GRUMPY OLD MAN

I AM TAKING A BREAK AND WILL RETURN ON MONDAY

I am returning to a subject I approached a few weeks ago, when it was first in the news. Now it has resurfaced.

SUMMER CAMP OFFERS 'GODLESS ALTERNATIVE'

An atheist summer camp in Somerset is offering children aged seven to 17 a "godless alternative" to religious camps traditionally run by the scouts and church groups.

Some of the 24 children arriving at Camp Quest in Bruton seemed a little young to be tackling the weighty concepts ahead of them.

The summer camp, designed with the children of atheist parents in mind, has a slightly daunting mission statement.

It is "dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical and creative thinking, scientific method… and the separation of religion and government".

Certainly the Murray boys - John, Julius and Leeroy, aged nine, eight and seven respectively - were focusing on the simple pleasures of living under canvas for five days and taking part in traditional activities like climbing, canoeing and rafting.

John said: "I'm looking forward to making new friends, meeting new people and doing all the activities set up for us."

Leeroy noted: "I like activities because it will give you more health, and you will be quite fit for running the 200 metres."

While Julius added: "I like sleeping in sleeping bags because it's nice and cosy and it covers the whole body."

The 24 children were housed in a dozen brown and green tents grouped around a camp-fire on a sloping grassy meadow fringed with trees.

The rafting got off to a noisy start as teams of six took to the waters of the River Brue on crafts they had constructed from blue plastic drums and planks of wood.

Among other early activities was an obstacle course including rubber tyres and netting which the children completed blindfolded.

The camp sets out to teach co-operation, tolerance and empathy. But it is the approach to life's bigger questions that sets it apart - especially its treatment of religion.

Its website describes a sceptical approach, stating: "Campers are taught that ethical behaviour is not dependent on religious belief and doctrines, that religious belief and doctrines are sometimes a hindrance to ethical and moral behaviour, and that irreligious persons are also good and fully capable of living a happy and meaningful life."

The camp's director, Samantha Stein, insisted it was intended to get the children to think for themselves.

"Anything that can teach the children ways of thinking critically, ways of examining arguments, and recognising logical fallacies and trying to determine for themselves what they believe is true, then I think that's a positive thing."

The camp insists that when it comes to God, it is not telling the children what to think so much as how to think.

Camp Quest was born in the US 13 years ago, as secularists sought an alternative in a summer camp market dominated by religious institutions.

The British version is costing participants £275 for the five days, and there are plans for others, at Easter and during half-term holidays.

(From a BBC article)

To read more, go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8172844.stm

MET OFFICE COOLS SUMMER FORECAST

You will need a brolly on holiday in the UK in August - the Met Office is issuing a revised forecast for more unsettled weather well into the month.

It is a far cry from the "barbecue summer" it predicted back in April.

The news will raise questions about the Met Office's ability to make reliable seasonal forecasts.

But the organisation has defended its record, saying people have already forgotten the hot weather experienced across many parts of Britain in June.

It also highlights the absence of the sort of major floods that blighted 2007 and 2008; and the largely fine weather for the Wimbledon tennis championship, the cricket Tests and the Open golf.

The Met Office also says temperatures have been around or above normal, and that the end of August might be better again.

We shall see!

(Article from BBC Online)

EVERY WORD EXCEPT "EXIT" SPELLED WRONG ON WISCONSIN HIGHWAY SIGN

A sign pointing southbound travelers onto Business Highway 51 in Rothschild and Schofield bears an incorrect spelling for every word except “exit.”

David Vieth, director of the bureau of highway operations for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said the mistake was made by Decker Supply Company of Madison, which printed the sign.

The sign for exit 185 on southbound Highway 51 reads “Buisness 51 Rothschield Schofeild.”

“How do I politely say it shows some incompetence on someone’s part?” said Rothschild Village President Neal Torney.

(The Northwestern)

Do you have to be polite?

When tea was first introduced into England, people threw away the liquid and ate the leaves, seasoned with salt and pepper

.

A nice bowl of green tea to eat

Do you eat tea leaves? What are the medical benefits, if any, and the possible harm?

I know tea leaves contain large amounts of caffeine.

DANCING IN THE AISLE

It's always a joyful moment when a bride walks down the aisle - but this wedding's bridal party easily wins top marks for the most joyful procession ever.

Forget the quiet solemnity of the bridal march. Minnesota newlyweds Jillian Peterson and Kevin Heinz choreographed their grand entrances to Chris Brown's 'Forever' and they, with their sunglass-clad wedding party, danced their way down the aisle.

The taken-aback congregation quickly got into the swing of the performance, cheering the bridesmaids and groomsmen on.

To their delight, Kevin made his entrance with some impressive acrobatics: exploding from the midst of the bridal party into a forward somersault down the aisle.

And when the church doors opened to reveal Jillian, the smile on her face brought the entire congregation to their feet in wild cheers and applause.

The extravaganza was, of course, caught on camera and promptly placed on YouTube - where it has become the latest internet sensation, winning 1.2million hits in less than a week.

Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&feature=player_embedded

(From the Daily Mail)

Pupils are in revolt after their school banned traditional ties amid claims that they are too dangerous.

Children have been ordered to wear clip-on ties instead after the traditional variety ran into problems with the health and safety police.

It is feared that pupils may be strangled accidentally during playground games in which they yank each others' ties or that the ties could catch fire in science lessons.

Not only are clip-on ties seen as safer, they are also thought to be smarter.

The knots are permanently tied so pupils cannot loosen them. Clip-on ties are also designed so that youngsters should not be able to wear them in a scruffy style, like that favoured by TV comedian Catherine Tate's schoolgirl character Lauren.

But the move has led to a classroom rebellion at The McAuley Catholic High School in Doncaster.

More than 400 pupils, past and present, have signed a petition on Facebook demanding the traditional tie be reinstated.

However, the school is not alone. A recent survey by the Schoolwear Association revealed that ten schools a week in the UK are switching to clip-on ties.

(From you know which one)

"GO BACK TO YOUR DISEASE-RIDDEN COUNTRY!"
What the French said to British schoolchildren with swine flu.

British schoolchildren with swine flu were treated like 'dangerous criminals' before being kicked out of France.

The 14-year-olds and their teachers were forced to wear surgical masks and shoes while being treated by medics in anti-contamination suits.

They were sworn at by local people and told to 'go home to your disease-ridden country'.

'We were treated appallingly,' said a member of the party from Lea Manor High School, in Luton.

'It was as if we were dangerous criminals. The French wanted us back across the Channel as quickly as possible. It was horrendous.'

The 14-year-olds and their teachers were forced to wear surgical masks and shoes while being treated by medics in anti-contamination suits.

News of the teenagers' ordeal came as:

* Experts said serious problems in production of a new swine flu vaccine mean many vulnerable people - especially pensioners - may not receive it for months;

* Another person died from the virus, bringing the death toll in Britain to 31;

* GlaxoSmithKline, which makes flu drugs, was accused of profiteering after announcing profits of £2.1billion - up 10 per cent since the outbreak began;

* A survey showed that doctors and nurses have little confidence in the NHS to manage the crisis;

*A national swine flu service aiming to speed up access to drugs for thousands of infected people goes live.

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson is expected today to announce a substantial rise in swine flu cases.

(Mail Online)

BUT YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME INSIDE ANYWAY

(Daily Telegraph)

Look immediately to the right of the '£' sign

My local pub is still peppering its signs with unnecessary apostrophes:

I have had a thought though; Perhaps they are doing it to attract attention - or to annoy crusty old pedants like me!

P.S. The spelling of Kronenberg is incorrect and 'Fosters' should have an apostrophe:

Perhaps it's a a competition to 'Spot the Mistakes'. I wonder what the prize is?

Play the Apostrophes Games at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/punctuation/apostrophes/game.shtml

Now that IS a good idea>

Bushka commented recently that we are approaching the 'silly season', when journalists have to dredge the depths for a story.

I like to keep abreast of all the important news, so here is something from yesterday's 'Sunday Mirror'

Do you think someone may have boobed?

MUM AND FOUR DAUGHTERS SPEND £40,000 ON BREAST ENHANCEMENT

They call their home Silicone City – and for good reason. Chantal Marshall and four of her daughters have had NINE boob jobs between them.

That makes them the British family to have had the most breast surgery – bra, er, bar none.

While most mums and their daughters enjoy shopping trips together, Chantal, 50, and her daughters have spent nearly £40,000 ($65,000) on visits to cosmetic surgeons to have their breasts enlarged.

Ripley, 18, Tara, 22, Terri, 25, Emma, 28, and mum-of-nine Chantal, of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts, now boast chest sizes ranging from 34DD to 32GG.

On one occasion, Emma and Ripley even ended up having breast enhancement surgery on the same day and at the same clinic as their mum.

Tara had booked her consultation aged 17 so she could have the op as soon as she reached the age of 18.

The sisters – all with matching blonde hair just like their mum – say that like most siblings they have always copied each other.

But they insist that when it comes their chest sizes, they aren’t at all competitive.

They reckon their desire for bigger boobs was inspired by Mum Chantal – who is often mistaken by strangers for their sister.

(Sunday Mirror)

THE MOMENT SUICIDAL MAN TRIED TO HURL HIS DAUGHTER, TWO, OUT OF EIGHTH-FLOOR WINDOW

She hangs half-naked and helpless, only held by her suicidal father's grip on her ankle.

Fortunately, this man's attempt to hurl his daughter, two, out of the window of their eighth-floor flat in Chengdu, China, did not end in tragedy.

She was saved by a policeman who had managed to edge gradually closer to her dangling body.

Full story and more of the dramatic photos at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1198271/The-moment-suicidal-man-tried-hurl-daughter-eighth-floor-window.html

P.S. It reminds me a little of the Michael Jackson incident where he suspended his baby daughter from a hotel window.

The pedant in me is working again.

What do you call the thing in the bathroom that you wash your hands in - a 'sink' or a 'basin' ?

I say 'basin' or 'wash-hand basin', as 'sink' reminds me of something in the kitchen to wash dishes in.

I suppose it doesn't really matter and it may be a generational or regional thing.

I have gathered these (mostly American) comments from the Internet:

"In all the fifty years of my American-English speaking life, I have always called the item in the bathroom "the bathroom sink". I have never heard it called, and I would never think of calling it, "the basin in the bathroom". Whoever said that there is no such thing as a "bathroom sink" does not speak modern English."

"I agree. Although I'd understand it, I've never used the word 'basin' in my life. I think it's very rare in AE."

"Although I've never called such a thing a "basin" (which strikes me as rather genteel), in architectural plans these bathroom sinks are marked "WHB" (wash-hand basin)."

"'Sink' still has a (now very faint) association with a deep trough or sewer, and Chambers dictionary defines it as 'a receptacle or drain for filthy water, a cesspool, a kitchen or scullery trough or basin'. The theory is that a kitchen sink isn't just there for washing, it's for some dirty jobs too, e.g. peeling potatoes, whereas a domestic basin is only used for personal washing. I think people do still have a faint awareness of the difference, in that you never hear the words 'kitchen basin', but always 'kitchen sink'."

"Long ago, a sink was in the kitchen. A basin, or wash-hand-basin, was in the bathroom."

"I never knew there was a difference between a sink and a (wash) basin, although I wouldn't call the one in the kitchen a basin. But I'd never noticed that before, and a bathroom sink or a bathroom basin - I'd use these interchangeably. However, I do know the difference between a buffalo and a bison... you can't wash your hands in a buffalo."

Have you noticed over the past few years how the adjectival term "en suite" has increasingly been used as a noun? e.g. "Master bedroom with ensuite", instead of "with en suite bathroom".

Of course, the term comes from the French and means "in, or as part of, a series, or set."

I blame it on estate agents, who began by using the term correctly, but then dropped the word 'bathroom'.

This advertisement of a house for sale in Worksop manages to include both usages:

"The property, a former show home benefits from spacious family living accommodation which in brief includes reception hall, WC, study, full length lounge, spacious dining room, breakfasting kitchen and utility room. On the first floor there is a master bedroom suite with dressing room and en suite bathroom, guest bedroom with en suite, three further bedrooms and a family bathroom."

Apparently the term "ensuite" is not used in the United States:

"Americans who have wandered chilly London hallways in the middle of the night in search of a toilet will appreciate learning the peculiar British meaning of the word “ensuite.”

In French, a set of two rooms or more forming a single accommodation can be advertised as rooms en suite (forming a suite).

But the single word French word 'ensuite' means something entirely different: “then, later.”

Around the middle of the 20th century English landlords and hoteliers began to anglicize the phrase, placing it before the noun, so that traditional “rooms en suite” became “en suite rooms,” Ads read “bath ensuite” or “toilet ensuite” as if the phrase meant “in the suite.”

The phrase “en suite” came to be used solely to designate bathrooms attached to a bedroom.

Following standard English patterns, they hyphenated the phrase as “en-suite bath” and often made the phrase into a single word: “ensuite bath.”

These have become standard British usage; but hoteliers often go a step further by writing “all rooms ensuite” (Americans would write “all rooms with bath”)."

(From "Common Errors in English" by Paul Brians)

RYANAIR MAY MAKE PASSENGERS STAND

Ryanair wants passengers to stand during its flights so the budget airline can squeeze more people onboard.

The Irish air carrier plans to cut costs by making fliers perch on stools with seatbelts around their waists.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary has already held talks with US plane manufacturer Boeing about designing an aircraft with standing room.

Should the idea get the go-ahead from the Irish Aviation Authority, the airline plans to either order new jets or refurbish its existing fleet.

Ryanair estimates it would be able to pack in 30% more passengers while slashing costs by 20%.

Spokesman Stephen McNamara said: 'It would be vertical seating more akin to a stool and the person would still be strapped in. The seating would completely adhere to safety procedures.

'It's really early days but we're looking at a 20 to 30% increase in passengers on commuter routes.'

Passengers would be charged less if the scheme, inspired by similar plans recently put forward by Chinese airline Spring, is approved.

It is the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures at Ryanair.

The airline last month announced plans to make passengers carry all their own luggage up to planes. Ryanair customers will carry all their bags and suitcases through security departure lounges rather than checking them in.

They can carry aboard one piece of hand luggage, but leave any other baggage beside the aircraft to be loaded into the hold. They then pick it up the same way on arrival

Most controversial was the airline's announcement that customers will have to pay £1 to spend a penny.

Mr O'Leary said in February: 'One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might have to actually spend a pound to spend a penny.

'We are all about finding ways of raising discretionary revenue so we can keep lowering costs of air travel.'

Mr O'Leary said: 'I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound.'

( From www.thisismoney.co.uk )

Boys growing up with popular names such as Michael, Joshua and Christopher have a good chance of leading law-abiding lives - but young men named Kareem, Walter or Ivan could run foul of the law.

That's according to a recent study that claims the more unpopular, uncommon or feminine a boy's first name, the greater the chance he will end up behind bars.

While Shippensburg (Pa.) University professor David Kalist's report in Social Science Quarterly shows that "unpopular names are likely not the cause of crime," he explains that factors often associated with those names can "increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency."

Boys with unpopular, girlish or uncommon names often are ridiculed by peers, come from families of low socioeconomic status and face discrimination in the workforce based on a preconceived bias about their names, according to the study, which analyzed more than 15,000 names.

Jay Corzine, chairman of the University of Central Florida's sociology department, said he finds the study "fascinating." He said family tradition often plays a part in naming a child and that the environment could affect a boy's upbringing.

"Some kids could have a name that leads to teasing and being picked on and, in return, that child could become aggressive with others," he added.

While academics are intrigued, others are skeptical.

"That's ridiculous, but I do remember a kid in high school named Ezekiel, and we would call him 'Zeke the Geek,'" said Cynthia Bezeer of Orlando. "He wasn't so little and would always get in fights with other kids in the hallways. Maybe the teasing over the name really got to him."

Top 10 'bad-boy' names: Alec, Ernest, Garland, Ivan, Kareem, Luke, Malcolm, Preston, Tyrell, Walter

(From the Orlando Sentinel)

Note(1): Hilary was originally a Latin boy's name, Hilarius, which derives from the adjective hilaris, or "cheerful." (We can still see its roots in modern words like hilarity and hilarious.) There was also a feminine form, Hilaria.

Over time the name developed into Hilary in Britain, and from the Middle Ages onwards was mainly given to boys; this may be largely due to the fame of 4th century religious figure St Hilarius of France. In the 20th century it was given to both sexes initially (the novelist Evelyn Waugh, bearer of another unisex name, called one of his sons Hilary) but over the century it came to be seen more as a girl's name.

Nowadays Hilary is rarely given to boys; the modern US spelling Hillary (also sometimes given in Britain) is used exclusively for girls. This is the spelling of the name Hillary Rodham Clinton, for example, wife of former US President Bill Clinton.

Note(2): The name Lynn comes from a Gaelic word that means “waterfall” and it was originally a surname given to people who lived near a waterfall in the Irish or Welsh regions. The surname originated in the 12th or 13th centuries, and has since been transferred to a given name. Lynn may also derive from Linda, a Spanish name meaning “pretty.” Lynn is used for both males and females, though it is substantially more popular for females.

The effects of Alzheimer's disease could be reversed by drinking just a few cups of coffee a day, new research suggests.

Dr Gary Arendash, an American neuroscientist, claims to have uncovered evidence that caffeine not only helps to stave off the disease but can treat it.

A key aspect of Alzheimer's is sticky clumps of an abnormal protein in the brain called beta amyloid plaques.

Mice with a rodent equivalent of the disease showed a 50 per cent reduction in levels of amyloid protein in their brains after the scientists added caffeine to their drinking water.

At the end of the two-month study, the caffeine-drinking mice performed far better on tests of memory and thinking than mice given only water. Their memories were as sharp as those of healthy older mice without dementia.

Humans receiving an equivalent dose for their body weight would be consuming 500 milligrams of caffeine a day, equivalent to five cups of ordinary coffee.

The same amount of caffeine can be obtained by drinking two cups of strong coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks.

Dr Arendash, who led the study at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre (ADRC) in Tampa, said: "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy.

"That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process."

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, which affects around 700,000 people in the UK. That figure is expected to double by 2025.

It has been estimated that dementia costs the UK a total of £17 billion a year.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "It is too early to say whether drinking coffee or taking caffeine supplements will help people with Alzheimer's.

"With no cure yet, research into treatments that could help people with Alzheimer's is vital."

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "Much more research is needed to determine whether drinking coffee has the same impact in people."

(From the Daily Telegraph)

N.B. Dr Arendash added that people with high blood pressure or women who are pregnant should avoid too much caffeine.

"The notion that marriage is what sustains our brains is nonsense."

Liz Jones writes in the Daily Mail:

"When my dad retired at the age of 65, he tried to keep his mind active by completing a daily crossword puzzle and borrowing a weekly tome from the library, but for a man who had had a career in the Army to have so little direction was diminishing and, it turned out, deadly: he barely lasted five years.

I know my dad’s death ten years ago precipitated a decline in my mum’s mental health, meaning she is now convinced he’s not dead but merely late from some appointment – ‘Where on earth is Daddy?’ she keeps saying.

Last week, I found myself immersed in a sort of silver social soup. I went to the 90th birthday celebrations of Lord Weidenfeld, who set up his publishing empire 60 years ago.

He is still involved in running his business, travelling the world to find new writers, and he gave such a witty speech full of anecdotes of a life lived to the full that I couldn’t help but question the fact so many old people now sit in circles in care homes, not allowed even to turn on the TV.

The day before, I gave a talk to a writers’ group in Nottingham. The women were almost all over 60 and as the results of poetry competitions were read out and reminders given to put names down for upcoming barbecues, I began to feel exhausted.

These women were all astonishingly well read and funny. The sense of camaraderie in the room was heartwarming, too, and I realised that in order to avoid dementia we need not shackle ourselves with a partner who traps us in a house where we run out of things to say, but instead we need to forge friendships.

Now, this last bit might sound patronising but when I visited another women’s group, this time in the slums of Mumbai, I was staggered at the vitality of the women, many over 90.

When I asked my translator, 100 if he was a day, why this was so, he told me it was because in the slums everyone knows each other; no one stays stuck in a house, they are all out on the street, talking, gossiping, watching over each other’s children.

The women told me that to live in a flat, with a locked front door, would be a living death. They didn’t envy my privacy, which they saw as isolation.

I met families where three, four and even five generations lived together, where the great grandad was revered and listened to and would never be placed in a home.

The people in the slums of Mumbai feel sorry for the old people in the West. And so do I."

The mechanical lion which will prowl again at the Château du Clos Lucé this summer

This king of the jungle was created to flatter a king of France. Now Leonardo da Vinci's amazing feat of engineering has been given new life by an Italian designer.

The monster in question is a friendly-looking, curly-maned, almost life-sized, mechanical lion, which can walk, and move its head and shake its tail and open its jaws. The original was designed in 1517 by a 16th-century special effects man, who later achieved fame as a painter (but was also musician, philosopher, engineer, architect, scientist, mathematician, anatomist, inventor, architect and botanist).

Leonardo da Vinci left only a rudimentary sketch of his robot lion but it has been reconstructed in full-size for the first time by a French-based, Venetian-born designer of automatons, Renato Boaretto. Using contemporary accounts and the other mechanical sketches left by the great artist, the 66-year-old has built a spectacular clockwork toy over 6ft long and four feet high, which can walk and wag its tail and simulate roaring movements of its head.

Leo's lion was created to demonstrate an old man's prowess and to flatter and amuse a French king. Even in the technology-sated early 21st century, it is impressive. In the early 16th century, it was the highest of hi-tech, up to 300 years ahead of its time.

The Da Vinci cat prowls again this summer – and until 31 January next year – as part of an exhibition on the many links between Leonardo and France. The exhibition is at the beautiful Château du Clos Lucé, in Amboise, beside the River Loire, where Da Vinci passed the last three years of his life and died in 1519.

The automaton-maker Boaretto has studied other Leonardo manuscripts, including the artist's many advanced studies of how to improve the mechanism of clocks. "My big problem was to try to get inside Leonardo's mind and to try think as he might have thought, based on the technology which existed or that he envisaged in his sketches for other machines," M. Boaretto said.

"Leonardo's big problem was to give such a heavy machine – 50 or 60 kilos – enough power in one motor in a limited space to walk forward and to move its head and tail."

The technology which M. Boaretto concluded that Leonardo used to solve this conundrum involved a complex meshing of gears, pulleys, chains, wheels, pendulums and axles. The pendulum technology looked forward to the early 17th century and the axle – which makes the lion's legs move – presages methods not fully developed until the late 18th and 19th centuries.

The reborn lion is wound up by a large crank, or key, in a chamber on its right side. The Clos Lucé handyman, Fabrice Madier, is called away from his work in the grounds to turn this handle whenever visitors request to see the lion walk. Once fully wound, the animal shuffles forward for up to ten paces, twirls its tail, rotates its head and displays its fangs: a spectacle fit for a king.

(From an article in the Independent)

Have you accidentally broken your phone by dropping it down the toilet, knocking it off a window ledge or leaving it in the oven?

Okay few people will have done the last one, but Land Rover claim it's new S1 phone can survive all three.

They have teamed up with Sonim Technologies to launch what has been dubbed the 'world's toughest' mobile.

The Land Rover S1

In tests the £299 mobile was found to be impervious to dust, dirt, shocks and drops from 6ft in the air onto concrete.

Land Rover claim it is completely waterproof to a depth of one metre for up to 30minutes and can stand the pressure of almost 100lbs.

Unveiled by Sir Ranulph Fiennes on his return from Mount Everest last month, the handset is equipped for the explorer.

It is being sold with the tagline: 'The first mobile phone rugged enough to be called a Land Rover.'

The rugged mobile, which has gone in sale in Tesco today, can be used in extreme temperatures. It should work in -20C conditions to a sweltering 60C. It can even survive short bursts of 100C heat.

While it isn't the most streamlined of phones, the S1 Land Rover does come with a 2MP waterproof camera with flash, built in GPS, torch light, FM radio and WAP browser.

It also has an extra-long battery life with over 1,500 hours of standby time and 18 hours of talk time - useful in case you get lost in the jungle. There are extra-loud speakers for use in extremely noisy environments.

Lindsay Weaver from Land Rover said: 'Like our vehicles this phone is extremely capable and will work in the toughest of environments.'

And should the unthinkable happen and it does break down, the phone comes with a three-year unconditional guarantee.

(Daily Mail)

Sir Ranulph Fiennes shows off his S1 Land Rover mobile.

THE QUEEN IS GOING TO BLACKPOOL

For only the second time in the history of the Royal Variety Performance Her Majesty is heading up the M6 to the real throne of British entertainment.

It will take place on December at the Opera House and will be shown on ITV.

The last time the Royal Variety Performance was staged in Blackpool in front of the Queen was in 1955 and George Formby and Arthur Askey were on the bill.

So it’ll be a different treat in store for her this time with the amazing boys from Diversity performing their Britain’s Got Talent winning act.

There’s been a fair bit of change in Blackpool since then too. It went from being the jewel in the British showbiz crown to a cheap and tacky piece of costume jewellery.

But Blackpool is on its way back up – and a visit from the Queen is just what we need.

There is nothing like the hospitality and spirit of the people of Blackpool to make people feel at home.

She’ll get a proper northern welcome. And I for one can’t wait to see Her Maj in a Kiss Me Quick hat and eating a plate of chips!

(Abridged from an article in the Mirror by Coleen Nolan, one of the singing group 'The Nolan Sisters' who will be appearing at the Blackpool Opera House in October)

For those overseas readers who may not know:

"Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. Lying along the coast of the Irish Sea. It rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism during the 19th century, particularly for the inhabitants of northern mill towns.

The inter-war period saw Blackpool attain pre-eminence as a holiday destination. By 1930, Blackpool claimed around seven million visitors per year, three times as many as its nearest British rivals, still drawn largely from the mill towns of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

The rise of package holidays sent many of Blackpool's traditional visitors abroad, where the weather was more reliably warm and dry, and improved road communications, epitomized by the construction of the M55 motorway in 1975, made Blackpool more feasible as a day trip rather than an overnight stay."

(From WikipedIa)

Further to my post here a couple of days ago, it is well worth looking in your pocket again.

Collector's piece: Coins were minted missing their date

20p COIN SELLS FOR £7,100 ON EBAY (THAT'S 35,500 TIMES ITS FACE VALUE)

Soaring demand pushed the price of a rare 20p piece up to £7,100 on eBay yesterday.

Experts had predicted that the coins, minted without a date mark, could be worth £50 each.

But collectors have been scrambling to buy the currency after it emerged that the Royal Mint made an error when producing tens of thousands of 20p pieces earlier this year.

eBay has been inundated with coins for sale as those who have found them attempt to cash in.

Many sellers are offering purchasers the chance to 'buy it now' at prices of up £6,200.

Several are hoping to get more than £3,000 for their 20p. But the top seller fetched £7,100 at 2pm yesterday - 35,500 times its face value - although it is not clear whether the coin has been paid for.

Bidding on the auction site started at 99p and it gradually crept up to £100 by Monday evening.

Yesterday one potential buyer started bidding off at £600, soon followed by a bid of £800.

Then it shot up to £5,000 and kept rising until the price reached £7,100.

A spokesman for eBay said: 'The winning bid was definitely £7,100, but I can't confirm yet whether the actual transaction has been completed yet.'

The coins were left dateless when the 20p piece was redesigned.

The Mint does not know how many undated coins were released into circulation, but estimates range between 50,000 and 200,000.

(Daily Mail)