visually photos on Flickr

British Railways - Going Racing?, timetable leaflet, 1954 by mikeyashworth

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Quite a visually striking item this, from British Railways Western Region, in 1964 - just about the time the rebranding into the more corporate British Rail took place. The red draws the eye - although the spilling of the green typeface across the logo could have been handled better! I like the pun - "the going is best" by train!

Ghostly Niagara Canadian Tower at Nightfall Textured by James Watkins

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Best Large-A visually stunning sight as night begins to fall is the Canadian tower overlooking the misting Niagara Falls. The tower itself has an eerie outline to it and the colors of sunset add to the dramatics, here in a textured background.

Standing on the Precipice (JHWatkins)

Standing on the precipice-

balanced at junctions,

space and time-

there are no excuses here

no explanations or rhymes.

Locked in lavish rhythm

far beyond the brink-

hid from help or rescue-

on jagged edge distinct.

Weighty voices-

tomorrows bearing-

form forces by the day...

Wound tight

in folds of failure-

by faltering historic foray.

Naked standing truth-

whirl winded and filleted-

open now -

body bleeding-

clean by choice-

ruthless rights parlayed.

Ring round the

restless righteous-

tormented tongues

twisted and advanced.

Weapons trained-

fitting filled-

hopelessness entranced.

New toys

for large little boys-

clicking clocks

in finest fashion.

Positioned perspective-

poisoned possessive power-

from places unimagined.

Whining women-

worn-out white wheezers-

talking days on end-

endless hours

of wasted words-

useless air-

precious spent.

Children torn

apart at seams-

families drugged

and drenched...

Callous toned

nightmares

running wild-

seeds scattered

in the wind.

Lost by generation's

darkened doubt-

aflame

the fearless world-

tossed aside by

hellish schemes-

now rampant-

flags unfurled.

Gone the green

and yearning years-

foundations

fairly laid-

of priceless pearl

in wisdom grown,

crown jewelry

on parade.

But new

the turning earth begins-

choice

once again delayed.

Come cold and calm

courageous men-

run boldly

to your fate.

And stand in

earnest errand bare,

an era

at the end-

now bind yourselves

betrothed and braced-

to finish

without fear. (James watkins 2004)

Veggie kebabs hot from the grill by Stephanie Stout

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The most visually striking item on the menu this past Saturday was veggie kebabs. My girlfriend Leslie Anne said she was fixing salmon and green beans for the grill, so I decided not to repeat the asparagus from the weekend before. Eggplant and tomatoes for the grill was an option, but I decided to experiment with veggie kebabs.

My new HEB Grocery store had pre-packaged kebabs with three skewers of mushroom, red and green bell peppers, yellow and zucchini squash, and red onion. With the cutting already done, all I had to do was add olive oil and Montreal Steak Seasoning. Although they grilled just fine, the problem was geometry. Getting enough oil and spices on all the veggies of three skewers was a problem as was cooking them in this colorful manner.

Next time I'll pull out the skewers before dumping the veggies into the plastic bag with oil and spices. That will save me a lot of oil and spices that went to waste. The veggies also cook at different rates. Onion and bell peppers take the most time and should be skewered together. Squash takes an intermediate amount of time on the grill. Mushrooms cook very quickly and should go on last along with some tomato slices that weren't included in the assortment shown here.

I've eaten grilled veggie kebabs before cooked by others, but this was my first attempt. You can also see cornbread, grilled salmon, and grilled green beans. The grilled salmon always works out fine, but the grilled green beans were the best ever. More about those items and my new dress later..

by Traci Matlock

29 1

I lost my like of Pretty.

Visually Okay but Very Poor Value. by ManOfYorkshire

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£10.95 at Notcutts Dukeries Garden Centre, Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

Small piece of fish in a fish shape, about 12 chips and the smallest pot of peas I've ever had. Good job I only wanted a light lunch.

Very poor value. Ive had better at almost half that price.

Maize seed quality control at small seed company Bidasem by CIMMYT

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In the seed processing plant at Bidasem, a worker visually examines and manually sifts maize seed on a conveyor belt, picking out material such as damaged or spoiled seed or pieces of cob. After initial cleaning and sorting, all seed that goes through the plant passes through quality control. If a sample from a batch is found to more have more than 2% impurities, they are either separated out by hand like this or using a gravity table. The batch is then resampled to ensure a clean bill of health to continue processing.

Bidasem is a small seed company based in the central Mexican plains region known as the Bajío. It produces approximately 10,000 bags of maize seed a year, each holding 22.5kg, as well as producing wheat and oat seed and marketing seed of other crops. Despite their small size, Bidasem and similar companies play an important role in improving farmers’ livelihoods. “Our aim is to provide farmers with quality seed at accessible prices, that is adapted to the conditions we have here in the Bajío. It’s a great satisfaction, when farmers achieve the yields they need,” says director general María Esther Rivas.

“Without CIMMYT, we couldn’t exist,” says Rivas. She sells four different maize hybrids, all formed from freely-available CIMMYT parent lines. “Really the most important thing is to produce your own hybrids, and for us it wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have the germplasm from CIMMYT. What we’re currently producing is 100% CIMMYT.” The relationship between Bidasem and CIMMYT is now deepening through participation in the MasAgro initiative, which includes training courses for seed companies and collaborative trials to evaluate the best seed.

Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.

For more on seed production at Bidasem, and CIMMYT's role in providing the best seed, see CIMMYT's 2012 e-news story The seed chain: producing better seed for small farmers, available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/newsletter/598-2012/1398-the-seed-chain....

Globular Cluster Messier 71 in Sagitta by john.purvis

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Fairly faint and hardly visually spectacular, Messier 71 is one of the nearest globular clusters to us at 13000 LY and is relatively young at about 10 billion years old.

Admiral Smyth described it in 1844 as… “of a very feeble light”.

It lies fairly close to the edge of the Milky Way so the stellar background is quite crowded which reduces contrast.

For many years, astronomers thought it looked more like an small open cluster than a globular until high resolution spectroscopy confirmed it was a globular.

This was my first image since March with my Esprit 120 scope. I had a lot of trouble with it out of the box back then with a faulty mechanical focuser and pinched optics from an overtightened lens unit - it took me most of last season to sort that out.

Given a 68% waning Moon, scudding cloud, a gusty wind and Saharan sand in the atmosphere (!), I thought I should go for something straightforward and its always nice to bag another Messier object!

I'd planned to get 30 x 2 minute subs over an hour but strong gusts of wind and scudding cloud left me with 25 x subs over 2 hours.

I'm just happy that my stars are round instead of hexagonal and the focuser was flawless.

Technical Card

840/120mm f/7 SkyWatcher Esprit 120ED triplet refractor.

SkyWatcher 1.0 x FF with 2 inch IDAS LPS P3 filter

ZWO ASI2600MC; 25 x 120 second subs, Gain 100, Offset 25, Temp = -10c.

EQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives. EQMOD control. Pegasus Astro Focus Cube electronic focuser.

Session control; SharpCap 4.0 on laptop with WiFi link to IPad.

Automated plate solving GOTO via ASTAP (4 secs exp at Gain 350)

FWHM multistar focusing - the best FWHM reading I could get was 4.3 - I didn't know it but next morning, the media had lots of pictures of dusty sunsets all over the UK - Saharan sand suspended in the atmosphere.

40 dark frames

60 flat frames (electroluminescent panel, 3000ms exposure at Gain 0).

Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.9.2.

Light Pollution and Weather:

Gusts of wind and scudding cloud. About half of all subs were discarded.

SQM (L) not measured due to waning Moon.

Polar Alignment:

PoleMaster alignment

Error measured by PHD2= 3.1 arc minute.

RA drift + 3.85 arcsec/min

Dec drift + 0.78 arcsec/min

Guiding:

PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/Primalucelab

240/60mm guider.

RA RMS error 0.77 arcsec

Dec RMS error 0.74 arcsec

This deteriorated later in the evening as it got windier.

I'm thinking of changing to a 320mm f4 guide scope - I understand guide FL should be about 1/3 of scope FL.

Astrometry:

Focal distance: 862.40 mm

Pixel size: 3.76 um

Resolution: 0.9 arcsec/pxl.

Field of view:55' 34.6" x 34' 45.5"

Image centre: RA: 19 53 44.124 Dec: +18 46 01.89

Lines of Independence by Cobra_11

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Tactile paving enables blind and visually impaired people who are white cane users to travel around independently. There are 2 main types of tactile-paving patterns. First, there are the domes (or bumps). The purpose of these is to warn and notify. Here, the domes ran along the edge of the sidewalk, warning me that the sidewalk ends here and the crossing across the road begins. Then, there are the lines. The purpose of these is to lead and show the way. By feeling the lines with my white cane I was able to safely find the spot where the bumps in the ground marked the spot with an audio-signal equipped traffic light on it and I could safely cross the road using a zebra crossing.

Description of the photo:

The black-and-white photo shows the tactile paving on the ground. The tactile paving seen on the photo has bumps and a part of it has lines. The two other patterns are the zebra crossing at the top of the photo and the paving in the lower left corner of the photo.

Keep the comments clean! No banners, awards or invitations, please!

Eastern Wood-pewee by Digital Plume Hunter

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Visually indiscernible from Western. Lake St. Clair.

Visually Impaired Judo Grand Prix_20160604_Luc Percival_0062_.jpg by Fédération Française Handisport

Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.

–

Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).

–

Contact : photos [at] handisport.org

Coral Surface by Klaus Stiefel

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One of the visually stunning things a coral reef has to offer are the diverse patterns on corals and other invertebrates.

Check out my really funny blog blog about underwater photography & life and my book about marine life, diving and all things Pacific.

Budgets Glass Levels by A

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Budgets - Personal Finance Manager to track your spending money visually

subkernel.com/budgets/

itunes.apple.com/us/app/budgets-personal-finance-manager/...

Budgets is a powerful personal finance app that helps to track your expenses in a simple and elegant way. It tells you how much you can spend each day. and, you can export your transactions to Apple Numbers app.

As well, it’s beautiful.

No. 195/18 T.G. Masaryk Square, Prostějov, Moravia, Czechia by Billy Wilson

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"The visually exposed Empire house from 1818 includes older structures, the stone cellars are probably medieval.

A terraced one-storey house with a basement in a corner position stands on the main square in the centre of the historic centre of the city. It has a rectangular ground plan, a mansard roof with small dormers, two roof ridges run perpendicular to the facade – a hipped roof adjoins the neighbouring house. The roofs are covered with eternit on the outside, and with burnt grooved tiles on the inside. The southern facade to TG Masaryk Square has 5 window axes on the first floor, on the ground floor on the left a window, a glazed entrance to the pharmacy, a window, a passage gate and a glazed display window with an entrance to the shop. The entrance to the passage is vaulted with a compressed arch, flanked by a profiled cornice with a vault and emphasised by half-columns carrying straight entablatures. The other openings on the ground floor are rectangular, flanked by cornices. The ground floor is divided by a bossage, separated from the first floor by a cordon cornice. The floor is divided by fluted pilasters with volute capitals between each window. Under the crown cornice with dentil is a strip with plastic decor, around the windows there are profiled chambranes with ears, window and window sill cornices and plastic decor in the parapet fillings and suprafenestras (festoons, floral curtains, ribbons). The side facade to Pernštýnské Square is designed similarly to the front facade with a bossage on the ground floor and pilasters on the floor, 3 windows on the left side of the facade have a semicircular raised window cornice, 4 windows on the right are distinguished by pilasters on each side of the window (i.e. there are two pilasters between the windows). On the ground floor there is a window on the left and a rectangular entrance to the house, from it to the right there are 4 window axes, windows without chambranes. The narrow courtyard facade is smooth, on the ground floor there is a passage opening vaulted with a compressed arch and a window, on the first floor there are 2 semicircular arched windows. The passage is vaulted with Czech flats into the waists. There are vaults in both shops - mainly barrel vaults, then barrel vaults with sectors, barrel segmental vaults, barrel vaults into traverses and a Prussian vault. A straight staircase vaulted with a compressed barrel vault leads from the passage to the first floor. On the first floor there are flat-ceilinged rooms, some with fabions, the layout has been subsequently modified. The cellars are dissected, barrel vaulted, made of stone, others of brick masonry. The roof is traditional wooden, with hambálky and a standing stool, under the wooden floor of the attic there is a mezzanine that used to be used for storage.

The visually exposed Empire house from 1818 includes older structures, the stone cellars are probably medieval. Apart from the cellars, the most valuable parts are the facade and the vaults on the ground floor." - info from the National Heritage Institute.

"Prostějov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈproscɛjof]; German: Proßnitz, Yiddish: פראסטיץ‎ Prostitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 44,000 inhabitants. Today the city is known for its fashion industry and AČR special forces unit 601. skss based there. The centre of the town is historically significant and is protected by law as urban monument zone.

The first historical mention of the village Prostějovice is from 1141. By the middle of the 13th century, it had developed into an important market village. At that time, German settlers were invited here, who established a new settlement on the site of today's TG Masaryk Square, to which the rights of the original settlement were transferred. On March 27, 1390, Prostějov was granted the right of the annual market thanks to the lords of Kravaře, which in fact became a town. In the Hussite period, the promising development slowed down as the city suffered delays on both sides; the insufficiently fortified Prostějov became easy prey for the troops of Margrave Albrecht and was burned down in 1431. The prosperity of the city was brought about by the establishment of the Jewish city and especially after a year 1490 more than a century-old government of the Pernštejn families, whose property became the town. In 1495, the city began the construction of stone walls with four gates with bastions. Between 1521 and 1538, the townspeople built a Renaissance town hall.

At the end of the 16th century, the city became the property of the Liechtensteins, which resulted in the stagnation of the city's development. In Prostejov the year 1527 printer Kaspar Aorga printed the first book on Moravia. During the Thirty Years' War, the town was devastated and in 1697 a fire broke out, killing the town hall, the school and the church. Then the city began to acquire a Baroque character. Around the middle of the 17th century, mainly thanks to local Jews, the food, textile and clothing industries developed rapidly, and in 1858 the first Czech ready-to-wear clothing industry was founded in Prostějov - the factory of the Mandla brothers, which attracted new inhabitants. In the 1960s, Prostějov was connected by rail with Brno and Olomouc. The 19th and 20th centuries changed the face of the city in the style of historicism and Art Nouveau. Since the 20s and especially 30s, dominating the construction becoming in Prostejov functionalism.

Moravia (Czech: Morava [ˈmorava]; German: Mähren) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.

The medieval and early modern Margraviate of Moravia was a crown land of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 1348 to 1918, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1004 to 1806, a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1804 to 1867, and a part of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. Moravia was one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia founded in 1918. In 1928 it was merged with Czech Silesia, and then dissolved in 1948 during the abolition of the land system following the communist coup d'état.

Its area of 22,623.41 km2 is home to about 3.2 million of the Czech Republic's 10.8 million inhabitants. The people are historically named Moravians, a subgroup of Czechs, the other group being called Bohemians. The land takes its name from the Morava river, which runs from its north to south, being its principal watercourse. Moravia's largest city and historical capital is Brno. Before being sacked by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War, Olomouc served as the Moravian capital, and it is still the seat of the Archdiocese of Olomouc. Until the expulsions after 1945, significant parts of Moravia were German speaking." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

Rituals that Suit Us to a T(ea) by Jeffrey Hollis

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...Tea for thee.

This isn't a technically proficient photo, nor is it even visually interesting, but it shows off a little bit of my very limited culinary skills. And it gives you a little peek into a ritual that I've performed for Mrs SmileMoon now for twenty-plus years. It's gotten to the point that I can make her tea for her better than she can now (or so she says). Practice makes perfect, I guess. That and maybe just a little bit of spit. (Shhh - our secret, okay?)

In this week's challenge for the Get Pushed!! group, I was paired with the talented and entertaining Amanda Jaeger . You've got to check out her photos, because she's got a great sense of humor and the fun shows in her pictures. Also, you should totally make a contribution to her grocery fund! Yay, Amanda!

Anyway, Amanda wrote to me: "I've come up with a challenge to you that was inspired by the photo of your wife's foot (with your handwriting). I loved two major things about it. 1) The play on words (sole-soul) and 2) It shows a bit of an intimate part of your lives together. So here's my challenge to you:

I want you to create another photo that shows intimacy. It doesn't have to be embarrassing or show anything that you're not willing to. But, I'd like for it to show something about you and your life that I wouldn't know about looking at your other photos.

I hope Amanda will agree that we now all know a little bit more (than we really wanted to know) about me and Mrs SmileMoon. Anybody else want some tea? :-D

Also seen in 111 pictures in 2011 as my selection for "hot".

1. buttons

2. romantic

3. dessert (as in food)

5. spicy

9. puddles

10. favourite season

12. sad

15. Holiday/vacation

17. new

18. street

32. steps/stairs

38. big

39. earth

40. wind

42. glass

44. sand

48. spooky

49. lock/key(s)

50. rustic

51. candle

52. sugar & spice

53. white on white

54. view from the window

56. distance

61. body

62. books

66. hobby

76. clothing

77. childrens toy

78. vehicle

79. bicycle

80. machinery

81. household appliance

84. straight line

92. celebration

94. seat/bench

98. stranger

99. family

100. friend

101. bird

102. pet

103. in the workplace

104. household task

105. hot

106. favourite photographic topic/style

107. in the water

108. reminder of old times

109. unusual angle

110. on the road

111. the end

Minimalist Water Feature by David Andersen Garden Design

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Visually, the finished look is one of pure line with few design elements. The atmosphere is one of pure tranquillity during the day; the reflection of sky in the water and very little to distract the eye. At night the lighting scheme creates a magical pathway fading into the distance, and always there is the gentle sound of running water.

Part of a larger scheme, these clients wanted an ultra-simple, minimalist waterfeature on two levels. The main material used was a pale cream Travertine detailed with a dark slate-grey.

At the lower level, a canal runs across the garden. The main steps are accessed by stepping stones across the water.

The upper level features two rills. Water flows away from the house and cascades via two stainless steel waterfalls onto the lower level beyond, aerating and purifying. The paving features LED flush lighting to highlight the edge of the scheme and the steps and all three bodies of water are floodlit discreetly below the water surface.

The only plant material is six ball-shaped box trees, providing a simple, sculptural look to this otherwise angular scheme.

Car Being Checked at an Auto Emission Inspection Station in Norwood, Ohio...08/1975 by U.S. National Archives

6

Original Caption: Car Being Checked at an Auto Emission Inspection Station in Norwood, Ohio. The Test Includes a Check of the Exhaust Pipe and Engine Compartment to Visually Look for Smoke. Then the Probe Shown in the Picture Is Inserted Into the Tailpipe. It Carries Exhaust Gases From the Engine to the Analyzer Which Measures Carbon Monoxide and Hydrocarbon Emissions. All Light Duty, Spark Ignition Powered Motor Vehicles in the City Must Be Certified Annually 08/1975

U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-15398

Photographer: Eiler, Lyntha Scott, 1946-

Subjects:

Norwood (Hamilton county, Ohio, United States) inhabited place

Environmental Protection Agency

Project DOCUMERICA

Persistent URL: arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=557848

Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.

For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html

Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted

Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

burning Mist on the James River by Lynchburg Virginia

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The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.

Hans Hofmann

ocean ripple (texture) by Anna Irving

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22/365

proberbly not the most visually exciting today but yet again, it was pouring down for most of it.

sooo, when i'm stuck inside and have the day to myself, i use it to learn. be it PS, photography or lighting, i tend to zone out and get very engrossed in some training or other. in fact, lili just had to turn on the light for me cause i'd been sat here in the dark for the last half an hour or so... proberbly best get something to eat.

anyway, one of the things i've been doing today, as i've been sat inside, is practicing making textures. its something i find fascinating but am not great at... yet! practice makes perfect as they say, so expect many not so great textures coming your way ;-)

Feel free to use this for any of your own creations.

Please credit me and link back to this page or my photostream if you do.

You can use my texture commercially but please don't redistribute it or alter it to create

your own stock

Show me what you've done with it by putting a thumbnail or link on this page it'd be great

to see what you've done with it!

ODC- inside (there is an actual shot underneath all of the processing... i promise!)

Girl feeling herself in the mirror. by Abhishek Thakur

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I visited an art gallery with visually impaired people "Close your eyes, Open your mind" (theme) this Sunday as a volunteer. There I saw this scene, blind girl feeling a painting of a blind girl, at that moment it feels like that they both are feeling each other to me. Amazing feeling.

Visually Impaired Judo Grand Prix_20160604_Luc Percival_0022_.jpg by Fédération Française Handisport

Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.

–

Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).

–

Contact : photos [at] handisport.org

Visually Impaired Judo Grand Prix_20160604_Luc Percival_0032_.jpg by Fédération Française Handisport

Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.

–

Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).

–

Contact : photos [at] handisport.org

Educator and role model for visually impaired to receive medal by Province of British Columbia

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Marilyn Rushton, a well-known Burnaby citizen, is awarded with the province’s newest honour, the Medal of Good Citizenship.

Rushton is honoured for her for inspirational life of service to the visually impaired community, her contributions to families with blind and visually impaired children, and her energetic support for the musical community.

Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016IGR0025-001407

Avon Tyres, Art Deco badge, c1930s by Argy58

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This visually stunning Art Deco enamel badge, promotes the famous tyre brand, Avon Tyres. It bears the company's early 1908, registered trademark which is a stylised Trilithon (Stonehenge) structure, made up of two large vertical stone posts supporting a third stone that lies horizontally across the top. On this badge, the horizontal stone announces the company name, Avon. From 1908, through to the 1930s, the Trilithon was either used as a focal point within advertisements, or as a refined logo within a corner of an advertisement. Beneath the Trilithon trademark the phrase 'Symbols of Endurance' appeared.

Within the early advertisements, before and just after the 1920s, a car and driver, with Avon tyres, would be portrayed passing through a mighty Trilithon. The adoption of this Trilithon trademark was explained by the company as follows: ".......this noble and historical trademark was decided upon in full consciousness of the high standard of excellence which such an emblem implied … because Avon products, in addition to other noble characteristics, possessed in a remarkable degree the two skills of strength and durability."

Of course, another reason for adopting the Trilithon device was linked to the company's location in Wiltshire, the home of Stonehenge. The badge uses the company's distinctive, somewhat spikey, upper case font, and this was first used in the late 1920s through to the 1960s. By the 1970s the signature logotype 'Avon' was changed to a modernist sans serif design with the letter 'o' rendered in solid red.

Avon started making rubber based products as far back as 1885 and by 1890 the business operated entirely from Melksham. At this point the Avon India Rubber Company Ltd was formed and in 1906 Avon car tyres were advertised for the first time along with their already established line in cycle tyres. Throughout WW1, Avon Tyres were used on forces bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, aeroplanes and ambulances. Other Avon rubber products such as tubing and hoses were used to extract water from waterlogged trenches.

By the late 1920s, Avon had a number of tyre distribution centres across Britain and their product range diversified to include carriage and pram tyres, rubber soles and heels for footwear, household bath mats and rubber carpets. In 1933 the Avon 'cooled duo-tread tyre' was chosen by Rolls Royce as a standard feature on their cars. Avon's racing pedigree gained momentum in the 1920s and continued through to the mid-century period, building up strong relationships with international riders and drivers.

Avon maintained a high profile in the rubber based product market and the post WW11 period witnessed rapid growth through a number of acquisitions and further product diversification. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Ohio, USA), purchased Avon Tyres in 1997 in an agreement that allowed the company to focus on its core automotive components, technical products and protective equipment. The Avon brand remains within the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company portfolio and the Melksham, Wiltshire plant remains active today.

Photography, layout and design: Argy58

(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a

variety of print sizes e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded

format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)

Stadt-Tastmodell by Fotos aus den östlichen dt. Bundesländern und der DDR 1990 – 2026

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Stadt-Tastmodell der Altstadt von Erfurt in der Altstadt von Erfurt mit Beschriftung vieler Straßen in Brailleschrift für Blinde und Sehbehinderte. Erfurt 2017.

City model of Erfurt to grope for the blind and visually impaired people with braille descriptions. Erfurt 2017.

Mushrooms on a small branch, St Arnaud, Tasman, New Zealand by brian nz

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Visually they looked damp, so the Macro photography was a delight in discovering the almost furry top surface, seen at the edges of these fungi.

These ranged in size up to 15mm diameter.

Ox Bow County Park by Michael Goodwin

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Visually Impaired - Color Blind

Using LomoChrome film to raise awareness of the visually impaired. RZ67 - turquoise

Senior Portraits | Brooke P © Visually Inspiring Photography by Visually Inspiring Photography

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www.visuallyinspiringphotography.com

Senior Portraits | Matt M © Visually Inspiring Photography by Visually Inspiring Photography

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www.visuallyinspiringphotography.com

Commuting in the dark by archondigital

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A visually-impared individual and his guide while waiting for a bus along EDSA during the recently concluded APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in Manila.

In-flight fueling station by Dave Wadsworth

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visually acquired

MOTEL ONE BUDGET BOUTIQUE HOTEL [CONSTRUCTION SITE ON UPPER LIFFEY STREET]-154915 by William Murphy

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I have always considered this street be visually unattractive and I do hope that the new hotel have a positive impact on the street and the area in General but I have yet to be convinced.

Fitzwilliam Real Estate Properties are currently undertaking the construction of a 300 room hotel at the corner of Abbey Street and Liffey Street. When completed in 2020, the hotel will be operated by Motel One in its first venture into the Irish market.

Motel One, a budget boutique hotel chain owned by Dieter Müller, was set up in 2000. It now has over 18,000 rooms in 65 hotels across eight mainland European countries and the UK.

A number of objections were filed against the proposed hotel block before it was given the all-clear by the council. Heritage group An Taisce said the new development would be “an obtrusive and ungainly new element in the view from the Ha’penny Bridge” and requested the submitted plans be revised.

NGC 6153 by Judy Schmidt

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Visually, there's not much I can think of to say about this. If you want, you could read about it, though. And then you could say, "Ah, so that is what a super-metal-rich planetary nebula looks like."

Again, two sets of data were three years apart, so if you are a very keen observer you may notice slight color fringing.

Red: hst_08594_03_wfpc2_f656n_pc_sci + hst_06119_94_wfpc2_f814w_pc_sci

Green: hst_06119_94_wfpc2_f555w_pc_02_sci

Blue: hst_08594_03_wfpc2_f502n_pc_sci

North is NOT up.

St Mary the Virgin, Ashford, Kent by Jelltex

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There are three Ashfords, really. The modern newtown, Swindonesque newbuilds stretching into the countryside; the Victorian railway town, all neat rows of brick buit houses and the station, and then there is the old town, timber-framed houses along narrow lanes, with St Mary standing towering above all but the modern office blocks.

The west end church was given over to a Christmas Fayre, but is also used now as a concert venue, while under the tower westwards is still in use as a church, with many of its ancient features left alone by the Victorians.

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A stately church in a good position set away from the hustle and bustle of this cosmopolitan town. The very narrow tower of 1475 is not visually satisfactory when viewed from a distance but its odd proportions are hardly noticed when standing at its base. The church is very much the product of the families who have been associated with it over the centuries and who are commemorated by monuments within. They include the Fogges and the Smythes. The former is supposed to have wanted to create a college of priests here, but by the late fifteenth century such foundations were going out of fashion and the remodelling of the church undertaken by Sir John Fogge may have just been a philanthropic cause. Unusually, when the church was restored in 1860 the architect Ewan Christian kept the galleries (he usually swept them away), but Christ Church had yet to be built and the population of this growing town would have needed all the accommodation it could get. Even in 1851 1000 people had attended the church in a single sitting. The pulpit, designed by Pearson, was made in 1897.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Ashford+1

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THE TOWN AND PARISH OF ASHFORD

LIES the next adjoining to Hothfield eastward. It is called in Domesday both Estefort and Essetesford, and in other antient records, Eshetisford, taking its name from the river, which runs close to it, which, Lambarde says, ought not to be called the Stour, till it has passed this town, but Eshe or Eschet, a name which has been for a great length of time wholly forgotten; this river being known, even from its first rise at Lenham hither, by the name of the Stour only.

A small part only of this parish, on the east, south and west sides of it, containing the borough of Henwood, alias Hewit, lying on the eastern or further side of the river from the town, part of which extends into the parish of Wilsborough, and the whole of it within the liberty of the manor of Wye, and the borough of Rudlow, which adjoins to Kingsnoth and Great Chart, are in this hundred of Chart and Longbridge; such part of the borough of Rudlow as lies adjoining to Kingsnoth, is said to lie in in jugo de Beavor, or the yoke of Beavor, and is divided from the town and liberty by the river, near a place called Pollbay; in which yoke there is both a hamlet and a green or common, of the name of Beavor; the remainder of the parish having been long separated from it, and made a distinct liberty, or jurisdiction of itself, having a constable of its own, and distinguished by the name of the liberty of the town of Ashford.

ASHFORD, at the time of taking the general survey of Domesday, was part of the possessions of Hugo de Montfort, who had accompanied the Conqueror hither, and was afterwards rewarded with this estate, among many others in different counties; in which record it is thus entered, under the general title of his lands:

¶Maigno holds of Hugo (de Montfort) Estefort. Turgisus held it of earl Godwin, and it is taxed at one suling. The arable land is half a carucate. There is nevertheless in demesne one carucate, and two villeins having one carucate. There are two servants, and eight acres of meadow. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth twenty five shillings; when he received it, twenty shillings; now thirty shilling.

The same Hugo holds Essela. Three tenants held it of king Edward, and could go whither they would with their lands. It was taxed at three yokes. The arable land is one carucate and an half. There are now four villeins, with two borderers having one carucate, and six acres of meadow. The whole, in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, was worth twenty shillings, and afterwards fifteen shillings, now twenty shillings.

Maigno held another Essetisford of the same Hugo. Wirelm held it of king Edward. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is four carucates. In demesne there are two, and two villeins, with fifteen borderers having three carucates. There is a church, and a priest, and three servants, and two mills of ten shillings and two pence. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth seventy shillings, and afterwards sixty shillings, now one hundred shillings.

Robert de Montfort, grandson of Hugh abovementioned, favouring the title of Robert Curthose, in opposition to king Henry I. to avoid being called in question upon that account, obtained leave to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, leaving his possessions to the king; by which means this manor came into the hands of the crown. Soon after which it seems to have come into the possession of a family, who took their name from it. William de Asshetesford appears by the register of Horton priory to have been lord of it, and to have been succeeded by another of the same name. After which the family of Criol became owners of it, by whom it was held by knight's service of the king, in capite, by ward to Dover castle, and the repair of a tower in that castle, called the Ashford tower. (fn. 1) Simon de Criol, in the 27th and 28th year of Henry III. obtained a charter of free warren for this manor, whose son William de Criol passed it away to Roger de Leyborne, for Stocton, in Huntingdonshire, and Rumford, in Essex. William de Leyborne his son, in the 7th year of king Edward I. claimed and was allowed the privilege of a market here, before the justices itinerant. He died possessed of this manor in the 3d year of Edward II. leaving his grand-daughter Juliana, daughter of Thomas de Leyborne, who died in his father's life-time, heir both to her grandfather and father's possessions, from the greatness of which she was stiled the Infanta of Kent, (fn. 2) though thrice married, yet she died s. p. by either of her husbands, all of whom she survived, and died in the 41st year of Edward III. Upon which this manor, among the rest of her estates, escheated to the crown, and continued there till king Richard II. vested it, among others, in feoffees, for the performance of certain religious bequests by the will of king Edward III. then lately deceased; and they, in compliance with it, soon afterwards, with the king's licence, purchased this manor, with those of Wall, and Esture, of the crown, towards the endowment of St. Stephen's chapel, in the king's palace of Westminster, all which was confirmed by king Henry IV. and VI. and by king Edward IV. in their first years; the latter of whom, in his 7th year, granted to them a fair in this town yearly, on the feast of St. John Port Latin, together with all liberties, and to have a steward to hold the court of it, &c. In which situation they continued till the 1st year of Edward VI. when this collegiate chapel was, with all its possessions, surrendered into the king's hands, where these manors did not continue long; for that king, in his 3d year, granted the manor of Esshetford, with that of Wall, and the manor of Esture, to Sir Anthony Aucher, of Otterden, to hold in capite; and he, in the 2d and 3d of Philip and Mary, sold them to Sir Andrew Judde, of London, whose daughter and at length heir Alice, afterwards carried them in marriage to Thomas Smith, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called the Customer, who died possessed of them in 1591, and lies buried in the south cross of this church, having had several sons and daughters, of, whom Sir John Smythe, of Ostenhanger, the eldest, succeeded him here, and was sheriff anno 42 Elizabeth. Sir Thomas Smith, the second son, was of Bidborough and Sutton at Hone, and ambassador to Russia, of whom and his descendants, notice has been taken in the former volumes of this history; (fn. 3) and Henry, the third son, was of Corsham, in Wiltshire, whence this family originally descended, and Sir Richard Smith, the fourth, was of Leeds castle. Sir John Smythe, above-mentioned, died in 1609, and lies buried in the same vault as his father in this church, leaving one son Sir Thomas Smythe, of Westenhanger, K. B. who was in 1628 created Viscount Strangford, of Ireland, whose grandson Philip, viscount Strangford, dying about 1709, Henry Roper, lord Teynham, who had married Catherine his eldest daughter, by his will, became possessed of the manors of Ashford, Wall, and Esture. By her, who died in 1711, he had two sons, Philip and Henry, successively lords Teynham; notwithstanding which, having the uncontrolled power in these manors vested in him, he, on his marriage with Anne, second daughter and coheir of Thomas Lennard, earl of Sussex, and widow of Richard Barrett Lennard, esq. afterwards baroness Dacre, settled them on her and her issue by him in tail male. He died in 1623, and left her surviving, and possessed of these manors for her life. She afterwards married the hon. Robert Moore, and died in 1755. She had by lord Teynham two sons, Charles and Richard-Henry, (fn. 4) Charles Roper, the eldest son, died in 1754 intestate, leaving two sons, Trevor-Charles and Henry, who on their mother's death became entitled to these manors, as coheirs in gavelkind, a recovery having been suffered of them, limiting them after her death to Charles Roper their father, in tail male; but being infants, and there being many incumbrances on these estates, a bill was exhibited in chancery, and an act procured anno 29 George II. for the sale of them; and accordingly these manors were sold, under the direction of that court, in 1765, to the Rev. Francis Hender Foote, of Bishopsborne, who in 1768 parted with the manor of Wall, alias Court at Wall, to John Toke, esq. of Great Chart, whose son Nicholas Roundell Toke, is the present possessor of it; but he died possessed of the manors of Ashford and Esture in 1773, and was succeeded in them by his eldest son John Foote, esq. now of Bishopsborne, the present owner of them. There are several copyhold lands held of the manor of Ashford. A court leet and court baron is regularly held for it.

THE TOWN OF ASHFORD stands most pleasant and healthy, on the knoll of a hill, of a gentle ascent on every side, the high road from Hythe to Maidstone passing through it, from which, in the middle of the town, the high road branches off through a pleasant country towards Canterbury. The houses are mostly modern and well-built, and the high-street, which has been lately new paved, is of considerable width. The markethouse stands in the centre of it, and the church and school on the south side of it, the beautiful tower of the former being a conspicuous object to the adjoining country. It is a small, but neat and chearful town, and many of the inhabitants of a genteel rank in life. Near the market place, is the house of the late Dr. Isaac Rutton, a physician of long and extensive practice in these parts, being the eldest son of Matthias Rutton, gent of this town, by Sarah his wife, daughter of Sir N. Toke, of Godinton. He died in 1792, bearing for his arms, Parted per fess, azure, and or, three unicorns heads, couped at the neck, counterchanged; since which, his eldest son, Isaac Rutton, esq. now of Ospringeplace, has sold this house to Mr. John Basil Duckworth, in whom it is now vested. In the midst of it is a large handsome house, built in 1759, by John Mascall, gent. who resided in it, and died possessed of it in 1769, and was buried in Boughton Aluph church, bearing for his arms, Barry of two, or, and azure, three inescutcheons, ermine; and his only son, Robert Mascall, esq. now of Ashford, who married the daughter of Jeremiah Curteis, esq. is the present owner, and resides in it. At the east end of the town is a seat, called Brooke-place, formerly possessed by the family of Woodward, who were always stiled, in antient deeds, gentlemen, and bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three grasshoppers, or; the last of them, Mr. John Woodward, gent. rebuilt this seat, and died possessed of it in 1757; of whose heirs it was purchased by Martha, widow of Moyle Breton, esq. of Kennington, whose two sons, the Rev. Moyle Breton, and Mr. Whitfield Breton, gent. alienated it to Josias Pattenson, esq. the second son of Mr. Josias Pattenson, of Biddenden, by Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Felix Kadwell, esq. of Rolvenden; he married Mary, daughter of Mr. Henry Dering, gent. of this parish, and widow of Mr. John Mascall above-mentioned, by whom he has no issue, and he is the present owner of this seat, and resides in it. There have been barracks erected lately here, which at present contain 4000 soldiers. The market is held on a Saturday weekly, for the sale of corn, which is now but little used; and a market for the sale of all sorts of fat and lean stock on the first and third Tuesday in every month, which has been of great use to prevent monopolies. Two fairs are annually held now, by the alteration of the stile, on May 17, and Sept. 9, and another on Oct. 24; besides which, there is an annual fair for wool on August 2, not many years since instituted and encouraged by the principal gentry and landholders, which promises to prove of the greatest utility and benefit to the fair sale of it. That branch of the river Stour which rises at Lenham, runs along the southern part of this parish, and having turned a corn mill belonging to the lord of this manor, continues its course close at the east end of the town, where there is a stone bridge of four arches, repaired at the expence of the county, and so on northwards towards Wye and Canterbury. On the south side of the river in this parish, next to Kingsnoth, within the borough of Rudlow, is the yoke of Beavor, with the hamlet and farm of that name, possessed in very early times, as appears by the register of Horton priory, by a family of that name, one of whom, John Beavor, was possessed of it in the reign of Henry II. and was descended from one of the same furname, who attended the Conqueror in his expedition hither. The parish contains about 2000 acres of land, and three hundred and twenty houses, the whole rental of it being 4000l. per annum; the inhabitants are 2000, of which about one hundred are diffenters. The highways throughout it, which not many years ago were exceeding bad, have been by the unanimity of the inhabitants, which has shewn itself remarkable in all their public improvements, a rare instance in parochial undertakings, and by the great attention to the repairs of them, especially in such parts as were near their own houses, are now excellent. The lands round it are much upon a gravelly soil, though towards the east and south there are some rich fertile pastures, intermixed with arable land, and several plantations of hops; but toward the west, the soil is in general sand, having much quarrystone mixed with it, where there is a great deal of coppice wood, quite to Potter's corner, at the boundary of this parish.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a large handsome building, consisting of three isles, with a transept, and three chancels, with the tower in the middle, which is losty and well proportioned, having four pinnacles at the top of it. There are eight bells in it, a set of chimes, and a clock. In the high chancel, on the north side, is the college John Fogge, the founder of the college here, who died in 1490, and his two wives, the brasses of their figures gone; but part of the inscription remains. And formerly, in Weever's time, there hung up in this chancel six atchievements, of those of this family whose burials had been attended by the heralds at arms, and with other ceremonies suitable to their degrees. Underneath the chancel is a large vault, full of the remains of the family. On the pavement in the middle, is a very antient curious gravestone, having on it the figure in brass of a woman, holding in her left hand a banner, with the arms of Ferrers, Six masctes, three and three, in pale; which, with a small part of the inscription round the edge, is all that is remaining; but there was formerly in brass, in her right hand, another banner, with the arms of Valoyns; over her head those of France and England quarterly; and under her feet a shield, being a cross, impaling three chevronels, the whole within a bordure, guttee de sang, and round the edge this inscription, Ici gift Elizabeth Comite D' athels la file sign de Ferrers . . . dieu asoil, qe morust le 22 jour d'octob. can de grace MCCCLXXV. Weever says, she was wife to David de Strabolgie, the fourth of that name, earl of Athol, in Scotland, and daughter of Henry, lord Ferrers, of Groby; and being secondly married to John Malmayns, of this county, died here in this town. Though by a pedigree of the family of Brograve, she is said to marry T. Fogge, esq. of Ashford; if so, he might perhaps have been her third husband. Near her is a memorial for William Whitfield, gent. obt. 1739. The north chancel belonged to Repton manor. In the vault underneath lay three of the family of Tuston, sometime since removed to Rainham, and it has been granted to the Husseys; Thomas Hussey, esq. of this town, died in 1779, and was buried in it. In the south chancel are memorials for the Pattensons, Whitfields, and Apsleys, of this place; and one for Henry Dering, gent. of Shelve, obt. 1752, and Hester his wife; arms, A saltier, a crescent for difference, impaling, on a chevron, between three persons, three crosses, formee; and another memorial for Thomasine, wife of John Handfield, obt. 1704. In the north cross are several antient stones, their brasses all gone, excepting a shield, with the arms of Fogge on one. At the end is a monument for John Norwood, gent. and Mary his wife, of this town, who lie with their children in the vault underneath. The south cross is parted off lengthways, for the family of Smith, lords of Ashford manor, who lie in a vault underneath. In it are three superb monuments, which, not many years since, were beautified and restored to their original state, by the late chief baron Smythe, a descendant of this family. One is for Thomas Smith, esq. of Westenhanger, in 1591; the second for Sir John Smythe, of Ostenhanger, his son, and Elizabeth his wife; and the third for Sir Richard Smyth, of Leeds castle, in 1628: all which have been already mentioned before. Their figures, at full length and proportion, are lying on, each of them, with their several coats of arms and quarterings blazoned. In the other part of this cross, is a memorial for Baptist Pigott, A. M. son of Baptist Pigott, of Dartford, and schoolmaster here, obt. 1657, and at the end of it, is the archbishop's consistory court. In the south isle is a memorial for Thomas Curteis, gent. obt. 1718, and Elizabeth his wife; arms, Curteis impaling Carter. Under the tower is one for Samuel Warren, vicar here forty-eight years, obt. 1720. The three isles were new pewed and handsomely paved in 1745. There are five galleries, and an handsome branch for candles in the middled isle; the whole kept in an excellent state of repair and neatness. There was formerly much curtious painted glass in the windows, particularly the figures of one of the family of Valoyns, his two wives and children, with their arms. In the south window of the cross isle, and in other windows, the figures, kneeling, of king Edward III. the black prince, Richard, duke of Gloucester, the lord Hastings. Sir William Haute, the lord Scales, Richard, earl Rivers, and the dutchess of Bedford his wife, Sir John Fogge, Sir John Peche, Richard Horne, Roger Manstone, and—Guildford, most of which were in the great west window, each habited in their surcoats of arms, not the least traces of which, or of any other coloured glass, are remaining throughout this church. Sir John Goldstone, parson of Ivechurch, as appears by his will in 1503, was buried in the choir of this church, and gave several costly ornaments and vestments for the use of it.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol7/pp526-545

WET SYDNEY by Luke Reynolds

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Visually this city owns when it's wet

Sydney, Australia

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