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The Finale to the BARC Club Car Championships Weekender at Brands Hatch and after a Very Thrilling set of both Qualifying Sessions and Races which took place on the Saturday it was Time once again for each Driver to strap in and get ready for some high speed Racing Action thought the Sunday.
In Tribute to the Marshall who was Tragically Killed on the Saturday Some Car and Driver Pairings were Racing with Orange Hearts on their Cars as a Tribute to all of Motorsports Family of Marshalls for who without Racing would not be possible. Thank You!
So Lets get started and see what the days events Haver to Offer and who can Push their Machinery to the Limits and beyond for a Victory.
Britcar Endurance Championship - Trophy Category (Race 1 Results FINAL)
The Britcar Endurance Trophy was the First up and it was time to see who could claim that elusive Pole Position and to see if anyone else could challenge the Top Three Drivers Lets see how things turned out.
In First Place was the Pairing Of (Datum Motorsport's Axel Van Nederveen and Adriano Medeiros) in their Ginetta G55A with a Best Lap Time of 52:193 and an Average Speed of 64.75mph. Congratulations Axel and Adriano a Really Fantastic Drive and A Super Victory.
In Second Place was (SVG's Mark Lee) in his Ginetta G56A with a Best Lap Time of 52.086 and an Average Speed of 64.70mph. Amazing Drive Mark Keeping that Ginetta on the Track and Taking Second Place while Nearly Matching the Speed of Axel and Adriano. Well Done.
In Third Place was (Terry Stephens) in his Peugeot 308 with a Best Lap Time of 53.421 and an Average Speed of 64.50mph. Well Fought Terry a Fantastic Finish in Third Place and Staying Ahead by just over 11 seconds to the Pair of Jasver and Bryan in 4th. Amazing Job.
A Really Enjoyable and Exciting First Race of the Sunday with High Speed Action and Incredible Victories on Track. Congratulations Axel Adriano Mark and Terry. Lets see what Race 2 Brings in terms of the Action.
Britcar Endurance Championship - Trophy Category (Race 2 Results FINAL)
Race 2 For Britcar Next and after a Very Fast and Action Packed First Race Will we see a New Face on the Top Step of the Podium? Lets find out.
In First Place was the Pairing of (Woodrow Motorsport's Simon Baker and Kevin Clarke) in their BMW 1 Series with a Best Lap Time of 51.837 and an Average Speed of 78.22mph. Amazing work Simon and Kevin who have Beaten the Pairing Of (Datum Motorsport's Axel Van Nederveen and Adriano Medeiros) to Victory. An Incredible Drive by Both of them Well Done.
In Second Place was (SVG Mark Lee) in his Ginetta G56A with a Best Lap Time of 52.281 and an Average Speed of 76.89mph. Again a Huge Congratulations to Mark Lee for hanging onto that Second Place Despite Fierce Competition during The Race. Amazing Drive.
In Third Place was (Simon Green Motorsport's Pairing of Jasver Sapra and Brian Branson) in their BMW M3 E46 with a Best Lap Time of 52.718 and an Average Speed of 76.88mph. Congratulations Jasver and Brain Brilliant Drive and well Defended to keep that Third Place in Tact.
Two Incredible Races with Two Very Different Outcomes of Race Winners and Runners Up The Britcar Endurance Trophy is Proving to be Very Competitive this Year.
A Huge Congratulations to Simon Kevin Mark Jasver and Brain for some Amazing Racing and Victories and Good Luck to All Other Drivers. Keep working Hard and Pushing for that All Important Victory.
CTCRC Edmundson Electrical Classic / Historic Thunder Saloons (Race 1 Result FINAL)
Next Up was the CTCRC Electrical and Historic Thunder Saloons and After a Thrilling Qualifying Session Yesterday Lets see what Each Driver has got and who can Push to the Limits for that All Important Victory.
In First Place was (Jason West) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.907 and an Average Speed of 59.84mph. Congratulations Jason for Another Incredible Drive for First Place and a well Deserved Victory Amongst some Stiff Competition.
In Second Place was (Andrew Wilson) in his Holden Monaro 7000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.418 and an Average Speed of 59.96mph. Well Done Andrew Fantastic Driving and a Super Defensive Drive for Second Place.
In Third Place was (Samuel Wilson) in his Aston Martin V8 Vantage with a Best Lap Time of 52.699 and an Average Speed of 59.50mph. Amazing Work Samuel and a Beautiful Example of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage on Display Showing its Raw Power and Racing Pedigree to Finish in Third Place.
A Fantastic Finish to The Historic and Electrical Thunder Saloons Racing at The Weekend. A Huge Congratulations to Our Top Three Finishers Jason Andrew and Samuel. Fantastic Racing from all Three of you and Good Luck to all other Drivers Keep Tuning and Working Hard and I'm sure Victory Will not be too Far Away from you.
CTCRC JEC Saloon & GT Championship & Burton Power BOSS (Race 2 Results FINAL)
Next Up CTCRC Saloon and GT Championships and with some Fierce Competition on Display during not only Qualifying but also Their First Race on the Saturday Which saw Malcom Harding Storm to an Insane Victory who Will be able to Take him on and Potentially Steal his Crown during the Next Race Today? Lets See.
In First Place was (Malcom Harding) in his Ford Escort MK2 Zakspeed 2500 with a Best Lap Time of 53.888 and an Average Speed of 78.49mph. Another Incredible Victory for Malcom that Highly Modified Zakspeed Escort Really Shows off the Power and Performance of a True Champion and a Fantastic Driver. Congratulations Malcom.
In Second Place was (Steven Goldsmith) in his Ford Anglia 105e 260 with a Best Lap Time of 54.335 and an Average Speed of 78.21mph. Another Storming Drive to Achieve Second Place for Steven. Fantastic Driving and Amazing Car Control through Every Corner. Congratulations Steven.
In Third Place was (Tom Robinson) in his Jaguar XJ6 4000 with a Best Lap Time of 55.481 and an Average Speed of 55.481mph. Congratulations Tom Superb Display of Driving Ability behind the Jag and a Well Deserved Third Place for Him.
Another Incredible Weekend of Racing for the CTCRC Saloon and GT Championships with Some New and Some Old Drivers Stepping onto the Podium. Massive Congratulations to Malcolm Steven and Tom for their First Second And Third Place Finishes. Keep Up the Good Work and Never Stop Trying.
CTCRC Laser Tools Pre 93 & Simply Serviced Pre 03 Touring Cars (Race 1 Results FINAL)
Now Its Time for The Laser Tools Pre 93 and Simply Serviced Pre 03 Touring Cars to make their way back onto The Track for what Looked to be a Spectacular Race. A Whole Range of Different Cars to Race Against and Stiff Competition after Qualifying Proves that This Race will be One not to be Missed. Lets See what Unfolded.
In First Place was (Gary Prebble) in his Honda Civic EG 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 54.100mph and an Average Speed of 78.60mph. Well Done Gary a Really Well Deserved First Place Victory and an Amazing Drive to the Flag.
In Second Place was (David Griffith) in his BMW E36 M3 3058 with a Best Lap Time of 54.558 and an Average of 78.42mph. Incredible Drive their David Pushing that BMW For Everything that it Has got to Achieve Second Place.
In Third Place was (Kam Tunio) in his Honda Civic EK9 1595 with a Best Lap Time of 55.347 and an Average Speed of 77.05mph. Well Driven Kam Super Driving on Display and a Well Deserved Third Place Finish.
Another Amazing Race for The Pre 93 and Pre 03 Touring Cars and a Huge Congratulations to Gary David and Kam for their First Second and Third Place Victories. Keep up the Hard Work and Good Luck to everyone Else wherever your Next Races take you.
CTCRC Poultec Classic Race Engines Pre 66 Touring Cars (Race 1 Results)
Now it was Time for the Fan Favourite to Enter onto the Brands Hatch Circuit with the Pre 66 Touring Cars Championship. With Mini's Lotus Cortina's and Ford Falcons. This was One Race that No One Wanted to Miss. After a Very Fast Paced Qualifying Session on the Saturday Which saw (Alan Greenhalgh) take Pole Position who Will be able to Challenge Him During the Race and Snatch Victory Away from Him.
In First Place was (Alan Greenhalgh) in his Ford Falcon with A Best Lap Time of 58.707 and an Average Speed of 72.63mph. Congratulations Alan A Beautiful Example of the Ford Falcon and Certainly a Very Fast One too. Congratulations on Your Victory.
In Second Place was (Robyn Slater) in his Ford Anglia 1550 with a Best Lap Time of 58.992 and an Average Speed of 72.06mph. Very Good Drive their From Robyn to Secure Second Place in The First Race of the Day for the Pre 66 Touring Cars.
In Third Place was (Barry Sime) in his Morris Mini Cooper S 1293 with a Best Lap Time of 59.116 and an Average Speed of 71.95mph. Fantastic Work their Barry Keeping that Little Rocket on The Track looked to be Very Challenging but A Very Well Deserved Third Place.
What A First Race for The Historic Pre 66 Touring Cars showing The Power and Pride Each Driver takes in Both Racing and Preservation on Their Beloved Racing Machines. Congratulations to Alan Robyn and Barry on their First Second and Third Place Finishes. Lets See what New Challenges Await Them in Race 2 The Final Race of The Day for Them.
CTCRC Poultec Classic Race Engines Pre 66 Touring Cars (Race 2 Results FINAL)
The Epic FINALE To The Pre 66 Touring Cars Race was A Race in Wet Conditions Making it even more Challenging for The Top Three Drivers. Who would Win and be able to Retain if not Take on thease Three Giants of Touring Car Racing in thease Conditions. Lets See How Things Concluded.
In First Place was (Barry Sime) in his Morris Mini Cooper S 1293 with a Best Lap Time of 1:11.482 and an Average Speed of 58.62mph. Amazing Work Barry to take Home a Superb Victory and a Brilliant Bit of Wet Weather Driving in The Mini Well Done.
In Second Place was (John Davies) in his Austin Mini Cooper S 1293 with a Best Lap Time of 1:11.416 and an Average Speed of 58.38mph. Amazing Work John Racing A Mini in thease Conditions is Very Tricky and Yet both You and Barry made it look Easy.
In Third Place was (James Ibbotson) in his Hillman Imp Super 998 with a Best Lap Time of 1:11.518 and an Average Speed of 58.12mph. Well Done James Sliding that Imp around in the Wet for a Magnificent Third Place was Well Deserved.
What A Race to End the Day for the Pre 66 Touring Cars and with So many Old and New Winners Lets Hope we Get to see More Races like This One Thought the Rest of the 2021 Season. A Big Congratulations to Barry John and James on their Respective Victories and Keep Trying Everyone Else The Hard Work will Pay off.
CTCRC Shell Oils Pre 83 Touring Cars (Race 1 FINAL)
Up Next The Pre 83 Touring Cars took to the Track for Their Only Race of The Day and from what We Have Seen Already This Race also looks like its going to be a Very Strong Battle for First Second and Third Place. Lets See who Came First and Took that All Important Victory.
In First Place was (Mark Lucock) in his Ford Escort MK1 RS2000 2040 with a Best Lap Time of 57.687 and an Average Speed of 74.53mph. Amazing work there Mark Pushing All the Power the RS2000 Engine Has and Keeping it on Track to Score an Amazing Victory.
In Second Place was (Stephen Primett) in his Ford Escort MK1 2037 with a Best Lap Time of 57.503 and an Average Speed of 74.52mph. Another Brilliant Drive from the Likes of Stephen Keep the Pace with Mark and Making for some Fierce Competition Thought the Race.
In Third Place was (Mike Luck in his BMW E21 320 1998 with a Best Lap Time of 57.236 and an Average Speed of 74.46mph. Super Driving there Mike to take Third Place and a Very Classic Looking BMW Indeed.
What A Race from the Pre 83 Touring Cars showcasing Speed Power and What a Touring Car was Made to do around a Race Track. A Big Congratulations to Mark Stephen and Mike on their First Second and Third Place Finishes. Keep Racing and Keep Having Fun Out There.
Junior Saloon Car Championship (Race 1 Result FINAL)
The Junior Saloon Car Championship was Up Next and Even Though the Age Range of thease Next Drivers Taking to the Circuit Might Shock you at The Fact that Many of them are as Young as 15 Years of age don't be Fooled Because thease Guys Know how to Race Having been brought up from Carting since the age of 4. They are always a Fan Favourite and After Qualifying on the Saturday its Anyone's Game as to Who Wins and Who Losses in Thease Races.
In First Place was (Ruben Hage) in his Citroen Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 59.967 and an Average Speed of 65.65mph. Congratulations Ruben What A Drive and an Incredible Run for First Place Fending off the Other On Coming Drivers. Truly a Championship Winning Drive.
In Second Place was (Harvey Caton) in his Citroen Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 59.629 and an Average Speed of 65.64mph. Very Well Driven there Harvey Staying very Close to Ruben in First Place and Keeping Him on His Toes Thought the Entire Race.
In Third Place was (Charlie Hand) in his Citroen Saxo VTR 1600 with a Lap Time of 1:00.006 and an Average Speed of 65.57mph. Solid Third Place there Charlie Keep Up the Momentum and Never Give Up Chasing Your Dreams.
What a Fantastic Race from the Junior Saloon Car Championship with New Winners on the Podium and Some Close Wheel to Wheel Action Thought the Race Thease Guys will be Fantastic To see in Future Racing Series All Over The World. Congratulations to Ruben Harvey and Charlie for First Second and Third Place and Good Luck to All Other Aspiring Young Drivers Following in the Footsteps of Your Greatest Racing Heroes.
Kumho BMW Championship (Race 1 Results)
Finally it was Time for the Last Two Races of the Day the Kumo BMW Championship. Featuring The Makes and Models of Many BMW'S taking to the Circuit for Race 1. After a Busy Day Qualifying on Saturday Lets See what Each Driver Cando in The Frist of Two Races for their Championship.
In First Place was (Niall Bradley) in his BMW E46 M3 with a Best Lap Time of 50.920 and an Average Speed of 83.60mph. Brilliant Driving There Niall Pushing the Power of the BMW Engine to Max and Putting the Pedal to the Metal the Whole Race. A Superb Victory.
In Second Place was (Michael Vitulli) in his BMW E36 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.158 and an Average Speed of 83.45mph. Another Incredible Driver Pushing Hard and Taking Second Place. Well Done Michael.
In Third Place was (James Card) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.154 and an Average Speed of 83.42mph. Very Well Done their James Keep Pushing.
Three Fantastic Drivers in Niall Michael and James all Fighting for that Victory and Showing The Racer Inside each and Everyone of them. Lets see what Their Final Race of the Day Brings Them.
Kumho BMW Championship (Race 2 Results FINAL)
In First Place was (Niall Bradley) in his BMW E46 M3 with a Best Lap Time of 53.581 and an Average Speed of 77.79mph. Another Well Deserved First Place Finish to Round of The Days Racing. Congratulations Niall Go and Celebrate with The Team In Style.
In Second Place was (Darren Morgan Owen) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 53.200 and an Average Speed of 77.43mph. Super Drive There Darren for Second Place and a New Winner onto The Podium.
In Third Place was (Brad Sheean) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 53.227 and an Average Speed of 77.13mph. Fantastic Drive there Brad and Some Incredible Car Control thought the Entire Race to Finish Third.
And That Concludes Racing for the Kumho BMW Championship with 4 Different Winners Across two Races and A lot of Really Fast Action you could not Have Asked for a better Finish to The End of The Days Racing. Massive Congratulations to Niall Darren and Brad and Good Luck to all Other Competing Drivers who are still Looking for that almighty Victory.
That Concludes Racing for The BARC Club Car Championships Weekend A Big Congratulations to All of the Drivers of Every Team and a Huge Thank You to Marshalls Far and Wide as Without Your Support Events like This and Champion Drivers May Never Get to Achieve Their Dreams.
See You All At The Next One!
I wanted a clean shot without the people, but didn't have much time to wait for it to clear, and more people were going in.
Baddesley Clinton House and the Bridge over the Moat is a Grade I listed building.
Manor house. Late C15, on earlier site; south-east range refronted c.1736: late C19 service wing added to north-east side of south-west range designed and built by Edward Heneage Dering. Courtyard plan. North-east range: stone ashlar; old brick flues, bridge end stack to right with octagonal brick flue. 2-storey, 6-window range. Gatehouse at right of centre: 4-centred outer archway encloses 4-centred doorway with spandrels. Panelled and studded door to inner doorway. 6-light stone mullion and transom window to first floor. Battlemented parapet to gatehouse. 2-light stone mullion window with 4-centre arched heads to lights, at left of centre 3-light stone mullion window with 4-centre arched heads to lights, at right,. 5-light stone mullion window to left of centre. Two 3-light stone mullion windows, with flat stone arches having keystones, to left. Continuous hoodmould to right, and to left of centre. 4-light stone mullion window to first floor right. 3-light stone mullion window to first floor right of centre. 4-light stone mullion window to first floor left of centre. Two 3-light stone mullion window to first floor left. South-east range: red brick; old plain-tile roof; various brick stacks,with octagonal or diagonally set brick flues, 2 storey A-window range. Irregular fenestration, mostly of C18 three-light wood casements with segmental brick heads. south-west range: stone ashlar; old plain-tile roof; various brick stacks. 2-storey, 6-window range. Irregular fenestration, mostly of 3-light stone mullion windows. Single-storey addition to centre with hipped old plain-tile roof, has 2 round-arched blind recesses to moat. Wood casement window to ground floor. Courtyard: irregular fenestration. Interior: entrance hall has close-studded timber-framing to walls. Great hall has stone fireplace of decorative pillars supporting a frieze and atlantes flanking rectangular panel with round heraldic central panel with strapwork surroundings. Dining room has late C16 panelling and carved wood fireplace with pillars supporting a frieze and with richly carved central heraldic panel. Drawing room has C17 panelling and chimney piece placed here C18 Henry Ferrers' Bedroom, also known as the state bedroom has panelling and chimney-piece of c.1629. Other rooms also have panelling and carved chimney pieces. Bridge. Early C18. Red brick. 2 round arches, plain brick parapet. History: site held by the Clintons, then was bought by John Brome in 1438. Held by the Brome family, and passed by inheritance to the Ferrers family in 1517. Henry Ferrers (1549-1633) carried out much work at the house. (Buildings of England: Warwickshire: 1966, pp8l-82; Baddesley Clinton: national Trust Guide Book, 1986) (60)
Baddesley Clinton House and Bridge over the Moat - Heritage Gateway
Baddesley Clinton is a National Trust property.
Cave Without A Name, Kendall County, Texas - One of Texas' hidden treasures, in February 2009 the Cave Without A Name was designated an official Natural Landmark!
Despite the innumerable caves and caverns that dot the Texas landscape, there are only a handful of caves that are open to touring by the public. Running along the interstate, it's easy to spot the billboards for Natural Bridge Caverns, Inner Space Caverns, Cascade Caverns - but very few people have ever heard of the Cave Without A Name. In fact, despite living less than an hour away for over ten years, I had no knowledge of it until recently. Yet this little cave is just as interesting as any of the larger, more travelled tourist stops.
Located about ten miles northeast of Boerne at the end of twisty-turny Hill Country roads near the Guadalupe River, the Cave Without A Name led an unremarkable existence until the 1920's. Much like Longhorn Caverns, the cave was used by bootleggers during Prohibition. The cave was opened in 1939 as a tourist attraction, the name chosen by a local boy who decided the caves were too beautiful for a name.
For decades, the Cave Without A Name remained an obscure, out-of-the-way spot, known mostly by locals and advertised by small hand-made signs on the highway. Tragedy struck when the manager of the cave (and the owner's son) passed away while exploring a nearby complex known tragically as Dead Man's Cave for drainage channels. Despite this loss, the cave remains open.
Then in February 2009, the Cave Without A Name was designated an official National Landmark by the National Park Service, along with five other historic sites around the country. Fewer than 600 locations have been designated as National Landmarks since the inception of the program, and only six within the past decade.
At the end of Kreutzberg Road, there is a small visitor's center and gift shop. Stairs lead down to the caverns below, well-lit with several impressive speleological formations - stalagmites, stalactites, soda straws, flowstone, ribbons, rimstone. It's a short tour, but easy and level without difficulty, the tour group size is usually small and it is easy to get up close to the formations (but don't touch - it's still a live cave). Longer 'adventure tours' are available (the website says they have been suspended due to high water, but that was written in 2007 before the area's record drought). Definitely worth the visit for anyone interested in caves or spelunking. Pictures taken April 6, 2008.
For more information on the Cave Without A Name:
- Texas Speleological Survey Entry.
This photograph is free for use on the internet under the 'Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial' license. You are free to copy, distribute, transmit and/or adapt this photograph without seeking permission first, as long as you provide attribution to the photograph (preferably by linking to this web page, or including the phrase 'Copyright Matthew Lee High'), and as long as the the photo is not used for commercial purposes. For more information about Creative Commons licenses, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en.
Even though I know the way, I ask Mei Ling (美铃) to lay in a course from work to home.
I never drive anywhere in China without Mei Ling, even when making short trips near home. She can read the traffic signs faster than I can; she knows arcane details about the interchanges that baffle even seasoned locals (such as the intersection where you make a left turn from the far right lane); and she's usually the first to see the traffic cameras that can summarily dole out fines.
Mei Ling and I are pretty good at spotting the cameras, but we have been nicked twice for speeding and once for making something called an "illegal turn." When you see how people drive here, you wouldn't think there was such a thing as an illegal manoeuvre, let alone an illegal turn. I suppose the municipality has to earn revenue somehow, hence the cameras. But I digress.
Mei Ling and I are a great team, but if I had one complaint, it would be this: Mei Ling can write some English, but she can neither read nor speak a word of it. She's been kind enough to provide some English labels that I can point at when I want her to do something, but all my other instructions have to be in writing... and in Chinese.
Sometimes I think it would be easier to travel with my American navigator, Jill.
Like Mei Ling, Jill is a no-nonsense, all-business kind of girl. She understood my every need when we were in North America, but she struggled here in China. At first I thought she might be having personal problems, because it wasn't like her to throw up her hands when faced with a challenge.
After a short time, the issue troubling her became clear: Jill can neither read nor speak Mandarin. As these are mandatory requirements for operating in China, I had to relieve her of duty and appoint the younger Mei Ling as my trusted advisor.
Mei Ling and Jill both know that I am a man who has a keen eye for pulchritude. I sometimes forget that I am not alone when I am in the car, and they have heard me when I have unconsciously blurted out my detailed appreciation of pretty pedestrians. I feared they might believe my baser instincts had caused me to unfairly favour one over the other. I know that isn't true – but how could I convince them my maleness had nothing to do with their situation?
Yes, Mei Ling is younger, slimmer, faster – and Asian. And, yes, Jill is – how should I put this? – chunkier, older, and satisfyingly experienced. But that's not why I employed them. I employed them to do a job: to get me efficiently and safely from Point A to Point B.
I appreciate Jill for the skills she possesses that Mei Ling can only dream of acquiring. For example, I only have to press a button, and Jill will listen attentively to every word I say and then take action. And Jill knows my favourite music and will arrange to play it on the car radio, interrupting only when she has an important observation about an upcoming manouever.
Still, Mei Ling has shown me secrets that Jill will never know, such as the exact choreography required to penetrate the enigma that is the interchange where Beijing's Second Ring Road meets Dong Si Shi Tiao. Besides, just touching Mei Ling... Just a hint of a caress is all it takes to stimulate a response.
How do employers keep their emotions out of day-to-day business?
I didn't want to hurt Jill nor favour Mei Ling. I told them both that I hoped we could continue to work together, but I feared that egos had been bruised.
I shouldn't have worried: Jill and Mei Ling are professionals.
I recently hired a car in San Jose without telling Mei Ling. When I arrived in California, I asked Jill to guide me on my travels, and she accepted without a hint of bitterness. She said and asked nothing about Mei Ling.
When I returned to Beijing, Mei Ling did the same, even though I'm certain she knew I had been with Jill.
I am relieved that both Mei Ling and Jill remain in my life, for, truth be told, I love them both.
We've worked together for some time now, but it occurs to me that I know nothing of Mei Ling's and Jill's personal lives. Where do they live? Do they have hobbies? Do they have boyfriends?
That last question pushes boundaries, and is probably inappropriate. Besides, Jill strikes me as someone who would have a girlfriend.
"Mei Ling" is the factory-installed voice setting on the Chinese version of the Garmin 1355, a GPS with a responsive touch screen. "Jill" is the voice of the Garmin 855, a GPS with built-in MP3 player and speech recognition module. These devices exhibit human-like behaviours that include culture shock and jealousy.
© 2011 K W Hadley
This story appears in the 2012-05-17 edition of China Daily online.
Hasselblad 500C/M, Carl Zeiss 80mm f2.8, Fujiflim PRO 400H. Colo's Classic Car Show 2013, Columbus Zoo
Covicted: without proper guardianship. Although the National Childrens Home did not resort to showing much of the ragged children they took in, tugging at a few heart strings from time to time did work
Colorful mocktail (without alcohol) drink served at Indian restaurant where Bill Clinton dined during his visit to Mumbai India. The restaurant is Cinnamon Grill and Bar,
Cheers and happy eating!
Kirti - www.feastguru.com
-Spartan: my first real Victorinox, carried it a few months until i bought the camper. Found it!
-Camper: my first Victorinox i bought, awesome little knife!
-Rucksack: huge locking blade+large saw= amazing for work in the woods.
-Waiter bought because it was on sale somewhere and it sit in my backpackas my corkscrew and tweezers knife.
-The no name one has a new point on it (on both blades) it took a long time because i only have whetstone.
*Condition of book: Mint condition without torn pgs
*Type: Paperback
*Language: English
*Genre: Historical Romance
*Publisher: Avon
# of pgs: 352
*Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.2 x 1 inches
*Availability: In stock (Buy @ $8)
*Postage: $1.50 (normal post)
Synopsis:
Why is the notorious Duke of Blackstone ruining Mary's well-laid plans to marry his brother, the handsome Viscount Wetherly? Every time she turns a corner, he is there--tantalizing her, teasing her ... and the more she tries to ignore him, the more insistent he becomes. Mary knows she must make an advantageous marriage, but surely Blackstone is the wrong man for her. Isn't he? Blackstone is not about to let his brother become bewitched by some wily blueblood pretender ... even one as deliciously tempting as Mary. But until she came along, no woman has ever resisted his smooth, well-practiced seductions. Could it be that he's actually fallen in love with this infuriating chit
Royal Enfield, without the terrier this time. Looks like seaside, UK. Looks so flat in fact it could be Romney Marsh?
All these negs were water damaged and almost impossible to separate.
Servicing the Hamlet Court Road Bus Stop on the A13 London Road, Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex. As can be seen in the photograph the bus lane is not without its problems with the sunken part of roadway.
Arriva 6514, SN66 WJL approaching the bus stop.
The bus lane is situated where the frontage of the old Hamlet Court Road Schools used to be. Dame Helen Mirren attended the school here in the early 1950's.
The Gift of Life
"How dare you start on this journey, without taking a ticket from Me? Come down; do the task allotted to you. I order you to come to the Prayer Hall this noon and carry on with Arathi, as usual."
"That was the command, the divine command of the Lord to Sri Seshagiri Rao, whose body and mind were 'ready steady set' for the last journey.
Baba did sound harsh. Yes, He appeared so unkind not only to the people around but also to the subject in question, Sri Seshagiri Rao, who was more than willing to shed his mortal coil after a fall and subsequent ill health, and had even started declaring aloud the eternal truths: "This body composed of the five elements is disintegrating into its components; I am being liberated!"
But Swami had different plans for this sage-like servitor who for 14 long years had tended the shrine at the old Mandir and later at the Prashanti Nilayam Sanctum Sanctorum with great dedication and love. Sri Seshagiri Rao just obeyed Swami's order and in the evening he was seen attending the shrine - the signs of illness were gone.
Six months later, this pious person fell ill again. His condition became worse and you could see that he was indeed suffering. His brother rushed in panic from Bangalore and requested Swami that Sri Seshagiri Rao be allowed to be taken to the Victoria hospital in Bangalore.
But, Swami had this to tell him, "Do not worry at his present plight. I am allowing him to work out the suffering he has to undergo. After this, he has the chance to die peacefully and quite happily. Otherwise, I could have despatched him months ago, when he had a fall." And that is exactly what happened.
Sri Seshagiri Rao recovered quite mysteriously in a month. He was hale and hearty and spent six weeks in bliss doing his chores in the shrine and spreading happiness around. And then suddenly one day, his health deteriorated and he took to bed. One evening Swami went to his bedside. Along with Swami was Prof. Kasturi, a great devotee and the first editor of Sanathana Sarathi. For what happened that momentous evening, let's hear from Sri Kasturi himself:
"Swami asked me to bring a cup of hot milk. Spoon by spoon, He fed him the entire cup, calling on him by name and telling him that it was his Baba that was feeding him! Then, He rose and moved; turning back while at the door, He looked at him and said, 'Now you can go!' And, Seshagiri Rao obeyed within an hour! Baba knew when he had to come down and when he had to 'go'."
Baba with the Cowans
This is not one isolated incident in the life of Baba. We all know of what happened to Walter Cowan, the oft-quoted story of resurrection recorded beautifully by Dr. Hislop in My Baba and I. We will not go into details here about that incident because there are many more. For every incident we know, there are hundreds and thousands that we do not know. Sai's power has been working silently, selflessly and relentlessly all-round the clock, all-round the globe transforming people, uniting families, enlivening spirits and resurrecting lives, for He is the master of Time and destiny.
In the first week of August, 1953 in Puttaparthi, there happened another incident which, as Howard Murphet describes in Sai Baba: Man of Miracles, was as dramatic in its way as the Christ's raising of "Lazarus" from the dead. The "Lazarus" here was Mr. V Radhakrishna, about sixty years of age, a factory owner and well-known citizen of Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh.
He was in Puttaparthi with his wife, daughter, Vijaya and son-in-law, Sri Hemchand. The Dasara celebrations were on but he was there in Puttaparthi with a different mission - to ask Baba to cure him of his frightful gastric ulcers.
Two days had passed by in Puttaparthi and when Mr. Radhakrishna found Swami taking a stroll in the hall one day, he ran to Him and fell at His feet imploring Him thus: "Swami, I prefer to die. I cannot bear this pain anymore. Let me be merged in Your Feet." Swami lifted him up by his shoulders and in a comforting tone said, "It is alright. The pain will soon subside," and sent him back.
Sometime later, Mr. Radhakrishna was attacked by fits, fell down and bit his tongue. Swami came immediately and placed Vibhuti on his forehead. His stomach was bloated. Swami sat by his side for sometime, patting his stomach. Before He left, He reassured everybody saying, "Do not worry. Everything will be alright."
The next day was truly a nightmare. The patient could not pass urine and his stomach became even more bloated. He was unconscious. A male nurse brought by Mr. K S Hemchand, the son-in-law, pronounced him near death after failing to find any pulse and making other examinations. There was no way of saving him, the nurse opined. And by evening the patient became very cold. The three anxious relatives heard what they thought was the "death rattle" in his throat and watched him turning blue and stiff. His stomach looked full enough to burst at the slightest touch.
Vijaya, and Mrs. Radhakrishna, went to see Swami. They told Him that Radhakrishna seemed to be dead. (Those days, devotees were very few and they had much greater access to Swami). But Swami just laughed and walked away into His bedroom. Crestfallen, the mother and daughter returned to the 'dead' man's bedside and waited and prayed. As if listening to their prayers, after a while, Swami came and looked at the body but did not say or do anything. The whole of the second night passed with the three fervently praying and anxiously waiting for any signs of life. But that was not to be. There were no signs. Yet, nothing could disturb their rock-like faith in Baba.
When the Venkatagiri Raja, a longtime devotee of Baba, offered to take Mr. Radhakrishna in his car to a bigger hospital in a town some distance away, Mrs. Radhakrishna firmly said, "We cannot do anything unless Swami commands us. Everything depends on Swami's will." She completely believed that somehow or other Baba would save Radhakrishna as He had promised that everything would be alright.
The whole body turned black. His nails turned blue. The night passed. No one slept. At about four in the morning of the third day, all the people around went away wiping their tears and all the three relatives began to weep silently. The body was more than ever like a corpse - dark, cold, quite stiff and beginning to smell. Other people who came to see and sympathise told Mrs. Radhakrishna that she should have the corpse removed from the ashram. But she replied, "Not unless Swami orders it". Some even went to Baba and suggested that, as the man was dead and the body smelling of decomposition, it should either be sent back to Kuppam or cremated at Puttaparti. Swami simply replied, "We'll see."
Radhakrishna with his Saviour
When Mrs. Radhakrishna went to see Swami again - to tell Baba what people were saying to her, and to ask Him what she must do, He answered: "Do not listen to them, and have no fear; I am here." And further, He reassured her saying that He would soon come to see her husband.
Mrs. Radhakrishna returned and waited along with her daughter and son-in-law by the body. 10 minutes, half an hour, an hour passed, but there was no sign of Swami. There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel and just when they were about to give up totally, the door opened and there stood Baba in His red robe, copious hair, and shining smile. It was then about half past two in the afternoon of the third day.
As soon as she saw Baba, Mrs. Radhakrishna broke down completely. Vijaya was also crying. They were like Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, weeping before their Lord who, they thought, had come too late. And Swami, as if there was nothing serious to it, said jokingly, "Is Radhakrishna having labour pains?" Everyone was silent.
"Let's see what the matter is," He said and walked into the room.
At what point is a person dead? Can anyone say? There are instances where suddenly a 'corpse' will move; in fact, when Jesus received word that Lazarus was dead, He said to His disciples, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep."
Anyway, to continue with the story, Baba gently asked the tearful women and sorrowful Mr. Hemchand to leave the room. There were only Swami and the dead man in the room and what happened inside only He knows. A few minutes passed, and the door opened and Swami beckoned all the three in. As they nervously walked in, they could scarcely believe their eyes! Was it true? Or, was it an illusion?
There on the bed Radhakrishna was looking up at them and smiling! Amazingly the stiffness of death had vanished and his natural colour was returning! All the three clasped Swami;s Feet and washed them with their tears. Baba went over, stroked the patient's head and said to him, "Talk to them; they are worried."
"Why worried?" asked Radhakrishna, puzzled, "what happened to me?"
With a loud laugh, Swami replied, "Delivery."
Everyone laughed. It was a strange scene, laughter in the midst of tears.
Mr. Radhakrishna looked at Swami who was sitting near his head and said, "I'm all right. You are here."
Swami then turned to Mrs. Radhakrishna and said, "I have given your husband back to you, now get him a hot drink."
When she brought a tumbler of Horlicks, Swami Himself fed it to Radhakrishna slowly spoon by spoon. For another half an hour He remained there, gently touching Radhakrishna and strengthening the man He had 'raised'.
Swami then asked Vijaya, "How old is your father?"
"Sixty years," she replied.
Then, Swami reminded them how, four or five years ago, Mrs. Radhakrishna once had told Him, "Swami, in my husband's family, all his brothers died in their sixtieth year. Kindly save my husband." And how Swami had promised her then that He would save her husband. Swami then turned toward Mrs. Radhakrishna and said, "You have forgotten that conversation. But I have not. Today, I have given the gift of life to your husband."
Then Swami placed His hand on Mrs. Radhakrishna's head, blessed the whole family and left the room.
After two hours, He was back. He asked Mr. Radhakrishna, "Radha Krishnayya! Where did you go?" He replied, "That place was very peaceful, very comfortable; very, very nice, Swami. Why did you bring me back? It was heavenly there."
It seems later, Swami confided to Sri Kasturi, "His children are still young. He did not even write a will. He has yet to perform the marriages of his children. That's why I saw to it that he was brought back. The extra years of life that I have given now I shall deduct from his next birth." What meticulous attention to correct the calculation of life span!
Next day, Mr. Radhakrishna was strong enough to walk to Bhajan. On the third day he wrote a seven-page letter to one of his daughters who was abroad in Italy . The family stayed a few more days at Prashanti Nilayam, then with Baba's permission returned to their home in Kuppam. The gastric ulcers and complications had vanished forever.
Aeons have passed by. Civilisations have emerged, grown and perished. Man, Nature, Science - everything has changed. But if there is one thing that has remained constant it is God. His love, His compassion for humanity, His concern and His impeccable glory. Another startling episode that amply demonstrates this happened in Prashanti Nilayam, just two decades back and it stands as a testimony to the inscrutable and infinite power of Sai. This time it was a young student, a research scholar staying in the hostel in Prashanti Nilayam.
One person who was a witness and totally involved in this whole incident was Mr. Narasimha Murthy who was the warden of the hostel then. And this is what he narrated in the Divine Presence of Baba in Sai Kulwant Hall on the 1 st of November 2004:
It was the month of October, 1985, the sixtieth birthday celebrations year. In the early hours of morning, I was woken up. One of the PhD Scholars was a chronic asthma patient. He was unable to breathe.
Click here to listen to Mr. Narasimha Murthy's voice.
We rushed him to the Puttaparthi General Hospital . The boy's name was Narayan Sharma. He was from Bombay , a classmate of the current warden of the hostel, Sri Shiva Shankar Sai.
By the time we took him to the hospital, the body had become cold and blue. There was a lady doctor who attended on him. There was no pulse, no breath. Dr. Chari, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital then, rushed from his home. He also checked him up and informed all of us present there, 'He is no more. The boy is dead.'
It was approaching six in the morning. You could imagine the plight of the warden when such a thing happens. I did not even dare to go to the Mandir and submit to Swami what had happened. It was Dr. Chari who walked to the Mandir and submitted to Swami the whole episode. Swami said, "Nothing will happen to him. He is fine".
Swami, then materialized Vibhuti and gave it to Dr. Chari and said, "Apply it on his chest and put hot-water bags on his back." Dr. Chari returned and the Vibhuti and hot water bags were applied.
Yet, we were in a state of fix. We did not know what to do as there was no pulse, no breathing still. The body was still cold and blue. For all practical purposes, he was dead. The doctors then told me, 'Mr. Narasimha Murthy, now it is your turn to go and report to Swami.'
Sri Narasimha Murthy narrating the incident on Nov 1st 2004
It was 6.30 in the morning. I walked up to the Mandir. I reported to Swami. Swami said, "Nothing has happened to him." In fact, He gave me a thermos flask filled with hot coffee and said, "Go and give it to him." I was bewildered.
I returned with this flask to the hospital. When I reached the hospital, the lady doctor looked at me with the flask and asked, 'For whom is this coffee?' I could barely say anything. I just very reluctantly showed the patient.
Her face became completely expressionless. But there was a sense of, "Mr. Warden, you have lost your brain." These were her unspoken words.
I did not know what to do with the coffee. The body of Narayana Sharma was covered with a white sheet. Only his toes were seen. And then suddenly, we saw movements! His toes were moving!
We were overjoyed. And then the lady doctor, with great joy, went up to the boy. The boy could not open his eyes, but the toes were moving. And she put her finger at the nose. Slowly, the breathing was coming back. And then, she whispered these words into his ears, "See boy, Swami has sent coffee for you. Please take it." One spoon of coffee was fed into his mouth and he took it in! Then, slowly spoon by spoon coffee was being fed into his mouth. The lady doctor checked him again. The pulse was returning. Confident that the boy is back, she was connecting the BP apparatus to the boy's arm and just then Swami arrived with late Sri V. K. Narasimhan, the editor of Sanathana Sarathi at that time. Hearing Swami's voice, the boy slowly tried to open his eyes. Swami came near the boy and said, "What boy! Everybody said you are dead. Still you are alive!" The boy looked at Swami. His face was expressionless. Then Swami asked all the three doctors present there, Dr. Chari and two lady doctors, "Was he dead?"
All of them said, "Yes, Swami. He was dead."
Then He asked one of the lady doctors, "How do you say that he was dead."
"Swami, according to us, there was no pulse, no breathing, no heartbeat; the body was cold and blue. Going by medical science, that is death."
"Then how did he come back," He asked.
"Swami, You are God. You can do anything." The lady doctor replied.
The drama of Lazarus was re-enacted. Only the venue was different.
There were about 50 classmates, who had assembled outside the General Hospital . They had come hearing that their friend has made his exit from the world. Swami looked out of the window. All the boys looked very sad.
Swami then looked at me and said, "Go and tell them what has happened here." Swami confirmed that He had brought back the boy to life.
And then Swami materialized a kind of brownish chocolate and gave it to the boy. The boy immediately put it into his mouth. After returning to the Mandir, Swami materialized three bottles of tablets and sent them to the hospital with detailed instructions as to how these tablets are to be administered.
The boy was soon in the hostel busy with his research. And he completed his PhD.
For an incarnation, it is sheerly His powers, His inner strength which achieves everything and nothing else. Instruments are only superfluous. There is nothing that is impossible for him", the warden concluded.
Now let's move on to something which happened in the nineties. It is the story of Mr. Venkateswaran, a long-time devotee of Bhagavan who now resides in the Prashanti Nilayam ashram. This is what he has to tell about his miraculous 'return':
"It happened on the afternoon of 1st October, 1994 . Along with students and some guests, I was inside Trayee Brindavan (Swami's residence in Bangalore ). While Swami was speaking, I felt a sudden tightness in my chest. I began to sweat profusely and felt strangely breathless.
Three quick pinches of Vibhuti from my pocket, followed by a chant of 'Sai Rama' three times was all I could muster before leaning on the person in front of me. I was slipping into darkness. I then saw an orange robe in an ocean of light.
This was followed by a vision of my inert body lying on the floor. I could not believe it! I felt so free, so utterly free.
Then a voice in the distance echoed, 'Get up! Your Sai Rama has come, get up!'
My hazy memory does not recall what happened next, but I was informed later that immediately after I had passed away, a physician sitting nearby had examined me and found no vital signs. With some difficulty this was conveyed to Swami who was sitting on the jhoola [swing] in the front. Our Merciful Lord stood up immediately, picked up His silver tumbler, and walked to where my body was.
He poured some water on His fingers and let it trickle into my mouth. Then, He said the words that I have just quoted: 'Get up! Your Sai Rama has come!'
Mr. Venkateswaran with his 'Sai Rama' before his operation
My inert body jerked and my eyes opened to see Bhagavan. Looking at all those seated around, Bhagavan firmly asked, 'What other miracle do you want? Venkatesh was gone, and I brought him back.' I was helped back into my room."
In fact, Swami gave him another lease of life when in 1999, a full five years after his resurrection, He blessed him to undergo a heart surgery at the modern temple of healing, the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences. Not only that, He made a special visit to the Hospital, materialized Vibhuti and blessed him profusely before his surgery.
Mr. Venkateswaran is still doing fine and dedicates his time in the ashram doing Swami's work.
Resurrections may not be as common a phenomenon as Swami creating Vibhuti, rings, chains, etc., but time and again, Swami has brought people back to life whenever the situation demanded it. We know how Swami 'raised' Subbamma just to keep His promise and fulfill her last wish. For those, who have not read this thrilling episode in
' Sathyam Shivam Sundaram', here is a brief account:
"Subbamma was the person most anxious about Swami's 'health' when He was a young boy and most worried about the hundreds of pilgrims who gathered at Puttaparthi. Baba even now says that the grinding stone in her house was always busy, preparing chutney (an Indian dish) out of the heaps of coconuts that the pilgrims offered. She was grinding almost eight hours of the day! She had immense love and devotion to the Lord and Baba had said that He would satisfy her one desire... to have the Darshan of Baba in her last moments. And this is how he fulfilled it.
It was in the fifties. Subbamma fell ill and was taken to Bukkapatnam. But in spite of her illness, she came over one day in a bullock cart to see the Prashanti Nilayam (the new Mandir), which was then under construction. She was soon bedridden and could not move; her condition worsened and Baba was away in Bangalore !
Subbamma, in her delirium, talked about Baba and the vision of Shirdi Sai Baba which she had been privileged to see, of the manifold Leelas of the Krishna she had witnessed, and, when she came to, her talk was about the same incidents and the same Person. She was in the midst of relatives who did not have much sympathy with these sentiments, for they felt that her love for the strange little miraculous Boy had taken her away from attachment to her kith and kin. So, they told her that her Baba was a hundred miles away, and it would be better for her to concentrate her failing attention on men and matters nearer and closer. But, her Faith did not falter.
Meanwhile, Baba left Bangalore for Tirupathi, where He spent some time with a few devotees. Of course, Baba knew that Subbamma's soul was struggling to free itself from the mortal coil, and that she was rolling in her deathbed at Bukkapatnam. The people around her announced that she had breathed her last.
But, some peculiar glow on her face, made them nervous to take the body to the cremation ground. A few wiser persons shook their heads when it was suggested that she had died. They advised patience, and admonished the relatives; 'The bird has not flown yet,' they said.
How could that bird fly, even though the door of the cage was lying open? She must have the Darshan and she must wait until Baba comes. And, Baba too was hurrying towards her bedside. He left Tirupathi by car, and arriving at Puttaparthi, proceeded to Bukkapatnam, three full days after the first announcement of Subbamma's end!
Her eyes had lost the glint, she was placed on the floor and people were evincing an uneasy impatience. Baba sat by her and in a low voice called out, "Subbamma," "Subbamma," just twice and no more! Then, to the wonderment of everyone crowding around, Subbamma opened her eyes!
She extended her hand towards Baba and grasped His palm firmly and began to stroke it lovingly; Baba put His fingers to her lips; her mouth opened a little, as if she knew that Baba was giving her something to slake the thirst of the soul.
From the fingers of Baba there poured into her mouth the Immortal Ganga and Subbamma joined the ranks of the Released!
What a deliverance! Can anything better that! Swami knows who deserves what and when.
Some people might ask why does Swami resurrect this individual and not another? Why does He save some people from serious illnesses or from near-death situations and not others? Why does He use His powers only for some and not others?
Raising Lazarus
To this, Howard Murphet gives a beautiful explanation in Sai Baba: Man of Miracles:
"Perhaps, in the same way one might ask why Christ did not cure all the sickness around him in his day. And why was Lazarus the only one He called back from the tomb? Did Jesus - and did Sai Baba later - make a special effort against the power of death for a greatly loved family of close devotees? Maybe, but I think there is more to it than that.
When Jesus was informed that Lazarus was sick he made the enigmatic remark: 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby'. So what would normally, under ordinary conditions, be a death-dealing disease may be an occasion for the glorification of God through the works of a God-man.
Then, too, there is the profound and complex question of karma. To what extent is the specific ailment or the approach of death karmic, and how far should the Godman interfere with the patient's karma?"
So, that probably gives the answer. The bottom line is this: God is Omnipotent and Omniscient. He can do anything. He is not in the business of displaying His powers at every opportunity. There must be a very sound reason for Him to do anything. He knows our past, present and future. He knows what is good for us. And He makes no mistakes.
Unaware of anything beyond the present and the past of the current life, we sometimes complain. But the solution does not lie in complaining but surrendering everything at His lotus Feet. Because He is ever ready to help. He stands at the doorstep of our heart waiting for a small opening just like the sunlight which eagerly enters a dark room and brightens it by way of even a small slit at the door.
So let us open our hearts to Him. Let us Trust Him. For, with Him by our side, nothing is impossible."
Source: Radio Sai E-Magazine, June 2005
A striking photograph of "Ye Olde Plough Inn", in the process of demolition, before replacement by "The Plough Inn", at Bondgate Without, Alnwick.
The demolition and new-build was carried out in 1898 (in the same year -- something that seems beyond many modern British construction projects), with this old thatched-roof building being one of the last of its type in Bondgate Without to go.
An inscription on a stone (still present), now at the building's front side is dated 1714, probably indicating the date of its initial construction.
It states:
"That which your father
Hath purchased, and left you to possess,
Do you dearly hold
To show his worthiness." M.W.
(where M.W, indicates the name Matthew Willoughby, an Alnwick Freeman).
The Plough itself has undergone considerable internal reworking over recent years, possibly to its detriment -- it had previously been considered by the Campaign for Real Ale as having an interior of special historic interest. I'm unsure if that still applies any more.
Initially, Britain had three types of legal drinking establishment -- alehouses, taverns and inns. These eventually become interwtined into "public houses".
An "inn" was simply a tavern (serving wine and ale) that catered mainly for travellers.
The sign in the image above notes: "Ye Olde Plough Inn, Thomas Cairns, Licensed to Retail Ale, Porter, Spirits & Tobacco."
English Law is filled with numerous odd Acts, and one of them came into force in 1898 -- The 1898 Drunkards Act, where criminal inebriates could be committed to reformatories (something that maybe should be welcomed back onto the Law Books ...)
It was only 13 years before this photo that the law changed to stop alcohol being sold to children on the premises.
This image may not be used in any way without prior permission
© All rights reserved 2011
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Toronto Pearson International Airport CYYZ
20110418_215523_0475
This is a hand held photo, without any alteration, not even cropping. See it better, tap on it!
I was invited to a group that accepts only photos without editing. I added this one, and it is exactly as I took it...
I do must of all nature photography, and from time to time city life. I enjoy trying new techniques, and transforming some of my photos into something different and ( I think) artistic.
EXPLORE:
Also, I’m very proud to say that twenty eight of my photos made it to Explore, many are still on, many are still on, three of them at 25, 14 and 52, still! If you’d like to see them, please go to my Explore set.
If you’d like to see them, please go to my Explore set.
TO MY FRIENDS:
Flickr has giving me opportunity to meet a group of wonderful people. Thanks for making me feel so proud of what I do and love. You know who you are…
ABOUT GROUPS:
I would gladly submit my photos to the groups that would allow me to see their pages and be part of them. Please, don’t invite me to groups that will show my work once, and by invitation. I rather be part of a group that will allow me to choose my own material, and decide what to put and when. Remember, we are artists, and very temperamental ;)
MY THANKS:
Thanks for coming and for viewing my photos. I appreciate all comments, so leave one, if you want to.
Have great day, and enjoy the ride!
Martha.
Manufactured by Héard & Mallinjod, Lyon, France for Plavic firm in Lyon.
Model: c.1930, serie 00, Without identification
This camera is a rare Hémax folder plate camera and Hémax folders produced 1923 to 1930s, according to
Sylvain Halgand and
Folder bed plate film camera, film size: plate 9x12cm
Lens: Plavic - Anastigmat 135mm f/6.3, filter slip-on, serial no.11135
Aperture: f/6.3-f/32 setting: lever and scale on front of the lens-shutter barrel
Focusing: bellows focusing, by a thumb wheel on the right of the front cover,
index and scale on the left-inside of the front cover,
Focus range: 1-10m +inf
Shutter: Gitzo leaf shutter type B1, speeds: 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 +T & B,
setting : lever and scale on the shutter
Cocking and Shutter release: by the same lever, on front of the lens-shutter barrel,
Manuel shutter cocking and releasing on the same time, for the speed settings, by pressing once the lever, the diaphragm opens and closes, (like old box cameras !)
Cable release socket: on the lens-shutter barrel
View finder: 1) Waist level Brilliant Finder on top of the lens and bellows mount plate, turnable 90 degrees left upon its own axis for landscape pictures
2) Sports finder: A big wire sports finder, hinged on the lens standard and used with a folding rear peep sight part, on the left side of the camera
Bellows single-extension, can bend over with a sliding part on the lens standard
Flash PC socket: none
Self-timer: none
Front plate and bellows opening: front plate opens by a knob on the top side of the camera,
it is unvisible cause it is under the leatherette cover, then pull the bellows forward by engaging its rails to the front cover mounted rails, then press the two jagged, knob like chrome handles on front of the lens rails to inwards simultaneously, then pull out the bellows as far as reaching to the focus scale,
Closing: simply pull in the bellows as far as it goes, than push to inward the struts
Back cover: as a plate film holder, removable by sliding upwards
Engraving inside of the front cover: PLAVIC
Tripod sockets: Old 3/8'' type, two, on the bottom and left sides of the camera
Lugs for leather Hand grip
Body: metalic, Weight: 850g
serial no.1788
Plavic It was believed that Plavic was a French brand of camera bodies as well for the lens and shutters, but this is not exactly true:
As to Sylvain Halgand
"The traces of Plavic are in the catalog of Photo-Plait 1919. The actual name of the manufacturer is Planchon Cellulose Corporation in Lyon. Their production is limited to the cellulose films and maybe printing papers and photographic chemicals.
The problem with Plavic is that this brand has never made cameras.
The cameras named Plavic made by another manufacturer and Plavic completed its offers by including devices to their catalog.
They seem few and have been circulated before or around the 1930.
The shutters in Plavic cameras were named Plavicos but it was made by Gitzo".
I found no information about the manufacturers of the Plavic lenses.
Plavic marked cameras were Pliant 127 and 6x9 folders, Le Plavico 6x9, and Box etc. All of them were the same cameras of other brands.
So, here, this Plavic camera is exactly the same camera as much as in very fine details and lens with Hémax folder plate serie 00. It is clear that this camera was made by Héard & Mallinjod for Plavic.
I couldn't find any information about 9x12 plate camera labelled as Plavic in the internet sources but in McKeown's.
As to McKeown's Cameras 2006: in the Planchon section, p.786
The company was founded by Victor Planchon, Boulogne & Lyon, France.
Hirlemann & Moreau (later Héard & Mallinjod) made a 6x9cm and 9x12cm folding plate cameras in c.1920-28 under the Hemax label. After those dates some Hemax cameras are found under the PLAVIC label (PLAnchon VICtor). Victor Planchon collaborated with the Lumiere brothers in fabricating the first films for the Cinematographe in Boulogne-sur-mer and later in Lyon. He became director of the Lumiere factory in the Lyon suburb of Feysin where he made and distributed films with Lumiere emulsions under the name Plavic. For some time, he also sold Plavic cameras in 9x12cm, 6x9cm sizes, before these became Lumiere cameras".
Gitzo is a French company, founded in 1917. Its name was derived from the founder's name Arsène Gitzhoven. Gitzo was a name given to an early shutter and later adopted for all products manufactured by the company. Initially Gitzo made camera equipment and precision accessories, especially shutters. After World War II it concentrated on the manufacture of tripods and tripod heads, for which it is renowned today.
Camera importers and manufacturers offered their camera models with a range of shutter and lens combinations. A good example for this are the Héard & Mallinjod Hemax models, which were offered with a range of lenses manufactured by Berthiot, Boyer, Darlot, Hermagis, Itier and Roussel, and for which Gitzo, Vario and Compur shutters were available. as to Camerapedia
and Gitzo Shutters
This was without a doubt the best day of our trip. We went out with Einar and his son from Öræfaferðir / Local Guide Travel Service. They were both amazing, and we would highly recommend their services! Please feel free to check out the link below for more information.
Our first stop was to throw on some crampons and hike along the Svínafellsjökull Outlet on Vatnajökull Glacier. These were some of the most breathtaking sights we have ever seen, and it was even more amazing to be on them and experiencing them first hand.
Interesting trivia facts from our guide, Einar:
An early fight scene between Christian Bale and Liam Neeson in Batman Begins was filmed on this glacier. Because the glaciers are always melting and evolving, we did not see the glacier exactly as they did, but this is still where it all went down. Interestingly, Liam Neeson was not even aware they were shooting a Batman film at the time of the shoot. Director Christopher Nolan apparently likes to play things "very close to the chest." Here is a shot of my wife and I reenacting their exciting battle.
Additionally, episodes from Season 2 of HBO's "Game of Thrones" were filmed here. Icelandic locals get a real kick out of the scenes on display because chase scenes that were intended to take place over the course of several miles clearly show the distinctive "Pig Mountain" (Svínafells, hence Svínafellsjökull means "Pig Mountain Glacier") in the same spot in the background, clearly indicating that they had only moved maybe 100 feet in between shots.
Nikon D800
24-120mm f/4 Lens
Copyright © 2014 Ruggero Poggianella
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Morgan 4/4 was the Morgan Motor Company's first car with four wheels. It appeared in 1936.
Its model designation "4-4" (later "4/4") stood for four wheels and four cylinders. Earlier Morgans had been three-wheelers, only, typically with V-twin engines. Apart from a break during World War II (and the period March 1951 to September 1955) the 4/4 has been in continuous production from its debut right up to the present day. Engine capacity has increased from the 1,122 cc Coventry Climax engine in 1936 to a 1.8-litre Ford engine in 2004, although it is currently back down to 1,595 cc.
The original open two-seater 4-4 was introduced in 1936 and ended up being the most popular of the three body options available. 663 were built by 1939 and 249 more from 1946 to 1950, representing 53% of the overall production.
For the first years the car had a 1,122 cc Coventry Climax engine with 34 bhp (25 kW; 34 PS), superseded from 1939 by a Standard Special 1,267 cc overhead valve engine with 38.8 bhp (29 kW; 39 PS). A four-speed Meadows gearbox was used until 1938, then a Moss gearbox.
The Drophead Coupé was introduced in 1938 with 58 built by 1939 and another 106 from 1946 to 1950. This has a better folding roof and permanent window frames, along with certain other creature comforts.
The Series II, now the 4/4 rather than the 4-4, was introduced in 1955 with 386 built by October 1960. Although very similar in appearance to the old 4-4 it was virtually a new car with a chassis based on the one used in the Morgan Plus 4. The traditional independent front suspension using sliding pillars and coil springs was fitted with a rigid axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. Disc wheels were fitted as standard items.
A side-valve 1,172 cc Ford 100E engine was used with a Ford three-speed gearbox. The engine produced 36 bhp. Hydraulic brakes with 9 in (229 mm) drums were fitted. It was also available in 40 bhp (30 kW; 41 PS) 'Competition' form with Aquaplane head conversion, twin S.U. carburettors, and an improved gearshift linkage.
Inside there was a bench seat back and individual squabs covered in PVC, with leather as an option, and rubber floor covering. A heater was available as an option as was a rev counter and more surprisingly, direction indicators.
In 1956 The Motor magazine tested a Series II and recorded a top speed of 75.3 mph (121.2 km/h), acceleration from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 26.9 seconds and a fuel consumption of 35.1 miles per imperial gallon (8.0 L/100 km; 29.2 mpg-US). The test car cost £713 including taxes.
The short-lived Series III was introduced in October 1960 and 58 were built by November 1961 when the Series IV arrived. The chassis was essentially the same as that used on the Series II but the track was increased by 2 inches (50 mm). Hydraulic shock absorbers replaced the old Hartford friction type.
A 39 bhp (29 kW; 40 PS) overhead valve 997 cc Ford Anglia 105E engine and Ford four-speed gearbox were used.
The Series IV introduced October 1961 with 114 built by March 1963 had a 62 bhp, 1340 cc, Ford Classic 109E engine and Ford four-speed gearbox. Front 11 in (279 mm) disc brakes were now fitted.
The Motor magazine tested a Series IV in 1962 and found it had a top speed of 80.3 mph (129.2 km/h), acceleration from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 18.6 seconds and a touring fuel consumption of 32.0 miles per imperial gallon (8.8 L/100 km; 26.6 mpg-US). The test car cost £729 including taxes on the home market.
The Series V was introduced in February 1963 with 639 built by March 1968.
A 65 bhp, 1498 cc, Ford Cortina 116E engine and Ford four-speed gearbox were used.
This was the best I could do without trespassing and was taken from the public pavement opposite thier Depot. I also visited Thomsetts back in January: www.flickr.com/photos/69558134@N05/32306827641/, and since then their G771XPL/G157XJF left in late July when I saw it being towed down the M2 near Aylesham, however their N946LBX, E112YNM and JIL2023/B112UUR were also present in the sheds behind M78JNV, and IIL5316/D24CNR and out of sight to the left IIL5313/G718NWY, which are newly aquired from Roberts Coaches of Adisham, who appear to have ceased trading as their depot was completely empty when I visted last monday.
And be sure to check by my other acount: www.flickr.com/photos_user.gne?path=&nsid=77145939%40..., to see what else I saw 2 weeks ago!!
Yes I'm back again.
However due to my main computer on which I edit my work being struck down with a big bad virus, this picture and all the others I am uploading, were Unedited but have now been replaced with Edited versions. So enjoy and Thanks for your patience and understanding.
I do still hate everything about this shit that is new Flickr and always will, but an inability to find another outlet for my work that is as easy for me to use as the Old BETTER Flickr was, has forced me back to Flickr, even though it goes against everything I believe in.
I don't generally have an opinion on my own work, I prefer to leave that to other people and so based on the positive responses to my work from the various friends I had made on Flickr prior to the changes I have decided to upload some more of my work as an experiment and to see what happens.
So make the most of me before they delete my acount: www.flickr.com/photos/69558134@N05/?details=1, to stop me complaining!!
Why 'Alita Battle Angel Movie for Free' Is not really a Superhero Movie By BRANDON DAVIS - January 16, 2019
In adapting the Battle Angel Alita manga for the giant screen, Alita: Battle Angel is just not telling a superhero story having its impressively enhanced lead character.
This kind of theme was important to those included in the upcoming film. Within a recent interview with ComicBook. com, both Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz firmly disagreed with all the notion of Alita as being a superhero, whatsoever -- and you can check it out inside the video above.
"I don't think I play a supe hero, " Salazar said. Waltz promptly agreed with his co-star. "I think this can be a hero, this is a hero's journey, " Salazar said. "I don't believe that she actually is a superhero. "
Waltz, actually was enthusiastic about the thought that alitabattleangelfullmovie.com is not simply another superhero film. "I think that's what really sets this apart, " he said. "Because difficult. It's a human story. The point that you can find, parenthetically, improved humans, is secondary. It's a human story, which is really why is it so approachable, and you will identify. inches
Since the film therefore makes itself relatable for that average moviegoer without any supernatural or enhanced abilities, the actors believe audiences are going to be in a position to connect to the storyline seeing before their eyes. "Well, it creates you really feel something, and that i wouldn't head to those movies feeling something, " Salazar said of blockbuster comic book movies. "I would venture to see six square blocks being blown up. That's what I would see. "
"It's a lot of fun, in case you are into that sort of thing, " Waltz added. "But within our case, body fat escape. In the superhero thing, it is possible to lean back and let things destroy the other person. inch
The thought of telling an extremely human story with Alita: Battle Angel goes up from the top of production to executive producer Jon Landau, who knows something about telling emotional stories having brought Titanic to our lives. "You must create a character that's real, " Landau said, referencing a character an extraordinary visual effects team worked tirelessly to provide an authentic look. "She's an extremely human type character really in this world. You've established our planet where you're using enhanced technologies to create humans do items that they couldn't do before, so why do you produce a character like this which has these types of unique turn to her? inch
Ultimately, the physical trait which can make Alita look most not the same as the everyday person is only one which honors its manga source material. "You must find a reason to make the big eyes play within a scene, " Landau admits. "They can not be there simply because, 'Well, we chose to make big eyes. ' They have to fit the emotions of what she's doing each time. Ultimately, our bar is we're shooting this experience all the other actors each time the thing is Alita inside a shot we may have witnessed Rosa in that same shot using the other actors. That's everything we work to. inch
Everything said, Waltz and Salazar don't seem to get any interest in ever joining a universe such as those brought together by Marvel and DC movies. Salazar admits she does not have enough of a knowledge base within the comic publishers or their films to pick a popular while Waltz says he hails from a "totally" different universe than one which would concern him using the titles.
Alita Battle Angel Film hits theaters on February 14, 2018.
Without the access to a Ruby Tuesday in Los Angeles (and even if there were one, I wouldn't be able to eat the halaal-less meat) I took full advantage of the restaurant in the Citystars mall in Nasr City, Cairo.
We went last night to get stuff from Snippeys, and we decided (well I decided really) to eat dinner at the place I've been obsessed with for so long but had never ever been to.
What did I order? Bacon Cheeseburger. Oh yes. Cheese, beef, bacon. All halaal of course. It was tasty... but I wish I hadn't gone with the bacon. It gave the burger a werid taste. It didn't taste like real bacon (says Amy) but I was more interested in the beef anyway.
I was considering ordering a steak as well... but was unanimously convinced not to. I'll go back to doniate the sirloin, Inshallah, mark my words!
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blog: modenadude.com
Without the Prineville BLM, the dots of Cottonwood Canyon State Park would never be connected. The park was a ranch before being sold first to the Western Rivers Conservancy in 2008, and then by that nonprofit to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) from 2009-2011. But the private land checker-boards across the landscape with BLM-administered land filling in the gaps. BLM and Oregon State Parks are working together to create a seamless experience for visitors to Oregon’s newest State Park.
When Congress designated the John Day as a Wild and Scenic River in 1988, the legislation stated that the river was "to be administered through a cooperative management agreement [CMA] between the State of Oregon and the Secretary of Interior." To facilitate the new park, the BLM will be completing an Environmental Assessment to modify the existing agreement. Under the modified CMA, OPRD would be able to construct and maintain trails, restore native vegetation, and provide a reservation service to the one boat-in campsite on BLM land. The BLM and OPRD are working on a review of the trail system in order to include a travel management plan in the EA for Cottonwood Canyon.
Cottonwood Canyon State Park straddles 16 miles of the lower John Day River, where Highway 206 crosses the river between Gilliam and Sherman Counties. Visitors can come to experience the park – even while OPRD and BLM work out the details of the CMA. The 8,000-acre park boasts amazing, rugged canyons, spectacular views and a primitive experience for guests. The park will remain generally undeveloped with miles of trails, primitive campgrounds, a day use area, a Welcome Center, restrooms and self-guided interpretive walks around the old ranch buildings. When the CMA is complete, the park boundary will include an additional 10,000 acres of BLM – making it the largest State Park in Oregon.
To find out more about this beautiful park, head on over to the Oregon State Parks page:
www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPa...
Photo by Michael Campbell/BLM/2014
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
The church (in Swedish Lunds Domkyrka) was originally built in the beginning of the 12th century in the Romanesque style - the high altar, dedicated to St Lawrence (Sankt Laurentius), was consecrated in 1145. But the church has been altered several times after this, leaving only the apse in its original form. The first of these alterations came as early as after a fire in 1234 in which the church suffered severely. There were also some major renovations made in the 1510s by German artist Adam van Düren. But the most substantial alterations were made by Carl Georg Brunius and Helgo Zettervall in the 19th century when the church was given what they thought was a more clean, medieval look - ignoring later additions to the church, but also ignoring how the church originally had looked like (most notable of these changes being the two western towers where the original towers were torn down and replaced by completely different looking towers of the 19th century gone medieval type).
Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).
Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions
"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".
The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.
The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.
Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.
Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:
Wet with cool dew drops
fragrant with perfume from the flowers
came the gentle breeze
jasmine and water lily
dance in the spring sunshine
side-long glances
of the golden-hued ladies
stab into my thoughts
heaven itself cannot take my mind
as it has been captivated by one lass
among the five hundred I have seen here.
Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.
Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.
There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.
The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.
In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:
During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".
Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.
While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’
Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.
An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.
Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983
Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture
Main article: Commercial graffiti
With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.
In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".
Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.
Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.
Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.
Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.
There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.
The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.
Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.
Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis
Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.
Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.
Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"
Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal
In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.
Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.
Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.
Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.
With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.
Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.
Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.
Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.
Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.
Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.
Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.
Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.
The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.
I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.
The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.
Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.
Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.
In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".
There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.
Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.
A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.
By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.
Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.
In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.
A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.
From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.
Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.
In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.
Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.
In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.
In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."
In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.
In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.
In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.
In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.
In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.
To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."
In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.
In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.
Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".
Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)
In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.
Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.
Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.
In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.
Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.
Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.
To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.
When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.
On my way to St Giles, I saw that the door to St Botolph seemed to be open. I went over to investigate, but found it shut fast.
But a nice lady who was about to enter the church said that it would be open at quarter to one, use the entrance in the Postman's Park. So, I vowed to return.
As I did, arriving back at five past one, only to find that one of their lectures was about to begin. I did think about staying for the lecture, then getting shots But in the end, rattled a few shots off before hightailing it out before the lecture began.
So sad then that this wonderful church was out of the public's view for so long, worth trying to see inside for the plaster ceiling.
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The eastern half of the City had four churches dedicated to St Botolph, each at one of the City gates, a reminder that St Botolph is traditionally the patron Saint of travellers and wayfarers. Three of the churches survive, and this is one of them.
St Botolph without Aldersgate sits on the corner of Aldersgate Street and Little Britain, across the road from the Museum of London, with Postman's Park wrapped around the other two sides of it. The medieval church was undamaged by the Great Fire, but when Aldersgate Street was widened in the late 18th Century the church was knocked down and rebuilt by Nathaniel Wright. The new church is modest, but in a good way, an introspective moment before the modernist noise of London Wall and the Barbican kick in.
For many years this church was hardly ever open. It is home to a particularly evangelical congregation, and the church's only services, the so-called Aldersgate Talks on Tuesday lunchtimes, are focused on the exegesis of Bible passages for the benefit of those who like that kind of thing best. I was quite excited to find the church open on a Saturday morning a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there was a meeting on inside - lots of very earnest looking men in black suits who glared at me when I poked my head around the door. They didn't look very welcoming, so I fled.
However, all that has changed. St Botolph now partly serves as the visitor centre for Christian Heritage London, who have put up a sequence of display boards which detail a fairly fundamentalist protestant history of Christianity from the First Century (which was very good, apparently) to the Twentieth Century (which was very bad). So for the modest sum of one pound you may enter the church and read them. The exhibition is open every day except Tuesday and Sunday.
And the church? Well, after all that fuss about getting in I must admit that I was a little disappointed, I'm afraid. The ceiling is gorgeous, great sugary fondants of plaster swelling and dripping in geometric patterns. And the east end is lovely, the apse beautifully decorated, although of course the altar has been removed and the space turned into a meeting area. It was rebuilt further west in 1829 to facilitate more road-widening, but appears to have retained Wright's design, albeit updated later by the Victorians. Otherwise it appears an almost entirely 18th Century interior.
However, successive generations have not served it well. The 19th Century glass in the north windows by Ward & Hughes is not good, its preachy gallery style quite out of harmony with the decoration, and the post-war Farrar Bell scenes of events in evangelical history on the south side are pedestrian at best. The glass up in the clerestories looks better, though perhaps only because it is further away. And the modern congregation has gutted the furnishings, replacing them with modern chairs that are turned away from the east towards a side wall in the protestant manner. Perhaps the best thing of all is the sequence of good, interesting memorials which date back over four hundred years, although you may need to discreetly move some of the display boards to get to them.
Simon Knott, December 2015
-- [ this photo captured without tripod ] --
The Bode Museum belongs to the group of museums on the Museum Island in Berlin and is a historically preserved building. The museum was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. Originally called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III, the museum was renamed in honor of its first curator, Wilhelm von Bode, in 1956.
Closed for repairs since 1997, the museum was reopened on October 18, 2006.
It is now the home for a collection of sculptures, Byzantine art, and coins and medals.
The sculpture collection shows art of the Christian Orient (with an emphasis on Coptic Egypt), sculptures from Byzantium and Ravenna, sculptures of the Middle Ages, the Italian Gothic, and the early Renaissance. Late German Gothic works are also represented by Tilman Riemenschneider, the south German Renaissance, and Prussian baroque art up to the 18th century. In the future selected works of the Gemäldegalerie will be integrated into the sculpture collection. This is reminiscent of William von Bode's concept of "style rooms", in which sculptures, paintings, and crafts are viewed together, as was usual in upper middle-class private collections.
The Münzkabinett ("coin cabinet"), currently housed at the neighboring Pergamon Museum, is one of the world's largest numismatic collections. Its range spans from the beginning of minting in the seventh century B.C. in Asia Minor up to the present day. With approximately 500,000 items the collection is a unique archive for historical research, while its medal collection makes it an important art exhibition at the same time.
Love trees without leaves...
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*This picture was taken and edited with the Iphone for the Iphone365 project and for the Flickr group Our Daily Challenge ODC- Tall.
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