Germans have been involved in the war, chiefly on the wrong side
Jürgen Habermas, regarded as the greatest political philosopher in Europe, has written a text on its major contemporary crisis, the war in Ukraine. His thesis is that history recommends German „Besonnenheit,“ which in practice has meant little German action but much German talk during the first four months of the most important conflict in Europe since 1945.
Though Habermas makes his case on the basis of historical argument, it is striking that he has nothing to say about the Second World War. This is the conventional starting point for discussions of German responsibility, and it is more than usually applicable to Ukraine. Hitler portrayed the Ukrainians as a colonial people, and sought to displace them, starve them, and enslave them. He intended to use Ukrainian food supplies to make of Germany an autarkic world empire. Vladimir Putin has raised Hitlerian themes as justification for his war of destruction: the Ukrainians have no historical consciousness, no nationality of their own, no elite. Like Hitler, and for that matter like Stalin, he seeks to use Ukrainian foodstuffs as a weapon. But a reader of Habermas were not asked to consider these resemblances, nor to inquire whether as Germans they might bear responsibility towards Ukraine: a country where Germans killed millions of people, not so very long ago.
Habermas's guidepost of civilization is rationality, but he makes no effort in his text to identify Ukrainian rationality. I would suggest that the omission of a reference to the Second World War makes the identification of Ukrainian rationality more difficult, since it is a rationality grounded in existence. We do not learn that Putin denies the existence of a Ukrainian state and nation, and that the official Russian press service writes of resolving the Ukrainian question, that Russian television regularly spreads genocidal language, or that Russian soldiers use genocidal hate speech in their justifications for murder and rape, and so on. Ukrainians have concluded, with reason, that they are fighting for national survival. Habermas alludes to the Ukrainian predicament in remarks about heroic and post-heroic generations, but this German way of casting the problem nudges the reader away from Ukrainian experience, and perhaps from the most important issues. I think of Roman Ratushnyi, who was killed in combat, just short of his twenty-fifth birthday. Roman was a sixteen-year-old civic activist in 2013, when he protested in favor of a closer association of Ukraine with the European Union. He then became known in Kyiv as an ecological activist, defending green spaces from dubious plans for development. His life and his activity were oriented towards the future.
I am sure that Habermas is right that older and younger German generations should make a greater effort to understand one another, but this is not where we find the most pressing issues. The Russian-Ukrainian war is a conflict of generations in a far more direct way, in that the men who matter in Russian politics are a full generation older than the men and women who lead Ukraine. Putin fights his war in the name of a mythical past: referring to the tenth century (a baptism by a Viking) or the eighteenth century (Peter the Great) as justifications for a war of aggression in the twenty-first century. The Ukrainian generation now in power is the first one formed after 1991, and its courage resides in the defense of what has been built up since then, and in the defense of a vision of a normal European future. The men and women fighting the war, some young and some less so, connect national survival, understandably enough, with normal life and a future in the European Union. They risk and lose their lifes for this. That can certainly be seen as heroic, but perhaps in a way we can understand. It has little to do with debates in German about heroism, which in a German context is contaminated by Nazi language. But is it really the German linguistic context that should guide German judgements about other peoples? But when Habermas dwells only within the problems this raises between his and younger generations, he eludes any confrontation with the rationality of Ukrainian resistance.
„We are frightened, too“, says the mayor of Bucha
Early in the war, Katja Petrowskaja published a short text called „Amulet for the Ukrainian Resistance“, which including the striking observation that it was friends in Kyiv who were comforting her in Berlin. This has been an experience for many of us who have remained in contact with Ukrainian colleagues during the war: that their level of discourse has been less emotional and more rational than that which prevails in our own countries. Reading Habermas, I thought of some of the exceedingly rational discussions I have had with Ukrainians since the war has begun. As the a rule, the dominant themes are: the sovereignty of the state, its future in Europe, and the need to protect the coming generations.
When I asked the mayor of Bucha what I should tell people in Europe, he gave the matter a few minutes' thought, and then said to tell them that „we are frightened, too“. He was trying to reach out to westerners, to show that he understood that Germans and others could be frightened by the war. This was a generous gesture, since the fears of the people in his own town (and his own country) are justified by the experience of mayhem and murder, whereas those of Germans are speculative, and can be self-indulgent. The mayor's next sentence was: „We are fighting because we have to.“ Bucha and Irpin, which we know now as sites of atrocity, were before the war normal suburbs of a capital city, from which people commuted to work every day. The war has deprived people in those places of their lives and their property, but also of something that seems less dramatic but which is a great human loss: the sense of everyday normality, of achievable prosperity, of a future that could be better than the past. In Ukraine, this is particularly poignant, since catastrophes of terror and war have meant that these last thirty years have seen the first true chance to create generations oriented towards the future.
Habermas gives no Ukrainian a name or voice
The Ukrainian president, who goes unnamed in Habermas's essay, figures only as someone „who understands the power of images.“ From such a description the reader would never guess that Zelensky had made some rather telling philosophical arguments during this war about the relationship between self-deception and war. It is a curiously limited description of Volodymyr Zelensky's talents, one that falls flat amidst a reality that is far more horrible than the images that actually reach Germans. Habermas does grant that behind what he complacently calls the „familiar scenography“ there is real human harm. Yet we are left with a German philosopher describing a Jewish president who is at the center of world history as a kind of Hollywood producer. This is an uncomfortable place for the discussion of Zelensky to end, but end there it does.
Nothing in German discourse prepared Germans for the reality of a Russian attack and the reality of Ukrainian resistance. Given that double failure, it would seem reasonable to ask whether there might be something fundamental within German discourse that might be repaired, perhaps by attended to discourses and rationalities beyond Germany. It is the first rule of post-colonial discourse that the colonized are to be allowed to speak. Yet Habermas gives no Ukrainian a name, let alone a voice. The one east European who has a name and a voice in Habermas's essay is Vladimir Putin. It does not seem to occur to Habermas that for decades the „power of images“, in the form of fiction, has worked for Russia in Germany. Indeed, in his irritation that Zelensky has been noticed in Germany, Habermas seems to forget that Germany was been flooded by Russian propaganda for thirty years. Over the decades, Russian tropes have been far more important in Germany than has Ukrainian reality.
A defeat for Russia will not lead to nuclear war
A student of discourse might consider that problem. Habermas instead repeats and endorses Russian propaganda about the risk of nuclear war, while ignoring the basic structure of Russian political discourse. He seems to believe in a scenario in which Putin could be somehow cornered by his own war, and be forced to escalate. We know that a humiliating defeat for Russia will not lead to nuclear war. Russia was defeated and indeed humiliated in the Battle of Kyiv, but did not use nuclear weapons and did not escalate. Instead, it deescalated, as Russian propagandists reframed the story of the war on Russian television. Russian troops cannot be cornered, since they can retreat to Russia. Putin cannot be cornered, since he governs on the basis of a virtual reality created by a media he himself controls. We know that he can fail to attain his own announced goals in a war (as he did in Ukraine in 2015) and simply change the subject. He can have his entire propaganda apparatus insist that a new invasion of Ukraine is impossible (as he did in 2021) and then order an invasion of Ukraine. If he believes that he is losing in Ukraine, he will have his television channels announce a victory and change the subject. That is how Russian discourse works, and Putin's own rationality can be understood only within it.
Rather than considering these twenty-first century Ukrainian or Russian rationalities, Habermas makes his case within the comfortable nest of West Germany during the Cold War, a period when Germans were less responsible for the fate of Europe, and no German intellectual was expected to think about Ukraine. This is an ethnographically very specific setting, which Habermas seems to confuse with universal reason. Younger generations do not understand, Habermas would have us know, the fundamental lessons of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Unfortunately, what he says about the period is, in fact, always erroneous. Habermas bases his entire argument on the historical claim that the Cold War demonstrated that no nuclear power could lose a war. This is incorrect. Both the Soviet Union and the United States lost major wars during the Cold War (and for that matter both the United States and Russia have lost wars since then). America was beaten by North Vietnam, the USSR by Afghanistan, and so on.
Habermas has made Ukraine's defeat more likely
Habermas treats his subjective experience of West Germany during the Cold War as historical truth, and draws from it the lesson that Ukraine cannot today defeat Russia. On the basis of mistaken reasoning, he defends a German foreign policy based upon that proposition. In helping to move part of German public opinion towards the proposition that Ukraine cannot win the war, and in thereby helping to delay the delivery of the necessary weapons, Habermas has made Ukraine's defeat more likely. And in that way, he has made the collapse of Europe more likely. The damage does not end there. In and of itself, Habermas's (incorrect) argument about the power of nuclear weapons in international affairs is highly dangerous. If it is believed, it tends to make an actual nuclear war more likely. Treating nuclear weapons as a kind of sacred object that makes its owner invincible amounts to propaganda for nuclear proliferation.
Habermas describes the Cold War as a time of „peace“. This is an example of what non-European thinkers might call „Eurocentricism“, or what east European leftists call „westsplaining.“ In his Habermas's view, one that is familiar to anyone who has been subjected to EU propaganda over the decades, Europeans in general and Germans in particular learned from the Second World War that conflicts must be resolved by peaceful means. In fact, European peoples learned no such lesson from the Second World War. During that war, Germany fought for colonies until it was exhausted and defeated. Even in his prison cell in Poland, Jürgen Stroop mused about Ukraine as a land of milk and honey. After the Second World War, other European states fought colonial wars around the world until they were defeated, or could no longer afford to do so. Just as European integration has allowed Germans to forget the colonial aspect of their war, so it has allowed west Europeans to forget their colonial wars of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. When the colonial wars were lost, European leaders changed the subject to Europe.
Russia is fighting a colonial war against Ukraine
The just-so story of nation-states learning from 1945 is gratifying to Europeans generally, because it allows them to ignore colonial atrocity. But forgetfulness about colonial war enables forgetfulness about its lessons. Russia is today fighting a colonial war against Ukraine, with rhetorics and tactics which ought to be familiar from five hundred years of European history (and in particular from Nazi colonial rhetoric in the East). Because Europeans in general (and Germans in particular) have not processed their own colonial history, they sometimes miss an obvious lesson of the Russo-Ukrainian war: the empire has to lose a colonial war if it is to cease being an empire.
Habermas seems nostalgic for a time when everyone understood the things that he regards as self-evident. But he should not expect people to understand things as self-evident when they have not experienced them, and when his characterizations of them are erroneous. His Germany is impotent in international affairs, and its domestic politics is about talking. But it really does matter where the conversation starts, and how it is guided. If it is meant to run in circles, it is not at all neutral, and certainly innocent. Treating talk as the end in itself can use up the time that is needed for action. Talking about weapons but not delivering them, for example, creates the impression that something has been done, which can salve consciences and warp discussions about the course of a war. As Habermas himself has always maintained, the form discourse takes is very important. Once we understand the power of discourse, then we understand the power of those – for example, respected moral authorities – who police its boundaries, manipulate historical memory, and exclude the voices of the vulnerable.
The decision to build NordSteam 2 was scandalous
Habermas's historical errors minimize Germany's responsibility for the current state of affairs – or rather, and quite oddly for a philosopher, the responsibility of a specific politician. Writing from the perspective of a sentimentalized West Germany in the 1970s, Habermas presents Germany not as a major democracy with power and responsibility, but instead as the Kremlin would like for Germans today to see it: as a pawn in a larger game, with no choice but to submit to larger realities. This posture of submission is perhaps comfortable, since it allows Habermas to ignore the sovereign decisions that even the West Germany of the 1970s was capable of making, such as the decision to engage with the Soviet Union. That tradition of Ostpolitik morphed, with far too little reflection, into the new Ostpolitik of buying Russian hydrocarbons from an oligarchy moving steadily towards imperialism and towards the extreme right. Given that thoughtful members of the SPD Ostpolitik tradition have been reflective about their own past, it does seem worth asking whether unreflective German engagement with Russia made this war more likely. But we get no reflection on this point from Habermas.
Habermas does not acknowledge 1989, 1990, of 1991 as important turning points. In Habermas's portrayal, Germany did not do much of anything these last thirty years. Habermas mentions in passing the „failure of German governments“ to avoid dependence on Russian oil and gas. But that was an active German choice, when plenty of others were available. The decision to abandon nuclear energy was baffling; the decision to build NordSteam 2 after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 was scandalous. These German choices, had disastrous consequences. The choice to depend upon Russian energy exports also compromised German political discussion. For all of his attention to discourse, Habermas seems not to have noticed this. German policy choices of the twenty-first century mean that, even today, Germany is financing Russia's war of destruction. So long as that is true, Germans cannot claim to be uninvolved in the war. They have been involved, chiefly on the wrong side.
Discourse is important. Talking things through can be very important in politics. In this sense Habermas has always been right. But he has always been wrong (in the Historikerstreit of the 1980s as he is now) to draw a German national border around discussions. In the discussion of the Holocaust back then, as during the discussion of Ukraine right now, Habermas errs in thinking that German common sense is to be trusted, and that emotional voices from the east can only disturb a rational German elite. No sensible national discourse can take place within an exclusively national container. In particular, every country with a colonial history must attend to the voices of people who have been colonized. As a former colonial power in Ukraine, and as the economic partner of the current colonial power in Ukraine, Germans were doubly obliged to listen to Ukrainians, ideally before the war, and at the very latest in the days and weeks after the war broke out. This simply did not take place.
For Habermas, a major problem in German political life is that critics of German policy are too shrill. But those critics were correct. Germany came to the brink of making the kind of mistake that its neighbors will never forget. Habermas is deeply wrong in his assessment of the duty of the intellectual in a time of war. In his labors to referee the German discussion, he misreads contemporary history, sets aside recent German failures in Russia policy, excludes unfamiliar perspectives, and categorizes ethical argument as image or emotion. Discourse is important, as Habermas has always argued, because it can generate the concepts and values that enlarge a sense of solidarity and responsibility. But this is only possible when the past is present and the other is heard. What Habermas has done is to direct German discourse away from the realities of past and the possibilities of the present and towards national self-regard. In so doing, he has delayed German reckonings with the past, wasted time when important decisions need to be taken, and helped bring Germany to the threshold of another moral collapse.


Architectural Review Board
Architectural Review Board
The purpose of the Architectural Review Board (ARB) shall be to promote the educational, cultural and economic well-being of the community through the preservation and maintenance of the District and historic sites as landmarks and tangible reminders of early architecture in Dublin; and to prevent the deterioration of the District and historic sites.
The duties of the board shall be accomplished through the review of construction, alteration, maintenance and demolition within the District and individual sites subject to ARB review; to preserve their architectural features and characteristics; to make recommendations as to land use within the District and historic sites; to restore and maintain their basic character together with other uses appropriate to the District or a historic site’s unique nature; and to recommend legislation designed to promote these purposes.
Establishment; members. The Architectural Review Board shall consist of five voting members appointed by Council.
Membership of the ARB shall consist of the following:
- A member of the Dublin Historical Society recommended by the society.
- A person who maintains his or her personal residence within the District or one of the designated landmark.
- A person who owns commercial property within the District.
- A person who has architectural training or has had extensive building or building inspection experience.
- A person who operates a commercial business within the District.
Members shall have a demonstrated interest, knowledge or expertise in historic preservation. At least two members should be preservation related professionals, to the extent they are available, such as the professions of architecture, architectural history, history, archaeology, landscape architecture, planning or related disciplines.
Members shall serve without compensation, unless otherwise provided by Council.
Terms of Office
Each member shall hold office from the date of his or her appointment for a term of three years. Any member may continue in office after his or her term expires until an appointed successor takes office; or until 60 days have elapsed, whichever occurs first.
All vacancies created by the expiration of the terms, resignations or other means shall be filled in accordance with the requirements of division above. In the event the requirements of division cannot be met, Council may fill vacancies as it may deem appropriate. Vacancies shall be filled within 60 days as prescribed in Article VII of the City Charter. A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve out the term of the previous member.
Rules of Procedure and Guidelines
The board shall establish its Rules of Procedure and Guidelines with approval from City Council.
The board shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson as set forth in its Rules of Procedure and Guidelines.
The board will hold a regular monthly meeting unless there is no business to come before the board. Special meetings may be called at any time by the chair. At least 48 hours written notice of the time and place shall be given by the city or by the chair to each member of the board. All meetings of the board shall be open to the public as prescribed in Article VII of the City Charter.
The board shall have the following duties:
- Review and act upon all applications for an ARB Board Order as required by this chapter.
- Make recommendations to the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council for additions or revisions to this chapter or recommend other legislation that would best serve to develop, preserve, restore and beautify the District.
- Maintain guidelines (in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings) concerning the conservation of historic areas, buildings, and resources. Insofar as practicable, these guidelines shall be considered in the Board’s decisions with respect to approvals of alterations, demolitions, and new construction as appropriate for historic structures or historic sites within the District.
- Maintain an inventory of all landmarks and preservation districts. The Board may use existing inventories by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office or other recognized agency to fulfill this requirement. The inventory shall be updated periodically to reflect changes, alterations, and demolitions. All inventory materials shall be recorded on Ohio Historic Inventory and/or Ohio Archaeological inventory forms and shall be available through duplicates to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. This inventory shall be made available to the public upon request.
- Conduct, cause to be conducted, or assist in a continuing survey of all properties, sites, or areas of architectural, archaeological, historic and aesthetic interest in the city when it deems necessary.
- Undertake efforts to improve the education of the citizens of the city with respect to Dublin’s architectural and historical heritage.
- Act as a liaison as directed by Council on behalf of the city to individuals and organizations concerned with historic preservation.
- When requested by the city, review all proposed historic registry nominations for properties within the city. When expertise not represented on the Board (e.g. archaeologist) is necessary for review of a proposed nomination, the Board shall seek expert academic or consulting advice before rendering a decision.
- Provide a written annual report to the City Council which shall address at a minimum the Board’s activities, cases, decisions, and special projects. The annual report shall be kept on file and available for public inspection.


All we have of freedom, all we use or know –
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899
Today we remember all those who gave their lives in serving our country, fighting for the freedoms we can’t possibly appreciate unless we’ve had them revoked.
A chance to thank our veterans and our active servicemen and women. A chance to thank their families. You don’t get rich being in the armed services and the sacrifice to our country is a domino affect.
Parades. BBQs. Decorating of the headstones and graves of fallen soldiers. Take a minute today and give thanks. Remember. Memorial Day.


Sagala is an ancient name for the modern city of Sialkot in northern Punjab, Pakistan. In ancient times Sagala was the capital of the Indo-Greek King Menander during his reign from 160 to 135 BCE. Literary accounts suggest that Greek and local Indian populations in cities like Sagala lived in relative harmony, with some of the local residents adopting the responsibilities of Greek citizenship, while many Greeks converted to Buddhism and adopted local traditions.
The Greeks were known as the yonaka in Pali. One of the best descriptions of Sagala comes from the Pali text Milinda Panha (Questions of Milinda), a dialogue between King Menander and the Buddhist monk Nagasena. The Milinda Panha dates from approximately 100 BCE and is included in the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon as a book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, although it does not appear in the Thai or Sri Lankan versions.
The Milinda Panha describes the city of Sagala in it’s heyday as a centre of Graeco-Indian buddhist culture as follows:
There is in the country of the Yonakas a great centre of trade, a city that is called Sâgala, situate in a delightful country well watered and hilly, abounding in parks and gardens and groves and lakes and tanks, a paradise of rivers and mountains and woods. Wise architects have laid it out, and its people know of no oppression, since all their enemies and adversaries have been put down. Brave is its defence, with many and various strong towers and ramparts, with superb gates and entrance archways; and with the royal citadel in its midst, white walled and deeply moated. Well laid out are its streets, squares, cross roads, and market places. Well displayed are the innumerable sorts of costly merchandise with which its shops are filled. It is richly adorned with hundreds of alms-halls of various kinds; and splendid with hundreds of thousands of magnificent mansions, which rise aloft like the mountain peaks of the Himalayas. Its streets are filled with elephants, horses, carriages, and foot-passengers, frequented by groups of handsome men and beautiful women, and crowded by men of all sorts and conditions, Brahmans, nobles, artificers, and servants. They resound with cries of welcome to the teachers of every creed, and the city is the resort of the leading men of each of the differing sects. Shops are there for the sale of Benares muslin, of Kotumbara stuffs, and of other cloths of various kinds; and sweet odours are exhaled from the bazaars, where all sorts of flowers and perfumes are tastefully set out. Jewels are there in plenty, such as men’s hearts desire, and guilds of traders in all sorts of finery display their goods in the bazaars that face all quarters of the sky. So full is the city of money, and of gold and silver ware, of copper and stone ware, that it is a very mine of dazzling treasures. And there is laid up there much store of property and corn and things of value in warehouses – foods and drinks of every sort, syrups and sweetmeats of every kind. In wealth it rivals Uttara-kuru, and in glory it is as Âlakamandâ, the city of the gods.
(The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890 pp 2-3)
The accompanying image details a coin from the era of King Menander, quite possibly minted and circulated in the city of Sagala:


The SmartMun Cemetery Manager has been developed explicitly to assist Southern African local government organisations with the effective management of municipal cemeteries. Some of the benefits of introducing the software are as follows:
- Electronic record keeping burial and cremation records
- Electronic archive of historical burial records
- Transaction types: standard burials, subsequent burials, private rights, pauper burials, indigent burials, cremations, exhumations
- Spatial mapping for graves via Google Earth or municipal GIS
- Management of remaining burial space, cemetery life span
- Intelligent grave re-use proposals e.g. grave recycling
- Financial checks & balances for, among others, early detection of possible illegal burial activities
- E-government web portal for integration into municipal websites to allow members of the public to search for individual burial records 24/7
Paper-based historical burial records are by law considered to be irrecoverable historical records and municipalities are thus under obligation to keep the records safe. Paper-based burial records physically deteriorate over time due to age and wear and tear and often get lost or even stolen which in turn is detrimental to municipal service delivery. Due to the often large amount of data and the unwieldy format of historical burial records, it is practically impossible to compile up-to-date and credible reports and statistics, thus depriving the municipal executive of vital information required to make well informed decisions.
The conversion of paper-based historical burial records into electronic format, while being an exceptionally time consuming and arduous task with a lot of room for human errors, is therefore of great importance for local government institutions. We offer the conversion of your paper-based historical burial records into electronic format as a value-added, outsourcing service to our customers.


Mrs. Joan Pearsall Celebrated her 100th Birthday on August 8, 2022.
Below is a post from August 8, 2021.
Mrs. Joan Pearsall will celebrate her 99th birthday, August 8, 2021.
Mrs. Joan Pearsall is dear to many at Saint Mary Cathedral. Our Latin Mass Community has her to thank for writing a letter to the bishop requesting the Traditional Latin Mass, back in the late 1980’s.
Here is the link to the original response letter Joan received in 1988 from Bishop John McCarthy, authorizing the celebration of the TLM in the Diocese of Austin, Texas.
Joan was interviewed several years ago for a Catholic podcast. Here is a link to the podcast: “1940s WWII British Girl –– The Blitz on London, Swing Dancing and the New World”.
In 2018, generous donors from the St. Joseph Latin Mass Society honored Joan Pearsall by commissioning a new set of green vestments for the priests of Saint Mary Cathedral. Vestments arrived a year later, 2019.


The layout of Anuradhapura as described in the Mahavamsa:
- "He laid out (...) four suburbs as well as the Abhaya-tank, the common cemetery, the place of execution, and the chapel of the Queens of the West, the banyan-tree of Vessavana and the Palmyra-palm of the Demon of Maladies, the ground set apart for the Yonas and the house of the Great Sacrifice; all these he laid out near the west gate." Mahavamsa X, trans. Wilhelm Geiger
- "A hermitage was made for many ascetics; eastward of that same cemetery the ruler built a house for the nigantha Jotiya.(...) On the further side of Jotiya's house and on this side of the Gamani tank he likewise built a monastery for wandering mendicant monks, and a dwelling for the ajivakas and a residence for the brahmans, and in this place and that he built a lying-in shelter and a hall for those recovering from sickness." Mahavamsa X, trans. Wilhelm Geiger
It is said that King Pandukabhaya made it his capital in the 4th century BC, and that he also laid out the town and its suburbs according to a well organised plan. He constructed a reservoir named Abhayavapi. He established shrines for yakkhas such as Kalawela and Cittaraja. He housed the Yaksini-Cetiya in the form of a mare within the royal precincts and offerings were made to all these demi-gods every year. He chose the sites for the cemetery and for the place of execution, the Chapel of the Western Queen, the Pacchimarajini, the Vessavana Banyan Tree, the Palm of the Vyadhadeva, the Yona Quarter and the House of the Great Sacrifice. The slaves or Candalas were assigned their duties and a village was set apart for them. They build dwellings for Niganthas, for wandering ascetics and for Ajivakas and Brahmanas. He established, the village boundaries. The tradition that King Pandukabhaya made Anuradhapura the capital city of Sri Lanka as early as the fourth century BC had been very important.
The administrative and sanitary arrangements be made for the city and the shrines he provided indicate that over the years the city developed according to an original master plan. His son Mutasiva, succeeded to the throne. During his reign of sixty years, he maintained Anuradhapura as his capital and further laid out the Mahameghavana Garden which was to play an important role in the early history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It was in the period of his successor, his son Devanam piya Tissa, that Buddhism was first introduced this island 236 years after the passing away of the Buddha. Emperor Ashoka in India was a contemporary of Devanam piya Tissa. Historically this period is considered to extend from 250 to 210 BC. This is the point at which a kingship began and a civilization developed based on one of the greatest religions of South Asia, Buddhism.
The Maha Vihara was centered around the orthodox Theravadins. This was founded by King Devanampiya Tissa in 249 BC. The heterdox Mahayanists founded the Abhayagiri Vihara. King Mahasena (275-310 BC) built the Jetavanaramaya located in between the Maha Vihara and the Abhayagiri Monasteries.
In the suburbs of the city major monasteries with their gigantic stupas were constructed, The Maha Thupa, the Bodhi Tree and Thuparama of the Maha Vihara stood to the south of the city. The Abhayagiri to the north, the Pubbarama to the east, the Tanovana to the north-west and the Jetavanaramaya to the south-east.
The Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to the city in the reign of King Kirtisri Meghavana. The relic was deposited in a building named Dhammacakka. Since then annually it was carried in a procession to the Abhayagiri monastery after which an exposition was held.
The city's popularity grew both as a ritual centre and as the administrative centre, a large population was attracted to the city for permanent settlement. Thus the living facilities were improved to accommodate the expanding population. King Vasabha constructed many ponds which were fed by a network of subterranean channels which were constructed to supply water to the city. Tissa and Abhayavapi tanks were built, the Nuwara weva was built and the Malwatu Oya was dammed to build the Maccaduwa wewa which was 4408 acres (17.84 km²) in size.
Anuradhapura attained its highest magnificence about the commencement of the Christian era. In its prime it ranked beside Nineveh and Babylon in its colossal proportions—its four walls, each 16 miles (26 km) long, enclosing an area of 256 square miles (663 km²) —in the number of its inhabitants, and the splendour of its shrines and public edifices. The city also had some of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world, situated in the dry zone of the country the administration built many tanks to irrigate the land. Most of these tanks still survive. To date, it is believed that some of these tanks are the oldest surviving reservoirs in the world today.
The city was the capital of the country continuously from the 5th century BC to AD 1017. Its decline began with continuous wars with the invading South Indians which made the kingdom economically poor. The city was sacked by a Chola invasion forces in 1017 and the governing capital was shifted to the relative safety of Polonnaruwa. The destruction caused to the city and its complex irrigation system was so great that the city was totally abandoned, and fell into decay for nearly a thousand years.
It was not until the 19th century that the jungle was cleared away, the ruins laid bare, and some measure of prosperity brought back to the surrounding country by the restoration of hundreds of village tanks by the British.
The ruins consist of three classes of buildings, dagobas, monastic buildings, and pokunas. The dagobas are bell-shaped masses of masonry, varying from a few feet to over 1100 ft (340 m) in circumference. Some of them contain enough masonry to build a town for twenty-five thousand inhabitants. Remains of the monastic buildings are to be found in every direction in the shape of raised stone platforms, foundations and stone pillars. The most famous is the Brazen PalaceDutugamunu about 164 BC. The pokunas are bathing-tanks or tanks for the supply of drinking water, which are scattered everywhere through the jungle. The city also contains a sacred bo-tree, which is said to date back to the year 245 BC. The railway was extended from Kurunegala to Anuradhapura in 1905.
It was his reign that is considered the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa, when trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the King, who was adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted, and each be used toward the development of the land; hence, irrigation systems far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed during Parakramabahu's reign, systems which to this day supply the water necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the east of the country. The greatest of these systems, of course is the Parakrama Samudraya or the Sea of Parakrama, a tank so vast that it is often mistaken for the ocean. It is of such a width that it is impossible to stand upon one shore and view the other side, and it encircles the main city like a ribbon, being both a defensive border against intruders and the lifeline of the people in times of peace. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self-sufficient during King Parakramabahu's reign.
However, with the exception of his immediate successor, Nissankamalla I, all other monarchs of Polonnaruwa, were slightly weak-willed and rather prone to picking fights within their own court. They also went on to form more intimiate matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian Kingdoms, until these matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage and gave rise to the Kalinga invasion by King Magha in 1214 and the eventual passing of power into the hands of a Pandyan King following the Arya Chakrawarthi invasion of Sri Lanka in 1284. The capital was then shifted to Dambadeniya.
Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned Archeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers. Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to filmed scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982.


The club started in early 1972 when Ron Murray together with a couple of friends who all had 1600’s decided that they wanted to form a car club. A popular past time of the day was to do the ‘Rundle Trundle’ which was to cruise Rundle Street at night – nothing has much changed there but you’ve got to remember that this was before the mall, so you would start in Hindley street and then straight over King William street into the main drag of Rundle St. Ron used to park his 1600 there with notices stuck all around with the words Join the Datsun Car Club’.
The first couple of unofficial meetings were held at his house in Para Hills and because about 40-50 people turned up they were actually held on his front lawn. The cars were predominantly Datsun 1600’s and a few 1200’s. The third meeting was held at Robert Olding’s parents place in his father’s shed, and it was at this meeting that they formally started the Datsun Car Club and elected committee members with the President & Vice President being Peter Marr and Robert Olding (unfortunately we can’t remember which was which).
Meetings were then relocated to the Soldiers Memorial Hall at Wayville where they stayed for the next 5 years, always adjourning to the Pizza Hut on Greenhill Road after the meeting. Initially it was a social car club having picnic runs and bbq’s until in it’s third year it became affiliated with CAMS and the world of motorsport opened up to it. The first events the club organised were dirt motorkhana’s held at Osborne and observation runs were also very popular at the time.
The club started to be considered as a more serious competition club as many members became involved in Rallying and the club occasionally organised them as well and Lee MacDonald became the first member to get into motor racing in his Datsun 1600 Sports Sedan. In 1977 the club had to find a new location and a small building was offered to the club at the back of Wally Heimsohn’s (better known then as Wally Holden) parents house at Percy St, Cheltenham. This was a really strong period for the club with it’s own club room and membership grew to 110 members and a lot of memorable parties as well! After 5 years the club relocated to The Overland and tried various other meeting places, including Angas Hotel, Broadview Primary School, Black Rose Hotel, The Tonsley, The German Club and eventually the CAMS office where it was situated for around 14 years, until we moved tp the current location at The Arkaba Hotel conference rooms, which has proven to be a good move with increased meeting attendance.
Well that’s a brief history according to me – of course there’s been a lot of good times in that and extremely bad behaviour that we won’t include (although it would probably be more interesting).
There’s also the Zed Register that introduced some new important members to the club like Peter & Margaret Hall and forced the change of name to Nissan Datsun Car Club.
Karien Heimsohn – NDCCSA Secretary


From Butt Lane Surgery to Whitehall Surgery
Posted by: martin - Posted on:
On the 3rd of June 2008 we started to offer clinics from our new premises, changing our name from Butt Lane Surgery to Whitehall Surgery.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid down in June 2007 and on that day, John Battle MP attended to the ceremony that was reported in the Yorkshire Evening News. It took one year to build.


As a boutique realty agency, Wilson Associates specializes in selling one-of-a-kind, high-end homes across the South Carolina Upstate. Perhaps our favorite houses to list and sell, however, are historic homes. Admittedly, buying historical homes can come with certain drawbacks—they often require a greater number of repairs and a higher rate of insurance—but for connoisseurs of architectural design and history, the advantages, in our opinion, far outweigh these drawbacks.
Buying a historical house offers something that it is difficult to put a price tag on: the ability to transport its owners back to a time period or era with their stunning and inimitable architectural style. From ornate stone fireplaces to arched doors to gables and towers, the intricacy of detail in the stylized features of historical homes make them some of the most desired on the residential real estate market.
Take this gorgeous French Second Empire Victorian in the heart of Alta Vista, now under contract through Wilson.
Originally named the Lanneau-Norwood House, it was erected in 1877 and recently restored. With its grand foyer and elevated ceilings, buying this historical property transports homeowners into the postbellum period in America.
French Second Empire homes mark the United States first true embrace of Victorian era architectural styles. Most popular in the Northeast and Midwest, Second Empire refers to the style’s roots to Napoleon III’s reign in France. During this period in France, Napoleon III commenced a campaign to transform Paris into the “City of Lights,” with grand boulevards and majestic buildings.
The home’s exterior facade is replete with features of this period: the sloping mansard roof at its uppermost peak, the balustrade wrapped atop the porch, and the cupolas on the home’s outer peaks. With the original cook’s house transformed into a private guest cottage, the architectural enthusiast will spend years before they fully catalog all the fine details that make this home exemplary.
The interior of the home is no less spectacular, from the antique mouldings and cornices lining its 12 rooms, to the damask velvet walls of the dining room.
One element that the historic properties for sale from Wilson Associates have over their newer counterparts—of which the above home is a paradigmatic example—is the quality of craftsmanship. Buying a historical home typically matters more to homeowners looking for craftsmanship over some of the amenities of newer constructions.
Buying a historic home also puts you in touch, and helps you preserve, the history of your town and its local heritage. In this case, the history of Greenville, South Carolina.
From its humble beginnings in the 1770s as no more than an estate with a saw mill, a grist mill, and a trading post, to its modern manifestation as region that boasts more than half-a-million residents in Greater Greenville County, our areas historic homes play an integral role in preserving our region’s past.
In buying a historic property in Greenville, you become the owner of an important piece of history, breathing life into the Upstate’s past. Many homeowners believe that the restoration and ownership of historic homes can’t be strictly measured in money—and we agree—because you are helping the residents of the region to maintain that all important connection to the past.
For this reason many buyers of historical homes, both in Greenville, SC and elsewhere think about their purchase in terms of mission: to preserve the history of their region, as well as the history of our country more broadly.
Wilson Associates is proud to offer some of the choicest real-estate in the Upstate, and nothing better exemplifies our commitment to serving Greater Greenville than our passion for historical homes. We understand that it is part of the job of any real estate agency to both embrace change, as well as preserve the heritage and character of a region. We excel at balancing these two very different imperatives.


Delegate Steve Landes
Delegate Landes Virginia General Assembly Page
Augusta County Government
A comprehensive guide to Augusta County's Government
Virginia General Assembly
A comprehensive guide to the Virginia General Assembly
Commonwealth of Virginia
The official website for the Commonwealth of Virginia
Augusta County Genealogical Society
The official website for the Augusta County Genealogical Society.
Augusta County Historical Society
The official website for the Augusta County Historical Society and its mission to to study, collect, preserve, publish, educate about, and promote the history of Augusta County and its communities.
Frontier Culture Museum
The Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia tells the story of the thousands of people who migrated to colonial America.
The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce
The official website for the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce


Captivating History Books Review
History of the Vikings: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Age and Feared Norse Seafarers Such as Ragnar Lothbrok, Ivar the Boneless, Egil Skallagrimsson, and More. Captivating History. $ 13.34 - $ 25.84. Ancient Civilizations: A Captivating Guide to Mayan History, the Aztecs, and Inca Empire. Captivating History. $ 16.85 - $ 26.04.
A lot of history books just contain dry facts that will eventually bore the reader. That's why Captivating History was created. Now you can enjoy history books that will mesmerize you. But be careful.
Captivating History really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 18 ratings · 3 reviews If you want to discover the captivating history of England, then keep reading... Free History BONUS Inside! Two captivating manuscripts in one book:


GENSUI SHUZO Co.,Ltd. is located in Kurayoshi City, central Tottori Prefecture in the San-in region.
The main store is located at the foot of Mount Utsubuki, which is famous for the legend of Kurayoshi Tennyo, along the Tamagawa River in the corner of a group of storehouses with white walls.
Founded in the Kaei era, the name of the sake was initially "Asahi Masamune".
In May 1907, during Prince Togu's (later Emperor Taisho) visit to the San-in region, Admiral Togo Heihachiro accompanied him, stayed in Kurayoshi, and "Asahi Masamune" brewed by Kuratsu Main Store (later Gensui Sake Brewery) was offered.
△ Label with the Order of the Golden Kite design
Kurayoshi is famous for cherry blossoms, and Utsubuki Park was constructed in time for this visit, and a stone monument commemorating the planting is still standing in the corner of the park.
In April 1913, when General Togo received the title of "Gensui", the name of the sake was changed to "Gensui" in honor of his visit.
Since then, the company has worked hard to study traditional techniques and technologies, and has been engaged in ginjo brewing for a long time. In the early Showa period, the brewery was awarded the national honorary prize at the National Sake Competition, and more recently it has won five gold medals and two prizes at the National New Sake Competition, as well as numerous local honors.
While people are talking about the decline of Japanese sake, we are striving to make sake with the catchphrase "bring moisture to your life.
Introduction of the main store
Storehouses with white walls "Shirakabe Dozo-gun" are one of the beautiful sights of Little Kyoto "Kurayoshi". Many of the white walled storehouses lined up along the Tamagawa River were built in the Edo and Meiji periods, and you can still see the vestiges of those days. As you walk along the stone bridge over the Tamagawa River and the calm, elegant streets with red tiles and white plaster walls, you can feel the time slowly passing by.
In the corner of these white walled storehouses is the "Gensui Honten". It is a place with 160 years of tradition in a natural setting. Inside the store, you can find a variety of products from the Gensui Sake Brewery.
The current brewery is a three-minute drive in the direction of the Misasa Line, and in a well-developed environment, we are brewing sake that preserves the techniques handed down from generation to generation, and above all, the natural flavor.
|GENSUI SHUZO Co.,ltd.
|Kaei era (1848-1854)
|President and CEO
|【 Main Shop 】 2573 Higashinakamachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture 682-0826
【 Sake Brewery 】 2-31 Dakyoji-cho, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture 682-0816
|TEL / FAX
|【 Main Shop 】
TEL.+81-0858-22-5020 / FAX.+81-0858-22-5021
Introduction of the access
2573 Higashinakamachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori
About 12 minutes by bus from JR Kurayoshi Station + 5 minutes walk
JR Kurayoshi Station ⇒ Get off at Akagawara Shirakabe Dozo-gun / Nihon Kotsu Hojo Line bound for Nishikurayoshi
2-31 Dakyoji-cho, Kurayoshi City, Tottori
About 15 minutes by car from JR Kurayoshi Station


Hoxsie Elementary School was named in honor of Cottrell F. Hoxsie , a prominent Warwick agriculturist who lived in the late nineteenth century. In 1926, the first Hoxsie School was built on the location that presently houses the Warwick School Department Administration Building. In 1969, a new Hoxsie School was constructed on Glenwood Drive. In 1998, an addition was added to this structure to include two new classrooms and the Hoxsie Kindergarten program. In 2006, a second addition was added to provide another two classrooms and a conference room. Today, Cottrell F. Hoxsie Elementary School educates children from Kindergarten through grade six in nineteen classrooms and enrolls approximately 320 students.


The Forgotten Woman Behind the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the most famous New York City symbols, is nowadays used by hundreds of thousands of people every day to cross the East River, going from Brooklyn to Manhattan and vice-versa. This you likely already know, but what few people know is who guided the construction of the bridge was a woman called Emily Warren Roebling, the forgotten woman behind the Brooklyn Bridge.
Born on September 23, 1843, in upstate New York, as the second youngest child of Sylvanus and Phebe. Emily was educated at Georgetown Academy of the Visitation, in Washington, D.C.
One of her brothers, Governeur K. Warren, was a general of the Union Army during the Civil War. In a sheer coincidence, one of the engineer officers who was working for him, whose name was Washington A. Roebling, fell in love with Emily. Suddenly, the two got married in 1865!
John A. Roebling, Washington’s father, who was a civil engineer known for constructing suspension bridges, was projecting the building of “the greatest bridge in existence” - the future Brooklyn Bridge. In 1867, he sent his son (who was accompanied by Emily) to Europe to study caissons, the watertight structures filled with compressed air that would enable him to dig beneath the river. Tragically, after their return, John got tetanus at the construction site and died, leaving the project direction to Washington, as the chief engineer.
However, he couldn’t stay long working due to his case of Caisson’s Disease, caused by the frequent changing of air pressure in the caissons, making him partially blind, mute, paralyzed, and deaf.
Consequently, Emily entered into the bridge’s history. Worked initially as a secretary — negotiating, oversewing, taking notes, and serving as a liaison, advocate, and spokeswoman — but over time, she became a “surrogate chief engineer,” as described by the historian Marilyn Weigold. Indeed, some people thought that she was the mind behind the project. During this time, she also studied technical issues and learned about the strength of materials, stress analysis, cable construction, and other engineering facts behind bridges.
Finally, after some years, the Brooklyn Bridge was finished and opened by May 24, 1883. Remarkably, the first person to cross was none other than Emily herself. During the opening ceremony, a U.S congressman named Abram Stevens Hewitt (1883) said in his speech that “the name of Emily Warren Roebling will… be inseparably associated with all that is admirable in human nature and all that is wonderful in the constructive world of art,” and that the bridge would be “an everlasting monument to the sacrificing devotion of a woman and of her capacity for that higher education from which she has been too long disbarred”.
In 1898, Emily would write in a letter to her son saying: “I have more brains, common sense and know-how generally than have any two engineers, civil or uncivil, and but for me, the Brooklyn Bridge would never have had the name Roebling in any way connected with it!”
After the conclusion of the bridge’s saga, she invested her time and effort into supporting women’s causes and other philanthropic work. This is evident in her involvement in the widely-recognized organization named Daughters of the American Revolution. Moreover, she also wrote an award-winning essay about laws that discriminated against women called “A Wife’s Disabilities”. By the year 1899, she fulfilled the dream of getting a better education by receiving a certificate in business law from the Woman’s Law Class at New York University. After living a life of fulfillment, Emily Warren Roebling died on February 28, 1903, due to stomach cancer.
Nowadays, you can see a plaque on the Brooklyn Bridge dedicated to the three Roebling. If you are curious enough to read it, you will find and understand the sentence: “Back of every great work, we can find the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman.”
Charles-Émile-Auguste Carolus-Duran (French, 1838-1917). Portrait of Emily Warren Roebling, 1896. Oil on canvas, 89 × 47 1/2 in., 214 lb. (226.1 × 120.7 cm, 97.07kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Paul Roebling, 1994.69.1
Treigher T. (2018, September 28). Conheça a história de Emily Roebling, engenheira fundamental para a construção da Ponte do Brooklyn. Inbec. https://inbec.com.br/blog/conheca-historia-emily-roebling-engenheira-fundamental-para construcao-ponte-brooklyn
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2021, February 24). Emily Warren Roebling. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emily Warren-Roebling
Benneitt, J. (2018, March 8). Emily Warren Roebling. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-emily-warren roebling.html
A Mighty Girl. (2021, February 21). https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=25975
Women History Blog. (2014, June). https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2014/06/emily warren-roebling.html
Brainerd, George B (1872-1887). Construction of Brooklyn Bridge. Brooklyn Museum. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/170281
Caroulus-Duran, Charles-Émile-Auguste (1896). Portrait of Emily Warren Roebling. Brooklyn Museum. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4960


A History of the Parramatta Park Runners
On 16 July 1968 three keen Western Suburbs runners began to meet regularly for a lunch time run in Parramatta Park near the (now demolished) tram shed. They were:
- The late Tony Burns (Airline Steward)
- Brian Sharpe (Printer)
- Graham Taylor (Accountant)
Each of these runners had a previous connection with Parramatta Park. In Graham’s case, he had first visited the Park on 21 October 1939, had his first race there on 2 May 1953 and then became a regular visitor.
However, during 1966, several runners from the Parramatta Police Boys Club, under the leadership of the late Sgt Con Hanson, had also begun meeting for a regular informal jog in the Park. They were:
- Ken Cameron (Railway Man)
- Laurie Faggotter (Parole Officer)
- Mike Gooley (Council Officer)
- Doug Luckman (Council Officer)
- Kevin Muller (Council Officer)
- Ron Murphy (Fireman)
In 1971 Ken Cameron (who was also connected with Western Suburbs Athletic Club) decided, after the first City to Surf, to organise a more formal group consisting of the foregoing Police Boys group and the three Western Suburbs runners. He also encouraged others of his acquaintance to join in. The merged group called itself the Parramatta Police Boys Runners Club. In later years the name changed to the Parramatta Police Citizens Youth Club Runners and finally, became the Parramatta Park Runners.
The first female to join the group was Yvonne Taylor on 1 October 1976.
The group continued to grow and prosper under Ken’s dedicated guidance (and meticulous record keeping) to the point where, in the early 80’s, the monthly handicap run attracted an all time record field of 82 runners. The reasons for this growth were many. During the 1970’s and 1980’s the running boom attracted many runners to a range of clubs throughout Sydney and beyond. For our club, Ken provided an environment that encouraged participation, competition, commitment and fun that enhanced personal health and fitness through running.
Runners from the Ken Cameron era speak proudly of the Personal Best Certificates hand-prepared by Ken and awarded to each runner who ran a personal best time on handicap day (for examples, please refer the artefacts page on this site). The handicap race was always a staggered start and prizes were awarded immediately after each race, often going down to 20th place. The prizes were purchased by Ken from subscription monies prior to each event and it was evident that he held a stock of these items at home, ready for each race.
Ken was almost a ‘one-man-band’. He was treasurer, secretary, handicapper and club captain. However, he was ably assisted from time to time by a range of people including his wife Nancy, Doug Luckman and Graham Taylor.
During the 1980’s, an annual challenge race was held between the Police Runners (led by Ian Toll), the Fire Brigade Runners (led by Ted Thompson) and our club. The race venue alternated each year between Parramatta Park and Centennial Park. Although the rivalry on the track was intense, the friendships and camaraderie continued unabated.
Ken Cameron retired from his leadership role with the club in December 1987 and, rather than disband the club or resort to informal Friday lunchtime runs, Phil Mallitt (Taxation Office Director) and Graham Taylor, put a proposal to club members which would enable the club to continue. The proposal was that the Friday lunchtime runs continue, a handicap race to be held on the 4th Friday of the month and that they provide a leadership role for the club. The major difference between the previous operation and the proposed one was that many of the features that Ken had introduced to the club would need to be scaled down. It needed to be a ‘no frills’ operation.
The proposal was put to club members in January 1988 and a unanimous ‘yes’ vote was received.
Phil was required to take a brief 9 year sabbatical when the Penrith Taxation Office was finally relocated from Parramatta to Penrith on 12 December 1994. However, upon his retirement from the ATO, he returned to the club on 9 January 2004 and, while still competing as well as ever, has played a leading role in the administration of the club to this day.
Since 1989 it has become a club tradition to mark a member’s 500th appearance at the Friday lunchtime runs with the special presentation of a sequentially numbered trophy. To date we have recognised forty-two runners, with Ken Cameron the first to be honoured. The second was Doug Luckman and the third was Graham Taylor. The current record for the highest number of actual runs (as opposed to attendances) is held by John Storey (Tax Agent).
Since the 1970’s the course has closely approximated 5 miles/8 kilometres. There have been a total of seven slight variations to the course brought about by the changes that the Parramatta Park Trust has made to the roadway over the years. The course record holders, in chronological order, have been:
- Frank Riley
- Tony Burns
- Mark Robinson
- Paul Lockyer
- Alex Watson
- John Andrews
- Rob O’Neil
- Ray Doran
- Chris Dwyer
- Brendon Hince
- Dr James Harrison
- Mark Vassallo
The record for our current course is 27 minutes and 57 seconds but the record for the fastest time over any of the courses is held by John Andrews with a time of 24 minutes and 19 seconds.
In 1999 a major celebration was held in the Park when we celebrated the 80th birthday of three of our members. They were:
- the late ‘Gentleman’ George McGrath (after whom the Handicap Pointscore Trophy is named);
- the late Frank McCaffrey; and
- the late Vic Townsend.
All three of these noteworthy gentlemen were highly decorated Second World War veterans. The 1999 celebration was attended by a ‘who’s who’ in NSW running including John Collins and the late John Milne.
Our 50 years of existence have provided a rich history of gifted athletes: Olympians, World Masters Champions and record holders, Commonwealth Games, Australian and State champions and representatives including
- Waldemar Cierpinski – Dual Olympic Marathon Champion – Montreal (1976) & Moscow (1980)
- John Plummer – Empire Games – Auckland (1950)
- Dave Power – Dual Olympian – Melbourne (1956) and Rome (1960); Commonwealth Games (1958)
- Keith Ollerenshaw – Melbourne Olympian (1956)
- Ron Crawford – Melbourne Olympian (1956)
- Frank Clark – Mexico Olympian (1968)
- Alex Watson – Seoul Olympian (1988)
- Maree Holland (Ripper) – Seoul Olympian (1988)
- Andrew Lloyd – Auckland Commonwealth Games (1990)
- Louise Bonham – Australian Triathlon Champion
- George McGrath – World Masters Champion who also set several Masters World Records
- Phil Mallitt – World Masters Champion
- Dr James Harrison – NSW ‘Fun Run King’ & NSW representative
Our club is a non-profit organisation and from an annual fee of $20 ($10 until 2006) we have been able to fund the following:
- An annual Christmas Party at which prizes and trophies are presented; and
Since 1997, donations to:-
- SIDS ($100)
- Leukaemia Foundation ($100)
- Betty Cuthbert ($100)
- Tsunami Appeal ($100)
- Miscellaneous Individuals (Total of $100)
- Bill Crews’ Exodus Foundation ($2000)
- The Westmead Children’s Hospital (Cancer) ($2530)
We have been and will be concentrating on The Westmead Children’s Hospital (Cancer) in future years.
The results for runners participating in our club runs over the 40 years are progressively being brought online and can be viewed under the ‘Results/Rankings’ part of this web site.
A happy coincidence is that the 40th anniversary of the club occurred in the same year that Parramatta Park celebrated its sesquicentenary (150 years since its dedication as a public park).
Based on text by provided by Graham Taylor and Phil Mallitt, December 2015.


As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In urban population, the city ranks sixth in China and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) is fifth after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).
Tianjin's climate is similar to, though slightly warmer than, its neighbour Beijing. Overall it can be described as continental; winters are cold and dry, as nights below −10 °C are not uncommon, and summers are hot and humid, with days reaching above the upper 30's °C not out of the question. The best time to visit is autumn, though if you do not mind dust storms, spring would also be an excellent choice.
History of Tianjin
The land where Tianjin is located today was created in prehistoric times by sedimentation of various rivers entering the sea at Bohai Gulf, including the Yellow River, which entered the sea in this area at one point.
The opening of the Grand Canal of China during the Sui Dynasty prompted the development of Tianjin into a trading center. Until 1404, Tianjin was called "Zhigu" (直沽), or "Straight Port". In that year, the Yongle Emperor renamed the city Tianjin, meaning "the Heavenly Ford", to indicate that the Emperor (Son of Heaven) forded the river at that point. This is because he had indeed forded the river in Tianjin when in contention for the throne with his nephew. Later, a fort was established in Tianjin, known as "Tianjin Wei" (天津卫), the Fort of Tianjin.
Tianjin was promoted to a prefecture in 1725. Tianjin County was established under the prefecture in 1731.
In 1856, Chinese soldiers boarded The Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship registered in Hong Kong flying the British flag and suspected of piracy, smuggling, and of being engaged in the opium trade. They captured 12 men and imprisoned them. In response, the British and French sent gunboats under the command of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour to capture the Taku forts (大沽砲台) near Tianjin in May 1858. At the end of the first part of the Second Opium War in June of the same year, the Treaties of Tianjin were signed, which opened Tianjin to foreign trade. The treaties were ratified by the Emperor of China in 1860, and Tianjin (known as Tientsin) was formally opened to Great Britain and France, and thus to the outside world. Between 1895 and 1900, Britain and France were joined by Japan, Germany and Russia, and even by countries without Chinese concessions such as Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium, in establishing self-contained concessions in Tianjin, each with its own prisons, schools, barracks and hospitals. These nations left many architectural reminders of their rule, notably churches and thousands of villas. Today those villas provide an exotic flavour to Tianjin.
The presence of foreign influence in Tianjin was not always peaceful; one of the most serious violent incidents to take place was the Tianjin Church Incident (天津教案). In June 1870, the orphanage held by the Wanghailou Church (望海楼教堂), Our Lady of Victories, in Tianjin, built by French Roman Catholic missionaries, was accused of the kidnapping and brainwashing of Chinese children. On June 21, the magistrate of Tianjin County initiated a showdown at the church that developed into violent clashes between the church's Christian supporters and non-Christian Tianjin residents. The furious protestors eventually burned down Wanghailou Church and the nearby French consulate and killed eighteen foreigners including ten French nuns, the French consul, and merchants. France and six other Western nations complained to the Qing government, which was forced to pay compensation for the incident.
In June 1900, the Boxers were able to seize control of much of Tianjin. On June 26, European defense forces heading towards Beijing were stopped by Boxers at nearby Langfang, and were defeated and forced to turn back to Tianjin. The foreign concessions were also under siege for several weeks.
In July 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance recaptured Tianjin. This alliance soon established the Tianjin Provisional Government, composed of representatives from each of the occupying forces (Russian, British, Japanese, German, French, American, Austro-Hungarian, and Italian). The city was governed by this council until August 15, 1902 when the city was returned to Qing control. Eminent Qing General Yuan Shikai led efforts to transform Tianjin into a modern city, establishing the first modern Chinese police force. In 1907, Yuan supervised China's first modern democratic elections for a county council.
Western nations were permitted to garrison the area to ensure open access to Bejing. The British maintained a brigade of two battalions in Tianjin, and the Italians, French, Japanese, Germans, Russians, and Austro-Hungarians maintained understrength regiments; the United States did not initially participate. During World War I, the German and Austro-Hungarian garrisons were captured and held as Prisoners of War by Allied Forces while the Bolshevik government withdrew the Russian garrison in 1918. In 1920, the remaining participating nations asked the United States to join them, and the US then sent the 15th Infantry Regiment, less one battalion, to Tientsin from the Philippines.
Tianjin was established as a municipality of China (直辖市) in 1927.
Garrison duty was highly regarded by the troops. General George C Marshall, the "architect of victory" in World War II when he was the United States Army Chief of Staff, served at Tientsin in the 1920s as Executive Officer of the 15th Infantry. The US withdrew this unit in 1938 and a US presence was maintained only by the dispatch of a small US Marine Corps contingent from the Embassy Guard at Bejing.
On July 30, 1937, Tianjin fell to Japan, as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War, but was not entirely occupied, as the Japanese for the most part respected foreign concessions until 1941, when the American and British concessions were occupied. In the summer of 1939, there occurred a major crisis in Anglo-Japanese relations with the Tientsin Incident. On June 14, 1939, the Imperial Japanese Army surrounded and blockaded the British concession over the refusal of the British authorities to hand over to the Japanese six Chinese who had assassinated a locally prominent Japanese collaborator, and had taken refuge in the British concession. For a time, the 1939 crisis appeared likely to cause an Anglo-Japanese war, especially when reports of the maltreatment by the Japanese Army of British subjects wishing to leave or enter the concession appeared in the British press. The crisis ended when the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was advised by the Royal Navy and the Foreign Office that the only way to force the Japanese to lift the blockade was to send the main British battle fleet to Far Eastern waters, and that given the current crisis in Europe that it would be inappropriate to send the British fleet out of European waters, thus leading the British to finally turn over the six Chinese, who were then executed by the Japanese. During the Japanese occupation, Tianjin was ruled by the North China Executive Committee, a puppet state based in Beijing.
On August 9, 1940, all of the British troops in Tianjin were ordered to withdraw. On November 14, 1941 the American Marine unit stationed in Tianjin was ordered to leave, but before this could be accomplished, the Japanese attacked the United States. The American Marine detachment surrendered to the Japanese on December 8, 1941. Only the Italian and French concessions (the local French officials were loyal to Vichy) were allowed to remain by the Japanese. Japanese occupation lasted until August 15, 1945, the surrender of Japan marking the end of World War II.
Tianjin holds the annual Meeting of the New Champions of World Economic Forum (also called Summer Davos) from 2008.
In October 2010, the UN Climate Change Conference convened in Tianjin.


The ‘Spirit of Leadership’ traveling exhibition is dedicated to the life of King Fahad. Galleries within the exhibition space were divided into chapters, using interactive touchscreens, short films, graphic panels and audiovisual elements to detail significant milestones throughout the life of the king. Through a series of printed photographs, the journey begins with his family background, and follows through his major contributions, including the expansion of the two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Madinah. King Fahad’s political achievements within the Kingdom were also documented and displayed in the ‘Vision Gallery’.
Working with the concept developed by Rasha Al Hoshan Design Office, Collaboration provided project management, design development, production, and fit-out, for an exhibition that captivated the imagination of hundreds of thousands of visitors and offered them a chance to relive and experience the reign of King Fahad.


PLEASURE OF THE CENTURIES
The nargile (known as the water pipe, hookah, hubbly bubbly, shisha and by other names) is said to have originated in the Persian Empire and then came to the Ottomans during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim (r. 1512-1520). The Persians are supposed to have gotten the nargile from India where the word nargile means coconut. It seems likely that the tobacco they used though was not the kind that subsequently gained in popularity and that we are more familiar with.
In the early part of the 17th century, Turks took to smoking with a passion. In early 1600’s, outraged at the rapid spread of this new pleasure, Sultan Murad IV banned smoking on pain of death. But his prohibition merely drove smokers underground, and 14 years later officials conceded defeat and lifted it.
Nargiles soon became important status symbols. Offering one to a guest became an important sign of trust, and withholding it could be taken as a serious insult. In 1841 a diplomatic crisis broke out between France and the Ottoman Empire after the Sultan declined to offer the French Ambassador a chance to smoke with him.
According to Refik Ahmet Sevengil, tobacco was first brought to Istanbul in 1600, but he doesn’t say whether the tobacco came from Iran or from Europe. However, it didn’t catch on at first; that didn’t happen until 1636, although he gives no reason for such a specific date. On the other hand, though it seems rather unlikely, Balıkhane Nazırı Alı Rıza Bey states in his work, “Bir Zamanlar Istanbul,” that tobacco came in 1687 and was first used for medicine, becoming popular only in 1735.
Istanbul’s Tıryaki Çarşısı (Addict Market), well-known for its coffeehouses, was a single line of stores that was built as part of the Süleymaniye Complex and stretched below two madrassahs. Some of the stores sold folding lanterns made of oil cloth, useful for keeping in one’s pocket in case of being caught outside on a dark night before the days of electricity, while other shops sold pen cases. It was also the site of the Slave Market. And then there were the coffeehouses where the men of Istanbul gathered to while away the time chatting, playing games such as chess, drinking coffee and relaxing over a nargile. Coffee cups would be lined up around the fireplace while wooden pipes and nargiles were to be found in the corners.
In 1623 Murat IV decreed that coffeehouses be closed and it was forbidden to drink coffee and wine or use tobacco and opium. The sultan not only ordered his imperial guard corps to patrol the various districts, but he himself also prowled the streets, ordering the immediate execution of anyone he caught. Out of fear that the smoke would be seen and reported, addicts would take the leaves and pound them into small pieces, inhaling the dust, that is, snuff.
Following the death of Murat IV in 1639, the law was changed and coffeehouses were once again allowed in Istanbul. In 1640, a Jew opened a snuff shop in Galata for the first time. In spite of the prohibition – Murat IV wasn’t the only sultan to issue a decree against tobacco – the sultans couldn’t really make their decrees effective; they simply drove it underground. Members of the palace and in particular the imperial dynasty smoked pipes and the nargile. And as tobacco was heavily taxed, prohibiting its use meant lost revenue. In any case the prohibition never seems to have been applied outside of Istanbul so coffeehouses in places like Bursa flourished.
Ali Rıza Bey describes addicts as follows: “Those whose nature was inclined to addiction counted coffee, tobacco, tömbeki [a tobacco especially prepared for the nargile that originally came from Iran] and snuff as giving a light high. Most of those who used snuff habitually were leading high-level intellectuals, sheykhs, property owners, writers and more serious people like these. Among these there would be lengthy conversations about the type of snuff and its excellence… When snuff addicts met on the street, they would immediately offer their snuff case and they called this ‘sidewalk party.’” One such discussion centered around whether to add rose water or sea water to the tobacco.
Women resting under the trees. Jean Brindesi.
Ali Rıza Bey later describes those who were addicted to tömbeki: “Some of the curious who were addicted to tömbeki would immediately smoke the nargile that the coffeehouse owners had prepared… Those who were addicted to tobacco and didn’t want to smoke the pipes in the coffeehouses would carry their own pipes in their pockets. Those who were curious like this would have their own sectioned pipes made.” These were usually in three sections and would be carried in a broadcloth purse, along with the bowl part, that would be carried on a belt underneath a person’s clothes. A medium-sized pipe existed and was used by vezirs and prominent officials in their caiques and private quarters but in official places they would smoke the long version.
Those who became addicted to opium, a paste that was supposed to have been good for hemorrhoids and chest illnesses, had been addicted to wine when they were young and later switched to opium. For those who used opium secretly, they would always drink coffee after they’d used it and they would always carry the drug with them in a box.
The addicts would spend their entire days in known coffeehouses which were near Tahtakale, Tophane, Silivrikapı, Mevlevihane Kapı and on a road leading to İshakpaşa, according to Ali Rıza Bey. He also points out that these places didn’t resemble the usual coffeehouse but were filthy, with blackened ceilings, covered in cobwebs, falling plaster, glass that had never been cleaned, dark and filled with disgusting smells.
In spite of the occasional prohibitions that often originated in religious circles, observance of the holy month of Ramadan doesn’t seem to have mattered. As soon as one had broken the fast in the evening, the pipes and nargiles would come out among the women as well as the men. In fact a number of paintings by Orientalist artists show both sexes smoking. Coffeehouses were equally welcoming for the late night crowd during Ramadan.


Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate.
At Facing History and Ourselves, we believe the bigotry and hate that we witness today are the legacies of brutal injustices of the past. Through our partnerships, we help educators around the world face our collective history and address racism, antisemitism, and prejudice—so that their students can connect difficult choices made in the past to those they will confront in their own lives.
We integrate the study of history and literature with ethics and innovative teaching strategies, providing the expertise needed to guide challenging conversations and establish more equitable learning environments. We trust students to wrestle with complex moments in history and complex moments today. When students understand the roots and persistence of injustice, as well as the importance of their own choices, they are equipped and empowered to build a stronger democracy.
Facing History and Ourselves is partnering with Chicago Public Schools' Office of Teaching and Learning and the Office of Social Science and Civic Engagement to bring Facing History’s curricular units on civil rights, the Holocaust, and Reconstruction to all 8th grade social studies and high school World History and American History classrooms. These standards-aligned units developed expressly for CPS educators reflect Proven Practices in Civic Learning and connect historical study and ethical reflection to informed action.
At Facing History and Ourselves, we believe education is the key to creating the next generation of compassionate leaders, and our offerings help make this possible. Informed by decades of research in adolescent development and grounded in expert historical resources, our work supports teachers around the world, and reaches millions of students in thousands of classrooms every year.
- Topics: Browse by topic our extensive library of educator resources that connect past to present.
- Books & Borrowing: Visit our lending library and store to find resources to borrow and our original publications to download or buy.
- Connecting to Current Events: Discover activities and strategies for making meaningful connections between current events and your curriculum.
- On Demand Learning Center: Get a glimpse inside real classrooms in our classroom videos to see our teaching strategies in action, learn from our on-demand webinars, and engage with our self-paced workshops to further your professional learning.
- Professional Development Calendar: Our learning opportunities are designed to fit your goals and busy schedule. Gain a new perspective, add more tools to your teaching toolbox, and benefit from the experience and fellowship of other teachers.
Access the Toolboxes to Implement the CPS Five-Week Units
Connect with FHAO
Please contact the Facing History team at email@example.com.


Here are some funny interactive animations of the design thinking of three famous british architects Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, and Terry Farrell. Nicole Lotz has consulted on the content and design of these animations. They are called Building Stories.
The stories were created in support of the BBC Four series The Brits Who Built The Modern World. It was also inspired by the RIBA season of events that tell the story of why and how British architecture developed globally from 1750 to the present.


HISTORY OF THE
AZIENDA AGRICOLA DE TACCHI FARMING ENTERPRISE
Rice originally imported to Venice
from the Orient and introduced in the mainland areas of the Veneto
This cereal has been cultivated in the ancient village of Grantortino (formerly Grantorto Vicentino) ever since it was introduced into the area by Venetian traders in the 1400s. To a large extent Venice acquired its enormous wealth by trading with the East and soon discovered rice, which it imported along with various spices. However, rice was not considered a real food in the 15th century; it was sold at the local spezierie (pharmacies) and was generally used for medicinal purposes.
As the discovery of America became an increasingly important factor the European interest in Oriental spices began to wane and many of the Venetian maritime trading activities were abandoned. It later became increasingly difficult to purchase this cereal from Eastern sources. The people of the Veneto began to use rice as a basic food and, following the abandonment of certain trading activities, Venetian patrician families that owned large estates on the mainland started to invest in its cultivation.
The Repubblica Serenissima (the ‘Most Serene Republic of Venice’) was initially opposed to granting irrigation rights that were required for its cultivation as this would result in a loss of revenue from customs duties and, moreover, it would be necessary to dig new canals and divert rivers with very costly forms of intervention and works. When Venetian patricians presented their applications to obtain irrigation rights, these were granted very sparingly by the superintendents of the waterways and uncultivated land.
A map indicating the waterways and canals in the Grantortino area that were controlled and regulated by the government of the Venetian Republic
The cultivation of rice over the centuries
The cultivation of rice began in a significant manner on the plain to the south of Verona, between the Po and Adige rivers and at Isola della Scala in particular. A lesser-known fact is that the rights to irrigate land and cultivate rice were simultaneously also granted in rural communities close to Vicenza and especially in the area to the east of the city, between the Tesina and Brenta rivers. Old maps of the waterways of the mainland territories of the Republic show that in this area many of the estates were owned by Venetian patrician families or were controlled by monasteries and ecclesiastical authorities. It is not difficult to imagine why certain privileges that were denied to other landowners were generously granted in this part of the ancient Republic…
The local cultivation of rice has gradually diminished and now occurs only in the area of Grumolo delle Abbadesse and around a few neighbouring villages, including Grantortino. Historical records clearly reveal that the cultivation of rice at this site began in the early 16th century. From the early 1400s onwards ownership of the land in this area was held and retained by the succeeding generations of just three families. The original documents compiled by officials of the Venetian Republic centuries ago that were issued to these landowners confirm the presence and reveal the actual location of the original risare (rice fields). This area was recently recognized by the Slow Food association as a historic place of production of the Vialone Nano rice variety and it is consequently now protected by a local Presidium.
At its premises the Azienda Agricola Francesco De Tacchi still uses old barchesse (rural porticoed outbuildings or barns) overlooking the selese, the paved courtyard where sheaves of rice were once accumulated and laid out to dry. In the past the sheaves were often transferred from the rice fields to the central farm buildings on flat-bottomed barges drawn by oxen, a typical method of transport adopted during the period of the Venetian dominion. The Republic of Venice was of course one of the ancient maritime republics of the Italian peninsula and would thus naturally tend to employ its boats and barges for various purposes along the fluvial routes of the mainland territories. The local watercourse, sections of which were realigned or widened in the 16th century, is still referred to as the Condotto (a waterway forming part of a canal system).
At the farm there are some remaining relics of an old rice-husking mill and pieces of a flour grindstone from a 16th-century three-wheel mill-house. During the Austrian occupation following the demise of the Republic of Venice and after a popular protest, Grantorto Vicentino fell under the jurisdiction of the Province of Padua and the village was renamed Grantortino.
An old view of the company premises
In the late 1800s, due to malaria and the risk of infection caused by the presence of large numbers of mosquitoes, the rice fields were transformed into irrigated grassland and local families were treated with quinine. As this form of medication was not readily available in the Veneto region at that time, it was imported directly from Vienna by the De Tacchi family.
During the First World War the villa and farm buildings were used as a military hospital; a few written testimonies relating to events of this period are still visible on the walls of the entrance. Similar situations arose during the Second World War. The buildings on the estate were occupied by the German army and used as a local military headquarters and for the storage of ammunition. At a certain point it was feared the premises might be destroyed but fortunately the Germans eventually withdrew, leaving the buildings intact.
Thanks to a careful examination of maps of the watercourses and canals of the mainland territory of the Serenissima and considering the old local saying “Rice will grow wherever grass grows”, a hundred years after their abandonment the rice fields originally cultivated during the period of the Venetian Republic have now been restored and old traditions are revived.
With a view to valorising these historical agricultural traditions the decision was made to initiate the cultivation of the local Maranello and Biancoperla varieties of corn and make it easier for people to rediscover the traditional Venetian cuisine.
Ripened rice on the company farmland


February Birthstone: All About Amethyst
House of K'dor 0.95 carat F/VS diamond and oval-cut 3.00-carat amethyst pendant.
As mentioned, the stone's name comes from the Ancient Greek, derived from the word “methustos” which means “intoxicated.”
Ancient Greeks and Romans long believed that amethyst keeps the wearer clear-headed and quick-witted.
Raise your glass if you could do with some of these superpowers!
House of K'dor cushion-cut amethyst ring with 0.41-carat F/VS diamond halo; $AU2490.
It is said that the patron of romantic love himself, St. Valentine, wore an amethyst ring carved with the image of Cupid. Further, astrologer Camillo Leonardi wrote that amethyst quickens intelligence and gets rid of evil thoughts. Supermodel and businesswoman Miranda Kerr places Amethyst throughout her home and garden.Other celebrity fans of the mauve gemstone include the Duchess of Cambridge, Elizabeth Taylor and Dianne Kruger.
House of K'dor cushion-cut 19.75-carat amethyst ring with an F/VS 2.01-carat diamond halo and double diamond band, $AU11900.
House of K'dor Oval-cut 9.30-carat amethyst ring with inter-crossing diamond-encrusted 0.76-carat gallery and band, $AU4190.
Amethyst jewellery dates as early back as 2000 BC. For those familiar with Old Testament history, amethyst was one of the twelve gemstones that represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Amethyst was particularly fashionable during the reign of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, who had a particular fondness for the colour lilac.
English regalia were also decorated with Amethysts during the Middle Ages to symbolise royalty. It's also traditionally chosen to adorn a bishop's Episcopal ring.
House of K'dor oval-cut 4.87-carat amethyst ring with an 18K rose gold and diamond pave 0.41carat band with ornate side detail, $AU2790.
Amethyst is found in areas such as Canada, Madagascar, Myanmar, Namibia, Russia and Sri Lanka. House of K'dor premium-grade Amethyst is sourced in Brazil, then set within magnificent 18K gold and diamond settings.
We hope we have inspired you to have more of this regal and beautiful gemstone in your life!
All jewellery House of K'dor. Background images by Vicky Kerr, Floral Alchemy.


Design/Build & Historic Renovation of Grant Hall, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
Grant Hall was built as an addition to a former penitentiary, and was constructed between 1830 and 1831. The penitentiary became the center of national attention in 1865 when the trial and sentencing of those implicated in the assassination of President Lincoln was held on the third floor of this building. Four conspirators were sentenced to death, including the first woman ever executed by federal order, Mary Surratt.
PKS has been contracted to Design/Build and perform Interior and Exterior Renovation of 11, 430 sf of Historic space distributed over three floors and basement. PKS has performed the following work:
- Floor Plan Renovation: Removal of non-historic partitions and restored layout per Adolf Cluss renovation of 1881; Levels one and two contain office space and level three provides a conference room that recreates the appearance and setting of the courtroom where the actual Lincoln conspirator’s trial took place.
- Identified and repaired leaks to existing metal roof, flashing, trim; repair rotten wood soffit; install new ‘widows walk’ railing to match original
- Repointed brick on three exterior brick facades
- Repaired west façade stucco and repaint
- Abatement of lead paint and removed and replaced approximately 78 windows and stone window sills
- Abatement of lead paint, repaired, stained or repainted east and west entrance doors and trim
- Repaired ‘moat’ retaining wall and drainage below grade on 3 sides of building with associated moat drains, address steps and drainage
- Improvements to stairs and configuration


Sushi - traditional Japanese cuisine, cooked rice with vinegar dressing and various seafood and other ingredients. Since the early 1980s, the land gained wide popularity in the world.
History of sushi originated in South Asia, where the cooked rice were used for the preparation and preservation of fish. Peeled and cut into small pieces of fish with salt and mixed with rice, and then placed under the press of the stones, which in a few weeks, replaced the lid.
Сontinuation of the history
In the XVII century, the begining a sushi rice, which included steamed rice, rice malt, seafood and vegetables. Soon began to prepare the rice vinegar, which began adding rice, eliminating the fermentation process and greatly reduce the sushi cooking time.
Stages of sushi popularity
In the XIX century, Yohei Khan, the cook from Tokyo, decided to completely abandon the marinating fish and feed the fish raw. The process of cooking in a matter of minutes. New sushi quickly gained popularity, and there are two styles of cooking.