Lined up at the new location of Graysons Thermals systems in Tyseley, these E400s are all receiving there Euro 6 Particulate trap/fan upgrade. As many as 15 buses can be here in a day - I suspect NXWM are supplying most of their workload at the moment. The location is very difficult to find and is not unit you find addresses for online!

Taken at Gärdesloppet 2018, also called Prince Bertil Memorial

 

Saab Sport is an automobile from Saab, launched in 1962 as a replacement for the Saab GT750. It used the same body shell as the Saab 96, with slight modifications and with a different interior configuration and equipment. From the outside, it could be differentiated from a standard 96 by the twin chrome stripes along the lower part of the sides.

 

The engine was an 841 cc two-stroke, three-cylinder engine with one Solex carburetor per cylinder, giving 52 hp (39 kW). The engine was lubricated via a separate tank for two-stroke oil, allowing the use of ordinary petrol. The gearbox had four gears. In order to overcome the problems of overrun for the two-stroke engine, a freewheel device was fitted. The car also used disc brakes at the front, something that was unusual at the time, and the wheels had four studs instead of the five used on the 96 and were of a stronger build, to withstand the extra workload.

 

From 1963 on the model for the USA market was named Granturismo 850. In the 1965 model year, power output was raised to 55 hp (41 kW). From the model year 1966, all market variants were named Monte Carlo 850. During the model year 1967, the two-stroke models were phased out and replaced with the Monte Carlo V4 (with the 65 hp (48 kW) Ford Taunus V4 engine). Production ended in 1968.

 

Source: Wikipedia

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Saab Sport var en specialmodell av Saab 96 som lanserades 1962 som ersättning för Saab GT750.

 

Det här var första gången Saabs gran turismo-vagn såldes i Sverige eftersom GT750:n aldrig sålts i Sverige den officiella vägen. Den hade samma kaross som Saab 96 men annorlunda inredning och utrustning. På utsidan var skillnaden gentemot standard-96:an de dubbla kromränderna längs karossens nederdel, extraljusen och de annorlunda navkapslarna. Motorn var en 841 kubikcentimeters trecylindrig tvåtaktsmotor med en Solex-förgasare per cylinder som gav 52 hästkrafter. Motorn smordes via en separat oljetank, vilket innebar att man inte manuellt behövde blanda olja i bensinen (som på standardmodellen). Växellådan hade fyra växlar. Saab Sport hade också skivbromsar fram, något som var ovanligt vid tiden. Fälgarna var fyrbultade istället för fembultade som på standard-96:an.

 

På bland annat USA-marknaden kallades vagnen GT850 (analogt med den tidigare 750:n), men efter Saabs framgångar i Monte Carlo-rallyt byttes beteckningen till Monte Carlo 850 fr o m 1964.

 

Sport-modellen förändrades parallellt med vanliga Saab 96. Noterbart är att den trimmade motorn försvann i och med fyrtaktsmotorns intåg till årsmodell 1967. Modellen kallades nu Monte Carlo V4 och skilde sig endast åt från standardmodellen i utrustningshänseende.

 

Källa: Wikipedia

A mother's work is never done and when her workload starts to overwhelm her the solution is near at hand. All Mom has to do is have a friend take her iPad and take an image of her using PHOTO BOOTH. Voila! Two moms for the price of one and her work has been cut in half.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, today celebrated the first Connecticut-built CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter that will be delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps. This helicopter, which moves more troops and cargo more rapidly from ship to shore, was the first all digitally designed helicopter.

 

The CH-53K’s digital thread runs from design through production, maintenance, and sustainment, increasing mission availability while reducing pilot and crew workload.

 

This King Stallion™ helicopter will be stationed at Marine Corps Aviation Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina where Marines will conduct training flights and support the fleet with heavy-lift missions with the aircraft in preparation for the CH-53K’s first deployment in 2024. This heavy-lift helicopter is part of a 200 aircraft Program of Record for the Marine Corps with a total of 33 aircraft currently on contract and an additional nine on contract for long lead parts.

 

The CH-53K is the only sea-based, long range, heavy-lift helicopter in production and will immediately provide three times the lift capability of its predecessor.

 

The CH-53K will further support the U.S. Marine Corps in its mission to conduct expeditionary heavy-lift assault transport of armored vehicles, equipment and personnel to support distributed operations deep inland from a sea-based center of operations, critical in the Indo-Pacific region.

 

The new CH-53K has heavy-lift capabilities that exceed all other DoD rotary wing-platforms, and it is the only heavy-lifter that will remain in production through 2032 and beyond.

 

Additional information: www.lockheedmartin.com/ch53k.

Ladies, Leaders, Lives Lived, Lives Led - IMRAN™

By Imran Anwar

The last day of March closes out Women's History Month. It is a perfect time to honor and salute at least some of the incredible women who have had an impact on my life since I was born. I know you will love the stories, and will join me in honoring these ladies.

 

>>Family & Early Life<<

 

March 31 is also the birthday of my precious and incredible younger sister, Dr. Ambereen. A gold-medalist student since childhood, accomplished doctor, great professor, head of department at the top medical school in Pakistan, devoted wife, incredible mother to a daughter (who just became a doctor) and a son getting a business and tech degree.... On top of that she is the author of a brand new medical textbook. Not to mention that she manages to beat the combined 10,000 and 10,000 walking steps goals of our brother and me every day, often exceeding 20,000 steps daily! Yet, in all that she does, she insists, that she has not been able to do as much as our late mother was able to accomplish, whom we lost aged 50, thirty years ago.

Our mother, Nargis Anwar, whom people who even only knew her briefly still talk to us about decades after she was gone, gave up her master’s in economics in the final year when she got married and devoted her life to our amazing father, and our upbringing. My father outlived her by nearly two decades, but he never remarried, never even dated. He spent his remaining life talking about her and bringing fresh rose petals to her grave every weekend for the next 17 years.

He did that even during the last 7 years of his life when he was totally paralyzed by a massive stroke and had to be physically carried to her grave! That is how much we all considered her the soul of our family.

I was also triply blessed that I grew up with my late maternal grandmother, Shakila Khatoon. I moved to Karachi just past age 6. I was given the choice to leave home and stay with her for a better education than I would get in the remote locations my father was posted every three years early in his civil engineering career. People still can’t believe my parents let me make that life choice that early.

It was hardest for my mother to accept that decision, as I was her first born. But that choice forged my life and gave me the confidence to embark on any journey or take on life’s toughest challenges on my own.

My grandmother was a young orphan, and later a young widow. She could only read Urdu newspapers and the Holy Quran in Arabic. Despite that, she insisted on, and managed to have, all five of her daughters get master’s degrees -- from Economics to Chemistry to Education -- which was not very common in the 1950s in many parts of the world, and impossible even today in some countries.

She gave them the support to build careers in Pakistan in the 1960s on. One of my aunts, Parveen Akhtar, still flies around the world as a consultant and speaker to NGOs and governmental organizations on promoting entrepreneurship and women's businesses. Another of my aunts, now-deceased, Ishrat Shirwany, launched a private school system in Pakistan, and then a line of fashion clothing.... for kids... in Pakistan... in the 1960s! Talk about multi-industry entrepreneurship. I was fortunate enough to see them all achieve these things even in a conservative Muslim country while I grew up with my grandmother.

If we Muslims had an equivalent system of sainthood, as was often mentioned in the catholic schools that I was lucky to be educated at in Karachi, my grandmother would have been declared a saint. She was one because of all the ways she continued to serve others, through her life, by example, and by guidance, attention, love, and even prayer, never asking anything in return, or once complaining for having lost her parents, her young husband, then losing a young son, a relatively young daughter, and many more losses.

These are people whom one will never read about in traditional history books, but to me they are the history of anything I ever achieve in life, or any good that I am able to do in my time on earth.

There are obviously many times in my personal life that I have been blessed to be loved with and have had the female partners on the journey of life. These incredible, beautiful, smart, talented, and loving souls are part of my personal history as well, so this is a nod to them, but those are stories for another day, another book.

 

>>Education & Lifelong Learning<<

 

Going back to subject of Education. That was something that my grandmother and my parents insisted were essential for me, and all of us, to excel in. It was another area where I shall always honor and cherish several lady-teachers who had the most incredible impact on my life.

The late Sister Mary Frances, who taught Cambridge University School Certificate English Grammar to dozens of us students at St. Paul's English High School, in Karachi, had a lot to do with the fact that I love to write so much.

I was eleven, growing up in a developing nation, with English (still) my third language. She could have ignored "'Chinku & Minku Get The Bananas’ by Imran Anwar" -- a short one-act play of imaginary dialog between two kid-monkeys at a zoo. The monkeys discussed how to fool a visitor boy to give them his bananas.

Sister Mary quietly took the paper I handed to her in addition to my actual homework. But more importantly, a few days later she brought it back. She called me over after class. Then she went over it with me…. line by line.... on how to make the dialog tighter, the story more engaging.

She told me, before I was even a teen, that I had a gift for writing. What more could a kid ask for! She did see me get published in the Pakistan Times at age 17, but later she passed away, and was buried in her native Ireland, but draped in a Pakistani flag! She did not get to read things like my Op-Ed pieces published by the Wall Street Journal and other global publications. But I salute her, and other great teachers like her, with every word I write even today.

Columbia And America

There is obviously not enough time to mention all the great lady-teachers, much less all the teachers, whom I am grateful to. But my lifelong journey of constant learning, even after starting a career, and becoming established in Pakistan, continued.

With the four-concentrations full-scholarship MBA from Columbia Business School, Journalism School, as well as Engineering School, to some I may have proven that academic standards have fallen worldwide. But, kidding aside, even at that stage in life, in 1989-1990, when I began the American part of my life's journey, having great ladies as among the greatest teachers remained a great factor.

One of the toughest and most popular professors at Columbia Business School, Professor Dr. Kathryn Harrigan, taught two courses when I was there. Her courses were always oversubscribed. The final rosters of students were picked by lottery. Wanting to be in at least one of her two courses, regardless of how difficult the workload she was famous for, and how tough she was in intellectually challenging her students, I applied for both.

Being a Gemini, I often joke about wanting two of everything. Well, wouldn't you believe it, my name was picked in both lotteries. I would say that I was in two-minds, but for a Gemini that is a base-state of mind!

Living up to one of my two lifelong mottos, "If Anyone Can, 'I' Can!" yours truly decided to attend both courses... in the same semester. To this day I recall attending the first class of her first subject. You know me, I always have something to say, and something to ask. So, I did. And what an intellectually gratifying discussion it led to from the very first session. When she assigned work and an immense reading workload, I knew I was in for a tough but awesome course.

Later that same afternoon, in another filled classroom, I sat in the first session of Professor Harrigan's second subject. Not missing a beat, she noticed me in that room, and was surprised that I had gotten into both classes by lottery.

Then she literally asked if I was a glutton for punishment. Was I sure I wanted to put myself through the grinding workload of two of her courses in the same semester, because this course was even tougher than the one earlier that day?

I believe achieving Anything is possible. The Impossible just takes a little more effort. So, I said, "Yes, Professor. I can't wait!" She grinned and went on to teach a class full of successful professionals continuing our learning in awe of her sharp mind. She lived up to her expectation as one of the most incredible professors of anything anywhere, in both the courses we learned from her in.

Literally two decades later, as I was walking to my parked car outside a grocery store on the South shore of eastern Long Island, I saw Professor Harrigan walking out of the store next door. She said, “Aren’t you Imran? You were one of the most interesting students I had in my courses twenty years ago!” Talk about an incredible teacher and an incredibly sharp mind!

 

>>Today, Tomorrow, And Beyond<<

 

To this day the learnings from Professor Harrigan’s two courses at Columbia University, covering Corporate Strategy (strategic management, alliances, M&A, diversification) and Competitive Strategy (applicable to every aspect of life and business), and our classroom discussions, inspire me in my work. Those are surely at play in my never-ending proposals to leaders at client global giants, as well as to the topmost leaders at Microsoft.

As I write these lines, as midnight approaches the international dateline at the end of Women’s History Month, I must also acknowledge the incredible ladies and leaders within Microsoft. linkedin.com/in/imran has their names, but the clock is about to strike so I am posting this shorter item. proposals.

They have helped me continue to learn and grow, to aspire to lead higher, and to contribute at the highest levels of my experience and capabilities. They lead and inspire my colleagues and me to serve our clients, and people around the world, to drive Customer Success, for our greatest impact in helping every person and every organization on the planet achieve all they are capable of.

Thank you, ladies!

 

© 2021 IMRAN™

The work continues on the Avengers: Endgame project once again with Pepper Potts’ Rescue armor. MK 49 is complete ✅ youtu.be/_qqbJTMTq7k

 

Still hyped to work on these projects no matter how many years pass. Infinity Saga is still what inspires me most. MCU has otherwise been mostly in disarray up until 2025 anyway.

 

Got this prepped soon after Wolverine earlier this summer and have been painting it on/off ever since. Even got to work on Pepper here a little bit while visiting the AV Figures crew in CA too ✈️

 

Entire figure of course would not have been possible without the outstanding work of Tuminio. This actually uses parts from the V1 kit from way back. Despite some inaccuracies here/there, I still thought the V1 looked great. You have to really study it to spot the differences anyway.

 

All fully painted by me, including the magnetically attached Energy Displacer Sentries. Added a good chunk of time to the figure—so worth it though. Arms and legs were pretty challenging design-wise.

 

Arealight curved torso, face is an extra Pepper head from 2013, and the hair is a modded Leyile Brick piece just chopped up to accommodate the armor and repainted ️

 

Metallic paint work was easier here, but still a long workload. Had to sculpt the shoulders on myself during prep too. Didn’t really feel like painting hand armor—too much handling on them anyway when swapping the sentries.

 

Would love to hear what you guys think. Unintentionally ended being the best suit I’ve ever painted—oops

 

Definitely a thrill to take all the shots in-camera. Started feeling like I’d never do some of these scenes

The first thing on my mind is my plans for today.

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I wake up with an alarm clock ⏰

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Share💡 lifehack: in order not to succumb to the temptation to translate alarm clock "for at least 5 minutes" 💤 I specifically put it at the other end of the room 🔔 It makes you get out of bed and reduces the chance of returning to sleep 😁

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Then I wash my face and go for a walk with the dog 🐕, Polycom, our red-haired happiness ☀️

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Along the way, I call my mom. Very often, in the rhythm of everyday life, constant hustle and bustle, we forget about our relatives 😔 Despite the workload, I always try to allocate at least a couple of minutes ⌚️in order to call близ loved ones, show care and say simple warm words ❤ ❤ For me it is important.

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Upon returning home 🏠 I do exercises 💪 and take a cold shower🚿 If the graph is given more or less free to write 📹 Instagram videos with exercises🏃about how to keep fit every day 👌

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After a while, I feed the dog and the Hedgehog cat, by the way, also red.

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I drink coffee ☕️, have breakfast 🍳, view text news 📰 about finance and science . I don't watch TV 📺 and have completely excluded reading about politics. What I advise you to do 👍 The result is a great mood 😌, free time has become much more, and negative thoughts are less 😉

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Well, after all this, I take up my favorite job 💼

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❓And how does your day start? Share in the comments! 🙏

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#visioncare #flashphotography #eyewear #gesture #entertainment #performingarts #headgear #smile #event #fashiondesign #NikonD850

37800 waits to leave the Avon County Council refuse siding at Bath Morelands Road with 6B05, 17:47 Bath Westmoorlands to Westerleigh RTS service on 19th August 1994. The siding has now been disconnected from Bath Goods loop, the service having finish in the early 2000's. At the time I worked as a travelling shunter and this was one of my regular jobs. We picked the train up at Bath Spa and spent all afternoon and evening riding around the area dropping and collecting the various portions of the train at the 3 Avon waste terminals. The day ended at Stoke Gifford late evening after forming the 17 wagons of loaded household waste into one train and sending to Calvert. happy days.

 

37800 was a Stewarts lane loco at the time and a regular on the train and has quite a history. Built at the English Electric Vulcan Foundry at Newton Le Willows it entered traffic on 29th May 1963. Sent to Cardiff Canton from new where it remained until transfer to various Scottish depots in 1966. May 1974 saw it renumber to 37143 and transferred back to South Wales where coal trains were its main workload. One such trip to Marine Colliery on 29th January 1975 saw it run through catchpoints, demolish a stop block and down an embankment into the River Ebbw. It remained there until August 1975 when it was dragged back up and sent off to Doncaster for repair. Late 1977 it was off for a spell at Tinsley until 1984 when it went to Statford. It's next big event was a trip to Crewe Works in March 1986 for a heavy general overhaul. Once released it was numbered 37800 and soon named "Glo Cymru" at Aberthaw as once again it was part of the South Wales fleet. Privatisation saw it move around the country in various pools until August 1999 when it was one of a number of Class 37's to it be selected to sent to France for a year to assist in the building of the high speed line (LGV Est) from Paris towards Strasbourg. After a year stored back in the UK it headed to Spain for a similar project renumbered to L33. It stayed in Spain for a number of years before return to be stored at Toton. Fast forward to 2022 and it's still in use on the UK network as 37800 working for Rail Operations Group normally dragging withdrawn stock around the network in its Europhoenix livery and named "Cassiopeia" Next year it will see it's 60th year in service, quite amazing really.

 

35mm Slide Scan

© Neil Higson

 

-------------------------------------- STORY --------------------------------------

Ziel Omizu's Journal - Dec 05 2022

 

One day while browsing one of the many sale sites I keep my eye on for potential "rescue" (or rehab-and-rehome) horses, I came across a familiar-looking mare. The advertisement was appalling and sparse, and my heart dropped when I read her registered name: HPR Dream Catchin' Dixie. A horse I had been responsible for in the past, but had to sell off as the town stable I was managing at the time was forced to shut down. I felt so terribly, terribly guilty for the situation and condition she had ended up in.

 

After taking some time to compose myself, I reached out to the seller to negotiate. I knew her age - she'd be 26 years old by now - and likely being retired for being unable to keep up, but they weren't fully honest on that. I used that and my good reputation to my advantage, pressuring them into lowering their (frankly ridiculous) asking price to just-above-realistic for a horse of her age. We agreed on a time of payment and pick-up, and then I waited.

 

The day had arrived. October 21st was a little chaotic on my end from some other trouble, but I managed to go pick her up, get her seen by a Dr. Lavender Layne to update her vaccines, and get her settled into the medical wing for quarantine.

 

A couple months have passed now, and she's been given the all-clear with her health to be moved into the main barn. After a lot of sitting and thinking about it with myself... this mare isn't going anywhere. Dixie is being retired from high expectations and heavy workloads - she'll be a pleasure horse and beginner schoolmaster for horses and riders until she's no longer sound, at which point she gets to be a gigantic, pampered pasture pet until she's ready to cross the rainbow bridge.

 

Finally, finally... Dixie has found her way safely home. And, boy... I had no idea how much I missed her.

 

-------------------------------------- CREDITS --------------------------------------

 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

▸ Fritz Royal

 

WRITING BY

▸ Ziel Omizu

 

PHOTO LOCATION

▸ Red Cedar Ranch (Semi-Private Roleplay Ranch)

 

PLAYERS

▸ Ziel Omizu, Fritz Royal, and Cinnamon OWO on Second Life.

Their workload vastly reduced due to COVID-19 schedule reductions at the time, Siemens Charger SC44s IDTX 4618 and 4608 rest at Amtrak's Lumber Street locomotive facility near 18th St, Chicago.

I am back! Its been a while since I last posted, due to heavy workload and went off to Bali too.

 

Dancer performing at Bali Annual Art Festival 2010 in Denpasar. She is from East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. I was there last month for a few days enjoying the events. Quite a spectacle, considering the fact that the best performers came to pit their skills. She is from one of the tribe performing a cultural dance.

Lucerne, the city of lights.

  

This MOC building is a tribute to my favourite town in Switzerland I living next to. I was allowed to experience many things in my life in this beautiful city. It was always a dream for me to realize this project. So, here is the result.

 

Workload : 30 hours

Peaces : approx. 20'000

Material : 100% Lego

Weight : approx. 12 kg / 25,45 lb

Height : 70 cm / 2,29 feet

 

The Chapel Bridge with the Water Tower is the landmark of the city of Lucerne and one of the most important tourist attractions in Switzerland. First the water tower was built around 1300 and served as a watchtower, archive, treasury as well as a dungeon and torture chamber. The bridge was built in 1365 as a bridge between the new and old town. It is the second longest covered wooden bridge in europe with 202.90 meters.

So this and the bottom picture were both done for basic drawing. We were supposed to do light drawings and both the main image and the bottom image are made up purely of light and shadows using a see through mirror. Anyways I've been having such a stressful work with 3dd and an essay that are both due tomorrow. Also the workload has kind of picked up, but I'm glad about it. Anyways I hope you all are doing well!!

In life, we tended to resist change. SJMC had just gone through one with the implementation of the computerised Hospital Management and Information System - dubbed the HMIS. I was on call on the moment of implementation - midnight on 1st October 2016 - but the system remained off line until I finished my shift. The moment it became online, the mayhem started.

 

The management decided to close all outpatient clinic - although some did not have the choice but to remain opened. I did not bother since it was my post-call morning and I have got the photo walk lined up. I came to join the party later on that afternoon after the fun subsided.

 

There were plenty of kinks over the weekend, but it was helped by the Monday off for Awal Muharram. It is the first day of full day since the implementation today. I still had my clinic closed since I would be in Hospital Ampang examining, away from it all …..

 

Since I was using the same system at Park City and Ara Damansara, I understood the problems, but my worry was not on my side, but on the network itself. Would it be able to handle the stress and the workload? We could only wait and pray …..

 

Blogged here.

After a bit of a road trip this weekend for a family wedding, I was a little more distracted than normal, and completely spaced a Monday post. So this will be my late Monday/early Wednesday post for the week. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming.

 

This is my first one from a short series I'm still working on finishing, but the four I have so far, I'm pretty happy with.

 

Orientation begins tomorrow for school, and next week the term starts... at this point I have my fingers crossed that I'll still be putting out three photos a week, but depending on what the workload ends up being, I may edit that down to one or two per week... it won't go below that though haha.

Visibility was reduced this week, and the surge made macro shooting a challenge, but I embraced the workload and came home with some decent slug shots.

Look Her In The Eye

 

Yes, I do like macro photography, and with my current workload, I find it hugely relaxing too! Nonetheless, I look forward to getting out and about a little more, and enter wide-angle territory again ;-)

This was shot hand-held with my new "MP-E 65mm" (I believe somewhere between 3-4 times life-size) and the MR-14 EX macro ring lite (which I've had for a while now). I've always wanted to get to grips with flash-photography, so here goes I guess... much to learn, much to discover, highly frustrating at times, but heaps of fun!

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!

It is with many thanks to 6Y99 for the detail on this working. I always enjoyed getting winter daytime images of these postal services during the Christmas period. Having worked for Royal Mail I appreciate the increase in workload for staff during this season. A load of eight vans shown here clearly shows the excess demand at that time of year. That is still the same now but alternative transport is used to meet such demand.

C&IM SD18s 60 and 61 have just fallen on there faces at Manito, IL on 8-4-93. The Powerton Roadswitcher picked up this CWEX coal train from the BN in North Pekin and is handling it to the Havana Coal Transfer plant on the Illinois River. Unit 61 was experiencing fuel injector problems and is not providing any tractive effort which has burdened lead unit 60 to do all the work. The moment I depressed the shutter button the train stalled. It was doubled up the .88% Manito grade and reassembled at Union siding three miles distant. At this time the Midland didn't move many trains to Havana due to the delivery of western coal to the Koch Carbon Barge terminal on the Des Plaines River. With the loss of nearly 1/3 of its coal traffic and all of its SD38-2s, the C&IM tried to rely on two SDs to handle the workload. However, as I witnessed, an extra SD would have been better suited to move a 110-car 13,000 ton coal train to Havana. Such is the life of the C&IM in the 1990s. Photo by: Ryan Crawford

Hartlepool North Sands

 

In the 1930s, industrial works alongside this part of the coastline, extracted magnesia (magnesium carbonate), used in the lining of kilns and incinerators, from dolomitic lime and seawater. Today, all that remains of this industrial site are some derelict buildings, old pipes and the dangerous, magnificent remains of Steetley Pier, a long, derelict structure, which stretches out into the sea here.

 

Hartlepool is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area. With an estimated population of 87,995, it is the second-largest settlement (after Darlington) in County Durham.

 

The old town was founded in the 7th century, around the monastery of Hartlepool Abbey on a headland. As the village grew into a town in the Middle Ages, its harbour served as the County Palatine of Durham's official port. The new town of West Hartlepool was created in 1835 after a new port was built and railway links from the South Durham coal fields (to the west) and from Stockton-on-Tees (to the south) were created. A parliamentary constituency covering both the old town and West Hartlepool was created in 1867 called The Hartlepools. The two towns were formally merged into a single borough called Hartlepool in 1967. Following the merger, the name of the constituency was changed from The Hartlepools to just Hartlepool in 1974. The modern town centre and main railway station are both at what was West Hartlepool; the old town is now generally known as the Headland.

 

Industrialisation in northern England and the start of a shipbuilding industry in the later part of the 19th century meant it was a target for the Imperial German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people in the town. A severe decline in heavy industries and shipbuilding following the Second World War caused periods of high unemployment until the 1990s when major investment projects and the redevelopment of the docks area into a marina saw a rise in the town's prospects. The town also has a seaside resort called Seaton Carew.

 

History

The place name derives from Old English heort ("hart"), referring to stags seen, and pōl (pool), a pool of drinking water which they were known to use. Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this:

 

649: Heretu, or Hereteu.

1017: Herterpol, or Hertelpolle.

1182: Hierdepol.

 

Town on the heugh

A Northumbrian settlement developed in the 7th century around an abbey founded in 640 by Saint Aidan (an Irish and Christian priest) upon a headland overlooking a natural harbour and the North Sea. The monastery became powerful under St Hilda, who served as its abbess from 649 to 657. The 8th-century Northumbrian chronicler Bede referred to the spot on which today's town is sited as "the place where deer come to drink", and in this period the Headland was named by the Angles as Heruteu (Stag Island). Archaeological evidence has been found below the current high tide mark that indicates that an ancient post-glacial forest by the sea existed in the area at the time.

 

The Abbey fell into decline in the early 8th century, and it was probably destroyed during a sea raid by Vikings on the settlement in the 9th century. In March 2000, the archaeological investigation television programme Time Team located the foundations of the lost monastery in the grounds of St Hilda's Church. In the early 11th century, the name had evolved into Herterpol.

 

Hartness

Normans and for centuries known as the Jewel of Herterpol.

During the Norman Conquest, the De Brus family gained over-lordship of the land surrounding Hartlepool. William the Conqueror subsequently ordered the construction of Durham Castle, and the villages under their rule were mentioned in records in 1153 when Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale became Lord of Hartness. The town's first charter was received before 1185, for which it gained its first mayor, an annual two-week fair and a weekly market. The Norman Conquest affected the settlement's name to form the Middle English Hart-le-pool ("The Pool of the Stags").

 

By the Middle Ages, Hartlepool was growing into an important (though still small) market town. One of the reasons for its escalating wealth was that its harbour was serving as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. The main industry of the town at this time was fishing, and Hartlepool in this period established itself as one of the primary ports upon England's Eastern coast.

 

In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, and began to improve the town's military defences in expectation of war. In 1315, before they were completed, a Scottish army under Sir James Douglas attacked, captured and looted the town.

 

In the late 15th century, a pier was constructed to assist in the harbour's workload.

 

Garrison

Hartlepool was once again militarily occupied by a Scottish incursion, this time in alliance with the Parliamentary Army during the English Civil War, which after 18 months was relieved by an English Parliamentarian garrison.

 

In 1795, Hartlepool artillery emplacements and defences were constructed in the town as a defensive measure against the threat of French attack from seaborne Napoleonic forces. During the Crimean War, two coastal batteries were constructed close together in the town to guard against the threat of seaborne attacks from the Imperial Russian Navy. They were entitled the Lighthouse Battery (1855) and the Heugh Battery (1859).

 

Hartlepool in the 18th century became known as a town with medicinal springs, particularly the Chalybeate Spa near the Westgate. The poet Thomas Gray visited the town in July 1765 to "take the waters", and wrote to his friend William Mason:

 

I have been for two days to taste the water, and do assure you that nothing could be salter and bitterer and nastier and better for you... I am delighted with the place; there are the finest walks and rocks and caverns.

 

A few weeks later, he wrote in greater detail to James Brown:

 

The rocks, the sea and the weather there more than made up to me the want of bread and the want of water, two capital defects, but of which I learned from the inhabitants not to be sensible. They live on the refuse of their own fish-market, with a few potatoes, and a reasonable quantity of Geneva [gin] six days in the week, and I have nowhere seen a taller, more robust or healthy race: every house full of ruddy broad-faced children. Nobody dies but of drowning or old-age: nobody poor but from drunkenness or mere laziness.

 

Town by the strand

By the early nineteenth century, Hartlepool was still a small town of around 900 people, with a declining port. In 1823, the council and Board of Trade decided that the town needed new industry, so the decision was made to propose a new railway to make Hartlepool a coal port, shipping out minerals from the Durham coalfield. It was in this endeavour that Isambard Kingdom Brunel visited the town in December 1831, and wrote: "A curiously isolated old fishing town – a remarkably fine race of men. Went to the top of the church tower for a view."

 

But the plan faced local competition from new docks. 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the north, the Marquis of Londonderry had approved the creation of the new Seaham Harbour (opened 31 July 1831), while to the south the Clarence Railway connected Stockton-on-Tees and Billingham to a new port at Port Clarence (opened 1833). Further south again, in 1831 the Stockton and Darlington Railway had extended into the new port of Middlesbrough.

 

The council agreed the formation of the Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company (HD&RCo) to extend the existing port by developing new docks, and link to both local collieries and the developing railway network in the south. In 1833, it was agreed that Christopher Tennant of Yarm establish the HD&RCo, having previously opened the Clarence Railway (CR). Tennant's plan was that the HD&RCo would fund the creation of a new railway, the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway, which would take over the loss-making CR and extended it north to the new dock, thereby linking to the Durham coalfield.

 

After Tennant died, in 1839, the running of the HD&RCo was taken over by Stockton-on-Tees solicitor, Ralph Ward Jackson. But Jackson became frustrated at the planning restrictions placed on the old Hartlepool dock and surrounding area for access, so bought land which was mainly sand dunes to the south-west, and established West Hartlepool. Because Jackson was so successful at shipping coal from West Hartlepool through his West Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company and, as technology developed, ships grew in size and scale, the new town would eventually dwarf the old town.

 

The 8-acre (3.2-hectare) West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock opened on 1 June 1847. On 1 June 1852, the 14-acre (5.7-hectare) Jackson Dock opened on the same day that a railway opened connecting West Hartlepool to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. This allowed the shipping of coal and wool products eastwards, and the shipping of fresh fish and raw fleeces westwards, enabling another growth spurt in the town. This in turn resulted in the opening of the Swainson Dock on 3 June 1856, named after Ward Jackson's father-in-law. In 1878, the William Gray & Co shipyard in West Hartlepool achieved the distinction of launching the largest tonnage of any shipyard in the world, a feat to be repeated on a number of occasions. By 1881, old Hartlepool's population had grown from 993 to 12,361, but West Hartlepool had a population of 28,000.

 

Ward Jackson Park

Ward Jackson helped to plan the layout of West Hartlepool and was responsible for the first public buildings. He was also involved in the education and the welfare of the inhabitants. In the end, he was a victim of his own ambition to promote the town: accusations of shady financial dealings, and years of legal battles, left him in near-poverty. He spent the last few years of his life in London, far away from the town he had created.

 

World Wars

In Hartlepool near Heugh Battery, a plaque in Redheugh Gardens War Memorial "marks the place where the first ...(German shell) struck... (and) the first soldier was killed on British soil by enemy action in the Great War 1914–1918."

The area became heavily industrialised with an ironworks (established in 1838) and shipyards in the docks (established in the 1870s). By 1913, no fewer than 43 ship-owning companies were located in the town, with the responsibility for 236 ships. This made it a key target for Germany in the First World War. One of the first German offensives against Britain was a raid and bombardment by the Imperial German Navy on the morning of 16 December 1914,

 

Hartlepool was hit with a total of 1150 shells, killing 117 people. Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, launching 143 shells, and damaging three German ships: SMS Seydlitz, SMS Moltke and SMS Blücher. The Hartlepool engagement lasted roughly 50 minutes, and the coastal artillery defence was supported by the Royal Navy in the form of four destroyers, two light cruisers and a submarine, none of which had any significant impact on the German attackers.

 

Private Theophilus Jones of the 18th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, who fell as a result of this bombardment, is sometimes described as the first military casualty on British soil by enemy fire. This event (the death of the first soldiers on British soil) is commemorated by the 1921 Redheugh Gardens War Memorial together with a plaque unveiled on the same day (seven years and one day after the East Coast Raid) at the spot on the Headland (the memorial by Philip Bennison illustrates four soldiers on one of four cartouches and the plaque, donated by a member of the public, refers to the 'first soldier' but gives no name). A living history group, the Hartlepool Military Heritage Memorial Society, portray men of that unit for educational and memorial purposes.

 

Hartlepudlians voluntarily subscribed more money per head to the war effort than any other town in Britain.

 

On 4 January 1922, a fire starting in a timber yard left 80 people homeless and caused over £1,000,000 of damage. Hartlepool suffered badly in the Great Depression of the 1930s and endured high unemployment.

 

Unemployment decreased during the Second World War, with shipbuilding and steel-making industries enjoying a renaissance. Most of its output for the war effort were "Empire Ships". German bombers raided the town 43 times, though, compared to the previous war, civilian losses were lighter with 26 deaths recorded by Hartlepool Municipal Borough[19] and 49 by West Hartlepool Borough. During the Second World War, RAF Greatham (also known as RAF West Hartlepool) was located on the South British Steel Corporation Works.

 

The merge

In 1891, the two towns had a combined population of 64,000. By 1900, the two Hartlepools were, together, one of the three busiest ports in England.

 

The modern town represents a joining of "Old Hartlepool", locally known as the "Headland", and West Hartlepool. As already mentioned, what was West Hartlepool became the larger town and both were formally unified in 1967. Today the term "West Hartlepool" is rarely heard outside the context of sport, but one of the town's Rugby Union teams still retains the name.

 

The name of the town's professional football club reflected both boroughs; when it was formed in 1908, following the success of West Hartlepool in winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1905, it was called "Hartlepools United" in the hope of attracting support from both towns. When the boroughs combined in 1967, the club renamed itself "Hartlepool" before re-renaming itself Hartlepool United in the 1970s. Many fans of the club still refer to the team as "Pools"

 

Fall out

After the war, industry went into a severe decline. Blanchland, the last ship to be constructed in Hartlepool, left the slips in 1961. In 1967, Betty James wrote how "if I had the luck to live anywhere in the North East [of England]...I would live near Hartlepool. If I had the luck". There was a boost to the retail sector in 1970 when Middleton Grange Shopping Centre was opened by Princess Anne, with over 130 new shops including Marks & Spencer and Woolworths.

 

Before the shopping centre was opened, the old town centre was located around Lynn Street, but most of the shops and the market had moved to a new shopping centre by 1974. Most of Lynn Street had by then been demolished to make way for a new housing estate. Only the north end of the street remains, now called Lynn Street North. This is where the Hartlepool Borough Council depot was based (alongside the Focus DIY store) until it moved to the marina in August 2006.

 

In 1977, the British Steel Corporation announced the closure of its Hartlepool steelworks with the loss of 1500 jobs. In the 1980s, the area was afflicted with extremely high levels of unemployment, at its peak consisting of 30 per cent of the town's working-age population, the highest in the United Kingdom. 630 jobs at British Steel were lost in 1983, and a total of 10,000 jobs were lost from the town in the economic de-industrialization of England's former Northern manufacturing heartlands. Between 1983 and 1999, the town lacked a cinema and areas of it became afflicted with the societal hallmarks of endemic economic poverty: urban decay, high crime levels, drug and alcohol dependency being prevalent.

 

Rise and the future

Docks near the centre were redeveloped and reopened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 as a marina with the accompanying National Museum of the Royal Navy opened in 1994, then known as the Hartlepool Historic Quay.

 

A development corporation is under consultation until August 2022 to organise projects, with the town's fund given to the town and other funds. Plans would be (if the corporation is formed) focused on the railway station, waterfront (including the Royal Navy Museum and a new leisure centre) and Church Street. Northern School of Art also has funds for a TV and film studios.

 

Governance

There is one main tier of local government covering Hartlepool, at unitary authority level: Hartlepool Borough Council. There is a civil parish covering Headland, which forms an additional tier of local government for that area; most of the rest of the urban area is an unparished area. The borough council is a constituent member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor. The borough council is based at the Civic Centre on Victoria Road.

 

Hartlepool was historically a township in the ancient parish of Hart. Hartlepool was also an ancient borough, having been granted a charter by King John in 1200. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1850. The council built Hartlepool Borough Hall to serve as its headquarters, being completed in 1866.

 

West Hartlepool was laid out on land outside Hartlepool's historic borough boundaries, in the neighbouring parish of Stranton. A body of improvement commissioners was established to administer the new town in 1854. The commissioners were superseded in 1887, when West Hartlepool was also incorporated as a municipal borough. The new borough council built itself a headquarters at the Municipal Buildings on Church Square, which was completed in 1889. An events venue and public hall on Raby Road called West Hartlepool Town Hall was subsequently completed in 1897. In 1902 West Hartlepool was elevated to become a county borough, making it independent from Durham County Council. The old Hartlepool Borough Council amalgamated with West Hartlepool Borough Council in 1967 to form a county borough called Hartlepool.

 

In 1974 the borough was enlarged to take in eight neighbouring parishes, and was transferred to the new county of Cleveland. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 following the Banham Review, which gave unitary authority status to its four districts, including Hartlepool. The borough was restored to County Durham for ceremonial purposes under the Lieutenancies Act 1997, but as a unitary authority it is independent from Durham County Council.

 

Emergency services

Hartlepool falls within the jurisdiction of Cleveland Fire Brigade and Cleveland Police. Before 1974, it was under the jurisdiction of the Durham Constabulary and Durham Fire Brigade. Hartlepool has two fire stations: a full-time station at Stranton and a retained station on the Headland.

 

Economy

Hartlepool's economy has historically been linked with the maritime industry, something which is still at the heart of local business. Hartlepool Dock is owned and run by PD Ports. Engineering related jobs employ around 1700 people. Tata Steel Europe employ around 350 people in the manufacture of steel tubes, predominantly for the oil industry. South of the town on the banks of the Tees, Able UK operates the Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC), a large scale marine recycling facility and dry dock. Adjacent to the east of TERRC is the Hartlepool nuclear power station, an advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) type nuclear power plant opened in the 1980s. It is the single largest employer in the town, employing 1 per cent of the town's working age people.

 

The chemicals industry is important to the local economy. Companies include Huntsman Corporation, who produce titanium dioxide for use in paints, Omya, Baker Hughes and Frutarom.

 

Tourism was worth £48 million to the town in 2009; this figure excludes the impact of the Tall Ships 2010. Hartlepool's historic links to the maritime industry are centred on the Maritime Experience, and the supporting exhibits PS Wingfield Castle and HMS Trincomalee.

 

Camerons Brewery was founded in 1852 and currently employs around 145 people. It is one of the largest breweries in the UK. Following a series of take-overs, it came under the control of the Castle Eden Brewery in 2001 who merged the two breweries, closing down the Castle Eden plant. It brews a range of cask and bottled beers, including Strongarm, a 4% abv bitter. The brewery is heavily engaged in contract brewing such beers as Kronenbourg 1664, John Smith's and Foster's.

 

Orchid Drinks of Hartlepool were formed in 1992 after a management buy out of the soft drinks arm of Camerons. They manufactured Purdey's and Amé. Following a £67 million takeover by Britvic, the site was closed down in 2009.

 

Middleton Grange Shopping Centre is the main shopping location. 2800 people are employed in retail. The ten major retail companies in the town are Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Next, Argos, Marks & Spencer, Aldi, Boots and Matalan. Aside from the local sports clubs, other local entertainment venues include a VUE Cinema and Mecca Bingo.

 

Companies that have moved operations to the town for the offshore wind farm include Siemens and Van Oord.

 

Culture and community

Festivals and Fairs

Since November 2014 the Headland has hosted the annual Wintertide Festival, which is a weekend long event that starts with a community parade on the Friday and culminating in a finale performance and fireworks display on the Sunday.

 

Tall Ships' Races

On 28 June 2006 Hartlepool celebrated after winning its bid to host The Tall Ships' Races. The town welcomed up to 125 tall ships in 2010, after being chosen by race organiser Sail Training International to be the finishing point for the race. Hartlepool greeted the ships, which sailed from Kristiansand in Norway on the second and final leg of the race. Hartlepool also hosted the race in July 2023.

 

Museums, art galleries and libraries

Hartlepool Art Gallery is located in Church Square within Christ Church, a restored Victorian church, built in 1854 and designed by the architect Edward Buckton Lamb (1806–1869). The gallery's temporary exhibitions change frequently and feature works from local artists and the permanent Fine Art Collection, which was established by Sir William Gray. The gallery also houses the Hartlepool tourist information centre.

 

The Heugh Battery Museum is located on the Headland. It was one of three batteries erected to protect Hartlepool's port in 1860. The battery was closed in 1956 and is now in the care of the Heugh Gun Battery Trust and home to an artillery collection.

 

Hartlepool is home to a National Museum of the Royal Navy (more specifically the NMRN Hartlepool). Previously known simply as The Historic Quay and Hartlepool's Maritime Experience, the museum is a re-creation of an 18th-century seaport with the exhibition centre-piece being a sailing frigate, HMS Trincomalee. The complex also includes the Museum of Hartlepool.

 

Willows was the Hartlepool mansion of the influential Sir William Gray of William Gray & Company and he gifted it to the town in 1920, after which it was converted to be the town's first museum and art gallery. Fondly known locally as "The Gray" it was closed as a museum in 1994 and now houses the local authority's culture department.

 

There are six libraries in Hartlepool, the primary one being the Community Hub Central Library. Others are Throston Grange Library, Community Hub North Library, Seaton Carew Library, Owton Manor Library and Headland Branch Library.

 

Sea

Hartlepool has been a major seaport virtually since it was founded, and has a long fishing heritage. During the industrial revolution massive new docks were created on the southern side of the channel running below the Headland, which gave rise to the town of West Hartlepool.

 

Now owned by PD Ports, the docks are still in use today and still capable of handling large vessels. However, a large portion of the former dockland was converted into a marina capable of berthing 500 vessels. Hartlepool Marina is home to a wide variety of pleasure and working craft, with passage to and from the sea through a lock.

 

Hartlepool also has a permanent RNLI lifeboat station.

 

Education

Secondary

Hartlepool has five secondary schools:

 

Dyke House Academy

English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College

High Tunstall College of Science

Manor Community Academy

St Hild's Church of England School

The town had planned to receive funding from central government to improve school buildings and facilities as a part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, but this was cancelled because of government spending cuts.

 

College

Hartlepool College of Further Education is an educational establishment located in the centre of the town, and existed in various forms for over a century. Its former 1960s campus was replaced by a £52million custom-designed building, it was approved in principle in July 2008, opened in September 2011.

 

Hartlepool also has Hartlepool Sixth Form College. It was a former grammar and comprehensive school, the college provides a number of AS and A2 Level student courses. The English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College also offers AS, A2 and other BTEC qualification to 16- to 18-year-olds from Hartlepool and beyond.

 

A campus of The Northern School of Art is a specialist art and design college and higher education, located adjacent to the art gallery on Church Square. The college has a further site in Middlesbrough that facilitates further education.

 

Territorial Army

Situated in the New Armoury Centre, Easington Road are the following units.

 

Royal Marines Reserve

90 (North Riding) Signal Squadron

 

Religion

They are multiple Church of England and Roman Catholic Churches in the town. St Hilda's Church is a notable church of the town, it was built on Hartlepool Abbey and sits upon a high point of the Headland. The churches of the Church of England's St Paul and Roman Catholic's St Joseph are next to each other on St Paul's Road. Nasir Mosque on Brougham Terrace is the sole purpose-built mosque in the town.

 

Sport

Football

Hartlepool United is the town's professional football club and they play at Victoria Park. The club's most notable moment was in 2005 when, with 8 minutes left in the 2005 Football League One play-off final, the team conceded a penalty, allowing Sheffield Wednesday to equalise and eventually beat Hartlepool to a place in the Championship. The club currently play in the National League.

 

Supporters of the club bear the nickname of Monkey Hangers. This is based upon a legend that during the Napoleonic wars a monkey, which had been a ship's mascot, was taken for a French spy and hanged. Hartlepool has also produced football presenter Jeff Stelling, who has a renowned partnership with Chris Kamara who was born in nearby Middlesbrough. Jeff Stelling is a keen supporter of Hartlepool and often refers to them when presenting Sky Sports News. It is also the birthplace and childhood home of Pete Donaldson, one of the co-hosts of the Football Ramble podcast as well as co-host of the Abroad in Japan podcast, and a prominent radio DJ.

 

The town also has a semi-professional football club called FC Hartlepool who play in Northern League Division Two.

 

Rugby union

Hartlepool is something of an anomaly in England having historically maintained a disproportionate number of clubs in a town of only c.90,000 inhabitants. These include(d) West Hartlepool, Hartlepool Rovers, Hartlepool Athletic RFC, Hartlepool Boys Brigade Old Boys RFC (BBOB), Seaton Carew RUFC (formerly Hartlepool Grammar School Old Boys), West Hartlepool Technical Day School Old Boys RUFC (TDSOB or Tech) and Hartlepool Old Boys' RFC (Hartlepool). Starting in 1904 clubs within eight miles (thirteen kilometres) of the headland were eligible to compete for the Pyman Cup which has been contested regularly since and that the Hartlepool & District Union continue to organise.

 

Perhaps the best known club outside the town is West Hartlepool R.F.C. who in 1992 achieved promotion to what is now the Premiership competing in 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. This success came at a price as soon after West was then hit by bankruptcy and controversially sold their Brierton Lane stadium and pitch to former sponsor Yuills Homes. There then followed a succession of relegations before the club stabilised in the Durham/Northumberland leagues. West and Rovers continue to play one another in a popular Boxing Day fixture which traditionally draws a large crowd.

 

Hartlepool Rovers, formed in 1879, who played at the Old Friarage in the Headland area of Hartlepool before moving to West View Road. In the 1890s Rovers supplied numerous county, divisional and international players. The club itself hosted many high-profile matches including the inaugural Barbarians F.C. match in 1890, the New Zealand Maoris in 1888 and the legendary All Blacks who played against a combined Hartlepool Club team in 1905. In the 1911–12 season, Hartlepool Rovers broke the world record for the number of points scored in a season racking up 860 points including 122 tries, 87 conversions, five penalties and eleven drop goals.

 

Although they ceased competing in the RFU leagues in 2008–09, West Hartlepool TDSOB (Tech) continues to support town and County rugby with several of the town's other clubs having played at Grayfields when their own pitches were unavailable. Grayfields has also hosted a number of Durham County cup finals as well as County Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 age group games.

 

Olympics

Boxing

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, 21-year-old Savannah Marshall, who attended English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College in the town of Hartlepool, competed in the Women's boxing tournament of the 2012 Olympic Games. She was defeated 12–6 by Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan in her opening, quarter-final bout. Savannah Marshall is now a professional boxer, currently unbeaten as a pro and on 31 October 2020 in her 9th professional fight Marshall became the WBO female middleweight champion with a TKO victory over opponent Hannah Rankin at Wembley Arena.

 

Swimming

In August 2012 Jemma Lowe, a British record holder who attended High Tunstall College of Science in the town of Hartlepool, competed in the 2012 Olympic Games. She finished sixth in the 200-metre butterfly final with a time of 58.06 seconds. She was also a member of the eighth-place British team in the 400m Medley relay.

 

Monkeys

Hartlepool is known for allegedly executing a monkey during the Napoleonic Wars. According to legend, fishermen from Hartlepool watched a French warship founder off the coast, and the only survivor was a monkey, which was dressed in French military uniform, presumably to amuse the officers on the ship. The fishermen assumed that this must be what Frenchmen looked like and, after a brief trial, summarily executed the monkey.

 

Historians have pointed to the prior existence of a Scottish folk song called "And the Boddamers hung the Monkey-O". It describes how a monkey survived a shipwreck off the village of Boddam near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. Because the villagers could only claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the wreck, they allegedly hanged the monkey. There is also an English folk song detailing the later event called, appropriately enough, "The Hartlepool Monkey". In the English version the monkey is hanged as a French spy.

 

"Monkey hanger" and Chimp Choker are common terms of (semi-friendly) abuse aimed at "Poolies", often from footballing rivals Darlington. The mascot of Hartlepool United F.C. is H'Angus the monkey. The man in the monkey costume, Stuart Drummond, stood for the post of mayor in 2002 as H'angus the monkey, and campaigned on a platform which included free bananas for schoolchildren. To widespread surprise, he won, becoming the first directly elected mayor of Hartlepool, winning 7,400 votes with a 52% share of the vote and a turnout of 30%. He was re-elected by a landslide in 2005, winning 16,912 on a turnout of 51% – 10,000 votes more than his nearest rival, the Labour Party candidate.

 

The monkey legend is also linked with two of the town's sports clubs, Hartlepool Rovers RFC, which uses the hanging monkey as the club logo. Hartlepool (Old Boys) RFC use a hanging monkey kicking a rugby ball as their tie crest.

 

Notable residents

Michael Brown, former Premier League footballer

Edward Clarke, artist

Brian Clough, football manager who lived in the Fens estate in town while manager of Hartlepools United

John Darwin, convicted fraudster who faked his own death

Pete Donaldson, London radio DJ and podcast host

Janick Gers, guitarist from British heavy metal band Iron Maiden

Courtney Hadwin, singer

Jack Howe, former England international footballer

Liam Howe, music producer and songwriter for several artists and member of the band Sneaker Pimps

Saxon Huxley, WWE NXT UK wrestler

Andy Linighan, former Arsenal footballer who scored the winning goal in the 1993 FA Cup Final

Savannah Marshall, professional boxer

Stephanie Aird, comedian and television personality

Jim Parker, composer

Guy Pearce, film actor who lived in the town when he was younger as his mother was from the town

Narbi Price, artist

Jack Rowell, coached the England international rugby team and led them to the semi-final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup

Wayne Sleep, dancer and actor who spent his childhood in the town.

Reg Smythe, cartoonist who created Andy Capp

Jeremy Spencer, guitarist who was in the original Fleetwood Mac line-up

Jeff Stelling, TV presenter, famous for hosting Gillette Soccer Saturday

David Eagle, Folk singer and stand-up comedian,

Local media

Hartlepool Life - local free newspaper

Hartlepool Mail – local newspaper

BBC Radio Tees – BBC local radio station

Radio Hartlepool – Community radio station serving the town

Hartlepool Post – on-line publication

Local television news programmes are BBC Look North and ITV News Tyne Tees.

 

Town twinning

Hartlepool is twinned with:

France Sète, France

Germany Hückelhoven, Germany (since 1973)

United States Muskegon, Michigan

Malta Sliema, Malta

September 1963 and Britannia 70037 Hereward the Wake is at Wilford South on a Grimsby to Whitand fish train that left Grimsby at 16.30.

The Brit was an Immingham loco from September 1961 to December 1963 and I guess these fast fish trains formed part of their regular workload.

My parents lived in Nottingham from 1958 to 1962 and I was born there although I was too young to remember anything, we lived not too far from here and the house backed onto the GCR.

I have attached a link to a forum discussion on these services which I have found as its quite an interesting routing.

www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2866

Image from a negative in my collection by an unknown photographer.

Kevin Lane has a photo of the same loco on the same train earlier in the year at Leicester on his stream and this is the link for that. www.flickr.com/photos/28083135@N06/6427344151

 

The work continues on the Avengers: Endgame project once again with Pepper Potts’ Rescue armor. MK 49 is complete ✅ youtu.be/_qqbJTMTq7k

 

Still hyped to work on these projects no matter how many years pass. Infinity Saga is still what inspires me most. MCU has otherwise been mostly in disarray up until 2025 anyway.

 

Got this prepped soon after Wolverine earlier this summer and have been painting it on/off ever since. Even got to work on Pepper here a little bit while visiting the AV Figures crew in CA too ✈️

 

Entire figure of course would not have been possible without the outstanding work of Tuminio. This actually uses parts from the V1 kit from way back. Despite some inaccuracies here/there, I still thought the V1 looked great. You have to really study it to spot the differences anyway.

 

All fully painted by me, including the magnetically attached Energy Displacer Sentries. Added a good chunk of time to the figure—so worth it though. Arms and legs were pretty challenging design-wise.

 

Arealight curved torso, face is an extra Pepper head from 2013, and the hair is a modded Leyile Brick piece just chopped up to accommodate the armor and repainted ️

 

Metallic paint work was easier here, but still a long workload. Had to sculpt the shoulders on myself during prep too. Didn’t really feel like painting hand armor—too much handling on them anyway when swapping the sentries.

 

Would love to hear what you guys think. Unintentionally ended being the best suit I’ve ever painted—oops

 

Definitely a thrill to take all the shots in-camera. Started feeling like I’d never do some of these scenes

There are only a few councils left in Sydney which don’t provide a regular green waste service, and Hawkesbury was one of them until they introduced the third bin in late 2013. Without surprise, JJ Richards managed to win the job for them to handle beside their recycling contract with the council. They got a pair of new side loaders for the fortnightly green bin service, however just one works there fulltime due to the fluctuating workloads. The greens service is only provided in the urban areas of the council, and some days the majority of work covered is rural, so limited collections can occur depending on the zone. I managed to snap this shot of a truck tipping a load at Eastern Creek not too long ago.

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (Armée de l'air). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.

 

The origins of the Mirage 2000 could be traced back to 1965, when France and Britain agreed to develop the "Anglo-French Variable Geometry" (AFVG) swing-wing aircraft. Two years later, France withdrew from the project on grounds of costs, after which Britain would collaborate with West Germany and Italy to ultimately produce the Panavia Tornado. Dassault instead focused on its own variable-geometry aircraft, the Dassault Mirage G experimental prototype. The design was expected to materialise in the Mirage G8, which would serve as the replacement for the popular Mirage III in French Air Force service.

 

The Mirage 2000-5 is a major advancement over previous variants and embodies a comprehensive electronic, sensor, and cockpit upgrade to expand its combat ability, while reducing pilot workload. The centrepiece of the Mirage 2000-5 overhaul is the Thomson-CSF RDY (radar Doppler multitarget) with look down/shoot down capability. The multifunction radar is capable of air-to-ground, air-to-air, and air-to-sea operations. In the air-to-ground mode, the RDY has navigation and attack functions that give it deep-strike and close-support capabilities. Capable of automatically locking onto multiple targets at first contact, the radar could detect flying targets travelling as low as 60 m (200 ft). The introduction of the radar allows the aircraft to use the MICA missile, up to six of which could be fired simultaneously at targets due to the advances within the radar. Despite the increase in offensive capability, pilot workload is compensated for by the introduction of a multidisplay glass cockpit, based on the development of the Rafale. The aircraft has the ICMS Mk2 countermeasures suit, which contains three radar detectors and an infrared sensor that are linked to active jammers and chaff/flare dispensers.

 

Improvements over the Mirage 2000C included the Thales TV/CT CLDP laser designator pod and the multimode RDY, which allows detection of up to 24 targets and the ability to simultaneously track eight threats while guiding four MICA missiles to different targets. Updates to defensive systems included the ICMS 2 countermeasures suite and the Samir DDM missile warning system. ICMS 2 incorporates a receiver and associated signal processing system in the nose for detecting hostile missile-command data links, and can be interfaced to a new programmable mission-planning and postmission analysis ground system. Avionics were also updated, using a new night vision-compatible glass cockpit layout borrowed from the Dassault Rafale, a dual-linked wide-angle head-up display, and HOTAS controls. The Mirage 2000-5 can also carry the oversized drop tanks developed for the Mirage 2000N, greatly extending its range.

Please feel free to use this image under the creative commons license.

 

I created the graphic to drive traffic to my marketing blog as part of a buzz-building assignment for a graduate degree.

 

Please attribute, link, like and comment - howtostartablogonline.net

 

Help me explore the concept of online quid pro quo. You get great visual content and I get extra credit in my emerging media class. Or at least that's the cunning plan...

 

Also, if you have an idea for a custom graphic you need for your own blog or website, please share with me at mkhmktg@yahoo.com. I'll give it my best shot to create something for you.

It's that time of year already, when Monarch butterflies are beginning their astounding southward migration to where they overwinter in Mexico. This is the first (and so far only) one I've seen in my garden this year. Here's more information about Monarchs.

 

I planted lantana specifically to attract butterflies and other pollinators. The variety, 'Miss Huff' is a perennial that requires virtually no care except water and a little organic fertilizer. This article has some good information about lantana.

 

© All rights reserved. No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of Mim Eisenberg.

 

By now most of you know that my workload is keeping me away from Flickr most of the day. :-(

German postcard by Filmwelt Berlin, Bad Münder, no SW 4.081. Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd. Peter Cushing in Star Wars - Episode IV - A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977).

 

Gentle and gentlemanly British actor Peter Cushing (1913-1994) became a legend with his roles in Hammer's remakes of the 1930s Universal horror classics. He played Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein (1957), Dr. Van Helsing in Dracula (1958), and Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). But maybe, he is even better known as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). His career spanned over six decades and included roles in more than 100 films.

 

Peter Wilton Cushing was born in 1913 in Kenley (now in Croydon, London), Surrey, England, to Nellie Maria (King) and George Edward Cushing, a quantity surveyor. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey. His mother had so hoped for a daughter that for the first few years of his life, she dressed Peter in girls' frocks, let his hair grow in long curls and tie them in bows of pink ribbon, so others often mistook him for a girl. At an early age, Cushing was attracted to acting, inspired by his favorite aunt, who was a stage actress. As a child and having a strong cockney accent, he felt ashamed of the way he spoke in general and took to having elocution lessons. While at school, Cushing pursued his acting interest in acting and also drawing, a talent he put to good use later in his first job as a government surveyor's assistant in Surrey. At this time, he also dabbled in local amateur theatre until moving to London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on scholarship. He then performed in repertory theater in Worthing, In 1939, his father bought him a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where he moved with only £50 to his name. Cushing met a Columbia Pictures employee named Larry Goodkind, who wrote him a letter of recommendation and directed him to acquaintances Goodkind knew at the company Edward Small Productions. There he made his film debut in The Man in the Iron Mask (James Whale, 1939), starring Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett. It was an adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas tale based on the French legend of a prisoner during the reign of Louis XIV of France. He also had small roles in such Hollywood films as A Chump at Oxford (Alfred J. Goulding, 1939) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Vigil in the Night (George Stevens, 1940) with Carole Lombard, and They Dare Not Love (James Whale, 1941). After this short stay, he returned to England by way of New York (making brief appearances on Broadway) and Canada. Back in his homeland, he contributed to the war effort during World War II by joining the Entertainment National Services Association.

 

After the war, Peter Cushing performed in the West End and had his big break appearing with Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948), in which Cushing's future partner-in-horror Christopher Lee had a bit part. Both actors also appeared in Moulin Rouge (John Huston, 1952) but did not meet until their later horror films. His career was revitalised once he started to work in live television plays, and he soon became one of the most recognisable faces in British television. During the 1950s, Cushing appeared in numerous teleplays, such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) and Beau Brummell (1954). In the two years following Nineteen Eighty-Four, Cushing appeared in thirty-one television plays and two serials and won Best Television Actor of the Year from the Evening Chronicle. He also won the best actor awards from the Guild of Television Producers in 1955, and from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1956. Among the plays he appeared in during this time were Terence Rattigan's The Browning Version, and Gordon Daviot's Richard of Bordeaux. During a brief quiet period following Cushing's television work, he read in trade publications about Hammer, a low-budget production company seeking to adapt Mary Shelley's horror novel, 'Frankenstein', into a new film. Cushing, who enjoyed the tale as a child, had his agent John Redway inform the company of Cushing's interest in playing the protagonist, Baron Victor Frankenstein. The studio executives were anxious to have Cushing play Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957) opposite Hazel Court and Christopher Lee as the Monster. Wikipedia: "Unlike Frankenstein (1931) produced by Universal, the Hammer films revolved mainly around Victor Frankenstein, rather than his monster. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster wrote the protagonist as an ambitious, egotistical and coldly intellectual scientist who despised his contemporaries. Unlike the character from the novel and past film versions, Cushing's Baron Frankenstein commits vicious crimes to attain his goals, including the murder of a colleague to obtain a brain for his creature." Frankenstein was an overnight success and brought Cushing worldwide fame.

 

Over the next 20 years, Peter Cushing starred in 22 horror films from the Hammer studio. His next roles included Dr. Van Helsing in Dracula (Terence Fisher, 1958) opposite Lee as the count, and Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (Terence Fisher, 1959). He played Baron Frankenstein in six of their seven Frankenstein films, and Doctor Van Helsing in five Dracula films. Cushing often appeared alongside Christopher Lee, who became one of his closest friends, and occasionally with the American horror star Vincent Price. He also appeared in films for the other major horror producer of the time, Amicus Productions, including Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965), Dr. Who and the Daleks (Gordon Flemyng, 1965), Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (Gordon Flemyng, 1966), and I, Monster (Stephen Weeks, 1971). By the mid-1970s, these companies had stopped production, but Cushing, firmly established as a horror star, continued in the genre for some time thereafter. Perhaps his best-known appearance outside of horror films was as Grand Moff Tarkin in George Lucas' phenomenally successful science fiction film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Biggles (John Hough, 1986) was Cushing's last film before his retirement, during which he made a few television appearances, wrote two autobiographies and pursued his hobbies of bird watching and painting. In 1989, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in for his services to drama. In 1994, Peter Cushing died at age 81 of prostate cancer. He had been married to Violet Helene Beck from 1943 till her death in 1971. Following the passing of his wife, Cushing didn't make any public appearances from 1971 to 1982. During this period, his workload increased considerably, appearing in about 32 films, numerous TV appearances and recording audiobooks for blind people.

 

Sources: Lyn Hammond (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

D1010 Western courier bellows out of Kidderminster station with its Maybach engines singing, much to the delight of the packed train and platform full of enthusiast's, for the Severn Valley Diesel Gala.

 

D1000 'Western' class introduction

 

'Western' class number D1013 Western Ranger The 'Western' class diesel - hydraulic locomotives came into being due to the introduction of Krauss - Maffei's experimental ML3000 3,000 bhp locomotive. This German design used the same Maybach MD650 engines and Mekydro K184 transmissions as used in the Swindon built 'Warship' class, but uprated to 1,500 bhp. Although details of the ML3000 were sent to Swindon for consideration, the Western Region decided to design their own locomotive from the ground up. Based around Maybach MD655 engines of 1,380 bhp and Voith L360rV transmissions, the body used the stressed - skin method of construction so successfully employed in the D800s. Voith transmissions were specified as Mekydro units were required for the 'Hymek' class and this decision was also made to spread the workload among the various suppliers. All of the engines though would be built by Bristol Siddeley Engines from their plant at Ansty, while 103 transmissions would be supplied by the North British Locomotive company and Voith Engineering of Glasgow with another 60 sets produced in Germany.

 

The order for 74 locomotives was placed by the British Transport Commission in September 1959 just prior to the completion of the final design. Construction was to be split between Swindon, who were to build the first 35 'Westerns', and also Crewe who were to built the last 39. Various problems with the final design details meant that the first member of the class was not delivered Maybach MD655 engine until December 1961, and so to relieve pressure on Swindon, the decision was taken that the last 5 of the locomotives due to built there, would be constructed at Crewe instead. Therefore, Swindon built 'Western' numbers D1000 - 29, while Crewe built numbers D1035 - 73 and D1030 - 4 in that order.

 

Initially the class were to be named after West Country beauty spots and the suggestion was that number D1000 was to become 'Cheddar Gorge' before this proposal was dropped in favour of the 'Western' names. The class also became the subject of various livery experiments. The first 'Western', D1000 Western Enterprise, was outshopped in a unique desert sand livery with wheels, roofpanels, bogies and window frames in black. Buffer beams and front skirts were painted in carmine red. The second 'Western' locomotive, D1001 Western Pathfinder, was delivered in a maroon livery with window frames in white while the buffer beams and front skirts were in yellow. The next three locomotives, D1002 - 4, were painted in the traditional Brunswick Green but with small yellow panels applied around the headcodes. The first Crewe built 'Westerns', D1035 - 8, were similarly painted. There then followed a public competition to decide the most popular livery (yes, British Railways did ask the public for their opinion sometimes) and the winning colour that the public chose was maroon. Other examples of the class were given this livery together with the small yellow panel around the headcode. One exception to this was number D1015 Western Champion, which was outshopped in a livery described as Golden Ochre with the buffer beams painted in red.

  

In Service.

As stated, D1000 'Western Enterprise' Voith L630rV hydraulic transmissionentered traffic in December 1961 and was soon sent to Plymouth Laira for trials, while in February 1962, D1001 'Western Pathfinder' was chosen for various trials against the prototype of what would become the Class 47's, D0280 'Falcon'.

 

Within a month, the first signs of a bogie design fault appeared and it was found that soft suspension between the bogies and the body frame on D1000 created excessive movement of the cardan shafts that transmit the drive from the engine to the transmission. This movement weakened the cardan shaft joints and also set up stresses within the transmission. D1001's transmissions were also inspected and the same amount of wear was discovered. Stiffening and repositioning the'Western' class locomotive in the popular maroon livery torque reaction arms effected a temporary repair, however in 1963, a return of the unsatisfactory riding qualities meant that all but four of the class were restricted to 80 mph. A programme of bogie modifications, including replacing the rubber side blocks with metal fittings, was begun and by April 1964, 50 members of the 'Western' class were restored to working at 90 mph.

 

Many of the mechanical problems that effected the 'Westerns' were related to the train heating boiler, but also problems were found with the compressors and exhausters, dynostarts and engine fuel pumps. Many of the faults were blamed on Bristol Siddeley Engines who manufactured the Maybach engine under licence, and in some instances, materials appeared to have been used which were not to the design specification. One example of this was the compressors lower central shaft roller bearing which had a cheaper alternative installed, while on some of the crankcases, the wrong type of welding rod had been used in its construction.

 

One unusual design problem on the 'Westerns' concerned the windscreen wipers when in use at high speed. Numbers D1006 'Western Stalwart' and D1039 'Western King' were fitted with experimental rotary wipers of a design used on ships. Although these type of wipers swept away the water, they produced an opaque film on the windscreen and this restriction to the drivers vision cancelled the project.

 

By the late 1960's, apart from one or two engine problems, the 'Westerns' were giving sterling service. The bogies were giving 150,000 miles between general repairs while the Voith transmission was shown to be a more reliable unit compared to the Mekydro transmission on the 'Warships'. The class soldiered on into the early 1970's due to the unavailability of the English Electric Class 50, and as maintenance staff had been told to keep the 'Westerns' running without major repairs, it was not uncommon to see plumes of blue smoke from the locomotives exhausts.

 

Withdrawal.

The first withdrawals of the class occurred in May 1973 of numbers D1019 'Western Challenger' and D1032 'Western Marksman'. Seven other members were withdrawn during 1973 including D1017 - 20, the only 'Westerns' not to be fitted with dual brakes. 1974 saw another 11 withdrawn, however 1975 witnessed 18 withdrawals, leaving 34 of the class to run into 1976 mainly due to Class 50 shortages. When the problems with the 50's traction motors was rectified, 27 'Westerns' were withdrawn during 1976 leaving numbers D1010 / 13 / 22 / 23 / 41 / 48 / 58 remaining at the start of 1977. D1022 and D1058 had gone in January leaving five survivors, although numbers D1013 'Western Ranger' and D1023 'Western Fusilier' performed the 'Western Tribute' tour on the 26th of February. These last five 'Westerns' were all withdrawn on the 28th of February 1977, the last of the Western Region diesel-hydraulics.

  

Preservation.

Seven 'Westerns' have been saved for preservation, five of which were still in BR service until 28th of February 1977. They are numbers :

D1010 'Western Campaigner' although this engine masquerades as D1035 'Western Yeoman',

D1013 'Western Ranger',

D1015 'Western Champion',

D1023 'Western Fusilier',

D1041 'Western Prince',

D1048 'Western Lady', and

D1062 'Western Courier'

 

Specifications.

   

Wheel arrangement Co-Co Wheel diameter 3ft 7in

Weight 108 tonnes Height 12ft 117/8 in

Length 68ft Width 9ft

Minimum curve negotiable 4½ chains Maximum speed 90mph

Wheelbase 54ft 8in Heating type Steam - Spanner Mk III

Brake force 82 tonnes Tractive effort 72,600 lb (later 70,000 lb)

Total engine horsepower 2,700 hp Power at rail 2,350 hp

Fuel tank capacity 850 gallons Boiler water capacity 800 gallons

  

copyright © Mim Eisenberg/mimbrava studio. All rights reserved.

 

My mom, who died in 1992, would have been 100 years old today. There's not a day that goes by without my thinking of her with great love and gratitude. I miss her a lot.

 

This is what I said of her on Flickr in May 2005:

She was the epitome of love, kindness and strength through physical and emotional trials. A consummate cook and baker, she also had ten green thumbs. From her garden, which bloomed from first crocus to last chrysanthemum, she created ikebana type arrangements without ever having had a class in flower arranging. She had an astounding talent to create things with her hands, from sewing, knitting, crocheting or needlepointing. A master knitting instructress, she could look at something in an ad or worn by someone and then design it in her head and create the garment. When she retired, her customers gave her a book called "Goodbye, Picasso" in appreciation of her artistry. She filled our home with love and beauty.

  

Thank you for visiting. After having completely blown it yesterday, when distractions intervened, I'll do my best to return the favor today, but though I'm making good headway, my workload is still calling me away from Flickr.

 

See my shots on flickriver:

www.flickrriver.com/photos/mimbrava/

 

Please join us on Super Eco and enter our June photo contest, “Seeing Green”. The contest ends June 30th.

Now, don't hang on

Nothing lasts forever

But the earth and sky

 

HBW #2!

 

Explored! Highest position #303

Should there ever be a sequel to the book "An Incredible Journey - The First Story", 2018 will be one of the chapters that will require a good few pages. It will be a defining year for First Aberdeen. Restructured during 2017, Aberdeen is now managed strategically from Glasgow and operationally the team is split between Aberdeen and Larbert. There is very little Aberdeen based staff now have direct control over.

 

One of the big challenges over the last decade has been the increasing pressure from Glasgow to restructure Aberdeen drivers pay and conditions which are considerably better than other First depots in Scotland and according to one former First Director, better than Lothian Buses too. Of course the Aberdeen employment market is radically different to other parts of Scotland where driver recruitment is much easier, largely down to competition from the oil and gas sector. Now the barrier of a local Aberdeen management team has been removed and the oil and gas sector has been laying off more than it recruits, Glasgow has seized the chance to push through a new contract. Only four drivers voted for the new conditions (one of which now admits he got confused and crossed the wrong box) in a decision that First Scotland MD Andrew Jarvis has described as "disappointing" and one driver described as "turkeys not voting for Christmas", First is pushing ahead with 12 weeks legal notice of change to the drivers conditions which is expected to start a protracted period of industrial action by driving staff. It is likely First Aberdeen drivers will withdraw from driving for up to two hours a day taking buses of the road between school times similar to the last dispute in 2009. That dispute was different as drivers were pushing for increased pay in conditions. This time they are simply refusing to accept a pay cut for longer working hours.

 

Around 20 First drivers have made it known they will leave the company if the changes are implemented as they stand in a move that will see the company lose many of its Platinum and hydrogen drivers while others have indicated they will take early retirement at the earliest opportunity. Anticipating this First have been actively recruiting new drivers, particularly as the new contracts will restrict the ability of driver to work significant overtime due to the longer driving hours taking shifts to the max of UK legislation.

 

For First management the change will vastly reduce the single biggest cost at Aberdeen depot enabling it to minimise the impact of service cuts as Aberdeen is forced to meet high targets set by First Bus for number of passengers per bus per hour designed to maximise profit to enable parent FirstGroup meet its challenging debt repayment commitments.

 

For the drivers they fear less time at home with their family due to longer shifts with more time, upaid, stuck in the City Centre without enough time to make it home. They also fear the financial impacts of reduced pay and less overtime as many drivers struggle to pay mortgage payments higher than drivers elsewhere in the UK.

 

For the passenger it seems likely bus travel will be disrupted off peak in the near future making students travelling to university and patients travelling to hospital and doctor appointments very difficult. It will also damage further the market for passengers travelling to shops, already in decline as the online market grows, Asda again expanded its online operation in Aberdeen by 20% last week as demand continues to grow. Longer term the passenger fears that a prospective service network change at the end of March will bring significant cuts to services to ARI, the Airport and night time links.

 

Recruitment analysts in Aberdeen also point to growing recruitment in the old and gas sectors as older workers take early retirement under the pressure of downsizing on their workload which could very well give First Aberdeen a perfect storm in late 2018 as the many ex oil and gas sector workers being employed as drivers quit to go back to the industry. As one worker put it a six week oil and gas contract can pay more than a year driving buses for First.

 

There are also health and safety fears being pushed by the Unite union over the risk of drivers becoming tired at the wheel.

 

37639 on the much neglected Platinum concept on Union Street at 10am in the morning with very few First buses to be seen. How many will still be running by the end of the year?

HT-01Q Qubeley

 

An ultra high performance ace custom of the humble Ruschia, with input from the Hyacinth trials, the Qubeley is a space superiority mobile frame meant to push the base frame to its absolute limits. It utilizes an advanced Bio-Interface Terminal prototype weapon system, or BIT for short, to swarm a single target with drones capable of firing highly precise beam attacks. Alternatively, the BIT drones can engage multiple hostiles at once with suppressing fire to allow for allies to line up kill shots. The Qubeley is rumored to be an Ijad piloted machine, using a tentacle based host body in order to achieve the insanely high degree of spatial awareness needed to coordinate the 10 drones while also piloting the mobile frame at the same time, although its also be suggested it could have two pilots as well to share the workload.

Application Here!

 

Please read the description carefully. I'm going to be very particular about submission schedules, so if you don't think you can keep up with my workload, then please do not apply.

 

I'll be making my decisions on Saturday, March 24th!

 

Cheers!

 

Please, View On Black

 

Hello My Friends...in short, the workload has increased at work....finding very little time or energy. Will make the weekends to view Your wonderful works but, will be sporadic at best during the week. I really missed viewing and being touched by Your works.

Noble

See this locomotive in the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUBD6xhshWg

 

Crusing along the Teignmouth Sea Wall on a glorious sunny Devon day, preserved British Railways Standard Class 7, 70000 'Britannia' takes its first turn on the somewhat weary 'Royal Duchy' railtour from Bristol Temple Meads to Par, which has failed twice on its previous runs, with Tangmere failing following departure from Plymouth on the return working, and Union of South Africa breaking down between Teignmouth and Newton Abbot on the outbound journey. Let's hope this engine's fortunes are higher...

 

One of the last and most powerful steam locomotives ever built, the British Rail Standard Class 7 was BR's top express locomotive, and could have been utilised far better in its short lifespan, but ended up only serving the railways for 15 years, a blink of an eye compared to other mainline Pacifics of the time that had operated under the pre-nationalisation companies.

 

Designed by Robert Riddles, who had previously coined the design for the War Department Austerity 2-10-0 and 2-8-0 freight locomotives, the BR Standard Class 7's were conceived of as a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges, which were done to test the best and worst aspects of locomotive design within the Big Four railway companies that had existed before nationalisation. The research gained from operating the best designs of the GWR, LMS, LNER and Southern railways on different areas of the British Railways network paved the way for several new classes of standardised locomotives to be constructed, largely to replace many of the ageing Victorian era engines that even in the late 1940's continued to ply their merry trade.

 

The first design requested by the Railway Executive was for a new express passenger Pacific locomotive, designed specifically to reduce maintenance and using the latest available innovations in steam technology from home and abroad. Various labour-saving devices were utilised to produce a simple, standard and effective design, able to produce equivalent power to some of the Pacifics that were still available as legacies of the Big Four.

 

The basic design of the Standard 7's can be traced to LMS construction practices, largely owed to Riddles' previous career with that company, but complimented this with the boiler and trailing wheel design of the Southern Railway's Merchant Navy Pacifics so as to follow the best design practice. The firebox was also similar in having a rocking grate, which allowed the fire to be rebuilt without stopping the locomotive, removing both ash and clinker on the move. A self-cleaning smokebox was used, which enabled ash to flow into the atmosphere, reducing the workload of the engine cleaner at the end of a working day. A single chimney was placed on top of the smokebox, which was unusual for a Pacific type of locomotive.

 

The Standard 7's were fitted with 6 ft 2 in driving wheels, allowing these engines greater capacity for use in mixed-traffic working, which made them available for both sustained fast running with heavy passenger trains, yet small enough to allow them to undertake more mundane tasks such as freight haulage.

 

55 of these engines were constructed between 1951 and 1954, with 70000 'Britannia' being the first and flagship of the fleet, with residual locomotives of the class being dubbed 'Britannia-Class'. Three batches were constructed at Crewe Works, before the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan.

 

Britannia was built at Crewe, completed on 2 January 1951. She was the first British Railways standard locomotive to be built and the first of 55 locomotives of the Britannia class. The locomotive was named at a ceremony at Marylebone Station by the then Minister for Transport Alfred Barnes on 30 January 1951. The BR Locomotive Naming Committee were determined not to use names already in use on other locomotives. They tried to observe this by not selecting the name Britannia for use on 70000 because it was already in use on one of the ex-LMS Jubilee Class locomotives, but Robert Riddles overruled them and the Jubilee had to be renamed.

 

The Britannias took their names from great Britons, former Star Class locomotives, and Scottish firths, although one locomotive, 70047, was never named. The success of these first Standard Pacifics gave birth to two other Pacific classes over the BR years, including the unique BR Standard Class 8, number 71000 'Duke of Gloucester', which was built in 1954 to replace the destroyed Princess Royal Class locomotive number 46202 Princess Anne, lost in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster of 1952, and the fleet of 10 BR Standard Class 6 'Clan' Pacifics that were employed on services in the west of Scotland, but failed to gain a stellar reputation due to their employment on timetables for the more powerful Standard 7's they couldn't keep up to.

 

The class gained a warm response from locomotive crews across all British Railway Regions, with especially glowing reports from those operating them from Stratford depot on the Eastern Region, where its lower weight and high power transformed motive power over the restricted East Anglian lines. However, negative feedback was received from various operating departments, most notably on the Western Region. The criticism was primarily out of partisan preference for GWR-designed locomotive stock among Western Region staff; in particular, the class was 'left-hand drive' in contrast to 'right-hand drive' GWR locomotive and signalling practice, a factor in the Milton rail crash of 1955.

 

For this reason, the Western Region locomotive depots at Old Oak Common and Plymouth Laira declared that the class was surplus to requirements. However Cardiff Canton depot displayed its liking for the class (despite being part of the former GWR empire) and managed to obtain good results on South Wales passenger traffic.

 

The Midland Region also had favourable reports, but a marked consistency in losing time on the longer runs between Holyhead and Euston was recorded, although all complaints were down to the individual techniques of the operating crews. This was compounded by the irregular allocation of the class to depots all over the network, meaning that few crews ever had a great deal of experience in driving them. The Southern Region also had an allocation of seven in May 1953, when all Merchant Navy Class locomotives were temporarily withdrawn for inspection after 35020 "Bibby Line" sheared a crank axle on the central driving wheel.

 

Repairs to the class were undertaken at Crewe, Swindon and Doncaster Works until the financial constraints of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in terms of expenditure on steam began to preclude the regular overhaul of locomotives. During the mid-1960s overhauls were carried out exclusively at Crewe Works.

 

Britannia was initially based at Stratford in order to work East Anglian expresses to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, but was also particularly associated with the Hook Continental boat train to Harwich. Subsequently, the loco was based at Norwich Thorpe in January and March 1959 before spending the remainder of her career on the London Midland Region based at Willesden, Crewe North, Crewe South and finally Newton Heath.

 

The locomotive also had the distinction of hauling the funeral train for King George VI from King's Lynn, Norfolk to London following his death in February 1952 at Sandringham House, Norfolk. For this task, Britannia had her cab roof painted white, as was the custom with royal locomotives. Britannia has also worn the white roof in preservation.

 

However, as the locomotives entered the 1960's, the modernisation plan continued to gather pace, and diesel locomotives started to replace steam on most parts of the network. Very soon the Standard 7's placement on Top-Line expresses were demoted to the on-again-off-again work of freight and parcels, and cosmetic maintenance was reduced as their final years loomed. The lavish BR Brunswick Green soon faded to grey, and in some cases BR Lined Black was adopted for ease.

 

The first locomotive to be withdrawn from service was number 70007 Coeur-de-Lion in 1965, and the entire class was gradually transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor and Glasgow Polmadie depots. Britannia was withdrawn in May 1966, after 15 years of service.

 

A succession of bulk withdrawals began in 1967, culminating in the very last steam operation in British Railways service on August 11th, 1968, where Standard 7 number 70013 Oliver Cromwell, was chosen to assist in hauling the Fifteen Guinea Special, the last steam hauled British Railways passenger service from Liverpool to Carlisle via the S&C. 70013 was chosen as it was the last the last BR-owned steam locomotive to undergo routine heavy overhaul at Crewe Works, being out-shopped after a special ceremony in February 1967. The engine hauled the Manchester to Carlisle leg of the service via the Settle and Carlisle line, with LMS Class 5 45110, and LMS Stanier Class 5 locomotives, 44781 and 44871 double-heading the return working back to Manchester.

 

Upon withdrawal, 70000 was initially planned for preservation with the National Railway Museum due to it's cultural significance, but because of its prototypical nature, 70013 was instead chosen and bought up for preservation. 70000 would later be preserved by Britannia Locomotive Company Ltd.

 

After moving from one home to another, the engine wound up on the Severn Valley Railway, where she remained for a number of years in operational but non-mainline condition. With the society wishing to make more use of the locomotive, she was moved to the European gauge Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough, where she was also fitted with an air-brake compressor. Britannia made her return to the main line on 27 July 1991, successfully working enthusiast trips until 1997.

 

With an expired mainline boiler certificate, due to the high cost of refurbishment, the locomotive was sold to Pete Waterman in 2000. Stored at Waterman's workshops at the Crewe Heritage Centre, after initial assessment the amount of work resulted in Waterman selling her to Jeremy Hosking. The locomotive underwent restoration at Crewe which involved a newly refurbished cab, a new smoke box and major work on the boiler; replacement steel sides, new crown stays, new front section barrel section, new steel and copper tubeplate, repairs and patches to door plate and major work to copper firebox.

 

Transferred to the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, the locomotive was returned to main line operational condition in 2011, initially out shopped in its prototype black British Railways livery. After a running-in period, in 2012 the locomotive was repainted in British Railways Brunswick Green, but with an early BR crest. On 24 January 2012, the loco hauled the Royal Train with Prince Charles on board to Wakefield Kirkgate, where he rededicated the locomotive. For the trip the loco again had a painted white cab roof, removed after the engine's appearance at the West Somerset Railway's Spring Gala.

Another take of this Gropper from a while back.......Apologies for lack of attention to flickr contacts of late I will catch up when time allows as things quieten down at my end...workload is still chaotic!!.....Not had the camera out for well over a month, I'm knackered & too old for the building game!!

In 1908, Minerva fitted this cylindrical petrol tank that became characteristic of the Antwerp marque. This m855cc V-twin produced as much as 8hp. Optionally, a front fork with leaf springs could also be fitted.

 

This model was to become the high point for Minerva motorbikes; as from 1910 the company only built cars, partly because there was a lot of social unrest due to the high workload.

 

This 1908 Minerva 8hp motorbike is on display at Autoworld, Belgium’s national motor museum, in Brussels.

Spotless through and through, the 504 Pick-Up was famed as one of the ultimate workhorses. It wasn't uncommon for these vehicles to be exported rather than scrapped.

 

F140TMF looks to have had a pretty easy workload, currently at 31,000 miles having rejoined the UK roads in 2011.

Trainer Crystal and [ID help please!] during a Dolphin Interaction Program.

 

I apologise for my gaps in uploads, my university workload plus job applications are really eating up my time!

 

Bottlenose Dophin, ? - SeaWorld San Diego

 

**You are not permitted to repost, copy, edit, redistribute, or display this image without expressed written permission from me. This includes, but is not limited to, social media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram/Webstagram.

When Avon Valley Travel of Stratford upon Avon started up in 2001, the first coach, a Volvo B10M Plaxton 3200 D996UKA (later B10AVT) was sourced from Houston Ramm coach sales in Rochdale. A few months later, Houston Ramm offered for sale a Volvo B10M Jonckheere Jubilee that had been taken in part exchange. With the workload on the increase, this was a perfect addition to the new company so a deal was struck for the supply of this vehicle repainted into in AVT livery and with a complete interior re-trim. JIA8623 was transformed, and proved to be a great workhorse for the company before being sold to Welcombe Garages to make way for two much newer Volvos as the company grew.

Here is the latest model member of the Bellette’s Bulk Bins fleet! When I say late model, I’m only referring to the actual Merc Benz component of the complete unit, which was extremely young at the time of this photo in 2017, having just had the body remounted on it and deployed for work. Generally your standard front lift machine right here, except for the fact it’s a mini 4x2 single axle version, something damn bloody rare in this day and age. Out there in the country, local companies aren’t bombarded with workload like in your cities, so they don’t always require a large and modern fleet of trucks capable of pulling 10t loads. Bellette’s have stuck with what they need and what works well for them, running this light duty, simple, efficient and reliable machinery - the kind of stuff they won’t find in the existing front lift market.

Walt Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios - 01/15/10

Exterior detail of the Darkroom camera store on Hollywood Boulevard at DHS.

 

With a lot of mixed emotions I have to take a break for a while because our workload has increased unbelievably. We've been praying for this for 2.5 years during "The Great Recession", and now it's starting. However, it really cuts into the time I have for Flickr and even processing photos. I have about 600 untouched shots that have been sitting since January that I just can't get to.

 

I'll try to visit photostreams and post when I can, but I can't keep up with the daily posts like I have been - at least for a little while.

 

Of course, things could fall off the cliff again and we could be sitting around with nothing but time on our hands; I don't try to predict the future anymore, but if the schedule remains like it has the last 3 months, things are definitely looking up for our business.

 

I will visit as much as I can, but the next 30 days look pretty jammed for me. Talk to you soon! :)

"Does homework stress you out? Yes, water is wet. Duh, like, you have certain requirements put on you and they take priority over things that you'd rather be doing. It stresses me out to do things that don't pertain to my interest. Yeah, sometimes you just get way too much homework so you're like, "How am I gonna finish this?", "If I don't finish I'm gonna fail my class or get a bad grade." And then the parental expectations come in. It's like you're trying to please everyone except yourself."- Sophie Barbour on "Stress from Workload

Catherine Zeta-Jones, (born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Born and raised in Swansea, Zeta-Jones aspired to be an actress from a young age. Zeta-Jones initially established herself in Hollywood with roles that highlighted her sex appeal such as in the action film The Mask of Zorro (1998) and the heist film Entrapment (1999). Critics praised her portrayal of a vengeful pregnant woman in Traffic (2000) and a murderous singer in the musical Chicago (2002). The latter won her Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actress, among other accolades. She starred in high-profile films for much of the decade, including the black comedy Intolerable Cruelty (2003), the heist film Ocean's Twelve (2004), the comedy The Terminal (2004), and the romantic comedy No Reservations (2007). Parts in smaller-scale features were followed by a decrease in workload, during which she returned to stage and portrayed an ageing actress in A Little Night Music (2009), winning a Tony Award. Zeta-Jones continued to work intermittently in the 2010s, starring in the psychological thriller Side Effects (2013) and the action film Red 2 (2013).

Last shoot upload of 2023, getting it in before the end of 2024! My oh my how much backlog I have! This is not like me at all, but since the passing of my mother in July I have taken a backwards step when it comes to my workload - taking more time out for myself to stop and unwind from the stresses of life that come when you live with autism and disabilities. As always, I hope you enjoy the images. If you do, feel free to leave me a testimony on my profile, thanks.

Need some rest ASAP...

Everyone’s talking about the Official Convention Souvenir Doll Making An Entrance Karolin Stone! She is the newest addition to the ever growing world of Fashion Royalty. The response was rather lukewarm when she was unveiled. I guess everyone was expecting a doll wearing a miniaturized Jason Wu fashion since it has been the tradition for two years. That did not continue this year. Being the creative director for two fashion brands (his own and Hugo Boss) I'm sure Jason Wu’s workload is crazy and with a busy schedule and other events that he needs to attend to, his presence at the event was surely missed. Someone did mention that Jason had an input with the character selection and the fashion, and that actual gives me a sigh of relief knowing that his involvement with Fashion Royalty is still ongoing. While I knew that the Official Convention Doll was going to be a Nu.Face character, I did thought about Giselle or Rayna due to their popularity. So the thought of unveiling a new character was not what I have in mind. While other people think Karolin doesn't fit in within the Fashion Royalty universe, I beg to differ. The designers at Integrity Toys take inspiration from the real fashion world. So some of our favorite characters resemble real life fashion models such as Iekeline Stange for Elise, Joan Smalls for Dominique and Anais, Ajak Deng for Nadja and many others. For Karolin they took inspiration from Dutch model Daphne Groenvelde. Daphne is considered an unconventional beauty. But that face is the reason why she has booked modeling jobs, ad campaigns and walked the runway for big fashion brands such as Versace, Tom Ford, Dior, Chanel & Balmain to name a few.

 

The industry considers Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, Liu Wen, Karlie Kloss, Lindsey Wixson and many others as the new breed of top models and Daphne is part of that. That is why I love this new character because of the idea that Nu.Face reflects those models that I mentioned. While Karolin's features were inspired by Daphne, her face shape is actually very similar to Erin but they gave her a closed mouth to give her that distinction. She's definitely not your typical beauty due to her bone structure and the lack of cheekbone definition and strong jawline. While I initially thought she was wearing Jason Wu since I saw a similar dress from him, her dress is actually Azzedine Alaïa inspired from his Fall 2011 Couture Collection. Again, something unconventional. This isn't a typical Red Carpet dress. This is couture. This is edgy (hello it's Alaïa!). It doesn't show a lot of skin. It doesn't expose the chest area. I love the soft crepe fabric. It feels luxurious to me. Then she has a veil to finish her look giving her a dark, sort of melancholic aura. How I wish she didn't have her hair pulled back. I think she would have looked better with a side part covering her big forehead kinda like Poesie Enchantee Agnes. This may not be the best look to introduce her in. I think that Making An Entrance is too edgy and to severe for the masses. But that's what I love about Integrity Toys. I'm sure they were trying to pull a Blue Blood Elise. But did it work? As for me, it did. I adore the unconventional. That's why this doll is for me. In fact, I bought another nude one to reroot. Her "American actress" sub story though didn't do it for me. They have to be more creative than that. I can’t wait for the next version of Karolin and hopefully she redeems herself. Maybe a soft neutral make-up palette and the FR White/Caucasian skin tone could work for her.

 

In the 1930s, industrial works alongside this part of the coastline, extracted magnesia (magnesium carbonate), used in the lining of kilns and incinerators, from dolomitic lime and seawater. Today, all that remains of this industrial site are some derelict buildings, old pipes and the dangerous, magnificent remains of Steetley Pier, a long, derelict structure, which stretches out into the sea here.

 

To get the most from this beach, check tidal tables and time your visit to coincide with low tide, when a vast amount of golden sand, interspersed with pipes is exposed. The beach is often deserted, and has no restrictions on dog walking.

 

The sands can be accessed by parking at West View Road and walking through the tunnel which passes under the railway line. Then walk towards the sea, past the former industrial buildings, and turn right, towards the old pier. The beach is backed by a cemetery and further north, by Hartlepool Golf Course, beyond which lies the Durham Coast Nature Reserve. Hartlepool Marina lies to the south of the beach.

 

There is a fish and chip shop nearby, and more places to eat and shops can be found in Hartlepool.

 

Hartlepool is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area. With an estimated population of 87,995, it is the second-largest settlement (after Darlington) in County Durham.

 

The old town was founded in the 7th century, around the monastery of Hartlepool Abbey on a headland. As the village grew into a town in the Middle Ages, its harbour served as the County Palatine of Durham's official port. The new town of West Hartlepool was created in 1835 after a new port was built and railway links from the South Durham coal fields (to the west) and from Stockton-on-Tees (to the south) were created. A parliamentary constituency covering both the old town and West Hartlepool was created in 1867 called The Hartlepools. The two towns were formally merged into a single borough called Hartlepool in 1967. Following the merger, the name of the constituency was changed from The Hartlepools to just Hartlepool in 1974. The modern town centre and main railway station are both at what was West Hartlepool; the old town is now generally known as the Headland.

 

Industrialisation in northern England and the start of a shipbuilding industry in the later part of the 19th century meant it was a target for the Imperial German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people in the town. A severe decline in heavy industries and shipbuilding following the Second World War caused periods of high unemployment until the 1990s when major investment projects and the redevelopment of the docks area into a marina saw a rise in the town's prospects. The town also has a seaside resort called Seaton Carew.

 

The place name derives from Old English heort ("hart"), referring to stags seen, and pōl (pool), a pool of drinking water which they were known to use. Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this:

 

649: Heretu, or Hereteu.

1017: Herterpol, or Hertelpolle.

1182: Hierdepol.

 

A Northumbrian settlement developed in the 7th century around an abbey founded in 640 by Saint Aidan (an Irish and Christian priest) upon a headland overlooking a natural harbour and the North Sea. The monastery became powerful under St Hilda, who served as its abbess from 649 to 657. The 8th-century Northumbrian chronicler Bede referred to the spot on which today's town is sited as "the place where deer come to drink", and in this period the Headland was named by the Angles as Heruteu (Stag Island). Archaeological evidence has been found below the current high tide mark that indicates that an ancient post-glacial forest by the sea existed in the area at the time.

 

The Abbey fell into decline in the early 8th century, and it was probably destroyed during a sea raid by Vikings on the settlement in the 9th century. In March 2000, the archaeological investigation television programme Time Team located the foundations of the lost monastery in the grounds of St Hilda's Church. In the early 11th century, the name had evolved into Herterpol.

 

Normans and for centuries known as the Jewel of Herterpol.

During the Norman Conquest, the De Brus family gained over-lordship of the land surrounding Hartlepool. William the Conqueror subsequently ordered the construction of Durham Castle, and the villages under their rule were mentioned in records in 1153 when Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale became Lord of Hartness. The town's first charter was received before 1185, for which it gained its first mayor, an annual two-week fair and a weekly market. The Norman Conquest affected the settlement's name to form the Middle English Hart-le-pool ("The Pool of the Stags").

 

By the Middle Ages, Hartlepool was growing into an important (though still small) market town. One of the reasons for its escalating wealth was that its harbour was serving as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. The main industry of the town at this time was fishing, and Hartlepool in this period established itself as one of the primary ports upon England's Eastern coast.

 

In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, and began to improve the town's military defences in expectation of war. In 1315, before they were completed, a Scottish army under Sir James Douglas attacked, captured and looted the town.

 

In the late 15th century, a pier was constructed to assist in the harbour's workload.

 

Hartlepool was once again militarily occupied by a Scottish incursion, this time in alliance with the Parliamentary Army during the English Civil War, which after 18 months was relieved by an English Parliamentarian garrison.

 

In 1795, Hartlepool artillery emplacements and defences were constructed in the town as a defensive measure against the threat of French attack from seaborne Napoleonic forces. During the Crimean War, two coastal batteries were constructed close together in the town to guard against the threat of seaborne attacks from the Imperial Russian Navy. They were entitled the Lighthouse Battery (1855) and the Heugh Battery (1859).

For some jobs, you don't need a high-tech armored vehicle, tank or APC. Sometimes, all you need is damn big truck.

 

So, uh...yeah, this happened. I was going through some older LDD files on my laptop (which I am currently working from) and came across the Zetros again.

 

I don't know exactly why I started building it, it was just a spur of the moment thing. It certainly wasn't a good idea at 10pm considering the current workload but, lo and behold, that's what I wound up with around 2am last night. Guess I have another entry for the competition...