Relatively slim pickings on the railway front today with only one non-passenger service on the Tyne Valley line, to break up the monotony of DMU's.

 

On the plus side it was a substantial formation of HOBC stock returning to Tyne Yard following overnight work near Carlisle.

 

66507+563 are in charge for the 1030 Caldew Jn to Tyne S.S as it approaches Blaydon on a sunny 16th August 2015.

B. Ruppes Inc is a health supplement store in historic Barelas. Since it's inception at the turn of the century, B. Ruppes Inc has evolved over the years from at one time a full-service pharmacy to it's current state of selling over the counter medicine, traditional Mexican remedies, herbs, vitamins/supplements, and traditional Mexican medicine supplies and needs.

 

This mural in their parking lot and is a must to see.

 

Barelas, Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, NM

I've gone for a little 'rewind' here with this shot of new to Mainline B6LE Wright Crusader pictured in St Budeaux square working back from Saltash to Plymouth on what was back then the old 'Red Line' route 1 & 2.

I remembered when this one turned up from South Yorkshire, it still had the LEDs programmed to destinations from up North!

We had all of the N-BKY batch here at Plymouth at one point along with N144BWG & M918MRW, they supplemented the native B6BLEs W-PAF batch on the then colour branded routes around Plymouth.

Following the end of the Cold War, Canada was left with a fleet of upgraded Leopard 1s, the Leopard C1 and C2. Though an excellent tank for its era of introduction, even late-life upgrades such as the MEXAS applique armor package and early-2000s fire control updates were not enough to compensate for a nearly 50 year old base design. When the Second Eastern European War broke out in 2016, the West was collectively jolted from the quarter-century of relative peace. Frightful losses in the first days of the NATO-led intervention spurred a rethink of 21st century stratagem. The primarily air and naval-based Songun Cold War could no longer take sole priority to coalition members, as ground supremacy, once assumed, could no longer be assured.

 

Canada was fortunate to have not been required to deploy its modest surviving C1 and C2 fleets into the fray; however, it was clear that the nation would need to fast-track procurement of a new MBT. Despite eyeballing ex-US M1 Abrams (being mothballed in favor of the new M6 Jackson series), Leopard 2s, and even the exotic Strv. 141, the decision was made to invest in a (largely) domestic solution. From a partnership between General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada and BAE Systems, the Timberwolf was born.

 

The base C3 variant, represented above with the “Arctic Wolf” moniker, is a broadly conventional 3rd generation Western MBT. The Timberwolf is crewed by three: a driver, commander, and gunner – a loader was contemplated but deleted owing to overall force size limitations and new, efficient autoloaders. The commander has access to a 3rd generation thermal viewer with 360 degree visibility; additionally, the German-manufactured remote weapons system also has a thermal viewer, granting the commander additional all-weather visibility. The vehicle’s command-and-control network is fully NATO-compatible, and allows for the near-instantaneous transmission or receiving of target data from almost any friendly asset, be it on land or in the area (barring jamming from systems like the M-103 Chislobog). This targeting acumen is perhaps the tank’s greatest asset, allowing it to engage its principal targets (opposing tanks) as soon as spotted. The vehicle sports a 130mm electro-thermal-chemical cannon capable of firing most NATO-standard ammunition, including programmable munitions and laser-guided ATGMs. Its base armor is of relatively standard composite composition on the glacis and critical areas and RHA steel elsewhere. It is neither the most, nor least, protected Western MBT, erring on the side of lighter weight and greater strategic mobility. Mobility is provided by a hybrid-electric powerpack, allowing efficient off-road cruising and short-duration “silent” movement.

 

The Timberwolf C3 was designed with cost and “scalability” in mind, hence, the lighter weight and relatively unsophisticated active and passive protection systems installed as standard. C3s on training in Canada (or abroad) are typically found in that configuration. However, Canada concurrently procured a smaller number of Passive/Active Armor, Wartime, Supplemental (PAAWS) survivability enhancement packages for use in-theater. PAAWS-equipped ‘Wolves have extra turret-mounted laser dazzlers and EW systems, as well as soft and hard-kill APS suites. Hull armor is increased via composite armor and ERA on the side skirts. PAAWS is very expensive to procure and makes the vehicle significantly heavier and bulkier. Therefore, is intended to be fitted to vehicles after arrival in-theater. While slowing the vehicle somewhat, the proliferation of advanced ATGMs and lethal JNA / SPA armor around the world has made it essential for the Timberwolf’s survival.

 

GLDS-C and BAE have heavily marketed the Timberwolf on the global arms market, and has found several interested parties. As of [date redacted], no orders have been firmed up.

 

Huge thanks to Evan for the photos and decals!

Don't forget to take your daily recommended dose of iron supplements.

Lancahsire's only population of wild Red Deer is found at Leighton Moss and in the Silverdale area. They are thought to have crossed over from Cumbria where they occur in forests, moors and on the mountains. At Leighton Moss they are found in reedbeds, showing their versatile nature.

 

The Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the largest deer species. The Red Deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor and parts of western and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red Deer have been introduced to other areas including Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. In many parts of the world the meat (venison) from Red Deer is used as a food source.

Red Deer are ruminants, characterized by an even number of toes, and a four-chambered stomach. Recent DNA evidence indicates that the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) and the East Asian and North American Elk (Wapiti) (Cervus canadensis) represent two distinct species. They also hint at an additional primordial subgroup of Central Asian Red Deer.[2] The ancestor of all Red Deer probably originated in Central Asia and probably resembled Sika Deer.[3]

Although at one time Red Deer were rare in some areas, they were never close to extinction. Reintroduction and conservation efforts, especially in the United Kingdom, have resulted in an increase of Red Deer populations, while other areas, such as North Africa, have continued to show a population decline.

Description

The Red Deer is the fourth largest deer species behind moose, elk (wapiti) and sambar deer. It is a ruminant, eating its food in two stages and having an even number of toes on each hoof, like camels, goats and cattle. European Red Deer have a relatively long tail compared to their Asian and North American relatives. There are subtle differences in appearance between the various subspecies of Red Deer primarily in size and antlers, with the smallest being the Corsican Red Deer found on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and the largest being the Caspian red deer[citation needed] (or maral) of Asia Minor and the Caucasus Region to the west of the Caspian Sea. The deer of Central and Western Europe vary greatly in size with some of the largest deer found in the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe.[3] West European Red Deer historically, grew to large size given ample food supply (including peoples' crops), and descendants of introduced populations living in New Zealand and Argentina have grown quite large in size and antlers. Large Red Deer stags, like the Caspian Red Deer or those of the Carpathian Mountains may rival the Wapiti in size. Female Red Deer are much smaller than their male counterparts.

Generally, the male (stag or hart) Red Deer is typically 175 to 230 cm (69 to 91 in) long and weighs 160 to 240 kg (350 to 530 lb); the female is 160 to 210 cm (63 to 83 in) long and weighs 120 to 170 kg (260 to 370 lb).[citation needed] The tail adds another 12 to 19 cm (4.7 to 7.5 in) and shoulder height is about 105 to 120 cm (41 to 47 in). Size varies in different subspecies with the largest, the huge but small-antlered deer of the Carpathian Mountains (C. e. elaphus), weighing up to 500 kg (1,100 lb). At the other end of the scale, the Corsican Red Deer (C. e. corsicanus) weighs about 80 to 100 kg (180 to 220 lb), although Red Deer in poor habitats can weigh as little as 53 to 112 kg (120 to 250 lb).[4] European Red Deer tend to be reddish-brown in their summer coats. The males of many subspecies also grow a short neck mane ("mane" of hair around their necks) during the autumn. The male deer of the British Isles and Norway tend to have the thickest and most noticeable neck manes. Male Caspian Red Deer (Cervus elaphus maral) and Spanish Red Deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) do not carry neck manes. Male deer of all subspecies, however, tend to have stronger and thicker neck muscles than female deer, which may give them an appearance of having neck manes. Red Deer hinds (females) do not have neck manes. The European Red Deer is adapted to a woodland environment.[5]

Only the stags have antlers which start growing in the spring and are shed each year, usually at the end of winter. Antlers are made of bone which can grow at a rate of 2.5 cm (1.0 in) a day. A soft covering known as velvet helps to protect newly forming antlers in the spring. European red deer antlers are distinctive in being rather straight and rugose, with the fourth and fifth tines forming a "crown" or "cup" in larger males. Any tines in excess of the fourth and fifth tine will grow radially from the "cup". "Cups" are generally absent in the antlers of smaller red deer such as Corsican Red Deer. West European Red Deer antlers feature bez (second) tines that are either absent or smaller than the brow tine. However, bez tines occur frequently in Norwegian Red Deer. Antlers of Caspian Red Deer carry large bez (second) tines and form less-developed "cups" than West European red deer, their antlers are thus more like the "throw back" top tines of the wapiti (Cervus canadensis sp.)and these are known as maraloid characteristics. A stag can (exceptionally) have antlers with no tines, and is then known as a switch. Similarly, a stag that doesn't grow antlers is a hummel. The antlers are testosterone-driven and as the stag's testosterone levels drop in the autumn, the velvet is shed and the antlers stop growing.[6] Red Deer produce no testosterone in their bodies while they are growing antler.[clarification needed] With the approach of autumn, the antler begin to calcify and the stags testosterone production builds for the approaching rut (mating season).

During the autumn, all Red Deer subspecies grow a thicker coat of hair which helps to insulate them during the winter. Autumn is also when some of the stags grow their neck manes.[3] It is in the autumn/winter coat that most subspecies are most distinct. The Caspian Red Deer's winter coat is greyer and has a larger and more distinguished light rump-patch (like Elk and some Central Asian Red Deer) compared to the West European Red Deer which has more of a greyish-brown coat with a darker yellowish rump patch in the winter. By the time summer begins, the heavy winter coat has been shed; the animals are known to rub against trees and other objects to help remove hair from their bodies. Red Deer have different colouration based on the seasons and types of habitats, with grey or lighter colouration prevalent in the winter and a more reddish and darker coat in the summer.[7] Most European Red Deer wear a reddish-brown summer coat, and some individuals may have a few spots on the backs of their summer coats.

 

Distribution

Cervus genus ancestors of Red Deer first appear in fossil records 12 million years ago during the Miocene in Eurasia.[8] An extinct genus known as the Irish Elk (Megaloceros), not related to the red deer but to the fallow deer, is the largest member of the deer family known from the fossil record.[9]

The European Red Deer is one of the largest game animals found in Southwestern Asia (Asia Minor and Caucasus regions), North Africa and Europe. The Red Deer is the largest non-domesticated mammal still existing in some European countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland.[8] The Barbary stag (which resembles the West European Red Deer) is the only member of the deer family that is represented in Africa, with population centred in the northwestern region of the continent in the Atlas Mountains.[10] As of the mid 1990s, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria were the only African countries known to have Red Deer.[11]

In the UK there are indigenous populations in Scotland, the Lake District and the South West of England (principally on Exmoor). Not all of these are of entirely pure bloodlines as some of these populations have been supplemented with deliberate releases of deer from parks like Warnham or Woburn Abbey in an attempt to increase antler sizes and body weights. Edinburgh University found that in Scotland there has been extensive hybridisation with the closely related Sika Deer.[12] There are several other populations that have originated either with carted deer kept for stag hunts being left out at the end of the hunt, escapes from deer farms or deliberate releases. Carted deer were kept by stag hunts with no wild red deer in the locality and were normally recaptured after the hunt and used again; although the hunts are called "stag hunts" the Norwich Staghounds only hunted hinds (female red deer) and in 1950 at least eight hinds (some of which may have been pregnant) were known to be at large near Kimberley and West Harling[13] and formed the basis of a new population based in Thetford Forest in Norfolk. There are now further substantial red deer herds that originated from escapes or deliberate releases in the New Forest, the Peak District, Suffolk, Brecon Beacons and West Yorkshire as well as many other smaller populations scattered throughout England, and they are all generally increasing in numbers and range. A recent census of deer populations in 2007 coordinated by the British Deer Society records red deer as having expanded range their range in England and Wales since 2000, with expansion most notable in the Midlands and East Anglia. ref [1]

In New Zealand, and to a lesser degree in Australia, the red deer were introduced by acclimatisation societies along with other deer and game species. The first red deer to reach New Zealand were a pair sent by Lord Petre in 1851 from his herd at Thorndon Park, Essex to the South Island but the hind was shot before they had a chance to breed. Lord Petre sent another stag and two hinds in 1861 and these were liberated near Nelson from where they quickly spread. The first deer to reach the North Island were a gift to Sir Frederick Weld from Windsor Great Park and were released near Wellington and these were followed by further releases up to 1914.[14] Between 1851 and 1926 there were 220 separate liberations of red deer involving over 800 deer.[15] In 1927 the State Forest Service introduced a bounty for red deer shot on their land and in 1931 Government control operations were commenced and between 1931 and March 1975 1,124,297 deer were killed on official operations.

In New Zealand introduced Red Deer have adapted much better and are widely hunted on both islands, many of the 220 introductions used deer originating from Scotland (Invermark) or one of the major deer parks in England, principally Warnham, Woburn Abbey or Windsor Great Park. There is some hybridisation with the closely related Wapiti or American Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) introduced in Fiordland in 1921. New Zealand red deer produce very large antlers and are regarded as amongst the best in the world by hunters. Along with the other introduced deer species they are however officially regarded as a noxious pest and are still heavily culled using professional hunters working with helicopters, or even poisoned.

The first red deer to reach Australia were probably the six that Prince Albert sent in 1860 from Windsor Great Park to Thomas Chirnside who was starting a herd at Werribee Park, south west of Melbourne in Victora. Further introductions were made in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Today the red deer range in Australia ranges from Queensland down through New South Wales into Victoria and across to South Australia, with the numbers increasing. The Queensland, Victorian and most New South Wales strains can still be traced to the early releases, but South Australia's population along with all others is now largely recent farmed escapees. This is having adverse affects on the integrity of wild herds as now more and more larger herds are being grown due to the superior genetics that have been attained by select breeding.

Red Deer populations in Africa and southern Europe are generally declining. In Argentina, where the Red Deer has had a potential adverse impact on native animal species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has labelled the animal as one of the world's 100 worst invaders.

Migration

Red Deer in Europe generally spend their winters in lower altitudes and more wooded terrain. During the summer, they migrate to higher elevations where food supplies are greater for the calving season.

Taxonomy

Until recently biologists considered that Red Deer and Wapiti (or Elk) are the same species forming, a continuous distribution throughout temperate Eurasia and North America. This belief was based largely on the fully fertile hybrids that can be produced under captive conditions.

However, recent DNA studies conducted on hundreds of samples from Red Deer and Elk subspecies concluded that there are no more than 9 distinct subspecies of Red Deer and Wapiti and that they fall into two separate species: the Red Deer from Europe, western Asia and North Africa, and the Wapiti or Elk from Northern and Eastern Asia and North America. Surprisingly, from DNA evidence the Elk appear more closely related to Sika Deer and to Thorold's deer than to Red Deer.

Subspecies

Additionally there are some central Asiatic subspecies (Tarim group, including Bactrian deer and Yarkand deer), which are geographically isolated from Wapiti and western Red Deer by the Takla Makan and the Pamir Mountains. They appear to represent a primordial subgroup, genetically more related to the Red Deer than to the Wapiti. It remains unclear which clade the Kashmir stag belongs in,[2] though it, in terms of zoogeography, is most likely to belong in the central Asian group.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources originally listed nine subspecies of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus): three as endangered, one as vulnerable, one as near threatened, and four without enough data to give a category ("Data Deficient"). The species as a whole, however, is listed as least concern.[1] However, this was based on the traditional classification of Red Deer as one species (Cervus elaphus), including the Elk.

Listed below are the subspecies of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), including the primordial subgroup from central Asia.

Subspecies

Additionally there are some central Asiatic subspecies (Tarim group, including Bactrian deer and Yarkand deer), which are geographically isolated from Wapiti and western Red Deer by the Takla Makan and the Pamir Mountains. They appear to represent a primordial subgroup, genetically more related to the Red Deer than to the Wapiti. It remains unclear which clade the Kashmir stag belongs in,[2] though it, in terms of zoogeography, is most likely to belong in the central Asian group.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources originally listed nine subspecies of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus): three as endangered, one as vulnerable, one as near threatened, and four without enough data to give a category ("Data Deficient"). The species as a whole, however, is listed as least concern.[1] However, this was based on the traditional classification of Red Deer as one species (Cervus elaphus), including the Elk.

Listed below are the subspecies of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), including the primordial subgroup from central Asia.

Breeding, gestation and lifespan

Red Deer mating patterns usually involve a dozen or more mating attempts before the first successful one. There may be several more matings before the stag will seek out another mate in his harem. Females in their second autumn can produce one and very rarely two offspring per year. The gestation period is 240 and 262 days and the offspring weigh about 15 kg (33 lb). After two weeks, fawns are able to join the herd and are fully weaned after two months.[20] Female offspring outnumber male offspring more than two to one and all Red Deer fawns are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and lose their spots by the end of summer. However, as in many species of Old World Deer, some adults do retain a few spots on the backs of their summer coats.[3] The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost one full year, leaving around the time that the next season offspring are produced.[5] The gestation period is the same for all subspecies.

Red Deer live up to over 20 years in captivity and in the wild they average 10 to 13 years,, though some subspecies with less predation pressure average 15 years.

Protection from predators

Male Red Deer retain their antlers for more than half the year and are less gregarious and less likely to group with other males when they have antlers. The antlers provide self-defence as does a strong front-leg kicking action which is performed by both sexes when attacked. Once the antlers are shed, stags tend to form bachelor groups which allow them to cooperatively work together. Herds tend to have one or more members watching for potential danger while the remaining members eat and rest.[5]

After the rut, females form large herds of up to 50 individuals. The newborn calves are kept close to the hinds by a series of vocalizations between the two, and larger nurseries have an ongoing and constant chatter during the daytime hours. When approached by predators, the largest and most robust females may make a stand, using their front legs to kick at their attackers. Guttural grunts and posturing is used with all but the most determined of predators with great effectiveness. Aside from humans and domestic dogs, the Wolf is probably the most dangerous predator that most European Red Deer encounter. Occasionally, the Brown bear will predate on European Red Deer as well.[5] Eurasian Lynx and wild boars sometimes prey on the calves. The leopard in Asia Minor (now extinct) probably preyed on East European Red Deer. Both Barbary Lion and Barbary Leopard probably once preyed on Atlas stags in the Atlas Mountains, although Barbary Lion is now extinct in the wild, and Barbary Leopard either very rare or extinct.

Red Deer in folklore

Red Deer are widely depicted in cave art and are found throughout European caves, with some of the artwork dating from as early as 40,000 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic. Siberian cave art from the Neolithic of 7,000 years ago has abundant depictions of Red Deer, including what can be described as spiritual artwork, indicating the importance of this mammal to the peoples of that region (Note: these animals were most likely Wapiti (Cervus canadensis) in Siberia, not Red Deer).[21] Red deer are also often depicted on Pictish stones (c.550-850 AD), from the early medieval period in Scotland, usually as prey animals for human or animal predators. In Medieval hunting the red deer was the most prestigious quarry, especially the mature stag, which in England was called a 'hart'.

Red Deer products

Red Deer are held in captivity for a variety of reasons. The meat of the deer, called venison, is not generally harvested for human consumption on a large scale, though speciality restaurants seasonally offer venison which is widely considered to be both flavourful and nutritious. Venison is higher in protein and lower in fat than either beef or chicken.[22] In some countries in central Asia, elk is still hunted as a primary source of meat.

The red deer can produce 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 lb) of antler velvet annually.[citation needed] On ranches in New Zealand, China, Siberia, and elsewhere[23] this velvet is collected and sold to markets in East Asia, where it is used for holistic medicines, with South Korea being the primary consumer. In Russia, a medication produced from antler velvet is sold under the brand name Pantokrin (Russian: Пантокри́н; Latin: Pantocrinum).[citation needed] The antlers themselves are also believed by East Asians to have medicinal purposes and are often ground up and used in small quantities.

Historically, related deer species such as Central Asian Red Deer, Wapiti, Thorold's Deer, and Sika Deer have been reared on deer farms in Central and Eastern Asia by Han Chinese, Turkic peoples, Tungusic peoples, Mongolians, and Koreans.[citation needed] In modern times, Western countries such as New Zealand and United States have taken to farming European Red Deer for similar purposes.

Deer antlers are also highly sought after worldwide for decorative purposes and have been used for artwork, furniture and other novelty items.

 

Seen in Glasgow City Centre is First Glasgow Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV City bodied BYD electric double decker 38431 - LG22AWU which is one of ten vehicles to wear an overall advert for British Supplements.

In 2011 I bought the set # 10220, I think it’s a well detailed and shaped set.

Furthermore I like vintage vehicles and especially the Bulli (even called Samba or Kombi).

I haven't bought original LEGO sets for many years and It has been a pleasure to have a new LEGO box in my hands.

 

Personally I prefer “working vehicles” and I wasn’t satisfied with the camper version.

I waited to build it until I had the idea to build a canvas pick-up for “road service”. So last winter I built my own version of the T1 and last week I took some pictures.

How to build the ropes of the canvas is an idea of “Karwik” (I see it on his beautiful Volvo F89). I think the canvas in this way looks real.

 

My T1 has two side doors below the load compartment; two shovels for road emergencies are mounted on the doors.

Two spare wheels, a fuel tank and a wooden box with various tools are positioned on the rack.

The plate is an italian one and the numbers are the original ones of a real T1 (I like the old Italian plate style).

Two HELLA supplemental lights are fitted on the front bumper.

 

A sticker with the VW Bobble Head mascot is positioned on the canvas, I love it!

 

P.S. In the next few days I'm going to share a MOC which fits perfectly with this T1...wait and see!

 

Our heat pump quit working recently, so we turned on our supplemental heat source. While we know it's actually a 50-year-old electric wall heater, here's a photo of it from Dot's point of view.

Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.

 

For nearly a year Lettice had been patiently awaiting the return of her then beau, Selwyn Spencely, son of the Duke of Walmsford, after being sent to Durban by his mother, Lady Zinnia in an effort to destroy their relationship which she wanted to end so that she could marry Selwyn off to his cousin, Pamela Fox-Chavers. Having been made aware by Lady Zinnia in October that during the course of the year, whilst Lettice had been biding her time, waiting for Selwyn’s eventual return, he had become engaged to the daughter of a Kenyan diamond mine owner whilst in Durban. Fleeing Lady Zinnia’s Park Lane mansion, Lettice returned to Cavendish Mews and milled over her options over a week as she reeled from the news. Then, after that week, she knew exactly what to do to resolve the unpleasant issues raised by Lady Zinnia’s unwelcome news about her son. Taking extra care in her dress, she took herself off to the neighbouring upper-class London suburb of Belgravia and paid a call upon Sir John Nettleford-Hughes.

 

Lettice is now engaged to Sir John Nettleford Hughes. Old enough to be her father, wealthy Sir John, according to London society gossip enjoys dalliances with a string of pretty chorus girls of Lettice’s age and younger. As an eligible man in a aftermath of the Great War when such men are a rare commodity, with a vast family estate in Bedfordshire, houses in Mayfair, Belgravia and Pimlico and Fontengil Park in Wiltshire, quite close to the Glynes estate belonging to her parents, Lettice’s mother, Lady Sadie, invited him as a potential suitor to her 1922 Hunt Ball, which she used as a marriage market for Lettice. Although she did not become engaged to him then, Lettice did reacquaint herself with Sir John at an amusing Friday to Monday long weekend party held by mutual friends Sir John and Lady Gladys Caxton at their Scottish country estate in 1924. To her surprise, Lettice found Sir John’s company rather enjoyable. She then ran into him again later that year at the Portland Gallery’s autumn show in Soho, where she found him yet again to be a pleasant and attentive companion for much of the evening. Sir John also made a proposition to her that night: he offered her his hand in marriage should she ever need it. More like a business arrangement than a marriage proposal, Sir John offered Lettice the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of his large fortune, be chatelain of all his estates and continue to have her interior design business, under the conditions that she agree to provide him with an heir, and that he be allowed to discreetly carry on his affairs in spite of their marriage vows. He even suggested that Lettice might be afforded the opportunity to have her own extra marital liaisons if she were discreet about them. When Lettice’s understanding with Selwyn Spencely, son of the Duke of Walmsford, fell apart, Lettice agreed to Sir John’s proposal.

 

Now, almost a year and a half on from their official announcement, plans are being laid for the wedding, albeit at a somewhat glacial pace. So it is that today we find Lettice out shopping with Sir John’s widowed sister, Clementine (known preferably now by the more cosmopolitan Clemance) Pontefract. On an earlier visit to Clemance, when Lettice and Sir John were taking tea with his younger sister, Lettice suggested that Clemance might help her choose her trousseau*. Thinking that her own mother, Lady Sadie’s, ideas will doubtless be somewhat old fashioned and conservative for Lettice’s modern tastes when it comes to commissioning evening dresses and her wedding frock, she wanted to engage Clemance’s smart and fashion conscious eye and eager willingness to please Lettice as her future sister-in-law to help her pick the trousseau she really want. Since then, Clemance has taken a more active role in trying to get things moving along. Thus, we find the two ladies at Gunter’s** at numbers 7 to 8*** Berkley Square**** where they are looking at wedding cakes.

 

“Oh, Lettice my dear!” Clemance enthuses as they stand before a lace cloth draped table covered in elaborately decorated cakes. “Isn’t this one delightful?”

 

Lettice looks over to where Clemance is pointing. The sight of the imposing three tier wedding cake covered in a perfect snowy white shell of royal icing***** with swirls of pale yellow marzipan icing decoration and delicate golden yellow icing roses makes Lettice shudder.

 

During the General Strike****** that almost brought the nation to a standstill recently, Selwyn and Lettice were reintroduced, and she found out that Selwyn wasn’t engaged to another woman at all, as she was led to believe by Lady Zinnia, and it had all been a fabrication. This revelation has left Lettice in a terrible quandary over what to do: break her engagement with Sir John and marry the man she truly loves and has never stopped loving, or remain engaged to Sir John, preserving his honour and the good name of her own family, and settle for what she now realises is an unsatisfactory arrangement between them.

 

Clemance misinterprets the slightly anguished look that crosses Lettice’s face. “No, no of course,” she stammers with embarrassment. “That’s far too much for a smart and select, modern woman like yourself, Lettice my dear.” She smiles apologetically at Lettice before prattling on clumsily, “I had a three tier wedding cake when I married Harrison, but that was in the 1890s. Of course, fashions have changed since then. All those flounces and marzipan icing flowers are an offence to the modern eye.”

 

“Oh no,” Lettice begins to reply, the syllables getting stuck in her throat. “Clemance, I…”

 

But Clemance has already moved to an alternative. “Now this is far more in keeping with your style, I feel, Lettice my dear.” She indicates to a much smaller square cake of two tiers with trims of beautiful Lambeth piping******* and small cascades of more golden yellow marzipan flowers. “Simpler and far less showy.”

 

“It’s lovely,” Lettice replies, but she cannot hide the disappointment in her voice.

 

Lettice doesn’t want to be here, shopping for wedding cakes to be served at her future wedding, which she feels less and less satisfied with. When she had first agreed to Marry Sir John, the idea that he proposed was tantalisingly appealing. As a married woman, being not only permitted to continue to run her own successful interior design business, but encouraged and supported by her husband was an unthinkable dream to most women. Sir John’s terms on that level were beyond generous. However, the conditions that she agreed to, including allowing him to discreetly carry on his affairs with a string of theatrical Gaiety Girls********, in spite of their marriage vows, whilst agreeing to be bedded by him to provide an heir to the Nettleford-Hughes fortune had quickly tarnished and lost its appeal. Agreeing to it was one thing, but seeing her fiancée in the predatory arms of West End actress, Paula Young at a soirée by the world famous British concert pianist, Sylvia Fordyce was hard, and his palpable affections for his former flame, the glamorous silent film star actress employed at Cinégraphic*********, Madeline Flanton, made the arrangement almost unbearable for Lettice. And then, with the unexpected return of Selwyn and his declaration of his unwavering love for Lettice transformed the arrangement into a predicament.

 

“Oh!” Clemance gasps, raising her glove clad hand to her lips, the look of disappointment clear on her face. “Too many flowers? Is the silver horseshoe********** on the front too much?” She looks hopefully to Lettice, before adding, “We can easily have it removed.”

 

If shopping for wedding cakes for an occasion she no longer desires or wishes were happening were not bad enough, shopping with Clemance makes the situation a hundredfold more awkward. Lettice likes Clemance very much, and Clemance obviously cares deeply for her future sister-in-law, and they get along very well, in spite of the difference in age of some thirty years or more between the two women. Lettice also knows from Sir John that Clemance lost her only daughter before the Great War, and Lettice is around the age Clemance’s daughter would have been had she lived.

 

“No it’s not that, Clemance.” Lettice manages to say with a heavy sigh. “It’s…” However, she cannot express herself to finish her sentence.

 

“What?” Clemance persists with concern etched into her pale face. “What is it, Lettice my dear?”

 

“I’m sorry Clemance,” Lettice apologises after a moment or two of awkward silence as she tries to think what to say. “I’m just not particularly good company today, and I’m not in the mood for shopping.”

 

“Oh of course, my dear!” Clemance replies. “If this is too much for you just today, we can do it another day.”

 

“Do you mind fearfully, Clemance?” Lettice asks with a grateful smile.

 

“Not at all, my dear Lettice.”

 

“I have so much on my mind at the moment.”

 

“Oh of course you do, Lettice my dear.” Clemance reaches out her right hand and wraps it around Lettice’s, which are clasped in front of her. “Any bride-to-be has so much on her mind.” She chuckles softly. “I know I did.”

 

“It isn’t that, Clemance.” Lettice admits truthfully, before replying with a lie. “It’s… it’s this redecoration I’m doing for Charlie Hatchett’s wife.”

 

“The Labour MP Charlie Hatchett?” Clemance asks.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’ve heard Nettie talk about him,” Clemance goes on, using Sir John’s pet name used only by Clemance and his closest friends from his younger days. “He’s quite the man of the people, I’m told. He has, now what did Nettie say?” The skin around her eyes screws up into tight folds as her brow furrows in concentration. “The common touch. He has the common touch, Nettle says. Makes him popular with the people. Is his wife a horror? One of those nouveau riche women demanding perfection for a price, or worse yet,” She gasps. “A vulgar American?”

 

“Dolly Hatchett?” Lettice queries, before chuckling. “No, no, Clemance. Mrs. Hatchett is delightful, and English to the backbone, I promise.”

 

“Oh, that is a relief, Lettice my dear.” Clemance raises her hand to her chest and strikes her heart. “Then what?”

 

“Well,” Lettice sighs, as she continues her falsehood to save Clemance’s feelings. “It is the largest commission I have ever taken on, Clemance. Naturally I worry that it will all go well.”

 

“Of course it will go well, Lettice. You have nothing to fear!” Clemance insists. “In fact, knowing you and your exquisite taste, I have no doubt that it will be a great success.”

 

Lettice feels tears stinging the backs of her eyes as she looks at Clemance’s smiling face. “Why do you have to be so good, Clemance?”

 

Clemance smiles broadly, her eyes sparkling with pleasure before she wraps Lettice in an embrace, swathing her in her red fox fur summer stoles***********. “Heavens Lettice! You are my future sister-in-law!” She clucks. “What else should I be, but kind?”

 

Lettice opens the beautifully hand beaded reticule************ covered in shimmering cream, pink, green and red glass beads, fashioned into a pattern of a swag of red roses and cobalt blue ribbons, made by one of her oldest childhood chums and fashion designer, Gerald Bruton’s seamstresses, and withdraws a monogrammed lace trimmed white handkerchief and dabs her eyes.”

 

“Goodness! What on earth has brought all this on, Lettice my dear?” Clemance asks, rubbing Lettice’s back comfortingly. “You know what I think?”

 

Lettice sniffles. “What?”

 

“I think we are in need of some light refreshment, and a nice slice of Gunter’s cake.” Clemance replies.

 

Clucking like a mother hen caring for her smallest and most delicate of chicks, Clemance takes charge and ushers Lettice through Gunter’s dining room with its stylish Regency Revival décor, moving them both expertly through the maze of tables adorned with crisp white linen, sparking silverware and glinting fine china, populated by diners seated on mahogany dining chairs, whilst miraculously arranging a table for two, located discreetly behind a potted parlour palm.

 

Suitably ensconced at their table, a smartly dressed waiter************* in black tailcoat, starched white shirt, hand-tied, piqué************** white bow tie and matching waistcoat, approached them and presented them with the Gunter’s Tea Shop menu, printed in thick cream paper with white cotton glove clad hands***************. Lettice and Clemance peruse the menu. Printed in romantic, curling script reminiscent of the Regency era when Gunter’s first became a fashionable high-society lunch and afternoon tea salon, the offerings include their famous array of sorbets and ices, a selection of afternoon tea and pâtisserie and savoury luncheon dishes. Lettice tries to concentrate on the lists of rich custard based ices in flavours like chocolate, white coffee, pistachio, vanille, and maple, and fruit sorbets and water ice varieties such as pineapple, bergamot, and elderflower.

 

“So, will it be a pâtisserie, or do we dare something decadent cold and sweet?” Clemance asks Lettice in a conspiratorial fashion, lowing her menu and smiling with pleasure, noticing her companion’s face has regained colour. “I always remember Nettie buying me Brown Bread Ice Cream*************** here when I was young.”

 

“Do you like Brown Bread Ice Cream, Clemance?” Lettice asks, silently pleased that the conversation has now diverted from the wedding plans, at least momentarily.

 

“Well, as a matter of fact, I do, but Nettie really bought it for me so that when we went home to our parents in Belgravia, I didn’t have to lie.”

 

“Lie?”

 

“I was a very honest child, you see Lettice, and I couldn’t pretend that we had been somewhere else when we had been to Gunter’s Tea Shop, which of course our parents would have seen as a ridiculous extravagance, even though we were wealthy enough to enjoy the pleasures of Gunter’s. As an adult, I see it was that which our parents objected to.”

 

“The pleasure, dear Clemance?”

 

“Yes. They did not see any pleasure for Nettie and I in sitting in our open carriage, under the shady trees of the square, enjoying a selection of ice creams, sorbets and water ices, and would have been furious had they ever found out.”

 

“But you just said you were a truthful child, Clemance.” Lettice remarks. “How could they not know you had been here?”

 

“Simple, Lettice my dear. Our parents never asked us where we had been. They simply asked us what we had eaten, as they were very obsessed with us eating simply and without fanfare they felt we didn’t deserve. I wouldn’t lie, so I would answer them brown bread, which wasn’t a lie.”

 

Clemance giggles like a naughty child, and for a fleeting moment Lettice catches a glimpse of what a young Clemance being brought to Gunter’s Tea Shop for a treat by her elder brother, John, must have looked like. The image of her fiancée as a young man in his twenties, which is almost impossible for her to envisage, and a young Clemance sitting in an open brougham seeing and being seen by society, enjoying the decadent treat of an ice cream that would have been a forbidden treat in their own home, makes Lettice want to cry again.

 

“John obviously loved you very much then.” she manages to say chokingly.

 

“As much as he does now, Lettice my dear. Elder brothers tend to have soft spots for their younger sisters, and indulge them when they can. You must have found that with Leslie.”

 

Lettice thinks about how often her elder brother Leslie has sheltered her from harsh words or punishments, and indulged her over the years. She smiles as she remembers Leslie on his wedding day to Arabella a few years ago, calling her “mon petite soeur” as he did when they were children, as they stood alone together in Lettice’s childhood bedroom at Glynes, the Chetwynd’s family seat. He told her that eldest brothers always have special place in their hearts for their little sisters, no matter the passing years. Lettice’s smile broadens a little more as she remembers him indulgently promising her that when he becomes the next Viscount Wrexham and takes up residence in Glynes, that he will redecorate her boudoir, which Lettice feels is kept like a mausoleum to her childhood by her mother.

 

“Yes, but not with Lionel.” Lettice tempers as she then remembers her other brother’s face, suntanned by the British Kenyan***************** sun as it appeared like a ghoul around the door of her bedroom as he mocked the closeness of the moment between Lettice and Leslie scornfully. “He’s not in the habit of caring about or indulging anyone except himself.”

 

“Well, I did say ‘tend’, Lettice, so that allows for vagaries like your mysterious brother living on the Dark Continent******************, although I’m sure he isn’t as bad as all that, as I doubt he could fail but indulge you my dear.”

 

“You’ve never met Lionel.” Lettice scoffs.

 

“No, but I’m looking forward to finally meeting him when you and Nettie get married my dear.”

 

Lettice pauses looking with blind eyes at the flavours of sorbets and looks up earnestly at Clemance. “Do you always do that, Clemance?”

 

“Do what, Lettice my dear?” Clemance asks as she reaches up to her chest and tugs on the stuffed paw straps her fox, adjusting how it sits across her shoulders.

 

“Find the best in everyone.” Lettice elucidates. “You are so good,” she opines again. “And you seem to never have a cross word for anyone.”

 

“I find it helps, Lettice my dear.” Clemance says sagely. “This word is full of miseries enough, so I prefer to see the good in those around me, rather than seek fault. I know that you and your family have a somewhat…” She pauses and chews the inside of her left cheek for a moment whilst she thinks of the right word to use. “Complex, relationship with your brother Lionel. I don’t claim to know why, and nor,” She dops her menu on the table in front of her and throws up her hands in defence. “Is it any of my business, but I’m quite sure that if he a child of your innately good parents, the same people who created the delightful creatures you and Leslie are, he simply cannot be all bad.”

 

“You don’t know Lionel.” Lettice scoffs again.

 

“Look,” Clemance bursts with a sudden urgency, looking intently across the beautifully laid table. “I know what you’re thinking.”

 

“You do?” Lettice exclaims in sudden alarm, her cheeks reddening to match the hue of her blush pink morning dress of satin hand painted in watercolour with navy blue rose blooms, as she reaches up with her right glove clad hand to her two strands of pearls about her neck.

 

“Of course I do!” Clemance chortles.

 

“Oh Clemance… I…” Lettice begins to splutter, but is silenced by her future sister-in-law’s raised right hand.

 

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Lettice my dear. You forget that I was once a young bride-to-be, too. Goodness knows I loved Harrison as much as any being can love another, but I still had doubts about marrying him in the lead up to the wedding.”

 

“You did?” Lettice manages to ask in a choked whisper.

 

“Of course! I don’t know of any bride who didn’t have doubts at some point before she was finally wed. You’re doing the same now. I know you are. I can recognise the signs because I had them myself, and that’s why you have no stomach for looking at bride cakes****************** today.”

 

Lettice sighs. “Oh Clemance, I have so much I want to say.”

 

But Clemance holds hup her hand again to silence Lettice. “Keep your own counsel my dear. I have no place listening to your inner thoughts, but I promise you that these silly doubts will pass quickly. I know that Nettie is a bit older than you, but I can assure you that you will find no more a devoted and loyal husband than my brother.” She doesn’t notice the dark sadness in Lettice’s eyes at the mention of Sir John’s loyalty. “He’s never met the right lady, but goodness knows he could have been persuaded by the likes of Madeline Flanton and other pretty women in his coterie of friends, but he’s never been tempted. He’ll be faithful to you from the moment you are wed.”

 

“Oh Clemance…” Lettice utters in anguish as tears begin to swell.

 

Continuing unabated, Clemance adds, “You and Nettie really do just need to stop shilly-shallying******************** and set a date. That will cure you of all these silly doubts of yours.” She wags a finger admonishingly at Lettice. “He’s committed to marry you, and won’t back down, I promise you. Goodness knows for the perfect couple, I have never met a bride and groom so reluctant to set a date.” She reaches out and pats Lettice on the hand. “I’ll talk to Nettie. Don’t you worry about it. We’ve missed the lovely spring weather now, but maybe in late Autumn when the Season is over? You could get married at Fontengil Park, or indeed at Glynes.” She smiles with a steeliness of resolution. “I’ll get Nettie to set a date, and then we’ll have a goal to work towards, and you’ll see how much better and more committed you will be to your future happiness as Lady Nettleford-Hughes.”

 

Just at that moment, the impeccably dressed Gunter’s waiter returns to take their orders.

 

“Ahh!” Clemance says. “I think I’m going to have to have the Brown Bread Ice Cream for nostalgia’s sake. Can I tempt you to a sweet ice cream, Lettice my dear? My treat!”

 

*A trousseau refers to the wardrobe and belongings of a bride, including her wedding dress or similar clothing such as day and evening dresses.

 

**Gunter’s (officially Gunter’s Tea Shop) was London’s most famous and exclusive confectionery, catering, and high-society eatery. The business was founded in 1757 at numbers 7 to 8 Berkeley Square, in Mayfair, by an Italian pastry chef named Domenico Negri. He originally named it The Pot and Pineapple. The pineapple was chosen because it was the ultimate Georgian symbol of wealth, luxury, and exotic indulgence. In 1777, an Englishman named James Gunter entered into a partnership with Negri. By 1799, Gunter became the sole proprietor and rebranded the establishment under his own name. In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, freezing technology was rare and expensive. Gunter’s became globally renowned for its exotic "ices," sorbets, and ice creams. They served dramatic flavours like pine, bergamot, maple, jasmine, and even Parmesan, often frozen into intricate pewter moulds shaped like fruits or meats. Gunter’s was famous for a unique social phenomenon. Because the shop itself was small, wealthy patrons would park their open-topped horse carriages under the plane trees of Berkeley Square. Waiters would dodge traffic to sprint across the road, bringing rapidly melting ice cream right to the carriages. Gunter's wasn't just a cafe; they were massive high-end event caterers. They provided the food, multi-tiered "bride cakes," and sugar architecture for royal balls and elite weddings, including making the wedding cake for Queen Victoria’s granddaughter in 1889.

 

***In 1926, Gunter's Tea Shop was located at Numbers 7 to 8 Berkeley Square in Mayfair. The shop originally opened at No. 7 in 1757, but due to its immense popularity with high society, it expanded into the adjoining premises at No. 8 between 1840 and 1841. The business operated continuously from this combined dual-address throughout the entire 1920s. It remained at this iconic location until the east side of Berkeley Square was demolished and rebuilt between 1936 and 1937, forcing the tea shop to move to nearby Curzon Street.

 

****Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid Eighteenth Century by the architect William Kent, and originally extended further south. Like most squares in British cities, it is surrounded largely by terraced houses, in this case grand townhouses. Originally these were the London residences of very wealthy families who would spend most of the year at their country house. Berkeley Square was still predominantly residential in the 1920s, but it was experiencing the rapid, irreversible transition into a commercial hub. Only one building, number 48, remains wholly residential. Most have been converted into offices for businesses typical of Mayfair, such as bluechips' meeting spaces, hedge funds, niche head-hunters and wealth management businesses.

 

*****In the 1920s, the fine white icing used on wedding cakes was royal icing. This classic confection was prized not just for its brilliant white aesthetic, but for its unique structural and preservative properties. Made from a simple yet precise blend of softly beaten egg whites, finely powdered icing sugar and lemon juice, royal icing was the ultimate status symbol for wealthy families wishing to make an impression. Historically, pure white sugar was incredibly difficult and expensive to refine. Covering a massive cake in snowy white icing served as a direct visual flex of a family's extreme wealth and societal standing. Unlike soft modern buttercreams, royal icing dries to a rock-hard, porcelain-like matte finish. Because 1920s wedding cakes were dense, heavy fruitcakes stacked in multi-tiered towers, this hard shell was structurally essential to prevent the bottom tiers from collapsing under the weight. In an era before widespread refrigeration, the hard royal icing shell completely sealed the fruitcake from the air. This allowed the cake to be baked and decorated weeks in advance, and preserved for months afterward without spoiling. Because the icing dried so incredibly hard, cutting the cake was a dramatic event. It was during this era that bakers began regularly adding small amounts of glycerine to the mixture to prevent it from shattering like glass when the bride and groom made their first cut

 

******The General Strike in Britain occurred between May the 3rd and May the 12th, 1926. It was a nine-day nationwide stoppage called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to support coal miners facing wage reductions and worsening conditions. Roughly one million, seven hundred thousand workers went on strike, primarily in transport and heavy industry.

 

*******The 1920s saw the rapid rise of the legendary Lambeth Method of cake decoration. Pastry chefs relied on the fast-drying nature of royal icing to pipe layer upon layer of delicate, lace-like scrolls, lattice-work, and heavy borders directly onto the cake. The result was an ornate, highly structured cake decorating technique characterised by dramatic, three-dimensional depth and strict symmetry. Named after named after Joseph Lambeth, an American master baker and confectioner, Lambeth piping draws heavily on lavish Victorian and Baroque architectural elements. It became the gold standard for high society wedding cakes in the 1920s and 1930s.

 

********Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes.

 

********Cinégraphic was a French film production company founded by director Marcel L'Herbier in the 1920s. It was established following a disagreement between L'Herbier and the Gaumont Company, a major film distributor, over the film "Don Juan et Faust". Cinégraphic was involved in the production of several films, including "Don Juan et Faust" itself. Cinégraphic focused on more experimental and artistic films.

 

**********Horseshoes were used in weddings as powerful talismans to bring good luck, ensure fertility, and ward off evil spirits. This tradition, which was especially popular in British, Irish, and Celtic cultures, stems from a mix of ancient mythology, religious folklore, and practical symbolism. In Celtic folklore, a bride walking down the church aisle was considered highly vulnerable to malevolent forces, curses, or trickster fairies looking to cause mischief. Because horseshoes were traditionally forged from iron, they were believed to possess magical protective qualities. Folklore dictated that mischievous spirits and the Devil were deeply afraid of iron and would completely avoid any place or person shielded by it. The distinct shape of a horseshoe heavily resembles a crescent moon. Since ancient Greek and Roman times, the crescent moon was regarded as a potent symbol of fertility, a successful harvest, and continuous growth. Gifting a horseshoe to a newlywed couple was a literal blessing for a fruitful marriage and many children. According to Tenth Century British lore, Saint Dunstan, a blacksmith who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, was asked by the Devil to shoe his hoof. Dunstan secretly nailed the red-hot shoe on so painfully that the Devil begged for mercy. Dunstan only agreed to release him after forcing the Devil to swear a solemn oath: he would never enter a building that displayed a horseshoe. Many brides had miniature silver or fabric horseshoes discreetly sewn right into the hems or waistbands of their wedding gowns to keep the good luck physically touching them all day. Even Princess Diana famously had a tiny, diamond-studded horseshoe sewn into the waistband of her 1981.

 

***********During the 1920s, visiting Gunter’s Tea Shop required strict adherence to "Afternoon Dress" (or daytime formalwear). Because Gunter's was located in Mayfair — the epicentre of London high society — patrons were legally not barred by a modern written dress code, but rather by unyielding social etiquette. Failing to dress meticulously meant instant social ostracization and refusal of service by the staff. Even in warmer months, women of means frequently layered their dresses with "summer furs" — lightweight fur-trimmed capes or stoles—to signal their wealth.

 

************A reticule also known as a ridicule or indispensable, was a type of small handbag or purse, typically having a drawstring and decorated with embroidery or beading, similar to a modern evening bag, used mainly from 1795 to before the Great War.

 

*************Whilst the 1920s saw a massive boom in everyday commercial tea shops employing female waitresses — most notably the famous J. Lyons & Co. tea shops or Corner Houses and their iconic "Nippy" waitresses — high-end, elite Mayfair institutions like Gunter's Tea Shop maintained a stricter, old-school hierarchy. In luxury London catering and high-society dining, employing impeccably dressed male waitstaff remained a sign of prestige, wealth, and top-tier service. Gunter's was famous for its unique custom where patrons could sit in their carriages or under the trees of Berkeley Square, and waiters were required to run trays of melting ices back and forth, dodging heavy traffic and horses in the street — a fast-paced, physically demanding outdoor role that the establishment traditionally reserved for men.

 

**************Piqué is a durable, textured cotton material characterized by raised geometric patterns woven into the cloth. It was highly popular in the 1920s, and remains standard today for formal waistcoats, bow ties, and modern polo shirts.

 

***************Smooth white cotton gloves, ensured that the waiters of Gunter’s never touched the delicate china, glassware, or silver trays used by upper-class patrons with bare hands, ensuring a discreet but deliberate delineation between the patrons and staff.

 

****************Gunter’s was famous for its Brown Bread Ice Cream, which was a perennial high-society favourite made with caramelized rye breadcrumbs.

 

*****************The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in 1920. Technically, the "Colony of Kenya" referred to the interior lands, while a 16 km (10 mi) coastal strip, nominally on lease from the Sultan of Zanzibar, was the "Protectorate of Kenya", but the two were controlled as a single administrative unit. The colony came to an end in 1963 when an ethnic Kenyan majority government was elected for the first time and eventually declared independence as the Republic of Kenya.

 

******************"The Dark Continent" is an outdated term historically used to refer to Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, due to its perceived mystique and lack of exploration by Europeans in the Nineteenth Century.

 

*******************A "bride cake" is the historical predecessor and original term for the modern wedding cake. Historically, the term emphasised that the bride was the central focus of the wedding celebration. While the phrase gradually evolved into "wedding cake" over the course of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries, it refers to a distinct culinary tradition with specific meanings, and was a term held on to by people born earlier in the Nineteenth Century.

 

********************The traditional English idiom shilly-shallying means to hesitate, dither, dawdle, or be completely indecisive when you should be making a firm decision. In late Seventeenth Century London, people who couldn't make a decision were mocked for standing around muttering to themselves, "Shall I? Shall I?" (as in, "Shall I do this, or shall I do that?"). By the year 1700, the phrase morphed into the verbal phrase "to stand shill-I, shall-I". Over the next century, it naturally smoothed out into the single colloquial verb shilly-shally. The first recorded usage of the exact phrase "shilly-shallying" appeared in print in 1816.

 

This tableau featuring a delectable selection of deliciously extravagant cakes on display at Gunter’s Tea Shop may look real to you, but it is in fact made up entirely of 1:12 size miniatures from my collection and includes items from my childhood.

 

Fun things to look for in this tableau include:

 

The three tier wedding cake covered in white icing, decorated with yellow swirls of icing and orange roses is an artisan miniature made entirely of plaster. I have had it since I was given it for a Christmas gift when I was seven.

 

The other cakes on the table are all 1:12 artisan miniatures too. Although made by different artists, all of these I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House Shop in the United Kingdom. The silver trays all come from there as well, except for the one the three tier wedding cake stands on. That tray I bought from a high street stockist of dolls and doll house miniatures in the months following the Christmas I received the cake as a gift, so that I had a silver tray big enough for it to sit upon.

 

The cake in the background is a splendid three tier wedding cake which is also an artisan miniature which is so beautifully made. I acquired it from a private seller on eBay who was divesting themselves of their mother’s miniatures collection.

 

The flowers in the background are all made by Falcon Miniatures who are very well known for the quality and realism of their miniatures.

 

The lace tablecloth the cakes stand on is in reality a beautiful Victorian era hand tatted lace doily with a beautiful and complex pattern upon it.

 

The flocked Edwardian style wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, with the intention that I should use it as wallpaper in my “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.

Prague Museum of Decorative Arts.

 

Founded in 1885, the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts is housed in a Neo-Renaissance edifice built from 1897 to 1899 after the designs of architect Josef Schulz.

 

It opened in 1900 with exhibitions on the first floor.

 

The Museum's rich collections include decorative and applied arts and design work ranging from Late Antiquity to the present day with focus on European objects, particularly arts and crafts created in the Bohemian lands.

 

The impressive interior of the permanent exhibition, “Stories of Materials,” offers visitors an excursion into the history and development of decorative arts in the disciplines of glass, ceramics, graphic art, design, metal, wood and other materials, as well as objects such as jewellery, clocks and watches, textiles, fashion, toys and furniture.

 

The museum in Prague collects and preserves for future generations examples of historical and contemporary crafts as well as applied arts and design—in both national and international contexts.

 

The staff and directors believe in the harmony between function, quality and beauty; its claimed ambition is to inspire, educate and entertain in a unique way.

 

In 1885, the foundation of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague reflected the dramatic development of Czech society at the time.

 

Following the establishment of a similar institution in Brno in 1873, the Prague museum soon became an important cultural and educational center in the Crown Lands of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

 

The unfavorable impact of the Industrial Revolution on the aesthetic appearance and, consequently, the quality of products had for a long time been the subject of justified criticisms from artists, theorists and the public.

 

The idea of establishing a permanent exhibition of decorative and applied arts in Prague was realised through an exhibition arranged by the Arkadia Association in 1861 at the Old Town Hall in Prague.

 

Another source of inspiration was the founding of a similar institution—the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum), which opened in London in 1852 and originally contained a collection of objects of applied and decorative arts.

 

More important for the Czech public, however, was the Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie, which opened in Vienna in 1864.

 

In 1868, in cooperation with the Vienna museum, the Prague Chamber of Trade and Commerce held an exhibition on Žofín Island of objects obtained from the Exposition Universelle d'Art et d'Industrie de 1867—International Exposition (1867)—supplemented by historical arts and crafts mostly from the collection of Vojtěch Lanna, who became the Museum's most important donor and sponsor.

 

In a period when funds and suitable buildings were hard to find, the promise of the exhibition area in the Rudolfinum (the House of the Artists) also contributed greatly to the birth of the museum.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Decorative_Arts_in_Prague

This bus stop at the foot of the Canongate in Edinburgh has been equipped with an updated Real Time Passenger Information system which is being tested. The city and Lothian Buses introduced the city’s original RTPI system - branded BusTracker circa 2004 - but is well overdue for replacement.

 

To make this upload more interesting, I have added some Edinburgh transport chronology:-

 

First bridge at Leith - Abbot’s or Bellenden or Ballantyne 15th century

First coach to Glasgow departs White Horse Inn 1678

Sedan chair makes first appearance in Edinburgh 1687

First Graving Dock at Leith 1720

Edinburgh to Queen’s Ferry Road designated as turnpike road 1751

London to Edinburgh mail coach journey advertised as “10 days in summer, 12 days in winter.” 1754

Ferry Road constructed on its present line 1758

The first North Bridge completed 1772

Edinburgh to Berwick took full day by coach and cost 15 shillings and five pence 1778

South Bridge built 1785-1788

Upper Drawbridge (later Sandport Place bridge) 1788

First wet dock (East Dock) at Leith opened 1806

John Rennie’s Musselburgh New Bridge opened 1808

Bridge over Water of Leith at Bernard Street erected 1809

First steamboat, “Lady of the Lake”, on the Forth 1812

West Dock completed 1817

Junction Bridge in Leith built 1818

Regent or Regent’s Bridge carrying Waterloo Place over Calton Road completed 1819

Trinity Chain Pier opened 1821

First regular steamship service between Leith and London 1821

Union Canal opened 1822

Second Cramond Brig opened 1824

Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway authorised 1826

Leith Dock Commission established 1826

Telford’s Pathhead (or Lothian) Bridge over Tyne Water built 1827-1831

George IV Bridge built 1827-1836

The Mound completed 1830

Glenesk Viaduct over River N. Esk on Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway completed 1831

Telford’s Dean Bridge completed 1832

Mail coach from London to Edinburgh took 42 hrs 23 minutes 1832

Horse drawn passenger service inaugurated on E&DR from St Leonards 1832

Edinburgh to Glasgow ‘swift’ passenger boats on Union and Forth & Clyde canals took 7 1/2 hrs between cities changing at Falkirk 1835

New Western Approach (later Johnston Terrace) opened 1836

Granton Pier, originally Victoria Jetty, opened 1838

Edinburgh & Glasgow Rly opened from Haymarket to Glasgow via Falkirk 1842

EL&NR opened from Scotland Street to Trinity 1842

Granton to Burntisland ferry service opens 1844

Rival schemes proposed for atmospheric railways between Edinburgh and Leith 1845

EL&GR opened from Warriston Jn to North Leith 1846

North British Railway opens to Berwick-upon-Tweed 1846

E&GR extended from Haymarket to Waverley 1847

Scotland Street tunnel and Canal Street station opened 1847

Musselburgh (town centre) station opened 1847

Last mail coach run from Edinburgh to London 1847

Caledonian Railway opened from Carlisle to Lothian Road station via Carstairs 1848

Passenger services on Union Canal abandoned 1848

Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway purchase the Union Canal 1849

Lothianbridge or Newbattle viaduct built 1849

First trains between Edinburgh and Hawick 1849

Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway opened 1849

Edinburgh and Northern Railway introduce train ferry service for freight wagons between Granton and Burntisland 1851

Victoria Dock at Leith opened 1852

West Pier at Leith opened 1852

Peebles Railway opened 1855

Melville Drive opened 1859

Cockburn Street built to improve access to Waverley from the Old Town 1859-1864

GNR, NER and NBR introduce common pool of passenger carriages (East Coast Joint Stock) on East Coast route 1861

NBR complete Waverley Route to Carlisle 1862

Winchburgh railway accident, 17 killed, 1862

East Coast companies introduce Special Scotch Express Edinburgh to London King’s Cross (later the Flying Scotsman) 1862

First John Menzies bookstall at Waverley 1862

The Prince of Wales Graving Dock opened 1863

Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway taken over by NBR 1865

NBR divert Granton trains via Abbeyhill Jcn and Leith Walk 1868

Ratho/Dalmeny branch railway (1866) extended to South Queensferry 1868

CR open Cleland and Midcalder cut off 1869

NBR open Abbeyhill and Junction Road stations 1869

Albert Dock opened 1869

Tramways Act 1870

CR replace Lothian Road station with new terminus slightly further north and rename it Princes Street 1870

Portobello Pier opened 1871

NBR start through trains to Glasgow via Bathgate 1871

First horse trams (Haymarket to Bernard Street (Leith) started by Edinburgh Street Tramways Co 1871

Penicuik Railway opened 1872

NBR introduce first sleeping car service in GB between Glasgow, Edinburgh and London 1873

Colinton New Bridge opened c.1874

Balerno branch railway opened 1874

Victoria Swing Bridge opened at Leith 1874

Tramway opened from Waterloo Place to Portobello 1875

Through trains to St Pancras via Waverley Route and Midland Railway’s new Settle and Carlisle Line 1876

NBR extend railway from South Queensferry to Port Edgar 1878

CR start passenger service Princes Street to Leith 1879

Edinburgh Dock opened 1881

Forth Bridge Railway Company formed by NBR/NER/GNR/MR 1881

Edinburgh Street Tramways Co trial steam tramway engines on Portobello route 1881/2

Forth Bridge construction begins 1883

Roads and Bridges Act ends turnpike roads system and tolls 1883

South Suburban railway opened 1884

Galloway Saloon Steam Packet company formed 1886

Galloway steamers build wooden pier at South Queensferry town harbour 1886

First issues of Murray’s monthly Edinburgh timetable diaries 1886

NBR open new and improved station at Portobello 1887

Belford Bridge opened 1887

NBR open Craiglockhart station 1887

First cable tram route (Edinburgh Northern Tramways Co, Hanover St to Goldenacre) 1888

Forth Bridge and connecting railways opened, also Aberdour station, 1890

Inverkeithing and North Queensferry stations relocated 1890

Fire at the (first) Princes Street station 1890

ENTCo open Stockbridge cable route from Frederick Street to Comely Bank 1890

CR propose railway under Princes Street and Calton Hill to Leith 1890

CR and NBR both open temporary Exhibition stations to serve Edinburgh Exhibition of the Arts, Sciences and Industries 1890

NBR open Easter Road and Piershill stations 1891

Waverley expansion 1892-1902

Lessee of Edinburgh tramways (exc Leith) changes to Edinburgh & District Tramways Co in 1894

Second Princes Street Station opened by CR 1894

CR open their Barnton branch from Craigleith to Cramond Brig 1894

NBR open resited Haymarket MPD west of Russell Road 1894/5

The new Haymarket (South) tunnel completed 1895

NBR open Powderhall station 1895

First motor car driven through Edinburgh 1896

The Alexandra Dry Dock completed 1896

Burgh of Portobello absorbed by Edinburgh 1896

Second (the present) North Bridge opened 1897

Edinburgh & District Tramways takeover the two Edinburgh Northern Tramways cable routes 1897

Booking Hall opened at Waverley 1897

NBR open second Calton Tunnel 1897

Turnhouse station opened 1897

New swing bridge opened at Bernard Street replacing the earlier bridge 1898

NBR open new “suburban station” at Waverley 1898

Norman MacDonald’s Edinburgh Autocar Company introduced motor wagonette service GPO to Haymarket 1899

Edinburgh & District Tramways start their first cable trams 1899

E&DT open Tollcross cable car depot and power station 1899

NBR acquires former Waterloo Hotel as head office 1899

Dalry Road station opened by CR 1900

Jeffrey Street footbridge over east end of Waverley opened 1900

First Sunday trams 1901

First trains to Gifford 1901

NBR open branch line to Corstorphine 1902

NBR open North British Station Hotel on Princes Street 1902

First pedestrian fatality as a result of being knocked down by motor vehicle in Edinburgh 1902

Bonnington Bridge built replacing 1812 structure 1902/3

NBR open Leith Central station 1903

Driving licences introduced 1903

CR open Princes Street Station Hotel 1903

Bonnington Bridge opened 1903

Barntongate station renamed Davidson’s Mains 1903

Cramond Brig station renamed Barnton 1903

Musselburgh & District Electric Light & Traction Co. Ltd open tramway from Joppa to Levenhall 1904

Imperial Dock opened 1904

Bangour (Private) Railway opened 1905

First Leith Corporation electric trams 1905

Scottish Motor Traction Co Ltd starts first motor bus service Mound to Corstorphine 1906

Last horse tram (Tollcross to Colinton Rd) 1907

John Croall and Sons introduce first motor taxis in Edinburgh 1907

Last extension of cable tramway network in Edinburgh - the Broughton St to Canonmills line 1908

NBR open Newtongrange station 1908

NBR open temporary station at Balgreen to serve Scottish National Exhibition at Saughton Park 1908

Hailes Platform on CR Balerno branch opened 1908

Musselburgh tramway extended from Levenhall to Port Seton 1909

Leith Corporation Tramways extended to Granton 1909

EDT open electric tramway Ardmillan Tce to Slateford 1910

NBR introduce summer Lothian Coast Express from Glasgow Queen Street to Gullane/North Berwick/Dunbar 1912

NBR open Scotland’s first Control Centre, 1913

NBR open carriage sidings at Craigentinny 1914

Seton Mains Halt on ECML opened by NBR 1914

Ratho train crash kills 12, 1917

NBR temporarily close some suburban stations 1917

Powderhall station closed 1917

NBR open Rosyth Halt 1917

South Queensferry Halt opened 1919

Edinburgh Corporation start running trams directly 1919

Edinburgh Corporation Tramways establish HQ at 2 St. James Square 1919

Corporation starts first bus tours 1919

NBR take over working of the Queensferry Passage 1920

Edinburgh absorbs Cramond, Corstorphine, Colinton, Leith and Liberton, 1920

Corporation start first regular bus services 1920

SMT starts first services to Musselburgh and Tranent 1920

Saughton station closed 1921

SMT start pleasure cruises from Queensferry with two new motor yachts 1921

First ECT electric trams 1922

Tramway on Princes Street electrified 1922

ECT introduce first double deck buses (open top) 1922

Union Canal east of Fountainbridge closed inc Port Hamilton and Port Hopetoun 1922

Railway grouping 1923

Last cable trams (the Portobello route) withdrawn 1923

J Inglis Ker sets out vision for a road bridge over Forth at a Hawes Inn meeting 1923

Edinburgh Corporation open Portobello Power Station 1923

ECT tracks at Joppa linked up with those of the Musselburgh company 1923

Marchmont Circle electric tram service starts 1924

Tramway extended from Seafield to King’s Road 1924

Five killed when two trains collide at Haymarket 1924

Murrayfield Stadium opened 1925

ECT open Gorgie tram depot 1925

LNER withdraw train service to Trinity and Granton 1925

George Street tramway opened 1925

First night bus services introduced by ECT 1925

Edinburgh Licensed Hackney Carriage Association 1925

Tramway extension opened to Colinton 1926

ECT open Central Garage in former Industrial Hall at Annandale Street 1926

SMT open booking and enquiry office at 45 Princes Street 1926

SMT commence through bus service to Glasgow 1926

Maybury Road opened 1927

LMS relaunch their premier Euston- Glasgow/Edinburgh service as the “Royal Scot” 1927

Edinburgh-Glasgow New Road built 1927-32

Edinburgh Corporation Tramways becomes Edinburgh Corporation Transport 1928

First traffic lights in city at Broughton St/York Pl junction 1928

Levenhall to Port Seton tramway abandoned 1928

LNER introduce third class sleeping cars 1928

LNER loco 4472 “Flying Scotsman” hauls first non stop King’s Cross to Edinburgh train service 1928

Tramway extended from Corstorphine to Drum Brae 1928

Thomson’s Tours start coach services to London 1928

SMT open New Street bus garage 1929

Railway companies invest in SMT 1929

Telford Road opened 1929

Last trains to South Queensferry Halt 1929

Tram accident at Liberton Brae 1929

LNER close Turnhouse, Winchburgh, Gogar, Kirkliston and Leith Walk stations 1930

ECT open tramway extension to Stenhouse 1930

Road Traffic Act 1930

SMT starts extended tours of several days 1931

Bowens of Musselburgh sell their bus services to SMT 1931

First edition of The Highway Code published 1931

Last trains to Aberlady and Gullane 1932

LNER withdraw passenger services from Glencorse branch 1933

ECT introduce first closed top double decker 1933

Moderne style Southern Motors garage at Causewayside c.1933

Two custom built car ferries introduced at Queensferry 1934

LNER open Balgreen Halt 1934

LMS open East Pilton Halt 1934

Driving tests introduced 1935

Tramway extended from Braids to Fairmilehead 1936

SMT concentrate departures at Saint Andrew Square 1936

Corporation tours stance opened at Waverley Bridge 1936

The Maybury Roadhouse opened 1936

Final tram extension to Maybury 1937

Veteran 58 yr old ferry, PS “William Muir” withdrawn from LNER Granton/Burntisland passage 1937

LNER Edinburgh to Glasgow train collides with another stationary train at Castlecary killing 35, 1937

LMS open House O’ Hill Halt on Barnton branch 1937

LNER introduce The Coronation streamlined express passenger train between King’s Cross and Edinburgh and vv 1937

LNER withdraw Granton/Burntisland ferry 1940

SMT bus inbound from Port Seton crashes head on into tramcar on Portobello Road, killing five bus passengers 1941

Dalkeith branch passenger service withdrawn 1942

Western breakwater at Leith completed 1942

Last trains to Colinton and Balerno 1943

ECT restarts city tours after the war 1946

First BEA flights to London (using Northolt) 1947

Last trains to ex-NBR North Leith station 1947

Forth Road Bridge Order approves construction of bridge 1947

ECT start Airport bus service (initially under contract to BEA) 1947

First International Festival of Music and Drama 1947

Peak year for tram passenger numbers (nearly 193m) 1947

Railways nationalised 1948

Washout of East Coast Main Line in Berwickshire 1948

SMT nationalised 1949

Last trains to Haddington 1949

Town planner Patrick Abercrombie publishes his vision for Edinburgh 1949

BEA move booking office and town terminal to 133 George Street 1950

Third car ferry introduced on Queensferry Passage 1950

New Hailes station closed 1950

BR open Easter Road Park Halt for arriving football specials 1950

Peak year for passenger traffic on Corporation buses and trams (286.6 million people) 1950

Last trains to Barnton and Penicuik 1951

Last trains call at Drumshoreland, Curriehill, Ratho and Philpstoun 1951

SMT start hourly express coach service to Glasgow 1951

Northern Roadways start overnight service to London 1951

Forth Ferries run short lived car ferry service between Granton and Burntisland 1951/2

Corporation resolves to abandon tramways completely within three years 1952

Corporation permits external adverts on trams and buses 1952

Last passenger trains to Leith Central 1952

First international flights from Turnhouse Airport (to Dublin) 1952

Last trams to Stenhouse and Slateford 1953

ECT close Gorgie tram depot 1953

BR introduce summer weekly “Starlight Special” overnight trains Waverley to London Marylebone @ 70/- return 1953

BEA Edinburgh to London flights move from Northolt to Heathrow 1954

Last trams to Corstorphine, Portobello, Musselburgh and Levenhall 1954

Longstone bus garage opened by ECT 1955

Leith Dock Commission close Bernard Street swing bridge to navigation 1955

Millerhill station closed 1955

Withdrawal of Colinton trams 1955

British Transport Historical Records open office in Edinburgh 1955

Remaining Glasgow trains via Bathgate withdrawn 1956

Fourth car ferry joins Queensferry Passage 1956

New passenger terminal opened at Turnhouse Airport 1956

Last first generation electric trams 1956

First diesel trains to Glasgow 1957

ECT relocate head office from St. James Square to 14 Queen Street 1957

SOL open Saint Andrew Square Bus Station 1957

Many local rail services converted to diesel operations 1958

Jeffrey Street footbridge over east end of Waverley closed 1958

Construction of Forth Road Bridge begins 1958

Underground roadway heating system installed on The Mound 1959

BR introduce summer daytime car carrier service Waverley to London (Holloway) 1960

British Railways introduce diesel services Edinburgh to Fife 1960

East Fortune becomes temporary Edinburgh Airport for 4 months (96000 pax )owing to runway strengthening at Turnhouse 1961

SMT start The Transatlantic Express service to Prestwick 1961

The new Bernard Street concrete bridge opened 1961

Last trains to Bonnyrigg and Peebles 1962

Last trains to Leith North 1962

SOL rebuild and extend Musselburgh depot 1962

First parking meters introduced on George Street and Queen Street 1962

ECT open their new Marine Garage 1962

South Sub trains withdrawn 1962

BEA move sales office to 135 Princes Street 1962

Beeching Report published 1963

Loganair start first scheduled service Dundee to Edinburgh 1963

ECT open information bureau at top of Waverley Bridge 1964

Eastern Scottish fleetname introduced by SOL 1964/5

New A90 dual carriageway Cramond Brig to Queensferry 1964

Queensferry Passage closed 1964

Forth Road Bridge (cost £19.5m) opened, first direct buses to Fife 1964

Scotland’s first motorway - M90 Admiralty to Duloch in south Fife plus M823 spur bypassing Rosyth 1964

Castle Terrace multi-storey car park opened 1964

Abbeyhill, Piershill, Portobello and Joppa stations closed 1964

Musselburgh and Inveresk stations closed 1964

Kingsknowe station closed 1964

First modern rear engined bus bought by ECT 1965

British Rail brand name and double arrow logo launched 1965

Princes Street Station closed along with Merchiston 1965

BEA Vickers Vanguard on flight from Edinburgh crashes at Heathrow killing 36, 1965

BUA start InterJet service to Gatwick 1966

BR publish closure proposal for Waverley Route 1966

Driver-only double deck buses legalised 1966

SOL open combined depot/bus station in Dalkeith 1966

Motorail brand launched by BRB 1966

Edinburgh Corporation publish plans for six lane Inner Relief Road 1966

ECT close parcels service 1966

Chairlift opened at Hillend ski centre 1966

Half hourly train service Edinburgh to Glasgow QS via Falkirk 1966.

BR launch the InterCity brand 1966

BR close St. Margaret’s MPD 1967

Last trains to Corstorphine 1967

Forth Ports Authority replaces Leith Dock Commission 1968

Taxi cooperative, Central Radio Taxis, founded 1968

Waverley Route to Carlisle closed 1969

BR close Divisional Manager’s office at Waterloo Place 1969

ECT introduce first double decker one man operated services 1969

Scottish Transport Group HQ set up at Carron House on George Street, Edinburgh 1969

Closure of North Berwick branch refused by MoT 1969

ECT close Tollcross garage 1969

M8 opened between Whitburn and Dechmont 1969

Direct railway route to Perth closed between Cowdenbeath and Bridge of Earn via Kinross Jcn 1970

ECT employ first female driver 1970

M8 eastern section opened between Dechmont and Newbridge 1970

M9 (later M90) Kirkliston spur opened 1970

Travel Centre opened at Waverley 1970

BAA take over Edinburgh Airport 1971

Scotland’s first motorway service area opened at Harthill on M8 at cost of £650,000, 1971

Push/Pull trains to Glasgow 1971

Kingsknowe Station reopened 1971

ECT expand info bureau at Waverley Bridge to become airport bus terminal 1971

Last passenger sailings from Leith to Orkney/Shetland 1971

Traffic lights installed on Princes Street 1972

First Open Day at ECT Shrubhill 1972

Last sailings Leith to Reykjavik and Copenhagen 1972

The old A9 between Turnhouse and Boathouse Bridge closed to allow construction of the airport’s new runway 1973

Rose Street (between Castle St and Frederick St) becomes first in city to be pedestrianised 1973

First section of Water of Leith Walkway opened between Slateford and Juniper Green using solum of ex-CR Balerno branch 1973

Civil Aviation Act 1971 merges BEA and BOAC as British Airways 1974

First bus lane in city (Earl Grey Street, northbound) 1974

West Approach Road opened 1974

Edinburgh boundary extended to take in Queensferry, Kirkliston, Newbridge, Ratho, Currie and Balerno 1975

Edinburgh City Transport becomes Lothian Regional Transport and inherits 672 buses from the Corporation 1975

Air Anglia launch first Edinburgh to Amsterdam flights 1975

First Leith Street footbridge erected 1975

New runway opened at Edinburgh Airport 1976

British Airways introduce the Shuttle to Heathrow 1976

LRT introduces the Ridacard season ticket 1976

New power signal box opened at Waverley 1976

Lothian introduce Airlink brand for airport bus service 1976

First allover advert on LRT bus - Carlsberg Lager 1976

First phase of Almondvale shopping centre opened at Livingston 1976

Solari split flap departure board installed at Waverley 1976

SBG launch blue and white livery and “Scottish” brand on London coaches 1976

New passenger terminal at Edinburgh Airport opened 1977

SPOKES (the Lothian cycle campaign) launched 1977

BR opens Craigentinny Train Maintenance Depot 1977

HST train services from King’s Cross to Edinburgh introduced 1978/9

Townsend Thoresen run shortlived experimental sailings between Leith and Kristiansand (Norway), autumn 1978

Penmanshiel Tunnel collapse on ECML between Berwick and Dunbar 1979

Transport museum at Shrubhill closed 1979

SOL open combined depot/bus station at Livingston 1979

LRT last use bus conductors 1980

Leith Walk ex-CR rail bridge removed 1980

Deregulation of express coach services 1980

Eastern Scottish introduce X14 Motorway Express to Glasgow 1981

Colinton bypass (3.5 miles) opened from Baberton to Fairmilehead 1981

Cotter Coachline service to London 1981

Lothian Regional Council buys disused railway routes in north Edinburgh 1981

British Rail launch low cost Nightrider train service King’s Cross to Edinburgh and Aberdeen 1982

Eastern Scottish end use of bus conductors 1982

“Maid of the Forth” cruises established at Queensferry 1982

CEDC open first cycleway/walkway on ex-NB North Leith branch from Warriston Crescent to Couper Street, Leith 1982

“Innocent Railway” walkway/cycleway - first section opened by LRC from Duddingston Rd West to southern tunnel portal 1982

Midcalder station renamed Kirknewton 1982

Newton’s Travel launch “Fast Class” coach service to/from Inverness 1982

British Midland start Heathrow to Edinburgh service 1983

Middle Meadow Walk cycleway opened 1983

British Airways upgrade Heathrow services to “Super Shuttle” 1983

British Rail Scotland adopt Scotrail brand (22 Sept) 1983

Stagecoach start an Edinburgh-Glasgow service 1983

ECT tram 35 moved to Blackpool 1983

Henry Robb shipyard at Leith completes two IoW ferries for Sealink (the yard’s last orders) 1983

LRC open walkway/cycleway over former ex-CR route from Craigleith to Davidson’s Mains 1983

Restalrig Railway Path opened from Quarryholes to Seafield over ex-CR Leith New Lines 1983

InterCity launch Highland Chieftain between King’s Cross and Inverness via Edinburgh (581 miles) 1984

LRC open walkway/cycleway (Telford Path) over ex-CR route from Craigleith to Crewe Toll 1984

LRC open walkway/cycleway (Roseburn Path) from Craigleith to Murrayfield over ex CR route 1984

Edinburgh-Glasgow train derails W of Polmont, 13 killed, 1984

Livingston South station opened 1984

South Gyle Station opened 1985

“Royal Scotsman” luxury tour train inaugurated 1985

Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd formed 1985

Borders/East Lothian routes of Eastern Scottish pass to Lowland Scottish 1985

Edinburgh to Bathgate train service reopened 1986

SPOKES volunteers build 1km Pilton Path in one week 1986

ScotRail Operations Depot opened at Waverley 1986

ScotRail operate dmu shuttles between Waverley and Meadowbank Stadium during Commonwealth Games 1986

Bus services deregulated 1986

Lothian Regional Transport becomes Lothian Region Transport plc 1986

A1 Tranent and Musselburgh bypasses opened 1986

A199 Portobello bypass (Sir Harry Lauder Road) opened 1986

Eastern Scottish introduce City Sprinter minibuses 1986

Sighthill Bypass (3 miles) opened from Glasgow Road to Baberton 1986

SPOKES publish first edition of their Edinburgh cycle map 1987

Scott Russell Aqueduct built to carry Union Canal over the Edinburgh city bypass 1987

Wester Hailes and Curriehill stations opened /reopened 1987

Air UK replace BCal on Gatwick/Edinburgh route 1988

InterCity Sleepers concentrated on WCML and Euston 1988

Preserved Edinburgh tram 35 operates at the Glasgow Garden Festival 1988

New station opened at Musselburgh 1988

Burdiehouse Bypass from Fairmilehead to Straiton opened 1988

Sheriffhall Roundabout opened 1988

Millerhill Bypass from Sheriffhall to Old Craighall opened 1988

Innocent railway tunnel on E&DR opened to cyclists/pedestrians 1989

Guide Friday starts Edinburgh open top bus tour followed by LRT later same year with Edinburgh Classic Tour 1989

ScotRail start Fife Circle train services 1989

Guide Friday start their AirBus Express to airport 1989

Stagecoach sells express operations to National Express, initially rebranded Caledonian Express, 1989

Craig Park retail park opened on former Newcraighall Colliery site 1989

Gilmerton Bypass opened from Straiton to Sheriffhall 1989

Eastern Scottish privatised, revives SMT fleetname 1990

Lowland Scottish privatised 1990

Class 158 DMUs introduced by ScotRail on Edinburgh-Glasgow QS service 1990

Carstairs/Edinburgh link from WCML electrified 1991

Busway proposed from Edinburgh Airport to city centre 1991

East Coast Main Line electrification completed 1991

North Berwick train service electrified 1991

SBG sell Fife Scottish to Stagecoach 1991

Stagecoach Rail launched 1992

Class 158 DMU (158708/710) sets world speed record for BR for underfloor engine DMU, Glasgow QS-Edinburgh, 107mph/171 km/h 1992

Scottish Citylink purchased by National Express 1993

Underpass opened at Gogar roundabout 1993

Guide Friday start Deep Sea World Express to North Queensferry 1993

Gyle Centre opened 1993

CERT (City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit) bus rapid transit scheme proposed c.1993

GRT buys Eastern Scottish Omnibuses (SMT) 1994

ScotRail TOC created (still BRB owned) 1994

New station opened at Wallyford 1994

M8 extended from Newbridge to City Bypass 1995

BR withdraw Sleeper/Motorail to Plymouth 1995

LRT moves Head Office from Queen Street to Shrubhill 1995

Anglo-Scottish Sleeper train operation passes to ScotRail 1995

Scottish Vintage Bus Museum moves to Lathalmond 1995

Mock up of section of a light weight tram displayed at Leith and Parliament Square 1995

First EasyJet services from London Luton to Edinburgh 1995

GNER train operating company takes over ECML train services 1996

ScotRail introduce Caledonian Sleeper brand 1996

Pedicabs first operate in Edinburgh 1996

Eastbound traffic exc buses, taxis, cycles etc removed from Princes Street 1996

First carve up Eastern Scottish between Midland Bluebird and Lowland 1996

Virgin Trains start running CrossCountry and West Coast trains 1997

Underpass opened at Newbridge roundabout 1997

First merge Midland Bluebird and Lowland as First Edinburgh 1997

Last BR operations (2355 Glasgow/Edinburgh - Euston Sleeper 31 March) 1997

ScotRail privatised 1997

Goldenacre Path opened Fiveways to Canonmills 1997

Priority bus lanes (“Greenways”) introduced on five arterial roads 1997

Dalgety Bay station opened 1998

The New Edinburgh Tramways Company formed to promote a Haymarket to Newhaven light weight tramway 1998

9 local authorities form voluntary South East Scotland Transport Partnership 1998

Low cost carrier Go starts Stansted/Edinburgh route 1998

Dunfermline Queen Margaret station opened 2000

GNER propose Parkway station at Musselburgh 2000

LRT becomes Lothian Buses 2000

LB becomes a City Sightseeing franchisee 2000

LB replace last Circle service 32 (Outer Circle) with 18 and 32 routes, 2000

First Edinburgh launch The Overground network in city 2000

Motorvator coach service Edinburgh to Glasgow started by Bruce Coaches and Long’s of Salsburgh 2000

St. Andrew Square bus station closed for redevelopment 2000

Ferrytoll P+R opened in Fife 2000

Cramond Ferry closed at time of foot and mouth restrictions 2000

National Rail website launched 2000

ConCERT consortium pull out of the CEC guided busway project 2001

Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre opened 2001

Forth Road Bridge designated Category A listed structure 2001

Forth Estuary Transport Authority replaces FRBJB 2001

Union Canal reopened through Wester Hailes 2001

Integrated multi-modal ticket launched by SESTRAN Traveltickets 2001

Ryanair launch first scheduled service from EDI (to Dublin) 2001

Brunstane and Newcraighall stations opened 2002

Transport Initiatives Edinburgh formed 2002

Rosyth/Zeebrugge ferry service started by Superfast Ferries 2002

LB acquire Mac Tours and Edinburgh ops of Guide Friday 2002

Lothian revamps night bus network 2002

1.6km of ECML realigned near Prestonpans owing to subsidence 2002

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh relocates to Little France 2003

Edinburgh Bus Station opened 2003

First Edinburgh close Westfield Depot 2003

Stagecoach start Yellow Taxibus service Dunfermline to Edinburgh 2003

Megabus started by Stagecoach 2003

Second Leith Street footbridge (the “bendy bridge”) erected 2003

Concorde’s last visit to EDI (G-BOAE) 2003

Edinburgh Park station opened 2003

First Group takeover ScotRail franchise 2004

Edinburgh Bus Tours introduce Majestic Tour 2004

West Edinburgh 1.5k guided busway opens 2004

‘Queen Mary 2’ makes first visit to Firth of Forth 2004

Continental start first daily transatlantic scheduled flight to New York/Newark 2004

Stagecoach buy the Motorvator Edinburgh Glasgow coach service 2004

Stagecoach gain 35% stake in Scottish Citylink and become managing partner 2005

Hermiston P+R opened 2005

NATS build new 57 metre high control tower at EDI 2005

Edinburgh congestion charge referendum 2005

Central Edinburgh Traffic Management Scheme 2005

SEStran becomes a statutory Regional Transport Partnership 2005

Transport Scotland (agency of Scottish Executive) begins operation 2006

Ingliston P+R opened 2006

Stagecoach launch Airdirect (later Jet 747) bus Inverkeithing to Edinburgh Airport in 2006

Forth Boat Tours founded 2006

Megabus start an Edinburgh to London service 2006

Former SMT depot/Head Office at New Street demolished 2006

Stagecoach run two week hovercraft trial between Portobello and KIrkcaldy 2007

Edinburgh Airport Rail Link cancelled by Scottish Govt 2007

First TransPennine Express replace Virgin CrossCountry on Manchester services 2007

Edinburgh Bus Tours start Bus and Boat Tour 2007

Lothian start taxibus service to/from Edinburgh Airport 2007

M9 spur (later M90) opened from Kirkliston to Queensferry 2007

Stagecoach East Scotland launch Express CityConnect brand for coach network 2007

National Express East Coast takes over InterCity East Coast franchise 2007

Tolls removed from Forth Road Bridge 2008

First Edinburgh renamed First Scotland East 2008

P&R sites opened at Sheriffhall and Straiton 2008

Wallyford P&R opened 2008

The Cunard liner QE2 makes last visit to Firth of Forth 2008

Norfolkline restart Rosyth/Zeebrugge ferry service 2009

Tramway construction begins on Princes Street 2009

North Edinburgh Path Network connected to Stockbridge/New Town with reopening of Rodney Street tunnel 2009

The state owned East Coast train operating company replaced National Express East Coast 2009

Removal of last step entrance bus from Lothian fleet 2009

Airdrie/Bathgate railway reopened/ electrified 2010

ScotRail reintroduce local Edinburgh-Dunbar service supplementing Dunbar calls by long distance operators 2010

First trams delivered to their new home at Gogar Depot 2011

Waverley Steps rebuilt with canopy and escalators added 2012

British Airways takeover bmi British Midland 2012

Global Investment Partners buy Edinburgh Airport 2012

M90 intelligent transport system inc bus lane 2012

Citylinkair coach service Glasgow to Edinburgh Airport launched 2013

Haymarket Station modernised 2013

Virgin Little Red launch LHR/Edinburgh service 2013

Luxury Megabus Gold sleeper coach services introduced between London and Edinburgh/Aberdeen 2013

Edinburgh Trams Ltd and Transport for Edinburgh Ltd formed 2013

Modern tramway opened Airport to York Place 2014

First withdraw from South Queensferry being replaced by Stagecoach 2014

Taxis and other motor vehicles banned from Edinburgh Waverley 2014

Virgin Trains East Coast replaces state owned East Coast on the ECML 2015

Abellio takeover ScotRail franchise 2015

Amey take over management of Forth Road Bri for Transport Scotland 2015

Bruce’s Coaches launch M8 CityXpress to/from Glasgow 2015

Serco now operating the new Caledonian Sleeper franchise 2015

Borders Railway to Tweedbank opened 2015

Four new stations in Midlothian on reopened Borders Railway at Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange and Gorebridge 2015

UNESCO inscribes Forth Bridge on World Heritage Sites list 2015

Emergency closure of Forth Road Bridge, December 2015

City of Edinburgh Council starts rollout of 20mph speed limits on 80% of city streets. From 2016.

Edinburgh Gateway rail/tram interchange opened 2016

Lothian introduces new fleet for Edinburgh Bus Tours 2016

EastCoastbuses launched by Lothian 2016

Lothian launch Skylink service Leith to Edinburgh Airport 2017

Queensferry Crossing opened 2017

Forth Road Bridge becomes the public transport corridor 2017

Edinburgh to Glasgow train services via Falkirk High electrified 2017

Borders Buses launched 2017

First overall adverts (CRSmith) on Edinburgh Trams 2017

Lothiancountry brand starts with route 43 to Queensferry 2017

44 week closure of Leith Street in connection with St. James redevelopment, from September 2017

ScotRail open Millerhill EMU depot 2018

Lothian launch Cruiselink X99 to/from Queensferry Hawes Pier 2018

DfT Operator of Last Resort (using LNER brand) replaces VTEC on ECML 2018

Transport for Edinburgh cycle hire scheme in association with Serco launched 2018

North Bridge refurbishment works 2018-2026

Lothiancountry start renewed expansion into West Lothian 2018

First start Bright Bus Tours 2019

Lothian introduce 100 seater ADL Enviro 400XLB tri - axle double deckers 2019

Lothian launch capped contactless payment system 2019

Edinburgh to Glasgow train services via Shotts electrified 2019

Lothian open TravelHub inc cafe at Shandwick Place 2019

LNER introduce “Azuma” service to Edinburgh 2019

Avanti West Coast take over InterCity West Coast franchise 2019

Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. Only critical services provided 2020

Waverley Bridge largely pedestrianised 2020

Stagecoach introduce new livery schemes 2020

Ember Core start electric coach service to Dundee 2020

Plaxton Panorama double deck coaches introduced on Citylink 900 Edinburgh to Glasgow service 2020

Flixbus start overnight coach service to London 2021

First Group launch low cost rail subsidiary, Lumo, operating between Edinburgh and London King’s Cross 2021

York Place tramstop closed 2022

ScotRail nationalised 2022

McGill’s Buses take over First Scotland East and West Lothian services rebranded Eastern Scottish, 2022

Open top bus tours move to new base at Waterloo Place 2023

New east corridor at Waverley 2023

Flixbus start Edinburgh to Aberdeen service 2023

CAVForth autonomous bus service (operated by Stagecoach) launched between Ferrytoll P+R and Edinburgh Park station 2023

TransPennine Express nationalised 2023

Dumfries to Edinburgh bus service passes to Houston, Lockerbie 2023

The former Granton Gasworks station restored 2023

Trams extended from city centre to Leith and Newhaven 2023

Caledonian Sleeper nationalised 2023.

Edinburgh Tram Inquiry report published 2023

Low Emission Zone (LEZ) established in central Edinburgh 2023

McGill’s Scotland East pull out of West Lothian 2023

New station opened at East Linton 2023

McGill’s launch Bright Bus Airport Express 2024

Lothian Buses purchase Dunbar based Eve Coaches 2024

Regal Tour replaces Majestic Tour 2024

Flixbus launch Edinburgh- Glasgow service 2024

VINCI Airports acquire 50.01% of Edinburgh Airport, GIP retain remaining shareholding 2024

Bright Bus launch Bus and Boat Tour 2024

Airport buses move to Waverley Bridge 2024

Airport handles 15m passengers in year for first time 2024

Transport for Edinburgh reduced to shareholding shell company 2024

Roseburn to Union Canal footpath/cycleway opened 2024

Lothian drop Skylink brand 2025

McGill’s Bright Bus Tours adopt BigBus franchise 2025

Travel Centre relocates at Waverley 2025

ScotRail abolish peak fares 2025

Tram-Trains proposed for South Sub railway 2025

Transport Scotland confirm discontinuous electrification going ahead for Fife and Borders routes 2025

City council launches new bike share scheme with Voi 2025

Straiton P+R closed

Transport for Edinburgh Ltd changes name to Edinburgh Transport Holdings Ltd 2025

Over 136 million pax use Lothian Buses/Edinburgh Trams 2025

Megabus cease cross-Border operations 2025

16.98m pax use Edinburgh Airport in 2025

Citylink 900 Edinburgh-Glasgow peak frequency now up to every 12 minutes 2026

Ember start Livingston to Edinburgh Airport service 2026

Fire on Princes St necessitates bus diversions and restricted tram service 2026

North Bridge fully reopens after eight year restoration 2026

www.pinterest.co.uk/johnseven47/works-of-unquestionable-g...

Vitamins offer a variety of health advantages. Vitamins can aid in addressing your deficiencies in vitamins. They boost your digestion system, immune system and also cell growth. It improves your energy levels and improves your focus.

 

Get the vitamin deficiencies in your diet

 

A lot of people suffer from nutritional deficiencies due to poor diet. Multivitamins can be taken by people who are deficient in minerals or vitamins. Multivitamins are beneficial for children, pregnant women or anyone taking treatment to meet vitamin requirements. Some people are very picky about foods, so they receive benefits from vitamins.

 

Boost your energy level

 

Many liquid vitamins and chewings are available in the marketplace to immediately increase the energy level of your body. Vitamins that aren't soluble in water don't stay within your body for long. Your body needs fresh vitamins to stay active.

 

Supplements that include Vitamin B6, B12, and folic acids can boost your energy level through direct diluting of blood vessels. Vitamin B and Vitamin C dissolve easily in water and are later absorbed into bloodstreams to ease symptoms. The excess vitamins are extracted through urine.

 

Concentrate more

 

Vitamin B can be a problem if you have difficulty focusing and easily distracted. Vitamin B3, Vitamin B9 and Vitamin B12 will assist you in focusing and staying focused better. Vitamin B3 and Vitamin B9 increase your cognitive capacity as well as your learning capacity and productivity. It also helps you focus and concentrate better. dailylifesupplements.com/

ARRIVA Buses Wales VDL Commander 2504 - CX54 EPJ sets off from Rhyl on a Sunday journey on route 51 to Denbigh.

  

Spider-Girl (1998-2006) # 90

After being morphed into a series of odd creatures, Spider-Girl goes out to stop a crime spree but finds herself going against Misery.

 

What If? (1977-1984) # 1

What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?

 

Venom: Space Knight (2015-2016) # 1

In space, no one can hear you scream...with excitement! Flash Thompson is a lot of things. Soldier. Veteran. Double amputee. Host to a powerful alien symbiote. Now, apart from the Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash has also been tasked with being an intergalactic ambassador of Earth and an Agent of the Cosmos. What does that mean? It means Flash Thompson will be what he's always wanted to be: A Big. Damn. Hero. It's high adventure in deep space as Venom swashbuckles his way across the universe!

 

True Believers: Phoenix Presents Jean Grey Vs. Sabretooth (2017) # 1

Reprinting X-MEN (1991) # 28

 

True Believers: Phoenix Returns (2017) # 1

Reprinting Fantastic Four (1961) # 286

 

True Believers: Wolverine vs. Venom (2018) # 1

Reprinting Venom: Tooth and Claw # 1

 

There’s also homemade bacon-infused butter, lobster butter, truffle aioli, and cocktail sauce can be added for $4 supplement each.

 

Lbs

100 Yonge St.

Toronto, ON

(647) 351-4747

lbstoronto.com

Twitter: @LbsToronto

 

Owners: Jonathan Gonsenhauser and Will Tomlinson

 

Introducing for TorontoLife: torontolife.com/food/restaurants/lbs-pounds-lobster-burge...

Vintage sign sketching . More here:

sketchaway.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/vintage-signage-and-t...

5.75x5.75" handmade collage.

The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an aerial refueling tanker aircraft - the military version of the three-engined DC-10 airliner operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The KC-10 was developed from the Advanced Tanker Cargo Aircraft Program. It incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker following experiences in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The KC-10 was the second McDonnell Douglas transport aircraft to be selected by the Air Force following the C-9. A total of 60 KC-10s were produced for the USAF. The Royal Netherlands Air Force operates two similar tankers designated KDC-10 that were converted from DC-10s.

 

The KC-10 plays a key role in the mobilization of US military assets, taking part in overseas operations far from home. These aircraft performed airlift and aerial refueling during the 1986 bombing of Libya (Operation Eldorado Canyon), the 1990–91 Gulf War with Iraq (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm), the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force), War in Afghanistan (Operations Enduring Freedom), and Iraq War (Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn). The KC-10 is expected to serve until 2043.

Gizza Supplement

 

Model and Photographer: Me

Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation in the body,and have other health benefits. Nonetheless, fish oil supplement studies have failed to support claims of preventing heart attacks or strokes.

Many times I am able to use the closest focusing distance of my lenses to take close-ups. However, when I need high quality close-up and macro images, I use the following equipment:

 

A. Nikon 28mm f/3.5 lens reverse mounted on Nikon PB-4 Bellows

B. Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro lens

C. Nikon 55mm f/3.5 macro lens

D. Nikon 105mm f/4 short mount lens

E. Supplemental close-up lens (+10)

F. Supplemental close-up lens (+5)

G. Supplemental close-up lens (+3)

H. Supplemental close-up lens (+2)

I. Supplemental close-up lens (+1)

J. Extension tube for 55mm macro lens

K. Set of Nikon extension rings (5.8mm camera mount plus 5, 10, and 20mm rings)

L. Extension tube for 105mm macro lens

M. Set of extension tubes (14mm camera mount plus 9, 16, and 30mm tubes)

N. Nikon PB-4 bellows

   

· Reversal Ring—an adapter that fits between the camera body and the lens. It allows the lens to be used in a backwards or reversed position. In other words, in the reversed position, the rear of the lens is facing the subject and the front of the lens is facing the camera. A reversed lens usually has a different closest-focusing distance when compared to the lens used in its normal position. For example, a reversed 28mm lens may be capable of taking photos with a reproduction ratio of 8:1 compared to a reproduction ratio of 1:12 when used in its normal position. A reversed lens can be used alone or in combination with bellows and/or extension tubes. Reversed normal and wide-angle lenses produce better close-up and macro photos than reversed telephoto lenses.

 

Pro:

a. Great for close-up photography.

b. Great for macrophotography.

c. Low cost.

 

Con:

a. A reversed lens works only within a limited range of reproduction ratios.

b. Possible loss of camera auto-focus and/or auto-exposure features.

   

· Macro Lens—designed especially for close-up work. When compared to a regular lens of the same focal length, a macro lens’ focusing mechanism extends the lens farther from the camera body. The optics of the macro lens are designed for maximum resolution at close-focusing distances. For example, the optics of a typical 50mm normal lens is designed to deliver the sharpest images when the subject is between 10 feet and infinity. The optics of a 50mm normal macro lens, on the other hand, is designed to deliver the sharpest images when the subject is between 10 feet and 4 inches.

 

Pro:

a. Great for close-up photography.

b. Most can focus from infinity to a reproduction ratio of 1:1.

c. Great for macrophotography.

d. Ability to produce high-quality close-up images.

 

Con:

a. High cost.

b. Some loss of image quality when focused on distant objects.

c. Exposure is affected by a lens extension factor.

   

· Supplemental Close-Up Lenses—these lenses attach to the front of a lens and optically reduce the closest focusing distance. They are available in strengths from +.025 to +10. The higher number indicates a stronger lens. A set of supplemental lenses typically consists of a +1, +2, and +4 lens. These three lenses may be used individually or in combination with each other.

 

Pro:

a. Low cost.

b. Good for close-up photography.

c. Exposure is not affected by a lens extension factor.

d. There is no loss of camera auto-focus or auto-exposure features.

e. Able to use on cameras that do not have interchangeable lenses.

 

Con:

a. Not good for macrophotography.

b. Some loss of image quality.

c. Must use a small aperture in order to compensate for the loss of image quality.

d. The stronger the supplemental lens, the greater the loss of image quality. For example, the quality of an image formed with a +10 lens is of poorer quality compared to the image formed with a +3 lens.

e. Stacking supplemental lenses (such as combining the +1, +2, and +4 lenses) results in a greater loss of image quality.

f. Difficult to select the correct lens strength for the desired image magnification.

g. Difficult to remove tightly attached close-up lens from cameras lens.

   

· Extension Tubes—these tubes are available in varying lengths. They are inserted between the camera body and the lens to physically increase the distance between the optical center of the lens and the surface of the film or digital image sensor. These tubes may be used individually or in combination with each other. These tubes are also called extension rings.

 

Pro:

a. Great for close-up photography.

b. Great for macrophotography.

c. Relatively inexpensive when compared to a bellows unit or a macro lens.

 

Con:

a. Works only on cameras with interchangeable lenses.

b. Each tube can only extend the distance between the optical center of the lens and the surface of the film or the surface of the digital camera’s image sensor by a fixed length.

c. Difficult to select the correct tube length for the desired image magnification.

d. Difficult to quickly change tubes when you need to alter the image magnification.

e. Difficult to remove tightly attached tubes

f. Possible loss of camera auto-focus and/or auto-exposure features.

g. Exposure is affected by a lens extension factor.

   

· Bellows—these devices insert between the camera body and the lens. They physically increase the distance of the optical center of the lens from the surface of the film or the surface of the digital image sensor. Their main advantage over extension tubes is that they are adjustable in length.

 

Pro:

a. Great for close-up photography.

b. Great for macrophotography.

c. Provides a wide range of reproduction ratios.

 

Con:

a. Works only on cameras with interchangeable lenses.

b. Bulky and difficult to use in field work.

c. Bellows material is susceptible to damage.

d. Possible loss of camera auto-focus and/or auto-exposure features.

e. Exposure is affected by lens extension factor

  

Optare Solo 47281 deputising on the Hospital Direct 59 on Guild Street.

Pan Am supplemented their all-Boeing fleet in the early 1980s with a small fleet of long-range short-bodied TriStar 500s. They were used regularly into Gatwick and then Heathrow for a few years. Pan Am was one of very few airlines to operate both the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and McDonnell-Douglas DC-10.

 

One of the fleet, N513PA is seen here arriving on runway 28L at London Heathrow with flight PA105.

 

N513PA c/n 1208 L-1011-500 - delivered new to Pan Am in May 1981, the aircraft joined the United Airlines fleet five years later when Pan Am ceased flying. Just two years later, the aircraft was sold to Delta Airlines as N761DA. After flying with Delta for 16 years, the aircraft was eventually withdrawn in 2004 and broken up some years later.

 

Apparently, the last commercial TriStar flight was operated on January 7, 2019. More info on the Aircraft design here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_L-1011_TriStar

 

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith TTL camera and 300mm lens.

 

You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/

Ich habe jetzt auch die Kette fertiggestellt.

I have now completed the chain.

Das Schloss Bellevue ist ein Baudenkmal am Spreeweg 1 im Berliner Ortsteil Tiergarten. Es liegt am Nordrand des Großen Tiergartens zwischen der Spree und der Siegessäule. Die klassizistische Dreiflügelanlage wurde 1785–1786 von Michael Philipp Boumann als Sommerresidenz für den preußischen Prinzen August Ferdinand erbaut und im Laufe der Geschichte mehrmals umgebaut. Nach schwerer Beschädigung im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde das Schloss 1954–1959 originalgetreu wiederaufgebaut. Seit 1994 dient es als erster Amtssitz des deutschen Bundespräsidenten.

 

Das Schloss wurde im Auftrag des jüngsten Bruders von Friedrich II., Ferdinand von Preußen, nach Plänen von Michael Philipp Boumann von 1785 bis 1786 errichtet. Zu den zahlreichen früheren Grundstücksbesitzern hatte Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff gehört, der sich 1746 etwa südlich des heutigen Schlosses ein Sommerwohnhaus errichtet hatte. Boumann musste ein schon vorhandenes Gebäude, eine zum Wohnhaus umgebaute Lederfabrik am Spreeufer, in den Neubau als rechten Flügel einbeziehen.

 

Das Schloss entstand als eine Dreiflügelanlage, bestehend aus dem langgestreckten, zweieinhalbgeschossigen Hauptbau und den beiden zweigeschossigen Seitenflügeln (links Damenflügel, rechts Spreeflügel) im frühklassizistischen Stil. Die insgesamt 19 Fensterachsen des mittleren Flügels gliedert ein dreiachsiger Mittelrisalit mit einem figurenbekrönten Dreiecksgiebel, der auf vier Pilastern im korinthischen Stil ruht.

 

Seinen Namen Bellevue verdankte das Schloss dem Blick aus dem Corps de Logis, dem Wohntrakt, nach Westen, der weit über den Park und die mäandernde Spree bis zur Kuppel von Schloss Charlottenburg ging. Seit den 1880er Jahren trifft er dort nach 400 Metern auf den Viadukt der Berliner Stadtbahn.

 

Das Innere des Schlosses wurde wiederholt umgestaltet. Bereits drei Jahre nach seiner Fertigstellung errichtete Carl Gotthard Langhans einen seiner berühmten ovalen Säle. Heute ist dieser der einzige weitgehend im Original erhaltene Raum des Schlosses. Im Jahr 1938 erfolgte eine Umgestaltung zum Gästehaus der Reichsregierung durch Paul Otto August Baumgarten. Dabei wurden die beiden heute als gewölbte Fenster der Seitenrisalite erkennbaren Eingänge zugemauert und der jetzige Mitteleingang samt Freitreppe geschaffen. An den linken Seitenflügel wurde ein L-förmiger Erweiterungsbau angefügt, der sogenannte Ministerflügel. Knobelsdorffs Meierei musste modernen Wirtschaftsgebäuden weichen. Den im Park errichteten Ersatzbau bewohnte bis zur Kriegszerstörung der Schauspieler, Regisseur und Generalintendant des Preußischen Staatstheaters Gustaf Gründgens.

 

Bereits im April 1941 von Brandbomben getroffen und ausgebrannt, wurde das Schloss nach Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs zunächst notdürftig gesichert und von 1954 bis 1959 durch den Architekten Carl-Heinz Schwennicke als Berliner Amtssitz des Bundespräsidenten mit Ausnahme des Ministerflügels wieder aufgebaut. Aus westdeutscher Sicht war ein Amtssitz trotz des Viermächte-Status der Stadt gemäß Artikel 23 des Grundgesetzes möglich. Aus der Entstehungszeit blieb dabei lediglich der 1791 von dem Architekten Carl Gotthard Langhans entworfene Ballsaal im Obergeschoss des Schlosses erhalten. Die Renovierung im Stil der 1950er Jahre wurde wegen ihrer ahistorischen Zufügungen und Umbauten als „Mischung aus Filmstar-Sanatorium und Eisdiele“ verspottet und ist ihrerseits großenteils zahlreichen weiteren Renovierungen gewichen.

 

So wurde das Schloss 1986/1987 renoviert und nach Plänen aus der Zeit vor der Zerstörung wiederhergestellt. Ab Mitte der 1990er Jahre häuften sich die technischen Pannen wie ausfallender Strom oder Wasser, ein steckenbleibender Aufzug oder schlechte Klimatisierung im Sommer, sodass Bundespräsident Roman Herzog das Schloss als „Bruchbude“ bezeichnete. Deswegen wurde in den Jahren 2004/2005 eine Sanierung und grundlegende Erneuerung der technischen Ausstattung durchgeführt. Die Repräsentationsräume zeigen sich auch nach dieser jüngsten Renovierung im Stil der 1980er Jahre, in denen eine behutsame Annäherung an alte Dekorationsformen mit teilweise neuen Materialien versucht wurde. Aus Denkmalschutzgründen werden zwei Salons mit dem dunkelgetäfelten Interieur der 1950er Jahre erhalten.

 

Die früheren Wohnräume im Schloss Bellevue wurden inzwischen zu einem Bürotrakt für den Lebenspartner des Präsidenten umgebaut, sodass die Staatsoberhäupter seither nicht mehr im Schloss wohnen können, sondern eine Dienstvilla in Berlin-Dahlem nutzen.

 

Quelle: Wikipedia

___________________________________________________

Bellevue Palace, located in Berlin's Tiergarten district, has been the official residence of the President of Germany since 1994. It is situated on the banks of the Spree river, near the Berlin Victory Column, along the northern edge of the Großer Tiergarten park. Its name – the French for "beautiful view" – derives from its scenic prospect over the Spree's course.

 

Designed by architect Michael Philipp Boumann, Schloss Bellevue was erected in 1786 as a summer residence for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Herrenmeister ("Master of the Knights") of the Johanniterorden ("Order of Saint John") and younger brother of King Frederick II of Prussia, on the site of a manor house which Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff had built in 1743. Bellevue was the first Neoclassical building in Germany, characterized by its Corinthian pilasters, with wings on either side ("Ladies' wing" and "[River] Spree wing"). The upper floor holds a ballroom designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans. The Palace is surrounded by a park of about 20 hectares.

 

In 1843, King Frederick William IV of Prussia acquired Bellevue, which, in 1865, became the residence of his niece Princess Alexandrine after her marriage to Duke William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It served the royal and imperial princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty until the German Revolution of 1918–19.

 

A property of the Free State of Prussia from 1928, the Palace was used as a museum of ethnography during the 1930s before being renovated as a guest house for the Nazi government in 1938. It was there that Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov stayed with his retinue during his visit to Berlin in November 1940. During World War II, the Palace was severely damaged by strategic bombing and in the 1945 Battle of Berlin, before being substantially refurbished in the 1950s. Inaugurated by President Theodor Heuss in 1959, it served as the secondary residence of the West German president, a pied à terre in West Berlin to supplement his primary residence at the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn. It was refurbished again in 1986–87, and, in 1994, after German reunification, President Richard von Weizsäcker made it his primary residence. A modern annex to the southern wing was built in 1998 to house the offices of the affiliated Bundespräsidialamt ("Office of the Federal President"), a federal agency.

 

Roman Herzog, president from 1994 to 1999, remains the only officeholder who lived at Bellevue while incumbent. The Palace was reconstructed again in 2004 and 2005 to remedy defects in earlier renovations; during this period, President Horst Köhler used nearby Charlottenburg Palace for representative purposes. Bellevue became the president's primary official seat again in January 2006, but since then has not included living quarters. Instead, the Federal President now lives in a government-owned villa in Dahlem, a suburban district of southwestern Berlin.

 

Source: Wikipedia

The Georgetown Loop's Silver Plume Yard is home to a handful of relatively rare, narrow gauge diesel locomotives, which are used for yard switching as well as supplemental power for tourist trains. Sometimes, you'll see them used as helpers in conjunction with a steam locomotive and in some circumstances, they become the primary power. Two of these locomotives are GE Model U6, 52-Ton, End-Cab Road Switchers. Number 130, seen here, was built in 1956 and operated on U.S. Gypsum's narrow gauge line in Plaster City, CA before being acquired by Lindsey Ashby, the former operator of the Georgetown Loop. She ran on the loop from 1992 to 2004, and then spent some time at the Colorado Railroad Museum, when the Loop changed operators. As can be seen here, she and her sister (#140) were back at the Loop in 2016, and on this particular day, the 130 was being used as a helper with Steam Locomotive #111. During my next visit to the Loop in August of 2017, I saw this particular locomotive stripped of its cowlings and prime mover, apparently in the process of being re-engined. Hopefully, she'll be back soon. I'm not a big diesel fan, but the 130 and 140 are among the more visually appealing, narrow gauge diesels that I've seen.

The Flickr Lounge-Finding Circles

 

I needed a new pill box so got a round one with nice big compartments.

ARRIVA Buses Wales VDL Commander 2509 - CX05 AAE sets off from Rhyl on a Sunday journey on route 51 to Denbigh.

 

An odd little advertising supplement detached, as intended, from the January 1971 issue of The Reader's Digest and describing the then wide remit of British Rail - trains, catering and hotles, Sealink ferries as well as freight services and development. It was part of the intention to market BR, especially Inter-City express services, as being the modern face of public transport.

Photographic supplement to the medical superintendent's annual report

1935

Countess of Chester Hospital records

 

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies ZHW/516

Not quite enough home grown strawberries for breakfast (small ones in center) so supplementing with store bought / factory farmed giants.

Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.

 

Today we are in the kitchen of Lettice’s flat: Edith, her maid’s, preserve, where Frank Leadbetter, the young grocery delivery boy and sometimes window dresser of Mr. Willison’s Grocery in Binney Street, Mayfair, has just finished unpacking Edith’s latest grocery order for the household. Edith has been stepping out with Frank for a while now, and now that they are committed to one another, they hope to make it official soon by announcing their engagement to Edith’s parents and Frank’s grandmother, Mrs. McTavish.

 

“Do you have time to stop for tea, Frank?” Edith asks cheerfully as she places a can of tinned peaches onto a lower shelf of the kitchen dresser.

 

“If we make it a quick one, yes.” Frank agrees tentatively. “I still have to make a delivery to Lady Hackney’s cook all the way up along Upper Brook Street*, and finally a drop off some groceries to Hilda at the Channon’s in Hill Street.”

 

“Well luckily the pot’s not long been filled,” Edith replies, patting the top of the white china teapot sitting on the table, covered with a tea cosy knitted in yellow, blue, purple and cream by her mother, Ada. “Sit of a spell.” She smiles indicating to a chair drawn up to the table. “We need to give you a bit of strength for you to cycle all the way down Upper Brook Street.”

 

“Thanks Edith,” Frank sighs gratefully as he slips into the worn seat of the Windsor chair at the top of Edith’s deal pine kitchen table. “I wish Lady Hackney’s cook was as hospitable as you.”

 

“A bit of tartar**, is she?” Edith asks as she withdraws a Delftware cup and saucer from the kitchen dresser and puts it on the table next to hers.

 

“Is she ever! She barks orders and looks down her nose at me.” Frank opines. “As if she’s any better than me.”

 

“Of course she isn’t, Frank.” Edith assures her beau soothingly as she takes a seat in her usual Windsor chair adjunct to Frank’s. “She’s just like me.” She pauses. “Shall I be mother then***?”

 

“Yes please Edith!” Frank replies eagerly as he picks up the Delftware jug and sloshes some milk into his teacup**** before adding a dash to Edith’s as well. Edith picks up the pot and pours tea for Frank into his cup before then filling her own. “And you’re nothing like Lady Hackney’s cook.”

 

“No, Frank!” Edith giggles, returning the pot to the table. “I only meant that she’s a servant, just like me, or even you for that matter. It doesn’t matter who she works for. She could even work for Their Majesties, and she’d still be a servant.”

 

“Oh!” Frank adds two spoonfuls of sugar to his tea and stirs it before handing the sugar bowl and teaspoon to his sweetheart who accepts them from him.

 

Frank looks at the surface of the table. Across it are spread several colourful, glossy film magazines including Picturegoer***** and Photoplay****** alongside a copy of the Daily Mail.

 

“I see you’re keeping busy.” Frank notes with an air of sarcasm as he picks up a copy of Photo Play Magazine******* featuring a rather striking coloured portrait of motion picture star Norma Shearer******** painted by Earl Christy*********. In the portrait she gazes up over her shoulder with kohl rimmed eyes, an image that is both striking and provocative at the same time to his mind.

 

“Oh Frank!” Edith hisses. “Can’t a poor hard-working girl have a tea break?”

 

“Only if her tea break is with her best beau.” Frank smirks cheekily.

 

“I’ll have you know, Frank Leadbetter, that I’d not long finished ironing Miss Lettice’s newspaper********** before you arrived to deliver my grocery order.”

 

Frank murmurs a muffled agreement with his sweetheart, eyeing her with a knowing look.

 

“And I was just taking a break before I settled down to decide what took Miss Lettice for diner,” Edith defends as she pats two small cookbooks perched on the edge of the table to her left. “Since she is dining in tonight.”

 

Frank nods but continues to eye her knowingly.

 

“Oh, you are awful, Frank!” Edith sighs in exasperation.

 

“I don’t mind what you do in your spare time.” Frank says, smiling a little more broadly as he speaks. “I just hope Miss Lettice doesn’t catch you enjoying these magazines on her time.”

 

“No fear.” Edith chuckles. “I think after five years, I have finally cured her of barging into my kitchen unannounced like she was used to doing when I first came here. All the same though,” she adds a little self-righteously. “I think I do have the right to stop for a tea break during the morning, and I don’t think Miss Lettice would bemoan me for that. I have been up since six after all.”

 

“I’m sure she wouldn’t. You don’t have to prove anything to me.” Frank agrees, chuckling to himself as he takes a sip of his tea.

 

“What?” Edith asks, glaring at Frank. “What’s so funny?”

 

“You are Edith.” Frank admits. “I do love it when I can rile you up just a little. You are even prettier when you are being self-defensive.”

 

Edith sits back in her seat, looking appalled. “I have a right mind to throw this tea all over you, Frank Leadbetter!” she mutters.

 

“What, and ruin all your precious moving picture magazines in the process?” Frank exclaims. “I don’t think so!”

 

Edith looks anxiously at her magazines on the table. “Well, perhaps I’ll move them first. Then I’ll fling this tea on you.”

 

“Well, I like that!” Frank retorts with a snort and a good-natured guffaw. “My best girl prefers her magazines over me!”

 

“That will teach you for riling me up, Frank Leadbetter!” Edith says with a smirk, unable to hold the pretence of appearing to be angry with her sweetheart any longer.

 

The pair settle back comfortably in their seats, laughing happily together as they sip their tea and look at one another with love and affection.

 

“Frank,” Edith ask tentatively. “Do you think I should have my hair bobbed?” She pats the side of her wavy blonde hair, which is fastened in a chignon at the back of her neck.

 

“What?” Frank gasps, choking on his mouthful of tea as he does. Coughing, he quickly covers his mouth with his hand to make sure he doesn’t splutter on Edith’s magazines.

 

“Let me get you some water, Frank!” Edith exclaims, as she goes to get up from her seat.

 

“No. No!” Frank manages to answer her, pushing his right arm out across Edith’s waist to bar her from getting up. “I’ll… be fine.” After a few more coughs he manages to ask hoarsely, “Why on earth do you want to get your hair bobbed, Edith?” He reaches out his right hand again but this time he places it with a gentle and loving touch upon her tresses draped partially across her ear. “It’s so soft and lovely as it is.”

 

“But don’t you think I’d look glamorous with bobbed hair, Frank?” Edith asks. She leans forward and pulls her latest copy of Photoplay from beneath the Picture Play magazine with Norma Shearer on the cover. Edith holds up the magazine next to her face. On the cover of Photoplay is a portrait of newcomer silent picture actress Louise Brooks*********** posing dramatically in a cheongsam************ holding a fan up to her cheek. “Like her! Look at how stylish it looks! So smart.”

 

“I like your hair as it is, Edith. It’s soft and beautiful, and frames your face so much more nicely than I think that sharp look would. It’s so severe, and you aren’t severe, Edith.”

 

“But all the girls are doing it now.” Edith mewls.

 

“But you aren’t just any girl, Edith.” Frank replies, now moving his hand to her left cheek, where he caresses her soft skin gently. “You’re my best girl, and I like you the way you are.”

 

“But it would be so much easier to manage.” Edith adds.

 

Frank looks at her with gentle, sparkling eyes. “We’ve had this conversation before. Please, don’t bob your hair.”

 

Edith sighs deeply and places the magazine down on the table again. “Alright Frank. I won’t.”

 

“That’s my best girl.” Frank purrs. “Thank you.”

 

The pair fall into companionable silence for a short while as they both finish their cups of tea.

 

Sighing with pleasure as he finishes his drink, Frank returns the cup to its saucer and stands. “Well, I’d better be getting along on my way. Heaven forbid, that I should be late in delivering Lady Hackney’s cook’s tin of Tate and Lyall’s************* golden syrup.”

 

“Is that all you are delivering to her?” Edith asks in shock.

 

“Just that.” Frank confirms.

 

“That’s just awful, Frank!” Edith replies hotly. “Surely she could have sent her kitchen maid or one of Lady Hackney’s tweenies, maids or footmen to get it for her! What a cheek!”

 

“Such is the plight of a lowly and humble grocer’s boy.” Frank opines with a sigh and a fall of his shoulders.

 

“There’[s nothing lowly about you, Frank!”

 

“Thank you, Edith.” Frank smiles back gratefully.

 

“Fancy you having to bicycle all the way along Upper Brook Street, just to deliver a single tin of golden syrup! That cook sounds as bad as Mrs. Clifford’s maid, Myra, downstairs: a toffee-nosed snob, and that’s a fact!”

 

“You’re beautiful when you’re fired up too, Edith Watsford.” Frank murmurs lovingly. “Still,” He smiles down at her. “Toffee-nosed snob or not, Lady Hackney’s cook will be fit to be tied if I’m too much longer, and then I’ll get what for from Mr. and Mrs. Willison if word gets back to them that I was late delivering to her. The Willisons are toffee-nosed snobs every bit as much as Myra or Lady Hackney’s cook, and they are proud of every one of the titles on their books, even if most of them are tardy in paying their accounts. I wouldn’t have a job if I lost them Lady Hackney’s business.”

 

“So much for your wonderful new world for the working man.” Edith grumbles as she stands herself, and starts to gather up her magazines, shuffling them into a stack.

 

“It is coming, Edith.” Frank assures her. “And things are already changing.”

 

“How?”

 

“Well, not so long ago, you would have been in a great deal of trouble if you’d stopped for a break like this.” He waves his hand across the tea things on the table. “But now it’s a right given you.”

 

“It’s not much, Frank.”

 

“But it is something,” Frank assures Edith. “And many small concessions add up to big changes. We just have to be patient for a bit longer.”

 

“Well,” Edith huffs with determination as she enfolds her arms around her magazines as she draws them up to her chest. “Luckily I’m a patient girl.” She looks poignantly at Frank.

 

“Not much longer now, Edith.” Frank replies softly. “Thinking of which,” he adds more brightly. “What are you doing on your Wednesday afternoon off?”

 

“I haven’t really made any firm plans yet, Frank. I thought I might invite Hilda to come with me to Mrs. Minkin’s haberdashery in Whitechapel. She needs more wool for her knitting, and I want the latest copy of Weldon’s**************. I want to make a new summer frock. Why do you ask? Don’t tell me you’ve got Wednesday afternoon off too?”

 

“As a matter-of-fact, I do.” Frank crows.

 

“Oh Frank!” Edith exclaims. “I haven’t said anything to Hilda yet. Shall we make plans to do something?”

 

“I’d like that.” Frank replies brightly with a beaming smile. “In fact, I’d like to make a suggestion!”

 

“What do you want to do, Frank?”

 

“Well, I can’t really tell you, because I want it to be a surprise.”

 

“A surprise?” Edith squeezes the magazines more tightly as she gasps. “Frank, I love surprises!”

 

“Do you think you could make it to Clapham Junction by one on Wednesday, Edith?”

 

“By one?” Edith ponders. “I don’t see why not. I could catch the train from Down Street*************** to Leicester Square, and then take the Southern**************** from Waterloo. Could you meet me at Clapham Junction Railway Station*****************?”

 

“I think I could manage that.” Frank replies with a winning smile. “Wear that lovely white blouse of yours with the Peter Pan collar****************** if you would.”

 

“Oh! Are we going on a picnic to Clapham Common*******************?” Edith asks.

 

“If I told you,” Frank replies with an exasperated sigh. “It wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

 

“I suppose not.” Edith agrees begrudgingly. “Let’s hope the weather is good, just in case it is.”

 

*The western continuation of Brook Street, Mayfair, (to Park Lane) is called Upper Brook Street; its west end faces Brook Street Gate of Hyde Park. Both sections consisted of neo-classical terraced houses, mostly built to individual designs. Some of them were very ornate, finely stuccoed and tall-ceilinged, designed by well known architects for wealthy tenants, especially near Grosvenor Square, others exposed good quality brickwork or bore fewer expensive window openings and embellishments. Some of both types survive. Others have been replaced by buildings from later periods.

 

**A tartar is a bad-tempered or aggressively assertive person, typically a woman, and is based upon the hard crust of calcium salts and food particles on the teeth which is known as tartar.

 

***The meaning of the very British term “shall I be mother” is “shall I pour the tea?”

 

****In the class-conscious society of Britain in the 1920s, whether you added milk to your cup of tea first or the tea was a subtle way of defining what class you came from. Upper-class people, or those who wished to ape their social betters added milk after the tea, whereas middle-class or working class people comfortable in their own skins were known to add milk before the tea.

 

*****Picturegoer was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960.

 

******Photoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan magazines. In 1921, Photoplay established what is considered the first significant annual movie award. For most of its run, it was published by Macfadden Publications. The magazine ceased publication in 1980.

 

*******Picture Play, originally titled Picture-Play Weekly was an American weekly magazine focusing on the film industry. Its first edition was published on April 10, 1915. It eventually transitioned from a weekly to a monthly magazine, before ending its production run, when it continued as Your Charm, in March 1941.

 

********Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, and William Shakespeare, and was the first five-time Academy Award acting nominee, winning Best Actress for The Divorcee (1930).

 

*********F. Earl Christy was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1882. The "F" is believed to stand for "Frederic". At seventeen, he painted originals for the Boardwalk Atlantic City Picture company, with many of his early works published by the J. Hoover and Sons Calendar Company of Philadelphia. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Arts from 1905 to 1907. Christy produced dozens of magazine covers including; Dell Publishing Company for Modern Romances, Modern Screen and Radio Stars, Ainslee's magazine, American Magazine, Sunday Magazine of the New York Times, Collier's, Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, Liberty Magazine, McClure's Photoplay Magazine, and Puck Magazine. He also created illustrations for many calendar prints, ink blotters, postcards and Princess Pat Cosmetic's advertisements. Most of his images were of beautiful girls primarily playing sports such as basketball, golf and tennis. Earl Christy never married and lived most of his life with one or both of his sisters. He passed away on Long Island New York in 1961.

 

**********It was a common occurrence in large and medium-sized houses that employed staff for the butler or chief parlour maid to iron the newspapers. The task of butlers ironing newspapers is not as silly as it sounds. Butlers were not ironing out creases, but were using the hot iron to dry the ink so that the paper could be easily read without the reader's ending up with smudged fingers and black hands, a common problem with newspapers in the Victorian and Edwardian ages.

 

***********Mary Louise Brooks was an American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helped popularize during the prime of her career.

 

************A cheongsam is a straight, close-fitting silk dress with a high neck and slit skirt, worn traditionally by Chinese and Indonesian women. It was developed in the 1920s and evolved in shapes and design over years, and gained popularity in Western society as an outfit that represented the exoticism of the orient.

 

*************The Tate and Lyall sugar packet was acquired from Jonesy’s Miniatures in the United Kingdom. In 1859 Henry Tate went into partnership with John Wright, a sugar refiner based at Manesty Lane, Liverpool. Their partnership ended in 1869 and John’s two sons, Alfred and Edwin joined the business forming Henry Tate and Sons. A new refinery in Love Lane, Liverpool was opened in 1872. In 1921 Henry Tate and Sons and Abram Lyle and Sons merged, between them refining around fifty percent of the UK’s sugar. A tactical merger, this new company would then become a coherent force on the sugar market in anticipation of competition from foreign sugar returning to its pre-war strength. Tate and Lyle are perhaps best known for producing Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Lyle’s Golden Treacle.

 

**************Created by British industrial chemist and journalist Walter Weldon Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal was the first ‘home weeklies’ magazine which supplied dressmaking patterns. Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal was first published in 1875 and continued until 1954 when it ceased publication.

 

***************Down Street, is a disused station on the London Underground, located in Mayfair. The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened it in 1907. It was latterly served by the Piccadilly line and was situated between Dover Street (now named Green Park) and Hyde Park Corner stations. The station was little used; many trains passed through without stopping. Lack of patronage and proximity to other stations led to its closure in 1932. During the Second World War it was used as a bunker by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and the war cabinet. The station building survives and is close to Down Street's junction with Piccadilly.

 

****************The Southern Railway (SR), sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of several smaller railway companies, the largest of which were the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR). The construction of what was to become the Southern Railway began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London and South Western Railway.

 

*****************Clapham Junction is a major railway station near St John's Hill in south-west Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Despite its name, Clapham Junction is not in Clapham, a district one mile to the south-east. A major transport hub, Clapham Junction station is on both the South West Main Line and Brighton Main Line, as well as numerous other routes and branch lines which pass through or diverge from the main lines at this station. It serves as a southern terminus of both the Mildmay and Windrush lines of the London Overground.

 

******************A Peter Pan collar is a style of clothing collar, flat in design with rounded corners. It is named after the collar of Maude Adams's costume in her 1905 role as Peter Pan, although similar styles had been worn before this date. Peter Pan collars were particularly fashionable during the 1920s and 1930s.

 

*******************At over eighty-five hectares in size, Clapham Common is one of London’s largest, and oldest, public open spaces, situated between Clapham, Battersea and Balham. Clapham Common is mentioned as far back as 1086 in the famous Domesday Book, and was originally ‘common land’ for the Manors of Battersea and Clapham. Tenants of the Lords of the Manors, could graze their livestock, collect firewood or dig for clay and other minerals found on site. However, as a result of increasing threats from encroaching roads and housing developments, it was acquired in 1877 by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and designated a “Metropolitan Common”, which gives it protection from loss to development and preserves its open character.

 

This comfortable domestic kitchen scene is a little different to what you might think, for whilst it looks very authentic, it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures from my miniatures collection.

 

Fun things to look for in this tableaux include:

 

Edith’s deal kitchen table is covered with lots of interesting bits and pieces. The tea cosy, which fits snugly over a white porcelain teapot, has been hand knitted in fine lemon, blue and violet wool. It comes easily off and off and can be as easily put back on as a real tea cosy on a real teapot. It comes from a specialist miniatures stockist in the United Kingdom. The Deftware cups, saucers, sugar bowl and milk jug are part of a 1:12 size miniature porcelain dinner set which sits on the dresser that can be seen just to the right of shot. The vase of flowers are beautifully made by hand by the Doll House Emporium and inserted into a real, hand blown glass vase.

 

Edith’s two cookbooks are made by hand by an unknown American artisan and were acquired from an American miniature collector on E-Bay. The newspaper which features an image of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth and one day Queen Mother, is a copy of a real Daily Mail newspaper from 1925 and was produced to high standards in 1:12 by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire.

 

The Picture Play, Photoplay and Picturegoer magazines are 1:12 miniatures made by artisan Ken Blythe. I have a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my miniatures collection – books mostly. Most of the books I own that he has made may be opened to reveal authentic printed interiors. In some cases, you can even read the words, depending upon the size of the print! Sadly, so little of his real artistry is seen because the books that he specialised in making are usually closed, sitting on shelves or closed on desks and table surfaces. As well as making books, he also made other small paper based miniatures including magazines like the ones you see displayed here. They are not designed to be opened. What might amaze you in spite of this is the fact is that all Ken Blythe’s books and magazines are authentically replicated 1:12 scale miniatures of real volumes. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make them all miniature artisan pieces. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago, as well as through his estate via his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter.

 

Edith’s Windsor chairs are both hand-turned 1:12 artisan miniatures which came from America. Unfortunately, the artist did not carve their name under the seat of either chair, but they are definitely unmarked artisan pieces.

 

In the background you can see a very modern and up-to-date 1920s gas stove. It would have been expensive to instal at the time, and it would have been the cook’s or maid’s pleasure to cook on and in. It would have included a thermostat for perfect cooking and without the need of coal, it was much cleaner to feed, use and clean. It is not unlike those made by the Roper Stove Company in the 1920s. The Roper Stove Company previously named the Florence-Wehrle Company among other names, was founded in 1883. Located in Newark, Ohio, the company was once the largest stove producer in the world. Today, the Roper Stove Company is a brand of Whirlpool.

 

The tin bucket, mops and brooms in the corner of the kitchen all come from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering.

U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) and South Carolina Department of Education (SCDOE) responded to severe flooding in South Carolina, by using of the National School Lunch Program, at the Richland County Schools - District One - Central Kitchen Facility, Columbia, SC, to provide disaster congregate feeding, on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015.

In times of emergency, FNS coordinates with state and federal partners, as well as local volunteer organizations, such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, to provide USDA Foods to shelters and other mass feeding sites and, in limited cases, distribute food packages directly to households in need. USDA Foods are 100% domestically produced, processed and procured agricultural commodities that are made available to schools, tribes, and low-income individuals through FNS Nutrition Assistance Programs. Once retail food stores reopen, if survivors still need nutrition assistance and the area has received a ‘Presidential Disaster Declaration with Individual Assistance,’ State agencies may request to operate D-SNAP. People who may not normally qualify for nutrition assistance benefits may be eligible for D-SNAP if they had disaster-related expenses, such as loss of income, damage to property, relocation expenses, and, in some cases, loss of food due to power outages. Those already participating in the SNAP may be eligible for supplemental benefits under D-SNAP. For more information please visit this web site: www.fns.usda.gov/disaster.

Central Kitchen Facility is the only central kitchen in South Carolina. They provide meals to 32 schools. Operations start at 4-5AM. The meals are comprised of 10-11,000 lunches, 6,000 breakfasts, 3,100 snacks, 3,100 supplemental meals, district-wide catering and more. To accomplish this there are 38 employed here and a total of 150 across the entire operation of satellite kitchens and other facilities. 14 truck move food and commodities from here to where they are needed. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.

The key to good health - according to wifey! My health supplements.

  

From my archives

Severe flooding in South Carolina and a call for help has brought about a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) and several other partner organizations to setup a processing center in the North Charleston Coliseum, where Charleston County residents can apply for assistance in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. Prior to opening, rows of seats await applicants who will fillout a single form and then be interviewed to determine eligibility. If approved a SNAP card is issued and they are provided information about its use.

In times of emergency, FNS coordinates with state and federal partners, as well as local volunteer organizations, such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, to provide USDA Foods to shelters and other mass feeding sites and, in limited cases, distribute food packages directly to households in need. USDA Foods are 100% domestically produced, processed and procured agricultural commodities that are made available to schools, tribes, and low-income individuals through FNS Nutrition Assistance Programs. Once retail food stores reopen, if survivors still need nutrition assistance and the area has received a ‘Presidential Disaster Declaration with Individual Assistance,’ State agencies may request to operate D-SNAP. People who may not normally qualify for nutrition assistance benefits may be eligible for D-SNAP if they had disaster-related expenses, such as loss of income, damage to property, relocation expenses, and, in some cases, loss of food due to power outages. Those already participating in the SNAP may be eligible for supplemental benefits under D-SNAP. For more information please visit this web site: www.fns.usda.gov/disaster. USDA photos by Lance Cheung.

Stadhuisplein 24/08/2020 13h13

Frankey Street Art is giving the city of Amsterdam little often unremarkable surprises. Every week a photo with one of his recent works appears in the supplement to the newspaper Het Parool. A great opportunity to take a closer look at his work. Sometimes you have to search to find it and sometimes it is already gone.

 

Frankey also participated in KAAPSTAD TILBURG, an art festival in Tilburg for which he made this year 7 art objects.

I was lucky to find all seven!

 

FOUNTAIN DUCK

Stadhuisplein, Tilburg

August 2020

 

Street Art Frankey

Street Art Frankey (pseudonym of Frank de Ruwe) is a Dutch artist who wants to positively influence the street scene with relatively small and often inconspicuous works of art.

He grew up in Nijmegen, father was an inventor at Philips Netherlands. He studied at Delft University of Technology (Industrial design). In daily life director of and working for design collective Natwerk. In Amsterdam, many of his works in the street art category can be found on buildings, streets and bridges, often in addition to existing building elements. He himself about his work;

"I want to push boundaries. Art has no boundaries, that's why I like it so much."

In 2019, a special page has been dedicated to his art in Het Parool for a number of years; first he took care of that section himself, later he had to leave that work to others because of busy work. A little later his work Eberhard van der Laan appeared above the entrance of Paradiso.

One of the works that inspired him is the Boomzagertje in the Leidsebosje, a work by an as yet unknown artist.

[ Wikipedia ]

 

Instagram | Streetart Frankey

 

ARRIVA Buses Wales Optare Solo 696 - CX09 BGZ sets off from Rhyl on a Sunday journey on route 36 Circular via Rhuddlan, Dyserth & Prestatyn.

 

Just getting ready for a big upload/restock of the store. Purses primed and ready for action? *wink

what ingredients work for you?

 

I think large size is good too . it is not hdr