UKpix blog by Peter Greenhalgh

Western Isles of Scotland pictures

2017-10-23T13:31:00.000+01:00

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Barbary macaque: the monkeys of Gibraltar

2016-06-05T12:04:00.002+01:00

Barbary macaque pictures at UKpix.com
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Devil's Dyke, South Downs, near Brighton, Sussex

2016-03-24T09:10:00.002+00:00

Devil’s Dyke, a 100m deep valley in the South Downs, near Brighton.

Legend has it that the Devil was digging a trench to allow the sea to flood all the churches in the Sussex Weald.

His digging disturbed an old woman who lit a candle, or angered a rooster causing it to crow, and made the Devil think that morning had arrived. He fled, leaving the unfinished trench.

The last shovel of earth chucked over his shoulder fell into the sea to form the Isle of Wight.

MORE PICTURES AT UKPIX

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Pictures of East Head, West Wittering, West Sussex

2016-03-24T08:56:00.000+00:00

PICTURES OF EAST HEAD, WEST WITTERING, WEST SUSSEX

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A bear behind... unsuspecting fisherman with very large trout

2016-03-07T10:05:00.002+00:00

Love this picture... what happens next?

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Slashed, stabbed, robbed, bled and struck by lightning. The extraordinary story of Major General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby

2016-03-07T08:31:00.001+00:00

There was once a 70ft high column on this plinth in Valletta, Malta. But it was destroyed by lightning in 1864.

The unlucky strike on the column, but lucky survival of the plinth itself, seems strangely appropriate considering the man it commemorates, Major General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby GCMG KCB KCH.

The cavalry officer survived various battles in the Peninsular Wars and actually brought the news to Wellington that Napoleon had abdicated.

But then came 1815 and the Battle of Waterloo…

1) Ponsonby was first wounded in both arms and knocked off his horse by another sabre slash.

2) a French lancer saw him move on the ground and stabbed him in the back with his lance, saying “You’re not dead, you rascal”.

3) a French skirmisher then robbed him.

4) lucky for Ponsonby, a major in the French Imperial Guard Dragoons spotted him, gave him some brandy and promised to send help.

5) but a French skirmisher then used him as a shield.

6) towards the end of the battle, Ponsonby was ridden over by Prussian cavalry (allies!) as they joined the fight.

7) and he was then roughed up by a Prussian looking for plunder.

8) help arrived again when a British soldier found Ponsonby and stood guard over the officer during the night.

9) in the morning, Ponsonby was dragged away in a cart.

10) over two days, despite SEVEN major wounds, surgeons bled him of 120 fl oz, a whopping SIX pints of blood (3.4l).

Ponsonby was nursed back to health by his sister, Lady Caroline Lamb (yes, the one who had an affair with Lord Byron in 1812), and went on to become Governor of Malta, hence the column.

The major general died suddenly, aged 53, at Murrell Green, near Basingstoke, on January 11, 1837 as he was sitting down to a meal at an inn called, ironically, the Wellesley Arms (named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and, of course, Ponsonby’s commanding officer at Waterloo).

According to an obit in the Gentleman’s Magazine (vol 161): “Raikes reported that ‘the physicians long ago pronounced that the action of his heart was disordered, that he might live on for years, but that when the crisis came, he would die suddenly, as if by a pistol shot’.”

That Ponsonby’s heart was a bit dicky after Waterloo is hardly surprising. But, I wonder if they double checked his pulse before they buried him in the crypt of St Nicholas's Church, Hatherop, Glocestershire.

Footnote: The Wellesley Arms disappeared shortly after Ponsonby’s death. It was once the first overnight stop for Exeter coaches from London but left obsolete when the railways reached Basingstoke in 1840.

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Pictures of Valletta, Malta

2016-03-07T08:15:00.000+00:00

Pictures of Valletta, Malta, by Peter Greenhalgh at UKpix.com

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Burning the Clocks, Brighton, 2014 – pictures

2014-12-22T22:58:00.000+00:00

Burning the Clocks, Brighton, December 21, 2014

More pictures at UKpix.com
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Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave - Veteran Car Run 2014

2014-11-04T12:16:00.000+00:00

Five times Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave arrives at the finish line in Madeira Drive, Brighton, driving a 1904 Thornycroft in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2014.

Olympic gold medallist Steve Redgrave arrives in Brighton

Veteran Car Run 2014 gallery

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Veteran Car Run 2014 pictures - London to Brighton

2014-11-03T18:16:00.001+00:00

Pictures of the Veteran Car Run are now ready here
Order a print online
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London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2014 - pictures

2014-11-01T12:44:00.000+00:00

Watch out for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run pictures from the event tomorrow, Sunday November 2, 2014.

Pictures of the 2013 event are available here.
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Classic Car Run pictures - London to Brighton 2014

2014-06-01T19:16:00.000+01:00

26th Classic Car Run London to Brighton and 14th Kit and Sports Car Run.
June 1, 2014

Pictures here
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London to Brighton Mini Car Run pictures 2014

2014-05-19T16:08:00.000+01:00

Pictures of the London to Brighton Mini Car Run 2014

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Pictures of Italy - dedicated website

2014-04-23T12:59:00.001+01:00

PICTURES OF ITALY

Pictures of Venice, Italy

2014-03-28T17:39:00.000+00:00

Pictures of Venice, Italy

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Northern Lights near Reykyavik - amazing show of colour

2013-11-02T14:57:00.001+00:00

Brilliant show of the Northern Lights near Reykjavik, Iceland, on October 30

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Royal Pavilion, Brighton, at night picture

2013-10-06T08:59:00.000+01:00

Royal Pavilion, Brighton, at night... taken with a tiny Olympus ZX-1. Part of my picture a day project in 2013. Full size picture here

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Great Robin redbreast pose - picture

2013-10-05T11:50:00.001+01:00

Robin: great pose for a picture of the day... UKpix.com
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Brighton Wheel at Night picture

2013-10-05T11:46:00.000+01:00

BRIGHTON WHEEL AT NIGHT

Part of the picture a day project 2013 at UKpix.com

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Reflections - picture of the day project

2013-09-28T09:45:00.002+01:00

From the picture a day project 2013

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Dramatic sky over Brighton Pier - picture

2013-09-16T17:31:00.000+01:00

Dramatic sky over Brighton Pier - picture of the day September 16
Picture a day project 2013
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Mods and scooters - pictures of the Mod Weekender, Brighton, August Bank Holiday weekend 2013

2013-08-26T09:40:00.000+01:00

Mod Weekender pictures, Brighton, August Bank Holiday weekend

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Wingwalkers - daring girls on airplanes at Eastbourne air show

2013-08-18T15:59:00.001+01:00

SEE MORE PICTURES OF EASTBOURNE AIR SHOW AT UKPIX.COM

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Fracking: Environment Agency 'altered wording' on advice about risks to drinking water in Sussex

2013-08-15T10:10:00.000+01:00

The Government was told more than a year ago by the Environment Agency that fracking should not be allowed near aquifers - underground rocks that contain water - because the drinking supply in Sussex could be contaminated.

But the agency's head of climate change altered the wording on a public statement so it did not create "too stark a message", according to a story in the Brighton Argus.

The water near Balcombe is not suitable for drinking, but about 75 per cent of Sussex drinking water does come from underground supplies - precisely where there are huge deposits of shale gas and oil.

In a private memo to government, a senior EA official wrote that it would object to planning applications and refuse to grant an environmental permit if a company wanted to frack where aquifers are used to supply drinking water.

In one email, released after a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the official said: “Can I ask that you do not use the two sentences from … [redacted]..... while we finesse them.”

An EA spokesman told the Argus: “If the activity poses an unacceptable risk to the environment the activity will not be permitted.”

The good news, then, is that the EA would object; the bad news is that they tried to tone down the possible risks.

The toning down (or even up) of memos and reports is always fraught with danger. Weapons of Mass Destruction and Iraq springs to mind.

BRIGHTON ARGUS STORY - Secret emails reveal the risk to water in Sussex from fracking was known by officials

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Fracking debate: oil production 'unlikely' at Balcombe, says Cuadrilla

2013-08-14T10:01:00.001+01:00

Now Cuadrilla says oil production is unlikely at Balcombe.

All that fuss and policing costs for nothing?

Transport links at other sites are more suitable, apparently.

Beneath all the hype and emotions, isn't that what the people of Balcombe had said?

It's not been ruled out totally, though.

BBC STORY

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