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Careers at ACU
How we support diversity
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Staff
One of the things that makes Australian Catholic University a great place to work is that it is a culturally inclusive space for staff and students. ACU is committed to being a leading practice employer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This commitment is led by our Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Greg Craven. His leadership advocates strong community engagement, education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Furthermore, he is also a Constitutional Lawyer that speaks publicly on the necessity of recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
Forming strategic partnerships with community
Our commitment to being a leading-practice employer is also guided in a practical way by the ACU Mission and is interwoven in the Statement of Commitment to Reconciliation and the ACU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Employment Strategy.
The strategy includes a range of proactive recruitment initiatives and cultural supports for staff that aim to increase the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff at all levels of the University to 3%, and to support staff members to reach their potential. Extensive consultation and collaboration on our initiatives is undertaken with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the University's Indigenous Higher Education Units (IHEUs). Further information on the IHEUs can be found on our Student Support page.
Support offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff
Practical and professional support, provided by the National Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment is tailored to meet the needs of the individual and the work unit, starting before recruitment and following through the staff member's employment journey with ACU.
Staff support initiatives include:
Expert advice and practical support in the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment initiatives for supervisors and managers
Specialised induction for supervisors and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members
Assisting staff in seeking mentoring support or a workplace buddy
Regular contact and ongoing support with the staff and their supervisors
Facilitating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Staff Network meetings that bring staff together regularly to share information and learn from each other
Offering career development opportunities for staff that include additional entitlement to study leave
Facilitating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lunchbox session titled 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives' that invites internal and external subject matter experts to talk on their areas of interest
The University also supports the celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural events, and holds an annual ACU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander week each August to celebrate the unique contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students .
For further information visit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment page or contact Shaelene Cubillo, National Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment. You can also find answers to frequently asked questions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture on the cultural supports webpage.
Generous benefits available for all staff
Along with a commitment to supporting diversity in our workplace, ACU offers a range of attractive benefits for staff.
Guidelines for conducting Welcoming/Acknowledgement of Country at an ACU function
Reconciliation Australia
National Congress of Australia's First Peoples
ABC Indigenous Online


Chryso – It's all about the bmmchk!
It's all about the bmmchk!
Bei Spotify anhören!Bei Spotify anhören!
After longterm trouble with my old provider and a crazy SSL licence policy, I finally changed provider to my good friend at Maschinenraum Hosting and yes – I'm back!


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Building a Community: How Granbury, TX Built a Profitable App
Creating a mobile application that drives downloads and engages users takes some finesse. There are many different strategies to consider when it comes to meeting the needs of users with valuable content, and marketing an app successfully. We've found that a partnership approach is an effective way to achieve both.
The newly launched I Love Granbury Texas app is a perfect example of how this collaborative approach can be applied to a community like yours. The Official App of Granbury features a wide variety of content and contributions from the major organizations in the city which helps to expand its reach and value to app users.
Granbury, Texas is a smaller city that's a short drive from the bustling Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Featuring a lake perfect for recreation, a thriving local business community and unique historical appeal, the Granbury economy depends on tourism dollars as well as support by area residents.
We worked with the Granbury Chamber of Commerce to spearhead the project and then rallied participation from the City of Granbury, Visit Granbury, Inc., and the Historic Granbury Merchants Association, resulting in a comprehensive resource for the community.
Ushering in a new era of collaboration between the community's major organizations, the app provides a true community portal for everything Granbury. It is designed to appeal to both visitors and residents alike, and is the first app of its kind for the area which fills a need as well as ensures that it is easy to find in the app stores.
The app includes a wealth of local business information encompassing professional services, shopping, dining, lodging, attractions, real estate, auto care, health services and more. The president and CEO of the Granbury Chamber was instrumental in bringing together member businesses to submit their content for the app and noted that the community's excitment has been amazing.
The Chamber is thrilled to be able to join zCivic in offering this state-of-the-art mobile app to Granbury and its thriving business community. The overwhelming acceptance and enthusiasm for the app has been impressive.
Mike Scott, President and CEO of the Granbury Chamber of Commerce
Revenue generation for the chamber of commerce was also a consideration. The project was designed to help them generate non-dues revenue to support other chamber initiatives that strengthen the local economy. Multiple sponsorship and advertising options were devised to provide local businesses with opportunities to reach consumers, as well as create that new income stream for the chamber.
Drawing in Visit Granbury, Inc., the community's destination marketing organization, was a natural fit to help provide focused content for visitors. The Granbury Resort Conference Center has a dedicated section with a virtual tour and information designed to help meeting and event planners when researching potential venues.
The Granbury Square Historic District offers unique opportunities for residents and visitors to take a step back in time and experience the "Texas take" on the Victorian Age. The Historic Granbury Merchants Association represents the many businesses in the historic district. The app offers information to help users shop, stroll and savor as they explore the first Texas town square to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The City of Granbury is also utilizing the app to provide residents with contact information for city facilities and departments, an opportunity to meet the city council and staff, as well as information about parks and recreation programs, and links to bill pay services. The city has been enthusiastic about using the app to provide a one-stop digital place to access city services and discover economic development opportunities in Granbury.
Learn how your community can benefit from an app.
Speak with one of our mobile experts today.
The app content is rounded out with coupons, deals, mobile loyalty cards, a community events calendar, sample itineraries that offer suggestions on how visitors can spend their time, and information about the Granbury ISD. The overall goal was to create an app that has broad appeal and valuable information and features for all users, and has clearly achieved it.
Working with this diverse set of app partners has the additional benefit of extending the marketing reach for the app. We created a suite of marketing materials and graphics to help the different organizations electronically market the app on their websites and social media accounts, print materials as well as their physical locations with window decals. We recommend easing the start-up marketing and launch efforts for a project like this by taking the lead in producing support materials for your partners.
While the app is already available on Google Play and the App Store, a companion responsive website is in development to further extend access to the I Love Granbury Texas app content. While the overwhelming buy-in from the major Granbury organizations has helped us build a valuable app for the community, we're also welcoming additional organizations and businesses that want to be a part of the app to reach an even broader audience. Adding new content continuously to the app will be instrumental to retaining app users and engaging them over the long term.
Download the I Love Granbury Texas app to see how this joint effort has come together and garner some ideas for building your own unique community portal app strategy.
Tags:Client Stories Inspiration zCivic

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Лозик () — имя собственное; распространено в виде фамилий.
 Лозик, Валерий Викторович (род. 1967) — советский пловец, бронзовый призёр Олимпийских игр 1988.
 Лозик, Ричард (род. 1943) — американский молекулярный биолог.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: Better alternatives to linear regression and $AR(1)$ for modeling cointegrated time series In a cointegration framework, I would like to improve the two-step Engle-Granger cointegration procedure.
My idea is to:

*

*replace the linear regression with some non-linear model;

*replace the $AR(1)$ residuals with some more advanced forecasting model.

An example could be:

*

*replace linear regression with a LOESS or a decision tree;

*replace the $AR(1)$ residuals with Prophet or TBATS model.

The main goal is to take into account non-linearities in the cointegration relation as well as to manage residuals that can exhibit behavior with structural breaks instead of just converging to the long term mean. There so many choices for both (1) and (2) that I'm struggling to find a good solution. What are the more consistent candidates to replace linear regression and $AR(1)$ models in a bivariate cointegration framework to get a better model?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Positive results for North East's transport and manufacturing sectors
Although there were no headline grabbing stories in this year's Budget for the regions, the Chancellor of the Exchequer did highlight a variety of key developments that will directly affect the North East.
Kevin Bell, Transport Partner, explains what the announcements meant for transport in the region:
"It is pleasing to see the continual support from the government for the devolution agenda for the North East's transport sector. In particular, the additional £16.5 million for the Tees Valley through the Transforming Cities Fund to improve intercity transport across the region, along with a £90 million investment to conduct research for new forms of travel including demand responsive buses. With the region requiring faster and more frequent trains, it's great to see a further investment of up to £37 million to support the development of the Northern Powerhouse Rail."
Ben Butler, Corporate Partner, provides his thoughts on Hammond's announcement in relation to the Northern Powerhouse and Industrial Strategy:
"It was good to hear that the government has committed to proceed with ongoing funding of the Northern Powerhouse and Industrial Strategy, which touches a range of sectors in the North East including technology, industrials and manufacturing. From a transactional perspective it was great to see that Entrepreneurs' Relief has survived, albeit with some significant changes, as this is a key tax relief for owner-managed business transactions."
Kevin Bell
kevin.bell@wbd-uk.com
ben.butler@wbd-uk.com
FAQs - extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
"Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it" - new guidance on the furlough scheme
Wrestling with an octopus: changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
COVID-19: a new vocabulary – test and trace, Zoom fatigue and roadmaps
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020: an update


The colorful country town scene on Flagship Carpets' Around Town Ride Along Rug teaches kids about road safety and different town features. Kids can play along the colorful landscape and follow the winding road. This classroom carpet meets CRI Class I flammability rating, is anti-microbial and resists fading, dirt, odor and mildew. A non-skid rubber backing keeps your rug in place. Backed by a lifetime abrasive wear warranty.


Download the official app here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Please note: it has been confirmed that some other sites have been spreading downloads to a version of FakeApp packed with bloat-ware and even potentially malicious coding. It is always safer to download from the official website above.
Please check these forums, under the downloads section. Thread is titled "Make Your Own Deepfakes". I have Mega links to both Fakeapp 2.2 and Fakeapp 1.1. Make sure you select the "no-miner" version if you don't want the cryptominer that was originally included in Fakeapp 2.2.


The WNBA Playoffs begin tonight, and coaches should take advantage of the learning opportunity these games will provide.
Coaches spend the off season looking for ways to develop, improve, and learn. What if I told you that you might be missing out on the best bargain in basketball!?! For only $16.99, you could watch some of the best coaches in the world 204 times?
Yes, WNBA League Pass is only $16.99 for the entire season – that's just over eight cents per game for terrific basketball! While this option is available, too many coaches are not giving the WNBA the respect that it deserves. There are some tremendous XsOs being put on display in WNBA games. The action is uptempo, players are skilled, and more coaches should be tuning in. Furthermore, all coaches should be encouraging their players to watch WNBA basketball!
The WNBA Playoffs tip off tonight (8/21) with both first-round single eliminations games airing live on ESPN2 at 8:30 and 10:30 ET. The Finals will take place the first week of September. Check it out!
Below are some of my favorite plays from the WNBA regular season.
Click on a play to read full description and to download it to your FastDraw library.
The Dream have have scored multiple times using this wrinkle at the end of Floppy action. The weak side back screen has resulted in many layups, and the screen-the-screener pin down has also created open looks.
The Mercury ran this ATO to get a wide open three for the great Diana Taurasi. This has multiple options which makes it very difficult to guard. The pistol acton with a weak side flare is a nightmare for the help defenders.
The Mystics used this BLOB set to get Elena Delle Donne an uncontested game winning-three. The double stagger screen sets up a screen-the-screener action for a shot at the top of the key. This BLOB set has different looks and would be a nice addition to any coach's baseline series.
The Sky are 3rd in the WNBA in 3PT FG%, and this set has resulted in numerous good looks. Even if it is guarded well, the action flows right into an invert ball screen, which is what happened in the clip below.
This play is named "Winner 2.0" because it is similar to the popular "Winner" set that Brad Stevens has used in the past. This set uses a zipper screen, to set up the back side flare and skip pass. The play has the screen for the shooter, and actually features a second screen (shooter was wide open in the clip).


The team is rallying around the idea, the boss is giving you the wink and the gun, everything feels right in the world -- until the dread hits. Who's going to build it?
Now that you've identified the type of project, it's time to think about the scope, and how your freelancer will fit into the equation. When you find that special someone, you'll want to tell them exactly what you need. Is it five pages and two emails? What's the content of those pages? Do you have a design? Is any of the content dynamic? And most importantly, what's the deadline?
Before you jump into the hiring process, make sure you can define everything up front. Don't leave anything to chance or assumptions -- because we all know what happens when you assume, right?
It's also important to remember that this isn't a one way street. Your freelancer will -- and should -- have a say about the timeline and scope of the project. Remember: you're hiring them because they have expertise in a field that you do not.


I am not using GMail nor Google+; I have a minimal Google account just for my Android devices maintenance.
Lately I received from a friend via email a link to a (public) Google+ photo album.
When I open the link on my Windows PC, the default browser opens and, below a big "Join Google+" banner, all the photos are nicely visible both in thumbnail and slideshow mode.
But when I open the same email on my Android devices (Samsung Tab or S4mini phone), the URL is "hijacked" by the Google+ app, which forces me to accept the terms and conditions of Google+ (and presumably, login with a Google account), which I don't agree with. So I dismiss this screen and there it ends.
Question: is it impossible to view someone else's Google+ photo album on an Android device without being logged in in Google+, like e.g. viewing the album in a standard browser ? Why am I forced to adhere to the terms and conditions of an app (Google+) when viewing public photos from someone else ? Any workaround ?


Sleeping six in three en-suite bedrooms there is an open-plan kitchen/living /dining room with slate floors and a wood-burning stove (logs provided). Suitable for less mobile guests, it has an M1 designation, the kitchen/dining/sitting room, entrance, a bedroom and a wet room are on one level. Underfloor heating and double-glazing throughout make it warm in winter, slate floors keeping it cool in summer. The private garden has hardwood garden furniture, and a Weber gas barbecue (gas provided) in summer. The oak and granite kitchen area is well equipped, a range cooker with gas hob and electric oven, large fridge/freezer, dishwasher, microwave, Dualit toaster, washing machine and tumble dryer. The sitting area has comfortable sofas to relax into. Flint has Wifi which is fine for emailing and searching the web. It also has exclusive use cinema room (accessed via external staircase). The cottage is dog friendly. There is a games room and in the summer an outdoor heated pool.
This beautifully restored old building has high vaulted ceilings, exposed stonework, red brick arches and old oak beams in abundance as well as an original sloping wall that has been carefully retained. The three bedrooms are all carpeted and en-suite, two having wet-room style showers and one having a shower over a bath. All the bedrooms can be configured as 6ft doubles or 3ft twin bedrooms. The Flint Barn has exclusive use of the nearby cinema room with a 42″ screen and surround sound, (accessed via external staircase). This cottage has WiFi which is adequate for emailing and searching the web.
The well-equipped oak and granite kitchen includes a 90cm stainless steel Britannia range cooker and large fridge/freezer. There is an oak dining table and chairs and comfy sofas to relax into as you watch the large flat screen TV. In winter the underfloor heating and wood burning stove (logs provided) will keep you cosy and in summer the slate floors in the kitchen, sitting room and dining area will help keep you cool.
The large private garden and terrace has a wonderful view of an unspoilt valley and is not overlooked by the other barns. The west facing Flint Barn benefits from the very best of the setting sun in the evenings. On the terrace there is ample hardwood furniture, and in summer a Weber gas barbeque is provided and gas is included. We can provide cots (not bed linen), high chairs (two types) and stair-gates.
Whilst the Flint Barn is a single storey building, there are a few steps as it has been built on a slope. The main part of the cottage, the kitchen/dining/sitting, entrance, parking, one bedroom and wet room are all on the same level. To access the two remaining en-suite bedrooms there is a short staircase of five steps. To access the cinema room there is s full length external staircase. See floor plans for full layout.
We are within easy reach of Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco and many good local food shops, and can also accept Waitrose Deliver, tesco.com and Sainsbury's online deliveries if required. Both on our website and upon arrival you are provided with a guide on local restaurants, where to buy local food, local take-aways and a full local information pack. Details of local restaurants are provided when booking so that you can book in advance if you wish.


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Bianca Krijgsman (Oudesluis, 3 de outubro de 1968) é uma comediante e atriz neerlandesa vencedora do Emmy.

Biografia
A atriz Bianca Krijgsman nasceu em 1968 em uma aldeia na província da Holanda do Norte. Aos doze anos, foi para a Academia de Ballet Nel Roos em Amsterdã, em seguida passou dois anos estudando teatro. Eventualmente, veio para a Academia de Artes de Amsterdã, onde conheceu Plien van Bennekom, ambos se formara em 1993, e juntos formam a dupla de comediantes "Plien e Bianca". Como atriz é mais lembrada por seus papeis nas séries Linda, Linda (1995), e 't Schaep Met De 5 Pooten de 2006. Em 2013, protagonizou o telefilme De Nieuwe Wereld, por sua atuação foi premiada com um Emmy Internacional de melhor atriz, tornando-se a segunda holandesa a vencer a estatueta.

Filmografia

Ligações externas

Nascidos em 1968
Atores dos Países Baixos
Atrizes premiadas com o Emmy Internacional
Humoristas dos Países Baixos


We left early on the 5th and drove half a day down the coast. Everyone was right. There wasn't much to see. The main road we were on, the A1, veers inland anyway, so there wasn't even a coastline to ogle over.
Around midday (noon), we stopped at Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary. We wanted Tia and Jason to have the chance to get up close and personal with kangaroo and the like.
Don't mind all the kangaroo photos. I freaking love kangaroo.
Busted. Photo of me taking a photo of a baby kangaroo.
On the morning of the 6th, Nick and I had a full day toured planned for Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. We had been working on booking that the previous day, as we were on the road for 15+ hours (with stops). Nick had been to Fraser Island about 13 years ago (along with many of the other places we had been traveling) and this was on his list of places to go this time around.
The first photo below was our tour bus for the day. High profile and 4WD to manage any waves, sand, etc., along the way. The island is 4WD specific and permits are mandatory for all drivers. After a few pickups, we headed off the mainland via the Inskip Peninsula (with the "su" pronounced like "shoe" here in Oz). Clearly, based on the 2nd photo, this is seemingly informal without much pomp and circumstance boarding the ferry to Fraser.
There is presumably a large shark population in the water between the mainland and Fraser Island. Though the waves are sure to lure many a surfer, our tour driver said his brother-in-law refuses to surf there after an experience with a shark; and I can't say I saw anyone attempting, so perhaps everyone knows better than to even bother.
Once there, we started traveling the main beach, 75 Mile Beach, which due to high tide proved to be a bit tricky so we went inland, and drove through the rainforest. Along the beach, we were keeping a sharp lookout for dingo, as there is a huge population of the wild dogs on this island. Sadly, we didn't see any on our tour.
It is such a contrast to see the lush, dense forest environment on a sand island. At one point, we stopped for a rainforest walk along the Wanggoolba Creek and found some decent sized trees and various other flora.
And the Wanggoolba creek itself makes you take a second glance. It appears to be murky, but it is actually crystal clear with a sand bottom. The water is also so pure, you are allowed to drink from it, and fill water bottles.
Lake MacKenzie. A freshwater lake, and one of the cleanest in the world. The beach sand is nearly pure silica.
The Maheno Shipwreck. Sold to Japan for scrap in 1935, a storm came up, snapped the tow chain, and the Maheno drifted off the Fraser, later to be used for target practice by ANZAC's. Now, mostly buried under the sand, but quite a sight, nonetheless.
75 Mile Beach. This is the "highway" on Fraser that can be quite busy at low tide. Probably my awesome dance moves here. The top pic of the post is also 75 Mile Beach.
After the tour, we met back up with Tia and Jason, and rounded out the day with another hour drive south to the Sunshine Coast.
It had rained through the night in Townsville, and was still carrying on a bit when we left for Airlie Beach. With only about 3 hours until our destination, we took our time, hoping the rain would continue to taper. Nick and I had done our research, and were following the forecast, knowing full well we'd be in for some showers off and on throughout this trip…it is the summer in the Queensland rainforest. And thanks, Humidity, for joining us as well!
Once we arrived in Airlie Beach, we found our accommodation, where we'd be bunking for 2 nights, (hostel) and walked the town. The rain had stopped and we could enjoy some overcast skies that created some striking green/blue hues in the water.
Airlie Beach is considered the Gateway to the Whitsundays, a stunning 74 island archipelago, boasting secluded and unspoiled beaches, but also resorts and mini-towns, if you go to the right island.
On our walk in town that first day, we booked in for a full day tour of the Whitsundays. We'd first visit the world famous Whitehaven Beach and then move along to Langford Reef for snorkeling. I was so excited for this tour and it was one of the few things that I insisted we do while on holiday. As much as I am a Colorado/mountain girl, I simply love traversing between islands on a boat or ferry. Always stunning and magnificent.
This is also considered "stinger season", and if you intend to go into the water, a full, albeit thin, body suit is strongly recommended to protect against Box Jellies and Irukandji Jellies. Both can be deadly, so it's either the stinger suit, or staying in the netted area, if the beach has one. Whitehaven is too pretty to have a netted area.
Whitehaven is also too pretty to have any activities. So, visiting the beach consists of walking/relaxing on the pristine white silica sand that stretches 7km one way, taking a bush walk, and swatting the march flies, which seem to be constantly swarming. You can also beach camp here, if you go through the appropriate channels. But, the combination of white sand and clear, turquoise water make this setting truly beautiful, even if only soaking it all in for a short time.
Just a couple of hours is all that's really needed on Whitehaven. The tour took us around and between some other smaller islands and brought us to Langford Reef, a sand and coral spit, still considered to be in the Great Barrier Reef. The water was a bit choppy, but we snorkeled and saw even more amazing underwater wildlife. This was certainly a tour I was anxious to take, as seeing Whitehaven and the Whitsundays had been on my dream list since arriving in Australia. I'd say the day was well spent.
That evening we relaxed, reminisced about the day, and plotted our next stretch of highway, as another storm was rolling into the beach town.
The four of us took an early flight from Brisbane to Cairns on 31 December, arriving with plenty of time in hot, humid Cairns to check into our Airbnb and explore the area a bit.
I'm not going to lie. I'm actually going to get it out there right away and say that Cairns is not what I expected. Knowing it as the "Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef," I anticipated the massive, beautiful, golden beaches that are a dime a dozen along the Australian coastline. Not here. You get a not-so-lovely low tide (which seems to be ever present), with a non existent beach, all of which is often crocodile infested (watch the signs that are everywhere!). Thus the need to create a man-made lagoon on the esplanade, for safety and a beach-feel. But, to get back to the "real" beaches, you have to trek another 15-20 minutes north. I assume Cairns is so popular not for the beach-going, but for the its' proximity to the reef, as it is the city with the easiest access point. However, Cairns surrounds are beautiful! With the lush rainforests, hills, etc., what you don't get in the beach views, you do get elsewhere!
Based on our timeframe in Cairns, we decided to head north to Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge that very day. Port Douglas is about an hour north of Cairns, and as the road hugs the coast, the views aren't too shabby.
We spent a little bit of time walking around the town of Port Douglas, with it's quaint shops, cafes, etc., and we drove around to find some good lookouts. This view is back toward Cairns.
And then we took a little tour out to Mossman Gorge. The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest surviving rainforest, and in the gorge you can take a dip in the crystal clear swimming holes, hike, and watch for carrowary and other unique fauna.
That night, we enjoyed a few fireworks over the ocean, and said goodbye to 2014, my favorite year yet!
Nick and I had originally considered doing a dive trip in the GBR, as we were recently certified (cue a new post about that experience), but we didn't want to leave Tia and Jason. So, we headed out to Green Island, one of the closest GBR locations from the mainland. Despite being on the edge of the reef, we saw some gorgeous underwater habitats and unbelievable wildlife. All the colors, all the fish, all the coral. So much to see. Sadly, I have not uploaded all of our GoPro photos onto my lappy, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I would love to return for a dive trip, but be a bit farther into the reef.
Before leaving Cairns, I wanted to see the Cairns contribution to "big things" in Australia. While none of the websites tell you exactly where each thing is, I thought I had a general idea. That is, until we started driving around, and I had no general idea at all. After checking many sites, many maps, making many wrong turns, and circling around many areas (over and over), I was ready to give up and just start our trip out of town. But by now, Nick was mostly invested, as he was driving, so he made sure we found it…in a shopping mall carpark (parking lot).
After this accomplishment, we began to make our way south, along the coast. While our final destination for the night was Townsville (hostel), we made a few stops along the way. One was Josephine Falls, and the other was Paronella Park.
It had started to rain on our way out of Cairns, and by the time we made it to Josephine Falls, which was a last minute decision anyway, it was coming down in sheets. That didn't stop us from making the short trek out to the baby falls.
Paronella Park was an oddity, all on its own. Who would expect a massive 1930's castle/hydro electric plant set in the middle of the dense Queensland rainforest…? It it beautiful, and exotic, and yet looks out of place.
Keep in mind that this map shows where we went from arriving in Cairns to when we left. It does not include the out and back to Trinity Beach/Palm Cove. That is figured into the total above.
Categories: Australia, Travel | Permalink.


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Matilde Sánchez (born 1958) is an Argentine journalist, writer, and translator. Beginning in 1982 she developed a prolific career in the field of cultural journalism. She edited the Culture and Nation supplement of the newspaper Clarín, as well as .

Professional career
Matilde Sánchez studied at the Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini. Her first work was a biography of Hebe de Bonafini. In 1992 she published her first novel, La ingratitud, dedicated to her father and that takes place in Berlin. The subject of travel is recurrent in her work, and according to writer , "appears as a fundamental experience" from her first novels.

Her works have received favorable criticism from other writers, such as the Mexican Carlos Fuentes, who rated La ingratitud, El dock, and El desperdicio as particularly notable, and Beatriz Sarlo, who wrote about La ingratitud: "It's a text notable for its intelligence, for the steadfast security of writing without hesitation, and for the ability to exhibit a drama of feelings with the same distance as observing a foreign city." , in turn, described her in his personal blog as one of the best writers of her generation. The writer Miguel Vitagliano opined that El dock was the best novel of the 1990s.

Works

Fiction
 La ingratitud (1992). Novel originally published by Editorial A. Korn and reissued in 2011 by Editorial Mardulce.
 El Dock (1993). Novel. Editorial Planeta.
 La canción de las ciudades (1999). Travel stories published by Seix Barral.
 El desperdicio (2007). Novel. Editorial Alfaguara.
 Los daños materiales (2011). Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Argentina.

Nonfiction
 Historias de vida (1985). Biography of Hebe de Bonafini. Editorial Nuevo Extremo.
 Las reglas del secreto (1993). Annotated anthology of the work of Silvina Ocampo. Economic Culture Fund.
 Evita, imágenes de una pasión. Report. Editorial Planeta.
 Sueño rebelde. Report about Che Guevara. Editorial Icaria.

Awards and fellowships
 Guggenheim Fellowship (1994)
 Knight-Wallace Fellowship (University of Michigan)
 1st finalist 1992 Premio Planeta de Novela for El dock

Personal life
Matilde Sánchez's eldest son is the rock journalist Valentín Pauls, from her relationship with .

References

1958 births
20th-century Argentine women writers
20th-century Argentine writers
21st-century Argentine short story writers
21st-century Argentine women writers
21st-century Argentine writers
Argentine women novelists
Argentine women short story writers
Journalists from Buenos Aires
Living people


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Another week, another ridiculous festival going on in some part of Japan. This time around, it was Okayama's own "Naked Man" Festival. If the title wasn't clear enough, allow me to explain... three-thousand fundoshi-clad men, one icy cold winter evening in Okayama, and a cash prize of £35,000. The festivities began at around 9pm. The nappy-wearing participants were marched into the temple, after completing a circuit around the outside (including a detour through a subzero-degree temple pond) and attempted to take their place on the unfeasibly small temple platform. All it took was one misstep, and a whole barrage of bodies would come tumbling down the temple steps, like some sort of weird, vertical Mexican wave. And, as much as we may have been shivering from our spectators' pit outside, the mass of bodies was such that when the monks, perched in their safety zone metres above, poured water on the heaving mass, it was immediately spat back out as steam. Crushing and suffocation seemed like realistic possibilities for the participants. And that was before any of the real activity had even begun!
It wasn't until an hour later, at 10pm, that the show really got underway. The lights on the temple were shut down completely. The moment had arrived. The sticks were about to be dropped. By the time the lights had flashed back on, three incense-infused batons had been dropped into the crowd. Now it was one big, naked brawl as the participants punched, kicked and clawed their way through the mass of bodies in an attempt to get their hands on one of the prized sticks. The one who managed to keep hold of the Prized Stick long enough to make it out of the temple gates would be the one who would win the money. Of course, it wasn't only the sheer number of people which made it a near-impossible challenge. Of the three sticks, only one was the Money Stick. The other two were decoys. So even if you made it all the way to the gate, stick in hand, if your stick was a decoy, your efforts were in vain. What's more, being incense-infused, the sticks' smells betrayed their location, making it even easier for rival competitors to track you down.
The monks take in the spectacle below.
All in all, it was a hilarious spectacle! Original plans had been to be participators ourselves, but having seen the events unfold, we thanked the Heavens that we ended up as spectators instead! Those participants we spoke to afterwards were certainly all a little scarred by the experience. The lucky ones came out with just a few bruises and a handful less toenails. Those who were less lucky broke bones. Last year, somebody even died. Significantly less funny.
Other news this week includes an interesting "Fake Quake" experience at school. Sitting in the office, my Kyoto-sensei (vice principal) ushered me into a side room. My guilty conscience nerve throbbing, I immediately presumed I'd done something wrong. Thankfully, he wasn't handing me my P45, but started speaking, in hushed Japanese tones, about a "じしん" and pointing to his watch. Luckily, I knew that "じしん" means "earthquake", so, after a little initial confusion (where I panicked and thought he was telling me a quake was on its way and we were all going to die), I was able to work out what he was saying. At 1.30pm, the school would be hosting its own "Fake Quake" to test staff and students' reaction times in the event of a real emergency. So there we were, in the middle of cleaning time, when an intercom annoucement throughout the school tells us that a quake has just hit in nearby Sukumo and that we should brace ourselves for the aftershocks. Immediately, kids threw their brooms and cloths aside and prepared themselves for the worst, ducking in the corridors and dive-bombing under tables. I found myself huddled in a corner with a kid, (usually the loud joker of the class, now silent and terrified), who simply looks up at me, says "DANGEROUS" and reinserts his head between his legs. There was certainly a perversion to watching all these poor kids drop everything they were doing and run for their sweet lives when you knew it was all just a hoax. But, better that than the real thing!
To top it all off, Tuesday of last week was also Pancake Day in England! Now, it may not be celebrated here in Japan, but I'm not forgetting my roots that quickly! Et voila...!
My New Year's Resolution
The Christmas Journey Part IV: China: Part II!
The Christmas Journey Part III: China: Part I!
The Christmas Journey Part II: Hello, Hong Kong!
The Christmas Journey Part I: Farewell Johen!


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Wonderama TV, the Times Square Alliance and One Times Square Successfully Celebrated the Biggest Halloween Parade in History II for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
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October 31, 2022 October 31, 2022 by Morissa Schwartz 0 Comments
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A set of four Regency sterling silver master salt cellars from the Lonsdale Service
by Benjamin Smith II, London; probably supplied by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, 1808
Sold for US$ 16,250 inc. premium
The Elegant Home
Select Furniture, Silver, Decorative and Fine Arts
26 Jun 2018, 10:00 PDT
Property from a Prominent Seattle Family
The center of each stand engraved with a crest and coronet within the Order of the Garter, height 3 1/2in (9cm); diameter 4 1/2in (11.5cm); total weight approximately 72oz troy.
Photo of Lowther Castle courtesy of www.lostheritage.org.uk
Engraved with the crest, coronet and insignia of Sir William Lowther (1757- 1844), 2nd Baronet and Viscount Lowther after his 1807 creation as Earl of Lonsdale in the County of Westmorland on 7 April 1807 and installation as Knight of the Garter thirteen weeks later.
William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale KG was a British Tory politician, nobleman and coal magnate. He inherited the Lowther Estate from his cousin Sir James Lowther in 1802 and hired architect Robert Smirke to redesign what was Lowther Hall into Lowther Castle between 1806 and 1814. The 1st Earl Lonsdale inherited other vast estates and had a significant income allowing him to spend extravagantly to patronize the likes of William Wordsworth, Joseph Turner, John McLean, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell and Paul Storr.
The European enthusiasm for Egyptian design stemmed from the spoils of the French conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's subsequent defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Vivant Denon, artist and diplomat who accompanied Napoleon's campaign published detailed drawings of temples and ruins in his Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Égypte, (Paris 1802) The collector, decorator and financier Thomas Hope influenced the Regency style with his vast collection of antiquities and precise drawings of antique forms in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (London, 1807) and this aesthetic was manifested in Hope's iconic Duchess Street, London townhouse.
A related set of thirty six silver-gilt salts marked for Digby Scott & Benjamin Smith (II) are a part of George IV's Grand Service supplied to Carlton House. Another set of eight were presented to William IV, when Duke of Clarence, by the Jamaica Assembly for Clarence House. An identical set of four silver-gilt salts from the Lonsdale Service, marked for Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith (II), 1803-04 and retailed by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell were offered Sotheby's, New York, 16 April 2013, lot 407.
The partnership of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith (II) lasted from 1802 to 1807 and produced some of the finest works of silver of the early 19th century. They were principle suppliers to Royal Goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, who had delivered the aforementioned silver-gilt set for the Lonsdale Service. The maker's marks on the salts offered here appear to be overstruck on a previous more vertical mark, presumably that of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith II. Given the date of 1808 it can be speculated that the salts were commissioned sometime prior to the dissolution of the partnership and delivered after Smith had independently entered this mark on 11 May 1807.
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LESLIE FEDORCHUK
Alternative Process
Drawing:Mixed Media
LeCache
Trout Lake Residency 2015
RE: Demuriel Press
MIDDLECOASTS & DEMURIEL PRESS
An artist and educator who has been working in the genre of alternative processes and artists' books for the past twenty-five years. I earned a BFA from University of Michigan and an MFA at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In addition, I completed further graduate study in theology at St. Francis Seminary.
My written and visual work deals with issues of autobiography, memory, and place narratives. I've exhibited both nationally and internationally and have work in many private and public collections including the Milwaukee Public Library, The Tweed Museum of Art, Special Collections – UW Milwaukee, and the Museum of Modern Art.
A Professor at the Milwaukee Institute of Design, where I have developed and taught courses in the humanities, art history, writing, letterpress and book-arts and virtual worlds. I've been a part of the MIAD community since the early nineties – serving both on the faculty and as an academic dean.
For more information regarding my teaching and academic life - look for me at MIAD.
I also keep a meandering blog about art and the world at large here: MIDDLE COASTS


Stretching across its 355 miles of coastline, Normandy provides a wonderful choice of landscapes, scenery and culture. Enjoy the warm hospitality, its unique blend of maritime traditions and rural way of life. Marvel at its historic towns and monuments, stroll down quiet country lanes and enjoy local dishes in picturesque villages, or sip a drink by the quayside of one of its old ports and watch the world go by.
When you stay at Les Basses Beaulinges French Country Cottages there are so many places to explore. Here are our suggested Top 5 places to go with drive times.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel is simply stunning. One of Frances's top tourist attractions is just 25 minutes from Les Basses Beaulinges. Allow yourself at least 4 to 5 hours here, as you will want to take your time to explore this wonderful historic monument. The selection of bars and restaurants along with the views will stay with you forever. The tour of the upper areas, (the Abbey) is simply a must. Do get the audiotape to take with you as you do the tour as the history is fassinating. If you want you can take a walking tour across the estuary with a guide who will ensure your safety as there is lot of quick sand. The locals say that "when the tide comes in a horse cannot outrun it!"
St Malo, just 1 hour away (pictured above) is a maze of medieval streets bursting with history and culture. The legacy of the dastardly pirates of the 19th century and the siege during the Second World War entwines with the bustling array of arty shops and the delicious smells from restaurants, outdoor markets and cafes; Oysters and crêpes are local delicacies to be enjoyed throughout the restaurants and markets of the town. Do take a walk around the wall (Intra-Muros where the stunning Gothic and Romanesque Cathedral de St Malo dominates the skyline. As you walk along the ramparts, you can see spectacular views of the town and harbour, including the islands and forts scattered just out at sea. The pretty islands of Grand Be and Petit Be can be visited on foot at low tide, with the Fort National reachable on foot from St Malo's longest beach, the Grand Plage.
Dinan is without doubt one of the most attractive and best preserved small towns in Brittany. With its 3km long ramparts, half-timbered houses, attractive port and cobbled streets filled with art galleries and craft shops, it's worth a day of anyone's time. With just 1 hour away Dinan's old town is a warren of narrow streets where it appears that time has stood still. The quaintest part is Place des Merciers where you'll find the best examples of the town's half-timbered houses; just opposite is the pedestrianised Rue de la Cordonnerie, also known as 'thirsty street' as it has nine bars.
The Normandie beaches approx 1.15 hours away.
An amazing armada of Allied troops, British, American, Canadian and more, landed on Normandy's beaches on 6th June 1944 to begin the liberation of Europe from years of Nazi occupation. The planners of this crucial event for European freedom codenamed it D-Day.
Follow the Normandy coast, going from above Caen in the east close to Sainte-Mère-Eglise in the west, learn all about the history of what happened at Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword on 6 June 1944.
Ducey is less than 10 minutes from Les Basses Beaulinges and the nearest town with a wonderful chanteaux and beautiful gardens. The river Salune (salmon fishing in season) runs through Ducey and you can just rest on the bridgestaring at the at the weir. A selection of shops including Boucherie, Patisserie, Hairdressers, Pharmacie and large Carrefour supermarket (open 9am to 7.15pm Mondays to Saturdays and Sundays 9am to noon).
Avranches has good shopping in the Centre ville or 2 Commercial centres and is just 15 minutes away. Many treasures are hidden in Avranches. The city preserves the manuscripts of Le Mont-Saint-Michel; a prestigious collection where the public can discover the secrets of in 'The Scriptorial' museum. On Saturday mornings enter the rue des Chapeliers or by the rue de Boudrie and you are in the heart of the market where you will find many interesting stalls.
Mortain on a clear sunny day this is a must visit town just 30 minutes away. As you enter the town take a sharp right following the signs to La Petite Chappel. (There is ample parking). Take the time to wonder through this very pretty nature reserve and head towards the tiny chapel. Follow the steps towards the back of the chapel and you will see 'view points' where you can see the countryside and towns for miles. As you come back to the main road go through Mortain, as you leave the village stop in a small car park on the left and walk 100 yards towards exiting the village, take a look across the valley with its beautiful trees and waterfall.
Dol-de-Bretange is a lovely historic cathedral town with an excellent main street, 35 minutes. If you are visiting check to see if there are any local festivities, as the local marching bagpipe bands really stir the blood.
Family Beaches, there are so many to choose from! Carolls Beach, 35 minutes which is a perfect family resort with all the amenities you need. Close by is St Jean de Thomas beach. This is a much quieter beach with a fantastic view of Le Mont-Saint-Michel in the back ground.
Dol-de-Bretange is a lovely hostoric cathedral town with an excellent main street to explore. 35 minutes. If you are visiting check to see if there are any local festivities, as the local marching bagpipe bands really do stir the blood.
Granville (pictured below) is a large seaside town with a big marina which is well worth visiting, and only 45 minutes away. There is a casino on the front with a nearby beach, great shopping and some fine local restaurants in the back streets, but you need to look carefully as some are hidden underground in cellars. Very nice English pub next to the casino if that is your taste. Granville commands stunning views of the Bay of the Mont Saint-Michel from its fortified headland. Enjoy this invigorating resort's wonderful array of ports, quarters and beaches, plus its museums, plus one devoted to local genius Christian Dior.
Below you can see a snapshot of lots of other places to visist, all within a maximum of 2 hours drive.


Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg - Tour!
The Faberge Museum is one of the newest museums in St. Petersburg. It holds a fabulous collection, including the largest collection of Faberge eggs to be found anywhere in the world – even in Russia, only the Moscow Armoury comes close to rivalling the exhibition. The museum also holds a galaxy of other items made by Faberge, as well as his contemporaries.
Yet it can be difficult for the uninformed to see. The museum's website gives little information on how to get tickets, the price of tickets, opening days or hours, but our tour company can help to unlock the secrets of these beautiful eggs. Contact us in advance of your arrival in St. Petersburg to arrange a visit to the museum.
The Faberge Jewelry firm was founded in 1842 in St. Petersburg, Russia, by Gustav Faberge, the father of the great Carl Faberge.
Carl Faberge studied in Dresden, Frankfurt am Main, London, Florence and Paris, and began working for the company in 1872. Under his leadership, assumed in 1882, it became one of the largest in Russia.
At its height, Faberge employed seven hundred craftsmen and artists. The St. Petersburg Department consisted of independent workshops whose owners worked on drawings and models exclusively for the firm, to the high standards required by the Russian Imperial Court. However, his clients also included the Royal Families of Sweden, Norway, Britain and Siam.
In 1885, having worked for the Romanovs for the best part of a decade, Faberge was asked by Tsar Alexander III to produce a jewelled Easter egg for his wife. Alexander had the idea because Russian people traditionally exchange dyed Easter eggs, which symbolise the Resurrection, and the tradition had been enhanced with the opening of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in the second half of the 18th Century, which began to produce porcelain eggs.
The first Imperial Easter Egg, the "Hen Egg", was a massive success – the Tsar was so impressed be deemed Faberge worthy of the title of "Supplier to His Imperial Majesty", thus giving Faberge both recognition and a high level of artistic freedom. The eggs became an annual Romanov tradition, and were made for other clients, too.
However, the Russian Revolution of 1917 brought the tradition to an end. The Faberge Company, which was floated on the stock market in 1916, was nationalised by the Bolsheviks, and its stock confiscated.
Faberge himself fled St. Petersburg on the last diplomatic train, travelling through Latvia, then Finland, before eventually finding a haven in Switzerland. However, Faberge was a broken man after losing his home and business, and he died in 1920.
The eggs live on, and each has its own story. Some were confiscated by the Russian Government; many of these were sold to dealers during the famines of the 1920s, particularly to Armand Hammer, a doctor. Others were smuggled out of Russia by fleeing aristocrats, who sometimes sold them on to pay for food or lodgings.
By the latter half of the 20thcentury, several firms and indiviuals had become prominent collectors, including Wartski Jewellers in London, the Queen of England, and the late Malcolm Forbes, an American media magnate – the eggs collected by the latter now form the bulk of what is now displayed in the St. Petersburg Faberge Egg Museum.
The history of the museum began in 2004, when a Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg bought the eggs from the estate of Malcolm Forbes, preventing the collection from being broken up, perhaps forever.
He founded a charity, "Svyaz Vremyon" (Link of Epoches), whose purpose is to return art and cultural treasures lost to Russia during the Soviet period.
In order to open a museum dedicated to the works of Carl Faberge, in 2006 Svyaz Vremyon agreed to rent the Shuvalovsky Palace for fifty years from the City of St. Petersburg. Its restoration alone lasted seven years and during this period the charity continously sought and bought Faberge pieces, including 14 large Easter eggs.
Today the collection of Svyaz' Vremyon has more than 4,000 items, which in addition to the works of Faberge include items produced by other Russian artists. Many of them are displayed in the museum.
Of all Faberge's masterpieces, his Russian eggs are the most famous – and the Imperial Easter Eggs the best known and most fabulous of these. The Faberge Museum in St Petersburg houses nine of them.
The Imperial Easter Eggs, as their name suggests, were constructed on the personal orders of the last two Russian emperors - Alexander III and Nicholas II. They were created for particularly significant historic and dynastic events within the Imperial family.
It is believed that there were fifty Imperial eggs in existence in pre-Revolution Russia. Eight were destroyed or lost in the post-Revolutionary chaos. Of the surviving numbers, ten are located in the Kremlin Armoury, and nine can be found in St Petersburg; including the first and last of the series.
In 1885 Emperor Alexander III decided to give his beloved wife Empress Maria Feodorovna an Easter egg jewelry and placed his order with Carl Faberge.
The Emperor requested that Faberge model his design on a simple white chicken egg - yet this simple egg was to be made with ivory, be lined with gold, and hide a golden chicken inside - from the royal treasury of Denmark, where Maria Feodorovna came from.
The Hen egg originally contained two other tiny surprises – a tiny gold and diamond replica of the Imperial Crown, which encircled a ruby pendant, which came complete with a chain for the Tsarina to wear.
At some time after the Revolution, the surprises were lost – the Hen egg was looted from the Anichov Palace, and then was sold to an English dealer in 1920. He in turn sold it to a member of the English aristocracy, Lord Grantchester. When Grantchester died, the egg was purchased by Forbes.
The last egg produced for Alexander III is the tenth in the series, which the Tsar presented to his wife on Easter in 1894 shortly before his death. The Renaissance egg is made of agate, the name is due to its artistic execution in the Renaissance style. The surprise of the egg is lost, but it has been suggested that the surprise was actually the "Resurrection" egg. This fits Renaissance perfectly and has similar designs. Another theory was that the original surprise was pearls.
This egg, among several others was sold by the Russian Government to Armand Hammer soon after the Revolution, and had a string of owners, before it was eventually bought by Forbes.
After the death of Alexander III, his son, Emperor Nicholas II, continues Easter tradition started by his father. But he asked that Carl Faberge produce two eggs a year - one for his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and the second for the wife - Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
This egg is the first gift of Nicholas II to his young wife, which he presented soon after the wedding as a declaration of love, in 1895.
The Rosebud egg is red, and adorned with Cupid's arrow and tightly intertwined wreaths - a symbol of the indissolubility of the marriage bond.
The eggs opens like a bonbonierre, and contains an ornate yellow rose – the most valued flower in Alexandra's German homeland. The original surprise was a minature replica of her crown, a symbol of her new responsibilities which is now missing.
The Rosebud was sold by the Russian Government in 1927, and was then sold to a private collector. However, at some point during the 1930s, the egg was lost; it was also rumoured to have been damaged in a marital dispute. The egg was discovered again in he collection of the Fine Art Society in London, from where it was purchased by Forbes.
Carl Faberge devoted this egg to the important event in the history of the dynasty of Russia - the coronation of Nicholas II. Nicholas II presented it to his wife. The egg's shell resembles the cloth of gold mantels, which Nicholas and Alexandra wore during the coronation. The egg's surprise is a copy of the coronation carriage used by the Romanovs during the 18th century; it is rendered in incredible detail, down to the coach seats and spring.
However, the egg is not entirely complete – it originally contained a pendant made of diamond or emerald, and two ornate stands for the coach.
During the 20th Century, the egg had several owners, and was eventually purchased by Forbes.
Egg "Lilies" is another gift of Nicholas II dear wife, and produced in the Art Nouveau or Art Nouveau style which the Empress adored.
Inside the egg, as the name suggests, are pink lilies of the valley, the Empress's favorite flowers and her favourite colour. These are made of pearls – another favourite of Alexandra's.
In addition, lily of the valley - a symbol of feminine purity. The imperial couple gave birth to two daughters by April 1898, shortly before the egg was constructed. Their portraits, along with a portrait of the emperor, form a shamrock, which rotataes upward when the egg is opened.
Like other eggs, it was confiscated after the Revolution and sold to Wartski Jewellers, who sold it on to Forbes.
This was a gift from Nicholas II on Easter 1900 to his deeply beloved mother, Maria Feodorovna. It is also known as the Cuckoo or Cockerel Egg. Pressing the button at the base of the egg activates a cunning mechanism, which causes a flapping rooster to emerge from the Egg.
This Egg decorated with miniatures, written in watercolor on ivory. It was given as a gift to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
In 1911, fifteen years had passed since the coronation of Nicholas II. Sixteen miniatures depict the Seven members of the royal family and nin commemorative events of the reign of Nicholas II.
Year after year it became harder to Carl Faberge to surprise his customers, and eggs sometimes took a very unusual shape – in this case, the bay tree. The tree symbolises unfading glory and recognition, which was seen as a suitable emblem for Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in Russia.
The egg contains leaves carved from jade, each attached to the stalk of golden barrel. From the leaves hang fruits of amethyst, citrine and pink diamonds, and flowers of gold, covered with white opaque enamel. The egg's surprise is a golden bird, which hides within the tree.
This egg was confiscated and sold by the post-Revolutionary Russian Government It had several different owners, including the Wartski jewellers. It was bought by Forbes in the 1960s.
The last Faberge Easter Egg that was presented to the Royal Family, this egg was delivered in October 1915, when the emperor Nickolas II was awarded the St. George Cross, and the Tsarevich Alexei the St. George medal. The Order of St George was the highest Russian military honour, and its award was of great importance for the emperor.
Because of the austerities of the First World War, the Imperial Russian Family asked for less elaborate eggs. The surprise of the egg – poigniantly, given the fate or the Romanovs - are portraits of Nicholas and Alexei.
Unlike the other eggs, the St George was not taken as loot by Revolutionaries. It was carried from Russia by the Dowager Empress when she fled. She treasued it until her eventual death in Denmark in 1928. It was then acquired by Queen Mary (the grandmother of the current Queen of England), before passing into the ownership of the exiled Russian aristocrat, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovana. It was sold to Forbes after her death.
This egg was made for the Duchess of Marlborough, who visited St Petersburg and was invited to the Imperial Court. The Egg is shaped like a vase with a watch-rotator. It rotates the dial and diamond arrow in the form of a snake's tongue points the time.
This egg was the first collected by Malcolm Forbes.
Faberge also made seven eggs for the merchant's wife Varvara Kelch, whose husband was the owner of the Siberian goldfields. Two of these are exhibited in this museum. Both are made based on the eggs of the Empress Maria Feodorovna - "Hen" and "Rooster".
In 1904 Varvara Kelch left Russia and took her valuables with her, including Easter eggs . After 1917, she started to sell them. Ultimately, two of them were bought by Forbes, and were subsequently transferred to the St Petersburg collection.


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