The royal editor of the News of the World faces up to two years in jail after pleading guilty at the Old Bailey yesterday to unlawfully intercepting telephone messages from Princes William and Harry.

Unscrupulous journalists have been illegally picking up mobile telephone messages for many years.

It is relatively simple to hack into someone's messages by calling their voicemail and using a four-digit "default" code that is standard to most phones.

Unless the phone owner has changed the code, the handset will release voicemail messages when someone uses the default option.

So check yours!

Wow! That's more than I weigh!

Two brothers are on trial at a Cambridgeshire court for allowing their Labrador dog to put on too much weight.

Vets said nine-year-old Rusty was so fat he looked like a walrus and weighed more than 11 stones (154 llbs).

The brothers are accused of causing unnecessary suffering.

What about taking the parents of fat kids to court?

Go to my other blog:

www.kendrive.blog.co.uk

I was looking for an image to illustrate my poetry blog

( www.poemsandprose.blog.co.uk ) when I came across this.

Whatever next?

Well, what about these?

The ideal Christmas gift for your pooch.

A survey (yes another one) has revealed that nearly half of our nation's teachers do not understand the proper use of the apostrophe.

They failed to pick out, from a choice of four, this sentence, which uses the apostrophe correctly: "The Smiths' house is a disused windmill."

The alternatives were: "The Smiths's house…"; "The Smiths house…"; and "The Smith's house…".

Two-thirds failed to approve "The 70s was a great decade for music" above its alternatives, "The 70's…" and "The 70s'…".

In another sentence — "I implied/inferred/ensued from his art collection that he was extremely wealthy" — 68 per cent of teachers correctly opted for "inferred" and only seven per cent chose "implied". However, seven per cent picked "ensued", 11 per cent believed it was "none of the above" and a further seven per cent didn't know.

More encouragingly, 92 per cent managed to pick the correct use of "I" and "me".

So perhaps not all is lost.

And, as I have said before, when the majority make the same mistake that beomes the accepted norm.

And, our language is always changing anyway.

(Fellow-pedants will have noted that I have begun two sentences with the conjunction 'and')

The BBC is changing its Pension Fund Investment Managers after reported poor performance.

In April this year it announced it was closing its generous final-salary scheme to new members after a three-year actuarial review of its fund.

Unions called for strike action but none took place and the BBC raised the retirement age from 60 to 65 for staff under 50.

At the time, the pension fund, with a value of around £6bn, reported a net deficit of £422m.

But, as of yesterday, the fund was worth £8bn and was fully funded, said a spokesman.

Where has the extra money come from?

Our Licence fees?

Or am I missing something?

These further gems have spilled over from one of my other blogs:

"Payment is due by the due date." -- On a credit card statement.

Britain is now ranked top of the surveillance league and is on a par with China and Russia in the lack of privacy stakes.

Thank you Mr. Blair (and others).

I feel SO secure.

Would you like your own model of Paris Hilton's chihuahua?

What about Geri Halliwell's shih-tzu?

Miniature models, "using real hair" are being sold at an auction in aid of the Battersea Dogs Home.

You could choose from the Queen's favourite corgi, Zara Phillip's boxer, ex-Atomic Kitten singer Jenny Frost's dachshund and the Blue Peter labrador.

It all sounds a bit kinky to me.

One day butterflies could be state of the art advertising hoardings.

Geneticists in the United States have developed a technique whereby advertisements can be 'etched' by laser onto a butterly's wings.

The 'message' will then be reproduced in a fluoresecent glow.

It may not affect the butterflies, but what about us?

Do we really want animals used as billboards?

Or perhaps we could make money out of it and send our cats and dogs out on the streets to promote McDonald's or Durex!

A Welsh butcher has been told that he may face legal action unless he clearly states that his "Welsh Dragon Sausages" are really made of - PORK.

"I don't think any of our customers actually believe that we use dragon meat," said Jon Carthew, of the Black Mountains Smokery at Crickhowell, after receiving a warning letter from trading standards officers.

Mr Carthew has now added the word pork to labels for the 200,000 sausages he makes a year from pork, leek and chilli and hopes that will end the matter.

"We use the word dragon because it is synonymous with Wales and because of the heat with the chilli. To add the word pork means it loses its marketing appeal," he said. "It is bureaucracy gone mad."

Mr Carthew, 45, who heads the family business, was told that no further action was being taken, but trading standards would keep a check on his products by taking samples in future.

He said: "Have they nothing better to do? It states quite clearly on the label that pork is among the ingredients but they want pork to feature in the actual name of the product."

Powys council said: "The product 'Welsh Dragon Sausage' was not sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser of the true nature of this food."!

Al Jazeera this week began broadcasting an English news service from Qatar.

Aiming to be the channel of reference for Middle East events, Al Jazeera also has broadcast centres in Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington.

In the UK it can be viewed on Sky (channel 514) and it will soon also be available on some cable services, the internet and mobile phones.

However, it has been described as "propaganda" by the US government and it cannot be seen on any American terrestrial TV channel.

The new channel has attracted well-known English presenters, such as Sir David Frost, who yesterday interviewed Tony Blair.

The Prime Minister thinks that appearing on Al Jazeera TV is the best way to get his message out across the Middle East.

In the programme he said that Iran, once a member of George Bush’s 'axis of evil', could play a constructive role in the Middle East.

In an interview that touched on many subjects, Blair also admitted that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.

Responding to a question from Frost that the conflict had been a disaster from the start, he said "it has", before insisting he was right to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Blair also urged Iran and Syria to do more to curb the violence in Iraq but said that the two "have different interests in the region."

Will you be watching the new channel?

If you haven't got Sky, you may be able to view it from the web page: www.aljazeera.net/english

The Prime Minister on Al Jazeera TV yesterday

Claims that up to 30 million eggs supplied to UK shops and supermarkets may have been passed off illegally as free-range are being investigated by police.

Whitehall officials called in the egg industry and retailers and "read them the riot act" this week, after evidence emerged of an alleged fraud in the fast growing free-range market.

Sales of free range eggs, which sell in shops for twice the price of those from caged birds, have been increasing rapidly as consumers switch to eggs produced at higher standards of animal welfare.

It is also reported that salmonella is present in one in every 30 boxes of imported eggs on sale in England. This rises to about one in every eight boxes among eggs brought in from Spain.

Most of the contaminated eggs came from only three farms in Spain. France had the second highest contamination rate.

So, if you "Go To Work On An Egg", make sure it is British, preferably straight from a free-range farm, and always make sure that it is thoroughly cooked.

A leaked memo has revealed that phone-in presenters on a BBC local radio station have been barred from allowing callers who sound old on air.

Mia Costello, managing editor of BBC Radio Solent, told her broadcasters: "I don't want to hear really elderly voices."

Her memo was leaked after she axed several of her older broadcasters, including the BBC's disability affairs correspondent Peter White and Pippa Greenwood, the gardening expert.

Like other BBC local radio stations, many of Solent's regular listeners are aged in their sixties and above.

Mr White, who is a presenter on the Radio 4 You and Yours programme as well as a commentator on disability matters for BBC television and radio, described the memo as "condescending and contemptuous of older listeners who are as entitled to contribute to programmes as any other age group."

Mr White questioned whether it was in the remit of the BBC, as a publicly funded broadcaster, to "disenfranchise a section of listeners who contribute to that funding as licence payers".

In her memo Ms Costello said "only talk about things that are positive and appealing to people in the 45 to 64 age group".

A BBC spokesman said: "We do value our older listeners and it doesn't matter if you're 45 or 105."

Industry figures show that Radio Solent has lost a quarter of its audience share in the last year.

Now they will be losing many more!

Desert Orchid, the ever-popular Cheltenham Gold Cup winner of 1989, died yesterday at the age of 27.

He won 34 races in total, including seven at his beloved Kempton, where four victories in the King George VI Steeple Chase underlined his immense talent.

Official announcement from his former trainer:

“Desert Orchid died peacefully in his stable at 6.05 this morning.

“He did his dying in the same individual way that he did his living. It was time to go.”

The whole country mourns.

Or does it?

Perhaps the Queen shed a tear.

Here she is with Desert Orchid at Cheltenham.

'Transparent' toilet on the street.

You can see out, but nobody can see in.

You hope!

My Fairy doesn't seem to be doing such a good job at looking after me recently.

I think she is losing her powers and I am considering changing her for something with better performance.

Of course, I don't mean the pretty little sprite above, but this:

It is probably just me, but Fairy Liquid seems to be weaker nowadays and I need much more to work up some decent suds.

On the other hand, Procter and Gamble say a little goes a long way.

This giant paella dish was used in Spain to cook a 70-ton paella to feed 110,000 people. (I can't believe that figure - surely hyperbole?)

It was then cleaned using just one litre of Fairy dishwashing liquid!

P.S. It looks more like a swimming pool than a cooking dish

Saffend Pee-ah

As some of you know, I originate from Essex.

I am neither proud nor ashamed of that. It was just an accident of birth!

However, they do still 'talk funny' out there.

Here are some examples:

Alma Chizzit - A request to find the cost of an item.

Zaggerate - To suggest that something is bigger or better than it
actually is. ("I told ya a fazzand times already")

They are popping up (literally) all over the place.

This is the "Urilift" - a self-erecting urinal, which is concealed below ground during the day, but emerges for your convenience at night.

Just don't stand over one while it is rising!

It can accommodate three gentlemen, but there are none available for ladies - at the moment!

Well, it doesn't offer much privacy - does it?

The latest town to install the "Urilift" is Newquay in Cornwall.

A council official said: "Young men using the street as a toilet is not how we would like the town portrayed.

"We needed to resolve the problem so that everyone in Newquay can benefit from the strong night-time economy." !

The urinals have already been used in a number of cities including London, Liverpool, Reading, Durham, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Belfast.

Would you use one?

Following the mid-term elections in the United States, Democratic voters were last night pressing for the impeachment of President George W Bush for his conduct over the Iraq war.

How can he carry on after the massive demonstration of public opinion against him?

Nancy Pelosi, set to be the first lady Speaker of the House of Representatives, once described Dubya as "The Emperor with no clothes".

He must be feeling pretty chilly today!

Did you see his TV speech last night, eulogising both Donald Rumsfeld and the new Defence Secretary Bob Gates?

What I want to know is:

(1) If RUMSFELD is so good, why is he going?

(2) If GATES is so good, why wasn't he appointed as Defence Secretary years ago, in preference to Donald Rumsfeld?

I put those questions to a Democrat friend in the United States, who replied:

"Rumsfeld is NO good. He was tasked with managing the war and he did a terrible job of it. The president is a hard head and would not admit to the troubles and mistakes his administration (Rumsfeld/Cheney) madein Iraq. Therefore, any admission of Rumsfeld doing a bad job would be indicative of the overall failure in Iraq. So, he kept defending Rumsfeld during the past 4 years and continues to do so today. The reason why he got of rid of him today is to cut off the Democrats from demanding it happen sometime during the next month or so as they come into power. It was purely a political move. If the Dems hadn't won as big as we have, there would been NO change to Rumsfeld's position as Defense Secretary. The war has been botched from the start and it was all Rumsfeld and the neo-conservative plans that failed. It is only now that the election went against the Bushies that he made the switch to Gates.

A West Yorkshire chip shop owner is being investigated after a complaint that his shop smells of fish and chips.

He said:

"If anybody can tell me how to make fish and chips not smell of fish and chips, I'm grateful."

A council spokeswoman explained however: "It is certainly not the case that a fish and chip shop should not be allowed to smell of fish and chips, but we have had a complaint and we have to investigate."

A toilet which flushes to the sound of Italy's national anthem has been impounded by police in northern Italy, sparking great patriotic debate.

The offending loo was the creation of two local artists and was on display at the Bolzano Museum of Modern Art.

Prosecutors say the Fratelli d'Italia anthem is a national emblem which should be protected and should never be open to ridicule.

A judgement is expected to be made later this week.

Have you had your flu injection yet?

If not, you had better hurry up.

I have just read this headline in my daily newspaper:

"Three million body bags may be stockpiled in disaster plans".

At first I thought that it was in readiness for a terrorist attack and, in some way, it is.

It is in case of a possible "Influenza Pandemic" in this country.

Quote:

It is understood that local councils and health authorities are also involved in discussions about how to minimise the spread of infection. Sources said that a major concern was that a flu pandemic could coincide with another disaster, putting intolerable pressure on resources.

"Ordering body bags is one of the measures that we could go for. It has been put to us. This is the dominant public health worry of the moment," he said.

But is it just another case of scare-mongering - and are you concerned?

I haven't had my flu jab yet and I was told by my doctor a couple of weeks ago that the vaccine will not be available until mid-December.

I hope it will not be too late for me.

Should I be worrying?

Should Christians start being more militant?

Many of them are asking whether force is needed to protect their religious values.

A leading church group which represents more than a million Christians has raised the prospect of civil unrest and even "violent revolution" to protect religious freedoms.

In a startling warning to the Government, senior church and political figures have backed a report advocating force to protest against policies that are "unbiblical" and "inimical to the Christian faith".

The menacing language of the report, which Lord Mawhinney, the Tory peer, Andy Reed, the Labour MP, and the Rt Rev Peter Forster, the Bishop of Chester, helped to produce, echoes comments made by Muslim fanatics.

Only days ago, Islamic activist Anjem Choudary said Muslims had become radicalised because they were "a community under siege".

Now it is Christians who are expressing the same feelings.

A school has told pupils to avoid hugging because they are taking too much time to reach their lessons.

Callington Community College, a mixed comprehensive in Cornwall with 1,250 pupils, said hugging had begun to cause "problems".

The headmaster, Stephen Kenning, wrote on the school's website: "Hugging has become very acceptable amongst students. This has led to some students believing that it is okay to go up to anyone and hug them, sometimes inappropriately.

"This is very serious not only for the victim but also for anyone accused of acting inappropriately. To avoid putting anyone at risk please avoid hugging."

"During the changing of lessons, girls were hugging each other and taking too much time to get to lessons."

However, Kath Pascoe, a local councillor who has two grandchildren at the college, said: "I don't see anything wrong with hugging - better that than fighting and arguing."

David Cohen, a member of the British Psychological Society and author of the book Body Language said hugging was a basic human instinct.

He said: "Human beings are touchy-feely creatures by nature. It is only a problem if you invade someone's personal space. Surely it is better youngsters get the human contact they need innocently. If you ban it, they are far more likely to seek it round the back of the bike sheds."

I'm just going to check on my bike.

Continuing my theme from yesterday . . .

A stark warning that Britain is turning into a Big Brother society, where the lives of millions are routinely monitored and tracked from cradle to grave, is given today by the Government's privacy watchdog.

Britain has more CCTV cameras than any other country.

Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, says more and more personal data is being collected and stored on all of us, both by the state and big business.

A study commissioned by his office concludes that within 10 years, surveillance will be all-pervasive, spurred on by Government claims that it is needed to fight terrorism.

But will it ever come to this - as depicted in an American cartoon?

"The Patriot Act" (Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) was signed by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001.