KENDRIVE

Punters on the River Cam at Cambridge

A policeman wipes the sweat from his forehead at his post outside 10 Downing Street

Tennis fans at Wimbledon

Red deer stag cooling down in a river in Richmond Park, London

Four year old Angel Yousafzi cools off in the fountains of Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester

(Pictures from the Daily Telegraph)

The Met Office has unveiled Britain's most powerful super computer, which is capable of 1,000 billion calculations every second

However, they admitted that despite the £33 million system being more powerful than 100,000 PCs it could still get the forecast wrong.

The IBM computer, which is housed in special halls bigger than two football pitches, requires 1.2 megawatts of energy to run - enough to power a small town. It will provide meteorological information to a team of 400 scientists.

It was switched on this week but will take a staggering two MONTHS to fully boot-up. At peak performance it will perform 1,000 billion calculations per second, but this will not be reached until 2011.

The Met Office says the machine will improve day-to-day forecasting but will still not guarantee accuracy.

But it will help save millions of lives by predicting long-term patterns in global warming and forecasting extreme weather events such as typhoons and hurricanes.

Steve Foreman, chief technology officer at the Met Office, said: 'This computer will allow us to make the most accurate weather forecasts we have ever produced.

'People should be able to see a noticeable improvement in the accuracy of forecasting.

'Not only will it help us tell you what the weather will be like today and tomorrow, it will help create a much better long term picture.

'Obviously we can never predict the weather 100 per cent accurately, but this will help considerably.'

(Mail Online)

Here it is:

The man looking at it looks rather sceptical, doesn't he?

To me it looks like a row of portaloos. Perhaps he is waiting for someone to come out!

The Met Office is government funded: it is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence.

We should probably think ourselves lucky that this latest computer only cost £33M. A couple of years ago the Met Office was talking about buying one for £200M.

Perhaps that will arrive next year!

See also: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/article6338014.ece

GORDON BROWN TURNS TO POET ANDREW MOTION TO LIVEN UP HIS SPEECHES

His public utterances are more likely to be described as leaden than poetic.

But now it has been disclosed that Gordon Brown has been seeking inspiration from none other than former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion.

The Prime Minister has been in contact to ask him for advice on poetry, which he has on occasions employed in speeches to make a political point.

The pair exchanged ideas about Thomas Gray's celebrated Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard, one of the most-quoted poems in the English language, with its references to 'far from the madding crowd', 'kindred spirit' and 'the paths of glory'.

Mr Brown asked for other examples more modern than Gray's 1750 masterpiece and Sir Andrew gave him some advice on other poets.

The Prime Minister's interest may have been prompted by criticism that he struggles to get his ideas across to the public. While Tony Blair was dubbed the Great Communicator, Mr Brown admitted recently that he had difficulty 'communicating' and 'presenting information'.

It is understood Sir Andrew, 56, who was replaced as poet laureate by Carol Ann Duffy when his tenure ended last month, was personally approached by Mr Brown. The poet is believed to be a Labour Party member.

However, the Premier's approach is particularly surprising because it came just weeks after the poet delivered a stinging parting shot with verses attacking the Government's handling of the economic crisis. It included references to 'pensions down the drain' and 'dole figures sky high'.

A friend of the poet said: 'The Prime Minister laid out his request for some "poetic phrases".

'Andrew was as surprised as anyone to get the call and agreed, not because he particularly supports Gordon Brown but more because he has some loyalty to Labour. He's found the whole thing quite entertaining.'

A Downing Street source said: 'Gordon was in contact with Andrew Motion and said that he particularly admired Gray's poem Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard. He asked him if he knew any other more recent poems that addressed similar themes.'

Mr Brown has previously explained his interest in Gray's Elegy, saying it is about 'the potential of individuals never properly realised'.

Sir Andrew said last night: 'He once called me up and asked me for some advice and I gave it to him.'

How the poetic Premier might sound*

'Forward with Britain!' But the bankers had blundered.
Ours not to make reply,
Ours not to reason why.
Ours but to quantitative ease or die.
Into the valley of debt
Rode Britain's 60 million.
IMF to the right of them,
Toxic loans to the left of them,
Banker's bonuses in front of them,
Stormed at with pay-cut hell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the valley of debt.

(Tennyson)

Mandy, Mandy, burning bright
In the dance-clubs of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy career's fearful symmetry?
In what distant European skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what Strasbourg wings dared you aspire?
What the hand dare seize the Lisbon Treaty fire?

(William Blake)

I wandered lonely as a Brown,
O'er vales and hills and through market town,
And what I heard from all sides as I passed on my way,
Was: 'God bless you, Prime Minister, you really must stay.'

(William Wordsworth)

*As imagined by Sinclair McKay

(From the Mail on Sunday)

Can you do better?

LE BIG MAC HAS CONQUERED LA BELLE FRANCE

La Belle France: charming bistros, glorious wines and cheeses, bountiful markets, streets filled with the smell of freshly baked bread – all emblems of the greatest food culture that the world has known.

Sadly, though, that culture is now in eclipse. Twenty-five years ago, it took some effort to dine poorly in France; these days bad meals are depressingly common, and it can be tough to find even a decent baguette in some villages and towns.

Bistros, brasseries, and cafés are folding by the thousands each year. Small farms are disappearing at an equally alarming clip. Dozens of raw-milk cheeses have become extinct in the past quarter-century. Wine consumption in France has declined by an astonishing 50 per cent since the 1960s, and continues to plunge.

And there is an even more shocking statistic: France is now the second most profitable market in the world for McDonald's. La Belle France has been conquered by 'Le Big Mac'.

What accounts for the decline in France's food tradition? Economic sclerosis is probably the biggest factor. For the better part of the last 30 years, France has suffered anaemic growth, high unemployment and stagnant living standards. This, coupled with a business environment distinctly hostile to business – punitive tax rates and crippling regulations – has wreaked havoc on France's culinary industry.

It is hardly controversial to suggest that there is a link between economic and culinary prosperity. In flush times, restaurants flourish and demand for high-quality foodstuffs soars.

The gastronomic awakening experienced in Spain, Britain and the US came on the back of robust economic growth. By contrast, the French economy sputtered, and French cuisine did likewise.

French cuisine has also suffered on account of changes in the household. In recent decades, millions of French women have joined the workforce. This has been a step forward for gender equality, but it has done French eating habits no good.

In France, discerning palates have always been cultivated around the family dinner table; indeed, almost to a person, all the great French chefs of the last half-century had their interest in cooking nurtured by mothers and grandmothers.

But with two-income households increasingly prevalent, the French are cooking less than ever.

Women returning after a long day's work have neither the time nor the inclination to prepare a family meal; it is far easier to throw a frozen pizza in the microwave.

Not only are the French cooking less; they are spending less time at the table. A study found that the average meal in France now lasts 38 minutes, down from 88 minutes 25 years ago.

(From an article in the Daily Telegraph)

P.S. Whatever next - Wetherspoons in France?

I was joking - but have just read a hand out: "Another possibility is a move into France. The company is already looking for properties in Calais and Lille and will again try a cautious expansion plan.'

WANT TO GET SOMETHING DONE?
TALK TO PEOPLE IN THEIR RIGHT EAR

The secret to getting someone to do something is to ask them in their right ear, scientists find.

Known as the "right ear advantage", scientists believe it is because information received through the right ear is processed by the left hand side of the brain which is more logical and better at deciphering verbal information than the right side of the brain.

The researchers looked at how people listen in natural situations and seeing how they respond.

The team led by Dr Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli from the University of Chieti in central Italy, observed behaviour of hundreds of people in three nightclubs across the city.

They intentionally addressed 176 people in either their right or their left ear when asking for a cigarette. They obtained significantly more cigarettes when they made their request in a person's right ear compared with their left.

The authors' results confirm a "right ear advantage" for verbal communication and the increased willingness to carry out a request when it is asked into the right ear.

Their findings were just published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften.

(Daily Telegraph)

P.S. What happened to the smoking ban in Italy?

One of graffiti artist Banksy's best-loved murals has been defaced in a paintball shooting.

The image - on the wall of sexual health clinic on Park Street, Bristol - is less than a mile from the museum where Banksy's biggest-ever public exhibition is taking place.

It depicts a naked lover hanging out of a window while his mistress' husband peers out looking for him.

But the work has now been peppered with six splodges of blue paint fired from a paintball gun.

Bristol City Council decided not to remove the mural when it was created in 2006 when a public poll revealed 97 per cent of residents wanted it to stay.

Councillor Gary Hopkins today said he was 'disappointed' by the attack and the council will now pay for the paint to be removed.

He said: 'The decision to leave that work in place was a real turning point in terms of the council's approach to viewing some graffiti as art.

'Almost everyone voted to keep it but having said that there were some people who argued against us saying that condoning it was like condoning vandalism.

'Because of this I'm disappointed but not surprised by the attack. Clearly we are going to have to make certain that this blue paint is removed.

'The mural brings people to Bristol and has become something of an attraction because it is situated so close to Banksy's exhibition.'

(From the Daily Mail)

"Notorious graffiti artist Banksy stars alongside movie legend Joan Collins in Banksy’s Coming For Dinner; a new film written, directed and produced by Ivan Massow."

But is it really Banksy in the film?

"Experience the clash of celebrity as Hollywood royalty Joan Collins and husband Percy meet Banksy, the most famous living artist in the world. Banksy’s Coming for Dinner is a film within a film and questions the very nature of 'reality' at every level." the entire story is an elaborate hoax, albeit a filmed and edited hoax.

According to the Daily Mail, the entire story was a falsehood designed to dupe the Dynasty actress – and the rest of the world.

In reality, the ‘Banksy’ who Miss Collins spent five hours entertaining was actor Bryan Lawrence – whose career includes bit parts in The Bill and adverts for the Corby Trouser Press – not the controversial guerrilla artist famed for his stenciled, anarchist graffiti works that can sell for up to £250,000.

The bizarre plot was dreamt up by former Tory adviser Ivan Massow, a colourful character who made and lost a fortune selling insurance to gay men, and a familiar face on the London social scene, who has known Miss Collins for 20 years.

He filmed the charade in the hope of hoodwinking a TV broadcaster into buying the footage, promoting it as the first time Banksy had revealed himself on camera.

In reality Ivan Massow was not really fooling anyone. He knew that his hoax would be discovered. After all, he arranged to have Sam Bloom, sister of actor Orlando Bloom, to be the waitress for the event. In fact, the chef for the dinner was also staged-- actress Helen Lederer played the role.

Massow has stated, after being exposed,that he wanted to “investigate the nature of what’s real and what’s not real”. Of the event Massow has stated, “To pull off what was such a massive art fraud would have been really quite spectacular.”.

Massow had originally intended to use the real Banksy in his film. The artist's spokesman confirmed they had been approached last year, but 'turned down his request'.

Massow said: "I still think he might be Banksy. Prove it's not him."

http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2009/05/thats-not-banksy-whos-coming-for-dinner.html

See the trailer at:

http://www.banksyscomingfordinner.com/index.php

Horsemeat is a delicacy in many countries, but not in America.

However, much of the world gets its horsemeat from the United States and upwards of 80,000 are slaughtered there each year for export.

Now the EU is asking horse owners to promise not to eat their animals.

"They will have to sign a pledge not to eat their animals under new EU legislation.

The rule, aimed at continental Europe, where two million horses are reportedly eaten every year, will still have to be signed in Britain.

The Horse Identification Regulations, which will come into force at the beginning of next month, is partly to stop vets' drugs from entering human diets.

Anyone who refuses to sign up to the regulations could face prison or an unlimited fine.

Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP, said: "I'd like to be a fly on the wall when the Queen and Princess Anne are asked to sign a form saying they're not going to eat their horses.

"Measures to stop the trade in horse flesh may be a good thing. But any common sense in Brussels is drowned by the sheer weight of ludicrous suggestions."

The new regulations come into force on July 1. Horses born after this date, and those born before June 30 who have not been issued a horse passport, will also have a microchip implanted.

A spokesman for the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs said: "Horse passports will clearly identify those horses which are not eligible for the food chain if they have been treated with substances which are potentially harmful to humans.

"By strengthening the current passport system we reduce the risk to human health, avoid the withdrawal of key veterinary medicines, and protect the horse meat trade in this country."

(From an article in the Daily Telegraph)

I am sorry if the first photo offends - but that is the reality.

This is a nicer picture.

DIGITAL PIRATE SINGLE-MOTHER MUST PAY $80,000 PER SONG = $1.92 MILLION

A woman in Minnesota has been ordered to pay $80,000 a song to record companies for illegally downloading tracks and violating copyright laws.

A federal jury ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset willfully violated the copyrights on 24 songs, and awarded record companies $1.92 million.

The single mother of four from Minnesota was found liable for using the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing network to download the songs over the internet.

Thomas-Rasset, 32, had been convicted previously, in October 2007, and ordered to pay $220,000 in damages, but the judge who presided over that trial threw out the verdict and ordered a retrial after he misdirected the jury.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and big music labels have sued thousands of people for downloading and sharing music illegally, with most agreeing to settlements of between $3,000 and $5,000.

Thomas-Rasset was the first among those being sued to refuse a settlement and instead took the case to court, turning her into the highest-profile digital pirate in America.

She sat glumly, chin in hand, as she heard the jury's finding of wilful infringement, which increased the potential penalty. She raised her eyebrows in surprise when the jury's penalty of $80,000 (£49,000) per song was read out.

Outside the courtroom, she called the $1.92 million figure "kind of ridiculous" but expressed resignation over the decision.

"There's no way they're ever going to get that," she said. "I'm a mom, limited means, so I'm not going to worry about it now."

Her lawyer, Kiwi Camara, said that he and his client had not decided whether to appeal or pursue the RIAA's settlement overtures.

Cara Duckworth, for the RIAA, said that the industry remained willing to settle. She refused to name a figure, but acknowledged that Thomas-Rasset had been given the chance to settle for $3,000 to $5,000 earlier in the case. "Since day one we have been willing to settle this case and we remain willing to do so," Ms Duckworth said.

In December, the RIAA said that it would stop suing people who download music illegally to concentrate instead on getting internet service providers to take action. The move away from litigation represented an important shift in strategy for the music industry group, which had filed lawsuits in the US against some 35,000 people for online music piracy since 2003.

The focus on ISPs penalising illegal file-sharers is one of the main proposals in the new Digital Britain report published this week.

In testimony, Thomas-Rasset denied she shared any songs. The self-described "huge music fan" raised the possibility for the first time in the long-running case that her children or ex-husband might have done it. The defence did not provide any evidence that any of them had shared the files.

The recording companies accused Thomas-Rasset of offering 1,700 songs on Kazaa as of February 2005, before the company became a legal music subscription service after a settlement with entertainment companies. The music industry tried to prove only 24 exemplary infringements.

The court heard that Thomas-Rasset made the songs available on Kazaa under the screen name "tereastarr" – the same nickname that she acknowledged having used for years for her e-mail and several other computer accounts, including her MySpace page.

MediaSentry, the copyright security company, traced the files offered by "tereastarr" on Kazaa to Thomas-Rasset's IP address and to her modem.

The recording industry has blamed online piracy for declines in music sales claiming it has lost billions of dollars through illegal file-sharing.

(From Times Online)

"They are the devil's vegetable" says Royal Navy Captain Wayne Keble, who has banned Brussels sprouts aboard the assault ship HMS Bulwark

This has nothing to do with flatulence, says Capt Keble. He has taken umbrage against the vegetable simply because he hates it.

The captain denies his policy is utilitarian. After all, pickled cabbage was once for the Royal Navy a bulwark, as it were, against scurvy.

Yet, just as George Bush, the former supreme commander of America, declared in 1990, "I'm not going to eat any more broccoli," so the commander of the floating world of Bulwark spurns sprouts.

Such independence of spirit makes the Navy a service to which any resolute child persecuted by vegetables may still aspire.

(BBC)

P.S. I LOVE Brussels Sprouts

Check back here on Friday or Saturday. Alternatively, why not visit two of my other blog sites that are remaining active:

http://poemsandprose.blog.co.uk/

http://picturepost.blog.co.uk/

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

PRINCE OF WALES CRITICISED OVER PLAN TO TURN PARADISE INTO A CAR PARK

Usually praised for his passionate support of the environment, the Prince of Wales has found himself the subject of criticism over plans to turn a "paradise" for wildlife into a car park.

The Duchy of Cornwall, which is owned by the Prince, has enraged conservationists by backing proposals to concrete over a wild area near Rock, which is home to butterflies and birds including the whitethroat, chiffchaff and linnet, and build a car and boat park.

"The whole area is paradise and there is a species of endangered butterfly that is close by," says Robin Hayfield, a homeopath, whose house backs onto the site.

"I am a fan of Prince Charles, but I don't think this follows his principles of conservation."

The location is part of the Cornwall conservation area and is adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

(Telegraph)

Summer at Rock

ORTHODOX JEWS LAUNCH 'KOOGLE'

Religiously devout Jews barred by rabbis from surfing the Internet may now 'Koogle' it on a new 'kosher' search engine, the site manager said yesterday.

Yossi Altman said Koogle, a play on the names of a Jewish noodle pudding and the ubiquitous Google, appears to meet the standards of Orthodox rabbis, who restrict use of the web to ensure followers avoid viewing sexually explicit material.

The site, at www.koogle.co.il, omits religiously objectionable material, such as most photographs of women which Orthodox rabbis view as immodest, Altman said.

Its links to Israeli news and shopping sites also filter out items most ultra-Orthodox Israelis are forbidden by rabbis to have in their homes, such a television sets.

'This is a kosher alternative for ultra-Orthodox Jews so that they may surf the Internet,' Altman said by telephone.

The site was developed in part at the encouragement of rabbis who sought a solution to the needs of ultra-Orthodox Jews to browse the Web particularly for vital services, he said.

Nothing can be posted on the Jewish Sabbath, when religious law bans all types of work and business, Altman said.

'If you try to buy something on the Sabbath, it gets stuck and won't let you,' he said.

(Daily Mail)

Carol Ann Duffy

Our new lady Poet Laureate has written her first poem since her appointment.

Duffy was appointed last month as the first female poet laureate in the job's 341-year history and the poem can be seen as a statement of intent that she intends to tackle big, difficult subjects in the nation's narrative.

How it makes of your face a stone
that aches to weep, of your heart a fist,
clenched or thumping, sweating blood, of your tongue
an iron latch with no door. How it makes of your right hand
a gauntlet, a glove-puppet of the left, of your laugh
a dry leaf blowing in the wind, of your desert island discs
hiss hiss hiss, makes of the words on your lips dice
that can throw no six. How it takes the breath
away, the piss, makes of your kiss a dropped pound coin,
makes of your promises latin, gibberish, feedback, static,
of your hair a wig, of your gait a plankwalk. How it says this –
politics – to your education education education; shouts this –
Politics! – to your health and wealth; how it roars, to your
conscience moral compass truth, POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS

Carol Ann Duffy

(From an article in the Guardian)

It's not really my sort of poetry, which is why I have posted it here and not on my "poemsandprose" blog.

What do you think of it?

BASIC ANATOMY 'BAFFLES BRITONS'

Many people in the UK are unable to identify the location of their major organs, a study suggests.

A team at King's College London found public understanding of basic anatomy has not improved since a similar survey was conducted 40 years ago.

Less than 50% of the more than 700 people surveyed could correctly place the heart, BMC Family Practice says.

Under one-third could place the lungs in their correct location, but more than 85% got the intestines right.

Take the test:

Answers: Heart - C, Kidneys - D, Pancreas - B.

I must admit - I got one wrong.

Here is how other people fared in the survey.

(From a BBC News article)

A man got the shock of his life when he opened a loaf of bread and found a whole mouse inside.

North Antrim Magistrates Court heard how a man purchased a Hyndman's malt loaf from a supermarket in the Ballymoney area before Christmas 2007.

When he unwrapped the loaf he discovered the small lifeless mammal embedded in the base of the bread.

The judge fined the company, D Hyndman and Son Ltd, Maghera, £1,000 plus costs for placing unsafe food on the market.

Full article at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8092921.stm

ASK JEEVES IS BACK

I remember using the search engine "Ask Jeeves" some years ago, but it disappeared.

Now it is back at: http://uk.ask.com/

Give it a try.

"Ask Jeeves is what I refer to as a ‘natural language’ search engine, in that it your questions can be posed in everyday language, such as ‘What is the tallest mountain in the world’ or ‘Tell me about the UK tax system’. The concept behind it is simply to explain and difficult to implement; it doesn’t just look for what you’ve asked for but instead attempts to understand what you actually want, and provide you with links not only to that specific information, but also to other supplementary sources of information in the same subject area. Consequently it can be very useful if you’re not quite sure of what you’re looking for, or need to be able to read around a subject area."

More info at: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue28/search-engines/

I'm looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before.
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.
No need explaining, the one remaining
Is somebody I adore.
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before

http://ia301543.us.archive.org/1/items/JeanGoldketteOrchestrawithBillyMurray/JeanGoldketteOrchestrawithBillyMurray-ImLookingOveraFour-LeafClover.mp3

SCHOOLBOY FINDS SEVEN-LEAF CLOVER WHILE OUT WALKING HIS DOG

If a four-leaf clover brings good luck, then what on earth can one with seven leaves do?

Whatever the answer, perhaps Alastair Barnes - who has found one in a nature reserve - should be allowed to pick his family's Lottery numbers this week.

The nine-year-old found the rare plant close to his home in Coombe Bissett, near Salisbury in Wiltshire.

He discovered it while searching for four-leaf clovers - which are relatively common compared with his find - as he was walking his dog with his father Jonathan.

Alastair has placed the clover in a book to protect it.

He said: 'I was really hoping to find a four-leaf clover when I spotted one with seven leaves.

'I was amazed and I immediately shouted to my dad. He didn't believe me at first but then he came over and had a look for himself.

'I picked it and took it home. It was amazing to find something so rare - I was so happy.'

According to tradition, four-leaf clovers bring even more good fortune if they are found accidentally.

Each leaf represents a different quality: the first is for hope, the second is for faith, the third is for love - and the fourth is for luck.

A fifth leaf is said to stand for money, but no one has come up with a meaning for a sixth and seventh - yet.

Alastair's seven-leaf clover

(Daily Mail)

"I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" is a song from 1927, written by Mort Dixon with music by Harry M. Woods. It was a hit for Art Mooney in 1948 and was largely popularized by him. In modern times the song is perhaps most associated with Merrie Melodies cartoons, as it appeared in several of them.

P.S. Play the audio file all the way through, as the vocal only comes in towards the end.

Have you ever ended up with a number of blackened, over-ripe bananas because you haven't eaten them fast enough? Instead of throwing them away, why not try barbecuing them; they are absolutely delicious! For this recipe, either the grill of an oven or the barbecue can be used.

Ingredients:

4 bananas
1 tablespoon of lemon juice - or the juice of a whole lemon
1 cup1 of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 cups vanilla ice cream

Method:

If using the grill, preheat it on a low heat.

Leaving the skins on the bananas, halve each length wise and then width wise.

Sprinkle the bananas with lemon juice.

Mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon together in a small bowl and spoon this into the centre of each split banana.

Wrap the bananas in aluminium foil and either place them onto the barbecue coals or place them under the grill.

Cook for 3 minutes. If cooking under the grill, cook for 3 minutes on each side.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve in a bowl together with vanilla ice cream topped with a sprinkling of the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Adults often enjoy this dish served up with their favourite tipple. Tip the bananas out of their skins into bowls together with the sweet liquor caught in the aluminium foil. Add a splash of golden rum, sprinkle with muscavado sugar and maybe a splash of cream. If a good rum is not available then brandy makes a more than acceptable substitute.

(BBC)

BROKE COWBOY LASSOS A FORTUNE WITH $232m LOTTERY WIN

A young cowboy whose family recently had their mobile home repossessed has won one of the biggest undivided jackpots in U.S. lottery history.

Neal Wanless, 23, bought the ticket in a town called Winner. He lives with his parents on the family ranch in Mission, Todd County, which was the nation's seventh-poorest county in 2007.

He said: 'I want to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune. I will not squander it.'

Wanless chose to take home a lump sum of $88.5million after taxes are deducted rather than take annual payments adding up to the full $232million.

Read the full story at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1191255/Broke-cowboy-lassos-232m-lottery-win.html

(Daily Telegraph)

The forthright Mayor of London has developed a reputation for putting his foot in it - but Boris Johnson is truly up to his neck in it this time.

He came off worse for wear after losing his balance while playing eco-warrior in a river in the capital yesterday.

The clumsy politician took a tumble while launching a drive to urge more people to volunteer in their local communities.
Boris also took a fellow volunteer down with him when he tripped, getting wet to around chest height, while on his intrepid mission in the River Pool in Lewisham.

Not known for being a stick in the mud, Boris seemed to take the embarrassing stumble in his stride.

He was helped back into the vertical position by volunteers who he was helping remove litter and plants from the river. He thanked them as they helped him up.

Mr Johnson and members of the Quaggy Waterways Action Group, were removing litter and Himalayan Balsam, an invasive plant species that prevents native vegetation and wildlife from thriving.

(Daily Telegraph)

See a video of the incident at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8083056.stm

MEN LIVE LONGER IF THEY MARRY A YOUNGER WOMAN

Men are likely to live longer if they marry a younger woman, new research suggests.

A man's chances of dying early are cut by a fifth if their bride is between 15 and 17 years their junior.

The risk of premature death is reduced by 11 per cent if they marry a woman seven to nine years younger.

The study at Germany's Max Planck Institute also found that men marrying older women are more likely to die early.

The results suggest that women do not experience the same benefits of marrying a toy boy or a sugar daddy.

Wives with husbands older or younger by between seven and nine years increase their chances of dying early by 20 per cent. This rises to 30 per cent if the age difference is close to 15 and 17 years.

Scientists say the figures for men may be the result of natural selection – that only the healthiest, most successful older men are able to attract younger mates.

Another theory is that a younger woman will care for a man better and therefore he will live longer.

The study examined deaths between 1990 and 2005 for the entire population of Denmark.

On average in Europe, most men marry women around three years younger.

(Daily Telegraph)

Sorry ladies - you will note that a toy boy lover will make you die prematurely - but you will enjoy your last few years!

Several hundred blonde women marched through the Latvian capital Riga yesterday in a bid to cheer up the crisis-hit Baltic nation, suffering the worst recession of all 27 EU member states.

Led by an orchestra, the first-ever blonde parade featured women dressed in pink and white, some accompanied by lapdogs, in a charity fund-raising event that organisers hope will become an annual event.

"I'm not stupid. I'm beautiful and I'll prove it," Ilona Zigure, a participant, said.

The event attracted many locals and puzzled tourists.

"Finally something different, something positive because I'm tired of hearing about the crisis," said spectator 70-year-old Ausma.

Following the parade, blondes climbed into open-topped cars and drove to the local shopping centre.

The money collected during the event will be donated to support children's safety and playgrounds for disabled children in Riga and across Latvia.

The organisers want to make May 31 official Blondes' Day in Latvia.

(From the Telegraph)

(Brookes' cartoon in the Times)