HEADLINES from GB

And this little piggy...sunbathed all day long
7th August 2006

Percy soaks up the sunshine

The saying 'It's a dog's life', may well have to be changed to 'a piggy's life' if this picture of total animal bliss is anything to go by.

For this little porker snoozed his way through a hot sunny afternoon at a wildlife centre in South Devon over the weekend.

Percy, the miniature pig, who weighed less than a pound at birth, put his feet up at Pennywell Farm, Buckfastleigh, much to the delight of passers-by.

Pennywell's Assistant Manager, Catherine Tozer said: "All the animals have been struggling with the heat so we have just tried to do everything we can to make them more comfortable."

The farm is the only centre in Britain for breeding miniature animals.
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Animals playing football

Football inspiration from the animal kingdom.
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Stop rabbiting and pass the ball, Bugs
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A cheetah's paw of God...is Maradona making a comeback for Argentina?
© Getty Images
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Not even 6ft 7in Peter Crouch will be able to get the ball back this time
© Getty Images
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Sick as a parrot...maybe how Owen felt after being substituted
© EPA
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A young emu shows good ball control - a future Beckham perhaps
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Sea lions on my shirt
© Getty Images
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The mane event...Rio Ferdinand finally decides to unbraid those plaits
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Roy of the rovers...this Collie likes to play ruff
© Apex

dailymail.co.uk

Heatwave turns canal into verdant vision
BY FIONA MACRAE, Daily Mail

7th August 2006

The green canal is, appropriately, in Limehouse, East London. (Top right, how the canal normally looks)

It sucks litter into its depths, clogs up boat propellers and leaves ducklings stranded in mush.

But this luminous ribbon of green stretching along six miles of Dockland canals in East London also has a strange beauty.

Duck weed, a flowering water plant which can double in size every two days, is behind the phenomenon and the recent warm spell has provided perfect growing conditions.

As a result, parts of the Limehouse Cut, near Canary Wharf and a stone's throw from the Thames, are now as green as its name suggests.

Waterways officials are patrolling the area in three boats daily, pulling up great trails of the weed in an attempt to keep it under control.

There are fears that it could affect fish and plant life as it blocks light and oxygen in the water.

British Waterways ecologist Leela O'Dea said: 'We've seen an explosion in duck weed. The warm weather encourages growth and the water in the area has quite a high content of nutrients. 'There is also discharge from factories and sewage treatment works. If left, it grows to three or four inches thick, trapping litter and preventing light getting underneath.

'It can lead to lack of oxygen and the occasional fish kill.'

While the duck weed does not pose a threat to human health, those living nearby will be relieved when it recedes.

Cooler temperatures, rain and frost are expected to kill it off.

dailymail.co.uk

A fishy tale as trawlerman nets 60lb swordfish in warming North Sea
by NICK MCDERMOTT

8th August 2006

The Mediterranean six-footer was caught thousands of miles from its natural habitat.

As fisherman Peter Kent reeled in his thrashing salmon net, he knew he had landed a good catch.

But even the seasoned trawlerman was stunned by just what he had caught. Thumping angrily at the bottom of his net was a 6ft long swordfish - about 3,000 miles off course from its normal hunting grounds.

Angler speared by a giant fish

The giant fish, weighing just under 60lb, is usually found in the balmy waters of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

But yanked out of the sea just off the Northumberland coast near Newbiggin-by-the-sea it is the first time a swordfish catch has been documented in the chillier waters around the British Isles.

'I've certainly not caught anything like this before. I was just doing my normal drift-netting when I noticed this huge fish,' said father-of-two Mr Dent.

'I was only by myself. When I brought it in I realised what it was - I was amazed.

'It was thrashing about in the net, it was going wild in fact, and at first I though it was a shark and then I saw its sword. This is the first one I have ever seen and I was fortunate to catch it, but you could say the swordfish was not so lucky.'

'Miracle'

Stunned local fishing expert Sam Harris said: 'It's a miracle. This fish is two or three thousand miles off course. It just proves how the water temperatures is hotting up.'

'Apparently the skipper tried to release it, but unfortunately, with its damn great beak, it was lashing around ripping the net to shreds, so he had to kill it,' added the 73-year-old angling writer and broadcaster.

The keen angler raced from his home to the Northumberland coast to catch a glimpse of the giant fish, which could become a more familiar sight if global warming continues.

'I couldn't believe it when someone told me, I thought it was a joke,' he said. 'It is absolutely amazing, it shouldn't be up here. But it doesn't look diseased and is in 100 per cent good condition, probably from feeding on the huge shoals of mackerel here.

'They are found in the North Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean, but certainly not in the North Sea. I have never heard of one taken on our coastline and I don't remember hearing of one taken anywhere around the British Isles. You never know what's going to turn up next.'

The once in a lifetime catch was brought into Blyth, Northumberland, where it was stored on ice before being sold to a local pub - where swordfish steaks have been put on the menu.

'I have never seen anything like it here, and everyone else has said the same,' said trader Mark Watson, of Blyth Fish. 'It's the kind of thing you see in Spain, but not here.

'When the fisherman brought it in to the premises I was quite shocked and many of my colleagues wanted to have a look as it's such an unusual catch.

'It goes to show the climate of the water is changing. Last year, someone brought in a tuna fish and a crayfish was also caught.'

In the past year, three Porbeagle sharks have ended up in fishermen's nets off the Northumberland coast and just last week there was a reported sighting of a Mako shark near Sunderland.

dailymail.co.uk

York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe

The Times August 09, 2006

York Minster: now available on eBay and in suburban gardens
By Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent

David Sherry, who bought stones from York Minster at the auction which raised £12,000 towards the restoration appeal DAVID PARRY / ROSS PARRY

TO THE dismay of conservationists, York Minster is helping to fund the restoration of its East Front by selling off original medieval stonework from the West Front.

Fashioned with religious devotion by master masons in the 14th century, carved stones that once formed an integral part of the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe have found themselves reposing as ornaments in suburban gardens after a sale last week that raised a disappointing £12,000 towards a £23 million refurbishment project.

Other buyers have disclosed that they intend to cut the ancient stones into small pieces and sell them as souvenirs of Old England on the internet, in the hope of lively interest from American buyers.

More than 100 stones, both medieval and 19th-century, which once formed part of the West Front and the Chapter House buttresses, were sold off, attracting strong criticism from some experts. One stone stood 3ft high; many others bore the remains of tracery carved by 14th-century hands.

Cathedral authorities were undeterred by the criticism last night, and said that more sales would follow. The buyers included David Sherry, a local property developer in his sixties, who purchased two of the stones for his garden.

He said that they looked particularly good next to his bright begonias. “I want a bit of history in the garden,” he added.

The dispersal of stones from a jewel of Britain’s heritage is not without precedent. St Paul’s sold off delicately carved angels with gilded wings and statues of St Peter and St Paul, created for its magnificent 19th-century high altar, in the 1970s, while St Giles’ Cathedral, in Edinburgh, sold off 19thcentury chairs in 2002 to help to pay for restoration.

But the minster’s decision has incurred the wrath of John Larson, one of the country’s foremost art and conservation experts. A former adviser to Lincoln and other cathedrals, he described the sale as scandalous.

Mr Larson, who was the head of sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was shocked to learn that the minster was planning more sales in the future.

Canon Peter Lyddon, chapter steward of the minster, vigorously defended the decision, saying that it had been driven by the need to raise £23 million to restore the East Front. “We don’t have the storage capacity to keep every stone . . . It wasn’t done on a whim . . . It’s taken two to three years to get it through the various committees,” he said.

On being told of Mr Larson’s criticisms, he said: “He’s entitled to his opinion, I’m entitled to mine . . . We’re clearly now facing a huge campaign. We need every penny we can get. We see this as a way forward. There’s more to sell.”

Mr Larson said that France, Italy and Germany would never allow their cathedrals to sell anything: “They don’t let things like this happen. Everything is properly logged and looked after. This is just scandalous.”

The Council for the Care of Churches has detailed guidelines on how to look after such fragments, but its remit does not extend to cathedrals, and other advisory bodies are proving to be “toothless”, according to Mr Larson.

“The cathedrals are more or less a law unto themselves,” he added. “If York Minster wanted to paint the outside pink, they probably could. English Heritage must know it’s happening. If someone with a Grade II listed house wants to change a window, it’s ‘terrible’. But a cathedral can throw away bits of medieval carving.”

A spokeswoman for the minster said that money was needed for a ten-year restoration project of the East Front, which dates back to the 1420s. She said that masonry has become unsafe and that there was widespread erosion of the stonework, including the delicate tracery of the Great East Window, which, being roughly the size of a tennis court, is the biggest single expanse of medieval stained glass in the world.

An English Heritage spokesman said: “The minster have retained and stored the best architectural examples of the damaged masonry and timbers, and the sections that have been auctioned have been carefully recorded and catalogued.”

A piece of minster stone removed during an earlier restoration had attracted a bid of £10.50 last night on eBay.

PRICE OF PRAYER

York Minster is one of the most visited buildings in Britain, renowned for its collection of medieval stained glass and the quality of its carved stonework

The first minster was built for the baptism of the Anglo-Saxon King, Edwin of Northumbria. Edwin was christened in AD627 in a small, round, wooden church constructed for the occasion. He ordered that the church be rebuilt in stone

The present minster was built between 1220 and 1472

It costs £10,000 a day to run the minster, which does not receive government funding beyond a small grant from English Heritage

Money is raised by charging sightseers. Those attending services do not pay

The Duke of York is patron of a £23 million campaign to restore the East Front

The minster makes money from properties in the city

timesonline.co.uk

SCOTTISH IMPERIALISM - ENGLAND MUST GET INDEPENDENCE FROM SELF-OBSESSED, GREEDY SCOTLAND

20,000 'may go blind' after being denied sight-saving drug available to Scots
By JENNY HOPE, Daily Mail

7th August 2006

20,000 'may go blind' after being denied sight-saving drug available to Scots

Thousands of older people in England and Wales are being denied a sight-saving drug that has been approved for use in Scotland, it has emerged.

Campaigners claim at least 20,000 people will go blind unnecessarily because of delays by a drug 'rationing' watchdog.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is not due to start reviewing the use of Macugen until January 2007.

It could not be given the go-ahead until August next year at the earliest - by which time an estimated 20,000 people in England and Wales will have succumbed to the age-related condition.

Macugen is designed to combat the wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which normally affects people over 60, and is injected directly into the eye.

Steve Winyard, head of research for the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said doctors are allowed to prescribe Macugen, but it is not being used because of its £4,000 annual cost.

He said the expense means primary care trusts are failing to back the drug until they get a ruling from NICE.

But the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which is the equivalent body north of the border, has just approved the use of Macugen. Around 2,000 Scottish patients will benefit each year.

Mr Winyard said 'While it's great news that people in Scotland with wet AMD will be able to get treatment with Macugen, it doesn't help people with wet AMD in the rest of the UK.

'Patients' inability to obtain Macugen means that as many as 20,000 people will go blind unnecessarily over the next year.

'We believe NICE should be using its fast-track system to get Macugen reviewed more quickly.

'The delays appear to be due to the fact that the drug is not regarded as life-saving, but to many people losing their sight comes close to losing their lives.

'I would move to Scotland if I needed the drug because this condition can't wait' he added.

If administered as an early enough stage, Macugen can halt the spread of the disease by targeting abnormal blood vessels that grow behind the eyeball.

These vessels can leak and cause damage to parts of the eye responsible for central vision.

Patients affected by this end up with limited vision, while many go completely blind.

Macugen, also known as pegaptanib, is made by Pfizer.

A spokesman for NICE said: 'NICE has been asked to appraise both pegaptanib (Macugen) and ranibizumab (Lucentis) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

'Pegaptanib (Macugen) was licensed for use across Europe in February 2006, but ranibizumab (Lucentis) is not yet licensed for use in the UK.

'NICE will be in a position to issue guidance to advise on the effectiveness of both drugs after ranibizumab receives its licence, and is currently expecting to issue guidance to the NHS in August 2007.

'Topics for appraisal under the Institute's faster single technology appraisal process are selected by the Department of Health.

'There is no restriction on the prescribing of any drug, within its licensed indications, whilst NICE is developing guidance. In the absence of NICE guidance, local NHS organisations should develop their own prescribing policies.'

Readers' views

This report is shocking in the extreme. How can we continue to put up with a government which is so inept and biased in favour of anyone but the English?

- John, Bradford
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Is this anything to do with having so many Scots in positions of power in Blair's government whose main interest is in looking after their own?

- Stratford, Hampshire, England.
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We don't get anything, all we do is provide it for everyone else.

- Sue Delaney, Worthing, West Sussex

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dailymail.co.uk

If you think the Arctic Monkeys are good, just listen to The Kooks....

The Kooks are Hunky Dory

by Catriona Shearer

Brighton's finest: The Kooks

Luke Pritchard – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Hugh Harris – lead guitar
Max Rafferty – bass
Paul Garred – drums, percussion

They’ve definitely been here; the pool table has a few un-potted balls from an unfinished game. There are cigarette ends in the ashtray. A half-eaten sausage sandwich and a tepid mug of coffee sit on the large glass table. T shirts and towels hang on the radiator, drying. A pile of CDs are strewn on the table: Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Stooges, Bonnie Prince Billy. The beige sofa looks as if it’s seen some action. Then again, it most definitely has. Gigwise is waiting in the basement rooms of Ray Davies’ Konk studios, which has played host to a number of seminal recording sessions by the likes of The Kinks (naturally), The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and Elastica. You can smell the kudos!

Just as we’re getting nostalgic, our reverie is interrupted by a fresh-faced fellow who shuffles in, brushing a mop of curls from his eyes. This is Hugh – the youngest member of Brighton band The Kooks. He’s been over-dubbing some guitar whilst the rest of them are down the pub, although the approaching rabble signals their arrival. The rest of the band clatter in: bassist Max a Johnny Borrell doppelganger (this isn’t well received) haughtily plonks a bottle of Jack Daniels on the table and nods in acknowledgement. An Über slim, slightly sullen guy in a yellow t-shirt and dark curly hair joins the table, eyeing Gigwise suspiciously with piercing blue eyes; Luke, the singer. Then the fourth flops on to the sofa with a friendly smile dancing across his face. This is Paul – the drummer. Together they’re The Kooks, and yep, they are named after that Bowie tune. Lovely.

They’re a young band (Hugh, at 17, is the youngest), the eldest is 21. Obviously wary of the age subject, Luke shoots Gigwise a withered look when we ask if the band met at school. “No, we met through a dating agency,” he says, flatly. Eeep! The real answer is they went to college together in Brighton, started the band, “well, more a collective with a few tunes,” corrects Paul, and recorded a demo.

Such was the diffidence of this ‘collective’ they were unsure as to each other’s willingness to participate because they were all into such “different stuff” says Paul. It transpired their musical tastes did, in fact, convene due to the eclecticism of their favoured musical genres, which is the spirit that informs their diverse sound. A wild weekend ensued, where they all got on “fucking amazingly” and the rest, well, is history - in the making.

It’s been a somewhat meteoric trajectory for this lot. They played their first gig a week after getting together and were subsequently signed by Virgin on the merit of an early show. “We did four songs - 20 minutes, short and sweet,” says Paul, matter-of-factly. “Yeh, we don’t like to overstay our welcome,” quips Max. Gigwise points out this is a rather polite approach to adopt, although Luke challenges us with an alternative, more sensible answer with his characteristic steely determination. “It’s more a case of not being self-indulgent as a band. We’re more about songs and hooks... more concise.” Luke might be trying to unnerve Gigwise, but he’s actually right. Listening to a few sample tracks from the debut album, they are, in fact, concise, and hooky. And they have songs. ‘Eddie’s Gun’ is two-and-a-half-minutes of pure, sixties sunshine-drenched pop melody with roguish lyrical intimations, whilst ‘Sofa Song’ is a jangly, jerky offering, hinting more towards their bluesy, folk influences.

They’ve served their apprenticeship by recently supporting The Thrills on tour, which they found slightly daunting. “We’d gone from playing to no-one,” says Max, “to playing to hundreds of people. It was a great experience.” Talking of great experiences, recording a debut in Ray Davies’ studio surely has to be up there. “It’s mad seeing a living legend walking around,” they enthuse. “He wrote us a letter and we were gonna ask him to play on one of our songs, but he kinda had to go to Belgium.” The conversation turns to idols and inspiration and they banter with each other about the merits of certain artists. Their chat is peppered with references to Neil Young, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Bob Marley. They’re vociferous in their endorsement of these acts and they have an evident, earnest passion for all things musical. In fact, it’s not just music. They’re an intelligent and charmingly opinionated lot. We chat about politics, world debt, you name it (you wouldn't get American bands doing that) – they’ve got an articulate answer for everything. And they’ve thawed out a bit now too – even Luke’s not so frosty. They’re actually really genuine and affable guys.

They crack open the Jack as talk turns to what we can expect from the album. “Everything,” they laugh. “All the songs will be different, reflecting our diverse influences. It’s going to be an honest album. All the tracks are recorded live, we don’t mind having the mistakes in there.” They’re more concerned with creating an ambience rather than getting it note perfect, which is admirable considering they opine about the slick, over-production of many current pop records. They’re astute lads, who know it’s a tough trail to the top and they’re keeping a collective level head. They’ll be touring at a venue near you soon, so, take a chance on a couple of Kooks…if you do, you won’t be sorry.

www.gigwise.com
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Their debut album, "Inside In/Inside Out".
(So good, it deserves a 15 out of 10)

'Inside In/Inside Out' is the eagerly anticipated debut album from young Brighton four-piece The Kooks, produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Supergrass) and recorded at Ray Davies' KONK Studios in North London.

Now with their debut album, The Kooks fully demonstrate their plenitude of clever guitar hooks and jerk-pop antics, with fourteen quirky and energetic tunes. Including 'Eddie's Gun', described by NME as "deeply impressive as a debut single gets") and its follow-up 'Sofa Song', a magnificent jaunt of youthful exuberance, 'Inside In/ Inside Out' is an album bursting with infectious songs. Album highlight, and third single, 'You Don't Love Me' finds the band perfecting the art of concise songwriting, never outstaying its 2 and a half minute romp of bittersweet riffs and vocals that are equally angst ridden and lust-driven.

Inside In/Inside Out is an album with summer written all over it. Although overshadowed by the explosive appearance of the Arctic Monkeys, the success of The Kooks' debut album of 2006 was inevitable. Slowly climbing the UK Top 40 from January, the Brighton boys' fan-base grew as summer approached, finally hitting the well-deserved No.1 spot in a sweltering July.

Inside In/Inside Out is a superb indie record with flashes of almost every sound to have come out of Britain previously. It opens with the short, summery acoustic number “Seaside”, before moving straight into the energetic, screaming guitars of “See The World”. Debut single “Eddie's Gun” is a quirky, dance-inspiring track and features a light-hearted, humorous side, as does “Sofa Song” and the cheekily titled “Jackie Big Tits”.

Inside In/Inside Out also contains some of the catchiest, uplifting pop melodies around, cue “Naïve” and “She Moves In Her Own Way”, and experimental flashes of ska and blues appear in “Match Box” and “Time Awaits”. Also, the vocal skills of singer Luke Pritchard should not be over looked, which give each track that extra energy and expression – undeniable in “If Only”. A must-have album, The Kooks have captured the sound of British summer.

hmv.co.uk

Jester completes 100-mile tribute

Mr Cooper said he had enjoyed the four-week jig

An Elizabethan-style court jester has completed a 100-mile jig in a tribute to a 16th Century forbear.

English Heritage's Peterkin the Fool - aka Peet Cooper - left Bristol on 12 July aiming to dance to Northampton.

Inspired by the Shakespearean actor Will Kemp, he dressed in traditional 16th Century costume.

Mr Cooper, 43, from Bristol, danced into Kelmarsh Hall, Northampton, on Wednesday. He said despite the pain and tiredness he would do it again.

"I feel saddened that it's all over," he said. "The people who met us and jigged with us on the way were fantastic and on the whole very enthusiastic."

Mr Cooper said the jester still had an important role to play in modern society.

"I think the fool is the person who lives deep inside of all of us. We are very good at being self-important and pompous and foolishness is the right way to get rid of some of that," he said.

In 1599, Will Kemp danced from London to Norwich in what came to be known as the Nine Daie's Wonder.

The completion of the jig coincides with the start of English Heritage's Festival of History.
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(Kemp said the jig took place in 1599, but it actually took place in 1600)

news.bbc.co.uk
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Will Kemp's Jig

Will Kemp's Jig is the amazing story of a man who once danced all the way from London to Norwich (it is about 80 miles (132 km) and it took him nine days) and of how, in one town, a young lady came out and danced a mile with him to keep him company. That was in 1599, and he made a bet, that he could do this in less than 10 days. As you know, he won the bet and then wrote the tale as "The Nine Daie's wonder".

Will Kemp was bet a hundred pounds that he couldn't jig a hundred miles. As the story goes, he won the bet and the tune "Kemp's Jig" was written to celebrate the event. Kemp's Jig is a well known piece from the renaissance originally written for lute.

Will Kemp was known to be purveyor of "mad jests and merry jigs" and was a famous Elizabethan actor and a shareholder with Shakespeare in the Company of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It is probable that many of the Bard's comic roles were written with Kemp in mind.

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In February and March of 1600, Kemp undertook what he would later call his "Nine Days Wonder", in which he morris danced from London to Norwich (a distance of over a hundred miles) in a journey which took him nine days spread over several weeks, often amid cheering crowds. Later that year he published a description of the event in order to prove to doubters that it was true. (The year he gives was 1599 Old Style, which has caused some later confusion. That Kemp's jig took place in 1600 (New Style) is established by a record of the payment of his prize money by the Norwich Town Council.)

Kemps nine daies wonder

Performed in a daunce from London to Norwich. Containing the pleasure, paines and kinde entertainment of William Kemp between London and that Citty in his late Morrice. Wherein is somewhat set downe worth note; to reproove the slaunders spred of him: many things merry, nothing hurtfull.

LONDON

Printed by E.A. for Nicholas Ling, and are to be solde at his shop at the west door of Saint Paules Church. 1600.
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The first daies journey,
being the first Munday in cleane Lent, from the right honorable the Lord Mayors of London.

The first mundaye in Lant, the close morning promising a cleere day, (attended on by Thomas Slye my Taberer, William Bee my servant and George Sprat, appointed for my overseer, that I should take no other ease but my prescribed order) my selfe, thats I, otherwise called Caualiero Kemp, head-Master of Morrice-dauncers, high Head-borough of heighs, and onely tricker of your Trill-lilles, and best bel-shangles betweene Sion and mount Surrey [Sion neere Brainford, and mount Surrey by Norwich.] began frolickly to foote it, from the right honorable the Lord Mayors of London, towards the right worshipfull (and truly bountifull) Master Mayors of Norwich.

My setting forward was somewhat before seaven in the morning, my Taberer stroke up merrily, and as fast as kinde peoples thronging together would give me leave, thorow London I leapt: By the way many good olde people and divers others of yonger yeeres, of meere kindness, gave me bowd sixpences and grotes, blessing me with their harty prayers and God-speedes.

Seeing past White chappell, and having left faire London, with all that North-east Suburb before named, multitudes of Londoners left not me: but eyther to keepe a custome which many holde, that Mile-end is no walke without a recreatio at Stratford Bow with Creame and Cakes, or else for love they beare toward me, or perhappes to make themselves merry, if I should chance (as many thought) to give over my Morrice within a mile of Mile-end. How ever, many a thousand brought me to Bow, where I rested a while from dancing, but had small rest with those that would have urg'd me to drinking. But I warrant you Will Kemp was wise enough: to their ful cups, kinde thanks was my returne, with Gentlemanlike protestations: as, truely sir, I dare not: it stands not with the congruity of my health. Congruitie said I: how came that strange language in my mouth: I thinke scarcely that it is any Christen worde, and yet it may be a good worde for uoght I knowe, though I never made it, nor doe verye well understand it; yet I am sure I have bought it at the word-mongers, at as deare a rate as I could have had a whole 100. of Bavines at the wood-mongers. Farewell Congruitie for I meane now to be more concise, and stand upon evener bases: but I must neither stand nor sit, the Tabrer strikes alarum. Tickle it good Tom, Ile follow thee. Farewell Bowe, have over the Bridge, where I once heard say, honest Conscience was once drownd. Its pittye if it were so: but thats no matter belonging to our Morrice, lets now along to Stratford Langton.

To read the rest of the account, written in 1600, go here -

http://www.eaasdc.de/history/shekempj.htm

okay this is going to sound really Unintelligent... but here goes:

:rock:

BILL SHAKESPEARE.... ROCK ON DUDE... :rock:

A terror plot to explode up to TEN passenger planes in the US using liquid bombs has been thwarted by British authorities. Airports throughout the UK are in chaos as many flights have been delayed.

'Terrorists planned to strike within 48 hours'
10th August 2006

Thousands of passengers are stranded at Britain's airports

A thwarted plot to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale" by destroying passenger jets in mid-air flying from Britain could have been carried out in the next couple of days.

Security sources who foiled the deadly plan said today that the threat was immiment.

Anti-terror police arrested 21 people in London, the Thames Valley and Birmingham last night as stringent new security measures were imposed on all UK airports. West Midlands Police confirmed that two men had been arrested in Birmingham under the Terrorism Act.

According to US counter terrorism officials, the targets were United, American, Continental Airlines flights leaving UK airports to the US.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the suspects "appear to be of Pakistani origin."

The news caused chaos at the UK's airports. A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions led to huge delays. Scores of flights were also cancelled and massive queues built up.

British Airways cancelled all flights between Heathrow airport and points in Britain, Europe and Libya for the whole day.

This afternoon, Al Jazeera TV station reported that a plot to hijack a Qatar Airways jet had also been foiled.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson told reporters at New Scotland Yard that the plot was designed to cause "untold death and destruction".

He added: "This was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale."

Searches were on-going at a number of addresses, he added.

Home Secretary John Reid said today that police were confident that the "main players" in the alleged airliner bomb plot had been "accounted for".

He said the potential loss of life in the alleged terror plot would have been on "unprecedented scale."

He told a news conference that the police operation was complex and ongoing, and that the decision to act overnight had been taken with the full knowledge of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

"The police, working with the Security Service, MI5, have carried out a major counter-terror operation overnight to disrupt an alleged plot to bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions.

"Had this plot been carried out the loss of life to innocent civilians would have been on an unprecedented scale."

Mr Reid added: "While the police are confident the main players have been accounted for, neither they or the Government are in any way complacent."

Sources indicated that the majority if not all of those arrested were British.

A police source said the plot had involved a 'liquid chemical'.

Security at all UK airports was increased today and the country was put on high alert. Shortly afterwards, the US government raised its threat level to the highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States.

Passengers faced massive delays as they arrived to check in this morning. They were warned that they could not take any hand luggage on board flights.

British Airways said some flights would be cancelled, but did not specify which.

Heathrow airport operator BAA asked that all in-bound services not already in the air be suspended, and that most European flights be cancelled.

Restrictions

Specific restrictions on liquids prompted speculation that the terrorists were planning to smuggle liquid explosive devices on board.

If it had been successful, the terror plot would have been the first 'spectacular' since last year's July 7 attacks on London, which killed 52 people.

If a large number of aircraft had been involved, it could have rivalled the death and destruction of the September 11 attacks on the US.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "It is believed that the aim was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on board the aircraft in hand luggage.

"It is believed that the attacks would have been particularly targeted at flights from the UK to the USA."

It is believed the covert investigation has been going on for several months and it is understood that officers made the arrests overnight not because they feared an attack was likely to happen today but for other intelligence reasons which meant they had to act quickly.

A Department of Transport spokesman said: "All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports."

Passengers were told they could take a few items such as medicines and nappies on board in a clear plastic bag.

Searched

All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be X-ray screened.

Former Met Commissioner Lord Stevens said such drastic steps would not have been taken unless there was an "absolute need".

"You know there is going to be a fair amount of disruption and chaos and that is balanced against trying to keep things as normal as possible.

"But they will not have done anything unless there was an absolute need for it."

Cancelling flights was "always a possibility", he said, but it was important not to allow terrorists to succeed in their aim of disrupting everyday life.

Sources said terrorists may have been planning to attack up to 10 aircraft, but there was no official confirmation of this from Scotland Yard.

Only yesterday Mr Reid warned that Britain was facing its most sustained period of serious threat since the end of the Second World War.

In a high-profile speech on security, he warned that the security services and police alone could not guarantee 100 per cent success in combating terrorism.

Only a common effort from all sections of society could ensure the security of our communities, he said.

He said Britain was facing a new breed of "unconstrained" terrorist who aimed to destroy the country's values and had access to "means of mass destruction".

There were claims yesterday that the police and MI5 had foiled at least 13 suspected terrorist plots in Britain in the last six years.

It was reported that MI5 had switched more resources to counter terrorism and that 87 per cent of its budget was now spent on combating the threat.

dailymail.co.uk
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Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest airport, descended into chaos today as flights were cancelled following the foiling of a terrorist attack. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the airport as a result.
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Police said they thwarted a major plot to destroy up to ten passenger jets in mid-air.
© PA
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A young passenger at Heathrow sits patiently on luggage as the airport fills up with passengers unable to board flights.
© Reuters
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Police, armed with guns, patrol inside and outside the stricken airport.
© Reuters
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A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions added to the chaos at Heathrow.
© Reuters
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British Airways said it had cancelled all its short-haul UK and European inbound and outbound flights to and from Heathrow until 3pm today.
© EPA
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Many passengers were arriving at Heathrow unaware of the substantial extra security and the delays that it would cause them.
© PA
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Bemused travellers dressed in holiday gear milled around Terminal One, where airport authorities say the delays are longest, unsure as to how long they would have to wait until they could start their journey.
© Reuters
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Six-year-old Eden McEwan was due to be travelling with her grandparents from Heathrow to America today. Due to the ban on hand luggage, she had to hand her teddy bear in.
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Hundreds of police officers kept watch as more flights were cancelled.
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In all, BA cancelled 183 flights and urged its customers not to travel today unless it is absolutely necessary.
© Getty Images
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dailymail.co.uk

Britain

Times Online August 10, 2006

Armed police at Gatwick today: passengers have been warned that extra security could be in place for some time (Michael Crabtree/The Times)

Update: 1730 BST

Transatlantic mid-air liquid bomb plot foiled in UK
By Jenny Booth and Stewart Tendler, Crime Correspondent

*Plot to blow up aircraft foiled
*21 arrests in London, Birmingham
*Airport chaos in UK and US
*US on red alert after raids

A terrorist plot has been uncovered to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale" by exploding up to 12 aircraft in mid-flight between Britain and America using liquid explosive, it was announced today by officials in London and Washington.

So far 21 suspects - believed to be British citizens, many of Pakistani origin - have been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 in overnight raids in London, the Thames Valley and Birmingham.

Detectives are currently searching a number of business and home addresses. Buildings in Walthamstow, East London, and in High Wycombe, were among those cordoned off by police tape and guarded by uniformed officers. A police spokesman said that several items of interest had been found.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, said that the terror threat to the public was unprecedented, the biggest that Britain had ever faced. Police said that the plot had a global dimension, and that the security services were co-operating with foreign security agencies.

Mr Reid said that the huge, complex operation was at an early stage and that although it was believed that the main suspects had been rounded up, police have not ruled out further arrests.

Both Britain and America have raised their terrorism security alert to the highest level.

Michael Chertoff, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, said that the plot bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda, resembling the infamous Bojinka plot hatched by the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to bring down 11 airliners over the Pacific in 1995.

He said that the airlines targeted in the latest plot were US flag carriers, but played down suggestions that the plot might have been timed for the anniversary of 9/11.

"Our general experience is that terrorists are not necessarily motivated by anniversaries the way that people project. I think they were really getting quite close to the execution phase," he said.

Meanwhile scenes of chaos were unfolding at British airports, as draconian security measures were put in place from the early hours to prevent explosives being carried on board in hand luggage.

Among the extra security measures announced by the Department of Transport was a ban on carrying any liquids on board. America imposed a similar ban, and Alberto Gonzales, the US Attorney General, said that this was because the plotters had apparently planned a liquid chemical bomb.

Queues of holiday and business passengers snaked outside airport terminals, as many flights were cancelled and Heathrow announced that it was closed to all incoming and outgoing short-haul flights until at least 3pm. Stansted and Gatwick were also very congested, with full passenger halls and planes backed up on the runway.

The British Aviation Authority warned passengers not to go to the airport unless absolutely necessary. British Airways cancelled all short haul flights for the rest of the day and easyJet said that no flights would operate out of Luton, Stansted and Gatwick today. The disruption is expected to last several days.

Mr Reid said that the scale of the terror plot was potentially bigger than the September 11 attacks. "Had this plot been carried out, the loss of life to innocent civilians would have been on an unprecedented scale," he said.

"The decision to take action was an operational matter, but was taken with the full knowledge of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Transport, as well as myself. The Prime Minister has been briefing the President of the United States on the operation, and the Transport Secretary and I have been in close contact with the US Homeland Security Secretary and the US Transport Secretary.

"While the police are confident that the main players have been accounted for, neither they not the Government are in any way complacent."

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the "immense" effort made by the police and security services in thwarting the planned terror attacks. Speaking from his Caribbean holiday after being briefed on the latest developments, Tony Blair said: "I thank them for the great job they are doing in protecting our country."

President Bush said that the arrests were a "historical reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."

He said that he wanted thank the "government of Tony Blair and officials in the UK for their good work in busting these plots."

The leaders of both UK Opposition parties had also been kept informed and also fully behind the Government and the security services, Mr Reid added. He said that he had chaired two meetings of Cobra, the Cabinet's emergency liaison committee with the police and the security services, which had lasted much of the night.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson of the Metropolitan Police said in a briefing today: "We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and, quite frankly, to commit mass murder.

"We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives onto aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in mid-flight. We believe the target was flights between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

"There are 21 people who remain in custody, but the operation is ongoing. We believe we have been very successful in arresting suspects, but this is a very early stage of a very extensive and complex operation. It is a very, very serious plot... Put simply, this was a plot to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale."

Senior police sources told The Times that they believed up to 12 flights to the US were going to be attacked simultaneously, probably later this summer. The suspects in custody are believed all to be British citizens, many of them of Pakistani origin.

The secret investigation into the plot has already lasted a year. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, the Met's head of anti-terrorism, said that intensive surveillance had been carried out of the meetings, movements, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people, both in Britain and abroad.

"Last night the investigation reached a critical point when the decision was taken to take urgent action to disrupt what we believed was being planned," said Mr Clarke.

Meanwhile police chiefs and John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, have spoken to community leaders to keep them in touch with the investigation. Mindful of the outrage amongst the Muslim community when Met anti-terror officers raided a house in Forest Gate last month, Mr Stephenson was careful to stress that Muslims were not being targeted by the police.

"This is not about communities: it is about criminals, murderers, people who want to commit mass murder. This is about people who might masquerade in the community, hiding behind certain faiths, but who want to commit acts that no right-minder person would want to applaud," he said.

Airports banned all hand baggage on board planes except essential travel documents and small wallets, carried in clear plastic bags. Liquids were banned, except for baby formula and prescription medicines, and travellers were being told to be prepared to show that these were harmless by tasting them at the security gate.

All passengers were being body-searched, their shoes X-rayed and their pushchairs, walking sticks and belongings were being screened. Only airport wheelchairs were being allowed past security. Passengers for the US were being searched again at their boarding gate.

As the number of cancelled flights began to mount, passengers who had already checked in their suitcases containing all their personal belongings - including their car keys and phones - were facing hours more delays in retrieving their bags so that they could make their way home. Others, in transit from other countries, were hunting for hotels with onward travel very unlikely today.

British Airways said any of its passengers who failed to comply with the Government’s restrictions on luggage and other items would not be allowed on its planes.

David Hill, a former Deputy Chief Constable and police liaison officer on Cobra, warned that it was likely that the draconian security measures would remain in place for weeks, to deter any conspirators involved in sub-plots to the main terrorist plot.

"It is the height of the holiday season, and I think that is deliberate," said Mr Hill, who is now a security consultant with the red24 personal security firm. "Terrorists are committed, dedicated killers with not an ounce of compassion for anyone, man, woman or child.

"Plastic explosive can be moulded to look like a chocolate bar, and set off inside a confined, pressurised cabin that quantity would be enough to decimate a plane, wreck it, virtually obliterate it. Two inert liquids can be mixed to create an explosive chemical capable of causing a fire that, aboard a plane at 20,000ft, would leave passengers with very little chance of survival.

"If we are to deter suicide terrorists who are continuing to plot while we speak, I think these security measures will be with us not for just hours or days, but for quite some time."

Peter Neumann, director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s College, London, said that the 1995 Bojinka plan involved blowing up 11 planes using nitroglycerin mixed in contact lens solution and a battery powered detonator hidden in a shoe.

The banning of liquids on board planes, and the searches of air passengers' shoes, point to the fact that similar methods may have been involved in the plot uncovered today.

thetimesonline.co.uk

posted already....Where? To many topics for someone to search. Be more specific when bitch slapping someone for double posting. That way it comes across as being informative. Not kicking them for being stupid. :roll:

Another fine event brought to you by The Religion of Peace (tm)

The Times August 10, 2006

Shock and Horrors: at last, a band parents can hate
By Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent

Scary: Essex band The Horrors - but they are a lot more intelligent than they appear.

Not so scary: The Arctic Monkeys

Faris Rotter - vocals
Tomethy Furse - danelectro longhorn bass
Joshua Von Grimm - fender jaguar
Spider Webb - vox continental organ
Coffin Joe - bangs the drums

HAVE the Arctic Monkeys lost their cool? A new rocky horror show is sweeping Britain’s teenagers and tastemakers with a sound that parents will learn to hate.

The NME has cleared the front page this week to hail the Horrors, a ghoulish five-piece from Southend, in Essex, who look like Victorian undertakers and sound like Screaming Lord Sutch (leader of the crazy Monster Raving Looney Party) after a heavy by-election defeat.

Led by the pseudonymous Faris Rotter and guitarist Joshua von Grimm, their signature tune, Sheena is a Parasite, is 1 minute and 20 seconds of screaming over a primal rock riff.

The Horrors on the cover of rock mag NME

Hundreds of fans have been turned away from their chaotic live shows, sometimes curtailed after 15 minutes, which are populated by “14-year-old chav kids in Hallowe’en make-up”.

But the Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton has starred in their (banned) video and the band have achieved 300,000 plays on MySpace, which catapulted Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen to No 1. “They look awful and sound terrible — but so did the Sex Pistols,” enthused Conor McNicholas, the Editor of NME. “Why wait to put them on the front cover?” It is a sales gamble for NME to place such a relatively unknown group on its cover but McNicholas said: “When even Gordon Brown professes to like Arctic Monkeys, the Horrors are the sound of the generation gap — a band your parents will hate.”

Teenagers are instead flocking to noisy, fun and accessible bands, and McNicholas believes that the Arctic Monkeys have lost their lustre. “They give the impression of a band moping around the music industry looking like this is the last thing in the world they want to be doing.

“We found 800 kids in Middlesbrough diving on to the dancefloor for Sheena is a Parasite. We knew then that this was a real movement by kids looking for something new.”

Even the NME had “never felt so physically threatened by the atmosphere at a gig” than at the Horrors’s recent sold-out show at the 100 Club in London. Rotter accidentally “glassed” a fan in the front row, cutting open his cheek.

But they are not the wastrels they might appear. Rotter, otherwise known as Faris Badwan, is a product of Rugby School. The son of a neuro surgeon, Badwan, 19, hopes to complete his degree course at Central St Martins College of Art and Design, if stardom does not interfere.

Von Grimm secured a first in physics at City University, London, which he has put to use by designing circuitry for the band’s guitar-effects pedals.

DEGREES OF COOL

ARCTIC MONKEYS

Home: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Average age: 20
Education: Barnsley College
Pin-up: Alex Turner
Style: Hogarth in a hoodie
Anthem: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Sales: 1.8 million worldwide

THE HORRORS

Home: Southend-on-Sea, Essex
Average age: 19
Education: Rugby School, Central St Martin’s College of Art (so they are quite posh)
Pin-up: Faris Rotter
Style: Dr Terrible’s House of Horrible with cravats
Anthem: Sheena is a Parasite
Sales: 300,000 MySpace plays

timesonline.co.uk

I should be more clear. I was talking in general, not specifically about GB...and I agree with you, he is rather redundant in his approach to posting. However, I went looking for the other post and finally decided that working woas more important...Speaking of, I must draw another few lines.