DESKTOP 3333 - END OF AN ERA

This post will be the last for quite a while. It's been over nine years I've been posting an image a day here on this blog, and today is a good day for me to rest for some time. Thank you for your kind comments and I hope my posts have brightened your days a little. Farewell.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3331 - BIRDS

This is a painting of mine, inspired by the season. Spring is arriving in the Southern Hemisphere and our garden is looking good filled with flowers and birds. You can see more of my art on instagram: @jammysevenk

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3330 - SPRING SKY

A camellia blooming under a bright blue Spring sky.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3327 - WINDSOR CASTLE

Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is notable for its long association with the English and later British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by the reigning monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle's lavish early 19th-century State Apartments were described by the art historian Hugh Roberts as "a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste". 

 

Inside the castle walls is the 15th-century St George's Chapel, considered by the historian John Martin Robinson to be "one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic" design. Originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London and oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte-and-bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons' War at the start of the 13th century.

 

Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to make an even grander set of buildings in what would become "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England". Edward's core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment.

 

Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters by Parliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of the architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant Baroque interiors that are still admired. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II's palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque furnishings.

 

Queen Victoria made a few minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge by the royal family during the Luftwaffe bombing campaigns of the Second World War and survived a fire in 1992. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, and was the preferred weekend home of Elizabeth II.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 3326 - THE PACE OF NATURE

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3325 - DIAMOND VALLEY VIEW

Diamond Valley is an outer suburb of Melbourne. Far enough from the City to be like being in the countryside, yet near enough to be near all the big city amenities, conveniences and services.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3323 - SPRING SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3320 - WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA

The seaside city of Wollongong,  located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney. Wollongong’s Statistical District has a population of about 300,000, making Wollongong the third largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle, and the ninth largest city in Australia.

 

The Wollongong metropolitan area extends from Helensburgh in the north to Shellharbour in the south. It sits within the Wollongong Statistical District, which covers the local authority areas of Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama, extending from the town of Helensburgh in the north to Gerroa in the south. Geologically, the city is located in the south-eastern part of the Sydney basin, which extends from Newcastle to Nowra.

 

Wollongong is noted for its heavy industry and its port activity, having a long history of coalmining and manufacturing. The quality of its physical setting is unique, occupying a narrow coastal plain between an almost continuous chain of surf beaches and the cliffline of the rainforest-covered Illawarra escarpment. It has two cathedrals, churches of many denominations and the Nan Tien Temple, one of the largest Buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere.

 

The city attracts many tourists each year, and is a regional centre for the South Coast fishing industry. The University of Wollongong has around 24,000 students and is internationally recognised. Although other explanations have been offered, such as “great feast of fish”, “hard ground near water”, “song of the sea”, “sound of the waves”, “many snakes” and “five islands”, the name Wollongong is believed to mean “seas of the South” in the local Aboriginal language, referring to NSW's Southern Coast.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme

DESKTOP 3319 - FLORAL

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3318 - SPRING LANDSCAPE

Spring landscape with a carpet of yellow Oxalis stricta, called the common yellow woodsorrel.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3316 - WAITING...

For Spring!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3313 - VALENCIA, SPAIN

Valencia on the east coast of Spain, is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the administrative centre. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1.5–1.6 million people.

The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked at Gamma+ in the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Valencia is integrated into an industrial area on the Costa del Azahar (Orange Blossom Coast).

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

DESKTOP 3311 - SUNSET

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3309 - SUNSET ON THE YARRA

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3306 - BRIGHTON, UK

Brighton is a seaside resort on the south coast of England. It is part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods.The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population.

Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses. In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion in the Regency era. Brighton continued to grow as a major centre of tourism following the arrival of the railways in 1841, becoming a popular destination for day-trippers from London.

The Royal Pavilion, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic style prevalent in India for most of the 19th century. The current appearance of the Pavilion, with its domes and minarets, is the work of architect John Nash, who extended the building starting in 1815. Between 1815 and 1822 the designer John Nash redesigned and greatly extended the Pavilion, and it is his work that is still visible today.

The palace is striking in the middle of Brighton, for its Indo-Islamic exterior is unique. The fanciful interior design, primarily by Frederick Crace and the little-known decorative painter Robert Jones, was heavily influenced by both Chinese and Indian fashion (with Mughal and Islamic architectural elements). It is a prime example of the exoticism that was an alternative to more classicising mainstream taste in the Regency style.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

DESKTOP 3305 - WONDERBOX

A little box where I've assembled some treasures. Each one has a story, each has lots to tell, each lovely to hold, wonderful to look at...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3302 - DAWN

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3299 - CIRENCESTER CHURCH

The Church of St. John Baptist, Cirencester is a parish church in the Church of England in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The building reflects architectural styles since the 12th century. The chancel and attached chapel represent the oldest part with the nave having been rebuilt twice and the tower added in the 15th century. The south porch was built by Cirencester Abbey around 1480 and only connected to the church in the 18th century. It is built of Cotswold stone and is one of the largest parish churches in England. It contains various tombs and monuments with some fragments of medieval stained glass and wall paintings.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 3298 - FRUITING

 Decorative berries and fruits on ornamental plants provide food for birds and animals in the garden.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3295 - MOON

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme