27 June 2019 - NDOLA SLAVE TREE IN ZAMBIA

NDOLA SLAVE TREE IN ZAMBIA

G'day folks,

Once a meeting point for Swahili slave traders, this ancient tree is now a monument to those killed by the slave trade. 

 

Ndola is one of the most prominent towns in Zambia’s Copperbelt province. Today, the numerous copper mines in the region provide the region’s wealth. But in the past, a darker industry spurred the settlement.

 

 

 Still standing near the center of town, the Slave Tree was the central location where Swahili slave traders met to discuss their gruesome transactions. Under its shade, Swahili traders such as Chipembere, Mwalabu, and Chiwala held councils of war and sold slaves to the Mambundu from Angola.

Much of central and southern Africa, including modern-day Zambia, was crisscrossed by slave traders transporting slaves ultimately to the Swahili coast to be sold to Arab slave traders. These traders would capture slaves themselves or buy slaves captured by warring local tribes.

Slave trading in Zambia was abolished early in the 1900s with the establishment of the British Colonial Administration. The town of Ndola itself was founded in 1904 after the discovery of copper at the Bwana Mkubwa mine at the site of the slave trading post. The Slave Tree was left standing as a monument to the lives lost to the slave trade. 

 Clancy's comment: One can only imagine what life was like for a slave. 

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26 June 2019 - PRISON GRAFFITI ON SAN LUCAS ISLAND

 PRISON GRAFFITI 

ON 

SAN LUCAS ISLAND 

G'day folks,

Welcome to another infamous prison, but this disused penal colony features prisoner artwork, some sketched in human blood. 

For 120 years, San Lucas Island Prison was home to the most vicious criminals in Costa Rica. Since it was shut down in 1991 the former prison has only housed the remnants of inmate graffiti scrawled across cell walls and even sketched in human blood.

Given that all the artists on the island were prisoners and were provided no proper artistic tools, anything they could find that would leave a mark was used to tag the walls of the prison. Words and pictures expressed their anger and depression, along with their horniness and faith in something outside of the tropical prison.

Although the vast majority of drawings in San Lucas Prison depict naked women, these explicit portraits often share wall space with haloed depictions of Jesus and other symbols of religion. 

Besides the content of the pictures, most visitors are also fascinated by the “ink” used by prisoners, and certain blood-splattered sketches always catch the eye of unprepared tourists and hold the memories of the brutality carried out inside the prison walls.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... Another gruesome hellhole.

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25 June 2019 - AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY

AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY

G'day folks,

It's time to check out some brilliant work by talented photographers.

Clancy's comment: Many thanks to the photographers. Well done.

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24 June 2019 - SHERRY BRISCOE - GUEST AUTHOR

SHERRY BRISCOE 

- GUEST AUTHOR -

G'day folks,

Today, I interview an exciting author from Idaho, USA.

Welcome, Sherry ...

1.   TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.

I grew up on Edgar Allen Poe and Alfred Hitchcock, so to me, episodes of The Twilight Zone made perfectly fine bedtime stories. I love suspense, but not horror.

My writing career started after one year of college when I decided I wanted to travel to Europe instead of study. But I didn’t have any money. So I joined the Army because they were giving guarantees of station. I signed on the dotted line and 30 days later I was on a plane. After a short training stint is South Carolina, I landed in Germany. It was like walking into one of the fairy tale books read to me as a child.

I went to Europe with a blank journal. For two years I travelled all over and wrote about everything. When I came home I had a stack of journals and decided to borrow a typewriter and transcribe them all into one book. And a book it was! Not just about travel, people, castles, and the Austrian Alps. It was the story of a shy insecure girl who found her way in life. And I was hooked! Writing was fun and I never stopped after that.

2.   WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

I’m currently writing the first book in my new Moonshadows Mysteries series. The title of the first book is The Dividing Line about a small town journalist and a big city cop, and Native American legends coming to life.

3.   WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?

I write suspense with a touch of the paranormal. I also have some new books plotted out, a drama/romance series (Desert Rose Romances), again, with a touch of the supernatural.

4.   WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?

My latest book, The Man In Number 7, takes a lot of my childhood, and the people and places from my early years, and weaves them into a suspense novel. The picture on the cover is one I even took of the house I grew up in, which is the setting for the book. I’m totally in this one!

There are also echoes of me in the main character of Zoey in my first book Mists of Garibaldi ~ Tales Of The Supernatural. It’s hard not to let a little bit of ourselves rub off onto the page.

5.   WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES? EVER WRITTEN A SCREENPLAY?

I founded and ran the Idaho Screenwriters Association for 13 years. I would love to see any of my books made into a movie. And I can write the script!

6.    ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?

I’m on the board of the Idaho Writers Guild and teach writing workshops in the community. I love helping other writers find their way.

WEBSITE

AMAZON

Clancy's comment: Well done. Thank you, Sherry. Sell heaps of books, and keep helping your writing community.

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23 June 2019 - GREENWICH FOOT TUNNEL, ENGLAND

GREENWICH FOOT 

TUNNEL, ENGLAND

G'day folks,

A 1,215-foot tunnel transports pedestrians beneath the River Thames. 

 

Opened in 1902, the Greenwich Foot Tunnel cuts 50 feet deep below the surface to take pedestrians under the River Thames from Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs.

The cast iron tunnel is 1,215 feet long and covered with around 200,000 white tiles. It was created as a way for workers who lived in south London to get to work at the docks on the Isle of Dogs, replacing a ferry service, although now it offers 24 hour access to any travelers who need to cross the London river. 

During World War II, the northern end of the tunnel was damaged in the London bombing, and there you can see it reinforced with a concrete lining and thick steel. To enter the tunnel, look for the glazed dome buildings for access into the underground passageway.

Renovation work to install new lifts and improve drainage started in 2009 and was completed in 2014 after delay. Access to the tunnel is by stairs or lifts.  Although a foot tunnel, Greenwich council is trialling the use of a “shared” cycling and pedestrian use at less busy times.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... I'd hate to be halfway across when it springs a leak.

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