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[briancampbell0706]

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[evita-shelby]

The Count and Mrs. Shelby

For my infp!anon

Warning: this came out very sexual because idk that's how it came out

Rated: M

Gif by @peakykoko

It all began with a bite.

Usually, Eva can cover it up with the skill of a master, but that time he had gotten a little too carried away and jealous from the way Mosley leered at her tits and given her a love bite right while he fucked her on his desk.

Should wear high necked things when she visits him at parliament even in summer.

But that day she wore a dress with a scandalous low-cut neckline and came out of his office too satisfied to notice the love bite. Been two entire years since Tommy had been horny and jealous enough to fuck her like an unhinged animal.

Much like him eye fucking her from his window in 1919, it did wonders for her self-esteem.

“I see Mr. Shelby has teeth as sharp as his cheekbones.” One of the ladies said with a teasing grin as Eva tried to cover it up with powder.

Violet was one of her true friends here, her husband one of the MPs of a neighboring constituency and best of all, a fellow republican. A breath of fresh air in the stale perfume of insipid false friends.

“He’d give Dracula a run for his money,” Eva had said making her laugh as she pulled out a short scarf that went well with her dress.

“With those cheekbones and that strange allergy to garlic, he could be a vampire.” Violet whispered just as another woman came out of the crapper just in time to put her nose where it doesn’t belong.

“Who’s a vampire?” Jane something asked as she washed her hands and wondering what sort of gossip she’d get to spread amongst the ladies in her circle and the other wives of politicians here.

“My husband, our dear Violet has solved the mystery.” Eva answered in jest, forgetting this Jane believed everything she heard.

It wasn’t her fault; her parents had raised her very conservatively and she had married young. Jane hadn’t even known that you could have sex through the back door ---so to speak.

“That would explain so much, I don’t recall ever seeing him in the daylight.” Jane said and Eva couldn’t discern whether she was going along with the joke or genuinely believed it. Jane was easily led, a good thing she had chosen to stick with the other wives of the Labour candidates ---and the occasional female candidate.

And so, it went, and it spread like fire throughout society.

And Eva did what she always does, go along with it while it’s still harmless fun.

Tommy has even indulged her and worn a cape to see the Dracula film on its opening night in London. Hamilton Deane had redefined the Count’s appearance into a man that looked more like Tommy in his plays in 1924 and now with that film playing every fucking where, some people couldn’t help but mention that the rising politician, Thomas Shelby, did share a striking resemblance to Dracula.

Count Shelby, Violet and the other gals of the Labour Party have taken to calling him.

“I got you something.” He looks amused, aroused as always and Eva can’t help, but wish she had just a little more time alone before her guests arrive.

If it were up to him, this tea party with the ladies involved in one way or another with the Labour Party wouldn’t happen.

If it were up to Tommy, she’d be bent over the table or on top of it with her legs spread wide and a far too eager husband between them.

She can tell this is his plan by the insistent way he embraces her from behind and began kissing her very exposed neck.

“You are an absolute angel, Tom, you know that.” Eva took the carved wooden box he’d found at a curiosity shop in Small Heath and opened it.

“Only you think that, love.” Never thinks himself a good man, always loathing himself because he can’t see past the bad.

First spontaneous gift since Polly died almost three years ago.

This was a good sign, a sign that things will be better.

He is still shit at communicating with her like he used to, when he’d be vulnerable with her because he knows she will never betray him.

But this weird gift she will adore with all her heart signals that the bleak winter of his heart is coming to an end.

“A vampire slaying kit?” she asks wondering how and why he’d get her this.

“They had it on display and I know my witch of a wife must have a vampire slaying kit.” His voice did things to her, his hands roaming about made her wish she could just cancel the brunch and let him fuck her stupid on this table.

“After this shit is over, I want to fuck you here, bend you over the table and leave you with a limp for the rest of the week.” His lips crept up to her jaw and down the bare part of shoulder, but never messed her pretty and natural looking make up.

“If you make up an emergency, you can fuck me any way you want, mi vida.” She said with a gasp.

It was good to have most of him back, he was not the same as before, but sometimes, just sometimes he is the same Tommy who he was before all this happened.

“Dear Eva, you and our dear Count have such a way with each other.” Violet said as she gestured to the vampire kit she’d forgotten to have put away, just as she had shooed Tommy away. “No bite this time?”

Jane colored pink and the other woman with her cleared her throat.

Eva had been forced to invite Lady Cynthia Mosley, what with them being neighbors along with her husband and Tommy being ‘friends’ now.

“I’d put a stake through his heart if he gets too carried away again, dear Vi.” Eva joked with her friend.

“Did you know, Cimmie, that our dear Mr. Shelby is a vampire?” Jane ---with her innocent cherub like face--- lied through her teeth. She had grown from the shy and naïve lady they had befriended earlier this year; she was quite fun now.

While most of Eva’s guests were of Tommy’s party, they had made the exception to include Mosley’s New Party and some Conservatives. Most of the Labour party wives were in on the joke, the newcomers, like Cynthia Mosley were not.

It had been Vi’s idea to use that inside joke to haze them

This had been a strategy set in place by Churchill and the handful of people who knew what Tommy was doing by flirting with fascism. Get people to think Tommy genuinely believes in that horseshit and make him more popular than Mosley.

It was rather easy, Eva was born and raised to be the wife of a powerful man and be powerful in her own right.

High society was her arena, and while Violet and Jane had cultivated a reputation for being proper ladies, Eva had already cemented her role of being the Alva Vanderbilt of this generation.

Eva had been groomed to bend society to her will and make herself it’s queen, like her grandmother before her.

“Bridgette, will you be a dear and take this to my sitting room? It doesn’t quite fit the theme of today’s party.” Eva handed the carved box to her most trusted maid, a shy thing who had been cursed by a former lover after he was killed for being one of Swing’s rats.

“Yes, ma’am, do you want me to put it next to the garlic or on the shelf with the Holy Water?” Bridgette quipped.

“Next to the Holy Water, kid.”

The tea is rather boring, and Tommy has not made an appearance, Florence however has and now Eva can’t use her as an excuse to cut it short.

The new women here are wary of her, they should be, she thinks.

The women of the Labour Party are used to her oddness and find her parties the best there are in society.

“I don’t believe he’s a vampire, no matter how great he looks in a cape.” One of the ladies at her table says when they continue to sell them the idea that Tommy is a vampire.

Once this thing is over, they will understand it was all a joke at their expense, but until then, Eva and the other labour party women had to ensure the farce was believable.

“And where is Mr. Shelby this afternoon?” Cynthia Mosley asked, and Eva tried not to smirk.

“Hiding in his office.” Eva answered as if they were friends. “Avoids sunlight like the plague, that man.”

“And mirrors, and church and garlic.” Violet adds sipping her tea.

“Still doesn’t make him a vampire, just makes him a little odd.” Cimmie pointed out.

So what if Tommy’s known oddities worked in his favor.

He avoided mirrors because he sometimes sees his mother or Polly in them, he has stopped the charade of being a godly man altogether and he has a mild allergy to garlic.

She hadn’t known about it until he tried to hide a rash on his neck after he ate Mexican food for the first time.

Eva had found it adorable especially after she ended up having to rub some ointment on the rash that had started to spread to his chest, giving her an excuse to touch his skin.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Tommy gave the women his signature charming smile which would have made them all swoon if he didn’t have blood on his rumpled and torn clothes. He wiped the blood from the edge of his lips on his sleeve and his wife wondered how he managed this.

He got thrown off Helsing again, didn’t he?

“Van Helsing again?” Eva would fuck him into next week the second the tea is over.

That horse was the worst, sure she let Tom ride him, but he had been trying to kill him lately. Hence the name they’d given him: Van Helsing.

“Come join us, Shelby, we were just talking about you.” Violet had that twinkle in her pretty green eyes.

“Can’t,” he points to the open curtains and remains on the other side of the arch.

Violet and those who know about the joke try not to giggle as the newcomers wonder if the Witch of Warwickshire is married to an actual vampire.

“Excuse me, ladies, as you can see my husband is calling to me.” Eva takes her leave and joins him in the hall.

“Thanks for getting me the fuck out of there, amor.” She said as the walked away from the tearoom. It doesn’t take long for him to pull her into the hall closet just outside of view of the tearoom.

“Your husband is hungry, witch.” He says as he pinned her against the wall. He kissed everything except her lips. Should’ve worn that supposedly smudge proof lipstick she got yesterday.

Been so long since he had been this insatiable. If she didn’t know any better, Eva would think he was back. He was getting there, the worst of his depression had gone away, but Thomas was far from good still.

Takes time and patience.

But he will get better, she had seen it.

“I told Frances to have a tray ready for you.” She bites her lip when she reached for his trouser button. Had to make this fast or else the women will be suspicious of her tardiness.

“Not food, love.” He winked and did something better, got on his knees. “Something to get me and you by until the fucking tea party is over.”

Eva didn’t know if she’ll be able to stop herself from being too loud.

When she comes back to the party, Eva has almost forgotten about the whole Tommy is a vampire bullshit they were running with.

“And what did Count Shelby want, dear?” Violet asked with a knowing smirk.

“He had a thirst.” Eva winked to her friend and the meaning wasn’t lost on most of them.

“Of blood?” Jane asks in faux innocence.

[head-post]

PM condemns “far right thuggery” across UK

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned what he called “far-right thuggery” after days of violent anti-immigration protests.

Violent protests erupted in cities across the UK after three girls were killed in a stabbing at a children’s dance class in Southport in north-west England last week. The killings were investigated by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups, as misinformation spread that the alleged attacker was an immigrant and radical Islamist.

However, police stated that the suspect was born in Britain and were not treating it as a terrorist incident. Protests spread across cities across the country, including Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester on Saturday, leading to dozens of arrests. Shops and businesses were also vandalised and looted, with several police officers injured.

On Sunday, hundreds of anti-immigration protesters gathered outside a hotel in the Rotherham area of northern England where Britain’s Home Secretary said asylum seekers were living.

I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we’ve seen this weekend. Be in no doubt, those that have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council reported that 147 people had been arrested since Saturday evening and more would be arrested in the coming days. Starmer, who took office a month ago after his Labour party won a convincing election victory over the long-ruling Conservatives, said residents were in “absolute fear” of “marauding gangs” in Rotherham.

Local police reported that 10 police officers suffered injuries in Rotherham during clashes with a crowd of 700 people, some of whom threw wooden planks and doused officers with fire extinguishers before smashing hotel windows. Lindsey Butterfield, Assistant Chief Constable at South Yorkshire Police, stated:

The mindless actions of those today have achieved nothing other than sheer destruction and leaving members of the public and the wider community in fear.

Sunday’s riots took place in smaller towns than Saturday’s, including the northwest towns of Lancaster and Bolton as well as Aldershot, southern England. Police reported arresting 14 people after a march through Middlesbrough in the north-east led to “mindless violence” and a warning to the public to avoid the town centre.

Violent protests last erupted across Britain in 2011, when thousands took to the streets after police shot dead a Black man in London. Starmer was the country’s top prosecutor at the time.

A group of faith leaders from Liverpool also issued a joint statement condemning the riots in the UK.

Since Monday, too many people have sought to use the tragedy to create division and hate. It can – and has – left communities in fear and has put people in danger.

Read more HERE

[phonenut20-blog]

Leading Tips For Selecting A Garden Awning

Results For White Wooden Blinds In Furnishings, Curtains And Also Blinds, Blinds.

#toc background: #f9f9f9;border: 1px solid #aaa;display: table;margin-bottom: 1em;padding: 1em;width: 350px; .toctitle font-weight: 700;text-align: center;

Content

Preserving Faux Wood Blinds.

Vertical Blinds Vs Horizontal Blinds.

Blinds Ca Cordless 1" Mini Blind.

Pvc Venetian Home Window Blind.

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive?

Do Hillarys repair blinds?

When you combine all of these factors, we think the answer is clear – Yes, Hunter Douglas blinds are worth the money. There are many benefits to getting these blinds, and just by saving you money on your energy costs and on your furniture, these blinds can end up paying for themselves.

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Maintaining Faux Wood Blinds.

Which blinds are better Bali or Levolor?

Basic options here amount to around $100 per window, with extravagant options costing $1,000 or more. Shutters. Shutters must be custom measured and installed, just like custom blinds and shades. Depending on the materials you use, they can cost as little as $20 per shutter, but the average is closer to $250 to $700.

Yet with the economic situation improving and outside areas ending up being much more preferred, purchaser passion is again stimulated by a high quality timber spruce up back. The price thinks a 16-by-20-foot deck with built-in bench and also planter, barriers as well as staircases. Buyers are absolutely thrilled by completed basements, Kmiecik stated. Improvement Magazine consists of in its price a 20-by-30-foot enjoyable area with wet bar as well as a bathroom. However, completing your basement may not always add worth in an appraiser's eyes, as an evaluator generally counts living room above grade only, Kmiecik stated.

Vertical Blinds Vs Horizontal Blinds.

https://www.suntex.nl/jaloezieen-op-maat/ , premium, custom-made made curtains at a rate you can pay for. Zonwering for custom drapery was birthed from our frustration with not finding a maker of economical, top quality custom-made drapes. It is our objective to aid you discover stunning, high quality personalized drapes, that fit completely with your residence and also way of life, at a cost you can pay for. Their professionals are ready to help you meet your vision for your home when it pertains to personalized drapes as well as drapes, but with keeping your spending plan in mind.

Nonetheless, if you want extra personal privacy, after that getting a choice that allows you to see out however doesn't enable people to see into your house would certainly be an excellent selection for you. As a result of their inexpensive and toughness, adding steel entrance doors generally supplies the greatest roi of all residence improvement projects, according to Remodeling Magazine. Just 2 years earlier, wooden decks recovered around 70 percent of their value, having actually gone down throughout the economic downturn.

If you intend to have the ability to shut all the blinds in a space at the same time without rising, you can utilize the remote to lower the slats without having to do so manually. Although you might listen to the work blinds and also think about a conventional model with a stick on one side for angling the slats and also a cord for lifting and also lowering the blinds, this is not the only alternative. There are blinds that feature a cordless operation that does not require you to draw a cable to raise or change the slats.

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Blinds Ca Cordless 1" Mini Blind.

Custom-made drape can last you 20 to thirty years when effectively looked after. On top of that every one of your textile will certainly originate from the exact same dye lot so there are no shade variants between drape panels. Here are a few of the distinctions in between custom curtains and also a ready-made ones that make the rate of the customized versions worth it. Give your windows the upgrade they are entitled to-- get started with Kwik-Hang today. If you have neutral decoration in your house, utilize blue as an accent in window accessories, pillows and also treatments to pull a room together while producing a tranquil, relaxing vibe.

Are Hunter Douglas blinds worth it?

Firstly, as mentioned Blinds 2go don't include any screws in the box. Additionally they don't advise what screws to use.

Garden space is restricted in London, so if you have actually got it, see to it you're taking advantage of it, particularly when you're planning to market. A deck or patio can change a yard into an amusing space, and when created as an additional room, a summer home can additionally add to the building value. You can include value by adding a tiled roofing system if you currently have a convservatory.

We have fundamental blinds as well as shades that are thousands of bucks as well as greater end designer tones and also blinds that can be countless dollars.

House owners typically integrate blinds or shades with drapes or valances, adding to the general expense.

Understand that custom blinds-- while much more costly-- generally use better than what you can locate in a house improvement store.

The rate of window treatments differ greatly by product, producer, material, and options.

Pvc Venetian Home Window Blind.

As soon as you start planning, you'll need to get to grasps with the types of conversions readily available. Alternatives vary from a roofing light conversion, which requires the least quantity of architectural work therefore is the most economical, to a more pricey mansard conversion. Right here, one or both inclines of the roofing system are changed with a new framework with steeper sides and also a practically level roofing. Add a Border - If you require to include a foot or more to the length of your drapes or drapes, you can add a contrasting border at the end of the panels for a recent appearance.

If you can stitch a straight line on the sewing equipment, you can conveniently make this change on your own. https://www.consumentenbond.nl/test Leading - If you need to include a number of inches to the size, you can open up the top side of your drapes or curtains. You'll be eliminating the rod "pocket", so this functions well if you're adding drape rings. You'll need to end up the top side by sewing or making use of iron-on hem tape.

What type of blinds are easiest to clean?

To allow more natural light into the room to create a more open and airy feel, you'll want to go with sheer blinds and shades. Sheer shades not only allow more sunlight in, they also offer an unobtrusive view which can also make a room feel bigger than it is.

You are in great hands when you go to a specialist customized drape company. They will certainly show you the most effective way to determine the width and also length of the window to get the most precise measurements possible. When friends and family involve check out, they will value the moment and also cash you put into making your house both elegant as well as comfortable. You will certainly make certain to get a lot of questions regarding where you went to get your custom drapes.

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive?

There are additionally alternatives to think about when it pertains to the structure. The product you choose will directly impact the performance of the sunroom-- aluminium, upvc as well as lumber structures all have various qualities, so do your research study and ask experts for recommendations.

Where are blinds made?

A: When it comes to covering sliding patio doors from the kitchen or walkout basements and wide expansive windows, vertical blinds still remain as the best window treatment option until today.

Exterior service a property, from brand-new home siding to replacing windows, dominate the checklist of projects that use the biggest value. They use the biggest return due to the fact that a possible house sale can be made or broken on the exterior alone, property agents say. Weigh up your choices with our newbie's overview to eliminating internal walls.

[theculturedmarxist]

Twenty flats were destroyed by fire and 10 more damaged by heat and smoke Sunday, in Barking, east London.

The previous day, a huge fire ripped through what was the Jordanhill university campus building in Glasgow. The building was being redeveloped into more than 400 flats costing between £246,500 and £625,000.

No lives were lost in either fire, though a man and a woman were treated for smoke inhalation in De Pass Gardens, Barking.

Taking place on the weekend before the June 14 second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower inferno that claimed 72 lives, the blazes confirm the abject failure of the Conservative government, Labour controlled authorities and private corporations to end the threat posed to working people from substandard accommodation and the gutting of fire-safety regulations.

The fire in Barking engulfed the ground floor to the sixth floor at the top of the low-rise flat complex. It was eventually brought under control after three hours, at 6.00 p.m., by 15 fire engines and 100 firefighters, who arrived as residents were being evacuated.

The cause of the fire is not known. An investigation has been launched, but reports suggest that a wooden balcony was set ablaze by a barbecue and the fire then spread to similar balconies on all six floors.

As with Grenfell, the privately owned flats had been the subject of safety complaints by residents regarding the use of wood on the external aspects of the building. Peter Mason, chair of the Barking Reach residents’ association, took up the issue last month after a “BBC Watchdog” programme reported fire safety problems at two similar developments by the same builder in Scotland.

Builders Belway Homes is reported to have reassured residents that the wood was treated to be fire retardant. The Guardian quoted an email from Belway Homes stressing that the “construction method was different to the ones in the report.” The email concluded, “We understand that these news articles are highly alarming for all residents of new homes and I hope that the above statement has allayed any fears you may have over the safety and construction of your Bellway home.”

Mason noted that managing agents hired a fire warden to carry out patrols because of concerns about fire safety.

The potential for further disasters is enormous. The new estate, built in 2013, is large and made up of similar buildings.

Vilma has lived on the first floor of the gutted block since it opened. She told the WSWS, “The water sprinklers were not working, the fire alarm was not working, the fire doors are always open. And a fire marshal guy has been sitting for six, seven months from last November, from 7 p.m. to the morning, to wake up people if there was a fire. We knew that something was wrong as we spoke with the management letting association. But we did not get any answer. We asked why do we have to have this marshal here as we do not feel safe. What is wrong?

“Every time we called a meeting the rep did not attend. They sent someone else who knew nothing.

“When the fire brigade arrived they could not find a water hydrant. They had to waste 10 minutes. That’s why it’s only this block that has been burned, because when they found the water they were able to stop it from spreading.

“I live on the first floor. It’s completely gone. You need to report that it is not safe.

“They are now building again. They said that this wood would resist fire. They even gave us a timeframe of an hour and a half. That’s how safe they said it was. It took seven minutes to spread to all the building. They are liars.

“All the blocks are the same in this estate. This is just one block of many, and they want us to stay here depending on the condition of the house. How can we live here now? We have just been told that in three hours we can go in to see what we can salvage.”

Esther Aladje lived opposite the block. She explained, “My three boys were in the house, I was at church. I got messages, as I could not pick up the phone. And when I got the messages, they said, ‘Fire!’ I ran as fast as possible. We heard a lot of shouting, noise and so we had to leave immediately.

“By the time we came the boys were outside the house without clothes—no slippers, nothing, in the cold. One of them has a health condition and they were inhaling the smoke.

“The boys said it was really, really hot. If you can see in the front of the house all the window glass and the window frames are melted. That’s the impact of the heat. They are all doubled glazed.

“I feel for the people in the block as we know almost everyone. We see the children every day and we wave at each other. The blocks are just six years old.

“When we moved in, I was concerned by the fact that the outside of the blocks was clad with wood. My neighbour told me that the fire moved from the first house to the next in under 10 minutes via the wood. Whatever they used I am sure was not safe. Even the plastic doors from the balcony are all melted. How is this possible in 2019?”

Many buildings nationally are fire hazards.

According to Inside Housing, 164 high-rise private blocks have still not had highly flammable aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding replaced and nearly half had no firm plan in place to do so. The government is making just £200 million available to fund the removal of ACM.

The government has not tested any cladding material other than ACM, including high-pressure laminate (HPL) cladding, which burns 115 times hotter than non-combustible products. There are 34 high-rise blocks owned by social landlords that are clad in HPL, which was blamed for the spread of flames during the Lakanal House fire, which killed six people in 2009. The government has not even set a date for a large-scale test for HPL.

In a test on care homes by the London Fire Brigade, the borough of Bromley had the highest number, with 71 care homes receiving a notice of deficiencies. In addition, 20 in Redbridge and 16 in Havering failed to meet fire standards.

A survey by the Shelter housing charity showed that over half of people renting a home from a local authority or housing association have had a problem with the building in the past three years—including electrical hazards and gas leaks. Among those with a problem, one in 10 had to report it more than 10 times.

[homenz-blog]

Kids, Work and Benefits of Pvc Doors

 https://doorwins.com/

Doorwins has an extensive selection of doors to pick from. Wooden doors might be commonplace in schools, but it doesn't mean they're the ideal option. They are very heavy and require 2 to 3 persons to carry and handle the installation. They can also be made with low-threshold options for full disabled access. The majority of these doors incorporate sleek and bright surfaces which often increase the decor of the house. If you are in need of a new door of any kind then uPVC front doors are perfect.

 https://doorwins.com/upvc-double-glazing-windows-and-doors-london/

Because you won't will need to fix and replace them so frequently, PVC doors are a terrific method to conserve your financial plan, which means you have more money to spend on your students' education. These days, PVC doors are a much better investment. You are able to also get PVC doors in different colours besides white, Rosewood or oak are also rather popular. PVC doors are likewise an economical selection, being inexpensive to purchase, maintenance free and very durable.

 https://doorwins.com/conservatories/

There may not be a doubt about it, uPVC doors can provide the very best security possible. On the market, doorwins UPVC doors and windows can be found in various colours. The Polyvinyl Chloride doors need light structures and the price of installation is in fact comparatively less. PVC-U windows are among the very best performing products available on the market today. Fairview Windows presents wonderful options in regards to Conservatories Warrington.

 doorwins PVC is versitile and may be used for different colours and effects, often serving as an alternate to conventional wood frames. PVC is an incredibly durable and durable construction material which may be utilized in a selection of applications, either rigid or flexible, white or black and a broad array of colours between. PVC has been utilized extensively in a wide variety of construction products for over half a century. Flexible PVC is utilized to earn blood storage bags, and in fact is the sole material accepted by the European Pharmacopoeia for this goal.

What to Do About Benefits of Pvc Doors

 One of the chief benefits of PVC doors is the simple fact they pose greater insulation benefits because of their construction. PVC's major advantage is its compatibility with various kinds of additives, which makes it a highly versatile polymer. Unlike traditional plastic however it doesn't leave a negative effect on the environment behind.

The Pain of Benefits of Pvc Doors

 You may try out increasing the temperature in your house or opening the blinds, shades or drapes, but you might be unable to get rid of exterior condensation completely. Insulate walls to continue to keep their interior surfaces warm and protect against condensation. The only means to lessen exterior condensation is to boost the temperature of the outer glass surface over the dew point of the air. Condensation which is situated on the exterior of your windows is nothing to be worried about. The vapor that's released and seen on your windows and doors is called condensation. Nearly all air holds a gas often called water vapor. Thus drier air isn't permitted to exchange with the humid air in your house, causing more humidity in your house.

[rhaellatully]

Strings’n’Drums Chapter 5 (fanfiction)

Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12814422/5/Strings-n-Drums

AO3:https://archiveofourown.org/works/13991202/chapters/36607086

Summury: AU. In 1969, Lucy runs from home and becomes a journalist for the magazin Strings'n'Drums, this will lead the young shy girl in the world of rock music, to meet the colorfull caracters that populates it. In between running from her father and living new experience Lucy will make friends, gorw into an adult and maybe have some romance. Will include Nalu and mentions of other parings

Beta: Reliena Artemis Rockfeller

Chapter 1:https://rhaellatully.tumblr.com/post/170156396003/stringsndrums-fanficition

Chapter 4:https://rhaellatully.tumblr.com/post/176550445438/stringsndrums-chapter-4-fanfiction

Lucy was climbing the stairs toward Natsu Dragneel’s apartment. He lived on the seventh floor, and the more steps she took, the more she regretted to have worn her high heels. To be honest, the closer she got to his apartment, the more she regretted her entire choice of attire. Levy had told her that Natsu Dragneel didn’t like people who were too serious and she had to dress down. She was wearing a zaffre circle skirt that ended much above her knees with a white short-sleeved notched collar shirt. As much as she wanted Mr. Dragneel to see her as someone he could trust, she had a hard time believing he’d take her seriously with a skirt this short. She had told Levy about this worry of hers, and her friend had answered on a dismissive tone, “Natsu doesn’t take anyone seriously.” This hadn’t made Lucy feel better. Her mind was filled with the different remark that could be made about the skirt. Mini skirts were the trend, almost every girl wore them in London, but back at home, they had always been forbidden and shamed. She was raised in a conservative home, after all.

Her legs hurt with every step she took, as she looked up for the hundredth time to see if she was getting closer. She cursed the architect who made the steps so wide. And it was also just her luck that the lift was under maintenance today. It was hot inside the building, but not as much as it was outside. Lucy, who had grown up more at the north, was not used to this heat and it showed. She wiped some sweat from her brow and tried to look under her armpit, where she could feel dampness. She could only hope it didn’t spread too widely or what would she look like?

When she finally reached the right floor, she took a moment to catch her breath. She shouldn’t be this affected by just a few stairs, but she was truly out of shape and the heat was just agonizing. Lucy took out her powder compact from her bag and used its mirror to look at herself. Her hair was a bit messy and she tried her best to put the stray strands back in place, but without a comb, this was an impossible task. She looked inside her bag and found a blue foulard, that she tied around her head, tying it under her left ear in a big noose that she hoped would keep the attention away from her hair. She retouched her make up the best she could, then took a deep breath and walked to where Natsu Dragneel’s apartment should be.

With her still sweaty finger, she rang the bell. She heard the sound echo through the building, and the moment it stopped, the door opened. On the other side, stood a man who she recognised to be Natsu Dragneel, his messy hair as well as his signature unbuttoned black leather waistcoat were the giveaway. He didn’t wear anything underneath it, apart of course, from his white pants. Lucy was made quite uncomfortable by the sight of his bare chest. She gulped as unnoticeably as she could, and immediately looked away.

“Hello.” He said with a nice voice.

“Hi.” Said Lucy, as she looked at him in the eyes, trying to look professional, “I’m Lucy Heartfillia, the Strings’n’Drums journalist, I’m here for the interview.”

“Oh yeah, right! Do come in!” He said with a smile and there was excitement in his voice.

Lucy entered the apartment and was met with a wave of heat, which would have surprised her if she hadn’t immediately spotted the large window that allowed an incredible amount of light in, the white walls reflecting it. As she glanced around, she noticed the tremendous mess that was this flat. While the furniture were correctly placed, the couch across from a television; a small wooden table in between them; several chairs were also in place to accommodate guests; underneath the expanse of this area was a large carpet; and against the wall, was a console shelf full of vinyl records, and sitting atop of it was a state-of-the-art record player. There were also uncountable amounts of small objects scattered around the room, and mostly at places where they didn’t belong—such as guitar strings on the television, a mug on the carpet, what seems like a recently-used toothbrush on the couch, an opened bottle of alcohol on a chair, a pile of clean clothes folded on the floor, and many more other things.

Mr. Dragneel went to sit on the couch, across from the toothbrush, and smiled kindly at her. Lucy made her way to one of the chairs and sat. As she did, she noticed a bunch of papers folded into the seat’s crevice. She took them and discovered that they were music sheets. She spared a quiet glance in Natsu Dragneel’s direction and saw that his expression had not changed, as if he was perfectly unbothered by what she had just done. She put the sheets back where she had found them, and took out her notepad before putting her bag on the floor next to her chair. She turned her attention towards the musician she was supposed to interview. Now that she looked at him more carefully, she noticed that he seemed a bit tanned. She guessed this was due to the tour he just got back from; the last concert having been in Spain and Portugal. She also noticed the white scarf that was wrapped around his neck. The sight of the man’s chiselled chest had made her unable to pay attention to the article of clothing earlier. This scarf had black lines on it that reminded Lucy of scales, which she thought fits well with his nickname: Salamander. His eyes, his expression, his entire body language, were perfectly relaxed. Lucy supposed it came from the numerous interviews he had already given. This led her to think it would make him judge her more harshly. Levy had told her that he was very laid back and didn’t care about much, but Lucy convinced herself that someone with his influence in the musical world would see that what was part of it as someone religiously important.

“So are you ready to dive in?” she asked, forcing a smile.

“Sure!” He answered with what seemed to be the excitement of a child. Lucy almost laughed at his behaviour.

“Alright,” she said, “you just came back from your European tour, right? How was it?”

“Oh it was cool, y'know the usual,” he said nonchalantly, making small gestures as he spoke.

“Did you get to play the tourist in some of the towns you visited?” Out of habit, she started to outstretch her arm toward him, but remembering her sweaty armpit, she quickly retracted it.

“Not all of them, cause, y'know, the schedule. But there were a few I got to visit and hang around in. Like, it was super cool in Stockholm,” and he went on to explain everything he had found interesting about this town. As he spoke, he grew more excited and his movements grew wider. By the end of his speech, he was almost jumping on his seat. Lucy was very amused by his behaviour. “Have you ever been to a town like that?” He finished by asking.

“No,” she said, the ghost of a chuckle in her voice, she was about to tell him about one of her travels when she remembered that she was supposed to do an interview. “Did you find anything interesting or inspiring, musically speaking?”

This time he jumped on his seat, “Yes!” he said loudly pointing at her with his finger, “It was in Portugal, in Lisbon, I went to a bar one night to see a concert of local fado artists—have you ever listened to fado?” She shook her head no, “...well, it’s that sort of Portuguese blues, I mean I call it blues because it’s really melancholic and played with string instruments but it’s not melancholic melancholy, y’know? The melody somehow has a hint of hope in it,” there was a glimmer in his eyes as he spoke, “...and there’s that sound, it’s very unique. The sound made by Portuguese guitars. The one I went to see, they had a guitarra,” Lucy had no idea what that was and it must have showed because he immediately said, “it’s a guitar that looks kind of like a cross between a mandolin and a violao, which is another Portuguese guitar. The guitarra has that sound that really fits the melancholy of the music. And there was this singer, the way she sang, it was amazing! It really touches your soul, y'know.”

“Do you plan on including a bit of that in your next album?”

“Definitely. Though I haven’t figured out how yet, but I’ve bought myself a guitarra and a dozen of fado albums before leaving Lisbon. I’ve been listening to them on repeat. I’m going to fit that in somehow.” He said with delight.

Lucy was curious on how he was going to do that, and on how his next songs might sound. She made a note to herself to purchase some fado albums to help her write the article. In her head, she imagined it sounding similar to flamenco, but she could guess this was wrong. Flamenco was Spanish, and fado was Portuguese; the two countries did share a border, but that didn’t make them the same. Plus, with what Natsu had described, it didn’t sound like flamenco because fado sounded melancholic, not upbeat.

This train of thought reminded her of information she had acquired about the musician, so she asked him, “Did you get to spend some time in Spanish cities?”

“Yeah, I got to visit Madrid a bit, but not Barcelona, and that’s a bit sad.”

“You have Spanish roots, don’t you? Did going there feel different from other countries you’ve visited?”

“Oh yeah, well, my dad’s Spanish, I… I don’t know, it was weird,” suddenly he wasn’t making any movement anymore, “...cause I know like three words of Spanish and here I was, visiting the homeland of my ancestors, but I was a foreigner. It was cool to discover all cultures, y'know, the music, the colours, the food. The food! Man, the food was great! But it just showed that I’m not Spanish, y'know?” He finished, scratching the back of his head.

Lucy didn’t know. Her parents must have moved only three kilometres away from where they were born, where their parents were born, where their grandparents were born. By moving to London, she must have accomplished the greatest migration anyone in her family had ever made. She didn’t feel much towards her ‘homeland’, probably because to her, it had always been a prison. But she had always thought that those who had another home, one older, one carried by the stories of their grandparents, must have had a connection to that place, something that drew them there.

She couldn’t help but ask, “So, you didn’t feel any connection with Spain?”

She saw him hesitate before answering, “It’s a great place and I do like it there but… all my friends are in Great Britain, and that’s where my heart is. This is where my home is.”

A smile made its way to Lucy’s face. This was a beautiful thought, and she hoped that one day, she would share it. But for it to become a reality, she needed to make her place here, and this started by being a good journalist. “Should we expect a song about this?”

His eyes widened and he pointed at her again, “That’s a great idea!” he exclaimed, “But I can’t use fado on that one, I’ll have to go towards Spanish music. I know some Spanish musicians, I’ll have to call them.” His hands were floating in the air again. “Maybe, I can put some Spanish words in the lyrics, what do you think?”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out. So your next album is going to be inspired by what you’ve discovered in your tour?”

“Well yeah, you sing what, y’know, what happens to you. I can’t discover those kinds of things and then not include them in my songs.”

“You’ve had tours all around the world before, why didn’t you do this sooner?”

“In the past tour, I never had the time to do anything other than my concerts, attend rehearsals, and appear on shows where I’m a guest. It was really exhausting. Honestly, at that time, I’d rather hit the bed than hit the town.” He let his body fall on the side of the couch to emphasize his words.

Lucy let a chuckle escape her lips. The musician smiled at her and got his body back into a sitting position. Lucy looked back at her notes to figure out what question she was supposed to ask, “What about the public, the crowd—is it really different from one country to the next?”

“Not really, y'know, music it’s… it can bring people together like nothing else. No matter where you’re from, you feel it the same, y'know what I mean?” She could tell from the look on his face that he truly was worried about his wording, but Lucy understood him completely and she nodded.  Lucy might not be a musician, but she had felt music every time she listens to it. Music didn’t need to have the same cultural base, or the same language...sometimes, it didn’t even need lyrics. Music could universally be comprehended.

“Yeah, music just get to people, it doesn’t matter where you are. Everyone understands music.” He continued, “So yeah, crowd’s the same. I mean there’s America, y’know, I was in the US before and like, over there my crowd is mostly made of girls, so I guess it’s not exactly the same, I guess.”

“How do you feel about this difference?”

“Oh, I don’t think much about it, but y’know, sometimes…it kind of gives me the impression that they’re more here for my appearance than my music.” His eyes widened, “Oh, so that’s how it feels.”

Lucy laughed and out of reflex brought her hands in front of her mouth. Meanwhile, Natsu smiled at her. When she went back to her original stance, she felt a coolness at the place where her arms connected with her sides. This reminded her that her armpits were stained with sweat, something that Natsu Dragneel must have seen while she was laughing. Yet, he was looking at her with a childlike smile, as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

Lucy didn’t know what to make of that. Any other day, she would have immediately thought that he was pretending to have seen nothing to be polite, but with the behaviour he had shown up until now, she thought that it was possible, that he might simply not care. However, she couldn’t be sure, and even if she had been, it wouldn’t have stop shame from making its way to her mind. She could hear her preceptor’s stern voice in her head going, ‘A true lady is never seen covered with filth of any kind.’ As much as she could shut the voice down, she couldn’t stop emotions from invading her. All she could hope to do was not to let it show. So, she gave her best smile and thought of a new question.

“Are you concerned with the place of women in the industry?” Her voice had been strong and didn’t show any hint of how she felt inside. She was proud of herself, but that didn’t last long. The moment she looked at Natsu Dragneel, she saw him looking at her oddly.

“Yeah, kind of,” he said, still looking weirdly at her. Lucy started thinking that maybe her question was the problem. “I have lots of friends who aren’t treated like me, y'know. It’s like Erza, I mean—Erza!” There was an hint of anger in his voice, “She’s so much more talented than me! I would kill to be at her level but they don’t let her do her thing!” The hint of anger was gone, and only real frustration remained.

“You mean Erza Scarlet?” asked Lucy, perplexed at the idea that he could be speaking about an artist as popular as her in such ways.

“Yeah!” he said, still visibly pissed.

Lucy took a moment to think about how to phrase her question. She didn’t want to sound like she was disagreeing with him. She was genuinely curious, but seeing how enraged he was, he might take her words the wrong way. Carefully, she tried, “Could you explain to me, how…in what ways Erza Scarlet is mistreated by the industry?”

“They make her like that,” he paused a moment, then spurred out words like they were poison, “...nice little doll, that only has a pretty voice!”

Lucy would never have described Erza Scarlet’s voice as pretty; not that it sounded bad, but that word didn’t reflect the power there was in that woman’s voice. She didn’t know what to think of the words ‘nice little doll’;Erza Scarlet had always seemed like a full grown woman to Lucy. But the person in front of her knew Erza Scarlet personally, so if to him, what she perceives as a normal woman with a powerful voice was a ‘nice little doll that only has a pretty voice’, what kind of person could Erza Scarlet really be?

“She’s not that?” the words escaped Lucy’s mouth without her accord.

“She’s so much more than that,” answered Natsu Dragneel, looking out the window. It took Lucy a moment to recognise the emotion in his voice, it was admiration. Not the kind of admiration one feels for someone they’re smitten with, but the kind you have for a mentor, the kind a child has for their hero. “Erza is the most talented musician I’ve ever met. Hands down.” He paused, “What you hear is nothing compared to what she can do—what she can really do.” He let out a frustrated sigh, “All that because stupid producers won’t let her do her thing.” The drama of what he was saying was cut off by his face, which wore a big childish pout.

“You admire her a lot, don’t you?” asked Lucy, genuinely curious. Now that she thought about it, Levy had mentioned that, among the children she had grown up with, there was Natsu Dragneel and Erza Scarlet.

“Of course!” he exclaimed throwing his arms in the air, “She’s the best!”

“Did you always think of her that way? I mean, since you were children?”

Natsu stopped and stared at her, his face was full of confusion, than realisation dawned on him. “Levy,” he said under his breath, he then regained his composure and said, “Not straight away, I thought she was bossy at first,” he paused, “...and she kind of was, like every time I tried to sneak into the kitchen at night, she was there to drag me back to my room.” He whined. He sighed angrily before continuing, “But then I heard her play and I realised how talented she was, and y'know after that, I couldn’t not admire her. And y'know, I was trying to become as good as her, but she was improving at the same time, so I was always behind. I’m still behind!”

“You’re still very talented,” Lucy automatically reassured him.

He shrugged it of and said, “The only person I’ve ever met who was close to her level was Gildarts.”

“You mean Gildarts Clive, the bluesman?” Once again, she had Levy to thank for the intel.

“Yeah!” said Natsu, with clear excitement in his voice. “That guy is awesome!”

“You’ve also met him back in the orphanage. I heard he sometimes gave music lessons to the children. Is that how you learnt music?”

“No, that’s how I got better.” He tilted his head to the side, “That and playing with the others.” he admitted.

This gave Lucy the opportunity to ask something that had been puzzling her for a long time. She knew from Levy that Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet, John Fool, Cana Alberona, The Strauss, and many others had all grown up in the same place, yet, they had all made their careers separately. This didn’t make sense to Lucy. She had asked Levy about it but the other girl had not been able to give her an answer. Lucy didn’t live inside their heads, she didn’t know what they thought. So she asked Natsu about it.

“We didn’t want to work together.” he said simply.

“But why?” pushed Lucy, the only reason that, to her, made sense for not wanting to work with someone you’ve known so long, would be that you don’t get along. But she knew they had chosen to live together in a tiny flat when they got to London, so they must have been more than comfortable with each other.

Natsu shook his head sideways, looking for his words, “You can’t know who’s the best, if you’re all in the same band, y'know?” Lucy didn’t understand what he meant, and it must have shown because he then said, “We had… some kind of rivalry going on, we wanted to see who was the best, y'know.”

Now Lucy got it. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was what having siblings was like. Of course she knew of many bands made of siblings or other family members, but in every novel she reads, siblings seem to have some kind of rivalry, or a need to show which of them was the best. Being an only child, the mechanics of siblinghood fascinated her. She remembered asking for siblings when she was young, and her mother would only always laugh nicely at her request. She didn’t remember her father’s reaction, either he had never been there (which could sum up most of her childhood) or she had repressed the memory on purpose.

She kept asking Natsu question about his work, mostly what he was planning to do from now on. He kept answering with much enthusiasm, causing the fall of many objects scattered on the couch or around it. Until finally, Lucy ran out of questions. She told him she was done with the interview and started gathering her things.

“Y'know, this interview was more fun than most of the ones I’ve had.” he told her.

This brought warmth to Lucy’s heart. She, who was always worried about her own capabilities. The smile on his face showed that he was sincere.

“You’re one of the nicest persons I’ve had to interview, too.” She said to repay the compliment.

“Really? Who did you get before?” he asked, genuinely curious.

Lucy stopped, his question insinuated that the interviewees she had were people excessively mean, and that wasn’t true. She had had people who clearly didn’t want to be here, but she never had anyone actually take it out on her. Still, thinking about this, she decided to say with a defeated sigh, “Rust made me uncomfortable.” Which was true. This band had remained a bad memory, probably the most uneasy interview of her admittedly short career. Nevertheless, she regretted saying those words the instant they came out of her mouth. For one, it was a very unprofessional thing to say, and secondly, with her background, she didn’t feel like she was allowed to judge them.

But before she could apologize for that sentence Natsu left out, “Oh yeah, Gajeel’s such an ass!”

“I don’t know if I would say that.” Lucy didn’t really know much about Mr. Redfox and she felt very uncomfortable insulting him behind his back.

“Every time I see him, he’s being an ass to someone! Plus he punched Droy in the face for no reason!” Natsu whined.

Lucy knew who Droy was; he was the friend of Levy that had indeed been punched in the face by Gajeel Redfox. Natsu knew that and had apparently met with Gajeel a significant amount of time. But she hadn’t. “I’ve only met him once and I doubt it’s enough to make an opinion.”

“I’ve met him lots of times and I think he’s an ass.” he said confidently.

Lucy just smiled and said, “If you say so.”

Natsu smiled back. Lucy was about to leave when she felt something warm and hairy rubbing against her leg. Shocked, she immediately jumped on the chair, turning her eyes toward what had touched her. She was relieved to see a cat. She let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, Natsu burst in laughter. His laugh quickly became uncontrollable. He ended up on the couch clutching his stomach. Lucy was mortified, she felt ridiculed and wanted nothing more than run out of here, but she found herself paralysed. The cat looked confused by the scene. Somewhere in between his laughing fits, Natsu managed to let out, “You’re afraid of the cat.”

This sentence should have sounded mean, but there was no malice in his voice, just friendly teasing. As if they had known each other much longer than they actually did. Able to move again, Lucy climbed down the chair. She glanced at Natsu who was slowly regaining control of himself, then turned to the cat who was staring at her. She picked him up. He had soft fur, and Lucy enjoyed giving him nice stroke on the back. The cat started purring.

“Your human is an idiot, you know.” She told him.

Natsu came back to his senses, still lying on the sofa when he told her, “You’re weird, but in a good way.”

Lucy had no idea what that meant, or in what way he could have possibly found her weird. She spent a good amount of time trying to figure that out, on her way home. She didn’t. But when the time came to start writing her article, and she asked herself how she would describe Natsu Dragneel in a few words, the first thing that came to her mind was: weird, but in a good way.

[briancampbell0706]

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[architectnews]

Ten kitchen extensions that make a spacious addition to homes

For our latest lookbook, we've chosen ten kitchen and dining extensions that create spacious and practical as well stylish additions to homes.

Kitchen extensions are one of the most popular building projects for homeowners. Constructed to add extra space to an existing building, they are often used for both cooking and socialising.

While they are common in homes all over the world, many of the kitchen extensions in this lookbook are found in Victorian and Georgian terraced homes in London. The traditional buildings have been remodelled to create a generous eating, dining and entertaining space.

This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous kitchen-related posts feature kitchen islands, green kitchens, and terrazzo kitchens.

Albion Terrace, UK, by Outpost

Architecture studio Outpost added an extension with a zigzagging zinc facade to a Victorian terrace in east London's Haggerston. The open-plan kitchen and dining area were set within the extension, which boasts a zigzagging roof and ceiling that follows the profile of the facade.

The kitchen features cobalt blue cabinetry and wooden worktops that contrast against the extension's pale walls, floor and ceiling.

Find out more about Albion Terrace ›

Fruit Box, UK, by Nimtim Architects

A wooden partitioned extension that houses a galley-style kitchen was added to a 1970s townhouse in Forest Hill, London. Nimtim Architects employed plywood partitions and joinery throughout the extension to zone areas such as the kitchen and dining area.

Square white tiles clad some of the kitchen walls, forming splashbacks against tiled worktops. An adjacent island features a tiled waterfall countertop, which contains a sink and shelving beneath.

Find out more about Fruit Box ›

Cornerstone House, UK, by Merrett Houmøller Architects

Located in the London neighbourhood of Crouch End, Merrett Houmøller Architects created a modern extension that looked to enhance the home's connection with the rear garden.

The extension was clad in blackened zinc tiles and houses the kitchen, dining and small living area. Floor-to-ceiling windows occupy the rear walls of the extension and provide views out to the garden from the kitchen and dining area.

Find out more about Cornerstone House ›

Punta Chilen, Chile, by Guillermo Acuña Arquitectos Asociados

Santiagao-based architecture studio Guillermo Acuña Arquitectos Asociados built a house extension on bright red-painted stilts, which houses Punta Chilen's kitchen as well as the home's living areas.

The extension takes shape as a large open-plan room that is primarily used for cooking and eating. Wood clads the walls, floors and ceiling of the space and extends across the kitchen to form blocks of worksurfaces and cabinetry.

Find out more about Punta Chilen ›

Mount View, UK, by Archmongers

Pale pink tiles clad the exterior of this kitchen extension on a Victorian terraced home by Archmongers in north London. The extension occupies the rear of the home and houses a new kitchen and dining room, while providing the historic terrace with a 1970s-informed aesthetic.

The kitchen features a similar colour palette to the exterior tiles, boasting a pastel-toned interior that features a breakfast bar overlooking the garden.

Find out more about Mount View ›

Rydon Street, UK, by Moxon Architects

Located in a conservation area of Islington, north London, the basement of this Victorian townhouse was excavated by Moxon Architects to add a bright open-plan kitchen, dining and living extension.

The basement was opened up and had a small extension added to the rear, forming an open-plan living and dining area that leads out to a sunken garden. It boasts a minimalist, gallery-like look.

Find out more about Rydon Street ›

Overcast House, UK, by Office S&M

Housed within a salmon-pink rear volume, this residential extension by Office S&M in north London's Haringey uses trending hues such as millenium-pink and mint green for the kitchen and entertaining space.

Unlike its unusual exterior, the interior of the extension boasts a typical design and features a kitchen tucked into a recessed wall behind a large island that contains a sink and storage solutions.

Find out more about Overcast House ›

Plinth House, UK, by DGN Studio

DGN Studio extended this semi-detached Victorian terrace in east London by adding a sunken concrete floor that aimed to maximise the kitchen extension's ceiling height.

Light oakwood lines the ceilings of the extension between a skylight that allows daylight to flood the sunken space. A large kitchen island occupies the centre of the space, while a dining area is located at the rear.

Find out more about Plinth House ›

Edinburgh Pavilion, UK, by Archer + Braun

Titled Edinburgh Pavilion, Archer + Braun built this minimal extension in Edinburgh as a deliberate contrast to the Grade B-listed structure it adjoined. The volume has a glazed rectangular form that is removed from interior walls.

Red elements frame the extension's glazed wall as well as its interior, providing pops of colour to the kitchen and dining room it houses.

The kitchen is neatly tucked within the red Corsehill sandstone volume of the extension and spills out to the open-plan glazed area, which doubles as a dining room.

Find out more about Edinburgh Pavilion ›

Exoskeleton House, Australia, by Takt Studio

Takt Studio added a steel exoskeleton extension with a sloping roof to a 1950s brick bungalow in the foothills of the Australian mountains. The new addition opened up the home to create a single large living area that holds a kitchen and dining area surrounded by exterior decking.

The kitchen, located at the eastern side of the extension, takes shape as two rows of cabinetry and features views out to the surrounding landscape.

Find out more about Exoskeleton House ›

This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing elegant wood panelling, kindergarten interiors, smart storage solutions and plywood interiors.

The post Ten kitchen extensions that make a spacious addition to homes appeared first on Dezeen.

[cielizzydefencesquad]

You said any ship so here goes, Seiglinde/Edward

You know this is actually one of my crack!ships so I’m quite glad you requested it! ;) 

*Please keep in mind: Sieglinde is 17+ here*

Who is more likely to catch a cold? Edward. Despite his Phantomhive/Midford blood he’s prone to catching colds around the end of January/beginning of February while Sieglinde can march outside in her nightgown (presumably to catalogue and inspect the various English herbs for her botany journal) in the middle of winter and wake up rosy-cheeked and perfectly fine. —> Still, Sieglinde never fails to whip up a mug of traditional German Apfelwein to warm Edward up. (“Oh I know you can drink more than that! Come on, you’re already prettier than me—no need to drink like a girl too.”)

Who hogs the blankets? Sieglinde. All. The. Way. —> Yet little did Edward know that Sieglinde only did this to force Edward to stop being so bashful around her. (“See, if you want to get warm now you’ve got to come closer,” Sieglinde smiled coyly, “besides, I’m small and compact—excellent for providing body heat.”)

Who kills all the flowers? Sieglinde (lol) for all her medical experiments. She ends up pillaging the Midford greenhouse so Edward built a personal garden filled with medicinal herbs for Sieglinde to cultivate, experiment, and mutilate XD

Who eats all the candy before Halloween? Sieglinde again! Due to all those years of restricted dietary feeding Sieglinde is an absolute glutton for sweets—particularly English Jelly Babies (a sweet soft gummy candy that were first manufactured in 19th century Lancashire). Edward’s resorted to making little Halloween candy bags for Sieglinde to snack from so she doesn’t end up eating the whole kit and caboodle.

Who takes the longest showers? Edward. (But once Sieglinde moved in she insisted on building a bathtub that’d rival the Turkish bathhouses—much to Edward’s embarrassment. Especially since once they were built Sieglinde said: “Well why don’t you just take a bath with me? The tub’s big enough for two and aren’t you all about that conservation consuetude? Oh and I give excellent massages.”)

Who goes to bed at 5am but wakes up at 8am? Sieglinde. New ideas come to her at all hours of the day (or night) and she won’t rest until she at least jots an outline down. —> Edward is fiercely proud of her accomplishments and brilliance but gets quite worried when he wakes up to find Sieglinde still building/designing away in her laboratory. (He later installed a personalized tea set down there so she could at least remember to take tea every once in a while.)

Who makes sure the other has a healthy breakfast? Edward. Even though it’s usually the woman’s job to design the breakfast/lunch/supper menus, Edward doesn’t mind taking on this task. He makes sure the dining table is filled full with seasonal vegetables cooked in spices and seasonings (Sieglinde hates plain food) and always insists she try a little bit of everything. (“Even geniuses have to eat, liebling.” —> You don’t even wanna know how long it took Sieglinde to convince Edward to call her by a cute German pet name: “If you don’t then I’m withholding all kisses and further activity until you do.” *cue Sieglinde’s smirk*)

What pets do they have? Sieglinde’s preoccupation with exotic animals became quite a problem when she started importing peacocks and flamingos in from all around the world. Eventually, they compromised: Sieglinde would return her informal zoo if Edward would allow her to keep a pet doe (named Star) and a pet bunny (named Bamboo). 

Wedding

Who proposes? Edward! Like his mother and sister, Edward is a consummate planner and spent nearly four months devising and outlining what he called his “most important undertaking.” —> In July 1895 Edward took Sieglinde to Kanagawa, Japan just in time for the Tanabata festival. There, under an indigo night and a sea of diamond stars, they took an elegant wooden boat to the middle of the port just as the Tanabata lanterns were lit and released into the velvet dusk. Edward took Sieglinde by the hand and asked, with passionate, undisguised sincerity, if she might do him the honor of becoming his wife.

Who actually enjoyed the planning? Sieglinde! She and Lizzy got together and ironed out all the details of the wedding. While some might find wedding planning tedious Sieglinde thought it was all in good fun. She was learning something new and insisted the event would come as “close as I possibly can to stamping ‘Property of Sieglinde Sullivan’ on Edward’s forehead.”

Would their wedding be small or grand? It would be a beautiful, intimate wedding. Despite Edward’s status as heir to the marquessate of Scotney, he and Sieglinde decided on a wedding with a guest list of less than 70 people. (In Victorian times, particularly in regards to the aristocracy, 70 attendees at a wedding was pretty dang small.) This, however, backfired—the wedding was seen as the social event of the season due to its “exclusivity”; some of the leading socialite figures in London tried to bribe Sieglinde into including them on the guest list while others flat out lied and said they’d been invited.

Which guest was happiest to see them get married? Lizzy! She was chuffed to bits that her beloved older brother and dear friend Sully were finally getting hitched!

Children

How many children would they have? Ohhh boy. Well, with Sieglinde’s sexual appetite and Edward’s indulgence of his wife I’d say they would wind up with at least 4 kids. At least.

Would they adopt or have them naturally? Naturally! (“Having kids isn’t fun but making them sure is.” — Sieglinde)

Who is the strictest parent? Surprisingly, Sieglinde. Edward’s a cuddly teddy bear when it comes to their kids—he makes sure they’re studying and following a daily curriculum but if one of his sons or daughters would approach him with puppy eyes and a request, he’d probably give in and say yes.

Are their children in homeschool or public school? Privately tutored by governesses until they’re old enough to attend Weston.

Who is the favorite parent? The children love both their mother and father equally. (Although they will admit—it is pretty fun exploring mom’s lab.)

Who checks on the kids in the middle of the night? Edward. He’s constantly worried about his babies and is a bit of an overprotective dad but he means well.

Who decorated the nursery? Both! Edward and Sieglinde took turns choosing various pieces of furniture but because they both love the color green, decided to model the nursery after classical Greece: honeydew colored walls with grand floor to ceiling windows to let  the light in, white satinwood furniture, a marble piece here and there, and beautiful oakwood floorboards. (Sieglinde would also seize this chance to introduce an early version of the baby monitor.)

[rockthecotswolds]

Thinking of moving?

Sam Butler of Butler Sherborn, the Cotswolds property specialist, says that people are already reappraising what’s important in life once Covid-19 passes.

Home is where the heart is and the quality of life will inform future property choices and lifestyle decisions.

Without in any way diminishing the seriousness of Coronavirus, and the impact it is having on the health and wellbeing of so many people, it will pass. 

However the devastating impact of the virus will have a lasting impact, and significantly alter our lives, including where and how we choose to live ‘After Coronavirus’.

The process of reappraisal has already started, with people reassessing what’s important to them: our homes, health, food, family, friends and community, schools, work, connectivity, the environment and travel will all be viewed differently.

Homes - People will reappraise where they want to live, and the idea of treating your house as a home rather than an investment will lead to them taking a longer term view; we will see a return to the ‘forever home’ where you put down roots for you and your children. Those considering a second home will also place greater importance of a UK based property rather than one abroad where access to it cannot be assured, restricted by the whims of airlines and foreign governments.

Health - The close proximity to good GP surgeries and hospitals will be closely considered, while practitioners of alternative therapies and remedies will also play a growing role.

Food - There will be an increased emphasis on good, British grown food - people are already questioning the validity of flying in mangetout from Kenya, for example - and having a variety and choice of local convenience stores, supermarkets, farm shops and farmers markets near to home seen as important. ‘Growing your own’ will become increasingly popular, so having a garden or smallholding will be on the list of ‘must haves’ when moving.

Family - Over recent decades families have moved apart, work often taking them to other parts of the country or even abroad. I think this will change, with families recognising the importance of staying close and supporting one another through the different stages of life.

Friends and community - Establishing and nurturing a strong network of good friends, and feeling part of one’s local community will be seen as increasingly key elements of our safety, security and sense of belonging.

Schools - Good schools, be they local authority or private, along with further education colleges are essential for young families, and close access by car and public or school transport to cut down on travelling time and cost will be deemed critical.

Work - This period of shutdown will have shown many of us that working from home is not only doable, but desirable, and many companies will gear-up to support and encourage this in the future. Obviously, not everyone can do their job from home, but those who can, will benefit from increased contact with their family, reduced stress from commuting, and money saved from reduced travelling.

Connectivity - The Government has already pledged in the recent Budget to help fund improved broadband, especially in rural areas, which will certainly assist those who spend more time working from home.

The environment - The Greta Thunberg effect will continue to gain traction, and homeowners will be looking more seriously at things like green energy, especially solar power, ground source heat and wind power generation. As well as costs coming down, such investments make more economic sense if you are planning on staying in your home for a number of years. Food miles and the number of overseas holidays we take will also be questioned increasingly, while properties will need charging points for the growing popularity of electric/hybrid cars.

When you consider all of the above, it is perhaps not unsurprising that we are already seeing a growing interest from people wanting to move the country, with rural counties to the west of the Home Counties such as Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire seeing a lot of uptake. The view we have picked-up from those looking to leave London is that ‘if we’re going to move to the country, we might as well move well away, while being able to return to the smoke easily by road or rail is still considered necessary for work or social life.

I can see that post-Coronavirus, there will be a general recalibration: a greater emphasis on the quality of life, a move away from the rampant growth-fuelled materialism that has characterised the last couple of decades, and a renewed interest in family and country living,” 

Below are just a few examples of properties available for different budgets:

6, The Mansion, Northwick Park, Blockley

A superb Grade I Listed apartment standing in exquisite gardens and grounds with views over the deer park. Northwick Park is a unique and very special Jacobean building located at the end of a long driveway, which sweeps through lawns and trees to a large turning circle and imposing double front door. 6 The Mansion is an impressive three bedroom apartment of 2,275sqft, on the top floor of the main building. There are 35 acres of grounds to enjoy, an outdoor heated swimming pool with changing rooms and two WC’s, an immaculate croquet lawn surrounded by lime tree avenues, four all weather tennis courts, wooden garden furniture and benches for all to use, parking for residents and guests along with 24 hour security. Apartments in the main building are perfect main and ‘lock-up and leave’ homes, which will appeal to buyers from London looking for a Cotswold retreat and for overseas buyers who require a base in the UK.

Guide price: £850,000

14 and 16 Coxwell Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire

14 and 16 Coxwell Street are two delightful Cotswold stone properties located in the heart of the historic Roman town of Cirencester. Coxwell Street is believed to have been named after the Coxwell family, 17th Century clothiers who lived there. This quiet residential road is made up of a selection of wonderful handsome period homes and is located within a short walk to the pretty marketplace. 

No. 14: The ground floor, which offers a generous and spacious dining hall, is approached via the front door and comprises of wooden floors, open grate fire, window seats with wooden shutters, and a useful storage cupboard. The kitchen/breakfast room is well fitted with a range of base and wall units, wooden worktops, and, integrated double oven, fridge freezer and dishwasher. 

The back door leads to the courtyard. Stairs rise to the first floor into the fabulous sitting room which offers an abundance of period charm with a beautiful open fire, four window seats, and ceiling beams. Along one wall, is a wonderful built in library. Also, on the first floor is the third bedroom/ study, which has a pretty window overlooking the courtyard, and a modern shower room. Stairs continue to the second floor where the landing leads to the master bedroom which offers a dual 16 14 14 aspect, period beams, a fitted wardrobe and a walk-in dressing room. The guest bedroom and modern family bathroom is also located on the second floor. 

No 16: Is approached under the archway to the side of 14 Coxwell Street and through the courtyard gardens. The entrance opens into a small hallway that leads into the cosy sitting room, with a feature fireplace and built in bookshelves. The dining hall leads into the fitted kitchen which has a pretty outlook over the courtyard. On the first floor, there is a generous master bedroom and a second double bedroom, both offering fitted wardrobes, and a contemporary shower room with rain shower. 

Both properties offer a beautiful modest courtyard, with flower beds. Space for a small garden table or bench. The courtyard also allows access to two other properties, 16 and 18 Coxwell Street which are not included in the sale. 

Guide price: £815,000

Barn House, Whittington

A unique family house with potential set in exquisite gardens and lawns Thought to originate in part to the 1700’s and extended over the years, Barn House is now a detached Cotswold stone property with just under 3,500 sq ft of accommodation arranged principally over a single floor, including garaging and plenty of parking. Standing in the grounds of the original kitchen garden of Sandywell Park, the property is in the loveliest setting and approached down a private driveway from the main entrance. Having served as a much-loved family home for over 30 years, it now offers buyers an opportunity to remodel the versatile interiors, create an annex and possibly extend over time if required, subject to planning permission. The gardens and grounds are exceptional just over 2 acres, these walled gardens, have been landscaped and planted from scratch by the current owners. There is scope to create a small pony paddock too. Barn House should suit those with an appetite to make this spacious property their own and create a wonderful family home complimented by enchanting gardens, all within easy reach of Cheltenham and the excellent selection of schools.

Guide price: £850,000

Thames Mead, Buckland Marsh

A superbly presented three bedroom detached house with spacious, recently extended, accommodation arranged over two floors. Set back from the road, with ample parking behind wooden gates, the house is well proportioned and offers light and airy rooms. Buckland Marsh is a hamlet of a few dwellings situated near the village of Buckland. Buckland itself is in a Conservation Area and benefits from a village hall, a renowned public house with restaurant and an outstanding (Ofsted) primary school. The Trout at Tadpole Bridge on the River Thames is 0.5 mile away.

Guide price: £750,000

Riverside House, Lechlade

An enchanting Grade II listed house with scope to update located in a picturesque riverside location

Dating from 1570 with later extensions this Grade II Listed detached house filled with character with wonderful period features including flagstone flooring, original fireplaces, exposed beams and sash windows with shutters within the Georgian extension. The accommodation is arranged over three floors with particularly good ceiling height in the reception rooms.

Outside there is a private walled garden and vine clad terrace, ideal for summer entertaining. An outbuilding currently used for storage has potential for conversion if required and the studio flat above the triple garage could be converted into an annexe. On the market for the first time in 20 years, Riverside now offers buyers an opportunity to update this wonderful Cotswold house and remodel the outbuildings, subject to the necessary consents.

Little Faringdon is 1 mile from the market town of Lechlade, with a range of restaurants, hotels, pubs, a small supermarket, dentists’ and doctors’ surgeries as well as sporting and leisure facilities. A wider choice of shops, and other amenities are available in Cirencester, Cheltenham and Oxford. Nearby Witney also has many independent and specialist shops, supermarkets and leisure facilities.

Guide price: £1,100,000

Elkstone Manor, Elkstone, Cheltenham

An impressive and inviting 19th Century Manor House, with six ensuite bedrooms, four reception rooms, a separate self-contained flat, an indoor swimming pool complex and a hard tennis court - all in grounds of around 7.5 acres comprising lawns, woodland, ponds and courtyard with mature, formal gardens including shrubberies and wild areas. Lying on the edge of the hamlet of Elkstone, and overlooking the village church, Elkstone Manor offers substantial accommodation over three floors with plentiful ground floor space for entertaining (both inside and out) and the distinctive feature of all its bedrooms having ensuite bathrooms. Every room retains original features, is well-proportioned, high-ceilinged and spacious as well as benefiting from an abundance of natural light from its large windows.

Guide price: £3,000,000

The Limes Farmhouse, Cirencester

A handsome detached Victorian farmhouse offering five bedrooms, four reception rooms, driveway, walled front and rear gardens and a wildflower meadow paddock. All in about 2.67 acres. Situated on the outskirts of the desirable and much sought after village of Rendcomb, The Limes Farmhouse is an attractive Victorian property offering well-balanced accommodation primarily arranged over two floors. The property has been lovingly extended, modernised and updated by the present owner to create a good, practical family home suited to modern day living.

Guide price: £1,385,000

The Old Rectory, Meysey Hampton

The Old Rectory, a very handsome house, sits behind a high stone wall in the heart of the village. This early 17th Century imposing property has seven bedrooms, five reception rooms, wonderful gardens and grounds with a swimming pool and a tennis court. It faces south west on the far side with the lawn leading down to a ha-ha and then overlooking the open grass meadow field, edged with attractive mature woodland. All in about 7.64 acres.

Guide price: £2,250,000

Quenington House, Quenington, Gloucestershire

With plenty of space to grow into, and take you through the different stages of life, this beautiful Grade II Listed village house includes a separate cottage and outbuildings, and sits in 3.28 acres of landscaped gardens and paddocks. Dating from the 1800s, accommodation is over three floors and boasts elegant proportions, charm, character and period features such as classic Georgian sash windows, original wooden shutters and double doors with tracery glass panels.

Downstairs is a reception hall, elegant drawing room, sitting room and dining room, a kitchen/breakfast room with Aga and a mezzanine study with an impressive vaulted ceiling over both. There is also a garden room with underfloor heating, utility boot room, cloakroom and cellars.

The first floor includes the master bedroom suite with ensuite bathroom, guest bedroom suite with bathroom and a double bedroom and cloakroom, and on the top floor, two further double bedrooms with cloakroom and two attic rooms.

The self-contained one bedroom cottage can be used for guests, a relative or staff while outbuildings that include two stables and a cart shed provide valuable storage space, with plenty of parking behind secure gates.

Unusual for a house located in the heart of a village, the outside includes up to 3.28 acres of mature gardens, grounds and paddocks offering plenty of privacy while still being part of the community. Quenington is a lovely Cotswold village with family amenities that comprise a primary school at nearby Hatherop, The Keepers, a popular pub, village hall, church and Pilates centre, and surrounded by wonderful countryside offering glorious walks.

Fairford is three miles away, Cirencester eight miles and trains to London Paddington can be taken from Swindon station in around an hour.

Guide price: £2.65million

Butler Sherborn - Cirencester - 01285 883740

https://www.butlersherborn.co.uk

About Butler Sherborn:

Butler Sherborn, is a property specialist with three regional offices across the Cotswolds, as well as an associated London Office in St James’s. Our areas of expertise include Residential Sales and Lettings, Land Sales & Acquisitions, New Homes & Development, Farm & Estate Management, Professional Valuations, Renewable Energy and Equestrian.

While we cannot actually visit property in person, we are absolutely working very much "business as usual". Calls, email, enquiries and ongoing management and workstreams are all being handled in real time by our staff and we are making extra efforts to help, guide and accommodate on any level.

[didanawisgi]

Extreme Bookbinding - A fascinating Preservation Project in Ethiopia by Lester Capon

It began with 8a telephone call one Thursday morning in May 2006 from James Brockman. The conversation went something like this :- J.B. - "Do you want to work in the Ethiopian mountains on a 6th. century manuscript?" L.C. - " Yes" When, some months later, I was being hoisted up a sheer rock face a stones throw from the Eritrean border, trusting my prolonged existence to an ancient leather strap and an even more ancient monk, coupled with my laughable attempts at rock climbing on the only day of rain in the whole trip, I had time as I dangled dangerously to reflect, through gritted teeth as it were, on my hasty reply.

Introduction

The two manuscript volumes are kept at the Monastery of Abuna Garima in the Tigray Region, that is the Ethiopian highlands, in the north of the country. There are many monasteries and rock-hewn churches scattered around this area in varying degrees of inaccessibility - up mountains, on lakes and miles from anywhere.

They nearly all have 'treasures - crosses, crowns, manuscripts and books' which are shown, though not always, to the few visitors who pass through. It is not uncommon to trek for a day over rough mountainous terrain to reach one of these churches, only to find that the resident monk is disinclined to show its treasures, or that he is simply absent, or, dare I say, sleeping off a home brew tasting session.

Perhaps the most famous one is at Lalibela. This is a group of churches situated in the Lasta Mountains, Northern Ethiopia, which are carved out of, and freed from, the rocks, creating a space around them. They contain striking carvings, friezes and frescoes as well as manuscripts.

Of all the manuscripts in Ethiopia the gospels at Garima are believed to be the oldest and have been dated by European scholars to the sixth century. (They are believed by the Coptic monks there to have been written and illustrated by Abba Garima, their founder and one of the evangelising saints of Ethiopia, in one day!) There are plenty of wild beliefs, I guess, in all cultures. Gabra Manfas Qeddus, born in Egypt, was supposed to have lived for 562 years, neither drinking water nor eating food.

The Charity for the Preservation of Ethiopian Heritage in London were organising this project. They had been advised of the options and viability of any work being carried out. Clearly, the ideal treatment for these manuscripts would have been removal to a conservation unit where it could be analysed, taken apart, repaired and reassembled. This of course would be a huge undertaking - years of work - a massive commitment from an institution or team of conservators. In practice this will never happen - the books rarely see the light of day, and are not even allowed beyond the perimeter of the monastery's Treasure House courtyard. They have never left the monastery in over 1400 years, let alone the country.

I agreed with the sponsors that a limited amount of consolidation and repair could be achieved without compromising the volumes and that this would result in the manuscripts being safer to handle.

Accompanying me for some of the time would be Jacques Mercier, an expert on Ethiopian manuscripts, icons, healing scrolls and botany, who has spent about thirty years on and off in Ethiopia and was, thankfully, more than capable of dealing with the complicated hierarchy and bureaucracy there and Daniel SeifeMikael, his assistant, an Ethiopian lecturer in Theology who was kindness personified. I was lucky that Mark Winstanley, owner of the Wyvern Bindery in London volunteered his services as assistant. He was unfailingly helpful with all the work, very jolly company and excellent at keeping the monks amused and occupied. (This last skill was very necessary, as we shall see.)

Preamble

The monastery itself is a group of small stone built huts some circular, some square with turf roofs where the monks live. There is a church, gaily painted on the outside in reds, greens and yellows; having small windows, its interior is dark and atmospheric.

This was usually locked shut although occasionally a monk could be heard within reading aloud from the gospels - using not the early manuscript but one of the many other later manuscripts they have, bound in wooden boards with heavy leather outer covering and fabric inner lining, substantially hidden by the large turn-ins. They usually have illustrations at the beginning of St. Giorgis, their patron saint (our own man, the very same) slaying a dragon, and the Virgin Mary with Jesus at the end. I believe it is quite a common practice to have the illustrations 'freshened up' every so often.

Near to the church was the Treasure House, a charming circular blue painted building. This also was often locked. It housed not only the manuscripts but also, in a huge glass fronted cabinet, dozens of books, old and new, made in the same Coptic style of binding. There were seventeenth and eighteenth century ornate crowns, a fourteenth century ceremonial silver spoon, early silver crosses, robes and fabrics, silver and pewter jugs and trays, faded curling photographs all crammed together. On the floor were faded and flea infested rugs.

Hanging everywhere were the bright multi-coloured umbrellas they use as sun protection, each section a different fabric, and wonderful book bags of very tough leather and vellum. Mahda, I believe they are called. I will never forget my first entry into this dark and magical room as, watched intently by the Keeper of the Treasures, I sat on a stone seat built out from the wall and let my eyes grow accustomed to the dim light that gradually revealed all these wondrous objects.

But I am ahead of myself.... We arrived at Addis Ababa and took an internal flight over the Simeon Mountains to Aksum. Here we discovered that half of Mark's luggage had stayed with the plane and was on its way to Gonder. Well, it could have been worse - it could have been my luggage. We were driven to Adwa, the nearest town to the monastery. The scenery was stupendous - a mixture of mountains and grasslands and Acacia and Olive trees with some cultivated areas. According to Sidney Cockerel many of the boards used for bindings are of Olive wood.

The main crop is Tef, a sort of wheat, with which they make their staple diet of injera. This grew everywhere, greeny gold, blowing in the breeze like our fields of wheat. So much more attractive than what it eventually produces. Injera is basically an edible plate - spicy meats are placed on it and the injera, which has the look of an old damp grey kitchen rag, is broken off in order to pick up the meat. A good sociable system but I fear I never adapted to the taste and consistency.

On our first day at Adwa it was the Festival of Abuna Garima so there was no chance of getting over to the monastery. The monastery, however, had come to Adwa. Dozens of monks looking splendid and imposing in robes and crowns, carrying huge crosses and books, were in a procession through the town, gathering as they went half the inhabitants, plus three Europeans - or faranji -Jacques, Mark and me.

We arrived at a hill top church and watched with the large, noisy and excited crowd the monks dancing and singing, with groups of women complementing the extraordinary sounds with continuous ululations. We were told by locals, with pride and pleasure that the old church had been torn down, and replaced with this one, with brand new murals.

This was a rich and colourful event that continued the next day. The Patriarch, or Pope, of Ethiopia was in town. He had originally come from the Garima monastery, and was visiting Adwa to speak to the masses, which he did at length. To the monk's disappointment and annoyance he did not visit the monastery and the last we saw of him was as he was driven away, throwing handfuls of tiny crosses, like sweets, out of the window, to enthusiastic children chasing the car. As absorbing and thrilling as it was it did mean that two days had gone by and I hadn't even seen the monastery, let alone the manuscript.

The next day came and still we were told it was not possible to go there. Daniel was working hard waving the necessary documentation in front of the necessary noses and I think it was a frustrating and dispiriting experience for him.

Finally that Wednesday afternoon we were driven in an ancient Toyota van by the normal team of three - one to drive, one to take the money and one to open the sliding door - along the rocky road up into the hills to Abuna Garima. We were greeted with a sort of nervous and wary friendliness.

After some discussion - I say some discussion, - it was about 3 hours of talking. Mark and I took the time to climb the slopes above the monastery and gained a terrific view of the surrounding valley standing on the holy spot where Abba Garima spat on the ground and created a permanent spring - the manuscript was produced and I had my first breathtaking sighting of the beautifully bright colours of the illuminated pages which were at the beginning of each volume, although some were loose. I'd seen photos previously in London when I was preparing for this work - but seeing this book in real life was truly astonishing.

It was big - you could fell an ox with it, it was beautiful - the colours were vibrant - and it had, as I said to Mark at the time, the look of a burst mattress. The text pages were written in Ge-eze, the earlier language spoken in this area, but no longer in use. They speak Tigrinya now in this region.

The monks even at this stage were still undecided about how to proceed. The problem was that although they are the custodians of the books, the ownership rests with His Holiness, the Patriarch. The hierarchy of the various diocese also felt it necessary to give their permission. This was further complicated by the fact that the Ministry of Culture maintained that the government owned these types of artefacts and only they could give permission. We were pawns in the political power struggle between Church and State, as were the monks. I felt sorry for the Abbot who kept peering at all our letters of authenticity in a manner that suggested that he couldn't actually read.

Eventually we left - the monks were to have another meeting that evening, and we were to return the next morning.

The next day, we were allowed to start. I took out the materials I had brought and explained with the help of Daniel that these were the finest skins of vellum and the best papers from Japan.

The books were brought out into the courtyard of the Treasure House which was to be my 'bindery'. Not ideal, we had to move the benches (which consisted of an old table and two funeral biers) twice daily to avoid the sun whilst also contending with a gentle breeze. Other slight differences between this work space and my workshop at home included the occasional visits of donkeys and the regular visits of monkeys. I kept an eye on them as I was fearful that one may jump down from the roof, grab a folio, scrunch it up and run off down the hill.

At the start of work nearly all the monks gathered round, eyes fixed on me, Jacques started photographing from all angles and the Abbot sat down close next to me. Of course at this moment I wished them all elsewhere. Mark did his best to distract them. He did this brilliantly on many occasions as the monks were constantly wanting to sit virtually in our laps watching us work. He would engage them in conversation, even though they knew no English and we had about five words of Tigrinya, he taught them to ride a bike, which he had hired for a few days, he showed them how to burn their hands with the sun and my magnifying glass, and generally entertained them.

On this first occasion, however, there was nothing for it but to proceed with dozens of eyes following my every move. Having taken some initial photographs I picked up my 2B pencil to lightly collate the folios that were to be removed. I was alarmed to have my hand stopped by the Abbot. He did not want me to add anything to the great man's work. However, after a while he started to relax and to my amazement and even more alarm picked up one of my scalpels and started trying to cut some of the threads. My turn to stop his hand.

Gradually we settled into a routine of Mark and I working as a team. There were always at least 2 or 3 monks lingering casually as close as they could get, occasionally trying to examine the verso of the page we happened to be on. I called them neh nehs the name of a type of Hawaian goose - the name translates as - lets sit around and chat.

We arranged our makeshift benches - the funeral biers - as much as possible keeping them back. One morning one of the biers was missing - it was in use in the nearby village. Like the flies that continually pestered us, they had to be swotted. I did not blame them for this close interest. They made it clear they were grateful for the work. This work, in the most extraordinary circumstances and situation, Mark and I undertook in the most professional and responsible manner we could.

Condition and Treatment The Abba Garima Gospels are three manuscripts bound into two volumes. The first (AG1) contains the sixth century manuscript. The second volume (AG2) also contains the sixth century manuscript which is bound together with a later manuscript, from the 14th. Century.

AG1 is sewn with two pairs of sewing stations with a hard 2 ply linen thread. The boards are copper with holes that would presumably have displayed coloured glass or jewels originally. On the inside of the back cover are the remains of a deteriorated papyrus board. The metal boards are attached loosely by the sewing threads from the sections, as well as from the tacketing at head and tail, being wrapped around the hinge rod. The spine is three separate pieces of much more recent vellum, brought round under the boards and sewn through the preliminary pages approximately four cms. from the back fold, with parchment strips. This prevented satisfactory opening of these pages. Further damage had been effected by vellum guards being sewn into the pages, with parchment strips, diagonally through the images, thus preventing proper opening, and the formation of creases where attempts had been made to fold the vellum leaves back. With this secondary sewing, intermingled in places with a tertiary sewing of a soft 2 ply linen thread from some later repair, the most important and attractive folios were rendered inaccessible and vulnerable. On one occasion the page was creased in two places and sewn through the doubled part. All four edges of each page had damage and missing areas through use over fourteen centuries. Insect damage was found throughout the main text block.

AG2 is also sewn with two pairs of sewing stations with linen thread. The wooden boards are covered in a chased metal of a later date than AG1. The spine edges of the wood are chamfered. There are no holes horizontally through the boards (in keeping with later Coptic bindings) but there are many holes vertically through the boards suggesting later additions for repair purposes.

The illuminated and text folios in AG2 had suffered the same treatment as in AG1, and were in a similar condition.

Of the illuminated folios in AG1, three had to be moved to their correct place which was in AG2; two had to be moved to their correct place within AG1 and three had to be reversed, having been sewn in along the foredge.

Of the illuminated folios in AG2, three were loose and needed to be reinserted, and one needed to be moved to its correct position.

There was one extant double folio in each volume. The vulnerable edges of the illuminated folios were to be repaired where possible to prevent further damage.

The illuminated pages needed to open more freely. With all the added repairs the main advantage of Coptic binding - the ability to open the book completely flat - had disappeared.

AG1

The front board was removed by untying threads that were wrapped around the hinge rod. The spine vellum pieces, which were sewn into the first pages, were unthreaded where possible, releasing them, and creating access to the spine folds. The first twelve pages - illuminations and text - were detached and the repairs running across some of the pages were unthreaded.

The torn and damaged edges were repaired in small areas with laminations of Taizan 36gsm smooth toned Japanese paper using a parchment size adhesive.

I had taken with me a variety of Japanese papers - different weights, tones, textures, and a selection of differing thicknesses and tones of vellum. Although I had seen photographs of some pages it was difficult to be sure which material would be most suitable until I actually confronted the manuscript. The Taizan was a sympathetic match.

It would have been inappropriate to build up the large missing areas with new vellum as the stresses created would have transferred through to the original vellum causing more possible damage. Also the new pieces of vellum would have been largely unsupported by the rest of the volume and would therefore be vulnerable to damage, again possibly transferring through to the original. The torn edges and small vulnerable areas were consolidated with the toned Japanese paper.

Two laminations of Taizan paper were profiled to the spine edge shape of each single folio, edge pared and attached to the vellum page. No single folios were guarded together to create a double folio, the validity of which I could not be certain of.

A loose vellum guard was added around the outside of the spine folds to strengthen and support the sewing.

The loose text pages were repaired similarly and reassembled in their correct order. New sewing hemp cord was connected into the existing sewing of the text block, and the newly arranged and repaired folios were sewn in using the normal Coptic sewing method which had been employed throughout the rest of the book.

A blank, toned vellum flyleaf was sewn in to protect the first page from the inside of the copper board.

The three later vellum spine pieces were sewn into the stub of the new flyleaf enabling freer opening, and not hindering the opening of the first few pages.

The front board was reattached using the threads from the sewing which were wrapped and tied around the hinge rod securely.

Before I go on with describing the second volume work I should interrupt myself by mentioning that we were interrupted in the second week by a visit from the Mr. Fissela Zibola from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism looking very fierce, and telling us in no uncertain terms that we did not have permission to be working on the manuscript. We should stop immediately and return to Adwa with him. We proffered a letter that Jacques had left with us. Jacques and Daniel had left us several days before to oversee the conservation of an icon in another monastery several hundred miles away. Mr Zibola and Jacques obviously had some history. . He wasn't impressed and we had to leave the book - pages loose - and we were driven back. If we could not prove we were legitimately working we were told it was prison for us. Fortunately Jacques sorted this out and we had quite a pleasant afternoon being treated to some sort of coffee ritual at the hotel.

Anyway to return to the book.

AG2

The early part of the manuscript was separated from the later part. The illuminated folios were treated as AG1. Again there was only one extant double folio. The existing sewing was pretty shaky so it was strengthened with new hemp cord being sewn in, using the original sewing stations, and the newly arranged and repaired folios were added. A new toned vellum flyleaf was sewn in for protection against the board. The early manuscript was at the back of this volume so the front board was detached and sewn onto the front of the early part using existing attachment holes in the wood.

By returning the sewing to its original structure the illuminated pages could be viewed completely and with no real strain on the vellum. No evidence has been destroyed of what has happened to the books over the centuries - the holes from the misguided repairs using the parchment strips are still there, and samples of those strips and other sewing materials have been retained. Extensive amounts of debris - dust, leaves, insects etc. were found in the back folds of all the sections throughout the book. These were left in situ, partly as evidence for some possible future study and also9 because the removal would further loosen the sewing.

The pigment of the images was not flaking, and the vellum of the illuminated folios, despite being worn away in areas, was sound and more robust than the vellum of the text folios. It had also aged differently by becoming darker and more greasy. It may be that these pages were produced elsewhere, possibly in Egypt, and brought into Ethiopia. The differing appearance may simply be due to the more constant handling of these pages.

When the work was completed the monks were generous in their appreciation. We had decided to take them gifts, and noticing that they only had 2 drinking glasses for their tea - they had plenty of large cups for their home made beer - we bought a set of twelve. This was fortuitous as they looked on them as symbolic for the 12 Apostles. Jacques had suggested a more dramatic gift - a sheep for a feast. We got our taxi chaps to buy one which they brought out on the last evening. Mark presented the glasses and some other items showing great defference to the Abbot which surprised and pleased them. A small ceremony of thanksgiving for the work took place in the courtyard. Mark and I and all our families were blessed. Prayers were offered, counted out by the Abbot on his finger joints - as a Catholic will do on his rosary.

The books were returned to the wooden chest that had previously been made to house it. I understand it may be made more accessible to travellers - not for handling, but for viewing - bringing in some much needed funds.

Although I have worked on many early manuscripts this is by far the oldest and I felt privileged to be temporarily a part of this unchanging culture of poor and dignified Coptic monks. Repairing old books, I always feel I am touching history. With this book it was ancient history.

Postscript

I mentioned being suspended by a leather strap at the beginning of this article. This occurred on a trip out (we couldn't work on Sundays) to visit Debre Damo, an important early monastery , founded in 4th. Century by Arigawa, one of the main 9 saints, about 100 miles from where we were. Miraculously, considering the terrain and the condition of our vehicle, skilfully driven up and down rocky steep slopes and through rivers by our cheerful team of chauffeurs we reached this distant site. One of the local boys came up to me as I walked from the van and said solemnly ' You are a very old man and I will help you'. Nonplussed, I gratefully handed him my knapsack to carry.

The monastery is on a plateau reached only by scaling a sheer cliff face. The arrangement is that, being secured by the strap from the top, one climbs up the face of the cliff utilising another rope. Mark shinned up first, making it look easy.

For the whole three weeks that I was in the fabulous country of Ethiopia I had a nasty debilitating chest infection which I somehow picked up just before leaving England. I did feel at my lowest ebb that day, in the pouring rain, at the foot of the cliff. I really wanted to see the monastery with its books and ceiling carvings so it had to be done. I struggled up but was of little help to the monk holding onto the strap. When, with one final effort, he hoisted me over the top edge I looked up into his kindly grinning face to see that he must have been at least eighty. Feeling, and I'm sure, looking foolish (Mark has a photo) I recovered enough to enjoy this remote religious site where the monks are self sufficient, even having their own livestock and reservoirs of water hewn into the rock . The trip down was, as I suspected, just as vertical and I was accompanied by many whoops of encouragement.

I would like to thank Jacques Mercier, Daniel SeifeMikael and Mark Winstanley for all their much needed help and support. Also thanks to Tova Irving at William Cowleys who was extremely helpful with suggestions regarding the vellum.

[matchbox-fighting-furies]

The end of the Matchbox Fighting Furies (with full chronology)

Shipwrecked:

After the product line’s initially encouraging but relatively modest success its fighting fury future soon withered and after only five years – in total, worldwide - the figures and accessories were banished to bargain basements and clearance shelves where they lived on for a while and some even languished in their original warehouse packing cases for decades (only to be eagerly consumed by 21st century toy collectors). Those that loved them, loved them, but the pace of sales didn’t justify further expansion, with the original strategy of investing in cost-efficient but large initial stocks serving only to exacerbate the limited range and compromise any potential progress.

Ultimately the products failed to accrue the popularity and volumes originally expected and one anonymous but enterprising U.S toy distributor - where lingering stocks of the Adventure packs were increasingly irrelevant without the matching figures – even slid a deplorably poor-quality pirate figure (“inspired” by the Captain Patch figure of Mego’s Super Pirates product line – with this “knockoff” version placing the eye patch over his right eye instead) into the window packs in an attempt to help sell through the last of the outfits. The ‘patch’ figure was poor and wasn’t even the correct size - being noticeably smaller - but some toy collectors have contemptuously included this unofficial imposter within their Matchbox Fighting Furies collection!??

After Crazy Horse’s tomahawk formally came down on the entire Fighting Furies product line at the close of 1978 it seems happily fortuitous, as the era of Star Wars had arrived and cowboys and pirates – of the earthbound variety - felt particularly dated. But were our pirates, and their Errol Flynn swashbuckling “heroics”, extraordinarily progressive for their time with their obvious ethnicities, male makeup, prostheses, lessons in coastal geography, cultural ceremonies and an embracing of cultural dress? Probably not – and possibly the exact opposite along with fictional clichés stolen from the silver screen of a previous era - but for a short glorious moment these British toys flexed their jib climbing muscles and blithely went head to head with already entrenched and recognisable brands while being prepared to compete across all of the world’s seven seas and all from the humble address of Lee Conservancy Road in landlocked Hackney, East London. The figures had a superior specification, were better crafted and they boasted exceptional outfit accessory packs, but as confused late entries into a crowded market, already dominated by established players, the Fighting Furies have ultimately only become a footnote in the toy history of modern 20th century action figures; but unjustifiably so. Such was the audacious desire of Lesney Products to muscle their way into this lucrative market from a complete standing start, with no franchise tie-ins and relying only upon the claustrophobically generic world of period pirates and old-school westerns, the range was destined to remain small and would always struggle. Quality doesn’t always win out and on imperial seas you only ever got rough justice. But a rare honour is bestowed upon this long-ago toy episode, as Peg-leg, Hook, the original Sea Fury playset and all eight of their disguises now form part of the eminent collection of Britain’s Victoria and Albert museum; the world’s leading museum of art and design.

No self-respecting vintage ‘action figure’ collector can conceivably ignore these beautifully fashioned and exceptional examples which are surely destined to be afforded more and more retrospective attention.

Matchbox Fighting Furies blogs written and researched by Cap’n Blood Lust. (Aye-aye, me hearties).

                                     -----------------------------------

Across the internet, the years and lifespan associated with Fighting Furies products are consistently reported incorrect – here is a breakdown of their availability timeline:

Published product history (USA/UK):

The first two Pirates and six Adventure packs first launched in the U.S.A and were then quickly followed in the U.K in 1975. They were publicly promoted by Lesney Products in the U.S for only two years while in the U.K (and Europe) the products continued, and an additional Wild West series was released in 1976. All Fighting Furies products would eventually end with remaining stocks making a final formal appearance as part of the official Matchbox product range in the U.K/Europe 1978 collector’s catalogue.  (It is thought that Lesney Products – aka Matchbox - in the U.K may also have attempted to relaunch the Wild West series – serviced with legacy stocks – to the trade in 1980).

1974 U.S.A: The pirates and adventure packs appear in a public brochure for the first time in the 1974 U.S.A edition of the Matchbox Collectors Catalogue.

(The first two pirates, 6x adventures and the Sea Fury carry case also first appear in the U.S.A trade catalogue for 1974).

1974 U.K: Matchbox Collectors Catalogue; No Fighting Furies products.

------------------------

1975 U.S.A:  As previously/1974.

(Elsewhere, U.S.A national retailer Sears introduces the ‘full ship version’ Sea Fury carry case to their product line).

1975 U.K: The two pirates and 6x adventures are introduced in the 1975 U.K public Collectors Catalogue.

(Ghost of Cap’n Kidd, 2x adventure packs, 2x Disguise packs, the Wild West series – of 3x figures and 2x adventure packs - are presented in the U.K trade catalogue).

------------------------

1976 U.S.A: All Fighting Furies products disappear from the 1976 U.S.A Matchbox Collectors Catalogue.

(Elsewhere, the U.S.A retailer Sears introduces “Capt. Kidd” – the ghost of - to their range and continue selling stocks of Pirates, adventure packs, and playsets).

1976 U.K: The 2x pirates, plus the introduction of the Ghost of Cap’n Kidd are shown (with their “disguises and accessories” - 6x adventures + 2x disguises - mentioned in the text). The three Wild West figures are shown and described as a “brand new series”. (A “magnificent horse” is also shown, labelled as Sundance. Their own action sets and disguises are also mentioned, while Kid Cortez is labelled as Pecos Kid [sic]).

-----------------------

1977 U.S.A: Again - No Fighting Furies products.

1977 U.K: 2x pirates + Ghost of Cap’n Kidd, 2x action packs explicitly named and shown for the first time (Stockade Assault & Captain Kidd’s Treasure), 2x Disguises explicitly named and shown for the first time (Buccaneer Captain & Spanish Officer), 6x adventures (listed only), 3x Wild West figures and 2x Wild West adventure packs (Cattle Rustler & War Dance; listed only), are all featured in the public’s Collectors Catalogue.  

-----------------------

1978 U.S.A: Again - No Fighting Furies products.

1978 UK: Only the 3x Pirate figures and the 3x Wild West figures are shown. (No reference to any accessories, adventures or disguises). No Fighting Furies appear in the 1979 edition.

Products

1974:

Pirate series:

Figures:

Peg-Leg: (Capt./Cap’n). (U.S code: 10 00 01, U.K code: FF-100). 

(Supplied with hidden map, sabre, knife, peg-leg plug/stopper, grey breeches, one boot, white shirt, brown waistcoat, orange sash and ‘gold’ ring).

Hook: (Hook/Cap’n). (U.S code: 10 00 03, U.K code: FF-101).

(Supplied with a black wrist band, sabre, knife, purple breeches, shoes, socks, purple waistcoat, yellow sash and ‘gold’ ring).

Both figures released in corner window packaging with minor design variations and differing titles:

U.S versions. “Hook” & “Capt. Peg-Leg”: exclusive U.S release boxes. (With Matchbox logo at top of box).

European versions “Cap’n Hook” & “Cap’n Peg Leg”: exclusive European release boxes. (With Matchbox logo at bottom) *. (U.K codes: FF-101 & FF-100, respectively).

Both figures were also available in the U.S via retailer Sears in plain Sears branded packaging, as ‘Hook’ and ‘Captain Peg Leg’ [sic].

*Some boxes featured small “specification” statement at bottom rear. Some of which also used flat-bottomed inner inlay cards. Some boxes included the “specification” statement and a black key line around the lettering of the main promotional text on box front.

Not including the Sears packaging and including the U.S.A versions (and counting both figures as one) there are technically four versions with differing external details, but predominantly the USA, the European and European with key-line text versions.

Adventure accessories packs. (Each a mixture of clothing and general accessories):

The Captain Blood Adventure

The One-Eyed Sailor Adventure

The Hooded Falcon Adventure

The Spanish Main Adventure

The Redcoat Adventure

The Kung Fu Warrior Adventure

All 6 adventures were released in packs with design variants:

U.S exclusive standard packaging

European exclusive standard packaging (with language translations)

U.S exclusive ‘de lux set’ labelled standard packaging

All 6 adventures were also available in the U.S via retailer Sears in plain Sears branded packaging.

Playsets:

Sea Fury - Play set and carry case (standard Poop Deck design)

Contains: Vinyl foldout case with attached handle, Anchor with rope, Helm (wheel), 2x deck railings (often confused as one when stacked together), Chart Table, Chair, Decorative Decals (sticker sheet) and Instruction leaflet. Sea Fury retail packaging was a printed open-ended cardboard sleeve with a colour “photo-litho” on one side.

1975:

Pirate series:

Playsets:

Sea Fury - Pirate Ship Play Case (full ship version): U.S exclusive, available only via U.S retailer Sears

Contains: 3x red clips, mast connector, mast sail rubber O-ring (for assembly*); The vinyl foldout case/playset with attached handle, Anchor with rope, Prow section, Helm (wheel), wooden Mast (supplied in two parts, with skull and crossbones Jolly Roger fitted to one), suspended hammock, gangplank, ladders, white square sail and wooden Spar, ropes for securing Spar to stern and instruction leaflet. Sea Fury retail packaging was a printed cardboard open ended sleeve with a colour “photo-litho” on one side.

(*Clips trimmed and bridged together top sections of the front edge balustrades. Connector tube joined the two wooden masts together. O-ring on mast is double looped to slide spar through).

1976 – second wave releases:

Pirate series:

Figures:

The Ghost of Cap’n Kidd (Exclusively supplied in Europe in full colour “coffin” packaging. Codes: FF.102)

Capt. Kidd [sic] (as per The Ghost of Cap’n Kidd, above: exclusively available in the U.S via mail-order from retailer Sears and supplied in Sears branded plain packaging)

Disguise packs – Europe only product. (Clothing only):

Buccaneer Captain

(Contained: Tricorn Hat, Ruff, Blue Coat, Black Boots and White Breeches)

Spanish Officer

(Contained: Cloak, Helmet, Breastplate, Ruff, Brown Boots and Striped Breeches)

Accessory action packs – Europe only product. (Accessories only):

Cap’n Kidd’s Treasure

(Contained assorted accessories concurrently available in The Captain Blood and Spanish Main Adventure packs and the white belt and pouch from the Redcoat Adventure. Contents: Compass, Treasure Chest with Treasure, Telescope, Pistol, Shovel, Belt and Pouch, Tankard, Set of Keys and Treasure Map)

Stockade assault

(Contained assorted accessories concurrently available in The One-Eyed Sailor and Redcoat Adventure packs. Contents: 2x Belaying Pins, Rifle, Pouch, Pistol, Swivel cannon on gun barrel, 3x rammers, Axe, Grapple with rope, Powder horn)

Western Series:

Figures – Europe only product:

Black McCoy

(Included body-armour, black cattleman Stetson - with decorative red hat band, chin strap/cord and toggle - and a revolver handgun. Packaged with a brown handled knife – as like the other figures – but is omitted from box illustrations and Matchbox catalogues).

Kid Cortez

(Included body-armour, yellow sombrero with chin strap/cord and toggle, revolver handgun, brown handled knife and green cord for closing his waistcoat).

Crazy Horse

(Included two patterned hair bands, two head feathers, tomahawk and knife. There is a colour variant of his trousers: yellow or darker yellow/orange).

Sundance – the Wonder Horse (featured in promotional literature and series packaging, but not believed to have entered into production).

Accessory action packs – Europe only product:

Cattle rustler (Content: Rifle, Water Bottle with and Strap and Stopper, Camp Fire, Unrolling Blanket with straps, Pair of Initialled Branding Irons, Steers Skull, Pair of Chaps, Mug and Coffee Pot with Lid)

War dance (Content: “Peace Pipe”, Lance, Working Rattle, Drum with Drum Stick, Shield, Mask Headdress and Camp Fire)

 Inexplicably some Peg-Legs and some Black McCoys have the same black wrist band as Hook.

[princetroyx-blog]

Home designers are tired of the monotonous style of living, they choose a unique and environmentally-friendly design.

Home designers are tired of the monotonous style of living, they choose a unique and environmentally-friendly design free 1080 sex The concept of sustainable development is reflected in the choice of materials, design and installation. Why are the most expensive costumes of wedding flowers for January so evangelical? Trees tree house: This house hanging on the tree reflects the designers' imagination. Get Quick Ready [quick and easy ways for formal dresses] The main materials come from local materials, which are mainly made of lumber in the local forest. The tree house that can roll in the wind is very suitable for groups that take some activities such as meditation, photography, exploration of the sky, tourism and leisure and leisure of wildlife and so on. Some wooden houses can be rented. Or it is also available for customs to build a tree house on their own. The house can be installed with internal pipes, electrical and accessories to prevent noise and heat. Nautilus House: This home, built in 2006, is located in Mexico City. Javier Sensonian, an architect, calls it [bio architecture.] In addition, Sensonian also created other forms of homes such as snakes or whales. The leader of this Nautilus home is a pair of young couples who are friendly to nature. the house, which is in their will, and the home door is hidden behind. Steel House: The steel house located on the US State Rock will leave a memorable memory for you and the designer expects the house to be something between the animal and the car. In addition, the designer designed four feet to the house, in order to reduce the work force on the ground. Steel materials are durable and recyclable so that they are often used on the roof by friendly environmental architects. The interior design of this steel house can not be perfect in practical use, but its idea is very creative. Sliding House: This home is located in Suffolk County, England, is designed by dRRM Architects of London. Its idea is very flexible, which allows the owner to fully utilize the light and temperature to maximize the maximum energy efficiency from heat and passive cooling. All the walls of the house, weighing 20 tons, can be removed within 6 minutes, exposing the main body of the glass as well as decorating a layer of clothing. Reformed Barn House: This 168-square-meter house is located in Woodland, Utah, which was completed in 2006 and was rebuilt by two linked barns. With its unique geographical location of nearby Pu Luowa, the house makes it easy for people to make close contact with nature with the help of giant windows and balconies. Wood Home Using Solar Panels: Located in Colorado, this is the residence of Amory Lovins, who is the founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Like the installation of the solar passive wall, 4.8 m, xenon windows and wood stove, the month-long electricity of the house is only $ 5. Many solar panels are installed on the roof. In the yard there is a passive greenhouse that grows with tropical fruit. This home has been everywhere in terms of energy conservation since its inception in 1982 and has recently adopted environmental protection measures such as solar light and the latest energy monitoring technology. The house: completed in 1994, seems to leave unclear traces on the southern coast of Wales. It's in weeds and beans, covered by plants on the roof and around. Bathrooms and kitchens are small blocks of the building made in other places and hang here. The natural ability to save the earth's heat makes the house a lot of energy-saving. The bubble castle: located in Cannes, a southern city in France, its construction began in 1975. It imitates several scenes in the movie [Star Trek. "The lamp is quite appropriate because the designer intends to take full advantage of the Mediterranean sunshine in the window, the projector will also integrate with the surrounding area, making the outside elements inside. The castle has an outdoor auditorium, a large garden and a lounge that can accommodate up to 250 people decorated by different artists.

[morticeseo]

A Guide To The Law On Replacing Windows In Listed Buildings and conservation areas in London

A window does more than keep the bad weather out. Its eye-catching features will give a home character and originality. If your home is listed, you must seek advice before making any changes to it. Replacing windows in a listed property UK requires the homeowner to follow some guidelines and apply for local planning permission.

If you require any further assistance please feel free to call us on 020 7118 9191 we are always happy to provide free advice and can even provide you with a free full report and window survey if you wish. The report will then empower you to make an informed decision on what you should do with your windows, we are not sales people so will always provide you with honest straight forward options and leave you to decide what is best with our knowledgeable guidance, knowledge is power as they say!

[briancampbell0706]

The Role of Timber Conservation Windows in Sustainable Architecture ?

Timber conservation windows are becoming a hallmark of sustainable architecture, offering a blend of classic aesthetics and eco-friendly functionality. As the demand for environmentally conscious building practices grows, these windows play a crucial role in preserving the charm of historic structures while contributing to sustainable design. Here’s a closer look at their significance in modern construction.

1. Classic Design with Modern Sustainability: Timber conservation windows beautifully marry classic design with modern sustainability. Crafted from high-quality wood, these windows maintain the architectural authenticity of historic buildings while meeting contemporary environmental standards.

2. Affordability and Accessibility: Architects and homeowners seeking affordable and accessible options for conservation windows find timber to be a versatile and cost-effective material. The affordability of timber conservation windows makes sustainable choices within reach for a broader audience.

3. Natural Insulation Properties: Timber inherently possesses excellent insulation properties, contributing to energy efficiency in buildings. Conservation windows made from timber help regulate indoor temperatures, reducing the reliance on heating and cooling systems. This natural insulation aids in energy conservation and cost savings.

4. Softwood and Hardwood Options: Timber conservation windows offer a choice between softwood and hardwood options. Softwood, such as pine, is popular for its affordability and versatility. Hardwood, like oak or mahogany, adds a touch of luxury and durability. The availability of these options allows for customization based on specific aesthetic and functional requirements.

5. Longevity and Durability: Timber, when properly treated and maintained, exhibits impressive longevity and durability. Conservation windows made from quality timber can withstand the test of time, ensuring that the architectural heritage of a building remains intact for generations.

6. Versatility in Design: Timber conservation windows provide architects and designers with versatility in design. Whether replicating historic window styles or creating contemporary adaptations, timber allows for intricate detailing and customization, adding character to the building façade.

7. Environmental Conservation: Opting for timber conservation windows aligns with broader environmental conservation goals. Timber is a renewable resource, and responsible forestry practices contribute to the overall health of ecosystems. Choosing timber over less sustainable materials supports forest management initiatives and reduces the carbon footprint of construction projects.

8. Conservation of Cultural Heritage: Timber conservation windows play a vital role in preserving the cultural heritage of buildings. Whether restoring a historic property or incorporating conservation windows into new designs, timber allows for a seamless blend of tradition and innovation.

In conclusion, timber conservation windows stand as a testament to the harmonious coexistence of architectural heritage and sustainable practices. By choosing timber, architects and homeowners make a conscious decision to embrace eco-friendly solutions without compromising on design, affordability, or performance.