Doctor still practising after qualifying in WWII
May 27, 2010
Although this is not happening in London, I wonder if it could be soon, giving our ageing population.
In Augusta, Georgia (USA), there is a doctor called Walter Watson who has been present at the birth of generations of the same families, spanning from grandparents to grandchildren.
He has spent a huge 63 years as an obstetrician. He is thought to be the oldest practising medical practitioner in the world. He is nicknamed “Papa Doc” and has treated one patient, Sabra Allen, for 59 years. She is now 77. He has delivered 17 members of her family, including all five of her own children, and twelve of her grandchildren.
Dr. Watson turned 100 on February 25th, and says he has no plans for retirement yet, even though he suffers from minor arthritis and diminished eyesight.
In this country, that means he has already worked 35-40 years beyond retirement age and it still going today. Could this be a more regular occurrence, or is there just something special in the water of Georgia?
Airports reopen after more ash disruption
May 18, 2010
London Heathrow and Stansted airports are open again after more ash disruption form the Icelandic volcano.
There was further disruption for air passengers last week and over the weekend as many of the UK’s airports were closed to due volcanic ash. Stansted and Heathrow airports, however, have both re-opened again, and are starting to allow flights.
If you are planning from either of these airports – or other UK airports – it is strongly advised that you check with your airline before travelling to the airport, as there are still plenty of airports closed.
Some of those still disrupted are:
• Newcastle International
• City of Derry
• Bournemouth
• Belfast International
• Glasgow
• Exeter
• Bristol
• Gatwick
• Leeds Bradford
• Newquay
• Liverpool John Lennon
David Cameron, Prime Minister
May 12, 2010
So, we’re in uncharted waters on the very edge of a recession. Is that a good thing or not? We certainly needed something to change after the cock-up of the last 5 years, but Labour haven’t been all bad.
Well, at about twenty past seven last night, Gordon brown officially tendered his resignation to the Queen, who dutifully accepted. Less than 90 minutes later, David Cameron was walking out of Buckingham Palace, officially Britain’s new Prime Minister.
Given that the Conservatives didn’t win an overall majority in the election, the government will be made of a “full and open” coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, headed by Nick Clegg. Mr Clegg is officially the Deputy Prime Minister, a role that was accepted by the Queen herself.
Both parties have had to bend and compromise in this coalition, some being almost strictly against their priorities and standards. But a partnership is a partnership. Some of these are the referendum of the voting system (which will go ahead), a cap on immigration (which will go ahead) and an agreement not to join the Euro during the premiership.
General Election day arrives
May 6, 2010
It’s May 6th 2010, the day the country will probably change for better or worse. This election is the tightest there has been in decades, and is the first time since the Second World War that there is the possibility (albeit slim) of a Liberal Democrat Prime Minister.
Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Gordon Brown are all running for Prime Minister. Not one of them was the party leader in the last general election, making this the first time all major parties have a new candidate since 1979.
The Liberal Democrats have maintained the hope that they will hold the balance of power in a hung parliament, as for them to become the only party in Government would take an almost unimaginable victory and number of votes. For this to happen, the Liberal Democrats would need at least 42% of the UK vote, with no other party gaining more than 28%.
Last general election, Labour won with 36% of the vote, so Clegg would need a lot of support to get through.
Let’s drink some coffee and red bull and sit up all night with an election TV marathon and see what tomorrow will bring!
London Marathon 2010 sets lots of new records
April 28, 2010
The London Marathon draws a huge amount of runners, a well as thousands of people to turn up and cheer on those people who have the guts and muscle to give it a go.
There were plenty of fancy dress records broken this weekend, including Emmerdale actor, Tony Audenshaw who managed to finish the marathon as the fastest ever person to do so dressed as a baby.
Princess Beatrice ran with a troupe of 34 who were all joined together by bungee cord. She was the first royal to cross the line, and they were the largest interconnected group to have ever run the London marathon.
There were 41 record attempts, and those successful included David Ross, an accounts manager, who managed to be the fastest ever cartoon character, and police officer Jill Christie, who wore a superwoman outfit, who succeeded in becoming the quickest female superhero.
Nissan Publicity stunt brightened up Notting Hill
April 26, 2010
It wasn’t very well broadcast in the news at the time, but I rather liked it, so here it is:
Nissan stopped people in their tracks in Notting Hill in February with a bizarrely bright publicity stunt.
They lined the street with a row of parked cars all covered in bright paint. One car, however, did not have paint on it: a Nissan Qashqai.
One poor traffic warden didn’t know what to do about it, so cordoned off the area and was left trying to figure out the next step to take.
The cars were covered with red, yellow and blue paint, and made a relatively grey street lit up with colour and people, as they hung around to see what was going on.
I wish someone would paint all the cars on my street. Then they might look as fun as mine!
Stars ashen faced as the Volcanic clouds cause worldwide delays
April 19, 2010
Celebrities might think that they are above natural, normal, every day trivia, like train cancellations, traffic jams and pedestrian crossings, but Volcano Eyjafjallajokull has proved otherwise.
Chris Moyles, the controversial Radio One Breakfast Show presenter, has been stranded in New York and unable to return to London to host his 6.30-10 am show.
Katie Price, thank goodness, is stuck in Egypt, about 3000 miles away – so we may get a bit of peace.
Whitney Houston was forced to get a ferry to Ireland instead of a plane on her tour, and the Culture Shock festival in NYC is looking a little thin on the ground.
So, for those of you unable to go on holiday, or forced to stay in another country for an extra week, don’t worry; at least those will millions of pounds can’t get around it either.
And imagining Katie Price’s tantrum about this can only be a source of entertainment, knowing that she cannot put her foot down and get her own way. It’s a volcano, Katie. No, we can’t put a plug in it or blow away the cloud. No, you can’t just fly a bit lower. No, you can’t fly a bit higher. We could always get the train back to London? No?
Britain’s worst kept secret finally made official
April 7, 2010
Gordon Brown has officially announced the date of the general election to be on May 6th 2010.
This date has long been suspected, and parties have been secretly preparing for this date for months. Now that it is official, the election campaigns will start, as the government will dissolve on Monday 12th April.
The Labour party, headed by Gordon Brown, has fierce competition from the Conservatives, run by David Cameron. Mr Brown has said that he thinks the Conservatives are going to be a “one-man band”, whereas he is not “a team of one” but rather “one of a team”.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, wants to make it clear that his party is the only party in the running who listen to the people and who are not out to protect the secrecy and injustice of the current political system.
This could easily be the most interesting and close election campaign and result in a generation.
Political Party Leaders agree on TV debate rules
March 7, 2010
The leaders of the three main political parties – Labour, The Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats – will have live discussions on BBC, ITV and Sky News. The shows will be in front of studio audiences, who are able to put questions to the three politicians directly. Viewers are invited to submit questions by email prior to the show.
Each show will have half of the time open to questions, with the other half on a pre-determined theme. After drawing lots to determine the order, Nick Clegg (Lib Dem) will open the first debate, Gordon Brown (Labour: Prime Minister) will open the second and David Cameron (conservatives) the third.
The first debate is themed on Domestic Affairs and will be screened on ITV1.
The second debate will be screened on Sky news and will be on International Affairs.
The final debate will be on the theme of Economic Affairs and will be screened on BBC1.
The time and date of debates are to be confirmed.
Tributes paid to TV Presenter
March 3, 2010
Tributes were paid yesterday to the ‘well loved’ TV presenter Kristian Digby, who was found dead in his East London flat on Monday morning.
His death has been announced as ‘unexplained’ after ambulance crews pronounced him dead at the scene at 0745 GMT on Monday 1st March 2010.
Mr Digby, 32, worked on a number of property shows, including, To Buy or Not To Buy and Buy It, Sell It, Bank It. He also worked as a film producer, having studied Film, Video and Photographic Arts at the University of Westminster.
His colleague, Dominic Littlewood, said “There’s not a bad word I can say about Kristian. He was a lovely, fun, nice, jolly, decent person.”
Tributes like this have been coming thick and fast, and are raising more questions as to the cause of his death.
