Some cool royal images:

The Royal Library

Image by cuellar
Best viewed large.

Located on the second floor at the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial it is considered one of the best renaissance libraries in the world.

The library has an extremely rich collection (about 45.000 docs), which
includes Arab and Hebrew manuscripts, and the personal library
of Felipe II. Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa María, the Book of
Hours of the Catholic monarchs, Santa Teresa’s manuscripts and
diary, the gold-scrolled Aureus Codex (1039), and an 11th
century Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beato de Liébana are
just a few of the manuscripts.

Se ve mejor en grande.

Localizada en el segundo piso del Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial se la considera una de las mejores bibliotecas renacentistas del mundo.

Contiene una colección extremadamente rica, alrededor de 45.000 documentos, entre los que se encuentran: manuscritos árabes y hebreos y la biblioteca personal de Felipe II. Las cantigas de Santa Maria de Alfonso X, misarios y brevarios de los Reyes Católicos, manuscritos y diario de Santa Teresa, el Códice Aureo (1039) y del s. XI el comentario al Apocalípsis de San Juan del Beato de Liébana.

Lest We Forget – The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (RAFBBMF)

Image by antonychammond
The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (RAFBBMF) is administratively part of the Royal Air Force No 1 Group and operates from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. These Lancaster Bombers and Spitfires were taking part in an air display at a nearby airfield – and I happened to catch them as they flew over our house!

The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating World War II, upon British State occasions, notably the Trooping the Colour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. We are proud to have HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge as our Patron.

RAF BBMF commemorate the past of the RAF’s Air Combat Power – Lest We Forget.

The Spitfire

Produced in greater numbers than any other British combat aircraft before or since the War, 20,341 Spitfires were built in 22 different variants (excluding the navalised Seafire) and the aircraft remained in production for 12 years.

Spitfire 19 Sqn The prototype’s maiden flight took place on 5th March 1936 and Mk1 Spitfires entered RAF service (with No 19 Squadron) in August 1938.

The development potential of the original design allowed the Spitfire to establish and then maintain the air superiority so vital to the defence of Britain and to keep pace with the improvements in performance of enemy fighters throughout World War Two.

Spitfires fought in every operational theatre of the War and remained in RAF front-line service up to 1954. At the end of its development the Spitfire carried an engine producing more than twice the power of the original, its maximum take-off weight and rate of climb had more than doubled, its firepower had increased by a factor of five and its maximum speed had been increased by a third; all this in essentially the same airframe.

The Spitfire played a major part in achieving ultimate victory in World War Two and truly deserves its place as probably the most successful fighter design ever, and certainly as the most famous and charismatic of all time.

The Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster is the most famous and successful RAF heavy bomber of World War Two. It is a legend that lives on today and the contribution made by the aircraft and its crews to the freedom of our nation will, hopefully, never be forgotten. The prototype Lancaster took to the air for its first flight from Woodford, Manchester, on 9th January 1941; the first production Lancaster flew later that year on 31st October.

The Lancaster WWII The first RAF unit to receive the new aircraft for operations (on Christmas Eve 1941) was No 44 Squadron at Waddington, quickly followed by 97 Squadron at Woodhall Spa. The performance of the Lancaster was simply outstanding. It could carry a maximum bomb load of 22,000 lbs, its maximum level speed with a full load at 15,000 feet was 275 mph and it could cruise routinely at altitudes above 20,000ft at a range speed of 200 mph. With a full bomb load the aircraft had a range in excess of 1,500 miles. The Lancaster’s performance, its ruggedness, reliability and to many its sheer charisma, endeared it to its crews who were proud to fly this famous thoroughbred.

An impressive total of 7,377 Lancasters were built between 1941 and early 1946. Of these, some 3,500 were lost on operations and another 200 or so were destroyed or written off in crashes. The vast majority of those Lancasters that did survive the war were simply scrapped when their services were no longer required, as the reverence in which the aircraft is now held had yet to develop to the point where their preservation seemed important.

The Lancaster did not carry the weight of the night bombing offensive against Nazi Germany on its own but was supported by other earlier twin-engine bombers such as the Wellington and the other four-engine RAF heavy bombers – the Stirling and the Halifax – as well as medium bomber versions of the twin-engine De Havilland Mosquito. In total some 125,000 aircrew served in Bomber Command during World War Two; over 73,700 of them became casualties, either killed, wounded or shot down and made PoWs.

In a letter to the head of Avro after the war, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris, the Commander in Chief of Bomber Command, said of the Lancaster:

“I would say this to those who placed that shining sword in our hands: Without your genius and efforts we could not have prevailed, for I believe that the Lancaster was the greatest single factor in winning the war.”

For more information please visit www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/

Royal Border Bridge.

Image by Jonathan Combe (Thank you for 400,000 views!)
I finally got to this spot on Friday night on my way home from visiting the Duddo Five Stones.

When I finish work in the evenings I drive past this bridge and it never ceases to look amazing, especially with it’s lights that change to all sorts of colours.

I parked in Berwick-Upon-Tweed and I knew exactly where to go and luckily had a torch on me as there were a few dark places to negotiate on the way..

I got down to the Riverside and saw how calm the River was, I literally said "wow" and was really pleased to get these conditions..

I set up and took a few test shots as you do, but I wanted to wait and see if a train went over, and eventually one came and I am rather pleased at the result.

Now I know the image is a bit grainy, but I HAD to have a high ISO and wide aperture, because if the exposure is too long, the lights turn out white which can look unpleasing to the eye..

A bit of History on the Bridge:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Border_Bridge

Thanks for looking.