cam shaft to that of the Amazon) was made with twin SU carburettors and giving 100 bhp.
P1800S (1963-69)
In 1963 after the first 6,000 units the Jensen contract was cancelled and production was moved to a Volvo plant in Gothenburg, subsequent cars being called P1800S (S=Sweden) and in 1969 the engine was replaced by a 1985 cc unit to create the P1800E
P1800E (1969-72)
For 1970 numerous changes came with the fuel-injected 1800E, which had the B20E engine with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection and a revised camshaft, and produced 130 bhp with similar fuel economy as before. the 1970 model was the first 1800 with four-wheel disc brakes; until then the 1800 series had front discs and rear drums. In 1972, to meet emission standards mainly for the US market, a lower compression B20F engine was introduced for specific markets. Along with the new F head, the ECU, manifold pressure sensor, and head gasket were also changed for all cars with B20F engine.
Volvo P1800ES (1972-73)
Volvo introduced its final P1800 variant, the 1800ES, in 1972 as a two-door station wagon with a frameless, all-glass tailgate. Under the skin the mechanics were the same as the P1800E Coupe. Introduced in 1971 at £ 2,623 which was almost twice the price of a 2 litre Ford Capri
To my generation the P1800 will always be the car of the Saint (Simon Templar played by Roger Moore) Of the two new cars on show in Geneva in 1961 the programme makers approached Jaguar regarding using the new E Type but were rejected Volvo on the other hand jumped at the chance and a marriage was made. Roger Moore was so impressed he purchased his own.
Diolch am 89,048,450 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.
Thanks for 89,048,450 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.
Shot 10.10.2021 at Bicester Scramble, Bicester, Oxon. Ref. 122-410
Remains of a specific medieval fortress, which was built into four basalt towers, which are the remains of an ancient volcano. It was a guard castle with a large tower, which stood high above the landscape with a great outlook at the delta of Elbe river, an important trade route at that time. The original wooden castle stood at least in the 11th Century, and was modified to a stone castle sometimes in the 12th Century. It was expanded in the late 14th Century, attacked in 1444 and damaged, improvized repairs have been done but in the next year another enemies burned the castle down and killed all the men defending it (they were buried under the castle in a mass grave, which is still there). The castle is mentioned as abandoned in 1515, but the buildings under the core were used until WW2. Most of the stone walls sacked down the hill, creating still visible debris fields, today the basalt towers are pretty well accessible, and it is possible to climb to the highest point and have a beautiful look around the landscape.
SN/NC: Caryota Urens, Arecaceae Family
Caryota speciesare the only palms with bipinnate leaves (meaning they are divided into leaflets that divide a second time). The ultimate leaflets have a characteristic shape, somewhat like the tail of a fish, leading to the popular English name of fishtail palm. The specific epithet urens is Latin for'stinging’ or ‘burning', alluding to the oxalic acid crystals in the fruits, which are skin and membrane irritants. Solitary fishtail palm is used in several ways: the sap is fermented into an alcoholic drink or boiled down to make syrup or sugar, the inner tissue is used as sago (food starch), and the leaves produce strong fibres that are made into ropes, brushes and baskets. This specimen was found in the Oxygen Resort in Paramaribo, Suriname.
Caryota-soorten zijn de enige palmen met geveerde bladeren (wat betekent dat ze zijn verdeeld in folders die een tweede keer delen). De ultieme blaadjes hebben een karakteristieke vorm, een beetje zoals de staart van een vis, wat leidt tot de populaire Engelse naam fishtail palm. De specifieke benaming urens is Latijn voor 'prikken' of 'branden', verwijzend naar de oxaalzuurkristallen in de vruchten, die huid- en membraanirriterende stoffen zijn. Solitaire vissenstaartpalm wordt op verschillende manieren gebruikt: het sap wordt gefermenteerd tot een alcoholische drank of ingekookt om siroop of suiker te maken, het binnenste weefsel wordt gebruikt als sago (voedselzetmeel) en de bladeren produceren sterke vezels die worden verwerkt tot touwen, borstels en manden.
Caryota urens é uma palmeira ornamental, da família das arecaceaes, nativa da Índia, Malásia, Sri Lanca e arredores, conhecida pelo nome popular de palmeira-rabo-de-peixe. Ela constitui papel importante na dieta do povo do arquipélago leste da Índia é a única palmeira cujas folhas são bipinadas, característica que a torna inconfundível. A etimologia de "urens" é do latim e significa picante, ardente, que queima, em alusão à irritação nas mucosas e na pele causada pelos cristais de ácidos de oxalato presentes nas suas frutas. A espécie foi descrita pela primeira vez pelo botânico sueco Carl Nilsson Linnæus no ano de 1753. A árvore é comumente utilizada como planta ornamental. As fibras de suas folhas são utilizadas na confecção de cordas, cestos, pinceis e outros artefatos. Na alimentação ela é quase base alimentar do povo no arquipélago leste e é a principal fonte de matéria prima para a produção de sagu da Índia. Esse sagu é feito a partir do seu tecido interno. O ápice do caule (seu palmito) pode ser comido quando cozido. A semente pode ser mastigada como as nozes de areca (Areca catechu). Ela é utilizada no preparo de uma bebida alcoólica, fermentada, típica da Índia. Essa bebida é feita a partir da seiva extraída de sua inflorescência. Também dessa seiva se faz xarope e açúcar.
Caryota urens llamada vulgarmente cola de pescado por la forma de sus hojas es una palmera con tronco rectilíneo con anillos muy marcados de 15 a 20 m de altura y en torno a 40 cm de diámetro. Hojas de color verde brillante bipinnadas, con folíolos en forma de cuña,rasgados en su borde, lo que les da el aspecto de colas de pescado. Inflorescencias largas, pendientes y muy ramificadas. Frutos globulares primero verdes y luego amarillos, rojos y negros. Caryota urens fue descrito por Carlos Linneo y publicado en Species Plantarum 2: 1189. 1753.2 3. Etimología -- Caryota: nombre genérico que deriva de la palabra griega: karyon que significa nuez. Urens: epíteto latino que significa "urticante" por causar irritación en contacto con la piel.
Les espèces de Caryota sont les seuls palmiers à feuilles bipennées (ce qui signifie qu'ils sont divisés en folioles qui se divisent une seconde fois). Les feuillets ultimes ont une forme caractéristique, un peu comme la queue d'un poisson, conduisant au nom anglais populaire de palmier à queue de poisson. L'épithète spécifique urens est le latin pour «piquer» ou «brûler», faisant allusion aux cristaux d'acide oxalique dans les fruits, qui sont des irritants pour la peau et les membranes. Le palmier à queue de poisson solitaire est utilisé de plusieurs façons: la sève est fermentée en une boisson alcoolisée ou bouillie pour faire du sirop ou du sucre, le tissu interne est utilisé comme sagou (amidon alimentaire) et les feuilles produisent des fibres solides qui sont transformées en cordes, brosses et paniers.
Le specie Caryota sono le uniche palme con foglie bipennate (nel senso che sono divise in foglioline che si dividono una seconda volta). Gli ultimi volantini hanno una forma caratteristica, un po 'come la coda di un pesce, che porta al popolare nome inglese di palma a coda di pesce. L'epiteto specifico urens è latino per "pungente" o "bruciore", alludendo ai cristalli di acido ossalico nei frutti, che sono irritanti per la pelle e le membrane. La palma solitaria a coda di pesce viene utilizzata in diversi modi: la linfa viene fermentata in una bevanda alcolica o bollita per produrre sciroppo o zucchero, il tessuto interno viene utilizzato come sago (amido alimentare) e le foglie producono fibre forti che vengono trasformate in corde, spazzole e cestini.
Caryota-Arten sind die einzigen Palmen mit doppelt gefiederten Blättern (dh sie sind in Blättchen unterteilt, die sich ein zweites Mal teilen). Die ultimativen Blättchen haben eine charakteristische Form, ähnlich dem Schwanz eines Fisches, was zum beliebten englischen Namen Fischschwanzpalme führt. Das spezifische Epitheton urens ist lateinisch für "Stechen" oder "Brennen" und spielt auf die Oxalsäurekristalle in den Früchten an, die Haut- und Membranreizstoffe sind. Einzelne Fischschwanzpalmen werden auf verschiedene Arten verwendet: Der Saft wird zu einem alkoholischen Getränk fermentiert oder zu Sirup oder Zucker eingekocht, das innere Gewebe wird als Sago (Lebensmittelstärke) verwendet und die Blätter produzieren starke Fasern, die zu Seilen verarbeitet werden. Bürsten und Körbe.
Caryota 属のヤシは、二回羽状の葉（つまり、二度目に分裂する小葉に分かれている）を持つ唯一のヤシです。最後の小葉は特徴的な形をしており、魚の尾に少し似ていることから、英語ではフィッシュテール パームと呼ばれています。種小名の urens はラテン語で「刺すような」または「燃えるような」という意味で、果実に含まれるシュウ酸結晶が皮膚や粘膜を刺激することをほのめかしています。単独のフィッシュテール パームは、いくつかの方法で使用されます。樹液は発酵させてアルコール飲料にしたり、煮詰めてシロップや砂糖を作ったりします。内部組織はサゴ（食品用デンプン）として使用され、葉からはロープ、ブラシ、バスケットに加工される強力な繊維が作られます。
أنواع Caryota هي أشجار النخيل الوحيدة ذات الأوراق ثنائية الطور (بمعنى أنها مقسمة إلى منشورات تقسم مرة ثانية). المنشورات النهائية لها شكل مميز ، يشبه إلى حد ما ذيل السمكة ، مما يؤدي إلى الاسم الإنجليزي الشهير لنخيل ذيل السمكة. والسمات النوعية للبول هي كلمة لاتينية تعني "اللدغة" أو "الحرق" ، في إشارة إلى بلورات حمض الأكساليك في الثمار ، وهي مهيجات للجلد والأغشية. يتم استخدام نخيل ذيل السمكة المنفرد بعدة طرق: يتم تخمير العصارة في مشروب كحولي أو غليها لصنع شراب أو سكر ، ويتم استخدام النسيج الداخلي كساغو (نشا غذائي) ، وتنتج الأوراق أليافًا قوية يتم تصنيعها في الحبال ، فرش وسلال.
The car that needs no introduction really.
I was delighted to have finally seen this car for myself and the true condition past the photographs. A spectacular condition, the result of 20+ years of bodge repairs with ill-fitting windows, a tailgate supported by wooden stick, etc.
Sitting in the famously spartan interior, it was interesting to note just how many trim pieces were specific to the Base model - the parcel shelf, interior/door trims and dashboard to name a few. It's these efforts Ford made to differentiate the Base from the rest of the Sierra range that (I assume?) must have offsetted the extra tooling costs by means of pushing buyers to a better equipped L model.
A subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs when a tiny blood vessel breaks just underneath the clear surface of your eye (conjunctiva). The conjunctiva can't absorb the blood very quickly, so the blood is trapped there.
You may not realize you have a subconjunctival hemorrhage until you look in the mirror and find the bright red patch on the white (sclera) of your eye. It may be the result of a sudden increase in blood pressure that can result from heavy lifting, coughing, sneezing or laughing.
Subconjunctival hemorrhage is usually a harmless condition that doesn't require any specific treatment and disappears within one or two weeks.
I have no specific information about Atkinson Borders with Andrew Wishart & Sons but the type was widely used by Scottish hauliers. Introduced in 1958, the Borderer sold well until its demise in the early 1970s, by which time its fibreglass cab with cramped interior and tiny doors inconveniently positioned over the rear wheels did not endear itself to drivers (21-Apr-23).
All rights reserved. Not to be posted on Facebook or anywhere else without my prior written permission. Please follow the link below for additional information about my Flickr images:
www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7...
I'm teaching an LA workshop DECEMBER 3rd!!! 10am - 2pm, with Amanda as the featured model!!
It will cover:
PERFECTING YOUR VISION
-how to hone in and identify your visual language. then craft an individualized style.
HOW THE TOOLS SHAPE THE SHOTS
-looking at how different cameras lead to very different results, and how they influence one's work.
INTERACTING WITH MODELS
-investigating the ways in which to best engage with people, be they professionals or perfect strangers.
---------------------------------
I'll explain my techniques, my core interests as a photographer, how specific cameras force me to work differently, how and why I engage with subjects and how I achieve the effects I do with my work.
In addition there's gonna be hands-on shooting and tutoring, we'll have ourselves some models to work with, it's like a party but with less booze and more photos and fewer party fouls.
Teaching photography is just about the best fun I have during the year, so you should come. You should come, and you should tell your friend to come, too. You know, the friend that's into photography, but has a lot of questions, or maybe is looking for ways to improve, or has plateaued, or is trying to work with people but finding it frustrating.
COME TO THE WORKSHOP. BRING EVERYONE.
To book a spot ($90), please contact me direct via EMAIL
Photo taken between Manigango or Yilun La tso (lake) and Tro la (pass) Tibet,བོད .
Tibetan culture developed under the influence of a number of factors. Tibet's specific geographic and climactic conditions- its altitude, short growing season, and cold weather- have encouraged reliance on pastorialism, as well as the development of a different cuisine from surrounding regions. Contact with neighboring countries and cultures- including India, China, and Mongolia- have influenced the development of Tibetan culture, but the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinctive local influences. Buddhism has exerted a particularly strong influence on Tibetan culture since its introduction in the 7th Century. Art, literature, and music all contain elements of Buddhist religion, and Buddhism itself has adopted a unique form in Tibet, influenced by the Bön tradition and other local beliefs.
This location may be of interest to a specific group of people: Fans of the books by Gavin Maxwell, and specifically those relating to his pet otters - the trilogy of "Ring of Bright Water"; "Raven seek thy Brother" and "The Rocks remain".
He had a colourful life: During WW2 he trained SOE agents who were to be dropped into France for sabotage missions, etc but it is in his later years when he turned to writing that he is best remembered for.
This is the location in a remote part of the North-west of Scotland that he wrote about. A film was also made, based on his story: Ring of Bright Water starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers.
His house, known in the books and film as "Camusfearna", stood where the memorial stone now is. Maxwell's ashes are buried underneath it. In the background is "Raef Payne's cottage" that is referred to in Maxwells' story.
The books were hugely popular and sold millions. The location of "Camusfearna" (real name: Sandaig) remained mostly unknown until the house burned down in 1968. Then it made news round the world because of its famous occupant. One of his otters, Edal, died in the fire and is buried nearby, with a memorial cairn.
For the vast majority of people the site is too remote to visit (even if they wanted to). Living in Scotland, I was able to visit Sandaig in 1977 and again in 2011. Now, more than 50 years after the fire I've posted a selection of my pictures of Sandaig, and nearby, on Flickr. For anyone interested the pictures will be in my "RoBW" Album.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamish_Museum
Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it was also an early example of the now commonplace practice of museums allowing visitors to touch objects.
The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early 20th century. Much of the restoration and interpretation is specific to the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, together with portions of countryside under the influence of industrial revolution from 1825. On its 350 acres (140 ha) estate it uses a mixture of translocated, original and replica buildings, a large collection of artefacts, working vehicles and equipment, as well as livestock and costumed interpreters.
The museum has received a number of awards since it opened to visitors in 1972 and has influenced other living museums. It is an educational resource, and also helps to preserve some traditional and rare north-country livestock breeds.
History
Genesis
In 1958, days after starting as director of the Bowes Museum, inspired by Scandinavian folk museums, and realising the North East's traditional industries and communities were disappearing, Frank Atkinson presented a report to Durham County Council urging that a collection of items of everyday history on a large scale should begin as soon as possible, so that eventually an open air museum could be established. As well as objects, Atkinson was also aiming to preserve the region's customs and dialect. He stated the new museum should "attempt to make the history of the region live" and illustrate the way of life of ordinary people. He hoped the museum would be run by, be about and exist for the local populace, desiring them to see the museum as theirs, featuring items collected from them.
Fearing it was now almost too late, Atkinson adopted a policy of "unselective collecting" — "you offer it to us and we will collect it." Donations ranged in size from small items to locomotives and shops, and Atkinson initially took advantage of a surplus of space available in the 19th-century French chateau-style building housing the Bowes Museum to store items donated for the open air museum. With this space soon filled, a former British Army tank depot at Brancepeth was taken over, although in just a short time its entire complement of 22 huts and hangars had been filled, too.
In 1966, a working party was established to set up a museum "for the purpose of studying, collecting, preserving and exhibiting buildings, machinery, objects and information illustrating the development of industry and the way of life of the north of England", and it selected Beamish Hall, having been vacated by the National Coal Board, as a suitable location.
Establishment and expansion
In August 1970, with Atkinson appointed as its first full-time director together with three staff members, the museum was first established by moving some of the collections into the hall. In 1971, an introductory exhibition, "Museum in the Making" opened at the hall.
The museum was opened to visitors on its current site for the first time in 1972, with the first translocated buildings (the railway station and colliery winding engine) being erected the following year. The first trams began operating on a short demonstration line in 1973. The Town station was formally opened in 1976, the same year the reconstruction of the colliery winding engine house was completed, and the miners' cottages were relocated. Opening of the drift mine as an exhibit followed in 1979.
In 1975 the museum was visited by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and by Anne, Princess Royal, in 2002. In 2006, as the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, The Duke of Kent visited, to open the town masonic lodge.
With the Co-op having opened in 1984, the town area was officially opened in 1985. The pub had opened in the same year, with Ravensworth Terrace having been reconstructed from 1980 to 1985. The newspaper branch office had also been built in the mid-1980s. Elsewhere, the farm on the west side of the site (which became Home Farm) opened in 1983. The present arrangement of visitors entering from the south was introduced in 1986.
At the beginning of the 1990s, further developments in the Pit Village were opened, the chapel in 1990, and the board school in 1992. The whole tram circle was in operation by 1993.[8] Further additions to the Town came in 1994 with the opening of the sweet shop and motor garage, followed by the bank in 1999. The first Georgian component of the museum arrived when Pockerley Old Hall opened in 1995, followed by the Pockerley Waggonway in 2001.
In the early 2000s two large modern buildings were added, to augment the museum's operations and storage capacity - the Regional Resource Centre on the west side opened in 2001, followed by the Regional Museums Store next to the railway station in 2002. Due to its proximity, the latter has been cosmetically presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works. Additions to display areas came in the form of the Masonic lodge (2006) and the Lamp Cabin in the Colliery (2009). In 2010, the entrance building and tea rooms were refurbished.
Into the 2010s, further buildings were added - the fish and chip shop (opened 2011)[28] band hall (opened 2013) and pit pony stables (built 2013/14) in the Pit Village, plus a bakery (opened 2013) and chemist and photographers (opened 2016) being added to the town. St Helen's Church, in the Georgian landscape, opened in November 2015.
Remaking Beamish
A major development, named 'Remaking Beamish', was approved by Durham County Council in April 2016, with £10.7m having been raised from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £3.3m from other sources.
As of September 2022, new exhibits as part of this project have included a quilter's cottage, a welfare hall, 1950s terrace, recreation park, bus depot, and 1950s farm (all discussed in the relevant sections of this article). The coming years will see replicas of aged miners' homes from South Shields, a cinema from Ryhope, and social housing will feature a block of four relocated Airey houses, prefabricated concrete homes originally designed by Sir Edwin Airey, which previously stood in Kibblesworth. Then-recently vacated and due for demolition, they were instead offered to the museum by The Gateshead Housing Company and accepted in 2012.
Museum site
The approximately 350-acre (1.4 km2) current site, once belonging to the Eden and Shafto families, is a basin-shaped steep-sided valley with woodland areas, a river, some level ground and a south-facing aspect.
Visitors enter the site through an entrance arch formed by a steam hammer, across a former opencast mining site and through a converted stable block (from Greencroft, near Lanchester, County Durham).
Visitors can navigate the site via assorted marked footpaths, including adjacent (or near to) the entire tramway oval. According to the museum, it takes 20 minutes to walk at a relaxed pace from the entrance to the town. The tramway oval serves as both an exhibit and as a free means of transport around the site for visitors, with stops at the entrance (south), Home Farm (west), Pockerley (east) and the Town (north). Visitors can also use the museum's buses as a free form of transport between various parts of the museum. Although visitors can also ride on the Town railway and Pockerley Waggonway, these do not form part of the site's transport system (as they start and finish from the same platforms).
Governance
Beamish was the first English museum to be financed and administered by a consortium of county councils (Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) The museum is now operated as a registered charity, but continues to receive support from local authorities - Durham County Council, Sunderland City Council, Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council and North Tyneside Council. The supporting Friends of Beamish organisation was established in 1968. Frank Atkinson retired as director in 1987. The museum has been 96% self-funding for some years (mainly from admission charges).
Sections of the museum
1913
The town area, officially opened in 1985, depicts chiefly Victorian buildings in an evolved urban setting of 1913.
Tramway
The Beamish Tramway is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, with four passing loops. The line makes a circuit of the museum site forming an important element of the visitor transportation system.
The first trams began operating on a short demonstration line in 1973, with the whole circle in operation by 1993.[8] It represents the era of electric powered trams, which were being introduced to meet the needs of growing towns and cities across the North East from the late 1890s, replacing earlier horse drawn systems.
Bakery
Presented as Joseph Herron, Baker & Confectioner, the bakery was opened in 2013 and features working ovens which produce food for sale to visitors. A two-storey curved building, only the ground floor is used as the exhibit. A bakery has been included to represent the new businesses which sprang up to cater for the growing middle classes - the ovens being of the modern electric type which were growing in use. The building was sourced from Anfield Plain (which had a bakery trading as Joseph Herron), and was moved to Beamish in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The frontage features a stained glass from a baker's shop in South Shields. It also uses fittings from Stockton-on-Tees.
Motor garage
Presented as Beamish Motor & Cycle Works, the motor garage opened in 1994. Reflecting the custom nature of the early motor trade, where only one in 232 people owned a car in 1913, the shop features a showroom to the front (not accessible to visitors), with a garage area to the rear, accessed via the adjacent archway. The works is a replica of a typical garage of the era. Much of the museum's car, motorcycle and bicycle collection, both working and static, is stored in the garage. The frontage has two storeys, but the upper floor is only a small mezzanine and is not used as part of the display.
Department Store
Presented as the Annfield Plain Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd, (but more commonly referred to as the Anfield Plain Co-op Store) this department store opened in 1984, and was relocated to Beamish from Annfield Plain in County Durham. The Annfield Plain co-operative society was originally established in 1870, with the museum store stocking various products from the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), established 1863. A two-storey building, the ground floor comprises the three departments - grocery, drapery and hardware; the upper floor is taken up by the tea rooms (accessed from Redman Park via a ramp to the rear). Most of the items are for display only, but a small amount of goods are sold to visitors. The store features an operational cash carrier system, of the Lamson Cash Ball design - common in many large stores of the era, but especially essential to Co-ops, where customer's dividends had to be logged.
Ravensworth Terrace
Ravensworth Terrace is a row of terraced houses, presented as the premises and living areas of various professionals. Representing the expanding housing stock of the era, it was relocated from its original site on Bensham Bank, having been built for professionals and tradesmen between 1830 and 1845. Original former residents included painter John Wilson Carmichael and Gateshead mayor Alexander Gillies. Originally featuring 25 homes, the terrace was to be demolished when the museum saved it in the 1970s, reconstructing six of them on the Town site between 1980 and 1985. They are two storey buildings, with most featuring display rooms on both floors - originally the houses would have also housed a servant in the attic. The front gardens are presented in a mix of the formal style, and the natural style that was becoming increasingly popular.
No. 2 is presented as the home of Miss Florence Smith, a music teacher, with old fashioned mid-Victorian furnishings as if inherited from her parents. No. 3 & 4 is presented as the practice and home respectively (with a knocked through door) of dentist J. Jones - the exterior nameplate having come from the surgery of Mr. J. Jones in Hartlepool. Representing the state of dental health at the time, it features both a check-up room and surgery for extraction, and a technicians room for creating dentures - a common practice at the time being the giving to daughters a set on their 21st birthday, to save any future husband the cost at a later date. His home is presented as more modern than No.2, furnished in the Edwardian style the modern day utilities of an enamelled bathroom with flushing toilet, a controllable heat kitchen range and gas cooker. No. 5 is presented as a solicitor's office, based on that of Robert Spence Watson, a Quaker from Newcastle. Reflecting the trade of the era, downstairs is laid out as the partner's or principal office, and the general or clerk's office in the rear. Included is a set of books sourced from ER Hanby Holmes, who practised in Barnard Castle.
Pub
Presented as The Sun Inn, the pub opened in the town in 1985. It had originally stood in Bondgate in Bishop Auckland, and was donated to the museum by its final owners, the Scottish and Newcastle Breweries. Originally a "one-up one down" cottage, the earliest ownership has been traced to James Thompson, on 21 January 1806. Known as The Tiger Inn until the 1850s, from 1857 to 1899 under the ownership of the Leng family, it flourished under the patronage of miners from Newton Cap and other collieries. Latterly run by Elsie Edes, it came under brewery ownership in the 20th Century when bought by S&N antecedent, James Deuchar Ltd. The pub is fully operational, and features both a front and back bar, the two stories above not being part of the exhibit. The interior decoration features the stuffed racing greyhound Jake's Bonny Mary, which won nine trophies before being put on display in The Gerry in White le Head near Tantobie.
Town stables
Reflecting the reliance on horses for a variety of transport needs in the era, the town features a centrally located stables, situated behind the sweet shop, with its courtyard being accessed from the archway next to the pub. It is presented as a typical jobmaster's yard, with stables and a tack room in the building on its north side. A small, brick built open air, carriage shed is sited on the back of the printworks building. On the east side of the courtyard is a much larger metal shed (utilising iron roof trusses from Fleetwood), arranged mainly as carriage storage, but with a blacksmith's shop in the corner. The building on the west side of the yard is not part of any display. The interior fittings for the harness room came from Callaly Caste. Many of the horses and horse-drawn vehicles used by the museum are housed in the stables and sheds.
Printer, stationer and newspaper branch office
Presented as the Beamish Branch Office of the Northern Daily Mail and the Sunderland Daily Echo, the two storey replica building was built in the mid-1980s and represents the trade practices of the era. Downstairs, on the right, is the branch office, where newspapers would be sold directly and distributed to local newsagents and street vendors, and where orders for advertising copy would be taken. Supplementing it is a stationer's shop on the left hand side, with both display items and a small number of gift items on public sale. Upstairs is a jobbing printers workshop, which would not produce the newspapers, but would instead print leaflets, posters and office stationery. Split into a composing area and a print shop, the shop itself has a number of presses - a Columbian built in 1837 by Clymer and Dixon, an Albion dating back to 1863, an Arab Platen of c. 1900, and a Wharfedale flat bed press, built by Dawson & Son in around 1870. Much of the machinery was sourced from the print works of Jack Ascough's of Barnard Castle. Many of the posters seen around the museum are printed in the works, with the operation of the machinery being part of the display.
Sweet shop
Presented as Jubilee Confectioners, the two storey sweet shop opened in 1994 and is meant to represent the typical family run shops of the era, with living quarters above the shop (the second storey not being part of the display). To the front of the ground floor is a shop, where traditional sweets and chocolate (which was still relatively expensive at the time) are sold to visitors, while in the rear of the ground floor is a manufacturing area where visitors can view the techniques of the time (accessed via the arched walkway on the side of the building). The sweet rollers were sourced from a variety of shops and factories.
Bank
Presented as a branch of Barclays Bank (Barclay & Company Ltd) using period currency, the bank opened in 1999. It represents the trend of the era when regional banks were being acquired and merged into national banks such as Barclays, formed in 1896. Built to a three-storey design typical of the era, and featuring bricks in the upper storeys sourced from Park House, Gateshead, the Swedish imperial red shade used on the ground floor frontage is intended to represent stability and security. On the ground floor are windows for bank tellers, plus the bank manager's office. Included in a basement level are two vaults. The upper two storeys are not part of the display. It features components sourced from Southport and Gateshead
Masonic Hall
The Masonic Hall opened in 2006, and features the frontage from a former masonic hall sited in Park Terrace, Sunderland. Reflecting the popularity of the masons in North East England, as well as the main hall, which takes up the full height of the structure, in a small two story arrangement to the front of the hall is also a Robing Room and the Tyler's Room on the ground floor, and a Museum Room upstairs, featuring display cabinets of masonic regalia donated from various lodges. Upstairs is also a class room, with large stained glass window.
Chemist and photographer
Presented as W Smith's Chemist and JR & D Edis Photographers, a two-storey building housing both a chemist and photographers shops under one roof opened on 7 May 2016 and represents the growing popularity of photography in the era, with shops often growing out of or alongside chemists, who had the necessary supplies for developing photographs. The chemist features a dispensary, and equipment from various shops including John Walker, inventor of the friction match. The photographers features a studio, where visitors can dress in period costume and have a photograph taken. The corner building is based on a real building on Elvet Bridge in Durham City, opposite the Durham Marriot Hotel (the Royal County), although the second storey is not part of the display. The chemist also sells aerated water (an early form of carbonated soft drinks) to visitors, sold in marble-stopper sealed Codd bottles (although made to a modern design to prevent the safety issue that saw the original bottles banned). Aerated waters grew in popularity in the era, due to the need for a safe alternative to water, and the temperance movement - being sold in chemists due to the perception they were healthy in the same way mineral waters were.
Costing around £600,000 and begun on 18 August 2014, the building's brickwork and timber was built by the museum's own staff and apprentices, using Georgian bricks salvaged from demolition works to widen the A1. Unlike previous buildings built on the site, the museum had to replicate rather than relocate this one due to the fact that fewer buildings are being demolished compared to the 1970s, and in any case it was deemed unlikely one could be found to fit the curved shape of the plot. The studio is named after a real business run by John Reed Edis and his daughter Daisy. Mr Edis, originally at 27 Sherburn Road, Durham, in 1895, then 52 Saddler Street from 1897. The museum collection features several photographs, signs and equipment from the Edis studio. The name for the chemist is a reference to the business run by William Smith, who relocated to Silver Street, near the original building, in 1902. According to records, the original Edis company had been supplied by chemicals from the original (and still extant) Smith business.
Redman Park
Redman Park is a small lawned space with flower borders, opposite Ravensworth Terrace. Its centrepiece is a Victorian bandstand sourced from Saltwell Park, where it stood on an island in the middle of a lake. It represents the recognised need of the time for areas where people could relax away from the growing industrial landscape.
Other
Included in the Town are drinking fountains and other period examples of street furniture. In between the bank and the sweet shop is a combined tram and bus waiting room and public convenience.
Unbuilt
When construction of the Town began, the projected town plan incorporated a market square and buildings including a gas works, fire station, ice cream parlour (originally the Central Cafe at Consett), a cast iron bus station from Durham City, school, public baths and a fish and chip shop.
Railway station
East of the Town is the Railway Station, depicting a typical small passenger and goods facility operated by the main railway company in the region at the time, the North Eastern Railway (NER). A short running line extends west in a cutting around the north side of the Town itself, with trains visible from the windows of the stables. It runs for a distance of 1⁄4 mile - the line used to connect to the colliery sidings until 1993 when it was lifted between the town and the colliery so that the tram line could be extended. During 2009 the running line was relaid so that passenger rides could recommence from the station during 2010.
Rowley station
Representing passenger services is Rowley Station, a station building on a single platform, opened in 1976, having been relocated to the museum from the village of Rowley near Consett, just a few miles from Beamish.
The original Rowley railway station was opened in 1845 (as Cold Rowley, renamed Rowley in 1868) by the NER antecedent, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, consisting of just a platform. Under NER ownership, as a result of increasing use, in 1873 the station building was added. As demand declined, passenger service was withdrawn in 1939, followed by the goods service in 1966. Trains continued to use the line for another three years before it closed, the track being lifted in 1970. Although in a state of disrepair, the museum acquired the building, dismantling it in 1972, being officially unveiled in its new location by railway campaigner and poet, Sir John Betjeman.
The station building is presented as an Edwardian station, lit by oil lamp, having never been connected to gas or electricity supplies in its lifetime. It features both an open waiting area and a visitor accessible waiting room (western half), and a booking and ticket office (eastern half), with the latter only visible from a small viewing entrance. Adorning the waiting room is a large tiled NER route map.
Signal box
The signal box dates from 1896, and was relocated from Carr House East near Consett. It features assorted signalling equipment, basic furnishings for the signaller, and a lever frame, controlling the stations numerous points, interlocks and semaphore signals. The frame is not an operational part of the railway, the points being hand operated using track side levers. Visitors can only view the interior from a small area inside the door.
Goods shed
The goods shed is originally from Alnwick. The goods area represents how general cargo would have been moved on the railway, and for onward transport. The goods shed features a covered platform where road vehicles (wagons and carriages) can be loaded with the items unloaded from railway vans. The shed sits on a triangular platform serving two sidings, with a platform mounted hand-crane, which would have been used for transhipment activity (transfer of goods from one wagon to another, only being stored for a short time on the platform, if at all).
Coal yard
The coal yard represents how coal would have been distributed from incoming trains to local merchants - it features a coal drop which unloads railway wagons into road going wagons below. At the road entrance to the yard is a weighbridge (with office) and coal merchant's office - both being appropriately furnished with display items, but only viewable from outside.
The coal drop was sourced from West Boldon, and would have been a common sight on smaller stations. The weighbridge came from Glanton, while the coal office is from Hexham.
Bridges and level crossing
The station is equipped with two footbridges, a wrought iron example to the east having come from Howden-le-Wear, and a cast iron example to the west sourced from Dunston. Next to the western bridge, a roadway from the coal yard is presented as crossing the tracks via a gated level crossing (although in reality the road goes nowhere on the north side).
Waggon and Iron Works
Dominating the station is the large building externally presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works, estd 1857. In reality this is the Regional Museums Store (see below), although attached to the north side of the store are two covered sidings (not accessible to visitors), used to service and store the locomotives and stock used on the railway.
Other
A corrugated iron hut adjacent to the 'iron works' is presented as belonging to the local council, and houses associated road vehicles, wagons and other items.
Fairground
Adjacent to the station is an events field and fairground with a set of Frederick Savage built steam powered Gallopers dating from 1893.
Colliery
Presented as Beamish Colliery (owned by James Joicey & Co., and managed by William Severs), the colliery represents the coal mining industry which dominated the North East for generations - the museum site is in the former Durham coalfield, where 165,246 men and boys worked in 304 mines in 1913. By the time period represented by Beamish's 1900s era, the industry was booming - production in the Great Northern Coalfield had peaked in 1913, and miners were relatively well paid (double that of agriculture, the next largest employer), but the work was dangerous. Children could be employed from age 12 (the school leaving age), but could not go underground until 14.
Deep mine
Reconstructed pitworks buildings showing winding gear
Dominating the colliery site are the above ground structures of a deep (i.e. vertical shaft) mine - the brick built Winding Engine House, and the red painted wooden Heapstead. These were relocated to the museum (which never had its own vertical shaft), the winding house coming from Beamish Chophill Colliery, and the Heapstead from Ravensworth Park Mine in Gateshead. The winding engine and its enclosing house are both listed.
The winding engine was the source of power for hauling miners, equipment and coal up and down the shaft in a cage, the top of the shaft being in the adjacent heapstead, which encloses the frame holding the wheel around which the hoist cable travels. Inside the Heapstead, tubs of coal from the shaft were weighed on a weighbridge, then tipped onto jigging screens, which sifted the solid lumps from small particles and dust - these were then sent along the picking belt, where pickers, often women, elderly or disabled people or young boys (i.e. workers incapable of mining), would separate out unwanted stone, wood and rubbish. Finally, the coal was tipped onto waiting railway wagons below, while the unwanted waste sent to the adjacent heap by an external conveyor.
Chophill Colliery was closed by the National Coal Board in 1962, but the winding engine and tower were left in place. When the site was later leased, Beamish founder Frank Atkinson intervened to have both spot listed to prevent their demolition. After a protracted and difficult process to gain the necessary permissions to move a listed structure, the tower and engine were eventually relocated to the museum, work being completed in 1976. The winding engine itself is the only surviving example of the type which was once common, and was still in use at Chophill upon its closure. It was built in 1855 by J&G Joicey of Newcastle, to an 1800 design by Phineas Crowther.
Inside the winding engine house, supplementing the winding engine is a smaller jack engine, housed in the rear. These were used to lift heavy equipment, and in deep mines, act as a relief winding engine.
Outdoors, next to the Heapstead, is a sinking engine, mounted on red bricks. Brought to the museum from Silksworth Colliery in 1971, it was built by Burlington's of Sunderland in 1868 and is the sole surviving example of its kind. Sinking engines were used for the construction of shafts, after which the winding engine would become the source of hoist power. It is believed the Silksworth engine was retained because it was powerful enough to serve as a backup winding engine, and could be used to lift heavy equipment (i.e. the same role as the jack engine inside the winding house).
Drift mine
The Mahogany Drift Mine is original to Beamish, having opened in 1855 and after closing, was brought back into use in 1921 to transport coal from Beamish Park Drift to Beamish Cophill Colliery. It opened as a museum display in 1979. Included in the display is the winding engine and a short section of trackway used to transport tubs of coal to the surface, and a mine office. Visitor access into the mine shaft is by guided tour.
Lamp cabin
The Lamp Cabin opened in 2009, and is a recreation of a typical design used in collieries to house safety lamps, a necessary piece of equipment for miners although were not required in the Mahogany Drift Mine, due to it being gas-free. The building is split into two main rooms; in one half, the lamp cabin interior is recreated, with a collection of lamps on shelves, and the system of safety tokens used to track which miners were underground. Included in the display is a 1927 Hailwood and Ackroyd lamp-cleaning machine sourced from Morrison Busty Colliery in Annfield Plain. In the second room is an educational display, i.e., not a period interior.
Colliery railways
The colliery features both a standard gauge railway, representing how coal was transported to its onward destination, and narrow-gauge typically used by Edwardian collieries for internal purposes. The standard gauge railway is laid out to serve the deep mine - wagons being loaded by dropping coal from the heapstead - and runs out of the yard to sidings laid out along the northern-edge of the Pit Village.
The standard gauge railway has two engine sheds in the colliery yard, the smaller brick, wood and metal structure being an operational building; the larger brick-built structure is presented as Beamish Engine Works, a reconstruction of an engine shed formerly at Beamish 2nd Pit. Used for locomotive and stock storage, it is a long, single track shed featuring a servicing pit for part of its length. Visitors can walk along the full length in a segregated corridor. A third engine shed in brick (lower half) and corrugated iron has been constructed at the southern end of the yard, on the other side of the heapstead to the other two sheds, and is used for both narrow and standard gauge vehicles (on one road), although it is not connected to either system - instead being fed by low-loaders and used for long-term storage only.
The narrow gauge railway is serviced by a corrugate iron engine shed, and is being expanded to eventually encompass several sidings.
There are a number of industrial steam locomotives (including rare examples by Stephen Lewin from Seaham and Black, Hawthorn & Co) and many chaldron wagons, the region's traditional type of colliery railway rolling stock, which became a symbol of Beamish Museum. The locomotive Coffee Pot No 1 is often in steam during the summer.
Other
On the south eastern corner of the colliery site is the Power House, brought to the museum from Houghton Colliery. These were used to store explosives.
Pit Village
Alongside the colliery is the pit village, representing life in the mining communities that grew alongside coal production sites in the North East, many having come into existence solely because of the industry, such as Seaham Harbour, West Hartlepool, Esh Winning and Bedlington.
Miner's Cottages
The row of six miner's cottages in Francis Street represent the tied-housing provided by colliery owners to mine workers. Relocated to the museum in 1976, they were originally built in the 1860s in Hetton-le-Hole by Hetton Coal Company. They feature the common layout of a single-storey with a kitchen to the rear, the main room of the house, and parlour to the front, rarely used (although it was common for both rooms to be used for sleeping, with disguised folding "dess" beds common), and with children sleeping in attic spaces upstairs. In front are long gardens, used for food production, with associated sheds. An outdoor toilet and coal bunker were in the rear yards, and beyond the cobbled back lane to their rear are assorted sheds used for cultivation, repairs and hobbies. Chalkboard slates attached to the rear wall were used by the occupier to tell the mine's "knocker up" when they wished to be woken for their next shift.
No.2 is presented as a Methodist family's home, featuring good quality "Pitman's mahogany" furniture; No.3 is presented as occupied by a second generation well off Irish Catholic immigrant family featuring many items of value (so they could be readily sold off in times of need) and an early 1890s range; No.3 is presented as more impoverished than the others with just a simple convector style Newcastle oven, being inhabited by a miner's widow allowed to remain as her son is also a miner, and supplementing her income doing laundry and making/mending for other families. All the cottages feature examples of the folk art objects typical of mining communities. Also included in the row is an office for the miner's paymaster.[11] In the rear alleyway of the cottages is a communal bread oven, which were commonplace until miner's cottages gradually obtained their own kitchen ranges. They were used to bake traditional breads such as the Stottie, as well as sweet items, such as tea cakes. With no extant examples, the museum's oven had to be created from photographs and oral history.
School
The school opened in 1992, and represents the typical board school in the educational system of the era (the stone built single storey structure being inscribed with the foundation date of 1891, Beamish School Board), by which time attendance at a state approved school was compulsory, but the leaving age was 12, and lessons featured learning by rote and corporal punishment. The building originally stood in East Stanley, having been set up by the local school board, and would have numbered around 150 pupils. Having been donated by Durham County Council, the museum now has a special relationship with the primary school that replaced it. With separate entrances and cloakrooms for boys and girls at either end, the main building is split into three class rooms (all accessible to visitors), connected by a corridor along the rear. To the rear is a red brick bike shed, and in the playground visitors can play traditional games of the era.
Chapel
Pit Hill Chapel opened in 1990, and represents the Wesleyan Methodist tradition which was growing in North East England, with the chapels used for both religious worship and as community venues, which continue in its role in the museum display. Opened in the 1850s, it originally stood not far from its present site, having been built in what would eventually become Beamish village, near the museum entrance. A stained glass window of The Light of The World by William Holman Hunt came from a chapel in Bedlington. A two handled Love Feast Mug dates from 1868, and came from a chapel in Shildon Colliery. On the eastern wall, above the elevated altar area, is an angled plain white surface used for magic lantern shows, generated using a replica of the double-lensed acetylene gas powered lanterns of the period, mounted in the aisle of the main seating area. Off the western end of the hall is the vestry, featuring a small library and communion sets from Trimdon Colliery and Catchgate.
Fish bar
Presented as Davey's Fried Fish & Chip Potato Restaurant, the fish and chip shop opened in 2011, and represents the typical style of shop found in the era as they were becoming rapidly popular in the region - the brick built Victorian style fryery would most often have previously been used for another trade, and the attached corrugated iron hut serves as a saloon with tables and benches, where customers would eat and socialise. Featuring coal fired ranges using beef-dripping, the shop is named in honour of the last coal fired shop in Tyneside, in Winlaton Mill, and which closed in 2007. Latterly run by brothers Brian and Ramsay Davy, it had been established by their grandfather in 1937. The serving counter and one of the shop's three fryers, a 1934 Nuttal, came from the original Davy shop. The other two fryers are a 1920s Mabbott used near Chester until the 1960s, and a GW Atkinson New Castle Range, donated from a shop in Prudhoe in 1973. The latter is one of only two known late Victorian examples to survive. The decorative wall tiles in the fryery came to the museum in 1979 from Cowes Fish and Game Shop in Berwick upon Tweed. The shop also features both an early electric and hand-powered potato rumblers (cleaners), and a gas powered chip chopper built around 1900. Built behind the chapel, the fryery is arranged so the counter faces the rear, stretching the full length of the building. Outside is a brick built row of outdoor toilets. Supplementing the fish bar is the restored Berriman's mobile chip van, used in Spennymoor until the early 1970s.
Band hall
The Hetton Silver Band Hall opened in 2013, and features displays reflecting the role colliery bands played in mining life. Built in 1912, it was relocated from its original location in South Market Street, Hetton-le-Hole, where it was used by the Hetton Silver Band, founded in 1887. They built the hall using prize money from a music competition, and the band decided to donate the hall to the museum after they merged with Broughtons Brass Band of South Hetton (to form the Durham Miners' Association Brass Band). It is believed to be the only purpose built band hall in the region. The structure consists of the main hall, plus a small kitchen to the rear; as part of the museum it is still used for performances.
Pit pony stables
The Pit Pony Stables were built in 2013/14, and house the museum's pit ponies. They replace a wooden stable a few metres away in the field opposite the school (the wooden structure remaining). It represents the sort of stables that were used in drift mines (ponies in deep mines living their whole lives underground), pit ponies having been in use in the north east as late as 1994, in Ellington Colliery. The structure is a recreation of an original building that stood at Rickless Drift Mine, between High Spen and Greenside; it was built using a yellow brick that was common across the Durham coalfield.
Other
Doubling as one of the museum's refreshment buildings, Sinker's Bait Cabin represents the temporary structures that would have served as living quarters, canteens and drying areas for sinkers, the itinerant workforce that would dig new vertical mine shafts.
Representing other traditional past-times, the village fields include a quoits pitch, with another refreshment hut alongside it, resembling a wooden clubhouse.
In one of the fields in the village stands the Cupola, a small round flat topped brick built tower; such structures were commonly placed on top of disused or ventilation shafts, also used as an emergency exit from the upper seams.
The Georgian North (1825)
A late Georgian landscape based around the original Pockerley farm represents the period of change in the region as transport links were improved and as agriculture changed as machinery and field management developed, and breeding stock was improved. It became part of the museum in 1990, having latterly been occupied by a tenant farmer, and was opened as an exhibit in 1995. The hill top position suggests the site was the location of an Iron Age fort - the first recorded mention of a dwelling is in the 1183 Buke of Boldon (the region's equivalent of the Domesday Book). The name Pockerley has Saxon origins - "Pock" or "Pokor" meaning "pimple of bag-like" hill, and "Ley" meaning woodland clearing.
The surrounding farmlands have been returned to a post-enclosure landscape with ridge and furrow topography, divided into smaller fields by traditional riven oak fencing. The land is worked and grazed by traditional methods and breeds.
Pockerley Old Hall
The estate of Pockerley Old Hall is presented as that of a well off tenant farmer, in a position to take advantage of the agricultural advances of the era. The hall itself consists of the Old House, which is adjoined (but not connected to) the New House, both south facing two storey sandstone built buildings, the Old House also having a small north–south aligned extension. Roof timbers in the sandstone built Old House have been dated to the 1440s, but the lower storey (the undercroft) may be from even earlier. The New House dates to the late 1700s, and replaced a medieval manor house to the east of the Old House as the main farm house - once replaced itself, the Old House is believed to have been let to the farm manager. Visitors can access all rooms in the New and Old House, except the north–south extension which is now a toilet block. Displays include traditional cooking, such as the drying of oatcakes over a wooden rack (flake) over the fireplace in the Old House.
Inside the New House the downstairs consists of a main kitchen and a secondary kitchen (scullery) with pantry. It also includes a living room, although as the main room of the house, most meals would have been eaten in the main kitchen, equipped with an early range, boiler and hot air oven. Upstairs is a main bedroom and a second bedroom for children; to the rear (i.e. the colder, north side), are bedrooms for a servant and the servant lad respectively. Above the kitchen (for transferred warmth) is a grain and fleece store, with attached bacon loft, a narrow space behind the wall where bacon or hams, usually salted first, would be hung to be smoked by the kitchen fire (entering through a small door in the chimney).
Presented as having sparse and more old fashioned furnishings, the Old House is presented as being occupied in the upper story only, consisting of a main room used as the kitchen, bedroom and for washing, with the only other rooms being an adjoining second bedroom and an overhanging toilet. The main bed is an oak box bed dating to 1712, obtained from Star House in Baldersdale in 1962. Originally a defensive house in its own right, the lower level of the Old House is an undercroft, or vaulted basement chamber, with 1.5 metre thick walls - in times of attack the original tenant family would have retreated here with their valuables, although in its later use as the farm managers house, it is now presented as a storage and work room, housing a large wooden cheese press.[68] More children would have slept in the attic of the Old House (not accessible as a display).
To the front of the hall is a terraced garden featuring an ornamental garden with herbs and flowers, a vegetable garden, and an orchard, all laid out and planted according to the designs of William Falla of Gateshead, who had the largest nursery in Britain from 1804 to 1830.
The buildings to the east of the hall, across a north–south track, are the original farmstead buildings dating from around 1800. These include stables and a cart shed arranged around a fold yard. The horses and carts on display are typical of North Eastern farms of the era, Fells or Dales ponies and Cleveland Bay horses, and two wheeled long carts for hilly terrain (as opposed to four wheel carts).
Pockerley Waggonway
The Pockerley Waggonway opened in 2001, and represents the year 1825, as the year the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened. Waggonways had appeared around 1600, and by the 1800s were common in mining areas - prior to 1800 they had been either horse or gravity powered, before the invention of steam engines (initially used as static winding engines), and later mobile steam locomotives.
Housing the locomotives and rolling stock is the Great Shed, which opened in 2001 and is based on Timothy Hackworth's erecting shop, Shildon railway works, and incorporating some material from Robert Stephenson and Company's Newcastle works. Visitors can walk around the locomotives in the shed, and when in steam, can take rides to the end of the track and back in the line's assorted rolling stock - situated next to the Great Shed is a single platform for passenger use. In the corner of the main shed is a corner office, presented as a locomotive designer's office (only visible to visitors through windows). Off the pedestrian entrance in the southern side is a room presented as the engine crew's break room. Atop the Great Shed is a weather vane depicting a waggonway train approaching a cow, a reference to a famous quote by George Stephenson when asked by parliament in 1825 what would happen in such an eventuality - "very awkward indeed - for the coo!".
At the far end of the waggonway is the (fictional) coal mine Pockerley Gin Pit, which the waggonway notionally exists to serve. The pit head features a horse powered wooden whim gin, which was the method used before steam engines for hauling men and material up and down mineshafts - coal was carried in corves (wicker baskets), while miners held onto the rope with their foot in an attached loop.
Wooden waggonway
Following creation of the Pockerley Waggonway, the museum went back a chapter in railway history to create a horse-worked wooden waggonway.
St Helen's Church
St Helen's Church represents a typical type of country church found in North Yorkshire, and was relocated from its original site in Eston, North Yorkshire. It is the oldest and most complex building moved to the museum. It opened in November 2015, but will not be consecrated as this would place restrictions on what could be done with the building under church law.
The church had existed on its original site since around 1100. As the congregation grew, it was replaced by two nearby churches, and latterly became a cemetery chapel. After closing in 1985, it fell into disrepair and by 1996 was burnt out and vandalised leading to the decision by the local authority in 1998 to demolish it. Working to a deadline of a threatened demolition within six months, the building was deconstructed and moved to Beamish, reconstruction being authorised in 2011, with the exterior build completed by 2012.
While the structure was found to contain some stones from the 1100 era, the building itself however dates from three distinct building phases - the chancel on the east end dates from around 1450, while the nave, which was built at the same time, was modernised in 1822 in the Churchwarden style, adding a vestry. The bell tower dates from the late 1600s - one of the two bells is a rare dated Tudor example. Gargoyles, originally hidden in the walls and believed to have been pranks by the original builders, have been made visible in the reconstruction.
Restored to its 1822 condition, the interior has been furnished with Georgian box pews sourced from a church in Somerset. Visitors can access all parts except the bell tower. The nave includes a small gallery level, at the tower end, while the chancel includes a church office.
Joe the Quilter's Cottage
The most recent addition to the area opened to the public in 2018 is a recreation of a heather-thatched cottage which features stones from the Georgian quilter Joseph Hedley's original home in Northumberland. It was uncovered during an archaeological dig by Beamish. His original cottage was demolished in 1872 and has been carefully recreated with the help of a drawing on a postcard. The exhibit tells the story of quilting and the growth of cottage industries in the early 1800s. Within there is often a volunteer or member of staff not only telling the story of how Joe was murdered in 1826, a crime that remains unsolved to this day, but also giving visitors the opportunity to learn more and even have a go at quilting.
Other
A pack pony track passes through the scene - pack horses having been the mode of transport for all manner of heavy goods where no waggonway exists, being also able to reach places where carriages and wagons could not access. Beside the waggonway is a gibbet.
Farm (1940s)
Presented as Home Farm, this represents the role of North East farms as part of the British Home Front during World War II, depicting life indoors, and outside on the land. Much of the farmstead is original, and opened as a museum display in 1983. The farm is laid out across a north–south public road; to the west is the farmhouse and most of the farm buildings, while on the east side are a pair of cottages, the British Kitchen, an outdoor toilet ("netty"), a bull field, duck pond and large shed.
The farm complex was rebuilt in the mid-19th century as a model farm incorporating a horse mill and a steam-powered threshing mill. It was not presented as a 1940s farm until early 2014.
The farmhouse is presented as having been modernised, following the installation of electric power and an Aga cooker in the scullery, although the main kitchen still has the typical coal-fired black range. Lino flooring allowed quicker cleaning times, while a radio set allowed the family to keep up to date with wartime news. An office next to the kitchen would have served both as the administration centre for the wartime farm, and as a local Home Guard office. Outside the farmhouse is an improvised Home Guard pillbox fashioned from half an egg-ended steam boiler, relocated from its original position near Durham.
The farm is equipped with three tractors which would have all seen service during the war: a Case, a Fordson N and a 1924 Fordson F. The farm also features horse-drawn traps, reflecting the effect wartime rationing of petrol would have had on car use. The farming equipment in the cart and machinery sheds reflects the transition of the time from horse-drawn to tractor-pulled implements, with some older equipment put back into use due to the war, as well as a large Foster thresher, vital for cereal crops, and built specifically for the war effort, sold at the Newcastle Show. Although the wartime focus was on crops, the farm also features breeds of sheep, cattle, pigs and poultry that would have been typical for the time. The farm also has a portable steam engine, not in use, but presented as having been left out for collection as part of a wartime scrap metal drive.
The cottages would have housed farm labourers, but are presented as having new uses for the war: Orchard Cottage housing a family of evacuees, and Garden Cottage serving as a billet for members of the Women's Land Army (Land Girls). Orchard Cottage is named for an orchard next to it, which also contains an Anderson shelter, reconstructed from partial pieces of ones recovered from around the region. Orchard Cottage, which has both front and back kitchens, is presented as having an up to date blue enameled kitchen range, with hot water supplied from a coke stove, as well as a modern accessible bathroom. Orchard Cottage is also used to stage recreations of wartime activities for schools, elderly groups and those living with dementia. Garden Cottage is sparsely furnished with a mix of items, reflecting the few possessions Land Girls were able to take with them, although unusually the cottage is depicted with a bathroom, and electricity (due to proximity to a colliery).
The British Kitchen is both a display and one of the museum's catering facilities; it represents an installation of one of the wartime British Restaurants, complete with propaganda posters and a suitably patriotic menu.
Town (1950s)
As part of the Remaking Beamish project, with significant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the museum is creating a 1950s town. Opened in July 2019, the Welfare Hall is an exact replica of the Leasingthorne Colliery Welfare Hall and Community Centre which was built in 1957 near Bishop Auckland. Visitors can 'take part in activities including dancing, crafts, Meccano, beetle drive, keep fit and amateur dramatics' while also taking a look at the National Health Service exhibition on display, recreating the environment of an NHS clinic. A recreation and play park, named Coronation Park was opened in May 2022 to coincide with the celebrations around the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
The museum's first 1950s terrace opened in February 2022. This included a fish and chip shop from Middleton St George, a cafe, a replica of Norman Cornish's home, and a hairdressers. Future developments opposite the existing 1950s terrace will see a recreation of The Grand Cinema, from Ryhope, in Sunderland, and toy and electricians shops. Also underdevelopment are a 1950s bowling green and pavilion, police houses and aged miner's cottages. Also under construction are semi-detached houses; for this exhibit, a competition was held to recreate a particular home at Beamish, which was won by a family from Sunderland.
As well as the town, a 1950s Northern bus depot has been opened on the western side of the museum – the purpose of this is to provide additional capacity for bus, trolleybus and tram storage once the planned trolleybus extension and the new area are completed, providing extra capacity and meeting the need for modified routing.
Spain's Field Farm
In March 2022, the museum opened Spain's Field Farm. It had stood for centuries at Eastgate in Weardale, and was moved to Beamish stone-by-stone. It is exhibited as it would have been in the 1950s.
1820s Expansion
In the area surrounding the current Pockerley Old Hall and Steam Wagon Way more development is on the way. The first of these was planned to be a Georgian Coaching Inn that would be the museum's first venture into overnight accommodation. However following the COVID-19 pandemic this was abandoned, in favour of self-catering accommodation in existing cottages.
There are also plans for 1820s industries including a blacksmith's forge and a pottery.
Museum stores
There are two stores on the museum site, used to house donated objects. In contrast to the traditional rotation practice used in museums where items are exchanged regularly between store and display, it is Beamish policy that most of their exhibits are to be in use and on display - those items that must be stored are to be used in the museum's future developments.
Open Store
Housed in the Regional Resource Centre, the Open Store is accessible to visitors. Objects are housed on racks along one wall, while the bulk of items are in a rolling archive, with one set of shelves opened, with perspex across their fronts to permit viewing without touching.
Regional Museums Store
The real purposes of the building presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works next to Rowley Station is as the Regional Museums Store, completed in 2002, which Beamish shares with Tyne and Wear Museums. This houses, amongst other things, a large marine diesel engine by William Doxford & Sons of Pallion, Sunderland (1977); and several boats including the Tyne wherry (a traditional local type of lighter) Elswick No. 2 (1930). The store is only open at selected times, and for special tours which can be arranged through the museum; however, a number of viewing windows have been provided for use at other times.
Transport collection
Main article: Beamish Museum transport collection
The museum contains much of transport interest, and the size of its site makes good internal transportation for visitors and staff purposes a necessity.
The collection contains a variety of historical vehicles for road, rail and tramways. In addition there are some modern working replicas to enhance the various scenes in the museum.
Agriculture
The museum's two farms help to preserve traditional northcountry and in some cases rare livestock breeds such as Durham Shorthorn Cattle; Clydesdale and Cleveland Bay working horses; Dales ponies; Teeswater sheep; Saddleback pigs; and poultry.
Regional heritage
Other large exhibits collected by the museum include a tracked steam shovel, and a coal drop from Seaham Harbour.
In 2001 a new-build Regional Resource Centre (accessible to visitors by appointment) opened on the site to provide accommodation for the museum's core collections of smaller items. These include over 300,000 historic photographs, printed books and ephemera, and oral history recordings. The object collections cover the museum's specialities. These include quilts; "clippy mats" (rag rugs); Trade union banners; floor cloth; advertising (including archives from United Biscuits and Rowntree's); locally made pottery; folk art; and occupational costume. Much of the collection is viewable online and the arts of quilting, rug making and cookery in the local traditions are demonstrated at the museum.
Filming location
The site has been used as the backdrop for many film and television productions, particularly Catherine Cookson dramas, produced by Tyne Tees Television, and the final episode and the feature film version of Downton Abbey. Some of the children's television series Supergran was shot here.
Visitor numbers
On its opening day the museum set a record by attracting a two-hour queue. Visitor numbers rose rapidly to around 450,000 p.a. during the first decade of opening to the public, with the millionth visitor arriving in 1978.
Awards
Museum of the Year1986
European Museum of the Year Award1987
Living Museum of the Year2002
Large Visitor Attraction of the YearNorth East England Tourism awards2014 & 2015
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (bronze)VisitEngland awards2016
It was designated by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in 1997 as a museum with outstanding collections.
Critical responses
In responding to criticism that it trades on nostalgia the museum is unapologetic. A former director has written: "As individuals and communities we have a deep need and desire to understand ourselves in time."
According to the BBC writing in its 40th anniversary year, Beamish was a mould-breaking museum that became a great success due to its collection policy, and what sets it apart from other museums is the use of costumed people to impart knowledge to visitors, rather than labels or interpretive panels (although some such panels do exist on the site), which means it "engages the visitor with history in a unique way".
Legacy
Beamish was influential on the Black Country Living Museum, Blists Hill Victorian Town and, in the view of museologist Kenneth Hudson, more widely in the museum community and is a significant educational resource locally. It can also demonstrate its benefit to the contemporary local economy.
The unselective collecting policy has created a lasting bond between museum and community.
Here is a set of posters setting out potential benefits / journey times for users of Canary Wharf station. Some ticket gates have already been installed as can be seen in the forefront of the photo.
Interestingly a member of staff was adamant the line will open on 9 December 2018 for public service. This is in contrast to more recent prevarication about specific dates in December.
Was scrolling through Lightroom looking for a specific image when I came across this pic already processed and just sitting there. I don't remember why I didn't like it enough to post anywhere before... Maybe it's because I had already posted so many Antelope Canyon shots already.
If you look closely near the bottom middle of the image you can see all the legs of the people being held back around the bend by our guide. I was going to burn them out but thought it was more true to the scene to leave them in.
I hope to finally get out and collect some new images this week. I picked up a sweet year long assignment with my favorite Maine publisher that I really need to get to work on.
Site-specific перформанс Ірини Плотнікової "IceDora" на фестивалі сучасного мистецтва Гогольфест 2016, Київ, Україна © repor.to/popenko
The waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus Kobus of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833.
The specific name ellipsiprymnus refers to the white elliptical ring on the rump, from the Greek ellipes (ellipse) and prymnos (prumnos, hind part).
The animal acquired the vernacular name "waterbuck" due to its heavy dependence on water as compared to other antelopes and its ability to enter into water for defence.
The thirteen subspecies are grouped under two varieties: the common or ellipsen waterbuck and the defassa waterbuck. The head-and-body length is typically between 177–235 cm (70–93 in) and the average height is between 120 and 136 cm (47 and 54 in). A sexually dimorphic antelope, males are taller as well as heavier than females. Males reach approximately 127 cm (50 in) at the shoulder, while females reach 119 cm (47 in). Males typically weigh 198–262 kg (437–578 lb) and females 161–214 kg (355–472 lb). The coat colour varies from brown to grey. The long, spiral horns, present only on males, curve backward, then forward and are 55–99 cm (22–39 in) long.
Waterbuck are rather sedentary in nature. A gregarious animal, the waterbuck may form herds consisting of six to 30 individuals. These groups are either nursery herds with females and their offspring or bachelor herds. Males start showing territorial behaviour from the age of five years, but are most dominant from the age of six to nine. The waterbuck cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather, and thus inhabits areas close to sources of water. Predominantly a grazer, the waterbuck is mostly found on grassland. In equatorial regions, breeding takes place throughout the year, but births are at their peak in the rainy season. The gestational period lasts for seven to eight months, followed by the birth of a single calf.
Waterbuck inhabit scrub and savanna areas along rivers, lakes and valleys. Due to their requirement for grasslands as well as water, the waterbuck have a sparse ecotone distribution. The IUCN lists the waterbuck as being of Least Concern. More specifically, the common waterbuck is listed as of Least Concern while the defassa waterbuck is Near Threatened. The population trend for both the common and defassa waterbuck is downwards, especially that of the latter, with large populations being eliminated from certain habitats because of hunting and human disturbance.
You can read more here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterbuck
Letsha Link
Pilanesberg National Park
Northwest Province
South Africa
Site-specific installation called "Glowing Core" by German artist Rebecca Horn (b.1944).
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Horn
The name of the building is Llotja de Palma, a historic building with Gothic design, built between 1426 and 1448. The building was originally the headquarters of the School of Merchants.
An early model type British "open cab" 2-4-0 steam locomotive, built in 1846. Specific details unknown.
in Canada, the U.S. and the World. The Honey Bee has played a very specific and important role for well over 1,000,000 years. Honey Bees pollinate flowers, fruits, vegetables, and make honey. Honey Bees are vital to the sustainability of human and animal life because they are able to keep the food chain in balance by maintaining plant life. Fairly recently, there has been an extreme decrease in the Honey Bee population throughout the world. Millions of Honey Bees have left their hives and died off without any logical explanation. This epidemic is called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. There are some theories as to why this is happening but we are still not 100% sure. It is very important to raise awareness about this terrible phenomenon in order to find out why this is happening, and more importantly, how to stop it.
"In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id
www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...
This morning, I have added the last eight photos taken on 3 July 2020, on the way home after a drive to Forgetmenot Pond, west of Calgary. The Pond was my main destination.
The weather forecast was for several rainy days in a row, so I wanted to make the most of a sunny day. The past week, I have had to be careful about how many kilometres I drove, before getting a service after the maintenance light came on a week ago, as I didn't want to mess up my car warranty.
On 3 July, however, I decided to drive west of the city, just into the eastern edge of the mountains. It's not a long drive and I was hoping to find some wildflowers before they all go to seed. I almost gave up trying to photograph wildflowers, as it was too windy to keep the flowers in the viewfinder.
What a nightmare few hours, as I think half of Calgary decided to do this trip. So many cars and so many people. Parking lots were overflowing and the main highway was lined with parked cars in many places.
My first stop was at a forested area to have a quick look for wildflowers and to see if there were any fungi that had started growing yet. Very little variety in wildflowers, and I only came across one single mushroom plus a little group of a different species.
From there, I kept driving till I reached Forgetmenot Pond. This is actually a man-made pond, left over from the excavation of a gravel pit. The water is crystal clear. It's just a short walk around the pond, but enjoyable to do. The main road this far into Kananaskis only opens in June each year, as a winter gate at Elbow Falls closes in December for the winter months, to protect the wildlife in the area. This day, though, the path around the pond had so many people on it, and some people (families?) had actually set up various tents near the path. I had to keep walking through the trees to avoid everyone. As for Elbow Falls, there were so many cars there that there was no way I was going to even try and call in briefly. This was a Friday, not even a busy weekend day. I guess this is what it is going to be like the whole of the summer - yikes!
I found the following 4-minute video on YouTube, taken by Kenneth Lori using a DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter and taken on 16 June 2016. It travels over Forgetmenot Pond and the surrounding river and mountains. So beautiful.
Later, it was such a contrast to drive a few of my favourite roads closer to home. A few cyclists and a few cars, but, in between them, it was so quiet and peaceful. Felt so good. There was even one Snipe on a fence post to make this extra bit of driving worthwhile. Not that I need any more Snipe photos to post : ) You might be glad to see a Snipe photo as, soon, it will be back to (oh, no!) American White Pelican photos. Just had to get out for a while on 5 July, partly because my place was feeling much too warm. The drive to and from Frank Lake was roughly 145 kilometers.
On 3 July, I found that two of the Mountain Bluebird families had vacated their nest boxes. I had a feeling that I was going to miss their fledging - this is what usually happens each year! However, I was so happy to spot a tiny Bluebird fledgling huddled right against the top of a fence post. Just trying to keep safe. And then, suddenly, it was no longer there. I didn't see it fly and I thought it may have dropped down into the grass. However, when I turned my car around to the other side of the road, I found a fledgling (same one?) down in the field, in an area of dried mud rather than tall grass. SO cute.
To help support a small pub/restaurant in the area, I called in and got take-out. One of the young women who works in the cafe was excited to tell me that they now have homemade chili on the menu again. The minestrone soup is also good. Both were much enjoyed when I got home.
There was still time, after taking a few photos of some of the usual birds, to drive on a road that I have driven so many times before, but not for a while. Happy to see a beautiful Swainson's Hawk perched on a fence post.
Finally reached home around 5:00 pm, after driving roughly 185 km since 9:30 am. So, not a really long drive, and one that still left me with more spare distance before my car had to go in for service yesterday. Hopefully, that will be that, for the rest of the year, as far as my vehicle is concerned!!
Yesterday, 9 July 2020, I gave my car a good test when I did an annual long drive to one of my favourite places. I stopped and started the car so many times, feeling nervous that it might not start, but all worked out well. Lots of beautiful sightings that I will start posting in the next few days. I haven't even downloaded my photos, which is most unusual for me - I was exhausted after driving somewhere around 460 km!
Capitolo primo. L’astratta qualità del ricordo. (2016/2017).
Installazione site specific al Museo Civico Villa dei Cedri per la mostra "In(de)finiti luoghi".
Ticino, Svizzera.
Chapter one. The abstract quality of remembrance. (2016/2017)
Site specific installation at Villa dei Cedri Museum for the exhibition "In(de)finiti luoghi".
Ticino, Swizterland.
. . . the natural make-up of the women is called Thanaka. It is a cream made out of the bark of specific trees. Thanaka cream has been used by Burmese women for over 2000 years. It has a fragrant scent somewhat similar to sandalwood. The creamy paste is applied to the face in attractive designs, the most common form being a circular patch on each cheek, nose, sometimes made stripey with the fingers known as thanaka bè gya, or patterned in the shape of a leaf, often also highlighting the bridge of the nose with it at the same time. It may be applied from head to toe (thanaka chi zoun gaung zoun). Apart from cosmetic beauty, thanaka also gives a cooling sensation and provides protection from sunburn. It is believed to help remove acne and promote smooth skin. It is also an anti-fungal. The active ingredients of thanaka are coumarin and marmesin.
______________________________________
Yangon (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်, MLCTS rankun mrui, pronounced: [jàɴɡòʊɴ mjo̰]; formerly known as Rangoon, literally: "End of Strife") is the capital of the Yangon Region of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the capital to the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw in central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's largest city and is its most important commercial centre.
Yangon boasts the largest number of colonial-era buildings in the region, and has a unique colonial-era urban core that is remarkably intact. The colonial-era commercial core is centred around the Sule Pagoda, which reputed to be over 2,000 years old. The city is also home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda — Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist pagoda. The mausoleum of the last Mughal Emperor is located in Yangon, where he had been exiled following the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate infrastructure, especially compared to other major cities in Southeast Asia. Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.
ETYMOLOGY
Yangon (ရန်ကုန်) is a combination of the two words yan (ရန်) and koun (ကုန်), which mean "enemies" and "run out of", respectively. It is also translated as "End of Strife". "Rangoon" most likely comes from the British imitation of the pronunciation of "Yangon" in the Arakanese language, which is [rɔ̀ɴɡʊ́ɴ].
HISTORY
EARLY HISTORY
Yangon was founded as Dagon in the early 11th century (c. 1028–1043) by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centred about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, renamed it "Yangon", and added settlements around Dagon. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.
COLONIAL RANGOON
The British seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Yangon is also the place where the British sent Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, to live after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Alexander Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. Yangon became the capital of all British-ruled Burma after the British had captured Upper Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake. The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University.
Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East." By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London.
Before World War II, about 55% of Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian or South Asian, and only about a third was Bamar (Burman). Karens, the Chinese, the Anglo-Burmese and others made up the rest.
After World War I, Yangon became the epicentre of Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way. Three nationwide strikes against the British Empire in 1920, 1936 and 1938 all began in Yangon. Yangon was under Japanese occupation (1942–45), and incurred heavy damage during World War II. The city was retaken by the Allies in May 1945.
Yangon became the capital of Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country regained independence from the British Empire.
CONTEMPORARY YANGON
Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the current military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. (The changes have not been accepted by many Burmese who consider the junta unfit to make such changes, nor by many publications, news bureaus including, most notably, the BBC and foreign nations including the United Kingdom and United States.)
Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa in the 1950s to Hlaingthaya,
Shwepyitha and South Dagon in the 1980s. Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 600 square kilometres.
During Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–88), Yangon's infrastructure deteriorated through poor maintenance and did not keep up with its increasing population. In the 1990s, the current military government's more open market policies attracted domestic and foreign investment, bringing a modicum of modernity to the city's infrastructure. Some inner city residents were forcibly relocated to new satellite towns. Many colonial-period buildings were demolished to make way for high-rise hotels, office buildings, and shopping malls, leading the city government to place about 200 notable colonial-period buildings under the Yangon City Heritage List in 1996. Major building programs have resulted in six new bridges and five new highways linking the city to its industrial back country. Still, much of Yangon remains without basic municipal services such as 24-hour electricity and regular garbage collection.
Yangon has become much more indigenous Burmese in its ethnic make-up since independence. After independence, many South Asians and Anglo-Burmese left. Many more South Asians were forced to leave during the 1960s by Ne Win's xenophobic government. Nevertheless, sizable South Asian and Chinese communities still exist in Yangon. The Anglo-Burmese have effectively disappeared, having left the country or intermarried with other Burmese groups.
Yangon was the centre of major anti-government protests in 1974, 1988 and 2007. The 1988 People Power Uprising resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of Burmese civilians, many in Yangoon where hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the streets of the then capital city. The Saffron Revolution saw mass shootings and the use of crematoria in Yangoon by the Burmese government to erase evidence of their crimes against monks, unarmed protesters, journalists and students.
The city's streets saw bloodshed each time as protesters were gunned down by the government.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Yangon. While the city had few human casualties, three quarters of Yangon's industrial infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, with losses estimated at US$800 million.
In November 2005, the military government designated Naypyidaw, 320 kilometres north of Yangon, as the new administrative capital, and subsequently moved much of the government to the newly developed city. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial centre of Myanmar.
GEOGRAPHY
Yangon is located in Lower Burma (Myanmar) at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers about 30 km away from the Gulf of Martaban at 16°48' North, 96°09' East (16.8, 96.15). Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT +6:30 hours.
CLIMATE
Yangon has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification system. The city features a lengthy wet season from May through October where a substantial amount of rainfall is received; and a dry season from November through April, where little rainfall is seen. It is primarily due to the heavy rainfall received during the rainy season that Yangon falls under the tropical monsoon climate category. During the course of the year 1961 to 1990s, average temperatures show little variance, with average highs ranging from 29 to 36 °C and average lows ranging from 18 to 25 °C.
CITYSCAPE
Until the mid-1990s, Yangon remained largely constrained to its traditional peninsula setting between the Bago, Yangon and Hlaing rivers. People moved in, but little of the city moved out. Maps from 1944 show little development north of Inya Lake and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters. Since the late 1980s, however, the city began a rapid spread north to where Yangon International airport now stands. But the result is a stretching tail on the city, with the downtown area well removed from its geographic centre. The city's area has steadily increased from 72.52 square kilometres in 1901 to 86.2 square kilometres in 1940 to 208.51 square kilometres in 1974, to 346.13 square kilometres in 1985, and to 598.75 square kilometres in 2008.
ARCHITECTURE
Downtown Yangon is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture. The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia. Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former High Court, the former Secretariat buildings, the former St. Paul's English High School and the Strand Hotel are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with 4.3 m ceilings, allowing for the construction of mezzanines. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.
In 1996, the Yangon City Development Committee created a Yangon City Heritage List of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval. In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years. The Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO started by Thant Myint-U, aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.
A latter day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story apartment building. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no elevators (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a condominium. Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city in various forms, eight-story apartment buildings provide relatively inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than 23 m or eight stories to install lifts. The current code calls for elevators in buildings higher than 19 m or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.
Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighbourhoods north of downtown such as Bahan, Dagon, Kamayut and Mayangon. The tallest building in Yangon, Pyay Gardens, is a 25-story condo in the city's north.
Older satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa are lined mostly with one to two story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as North Dagon and South Dagon are still essentially slums in a grid layout. The satellite towns - old or new - receive little or no municipal services.
ROAD LAYOUT
Downtown Yangon's road layout follows a grid pattern, based on four types of roads:
Broad 49-m wide roads running west to east
Broad 30-m wide roads running south to north
Two narrow 9.1-m wide streets running south to north
Mid-size 15-m wide streets running south to north
The east-west grid of central was laid out by British military engineers Fraser and Montgomerie after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The pattern of south to north roads is as follows: one broad 30 m wide broad road, two narrow streets, one mid-size street, two more narrow streets, and then another 30 m wide broad road. This order is repeated from west to east. The narrow streets are numbered; the medium and broad roads are named.
For example, the 30 m Lanmadaw Road is followed by 9.1 m-wide 17th and 18th streets then the medium 15 m Sint-Oh-Dan Road, the 30-foot 19th and 20th streets, followed by another 30 m wide Latha Road, followed again by the two numbered small roads 21st and 22nd streets, and so on.
The roads running parallel west to east were the Strand Road, Merchant Road, Maha Bandula (née Dalhousie) Road, Anawrahta (Fraser) Road, and Bogyoke Aung San (Montgomerie) Road.
PARKS AND GARDENS
The largest and best maintained parks in Yangon are located around Shwedagon Pagoda. To the south-east of the gilded stupa is the most popular recreational area in the city – Kandawgyi Lake. The 61-ha lake is surrounded by the 45-ha Kandawgyi Nature Park, and the 28-ha Yangon Zoological Gardens, which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park. West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 53-ha People's Square and Park, (the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.) A few miles north of the pagoda lies the 15-ha Inya Lake Park – a favorite hangout place of Yangon University students, and a well-known place of romance in Burmese popular culture.
Hlawga National Park and Allied War Memorial at the outskirts of the city are popular day-trip destinations with the well-to-do and tourists.
Yangon Book Plaza, the first and biggest book shop in Myanmar was opened on February 26, 2017 on the fifth floor of Than Zay Market in Lanmadaw Township, Yangon.
ADMINISTRATION
Yangon is administered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). YCDC also coordinates urban planning. The city is divided into four districts. The districts combined have a total of 33 townships. The current mayor of Yangon is Maung Maung Soe. Each township is administered by a committee of township leaders, who make decisions regarding city beautification and infrastructure. Myo-thit (lit. "New Towns", or satellite towns) are not within such jurisdictions.
TRANSPORT
Yangon is Burma's main domestic and international hub for air, rail, and ground transportation.
AIR
Yangon International Airport, located 19 km from the centre, is the country's main gateway for domestic and international air travel. The airport has three terminals, known as T1, T2 and T3 which is also known as Domestic. It has direct flights to regional cities in Asia – mainly, Doha, Dubai, Dhaka, Kolkata, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming and Singapore. Although domestic airlines offer service to about twenty domestic locations, most flights are to tourist destinations such as Bagan, Mandalay, Heho and Ngapali, and to the capital Naypyidaw.
RAILWAYS
Yangon Central Railway Station is the main terminus of Myanmar Railways' 5,403-kilometre rail network whose reach covers Upper Myanmar (Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Shwebo), upcountry (Myitkyina), Shan hills (Taunggyi, Lashio) and the Taninthayi coast (Mawlamyaing, Dawei).
Yangon Circular Railway operates a 45.9-kilometre 39-station commuter rail network that connects Yangon's satellite towns. The system is heavily utilized by the local populace, selling about 150,000 tickets daily. The popularity of the commuter line has jumped since the government reduced petrol subsidies in August 2007.
BUSES AND CARS
Yangon has a 4,456-kilometre road network of all types (tar, concrete and dirt) in March 2011. Many of the roads are in poor condition and not wide enough to accommodate an increasing number of cars. The vast majority of Yangon residents cannot afford a car and rely on an extensive network of buses to get around. Over 300 public and private bus lines operate about 6,300 crowded buses around the city, carrying over 4.4 million passengers a day. All buses and 80% of the taxis in Yangon run on compressed natural gas (CNG), following the 2005 government decree to save money on imported petroleum. Highway buses to other cities depart from Dagon Ayeyar Highway Bus Terminal for Irrawaddy delta region and Aung Mingala Highway Bus Terminal for other parts of the country.
Motor transportation in Yangon is highly expensive for most of its citizens. As the government allows only a few thousand cars to be imported each year in a country with over 50 million people, car prices in Yangon (and in Burma) are among the highest in the world. In July 2008, the two most popular cars in Yangon, 1986/87 Nissan Sunny Super Saloon and 1988 Toyota Corolla SE Limited, cost the equivalent of about US$20,000 and US$29,000 respectively. A sports utility vehicle, imported for the equivalent of around US$50,000, goes for US$250,000. Illegally imported unregistered cars are cheaper – typically about half the price of registered cars. Nonetheless, car usage in Yangon is on the rise, a sign of rising incomes for some, and already causes much traffic congestion in highway-less Yangon's streets. In 2011, Yangon had about 300,000 registered motor vehicles in addition to an unknown number of unregistered ones.
Since 1970, cars have been driven on the right side of the road in Burma, as part of a military decree. However, as the government has not required left hand drive (LHD) cars to accompany the right side road rules, many cars on the road are still right hand drive (RHD) made for driving on the left side. Japanese used cars, which make up most of the country's imports, still arrive with RHD and are never converted to LHD. As a result, Burmese drivers have to rely on their passengers when passing other cars.
Within Yangon city limits, it is illegal to drive trishaws, bicycles, and motorcycles. Since February 2010, pickup truck bus lines have been forbidden to run in 6 townships of central Yangon, namely Latha, Lanmadaw, Pabedan, Kyauktada, Botahtaung and Pazundaung Townships. In May 2003, a ban on using car horns was implemented in six townships of Downtown Yangon to reduce noise pollution. In April 2004, the car horn ban was expanded to cover the entire city.
RIVER
Yangon's four main passenger jetties, all located on or near downtown waterfront, mainly serve local ferries across the river to Dala and Thanlyin, and regional ferries to the Irrawaddy delta. The 35-km Twante Canal was the quickest route from Yangon to the Irrawaddy delta until the 1990s when roads between Yangon and the Irrawaddy Division became usable year-round. While passenger ferries to the delta are still used, those to Upper Burma via the Irrawaddy river are now limited mostly to tourist river cruises.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Yangon is the most populous city by far in Burma although estimates of the size of its population vary widely. All population figures are estimates since no official census has been conducted in Burma since 1983. A UN estimate puts the population as 4.35 million in 2010 but a 2009 U.S. State Department estimate puts it at 5.5 million. The U.S. State Department's estimate is probably closer to the real number since the UN number is a straight-line projection, and does not appear to take the expansion of city limits in the past two decades into account. The city's population grew sharply after 1948 as many people (mainly, the indigenous Burmese) from other parts of the country moved into the newly built satellite towns of North Okkalapa, South Okkalapa, and Thaketa in the 1950s and East Dagon, North Dagon and South Dagon in the 1990s. Immigrants have founded their regional associations (such as Mandalay Association, Mawlamyaing Association, etc.) in Yangon for networking purposes. The government's decision to move the nation's administrative capital to Naypyidaw has drained an unknown number of civil servants away from Yangon.
Yangon is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. While Indians formed the slight majority prior to World War II, today, the majority of the population is of indigenous Bamar (Burman) descent. Large communities of Indians/South Asian Burmese and the Chinese Burmese exist especially in the traditional downtown neighborhoods. A large number of Rakhine and Karen also live in the city.
Burmese is the principal language of the city. English is by far the preferred second language of the educated class. In recent years, however, the prospect of overseas job opportunities has enticed
some to study other languages: Mandarin Chinese is most popular, followed by Japanese, and French.
RELIGIONS
The primary religions practiced in Yangon are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Shwedagon Pagoda is a famous religious landmark in the city.
MEDIA
Yangon is the country's hub for the movie, music, advertising, newspaper and book publishing industries. All media is heavily regulated by the military government. Television broadcasting is off limits to the private sector. All media content must first be approved by the government's media censor board, Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.
Most television channels in the country are broadcast from Yangon. TV Myanmar and Myawaddy TV are the two main channels, providing Burmese-language programming in news and entertainment. Other special interest channels are MWD-1 and MWD-2, MRTV-3, the English-language channel that targets overseas audiences via satellite and via Internet, MRTV-4 and Channel 7 are with a focus on non-formal education programs and movies, and Movie 5, a pay-TV channel specializing in broadcasting foreign movies.
Yangon has three radio stations. Myanmar Radio National Service is the national radio service and broadcasts mostly in Burmese (and in English during specific times.) Pop culture oriented Yangon City FM and Mandalay City FM radio stations specialize in Burmese and English pop music, entertainment programs, live celebrity interviews, etc. New radio channels such as Shwe FM and Pyinsawaddy FM can also be tuned with the city area.
Nearly all print media and industries are based out of Yangon. All three national newspapers – two Burmese language dailies Myanma Alin (မြန်မာ့အလင်း) and Kyemon (ကြေးမုံ), and the English language The New Light of Myanmar — are published by the government. Semi-governmental The Myanmar Times weekly, published in Burmese and in English, is mainly geared for Yangon's expatriate community. Over twenty special interest journals and magazines covering sports, fashion, finance, crime, literature (but never politics) vie for the readership of the general populace.
Access to foreign media is extremely difficult. Satellite television in Yangon, and in Burma, is very expensive as the government imposes an annual registration fee of one million kyats. Certain foreign newspapers and periodicals such as the International Herald Tribune and the Straits Times can be found only in a few (mostly downtown) bookstores. Internet access in Yangon, which has the best telecommunication infrastructure in the country, is slow and erratic at best, and the Burmese government implements one of the world's most restrictive regimes of Internet control. International text messaging and voice messaging was permitted only in August 2008.
COMMUNICATION
Common facilities taken for granted elsewhere are luxury prized items in Yangon and Burma. The price of a GSM mobile phone was about K1.1 million in August 2008. In 2007, the country of 55 million had only 775,000 phone lines (including 275,000 mobile phones), and 400,000 computers. Even in Yangon, which has the best infrastructure, the estimated telephone penetration rate was only 6% at the end of 2004, and the official waiting time for a telephone line was 3.6 years. Most people cannot afford a computer and have to use the city's numerous Internet cafes to access a heavily restricted Internet, and a heavily censored local intranet. According to official statistics, in July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users, with the vast majority hailing from just two cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Although Internet access was available in 42 cities across the country, the number of users outside the two main cities was just over 10,000.
LIFESTYLE
Yangon's property market is the most expensive in the country and beyond the reach of most Yangonites. Most rent outside the centre and few can afford to rent such apartments. (In 2008, rents for a typical 60 to 70 m2 apartments in the centre and vicinity range between K70,000 and K150,000 and those for high end condos between K200,000 and K500,000.)
Most men of all ages (and some women) spend their time at ubiquitous tea-shops, found in any corner or street of the city. Watching European football (mostly English Premier League with occasional La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga) matches while sipping tea is a popular pastime among many Yangonites. The average person stays close to his or her residential neighbourhood. The well-to-do tend to visit shopping malls and parks on weekends. Some leave the city on weekends for Chaungtha and Ngwesaung beach resorts in Ayeyarwady Division.
Yangon is also home to many pagoda festivals (paya pwe), held during dry-season months (November – March). The most famous of all, the Shwedagon Pagoda Festival in March, attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the country.
Yangon's museums are the domain of tourists and rarely visited by the locals.
Most of Yangon's larger hotels offer some kind of nightlife entertainment, geared towards tourists and the well-to-do Burmese. Some hotels offer traditional Burmese performing arts shows complete with a traditional Burmese orchestra. The pub scene in larger hotels is more or less the same as elsewhere in Asia. Other options include karaoke bars and pub restaurants in Yangon Chinatown.
Due to the problems of high inflation, the lack of high denomination notes, and the fact that many of the population do not have access to checks, or credit or debit cards, it is common to see citizens carrying a considerable amount of cash. (The highest denomination of Burmese currency kyat is 10 000 (~US$10.)) Credit cards are only rarely used in the city, chiefly in the more lavish hotels. Credit cards are also accepted in the major supermarket and convenience store chains.
SPORTS
As the city has the best sporting facilities in the country, most national-level annual sporting tournaments such as track and field, football, volleyball, tennis and swimming are held in Yangon. The 40,000-seat Aung San Stadium and the 32,000-seat Thuwunna Stadium are the main venues for the highly popular annual State and Division football tournament. Until April 2009, the now defunct Myanmar Premier League, consisted of 16 Yangon-based clubs, played all its matches in Yangon stadiums, and attracted little interest from the general public or commercial success despite the enormous popularity of football in Burma. Most Yangonites prefer watching European football on satellite TV. Teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are among the favorite European teams among the Yangonites. It remains to be seen whether the Myanmar National League, the country's first professional football league, and its Yangon-based club Yangon United FC will attract a sufficient following in the country's most important media market.
Yangon is also home to annual the Myanmar Open golf tournament, and the Myanmar Open tennis tournament. The city hosted the 1961 and 1969 South East Asian Games. During colonial times, cricket was played mostly by British officials in the city. First-class cricket was played in the city in January 1927 when the touring Marylebone Cricket Club played Burma and the Rangoon Gymkhana. Two grounds were used to host these matches, the BAA Ground and the Gymkhana Ground. These matches mark the only time Burma and Rangoon Gymkhana have appeared in first-class cricket, and the only time first-class cricket has been played in Burma. After independence cricket all but died out in the country.
Yangon has a growing population of skateboarders, as documented in the films Altered Focus: Burma and Youth of Yangon. German non-profit organization Make Life Skate Life has received permission from the Yangon City Development Committee to construct a concrete skatepark at Thakin Mya park in downtown, and plans to complete the park in November 2015.
ECONOMY
Yangon is the country's main centre for trade, industry, real estate, media, entertainment and tourism. The city represents about one fifth of the national economy. According to official statistics for FY 2010–2011, the size of the economy of Yangon Region was 8.93 trillion kyats, or 23% of the national GDP.
The city is Lower Burma's main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise – from basic food stuffs to used cars although commerce continues to be hampered by the city's severely underdeveloped banking industry and communication infrastructure. Bayinnaung Market is the largest wholesale centre in the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities. Much of the country's legal imports and exports go through Thilawa Port, the largest and busiest port in Burma. There is also a great deal of informal trade, especially in street markets that exist alongside street platforms of Downtown Yangon's townships. However, on 17 June 2011, the YCDC announced that street vendors, who had previously been allowed to legally open shop at 3 pm, would be prohibited from selling on the streets, and permitted to sell only in their townships of residence, presumably to clean up the city's image. Since 1 December 2009, high-density polyethylene plastic bags have been banned by city authorities.
Manufacturing accounts for a sizable share of employment. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon, directly employing over 150,000 workers in 4,300 factories in early 2010. The city is the centre of country's garment industry which exported US$292 million in 2008/9 fiscal year. More than 80 percent of factory workers in Yangon work on a day-to-day basis. Most are young women between 15 and 27 years of age who come from the countryside in search of a better life. The manufacturing sector suffers from both structural problems (e.g. chronic power shortages) and political.
problems (e.g. economic sanctions). In 2008, Yangon's 2500 factories alone needed about 120 MW of power; yet, the entire city received only about 250 MW of the 530 MW needed. Chronic power shortages limit the factories' operating hours between 8 am and 6 pm.
Construction is a major source of employment. The construction industry has been negatively affected by the move of state apparatus and civil servants to Naypyidaw, new regulations introduced in August 2009 requiring builders to provide at least 12 parking spaces in every new high-rise building, and the general poor business climate. As of January 2010, the number of new high-rise building starts approved in 2009–2010 was only 334, compared to 582 in 2008–2009.
Tourism represents a major source of foreign currency for the city although by south-east Asian standards the number of foreign visitors to Yangon has always been quite low - about 250,000 before the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. The number of visitors dipped even further following the Saffron Revolution and Cyclone Nargis. The recent improvement in the country's political climate has attracted an increasing number of businessmen and tourists. Between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors that went through Yangon International in 2011. However, after years of underinvestment, Yangon's modest hotel infrastructure - only 3000 of the total 8000 hotel rooms in Yangon are "suitable for tourists" - is already bursting at seams, and will need to be expanded to handle additional visitors. As part of an urban development strategy, a hotel zone has been planned in Yangon's outskirts, encompassing government- and military-owned land in Mingaladon, Hlegu and Htaukkyant Townships.
EDUCATION
Yangon educational facilities has a very high number of qualified teachers but the state spending on education is among the lowest of the world. Around 2007 estimate by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies puts the spending for education at 0.5% of the national budget. The disparity in educational opportunities and achievement between rich and poor schools is quite stark even within the city. With little or no state support forthcoming, schools have to rely on forced "donations" and various fees from parents for nearly everything – school maintenance to teachers' salaries, forcing many poor students to drop out.
While many students in poor districts fail to reach high school, a handful of Yangon high schools in wealthier districts such as Dagon 1, Sanchaung 2, Kamayut 2, Bahan 2, Latha 2, and TTC provide the majority of students admitted to the most selective universities in the country, highlighting the extreme shallowness of talent pool in the country. The wealthy bypass the state education system altogether, sending their children to private English language instruction schools such as YIEC or more widely known as ISM, or abroad (typically Singapore or Australia) for university education. In 2014, international schools in Yangon cost at least US$8,000 a year.
There are over 20 universities and colleges in the city. While Yangon University remains the best known (its main campus is a part of popular Burmese culture e.g. literature, music, film, etc.), the nation's oldest university is now mostly a graduate school, deprived of undergraduate studies. Following the 1988 nationwide uprising, the military government has repeatedly closed universities, and has dispersed most of undergraduate student population to new universities in the suburbs such as Dagon University, the University of East Yangon and the University of West Yangon. Nonetheless many of the country's most selective universities are still in Yangon. Students from around the country still have to come to study in Yangon as some subjects are offered only at its universities. The University of Medicine 1, University of Medicine 2, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies and Myanmar Maritime University are the most selective in the country.
HEALTH CARE
The general state of health care in Yangon is poor. According to a 2007 estimate, the military government spends 0.4% of the national budget on health care, and 40% to 60% on defense. By the government's own figures, it spends 849 kyats (US$0.85) per person. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals including the flagship Yangon General Hospital lack many of the basic facilities and equipment.
Wealthier Yangonites still have access to country's best medical facilities and internationally qualified doctors. Only Yangon and Mandalay have any sizable number of doctors left as many Burmese doctors have emigrated. The well-to-do go to private clinics or hospitals like Pun Hlaing International Hospital and Bahosi Medical Clinic. Medical malpractice is widespread, even in private clinics and hospitals that serve the well-to-do. In 2009 and 2010, a spate of high-profile deaths brought out the severity of the problem, even for the relatively well off Yangonites. The wealthy do not rely on domestic hospitals and travel abroad, usually Bangkok or Singapore, for treatment.
WIKIPEDIA
Today, my dog Bella and I attended the Vancouver PItbull Rally to show our support for the failings of breed specific legislation. Attended by many calm, well mannered pitbulls and their people, the rally was to demonstrate that the dogs are being judged unfairly.
Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is the banning or restriction of specific breeds of dogs considered “dangerous” breeds, such as pit bull breeds, Rottweilers and German shepherds. Many governments are turning to legislation that targets specific breeds as an answer to dog attacks. While supporters of BSL argue that the only way to be safe from dog bites is to eradicate “dangerous breeds” from the community, there is little evidence that supports BSL as an effective means of reducing dog bites and dog attacks. On the contrary, studies have shown that it is not the breeds themselves that are dangerous, but unfavorable situations that are creating dangerous dogs.While almost all BSL refers to “pit bulls,” many breeds of dogs have the facial and body characteristics of a “pit bull,” but are actually not pit bulls at all, including Labrador retrievers, bulldogs, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, mastiffs and many others.Legislation targeting specific breeds simply does not work because dog attacks result from multiple factors, not just a simple breakdown of breed culpability.
What does happen under breed-specific legislation?
■Innocent people continue to be threatened, bitten, traumatized, disfigured, and killed—by non-targeted breeds and types of dogs.
■Innocent dogs are killed because they look a certain way.
■Millions of dollars are wasted and animal control resources stretched thin in order to kill dogs and not save people.
■Abusive and irresponsible owners carry on with “business as usual.”
■Good owners and their families are outcasts (if they keep their targeted dog) or devastated (if they give up their targeted dog).
■Reason, science, and expertise gets ignored or, even worse, scoffed at.
■Nobody learns anything about the real reasons why dogs bite and attack, safety around dogs, or responsible dog ownership.
Breed-specific legislation makes victims of us all.
A site specific work by Patrick Dougherty. Built of locally collected red maple and sweet gum saplings the whimsical installation was built on site in a two story gallery space overlooking the garden of the Gibbs Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. The spire look forms were inspired by the distinctive church spires of Charleston.
PROCESSION – A religious parade which always leaves from and returns to a specific church. Processions tell the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection using elaborate floats (called andas, see below) full of iconography. More than a dozen major processions (and many smaller processions) take place day and night in Antigua during Semana Santa. We managed to attend 12 of them. The procession tradition is said to have started in Guatemala in 1524 and, today, most Semana Santa processions include two main andas. The first carries a scene from the life of Jesus. The second carries a depiction of the Virgin Mary. Each procession is named after the specific Jesus and Mary that adorn the floats (i.e. Jesús De La Merced, Jesús El Peregrino, Jesús Del Milagro). Some last for 15 hours and cover many miles.
MCA Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
From the Tropics with Love
Mexico City–based architecture firm Pedro y Juana (Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo and Mecky Reuss) created the site-specific installation
mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/Pedro-Y-Juana-From-The-Tropics...
Westwards from the Bell-Tower stands the exquisite Customs Palace Divona, called Sponza,...
Sponza Palace
built in Dubrovniks specific Gothic-Renaissance style. The Palace that also served as the mint and arsenal, was constructed in the 16th century according to the design of Paskoje Miličević. Built in a rectangular shape, it has a shady portico and atrium. The stone-mason’s works were mainly performed by the Andrijić Brothers. The doors in the atrium and the first floor portico lead to the storages.
The following inscription can be read on the main wall: FALLERE NOSTRAVETANT; ET FALL PONDERE: MEQVE PONDERO CVM MERCES PONDERAT IPSE DEUS (We are forbidden to cheat or falsify measures, and when I weigh goods, God himself is weighing them with me). This Palace was the liveliest commercial centre of the City, and in the 17th century it became the meeting place of members of the Academy of the Learned, who used to discuss literature, arts and science. Today the Sponza Palace houses the Dubrovnik Archives, considered to be among the richest in Europe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Građena je od 1516. do 1521. godine. Gradili su je dubrovački majstor Paskoje Miličević i braća Andrijić s Korčule, od 1516. do 1520. godine.
Za vrijeme Dubrovačke Republike, imala je razne funkcije. Bila je carinarnica, državna blagajna, banka, kovnica novca, škola i riznica. Palača je prvobitno bila namijenjena za carinarnicu u kojoj se carinila trgovačka roba što su je trgovci donosili iz svih krajeva svijeta. Atrij palače s arkadama, bilo je najživlje trgovačko središte i sastajalište poslovnih ljudi Republike. U jednom je krilu bila državna kovnica novca koju je Republika osnovala 1377. godine, i koja je u ovoj palači neprekidno djelovala sve do pada Republike. Vrlo brzo, već potkraj 16. stoljeća, Divona postaje i kulturno središte Republike kada je u njoj osnovana prva književna institucija u Dubrovniku – "Akademija složnih" u kojoj su se okupljali najobrazovaniji građani Dubrovnika i tu su raspravljali o književnosti, umjetnosti i svim znanstvenim dostignućima svoga vremena. U njoj je organizirana i prva škola u Dubrovniku.
Francuski kipar Bertrandus Gallicus izradio je medaljon u reljefu, na kojem je monogram Isusa u pratnji dva anđela. Skladišni odjeli nazvani su po svecima. Na nadsvođenom prolazu atrija piše na latinskom jeziku: Fallere nostra venant et falli pondera; meque pondero cum merces ponderat ipse deus. (Nama je zabranjeno varati i krivo mjeriti; i kad važem robu; sa mnom je važe sam Bog).
Danas je u palači smješten Državni arhiv u Dubrovniku, koji čuva povijesnu građu Dubrovačke Republike s materijalima najstarije povijesti Dubrovnika i njegova područja od proteklih stoljeća do najnovijeg vremena. A i palača sama postala je na svoj način jedna od dragocjenijih dokumenata tog arhiva. Neoštećena u potresu, postojano je dočekala i naše vrijeme.
Na trgu pred Sponzom svake se godine svečano otvara Dubrovačke ljetne igre. S terase iznad trijema ispred Sponze glumci odjeveni u kostime kneza i dubrovačke vlastele evociraju davna vremena kulturnih manifestacija i slobode Dubrovačke Republike.
Danas se u palači Sponzi nalazi Spomen soba poginulim hrvatskim dubrovačkim braniteljima.
10019 R Dubrovnik Palača Sponza (Divona) 1.VIII.1939.
Joé Juneau: Team Canada's 1992 Olympic Star
This image captures Canadian ice hockey player Joé Juneau in his iconic Team Canada uniform, wearing jersey number 9. This specific jersey style, featuring the large maple leaf crest, was worn by the Canadian National Men's Hockey Team during the early 1990s, most notably at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. This specific photograph is an autographed piece of memorabilia, commemorating his time as an Olympic hero.
Juneau postponed his professional NHL career to represent his country, a decision that proved historic. At the 1992 Games, he was the standout player, leading the entire tournament in points with six goals and nine assists in just eight games. His exceptional play was a key factor in Canada winning a silver medal, the nation's first Olympic hockey medal in 24 years.
Player Profile
Full Name: Joseph "Joé" Juneau
Position: Centre
Nationality: Canadian
Olympic Achievement: Silver Medal (1992 Winter Olympics)
Notable Career Fact: In his rookie NHL season immediately following the Olympics, Juneau set an NHL record for assists by a left winger and amassed an incredible 102 points with the Boston Bruins. He earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, known for balancing high academics with elite athletics.
LINK to video - 1992 Gold Medal Hockey Game - Canada vs Unified Team Albertville winter Olympics - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjDV8fGWQ5c
LINK to video - Great Canadians: Joé Juneau - www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_x9tBqL1eQ
Joé Juneau played a total of 78 games for Team Canada (including exhibition and Olympic tournament play) across the years 1989 to 1992. He famously led Canada to a silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, where he was the tournament's leading scorer.
1989/90 - 3 games
1990/91 - 7 games
1991/92 - 60 games
1992 - Winter Olympics - 8 games
The uniform he is wearing is not from the 1992 Winter Olympics Games - Does anybody know where and when this photo was taken? And what the advertisement on the boards says - BE / ANT / BRA ?
Joé Juneau was an ice hockey star. In 1991, the native of Pont-Rouge, Quebec postponed a confirmed trip to the National Hockey League so he could play on Canada’s national team. Clutching a new degree in aeronautical engineering, Juneau suited up for Team Canada and his impact was immediate. In 60 exhibition games, Juneau scored 69 points – but only a prelude to the Olympic tournament in 1992. At the Olympic Winter Games that year in Albertville, France, Juneau led a team composed of amateur players. Canada won a silver medal and not only did Juneau lead the team in points, he led the entire tournament. In eight games, the centre had six goals and nine assists for 15 points. LINK - develop.olympic.ca/2009/09/10/all-about-joe-juneau/
In the NHL, Juneau carved a memorable career. In his rookie season of 1992-1993, Juneau scored 102 points as a member of the Boston Bruins. His professional hockey career took him through Washington, Buffalo, Ottawa, Phoenix and Montreal. Juneau played in the Stanley Cup final twice, in 1998 with Washington and in 1999 with Buffalo. Upon retiring in 2004, Juneau had amassed 156 goals and 572 points in 828 career games.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
At the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, Juneau led a team composed of amateur players.Canada won a silver medal and not only did Juneau lead the team in points, he led the entire tournament – in eight games, the centre had six goals and nine assists for 15 points.
In his NHL rookie season of 1992-1993, Juneau scored 102 points as a member of the Boston Bruins.
His professional hockey career took him through Washington, Buffalo, Ottawa, Phoenix and Montreal. Juneau played in the Stanley Cup final twice, in 1998 with Washington and in 1999 with Buffalo.
Upon retiring in 2004, Juneau had amassed 156 goals and 572 points in 828 career games.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).[8] The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.[9][10] As of 26 April 2020, more than 2.89 million cases have been reported across 185 countries and territories, resulting in more than 203,000 deaths. More than 822,000 people have recovered.[7]
Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath and loss of smell.[5][11][12] While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to viral pneumonia, multi-organ failure, or cytokine storm.[13][9][14] More concerning symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain, confusion, difficulty waking, and bluish skin.[5] The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days.[5][15]
The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact,[a] often via small droplets produced by coughing,[b] sneezing, or talking.[6][16][18] The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than remaining in the air over long distances.[6][19][20] People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face.[6][16] In experimental settings, the virus may survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours.[21][22][23] It is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread may be possible before symptoms appear and in later stages of the disease.[24] The standard method of diagnosis is by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab.[25] Chest CT imaging may also be helpful for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, guidelines do not recommend using it for routine screening.[26][27]
Recommended measures to prevent infection include frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance from others (especially from those with symptoms), covering coughs, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face.[28][29] In addition, the use of a face covering is recommended for those who suspect they have the virus and their caregivers.[30][31] Recommendations for face covering use by the general public vary, with some authorities recommending against their use, some recommending their use, and others requiring their use.[32][31][33] Currently, there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or other) in healthy individuals in the wider community.[6] Also masks purchased by the public may impact availability for health care providers.
Currently, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19.[6] Management involves the treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.[34] The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)[35][36] on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.[10] Local transmission of the disease has occurred in most countries across all six WHO regions.[37]
File:En.Wikipedia-VideoWiki-Coronavirus disease 2019.webm
Video summary (script)
Contents
1Signs and symptoms
2Cause
2.1Transmission
2.2Virology
3Pathophysiology
3.1Immunopathology
4Diagnosis
4.1Pathology
5Prevention
6Management
6.1Medications
6.2Protective equipment
6.3Mechanical ventilation
6.4Acute respiratory distress syndrome
6.5Experimental treatment
6.6Information technology
6.7Psychological support
7Prognosis
7.1Reinfection
8History
9Epidemiology
9.1Infection fatality rate
9.2Sex differences
10Society and culture
10.1Name
10.2Misinformation
10.3Protests
11Other animals
12Research
12.1Vaccine
12.2Medications
12.3Anti-cytokine storm
12.4Passive antibodies
13See also
14Notes
15References
16External links
16.1Health agencies
16.2Directories
16.3Medical journals
Signs and symptoms
Symptom[4]Range
Fever83–99%
Cough59–82%
Loss of Appetite40–84%
Fatigue44–70%
Shortness of breath31–40%
Coughing up sputum28–33%
Loss of smell15[38] to 30%[12][39]
Muscle aches and pains11–35%
Fever is the most common symptom, although some older people and those with other health problems experience fever later in the disease.[4][40] In one study, 44% of people had fever when they presented to the hospital, while 89% went on to develop fever at some point during their hospitalization.[4][41]
Other common symptoms include cough, loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, sputum production, and muscle and joint pains.[4][5][42][43] Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea have been observed in varying percentages.[44][45][46] Less common symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, or sore throat.[47]
More serious symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain or pressure, confusion, difficulty waking, and bluish face or lips. Immediate medical attention is advised if these symptoms are present.[5][48]
In some, the disease may progress to pneumonia, multi-organ failure, and death.[9][14] In those who develop severe symptoms, time from symptom onset to needing mechanical ventilation is typically eight days.[4] Some cases in China initially presented with only chest tightness and palpitations.[49]
Loss of smell was identified as a common symptom of COVID‑19 in March 2020,[12][39] although perhaps not as common as initially reported.[38] A decreased sense of smell and/or disturbances in taste have also been reported.[50] Estimates for loss of smell range from 15%[38] to 30%.[12][39]
As is common with infections, there is a delay between the moment a person is first infected and the time he or she develops symptoms. This is called the incubation period. The incubation period for COVID‑19 is typically five to six days but may range from two to 14 days,[51][52] although 97.5% of people who develop symptoms will do so within 11.5 days of infection.[53]
A minority of cases do not develop noticeable symptoms at any point in time.[54][55] These asymptomatic carriers tend not to get tested, and their role in transmission is not yet fully known.[56][57] However, preliminary evidence suggests they may contribute to the spread of the disease.[58][59] In March 2020, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported that 20% of confirmed cases remained asymptomatic during their hospital stay.[59][60]
A number of neurological symptoms has been reported including seizures, stroke, encephalitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.[61] Cardiovascular related complications may include heart failure, irregular electrical activity, blood clots, and heart inflammation.[62]
Cause
See also: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Transmission
Cough/sneeze droplets visualised in dark background using Tyndall scattering
Respiratory droplets produced when a man is sneezing visualised using Tyndall scattering
File:COVID19 in numbers- R0, the case fatality rate and why we need to flatten the curve.webm
A video discussing the basic reproduction number and case fatality rate in the context of the pandemic
Some details about how the disease is spread are still being determined.[16][18] The WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it is primarily spread during close contact and by small droplets produced when people cough, sneeze or talk;[6][16] with close contact being within approximately 1–2 m (3–7 ft).[6][63] Both sputum and saliva can carry large viral loads.[64] Loud talking releases more droplets than normal talking.[65] A study in Singapore found that an uncovered cough can lead to droplets travelling up to 4.5 metres (15 feet).[66] An article published in March 2020 argued that advice on droplet distance might be based on 1930s research which ignored the effects of warm moist exhaled air surrounding the droplets and that an uncovered cough or sneeze can travel up to 8.2 metres (27 feet).[17]
Respiratory droplets may also be produced while breathing out, including when talking. Though the virus is not generally airborne,[6][67] the National Academy of Sciences has suggested that bioaerosol transmission may be possible.[68] In one study cited, air collectors positioned in the hallway outside of people's rooms yielded samples positive for viral RNA but finding infectious virus has proven elusive.[68] The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.[16] Some medical procedures such as intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may cause respiratory secretions to be aerosolised and thus result in an airborne spread.[67] Initial studies suggested a doubling time of the number of infected persons of 6–7 days and a basic reproduction number (R0 ) of 2.2–2.7, but a study published on April 7, 2020, calculated a much higher median R0 value of 5.7 in Wuhan.[69]
It may also spread when one touches a contaminated surface, known as fomite transmission, and then touches one's eyes, nose or mouth.[6] While there are concerns it may spread via faeces, this risk is believed to be low.[6][16]
The virus is most contagious when people are symptomatic; though spread is may be possible before symptoms emerge and from those who never develop symptoms.[6][70] A portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms.[71] The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says while it is not entirely clear how easily the disease spreads, one person generally infects two or three others.[18]
The virus survives for hours to days on surfaces.[6][18] Specifically, the virus was found to be detectable for one day on cardboard, for up to three days on plastic (polypropylene) and stainless steel (AISI 304), and for up to four hours on 99% copper.[21][23] This, however, varies depending on the humidity and temperature.[72][73] Surfaces may be decontaminated with many solutions (with one minute of exposure to the product achieving a 4 or more log reduction (99.99% reduction)), including 78–95% ethanol (alcohol used in spirits), 70–100% 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), the combination of 45% 2-propanol with 30% 1-propanol, 0.21% sodium hypochlorite (bleach), 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.23–7.5% povidone-iodine. Soap and detergent are also effective if correctly used; soap products degrade the virus' fatty protective layer, deactivating it, as well as freeing them from the skin and other surfaces.[74] Other solutions, such as benzalkonium chloride and chlorhexidine gluconate (a surgical disinfectant), are less effective.[75]
In a Hong Kong study, saliva samples were taken a median of two days after the start of hospitalization. In five of six patients, the first sample showed the highest viral load, and the sixth patient showed the highest viral load on the second day tested.[64]
Virology
Main article: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Illustration of SARSr-CoV virion
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, first isolated from three people with pneumonia connected to the cluster of acute respiratory illness cases in Wuhan.[76] All features of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus occur in related coronaviruses in nature.[77] Outside the human body, the virus is killed by household soap, which bursts its protective bubble.[26]
SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the original SARS-CoV.[78] It is thought to have a zoonotic origin. Genetic analysis has revealed that the coronavirus genetically clusters with the genus Betacoronavirus, in subgenus Sarbecovirus (lineage B) together with two bat-derived strains. It is 96% identical at the whole genome level to other bat coronavirus samples (BatCov RaTG13).[47] In February 2020, Chinese researchers found that there is only one amino acid difference in the binding domain of the S protein between the coronaviruses from pangolins and those from humans; however, whole-genome comparison to date found that at most 92% of genetic material was shared between pangolin coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2, which is insufficient to prove pangolins to be the intermediate host.[79]
Pathophysiology
The lungs are the organs most affected by COVID‑19 because the virus accesses host cells via the enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is most abundant in type II alveolar cells of the lungs. The virus uses a special surface glycoprotein called a "spike" (peplomer) to connect to ACE2 and enter the host cell.[80] The density of ACE2 in each tissue correlates with the severity of the disease in that tissue and some have suggested that decreasing ACE2 activity might be protective,[81][82] though another view is that increasing ACE2 using angiotensin II receptor blocker medications could be protective and these hypotheses need to be tested.[83] As the alveolar disease progresses, respiratory failure might develop and death may follow.[82]
The virus also affects gastrointestinal organs as ACE2 is abundantly expressed in the glandular cells of gastric, duodenal and rectal epithelium[84] as well as endothelial cells and enterocytes of the small intestine.[85]
ACE2 is present in the brain, and there is growing evidence of neurological manifestations in people with COVID‑19. It is not certain if the virus can directly infect the brain by crossing the barriers that separate the circulation of the brain and the general circulation. Other coronaviruses are able to infect the brain via a synaptic route to the respiratory centre in the medulla, through mechanoreceptors like pulmonary stretch receptors and chemoreceptors (primarily central chemoreceptors) within the lungs.[medical citation needed] It is possible that dysfunction within the respiratory centre further worsens the ARDS seen in COVID‑19 patients. Common neurological presentations include a loss of smell, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Encephalopathy has been noted to occur in some patients (and confirmed with imaging), with some reports of detection of the virus after cerebrospinal fluid assays although the presence of oligoclonal bands seems to be a common denominator in these patients.[86]
The virus can cause acute myocardial injury and chronic damage to the cardiovascular system.[87] An acute cardiac injury was found in 12% of infected people admitted to the hospital in Wuhan, China,[88] and is more frequent in severe disease.[89] Rates of cardiovascular symptoms are high, owing to the systemic inflammatory response and immune system disorders during disease progression, but acute myocardial injuries may also be related to ACE2 receptors in the heart.[87] ACE2 receptors are highly expressed in the heart and are involved in heart function.[87][90] A high incidence of thrombosis (31%) and venous thromboembolism (25%) have been found in ICU patients with COVID‑19 infections and may be related to poor prognosis.[91][92] Blood vessel dysfunction and clot formation (as suggested by high D-dimer levels) are thought to play a significant role in mortality, incidences of clots leading to pulmonary embolisms, and ischaemic events within the brain have been noted as complications leading to death in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Infection appears to set off a chain of vasoconstrictive responses within the body, constriction of blood vessels within the pulmonary circulation has also been posited as a mechanism in which oxygenation decreases alongside with the presentation of viral pneumonia.[93]
Another common cause of death is complications related to the kidneys[93]—SARS-CoV-2 directly infects kidney cells, as confirmed in post-mortem studies. Acute kidney injury is a common complication and cause of death; this is more significant in patients with already compromised kidney function, especially in people with pre-existing chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes which specifically cause nephropathy in the long run.[94]
Autopsies of people who died of COVID‑19 have found diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and lymphocyte-containing inflammatory infiltrates within the lung.[95]
Immunopathology
Although SARS-COV-2 has a tropism for ACE2-expressing epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, patients with severe COVID‑19 have symptoms of systemic hyperinflammation. Clinical laboratory findings of elevated IL-2, IL-7, IL-6, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1-α (MIP-1α), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) indicative of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) suggest an underlying immunopathology.[96]
Additionally, people with COVID‑19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have classical serum biomarkers of CRS, including elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer, and ferritin.[97]
Systemic inflammation results in vasodilation, allowing inflammatory lymphocytic and monocytic infiltration of the lung and the heart. In particular, pathogenic GM-CSF-secreting T-cells were shown to correlate with the recruitment of inflammatory IL-6-secreting monocytes and severe lung pathology in COVID‑19 patients.[98] Lymphocytic infiltrates have also been reported at autopsy.[95]
Diagnosis
Main article: COVID-19 testing
Demonstration of a nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19 testing
CDC rRT-PCR test kit for COVID-19[99]
The WHO has published several testing protocols for the disease.[100] The standard method of testing is real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR).[101] The test is typically done on respiratory samples obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab; however, a nasal swab or sputum sample may also be used.[25][102] Results are generally available within a few hours to two days.[103][104] Blood tests can be used, but these require two blood samples taken two weeks apart, and the results have little immediate value.[105] Chinese scientists were able to isolate a strain of the coronavirus and publish the genetic sequence so laboratories across the world could independently develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect infection by the virus.[9][106][107] As of 4 April 2020, antibody tests (which may detect active infections and whether a person had been infected in the past) were in development, but not yet widely used.[108][109][110] The Chinese experience with testing has shown the accuracy is only 60 to 70%.[111] The FDA in the United States approved the first point-of-care test on 21 March 2020 for use at the end of that month.[112]
Diagnostic guidelines released by Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University suggested methods for detecting infections based upon clinical features and epidemiological risk. These involved identifying people who had at least two of the following symptoms in addition to a history of travel to Wuhan or contact with other infected people: fever, imaging features of pneumonia, normal or reduced white blood cell count, or reduced lymphocyte count.[113]
A study asked hospitalised COVID‑19 patients to cough into a sterile container, thus producing a saliva sample, and detected the virus in eleven of twelve patients using RT-PCR. This technique has the potential of being quicker than a swab and involving less risk to health care workers (collection at home or in the car).[64]
Along with laboratory testing, chest CT scans may be helpful to diagnose COVID-19 in individuals with a high clinical suspicion of infection but are not recommended for routine screening.[26][27] Bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacities with a peripheral, asymmetric, and posterior distribution are common in early infection.[26] Subpleural dominance, crazy paving (lobular septal thickening with variable alveolar filling), and consolidation may appear as the disease progresses.[26][114]
In late 2019, WHO assigned the emergency ICD-10 disease codes U07.1 for deaths from lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and U07.2 for deaths from clinically or epidemiologically diagnosed COVID‑19 without lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.[115]
Typical CT imaging findings
CT imaging of rapid progression stage
Pathology
Few data are available about microscopic lesions and the pathophysiology of COVID‑19.[116][117] The main pathological findings at autopsy are:
Macroscopy: pleurisy, pericarditis, lung consolidation and pulmonary oedema
Four types of severity of viral pneumonia can be observed:
minor pneumonia: minor serous exudation, minor fibrin exudation
mild pneumonia: pulmonary oedema, pneumocyte hyperplasia, large atypical pneumocytes, interstitial inflammation with lymphocytic infiltration and multinucleated giant cell formation
severe pneumonia: diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) with diffuse alveolar exudates. DAD is the cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe hypoxemia.
healing pneumonia: organisation of exudates in alveolar cavities and pulmonary interstitial fibrosis
plasmocytosis in BAL[118]
Blood: disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC);[119] leukoerythroblastic reaction[120]
Liver: microvesicular steatosis
Prevention
See also: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic § Prevention, flatten the curve, and workplace hazard controls for COVID-19
Progressively stronger mitigation efforts to reduce the number of active cases at any given time—known as "flattening the curve"—allows healthcare services to better manage the same volume of patients.[121][122][123] Likewise, progressively greater increases in healthcare capacity—called raising the line—such as by increasing bed count, personnel, and equipment, helps to meet increased demand.[124]
Mitigation attempts that are inadequate in strictness or duration—such as premature relaxation of distancing rules or stay-at-home orders—can allow a resurgence after the initial surge and mitigation.[122][125]
Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include staying at home, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least 20 seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.[126][127][128] The CDC recommends covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and recommends using the inside of the elbow if no tissue is available.[126] Proper hand hygiene after any cough or sneeze is encouraged.[126] The CDC has recommended the use of cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, in part to limit transmission by asymptomatic individuals.[129] The U.S. National Institutes of Health guidelines do not recommend any medication for prevention of COVID‑19, before or after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, outside of the setting of a clinical trial.[130]
Social distancing strategies aim to reduce contact of infected persons with large groups by closing schools and workplaces, restricting travel, and cancelling large public gatherings.[131] Distancing guidelines also include that people stay at least 6 feet (1.8 m) apart.[132] There is no medication known to be effective at preventing COVID‑19.[133] After the implementation of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, many regions have been able to sustain an effective transmission rate ("Rt") of less than one, meaning the disease is in remission in those areas.[134]
As a vaccine is not expected until 2021 at the earliest,[135] a key part of managing COVID‑19 is trying to decrease the epidemic peak, known as "flattening the curve".[122] This is done by slowing the infection rate to decrease the risk of health services being overwhelmed, allowing for better treatment of current cases, and delaying additional cases until effective treatments or a vaccine become available.[122][125]
According to the WHO, the use of masks is recommended only if a person is coughing or sneezing or when one is taking care of someone with a suspected infection.[136] For the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) face masks "... could be considered especially when visiting busy closed spaces ..." but "... only as a complementary measure ..."[137] Several countries have recommended that healthy individuals wear face masks or cloth face coverings (like scarves or bandanas) at least in certain public settings, including China,[138] Hong Kong,[139] Spain,[140] Italy (Lombardy region),[141] and the United States.[129]
Those diagnosed with COVID‑19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by the CDC to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items.[30][142] The CDC also recommends that individuals wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the toilet or when hands are visibly dirty, before eating and after blowing one's nose, coughing or sneezing. It further recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol, but only when soap and water are not readily available.[126]
For areas where commercial hand sanitisers are not readily available, the WHO provides two formulations for local production. In these formulations, the antimicrobial activity arises from ethanol or isopropanol. Hydrogen peroxide is used to help eliminate bacterial spores in the alcohol; it is "not an active substance for hand antisepsis". Glycerol is added as a humectant.[143]
Prevention efforts are multiplicative, with effects far beyond that of a single spread. Each avoided case leads to more avoided cases down the line, which in turn can stop the outbreak in its tracks.
File:COVID19 W ENG.ogv
Handwashing instructions
Management
People are managed with supportive care, which may include fluid therapy, oxygen support, and supporting other affected vital organs.[144][145][146] The CDC recommends that those who suspect they carry the virus wear a simple face mask.[30] Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address the issue of respiratory failure, but its benefits are still under consideration.[41][147] Personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle and diet have been recommended to improve immunity.[148] Supportive treatments may be useful in those with mild symptoms at the early stage of infection.[149]
The WHO, the Chinese National Health Commission, and the United States' National Institutes of Health have published recommendations for taking care of people who are hospitalised with COVID‑19.[130][150][151] Intensivists and pulmonologists in the U.S. have compiled treatment recommendations from various agencies into a free resource, the IBCC.[152][153]
Medications
See also: Coronavirus disease 2019 § Research
As of April 2020, there is no specific treatment for COVID‑19.[6][133] Research is, however, ongoing. For symptoms, some medical professionals recommend paracetamol (acetaminophen) over ibuprofen for first-line use.[154][155][156] The WHO and NIH do not oppose the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen for symptoms,[130][157] and the FDA says currently there is no evidence that NSAIDs worsen COVID‑19 symptoms.[158]
While theoretical concerns have been raised about ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, as of 19 March 2020, these are not sufficient to justify stopping these medications.[130][159][160][161] Steroids, such as methylprednisolone, are not recommended unless the disease is complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome.[162][163]
Medications to prevent blood clotting have been suggested for treatment,[91] and anticoagulant therapy with low molecular weight heparin appears to be associated with better outcomes in severe COVID‐19 showing signs of coagulopathy (elevated D-dimer).[164]
Protective equipment
See also: COVID-19 related shortages
The CDC recommends four steps to putting on personal protective equipment (PPE).[165]
Precautions must be taken to minimise the risk of virus transmission, especially in healthcare settings when performing procedures that can generate aerosols, such as intubation or hand ventilation.[166] For healthcare professionals caring for people with COVID‑19, the CDC recommends placing the person in an Airborne Infection Isolation Room (AIIR) in addition to using standard precautions, contact precautions, and airborne precautions.[167]
The CDC outlines the guidelines for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic. The recommended gear is a PPE gown, respirator or facemask, eye protection, and medical gloves.[168][169]
When available, respirators (instead of facemasks) are preferred.[170] N95 respirators are approved for industrial settings but the FDA has authorised the masks for use under an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA). They are designed to protect from airborne particles like dust but effectiveness against a specific biological agent is not guaranteed for off-label uses.[171] When masks are not available, the CDC recommends using face shields or, as a last resort, homemade masks.[172]
Mechanical ventilation
Most cases of COVID‑19 are not severe enough to require mechanical ventilation or alternatives, but a percentage of cases are.[173][174] The type of respiratory support for individuals with COVID‑19 related respiratory failure is being actively studied for people in the hospital, with some evidence that intubation can be avoided with a high flow nasal cannula or bi-level positive airway pressure.[175] Whether either of these two leads to the same benefit for people who are critically ill is not known.[176] Some doctors prefer staying with invasive mechanical ventilation when available because this technique limits the spread of aerosol particles compared to a high flow nasal cannula.[173]
Severe cases are most common in older adults (those older than 60 years,[173] and especially those older than 80 years).[177] Many developed countries do not have enough hospital beds per capita, which limits a health system's capacity to handle a sudden spike in the number of COVID‑19 cases severe enough to require hospitalisation.[178] This limited capacity is a significant driver behind calls to flatten the curve.[178] One study in China found 5% were admitted to intensive care units, 2.3% needed mechanical support of ventilation, and 1.4% died.[41] In China, approximately 30% of people in hospital with COVID‑19 are eventually admitted to ICU.[4]
Acute respiratory distress syndrome
Main article: Acute respiratory distress syndrome
Mechanical ventilation becomes more complex as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) develops in COVID‑19 and oxygenation becomes increasingly difficult.[179] Ventilators capable of pressure control modes and high PEEP[180] are needed to maximise oxygen delivery while minimising the risk of ventilator-associated lung injury and pneumothorax.[181] High PEEP may not be available on older ventilators.
Options for ARDS[179]
TherapyRecommendations
High-flow nasal oxygenFor SpO2 <93%. May prevent the need for intubation and ventilation
Tidal volume6mL per kg and can be reduced to 4mL/kg
Plateau airway pressureKeep below 30 cmH2O if possible (high respiratory rate (35 per minute) may be required)
Positive end-expiratory pressureModerate to high levels
Prone positioningFor worsening oxygenation
Fluid managementGoal is a negative balance of 0.5–1.0L per day
AntibioticsFor secondary bacterial infections
GlucocorticoidsNot recommended
Experimental treatment
See also: § Research
Research into potential treatments started in January 2020,[182] and several antiviral drugs are in clinical trials.[183][184] Remdesivir appears to be the most promising.[133] Although new medications may take until 2021 to develop,[185] several of the medications being tested are already approved for other uses or are already in advanced testing.[186] Antiviral medication may be tried in people with severe disease.[144] The WHO recommended volunteers take part in trials of the effectiveness and safety of potential treatments.[187]
The FDA has granted temporary authorisation to convalescent plasma as an experimental treatment in cases where the person's life is seriously or immediately threatened. It has not undergone the clinical studies needed to show it is safe and effective for the disease.[188][189][190]
Information technology
See also: Contact tracing and Government by algorithm
In February 2020, China launched a mobile app to deal with the disease outbreak.[191] Users are asked to enter their name and ID number. The app can detect 'close contact' using surveillance data and therefore a potential risk of infection. Every user can also check the status of three other users. If a potential risk is detected, the app not only recommends self-quarantine, it also alerts local health officials.[192]
Big data analytics on cellphone data, facial recognition technology, mobile phone tracking, and artificial intelligence are used to track infected people and people whom they contacted in South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.[193][194] In March 2020, the Israeli government enabled security agencies to track mobile phone data of people supposed to have coronavirus. The measure was taken to enforce quarantine and protect those who may come into contact with infected citizens.[195] Also in March 2020, Deutsche Telekom shared aggregated phone location data with the German federal government agency, Robert Koch Institute, to research and prevent the spread of the virus.[196] Russia deployed facial recognition technology to detect quarantine breakers.[197] Italian regional health commissioner Giulio Gallera said he has been informed by mobile phone operators that "40% of people are continuing to move around anyway".[198] German government conducted a 48 hours weekend hackathon with more than 42.000 participants.[199][200] Two million people in the UK used an app developed in March 2020 by King's College London and Zoe to track people with COVID‑19 symptoms.[201] Also, the president of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, made a global call for creative solutions against the spread of coronavirus.[202]
Psychological support
See also: Mental health during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
Individuals may experience distress from quarantine, travel restrictions, side effects of treatment, or fear of the infection itself. To address these concerns, the National Health Commission of China published a national guideline for psychological crisis intervention on 27 January 2020.[203][204]
The Lancet published a 14-page call for action focusing on the UK and stated conditions were such that a range of mental health issues was likely to become more common. BBC quoted Rory O'Connor in saying, "Increased social isolation, loneliness, health anxiety, stress and an economic downturn are a perfect storm to harm people's mental health and wellbeing."[205][206]
Prognosis
Question book-new.svg
This article relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. (March 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The severity of diagnosed cases in China
The severity of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China[207]
Case fatality rates for COVID-19 by age by country.
Case fatality rates by age group:
China, as of 11 February 2020[208]
South Korea, as of 15 April 2020[209]
Spain, as of 24 April 2020[210]
Italy, as of 23 April 2020[211]
Case fatality rate depending on other health problems
Case fatality rate in China depending on other health problems. Data through 11 February 2020.[208]
Case fatality rate by country and number of cases
The number of deaths vs total cases by country and approximate case fatality rate[212]
The severity of COVID‑19 varies. The disease may take a mild course with few or no symptoms, resembling other common upper respiratory diseases such as the common cold. Mild cases typically recover within two weeks, while those with severe or critical diseases may take three to six weeks to recover. Among those who have died, the time from symptom onset to death has ranged from two to eight weeks.[47]
Children make up a small proportion of reported cases, with about 1% of cases being under 10 years, and 4% aged 10-19 years.[22] They are likely to have milder symptoms and a lower chance of severe disease than adults; in those younger than 50 years, the risk of death is less than 0.5%, while in those older than 70 it is more than 8%.[213][214][215] Pregnant women may be at higher risk for severe infection with COVID-19 based on data from other similar viruses, like SARS and MERS, but data for COVID-19 is lacking.[216][217] In China, children acquired infections mainly through close contact with their parents or other family members who lived in Wuhan or had traveled there.[213]
In some people, COVID‑19 may affect the lungs causing pneumonia. In those most severely affected, COVID-19 may rapidly progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) causing respiratory failure, septic shock, or multi-organ failure.[218][219] Complications associated with COVID‑19 include sepsis, abnormal clotting, and damage to the heart, kidneys, and liver. Clotting abnormalities, specifically an increase in prothrombin time, have been described in 6% of those admitted to hospital with COVID-19, while abnormal kidney function is seen in 4% of this group.[220] Approximately 20-30% of people who present with COVID‑19 demonstrate elevated liver enzymes (transaminases).[133] Liver injury as shown by blood markers of liver damage is frequently seen in severe cases.[221]
Some studies have found that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be helpful in early screening for severe illness.[222]
Most of those who die of COVID‑19 have pre-existing (underlying) conditions, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease.[223] The Istituto Superiore di Sanità reported that out of 8.8% of deaths where medical charts were available for review, 97.2% of sampled patients had at least one comorbidity with the average patient having 2.7 diseases.[224] According to the same report, the median time between the onset of symptoms and death was ten days, with five being spent hospitalised. However, patients transferred to an ICU had a median time of seven days between hospitalisation and death.[224] In a study of early cases, the median time from exhibiting initial symptoms to death was 14 days, with a full range of six to 41 days.[225] In a study by the National Health Commission (NHC) of China, men had a death rate of 2.8% while women had a death rate of 1.7%.[226] Histopathological examinations of post-mortem lung samples show diffuse alveolar damage with cellular fibromyxoid exudates in both lungs. Viral cytopathic changes were observed in the pneumocytes. The lung picture resembled acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).[47] In 11.8% of the deaths reported by the National Health Commission of China, heart damage was noted by elevated levels of troponin or cardiac arrest.[49] According to March data from the United States, 89% of those hospitalised had preexisting conditions.[227]
The availability of medical resources and the socioeconomics of a region may also affect mortality.[228] Estimates of the mortality from the condition vary because of those regional differences,[229] but also because of methodological difficulties. The under-counting of mild cases can cause the mortality rate to be overestimated.[230] However, the fact that deaths are the result of cases contracted in the past can mean the current mortality rate is underestimated.[231][232] Smokers were 1.4 times more likely to have severe symptoms of COVID‑19 and approximately 2.4 times more likely to require intensive care or die compared to non-smokers.[233]
Concerns have been raised about long-term sequelae of the disease. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority found a drop of 20% to 30% in lung capacity in some people who recovered from the disease, and lung scans suggested organ damage.[234] This may also lead to post-intensive care syndrome following recovery.[235]
Case fatality rates (%) by age and country
Age0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980-8990+
China as of 11 February[208]0.00.20.20.20.41.33.68.014.8
Denmark as of 25 April[236]0.24.515.524.940.7
Italy as of 23 April[211]0.20.00.10.40.92.610.024.930.826.1
Netherlands as of 17 April[237]0.00.30.10.20.51.57.623.230.029.3
Portugal as of 24 April[238]0.00.00.00.00.30.62.88.516.5
S. Korea as of 15 April[209]0.00.00.00.10.20.72.59.722.2
Spain as of 24 April[210]0.30.40.30.30.61.34.413.220.320.1
Switzerland as of 25 April[239]0.90.00.00.10.00.52.710.124.0
Case fatality rates (%) by age in the United States
Age0–1920–4445–5455–6465–7475–8485+
United States as of 16 March[240]0.00.1–0.20.5–0.81.4–2.62.7–4.94.3–10.510.4–27.3
Note: The lower bound includes all cases. The upper bound excludes cases that were missing data.
Estimate of infection fatality rates and probability of severe disease course (%) by age based on cases from China[241]
0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980+
Severe disease0.0
(0.0–0.0)0.04
(0.02–0.08)1.0
(0.62–2.1)3.4
(2.0–7.0)4.3
(2.5–8.7)8.2
(4.9–17)11
(7.0–24)17
(9.9–34)18
(11–38)
Death0.0016
(0.00016–0.025)0.0070
(0.0015–0.050)0.031
(0.014–0.092)0.084
(0.041–0.19)0.16
(0.076–0.32)0.60
(0.34–1.3)1.9
(1.1–3.9)4.3
(2.5–8.4)7.8
(3.8–13)
Total infection fatality rate is estimated to be 0.66% (0.39–1.3). Infection fatality rate is fatality per all infected individuals, regardless of whether they were diagnosed or had any symptoms. Numbers in parentheses are 95% credible intervals for the estimates.
Reinfection
As of March 2020, it was unknown if past infection provides effective and long-term immunity in people who recover from the disease.[242] Immunity is seen as likely, based on the behaviour of other coronaviruses,[243] but cases in which recovery from COVID‑19 have been followed by positive tests for coronavirus at a later date have been reported.[244][245][246][247] These cases are believed to be worsening of a lingering infection rather than re-infection.[247]
History
Main article: Timeline of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
The virus is thought to be natural and has an animal origin,[77] through spillover infection.[248] The actual origin is unknown, but by December 2019 the spread of infection was almost entirely driven by human-to-human transmission.[208][249] A study of the first 41 cases of confirmed COVID‑19, published in January 2020 in The Lancet, revealed the earliest date of onset of symptoms as 1 December 2019.[250][251][252] Official publications from the WHO reported the earliest onset of symptoms as 8 December 2019.[253] Human-to-human transmission was confirmed by the WHO and Chinese authorities by 20 January 2020.[254][255]
Epidemiology
Main article: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
Several measures are commonly used to quantify mortality.[256] These numbers vary by region and over time and are influenced by the volume of testing, healthcare system quality, treatment options, time since the initial outbreak, and population characteristics such as age, sex, and overall health.[257]
The death-to-case ratio reflects the number of deaths divided by the number of diagnosed cases within a given time interval. Based on Johns Hopkins University statistics, the global death-to-case ratio is 7.0% (203,044/2,899,830) as of 26 April 2020.[7] The number varies by region.[258]
Other measures include the case fatality rate (CFR), which reflects the percent of diagnosed individuals who die from a disease, and the infection fatality rate (IFR), which reflects the percent of infected individuals (diagnosed and undiagnosed) who die from a disease. These statistics are not time-bound and follow a specific population from infection through case resolution. Many academics have attempted to calculate these numbers for specific populations.[259]
Total confirmed cases over time
Total deaths over time
Total confirmed cases of COVID‑19 per million people, 10 April 2020[260]
Total confirmed deaths due to COVID‑19 per million people, 10 April 2020[261]
Infection fatality rate
Our World in Data states that as of March 25, 2020, the infection fatality rate (IFR) cannot be accurately calculated.[262] In February, the World Health Organization estimated the IFR at 0.94%, with a confidence interval between 0.37 percent to 2.9 percent.[263] The University of Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) estimated a global CFR of 0.72 percent and IFR of 0.1 percent to 0.36 percent.[264] According to CEBM, random antibody testing in Germany suggested an IFR of 0.37 percent there.[264] Firm lower limits to local infection fatality rates were established, such as in Bergamo province, where 0.57% of the population has died, leading to a minimum IFR of 0.57% in the province. This population fatality rate (PFR) minimum increases as more people get infected and run through their disease.[265][266] Similarly, as of April 22 in the New York City area, there were 15,411 deaths confirmed from COVID-19, and 19,200 excess deaths.[267] Very recently, the first results of antibody testing have come in, but there are no valid scientific reports based on them available yet. A Bloomberg Opinion piece provides a survey.[268][269]
Sex differences
Main article: Gendered impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
The impact of the pandemic and its mortality rate are different for men and women.[270] Mortality is higher in men in studies conducted in China and Italy.[271][272][273] The highest risk for men is in their 50s, with the gap between men and women closing only at 90.[273] In China, the death rate was 2.8 percent for men and 1.7 percent for women.[273] The exact reasons for this sex-difference are not known, but genetic and behavioural factors could be a reason.[270] Sex-based immunological differences, a lower prevalence of smoking in women, and men developing co-morbid conditions such as hypertension at a younger age than women could have contributed to the higher mortality in men.[273] In Europe, of those infected with COVID‑19, 57% were men; of those infected with COVID‑19 who also died, 72% were men.[274] As of April 2020, the U.S. government is not tracking sex-related data of COVID‑19 infections.[275] Research has shown that viral illnesses like Ebola, HIV, influenza, and SARS affect men and women differently.[275] A higher percentage of health workers, particularly nurses, are women, and they have a higher chance of being exposed to the virus.[276] School closures, lockdowns, and reduced access to healthcare following the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic may differentially affect the genders and possibly exaggerate existing gender disparity.[270][277]
Society and culture
Name
During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus and disease were commonly referred to as "coronavirus" and "Wuhan coronavirus",[278][279][280] with the disease sometimes called "Wuhan pneumonia".[281][282] In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical locations, such as the Spanish flu,[283] Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Zika virus.[284]
In January 2020, the World Health Organisation recommended 2019-nCov[285] and 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease[286] as interim names for the virus and disease per 2015 guidance and international guidelines against using geographical locations (e.g. Wuhan, China), animal species or groups of people in disease and virus names to prevent social stigma.[287][288][289]
The official names COVID‑19 and SARS-CoV-2 were issued by the WHO on 11 February 2020.[290] WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained: CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease and 19 for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 2019).[291] The WHO additionally uses "the COVID‑19 virus" and "the virus responsible for COVID‑19" in public communications.[290] Both the disease and virus are commonly referred to as "coronavirus" in the media and public discourse.
Misinformation
Main article: Misinformation related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
After the initial outbreak of COVID‑19, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation emerged regarding the origin, scale, prevention, treatment, and other aspects of the disease and rapidly spread online.[292][293][294][295]
Protests
Beginning April 17, 2020, news media began reporting on a wave of demonstrations protesting against state-mandated quarantine restrictions in in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.[296][297]
Other animals
Humans appear to be capable of spreading the virus to some other animals. A domestic cat in Liège, Belgium, tested positive after it started showing symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting, shortness of breath) a week later than its owner, who was also positive.[298] Tigers at the Bronx Zoo in New York, United States, tested positive for the virus and showed symptoms of COVID‑19, including a dry cough and loss of appetite.[299]
A study on domesticated animals inoculated with the virus found that cats and ferrets appear to be "highly susceptible" to the disease, while dogs appear to be less susceptible, with lower levels of viral replication. The study failed to find evidence of viral replication in pigs, ducks, and chickens.[300]
Research
Main article: COVID-19 drug development
No medication or vaccine is approved to treat the disease.[186] International research on vaccines and medicines in COVID‑19 is underway by government organisations, academic groups, and industry researchers.[301][302] In March, the World Health Organisation initiated the "SOLIDARITY Trial" to assess the treatment effects of four existing antiviral compounds with the most promise of efficacy.[303]
Vaccine
Main article: COVID-19 vaccine
There is no available vaccine, but various agencies are actively developing vaccine candidates. Previous work on SARS-CoV is being used because both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 use the ACE2 receptor to enter human cells.[304] Three vaccination strategies are being investigated. First, researchers aim to build a whole virus vaccine. The use of such a virus, be it inactive or dead, aims to elicit a prompt immune response of the human body to a new infection with COVID‑19. A second strategy, subunit vaccines, aims to create a vaccine that sensitises the immune system to certain subunits of the virus. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, such research focuses on the S-spike protein that helps the virus intrude the ACE2 enzyme receptor. A third strategy is that of the nucleic acid vaccines (DNA or RNA vaccines, a novel technique for creating a vaccination). Experimental vaccines from any of these strategies would have to be tested for safety and efficacy.[305]
On 16 March 2020, the first clinical trial of a vaccine started with four volunteers in Seattle, United States. The vaccine contains a harmless genetic code copied from the virus that causes the disease.[306]
Antibody-dependent enhancement has been suggested as a potential challenge for vaccine development for SARS-COV-2, but this is controversial.[307]
Medications
Main article: COVID-19 drug repurposing research
At least 29 phase II–IV efficacy trials in COVID‑19 were concluded in March 2020 or scheduled to provide results in April from hospitals in China.[308][309] There are more than 300 active clinical trials underway as of April 2020.[133] Seven trials were evaluating already approved treatments, including four studies on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.[309] Repurposed antiviral drugs make up most of the Chinese research, with nine phase III trials on remdesivir across several countries due to report by the end of April.[308][309] Other candidates in trials include vasodilators, corticosteroids, immune therapies, lipoic acid, bevacizumab, and recombinant angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.[309]
The COVID‑19 Clinical Research Coalition has goals to 1) facilitate rapid reviews of clinical trial proposals by ethics committees and national regulatory agencies, 2) fast-track approvals for the candidate therapeutic compounds, 3) ensure standardised and rapid analysis of emerging efficacy and safety data and 4) facilitate sharing of clinical trial outcomes before publication.[310][311]
Several existing medications are being evaluated for the treatment of COVID‑19,[186] including remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, and lopinavir/ritonavir combined with interferon beta.[303][312] There is tentative evidence for efficacy by remdesivir, as of March 2020.[313][314] Clinical improvement was observed in patients treated with compassionate-use remdesivir.[315] Remdesivir inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.[316] Phase III clinical trials are underway in the U.S., China, and Italy.[186][308][317]
In 2020, a trial found that lopinavir/ritonavir was ineffective in the treatment of severe illness.[318] Nitazoxanide has been recommended for further in vivo study after demonstrating low concentration inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.[316]
There are mixed results as of 3 April 2020 as to the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID‑19, with some studies showing little or no improvement.[319][320] The studies of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin have major limitations that have prevented the medical community from embracing these therapies without further study.[133]
Oseltamivir does not inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and has no known role in COVID‑19 treatment.[133]
Anti-cytokine storm
Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) can be a complication in the later stages of severe COVID‑19. There is preliminary evidence that hydroxychloroquine may have anti-cytokine storm properties.[321]
Tocilizumab has been included in treatment guidelines by China's National Health Commission after a small study was completed.[322][323] It is undergoing a phase 2 non-randomised trial at the national level in Italy after showing positive results in people with severe disease.[324][325] Combined with a serum ferritin blood test to identify cytokine storms, it is meant to counter such developments, which are thought to be the cause of death in some affected people.[326][327][328] The interleukin-6 receptor antagonist was approved by the FDA to undergo a phase III clinical trial assessing the medication's impact on COVID‑19 based on retrospective case studies for the treatment of steroid-refractory cytokine release syndrome induced by a different cause, CAR T cell therapy, in 2017.[329] To date, there is no randomised, controlled evidence that tocilizumab is an efficacious treatment for CRS. Prophylactic tocilizumab has been shown to increase serum IL-6 levels by saturating the IL-6R, driving IL-6 across the blood-brain barrier, and exacerbating neurotoxicity while having no impact on the incidence of CRS.[330]
Lenzilumab, an anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, is protective in murine models for CAR T cell-induced CRS and neurotoxicity and is a viable therapeutic option due to the observed increase of pathogenic GM-CSF secreting T-cells in hospitalised patients with COVID‑19.[331]
The Feinstein Institute of Northwell Health announced in March a study on "a human antibody that may prevent the activity" of IL-6.[332]
Passive antibodies
Transferring purified and concentrated antibodies produced by the immune systems of those who have recovered from COVID‑19 to people who need them is being investigated as a non-vaccine method of passive immunisation.[333] This strategy was tried for SARS with inconclusive results.[333] Viral neutralisation is the anticipated mechanism of action by which passive antibody therapy can mediate defence against SARS-CoV-2. Other mechanisms, however, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and/or phagocytosis, may be possible.[333] Other forms of passive antibody therapy, for example, using manufactured monoclonal antibodies, are in development.[333] Production of convalescent serum, which consists of the liquid portion of the blood from recovered patients and contains antibodies specific to this virus, could be increased for quicker deployment.[334]
Conjoined Triplets – Exquisite Monster Art Doll
Their names are (left to right): Tanek, Tymon and Tercio.
These Conjoined Triplets are part of a new series of “Exquisite Monsters” inspired by antique wax medical models and specimens representing genetic anomalies, disfigurements and diseases. However, these characters are wholly a product of my own imagination and do not depict specific real-life conditions or persons. They arise out of my fascination with biological abstraction/surrealism as it is expressed in nature and how it is framed by human culture.
Handmade Doll Sculpture. 10.75 inches tall. Mixed media.
Copyright © 2010, Shain Erin. All rights reserved.
This customized Harley had a very specific theme, RUM. The owner of this great looking bike was a Captain Morgan Rum drinker. And as you can see his bike had the Rum and Pirate paint scheme. You'd have to see it to fully appreciate it. This bike appeared at the 2020 Community Church Car Show held at Vineyard Baptist Church in Kansas City Kansas.
Picture Taken Of Brand New NYPD Car #5952-16 - 2016 Dodge Charger Assigned To The Highway Patrol Unit. It Is Not Assigned To Any Specific Highway Patrol Unit But Is Escorting United Nations Delegates Around New York City During The United Nations 72nd General Assembly. Photo Taken Tuesday September 19, 2017.
IMG2163
iPhone 7 Plus
Watch exclusive photos and videos of sexy feet at feetwonder.com/
Sexy feet enhance your charm, and also girls with sexy feet look more gorgeous and pretty. When you have sexy feet, then you really feel a lot more specific and again do not think twice while having a conversation with people.
Address : Matisa iela 26, Riga, Latvia LV-1001
U-BOOT TYP VII C - 1/38 (minifig) scale with full interior.
~ 177 CM (~70 INCH) LONG
~ 15.000 PARTS
~ 4.5 YEARS OF WORK
GOALS
The model was supposed to represent a ship from the initial period of the war.
It does not show a specific copy, but it should resemble uboots such as U-69 or U-96 (known from the classic Das Boot movie).
I wanted to get a fairly good representation of both the curves of the hull and as many pieces of internal equipment as possible.
MODEL CHARACTERISTICS
It consists of 6 modules that naturally represent the 6 sections of a real ship:
1. The forward torpedo room and crew compartment [Bow: ~ 3600 parts]
2. Officers', radio and listening room [Front mess: ~ 2000 parts]
3. Control room with conning tower [Control room: ~ 2700 parts]
4. Petty Officers' romm and galley [Rear mess: ~ 1700 parts]
5. Diesel engines room [Diesels: ~ 2400 parts]
6. Electric engines and aft torpedo room [Stern: ~ 2800 parts]
In each module, the port and / or starboard can be removed.
So the entire model can represent the ship from the outside or with an open interior.
The target configuration is with the starboard closed and the port open.
I finally made two photo sessions of the entire model - in a fully closed configuration and with a closed starboard and open port side.
Adittionally I have prepared presentation of individual modules separately.
[b][CONSTRUCTION][/b]
The construction was planned to be made in sections and I started from the control room.
Each module was first designed in LDD (first the hull, then the interior) and then built in reality.
The modules were created in this order:
3. Control room
2. Front mess
1. Bow
4. Rear mess
5. Diesels
6. Stern
Designing started on 26.12.2017.
[b][PHOTOS][/b]
I invite you to view photos.
I'm sorry that there are so many, but I couldn't resist.
(it took me about 3 months to photograph and post-process them)
Flickr albums (part of the photos):
0. Overall: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300082599
1. Bow: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300077412
2. Front mess: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300086873
3. Control room: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300082694
4. Rear mess: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300082699
5. Diesels: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300086878
6. Stern: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300077462
0-6. Alltogether: www.flickr.com/photos/pigletciamek/albums/72177720300076411
BS (all photos):
0. Overall: brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=584704
1. Bow: brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=584706
2. Front mess: brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=584707
3. Control room: brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=584708
4. Rear mess: brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=584709
5. Diesels: brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=584710
There is no specific scenario behind this image. We are two years away from the centenary of China Motor Bus but the company no longer has any bus interests, having diversified into property development since its loss of the Hong Kong island bus franchise. We can only imagine what might have been. This fictional Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 XLB carries what was generally described as CMB coach livery, which was briefly carried by the company’s first generation of air-conditioned double-deck buses. Thanks to Keith McGillivray for the base image (16-Apr-21).
All rights reserved. For the avoidance of doubt, this means that it would be a criminal offence to post this image on Facebook or elsewhere (please post a link instead). Please follow the link below for further information about my Flickr collection:
www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7...
Finally I will start to upload weekly (or a little less time to time) a picture of a specific Lilee from my Lilee's Collection. Each time a different Lilee doll with another outfit-dress combination.
I used-collected all the "main" collections outfits - my personal favorites - (except "Campfire" since I didn't find a Yasmin complete outfit yet.), for now.
For the majority of cases, she will wear a specific complete outfit-dress from a specific character of a specific line, but sometimes I mix-and-matched some outfits and accessories for my personal tastes.
Since we are in winter I decided to start with one of my favorite lines ever : Wintertime Wonderland.
As you can see, her first (main) outfit ensemble is a combination between Yasmin and Dana outfits (the second from this line will be the same), since I loved some stuff from one and some from the other.
I love this look since is wintery but is delicate, fluffy and I love how the pastel color blend so much.
- - -
Specific "Wintertime wonderland 1" outfit:
Coat: Pink fluffy -Yasmin
Sweater: Lilac stripes - Dana
Hat: Pink/periwinkle - Yasmin
Trousers: White-grey (with belt) - Dana
Legwarmers: Lilac fluffy - Dana
Boots: Periwinkle/white - Yasmin
Bag: Lavender bag - Dana
Gloves: pink-brown with stripes - Yasmin
Glasses: Pink - Yasmin
Winter accessory: Lilac/cream Slide - Dana
Pet: White seal - Dana
Doll: Sweet heart Basic Lilee (with added glittery lips)
- - -
Just a reminder: all my Lilees are a hard result of long search work, purchasing all the specific dresses-pieces where is possible. She is one of my biggest passion.
There’s a very specific kind of holiday frustration that only Christmas lights can deliver—and this look captures it perfectly. Wrapped from head to toe in glowing strands, Ivanna stands frozen in that familiar moment: lights everywhere, patience nowhere. What started as festive cheer has turned into a battle of knots, twists, and wires that somehow multiplied while you weren’t looking.
The styling leans into that chaos beautifully. Strings of lights crown her head, coil around her arms, and cling to her outfit as if they have a mind of their own. Her expression says it all—equal parts disbelief and exhaustion—because no matter how carefully you store them, Christmas lights always come back tangled. It’s tradition at this point.
Set against a softly glowing tree and scattered ornaments, the look balances humor with realism. It’s messy, bright, and slightly unhinged—just like decorating for the holidays. And yet, there’s something charming about it. Because even in the frustration, there’s magic. Once the knots are (mostly) undone and the lights finally glow where they’re meant to, the stress fades, and the season feels warm again.
This look is a love letter to that shared holiday struggle—a reminder that sometimes the chaos is part of the charm, and the lights are worth it… even if they test your sanity every single year.
T-Shirt: The Bold Llama T-Shirt Co. EVERYTHING's FINE Tee
* Bring a little holiday attitude to your wardrobe with this festive tee, featuring one bold logo and all the What The Elf energy you need this season. Designed to fit Lara, LaraX, Petite, PetiteX, Reborn, Ebody Classic, Waifu, GenX, Freya, Isis, Venus, Hourglass, Physique, Legacy Classic, Perky, TMP, plus 5 Standard Sizes, it’s an easy, versatile must-have.
Available for just $20L, this tee is an exclusive at Evil Bunny Productions’ “What The Elf” Sim Hunt, running Dec 13 – Dec 31. Grab it before it’s gone!
What the Elf Hunt
WS: www.evilbunnysl.com/gacha-life-gallery
LM: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Grumble/176/30/21
The Bold Llama T-Shirt Company
◆ Mainstore: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sandstorm/19/98/1622
◆ Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/165644473@N06/
◆ Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/202793
◆ PrimFeed: www.primfeed.com/the-bold-llama-t-shirt-co
◆ Bold Llama Bloggers Flickr: www.flickr.com/groups/theboldllama/
Vortex Science Fiction / Heft-Reihe
- Lelon Kohle / The Paper Knife
- Bruce Fearing / The Unlikeliest Thing
- Emmett Herlocker / Granch Male-Left
- Rice Arden / Food for Thought
- Marion Zimmer Bradley / Women Only
- James L. Harte / Shade of Blond
- Frank Bristow / Rejects
- Jack Lewis / The Miraculous Lens
- Sylvia Jacobs / The Sportsmen
- Garen Drussaï / Grim Fairy Tale
- Lelon Kohle / The Time-Killer
- Stephen Arr / The Ball
- T. D. Hamm / The Corner
- John Foster West / Weird Catch
- Joseph Slotkin / Release
- L. Major Reynolds / One Man War
- Gene Hunter / Aunt Liz
- Richard Terzian / The Farmer's Daughter & The Martian
- C. M. Webster / The Venus Gipsy
- Don L. Johnson / Dream Drink
- Marion Zimmer Bradley / Keyhole
- J. T. Oliver / Teacher's Pet
- Garen Drussaï / The Closet
- Joseph Slotkin / Mercer's Machine
- Lucius Daniel / The Question
cover: Martin (II)
Specific Fiction Corp. / USA 1953
Reprint: Comic-Club NK 2010
ex libris MTP
Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen)
The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subspecies. A member of the Artamidae, the Australian magpie is placed in its own genus Gymnorhina and is most closely related to the black butcherbird (Melloria quoyi). It is not, however, closely related to the European magpie, which is a corvid.
The adult Australian magpie is a fairly robust bird ranging from 37 to 43 cm (14.5 to 17 in) in length, with distinctive black and white plumage, gold brown eyes and a solid wedge-shaped bluish-white and black bill. The male and female are similar in appearance, and can be distinguished by differences in back markings. The male has pure white feathers on the back of the head and the female has white blending to grey feathers on the back of the head. With its long legs, the Australian magpie walks rather than waddles or hops and spends much time on the ground.
Described as one of Australia's most accomplished songbirds, the Australian magpie has an array of complex vocalisations. It is omnivorous, with the bulk of its varied diet made up of invertebrates. It is generally sedentary and territorial throughout its range. Common and widespread, it has adapted well to human habitation and is a familiar bird of parks, gardens and farmland in Australia and New Guinea. This species is commonly fed by households around the country, but in spring a small minority of breeding magpies (almost always males) become aggressive and swoop and attack those who approach their nests.
Over 1000 Australian magpies were introduced into New Zealand from 1864 to 1874 but have subsequently been accused of displacing native birds and are now treated as a pest species. Introductions also occurred in the Solomon Islands and Fiji, where the birds are not considered an invasive species. The Australian magpie is the mascot of several Australian sporting teams, most notably the Collingwood Magpies, the Western Suburbs Magpies and Port Adelaide Magpies.
Taxonomy
The Australian magpie was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Coracias tibicen, the type collected in the Port Jackson region. Its specific epithet derived from the Latintibicen "flute-player" or "piper" in reference to the bird's melodious call. An early recorded vernacular name is piping poller, written on a painting by Thomas Watling, one of a group known collectively as the Port Jackson Painter, sometime between 1788 and 1792. Tarra-won-nang, or djarrawunang, wibung, and marriyang were names used by the local Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney Basin. Booroogong and garoogong were Wiradjuri words, and carrak was a Jardwadjali term from Victoria. Among the Kamilaroi, it is burrugaabu, galalu, or guluu. It was known as Warndurla among the Yindjibarndi people of the central and western Pilbara. Other names used include piping crow-shrike, piper, maggie, flute-bird and organ-bird. The term bell-magpie was proposed to help distinguish it from the European magpie but failed to gain wide acceptance.
The bird was named for its similarity in colouration to the European magpie; it was a common practice for early settlers to name plants and animals after European counterparts. However, the European magpie is a member of the Corvidae, while its Australian counterpart is placed in the family Artamidae (although both are members of a broad corvid lineage). The Australian magpie's affinities with butcherbirds and currawongs were recognised early on and the three genera were placed in the family Cracticidae in 1914 by John Albert Leach after he had studied their musculature. American ornithologists Charles Sibley and Jon Ahlquist recognised the close relationship between woodswallows and the butcherbirds in 1985, and combined them into a Cracticini clade, in the Artamidae. The Australian magpie is placed in its own monotypic genus Gymnorhina which was introduced by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840. The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek gumnos for "naked" or "bare" and rhis, rhinos "nostrils". Some authorities such as Glen Storr in 1952 and Leslie Christidis and Walter Boles in their 2008 checklist, have placed the Australian magpie in the butcherbird genus Cracticus, arguing that its adaptation to ground-living is not enough to consider it a separate genus. A molecular genetic study published in a 2013 showed that the Australian magpie is a sister taxon to the black butcherbird (Melloria quoyi) and that the two species are in turn sister to a clade that includes the other butcherbirds in the genus Cracticus. The ancestor to the two species is thought to have split from the other butcherbirds between 8.3 and 4.2 million years ago, during the late Miocene to early Pliocene, while the two species themselves diverged sometime during the Pliocene (5.8–3.0 million years ago).
The Australian magpie was subdivided into three species in the literature for much of the twentieth century—the black-backed magpie (G. tibicen), the white-backed magpie (G. hypoleuca), and the western magpie (G. dorsalis). They were later noted to hybridise readily where their territories crossed, with hybrid grey or striped-backed magpies being quite common. This resulted in them being reclassified as one species by Julian Ford in 1969, with most recent authors following suit.
Subspecies
There are currently thought to be nine subspecies of the Australian magpie, although there are large zones of overlap with intermediate forms between the taxa. There is a tendency for birds to become larger with increasing latitude, the southern subspecies being larger than those further north, except the Tasmanian form which is small.[26] The original form, known as the black-backed magpie and classified as Gymnorhina tibicen, has been split into four black-backed races:
•G. tibicen tibicen, the nominate form, is a large subspecies found in southeastern Queensland, from the vicinity of Moreton Bay through eastern New South Wales to Moruya, New South Wales almost to the Victorian border. It is coastal or near-coastal and is restricted to east of the Great Dividing Range.
•G. tibicen terraereginae, found from Cape York and the Gulf Country southwards across Queenslandto the coast between Halifax Bay in the north and south to the Mary River, and central and western New South Wales and into northern South Australia, is a small to medium-sized subspecies. The plumage is the same as that of subspecies tibicen, although the female has a shorter black tip to the tail. The wings and tarsus are shorter and the bill proportionally longer. It was originally described by Gregory Mathews in 1912, its subspecies name a Latin translation, terra "land" reginae "queen's" of "Queensland". Hybridisation with the large white-backed subspecies tyrannica occurs in northern Victoria and southeastern New South Wales; intermediate forms have black bands of varying sizes in white-backed area. Three-way hybridisation occurs between Bega and Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast.
•G. tibicen eylandtensis, the Top End magpie, is found from the Kimberley in northern Western Australia, across the Northern Territory through Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt and into the Gulf Country. It is a small subspecies with a long and thinner bill, with birds of Groote Eylandt possibly even smaller than mainland birds. It has a narrow black terminal tailband, and a narrow black band; the male has a large white nape, the female pale grey. This form was initially described by H. L. White in 1922. It intergrades with subspecies terraereginae southeast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
•G. tibicen longirostris, the long-billed magpie, is found across northern Western Australia, from Shark Bay into the Pilbara. Named in 1903 by Alex Milligan, it is a medium-sized subspecies with a long thin bill. Milligan speculated the bill may have been adapted for the local conditions, slim fare meaning the birds had to pick at dangerous scorpions and spiders. There is a broad area of hybridisation with the western dorsalis in southern central Western Australia from Shark Bay south to the Murchison River and east to the Great Victoria Desert.
The white-backed magpie, originally described as Gymnorhina hypoleuca by John Gould in 1837, has also been split into races:
•G. tibicen tyrannica, a very large white-backed form found from Twofold Bay on the New South Wales far south coast, across southern Victoria south of the Great Dividing Range through to the Coorong in southeastern South Australia. It was first described by Schodde and Mason in 1999. It has a broad black tail band.
•G. tibicen telonocua, found from Cowell south into the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas in southern South Australia, as well as the southwestern Gawler Ranges. Described by Schodde and Mason in 1999, its subspecific name is an anagram of leuconota "white-backed". It is very similar to tyrannica, differing in having a shorter wing and being lighter and smaller overall. The bill is relatively short compared with other magpie subspecies. Intermediate forms are found in the Mount Lofty Ranges and on Kangaroo Island.
•G. tibicen hypoleuca now refers to a small white-backed subspecies with a short compact bill and short wings, found on King and Flinders Islands, as well as Tasmania.
•The western magpie, G. tibicen dorsalis was originally described as a separate species by A. J. Campbell in 1895 and is found in the fertile south-west corner of Western Australia. The adult male has a white back and most closely resembles subspecies telonocua, though it is a little larger with a longer bill and the black tip of its tail plumage is narrower. The female is unusual in that it has a scalloped black or brownish-black mantle and back; the dark feathers there are edged with white. This area appears a more uniform black as the plumage ages and the edges are worn away. Both sexes have black thighs.
•The New Guinean magpie, G. tibicen papuana, is a little-known subspecies found in southern New Guinea. The adult male has a mostly white back with a narrow black stripe, and the female a blackish back; the black feathers here are tipped with white similar to subspecies dorsalis. It has a long deep bill resembling that of subspecies longirostris. Genetically it is closely related to a western lineage of Australian magpies comprising subspecies dorsalis, longirostris and eylandtensis, suggesting their ancestors occupied in savannah country that was a land bridge between New Guinea and Australia and was submerged around 16,500 years ago.
Description
The adult magpie is a fairly solid, sturdy bird ranging from 37 to 43 cm (14.5 to 17 in) in length with a 65–85 cm (25.5–33.5 in) wingspan, and weighing 220–350 g (7.8–12.3 oz). Its robust wedge-shaped bill is bluish-white bordered with black, with a small hook at the tip. The black legs are long and strong. The plumage is pure glossy black and white; both sexes of all subspecies have black heads, wings and underparts with white shoulders. The tail has a black terminal band. The nape is white in the male and light greyish-white in the female. Mature magpies have dull red eyes, in contrast to the yellow eyes of currawongs and white eyes of Australian ravens and crows. The main difference between the subspecies lies in the "saddle" markings on the back below the nape. Black-backed subspecies have a black saddle and white nape. White-backed subspecies have a wholly white nape and saddle. The male Western Australian subspecies dorsalis is also white-backed, but the equivalent area in the female is scalloped black.
Juveniles have lighter greys and browns amidst the starker blacks and whites of their plumage; two- or three-year-old birds of both sexes closely resemble and are difficult to distinguish from adult females. Immature birds have dark brownish eyes until around two years of age. Australian magpies generally live to around 25 years of age, though ages of up to 30 years have been recorded. The reported age of first breeding has varied according to area, but the average is between the ages of three and five years.
Well-known and easily recognisable, the Australian magpie is unlikely to be confused with any other species. The pied butcherbird has a similar build and plumage, but has white underparts unlike the former species' black underparts. The magpie-lark is a much smaller and more delicate bird with complex and very different banded black and white plumage. Currawong species have predominantly dark plumage and heavier bills.
Vocalisation
One of Australia's most highly regarded songbirds, the Australian magpie has a wide variety of calls, many of which are complex. Pitch may vary as much as four octaves, and the bird can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as dogs and horses. Magpies have even been noted to mimic human speech when living in close proximity to humans. Its complex, musical, warbling call is one of the most familiar Australian bird sounds. In Denis Glover's poem "The Magpies", the mature magpie's call is described as quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle, one of the most famous lines in New Zealand poetry, and as waddle giggle gargle paddle poodle, in the children's book Waddle Giggle Gargle by Pamela Allen.
When alone, a magpie may make a quiet musical warbling; these complex melodious warbles or subsongs are pitched at 2–4 KHz and do not carry for long distances. These songs have been recorded up to 70 minutes in duration and are more frequent after the end of the breeding season. Pairs of magpies often take up a loud musical calling known as carolling to advertise or defend their territory; one bird initiates the call with the second (and sometimes more) joining in. Often preceded by warbling, carolling is pitched between 6 and 8 kHz and has 4–5 elements with slurring indistinct noise in between. Birds will adopt a specific posture by tilting their heads back, expanding their chests, and moving their wings backwards. A group of magpies will sing a short repetitive version of carolling just before dawn (dawn song), and at twilight after sundown (dusk song), in winter and spring.
Fledgling and juvenile magpies emit a repeated short and loud (80 dB), high-pitched (8 kHz) begging call. Magpies may indulge in beak-clapping to warn other species of birds.They employ several high pitched (8–10 kHz) alarm or rallying calls when intruders or threats are spotted. Distinct calls have been recorded for the approach of eagles and monitor lizards.
Distribution and habitat
The Australian magpie is found in the Trans-Fly region of southern New Guinea, between the Oriomo River and Muli Strait, and across most of Australia, bar the tip of Cape York, the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts, and southwest of Tasmania. Birds taken mainly from Tasmania and Victoria were introduced into New Zealand by local Acclimatisation Societies of Otago and Canterbury in the 1860s, with the Wellington Acclimatisation Society releasing 260 birds in 1874. White-backed forms are spread on both the North and eastern South Island, while black-backed forms are found in the Hawke's Bay region. Magpies were introduced into New Zealand to control agricultural pests, and were therefore a protected species until 1951. They are thought to affect native New Zealand bird populations such as the tui and kereru, sometimes raiding nests for eggs and nestlings, although studies by Waikato University have cast doubt on this, and much blame on the magpie as a predator in the past has been anecdotal only. Introductions also occurred in the Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka, although the species has failed to become established. It has become established in western Taveuni in Fiji, however.
The Australian magpie prefers open areas such as grassland, fields and residential areas such as parks, gardens, golf courses, and streets, with scattered trees or forest nearby. Birds nest and shelter in trees but forage mainly on the ground in these open areas. It has also been recorded in mature pine plantations; birds only occupy rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in the vicinity of cleared areas. In general, evidence suggests the range and population of the Australian magpie has increased with land-clearing, although local declines in Queensland due to a 1902 drought, and in Tasmania in the 1930s have been noted; the cause for the latter is unclear but rabbit baiting, pine tree removal, and spread of the masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) have been implicated.
Behaviour
The Australian magpie is almost exclusively diurnal, although it may call into the night, like some other members of the Artamidae. Natural predators of magpies include various species of monitor lizard and the barking owl. Birds are often killed on roads or electrocuted by powerlines, or poisoned after killing and eating house sparrows or mice, rats or rabbits targeted with baiting. The Australian raven may take nestlings left unattended.
On the ground, the Australian magpie moves around by walking, and is the only member of the Artamidae to do so; woodswallows, butcherbirds and currawongs all tend to hop with legs parallel. The magpie has a short femur (thigh bone), and long lower leg below the knee, suited to walking rather than running, although birds can run in short bursts when hunting prey.
The magpie is generally sedentary and territorial throughout its range, living in groups occupying a territory, or in flocks or fringe groups. A group may occupy and defend the same territory for many years. Much energy is spent defending a territory from intruders, particularly other magpies, and different behaviours are seen with different opponents. The sight of a raptor results in a rallying call by sentinel birds and subsequent coordinated mobbing of the intruder. Magpies place themselves either side of the bird of prey so that it will be attacked from behind should it strike a defender, and harass and drive the raptor to some distance beyond the territory. A group will use carolling as a signal to advertise ownership and warn off other magpies. In the negotiating display, the one or two dominant magpies parade along the border of the defended territory while the rest of the group stand back a little and look on. The leaders may fluff their feathers or caroll repeatedly. In a group strength display, employed if both the opposing and defending groups are of roughly equal numbers, all magpies will fly and form a row at the border of the territory. The defending group may also resort to an aerial display where the dominant magpies, or sometimes the whole group, swoop and dive while calling to warn an intruding magpie's group.
A wide variety of displays are seen, with aggressive behaviours outnumbering pro-social ones. Crouching low and uttering quiet begging calls are common signs of submission. The manus flutter is a submissive display where a magpie will flutter its primary feathers in its wings. A magpie, particularly a juvenile, may also fall, roll over on its back and expose its underparts. Birds may fluff up their flank feathers as an aggressive display or preceding an attack. Young birds display various forms of play behaviour, either by themselves or in groups, with older birds often initiating the proceedings with juveniles. These may involve picking up, manipulating or tugging at various objects such as sticks, rocks or bits of wire, and handing them to other birds. A bird may pick up a feather or leaf and flying off with it, with other birds pursuing and attempting to bring down the leader by latching onto its tail feathers. Birds may jump on each other and even engage in mock fighting. Play may even take place with other species such as blue-faced honeyeaters and Australasian pipits.
Breeding
Magpies have a long breeding season which varies in different parts of the country; in northern parts of Australia they will breed between June and September, but not commence until August or September in cooler regions, and may continue until January in some alpine areas. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure made of sticks and lined with softer material such as grass and bark. Near human habitation, synthetic material may be incorporated. Nests are built exclusively by females and generally placed high up in a tree fork, often in an exposed position. The trees used are most commonly eucalypts, although a variety of other native trees as well as introduced pine, Crataegus, and elm have been recorded. Other bird species, such as the yellow-rumped thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa), willie wagtail(Rhipidura leucophrys), southern whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis), and (less commonly) noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), often nest in the same tree as the magpie. The first two species may even locate their nest directly beneath a magpie nest, while the diminutive striated pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) has been known to make a burrow for breeding into the base of the magpie nest itself. These incursions are all tolerated by the magpies. The channel-billed cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) is a notable brood parasite in eastern Australia; magpies will raise cuckoo young, which eventually outcompete the magpie nestlings.
The Australian magpie produces a clutch of two to five light blue or greenish eggs, which are oval in shape and about 30 by 40 mm (1.2 by 1.6 in). The chicks hatch synchronously around 20 days after incubation begins; like all passerines, the chicks are altricial—they are born pink, naked, and blind with large feet, a short broad beak and a bright red throat. Their eyes are fully open at around 10 days. Chicks develop fine downy feathers on their head, back and wings in the first week, and pinfeathers in the second week. The black and white colouration is noticeable from an early stage. Nestlings are fed exclusively by the female, though the male magpie will feed his partner. The Australian magpie is known to engage in cooperative breeding, and helper birds will assist in feeding and raising young. This does vary from region to region, and with the size of the group—the behaviour is rare or nonexistent in pairs or small groups.
Juvenile magpies begin foraging on their own three weeks after leaving the nest, and mostly feeding themselves by six months old. Some birds continue begging for food until eight or nine months of age, but are usually ignored. Birds reach adult size by their first year. The age at which young birds disperse varies across the country, and depends on the aggressiveness of the dominant adult of the corresponding sex; males are usually evicted at a younger age. Many leave at around a year old, but the age of departure may range from eight months to four years.
Feeding
The Australian magpie is omnivorous, eating various items located at or near ground level including invertebrates such as earthworms, millipedes, snails, spiders and scorpions as well as a wide variety of insects—cockroaches, ants, beetles, cicadas, moths and caterpillars and other larvae. Insects, including large adult grasshoppers, may be seized mid-flight. Skinks, frogs, mice and other small animals as well as grain, tubers, figs and walnuts have also been noted as components of their diet. It has even learnt to safely eat the poisonous cane toadby flipping it over and consuming the underparts. Predominantly a ground feeder, the Australian magpie paces open areas methodically searching for insects and their larvae. One study showed birds were able to find scarab beetle larvae by sound or vibration. Birds use their bills to probe into the earth or otherwise overturn debris in search of food. Smaller prey are swallowed whole, although magpies rub off the stingers of bees and wasps before swallowing.
Relationship with humans
Swooping
Magpies are ubiquitous in urban areas all over Australia, and have become accustomed to people. A small percentage of birds become highly aggressive during breeding season from late August to early - mid October, and will swoop and sometimes attack passersby. Attacks begin as the eggs hatch, increase in frequency and severity as the chicks grow, and tail off as the chicks leave the nest.
The percentage has been difficult to estimate but is significantly less than 9%. Almost all attacking birds (around 99%) are male, and they are generally known to attack pedestrians at around 50 m (160 ft) from their nest, and cyclists at around 100 m (330 ft). There appears to be some specificity in choice of attack targets, with the majority of individuals specializing on either pedestrians or cyclists.Smaller - especially younger - people, lone people, and people travelling quickly (i.e., runners and cyclists) appear to be targeted most often by swooping magpies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that if a magpie sees a human trying to rescue a chick that has fallen from its nest, the bird will view this help as predation, and will become more aggressive to humans from then on.
Magpies may engage in an escalating series of behaviours to drive off intruders. Least threatening are alarm calls and distant swoops, where birds fly within several metres from behind and perch nearby. Next in intensity are close swoops, where a magpie will swoop in from behind or the side and audibly "snap" their beaks or even peck or bite at the face, neck, ears or eyes. More rarely, a bird may dive-bomb and strike the intruder's (usually a cyclist's) head with its chest. A magpie may rarely attack by landing on the ground in front of a person and lurching up and landing on the victim's chest and pecking at the face and eyes.
Magpie attacks can cause injuries, typically wounds to the head, and being unexpectedly swooped while cycling can result in loss of control of the bicycle, which may cause injury.
If it is necessary to walk near the nest, wearing a broad-brimmed or legionnaire's hat or using an umbrella will deter attacking birds, but beanies and bicycle helmets are of little value as birds attack the sides of the head and neck.
Magpies prefer to swoop at the back of the head; therefore, keeping the magpie in sight at all times can discourage the bird. A basic disguise such as sunglasses worn on the back of the head may fool the magpie as to where a person is looking. Eyes painted on hats or helmets will deter attacks on pedestrians but not cyclists.
Cyclists can deter attack by attaching a long pole with a flag to a bike, and the use of cable ties on helmets has become common and appears to be effective.
Magpies are a protected native species in Australia, so it is illegal to kill or harm them. However, this protection is removed in some Australian states if a magpie attacks a human, allowing for the bird to be killed if it is considered particularly aggressive (such a provision is made, for example, in section 54 of the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act).[ More commonly, an aggressive bird will be caught and relocated to an unpopulated area. Magpies have to be moved some distance as almost all are able to find their way home from distances of less than 25 km (16 mi). Removing the nest is of no use as birds will breed again and possibly be more aggressive the second time around.
Some claim that swooping can be prevented by hand-feeding magpies. Magpies will become accustomed to being fed by humans, and although they are wild, will return to the same place looking for handouts. The idea is that humans thereby appear less of a threat to the nesting birds. Although this has not been studied systematically, there are reports of its success.
Cultural references
The Australian magpie featured in aboriginal folklore around Australia. The Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara in the northwest of the country used the bird as a signal for sunrise, frightening them awake with its call. They were also familiar with its highly territorial nature, and it features in a song in their Burndud, or songs of customs. It was a totem bird of the people of the Illawarra region south of Sydney.
Under the name piping shrike, the white-backed magpie was declared the official emblem of the Government of South Australia in 1901 by Governor Tennyson, and has featured on the South Australian flag since 1904. The magpie is a commonly used emblem of sporting teams in Australia, and its brash, cocky attitude has been likened to the Australian psyche. Such teams tend to wear uniforms with black and white stripes. The Collingwood Football Club adopted the magpie from a visiting South Australian representative team in 1892. The Port Adelaide Magpies would similarly adopt the black and white colours and Magpie name in 1902. Other examples include Brisbane's Souths Logan Magpies, and Sydney's Western Suburbs Magpies. Disputes over who has been the first club to adopt the magpie emblem have been heated at times. Another club, Glenorchy Football Club of Tasmania, was forced to change uniform design when placed in the same league as another club (Claremont Magpies) with the same emblem.
In New Zealand, the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union team, from Napier, New Zealand, is also known as the magpies. One of the best-known New Zealand poems is "The Magpies" by Denis Glover, with its refrain "Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle", imitating the sound of the bird – and the popular New Zealand comic Footrot Flats features a magpie character by the name of Pew.
An online poll conducted by Guardian Australia and BirdLife Australia was held in late 2017 to choose the "Australian Bird of the Year". The Australian magpie won the contest with 19,926 votes (13.3%), narrowly ahead of the Australian white ibis.
[Credit: en.wikipedia.org]
There's a knock at the door, which is instantly recognizable to the both of us. It's Brick... He has a specific knocking pattern, which sends a shiver up both mine and my fathers spine. Looks like he's got a new job for one of us. My father nervously gets up off the couch, putting his drink down on the coffee table. and walks towards the door, opening it seconds later.
"B-rick.." Is all my dad says, almost choking on his words. Oddly enough, Dregz isn't with him.
"Relax, I'm not here for you. " His voice booms, before continuing his train of thought. "I'm here for the kid. Got a big job that I'll need him for. All hands-on deck." With that, he hands me a card, before leaving. That's strange. Why would he show up here, by himself, just to hand me a card? All that's written on the card is an address, and a time.
8:30pm.. That's an hour from now. I mutter to myself, before my father speaks up once again.
"By the way, your friend, what was her name again?"
"Sin?" I assume, since I don't really have many other friends.
"Oh that's right! Cindy... Well, she showed up earlier looking for you, wanting to talk. Even went into your room. But I told her you weren't home." He muses, slightly slurring his words.
"She didn't leave anything behind? Like a note or something?"
"Not that I'm aware of. But I was half asleep at the time, so maybe she did."
"Thanks, I guess." I say with a shrug, before going into my room. Sure enough, there's a package beside my bed. Ripping it open, there's a note, and a Ziploc bag. Inside the bag, is a vial.. And inside of the vial, is a yellowish-brown liquid.
Haven't tried this shit myself, but I hear it's supposed to give you superpowers or something? At least, that's the rumor. Hopefully it can help you take Brick down or something? If not that, you'll give him a good ass whooping at the very least. Assuming that this even works. Anyways, catch ya next time Abercrombie. As you know, I actually have a job now, so I gotta go. Can't be late. The note reads. I can't help but smile. Sin's still looking out for me, even though she's been extremely busy this past year with her job. So proud of her, while also a little bummed, as we can't hang out as much. Also a little annoyed at myself for missing her visit here too.
I notice the word Tar written down the side of the vial. Opening the bag, I pull the vial out.
"Well, here goes nothing." I say, before popping the lid off the vial, and drinking the yellowish-brown liquid.
----------------------------------------------------------------
An hour later
I knew I recognized this address. Can't say I'd ever forget this place. The remnants of dad's mechanic shop. Why doesn't this surprise me that Brick's retrofitted this place to act as one of his safehouses? Just the thought of him pisses me off. He'll get what's coming for him, soon enough. I take a quick look around, before entering through the front entrance.
Sure enough, as I enter, there's Dregz, Brick's right-hand man, and a man of few words.
"This way, Junior." He says, before leading me through what remains of the lobby, and into the office, which has gotten considerably bigger since I've been here last.
Inside the office, are four people, besides me and Dregz.
The first of which, is a guy dressed in grey and black tactical gear, with a black gas mask. The gas mask has red lenses. On his back, are two red air tanks, one of which is connected to the gun he holds in his left hand by a black hose. He's the first of the group to notice me walk in, as he stands in the corner, tapping the corner of his gun.
"Wait, this is who we've been waiting for? A kid? You're kidding me, right?" He groans.
"And who are you exactly?" I reply, doing my best to ignore his kid comment.
"You dare speak that way to Pesticyde?" He responds in a threatening tone, but it just comes out rather pathetic.
"You don't scare me... Wait, Pesticyde? Seriously? Of all the names you could come up with, you come up with that. Don't tell me you worked in pest control too, didn't you?" I ask, trying to contain my laughter.
Pesticyde just stays silent.
"I'll take that silence as a yes. Also, talking about yourself in the third person? It doesn't make you any cooler."
It's then that I hear a modulated sigh, coming from the center of the room. The one decked out in a costume ripped right out of a sci-fi movie. Bright green and pink circuitry running through the suit. A mask is covering their face, with a green visor. They are also wearing a coat overtop. And their appearance is rather ambiguous, so I can't tell whether they are a guy or a girl.
"You can dislike each other all you want. Just wait until after the job to go after each other, alright?" They say, trying to calm us down, before looking back at the table they're standing over. On the table are some blueprints of what I assume is our target. Cyberwear, which if memory serves me right, is one of the biggest tech companies of Star City.
"Sure, whatever." I grumble.
It's then that someone else catches my eye. A girl that looks to be around my age. She's going to be trouble. I think to myself, as I keep looking at her. Long, flowing black hair, with a green headband wrapped around her forehead. But what really captivated me was her eyes. They are this deep green color. Sort of like an emerald kind of color. Or maybe it's a jade? I'm too distracted to really remember properly. Anyways, she's wearing a green and black tunic, with black boots, and gloves. Everything she's doing, is definitely working, as I can feel my cheeks reddening. Even though she could probably kill me in a hundred different ways. She gives a quick smile, before looking towards the middle of the room.
Damnit Roy, focus. Tonight's the night, where Brick will finally get what's coming to him.
"Alright, since everyone's here now, let's go over the plan." The sci-fi person announces, snapping me back to reality. Everyone else stays silent as we are told the plan.
Picture Taken Of NYPD Car #5945-16 - 2016 Dodge Charger Assigned To The Highway Patrol Unit. It Is Not Assigned To Any Specific Highway Patrol Unit. Photo Taken Tuesday July 10, 2018.
IMG5015
IPhone 8 Plus
This specific photo was taken massive flood in Prague in 2013. Trees in front are at park on island Střelecký ostrov fully covered under water.
In the left part of the picture is Charles bridge (in 2017 is 660 years from foundation stone laying), which was completely banned for pedestrians during the flood. Its pillars are deep below water level. Behind the tree, in the far part of the Charles bridge, is the Four Seasons hotel. On the right side of the same tree lies tympanum of the Knights of the Cross with Red Star Monastery (identifiable with the large triangle in the upper front part). Behind this monastery can be seen monumental large dark tower called Oldtown Bridge Tower. To the right of this tower is seen green cupola of the church of the saint Francis of Assisi. In front of this church is Museum of Bedrich Smetana, partially covered by trees. The tallest tower is the Oldtown Waterworks Tower. The tower in the distance with the green cupola is the astronomic tower in Clementinum.
Even though we tend to forget it, nature is strong and its power can be shown in very drastic ways.
© Do not use without written permission from the photographer.