León

The Region of León is a historic territory defined by the 1833 Spanish administrative organisation.

The Leonese region encompassed the provinces of Salamanca, Zamora, and León, now part of the modern Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León. 

As is the case with other historical regions, and continuing with centuries of history, the inhabitants of the Leonese region are still called Leonese.

There are many colourful, interesting characters living in Léon; old Republicans and resistance fighters, wolf hunters, poets…

A beautiful article (in Spanish) on this website.

Nougier Motorcycles

Nougier was a brand of French hand-built road racing motorcycles made by Jean Nougier from 1937 to 1972.

Entirely hand-built, the engines were dual overhead camshaft units with hairpin valve springs, which remained popular on racing engines since due to their ease of replacement. The motorcycles had maximum power at 10,000rpms, rear suspension (rare for the time), and a forward mounted rear brake.

Pépé Benoît - the Man Who Owns Over 850 Mortorbikes

Jean-Pierre (Pépé) Benoît was born in 1953 in Raon l'Étape in the Vosges departmentof France, the eldest of a family of eight children. His father and uncles were all lumberjacks or forest agents and moved on motorcycles, mopeds and even bikes – none could afford a car.

The motorbike also served for family outings. When to see Le Tour de France, when it was passing through the Vosges, they even took his little brothers and sisters in the trailer made by Grandpa Gaston and towed by one of papa's motorcycles, a Peugeot 350.

Aged 11 he got his first moped and then a motorbike at 14; this was the start of Pépé becoming a collector – he now owns over 850 motorbikes!

None are sold, despite having got offers well into the 6 digits. Now 80% disabled after an accident, he wants to live his passion 100%.

These days he rides a sidecar and slowly gets back on a “real” bike, a Honda CB250 – learning to ride again.

Ambroise Vollard

Ambroise Vollard (1866 –1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century.

He is credited with providing exposure and emotional support to numerous then-unknown artists, including Paul Cézanne, Aristide Maillol, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Louis Valtat, Pablo Picasso, André Derain, Georges Rouault, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. He was also an avid art collector and publisher.

Much has been made of his physical appearance and countenance (grimly described as a "large, gruff, boorish fellow" with "downcast eyes..."); however, he was also a very shrewd businessman who made a fortune with the "buy low, sell high" mantra.

Terrot

Terrot was a motorcycle manufacturer in Dijon, France.

Charles Terrot and Wilhelm Stücklen had founded a machinery factory in Cannstatt, Germany in 1862, and Terrot added a branch factory in Dijon in 1887, and in 1890 the Dijon factory added bicycles to its products.

In 1902, the Dijon factory made its first motorcycle. It was powered by a 2 bhp engine supplied by Zédel of Switzerland. After that, Terrot built motorcycles with engines from 173cc to 498cc from proprietary engine suppliers including the Swiss manufacturers MAG and Dufeaux, the English makers Chater-Lea and JAP along with Givaudan engines from Lyon, France.

Terrot produced its first twin-cylinder model in 1905. From 1915 onwards, it supplied 500cc machines to the French Army. In 1921.

After the Great Depression a new class of vehicles, motorized bicycles, was introduced.

In 1932, Terrot entered motorcycle racing and won a triple championship, winning the French 250cc, 350cc and 500cc classes.

In the Second World War Terrot supplied the French Army with sidecars: the model GT from 350cc to 750cc and the model DT from 500cc to 750cc.

In 1951, Terrot produced its first motor scooter, called VMS. In the 1950s, the company focused on the market for mopeds and lightweight motorcycles.

 In 1958, Peugeot took over the company. In 1961, production ended at the former Terrot factory.

Euskeldun Batzokija

At the beginning of the Basque National Party(Euskeldun Batzokija):

Members of the first board of directors of Euskeldun Batzokija: president, Sabino de Arana-Goiri; vice president, Ciriaco de Llodio; secretary, José de Arriaga; Deputy Secretary, Antonio de Elezpuru; accountant, Elías de Lekue; vice-accountant, Fabián de Izpitzua; treasurer, Sebastián de Amorrourtu; vice treasurer, José María de Aldekoa; edil, Ulpiano de Abasolo; viceedil, Luis de Arana-Goiri; vowels, Ramón de Mentxaka, Toribio de Rezola, Juan de Aranburuzabal. July 15, 1894.

Dining with Beret in Galicia

Trikes

A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. 

Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles.

 Three-wheelers can have either one wheel at the back and two at the front (2F1R), (for example: Morgan Motor Company) or one wheel at the front and two at the back (1F2R) (such as the Reliant Robin). 

Due to better safety when braking, an increasingly popular form is the front-steering "tadpole" or "reverse trike" sometimes with front drive but usually with rear drive.

Three-wheelers, including some cyclecars, bubble cars and microcars, are built for economic and legal reasons: in the UK for tax advantages, or in the US to take advantage of lower safety regulations, being classed as motorcycles. As a result of their light construction and potential better streamlining, three-wheeled cars are usually less expensive to operate.

David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion (born David Grün; 1886 –1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the country’s first Prime Minister.

He was the preeminent leader of the Jewish community in British Mandate Palestine from 1935 until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, which he led until 1963 with a short break in 1954-55.

He stepped down from office in 1963 and retired from political life in 1970. He then moved to Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev desert, where he lived until his death.

Posthumously, Ben-Gurion was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Important People of the 20th century.

Summer (or Winter)

The June solstice is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

June Solstice in New York, USA is on Saturday, 20 June 2020 at 5:43 p.m. EDT.

June Solstice in Wellington, New Zealand is on Sunday, 21 June 2020 at 9:43 a.m. NZST .

Bust of a Boinero

This bust of a modern day boinero in a red leather jacket with black beret I found for sale on an auction site. 

Vigo's Murals

Vigo is a city and municipality in Spain, part of the autonomous community of Galicia, located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Mon Devane's murals are a tribute to Galician tradition and culture. The faces of two elderly men as they drink a cup of wine cover two huge walls, against a magenta background.

The paintings are based on the photographs of Óscar Vífer, portraying the people of the neighborhood and meanwhile bringing out a smile to everyone who passes by.

Sallah Shabati

Sallah Shabati is a 1964 Israeli comedy film about the chaos of Israeli immigration and resettlement. 

This social satire placed the director Ephraim Kishon and producer Menahem Golan among the first Israeli filmmakers to achieve international success. It also introduced actor Chaim Topol (Fiddler on the Roof) to audiences worldwide.

The film begins with Sallah Shabati, a Mizrahi Jewish immigrant, arriving in Israel with his family. Upon arrival he is brought to live in a ma'abara, or transit camp. He is given a broken-down, one-room shack in which to live with his family and spends the rest of the movie attempting to make enough money to purchase adequate housing. 

His money-making schemes are often comical and frequently satirize the political and social stereotypes in Israel of the time.

Chaim Potok

Herman Harold Potok was born in Bronx, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Poland.

He was the oldest of four children, all of whom either became or married rabbis. After reading Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited as a teenager, he decided to become a writer.

In 1967 Potok published The Chosen, which won the Edward Lewis Wallant Award and was nominated for the National Book Award.

The Chosen was made into a film released in 1981, which won the most prestigious award at the World Film Festival, Montreal.

His work was significant for discussing the conflict between the traditional aspects of Jewish thought and culture and modernity to a wider, non-Jewish culture.

 He taught a highly regarded graduate seminar on Postmodernism at the University of Pennsylvania from 1993 through 2001.

Cabane de l'A Neuve

The Cabane de l'A Neuve is a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps at 2,735 metres above sea level open for visitors.

The Cabane de l'A Neuve was built as 'Cabane Dufour a La Neuvaz', in 1927 with a legacy from Mr. Edouard Dufour and had a capacity of 22 beds at the time. As of 2014, it has 28 beds.

The hut can be reached from the Val Ferret. The hut lies below the Grand Darray (3,514 m) on the south side in the Mont Blanc Massif. Other summits close to the hut are the Tour Noir (3,835 m), the Grande Lui (3,509 m) and the Mont Dolent (3,823 m).

The hut is owned by the Diablerets (Lausanne) section of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). It is the starting point for alpine tours in the Swiss part of the Mont Blanc massif. It is located on a small rocky spur with a view of the dwindling Glacier de l'A Neuve.

Photos are from it’s 75^th anniversary.