snow morph24

River Cruise Paris

Eiffel Tower at night on the hour

Brow Head (Irish: Ceann Bró) is the most southerly point of mainland Ireland. It is in the rural townland of Mallavoge near Crookhaven in County Cork, Ireland. It is 3.8 km east of Mizen Head at latitude 51.43ºN.

The signal tower on Brow Head is part of a chain of towers built in 1804, during British rule, to give warning of a French invasion. Originally the signalling was done with a system of flags and blackballs on masts. Brow Head, or Mallavogue, was a mining area in the 19th century and the remains of the mines and the miners' houses can still be seen.[3]The first copper ore was extracted here in 1852 and mining continued intermittently until at least 1906.

In 1904, Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd. entered into a contract with the Commissioners of Irish Lights to put telegraphic equipment and aerials on the Fastnet Rock. The telegraphic station was moved up to Brow Head where the signal tower equipment had been used for so long to contact passing ships. Messages were sent to the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse by signalling methods and then relayed to the Brow Head station by wireless telegraphy for relaying on to the recipients.[5]

There are three main settlements on the island - Higher Town, Middle Town and Lower Town - in addition to a number of scattered farms and cottages, with a total population (2011 census) of 136.
There are two quays - at Higher Town (the Higher Town Quay, used at high tide) and at Lower Town (the Hotel Quay, used at low tide). In Higher Town there is a post office.
There is a vineyard on the island.

To the north, St Martin's is joined by a tidal causeway to White Island.
Daymark

At the northeast corner of the island is a large red-and-white daymark. It was erected in 1683 by Thomas Ekins, first steward of the Godophin Family to live on the islands.
It is a rendered granite circular tower 4.8 metres (16 ft) in diameter and 6.4 metres (21 ft) high, set back to conical termination making it 11 metres (36 ft) high. The blocked arched entrance door contains an incorrect date of 1637. It was painted white until 1822 but by 1833 had been painted red, and is now painted in bands of red and white.
Despite its modernity, the daymark, alongside some prehistoric cairns, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The daymark is built on the highest point of St Martin's — and the second-highest point in the Isles of Scilly — and the islands' only Ordnance Survey triangulation station is situated by the daymark; the position and relative height mean that the Cornish mainland is clearly visible (when the weather allows) and the daymark is identifiable from the mainland too.

Praa Sands (Cornish: Poll an Wragh) - pronounced Pray Sands, is a beach and coastal village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is in the parish of Breage and lies off the main road between Helston and Penzance. Formerly serving the local mining industry, it is now mostly a tourist-oriented area.

The village is also the site of a "haunted" castle, a small "keep" building that is in private hands; Pengersick Castle is also said to be one of the most haunted buildings in the UK, and holds regular ghost-hunting activities and other similar pursuits. It was also investigated in series two of Most Haunted with Yvette Fielding and Derek Acorah.

The village is also the site of Praa Sands and district community centre, which holds events throughout the year for the local community.

Geography

Situated in a sheltered indentation within Mount's Bay, it has a long, wide sandy beach facing South, lapped by comparatively large waves for the area[citation needed]. The beach, which has shallow waters and seasonal lifeguards, attracts surfers and holidaymakers. Adjacent to the beach are traditional retail outlets serving the holidaymaker.

Praa Sands lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park.
The western side of Praa Sands beach contains Folly Rocks Site of Special Scientific Interest, noted for its geological aspects, including a granite porphyry. The geology is most interesting.

To the west of the village is another small beach, at Kenneggy, which is accessible from the cliff path at low tide.

The Short Sunderland plane crash

After an air battle against eight German planes in the Bay of Biscay, the Sunderland had been heavily damaged. The crew made it back 800 miles to the Cornish coast, where pilot Colin Walker managed to land and beach it at Praa Sands. The local people of Praa Sands took the crew into their houses, and gave them medical assistance. Walker received the Distinguished Service Order and several of the other crew members also received medals.
On 2 June 2013, a memorial was opened on the green at Praa Sands.

On shoulder (now forested) between two ridges of outcropping rock, on SE side Knockaphuca mountain. Badly damaged; comprised gallery (L c. 5m; Wth 0.8m) aligned ESE-WNW. Possible to distinguish outer walling and number of buttress stones to N and S of gallery. Three displaced roofstones partly cover E half. No clear indication or cairn or mound. (Roberts 1988, Ch. 4, No. 24; O Nualláin 1989, 135).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

The tomb is located at the base of a cliff, facing into the wall, but at a slight angle. It is a small example of a portal tomb, but packed with interesting features. The chamber is sunk into the bedrock and appears to have a paved floor. The capstone rests on the portal stones and a secondary capstone which lies flat over the chamber. The doorstone has a large chunk missing from it, but whether this is origianl or subsequent damage I can't say.

There are wonderful views to the sea and the area around the tomb is studded with wild and weird rock formations. One of these rock outcrops - the only tall, pointed one - stands on the axis of the tomb, some 100m to its rear.

A stream rises from within the bedrock just below the site and then wanders down its own marshy valley. It could well have been this spring that attracted the builders here in the first place.

This is a wonderful tomb and could be made very easy to access. It should certainly be treated with a lot more care.

The Passage des Panoramas is the oldest of the covered passages of Paris, located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris between the Montmartre boulevard to the North and Saint-Marc street to the south. It is one of the earliest venues of the Parisian philatelic trade, and it was one of the first covered commercial passageways in Europe. Bazaars and souks in the Orient had roofed commercial passageways centuries earlier but the Passage de Panoramas innovated in having glazed roofing and, later on, in 1817, gas lights for illumination. It was an ancestor of the city gallerias of the 19th century and the covered suburban and city shopping malls of the 20th century.
The passage was opened in 1800 on the site of the town residence of the Marechal de Montmorency, Duke of Luxembourg, which had been built in 1704. The doorway of the modern building, of the house, which opened on rue Saint-Marc, facing the rue des Panoramas, was the gateway of the original mansion. Its name came from an attraction built on the site; two large rotundas where panoramic paintings of Paris, Toulon, Rome, Jerusalem, and other famous cities were displayed. They were a business venture of the American inventor Robert Fulton, who had come to Paris to offer his latest inventions, the steamboat, submarine, and torpedo, to Napoleon and the French Directory. While waiting for an answer, Fulton earned money from his exhibition. Napoleon, who had little interest in the navy, finally rejected Fulton's projects. Fulton left behind his Panoramas and went to London to offer his inventions to the British. [1]
In 1800 Paris streets were narrow, dark, muddy and crowded, and very few had sidewalks or lighting; they were very unpleasant for shopping. The first indoor gallery, at the Palais Royal, had opened in 1786, followed by the passage Feydau in 1790-91, the passage du Caire in 1799, and the Passage des Panoramas in 1800. .[2] The rotundas were destroyed in 1831. In the 1830s, the architect Jean-Louis Victor Grisart renovated the passage and created three additional galleries inside the block of houses: the Saint-Marc gallery parallel with the passage, the gallery of the Varietes which gives access to the entry of the artists of the theatre of the Varietes, and the Feydeau galleries and Montmartre. Stern the famous engraver settled there in 1834, then merchants of postcards and postage stamps, and some restaurants moved in. The part of the passage close to the Montmartre boulevard is richly decorated, while the distant part is more modest. The passage, as it was in 1867, is described in chapter VII of Émile Zola's novel Nana.