Tredegar House, Newport, Wales, UK

Tredegar House in Newport, set in the 90 acre  (360,000 m²) Tredegar Park, is one of the best examples of a 17th century Charles II country house mansion in the United Kingdom.

The home was originally built of stone and was very grand indeed, grand enough for Charles I to visit. Between 1664 and 1672, however, William Morgan decided to rebuild the house on a larger scale from red brick, then a rare building material in Wales, possibly to plans made by Inigo Jones. In his 1882 publication, local historian Octavius Morgan provides a plan of an intricate garden maze which was in place prior to the 1660s improvements and which probably dated from the time of Elizabeth I of England.

The earliest surviving part of the building dates back to the early 1500s. For over five hundred years, it was home to one of the greatest of Welsh families, the Morgans (the same family as Captain Morgan) - later the Lords Tredegar - until they left in 1951. The Morgan family has since spread far and wide with some descendants changing their names through marriage or for reasons of anonymity. Families still using the titles of Lord or Lady, descending from the Morgan line, are said to be still living in Cardiff, in Gloucester/Cheltenham and in Dorset. Other descendants who have kept the Morgan name may be easier to track.

After 1951 the house was home to St. Joseph's R.C. School until it was bought by the Newport Corporation Council in 1974, giving rise to its present status as "the grandest council house in Britain".

Newport City Council provides guided tours of most of the house, covering many major rooms, the vast kitchens, its long history and the personalities involved.

There is an annual Tredegar House vintage car rally in the grounds every year to raise funds for Leukaemia Research. The first rally was held in October 1980 and raised £635. In 2007 the event raised nearly £45,000 bringing the total amount raised by the Rally since 1979 to nearly £576,000.

The House is approved for marriages and civil ceremonies. Two Doctor Who stories (3 episodes) have used Tredegar House for location filming: the 2008 Christmas special The Next Doctor and the 2009/2010 Christmas/New Year special The End of Time.

Pictures

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Second Boeing 747-8 Freighter Completes First Flight

A second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 747-8 Freighter, RC 522, successfully completed its first flight Sunday evening. The airplane took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., for a two-and-a-half-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.

Captain Kirk Vining was at the controls for the flight, with Rick Braun operating as co-pilot and Joel Conard serving as systems operator. The airplane reached an altitude of 27,000 feet (8,230 m) and an airspeed of 240 knots, or about 276 miles (444 km) per hour. It took off at 3:57 p.m. PDT and landed at 6:25 p.m.

"The airplane performed well on its first flight," said Andy Hammer, test program manager for 747-8. "It was a good start to a demanding flight-test program for this airplane." 

This is the second of three 747-8 Freighters being used in the flight-test program. Each airplane will be used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on community noise, environmental control systems and extended operation performance standards.

The airplane will begin its flight-test program at Boeing Field before transitioning to Palmdale, Calif.

Fourth 787 Joins Boeing Flight-Test Fleet

Boeing has added the fourth 787 Dreamliner to its flight-test fleet with the completion of the first flight of ZA003. The airplane departed Paine Field in Everett, Wash., at 10:55 a.m. (Pacific time) and landed at 2:01 p.m. at Boeing Field in Seattle.

Captains Ray Craig and Mike Bryan piloted the airplane on its three-hour-and-six-minute flight. ZA003 is the final 787 with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines to enter the flight-test program.

"We've done a significant amount of ground testing on the new systems on ZA003 in preparation for first flight. Engineering, manufacturing and flight operations have really pulled together as a team to enable first flight," said Craig. "It has been very rewarding to watch the Boeing team pull together in support of this milestone."

ZA003 is the only 787 in the flight test fleet that will include elements of the passenger interior features including cabin and crew support systems. The 787 is introducing new passenger amenities and provisions for a more comfortable flying experience. Among the new features are improved lighting, bigger stowage bins, larger windows with electrochromatic shades and redesigned lavatories with easier access.

In addition to demonstrating that the interior meets certification requirements, ZA003 will be used to conduct tests on systems, noise performance, flight-deck operations, avionics, electromagnetic effects, high-intensity radio frequency response and extended operations (ETOPS).

"The Boeing team is doing great work. We've established a good pace of accomplishment on the program," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The priorities are clear and the entire team is focused."

Blanes, Spain

Blanes is a tourist town with a population of 38,368 (as of 2007) on the Costa Brava of Girona, in Catalonia, Spain.

The coast of Blanes has 4 km of different kinds of beaches, the most famous are Blanes beach and S'Abanell beach. Steep rocky cliffs and small inviting coves alternate within its scenery. The most well-known town nearby is Lloret de Mar.

Blanes is also a common last name e.g.

• Camilo Blanes Cortés (Camilo Sesto), a Spanish singer
• Juan Manuel Blanes, a painter from Uruguay

Blanes is also the name of a horse circus travelling up to the North of Europe, eventually ending up in Amsterdam.

Pictures

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1st Battalion Welsh Guards are Honoured in Newport

On Friday, 12th March 2010 thousands of people lined the streets of Newport to welcome home our war heroes. The soldiers recently came back home after serving in Afghanistan last year, but the tour wasn’t without its sacrifice as they lost several of their fallen colleagues..

The parade started outside Wetherspoon’s pub on Commercial Street, through to Bridge Street before finishing in Cambrian Road. It was the biggest turnout for the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in their recent homecoming parades.

Hundreds of school children also turned up waving banners and waited patiently to see the soldiers; desperate for a glimpse of the troops.

In the summer of 2009, the Welsh Guards took part in some the fiercest fighting ever seen in Helmand supporting 19 Brigade during Operation Panther’s Claw.

Significant achievements included clearing the Taliban from the strongholds in areas such as Babaji while building relationships with the local people and allowing businesses, schools, mosques and roads to be rebuilt.

Pictures

 

 

 

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