They may look basic, but these machines helped bring about a revolution – the Industrial Revolution no less! These were the machines that Ned Ludd – founder of the Luddites movement protested so violently against. He realised that by mechanising certain processes, there would be massive social upheaval as people were replaced by machines. You can see these examples for yourself at London’s Science Museum in South Kensington.
Richard Arkwright developed these innovations (not inventions – they had precursors) into a system between 1765 and 1775 – about the time Capt James Cook was checking out the transit of venus and checking out the east coast of Australia. The system came to be known as the textile mill or factory.
This concept arose from his appreciation that the manufacture of cotton yarn was a series of discrete operations that could be carried out by special purpose machines, brought together in one place and driven from a single power source, such as a water mill, or later, a steam engine. Before this time, most textiles were produced individually in cottage industries by spinners and weavers. The production of cotton lagged way behind that of wool or linen.
But there were impacts. The factory system brought England to the forefront of textile manufacturing in the nineteenth century, but it also brought about the collapse of the of the Indian cotton industry – while demand for raw cotton sustained the slave economy in the USA.
Carding machine
According to the museum info cards the carding machine disentangles, loosens and straightens the cotton fibres. The fibres are fed between two drums which are covered with leather ‘cards’ embedded with bent wire teeth. A third drum strips off the fibres in a continuous sheet which is then lifted off to form a ‘sliver’.
Lantern drawing frame
The sliver is then passed to the lantern frame where it is elongated and narrowed, while being twisted to that it becomes strong enough to handle. The sliver is then called a ‘roving’ or ‘slubbing’ (hence the term ‘slub linen’).
Four spool and eight spool spinning machines
The four spool machine closely resembles the design Arkwright patented in 1769. Both machines spin yarnfrom teh cotton rovings produced by the drawing frame.
The later eight-spooled machine effectively doubled output. Both were powered by water wheels.
The eight-spool machine was effectively two four-spool machines joined together.
Posted by jerry on June 19th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Travel
Signs communicate a lot about a culture – both in terms of what they say, and how they say it. Signs show the boundaries of a society’s identity, marking the limits, or reflecting on the limits, such as where a sign has been altered, or where non-official signs are placed, such as graffiti and stencil art.
Paris is a place with style – its street signs are not merely utilitarian, but are artistically designed too.
This sign was designed in the 1920s
This one also gives the significance of the name – in this case the first female musical director of the orchestra.
Not all big yellow ‘M’ signs refer to a scottish restaurant – this one points out the entrance to the Metro station – the underground subway train system
And in a city where motorbikes dominate the traffic – and the parking, it’s interesting to see that mopeds here are have their own separate identity – even in the process of saying ‘No Parking’
Some signs point to good food ๐
Others, such as this stencil sign on a footpath present a warning against/of racism.
This one loosely says
“Foreigners, donโt leave us alone with these โfrenchโ that are full of fear of the other, and superiority feeling.”
– thanks to ‘Frenchguy’ who left a comment below.
A Google translation yielded:
Abroad (Foreign visitors). Do not leave us alone with these ‘French’. Beef fear another ox’s sense of superiority
It seems ambiguous, and it is difficult to know whether the ‘beef’ refers to Frankish french or immigrant French. Either way this place clearly still has some issues with multicultural integration – unofficially of course. [NB see comment by ‘French guy” below – I could be reading this incorrectly, I would love to think this was an internationalist message as this guy reckons – please confirm or otherwise which is the most accurate translation ๐ Thanks – Jerry]
Other stencil art is truly charming – like this one in Montmartre’s artist district
Just beyond this sign were quite a number of portrait artists touting for the tourist euro – several of them were quite good too.
And the French are proud of their (relatively) tidy streets (aside from the animal droppings). This sign tells people not to throw their rubbish under penalty of a fine. By order of the sanitation department of Paris.
And that’s just a few of the myriad signs that adorn Paris ๐
Posted by jerry on June 18th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Travel
Most people looking for Gargoyles in Paris go straight to the Notre Dame cathedral where they will find the same gargoyles that are on every postcard. Perhaps it is reassuring that you can actually see the ones in the postcards. But if you head up to the top of the Montmartre butte – in one of Paris’ most fascinating quarters, you will find the basilica of Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). This church was built in 1875 to commemorate the the defeat of the Paris Commune in 1871 (those who refused to acknowledge that Paris had been given up to the Prussians.
Its domed roofs dominate Paris from its elevated position. And to reward you for climbing the steep streets and stairways you are greeted by a magnificent building with wonderful stained glass, amazing acoustics for the choir and of course gothic gargoyles.
Gargoyles once served the very practical purpose of funneling water from the roof when it rains and directing the resultant jet of water out away from the foundations where the water could cause real damage. Yes, gargoyles are water spouts with a decorative aspect to them too.
There is a colourful description of how the gargoyles represent a dragon said to have been killed by St Romanus, that lived near the Seine and demanded annual sacrifices of young maidens and seamen. But today it serves as a great spot for people to meet and have a romantic view over Paris that is not the Eiffel Tower.
And there are grotesques too – like this image of a monk
Posted by jerry on June 16th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Travel
Every corner has a cafe´ and these are the soul of Paris. That and boulangeries – bakeries – home of the baguette that feeds a nation in precisely the way that burgers don’t in the USA.
Every corner has a surprise – whether a curiosity shop or the narrow cobbled streets
Or even a sign…
But probably the thing I find most striking are the boulevards of art nouveau buildings throughout central Paris. And each has flower boxes bursting with colour from every balcony
Even the doorways are striking for their flair
And some places are just special – like this circus supplies shop in Montmartre called Bonjour Artiste
Which is of course just below the great church of Sacre Coeur (Sacred heart)
Then from the sublime to…
Yes it’s the 1927 copy of the Red Mill Theatre, made famous for spectacularly unclad dancers, the music of Jacques Offenbach, and more recently a film by Baz Luhrmann starring Australian Actress Nicole Kidman. Interestingly, severl of the dancers are Australian! Here is a link to the Moulin Rouge website, where you can read about the history of the theatre, and see video of the dancers.
And at the end of the day you can relax in the garden near the Sacre Coeur.
This is close to where Amelie led the moped rider on a wild goose chase with the binoculars.
Having a French moped myself, I thought it would be fun to go looking for the current mopeds of Paris. In a city that resembles an ad for Smart cars, in which motorbikes and scooters of various descriptions park with impunity on pavements or indeed anywhere they can squeeze in, two wheel travel is widely accepted as the norm.
In such a culture there are intriguing variations on a theme – scooters with a roof such as those from BMW and Renault, three-wheeled scooters, and more traditional mopeds.
taking the last first, I saw quite a number of Motobecanes obviously still going hard, like these ones
This one was amazing – three wheels!
I wondered how they went around corners. Suddenly I had my opportunity as this one pulled away while I had my camera in hand.
Others clearly were workhorses in more ways than one
And if you needed a big truck in a little street you could go for a vespa truck
But the traditional velo-solex is still popular – the bicycle with the engine on the front wheel – very French!
So the peds still swarm in Paris – even the police ride Peugot mopeds around the cobbled back streets!
