HAMPTON COURT PALACE

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England, 11.7 miles (18.8 kilometres) south west and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the King seized the palace for himself and later enlarged it. Along with St James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII.

In the following century, King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion project, which destroyed much of the Tudor palace, was intended to rival Versailles. Work ceased in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque. While the palace's styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, if vague, balancing of successive low wings. King George II was the last monarch to reside in the palace.

Today, the palace is open to the public and is a major tourist attraction, easily reached by train from Waterloo station in central London and served by Hampton Court railway station in East Molesey, in Transport for London's Zone 6. In addition, London Buses routes 111, 216, 411 and R68 stop outside the palace gates. The structure and grounds are cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.

In addition the palace continues to display a large number of works of art from the Royal Collection. Apart from the Palace itself and its gardens, other points of interest for visitors include the celebrated maze, the historic real tennis court (see below), and the huge grape vine, the largest in the world as of 2005. The palace's Home Park is the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

It’s said that when Catherine Howard (c. 1523 – 13 February 1542 and Queen of England from 1540 until 1541, as the fifth wife of Henry VIII) was arrested at Hampton Court Palace, she broke free from the guards and ran to the doors of the Chapel Royal, where she believed Henry was at prayer. She screamed to the King for mercy, to no avail. Today the story goes that her famous ghost can still be seen running along what is now known as the 'Haunted Gallery' at the palace. Some visitors have reported feeling a chill, or 'strange sensations' when passing along the corridor!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

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HONEYCOMB

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DUSK

Evening falls in Melbourne and there is a slight chill in the air, Spring is still holding its ground and Summer a good month away...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

ROSES

Long a symbol of love and passion, the ancient Greeks and Romans associated roses with Aphrodite and Venus, goddesses of love. Used for hundreds of years to convey messages without words, they also represent confidentiality. In fact, the Latin expression "sub rosa"(literally, "under the rose") means something told in secret, and in ancient Rome, a wild rose was placed on the door to a room where confidential matters were being discussed. The ceiling rose in rooms symbolises the same.

Each colour offers a distinct meaning: Red, the lover's rose, signifies enduring passion; white, humility and innocence; yellow, expressing friendship and joy; pink, gratitude, appreciation and admiration; orange, enthusiasm and desire; lilac and purple roses represent enchantment and love at first sight.

The number of stems in a rose bouquet can also express specific sentiments:
One rose: Is meant for early in a relationship, and means love at first sight;
Three roses: Represents a shared love, and should be a one-month anniversary gift;
Six roses: Symbolises passion and infatuation;
Ten roses: Says you believe your love is perfect;
Twelve roses: Is perfect for Valentine's Day, and means "be mine.";
Thirteen roses: Means you just want to be friends;
Fifteen roses: Means you're "sorry";
Twenty-four roses: Is like shouting "I'm yours";
Forty roses: Means your love is truly genuine.

The rose is the June birth month flower and the 15th wedding anniversary flower. The rose is the national flower of the United States, United Kingdom and the Maldives. It is the state flower of Georgia, Iowa, New York, North Dakota and the District of Columbia. And, not surprisingly, June – the month so often associated with weddings – is National Rose Month.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

PARIS, PICTURE PERFECT!

The Eiffel Tower (French: tour Eiffel) is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Constructed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.

The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world: 6.98 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010. The tower is 324 metres tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building. Its base is square, 125 metres on a side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930.

Due to the addition of the aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres. Not including broadcast aerials, it is the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct. The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second. The top level’s upper platform is 276 m above the ground, the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually only accessible by lift.

This post is part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
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PAROS, GREECE

Paros (Greek: Πάρος) is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about 8 kilometres wide. It lies approximately 150 km south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets totalling 196.308 square kilometres of land. Its nearest neighbour is the municipality of Antiparos, which lies to its southwest. 

Historically, Paros was known for its fine white marble, which gave rise to the term "Parian" to describe marble or china of similar qualities. Today, abandoned marble quarries and mines can be found on the island, but Paros is primarily known as a popular tourist spot. Paros has numerous beaches including Chrissí Aktí (Golden Beach, Greece) near Drios on the east coast, at Pounda, Logaras, Piso Livadi, Naousa Bay, Parikia and Agia Irini. The constant strong wind in the strait between Paros and Naxos makes it a favoured windsurfing location.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
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HALLOWEEN FAVOUR BOX

With Halloween around the corner, here is a favour box you can make. Print on card at whatever size your printer can cope with (I have made the file 200 ppi, so the resolution should be OK). The original file should print OK on an A4 sheet. I have also enlarged it to A3 size and it prints fine. I did make a trial box first!

Cut around the outside border carefully and make a slit between the bottom (gravestone) panel and the side flap (marbled) until the white dot. Score carefully the inside edges so that the box folds easily. Glue the sides (to "A") and fold the side flaps (marbled) into the box to make it more robust and to decorate the inside (you can put a dab of glue on the under side  of the flaps if you like - that keeps them down and out of the way). Glue tongues "B" on bottom. Top tongue tucks into box to secure lid.

Fill with lollies (candies). Happy Halloween!

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
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MOUNT CONNER, NORTHERN TERRITORY

Mount Conner, also known as Attila and Artilla, and occasionally found as Mount Connor, is an Australian mountain located in the southwest corner of the Northern Territory, 75 kilometres southeast of Lake Amadeus at the border of the vast Curtin Springs cattle station in Pitjantjatjara country. It reaches to 859 metres above sea level and to 300 metres above ground level.

Mount Conner is a flat-topped and horseshoe-shaped inselberg/mesa, part of the same vast rocky substrate thought to be beneath Uluru/Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta/Olgas. It can easily be confused with Uluru, since it can be seen from the road to Uluru and Kata Tjuta, when approaching from Alice Springs. It was named Mount Conner by William Gosse in 1873 after South Australian politician M. L. Conner. Attila is close to the site of Kungkarangkalpa, the Seven Sisters Dreaming.

The flat-topped mountain mass jutting out from the great flat plain around it has inspired many artists and photographers, each immortalising its characteristic shape in their own way. The last image is a watercolour by Albert Namatjira, the Australian Aboriginal artist active in the first half of the 20th century.

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SPRING GREEN

The elms are wearing their new Spring green leaves...

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CRESCENT MOON

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ROSE

"But he that dares not grasp the thorn, Should never crave the rose." - Anne Bronte

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

OAR

oar |ɔː| noun
a pole with a flat blade, used to row or steer a boat through the water: She pulled hard on the oars.
• an oarsman; a rower: I was stroke oar and John was in the bow.
verb [with object]
propel with or as if with oars; row: Oaring the sea like madmen |
[no object, with adverbial of direction] : Oaring through the weeds.
ORIGIN
Old English ār, of Germanic origin; related to Danish and Norwegian åre .

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DION, GREECE

Dion or Dio (Ancient Greek: Δίον, Greek: Δίο, Latin: Dium) is a village and a former municipality in the Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Dio-Olympos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located at the foot of Mount Olympus. It is best known for its great ancient Macedonian sanctuary of Zeus and city, much of which is visible in the Archaeological Park of Dion and the Archaeological Museum of Dion.

The ancient city owes its name to the most important Macedonian sanctuary dedicated to Zeus (Dios, "of Zeus"), leader of the gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus; as recorded by Hesiod's "Catalogue of Women", Thyia, daughter of Deucalion, bore Zeus two sons, Magnes and Makednos, eponyms of Magnetes and Macedonians, who dwelt in Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus.

Hence from very ancient times, a large altar had been set up for the worship of Olympian Zeus and his daughters, the Muses, in a unique environment characterised by rich vegetation, towering trees, countless springs and a navigable river. For this reason Dion was the "sacred place" of the Ancient Macedonians. It was the place where the kings made splendid sacrifices to celebrate the new year of the Macedonian calendar at the end of September. In the Spring, purification rites of the army and victory feasts were held.

A city was built adjacent to the sacred sites that acquired monumental form during the reigns of Alexander the Great's successors and Cassander took a great interest in the city erecting strong walls and public buildings, so that in Hellenistic times Dion was renowned far and wide for its fortification and splendid monuments. Dion and its sanctuary was destroyed in 219 BC by Aetolian invaders but was immediately rebuilt by Philip V. Many of the dedications from the sanctuary that had been destroyed were buried in pits, including royal inscriptions and treaties, and these have been discovered recently.

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BIRDS OF A FEATHER

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THE BRIDE

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AT SUNSET

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'FIREFIGHTER' ROSE

Bred by Joseph Orard prior to 1998 and introduced to Australia in 2009 is Rosa 'Firefighter', a glorious rose with tall single stems of the most highly fragrant dark red rose which is suitable to work with in floral art and yet easy to grow in the open garden will be a joy to all rose gardeners. An added bonus is that it has few thorns.

The name of this rose, 'Firefighter' honours the work our firefighters do here in Australia and as it states on the plant label: “This rose is so named as to remember those men and women who risk their lives daily to protect ours”.

The generally sunny, dry and hot conditions of the Australian garden are particularly well suited to planting roses and roses flourish in our gardens when you take measures to provide the following:

1) Watering: Roses are very deep rooted plants and require one good, deep soaking at least every 10 days in hot and dry conditions;
2) Feeding: Because roses flower throughout all but the Winter season, they should be regularly fertilised with quality (preferably organic) fertiliser which contains a balance of major nutrients (NPK) and trace elements. The fertiliser should be applied at least once a month – small amount often – with fortnightly applications of liquid seaweed over the foliage.
3) Pruning:  During Winter, 70% of the rose plant should be pruned and all old wood removed back to the crown and the bush pruned to shape. During the flowering seasons, 25% of all flowering stems should be cut back after flowering to encourage strong re-growth.
4) Mulching: Particular attention to application of lucerne or pea straw directly around the root-zone of each rose will enhance the overall health of the rose and then the whole bed should be mulched to 75mm with any other mulch medium available.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NIGHT IN MELBOURNE

View from Southbank towards the  West.

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ATHENS, GREECE

Athens (Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína; Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai) is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning around 3,400 years, and the earliest human presence around the 11th–7th millennium BC. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state that emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilisation and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.

Today a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2012, Athens was ranked the world's 39th richest city by purchasing power and the 77th most expensive in a UBS study. Athens is recognised as a global city because of its geo-strategic location and its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a large financial sector, and features the largest passenger port in Europe, and the third largest in the world. According to Eurostat in 2004, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) was the 7th most populous LUZ in the European Union (the 5th most populous capital city of the EU), with a population of 4,013,368. Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland.

The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilisation. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery.

Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834, include the Hellenic Parliament (19th century) and the Athens Trilogy, consisting of the National Library of Greece, the Athens University and the Academy of Athens. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. Athens is home to the National Archaeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, as well as the new Acropolis Museum.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
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COMING UP ROSES

Rose time has begun in Melbourne gardens. Spring is here.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
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PERTH TREE

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ICE PLANT

Aptenia cordifolia is a species of succulent plant in the ice plant family known by the common names heartleaf ice plant and baby sun rose. Perhaps the most common plant seen under this name is actually Aptenia 'Red Apple', a hybrid with red flowers and bright green leaves, whose parents are A. cordifolia and A. (Platythyra) haeckeliana. The true species of A. cordifolia has magenta purple flowers and more heart-shaped, mid-green, textured leaves.

Native to southern Africa, this species has become widely known as an ornamental plant. It is a mat-forming perennial herb growing in flat clumps on the ground from a woody base. Stems reach up to about 60 centimetres long. The bright green leaves are generally heart-shaped and up to 3 centimetres long. They are covered in very fine bumps. Bright pink to purplish flowers appear in the leaf axils and are open during the day. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimetre long.

The hybrid, Aptenia 'Red Apple', has, in some areas, escaped cultivation and now grows as an introduced species. Its far more vigorous growth and ability to root from small bits of stem makes it a poor choice for planting adjacent to wild lands as it can overwhelm native plants.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Weekend Green meme.

COAST WATTLE

Acacia longifolia is a species of Acacia native to southeastern Australia, from the extreme southeast of Queensland, eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Common names for it include Long-leaved wattle, Acacia Trinervis, Aroma Doble, Golden Wattle, Coast Wattle, Sallow Wattle and Sydney Golden Wattle. It is not listed as being a threatened species, and is considered invasive in Portugal and South Africa.

It is a tree that grows very quickly reaching 7–10 m in five to six years. This tree is widely cultivated in subtropical regions of the world. Its uses include prevention of soil erosion, food (flowers, seeds and seed pods), yellow dye (from the flowers), green dye (pods) and wood. The flower colour derives from the organic compound kaempferol. The tree's bark has limited use in tanning, primarily for sheepskin. It is useful for securing uninhabited sand in coastal areas, primarily where there are not too many hard frosts. It is a highly attractive small tree or large rounded shrub.

There is a striking flower display in late winter when nearly the entire plant is covered in flowers. It tolerates a range of soils provided they are not overly alkaline. Grows best in full sun, may get a bit thin and stretched in shaded conditions. Frost tolerant. Borers may be an issue in older trees. Other useful applications include erosion control and windbreaks, it is a low maintenance plant. This species is a nitrogen fixer. Heavy flowering provides resources for a wide range of invertebrates, particularly bees. Seed pods and seeds are eaten by parrots. Older plants attract wood boring insects.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MELBOURNE MUSEUM

Melbourne Museum is adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building. It was designed by Denton Corker Marshall Architects and finished construction in 2001. It was commissioned by the Victorian Government Office of Major Projects on behalf of Museums Victoria. The museum is a rich response to Melbourne’s urban condition, and provides a place for education, history, culture and society to engage with each other in a contemporary setting. It is now an important part of Melbourne’s soft infrastructure.It is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, and is a venue of Museum Victoria, which also operates the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum.

The museum has seven main galleries, a Children's Gallery and a temporary exhibit gallery on three levels, Upper, Ground and Lower Level and was constructed by Baulderstone Hornibrook.The Touring Hall is where temporary exhibits are displayed. Past exhibits include mummies from Egypt and dinosaurs from China. The Big Box is part of the Children's Gallery. In addition, the museum has other facilities such as the Sidney Myer Amphitheatre and The Age Theatre. The Discovery Centre, on the Lower Level, is a free public research centre. The museum also has a cafe and a souvenir shop.The IMAX Theatre, which is situated on the Lower Level is also part of the museum complex. It shows movies, usually documentary films, in 3-D format.

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LAS VEGAS, USA

Las Vegas (Spanish for "The Meadows"), officially the City of Las Vegas and often known simply as Vegas, is the 28th-most populated city in the United States, the most populated city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert.

Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural centre for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino–hotels and associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world.

Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the world's most visited tourist destinations. The city's tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, and music videos.

Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated American city founded within that century (a similar distinction earned by Chicago in the 1800s). Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85.2%. Rapid growth has continued into the 21st century, and according to a 2013 estimate, the population is 603,488 with a regional population of 2,027,828.

"Las Vegas" is often used to describe areas beyond official city limits—especially the areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip, which is actually located within the unincorporated communities of Paradise, Winchester, and Enterprise.

On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. During the closing performance by singer Jason Aldean at a packed outdoor concert, a gunman located on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino across Las Vegas Boulevard opened fire into the festival crowd.

The shooter was identified as 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, who lived in Mesquite, Nevada. He was found dead in his hotel room with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. With at least 60 fatalities (including the perpetrator) and 527 injuries, the shooting surpassed the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting as the deadliest shooting by a single gunman in United States history.

Unfortunately, this is the second mass shooting in recent history in Las Vegas. The 2014 Las Vegas shootings occurred on June 8, 2014 in northeastern Las Vegas, Nevada, when a married couple, Jerad and Amanda Miller, committed a shooting spree in which five people died, including themselves. The couple, who espoused extreme anti-government views, first killed two Las Vegas police officers at a restaurant before fleeing into a Walmart, where they killed an intervening armed civilian. The couple died after engaging responding officers in a shootout; police shot and killed Jerad, while Amanda committed suicide after being wounded.

It is sad to see these mass shootings being repeated every now and then in the USA, in large cities and small towns. Looking worldwide, the USA leads in such violence and it seems that its, history, its laws and powerful lobbying perpetuate the problem. An interesting case is made here. One can only sympathise with the plight of the family and friends of the victims in these tragic circumstances and hope against hope that something may be done about these outrages by US lawmakers.

The USA could have been and should have been the best country in the world to live in. When we visited there several times in the 1990s and up to the early 2000s we were amazed by the country and its people. It is sad to see it slipping into a downward spiral simply because a few bad apples are ruining the whole crop and nobody is willing to take those bad apples out of the bushels...

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
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FRAGMENTATION

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme,

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TREASURES FROM TRASH

“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.” - Billy Graham

Every so often one reads a snippet in the news, or sees something on the internet and is struck by its contents. This happened to me the other day when I read about the “Landfill Harmonic Orchestra” of Paraguay (La Armonía del Vertedero - Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura). This was a poignant and inspiring video that made me stop, think and recontextualise my everyday existence and the “problems” I deal with every day.

The Landfill Orchestra is a children’s music group in Cateura, Paraguay, whose instruments are made from trash that has been dumped in the landfill.  A cello made from an oil can and pieces of wood, that were thrown in the rubbish; a saxophone made of spoons and buttons, violins made of tin cans and pieces of thrown-away wood. These instruments are made by Nicolas, a “recycler” who has no previous experience making musical instruments. He is like many others in Cateura who live a hand-to-mouth existence, sorting through trash and recycling in the slum by the garbage dump in Cateura.

Inspired by this initiative and resourcefulness in the face of adversity, Maestro Luis Szaran, director of “Sounds of the Earth” formed the “recycled orchestra” comprising children living near the rubbish dump. The guiding light of these children is hope and the inspiration to become better people. Making music with their recycled instruments teaches them to be good people not only to be musicians. To work together in order to make order out of chaos, pleasure out of pain, companionship out of isolation, creativity out of destruction and peace out of strife is a means of building a better world for themselves.

This group is worthy of support and encouragement. You can do this in a very real and substantive manner – visit their YouTube channel to find out how.

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