View allAll Photos Tagged without
Do not use without permission!
Disney Twitter: twitter.com/ThatDisneyLover
Photography Twitter: twitter.com/LJK_Photography
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/PixelPixie123
Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/thatdisneylover/
Photography Instagram: www.instagram.com/ljknightonphotography/
If any performers, characters or cast members that would like photos for personal or portfolio reasons, you may have any photo of themselves for a higher resolution or with a smaller watermark. Please either contact me through Twitter.
Steph
THIS PHOTO IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT. REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER IS PROHIBITED.
Chimneys without a smoke. Series "From the train window". London, UK
Nellie Vin ©Photography
This borough and much of London suffers from poor air quality. In the past air pollution was mainly caused by factory fumes and unrestricted coal burning, giving rise to large quantities of thick smoke. This when combined with fog resulted in “Smogs” with many deaths; after one episode in 1952 12,000 Londoners died. The constant smoky atmosphere also caused widespread lung disease and breathing difficulties.
Today high average concentrations of fine particles from road traffic exhaust, building sites, industrial furnaces and chimney smoke continue to pose a significant risk to health. Estimates suggest that in London alone 5000 people are dying early by as much as ten years in some cases, and many more are suffering ill-health because of air pollution.
Can I burn a few logs as well as, or instead of, smokeless coal?
No you cannot burn wood, although a small amount of kindling, or timber wood can be used to light the fire.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
© Copyright 2014 Francisco Aragão
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Use without permission is illegal.
© TODOS OS DIREITOS RESERVADOS. Usar sem permissão é ilegal.
Attention please !
The Copyright of this picture belongs to Getty Images
This photograph can be licensed in Getty Images
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
English
Pirenópolis is a town located in the Brazilian state of Goiás. It is well known for its waterfalls and colonial architecture, and a popular festival involving mounted horses called Festa do Divino Espírito Santo which takes place 45 days after Easter.
The history of Pirenópolis begins in 1727 when it was founded with the name of Minas de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Meia Ponte, Meia Ponte (half a bridge) because half of the bridge over the Almas River was swept away in a flood. The first colonizers were Portuguese who came for the gold easily found in the Rio das Almas. From 1750 to 1800 there was a golden age when four churches were built and Pirenópolis competed with Vila Boa (present day Cidade de Goiás) as the richest town in the province. After 1800 a downturn over gold mining was set and the part of the population emigrated. With the change of commercial routes to Anápolis, the city became economically isolated. The first newspaper in the province, the Matutina Meiapontense, was published in Meia Ponte in 1830 by Joaquim Alves de Oliveira. In 1890 the city changed its name from Meia Ponte to Pirenópolis, the city of the Pireneus, the mountains located nearby. In 1960 with the construction of Brasília there was an intensive exploitation of the famous Pedra de Pirenópolis (quartzite-micáceo). In the 1980s the hippies arrived with their alternative communities and production of handicrafts. Pirenópolis was born again with a huge influx of tourists, especially from Brasília. Churches were restored and all the electrical wiring was put underground.
Spanish
Pirenópolis es un municipio brasileño del estado de Goiás, Está a una altitud de 740 metros. Su población estimada para el 2007 20.460 era de habitantes.
A pesar de tener la mayor parte del intenso flujo turístico enfocado en la arquitectura y la importancia histórica, el municipio posee un rico y variado ecosistema en su entorno, con cascadas, senderos y una enorme área de bosque nativo que cuenta con la protección del sistema goiãnos de parques estatales. Ouro Preto también se destaca por la actividad cultural. El casco histórico de la ciudad fue declarado Patrimonio Cultural de Brasil por la IPHAN en 1989.
Wikipedia
D16443. No visit to North Wales is complete without a visit to one of it's top attractions - the Llechwedd Slate Caverns at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Visitors are taken deep underground to see the enormous chambers carved out of the mountain by the slate miners as they won the prized slate for roofing and other purposes. After the underground tour, visitors are then given a demonstration showing how the chunks of slate are split and trimmed to form the various sizes and thicknesses of roofing slates.
Following the welcome address by Llechwedd's founder J.W.Greaves, visitors are taken into the long abandoned slate caverns to experience the conditions in which the miners, men and boys as young 11 or 12, toiled for 5½ days a week. The hours were long, from 6am to 6pm; the work was heavy - and dangerous as it involved using gunpowder for blasting.
But once the blocks of slate had been blasted from the rockface, they still had to be transported to the surface for cutting and splitting - and that's where narrow gauge tramways came in useful.
Thursday, 27th April, 2017. Copyright © Ron Fisher.
9.4.09
The flight arrived on time; and the twelve hours while on board passed quickly and without incident. To be sure, the quality of the Cathay Pacific service was exemplary once again.
Heathrow reminds me of Newark International. The décor comes straight out of the sterile 80's and is less an eyesore than an insipid background to the rhythm of human activity, such hustle and bustle, at the fore. There certainly are faces from all races present, creating a rich mosaic of humanity which is refreshing if not completely revitalizing after swimming for so long in a sea of Chinese faces in Hong Kong.
Internet access is sealed in England, it seems. Nothing is free; everything is egregiously monetized from the wireless hotspots down to the desktop terminals. I guess Hong Kong has spoiled me with its abundant, free access to the information superhighway.
11.4.09
Despite staying in a room with five other backpackers, I have been sleeping well. The mattress and pillow are firm; my earplugs keep the noise out; and the sleeping quarters are as dark as a cave when the lights are out, and only as bright as, perhaps, a dreary rainy day when on. All in all, St. Paul's is a excellent place to stay for the gregarious, adventurous, and penurious city explorer - couchsurfing may be a tenable alternative; I'll test for next time.
Yesterday Connie and I gorged ourselves at the borough market where there were all sorts of delectable, savory victuals. There was definitely a European flavor to the food fair: simmering sausages were to be found everywhere; and much as the meat was plentiful, and genuine, so were the dairy delicacies, in the form of myriad rounds of cheese, stacked high behind checkered tabletops. Of course, we washed these tasty morsels down with copious amounts of alcohol that flowed from cups as though amber waterfalls. For the first time I tried mulled wine, which tasted like warm, rancid fruit punch - the ideal tonic for a drizzling London day, I suppose. We later killed the afternoon at the pub, shooting the breeze while imbibing several diminutive half-pints in the process. Getting smashed at four in the afternoon doesn't seem like such a bad thing anymore, especially when you are having fun in the company of friends; I can more appreciate why the English do it so much!
Earlier in the day, we visited the Tate Modern. Its turbine room lived up to its prominent billing what with a giant spider, complete with bulbous egg sac, anchoring the retrospective exhibit. The permanent galleries, too, were a delight upon which to feast one's eyes. Picasso, Warhol and Pollock ruled the chambers of the upper floors with the products of their lithe wrists; and I ended up becoming a huge fan of cubism, while developing a disdain for abstract art and its vacuous images, which, I feel, are devoid of both motivation and emotion.
My first trip yesterday morning was to Emirates Stadium, home of the Arsenal Gunners. It towers imperiously over the surrounding neighborhood; yet for all its majesty, the place sure was quiet! Business did pick up later, however, once the armory shop opened, and dozens of fans descended on it like bees to a hive. I, too, swooped in on a gift-buying mission, and wound up purchasing a book for Godfrey, a scarf for a student, and a jersey - on sale, of course - for good measure.
I'm sitting in the Westminster Abbey Museum now, resting my weary legs and burdened back. So far, I've been verily impressed with what I've seen, such a confluence of splendor and history before me that it would require days to absorb it all, when regretfully I can spare only a few hours. My favorite part of the abbey is the poets corner where no less a literary luminary than Samuel Johnson rests in peace - his bust confirms his homely presence, which was so vividly captured in his biography.
For lunch I had a steak and ale pie, served with mash, taken alongside a Guinness, extra cold - 2 degrees centigrade colder, the bartender explained. It went down well, like all the other delicious meals I've had in England; and no doubt by now I have grown accustomed to inebriation at half past two. Besides, Liverpool were playing inspired football against Blackburn; and my lunch was complete.
Having had my fill of football, I decided to skip my ticket scalping endeavor at Stamford Bridge and instead wandered over to the British Museum to inspect their extensive collections. Along the way, my eye caught a theater, its doors wide open and admitting customers. With much rapidity, I subsequently checked the show times, saw that a performance was set to begin, and at last rushed to the box office to purchase a discounted ticket - if you call a 40 pound ticket a deal, that is. That's how I grabbed a seat to watch Hairspray in the West End.
The show was worth forty pounds. The music was addictive; and the stage design and effects were not so much kitschy as delightfully stimulating - the pulsating background lights were at once scintillating and penetrating. The actors as well were vivacious, oozing charisma while they danced and delivered lines dripping in humor. Hairspray is a quality production and most definitely recommended.
12.4.09
At breakfast I sat across from a man who asked me to which country Hong Kong had been returned - China or Japan. That was pretty funny. Then he started spitting on my food as he spoke, completely oblivious to my breakfast becoming the receptacle in which the fruit of his inner churl was being placed. I guess I understand the convention nowadays of covering one's mouth whilst speaking and masticating at the same time!
We actually conversed on London life in general, and I praised London for its racial integration, the act of which is a prodigious leap of faith for any society, trying to be inclusive, accepting all sorts of people. It wasn't as though the Brits were trying in vain to be all things to all men, using Spanish with the visitors from Spain, German with the Germans and, even, Hindi with the Indians, regardless of whether or not Hindi was their native language; not even considering the absurd idea of encouraging the international adoption of their language; thereby completely keeping English in English hands and allowing its proud polyglots to "practice" their languages. Indeed, the attempt of the Londoners to avail themselves of the rich mosaic of ethnic knowledge, and to seek a common understanding with a ubiquitous English accent is an exemplar, and the bedrock for any world city.
I celebrated Jesus' resurrection at the St. Andrew's Street Church in Cambridge. The parishioners of this Baptist church were warm and affable, and I met several of them, including one visiting (Halliday) linguistics scholar from Zhongshan university in Guangzhou, who in fact had visited my tiny City University of Hong Kong in 2003. The service itself was more traditional and the believers fewer in number than the "progressive" services at any of the charismatic, evangelical churches in HK; yet that's what makes this part of the body of Christ unique; besides, the message was as brief as a powerpoint slide, and informative no less; the power word which spoke into my life being a question from John 21:22 - what is that to you?
Big trees; exquisite lawns; and old, pointy colleges; that's Cambridge in a nutshell. Sitting here, sipping on a half-pint of Woodforde's Wherry, I've had a leisurely, if not languorous, day so far; my sole duty consisting of walking around while absorbing the verdant environment as though a sponge, camera in tow.
I am back at the sublime beer, savoring a pint of Sharp's DoomBar before my fish and chips arrive; the drinking age is 18, but anyone whose visage even hints of youthful brilliance is likely to get carded these days, the bartender told me. The youth drinking culture here is almost as twisted as the university drinking culture in America.
My stay in Cambridge, relaxing and desultory as it may be, is about to end after this late lunch. I an not sure if there is anything left to see, save for the American graveyard which rests an impossible two miles away. I have had a wonderful time in this town; and am thankful for the access into its living history - the residents here must demonstrate remarkable patience and tolerance what with so many tourists ambling on the streets, peering - and photographing - into every nook and cranny.
13.4.09
There are no rubbish bins, yet I've seen on the streets many mixed race couples in which the men tend to be white - the women also belonging to a light colored ethnicity, usually some sort of Asian; as well saw some black dudes and Indian dudes with white chicks.
People here hold doors, even at the entrance to the toilet. Sometimes it appears as though they are going out on a limb, just waiting for the one who will take the responsibility for the door from them, at which point I rush out to relieve them of such a fortuitous burden.
I visited the British Museum this morning. The two hours I spent there did neither myself nor the exhibits any justice because there really is too much to survey, enough captivating stuff to last an entire day, I think. The bottomless well of artifacts from antiquity, drawing from sources as diverse as Korea, and Mesopotamia, is a credit to the British empire, without whose looting most of this amazing booty would be unavailable for our purview; better, I think, for these priceless treasures to be open to all in the grandest supermarket of history than away from human eyes, and worst yet, in the hands of unscrupulous collectors or in the rubbish bin, possibly.
Irene and I took in the ballet Giselle at The Royal Opera House in the afternoon. The building is a plush marvel, and a testament to this city's love for the arts. The ballet itself was satisfying, the first half being superior to the second, in which the nimble dancers demonstrated their phenomenal dexterity in, of all places, a graveyard covered in a cloak of smoke and darkness. I admit, their dance of the dead, in such a gloomy necropolis, did strike me as, strange.
Two amicable ladies from Kent convinced me to visit their hometown tomorrow, where, they told me, the authentic, "working" Leeds Castle and the mighty interesting home of Charles Darwin await.
I'm nursing a pint of Green King Ruddles and wondering about the profusion of British ales and lagers; the British have done a great deed for the world by creating an interminable line of low-alcohol session beers that can be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner; and their disservice is this: besides this inexhaustible supply of cheap beer ensnaring my inner alcoholic, I feel myself putting on my freshman fifteen, almost ten years after the fact; I am going to have to run a bit harder back in Hong Kong if I want to burn all this malty fuel off.
Irene suggested I stop by the National Art Gallery since we were in the area; and it was an hour well spent. The gallery currently presents a special exhibit on Picasso, the non-ticketed section of which features several seductive renderings, including David spying on Bathsheba - repeated in clever variants - and parodies of other masters' works. Furthermore, the main gallery houses two fabulous portraits by Joshua Reynolds, who happens to be favorite of mine, he in life being a close friend of Samuel Johnson - I passed by Boswells, where its namesake first met Johnson, on my way to the opera house.
14.4.09
I prayed last night, and went through my list, lifting everyone on it up to the Lord. That felt good; that God is alive now, and ever present in my life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters.
Doubtless, then, I have felt quite wistful, as though a specter in the land of the living, being in a place where religious fervor, it seems, is a thing of the past, a trifling for many, to be hidden away in the opaque corners of centuries-old cathedrals that are more expensive tourist destinations than liberating homes of worship these days. Indeed, I have yet to see anyone pray, outside of the Easter service which I attended in Cambridge - for such an ecstatic moment in verily a grand church, would you believe that it was only attended by at most three dozen spirited ones. The people of England, and Europe in general, have, it is my hope, only locked away the Word, relegating it to the quiet vault of their hearts. May it be taken out in the sudden pause before mealtimes and in the still crisp mornings and cool, silent nights. There is still hope for a revival in this place, for faith to rise like that splendid sun every morning. God would love to rescue them, to deliver them in this day, it is certain.
I wonder what Londoners think, if anything at all, about their police state which, like a vine in the shadows, has taken root in all corners of daily life, from the terrorist notifications in the underground, which implore Londoners to report all things suspicious, to the pair of dogs which eagerly stroll through Euston. What makes this all the more incredible is the fact that even the United States, the indomitable nemesis of the fledgling, rebel order, doesn't dare bombard its citizens with such fear mongering these days, especially with Obama in office; maybe we've grown wise in these past few years to the dubious returns of surrendering civil liberties to the state, of having our bags checked everywhere - London Eye; Hairspray; and The Royal Opera House check bags in London while the museums do not; somehow, that doesn't add up for me.
I'm in a majestic bookshop on New Street in Birmingham, and certainly to confirm my suspicions, there are just as many books on the death of Christianity in Britain as there are books which attempt to murder Christianity everywhere. I did find, however, a nice biography on John Wesley by Roy Hattersley and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I may pick up the former.
Lunch with Sally was pleasant and mirthful. We dined at a French restaurant nearby New Street - yes, Birmingham is a cultural capitol! Sally and I both tried their omelette, while her boyfriend had the fish, without chips. Conversation was light, the levity was there and so was our reminiscing about those fleeting moments during our first year in Hong Kong; it is amazing how friendships can resume so suddenly with a smile. On their recommendation, I am on my way to Warwick Castle - they also suggested that I visit Cadbury World, but they cannot take on additional visitors at the moment, the tourist office staff informed me, much to my disappointment!
Visiting Warwick Castle really made for a great day out. The castle, parts of which were established by William the Conquerer in 1068, is as much a kitschy tourist trap as a meticulous preservation of history, at times a sillier version of Ocean Park while at others a dignified dedication to a most glorious, inexorably English past. The castle caters to all visitors; and not surprisingly, that which delighted all audiences was a giant trebuchet siege engine, which for the five p.m. performance hurled a fireball high and far into the air - fantastic! Taliban beware!
15.4.09
I'm leaving on a jet plane this evening; don't know when I'll be back in England again. I'll miss this quirky, yet endearing place; and that I shall miss Irene and Tom who so generously welcomed me into their home, fed me, and suffered my use of their toilet and shower goes without saying. I'm grateful for God's many blessings on this trip.
On the itinerary today is a trip to John Wesley's home, followed by a visit to the Imperial War Museum. Already this morning I picked up a tube of Oilatum, a week late perhaps, which Teri recommended I use to treat this obstinate, dermal weakness of mine - I'm happy to report that my skin has stopped crying.
John Wesley's home is alive and well. Services are still held in the chapel everyday; and its crypt, so far from being a cellar for the dead, is a bright, spacious museum in which all things Wesley are on display - I never realized how much of an iconic figure he became in England; at the height of this idol frenzy, ironic in itself, he must have been as popular as the Beatles were at their apex. The house itself is a multi-story edifice with narrow, precipitous staircases and spacious rooms decorated in an 18th century fashion.
I found Samuel Johnson's house within a maze of red brick hidden alongside Fleet Street. To be in the home of the man who wrote the English dictionary, and whose indefatigable love for obscure words became the inspiration for my own lexical obsession, this, by far, is the climax of my visit to England! The best certainly has been saved for last.
There are a multitude of portraits hanging around the house like ornaments on a tree. Every likeness has its own story, meticulously retold on the crib sheets in each room. Celebrities abound, including David Garrick and Sir Joshua Reynolds, who painted several of the finer images in the house. I have developed a particular affinity for Oliver Goldsmith, of whom Boswell writes, "His person was short, his countenance coarse and vulgar, his deportment that of a scholar awkwardly affecting the easy gentleman. It appears as though I, too, could use a more flattering description of myself!
I regretfully couldn't stop to try the curry in England; I guess the CityU canteen's take on the dish will have to do. I did, however, have the opportune task of flirting with the cute Cathay Pacific counter staff who checked me in. She was gorgeous in red, light powder on her cheeks, with real diamond earrings, she said; and her small, delicate face, commanded by a posh British accent rendered her positively irresistible, electrifying. Not only did she grant me an aisle seat but she had the gumption to return my fawning with zest; she must be a pro at this by now.
I saw her again as she was pulling double-duty, collecting tickets prior to boarding. She remembered my quest for curry; and in the fog of infatuation, where nary a man has been made, I fumbled my words like the sloppy kid who has had too much punch. I am just an amateur, alas, an "Oliver Goldsmith" with the ladies - I got no game - booyah!
Some final, consequential bits: because of the chavs, Burberry no longer sells those fashionable baseball caps; because of the IRA, rubbish bins are no longer a commodity on the streets of London, and as a result, the streets and the Underground of the city are a soiled mess; and because of other terrorists from distant, more arid lands, going through a Western airport has taken on the tedium of perfunctory procedure that doesn't make me feel any safer from my invisible enemies.
At last, I saw so many Indians working at Heathrow that I could have easily mistaken the place for Mumbai. Their presence surprised me because their portion of the general population surely must be less than their portion of Heathrow staff, indicating some mysterious hiring bias. Regardless, they do a superb job with cursory airport checks, and in general are absurdly funny and witty when not tactless.
That's all for England!
© All rights are reserved, please do not use my photos without my permission
HMS Prince of Wales. Second visit to her affiliated city.
EDIT: 6/12/24 Due to Storm 'Darragh' the planed visit onboard on Saturday 7th has been Cancelled.
Name:HMS Prince of Wales
Namesake:Prince of Wales
Owner:Aircraft Carrier Alliance
Operator:Royal Navy
Ordered:20 May 2008
Builder:Aircraft Carrier Alliance
Launched:21 December 2017
Sponsored by:The Duchess of Cornwall
Christened:8 September 2017
Commissioned:10 December 2019
Homeport:HMNB Portsmouth
Identification:
Pennant number: R09
Deck code: P
IMO number: 4907907
Motto:Ich Dien ("I Serve")
Status:In active service as of 2019
Class and type:Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier
Displacement:65,000 tonnes (64,000 long tons; 72,000 short tons)
Length:284 m (932 ft)
Beam:39 m (128 ft)(waterline)
73 m (240 ft) overall
Draught:11 metres
Decks:16,000 square metres
Speed:25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km)
Capacity:1,600
Troops:250
Complement:679
#LiverpoolEcho #LiverpoolcityCouncil #LiverpoolCruiseTerminal
#CruiseLiverpool #RoyalNavy #RN
It occurs to me that only five people on the planet are going to get that joke. *SIGH* I'm old. Shot at the 2009 Four Winds Renaissance Faire near Whitehouse Texas.
Without going into details, I've been doing a bit of professional untying and retying this week. It's been a bit stressful but feels like it's all sorted now and I can look forward to a restful long weekend away with Claire and some old friends.
The exploitation rights for this text are the property of the Vienna Tourist Board. This text may be reprinted free of charge until further notice, even partially and in edited form. Forward sample copy to: Vienna Tourist Board, Media Management, Invalidenstraße 6, 1030 Vienna; media.rel@wien.info. All information in this text without guarantee.
Author: Andreas Nierhaus, Curator of Architecture/Wien Museum
Last updated January 2014
Architecture in Vienna
Vienna's 2,000-year history is present in a unique density in the cityscape. The layout of the center dates back to the Roman city and medieval road network. Romanesque and Gothic churches characterize the streets and squares as well as palaces and mansions of the baroque city of residence. The ring road is an expression of the modern city of the 19th century, in the 20th century extensive housing developments set accents in the outer districts. Currently, large-scale urban development measures are implemented; distinctive buildings of international star architects complement the silhouette of the city.
Due to its function as residence of the emperor and European power center, Vienna for centuries stood in the focus of international attention, but it was well aware of that too. As a result, developed an outstanding building culture, and still today on a worldwide scale only a few cities can come up with a comparable density of high-quality architecture. For several years now, Vienna has increased its efforts to connect with its historical highlights and is drawing attention to itself with some spectacular new buildings. The fastest growing city in the German-speaking world today most of all in residential construction is setting standards. Constants of the Viennese architecture are respect for existing structures, the palpability of historical layers and the dialogue between old and new.
Culmination of medieval architecture: the Stephansdom
The oldest architectural landmark of the city is St. Stephen's Cathedral. Under the rule of the Habsburgs, defining the face of the city from the late 13th century until 1918 in a decisive way, the cathedral was upgraded into the sacral monument of the political ambitions of the ruling house. The 1433 completed, 137 meters high southern tower, by the Viennese people affectionately named "Steffl", is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture in Europe. For decades he was the tallest stone structure in Europe, until today he is the undisputed center of the city.
The baroque residence
Vienna's ascension into the ranks of the great European capitals began in Baroque. Among the most important architects are Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. Outside the city walls arose a chain of summer palaces, including the garden Palais Schwarzenberg (1697-1704) as well as the Upper and Lower Belvedere of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1714-22). Among the most important city palaces are the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene (1695-1724, now a branch of the Belvedere) and the Palais Daun-Kinsky (auction house in Kinsky 1713-19). The emperor himself the Hofburg had complemented by buildings such as the Imperial Library (1722-26) and the Winter Riding School (1729-34). More important, however, for the Habsburgs was the foundation of churches and monasteries. Thus arose before the city walls Fischer von Erlach's Karlskirche (1714-39), which with its formal and thematic complex show façade belongs to the major works of European Baroque. In colored interior rooms like that of St. Peter's Church (1701-22), the contemporary efforts for the synthesis of architecture, painting and sculpture becomes visible.
Upgrading into metropolis: the ring road time (Ringstraßenzeit)
Since the Baroque, reflections on extension of the hopelessly overcrowed city were made, but only Emperor Franz Joseph ordered in 1857 the demolition of the fortifications and the connection of the inner city with the suburbs. 1865, the Ring Road was opened. It is as the most important boulevard of Europe an architectural and in terms of urban development achievement of the highest rank. The original building structure is almost completely preserved and thus conveys the authentic image of a metropolis of the 19th century. The public representational buildings speak, reflecting accurately the historicism, by their style: The Greek Antique forms of Theophil Hansen's Parliament (1871-83) stood for democracy, the Renaissance of the by Heinrich Ferstel built University (1873-84) for the flourishing of humanism, the Gothic of the Town Hall (1872-83) by Friedrich Schmidt for the medieval civic pride.
Dominating remained the buildings of the imperial family: Eduard van der Nüll's and August Sicardsburg's Opera House (1863-69), Gottfried Semper's and Carl Hasenauer's Burgtheater (1874-88), their Museum of Art History and Museum of Natural History (1871-91) and the Neue (New) Hofburg (1881-1918 ). At the same time the ring road was the preferred residential area of mostly Jewish haute bourgeoisie. With luxurious palaces the families Ephrussi, Epstein or Todesco made it clear that they had taken over the cultural leadership role in Viennese society. In the framework of the World Exhibition of 1873, the new Vienna presented itself an international audience. At the ring road many hotels were opened, among them the Hotel Imperial and today's Palais Hansen Kempinski.
Laboratory of modernity: Vienna around 1900
Otto Wagner's Postal Savings Bank (1903-06) was one of the last buildings in the Ring road area Otto Wagner's Postal Savings Bank (1903-06), which with it façade, liberated of ornament, and only decorated with "functional" aluminum buttons and the glass banking hall now is one of the icons of modern architecture. Like no other stood Otto Wagner for the dawn into the 20th century: His Metropolitan Railway buildings made the public transport of the city a topic of architecture, the church of the Psychiatric hospital at Steinhofgründe (1904-07) is considered the first modern church.
With his consistent focus on the function of a building ("Something impractical can not be beautiful"), Wagner marked a whole generation of architects and made Vienna the laboratory of modernity: in addition to Joseph Maria Olbrich, the builder of the Secession (1897-98) and Josef Hoffmann, the architect of the at the western outskirts located Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1904) and founder of the Vienna Workshop (Wiener Werkstätte, 1903) is mainly to mention Adolf Loos, with the Loos House at the square Michaelerplatz (1909-11) making architectural history. The extravagant marble cladding of the business zone stands in maximal contrast, derived from the building function, to the unadorned facade above, whereby its "nudity" became even more obvious - a provocation, as well as his culture-critical texts ("Ornament and Crime"), with which he had greatest impact on the architecture of the 20th century. Public contracts Loos remained denied. His major works therefore include villas, apartment facilities and premises as the still in original state preserved Tailor salon Knize at Graben (1910-13) and the restored Loos Bar (1908-09) near the Kärntner Straße (passageway Kärntner Durchgang).
Between the Wars: International Modern Age and social housing
After the collapse of the monarchy in 1918, Vienna became capital of the newly formed small country of Austria. In the heart of the city, the architects Theiss & Jaksch built 1931-32 the first skyscraper in Vienna as an exclusive residential address (Herrengasse - alley 6-8). To combat the housing shortage for the general population, the social democratic city government in a globally unique building program within a few years 60,000 apartments in hundreds of apartment buildings throughout the city area had built, including the famous Karl Marx-Hof by Karl Ehn (1925-30). An alternative to the multi-storey buildings with the 1932 opened International Werkbundsiedlung was presented, which was attended by 31 architects from Austria, Germany, France, Holland and the USA and showed models for affordable housing in greenfield areas. With buildings of Adolf Loos, André Lurçat, Richard Neutra, Gerrit Rietveld, the Werkbundsiedlung, which currently is being restored at great expense, is one of the most important documents of modern architecture in Austria.
Modernism was also expressed in significant Villa buildings: The House Beer (1929-31) by Josef Frank exemplifies the refined Wiener living culture of the interwar period, while the house Stonborough-Wittgenstein (1926-28, today Bulgarian Cultural Institute), built by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein together with the architect Paul Engelmann for his sister Margarete, by its aesthetic radicalism and mathematical rigor represents a special case within contemporary architecture.
Expulsion, war and reconstruction
After the "Anschluss (Annexation)" to the German Reich in 1938, numerous Jewish builders, architects (female and male ones), who had been largely responsible for the high level of Viennese architecture, have been expelled from Austria. During the Nazi era, Vienna remained largely unaffected by structural transformations, apart from the six flak towers built for air defense of Friedrich Tamms (1942-45), made of solid reinforced concrete which today are present as memorials in the cityscape.
The years after the end of World War II were characterized by the reconstruction of the by bombs heavily damaged city. The architecture of those times was marked by aesthetic pragmatism, but also by the attempt to connect with the period before 1938 and pick up on current international trends. Among the most important buildings of the 1950s are Roland Rainer's City Hall (1952-58), the by Oswald Haerdtl erected Wien Museum at Karlsplatz (1954-59) and the 21er Haus of Karl Schwanzer (1958-62).
The youngsters come
Since the 1960s, a young generation was looking for alternatives to the moderate modernism of the reconstruction years. With visionary designs, conceptual, experimental and above all temporary architectures, interventions and installations, Raimund Abraham, Günther Domenig, Eilfried Huth, Hans Hollein, Walter Pichler and the groups Coop Himmelb(l)au, Haus-Rucker-Co and Missing Link rapidly got international attention. Although for the time being it was more designed than built, was the influence on the postmodern and deconstructivist trends of the 1970s and 1980s also outside Austria great. Hollein's futuristic "Retti" candle shop at Charcoal Market/Kohlmarkt (1964-65) and Domenig's biomorphic building of the Central Savings Bank in Favoriten (10th district of Vienna - 1975-79) are among the earliest examples, later Hollein's Haas-Haus (1985-90), the loft conversion Falkestraße (1987/88) by Coop Himmelb(l)au or Domenig's T Center (2002-04) were added. Especially Domenig, Hollein, Coop Himmelb(l)au and the architects Ortner & Ortner (ancient members of Haus-Rucker-Co) by orders from abroad the new Austrian and Viennese architecture made a fixed international concept.
MuseumQuarter and Gasometer
Since the 1980s, the focus of building in Vienna lies on the compaction of the historic urban fabric that now as urban habitat of high quality no longer is put in question. Among the internationally best known projects is the by Ortner & Ortner planned MuseumsQuartier in the former imperial stables (competition 1987, 1998-2001), which with institutions such as the MUMOK - Museum of Modern Art Foundation Ludwig, the Leopold Museum, the Kunsthalle Wien, the Architecture Center Vienna and the Zoom Children's Museum on a wordwide scale is under the largest cultural complexes. After controversies in the planning phase, here an architectural compromise between old and new has been achieved at the end, whose success as an urban stage with four million visitors (2012) is overwhelming.
The dialogue between old and new, which has to stand on the agenda of building culture of a city that is so strongly influenced by history, also features the reconstruction of the Gasometer in Simmering by Coop Himmelb(l)au, Wilhelm Holzbauer, Jean Nouvel and Manfred Wehdorn (1999-2001). Here was not only created new housing, but also a historical industrial monument reinterpreted into a signal in the urban development area.
New Neighborhood
In recent years, the major railway stations and their surroundings moved into the focus of planning. Here not only necessary infrastructural measures were taken, but at the same time opened up spacious inner-city residential areas and business districts. Among the prestigious projects are included the construction of the new Vienna Central Station, started in 2010 with the surrounding office towers of the Quartier Belvedere and the residential and school buildings of the Midsummer quarter (Sonnwendviertel). Europe's largest wooden tower invites here for a spectacular view to the construction site and the entire city. On the site of the former North Station are currently being built 10,000 homes and 20,000 jobs, on that of the Aspangbahn station is being built at Europe's greatest Passive House settlement "Euro Gate", the area of the North Western Railway Station is expected to be developed from 2020 for living and working. The largest currently under construction residential project but can be found in the north-eastern outskirts, where in Seaside Town Aspern till 2028 living and working space for 40,000 people will be created.
In one of the "green lungs" of Vienna, the Prater, 2013, the WU campus was opened for the largest University of Economics of Europe. Around the central square spectacular buildings of an international architect team from Great Britain, Japan, Spain and Austria are gathered that seem to lead a sometimes very loud conversation about the status quo of contemporary architecture (Hitoshi Abe, BUSarchitektur, Peter Cook, Zaha Hadid, NO MAD Arquitectos, Carme Pinós).
Flying high
International is also the number of architects who have inscribed themselves in the last few years with high-rise buildings in the skyline of Vienna and make St. Stephen's a not always unproblematic competition. Visible from afar is Massimiliano Fuksas' 138 and 127 meters high elegant Twin Tower at Wienerberg (1999-2001). The monolithic, 75-meter-high tower of the Hotel Sofitel at the Danube Canal by Jean Nouvel (2007-10), on the other hand, reacts to the particular urban situation and stages in its top floor new perspectives to the historical center on the other side.
Also at the water stands Dominique Perrault's DC Tower (2010-13) in the Danube City - those high-rise city, in which since the start of construction in 1996, the expansion of the city north of the Danube is condensed symbolically. Even in this environment, the slim and at the same time striking vertically folded tower of Perrault is beyond all known dimensions; from its Sky Bar, from spring 2014 on you are able to enjoy the highest view of Vienna. With 250 meters, the tower is the tallest building of Austria and almost twice as high as the St. Stephen's Cathedral. Vienna, thus, has acquired a new architectural landmark which cannot be overlooked - whether it also has the potential to become a landmark of the new Vienna, only time will tell. The architectural history of Vienna, where European history is presence and new buildings enter into an exciting and not always conflict-free dialogue with a great and outstanding architectural heritage, in any case has yet to offer exciting chapters.
Info: The folder "Architecture: From Art Nouveau to the Presence" is available at the Vienna Tourist Board and can be downloaded on www.wien.info/media/files/guide-architecture-in-wien.pdf.
Nice comments without copied/pasted group icons etc. are welcome. .
As Flickr is a sharing site I only add my pictures to public groups.
Photography experience courses available, please email for details.
Large scale prints are available, i.e. 24 x 30 at $249
The full portfolio available from Stock photography by Tim Large at Alamy
Photographer:- Tim Large
purpleport.com/portfolio/timlarge/?referrer=timlarge
Location:- Weston super Mare, North Somerset, UK
©TimothyLarge - TA Craft Photography
made some killer veggie soup for my sick friend, this was sans apron
red top--remixed
apron--gifted, was my friend's grandma's
denim skirt--thrifted
shoes--target
Concordia research base during the long night, four months without sunlight.
The French–Italian Concordia station's programme of research includes glaciology, human biology and the atmosphere.
ESA uses the base to prepare for future long-duration missions beyond Earth.
During the winter, Concordia is under almost total darkness, with an average temperature of –51°C and a record low of –85°C. It is an ideal place to study the effects on small, multicultural teams isolated for long periods in an extreme, hostile environment.
Credits: IPEV/PNRA-A. Litterio
“Obedient to no man, dependent only on weather and season, without a goal before them or a roof above them, owning nothing in this world after.
They live life, moment to moment, through sun, rain, fog, snow, warmth, cold, comfort, and hardship; time does not exist for them and neither does history, or ambition, or that bizarre idol called progress and evolution.
He is always the opponent, the deadly enemy of those who hate him, despise him, or fear him, because he does not wish to be reminded that all existence is transitory, that life is constantly wilting, that merciless icy death fills the cosmos all around.
He is the Crow”
Tune: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU4_3rweDak
Location: Devils Crack Canyon - RP sim open Sept 20th
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Devils%20Crack%20Canyon/65...
Without any digital camera.
Sans appareil photo numérique.
Ohne Digitalkamera.
kwerfeldein.de/2015/03/21/namibia-entschleunigt-ein-reise...
The former Kettleness railway station, an isolated halt on the mostly abandoned Whitby (West Cliff) to Loftus line. A short section linking Boulby and Loftus remains in situ to serve a potash mine. Hugging the coast for 10 miles between Whitby and Staithes, it was regarded as one of the most scenic routes in the country. Kettleness station, serving a mere handful of cottages and farms, was located on a cliff, high above the North Sea.
The single-track line, with passing loops at five stations (including Kettleness), was built between 1871 and 1883, initially by the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway. When, four years into construction, the North Eastern Railway leased the line, it found much of the work unsatisfactory therefore did it again. The first trains ran in December 1883, the last (mostly summer weekend traffic) in May 1958. Justifying closure, British Railways cited the £58,000 cost of maintenance required on four viaducts, including fragile, non-standard trestle structures at Sandsend and Staithes.
Together with Kettleness, the distinctive red-brick station buildings at Whitby (West Cliff), Sandsend and Staithes survive. Kettleness is used as a scout activity centre. The one-mile stretch from Sandsend to Sandsend Tunnel can be walked because it is a right of way.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
© Copyright 2013 Francisco Aragão
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Use without permission is illegal.
© TODOS OS DIREITOS RESERVADOS. Usar sem permissão é ilegal.
Attention please !
The Copyright of this picture belongs to Getty Images
This photograph can be licensed in Getty Images
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Portuguese
Luziânia é um município brasileiro do estado de Goiás.
É a quinta maior cidade do estado com 174.546 habitantes 3 , ficando atrás apenas da capital Goiânia, e das cidades de Aparecida de Goiânia, Anápolis e Rio Verde.
É, no entanto, mais conhecida por ser integrante da região do entorno do Distrito Federal, devido a sua proximidade com a Capital Federal (58 km).
Seu nome é uma homenagem à santa padroeira do município, Luzia, a quem foi erguida um cruzeiro em 1746.
História
À procura de novas minas de ouro, o bandeirante Antônio Bueno de Azevedo partiu de Paracatu/MG. Em 13 de dezembro de 1746, enquanto descansava sentado às margens de um córrego, notou que no leito do rio havia pepitas de ouro. No dia seguinte ergueu festivamente um cruzeiro e dedicou as minas e o futuro povoado à Santa Luzia. As minas atraíram tanta gente que em menos de um ano o arraial contava com mais de 10.000 pessoas.
A primeira missa foi celebrada em 1746, pelo padre Luiz da Gama Mendonça e assistida por mais de 6.000 garimpeiros. Elevada à categoria de Comarca Eclesiástica em 6 de dezembro de 1758, seu primeiro vigário foi o padre Domingos Ramos.
Em abril de 1758 iniciou-se a construção de um rego, denominado Saia Velha, para facilitar a garimpagem. O rego tinha 42 quilômetros de extensão e foi feito em dois anos, por milhares de escravos negros.
O primeiro núcleo de povoamento já era chamado de Arraial de Santa Luzia em fins do século XVIII.
O arraial foi elevado à categoria de vila em 1 de abril de 1833 e à de cidade em 5 de outubro de 1867. Contudo, foi somente a partir de 31 de dezembro de 1943 que passou a se denominar "Luziânia".
Em Luziânia também foi executado o último homem livre do Brasil antes da abolição da pena de morte. José Pereira da Silva foi enforcado na chácara São Caetano na "Forca da Mangueira", então vila de Santa Luzia em 30 de outubro de 1861.
Demografia
Segundo o Censo de 2010 do IBGE a população de Luziânia é de 174.546 habitantes.
Localização
A cidade de Luziânia está localizada no estado de Goiás, região Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Fica a uma distância de 200 km de Goiânia e aproximadamente 60 km de Brasília. A mistura de modernidade e história é o que melhor define essa cidade.
A Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário, remanescente do século XVIII, guarda imagens de madeira daquela época e sinos de bronze. O Morro da Canastra, o Palácio das Andorinhas e a Cachoeira de Saia Velha são atrações do turismo ecológico de Luziânia.
O bandeirante Antônio Bueno de Azevedo, em 13 de dezembro de 1746, encontrou ouro onde seria o povoado de Santa Luzia. As minas ali existentes atraíram mais de 10.000 imigrantes.
O município de Luziânia, antes denominado Santa Luzia, originou-se da mineração. No século XVIII, essa atividade despertou o interesse de vários sertanistas, os quais tinham a intenção de desbravar as terras centrais do Brasil.
A primeira penetração no território deve-se ao paulista Antônio Bueno de Azevedo. Em fins de 1746, acompanhado de amigos e inúmeros escravos, partiu de Paracatu/MG, rumo noroeste, até alcançar o Rio São Bartolomeu, onde construiu roças e alguns ranchos. Três meses depois, seguiu viagem, rumo oeste, aportando em 1746, às margens do Rio Vermelho, nome decorrente da cor que adquiriu durante as atividades de extração de ouro, abundante em seu leito. Satisfeitos com os vales férteis e auríferos do planalto, ali mesmo acamparam, construíram as primeiras residências e erigiram a cruz, em nome de Santa Luzia, marco da povoação que nascia sob a proteção da Santa. A notícia da descoberta das minas de Santa Luzia atraiu contingentes de pessoas livres e escravas das mais longínquas regiões.
No final do século XVIII, a mineração começou a declinar e muitas famílias transferiram-se para a zona rural, dedicando-se à lavoura e à criação de gado. O arraial foi elevado à condição de vila em 1833 e, logo depois, à categoria de cidade em 1867. O atual nome, Luziânia, surgiu após o decreto-lei estadual nº 8305, de 31 de dezembro de 1943.
Desde sua fundação, no século XVIII, até 1960, data da inauguração de Brasília, Luziânia não obteve grandes marcos de forma geral. Entretanto, após ceder parte de seu grande território para a construção do que seria então a capital federal, Luziânia passou a ter um surto de desenvolvimento, beneficiada sobretudo pela BR-040 e BR-050, sendo a rodovia BR-040 a que oferece o acesso até Brasília. Com um crescimento populacional acelerado, foi necessário que se avaliasse a legislação do uso do solo do Distrito Federal, definindo previamente as áreas para expansão urbana, além da especulação imobiliária, o que acabou levando parte da população da nova capital brasileira a procurar alternativas de localização e moradia, tanto em Luziânia quanto em outras cidades do Entorno do Distrito Federal.
Economia
Em 2005, foi implantado em Luziânia, o Programa de Desenvolvimento Econômico de Arranjo Produtivo Local (APL) de Fruticultura. Neste município, o programa APL está promovendo assessoria técnica e tecnológica em 91 propriedades locais rurais e 120 pessoas participaram de cursos de informática básica, que faz parte de um trabalho de inclusão digital junto aos filhos dos agricultores.
Além disso, o programa APL promoveu um plano de desenvolvimento sustentável para Luziânia e região e um estudo de pré-viabilidade econômica da plataforma comercial de fruticultura para o município.Uma visita técnica com 33 produtores rurais ao APL de fruticultura irrigada de Juazeiro e Petrolina também foi realizada.
O programa APL é uma iniciativa do Ministério da Integração Nacional, em parceria com a Federação das Indústrias do Estado de Goiás, Senai e Instituto Euvaldo Lodi com apoio da Central de Associações de Produtores Rurais, Agência Rural, Sebrae, Secretaria de Planejamento e prefeitura de Luziânia. O projeto conta com recursos da ordem de R$ 330 mil, para atender 40 associações rurais que representam mais de 2 mil produtores rurais.
Wikipedia
Do not use without permission!
Disney Twitter: twitter.com/ThatDisneyLover
Photography Twitter: twitter.com/LJK_Photography
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/PixelPixie123
Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/thatdisneylover/
Photography Instagram: www.instagram.com/ljknightonphotography/
If any performers, characters or cast members that would like photos for personal or portfolio reasons, you may have any photo of themselves for a higher resolution or with a smaller watermark. Please either contact me through Twitter.
Can't let the Christmas season slip away without a Texas Christmas post....
Here is some Texas Christmas music to go with it... Yeeee Haaaa... Enjoy!!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFIig8rnlgY&feature=related and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGs1BaA7co&feature=related and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhRgashkZF8&feature=related..
and www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5nhTMg8DnE&feature=related
and of course got to have one from our Texas pride... George Strait-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCoGDzKrfXU&feature=related
Just a little Texas fun to go with this marvelous Christmas season 2011!!!!
But most important... always remember... "Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!!!"
Nice comments without copied/pasted group icons are welcome. .
As Flickr is a sharing site I only add my pictures to public groups, .
Photography training courses available, please email for details.
Large scale prints are available, i.e. 24 x 36 at $249
The full portfolio available from Stock photography by Tim Large at Alamy
Photographer:- Tim Large
purpleport.com/portfolio/timlarge/?referrer=timlarge
Location: - Cardiff, Wales
©TimothyLarge - TACraftPhotography
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
© Copyright 2013 Francisco Aragão
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Use without permission is illegal.
© TODOS OS DIREITOS RESERVADOS. Usar sem permissão é ilegal.
Attention please !
The Copyright of this picture belongs to Getty Images
This photograph can be licensed in Getty Images
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Portuguese
A Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, a Matriz de Pirenópolis, é um templo católico, localizado na cidade de Pirenópolis, Goiás.
Para o povo goiano a Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário é o maior centro da fé católica, e ainda daquelas que, pelo sincretismo, têm no local o ponto máximo da religião. É a mais tradicional igreja católica estado de Goiás, dedicada a Nossa Senhora do Rosário, padroeira dos pirenopolinos. A imagem de Nossa Senhora do Rosário veio para Pirenópolis em 1727, sendo a padroeira da cidade.
O Restauro de 1996 a 1999
Histórico
A construção
O Arraial das Minas de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, atual Pirenópolis, foi fundado em 7 de outubro de 1727, pelos mineradores que aqui se estabeleceram a fim de explorarem o potencial aurífero das margens do rio das Almas.
A construção da igreja que seria consagrada a Nossa Senhora do Rosário iniciou-se no ano de 1728, sendo construída por meio de um sistema misto em taipa de pilão, adobe, alvenaria de pedra e madeira.
Os primeiros registros relacionados à matriz foram feitos em 1732, com o primeiro batizado realizado na igreja e em 1734, quando foram iniciados os registros no Livro de Óbitos dos sepultamentos realizados na Matriz.
Igreja Matriz de Pirenópolis
Para chegar ao seu aspecto contemporâneo, a igreja passou por vários acréscimos e alterações. Em 1758 foi assentado o assoalho da capela-mor e, em 1761, foram construídos o retábulo e as quatro janelas da capela-mor, além das portas de acesso à sacristia e ao consistório. A “camarinha”, espaço localizado atrás da capela-mor, foi acrescentada em 1763, ano em que foi deliberado pela Irmandade do Santíssimo Sacramento a construção da segunda torre, provavelmente a torre esquerda (lado do nascente).
As pinturas do frontispício do altar-mor foram executadas em 1766, por Reginaldo Fragoso de Albuquerque. Para aumentar espaço da capela-mor, em 1769 o altar principal foi recuado. As duas estátuas de anjos com trombetas e o cortinado que compõem o arco do cruzeiro foram feitos em 1770, em entalhe de madeira. Em 1771 foi feita a refundição do sino original, pelo mestre Manuel José Pereira. Em 1803 foi instalado o sino, que foi refundido em 1939 (o mesmo que permaneceu até o momento do incêndio de 2002). O botânico inglês William John Burchel (1823) passou pela região e fez registros da igreja com as torres mais altas do que a configuração atual.
Em 1832 foram deliberados grandes reparos na Matriz, que na verdade só aconteceram em 1838, com o desabamento do telhado sobre a arcada do altar-mor, dando início assim à reforma conduzida pelo Comendador Joaquim Alves de Oliveira, quando a igreja passou a adquirir sua feição contemporânea.
Entre os anos de 1863 e 1864 foram executadas a ornamentação da igreja, a pintura do forro da capela-mor e da abóbada do trono, pelos artistas meiapontenses Inácio Pereira Leal e Antônio da Costa Nascimento, auxiliados pelo jovem Francisco Herculano de Pina.
O relógio de Matriz foi instalado na torre sineira em 1866 e foi substituído por outro de pêndulo, de fabricação alemã, em 1885. Em 1936 foi demolido o púlpito bicentenário.
A Igreja Matriz de Pirenópolis foi tombada como Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional no ano de 1941. No período entre os anos de 1973 e 1986 o SPHAN (atual IPHAN) realizou vários reparos no edifício.
Características
Em estilo colonial, a matriz tem os alicerces de cantaria (pedra) e as paredes feitas de taipa de pilão (barro socado). Apenas as paredes mais altas das torres são feitas de adobe (tijolo cozido ao sol). Na parte frontal, a taipa é reforçada por uma gaiola de madeira (aroeira), externa e internamente.
A igreja foi construída de forma que, a qualquer hora do dia, o sol ilumine a sua fachada. A torre do lado do nascente foi construída em 1763. Até essa época, só existia a torre onde se encontra o sino.
Elementos artísticos
Nossa Senhora do Rosário - Padroeira de Pirenópolis
Em talha de madeira com laminações em ouro, os cinco magníficos altares expressam a habilidade e paciência dos eméritos entalhadores e marceneiros meiapontenses do século XIX.
O altar-mor, construído em 1761, expressa a feição típica de um barroco singelo bem como o uso parcimonioso dos ornatos dourados. Integram-no um trono central, que exibe a imagem de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, e dois nichos laterais, à meia altura, ocupados por São Vicente de Paulo, à esquerda, e por São José, à direita.
As antigas estátuas da Igreja Matriz, em talha de madeira, são de origem portuguesa. Em 1773 já se encontravam nos altares laterais as imagens de Santo Antônio de Pádua, São Miguel e São Francisco de Paula.
Do lado do Evangelho, o retábulo colateral é dedicado exclusivamente ao Sagrado Coração de Jesus. No retábulo lateral, encontram-se o altar de Nossa Senhora das Dores e as imagens de São Francisco de Paula, Santo Antônio de Pádua e Santo Emídio.
Do lado da Epístola, o retábulo colateral exibe o altar de São Miguel, a imagem de Nossa Senhora da Penha e, sob o altar, a imagem do Senhor Morto. No retábulo lateral, estão o altar de Santa Ana e as imagens de São João Batista e São Gonçalo.
O arco cruzeiro, emoldurado por um cortinado vermelho com franjas que imitam tecido, é ladeado por dois anjos que tocam trombetas e coroado por um medalhão com ornatos dourados.
O Restauro de 1996 a 1999
Entre os anos de 1996 e 1999 foi feita a restauração arquitetônica e artística da Matriz, com participação da Sociedade dos Amigos de Pirenópolis, sob orientação do IPHAN, através de recursos fornecidos pela Telebrás, via Lei do Mecenato.
O processo de restauro contou com engenheiros, arquitetos, restauradores, mestres de obra e operários que, ligados por uma saudável e profícua convivência, se empenharam no aperfeiçoamento constante das tarefas realizadas.
Além de melhorar o nível técnico-profissional, a absorção da mão-de-obra local contribuiu para gerar empregos e para reter recursos na própria cidade. Desde o primeiro momento, o canteiro de obra manteve-se aberto à visitação pública, com exposições didáticas, organizadas com o objetivo de esclarecer cada aspecto do processo de restauro. O registro diário das etapas de trabalho e a documentação fotográfica profissional realizada em períodos determinados, além de permitirem o acompanhamento completo das obras, geraram significativas imagens que passaram a integrar o acervo da Igreja Matriz.
Arquitetura
Os primeiros trabalhos concentraram-se na recuperação arquitetônica do edifício, já bastante danificado pela ação do tempo e dos predadores como cupins, abelhas, maribondo morcegos e pombos.
Taipa de pilão
Para consolidar a estrutura e neutralizar os efeitos da decadência da taipa de pilão, usou-se uma técnica de enxerto dos vazios com alvenaria de tijolos maciços travados entre si e engastados na própria taipa. Arame farpado, colocado entre os tijolos e presos à estrutura de madeira, contribuíram, em alguns casos, para garantir uma maior aderência.
Gaiolas de madeira
As gaiolas de madeira das fachadas principal e posterior passaram por uma revisão completa: peças deterioradas foram substituídas e cantoneiras metálicas introduzidas para possibilitar o reforço das junções estruturais.
Pintura do forro, perdida no incêndio de 2002
Por meio da remoção de várias camadas de reboco e repinturas nas paredes da capela mor, foi possível resgatar uma pintura parietal possivelmente datada de 1863. A pintura, um barrado azul ornamentados com flores, foi restaurada em um trecho e replicada no restante da capela devido à falta de referências originais.
Altar-mor
Após os trabalhos de recomposição de perdas, reintegração cromática, policromia e douramento, a pintura do frontispício do altar-mor, realizada originalmente em 1766 por Reginaldo Fragoso de Albuquerque, readquiriu a integridade e o colorido originais.
Forro
A restauração da pintura do forro da capela-mor, realizada originalmente entre 1863 e 1864 pelos pintores meiapontenses Inácio Pereira Leal, Antônio da Costa Nascimento, permitiu resgatar a belíssima rosácea central dedicada à Padroeira.
Arco cruzeiro
O arco cruzeiro, encimado por um medalhão, foi restaurado e todos os ornamentos em talha de madeira, inclusive as quatro colunas que emolduram o nicho central e o sacrário, readquiriram sua feição original.
A imagem de Nossa Senhora das Dores foi restaurada e assentada no retábulo lateral para que, por meio de sua imagem, se fizessem lembrados e venerados os sofrimentos de Maria.
A imagem da Padroeira Nossa Senhora do Rosário, trazida de Portugal no século XVIII, se fez renovada e voltou a ocupar o trono central do altar-mor da Matriz que lhe foi consagrada.
O Incêndio
Em 5 de setembro de 2002 a igreja sofreu um incêndio que consumiu o telhado e toda a parte interna do monumento. No mesmo ano iniciaram-se as obras de salvamento emergencial do edifício. O início das obras de restauração aconteceu em 2003 e, em 2004, foi aberta a exposição Canteiro Aberto.
A reconstrução
A reconstrução da Igreja Matriz iniciou em 2003, sendo reinaugurada em 30 de março de 2006.
O Canteiro Aberto, exposição montada no interior da Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora do Rosário, permitiu que os moradores de Pirenópolis e visitantes pudessem acompanhar o processo de restauração, iniciado após o incêndio de setembro de 2002.
Aberta para a visitação no dia 29 de maio de 2004 e funcionando até 17 de Janeiro de 2006, a exposição recebeu um total de 35.000 visitantes de todas as regiões do Brasil e de outros países.
Através de painéis explicativos, visitas guiadas e da própria observação do edifício, foi promovido um interessante trabalho de educação patrimonial, onde os visitantes puderam interagir com o edifício, conhecendo seu valor histórico, religioso e social e participar do restauro através das críticas e sugestões.
O Canteiro Aberto sensibilizou e emocionou a muitos que o visitaram, com a beleza e grandiosidade do edifício atingido pelo incêndio, deixando em seus visitantes grandes expectativas para a conclusão do restauro.
O Renascimento de um Edifício
A Matriz, como uma fênix, ressurgiu literalmente das cinzas para ocupar o seu lugar no cenário e na paisagem da bucólica da cidade de Pirenópolis. Após o impacto do grave incêndio, que destruiu boa parte da Igreja, apenas três anos depois de uma meticulosa obra de restauração, ficou a questão: como a cidade enfrentaria a perda parcial de seu maior ícone arquitetônico e urbano? Com o futuro comprometido pela avaria de seu imponente símbolo incrustado no coração da cidade, sem dúvida tratava-se de uma obra que, mexendo com a mente e a alma de todos, causava controvérsias.
Houve os que duvidavam do sentido de se recuperar alguma coisa a partir do que chamavam de ruína. Outros insistiam que era importante preservar a integridade da própria ruína, sem nada acrescentar. Quando muito, diziam, dever-se-ia deixar a grama crescer e, eventualmente, utilizar o local para atividades culturais como shows etc.
Mas a que ruína se referiam? Para existir uma ruína, é necessário e indispensável decorrer algum tempo, ou seja, o arruinamento se dá, de forma progressiva, com o fluir do tempo. Com a Matriz, o que ocorreu foi um acidente grave, um violento incêndio que rapidamente consumiu boa parte da igreja, sem que houvesse sequer espaço para a ação do tempo.
De qualquer forma, o sinal para a restauração surgiu de uma decisão coletiva da comunidade pirenopolina.
A posição de consenso do Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) na defesa desse patrimônio nacional foi de apoiar a restauração e a reinserção do monumento na paisagem. As dúvidas ficaram por conta apenas da pertinência de uma ação integral ou parcial de recuperação, ou refazimento, dos elementos artísticos destruídos pelo fogo.
Isso posto, foi imediatamente implantada pelo IPHAN uma UTI – Unidade de Terapia da Igreja - que pretendia cuidar da Matriz como de um doente grave. Uma imensa cobertura metálica dava proteção às paredes de barro cru em taipa de pilão e, junto com os imprescindíveis escoramentos das aberturas de portas e janelas, preparava o monumento para o futuro e delicado "ato cirúrgico" de restauração.
Por intermédio da Sociedade dos Amigos de Pirenópolis (SOAP) foi então elaborado, pela Lei de Incentivo à Cultura e pela Lei Goyazes, um projeto que, após sua aprovação no Conselho Nacional de Cultura (MinC/PRONAC) e na Agência Goiana de Cultura Pedro Ludovico (AGEPEL), possibilitou a captação dos recursos que, vindos da Caixa Econômica Federal (CAIXA), das Centrais Elétricas de Goiás (CELG), do Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) e da Petrobras e com o apoio do Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente (IBAMA), permitiram dar início às obras.
Nascia assim o Canteiro Aberto, norteado desde logo pelos princípios de comunicação social e garantia da participação da comunidade no processo de restauro do templo. Tapumes transparentes e uma exposição no interior da Igreja tinham, entre outros objetivos, os de contribuir para a cicatrização paulatina das feridas deixadas pelo incêndio, a reinserção imediata do grande volume na paisagem da cidade e a sensibilização da sociedade após o impacto.
O acidente, ao despir todo o sistema construtivo, revelou a fortaleza daquelas verdadeiras muralhas de barro assentadas sobre cantaria de pedra que, a despeito dos 300 anos de história e das altíssimas temperaturas durante horas de fogo, se mantiveram em pé e firmes
Um canteiro digital foi providenciado para armazenar as imagens fotográficas disponibilizadas em um banco acessível pela internet, e foi dada seqüência a um meticuloso processo de documentação também em vídeo.
A riqueza das soluções criativas no canteiro de obras tais como: rabo de cavalo, adobe de pilão, andaime móvel e injeção de barro, dentre outras, deveu-se principalmente à harmoniosa convivência entre técnicos e operários. Sem subverter a imprescindível hierarquia de trabalho e levando em conta a qualidade da mão-de-obra local, a equipe aprendeu a pensar em conjunto - trocar idéias, amadurecê-las e tomar coletivamente as decisões.
O termo carapinas, empregado usualmente em Pirenópolis para denominar aqueles que se dedicam ao trabalho com madeiras, demonstra a herança portuguesa no trato com esse material. Remontando a períodos da história da colonização, a arte da madeira é ainda uma forte marca na cidade, tanto na arquitetura como no mobiliário produzido e comercializado para diversos lugares do país e do mundo. A presença no canteiro de alguns desses mestres carapinas possibilitou, em um período de pouco mais de dois anos, o aperfeiçoamento de uma série de aprendizes que, ao final, se capacitaram para o desempenho de diferentes tipos de tarefas, com alta competência técnica e operacional.
Com o respaldo de um denso referencial teórico, foram estudadas as soluções empregadas na Europa do pós-guerra: nos monumentos das duas Alemanhas; na reconstrução integral do centro urbano de Varsóvia pós-nazismo; na reconstrução, após um acidente, da Torre da Praça de São Marcos em Veneza. E estudamos o ocorrido em Dubrovnik, capital da antiga Iugoslávia, onde uma guerra étnico-religiosa destruiu a cidade patrimônio cultural da humanidade, levando em conta o compromisso das nações integrantes da UNESCO com a sua preservação de acordo com os princípios internacionais que regem o tema patrimônio da humanidade.
Afinal, a pergunta que não quis calar: no caso da Matriz de Pirenópolis houve um restauro ou uma reconstrução? Ao afirmar que se tratou de uma reinserção do volume na paisagem ou da reapropriação de um importantíssimo ícone simbólico e espiritual, temos a certeza de que estamos no campo e no domínio restrito do restauro. Por mais cuidadosa que seja sua conservação, um monumento não se mantém por toda a eternidade sem as inevitáveis ações de restauro e conservação das características que lhe conferem originalidade e legitimidade. Podem ser trocadas as portas desgastadas pelo tempo, a cobertura, seu tabuado, sua pintura, sem que isso signifique uma reconstrução.
Na Matriz, a ancestral taipa de pilão falou mais alto, resistiu às intempéries do tempo e à agressão do fogo e se recompôs para que o próprio tempo possa avaliar melhor sua trajetória.
E, se cada caso é um caso, na Matriz cabe reafirmar sua verdadeira restauração. Restauração de sua função simbólica, de sua função social e cultural, de sua importância arquitetônica e urbana, de sua centralidade espacial na cidade e de sua primazia na paisagem, de seu papel histórico e, sobretudo, de sua condição de obra de arte contextualizada no tempo e no espaço.
A Matriz de Pirenópolis encerra a história de um monumento que, a despeito das várias formas pelas quais se revelou ao longo do tempo, conservou sua essência primeira, mantendo sempre viva sua destinação original. Ora as torres foram altas e, por infortúnios do tempo, tiveram que ser rebaixadas... ora a capela-mor foi pequena, e teve que ser aumentada... ora o arco cruzeiro ruiu, e teve que ser restaurado, graças ao empenho do Comendador Joaquim Alves da Silva em sua memorável passagem pela cidade.
Mas a Matriz perpetuou-se como nasceu, simples, bela e verdadeira. Uma obra de arte que, inscrita em 1941 no livro de tombo do patrimônio histórico e artístico nacional, foi reconhecida como tal desde os tempos pioneiros do IPHAN. Uma menina que se tornou senhora, cercada dos cuidados que a memória nacional requer, uma obra de arte que merecia ser restaurada, jamais replicada.
Quanto aos elementos artísticos levados pelo incêndio, o tempo tratou de buscar no passado uma curiosa solução. A religiosidade brasileira fez edificar em Pirenópolis duas igrejas do Rosário: a dos brancos e a dos pretos. Estes últimos, impedidos de freqüentar a Matriz que haviam ajudado a erguer, viram-se obrigados a construir outra igreja para a mesma santa de devoção. E, por muitos anos, conviveram os dois edifícios com suas fachadas voltadas uma para a outra. Até que, por força de intervenções desastrosas que tentaram tornar o colonial em neogótico a exemplo do que ocorreu em outros tantos monumentos do Brasil afora, a igreja dos pretos veio a ruir, ficando o seu altar-mor preservado e guardado por mais de sessenta anos.
Com o acidente da Matriz, configurou-se uma situação inusitada - uma igreja sem altar-mor e um altar-mor sem igreja. Era chegada a hora de, unindo os homens de todas as cores e mesma fé, transplantar, para o doente já recuperado, um coração, a alma da Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos brancos, dos pretos e dos mestiços. A alma da Nossa Senhora do Rosário do povo brasileiro e pirenopolino.
As soluções adotadas para os elementos artísticos da igreja privilegiaram a simplicidade dos materiais e a autenticidade das técnicas construtivas, em harmonia com as conquistas tecnológicas do tempo histórico presente. Deixando a descoberto os relevos na taipa que outrora abrigavam os altares laterais, ou incorporando no altar-mor uma talha original da antiga igreja dos pretos da mesma santa de devoção, buscou-se reter no interior do edifício as marcas mais significativas e contundentes do passado vistas sob a luz do aqui e agora.
Por tudo isso, a intervenção restauradora não pode ser caracterizada como um restauro autoral, mas como um processo de restauro coletivo que procurou, por meio da consolidação do templo, o resgate da fé de um povo.
Agora só resta aguardar pacientemente o julgamento da história. O restauro de um monumento é feito do tempo do fazer, do tempo do admirar, do tempo do envelhecer e do tempo de se perpetuar e se lançar para o futuro.
Wikipedia
PGB Photographer & Creative - © 2022 Philip Romeyn - Phillostar Gone Ballistic 2021 - Photo may not be edited from its original form. Commercial use is prohibited without contacting me.
St George, Stowlangtoft, Suffolk
Given that our parish churches almost without exception underwent restorations in the 19th Century, it should be obvious that when we enter a medieval church, we are encountering a Victorian vision of the medieval. Even when the actual furnishings and fittings are medieval, the whole piece is still a Victorian conception.
Inevitably, the question arises of what was there before the restoration and what wasn't. The obvious answer is that we must assume that nothing is as it first appears.
A prime example of a church that assumes a continuity that may not actually be the truth is here in the flat fields between Woolpit and Ixworth. This part of Suffolk can be rather bleak in winter, but in summer the churchyard here is verdant and golden, as beautiful a place as any in the county. The church is large, and yet unusually narrow. It sits on a mound that has been cut down on one side by the road. In the churchyard you'll find the well-known memorial to the art critic Peter Fuller and his unborn son, killed in a car crash in 1990.
In the churchyard wall there is what appears to be broken medieval window tracery, which is worth noticing, for hereby hangs a tale.
St George is one of the great Suffolk churches. Although it may externally appear a little severe, and is by no means as grand as Blythburgh, Long Melford and the rest, it is a treasure house of the medieval inside. Unusually for a church of its date, it was all rebuilt in one go, in the late 14th century, and the perpendicular windows are not yet full of the 'walls of glass' confidence that the subsequent century would see. The tracery appears to have been repaired, and possibly even renewed, which may explain the tracery in the churchyard wall. However, it doesn't take much to see that the tracery in the wall is not perpendicular at all, but decorated. So it may be that the broken tracery is from the original church that the late 14th century church replaced. But the wall itself isn't medieval, so where had it been all those years? Is it possible that the current window tracery is not medieval at all?
Stowlangtoft church featured in Simon Jenkins' book England's Thousand Best Churches, which sends plenty of visitors to its locked door, and may help stave off the inevitable for a while, for there is no real congregation here any more and the church is moribund. Regular services are held across the fields at Pakenham, and St George is now only used on special occasions. The key is kept across the road, where the very nice lady told me in February 2018 that the church is now headed for redundancy. It seems likely that care of it will be conveyed into the hands of the Churches Conservation Trust.
You step in through the chancel door (the lock here is very awkward, but do persevere) and if you are anything like me you will head straight down to the west end where you will find the font. Likethe window tracery, it asks some questions. Unusually, it features a Saint on seven of the panels, Christ being on the westwards face. Mortlock dates it to the early 14th century, and the Saints it shows are familiar cults from that time: St Margaret, St Catherine, St Peter and St Paul, and less commonly St George. The cult of St George was at its height in the early years of the 14th century. Mortlock describes the font as mutilated, and it certainly isn't looking its best. But I think there is more going on here than meets the eye. Fonts were plastered over in Elizabethan times, and only relief that stood proud of the plaster was mutilated. These are all shallow reliefs, and I do not think they have been mutilated at all. To my eye at least, this stonework appears weathered. I wonder if this font was removed from the church, probably in the mid-17th century, and served an outdoor purpose until it was returned in the 19th century.
The story of this church in the 19th century is well-documented. In 1832, as part of his grand tour of Suffolk, David Davy visited, and was pleased to find that the church was at last undergoing repair. The chancel had been roofless, and the nave used for services. A new Rectory was being built. Who was the catalyst behind all this? His name was Samuel Rickards, and he was Rector here for almost the middle forty years of the 19th century. Roy Tricker notes that he was a good friend of John Henry Newman, the future Cardinal, and they often corresponded on the subject of the pre-Reformation ordering of English churches. It is interesting to think how, at this seminal moment, Rickards might have informed the thought of the Oxford Movement. Sadly, when Newman became a Catholic, Rickards broke off all correspondence with him.
During the course of the 1840s and 1850s, Rickards transformed Stowlangtoft church. He got the great Ipswich woodcarver Henry Ringham in to restore, replicate and complete the marvellous set of bench ends - Ringham did the same thing at Woolpit, a few miles away. Ringham's work is so good that it is sometimes hard for the inexperienced eye to detect it. However, as at Woolpit, Ringham only copied animals here, and the weirder stuff is all medieval, and probably dates from the rebuilding of the church. The glory of Stowlangtoft's bench ends is partly the sheer quantity - there are perhaps 60 carvings - but also that there are several unique subjects.
The carvings appear to be part of the same group as Woolpit and Tostock - you will recognise the unicorn, the chained bear, the bull playing a harp, the bird with a man's head, from similar carvings elsewhere. And then hopefully that little alarm bell in your heard should start to go "Hmmmm....." because some of the carvings here are clearly not from the same group. It is hard to believe that the mermaid and the owl, for example, are from the same workshop, or even from the same decade. The benches themselves are no clue, as it was common practice in the 19th century to replace medieval bench ends on modern benches, or on medieval benches, or even on modern benches made out of medieval timber (as happened at Blythburgh). Could it be that Samuel Rickards found some of these bench ends elsewhere? Could he have been the kind of person to do a thing like that?
Well, yes he could. As Roy Tricker recalls, the medieval roof at the tractarian Thomas Mozley's church at Cholderton in Wiltshire is East Anglian. Rickards acquired it after finding it in storage in Ipswich docks. It presumably came from one of the Ipswich churches. In the ferment of the great 19th century restoration of our English churches, there was loads of medieval junk lying around, much of it going begging. But was Samuel Rickards the kind of person to counterfeit his church's medieval inheritance?
Well, yes he probably was. The faux-medieval roundels in the windows of the nave are clearly not medieval at all, but were in fact the work of the young Lucy Rickards, daughter of Samuel Rickards himself. Some are clearly to the young girl's design, and Pevsner notes that others are copied from medieval manuscript illustrations in the British Museum, although the Holy Kinship and Presentation in the Temple roundels at least are very close copies of the Flemish roundels of the same subjects in Nowton church on the other side of Bury St Edmunds.
Truly medieval is the vast St Christopher wall-painting still discernible on the north wall. It was probably one of the last to be painted. The bench ends are medieval, of course, as is the fine rood-screen dado, albeit repainted. There is even some medieval figure glass in the upper tracery of some of the windows, including St Agnes holding a lamb and four Old Testament prophets. The laughable stone pulpit is Rickard's commission, and the work of William White. What can Rickards have been thinking of? But we step through into the chancel, and suddenly the whole thing moves up a gear. For here are some things that are truly remarkable.
In a county famous for its woodwork, the furnishings of Stowlangtoft's chancel are breathtaking, even awe-inspiring. Behind the rood screen dado is Suffolk's most complete set of return stalls. Most striking are the figures that form finials to the stall ends. They are participants in the Mass, including two Priests, two servers and two acolytes. The figure of the Priest at a prayer desk must be one of the best medieval images in Suffolk, and Mortlock thought the stalls the finest in England.
The benches that face eastwards are misericords, and beneath them are wonderful things: angels, lions and wodewoses, evangelistic symbols and crowned heads. A hawk captures a hare, a dragon sticks out its tongue. Between the seats are weird oriental faces.
Now, you know what I am going to ask next. How much of this is from this church originally? It all appears medieval work, and there is no reason to believe it might not have been moved elsewhere in the church when the chancel was open to the elements. What evidence have we got?
Firstly, we should notice that the only other Suffolk church with such a large number of medieval misericords of this quality is just a mile away, at Norton. I don't ask you to see this as significant, merely to notice it in passing. Secondly, I am no carpenter, but it does look to me as though two sets of furnishings have been cobbled together; the stalls that back on to the screen appear to have been integrated into the larger structure of stalls and desks that front them and the north and south walls.
However, if you look closely at the figures of the two Deacons, you will see that they are bearing shields of the Ashfield and Peche families. The Ashfield arms also appear on the rood screen, and the Ashfields were the major donors when the church was rebuilt in the 14th century. So on balance I am inclined to think that the greater part of the stall structure was in this church originally from when it was rebuilt. And the misericords? Well, I don't know. But I think they have to be considered as part of the same set as those at Norton. In which case they may have come from the same church, which may have been this one, but may not have been. Almost certainly, the stalls at Norton did not come from Norton church, and folklore has it that they were originally in the quire of Bury Abbey.
Other remarkable things in St George include FE Howard's beautiful war memorial in the former north doorway, and in the opposite corner of the nave Hugh Easton's unexpectedly gorgeous St George, which serves the same purpose. He's not an artist I usually admire, but it is as good as his work at Elveden. Back up in the chancel is a delightful painted pipe organ which was apparently exhibited at, and acquired from, the Great Exhibition of 1851.
But St George at Stowlangtoft is, of course, most famous for the Flemish carvings that flank the rather heavy altarpiece. They were given to the church by Henry Wilson of Stowlangtoft Hall, who allegedly found them in an Ixworth junk shop. They show images from the crucifixion story, but are not Stations of the Cross as some guides suggest. They date from the 1480s, and were almost certainly the altarpiece of a French or Flemish monastery that was sacked during the French Revolution. The carvings were once brightly painted, and piled up in a block rather than spread out in a line. The niches, and crowning arches above them, are 19th century.
One cold winter's night in January 1977, a gang of thieves broke into this locked church and stole them. Nothing more was seen or heard of them until 1982, when they were discovered on display in an Amsterdam art gallery. Their journey had been a convoluted one. Taken to Holland, they were used as security for a loan which was defaulted upon. The new owner was then burgled, and the carvings were fenced to an Amsterdam junk dealer. They were bought from his shop, and taken to the museum, which immediately identified them as 15th century carvings. They put them on display, and a Dutch woman who had read about the Stowlangtoft theft recognised them.
The parish instituted legal proceedings to get them back. An injunction was taken out to stop the new owner removing them from the museum. The parish lost the case, leaving them with a monstrous legal bill, but the story has a happy ending. A Dutch businessman negotiated their purchase from the owner, paid off the legal bills, and returned the carvings to Stowlangtoft. Apparently this was all at vast cost, but the businessman gave the gift in thanks for Britain's liberation of Holland from the Nazis. No, thank you, sir.
Today, the carvings are fixed firmly in place and alarmed, so they won't be going walkabout again. But a little part of me wonders if they really should be here at all. Sure, they are medieval, but they weren't here originally, and they weren't even in England originally. Wouldn't it be better if they were displayed somewhere safer, where people could pay to see them, and provide some income for the maintenance of the church building? And then, whisper it, when St George is taken on by the CCT they might even be able to leave it open.
The Cirneco dell'Etna is a small breed of dog originally from Sicily. This hound was historically used to hunt rabbits and can work for hours without food or water.The breed also has a keen sense of smell and is primarily built for endurance over harsh terrain such as that of Mount Etna. It is the smallest of the Mediterranean island hunting hounds, the others being the Pharaoh Hounds and Ibizan Hounds.Today they are increasingly kept for the sport of conformation showing and as pets, due to their low coat maintenance and friendly nature, although as an active hound they do need regular exercise. A Cirneco should measure from 43-51 cm (17-20in) and weigh between 10–12 kg (22-26lb). As with other breeds, those from hunting stock can lie outside these ranges.
The Cirneco dell'Etna is a small hound-type dog used in Sicily for rabbit hunting. It is found all over the Italian island and particularly in the area surrounding the active volcano, Mount Etna,where the dogs hunt on terrain formed by volcanic lava. Its presence in Sicily is noteworthy as one of the few ancient breeds that have undergone very little manipulation by man. Instead, the breed has been rigorously selected by nature for its ability to work for hours. The dog we have today is an extremely hardy breed. Affectionate and friendly, it is considered easier to train than some of its sighthound cousins. The Cirneco has been in Sicily for thousands of years. Most authors agree that the origins of the hound-type dog lie among ancient Egyptian prick-eared dogs. Bas-reliefs discovered along the Nile and dated around 4000 B.C. depict what could be the Cirneco today. Most probably, the Phoenicians spread these prick-eared, hound-type dogs as they sailed along their trade routes between Northern Africa and the Mediterranean coasts. Ancient records of hounds with upright ears and a pointed muzzle are found in many countries in that part of the world. The most vivid proof of the presence of the Cirneco dell’Etna in Sicily for at least the past 2500 years is the many coins minted between the 5th and 3rd centuries B.C. depicting exemplars of the breed. In particular, the Cirneco dell’Etna is used on coins minted at Segesta, with about 150 variations. In 400 B.C., Dionysus was said to have built a temple dedicated to the God Adranos on the south-western slope of the volcano, just outside the city of Adrano. Many dogs were bred there and legend claims that a thousand Cirnechi guarded the temple.The Cirneco was rarely seen and little known outside Sicily until 1932. Now Cirnechi have also been exported to many European countries where their elegant conformation has helped make them a success in the show ring and many have become FCI International Show Champions. The dog's affectionate temperament and adaptability make it an excellent family companion.
El cirneco del Etna es una raza de perro oriunda de Sicilia. Este tipo de lebrel de pequeño tamaño forma parte de un conjunto de razas caninas del Mediterráneo cuyo origen se encuentra en Egipto, y entre las que se encuentra el podenco Ibicenco. Se trata de un perro adaptado a terrenos difíciles, apto para la caza de conejos y liebres.Los machos miden entre 46 y 50 cm, y pesan de 10 a 12 kg, y las hembras miden entre 42 y 46 cm, pesando de 8 a 10 kg. La cabeza es alargada y estrecha y el hocico afilado y puntiagudo, con un stop muy poco pronunciado. La trufa es de color marrón claro, y los ojos, pequeños, pueden ser ocre claro, ámbar o grises. Las orejas, erguidas, son triangulares y puntiagudas, y están implantadas altas. El lomo es recto y largo, y el pecho no demasiado amplio, con la musculatura pectoral poco desarrollada, al contrario que las patas, fuertes y con una musculatura bien desarrollada. La cola, implantada baja, es gruesa y de diámetro uniforme. El manto, de color tostado o tostado y blanco, tiene un pelaje corto y espeso en la cabeza, orejas y patas y liso y semilargo en el tronco y la cola.Su nombre puede proceder del de la antigua ciudad de Cirene, donde Aristóteles, en De natura animalium, dice haber visto un perro cuya descripción coincide con la de este.Aunque parece claro que la raza es autóctona de Sicilia, es posible que fuese anterior a la civilización egipcia, y que hubiese sido llevado al norte de África por los fenicios. Esta hipótesis se vería confirmada por la existencia de una estatuilla hallada cerca de Siracusa, datada alrededor del 4000 a.c.Se encuentran representaciones del cirneco en monedas sicilianas del siglo Vl al siglo III a.c., y parece que se le tenía en gran consideración, como demuestra el hecho de que en una de las monedas halladas en la antigua ciudad siciliana de Segesta se le represente junto a una divinidad fenicia con facciones humanas. Desde entonces las características de la raza han permanecido prácticamente inalteradas, gracias en gran medida a los campesinos, que conservaron su pureza criándolo por su utilidad para cazar en las pendientes del Etna, de lava solidificada y difícilmente accesibles.
Der Cirneco dell’ Etna ist eine von der FCI anerkannte italienische Hunderasse, die von der Insel Sizilien stammt (FCI-Gruppe 5, Sektion 7, Standard Nr. 199).Frühere Studien gingen davon aus, dass der Cirneco dell'Etna von Jagdhunden abstammt, die zur Pharaonenzeit im Niltal gezüchtet wurden. Der Cirneco dell'Etna sei dann mit den Phöniziern nach Sizilien gekommen. Neueste Untersuchungen unterstützen allerdings eine andere Theorie: Der Cineco dell'Etna stammt ursprünglich aus Sizilien und lebte an den Abhängen des Ätna. Münzen und Gravuren aus der römischen Epoche belegen, dass Hunde dieses Typs bereits vor Christi Geburt auf Sizilien vorkamen.
Der Cirneco dell'Etna ist mittelgroß (bis zu 50 cm und bis zu 12 kg schwer), quadratisch gebaut, schlank, aber dennoch widerstandsfähig und robust. Das Fell ist kurz, sehr glatt und fest. Dabei ist das Fell auf dem Rumpf und der Rute ungefähr 3 cm lang. Die Fellfarbe ist falbfarben, von intensiv bis verwaschen, wie isabell-sandfarben. Weiße oder gescheckte Exemplare können vorkommen; in der Regel weist der Cirneco dell'Etna jedoch nur geringe weiße Abzeichen auf.Die Ohren sind auffällig groß und stehend typisch wie auch bei den Podencos.Der Cirneco dell'Etna wird zur Jagd auf Wildkaninchen verwendet. Sein Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst vor allem die Region um den Ätna, an dessen Abhängen er die Kaninchen im Gebüsch und Geröll aufstöbert. Er treibt die Kaninchen aus ihren Verstecken hervor, so dass die Jäger zum Schuss kommen können.
Le Cirneco de l'Etna (Cirneco dell’Etna) est un chien originaire de Sicile. La Fédération cynologique internationale l'a répertorié dans le groupe 5, section 7, standard n° 199.
Cirneco de l'Etna.....Chien de type lévrier bien qu'il soit classé dans le groupe 5. Chien adapté aux terrains difficiles qui chasse le lapin sauvage.Chien de nationalité italienne primitif qui descendrait des chiens de l’époque des Pharaons. Mais il pourrait s’agir d’une race autochtone d’origine sicilienne.
O cirneco do Etna (em italiano: Cirneco dell’Etna) é uma raça quase desconhecida fora da Itália, já que permaneceu isolada na Sicília por praticamente 2 000 anos. Em 1939 foi reconhecida como raça. Comum aos cães de raças antigas, estes têm dificuldade de adaptação ao mundo urbano, pois precisam de constante atividade e são difíceis de adestrar, embora sejam vistos como animais muito fiéis. Podendo pesar até 12 kg, tem como peculiaridade as grandes orelhas largas e eretas, o longo pescoço e a cabeça estreita.
Сицилийская борзая или Чирнеко дель Этна — порода собак. Происходит с Сицилии. Изначально выращивалась для охоты на зайца. Классические исследования собачьих пород, распространенных в Средиземноморском регионе, пришли к заключению, что Чирнеко Дель Этна происходят от античных охотничьих собак, выведенных в долине Нила в эпоху фараонов, собак, получивших достигших Сицилии благодаря Финикийцам. Но согласно последним исследованиям получила одобрения теория, согласно которой эта порода имеет непосредственно сицилийское происхождение, зародившись в окрестностях Этны. Монеты и гравюры доказывают, что Чирнеки существовали в этом регионе за много веков до нашей эр Собака примитивного типа, элегантного и утонченного сложения, среднего размера, не громоздкая, сильная и крепкая. По морфологическому сложению — собака удлиненных линий, легкого сложения; квадратного формата; шерсть тонкая.
Охотничья собака, выведенная для охоты на кролика по сложной местности; обладает большим темпераментом, но в то же время мягкая и привязчивая.
Cirneco dell’etna on italialainen koirarotu. Se on vinttikoiran tyyppinen pystykorvainen, alkukantainen ja harvinainen rotu. Cirneco dell’etnan tarkka alkuperä jää hämärän peittoon, mutta se on hyvin vanha rotu ja muuttunut vuosisatojen saatossa vain vähän. Rotu on saanut olla melko rauhassa, ja vasta viime vuosina sen jalostukseen on puututtu.Rotu on nykyisin lähinnä seura- ja harrastekoira. Italiassa sitä käytetään yhä villikaniinien metsästykseen. Cirneco on nopea koira, ja ketteränä se pystyy vaihtamaan suuntaa nopeasti esimerkiksi metsästyksen aikana. Cirneco käyttää metsästäessään kuuloaan, näköään ja hajuaistiaan.Cirneco dell’etna on luonteeltaan temperamenttinen, eloisa, ystävällinen, iloinen ja leikkisä koira. Cirnecon leikkisyys säilyy yleensä vanhoihin päiviin asti. Cirneco on myös hyvin läheisyyttä rakastava koira, ja sen lempipaikka onkin yleensä kainalossa sohvalla tai peiton alla omistajansa vieressä. Cirneco kiintyy voimakkaasti perheeseensä ja tulee yleensä hyvin toimeen ystävällisenä ja lempeänä koirana kaikenikäisten ihmisten kanssa. Miellyttämisenhalua cirnecolla ei ole kovin paljon, joten ilman hyvää motivointikeinoa se ei välttämättä aina tottele ainakaan ensimmäisellä käskyllä. Cirnecolla on kuitenkin miellyttämisenhalua enemmän kuin yleensä vinttikoirilla. Cirneco tarvitsee johdonmukaisen ja määrätietoisen peruskasvatuksen.
Cirneco dell’etna on ikivanha rotu, jonka juuret johtavat 1000-luvulle ennen ajanlaskun alkua. Joidenkin mielestä se polveutuu Egyptin viimeisten dynastioiden faaraoiden koirista ja niistä koirista, joita foinikialaiset kauppiaat toivat Italiaan. Tutkimukset antavat aiheen olettaa, että se olisi Sisilian alkuperäisrotu. Cirneconnäköisiä korkokuvia on löydetty faaraoiden haudoista, mm. Luxorista ja Ben-Hassanista. Sisiliasta on myös löydetty 45 cm korkea luuranko, joka muistuttaa cirnecoa suuresti. Luuranko on paikallistettu vuoteen 1400 eaa. Nykyisin kyseinen luuranko on nähtävissä Pigorini-museossa Roomassa. Myös vanhoista Sisiliasta löytyneistä kolikoista on löydetty cirnecoa esittäviä koiran kuvia.
Il cirneco dell'Etna è un cane appartenente ad una razza molto antica, che ha subito poche manipolazioni nel corso dei secoli.Le origini del cirneco risalgono al 1000 a.C. Si dice che questa razza derivi dai cani dei Faraoni egiziani delle ultime dinastie e da cani importati in Sicilia dai commercianti fenici. Successivi studi hanno indicato che molto probabilmente il Cirneco è una razza autoctona siciliana.Il cirneco dell'Etna appartiene alla classe dei cani da caccia di tipo primitivo; è un animale molto veloce e per questo viene utilizzato soprattutto nella caccia al coniglio selvatico e alla lepre.Si presenta con una figura molto snella, con gambe lunghe, orecchie dritte e con un corpo muscoloso ma nello stesso tempo molto elegante. Ha un fiuto eccezionale ed è agilissimo nel cambiare direzione durante l'inseguimento della preda. Da notare che, sebbene l'aspetto del cirneco ricordi quello dei levrieri, non caccia a vista ma usa l'olfatto, come un cane da cerca; secondo la classificazione della Federazione Cinologica Internazionale (F.C.I.), tutti i cani appartenenti alla razza dei "levrieri" appartengono al 10º gruppo, mentre il cirneco è inserito nel 5º Gruppo, quello delle razze di tipo primitivo.Generalmente raggiunge l'altezza di 46-50 cm al garrese negli esemplari maschi, mentre le femmine misurano dai 42 ai 46. Il peso del maschio si aggira intorno ai 10-12 kg, mentre le femmine raggiungono gli 8-10. La lunghezza del tronco è in media uguale all'altezza al garrese: il cirneco ha dunque una costruzione quadrata. È strutturato da una massa muscolare che comprende l'80% del corpo. Si presenta snello e, se nutrito in modo adeguato, mantiene una linea elegante e slanciata.Cane velocissimo e molto agile, è capace di raggiungere persino i 40/45 km/h nella corsa.I colori del mantello del cirneco dell'Etna vanno dal sabbia dorato al cervo scuro; non necessariamente devono essere presenti macchie bianche, ma possono essercene su tutto il corpo; sebbene molto rari, ne esistono colorati di bianco arancio (come nel setter inglese) e di bianco puro (pur non essendo propriamente albino). Il colore riconosciuto dagli standard di razza è il fulvo più o meno intenso, isabella e sabbia, con lista bianca in fronte, al petto, piedi bianchi, punta della coda bianca e ventre bianco.Dotato di grande intelligenza, è generalmente indipendente e solitario. Generalmente diffidente con gli estranei, si affeziona ad un solo padrone. Si può dire che abbia le sue simpatie e antipatie a pelle: con alcuni individui non socializza e alla loro vista abbaia; con altri inizialmente si mostra aggressivo ma poi socializza e con altri ancora prova un feeling immediato e socializza subito. È un cane che per il padrone darebbe tutto se stesso.Se correttamente socializzato da cucciolo, evidenzia un carattere molto disponibile e gioioso e privo di diffidenze anche verso le persone appena conosciute.Se cresce in un ambiente familiare, dove ha ricevuto tutti gli stimoli nei confronti dell'ambiente esterno, ama essere portato a spasso e incontrare altri cani e persone, anche se sconosciuti. Se lasciato libero, soprattutto in luoghi di campagna, cambia visibilmente espressione; tutti i muscoli si tendono, ama ispezionare l'ambiente circostante e, anche se all'inizio sembra indipendente, in realtà sa sempre dove si trova il suo padrone e puntualmente ritorna sotto la sua attenzione. Prima di liberare un cirneco in un luogo aperto occorre aver rafforzato un rapporto sereno e di fiducia. Il cirneco è un cane primitivo e rispetto ad altri animali domestici, molto spesso è un soggetto che porta rancore se trattato male, non dimentica facilmente uno sgarbo subito, non sopporta di essere rimproverato con eccessiva durezza.La vita media di questo cane è molto elevata, quindici anni circa, ma esistono esemplari che vivono anche venti anni.
Font : Wikipedia
www.facebook.com/Il.cirneco?fref=ts
www.facebook.com/luigi.strano.3?ref=tn_tnmn#!/profile.php...
www.facebook.com/luigi.strano.3/media_set?set=a.377094419...
Photo by e-chan © 2007 All rights reserved - Downloading and using without permission is illegal.
Singaslaves :
From 248 000 in the early 90's to more than 750 000 nowadays, the foreign low-skilled (and very low-paid) workers are now a a vital element of the booming singaporean economy and a huge component of the population (18% of the 4.6 millions people living there) - although a lot of Singaporeans pretending not to be racist tend to say that the real singaporean population is 3.7 million (as if the foreign workers were not part of the population)...
Not so fun to be a foreign worker in the construction sites.
Of course, if you come from Sri Lanka, India or Bangladesh (or Myanmar, or Indonesia, etc), the pitiful 600 singapore dollars ( around 310 US dollars or 290 euros) salary you earn for the work is far more than the average wages you could earn in your native countries. Of course, you can buy a nice handphone or mp3, and maybe send a bit for the relatives you've left. So i guess i can understand when some of them i've talked to told me they were quite happy here.
But... They work like dogs, they are carried in lorries like cattle.
They are lonely. They are too poor to rent flats and in the miserable dormitories where they live, there is usually no comfort and very strict rules : no gathering, no drinking, no smoking, no guests, no talks after 10pm...
So some of them gather in the evening around HDB (public housing residences) void decks and eat, drink and talk, as they used to do in India or in their native countries. Of course, there are sometimes loud noises and other little troubles for the neighborhood, and i guess sometimes worse things.
Some residents seem to be very bothered by that - obviously more than when it's a rowdy ah bengs gang (local chinese singaporean bad boys) gathering or noisy mahjong players. In the newspapers, some residents say they created "vigilant groups" so as to catch foreign workers urinating or drinking around the HDBs. Some "not racist" madams say they are too afraid to go out when there are foreign workers around their residences because their smell is unbearable (!) an they feel "mentally violated" (!) by these poor guys. Some threw bags full of urine at foreign workers gathered under their windows... Classy.
The Prime Minister himself had to remind that foreign workers are human too and they are a necessary part of the economy, hence they deserve more tolerance and respect from the singaporean citizens - who by the way are very often descendents from migrant workers...
This picture has been used with permission by some, without permission by the cool blog misterbrwonshow.com (but i don' t mind), without permission by some other websites and blogs, misused by others, stolen and usurped by some. Which letter you don't understand in the word "COPYRIGHT" , huh ?
(Halloween color scheme, much? ;P)
Hm. Worked on this instead of my duet entry yesterday. Hopefully little edits I've been doing in the past two days will inspire me to work on it. .___.
The sim's name is Blake. Why? Dunno. He's pretty old. All I did was change is face a bit and changed his hair. The original idea was for everything to be like, purple but the hair recolor I did, didn't match the outfit. So I just went with orange. :B
Awh, for once flickr didn't resize my photo to 1024 x ###. I wonder why...because there is a size limit for nonpro account members. AH, WELL NOT GOING TO QUESTION IT, ANYMOREEe. 8D So, for once in a long time I'm saying all size it!
I think, I had something else to say...but I forget. Pooey. D:
Let's hope my next upload is my duet r2 entry. Or the collab Phyll and I are going to do? :]
The final church this day, was one of my favourites, Nackington.
Nackington is a tiny village, more a a farm and a couple of cottages. And the church.
It is easy to miss Nackington, it is at the north end of Stone Street, and only a small white sign points down the lane, and you see it as you go speeding past. I know I do this every time, and I know that the church is there.
Only a few shots of the church here, as I have visited it on two previous occasions, but this time, Simon armed with Pevsner, pointed out the glass in two of the windows, amongst the oldest that can be found anywhere in the kingdom.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The earliest visible remains are of a c.12th century rectangular nave, and also probably the chancel north wall. There are three surviving original plain round-headed windows (two on the north side, and one on the SW side of the nave), with external jambs and voussoirs of Caen stone. There also appears to be a blocked 12th century window in the west gable of the nave. Only the north-east quoin of the nave (also of Caenstone) is original. The main masonry is of coursed whole flints which was originally covered by a plaster face, externally as well as internally. The church was perhaps rebuilt (or erected for the first time) by St Gregory's Priory in Canterbury after they had acquired it early in the 12th century.
In the middle of the 13th century two lancets were inserted into the north wall of the chancel and a small tower was added to the west end of the nave (on the north side). A slightly larger lancet was also put into the west wall of the nave (the round-headed window in the gable wall above had been blocked by the S wall of the tower). New opposing doorways were also put into the north and south sides of the nave. The tower also has 13th century lancets in its N, S and W faces.
At perhaps a slightly later date in the 13th century, a large chapel was added to the south side of the chancel. It is connected with the nave by a wide 2-centred arch, and has a wide doorway from the churchyard on its north west side (this required the cutting away of much of the south east quoin of the nave). This chapel appears originally to have had two lancets on its south side (see Petries 1808 view from SW) and a further pair of lancets in its east wall. Hasted tells us that 'in the two east windows of this chancel (ie. the Milles family's 'South Chancel') are good remains of painted glass' (Hasted IX (1800), 297). This fine glass is now in the two north windows of the chancel, and despite restoration in 1935 is mainly of a 13th century date. There is apparently a double piscina in the south wall of the chapel, perhaps suggesting that the chapel originally contained two altars.
St Gregory's Priory acquired much land in Nackington in the 13th century (see Woodcock (ed) p.178, etc), but there is no mention of the new chapel.
The church seems to have suffered a lot from settlement problems (there are still various open cracks in the walls), and when the nave was given a new crown-post (2 bay) roof in the 15th century, large buttresses were added to the north and south sides of the west wall, as well as to the middle of the S nave wall (a new N porch may have acted also as a buttress). At some later stage the top of the west tower seems to have been take down (perhaps after becoming unstable). Two stone corbels in the north-east and south-east corners of the nave were perhaps inserted in the 15th century to support the rood beam.
In Archbishop Parker's Visitation of 1573, we hear that 'the parsonage house and chancel is like to fall downe'. (Also 'the parson is not Residente' - see Arch. Cant. 29 (1911), 275. This is also perhaps partly due to settlement. This was finally dealt with in a major mid 19th century restoration when the east walls of the chancel and south chapel (and the south wall of the south chapel) were completely rebuilt. A new two-light east window was created in the chancel, but no windows were put in the S chapel east wall. It was, however given a new 2-light S window (in 'Decorated' style). The north wall of the chancel was heightened in brick. The outer jambs and arch to the lancets were restored in Bathstone and a new roof was put on the chancel.
The south chapel contains burial vaults of the Milles family, and there are smaller vaults for the Faussetts in the chancel and Foxes (N side of nave).
At about the same time the west tower was given a new brick upper stage with a small spire on top. The tower contains one bell which was perhaps moved from a bell-cote in the nave roof above the N door (see rubbing marks on rere-arch of N door). Hasted says that the church had 'at the north-west corner a low wooden pointed turret, in which hangs one bell'. The tower contains an internal N->S tie-bar (on the west) and also a west altar and a 19th cent. font in the SE corner. The boiler room (with steps down) is immediately south of the tower. There is also an oil tank south of the nave.
The north porch was also completely rebuilt in the later 19th century. There is an iron tie from the porch west to the NW buttress, and a new vestry with lobby was built west of the south chapel. It has flint facing and a 'perp' 3-light W window. The SE nave window was also restored in Bathstone (bricks above) with a round-headed top at this time.
The chancel screen and panelling around the chancel walls was added in 1909 by W D Caroe and a pulpit was made in 1924. The earlier organ, recently restored is now at the NE corner of the nave. The panelling in the tower was also added by W D Caroe in 1909.
BUILDING MATERIALS (Incl. old plaster, paintings, glass, tiles etc.):
Flint rubble (with occasional Roman bricks) with Caen stone quoins, jambs etc, are used for the 12th and 13th century walls. The 15th century buttresses have large Ragstone quoins and chamfered plinth blocks, with later brick (? 18th century) repairs.
The rebuilt east and south (chapel) walls have coursed brick bands and heavy knapped flintwork, with Bathstone window jambs (also the new vestry).
There is some fine 13th century glass in the two N lancets of the chancel (restored by Caldewell in 1935), and traces of wall paintings on the N side of the nave (by the door).
EXCEPTIONAL MONUMENTS IN CHURCH
Good wall monuments in S E chapel to Christopher Milles (1742), Mary Milles (1781), Mary, Lady Sondes (1818) and Mary Milles (1822). Also fine leger slabs in the chancel and S chapel (to Rev. Bryan Fausset of 1776, etc). Three fragments of a medieval grave slab (with cross on top) in SW corner of S chapel (from churchyard)
CHURCHYARD AND ENVIRONS:
Apparent extent of burial: First mentioned for burial in will of 1488 (Test. Cant. (E Kent 1907), 228)
Exceptional monuments: A ? Medieval graveslab lies to the north of the chancel. Three frags of another medieval graveslab have now been moved into the S chapel.
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/01/03/NAC.htm
------------------------------------------
NACKINGTON,
CALLED in antient writings Natindon, and Natynton, lies the next parish south westward from Bridge. The greatest part of it is in the upper half hundred of Bridge, and a small district of the northern part of it in the hundered of Whitstaple. It has but one borough, viz. that of Nackington.
NACKINGTON lies about a mile north-east from Canterbury; the high road from which to Hythe and Romney Marsh leads through it; it is a pleasant healthy situation. The east and west sides of the parish are open uninclosed arable and hop-grounds, the eastern part behind Staplegate being mostly planted with them; and the western arable, in which is a large district of land, called from its size the Hundred-acres, formerly Haven field, the property of several different owners. The soil, through much inclined to chalk, is in general very fertile, and worth upon an average twenty shillings an acre, though there is much in it let for more. There is no village, but there are about eighteen houses interspersed throughout it; the church stands on a gentle rise, at a small distance eastward from the road, with the parsonage and the court-lodge of Sextries near it. Beyond Heppington the prospect changes to a barren dreary country, covered with slints, and enveloped among woods. Behind that seat ran the old Stonestreet way of the Romans, from their station Durovernum, or Canterbury, to that of Portus Lemanis, or Limne, only to be traced now over the arable lands, and through the woods, and a little higher up lies Iffins wood, formerly the scite of the manor of Ytching, as it was antiently spelt in king Henry the VIth.'s reign, a small part of which only is within this parish, close to the bounds of which are the vestigia of an antient camp, the outward trenches of which contain about eight acres, of which only two acres are level and connected, the rest being cut and intersected by roads, &c. There are numbers of different intrenchments throughout this large wood, and one vallum especially, which runs on to the Stone-street road. At the north corner of this camp are the remains of an oblong square building of stone, the length of it standing east and west. At the east end is a square rise against the wall, seemingly for an altar, and a hollow in the wall on one side. The foot or pedestal, of a seemingly gothic pillar, such as were made for churches, was some years ago found among the rubbish in it; so that if this ever was a prætorium of a Roman general, a chapel seems to have been erected on the scite of it, as was frequently the case, probably by the owners of the manor, and to have been deserted when this part of the country was depopulated by the contests between the houses of York and Lancaster.
Herba Paris, or One Berry, grows plentifully in Iffen wood, and Lamium Caunabino folio flore amplo luteo, labio purpureo; hemp-leaved dead nettle, with a party coloured flower, grows in this parish.
There are no parochial charities, but there are eight shillings per annum paid towards the repair of the church, out of lands called Willys's lands. The number of poor constantly relieved are about twenty-five, casually as many.
THERE ARE THREE MANORS in this parish, each of which is stiled in antient records, The MANOR OF NACKINGTON. Of these
The MANOR OF SEXTRIES, alias NACKINGTON, was part of the antient possessions of the monastery of St.Augustine, and was allotted to the use of their sacristie, whence it acquired the former of those names. This manor, in the year 1046, was demised to one Turstin, belonging to the abbot's houshold, and was afterwards sold and alienated from the monastery, which accounts for its not being mentioned in the survey of Domesday; but in king Edward I.'s reign, it appears by the roll of knights fees to have been again in the possession of the abbot and convent, for Natyndon is mentioned in it as the abbot's lordship. After which this manor of Natyndon, alias Sextries, continued in the possession of the abbot and convent till the dissolution of the abbey in the 30th year of Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, (fn. 1) who in his 32d year granted it in exchange to Thomas Colepeper, esq. senior, whose son Sir Alexander Colepeper, of Bedgbury, alienated it in the 21st year of Elizabeth to Sir James Hales, of the Dungeon, in Canterbury, whose grandson, of the same name, by deed inrolled anno 22 James I.sold it to John Smith, esq. of London, and he devised it by will to John Vaughan, esq. from which name it passed to Stephen Jermyn, esq. who conveyed it to Thomas Page, citizen and stationer of London, and he passed it away by sale to William Fox, of Nackington, whose son, of the same name, reconveyed it to Thomas Page, esq. of London, son of Thomas beforementioned, and he in 1763 sold it to Edward Jacob, esq. of Faversham, who died in 1788, and his widow now possesses it for her life, the inheritance being vested in their two younger sons, the Rev.Stephen Long Jacob, and Mr.John Jacob, who resides at it. There is no court held for it.
The MANOR OF STAPLEGATE, alias NACKINGTON, is situated in the northern part of this parish, in the hundred of Whitstaple, just without the bounds of the county of the city of Canterbury. It was formerly the seat of an eminent family of the same surname, who were owners not only of this place, but of lands in Bilsington, Romney Marsh, and in Thanet. (fn. 2) Edmund Staplegate died possessed of this manor anno 13 king Edward II. whose descendant Edmund Staplegate had that noted contest, as lord of Bilsington manor, with Richard, earl of Arundel, for the performance of the office of chief butler at king Richard II.'s coronation. (fn. 3) He died s.p. and was succeeded by his brother John Staplegate, in whole descendants this manor did not continue long; for in the reigns of Henry V. and VI. as appears by the antient court-rolls, it was in the name of Litchfield, one of whom, Roger Litchfield, in the 22d year of Edward IV. alienated it to William Haut, whose son Sir William Haut leaving two daughters his coheirs, Elizabeth, the eldest, entitled her husband Thomas Colepeper, esq. of Bedgbury, to it, and he in the Ist year of king Edward VI. alienated it to Philip Chowte, esq. who sold it in the 6th year of queen Elizabeth to Walter Waller, and he immediately afterwards passed it away to Sir Anthony Aucher, of Bishopsborne, who sold it to Sir James Hales, of the Dungeon, and he in the 22d year of king James I. conveyed it, with the manor of Sextries, alias Nackington, to John Smith, esq. of London. After which they both continued in the same line of ownership, down to Thomas Page, esq. who alienated this manor of Staplegate, alias Nackington, to Mr.Hopkins Fox, whose son Mr. William Fox died possessed of it in 1794, and left it to his eldest son William, who now possesses it. There is no court held for it.
HEPPINGTON is a manor and seat, at the south-west boundary of this parish, which in the reign of king Henry II. was possessed by a family of the name of Delce; for in the 29th year of it William de Delce accounted at the exchequer for the tenure of this land of Hevington; but this name was extinct here before the reign of Edward III in which it was come into the possession of William Talbot, whose heirs possessed it in the 20th year of that reign. The next owners of this manor were the Chich's, of the Dungeon, as appeared by a record of that time, at the beginning of king Henry IV.'s reign, it was become the property of Fogge, and Sir John Fogge, of Repton, by will anno 6 Henry VII. devised it to his son by his second wife, Sir Thomas Fogge, sergeant-porter of Calais, whose two daughters and coheirs, married to Oxenbridge and Scott, conveyed their moieties of it in 1558 and 1561, to Thomas Hales, esq. of Thanington, and he settled it on his eldest son William, by his second wife Alice, and their son William Hales, esq. together with his son William Hales, in 1640, conveyed the manor of Heppington, with the mansion and lands belonging to it, to Thomas Godfrey, esq. the younger, of Lid, who was knighted the year afterwards, and resided here, being the eldest son of Peter Godfrey, esq. of Lid. (fn. 4) He died in 1684, without surviving issue, leaving his wife lady Hester Godfrey surviving, who died in 1699, when this manor came by her settlement of it to her great nephew Henry Godfrey, esq. who was of Heppington, who leaving and only daughter and heir Mary, she carried it in marriage to Bryan Faussett, esq. of Rochester, who rebuilt this seat, bearing for his arms,Or, a lion rampant, sable, over all a bend, gobonated, argent and gules. He died in 1750, and was succeeded by his eldest son the Rev. Brian Faussett, rector of Horton Monks, and perpetual curate of Nackington, who died in 1776, having married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Curtois, by whom he had two sons, Henry-Godfrey, of whom below, and Bryan, now of Sittingborne, gent. who married Dorothy, daughter of the Rev.John Smith, vicar of Borden, and a daughter Elizabeth, married to Mr. Wm. Bland, of Sittingborne. Henry Godfrey Faussett, esq. the eldest son, succeeded on his mother's death in 1787, to this manor; he married first Susan, daughter of Ri chard Sandys, esq. of Canterbury, by whom he had three sons and five daughters, she died in 1789; and he married secondly Sarah, daughter and heir of Fettiplace Nott, esq. of Marston-hall, in Warwickshire, late high steward of the city of Litchfield. He is the present possessor of this manor, and resides at Heppington.
NACKINGTON-HOUSE is a seat in this parish, which in the reign of king Charles I. was the residence of Capt. John Nutt, whose descendant Edward Nutt, esq. died possessed of it in 1708, without issue male, upon which it came by entail to his brother William Nutt, who sold it to Thomas Willys, esq. who in 1726 succeeded to the title of baronet on the death of Sir Thomas Willys, bart. of Fen-Ditton, in Cambridgeshire, s. p. their arms being, Parted per fess, gules and argent, three lions rampant, counterchanged, a bordure, ermine. He died next year, s. p. likewise, having devised this estate to trustees, who soon afterwards sold it to Christopher Milles, esq. of Canterbury, descended from ancestors who had resided at the parsonage at Herne, from the reign of James I. and bore for their arms, Ermine, a millrind, sable, on a chief, two marlions wings, or; one of whom was clerk of the robes to queen Anne, and king James and of king Charles's privy chamber. (fn. 5) Christopher Milles, esq. after his purchase of Nackington house, resided at it, and died in 1742, having married Mary, eldest daughter of Rich. Warner, esq. of Norfolk, by whom he had three sons and two daughters, Richard, of whom hereafter; Christopher, chief justice of Senegambia; John, late captain of an East-Indiaman; Mary, now unmarried; and Anne, married to Sir Edward Aftley, bart. of Norfolk. Richard Milles, esq. the eldest son, is of North Elmham, in Norfolk, he served as member for Canterbury in three successive parliaments, having married Mary, daughter of T. Tanner, D. D. prebendary of Canterbury, by whom he has an only daughter and heir Mary, married to the right hon. Lewis-Thomas, lord Sondes. He is the present owner of this seat, and at times resides at it.
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of the same.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is but small, and consists of one isle and two chancels, having at the north-west corner a low wooden pointed turret, in which hangs one bell. This church is very small. It is kept very neat and in good repair. By the several narrow small circular windows it seems antient, built perhaps not long after the time of Lansranc. In the high chancel are several memorials for the Godfreys; a memorial for Bryan Faussett, esq. obt. 1750, and for his son the Rev. Bryan Faussett, obt. 1776; arms, Faussett, quartering Toke, Godfrey, and Brian, impaling azure, three pales, ermine, over all, a fess, chequy. In the south chancel, which belongs to the Milles family, are several memorials for the Wyllis's and the Nutt's; and memorials for the Pudners, who lie buried in a vault underneath; arms, Bendy, or, and gules, over all, a cross, argent, a label of three points for difference. Against the west wall are three elegant small monuments, of different coloured marbles; one for the RevBernard Astley, A. B. second son of Sir Edward Astley, bart. of Melton, in Norfolk, by Anne, daughter of Christopher Milles, esq. another for Christopher Milles, esq. of Nackington, obt. 1742, who married Mary, eldest daughter and coheir of Richard Warner, esq. of North Elmham, in Norfolk; and another for Mary, relict of Christopher Milles, esq. obt. 1781. In the two east windows of this chancel, are good remains of painted glass.
The CHURCH of Nackington belonged to the priory of St. Gregory, perhaps part of its original endowment by archbishop Lanfranc. It was very early appropriated to it, and was confirmed to it by archbishop Hubert about king Richard I.'s reign. After which this appropriation appears by the register of the priory, to have been esteemed as a manor, stiled
The MANOR OF NACKINGTON, alias The PARSONAGE, which continued part of the possessions of it till its suppression by king Henry VIII. when it came, with the advowson of the vicarage, into the king's hands, where they did not stay long, before they were granted, with the scite and other possessions of the priory, in exchange, to the archbishop, part of the revenues of whose see they continue at this time, George Gipps, esq. of Harbledown, being the present lessee of this parsonage. But the advowson of the vicarage, now esteemed as a perpetual curacy, his grace the archbishop reserves in his own hands.
The vicarage, or perpetual curacy, is not valued in the king's books. (fn. 6) Archbishop Juxon, in 1661, augmented the stipend of this curacy to twenty pounds per annum; and archbishop Sheldon, anno 28 Charles II. angmented it further to forty pounds per annum, which sum is paid yearly to the curate by the lessee of the parsonage. It is now of the yearly certified value of 62l. 18s. 10d. (fn. 7)
¶THERE IS A PORTION OF TITHES arising from a district of land in this parish, which was part of the antient possessions of the hospital of Eastbridge, and at the endowment of the vicarage of Cosmus Blean, was given to it, being then of the value of five marcs. This portion now belongs to that vicarage, and consists of the tithes of about one hundred and sixteen acres of land, let at the yearly rent of forty-two pounds. (fn. 8)
There were several contests between the priory of St. Gregory and St. Laurence hospital, concerning the tithes of Moland beside Heppington, viz. of eighty acres of land; besides which, the hospital possessed the tithes of fifty acres of land in Havefield. (fn. 9)
I saw this on Facebook (thanks, Nicole!) and decided to give it a try. It was a lot of fun:
24 images, no deleting. You fire it off you keep it.
1. One lens/one focal length. If you are using a zoom lens use the low end or the high end.
2. Your ISO will be 400.
3. All images will be either color or black and white. Choose your "film."
4. Black out your LCD. Turn it off or tape it.
5. You can't import your images till after noon your local time on Sunday the 4th.
6. No cropping.
7. WYSIWYG/SOOC.
I love the way this challenge made me take more care in composing my photos. Knowing I couldn't just dump these into Lightroom and crop or adjust them made me hyper-focused on composition. A few of them came out kind of cool. But I clearly need to figure out the exposure dial.
The image above was lightly processed. Here are my 24 images, SOOC.
Without a doubt one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. Despite what the cover say it is not about hauntings at all but rather some of the more colourful characters who have called this province home through the years. Some far back in history, (well far back for Canadian history that is) and some I can remember. The author has written as if he is talking just to you so you actually feel you are there and witnessing each story first hand. Truly a good read.
PLEASE DO NOT INVITE / POR FAVOR NO INVITAR
©Copyright
All my photographic images are copyright. All rights are reserved. Do not use, copy or edit any of my photographs without my written permission.
If you want to use my photo private use, please contacme:
www.flickr.com/people/irmafloresavila/
________________________________
"Quiero dar las Gracias a morito36pa por su colaboración en proporcionar sus fotos para hacer posible esta pagina de enlace para agrupar las antiguos colones de El Salvador.
##########################################
Un Poco de la Historia del ColóN
El colón fue la unidad monetaria de El Salvador desde 1892 hasta 2001, año en que fue sustituido progresivamente por el Dólar estadounidense, aunque oficialmente no ha dejado de tener curso legal.[1]
El colón era emitido desde 1934 por el Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador, organismo gubernamental encargado de la política monetaria del país. El colón se dividía en 100 centavos. En el momento de su desaparición circulaban monedas, de 1, 5, 10, 25 y 50 centavos de colón, y de 1 colón. En cuánto a papel moneda, circulaba billetes de 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 y 200 colones.
El 1 de octubre de 1892, el gobierno del presidente Carlos Ezeta, decidió que el peso salvadoreño se denominaría Colón, en homenaje al descubridor de América. El 19 de junio de 1934 se creó el Banco Central de Reserva como único organismo autorizado para emitir moneda en la nación. El 1 de enero de 2001, entró en vigencia la Ley de Integración Monetaria, promovida por el partido gobernante Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, que autorizaba la libre circulación del dólar estadounidense en el país, con un tipo de cambio fijo de 8,75 colones. En la práctica, la ley provocó que en pocos meses el Colón dejara de circular en el territorio salvadoreño. Los partidos de oposición, en especial el FMLN, han propuesto en varias ocasiones. abandonar el sistema dolarizado y emitir nuevamente la antigua moneda.[2]
La moneda antes y durante la colonia
EL CACAO
Desde que existe el comercio, las cosas han sido valoradas en términos de la unidad del objeto más apreciado localmente. En tal sentido, es lógico que los nativos del territorio salvadoreño antes de la llegada de los españoles, usasen el cacao como "moneda", puesto que el Chocolate era considerada la "bebida de los dioses".[3]
El uso del cacao como valor de cambio se remonta al auge de la civilización Maya, cuando la unidad monetaria era el Xontle, compuesta por cuatrocientas almendras de cacao.[4] La llegada de los conquistadores supuso la introducción de la moneda española, el Real. Pese al cambio, el cacao se siguió utilizando a razón de ciento sesenta almendras por un Real.[5] Todas las monedas utilizadas en América fueron acuñadas en España, hasta que en 1731, se fundó la Casa de la Moneda en Guatemala.[3]
EL MACACO
Las monedas más usadas durante la colonia fueron los Macacos. Consistían en piezas de plata de forma no definida, acuñadas en Perú o México; en su mayoría eran cortadas con tenazas y figuraban un grabado de las columnas de Hércules con la inscripción Plus Ultra. Su valor nominal era menos importante que su peso en metal, es decir, no tenían un valor absolutamente definido. Aun después de la independencia de los países centroamericanos, el macaco siguió en circulación, siendo oficializado el 9 de julio de 1856
MONEDA POSTERIOR A LA COLONIA
A mediados del siglo XIX, aparecieron las fichas de finca, las cuales eran monedas fabricadas de lata, en su mayoría de forma circular. Se les grababa el nombre de la finca y era la forma de pago a los empleados de la misma; la ficha solamente tenía valor en la tienda de finca que la emitía, por lo que se creaba una especie de monopolio.[6]
Durante la existencia de la Federación Centroamericana, el sistema monetario no cambió con respecto al colonial; se siguió usando el peso de plata como moneda principal, aunque con circulación de los macacos y de las fichas de finca.
Una vez disuelta la federación, el gobierno salvadoreño decretó la emisión de la primera moneda nacional; los reales, monedas de oro con una "R" grabada y los Escudos, monedas de plata con una "E" grabada.[3]
En 1883, bajo la presidencia del doctor Rafael Zaldívar, se decretó la Primera Ley Monetaria, adoptándose el "Peso" como unidad monetaria, descartándose el sistema español de división en 8 reales. La nueva ley ocupó como base el sistema métrico decimal, donde el peso equivalía a 10 reales.
Finalizando el siglo XIX, aparecieron los primeros billetes de banco. El nuevo papel-moneda pasó a jugar un rol importante como instrumento de cambio, como unidad de medida del valor de los bienes y como elemento de ahorro.
La emisión de los billetes estaba a cargo de bancos privados autorizados por el Gobierno. El primer banco emisor fue el Banco Internacional, fundado en 1880; a este banco se le otorgó de manera exclusiva la emisión de billetes, aunque después perdió la exclusividad ante las autorizaciones al Banco Occidental y al Banco Agrícola Comercial.
Bajo la presidencia de Carloz Ezeta, se inauguró la Casa de la Moneda el 28 de agosto de 1892; el 1 de octubre del mismo año, como homenaje a Cristobal Colón en el IV Centenario del Descubrimiento de América, la Asamblea Legislativa reformó la ley monetaria y cambió el nombre de a "Colón". El cambio con respecto al dólar estadounidense en ese momento era de 2 colones por un dólar.
En 1919 se volvió a reformar la Ley Monetaria, estipulando que las monedas desgastadas por el manejo diario serían retiradas de circulación y las piezas recortadas o perforadas no serían aceptadas en el curso legal. Mediante esa ley, quedó prohibido el uso de fichas, vales u homólogos en sustitución de la moneda oficial. Además, dio al Ministerio de Hacienda la facultad de controlar la circulación de la moneda.
Pese a la prosperidad económica relativa de los años 20, la depresión mundial de 1929, la caída internacional de los precios del café y la desregulación estatal del sistema monetario causaron una crisis económica nacional.
El problema principal era la carencia de una institución especializada que se dedicase a velar porque la moneda mantuviera su valor y a controlar la actividad bancaria; en tal sentido, el gobierno del general Maximiliano Hernández Martínez contrató a un experto ingles llamado Frederick Francis Joseph Powell, quien debía analizar y estructurar el cuerpo bancario salvadoreño.
En su informe final, recomendó que el sistema bancario debía organizarse en torno a un banco central que resguardase la moneda y su valor, así como emitir la unidad monetaria y controlar los créditos. Es así que por iniciativa de la presidencia de la república del 19 de junio de 1934, la Asamblea Legislativa aprobó la ley de creación del Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador, institución cuyo objetivos se fijó en el control del volumen del crédito y la demanda de moneda circulante, así como se le confirió la facultad exclusiva de emitir especie monetaria.
Emisión de la primera familia de colones
El 31 de agosto de 1934, la nueva institución bancaria puso en circulación la primera familia de billetes en la historia salvadoreña. Emitió billetes de uno, cinco, diez, veinticinco y cien colones; añadiéndose en 1955 la denominación de dos colones y el de cincuenta colones en 1979. El diseño de los billetes fue cambiando paulatinamente y de manera individual; también se dejaron de emitir algunas denominaciones con el pasar del tiempo.
Las monedas emitidas en la primera familia fueron de uno, dos, tres, veinticinco y cincuenta centavos; agregándose luego la moneda de un colón. Al igual que con los billetes, algunas denominaciones fueron desapareciendo con el tiempo y las que quedaron, fueron siendo modificadas en su diseño y en su tamaño.
Segunda familia de colones
En 1997, el Banco Central de Reserva emitió una segunda familia de billetes, introduciendo la denominación de doscientos colones
The shadow of a smile
The 65th emotion of a potential 64 to capture
:-)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=npQMU7wnQ_g&feature=related
The shadow of your smile - covered by Marvin Gaye
g
Montreal
stand there and look into my eyes
and tell me that all we had were lies
show me that you don't care
and i'll stay here if you prefer
yes i'll leave you without a word
without a word.
and you can tell the world that you're tired
but your excuses, they won't work
'cause i'll know that you're lying.
i'm sorry for spamming you guys with self portraits. i don't like how i look here, or on yesterday's photo, i mostly don't post photos (especially portraits) if i'm not satisfied with them but this is real me, at the moment, and that's why i love this photo. there are some moments you just can't control your expression, it can be a huge smile or just the anger in your eyes. i'm learning to be comfortable with all the emotions on my face, like i've learned to hide them whenever i want - i don't like to pretend though, but sometimes you just have to do it by saying "of course i'm fine" with a cheesy smile on your face.
so i'm here, doing what i want to do, watching myself changing every day mostly through my photos, not knowing that it's for better or worse... i'm breathing. but it doesn't mean that i'm living.
ps. thanks so much to those who commented on my blog posts. <3 it's great to know you read them.