Photos, videos and docs of John Lawrence

Herring Gull

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 15:14:50 +0000

He stood up to allow a good portrait of him. he stood on my garden wall and reminded me i need to do some pointing ! These birds can be aggressive about now as they are protecting the newly hatced chicks.
A little about the name of this bird.

It is believed the herring gulls name is a misnomer, because this bird does not favour herring, but It may have arisen from the colour of the birds back and wings, which are silvery, resembling the colour of herring. It is more likely to favour the ice-cream in your hand!

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Galleon at Ramsgate Royal Harbour

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 18 May 2023 17:56:23 +0000

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The Galeon Andalucía is a replica of a 16th-17th century galleon, the only one in the world that sails in present days.

These ships were the type of vessel used by the Spanish Crown for maritime expeditions during the 16th through the 18th centuries. Galleons were intended to discover and then establish trade routes between Spain, America, and the Philippines islands, and formed what was then called the “Fleet of the Indies”. For three centuries, these Spanish galleons crossed the Atlantic Ocean back and forth, sailed around the Caribbean Sea and the American coasts, and covered the Pacific route as well. They carried plenty of seamen, merchant traders and settlers, while their holds bore the fabulous loads resulting from American and Asian trade.

It took three years to research the main historical and maritime archives in Spain and compile all necessary information about galleons’ shapes, details and measures so that this replica could be built. Essentially, this is a 500 ton galleon, with length overall reaching 160 feet and a beam of 32 feet. Four masts hold 6 sails which measure almost 11,000 square feet. Her average speed is 7 knots. Since her launching, a crew between 15 to 35 people have manned her across the seas and oceans around the world. She has navigated the Pacific and Indian oceans, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and her wake has spread over the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the South and East China seas, the Aegean Sea, the Bosporus strait, the Caribbean Sea and the whole East Coast of the US, covering thousands of nautical miles in an attempt to evoke her ancestors.
Seen here visiting Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour, not my best picture as I lost most of the bow definition against the harbour wall and didn’t use flash but I sorted it with basic editing.

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Viola

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Fri, 05 May 2023 19:08:24 +0000

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All alone growing in between the bricks of a garden wall

Fox having a rest

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 19:40:35 +0000

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On my garden wall, we thought they had gone because where they lived has been built on, but she was resting on my wall with the Ivy behind her and campanula on the wall in front, anyway this fox appears to be living in an unkempt garden a few doors down. this was snapped before it took off and is SOOC.

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St Pancras Church Coldred Kent

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 15:40:32 +0000

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Coldred comes from the Old English ‘col’ meaning ‘coal, especially charcoal’ with ‘ryde’ as a ‘clearing’; therefore, a ‘clearing where coal is found or made’. The Domesday Book records Coldred as Colret.
Coldred parish church is dedicated to Saint Pancras, one of only 6 such dedicated in the country. The Normans built it in the 11th century, within the newly constructed Motte and Bailey castle which was built by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother to William the Conqueror. An unknown founder cast a bell in the 14th century, which split in two in 1939. The two cell church remained much the same for the next 500 years.
There was some restoration done by the Victorians.

The uneven ground around the church is the remains of the castle mentioned above, many Roman artefacts have been found in the surrounding area.

Coldred, at nearly 400 feet (122 m) above sea level, is one of the highest places in East Kent

Best viewed Large

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Interior of St Andrews Church Sheperdswell, Kent

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 14:16:31 +0000

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The interior is simple and consists of nave, apsidal chancel and little transepts. The east windows are by the St Helens Crown Glass Co., and represent the Ascension and Four Evangelists. The south window of 1900, by Kempe, shows the Epiphany. The good polished marble decorative shafts to either side of the chancel arch, together with the corbels in the nave, are typical of Ferrey's work. It is a pity that the original font, which was of fine Cornish marble and had matching marble shafts, had to be destroyed, owing to its instability, in 1955.

I am digging out archives! (it was a bit dull)

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St Andrews Church Sheperdswell, Kent

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 14:11:33 +0000

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Although there was a place of worship registered here in the 14th Century, this tiny church is entirely Victorian and is a building of great charm designed by Benjamin Ferrey in 1863. It is built of local flint with Bath stone dressings and is distinguished by a little spire let over, but not quite on, the west end. The interior is simple and consists of nave, apsidal chancel and little transepts. The east windows are by the St Helens Crown Glass Co., and represent the Ascension and Four Evangelists. The south window of 1900, by Kempe, shows the Epiphany. The good polished marble decorative shafts to either side of the chancel arch, together with the corbels in the nave, are typical of Ferrey's work. It is a pity that the original font, which was of fine Cornish marble and had matching marble shafts, had to be destroyed, owing to its instability, in 1955.

I am digging out archives! (it was a bit dull)

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Richborough Power Station

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 15:16:32 +0000

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Richborough power station was a power station close to the mouth of the River Stour near Sandwich, on the east coast of Kent. It operated from 1962 to 1996; the towers were demolished in 2012. It was built on land within the Port of Richborough but being on the northern edge its site lies mostly within the neighbouring parish of Minster, Kent.
The Central Electricity Generating Board started construction of the power station in 1958, with Unit 1 coming online in December 1963, and Unit 2 following in August 1963. It opened as a 342MW coal-fired station, using coal from Kent and other coalfields. It was converted to burn oil in summer 1971 and further converted in 1989 to burn a proprietary oil and water emulsion called Orimulsion, imported from Venezuela through Port Richborough.
The site was also chosen as the site for an experimental 1MW wind turbine, which was at that time the largest ever installed in the UK, with permission given in 1987, and the turbine becoming live in 1989.
After growing concerns over the environmental effects of the Orimulsion fuel in the main power station, court action was taken in two separate actions, with both cases settled out of court. The 360MW station ceased generating in 1996. Following the plant closure, the majority of the equipment was removed during a strip out programme, which also saw the demolition of a number of the buildings, leaving only a few outbuildings, the office block and the landmark cooling towers and chimney standing.
In controlled blasts, the three 97m cooling towers and a single 127m chimney stack were demolished on 11 March 2012. Some locals had campaigned to keep the towers, saying they formed part of the historical landscape and were used as a navigation point by boats wanting to enter the mouth of the river Stour known to have a narrow channel of useful depth.

These pics were taken in the space of 1 minute and show the demolition process, the pics on the top are the first and last.

Made the collage and it removed exif info taken with Panasonic FZ45.

Don't get out so much now but doing archive digging! Best viewed Large

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Rose

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 18:22:42 +0000

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Seen In Garden centre Petham Kent.

A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and north-western Africa. Species, cultivars, and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses.
For Sight & Sound
Perhaps it should be Roses of Canterbury!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHxhEBRppVU

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Westcliff Ramsgate

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 16:28:16 +0000

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The green in the foreground used to be an old pitch and putt course you can still see the bumps in the grass today. The tree is near the cliff edge and looks over Pegwell Bay (the tide is out), on the other side of the bay can be seen a small wind turbine (which I have never seen work) and was there when the cooling towers of Richborough power station were in operation, the site is still active as the power generated by the wind farms (behind my left shoulder) is carried by cable under the sea across the bay to a new facility and onwards by pylons to keep the lights on in Canterbury!

Better viewed large Please.

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Avro Vulcan XH558

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 16:13:36 +0000

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The Spirit of Great Britain was the last remaining airworthy example of the 134 Avro Vulcan jet powered delta winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War. It was the last Vulcan in military service, and the last to fly at all after 1986. It last flew on 28 October 2015.
Vulcan XH558 first flew in 1960, and was one of the few examples converted for a maritime reconnaissance role in 1973, and then again as an air-to-air refuelling tanker in 1982. After withdrawal in 1984 it continued with the RAF's Vulcan Display Flight, performing until 1992.[2] In 1993 it was sold to C Walton Ltd who used it for ground based displays at their Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire, until 1999. Through a combination of public donations and lottery funding, it was restored to airworthy condition by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust, who returned it to flight on 18 October 2007. The donations required to reach that point totalled £6.5m.
It recommenced its display career in 2008, funded by continuing donations to assist the £2m a year running costs. In the summers from 2008 to 2010 it was based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, moving its winter base to RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire at the end of 2009. From 2011 it moved to a new year-round base at the commercial Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. The prospect of grounding and sale due to lack of funds was regularly averted, and XH558 flew long enough for fundamental engineering life-expectancy issues to become the main threat to continued operation. After being overcome once to gain an extra two years flight, on 15 May 2015 it was confirmed that 2015 would be XH558's last flying season, due to the third-party companies responsible for maintaining it withdrawing their support. Since its last flight, XH558 is now kept in taxi able condition.
She is based Doncaster/Sheffield airport which is now threatened with closure (2022)

She is pictured here at Manston Air Show the last time she flew in here as the airport (Kent International) Closed in 2014

(Military serial XH558, civil aircraft registration G-VLCN)

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Botany Bay, Broadstairs,Kent

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 19:50:19 +0000

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I used spend the school summer holidays on this beach, as we lived up the road, there used to be an archway going across to the island but that has eroded now. Health & safety didn't exist either!!

It was a grey old day! when I took this

Botany Bay is linked with the history of smugglers. In 1769 smuggler Joss Snelling and his gang were caught with contraband on the beach by the Revenue Patrol, after a fierce fight Joss escaped. Joss survived to become an old man, who was introduced to Princess Victoria on a visit to the area. He died in Broadstairs in 1837. There is also Joss bay a litte further up I wonder who that is named after!

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Rochester Cathedral

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 16:49:22 +0000

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Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent.
The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the seat of the Bishop of Rochester, the second oldest bishopric in England after that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The edifice is a Grade I listed building
The first mention of a Cathedral in Rochester was when King Ethelbert founded the Cathedral in 604A.D. The Cathedral was consecrated by St. Augustine and was blessed to St. Andrew who was the Patron Saint of Monasteries, where St. Augustine was from.
The first Bishop of Rochester was Justus in 604 A.D. The original Cathedral has since vanished through the re building of the present-day Cathedral. However, in 1889, work on the Cathedral uncovered the foundations of the original Cathedral under the west end.
The foundations were about 1.5m (5 feet) deep and what was left of the walls were 70 cms (2' 4") thick. The walls were made of stone and Roman brick. The original Cathedral had a round end named an 'Apse.' The length was about 14 metres (46' 6") and the width was about 8.8 metres (29' 6") when the Normans invaded England in 1066, Gundulf became the Bishop of Rochester in 1077.
Gundulf also built the Castle opposite the Cathedral and the Tower of London. Gundulf started to design the new Cathedral for Rochester. In 1115, Ernulf was inaugurated as the Bishop of Rochester. In 1137 and in 1179, a fire engulfed the Cathedral and it was badly damaged. In 1215 the Cathedral was looted, first by King John and then in 1264 by Simon de Montfort’s men when they laid siege on the city.
It is traditionally thought that King Henry VIII met Anne of Cleves in the cloisters of Rochester Cathedral. Unfortunately, in the 1800's Rochester had become one of the poorest Dioceses in the country. Again, it was robbed of its treasures by unruly soldiers.

Unbelievably, the Cathedral became a place of ill repute, where often gambling and drinking took place. Samuel Pepys described it as a 'Shabby place.' Through the 1800's, the Cathedral had gone through several restoration processes, and finally in 1880, Gilbert Scott restored the Cathedral to its present-day appearance.

The large tree outside (conveniently hiding a crowd going in to the building!) is a Catalpa tree, sometimes called the American Indian Bean Tree, is not a common species in Britain and is over 100 years old.

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Holy Innocents Church Adisham, Kent.

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 15:21:16 +0000

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The Manor of Adisham was probably given to Archbishop Justus by King Eadbald of Kent (son of King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha) in about AD 624 following the King’s conversion to Christianity. This tradition was preserved in a charter in about 1080 when Archbishop Lanfranc re-allocated the Manor to the Cathedral Priory. The tradition is supported by its rare dedication to Holy Innocents for whom a feast day was designated in the 5th Century. In Roman times the site above the great pond (filled in 1964) had been the centre of an important farming estate.

Nothing remains of the original (presumably wooden) Church. The existing building was erected between 1150 and 1350 and restored in 1869-70.

From the beginning it was probably a Minster or central Church from which a group of priests from the Cathedral served the surrounding area, hence both it’s size and cruciform shape. Adisham Court Farm which is nearby is still the property of the Church.

Between 1542 and 1555 The Vicar of Adisham and Staple was John Bland a firm believer in the protestant faith, who was burned at the stake as a heretic on 12th July 1555, during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary. He is commemorated on the Martyr’s Memorial in Canterbury’s Martyr’s Field.

There have been some extensive restorations inside the Church. Pews have been removed and the building (which is grade 1 listed) is now more accessible by local community groups and the Village School.

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St Mary's Church Chartham Kent

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 16:13:27 +0000

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The Church is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Canterbury. Constructed between 1285 and circa 1305, The church is constructed of Kentish knapped flint with a tower of the fourteenth century, the church was restored in 1875 by George Edmund Street. The church is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.

A paper mill in the village has specialised in making tracing paper since 1938 it is alongside the river and was a water mill, it is now a more modern facility.
I have recently heard that the paper mill will close shortly

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St Marys Church, Chilham Kent

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:33:25 +0000

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The church of St Mary, Chilham, was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but has a history going back perhaps as far as the 7th century. In the 12th century the church was owned by the French abbey of St Bertin, a Benedictine monastery at St Omer. It later passed into the hands of Syon Abbey, based at Isleworth in Middlesex.
The striking tower reaches 68 feet in height, affording far-reaching views. On a clear day the towers of Canterbury Cathedral can be seen.
Not clear when I visited!!!

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Lawn Mowers!

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:23:42 +0000

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Seen in the centre of Bourton-on-the-water in the English Cotswolds

Japanese Anemone

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:21:31 +0000

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This delicate-looking perennial is a reliable late-summer to mid-Autumn bloomer, producing masses of dainty white to pink to rose blooms rising above attractively lobed medium green foliage. Flowers may be single, double, or semi-double. Seen in someone's garden

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DAHLIA

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:18:01 +0000

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A photo I took a little while ago at RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey,

It was in the experimental part of the garden.

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SEA VIXEN G-CVIX XP924 at Duxford

nobody@ipernity.com (John Lawrence) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:16:25 +0000

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The Sea Vixen is an iconic all-British twin-boom, twin-turbojet fighter that flew from Royal Navy aircraft carriers at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and 70s, helping to transform the nation’s carrier aviation capability. She was one of the UK’s most notable aircraft designs of the time, with cutting edge technology and the capability to go transonic. The Vixen was the first British aircraft to be armed with guided missiles, rockets and bombs instead of guns and was formidably capable.
With power-folding swept wings and hinged nose-cone, she epitomised the radical and innovative thinking of British engineers and designers of the time, whose designs overcame the challenges of operating the UK’s all-weather interceptor at sea, day and night.
Today, Sea Vixen G-CVIX XP924 is the only flying Sea Vixen in the world. Based at RNAS Yeovilton and flying in 899 Naval Air Squadron colours from HMS Eagle, she plays a key role in the story of the evolution of the nation’s carrier aviation heritage.

On Return to her base at Yeovilton after this display the undercarriage failed and the pilot made a controlled belly landing, fortunately the pilot walked away after a smooth touch down, There is now an appeal for funds to get her flying again as she was the last one flying.

I have just been onto the Fly Navy Website (Oct 2022) and not enough funding came forth so she won't be flying again.

Link to the final wheels up landing what great airmanship!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x64-Bea7xXc

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