Arguments Yard

Arguments Yard off of Church Street, Whitby.  This is one of 80 or so remaining yards or "ghauts" to be found in this Yorkshire town. There are a further 30 alleyways or flights of steps.

When houses were built in medieval Whitby, there were often long gardens to the rear. Gradually these were built upon starting at the farthest end. As demand for housing grew, the buildings gradually encroached upon the land.

Deeds from the mid 17th century show one Thomas Argment living in Church Street. The present name is believed to be an English corruption of the original Flemish name.

 

An Istanbul Tram

An Istanbul tram waits at the end of Istiklal Cadessi in the 1930s. This is the City's main shopping street and the photograph is taken at the point where it meets Taksim, Istanbul's great central square. 

Istanbul once operated a huge tramway system which by 1966 had been abandoned. The route along Istiklal Cadessi was revived in 1990 when the street was pedestrianised. It operates restored trams between Taksim and Tunel Square along a 1.5km track.  

Large American cars were once a common sight in Istanbul. Turkey did not have a car industry until 1966 and many vehicles were imported from the USA. In the late 1980s it was still easy to take a ride in a big 1950s Chevrolet or Chrysler as fleets of these were still used as shared taxis 

Cabmen's Shelter

Thirteen cabmen's shelters remain in London, still operated by the Cabmen's Shelter Fund, a charity established in 1875 by the Earl of Shaftesbury. Hanson cab drivers were not allowed to leave their vehicles unattended and had little opportunity for refreshment. These small shelters offered hot food and drink, prepared by an attendant. The shelters were furnished with chairs and tables for up to 13 drivers. There were often newspapers and books to read. 61 of these distinctive buildings were built at the principle cab stands across Central London. The existing shelters are all grade II listed. 

A School In The Mountains

High on a hillside in Kashmir, a school is being built.  The foundations are deep for this is an earthquake zone. The village cannot be reached by road so the building materials are carried by pack animal.

The village is poor, the families cannot afford the fees to send their children to school in the town so the new building will give the young people a future.

The Read Foundation, a Manchester based charity has opened nearly 400 schools in some of the most deprived places in the World, mostly in Pakistan. They provide an education for more than 100,000 pupils including 10,000 orphans, many of whom progress to university. The schools provide modern facilities including computer suites, libraries and science labs. Thousands of fully qualified teachers are employed. https://readfoundation.org.uk/

Our scale model demonstrates the design of a typical school and will be used to help fundraising for future projects. At 1:50 scale, the model is 70cm long. Transparent panels in the roof give a view down into the classrooms where children sit at their desks and posters adorn the walls. The scene is brought to life by children playing on swings and slides in front of the school. The model is almost entirely handbuilt by David Easton Modelmaking: http://parabuild.blogspot.com