Sepia Saturday 121; Flight;

Qantas was founded in Winton, Queensland on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited. The airline's first aircraft was an Avro 504K. The airline flew internationally from May 1935, when it commenced service from Darwin to Singapore.

In June 1959 Qantas entered the jet age when the first Boeing 707–138 was delivered

QANTAS = "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service"

In 1920 Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd had its headquarters in Winton, Queensland. In 1921 the head office moved to Longreach, Queensland. In 1930 the head office moved to Brisbane.

Here I have to include a story about early flights. A Family living in the outback, the father was manager of a  property, send  two  of the older girls, starting school, with a Quantas plane to boarding school. The cockpit was open, at the back was sort of an enclosure, but the windows had no glass. The children had to be bundled up in warm clothes and blankets, as it must have been freezing up there. Everybody came to the airport to say goodbye and brought presents for the girls to take with them.

Later the father flew with a Quantas plane to by bulls in Victoria. On his homeward flight the plane came down and he lost his life. The mother with her 5 small children could not manage the big property and moved to Brisbane. At the time she did not have the money to go to her husband's  funeral, far away,  as he was buried in Tambo where the plane crashed.

1920		Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd is formed on 16 November with headquarters in Winton, Queensland.
1921		Headquarters move to Longreach, Queensland.
1922		The first scheduled Qantas mail and passenger flight operates from Charleville to Cloncurry, Queensland.
1924		S M Bruce flies Qantas, becoming the first Australian Prime Minister to use an aircraft for official travel.
1926		Qantas begins building its own aircraft in Longreach.
1927		Qantas takes on its first apprentice.
1928		The Flying Doctor Service is launched, using Qantas aircraft.
1929		The outback network extends to Brisbane.
1930		Qantas establishes its headquarters in Brisbane. 2012 Next generation flying with the arrival of the first of our B787 fleet. 2020 Centenary of Qantas. Quantas through the years   if you would like to read more up to 2012 Our Pilot Bill  says; 'If it ain't Boeing, I'm not going'

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Thursday; ouch;

♥

Salvia   ©Ts

Wednesday; c'est la vie;

Life's Tragedy

It may be misery not to sing at all, 

And to go silent through the brimming day; 

It may be misery never to be loved, 

But deeper grieves than these beset the way.

To sing the perfect song, 

And by a half-tone lost the key, 

There the potent sorrow, there the grief, 

The pale, sad staring of Life's Tragedy.

To have come near to the perfect love, 

Not the hot passion of untempered youth, 

But that which lies aside its vanity, 

And gives, for thy trusting worship, truth.

This, this indeed is to be accursed, 

For if we mortals love, or if we sing, 

We count our joys not by what we have, 

But by what kept us from that perfect thing. 

Paul Laurence Dunbar

©Ts Photo

Sepia Saturday 120; Library;

Stifts Bibliothek St. Gallen, Switzerland

When I lived in Switzerland I have visited the Library many times. It is the most amazing and fascinating place  to visit if you are an aficinonado of books. One can still borrow books there.

Above the entrance to St Gallen Abbey Library, one of the oldest of its kind, is a Greek inscription which translates into English as "pharmacy of the soul".
The monks who founded the library considered books as medicine for the spirit. The 150,000 strong collection, now part of a Unesco World Heritage site, continues to inspire visitors and scholars today.

On entering the library, the visitor is immediately struck by two things – the vast quantity of books and the beauty of the room.

Remodelled in the 18th century, using the monastery's own craftsmen, the library is a heady mix of rich woodwork, ceiling paintings and stucco. The whole room – even on a rainy day - is illuminated by light from 34 windows.

It is said to be one of the most beautiful Baroque libraries in existence.

But only 30,000 of the library's collection – books and manuscripts – can be seen. Some volumes are considered simply too precious to be shown in public.

"There are 400 books here that are more than 1,000 years old.

Ancient treasures include a Latin manuscript of the Gospel and the oldest book in German.

The library also contains the earliest known architectural plan drawn on parchment - of the abbey itself - a copy of which can be seen in the library.

Glass cases hold fine illuminated manuscripts, some of which were done in the monastery.

" There are 400 books here that are more than 1,000 years old. "

The library was founded in 719 and is almost as ancient as the whole abbey site, which can traces it origins to a hermitage set up by Irish monk Gallus.

By the 9th century – the start of the abbey's golden age – the library had already built up a notable collection of books, including works from antiquity.

"St Gallen became rich through bequests of land and property and became very active in the realm of the sciences. Books were written and studied here," 

The monastery became one of the most important north of the Alps, with its influence – and reputation as a place of learning - extending into the German kingdom. 

It is said to be one of the most beautiful Baroque libraries in existence.

After a difficult time during the Reformation – St Gallen became the second Swiss city to turn to Protestantism – the abbey underwent a revival in fortunes in the 18th century when the library was remodelled.

Survival

But the jubilation did not last long. In 1798, French soldiers, fresh from the Revolution which toppled France's monarchy, marched though the area and attacked the buildings.

The monks fled, but not before they had taken the library's precious collection of books to safety.

A further blow came in 1805 when the newly formed Canton of St Gallen, eager to end the abbey's considerable influence, decided to dissolve the monastery. No monks have lived at the site since.

It was, however, decided to preserve the library. The whole abbey area, which also contains a magnificent Baroque church, now the cathedral, as well as medieval buildings, became a World Heritage site in 1983.

swissinfo.ch

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Easter Sunday; all about Easter

The Eeaster bunny brought me a golden Easter bunny, one of his more posh relatives!

My grandchildren were happy with their Easter baskets.

It is all good fun, but then Easter Celebration is much more then receiving chocolate eggs.



The Easter Flower
Far from this foreign Easter damp and chilly 
My soul steals to a pear-shaped plot of ground, 
Where gleamed the lilac-tinted Easter lily 
Soft-scented in the air for yards around; 


Alone, without a hint of guardian leaf! 
Just like a fragile bell of silver rime, 
It burst the tomb for freedom sweet and brief 
In the young pregnant year at Easter time; 


And many thought it was a sacred sign, 
And some called it the resurrection flower; 
And I, a pagan, worshiped at its shrine, 
Yielding my heart unto its perfumed power.


 Claude McKay





Beethoven's wonderful Ode to Joy;

Freude, schöner Götterfunken*
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Joy, beautiful spark of the gods*
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Heavenly one, your sanctuary!
Your magic reunites
What custom strictly divided.
All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.

©Photos Ts