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With all National Trust properties closed for the time being in London due to the coronavirus outbreak, we're taking a break from our current Wednesday series.
Instead, we continue our countdown of Exploring London's 100 most popular posts of all time with numbers 84 and 83…
82. Lost London – King Edward III's Thames-side manor house…
What's in a name?…St Katharine Docks…
January 9, 2017
The name for this dock, located just to the east of Tower Bridge, comes from a 12th century established to help the poor known as St Katharine's Hospital which was once located in the vicinity.
The hospital, which was named at St Katharine – whom tradition holds was martyred in the 4th century by the Roman Emperor Maxentius – was founded by Matilda, the wife of King Stephen, in 1147, for the maintenance of 13 poor people.
It was supported by various English queens over the ensuing centuries, including Eleanor, beloved wife of King Edward I, who granted it a new charter in 1273, and Queen Philippa, wife of King Edward III, who drew up new regulations for the running of the hospital in 1351.
Having survived an attempt to have the hospital abolished by Puritans in the 17th century and an attempt to burn it down during the late 18th century Gordon Riots, in the early 19th century demand for new docks brought about the old hospital's final demolition.
In 1825, the hospital relocated to Regent's Park. Now known as the Royal Foundation of St Katharine, it is currently located in Limehouse, having moved there in 1948 (we'll take a more in depth look at the history of St Katharine's Hospital in an upcoming post).
The docks, meanwhile, was opened in 1828 following the removal of more than 1,200 homes and a brewery as well as the old hospital – works carried out despite a public outcry and, apparently, no compensation. Designed by Thomas Telford (of the Iron Bridge fame – this was apparently his only London project), the docks occupy a 23 acre site and featured a central basin opening to two docks lined with brick warehouses.
The docks were closed in 1968 and in the years since, the warehouses have been converted into shops, eateries, offices and residences while the waters are now used as a marina for luxury yachts.
Daytripper – Rochester Castle…
July 3, 2015
We've visited Rochester before but given it's the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta we thought it would be good to take a more in-depth look at Rochester Castle and the events that took place there after the sealing of the "Great Charter".
Rochester Castle was first built in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings as a Norman stronghold to control the Medway and the Roman road – Watling Street – which crossed it at that point. There was a Roman-era town on the site and it's likely the first castle – surrounded by a deep ditch and featuring walls of earth topped with timber – was built within the town's walls – possibly on the site of the existing castle.
Work on a stone castle was started in the late 1080s by Gundulf, the Bishop of Rochester (he also built the first Tower of London), and the castle precincts outer walls still largely follow the line of his original curtain walls. The keep was built by William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was granted the castle by King Henry I in 1127. It remained in the custody of the archbishops until the events of 1215.
Following the sealing of the Magna Carta in May, relations between King John and the barons soured again into outright civil war with the castle declared for the rebels. In October and November, 1215, it was held for some seven weeks by a force of knights – accounts suggest between 95 and 140 – against the forces of King John. These eventually breached the south curtain wall and after the forces of the knights – who were led by William de Albini and Reginald de Cornhill – retreated to the keep, the king ordered his sappers to work.
The miners were successful in undermining the south-west tower which collapsed along with a large section of the keep (the fat of 40 pigs were apparently used to make sure the fire in the mine was hot enough). The defenders nonetheless kept fighting, retreating further into the remains of the keep, until they were eventually forced to surrender when faced with starvation. King John's fury at their resistance was said to be great but while some of the defenders lost their hands and feet when they were apparently lopped off on his orders after surrendering, he was convinced to spare the holdouts from being hanged on the spot and merely had them imprisoned.
The tower was later rebuilt by King John's long ruling son, King Henry III, and you can see its distinct round shape (in contrast with the earlier, square towers) when looking at the keep today. (Incidentally, King John's siege was the castle's second major siege – the first had taken place in 1088 when the forces of King William II (Rufus) had besieged the castle which was then held by the rebellious Odo, Bishop of Bayeaux, who was involved in an attempt to put William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert, Duke of Normandy, on the throne in place of William (who was the second son). Odo was forced to come to terms and exiled as a result of the siege).
In the hands of the Crown after King John's siege, the castle was again the site of a siege in 1264 – this time unsuccessful when rebels under the command of Simon de Montfort failed to take it from those of King Henry III (although the garrison was later forced to surrender following events elsewhere).
It was rebuilt and repaired a number of times, including during the reigns of King Edward III and that of King Richard II (during whose reign it was also ransacked in the Peasant's Revolt of 1381). Other kings to visit it over the years included King Henry VII and King Henry VIII.
Already much deteriorated and neglected, in 1610, King James I gave the castle to Sir Anthony Weldon whose family sold off some of the timber and stone to local builders. It survived the Civil War without incident and was used as a public pleasure garden from the 1870s onward before, in 1884, it was sold to the City of Rochester. In 1965 responsibility for its care was given to the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Current managers, English Heritage, took over the site in 1984.
The castle remains an imposing site in Rochester and the outer walls of the keep remain intact even if it's no more than a shell. Worth the climb to the top simply to take advantage of the spectacular views of the town and cathedral below!
WHERE: Rochester Castle, Rochester, Kent – nearest train station is Rochester (half a mile); WHEN: 10am to 6pm daily (until 30th September); COST:£6.20 adults/£3.90 children (aged 5-15) and concessions (free for English Heritage members); WEBSITE: www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rochester-castle.
What's in a name?…Chancery Lane
October 6, 2014
This central London street, which runs between Fleet Street and High Holborn, has long been associated with the law and government, and still is so today with the Royal Courts of Justice standing close to its southern end and Lincoln's Inn – one of the four Inns of Court – located on the lane's western side.
Its name is a corruption of the original Chancellor Lane – a moniker which apparently dates back to at least the 14th century – and which referred to the buildings where the official documents of the Lord Chancellor's Office, known as the Rolls of the Court of Chancellory (Chancery), were stored.
The street was apparently first known as New Street and later as Converts Lane; the latter in reference to the House of Converts (Domus Conversorum) King Henry III founded here in the 1272 for the conversion of Jews to Christianity.
When King Edward I expelled all the Jews from the kingdom in 1290, the 'house' continued in use as such for foreign-born Jews, albeit with very small numbers of residents until the early 17th century.
In the meantime, in 1377 King Edward III gave orders that the complex of buildings used by the Domus Conversorum also be given over to the Master of the Rolls for the storage of chancellory documents and it was this move which led to the lane gaining its new name.
The buildings – which included a chapel which had become known as the Chapel of the Master of the Rolls or the simply the Rolls Chapel which had been rebuilt several times including to the designs of 17th century architect Inigo Jones – were finally demolished around the turn of the 20th century and subsumed into the Public Records Office complex on Chancery Lane (this was formerly housed in what is now the Maughan Library of King's College London).
The lane these days is also home to such august institutions as The Law Society and the London Silver Vaults. It also lends its name to an Underground Station located to the east of the lane entrance in High Holborn.
Around London – Margaret Thatcher's funeral; telling the Jewel Tower's story; depot open weekend; and, Designs of the Year…
April 11, 2013
• Margaret Thatcher's funeral will be held next Wednesday at St Paul's Cathedral from 11am with Queen Elizabeth II among those attending (the first time she has attended the funeral of a British politician since Sir Winston Churchill's in 1965). The funeral procession of the former Prime Minister, who died on Monday aged 87, will start at the Houses of Parliament and make its way down Whitehall to Trafalgar Square before moving down the Strand, Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill to St Paul's Cathedral. Baroness Thatcher's coffin will carried in a hearse for the first part of the journey and will be transferred to a gun carriage drawn by six horses of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery at St Clement Danes church on the Strand for the final part of the journey. There will be a gun salute at the Tower of London. Meanwhile, a Book of Condolence has opened at St Margaret's Church, beside Westminster Abbey, this morning and will be available for people to pay their respects until 17th April, during the church's opening hours. St Margaret's – which stands between Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament – is commonly known as the parish church of the House of Commons.
• The story of the Jewel Tower – one of the last remaining parts of the medieval Palace of Westminster – is told in a new exhibition at the historic property. Now in the care of English Heritage, the tower – located to the south of Westminster Abbey, was built in 1365 to house King Edward III's treasury, later used as King Henry VIII"s 'junk room', the record office for the House of Lords, and, from 1869, served was the "testing laboratory" for the Office of Weights and Measures. The exhibition, which opened this month, is part of the English Heritage celebrations commemorating the centenary of the 1913 Ancient Monuments Act. The Jewel Tower is open daily until November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.english-heritage.co.uk.
• See some of the earliest underground trains, a Lego version of Baker Street station and ride the Acton Miniature Railway. The London Transport Museum's depot in Acton is holding it's annual spring open weekend this Saturday and Sunday and in celebration of the Underground's 150th anniversary, attractions will include the Metropolitan Steam Locomotive No. 1 and the recently restored Metropolitan Carriage 353 along with model displays, rides on the miniature railway, film screenings, talks, and workshops. Wales' Ffestiniog Railway team – celebrating their own 150th anniversary – will also be present with the narrow gauge train, Prince. Open from 11am to 5pm both days. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk.
• Now On: Designs of the Year. The Design Museum has unveiled contenders for the sixth annual Designs of the Year competition and you can what they are in this exhibition. Consisting of more than 90 nominations spanning seven categories, the nominated designs include the Olympic Cauldron by Heatherwick Studio, The Shard – western Europe's tallest building – by Renzo Piano, a non-stick ketchup bottle invented by the Varanasi Research Group at MIT, and Microsoft's Windows phone 8. The exhibition runs until 7th July – the winners will be announced this month. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.designmuseum.org.
Where's London's Oldest…wine bar?
March 11, 2013
The honour of being London's oldest winebar goes to Gordon's Wine Bar at 47 Villiers Street in the West End (just up from Embankment Tube Station or down from Charing Cross Station, whichever you prefer).
The venerable establishment – still a favoured place to stop for a drink for many Londoners – opened its doors in the 1890s and still conveys a powerful sense of old world charm with the decor pretty much unchanged (there's been no fancy makeover here) and the wine still served from wooden casks behind the bar.
The site on which the bar is located was once occupied by York House (home to, among others during its centuries of life, Robert Devereaux – 2nd Earl of Essex and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Bacon – Lord Chancellor during the reign of King James I) and then, later on, by a large house lived in by diarist Samuel Pepys in the late 1600s before, thanks to its position close to the river, a building was built upon it in the 1790s which served as a warehouse.
The usefulness of the warehouse came to an end when Victoria Embankment was built and the river pushed back and the building was subsequently used for accommodation. Writer Rudyard Kipling was among tenants who lived here (from 1889-1891 during which wrote The Light that Failed – in fact, the building was renamed after him, Kipling House, in 1950.
It was Angus Gordon, a "free vintner" meaning he didn't have to apply for a licence thanks to the largesse of King Edward III in 1364, who established the premises in the vaults here in the 1890s (interestingly the current owners are also Gordons, but not related). Among the other uses of the building, of which Gordon's only occupies a part, was apparently as a brothel in the 1920s.
For more on Gordon's head to www.gordonswinebar.com.
Lost London – The King's Wardrobe…
February 22, 2013
In the medieval period, the royal wardrobe – that is, the splendid robes and other clothes worn on state occasions – were kept at a range of different locations including the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. In the 1360s, however, it moved to a more permanent location in what had been a house near Blackfriars priory.
Sold to King Edward III by the executors of the will of Sir John Beauchamp, the house served as the key storage site for royal clothes including not only those of the monarch but various people attached to the court such as the royal family, king's ministers and Knights of the Garter.
The building, which was considerably extended over the years to include everything from a great hall and chapel to stables, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and the wardrobe was moved to another building in Buckingham Street although by this stage its importance had declined considerably (the last Master of the Wardrobe held office in the late 18th century).
Its name lived on in that of the church St Andrew-by-the Wardrobe and that of the well-hidden and intimate Wardrobe Place (it's located between St Andrew's Hill and Addle Hill). There is a blue plaque which marks the site of the former building (pictured above).
Treasures of London – The Burghers of Calais…
December 14, 2012
One of 12 casts made of an original which stands in Calais, France, this sculptural group commemorates one of the most poignant moments of the bloody Hundred Years War.
The original work, by the renowned Auguste Rodin who beat five others with his design, was completed in 1889 and stands outside Calais' town hall. This cast was produced in 1908 and presented to the nation in 1914 by the National Art Collections Fund. It stands in Victoria Tower Gardens, just to the south of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.
The sculpture commemorates an event which took place in 1347. Calais, then, as now, an important French port, had been besieged by the English for more than a year and, in a desperate situation as the townspeople starved (and despite orders from the French King Philip IV to hold out), the city authorities were seek terms from the English king, Edward III, still flushed with the success of the Battle of Crecy the year before.
Edward's conditions for their surrender were harsh – six of the city's leaders had to be handed over and the rest of the city would be spared. But more than that, the six had to leave the city stripped of almost all their clothes, wearing nooses around their necks and carrying the keys to the city and castle.
Six burghers, led by Eustache de Saint Pierre and also including John Daire and brothers James and Peter Wisant, did so and it is the scene of them making their way to King Edward that Rodin has captured. Their bravery was rewarded – while King Edward apparently order them to be beheaded, his pregnant English Queen, Philippa of Hainault, intervened on their behalf and they were spared execution, dressed and fed before they were safely escorted away.
Only 12 casts of the group were ever permitted under French law – the London cast was the third to be made.
What's in a name?…Barbican
December 3, 2012
Though it's these days associated with a Brutalist housing estate and performing arts centre based in the north of the City of London, the name Barbican has been associated with the area on which the estate stands for centuries.
The word barbican (from the Latin barbecana) refers to an outer fortification designed to protect the entrance to a city or castle. In this case it apparently referred to watchtower which may have had its origins in Roman or Saxon times (or maybe both). The City of London website suggests it was located "somewhere between the northern side of the Church of St Giles Cripplegate and the YMCA hostel on Fann Street".
When-ever it was built, the watchtower was apparently demolished on the orders of King Henry III in 1267, possibly as a response to Londoners who had supported England's barons when they had rebelled against him. One source suggests the tower was rebuilt during the reign of King Edward III but, if so, the date of its subsequent demolition remains unknown.
Later residents of the area – which become known as a place to trade new and used clothes – included John Milton and William Shakespeare.
The area known as Barbican was devastated by bombing raids in World War II. Discussions on the future of the site started in 1952 and for more than 10 years plans for redeveloping the area were debated until finally, in the early 1960s, work began on what is now the Barbican Estate including three tall residential towers (part of the residential estate is pictured above). Completed in the mid 1970s, the Brutalist design of the complex, which features buildings named after historical figures associated with the area, means it meets with strong reactions from those who encounter it whether love – or hate.
Construction of the arts centre – known as the Barbican Centre – the largest performing arts centre in Europe and home to the London Symphony Orchestra – was started in the early 1970s. The £156 million centre was eventually opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982.
Other buildings within the Grade II listed complex include the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the City of London School for Girls and a YMCA.
Lost London – Old St Paul's Chapterhouse…
November 30, 2012
We're yet to take an in-depth look at Old St Paul's Cathedral – that is, the building that stood on the existing site before being destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 – but today we thought we'd focus on just one aspect of the former church – the old chapterhouse.
Located in the South Churchyard on the Thames side of St Paul's Cathedral, the location of the chapterhouse is today marked out by raised stonework (the actual building remains lay a few feet below) which can be freely accessed from the street.
The octagonal chapterhouse, which replaced an earlier chapterhouse, stood in the middle of a 100 foot square arcaded cloister, both of which were designed by the royal mason, William Ramsay, in 1332 during the reign of King Edward III, in one of the first known examples of what is referred to as the 'Perpendicular Gothic' style.
Designed as a two-storey building for better air circulation, the actual chapter room was located on the second floor of the chapterhouse over an undercroft below and it was here the monks would meet daily to discuss affairs relating to the cathedral (the word chapterhouse comes from the fact that it was while in this room the monks would be a read a daily chapter from the body of rules governing them).
The marked out chapterhouse (pictured above – the chairs are standing inside the chapterhouse) was unveiled in 2008 following a £3.8 million redevelopment of the South Churchyard, itself part of the bigger, recently completed, overhaul of the entire cathedral).
WHERE: South Churchyard, St Paul's Cathedral (nearest tube station is St Paul's); WHEN: Anytime; COST: Free (to go inside the cathedral costs £15 an adult/£14 concessions and students/£6 a child (6-18 years)/£36 a family of four); WEBSITE: www.stpauls.co.uk
Lost London – Greyfriars…
October 26, 2012
A now long gone Franciscan friary located in the north-west of the City of London near Newgate (just to the north of St Paul's Cathedral), Greyfriars, so known for the color of the friars' clothing, was the second Franciscan religious house to have been founded in England.
The foundations of the friary date from the early part of the 13th century – the Franciscans, as members of the Order of Friars Minor were known, had arrived in 1224 and are recorded as settling on land granted to them by a rich mercer, John Iwyn, just inside the City wall, in 1225, in the butcher's quarter of the city.
King Henry III apparently gave them some oak to build their own friary in 1229 and by the mid 1200s, there were more than 80 friars living on the site which was gradually extended over the ensuing years to the north and the west.
Using funds given them by Sir William Joyner, Lord Mayor of London in 1239, they built a chapel which was later extensively enlarged and improved in the late 13th and early 14th centuries – the new church was said to be 300 feet long – with much of the work funded by Queen Margaret, second wife of King Edward I, and later in the 14th century, Queen Isabella, wife of Edward III. It apparently suffered some damage in a storm in 1343 but was restored by King Edward III.
When it was finally completed in 1348, the church is said to have been the second largest in London. A library was later added to the buildings, founded by the famous Lord Mayor of London, Richard "Dick" Whittington.
Such was the fame of the church that, the heart of Queen Eleanor, wife of King Henry III, was buried here after her death in 1291 while, despite dying at her castle in Marlborough, Queen Margaret was also buried here in 1318 (apparently wearing a Franciscan habit).
But perhaps the most notorious person to be buried here was Queen Isabella, wife of King Edward II and known by many as the "She-Wolf of France", after her death in 1358. In fact, it's said that the ghost of Isabella still haunts the former location of Greyfriars, driven forth from the grave for her role in deposing her husband.
Other non royal luminaries said to have been buried here include the 15th century writer Sir Thomas Mallory, author of Le Morte d'Arthur and 16th century Catholic nun Elizabeth Barton, the so-called 'mad maid of Kent' who was executed for her rather unwise prophecies predicting King Henry VIII's death if he married Anne Boleyn.
The end of the friary, pictured above in the sixteenth century, came in 1538 when it fell victim to King Henry VIII's policy of dissolving monasteries and was surrendered to his representatives.
Some of the houses were subsequently converted for private use and the church, which was somewhat damaged during this period with many of the elaborate tombs destroyed, was briefly closed before it and other buildings were given to the City of London Corporation who reopened it again in 1547 as Christ Church Greyfriars, a parish church serving the now joined parishes of St Nicholas Shambles and St Ewen.
Only a few year's later King Edward IV founded a school for poor orphans in some of the old friary buildings known as Christ's Hospital or informally as The Bluecoat School thanks to the uniforms students wore. Some of the school buildings, along with part of the church which was also used by the school, was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666, but the school was rebuilt and remained in use until the late 1800s when the last of the students were relocated to a new facility in Sussex (where the school still exists today).
The church (also known as Christ Church Newgate Street), meanwhile, was also rebuilt after the Great Fire – it was one of Sir Christopher Wren's designs and was completed in 1704. The church remained in use until World War II when a firebomb struck it during a German raid on 29th December, 1940, all but destroying it.
The church was not rebuilt and the parish merged with the nearby St Sepulchre-without-Newgate – the largest parish church in London – and eventually what's left of the church – the tower with rebuilt steeple and the west and north walls – were converted into a public garden (rose beds were planted where the pews once stood and there are wooden towers representing the church's pillars). Pictured right, it's now a terrific place to sit and have lunch pondering the past which the bustle of the city goes on about you.
PICTURE: (top) Wikipedia
For a great biography of Isabella, the She-Wolf of France, see Alison Weir's Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England. For more on Sir Christopher Wren's churches in London, see John Christopher's Wren's City of London Churches.
Lost London – The Savoy Palace…
July 6, 2012
At one time the grandest of medieval townhouses in London, the history of the Savoy Palace, also known as the Palace of the Savoy, goes back to at least the 13th century.
A mansion was built here by Simon de Montfort, the ill-fated Earl of Leicester, in 1245. Following his death, it and the land between the Strand and the Thames were gifted by King Henry III to Peter, Count of Savoy, and it was renamed the Savoy Palace (apparently originally spelt Savoie).
The uncle of the king's young wife Eleanor of Provence, Peter had accompanied his niece to London for her wedding to the king at Canterbury Cathedral on 14th January, 1236, and decided to stay. In 1241, the king named him the Earl of Richmond and in 1246 granted him the land upon which the property was built.
After being briefly given to a religious order, Queen Eleanor gifted the property to Prince Edmund ("Edmund Crouchback" – a term referring to his entitlement to wear a crusader's cross, not a hunchback), the 1st Earl of Lancaster and younger brother to King Edward I.
It was subsequently occupied by Edmund's successor earls and, later, dukes. Among the 'guests' to visit the palace during the 14th century were the French King Jean (John) II, held there for three years following his capture by the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers during the Hundred Years War in 1356.
Interestingly, as the property of the Dukes of Lancaster, the precinct around the palace was considered part of County Palatine of Lancaster (created in 1351), meaning that the rule of the dukes was applied here instead of that of the king – a situation which remained in place until the 1800s.
The palace eventually became the property of John of Gaunt, the 2nd Duke of Lancaster and third son of King Edward III. The richest and most powerful man in the kingdom (he was all but king in name during the younger years of King Richard II in whose name he ruled), Gaunt's home was said to be sumptuous.
It's perhaps not surprising then that it become a focus of the rebels during the Peasant's Revolt in 1381 (it had been attacked unsuccessfully a few years earlier). They attacked and destroyed the property, razing it to the ground. (The story includes the tale that 32 men drank themselves to death after becoming trapped in the cellar while the palace burned).
The site, however, continued to be referred to as that of the Savoy and in the early sixteenth century King Henry VII, by order of his will, financed the founding of the Savoy Hospital on the site for the poor people (the Queen's Chapel of the Savoy is a relic of this building – see our earlier post here). The hospital closed in 1702 and was later demolished (we'll deal with this in more detail in a later Lost London post).
The site, which stands on the north side of the Thames just west of Waterloo Bridge, is now occupied by the salubrious Savoy Hotel (the entrance of which is pictured above) and the Savoy Theatre, which, like the hotel, was founded by impressario Richard d'Oyly in the 1880s (the theatre was the first building in the country to be entirely lit by electric lighting).
The name of the Savoy Palace is also remembered in street names around the site including Savoy Street, Savoy Hill, Savoy Steps, Savoy Way and Savoy Place.
Daytripper – Windsor Castle…
May 18, 2012
Given we're marking the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with a look at sites of significance to her story located in London, it's perhaps only fitting that we take a look at the nearest royal residence outside the city.
Windsor, located as close as half an hour by train from London's Paddington station (or around 50 minutes to an hour from Waterloo), boasts plenty to see including the historic town centre, nearby Eton, great river and country walks and, of course, Legoland. But today our attention will remain on Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world.
There has been a fortress on this site since shortly after the Norman invasion when in about 1080 King William the Conqueror ordered it constructed on a ridge above the river bank as part of a series of defensive fortifications around London. The earth and timber Norman castle was gradually added to over the years – King Henry I (reigned 1100-1135), the first king to live here, added domestic quarters while King Henry II (reigned 1154-1189) built substantial royal apartments transforming the castle into a palace and began replacing the outer timber walls with stone fortifications as well as rebuilding the Norman Keep as the Round Tower (parts of which still date from this period). King Henry III (reigned 1216-1272) built upon and expanded his work.
But it was in the reign of King Edward III (1307-1327) that the castle was expanded enormously. This included the reconstruction of the lower ward including the rebuilding of the chapel, naming it St George's (although the current chapel dates from the reign of King Edward IV – 1461-1470), and the reconstruction of the upper ward complete with apartments for him and his wife, Queen Phillipa, arranged around courtyards (although some of the work wasn't completed until the reign of his successor, King Richard II – 1377-1399). It was also during King Edward III's reign that the castle became the base for the Order of the Garter (which he created in 1348), a role it still fulfills.
Other works were ordered by successive Tudor monarchs including King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, and Queen Mary I. Parliamentary forces seized the castle during the Civil War (Oliver Cromwell did use it as his headquarters for a time) and Royalists were imprisoned here (King Charles I was in fact buried in a vault beneath St George's Chapel after his execution having been previously imprisoned here).
The next major additions came in the reign of King Charles II (1660-1685) when the Upper Ward and State Apartments were reconstructed in baroque splendor, the latter complete with splendid murals ceiling paintings by Italian artist Antonio Verro (the murals were later destroyed but some of the ceiling paintings survive).
From the time of King William III (1689-1702), monarchs began spending more time at Hampton Court Palace but the focus returned to Windsor with King George III. He ordered a range of improvements and updates including modernising Frogmore House in the Home Park for his wife Queen Caroline (the property was subsequently used by various royals but no-one currently lives there), but many of these were stopped prematurely due to his illness. His son, King George IV, picked up where his father left off.
In the reign of Queen Victoria, Windsor became the royal family's principal residence and was visited by heads of state including King Louis Philippe in 1844 and Emperor Napoleon III in 1855. The Queen's husband, Prince Albert, died here on 14th December, 1861.
King Edward VII (1901-1910) and King George V (1910-1936) both had a hand in redecorating the palace and the Queen's father, King George VI (1936-1952), was living in the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park when he succeeded to the throne.
In more recent times, the castle was the home to the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret, for much of World War II. The castle suffered its greatest setback in recent times in 1992 when a serious fire broke out in the Queen's Private Chapel which destroyed several rooms including the ceiling of St George's Hall which dated from the reign of King George IV. Restoration works took five years to complete.
Today the Queen spends many private weekends at the castle while the court is officially in residence here for a month over the Easter period and during Ascot Week in June – it's at this time that the Garter Day celebrations take place with the installation of new knights.
The Queen also hosts State Visits here with banquets held in St George's Hall as well as what are known as a 'sleep and dine' in which high profile figures are invited to dinner with the Queen before being shown a special display of items from the Royal Library and then spending the night. The Royal Standard flies from the Round Tower when the Queen is in residence.
As well as touring the State Apartments, the Gallery, Queen Mary's Dolls' House (completed in the 1920s for Queen Mary, wife of King George V), and St George's Chapel, visitors to the castle can experience the Changing of the Guard at 11am every day but Sundays between May and early August (and every second day after that).
WHERE: Windsor (a short walk from either Windsor Central Station or Windsor & Eton Riverside Station); WHEN: 9.45am to 5.15pm until 27th July (times vary after this date – check the website); COST: £17 an adult/£10.20 a child (under 17s – under fives free)/£15.50 concession/£44.75 family (price includes an audio tour); WEBSITE: www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle.
Lost London – King Edward III's Thames-side manor house…
April 20, 2012
The remains of one of the lesser known former royal residences in London, King Edward III's manor house, sit amid a grassy park on the south bank of the Thames at the corner of Bermondsey Wall East and Cathay Street in Rotherhithe.
Believed to have been built in about 1350 during the reign of the king (1312-1377), the 14th century property – which consisted of stone buildings arranged around two courtyards – was originally built on what was then an island surrounded by marshes.
The premises was surrounded on three sides by a moat – the fourth side opened directly to the river, allowing the king to travel to the property by boat.
Among the buildings in the complex were a hall with a fireplace as well as private chambers for the king and utility spaces like kitchens (pictured below is a reconstruction of the property as depicted on an information plaque located at the site).
The function of the building remains somewhat a mystery – with no nearby royal parks it is unlikely it was a conventional hunting lodge although documentary evidence does point to falcons being house there so perhaps it was a place where the king hunted with falcons.
As the Thames riverbank was pushed northward over the following centuries, the residence became completely surrounded by a moat. It was eventually sold into private hands.
The site was apparently used as a pottery in the 17th century and warehouses occupied it in the 18th and 19th centuries (in fact a 14th century wall was incorporated into one of these and was still standing in 1907).
The warehouses were demolished in the 1970s and the remains of the palace confirmed on the site during an excavation by English Heritage 1985 (they also found a lot of Delftware on the site apparently related to its days as a pottery).


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How is it July Already?July 13, 2012
|Calvin and Hobbes - image source: jpegy
With the year being more than half over (it's scary when I put it like that isn't it?) I though it was time for a check-up on the my list of to-dos that I posted back at the start of 2012.
Stuff to finish
- Repair (or have repaired) the ceiling in the dining room. (I got a quote on this - it was $1000 - ouch)
- Paint the walls in the dining room (this will happen after I get the walls repaired - see #1)
- Spruce up the kitchen (so far I've only replaced my door handles)
- Get some additional storage for the dining room
- Come up with a better furniture layout for the living room (yup, this was done, although I still have to choose between the six)
- Finish my dresser project (This is complete, with wonderful (in my opinion) results)
- Paint the living room a colour other than white.
- Get actual window coverings for the bedroom, living room and dining room
- Get or make some art for the walls (My collection is growing)
- Actually hang the art on the walls!
- Get a rug for the foyer that can fit under the door when it opens.
- Get bedside tables that are not two different sizes.
- Get a prettier TV console (it's purchased, and being worked on)
- Add some more storage to living room
- Purge my bookcase
- Paint my bedroom
- Get a rug for my bedroom.
- Refinish those chairs I bought last spring . . . (yeah, no. Sigh)
- Install my dining room light
- Remove doors into dining room and living room.
- Get more lighting for the living room
- Consider a move from wordpress.com to wordpress.org (Done)
- Learn to take better photographs (I bought a better camera - does that count?)
- Increase average posts a week from 1 to 2.
- Reach 100,000 views (On January 2nd I had 22,000. It's just over 50,000 now)
- Start taking my lunch to work EVERY DAY (okay, 4 out of 5 days)
- Get back into running, and do at least one 10K race in 2012
- Buy myself flowers every so often 'just-because' (I switched this to buying myself monthly flowers - I've actually done this every month, although admittedly most months the flowers are purchased on the last day - you can see them here: February, March, April, May, June)
What about you? Did you make a resolution/to-do list for 2012? How are you making out?
3 comments
I actually think you got quite a lot done. Your to-do list is very long, so I wouldn't feel bad about the percent of things you got done :)ReplyDelete
Love your new kitchen cabinet handles. Also, I agree that just getting a better camera means you're going to take better pics ;)
I love that you are making a point of buying yourself flowers just to buy yourself flowers. It's my favourite of all your goals. :)ReplyDelete
mmm- lavender fields & cherry picking? sounds amazing!ReplyDelete
heck, i'd even take the donuts-on-wheels. :)

subset: commoncrawl


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Once testosterone is developed in the body, much of it heads to your bloodstream. A small percentage of the testosterone produced in your body floats freely. It is this floating portion of the hormone that contributes to physiological changes to your body. It helps increase muscle-building proteins and slows the degeneration of them. Products that elevate testosterone can nullify any bad luck that has befallen you in the genetic lottery.
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"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3
Let me just say, after reading this one verse in Philippians, a dagger went straight into my heart. Moments before I began reading the word in my quiet time this morning I prayed for Jesus to reveal to me where in my heart I am least like Him…and He delivered just like He always does.
Right now I am in my 4th year of medical school and getting ready to begin the "slightly" stressful residency application, interview, and match process. During this process I will compete against some of the best students and brightest minds in the country to obtain a position to further my training in a certain field of medicine. This whole process and culture of medicine glorifies being the best, having the best grades, having the top scores, and essentially trying to exalt yourself to the very top. Everyone tries to get an edge on each other, which makes for the culture to be a very dog-eat-dog world. I wish I could say that as a follower of Christ I haven't succumbed to stooping to this level, but I am pretty sure it is near impossible not to get caught up in it at some point. I catch myself daily saying I did this, I did that, I am way better than that person, I deserve this/that… look at me, look how awesome I am! If you think about it, you probably thought the same things at your job or school as well!
Amazingly there is a God that "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, and humbled himself"…and His name is Jesus. He did not self-exalt even though He could have easily done so. He did nothing out of selfish ambition. He could have easily come down to earth as a god, but chose the complete opposite. He humbled himself to the lowest of lows and you know what happened? He was exalted by God to the highest of highs and his name now reins above all names!
This verse is a challenge to be completely different than the culture we are fully immersed in. Instead of trying to out-do everyone and put our name on the pedestal, we must consider others better than ourselves. Think about a culture where everyone puts others before there own selfish pride. Think about what it would be like to work in a place or go to school where humility is the standard and not selfish ambition. Pretty cool to imagine that, right? I don't know about you, but I am FIRED up thinking about it. It is time to put aside my own selfish ambition in a culture of pride, re-route my ways of thinking or acting as if I should be superior to others, and let Jesus' name get all the glory, not my own.


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Informatica Transforms Their Marketing with Scalable 1:1 Experiences
Marketers in the B2B sphere also have a larger influence in the buying cycle. Prior to this shift, marketers were only responsible for top-of-the-funnel engagement. Now marketers are involved throughout the lifetime of a consumer, from awareness pre-sale to advocacy post-sale.
Informatica recognized this shift and wanted to change the way they targeted consumers.
Prior to their journey with Lattice, Informatica only targeted accounts in the strategic and enterprise levels. They wanted to be able to expand their prospecting and be able to grow their mid-market targets that had little to no touch in the buyer's journey. Informatica wanted to be able to accelerate the digitally-led buyer's journey by creating personalized messaging to those mid-market accounts that did not receive any personalized, consistent messaging in the past.
Informatica went with Lattice because they wanted :
- Website traffic and trending analytics, i.e: how are "high quality" vs "low quality" contacts engaged on the website?
- Increase revenue cycle quality and acceleration, i.e: what is the distribution of my A/B/C contacts in my revenue cycle stages?
- Optimize brand and demand engagement with high quality contacts across a variety of channels such as email and social
- Broaden Profiling and Segmentation with data enrichment to figure out what common technologies do high-quality vs low-quality accounts have?
With insights from Lattice and their own Data Lake, Informatica saw transformative results.
They were able to create a personalized experience for all accounts, from strategic to mid-market. The image below shows the amounts of Lattice-scored leads - scored A/B/C - that turned into pipeline, and of that pipeline, how many turned into revenue won.
Informatica decided to run a campaign in LinkedIn for "high-fit, high-intent" accounts, in which they matched ad-copy to key words, technographics and other indicators, providing a personalized message to the target. Within Lattice, they created their target audience, which was then orchestrated through Marketo to LinkedIn. With AI and 3rd-party intent-based targeting, Informatica saw a +2.3 increase in post-click conversion and -2.6x decrease in cost-per-qualified lead, compared to the traditional 'spray and pray' method. Informatica was able to capture more data than previously possible and use that insight to create and orchestrate successful campaigns.
In the future, Informatica will be using Lattice Atlas to run different kinds of campaigns. They will be using the platform's AI-based insights to drive website personalization and feed segments into marketing automation for custom nurtures.
See the slides from Steven's presentation at Marketo Summit 2018 here.B2B marketing has transformed within the last decade. With new roles and technologies, there has been an emergence of more spam and less consumer engagement. Most marketers are realizing that traditional B2B marketing tactics are not effective anymore.


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Net::SFTP::Constants - Exportable SFTP constants
use Net::SFTP::Constants qw( :tag CONSTANT );
print "Constant value is ", CONSTANT;
Net::SFTP::Constants provides a list of exportable SFTP constants: for SFTP messages and commands, for file-open flags, for status messages, etc. Constants can be exported individually, or in sets identified by tag names.
Net::SFTP::Constants provides values for all of the constants listed in the SFTP protocol version 3 draft; the only thing to note is that the constants are listed with the prefix SSH2 instead of SSH. So, for example, to import the constant for the file-open command, you would write:
use Net::SFTP::Constants qw( SSH2_FXP_OPEN );
As mentioned above, constants can either be imported individually or in sets grouped by tag names. The tag names are:
Imports all of the SSH2_FXP_* constants: these are the constants used in the messaging protocol.
Imports all of the SSH2_FXF_* constants: these are constants used as flags sent to the server when opening files.
Imports all of the SSH2_FILEXFER_ATTR_* constants: these are the constants used to construct the flag in the serialized attributes. The flag describes what types of file attributes are listed in the buffer.
Imports all of the SSH2_FX_* constants: these are constants returned from a server SSH2_FXP_STATUS message and indicate the status of a particular operation.
There is one constant that does not fit into any of the tag sets: SSH2_FILEXFER_VERSION, which holds the value of the SFTP protocol implemented by Net::SFTP.
Please see the Net::SFTP manpage for author, copyright, and license information.


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We've set your shipping destination to:
Prices vary based on delivery destination (it's a tax thing), so please change it if you're not shipping within United States as it might affect the price!
for all your drinks needs!
online - get a response within seconds
1,000s of drams in stock
Oh, and they never expire...
We can't actually ship Kilbeggan 8 Year Old Single Grain to you in United States at the moment. We're working on a solution.
Shop now
Kilbeggan 8 Year Old is a stunning single grain Irish whiskey (you may have previously known it as Greenore 8 Year Old). A hugely enjoyable expression, with plenty of honey, vanilla, tropical fruit, almond and spiced oak notes - certainly deserving of your shelf-space.
Nose: Lemon sponge, honeyed cereal, vanilla and a little caramel. Toasted oak, banana and tropical fruit. Fairly light, but full of flavour - very nice indeed!
Palate: Sweet, smooth vanilla before spicy oak comes in. Touches of menthol and coconut ice.
Finish: Long with maple and pecan, milk chocolate and a hint of salinity.
Overall: A sensational grain whiskey this, top stuff!
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Got a bottle of this year's back, and just recently finished the bottle because I truly didn't want it to be gone. It was one of the best gifts I have ever received, and I wish I could find it in America.
6th August 2020
70 year old Scot with an Irish Grandfather . I've drank whisky since I can remember most of them scottish got introduced to this wonderful drop to late in life what a truly great whiskey I'll now drink nothing else God Bless The Celts
4th April 2018
Very smooth, sweet honey flavours with lots of oak. Gorgeous chocolate finish. Very satisfying
31st December 2017
Now that's real whiskey
14th September 2017
It used to be much better when it was "Greenore". Too much spirit not enough flavours. Taste like a whiskey from the shelf below.
28th July 2017
A pleasant whisky to enjoy on the patio.Nice and sweet, reminds me of a fine Cognac.
12th July 2017
Quite different to malts. I used to drink but very pleasant. Honey and caramel.i
20th August 2016
Before going on a holiday in the countryside I bought a bottle of this on a whim and I wish I hadn't. I was only able to choke it down with copious amounts of water to dilute the roughness. Haven't touched it since returning and I can't see myself having any again. This is such poor quality it makes me embarrassed to be Irish. Avoid.
16th August 2016
Much more than one would normally expect from a grain whisky and still stands out as uniquely grain; praise doesn't get much higher than this in my vocabulary.
18th March 2016
Yeah, I don't belive that this should be allowed to be called whisky.Never tasted anything quite as bad. However, I think that this would work as an excellent degreaser.
15th March 2016
This Kilbeggan is the stuff of Heavens. It sends me into the clouds on just a whiff and a snort! Best Value Single Grain - the biggest flavour on the Whisky and Whiskey market for many years. BUY BUY BUY AND DRINK AND ENJOY
9th March 2016
If I were told that this was turpentine mixed with acetone, without seeing the bottle, I would believe it.Undrinkable to the extent that it's almost comical. Safe to say that I will not buy a bottle.
18th February 2016
terrific value for money, very drinkable as a warm up before sampling some malts .
23rd January 2016
Yes .. This one !
17th December 2015
Very smooth and light, good flavor, another great whiskey from Kilbeggan
26th June 2015


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Collection by Raymond Leung • Last updated 2 weeks ago
DO YOU LIKE VINTAGE?: Photo
Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your people.
LNER A4 liveries
Source: LNER Encyclopedia
6229 'Duchess of Hamilton' - streamlined
fresh out of Tyseley loco works on its way to York over 7000 views - only 20 comments
"Mercury" (Train): Route Map, Schedule, Interior & Photos
New York Central's Mercury was NYC's entry into the streamliner market. Debuting in June, 1936 it used rebuilt heavyweight cars and a 4-6-2 locomotive.
Be 6/8 III "Krokodil" 13302 der SBB in Samstagern
Als Erinnerung an die Kieszüge mit dem Krokodil bei der SBB, entstand dieses Bild, welches während einem Manöver in Samstagern aufgenommen werden konnte.
Ce 6/8 III 14305
Lok der Serie Ce 6/8 III 14301–14318
The wacko & futuristic 'train zeppelin' could reach 143 mph
In 1929 German aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg designed the Schienenzeppelin, a railroad engine that resembled a zeppelin airship. Built in 1930, the
Rail Zeppelin by Ulrich Seelig
Explore kitchener.lord's photos on Flickr. kitchener.lord has uploaded 29168 photos to Flickr.
Boing Boing Gadgets | Boing Boing
Posts about Boing Boing Gadgets written by Rob Beschizza and Jason Weisberger
LMS #6229 June 2012
Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world, securely and privately show content to your friends and family, or blog the photos and videos you take with a cameraphone.
Futuristic Photos of Streamlined Art Deco Trains from the 1930s
It's hard to grasp now how much the introduction of railroads and railway services during the late 18th century and early 19th century forever changed the


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This subliminal recording may have nature sounds or custom music as an overlay. All suggestions are set to low frequencies so they are not audible to the conscious mind. The suggestions are meant to address your false limiting beliefs (FLBs) about the given issue. It also contains a Solfeggio frequency tone to increase your vibrational frequency.
Suggestions in this Recording:
I have the power to create anything that I want through the Universal Mind that dwells in me
I have unlimited power to replace my false and limiting beliefs about conquering caffeine addiction
I can easily replace my false and limiting beliefs about conquering caffeine addiction
These suggestions are stored directly in my subconscious mind as new beliefs
These are my new beliefs about conquering caffeine addiction
I wake up and look forward to a glass of water.
I am strengthened by the energy that I naturally have.
I am hungry for healthy food and thirsty for healthy drinks.
I am productive through my sheer will and natural energy.
I am gaining clarity and strength from being caffeine-free.
I let go of my fears and worries; my body's pure state sustains me.
I am stronger than any call for caffeine.
I am made to conquer my weaknesses.
I am capable of great work and efficiency through healthy living.
I have power over what I eat and drink.
My body is a holy temple; I respect its need for moderation.
I seize my freedom from caffeine; this is what is right.
I choose to have a life that is focused and successful.
I have the energy to get work done by day and get restful sleep at night.
I choose to invest time for exercise and meditation.
My body is fully capable of providing balance and vigor.
I was born free of caffeine addiction; I am made to be self-reliant.
I am empowered by my natural state; I am already full of energy.
I control what I consume wherever I am, whoever I'm with.
My body embraces the cleansing; I let go all negative effects of caffeine.
I appreciate how water alone can quench my thirst and give me energy.
I embrace a life that is free of anxieties, restlessness, and lethargy.
I heed my time for rest; sleep is an irreplaceable facet of my healthy lifestyle.
I acknowledge my limits and enjoy everything within it.
The support of my loved ones is enough to keep me going through the day.
I relish in the positive effects of being caffeine-free.
I am fit and able to face my recovery from caffeine addiction head on.
I have power over my mood; I choose to feel happy.
I get my buzz from living healthy.
My willpower is endless; I control what keeps me going.
I let go of all my limiting and false beliefs about conquering caffeine addiction
I let go of all my limiting and false beliefs about conquering caffeine addiction
I let go of my negative relationship experiences in the past
These beliefs are now stored in my subconscious mind
These beliefs are now manifesting in my reality
So be it, it is done, everything is complete
Thank u, thank u, thank u


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Our Care Begins ...
With Your Story
Our goal is to help your body's natural healing systems relieve your pain, return you to health, and maintain your wellness without side effects and with lasting results. If other types of medical treatments have not been satisfactory or if you have been referred to alternative medicine, we invite you to schedule an initial consultation.
Whether you seek immediate pain relief or an end to chronic health issues, our care begins with your story, and we hope you will share it with us.


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"Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire." – Virgil
May certainly feels like the time when England has put its party clothes on with so many tree and plants in blossom. I think that May feels like that excitement before a party, the weather is hotting up, it is almost summer and all the all the expectations of what the next two seasons can bring are laid before us in a truly beautiful floral display. To explore for yourself and find some food for free why not join us on a forage?
Elderflower Sambucus nigra L
I can't really write about May wild food and foraging without mentioning elderflower and more to the point elderflower cordial and Champagne There is not much Elderflower around at the start of the May but by the end it's floral scent can be smelt from hedgerow to parkland and heath to allotment down here in the South of England. The season varies slightly across the country and I have seen elderflower growing as late as July in Edinburgh. More about elderflower…
- Habitat: Waste ground, out of walls, parks.
- Parts used: the flowers (later in the year the berries)
Hawthorn Blossom Crataegus monogyna L
Hawthorn Blossom is known as the symbol of good hope in the language of flowers and the Romans used it as a charm against sorcery placing the leaves on the cradles of new-born infants. It is easy to see why such mythology surrounds hawthorn blossom as it adorns hedgerows up and down the country signifying a real return to warmer weather after the cold winter and early spring months. The blossoms can be picked and look good in a salad, they also make a great tea. Herbalists use hawthorn to treat heart and circulatory problems and traditionally it would be served as a tea.
- Habitat: Parks, edge of old fields, my allotment, the edge of public rights of way.
- Parts used: the young leaves can be used in place of parsley, blossom in tea and later the haw berries can be eaten raw or in jams. *avoiding the pips which contain cyanide!
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum L
If hawthorn blossom heralds the start of summer then herb Robert heralds the start of the weeding season. It seems to pop up all over the place at this time of year. It's a spreading annual or biennial that grows to about 50cm, its pink/purple flowers often form in pairs and have 5 petals and are about 1cm in diameter. Herb Robert is thought to repel rabbits, support the immune system and has a digestive, sedative, antioxidant actions. It is odd that Herb Robert rarely gets a mention in modern western herbalism and it is certainly worthy of further research.
- Habitat: As a weed in containers, wasteland, woods, clearings, walls and cracks in pavements.
- Parts used: All but the root.
Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum L
Grows to about 1.5m tall and has really deep green, three lobed, leaves and yellowy green flowers. Alexanders have a very strong agreeable flavour, I have put them in a glass of water to keep them fresh then drank the water. I had accidentally made a very tasty drink. You can also steam Alexanders and serve with melted butter or add them to a stew. Think celery in a recipe.
There is a warning with Alexanders, it might look pretty different than most other plants to the experienced forager, but to the novice there are many poisonous look alikes that will kill you. Be 110% sure that you know what you are picking.
- Habitat: Hedges, riversides, roadsides and near the sea
- Parts used: The stems and the leaves.


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Italy moves to certify the Italian espresso
Posted by TheShot on 03 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Foreign Brew, Quality Issues
Continuing the story on Italy's (seemingly retroactive) efforts to standardize and certify the espresso, England's Channel 4 reported yesterday that a member of the Italian parliament and head of Italy's agricultural commission, Marco Lion, proposed a bill to set a espresso "gold standard": Channel 4 – News – Coffee: A nation's obsession.
According to the proposal, cafés would need to meet a series of tests before they could receive a certification of authenticity — as standardized by the Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano, or National Institute of Italian Espresso. Like Fair Trade, shade grown, organic, and other labels already proliferating the coffee bean supply market, this would be among the first certification labels that covers the preparation of the beverage — which is the downfall of many a roaster.
The bill, which also covers other Italian products subject to quality dilution in their worldwide replication, is scheduled for discussion in the Italian parliament in early 2008. Chances are that the baseline standards for certified Italian espresso would be quite achievable at many Bay Area cafés, but very few would qualify as they are rather blindly serving the stuff today.
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Turquoise Competition set (Ear Bonnets are also available)
Turquoise Quilted Saddle Pad
These saddle pads are a classic diamond style and shape, with Velcro attachments and Rhinegold branded taped spine. Made from cotton with lightweight foam filling which gives comfort while riding available in fabulous colours to help you really stand out.
Matching HKM Tendon and Fetlock Boots
Protection for your Horse from these HKM Tendon and Fetlock Boots Product specification: - durable - shock absorbing - protects legs - Set of 4 - velcro fastening - soft filling inside - anatomically formed - velcro fastening approx - 5cm wide - adjusts smoothly - presented in bubble pack - anatomically shaped for ideal fit - tight fitting - remains in shape - machine washable at 30 degrees
Available Options:
Tendon and Fetlock Boots:Cob/Full


text:
If you're flipping channels one day and come upon a crime scene as depicted on one of the many TV shows that focus on forensic science, such as "CSI" or "Dexter," you might notice something strange. Among the technicians dusting for fingerprints and collecting hair fibers at the murder scene, you spot an array of red strings running from the floor, the wall, the table and the sofa. All of the strings meet at nearly the same point.
Suddenly, an investigator begins recounting aspects of the crime: When it happened, where the assault took place in the room, what kind of weapon the perpetrator used and how close to the victim the assailant stood. How could he have learned all that information from a webwork of strings?
The strings themselves aren't important. They're simply a tool to help investigators and analysts draw conclusions from a substance that's often found at crime scenes: blood. We've become used to hearing how specialists use blood samples to identify suspects through DNA. But the blood itself — where it lands, how it lands, its consistency, and the size and shape of its droplets, or spatter — can uncover a lot of significant aspects of the crime.
Of course, analyzing blood spatter isn't as simple as fictional bloodstain pattern analysts like Dexter Morgan make it appear. Experts in the field often say that it's as much an art as a science. Although important aspects of bloodstain pattern analysis are well supported by research, analysts must be careful not to overreach [source: Iowa State]. If the violent act involves multiple victims and multiple assailants, the challenge becomes even more complex. But a well-trained and seasoned analyst can provide key information that leads to arrest and conviction.
Let's start with the basics of bloodstain pattern analysis — for example, what blood spatters can reveal (and what they can't).
Basics of Blood
When a crime results in bloodshed, the blood left behind functions as evidence for investigators. However, a bloodstain pattern analyst can't simply glance at drips and smears of blood and immediately tell you the who, what and when of a crime scene. Blood spatter analysis takes time and provides only a few pieces of the total crime puzzle. Yet such analysis can corroborate other evidence and lead investigators to seek additional clues. After close analysis, blood spatters can provide important clues to aspects of the violent act such as [sources: Dutelle, James et al., Murray]:
- Type of weapon
- Velocity of blood
- Number of blows
- Position and movements of the victim and assailant during and after the attack
- Which wounds were inflicted first
- Type of injuries
- How long ago the crime took place
- Whether death was immediate or delayed
Blood spatters can guide the recreation of a crime thanks to the same laws of motion and gravity, physics and chemistry that govern all liquids. Blood travels in spherical drops because of surface tension, the tendency of liquids to minimize surface area because their molecules are attracted to one another — it's cohesive [sources: DLS, Rosina et al.]. Also, its drops behave in predictable ways when they strike a surface or when a force acts on them.
Consider what happens when you spill water: The liquid falls to the ground and makes a puddle. The shape and size of the puddle depends on the amount of liquid, the height of the container, and whether you spill on carpet, wood, linoleum or some other surface. In general, more liquid, or a fall from a greater height, will make a larger puddle. Moreover, droplets striking a hard surface will retain a more circular shape than those landing on carpet, which partially absorbs the liquid and causes the edges to spread [sources: Dutelle, Murray, Wonder]. These are but some of the many factors a blood spatter analyst must consider.
Blood Spatter
Blood behaves not unlike those spilled water droplets, and the speed at which the droplets travel when they strike a surface, known to analysts as a target, affects their shape. This speed, combined with angle and surface characteristics, also determines how far blood droplets skip or bounce after meeting a barrier.
One category of slow-moving blood, called "drips," occurs after, not during, an injury, and has a relatively large footprint of 0.16 inches (4 millimeters) or more. Drips can fall from a bleeding nose or wound, or a motionless, bloodied weapon or object. A moving object produces what's known as a cast-off pattern. Other low-velocity patterns include blood pooling around a victim's body and impressions left by bloody objects. This latter phenomenon, called a transfer, sometimesretains the shape of the object that made it [source: Wonder].
At the other end of the scale are the tiny droplets caused by blood travelling at high speeds. These are usually caused by gunshot wounds, but they can also result from explosions, power tools or high-speed machinery. These fast-moving drops leave stains measuring less than 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) across.
Bullet wounds can produce both back and front spatters. Backspatter, or blowback, refers to blood exiting the entrance wound in the direction opposite the impact [source: Dutelle]. (Actually, thanks to Newton's Third Law of Motion, backspatter can result from other impacts and traumas as well.) Investigators dealing with such small drops must rule out other sources of blood spray, such as respiration or pinhole arterial pressure [source: Wonder]. Forward spatter, in the direction of the impact, occurs only in the case of an exit wound [source: Dutelle].
Between these extremes lies a range of medium-sized droplets. Typically measuring 0.04 to 0.16 inches (1 to 4 millimeters), they can be caused by a blunt object, such as a bat or a fist, or can result from stabbing, cast-offs or even bloody coughs [sources: Dutelle, Wonder]. A number of factors complicate their analysis. For example, during a beating or stabbing, arterial damage can cause the subject to bleed faster or to spurt blood, the latter creating what's known as a projected pattern [source: Dutelle].
In addition to spatters, analysts look for voids, aka blockages. In the case of a high-density spatter, these gaps in the pattern indicate that something in the way, potentially the shooter, caught some of the victim's blowback.
Drop size is only one aspect used in analyzing blood spatters. Next, we'll look at the shapes of spatters and how analysts use strings, trigonometric functions and computer programs to map out a blood-spattered crime scene.
Stringing, Sine and Spatter Shapes
To analyze a bloodstain pattern, an expert relies on three main interrelated elements: the size, shape and distribution of bloodstains. The most visually striking part of the process, and therefore the one most featured in shows like "Dexter," is the technique of stringing. However, this technique can take place only once analysts grasp certain other aspects of the bloodstains. Since we've already discussed stain size, let's dive right into shape.
Blood drops that fall straight down with little but gravity and air resistance affecting them make round stains. Blood moving at an angle and sped along by some force, however, tends to make elongated marks, especially when it strikes a nonporous surface. As a rule, following the long axis of the stain from the blunter end to the sharper, more disturbed edge reveals the direction the blood traveled. If a number of stains radiate outward, analysts can draw lines backward along these axes to an area of convergence. But this gives them an area in only two dimensions; investigators must also determine how far above the floor, or away from a vertical surface, the area of origin lies [source: Dutelle].
The time has almost come to break out the string. First, however, investigators must determine the angles at which the various bloodstains struck their respective surfaces. The lower the angle at which blood strikes a surface, the thinner and more elongated the stain. The converse holds true as well [source: Dutelle].
For example, a 10-degree drop creates a highly elongated stain, whereas a 90-degree (vertical) blood drop leaves a round stain [source: Dutelle]. Thanks to a handy mathematical formula, analysts can use these measurements to calculate the impact angle:
Angle of Impact = ArcSin (Stain Width / Stain Length)
The greater the difference between the width and length, the sharper the angle of impact [source: Dutelle]. For example, imagine a bloodstain 0.08 inches wide by 0.16 inches long (2 by 4 millimeters). The width divided by the length equals 0.5. The ArcSin of 0.5 is 30, meaning the blood hit the surface at a 30-degree angle. In a bloodstain measuring 0.04 by 0.16 inches (1 by 4 millimeters), the impact angle comes out to about 14.5 degrees.
If the bloodstain has a tail, as can occur in droplets striking a surface at certain angles and speeds, it should be left out of this calculation [sources: Dutelle, Eckert and James].
Once analysts know these angles, they can begin to run strings from the rear edges of the bloodstains upward at the appropriate angles to find where they roughly meet — the area of origin. This only provides an approximation, however, and is mainly used to establish whether a victim was seated, standing or lying down when the event occurred. The presence or absence of blood on other surfaces, combined with common sense, also aids in this analysis [source: Dutelle].
Increasingly, analysts are taking advantage of computer programs that allow them to store spatter data, calculate values such as impact angle, and display information in helpful 3-D renderings. Initially, this software required manual data entry, which was tedious but perhaps not as tedious as stringing. Software manufacturers hope to eventually be able to scan crime scenes with lasers or to automate the analysis of digital images, but many hurdles remain. For example, computers will need some way to register all crime scene photos to the same coordinate plane and angle and must acquire an expert's ability to distinguish secondary spatter from primary, among other judgment calls [sources: James et al., Shen et al.].
So far, we've discussed how bloodstain pattern analysis can work when trained law-enforcement officers implement it correctly. Next, we'll look at the history of bloodstain pattern analysis, as well as an infamous case that contains botched bloodstain pattern analysis practices.
History of Blood Spatter Analysis
The first methodical study of blood spatters, titled "Concerning the Origin, Shape, Direction and Distribution of the Bloodstains Following Head Wounds Caused by Blows," was published in 1895 by Dr. Eduard Piotrowski of the University of Krakow in Poland. This early research influenced pioneering investigators in early 20thcentury Germany and France, including Dr. Paul Jeserich and Dr. Victor Balthazard, respectively, Eckert and James, James.
Although research continued into blood spatter patterns in homicide cases, the watershed moment for using blood spatter evidence in American legal cases would not arrive until 1955, when Dr. Paul Kirk submitted an affidavit of his findings in the highly publicized case of the State of Ohio v. Samuel Sheppard. Kirk showed the position of the assailant and the victim, and his research revealed that the attacker struck the victim with his left hand. Significantly, Sheppard was right-handed [source: Eckert and James].
The field saw vast expansion and modernization through the work of innovative forensic scientist Herbert MacDonell, who published "Flight Characteristics of Human Blood and Stain Patterns" in 1971. MacDonell also trained law-enforcement personnel in blood spatter analysis and developed courses to continue to train analysts. In 1983, he and other attendees of the first Advanced Bloodstain Institute founded the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts (IABPA). Since then, the field of bloodstain analysis has continued to grow, develop and become standardized [source: Eckert and James].
Prior to the 1970s, blood analysis used a system of categories based on the velocity of blood drops at impact [source: Wonder]:
- Low-velocity impact spatters (LVIS) that resulted from dripping and were assisted by gravity alone
- Medium-velocity impact spatters (MVIS), which were slower than those produced by a gunshot but faster than gravity drips
- High-velocity impact spatters (HVIS), produced by gunshots or fast-moving machinery
After the 1970s, these definitions changed. Instead of "impact" referring to the speed of the droplets, it came to refer to the speed of the weapon or object that sent them flying. These new interpretations assumed too many unknown (and unknowable) factors. Moreover, they tempted investigators to make assumptions based on outside information — for example, to assume that droplets were HVIS because the case involved a suspected shooting. To cope with these problems, analysts today use more specific terms. LVIS, for example, might be called "gravitational drops" or "drips" [source: Wonder].
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis in Action: The Chamberlain Case
One infamous case that comes to the minds of many people when thinking about blood spatter analysis involves a line that has since become a pop-culture catchphrase (thanks to Meryl Streep in "A Cry in the Dark" and Julia Louis-Dreyfus on "Seinfeld"): "The dingo ate my baby."
In August 1980, the Chamberlain family camped near Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) in the Red Centre desert of Australia's Northern Territory. One night, Lindy Chamberlain put two of her children, 4-year-old Reagan and 9-week-old Azaria, to bed in their tent. When she returned, the story goes, she cried, "The dingo's got my baby!" [source: Latson]
According to Lindy, when she got to the tent she saw a dingo with a bundle in its mouth. She wasn't close enough to see what it was, but when she checked on the children she saw that her daughter Azaria was missing [source: Haberman]. As the cry went out, she and her husband, Michael, along with other campers, began searching for the child. A nearby camper, Sally Lowe, went into the tent to check on the still-sleeping Reagan. Seeing a pool of wet blood on the floor of the tent, she thought that Azaria was probably already dead [source: Linder].
When a tourist found the baby's jumpsuit, it was only slightly torn and bloody, but mostly intact. Though an initial investigation backed up Lindy Chamberlain's claim of a wild dog attacking her daughter, it was not long before the parents themselves stood accused [source: Haberman].
The baby had been wearing other clothes that weren't found at the time [source: Latson].
Throughout the case, the local police improperly handled blood spatter and other evidence. Forensics investigators found "blood stains" in the family car and concluded that Lindy had taken Azaria there to cut her throat. Later analysis revealed that the stains came from a spilled drink and a sound-deadening compound that came with the car. One expert identified a "bloody hand print" on Azaria's jumpsuit that later analysis revealed to be red desert sand. However, in 1982, expert testimony — and public opinion — proved enough to convict Lindy Chamberlain of murder and her husband of being an accessory to murder. The baby's knit jacket, found in 1986 near a dingo lair, helped exonerate the Chamberlains after Lindy had served three years of a life sentence, but several years of trials and hearing were yet to come [source: Latson]. In 2012, 32 years after the event, a coroner finally pronounced that a dingo was responsible for the death [sources: Haberman, Latson].
The Chamberlain case shows what can happen when people involved in handling and analyzing blood evidence lack proper training, or when investigators allow public opinion or preconceived notions to influence their analysis.
Related Articles
More Great Links
- Akin, Louis. "Directional Analysis of Blood Spatter at Crime and Accident Scenes for the Private Investigator." The Forensic Examiner. Summer 2005. http://www.akininc.com/PDFs/Directional%20Analysis%20for%20PI's%20condensed.pdf
- Brodbeck, Silke. "Introduction to Bloodstain Pattern Analysis." SIAK-Journal — Journal for Police Science and Practice. Vol. 2. Pages 51-57. 2012. (Oct. 14, 2015) http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/bmi_siak/4/2/1/ie2012/files/brodbeck_ie_2012.pdf
- Cotton, Fred B. "Justice Applications of Computer Animation." SEARCH Technical Bulletin. Iss. 2. 1994. (Oct. 16, 2015) http://www.search.org/files/pdf/tbanimat.pdf
- Dallas Learning Solutions. "The Chemistry of Life." (Oct. 12, 2015) https://dlc.dcccd.edu/biology1-2/water
- Dutelle, Aric W. "An Introduction to Crime Scene Investigation." Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Jan. 28, 2011.
- Eckert, William G. and Stuart H. James. "Interpretation of Bloodstain Evidence at Crime Scenes." CRC Press. 1999.
- Evans, Collin. "Murder 2: The Second Casebook of Forensic Detection." John Wiley & Sons. 2004.
- Genge, N.E. "The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation." Ballantine Books. 2002.
- Haberman, Clyde. "Vindication at Last for a Woman Scorned by Australia's News Outlets." The New York Times. Nov. 16, 2014. (Oct. 14, 2015) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/us/vindication-at-last-for-a-woman-scorned-by-australias-news-media.html?_r=0
- Hueske, Edward E. "Practical Analysis and Reconstruction of Shooting Incidents." CRC Press. Nov. 29, 2005.
- International Association for Identification. https://www.theiai.org/
- International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts. "Bloodstain Pattern Analysis & Other Course(s) (Fall 2015)." (Oct. 5, 2015) http://www.iabpa.org/uploads/files/Training%20Page%20Documents/Brochure%20Courses%20Loci%20Forensics%20B.V.%20-%20Fall%202015.pdf
- Iowa State University. "Iowa State Engineer Working to Put More Science Behind Bloodstain Pattern Analysis." April 18, 2013. (Oct. 12, 2015) http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/04/18/bloodstains
- James, Stuart H. et al. "Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques, Fourth Edition." Taylor & Francis. Jan. 13, 2014.
- James, Stewart H. et al. "Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: Theory and Practice." CRC Press. 2005.
- Latson, Jennifer. "Why that 'Dingo's Got My Baby' Line isn't Funny." Time. Oct. 29, 2014. (Oct. 14, 2015) http://time.com/3537456/dingo-got-my-baby/
- Linder, Douglas O. "The Trial Transcript in Crown v Lindy and Michael Chamberlain ("The Dingo Trial"): Selected Excerpts." Famous Trials. (Oct. 14, 2015) http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/chamberlain/chamberlaintranscript.html
- Murray, Elizabeth. "Blood Spatter Lecture." Marshall University College of Science. Feb. 19, 2008. (Oct. 26, 2015) http://www.science.marshall.edu/murraye/2008%20Forensics%20Lectures/Blood%20Spatter%202008color.pdf
- National Forensic Science Technology Center. "Blood Spatter Animations." 2008. http://gallery.nfstc.org/swf/BloodSpatters.html
- Nickell, Joe and John F. Fischer. "Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection." University Press of Kentucky. 1999.
- Ramsland, Katherine. "The Forensic Science of C.S.I." Berkeley Boulevard. 2001.
- Red Rocks Community College. "The Many Faces of Criminal Justice." 2014. (Oct. 15, 2015) http://www.rrcc.edu/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-careers#blood
- Rosina, J. et al. "Temperature Dependence of Blood Surface Tension." Physiological Research. Vol. 56 (Suppl. 1). Pages S93-S98. 2007. (Oct. 12, 2015) http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6283606_Temperature_dependence_of_blood_surface_tension
- Shen, A.R. et al. "Toward Automatic Blood Spatter Analysis in Crime Scenes." Proceedings of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Conference on Crime and Security. Page 378. 2006. http://mi.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/BloodSpatter/BloodSpatter_ShenBrostow.pdf
- Slemeko, Joe. "Bloodstain Tutorial." Joseph Slemeko Forensic Consulting, 2007. http://www.bloodspatter.com/BPATutorial.htm
- Wonder, Anita Y. "Bloodstain Patterns: Identification, Interpretation and Application." Academic Press. Dec. 17, 2014. (Oct. 12, 2015)


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- $10 Deals
- Free Introductory Chat
- Owned by: Bitwine
Bitwine Psychics Review
Psychic Readings Available
- Dream Interpretation
- Relationship readings
- Fortune Telling
- Occult and Spells
- Palm reading
- Clairvoyants
- Angel Reading
- IChing
- New Age Spirituality
- Mind Body Spirit
- Love advice
- Psychic Readings
- Mediums
- Astrology
- Numerology
- Religious
- Eastern Philosophy
- Paranormal
- Past Life
Pros and Cons
- Huge variety of psychics
- Psychic Chat
- $10 deals
- Verified psychics
- Reasonably priced.
- Free Introductory Chat
- Chat only
- Site layout and navigability is not great.
- No refunds
- Psychic's Profiles can be confusing
- There are so many psychics you could get overwhelmed.
Who is Bitwine Psychics?
Bitwine Psychics is a psychic service that is a little bit different from most providers. It's got a sort of community vibe, and while the psychics who work on the site are verified, they are all paid independently through their Paypal – so it's kind of like eBay for Psychics!
Bitwine is a psychic chat provider and has been established since 2006. They have over 3000 psychics working with them which is a lot. The choices available for different types of psychic readings or disciplined is vast and varied.
There is not much in the way of psychic, spiritual or metaphysical readings that you won't find on Bitwine.
But what we really want to know is whether Bitwine is a provider that we can trust and if they provide genuine and accurate psychic readings. And if you are keen to know too, just keep on reading on to find out.
But in the meantime, if you just want a great psychic reading here is a link to one of our trusted and approved psychic providers. Check them out, and you can connect to a psychic in just four simple steps.
4 Steps To A Real Psychic Reading That You Can Trust
- Head to Bitwine
- Register your details in the 'sign up' section.
- Select your favorite available psychic from the choices shown.
- Start chatting in the handy green chat box.
Is Bitwine Psychics Legit?
Yes, we think so, they screen their psychics and provide a feedback system that seems to be transparent. Which means that the reviews you see on each psychic's profiles are going to give you a clear idea about how well received any particular psychic is by their customers.
What Are Bitwine's Offers?
Most psychics working on the Bitwine platform create their own $10 deals which can range from reduced rates, a 5, 10, or 22-minute reading (depending on the psychic), a spell, a mini tarot card reading and anything in between.
You also get to speak to the psychic for free whenever you contact a new psychic – this is meant to be a free introductory chat so that you can see if you like or connect with your chosen psychic.
What Services Does Bitwine Psychics Offer?
Bitwine offer a variety of services that are unique to them as well as some more traditional services that you'd expect from most psychic sites such as;
- A variety of different psychic disciplines
- Spiritual forums.
- $10 deals
- Introductory chats for all psychics
- Genuine and sincere psychics
- Experts in all fields – relationships, career, money, health etc.
- iPhone App.
How Does Bitwine Work
Bitwine operates in a very different manner to many other psychic sites, they do verify the psychics before allowing them onto the platform. But after that the psychics work pretty independently, even processing payments for their readings themselves.
How To Book A Reading
The service offered is psychic chat and to enjoy a psychic reading, tarot reading or even astrology reading on the site you need to do the following:
- Browse the psychics and find one that you like the look of.
- Begin an introductory chat with the psychic you like the look of to get a feel for them.
- If you like them and want to go ahead with a reading, you let the psychic know.
- They then need to agree to work with you, and when they do so, they'll tell you how to pay.
- When you have paid, you begin your chat.
- If you want to continue when you have used up your funds you can discuss that with the psychic who is reading for you and top up.
- When you have finished your reading, you are invited to leave a review.
- You have up to two weeks to change your review if you feel it's necessary.
How the payment facility works
- Payment is taken via PayPal, and you top up your funds to a limit.
- The psychic you are planning on booking will send you the links you need to do this.
- If you don't use the minutes up to your limit that money won't be taken from your account.
- The monies will be taken from your Paypal account after the reading has ended.
Note: Remember, Bitwine does not offer a satisfaction guarantee. If you are looking for a more risk-free option, we recommend using Keen or Psychic Source.
Types Of Readings You Can Enjoy On Bitwine
You can find anything and everything on Bitwine.
- Psychics
- Tarot readers
- Mediums
- Clairvoyants
- Fortune Tellers
- Spells
- Parapsychology
- Ordained Priests
- Every type of healer you can think of.
- Spiritual coaching
- Wicca
- Witchcraft
- Love Psychics
- Career Psychics
- Pet Psychics
- Eastern Philosophy
- Astrology
- Numerology
- Palm Reading
There is a huge choice, and to find these psychics and healers, you can either search for the specific discipline or browse the psychic's profiles until you find what you are looking for.
Does Bitwine Psychics Deliver What They Promise?
Yes, Bitwine Psychics does deliver on their promise, here is what you can expect in more detail.
10$ Deals
There are plenty of $10 deals on Bitwine. Each psychic offers one, and the choices vary.
It's easy to find these deals; there is a large button promoting them. You just browse through and pick out the deal you like the best. This service is more than we expected, as you can pick up a bargain with the right psychic.
The Spiritual Forum
If you love all things spiritual and you find it difficult to connect with like-minded people, or if you have questions about having a psychic reading then you will probably enjoy Bitwine's forum.
It's full of interesting information giving you the opportunity to network with other people similar to you.
The Psychics
Assessing The Psychics
Bitwine claims that they check their psychics, and assess them for their abilities. We could see from the application forms that Bitwine does check out a psychics identity right from the start. But we can't say whether they definitely interview and screen the psychics thoroughly.
That said, they seem to stand by their word in everything else so we have no reason to doubt that they wouldn't. And after checking through a number of psychics profiles randomly, we found that the reviews were what we would expect to see if the psychics were all genuine.
The Psychic's Profiles
Each psychic completes their own profiles and sets their own terms on Bitwine, which means that you never know what you are going to get and you'll never get bored!
While the look of the Bitwine psychics profiles are not the best format or design, and it depends on the psychic as to how much information is provided, we do like that you can easily see what the psychic's local time is, when they were last seen and also a quick overview of the psychic's review status.
Finding The Highly Rated Psychics
From the home page, or when you are browsing Bitwine psychics, you can't easily identify those psychics with the best ratings, or see their full prices you have to click into the psychic's profile to see that information.
Applying For A Reading
You also have to apply to have a reading with your preferred psychic, on Bitwine which you can do so through the introductory chat. Once approved and you have paid for your time then the psychic reading commences.
It's not a bad service at all, and great in that it helps the psychics maintain some independence.
However, it's perhaps not quite as convenient as some of our recommended sites like Kasamba and Psychic Source who sort everything out for you and make it very easy to pick out the right psychic for you.
The Review System
You can only leave a review for a psychic on Bitwine after you've received a reading. And you have up to two weeks to amend your review too. You can also see clearly an overview of 'excellent', 'satisfactory' and 'poor' readings for each psychic making it easy to quickly gauge whether you will trust them or not.
We think all of the above is very helpful for the following reasons;
- You know the reviews are real because you can only add a review after a reading.
- There's assurance that the reviews are fair (because if somebody has left a bad review out of frustration because they didn't hear what they wanted to hear they can amend their review when they've calmed down).
- It's easy to see the quality of reviews quickly.
- This review system will keep the psychics motivated to provide good readings.
The Refund Policy
Bitwine Psychics doesn't offer a refund policy. Once you agree to participate in a reading with a particular psychic and you pay you are in until the end.
We like that Bitwine includes this in their terms and conditions, but we do think that they could make it clearer generally for those (read most) people who don't read the terms and conditions thoroughly.
While this doesn't seem like a great situation, it is probably because each psychic is paid directly into their own Paypal accounts rather than Bitwine being difficult or shady. And if you pay with Paypal, you are protected by Paypal's guarantee although you'll have to check to see where they stand when it comes to purchasing psychic services.
We understand why Bitwine operates this way, but we know that there are other sites out there who offer great value, less faffing around with Paypal and they provide guarantees – such as Psychic Source or Keen.
Terms and Conditions
Bitwine is transparent about how their services work, and if you check out their terms and conditions, you will find everything you need to know.
There is nothing obvious missing from their terms and conditions and even the aspects of their service that is not necessarily the best is clearly defined. So if you do your homework and read the terms and conditions, you will be clear about what to expect.
Bitwine Psychics' Overall Service
It seems as though the people who use Bitwine do really enjoy the service they provide and it does seem to be a vibrant community with a vast choice of psychics available at any one time.
We feel as though Bitwine is more of a marketplace where the market owners (Bitwine) make sure their traders (the psychics) are the real deal and then you have to apply your own discernment about who you choose to work with from there.
Which is fair and some people might like that they can contact psychics who are not having to jump through hoops to keep the company they work for satisfied too.
The transactions might not be as smooth, and you might not get as many options to talk as you do on other sites – you can only chat.
But the service and the community make it a nice place to be. And Bitwine does indeed do everything they say they will. Or at least it seems that way.
What We Love About Bitwine Psychics
- We love the community vibe.
- The choice of psychics is unreal
- The availability of the psychics stood out to us too.
- That the psychics are verified.
- The way that the reviews are organized.
What We Think Bitwine Psychics Could Improve
- Site appearance and navigation.
- Set up a refund facility.
- Make it easier to see the psychic's fee's without clicking onto the profiles.
- While we know that the payment features are part of Bitwines community vibe, we'd prefer a slick payment process.
Conclusion: It's A Thumbs Up From Us
We do recommend Bitwine although we appreciate that it's not as slick or clean to use as other sites.
We don't believe that Bitwine is for everybody but for the people who don't mind clunky navigation and they don't get overwhelmed with too much choice you will probably love it. And if you want to feel part of a community Bitwine is the place for you.
But many people prefer to talk on the telephone or to enjoy video readings which are not readily available on Bitwine (at least that we could see).
Personally, we, prefer slightly more structured sites, where we know that the consumer is protected and the readings are monitored. Such as those in our recommended list below but we do also give Bitwine a big thumbs up for their unique approach to delivering a service with integrity.
Here are our recommended sites:
Click the links and follow the instructions to book your reading now.
Kasamba– Get three minutes free!
Psychic Source– Low priced readings right now!
Keen– 10 minutes for $1.99
October 2020
All Psychics are:


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ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company signs sale and leaseback agreement with Aegean Airlines
Kuwait City, Kuwait, 15 February 2016 – ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company announced it signed a sale and leaseback agreement with Aegean Airlines for one new Airbus A320-200 aircraft. This is the second of two aircraft to be delivered to Aegean Airlines under a sale and leaseback agreement with ALAFCO, the first which was delivered in July 2015. The aircraft will be leased for a period of eight years. The recent agreement will increase the number of aircraft leased by ALAFCO to Aegean Airlines to four aircraft. Aegean Airlines is the flagship carrier of Greece and the largest airline in the country, currently operating a fleet of 45 aircraft comprising of Airbus A320-200 and A321-200. In 2013, Aegean Airlines acquired its domestic rival Olympic Air, making Olympic a subsidiary of Aegean.
ALAFCO is a Kuwait-based aircraft leasing company that is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. ALAFCO's portfolio consists of 50 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, leased to 14 airlines in 13 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Awards & recognitions
Typically, we as lessors acquire certain equipment at our own risk and transfer it to the lessee as the lease object forread more
Our Partner in Success
This is one of the types of leasing products where the seller (airline) of the lease equipment concurrently acts as the lessee.read more
Commitment to Environment
Air Transportation is a fast growing industry, however it is highly capital intensive, highly sensitive to business cycles andread more


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Chapple Research Group
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Kristina Chapple is an experienced researcher and statistician with recent publications in the medical field. Expertise in revealing the story in data and explaining statistics to non-statisticians. End-to-end research support including study design, IRB preparation, database design, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, and editing tailored to a specific journal or audience.
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