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“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”
No person is your friend (or kin) who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow and be perceived as fully blossomed as you were intended. –Alice Walke

A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men.
- Thomas Carlyle

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The big debate rages on. Did Willliam Haig make a serious enough mistake to warrant resigning from the government? This weird debate has gathered momentum and now William Haig is really in the news bigtme. How ridiculous has this all become and who is really behind this story? Is this the depth to which the status of politicians in Britain has plunged? It really is quite innocent for two men to share a room without having to defend themselves against gay rompings. I think  I`m correct in thinking most travelling rugby teams have guys sharing rooms when necessary. At most he has been a little tactless. Let’s put this story to bed!

The weather is definitely cooling down and there has been quite a bit of rain around the Valencian Community. Let’s check the forecast for the Province of Alicante…

Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday

It would appear that we have the sun for a while and must consider ourselves lucky as the Gulf of Mexico prepares to welcome Hurricane Earl. Imagine how it must feel when a big storm is on the way. Next, I did anticipate more about the  Flu injections. Try this for starters…………………………………………………….

As someone with a good deal of education in scientific thinking and the scientific method, I have put considerable effort into attempting to find any real scientific evidence backing the widespread use of influenza vaccines (flu season shots). Before learning about nutrition and holistic health, I was a computer software entrepreneur, and I have a considerable scientific background in areas such as astronomy, physics, human physiology, microbiology, genetics, anthropology and human psychology. One of my most-admired thought leaders is, in fact, the late physicist Richard Feynman. Story

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Word of the Day

nocturno nok-toor’-noh  (adjective)

night (before a noun), evening (before a noun); nocturnal

EXAMPLES

Tomamos el vuelo nocturno para ahorrar $100. – We took the night flight to save $100.

La vida nocturna en New Orleans es muy animada- – The night life in New Orleans is very lively.

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Events
1189 – England’s King Richard I was crowned in Westminster.

1658 – Oliver Cromwell died.

1783 – The Revolutionary War between the U.S. and Great Britain ended with the Treaty of Paris.

1935 – Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive an automobile over 300 miles an hour. He reached 304.331 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

1939 – British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in a radio broadcast, announced that Britain and France had declared war on Germany. Germany had invaded Poland on September 1.

1943 – Italy was invaded by the Allied forces during World War II.

1967 – In Sweden motorist stopped driving on the left side of the road and began driving on the right side.

1970 – Vince Lombardi died of cancer at the age of 57.

1976 – The U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars. The unmanned spacecraft took the first close-up, color photos of the planet’s surface.

1989 – The U.S. began shipping military aircraft and weapons, worth $65 million, to Columbia in its fight against drug lords.

1994 – Russia and China announced that they would no longer be targeting nuclear missiles or using force against each other.

1994 – In Alaska, two teenagers were exiled by an American Indian Tribal panel. The teenagers were sent to an uninhabited island for one year for beating and robbing a pizza deliveryman.
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Music Stuff September 3rd
1955, Band leader Mitch Miller had the US No.1 with a song that was written in 1853, ‘The Yellow Rose Of Texas.’
1962, After playing a lunchtime show at The Cavern in Liverpool, The Beatles played the first of three Monday night gigs at The Queen’s Hall, Widnes, Cheshire. Also on the bill, Billy Kramer and the Coasters, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Sonny Kaye and the Reds. Tickets cost 3/6.
1965, a Rolling Stones gig in Dublin, Ireland ended in a riot after 30 fans jumped onto the stage. Jagger was knocked to the floor as the rest of the band fled the stage.
1966, Donovan went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Sunshine Superman’, a No.2 hit in the UK.
1967, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones announced he was applying for a pilot’s licence.
1968, after a two week absence, Ringo Starr rejoined The Beatles.
1970, Alan Wilson guitar player with Canned Heat was found dead at fellow band-members Bob Hite’s garden in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles aged 27.
1970, Arthur Brown was arrested at the Palermo Pop ’70 Festival in Italy, after he set fire to his helmet (during the performance of his hit ‘Fire’), and stripped naked during his stage performance.
1977, The month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK.
1983, The Eurythmics  No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’.
1983, UB40 had their first UK No.1 single with ‘Red Red Wine’.
1991, Ike Turner was released from prison having served 18 months of a four-year prison term
2000, British Boy band A1 No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the 1985 A-Ha hit ‘Take On Me’.
2004, songwriter and producer Billy Davis died in New York after a long illness. He co-wrote Jackie Wilson’s, ‘Reet Petite’ and the jingle ‘I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke.’ Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Gladys Knight all recorded his songs.
2004, Sir Cliff Richard stunned the music industry by ending his contract with EMI records and signing with Eminem’s label Universal Music.
2005, Blues musician Fats Domino was rescued from New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the city.
2009, Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet world became the the highest grossing tour ever for a solo artist tour making 250m.

Birthday Boys and Girl September 3rd
1934, blues guitarist Freddie King.
1942, Al Jardine, guitar, vocals, The Beach Boys
1944, Gary Leeds, The Walker Brothers
1962 Lester Noel, Beats International, (1990 UK No.1 single ‘Dub Be Good To Me’ featuring vocalist former actress in TV’s ‘Grange Hill’, Lindy Layton, produced by Norman Cook).
1973, Jennifer Paige, US singer

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you” Jim Rohn
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE

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The diet is still in operation and I am losing weight appropriately. I have no desire to have weight dropping off me all over the place but I would like to get back to my fighting weight which was under 82 kg.  We are really just adjusting our way of eating and living and cutting out the worst culprits. I have known for many years that I am eating a little too much of certain foods and I am knocking out sugar and bread right now. I used to eat lots of cheese and now I hardly ever eat this formerly favourite food. Do I miss it? No! I never ever thought I would drink green tea. I am now drinking this and knocking out my cafe con leches.Do I miss cafe con leche? Yes! But I am going to stick with the plan. I know I have been drinking far too much milky coffee. I am also knocking out my milky drink late at night. Will life ever be the same again? For the record, I started the adjustment at 87.4 and today, three weeks down the road, I weighed in at 83.7. That’s sensible weight loss for me. We’re really losing dairy products and sugar and eating as much vegetable and fruit as is sensible. I have added an article which is relevant after the weather.

The weather is definitely adjusting to the season although we have started the day with light thunder and a downburst of heavy rain. Let’s check the weather……..

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“People wanting to manage their weight need to be less concerned with which diet they choose, and more concerned with incorporating behavioral changes into their plan.”

That quote is from Gary Foster, Ph.D., of Temple University. And he’s got it half right–the part about behavior.

We’ll come back to the behavior comment in a moment. Meanwhile, you can be sure that Dr. Foster actually DOES understand that people wanting to manage their weight DO need to be concerned with which diet they choose.

We know he understands this because of the outcome of a new study that he and his colleagues conducted.

Dr. Foster’s team recruited more than 300 obese adults and monitored them for two full years while half followed a low-carb diet and half followed a low-fat diet.

You can probably already guess the outcome of the study. It happens to be nearly identical to another study I told you about seven years ago. Subjects lost equal amounts of weight with both diets. But there was one huge difference: heart disease risk factors.

Back in 2003, and now again in 2010, the low-carb groups enjoyed significant improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol status. Most impressively, triglyceride levels dropped while HDL increased by well over 20 percent.

Of course, these results completely fly in the face of the nutritional mainstream’s most sacred cow–that eating animal fats will harm your heart.

And yet, low-carb subjects in the Temple study were restricted only in their carbohydrate intake. They were allowed to eat all the protein and animal fat they desired.

So which group would you rather be in? The group that just loses weight? Or the group that never goes hungry, loses weight AND improves heart health?

Source

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Recipe of the Month – Mero a la Mallorquina (Fish Mallorcan Style)
	Recently on a trip to Mallorca we were touring the beautiful Serra de Tramuntana mountain region and found ourselves in the village of Fornalutx around lunchtime. After a wander around the lovely village we found a restaurant with a typical Mallorquin menu. As usual I settled for the Frito Mallorquin but Kirsty fancied the ‘Mero a la Mallorquina’ which strictly speaking means Grouper Mallorcan Style. Great choice and after some research she’s come up with a recipe that closely resembles the Fornalutx version. If you’re travelling in Mallorca and see ‘a la Mallorquina’ it generally tells you that the dish will be served with a large selection of locally produced vegetables.
	Fish Mallorcan Style Recipe

Word of the Day

la norma nor’-mah  (noun)

rule, norm, regulation

EXAMPLES

La norma es que lleven un traje los jefes. – The norm is for the bosses to wear suits.

Tengo por norma tomar vitaminas cada mañana. – I make it a rule to take vitamins every morning.

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Thanks to Sheenagh for the following....

A blonde gets home from work early &  hears strange noises

coming from the bedroom.

She rushes upstairs only to find her husband naked lying on the bed,

sweating and panting.

‘What’s up?’ she asks.

‘I think I’m having a heart attack,’ -  cries the husband..

The blonde rushes downstairs to grab the phone, but just as

she’s dialling, her four-year-old son comes up

and says,  “Mummy mummy Aunty Shirley is hiding in the

wardrobe & she has no clothes on”

The blonde slams the phone down and storms back upstairs into the bedroom,

right past her husband..rips open the wardrobe door and sure enough, there is

her sister, totally naked and cowering on the floor..

‘ You rotten Bitch’, she screams.

‘My husband’s having a heart attack, and you’re running around

naked playing hide and seek with the kids!!’

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The new Improved National Health Service

The British Medical Association has weighed in on the

new Prime Minister David Cameron’s health care proposals.

The Allergists voted to scratch it,

but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenteritis had a sort of a gut feeling about it,

but the neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all labouring under a misconception.

Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.

Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!”

while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, Grow up!”

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness,

while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The ENT specialists wouldn’t hear of it.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow,

and the Plastic Surgeons said, “This puts a whole new face on the matter….”

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward,

but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anaesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas,

and the Cardiologists didn’t  have the heart to say no.

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Events 2.9

31 B.C. – The Roman leader Octavian defeated the alliance of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian, as Augustus Caesar, became the first Roman emperor.

0490 – Phidippides of Athens was sent to seek help against the invading Persian Army. The runner was the inspiration for the 26-mile marathon of the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

1666 – The Great Fire of London broke out. The fire burned for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral. Only 6 people were killed.

1930 – The “Question Mark” made the first non-stop flight from Europe to the U.S. The plane was flown by Captain Dieudonne Coste and Maurice Bellonte.

1935 – A hurricane hit the Florida Keys killing 423 people.

1945 – Japan surrendered to the U.S. aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II. The war ended six years and one day after it began.

1945 – Ho Chi Minh declared the independence the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

1961 – The U.S.S.R. resumed nuclear weapons testing. Test ban treaty negotiations had failed with the U.S. and Britain when the three nations could not agree upon the nature and frequency of on-site inspections.

1969 – Ho Chi Minh died. He was the president of North Vietnam.

1985 – It was announced that the Titanic had been found on September 1 by a U.S. and French expedition 560 miles off Newfoundland. The luxury liner had been missing for 73 years.

1991 – The U.S. formally recognized the independence of Lithuania, Lativa and Estonia.

1992 – The U.S. and Russia agreed to a joint venture to build a space station.

1996 – Muslim rebels and the Philippine government signed a pact formally ending 26-years of insurgency that had killed more than 120,000 people.

1998 – In Canada, pilots for Canada’s largest airline launch their first strike in Air Canada’s history.

1998 – 229 people were killed when a Swissair jetliner crashed into the Atlantic near Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. The pilot had reported smoke in the cockpit a few minutes before the crash.

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Music Stuff September 2nd

1964, on tour in the USA The Beatles appeared at The Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Days before the concert, Philadelphia had experienced race-riots, The Beatles, who were Civil Rights supporters, were shocked to see that their audience of 13,000 is completely white.

1964, The Rolling Stones recorded their version of the Willie Dixon song ‘Little Red Rooster’ at Regent Sound Studios in London, England.

1965, Steam Packet with Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Julie Discoll and The Brian Auger Trinity appeared at the Marquee Club, London.

1972, Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You Wear It Well’, the singers second UK No.1 was taken from his album ‘Never A Dull Moment.’

1989, Ozzy Osbourne was charged with threatening to kill his wife Sharon. Ozzy was released on the condition that he immediately went into detox, the case was later dropped when the couple decide to reconcile.

1994, English dancer, singer, television presenter and musician, Roy Castle died of lung cancer two days after his 62nd birthday. In the mid 60’s he had his own TV show and presented the long running TV show Record Breakers in the 70’s until 1994.

2000, Madonna was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Music’, her 10th UK No.1 single, from her album of the same title. The video stars Madonna as well as comedian Sacha Baron Cohen as his famous character Ali G.

2001, American saxophonist Jay Migliori died of cancer aged 70. As a session musician he recorded with The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa and was the founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker.

2002, Thieves broke into the London home of Icelandic singer Bjork and stole valuable recording equipment. The 36-year-old singer was asleep in the flat at the time of the incident.

2005, Kanye West criticised President Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina during a televised benefit concert in New York. The show, which was raising funds for relief efforts, featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Gere, Glenn Close, Harry Connick Jr and Wynton Marsalis. Appearing alongside comedian Mike Myers for a 90-second segment West told the audience: “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” The comment went out live on the US east coast, but was cut from a taped version seen on the west coast.

2006, lead singer of the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley was sentenced to three years in a US prison for multiple counts of tax fraud.

2007, 17 year-old Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Beautiful Girls’, also a US No.1. The song samples the bassline from Ben E. King’s classic ‘Stand by Me’.

2009, Guy Babylon, keyboard player with the Elton John Band died of a heart attack while swimming in his pool at his home in Los Angeles, California.

Birthday Boys and Girls September 2nd

1925,  Hugo Montenegro

1925, Russ Conway

1939, Bobby Purify

1943, Born on this day, Joe Simon

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”

Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly. - Thomas H. Huxley, 1825-1895

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I’m watching pictures of children in the UK returning to school. They seem pleased to be back. You get sick and tired of doing nothing and I’ll bet many children are fed up with doing very little and relish the idea of seeing their friends again.

FRUIT and vegetable prices in Britain are rocketing after torrential rains in Spain devastated harvests, creating shortages of some popular crops.

Imports which usually line the fresh produce aisles before the UK growing season have been badly hit by the rain which caused floods in southern Spain last month.

Shortages have ramped up the price of many greens usually popular with families at this time of year, according to food industry magazine The Grocer.

Higher food bills will come as a blow to families who are already paying more for favourites such as carrots and cauliflowers after British crops suffered in the cold winter weather.  Full Story

You might remember all the fuss over the Swine Flu vaccination. There’s already a mighty large amount of evidence that this was a rather contrived event and I am glad I didn’t take a jab. I had the normal flu jab. I wonder how those that invested in this swine flu product will try to recoup their losses for I am sure they will be trying to use the stockpiled antidote to this swine flu. Watch this space…..In the meantime, I feel the weather is cooling down so let’s get the forecast…..

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Word of the Day
el capítulo kah-pee’-too-loh (noun)

chapter; episode; area, subject
EXAMPLES

Mi sobrina solamente tiene 6 años y puede leer libros con capítulos. – My niece is only 6 years old and can read chapter books.

Mañana se abre un nuevo capítulo en mi vida. – Tomorrow starts a new chapter in my life.

IDIOMS

Llamar a uno a capítulo – To take somebody to task

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for el capítulo.
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A  store that sells new husbands has opened  in New  York City  , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among  the instructions at the entrance is a description of  how the store  operates:

You  may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors  and the value of the products increase as the  shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose  any item from a particular floor, or may choose to  go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down  except to exit the building!

So,  a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.  On the first floor the sign on the door  reads:

Floor  1 – These men Have  Jobs

She  is intrigued, but continues to the second floor,  where the sign reads:

Floor  2 – These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

‘That’s  nice,’ she thinks, ‘but I want  more.’

So  she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor  3 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are  Extremely Good  Looking.

‘Wow,’  she thinks, but feels compelled to keep  going.

She  goes to the fourth f loor and the sign  reads:

Floor  4 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead  Good Looking and Help With Housework.

‘Oh,  mercy me!’ she exclaims, ‘I can hardly stand  it!’

Still,  she goes to the fifth floor and the sign  reads:

Floor  5 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead  Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She  is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth  floor, where the sign reads:

Floor  6 – You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There  are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely  as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank  you for shopping at the Husband Store.   (scroll  and   keep  reading!)

PLEASE  NOTE:

To  avoid gender bias charges, the store’s owner opened  a New Wives store just across the street.

The  first floor has wives that love  sex.

The  second floor has wives that love sex and have money  and like beer.

The  third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never  been visited.
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Events

1859 – The Pullman sleeping car was placed into service.

1887 – Emile Berliner filed for a patent for his invention of the lateral-cut, flat-disk gramophone. It is a device that is better known as a record player. Thomas Edison made the idea work.

1923 – About 100,000 people were killed when an earthquake hit Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan.

1939 – World War II began when Germany invaded Poland.

1942 – A federal judge in Sacramento, CA, upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals.

1945 – The U.S. received official word of Japan’s formal surrender that ended World War II. In Japan, it was actually September 2nd.

1969 – Col. Moammar Gadhafi came into power in Libya after the government was overthrown.

1972 – America’s Bobby Fischer beat Russia’s Boris Spassky to become world chess champion. The chess match took place in Reykjavik, Iceland.

1983 – A Soviet jet fighter shot down a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 when it entered Soviet airspace. 269 people were killed.

1985 – The Titanic was found by Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean Louis Michel in a joint U.S. and French expedition. The wreck site is located 963 miles northeast of New York and 453 miles southeast of the Newfoundland coast.

1986 – The Soviet Union announced the accident involving the Admiral Nakhimov the night before. 448 people died in the ship collision.

1997 – In France, the prosecutor’s office announced that the driver of the car, in which Britain’s Princess Diana was killed, was over the legal alcohol limit.

1998 – Vietnam released 5,000 prisoners, including political dissidents, on National Day.

Music Stuff  September 1st
1952, Atlantic Records bought Ray Charles’ contract from Swingtime Records, where Charles had been recording in the mellower, bluesy style of Nat King Cole and Charles Brown.
1955, after complaints from his neighbours, Rock ‘n’ Roll fan Sidney Adams was fined £3 and 10 shillings, by a London Court after playing Bill Haley’s ‘Shake Rattle and Roll’ all day at full volume.
1956, Elvis Presley  No.2 on the US singles chart with ‘Hound Dog’ being held off the top by The Platters ‘My Prayer’.
1956, 19 year old Jerry Lee Lewis arrived at Sun Records hoping for an audition, only to find that owner Sam Phillips was on vacation in Florida. Jerry Lee recorded some demos that Phillips would hear when he returned.
1957, The Biggest Show Of Stars package tour kicked off at Brooklyn Paramount featuring: Buddy Holly & The Crickets, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers and Frankie Lymon.
1962, Tommy Roe  No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Sheila’, a No.3 hit in the UK.
1966, The Who’s single ‘I’m A Boy’ entered the UK chart peaking at No.2 giving the band their second No.2 hit.
1967, the four Beatles held a meeting at Paul McCartney’s house in London to decide upon their next course of action following the death of manager Brian Epstein. They decide to postpone their planned trip to India and to begin the already-delayed production of the Magical Mystery Tour movie. They have two songs already recorded for the movie, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘Your Mother Should Know’.
1974, The Osmonds  No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Johnny Bristol song ‘Love Me For A Reason’
1977, Blondie, featuring former Playboy Bunny Debra Harry, signed their first major record company contract with Chrysalis Records.
1979, Van Morrison, Talking Heads, Squeeze, The Undertones, Steele Pulse and The Chieftains all appeared at The Edinburgh Rock Festival, Scotland, tickets, £6.
1979, U2 released their very first record, an EP titled ‘U2-3.’
1980, Stevie Wonder played the first of six sold out nights at Wembley Arena.
1984, after a 25-year career, Tina Turner had her first solo No.1 single in the US with ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’.
1986, Madness announced they were splitting up.
1996, Kim Wilde married actor Hal Fowler who she met while working on the West End musical Tommy.
2000, The Spice Girls had five places in a list of the UK Top 20 earning celebrity directors.
2002, Atomic Kitten started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the 1980 Blondie hit, ‘The Tide Is High.’
2007, Supergrass were forced to put all plans on hold after band member Mick Quinn broke his back. The bass player and vocalist sleepwalked out of a first floor window of a villa where he was staying in the South of France; he was rushed to a specialist spinal unit in Toulouse where surgeons operated to repair two broken vertebrae as well as a smashed heel.
2009, Jake Brockman, former keyboard player with Echo and the Bunnymen was killed when his motorbike was in collision with a converted ambulance on the Isle of Man. In 1989 the band’s first drummer Pete De Freitas died in a similar crash.
Birthday Boys and Girls September 1st
1927, Tommy Evans, The Drifters
1933, Conway Twitty,
1944, Archie Bell, The Drells,
1947,  Barry Gibb, singer, songwriter, producer, The Bee Gees,
1949,  Russ Field, Showaddywaddy
1950,  Peter Hewson, Chicory Tip
1955,Bruce Foxton, bass, vocals, The Jam
1957, Gloria Estefan

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”
Success is the best revenge.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE
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What on earth is really happening when people are betting on ´no balls´in cricket? It’s almost as bad as betting on throw-ins in football or line-outs in rugby. Where is it all going? Will people be betting on where the goalkeeper will put his cap? Maybe betting on how many times Wayne Rooney scratches his backside or where Ronaldo will take his next dive. The root of the problem is, as always, money…………..Let’s get the weather forecast……….

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If something sounds too good to be true, the old saying goes, it probably is. But here’s an exception: scientists have documented that an all natural appetite-control agent with no side effects really does help people shed excess weight — and what’s more, it’s practically free. Scientists just reported the results of a new clinical trial of this weight loss-promoting liquid at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston.

So what’s in this “magic elixir”? Plain water. Full Story
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Japanese researchers have discovered yet another benefit to fish oil — treatment for depression. According to a study out of the University of Tokyo, teenage boys who eat a lot of oily fish have a 27 percent reduced risk of depression compared to those who eat little oily fish.

Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA offer numerous benefits to both body and brain health, and the new study indicates that these oils may also play a valuable role in preventing and treating depression.
Full Story
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Word of the Day

rotundo rroh-tuhn’-doh  (adjective)

categorical, emphatic, forceful, outright; definitive, resounding; total, complete; round, circular, spherical

EXAMPLES

Le contesté con un ‘no’ rotundo. – I answered him with an emphatic ‘no.’

Todo el mundo soltaron un grito rotundo cuando las luces se apagaron. – Everyone let out a resounding scream when the lights went out.

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Events

1823 – Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne of Spain when invited French forces entered Cadiz. The event is known as the Battle of Trocadero.

1881 – The first tennis championships in the U.S. were played.

1887 – The kinetoscope was patented by Thomas Edison. The device was used to produce moving pictures.

1888 – Mary Ann “Polly” Nicholls was found murdered in London. The murder is generally accepted as the first “Jack the Ripper” crime.

1940 – Lawrence Olivier and Vivian Leigh were married.

1946 – Superman returned to radio on the Mutual Broadcasting System after being dropped earlier in the year.

1962 – The Caribbean nations Tobago and Trinidad became independent within the British Commonwealth.

1964 – California officially became the most populated state in America.

1969 – The boxer Rocky Marciano died in an airplane crash in Iowa.

1980 – Poland’s Solidarity labour movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk that ended a 17-day strike.

1986 – The Admiral Nakhimov, a Soviet passenger ship, collided with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea. 448 people were killed when both ships sank.

1988 – A Delta Boeing 727 crashed during takeoff at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. Fourteen people were killed in the accident that was later blamed on the crew’s failure to set the wing flaps in their proper position.

1989 – Great Britain’s Princess Anne and Mark Phillips announced that they were separating. The marriage was 16 years old.

1990 – U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar met with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz to try and negotiate a solution to the crisis in the Persian Gulf.

1990 – East and West Germany signed a treaty that meant the harmonizing of political and legal systems.

1991 – Uzbekistan and Kirghiziz declared their independence from the Soviet Union. They were the 9th and 10th republics to announce their plans to secede.

1994 – A cease-fire was declared by the Irish Republican Army after 25 years of bloodshed in Northern Ireland.

1994 – Russia officially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics after a half-century.

1997 – Princess Diana of Wales died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur were also killed.

1998 – A ballistic missile was fired over Japan by North Korea. The missile landed in stages in the waters around Japan. There was no known target.

1998 – U.S. embassies in Ghana and Togo were closed indefinitely because of security threats.

1998 – “Titanic” became the first movie in North America to earn more than $600 million.

1999 – At least 69 people were killed when a Boeing 737 crashed just after take off in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Music Stuff August 31st: On this day
1956, The top 10 songs in the UK singles chart were all by American artists including Elvis Presley, The Platters, Doris Day, Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers and Gogi Grant.
1957, Elvis Presley appeared at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. This was only the third time ever Presley had performed outside of the U.S. and for Elvis it would be the last.
1963, the girl trio Angels started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’.
1963, The Ronettes first entered the US singles chart with ‘Be My Baby’ the girl group’s only top 10 hit.
1965, Sonny & Cher arrived in the UK for their first promotional visit.
1968, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Aurthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex all appeared at the first Isle Of Wight Festival held over two days. Tickets, 25 shillings
1971, The Rolling Stones plus the father of Brian Jones, filed a high court writ against ex managers Oldham and Easton. Claiming they made a secret deal with Decca Records in 1963 to deprive the group of royalties.
1974, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was quoted as saying; ‘I gave up drugs when the doctor told me I had six months to live.’
1974, Traffic made their last live performance at the annual UK Reading Festival. Other acts appearing included; Alex Harvey, 10cc, Focus, Steve Harley and Procol Harum. £5.50 for a weekend ticket.
1976, George Harrison was found guilty of ‘subconscious plagiarism’ of the Ronnie Mack song ‘He’s So Fine’ when writing ‘My Sweet Lord’.
1985, ‘Brothers In Arms’ by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album charts.
1985, UB40 with guest vocals from Chrissie Hynde had the UK No.1 single with their version of the Sonny Bono song ‘I Got You Babe’ a hit for Sonny & Cher in 1965.
1986, After living together for 10 years Bob Geldof married TV presenter Paula Yates in Las Vegas with Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon as the best man. Yates died of a drug overdose on 17th September 2000.
1987, The largest pre-order of albums in the history of CBS Records occurred as 2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ album were shipped to record stores in the US.
1990, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder sang ‘Amazing Grace’ at a memorial service held for guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan who had been killed in a helicopter crash 4 days earlier.
1991, Jason Donovan and the original London cast from the show, ‘Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat went to No.1 on the UK album chart.
1997, Oasis went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their third album ‘Be Here Now.’ The album had sold over a million copies on the first day of release.
2003, Elton John  No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Are You Ready For Love.’ The song was recorded in 1977 and released in 1979, when it reached No.42. It was used by Sky TV for their Premiership football ads,
2004, Carl Wayne the singer with The Move died from cancer.
2004, UK medical magazine Thorax issued a warning to music fans saying that listening to loud music in the car can give you a collapsed lung. One 19 year-old had been treated in Bristol after his left lung collapsed as his 1,000-watt bass box boomed out in his Fiat Panda.
2006, The Times ran a story on the demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists on an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor at each venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and one small tank of oxygen. David Bowie requests that the dressing room temperature is between 14c and 18c and Paul McCartney must have a large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies in his dressing room. Mick Jagger must have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, it would also tell him the name of the city in which they were performing.

Birthday Boys and Girls August 31st
1939,  Jerry Allison, drums, The Crickets
1940, Wilton Felder, The Crusaders
1944, Roger Dean, English artist. Designed album covers for Yes, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep, Gentle Giant, Greenslade, Steve Howe, Asia.
1945, Van Morrison, singer, songwriter, Them,
1955, Anthony Thistlethwaite, The Waterboys,

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you” Jim Rohn
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE

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It’s time to renew the insurance on the house but I have never seen an agent or been contacted by the insurance company. That being the case, I have been meaning to switch my allegiance for a few years but never got round to doing it. I rang the existing company and have had nothing but a request to give my NIE number. I like a little customer service and there are still quite a few companies that like to give you this phenomenon. Maybe it’s an age thing but I like to talk to the agent or the ladies in the office and pass the time of day. The internet is brilliant in what can be done but it doesn’t really chat with you about your requirements to insure your house properly.

The weather is acting a bit strange and there are ominous rumblings of thunder. Let’s see what is forecast…..

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
30° C | 21° C	27° C | 19° C	29° C | 20° C	31° C | 21° C	30° C | 21° C

It tells me that the skies should be clear but I can see for myself that there are clouds everywhere. I can’t see the mountain in front of the house for starters……

Iris’s Challenge-

(1) Was born on 27 April 1959 and is a Scottish recording artist who achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s. She became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television program The Big Time

(2) She had not seriously considered a singing career until viewing the movie The Way We Were, with Barbra Streisand. This convinced her that what she wanted most was to be a singer. Her top grades in school earned her a scholarship to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and she trained there from 1975 to 1979 as a speech and drama teacher by day, while singing with a band called “Something Else”.

(3) Her first single reached a disappointing #56, her second single soared up the UK Singles Chart to #3 in 1980, the interest was so great that her first single re-entered the chart subsequently and climbed into the top 10, she went from a virtual unknown to finding herself with two songs in the top 10 at the same time.

(4) She was voted Best British Female Singer by the Daily Mirror Pop & Rock Awards in 1980, “Best Newcomer” 1980 by Capital Radio, and “Best Female Singer” 1980 by the TV Times Readers Awards.

(5) She only had one #1 hit in the U.S. which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Before 1981 was over she had a top 10 hit in both the U.S. and UK with the Academy Award-nominated James Bond movie theme. The song was nominated for the “Best Female Vocal Performance” in 1981 and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982. Her U.S. success culminated in her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1981. She is the first artist to be on screen singing the title song for a James Bond film.

(6) In April this year she appeared in a celebration with Kenny Rogers the show was in honor of his 50-year music career. She currently appears at various venues throughout the world. Her concerts are usually scheduled for weekends as she states that her children are her priority right now, she has been married four times.

Exam Assistance

In the examination paper, the professor wanted us to sign a
form stating that we had not received any outside
assistance. Unsure of whether he should sign the form, a
student stated that he had prayed for the assistance of God.

The professor carefully studied the answer script and then
said, “You can sign it with a clear conscience. God did not
assist you.”

Received from Tina Gardner.

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This is not my work, but I believe it is good information ………..

The truth is, sleep is just as important as breathing or eating when it comes to our survival.  Asthma sufferers often relate how desperate their bodies feel when they are not receiving enough oxygen.  The stress on the body felt due to insomnia is very similar, though unlike asthma it feels less urgent.  This quiet desperate fatigue lasts for hours and sometimes weeks if you aren’t getting the right quality of sleep.  Some people forget entirely what it feels like to be refreshed.  Sleep actually does more than rejuvenate our minds.  All stages of cancer are fought as cells repair DNA and defenses are bolstered to terminate possibly malignant cells.  Minor scrapes and wounds on the outside of the body regenerate, but more importantly internal wearing on the organs and muscles heal during this time as well.  The body needs this in order to survive long-term, meaning there is no alternative to a good night’s sleep.

Because so much of our thinking is long term now, we spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the future.  This worry is not part of the body’s natural state.  The goal of our entrainment therapy is to take the body from this unnatural state into the pre-stages of sleep which cannot be ignored.  Our entrainment tools have been specially designed to guide the brain, letting it coast from the alpha down through theta and finally arriving at the much sought after delta brainwave pattern that soothes you to sleep.  If you want to know what the perfect night’s sleep feels like, you can find our entrainment tools at http://www.store. unexplainable.net/products/ sleep.php

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Events for 30th August

30 B.C. – Cleopatra, the seventh queen of Egypt, committed suicide.

1146 – European leaders outlawed the crossbow.

1645 – American Indians and the Dutch made a peace treaty at New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam later became known as New York.

1682 – William Penn sailed from England and later established the colony of Pennsylvania in America.

1780 – General Benedict Arnold secretly promised to surrender the West Point fort to the British army.

1941 – During World War II, the Nazis severed the last railroad link between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union.

1945 – General Douglas MacArthur set up Allied occupation headquarters in Japan.

1960 – A partial blockade was imposed on West Berlin by East Germany.

1963 – The “Hotline” between Moscow and Washington, DC, went into operation.

1982 – P.L.O. leader Yasir Arafat left Beirut for Greece.

1983 – The space shuttle Challenger blasted off with Guion S. Bluford Jr. aboard. He was the first black American to travel in space.

1984 – The space shuttle Discovery lifted off for the first time. On the voyage three communications satellites were deployed.

1984 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and several others, were inducted into the Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

1991 – The Soviet republic of Azerbaijan declared its independence.

1992 – 15 people were killed and 31 injured in a Sarajevo market when an artillery shell exploded.

1996 – An expedition to raise part of the Titanic failed when the nylon lines being used to raise part of the hull snapped.
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Word of the Day

el palillo pah-lee’-yoh  (noun)

toothpick; drumstick; chopstick; matchstick; skinny person

EXAMPLES

Me gusta usar los palillos en restaurantes chinos. – I like using chopsticks in Chinese restaurants.

Tu hermano es un palillo. – Your brother is so skinny.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for el palillo.

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Music Stuff August 30th
1962, The Beatles played at the Cavern Club, Liverpool, at lunchtime and at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester at night with Gerry & the Pacemakers.
1969, Elvis Presley had the No.1 album in the UK with ‘From Elvis in Memphis’
1969, two weeks after the Woodstock festival, the second Isle of Wight festival took place. Over 150,000 turned up over the two days to see Bob Dylan, The Band, Blodwyn Pig, Blonde On Blonde, Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, Edgar Broughton Band, Joe Cocker, Aynsley Dunbar, Family, Fat Mattress, Julie Felix, Free, Gypsy, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, The Pretty Things, Third Ear Band and The Who. Tickets 25 shillings. Celebrities who attended include Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, John & Yoko, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jane Fonder, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

1969, One hit wonders Zager and Evans No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘In The Year 2525.’
1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono played Madison Square Gardens to raise money for the One to One charity. Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack also appeared at the event. Lennon personally bought $60,000 worth of tickets which were given to volunteer fund-raisers.
1975, KC and the Sunshine Band  No.1 on the US singles chart with, ‘Get Down Tonight’- No.21 in the UK.
1975, guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler, Paul Kossoff ‘died ‘ for 35 minutes in hospital after being taken ill. (Kossoff died on 19th March 1976 of heart failure after a history of drug abuse).
1975, Rod Stewart had his fifth UK No.1 album – ‘Atlantic Crossing’
1986, Steve Winwood went to No.1 on the US singles chart with, ‘Higher Love’,  No.13 in the UK.
1989, Billy Joel fired his manager and former brother in law Frank Weber, after an audit revealed discrepancies. Joel took Weber to court and sued for $90 million.
1994, Oasis performed a selection of new songs at London’s Virgin Mega store Marble Arch.
1995, Carly Simon and James Taylor performed live together in front of 10,000 fans on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. It was the first time they appeared live on the same stage since 1979. The former couple played their own solo sets before combining their efforts in raising money for the local agricultural society.
2003, Stella McCartney married publisher Alasdhiar Willis on Scotland’s Isle Of Bute. Guest’s included Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, Chrissie Hynde and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

Birthday Boys and Girls August 30th
1935,  John Phillips, The Mamas and the Papas.
1939, Born on this day, John Peel, BBC radio DJ and TV presenter, John Robert Parker Ravenscroft.
1941, John McNally, The Searchers

Iris’s Challenge-Sheena Easton

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”
Success is the best revenge.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE

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The result of the day has to be Wigan’s win at Tottenham with normal service resumed at Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. It must be said that Chelsea weren’t rampant although they remain undefeated. We meet the Baggies tomorrow. The Rugby League final was a great advert for the game and I thoroughly enjoyed the contest. Well done Warrington.

Iris’ Challenge

(1) Was born April 19, 1942, in County Durham . , who began playing the old family piano at the age of seven.  He is a self-taught musician and was a founding member of a very famous Tyneside group.

(2) He had his first band, a skiffle group called the Black Diamonds. But in 1963 he formed a very famous band with his friends and they were bigger than The Stones in America in 1964. They immediately followed The Beatles to No. 1 there. They were playing the Paramount Theatre in New York when they got a telegram from “The Beatles” congratulating them on reaching No 1.

(3) After leaving this Band he started a solo career was he introduced the songs of Randy Newman to a wider audience. Later he appeared on his own television show and made television guest appearances. He also had success with film scores and acting parts. He appeared in the film Don’t Look Back, which was filmed featuring Bob Dylan on tour in UK .

(4) In1971 he had a regular slot on The Two Ronnies show and in 1973 he wrote the music for the Lindsay Anderson film O Lucky Man in which he performs on screen and appears as himself in one part of the storyline. He acted in Alfie Darling, a sequel to the film Alfie.

(5) He has been working for the last two years on a stage-musical with the working title ‘The Nearly Lucky Man’ with the writer Paul Sirett.

(6) He is widely acknowledged as one of the most talented musicians to come out of the North East. He was 68 this year but he is still regularly touring the UK and Europe – as well as having a regular monthly residency at the Bulls Head in Barnes near his London home and playing his greatest hits from his 50-year career.

(1) Was born April 19, 1942, in County Durham . , who began playing the old family piano at the age of seven.  He is a self-taught musician and was a founding member of a very famous Tyneside group.

(2) He had his first band, a skiffle group called the Black Diamonds. But in 1963 he formed a very famous band with his friends and they were bigger than The Stones in America in 1964. They immediately followed The Beatles to No. 1 there. They were playing the Paramount Theatre in New York when they got a telegram from “The Beatles” congratulating them on reaching No 1.

(3) After leaving this Band he started a solo career was he introduced the songs of Randy Newman to a wider audience. Later he appeared on his own television show and made television guest appearances. He also had success with film scores and acting parts. He appeared in the film Don’t Look Back, which was filmed featuring Bob Dylan on tour in UK .

(4) In1971 he had a regular slot on The Two Ronnies show and in 1973 he wrote the music for the Lindsay Anderson film O Lucky Man in which he performs on screen and appears as himself in one part of the storyline. He acted in Alfie Darling, a sequel to the film Alfie.

(5) He has been working for the last two years on a stage-musical with the working title ‘The Nearly Lucky Man’ with the writer Paul Sirett.

(6) He is widely acknowledged as one of the most talented musicians to come out of the North East. He was 68 this year but he is still regularly touring the UK and Europe – as well as having a regular monthly residency at the Bulls Head in Barnes near his London home and playing his greatest hits from his 50-year career.

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
30° C | 22° C	29° C | 21° C	29° C | 21° C	28° C | 21° C	29° C | 21° C
Clear	Scattered Clouds	Clear	Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation	Partly Cloudy

Word of the Day

otorgar oh-tor-gar’  (transitive verb)

to award, to grant, to give, to bestow

EXAMPLES

El documento le otorga custodia de los niños a Marta. – The document grants custody of the children to Martha.

Por su dedicación, se le otorga este reconocimiento. – For your dedication, you are awarded this plaque.

IDIOMS

Quien calla otorga – Silence gives consent

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Although it’s still summer in North America, it is of course winter in Australia, and the flu season is well under way there. As usual, Australian health authorities have been urging parents there to vaccinate their children against the flu, propagating the mythology that flu vaccines are both safe and effective. But this time around, many Australian parents found out the hard way that they were being lied to.

It didn’t take long to realize the truth after their children start going into convulsions following the flu vaccine injections. Other children began vomiting or exhibiting dangerously high levels of fever. One child has gone into a coma and may never recover.  Full Story

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A retired couple in Wiltshire have lost their life savings to fraudsters who said they had won a large prize.

A police spokesman said the pair had sent more than £80,000 to criminals in Spain, but did not receive anything.

The force is reminding people to be wary of letters, e-mails and phone calls about lottery prizes.

Victims are told to send money for various fees, which the scammers say are necessary to release the “winnings”.

Det Con Andrew Cook, from Wiltshire Police´ss economic crime unit, said: “Never under any circumstances send any money to these people – the fact is that there are no winnings.”

via BBC News – Retired Wiltshire couple conned out of life savings.

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This day’s Events

1609 – Delaware Bay was discovered by Henry Hudson.

1774 – The first American-born saint was born in New York City. Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized in 1975.

1811 – Percy Bysshe Shelley and Harriet Westbrook eloped.

1833 – Slavery was banned by the British Parliament throughout the British Empire.

1916 – Italy’s declaration of war against Germany took effect during World War I.

1922 – The Walker Cup was held for the first time at Southampton, NY. It is the oldest international team golf match in America.

1939 – The first successful flight of a jet-propelled airplane took place. The plane was a German Heinkel He 178.

1947 – Manolete was mortally wounded by a bull during a fight in Linares, Spain. He died the following day at age 30.

1955 – Emmett Till was abducted from his uncle’s home in Mississippi. Two white men had brutally murdered the black teen-ager after he supposedly whistled at a white woman.

1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at a civil rights rally in Washington, DC. More than 200,000 people attended.

1972 – Mark Spitz captured the first of his seven gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He set a world record when he completed the 200-meter butterfly in 2 minutes and 7/10ths of a second.

1988 – At an air show in Ramstein, West Germany, an Italian Air Force jet collided with 2 other jets and then plunged into a crowd. 70 people were killed.

1988 – An unsuccessful coup attempt in the Philippines resulted in the death of 50 people. The coup was against President Corazon Aquino.

1990 – Iraq declared Kuwait to be its 19th province and renamed Kuwait City al-Kadhima.

1995 – The biggest bank in the U.S. was created when Chase Manhattan and Chemical Bank announced their $10 billion deal.

1995 – A mortar shell killed 38 people in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The act triggered NATO airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs.

1996 – A divorce decree was issued for Britain’s Charles and Princess Diana. This was the official end to the 15-year marriage.

1998 – The Pakistani prime minister created new Islamic order and legal system based on the Koran.

2004 – George Brunstad, at age 70, became the oldest person to swim the English Channel. The swim from Dover, England, to Sangatte, France, took 15 hours and 59 minutes.
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Music Stuff August 29th
1958, Alan Freed’s Big Beat Show opened at the Fox Theatre in Brooklyn.
1959, The Quarry Men (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ken Brown) performed at the Casbah Coffee Club, Hayman’s Green, West Derby, Liverpool. This is the opening night of a new teen club in a large Victorian house that is owned by Mrs. Mona Best and the first of seven straight Saturdays that The Quarry Men play here. The band shared one microphone connected to the house P.A.
1966, The Beatles played their last concert before a paying audience, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California to a sold-out crown of 25,000. John and Paul, knowing what the fans do not (that this will be the last concert ever) bring cameras on stage and take pictures between songs. During this tour, The Beatles have not played a single song from their latest album, ‘Revolver’. They finished the show with a version of Little Richards ‘Long Tall Sally’.
1970, Edwin Starr  No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘War’, his only No.1a No.3 in the UK.
1976, Jimmy Reed died in San Francisco following an epileptic seizure just before his 51st birthday.
1977, three people were arrested in Memphis after trying to steal Elvis’ body. As a result, his remains would be later moved to Graceland.
1981, Aneka was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Japanese Boy’, the Scottish folk singer Mary Sandeman’s only Top 40 hit sold over 5 million copies around the world.
1981, Electric Light Orchestra scored their second UK No.1 album with ‘Time’.
1981, The two day Rock on the Tyne festival began in Gateshead, England
1984, U2 kicked off their Unforgettable Fire World Tour at Christchurch Town Hall in New Zealand
1986, A mini dress worn by Kim Wilde was sold at Christie’s rock memorabilia auction for £400.
1987, Lee Marvin, actor and singer died
1987, Los Lobos  No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘La Bamba’, also a No.1 hit in the UK.
1987, Rick Astley’s debut hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’,  No.1 on the UK singles chart. It became the biggest selling single of 1987 and the song won Best British Single at the 1988 Brit Awards.
1994, Oasis released their debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’, it went on to spend 177 weeks on the UK chart.
1996, Liam Gallagher was reunited with the rest of Oasis in Chicago after a week of speculation on their future of the group, after he had walked out on the band a few days earlier.

1998, Rockabilly pioneer Charlie Feathers died aged 66.

1999, Lou Bega went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Mambo No 5′, originally recorded and composed by Perez Prado in 1949.
2005, 77-year-old Fats Domino was rescued from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.
2008, Organisers of a French music concert threatened legal action after Amy Winehouse pulled out of her performance. Winehouse failed to travel to the three-day Rock En Seine festival in Paris where the line-up included the Raconteurs, The Streets and Kate Nash. The 24-year-old singer was said to have been taken ill at her London home. Organisers said they were given just two hours notice that Winehouse, who was headlining the concert, would not be appearing.
2009, The Los Angeles coroner confirmed Michael Jackson’s death was homicide, primarily caused by the powerful anaesthetic Propofol. The singer suffered a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home in June, aged 50. The report said Propofol and the sedative Lorazepam were the “primary drugs responsible for Jackson’s death”, but four further drugs were also found.
Birthday Boys and Girls August 29th: Born on this day
1924, Dinah Washington, US singer
1943, Dick Halligan Keyboards, flute, vocals, Blood Sweat & Tears,
1945,  Chris Copping, Procol Harum
1958,  Michael Jackson, singer, songwriter,

Iris’ Challenge Alan Price

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”
Success is the best revenge.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE

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The weather remains fine and the beaches in Benidorm are packed solid. It’s really hot and it saps your energy. The series ‘Benidorm’ was being filmed as we were walking along Poniente yesterday and there was an awful lot of hanging about being done! Eventually, we left them to it! Let’s get the forecast…..

Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday
39° C | 26° C	31° C | 22° C	30° C | 21° C	29° C | 21° C	32° C | 21° C

I like watching the Hotel Inspector on Channel Five. Week after week we see great properties owned by Hooray Henrys who haven’t got a clue about how to promote their business. Usually they have a poor concept of Customer Service and a great ignorance of everyday business life. These days I can afford to watch and chuckle to myself. In the past these people would have driven me mad. Where on earth have these people come from? Where have they lived before becoming so inept and absolutely devoid of commonsense. How many of these uppercrust twits have not got a website to promote themselves? Even down to not having an online booking facility………twits!
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The Irish Fortune Teller

During a recent shopping outing in Ireland with her sisters, Agnes

O’Brien sneaked off to visit a fortune teller of some local repute. In a dark and hazy room, peering into a crystal ball, the Mystic delivered grave news.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt:

Prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year”.

Visibly shaken, Agnes stared at the woman’s lined face,

then at the crystal, then down at her hands.

She took a few deep breaths to compose herself.

She simply had to know. She met the fortune teller’s gaze,

steadied her voice and asked her question.

“Will I be acquitted?”
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When broadcast television was first invented in the first half of the 20th century, it was quickly heralded as a technological breakthrough that would inspire, educate and uplift human civilization. Educational programs and useful knowledge could be cheaply and efficiently broadcast to people everywhere, it was thought. The FCC even required television stations to run news programming without commercials as a trade-off for being granted broadcast space in the electromagnetic spectrum. This TV news, it was thought, was the broadcast station’s obligation to the betterment of society.  Full Story

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The UK Home Office has revealed a redesigned British passport in an attempt to cut international fraud.

To be issued from October this year, the pages of the new passport will depict well-known UK scenes, including the White Cliffs of Dover, the Gower Peninsula, and Ben Nevis.

Security has also been significantly upgraded, according to the chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, Sarah Rapson, who said the new design would allow the UK to “stay ahead” of fraudsters.

She added: “Through its combination of physical and electronic security features, the UK passport remains one of the most secure and trusted documents in the world, meeting rigorous international standards.”

Enhanced Security

New design features will see the chip which stores the passport holder’s details removed from view, making it harder to replace the chip without damage to the passport cover being spotted.

A secondary image of the passport holder will also be printed onto the observations page, while a new transparent covering – which includes several holograms to protect the holder’s personal details – will also be included.

To bring the UK in line with much of the rest of the world, the personal details section will be moved from the back of the passport to the second page.

The new passport will replace the current UK ePassport, which came out in 2006.

In a telephone interview a Home Office spokesperson confirmed there were “no plans” to increase the cost of a British passport following the launch of the new design.

An adult ten-year 32-page passport presently costs £77.50.

UK Passports

The first passport was a one-page document folded into eight, with a cardboard cover.

Since then, there have been 15 different passports issued.

via Breaking Travel News.

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Word of the Day

el clavo klah’-voh  (noun)

nail; pin (for bones); piton (in mountain climbing); clove (spice); rip-off

EXAMPLES

Metí un clavo en la pared para colgar el cuadro. – I put a nail in the wall to hang the painting on.

Me encantan tus adornos navideños de naranjas con clavos. – I love your orange and clove Christmas ornaments.

IDIOMS

Agarrarse a un clavo ardiendo – To clutch at straws

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As NaturalNews has reported over the past several years, researchers have found that berries are loaded with health-protective properties. For example, these super foods appear to fight cancer, heart disease, infections and more. Now, for the first time, there’s remarkable evidence that people who eat blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may protect their brains from the effects of aging, too.  Full Story

Events

660 – The books of John Milton were burned in London due to his attacks on King Charles II.

1858 – The first cabled news dispatch was sent and was published by “The New York Sun” newspaper. The story was about the peace demands of England and France being met by China.

1889 – Boxer Jack Dempsey was defeated for the first time of his career by George LaBlanche.

1938 – Robert Frost, in a fit of jealousy, set fire to some papers to disrupt a poetry recital by another poet, Archibald MacLeish.

1939 – Nazi Germany demanded the Polish corridor and Danzig.

1945 – American troops landed in Japan after the surrender of the Japanese government at the end of World War II.

1962 – Mariner 2 was launched by the United States. In December of the same year the spacecraft flew past Venus. It was the first space probe to reach the vicinity of another planet.

1972 – North Vietnam’s major port at Haiphong saw the first bombings from U.S. warplanes.

1979 – Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed in a boat explosion off the coast of Ireland. The Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility.

1984 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that the first citizen to go into space would be a teacher. The teacher that was eventually chosen was Christa McAuliffe. She died in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986.

1985 – The Space Shuttle Discovery left for a seven-day mission in which three satellites were launched and another was repaired and redeployed.

1991 – The Soviet republic of Moldavia declared its independence.

1992 – Federal troops were ordered to Florida for emergency relief due to Hurricane Andrew.

1996 – California Governor Pete Wilson signed an order that would halt state benefits to illegal immigrants.

1998 – In New York city, Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-’Owhali appeared in a U.S. Federal Court to face charges of bombing attacks at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was one of two suspects released to the U.S. by Kenya.

1999 – The final crew of the Russian space station Mir departed the station to return to Earth. Russia was forced to abandon Mir for financial reasons.

2001 – The U.S. military announced that an Air Force RQ-1B “Predator” aircraft was lost over Iraq. It was reported Music Stuff that the unmanned aircraft “may have crashed or been shot down.”

2001 – Work began on the future site of a World War II memorial on the U.S. capital’s historic national Mall. The site is between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
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Music Stuff  August 28th
1961, Joe Dowell US No.1 – ‘Wooden Heart’.
1961, Tamla Records released the Marvelettes first single, ‘Please Mr. Postman’.
1965, The Beach Boys ‘California Girls’  US No.3 -UK  No.26
1965, The Rolling Stones announced that Allen Klein, who they had met three days earlier, would co-manage the group along with Andrew Long Oldham.
1966, nearing the end of their final tour of America, The Beatles performed one show at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, before a crowd of 45,000.
1967, The Kinks, Dave, Dee, Beaky, Mick and Tich, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown all appeared at the Hastings Stadium Festival Of Music in Hastings, England. Tickets 10 shillings
1968, Simon and Garfunkel UK No.1 album with ‘Bookends’.
1968, The Beach Boys  UK No1 – ‘Do It Again’,
1968, working at Trident Studios, London, The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song ‘Dear Prudence’. They built the song instrument by instrument, utilizing the 8-track equipment at Trident. John and George played guitars, while Paul plays drums to compensate for Ringo, who had quit The Beatles on August 22.
1972, Alice Cooper was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘School’s Out’.
1981, Producer Guy Stevens died at the age of 38 years old, having overdosed on prescription drugs he was taking to reduce his alcohol dependency. Worked with Mott The Hoople, Free and The Clash. He was the president of the Chuck Berry Appreciation Society and it was Stevens who brought Berry to the UK for his first tour. He gave Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names.
1988, Kylie Minogue set a new UK record when her debut album ‘Kylie’ became the biggest selling album by a female artist in Britain with sales of almost two million.
1993, Billy Joel started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘River Of Dreams.’ Joel claimed most of the music came to him in his sleep, hence the title.
1993, German-based multi-national dance act Culture Beat  No.1 in the UK singles chart with ‘Mr Vain’.
1996, Issac Hayes, who co-wrote the Sam and Dave’s classic ‘Soul Man’, sent a protest letter to presidential candidate Bob Dole, requesting Dole to stop using his song, which supporters had changed to ‘I’m A Dole Man.’
1997, Gina G was taken ill during a flight from London to Glasgow when she suffered an allergic reaction to a flu treatment and had to be rushed to hospital.
1998, Geri Halliwell announced that she was selling off her Spice Girls clothes in a charity auction.
2005, Art Garfunkel was charged by police for possession after a marijuana cigarette was allegedly found in the ashtray of his car.
2005, Oasis went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Importance Of Being Idle’
2009, Noel Gallagher quit Oasis, saying he could no longer work with his brother Liam. Noel, the group’s lead guitarist and chief songwriter, had recently been involved in a series of rows with front man Liam, and admitted he and his brother rarely spoke, did not travel together and only saw each other on stage. The guitarist said: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight.
Birthday Boys and Girls August 28th
1939,  Clem Cattini, drums, The Tornadoes
1943, Ann Lantree, The Honeycombs
1943, David Soul, actor, singer
1946, Ken Andrews, Middle Of The Road,
1949,  Hugh Cornwell, guitar, vocals, The Stranglers
1949, Martin Lamble drums, Fairport Convention, (1969 UK No.21 single ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’). Killed on 14th May 1969 when the bands van crashed on the way home from a gig in Birmingham, England.
1951,  Wayne Osmond, Vocals, The Osmonds
1961, Kim Appleby, singer, Mel and Kim
1965, Shania Twain, Canadian singer, (Eilleen Regina Edwards)
1969,  Mary McCartney, a daughter to Paul and Linda McCartney Mary was named after Paul’s mother (who he mentioned in the song ‘Let It Be’).

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”
Success is the best revenge.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE

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The weather is glorious and we’re heading for a day with bureaucracy. We always dread these days when we need to get pieces of paper stamped but at least we know what’s likely to happen now. Let’s take a deep breath and venture forth. Have we got everything? Three copies of my grandmother’s birth certificate, a pound of self-raising flour etc……..
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The average state pension for retirees in Spain rose to 886.40€ a month at the start of August, data released by the Ministry of Employment and Immigration showed today. This represents a 3.5% increase from a year ago.

The ministry said that overall state pension – including those for disabled persons, orphans, widows and widowers – was at  781.34€ per month, representing an annual increase of 3.4%.

Some 8.7 million pensions were being paid out in Spain at the start of August, up 1.6% annually, with retirement pensions amounting to 5.2 million of the total.

Earlier this year the Spanish government introduced the harshest spending cuts since Spain returned to democracy following the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975 in a bid to cut its gaping budget deficit. Measures introduced include a suspension on pension payments beginning next year and a pay cut for public sector workers.

via Spanish State Retirement Pension Rises To EUR 886 A Month | Daily Markets.

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You have a thousand reasons to visit Benidorm, although this week there is one that particularly stands out: the Electrobeach Festival, an event that brings the very best from the electronic music scene and also gives you the chance to enjoy the fabulous temperatures that caress this city, its beautiful historic quarter and its beaches and coves.

This fun, refreshing and incredible music festival will give you a different, refreshing view of electronic music through various events taking place in different locations around Benidorm.

If you wish, you can start by taking a stroll along the road known as El Carrer dels Gats, around the Church of San Jaime, built in the 18th century, and the mirador of the castle, or stretch out on the Playa de Poniente or Playa de Levante beaches, or the Mal Pas and Ti Ximo coves. Do whatever takes your fancy, but above all get ready to squeeze every last drop out of the Electrobeach Festival.

From the night of 26th August to Saturday 28th, Electrosunset will be bringing together all the Electrobeach festival-goers to welcome in this first edition at El Mirador Park, a space which offers spectacular views of the city and where a selection of artists will be performing to get the event underway.

The main day at the festival will be Friday 27th August. The line-up for Electrobeach will bring together several world icons of electronic music in the city´s sports complex. Sven Väth, the brains behind the Cocoon label, will take time out of his busy schedule to visit Benidorm. Carl Cox, one of the world ambassadors for techno, will be at Electrobeach on his only date in the Peninsula in the summer of 2010. The line-up will also feature Richie Hawtin, who will present his latest work.

On Saturday 28th Electrobeach will prepare a completely different day´s events, since the programme will be spread over several venues around the city, very close to one another, creating a very special night of sets that will turn each venue into a kind of stage at the same event.

via Official Tourism Site of the Region of Valencia.

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Gifts From The Heart
Michael Josephson

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert
came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The
water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he
could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his
teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to
the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and
thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young
man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He
spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become
stale because of the old leather container. The student
challenged his teacher: “Master, the water was foul. Why
did you pretend to like it?”

The teacher replied, “You only tasted the water. I tasted
the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of
loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter.”

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive
innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it’s a
ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper
response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because
we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn’t always come naturally. Unfortunately,
most children and many adults value only the thing given
rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind
ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and
purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all,
gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

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Word of the Day

la chapa cha’-pah  (noun)

plate/sheet (of metal), panel/board (of wood); top, cap (to a bottle); badge, nameplate; lock; licenses plate

EXAMPLES

Necesitamos 6 chapas de pino para los estantes. – We need 6 boards of pine for the shelves.

Esta llave no entra bien en la chapa. – This key doesn’t fit the lock.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for la chapa.

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Events

55 B.C. – Britain was invaded by Roman forces under Julius Caesar.

1498 – Michelangelo was commissioned to make the “Pieta.”

1743 – Antoine Lavoisier was born. He was the chemist that proved that the union of oxygen and other chemicals is used in burning, rusting of metals and breathing.

1873 – Dr. Lee DeForest was born. He was the inventor of the Audion tube. The tube makes the broadcasting of sound possible.

1883 – A two-day eruption of the volcanic island Krakatoa began. The tidal waves that were associated with the eruption killed 36,000 people when they destroyed the island.

1896 – In the Philippines, and insurrection began against the Spanish government.

1934 – Adolf Hitler demanded that France turn over their Saar region to Germany.

1937 – All Chinese shipping was blockaded by Japan.

1945 – The Japanese were given surrender instructions on the U.S. battleship Missouri at the end of World War II.

1957 – It was announced that an intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully tested by the Soviet Union.

1974 – Charles Lindberg died at the age of 72.

1973 – A U.S. Presidential Proclamation was declared that made August 26th Women’s Equality Day.

1990 – The 55 Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait left Baghdad by car and headed for the Turkish border.

1991 – Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev promised that national elections would be held.

1992 – A “no-fly zone” was imposed on the southern 1/3 of Iraq. The move by the U.S., France and Britain was aimed at protecting Iraqi Shiite Muslims.

1996 – Barbara Jewell asked U.S. President Clinton to clear her son’s name in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Richard Jewell was later cleared by the Justice Department.

1998 – The U.S. government announced that they were investigating Microsoft in an attempt to discover if they “bullied” Intel into delaying new technology.

1998 – U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a review of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Music Stuff August 26th
1963, Cilla Black made her first major concert appearance at The Odeon Cinema Southport on a bill with The Beatles.

1965, Sonny & Cher  No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Got You Babe’.

1967, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull joined up with The Beatles in Bangor North Wales to seek guidance from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

1967, Small Faces, Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade all appeared on the first day of the 3-day non-stop happening ‘Festival of the Flower Children’ at Woburn Abbey, England. Plus DJ’s John Peel and Tommy Vance, day tickets cost £1.

1970, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free all appeared over three days at the third Isle Of Wight Festival. Weekend tickets, £3.

1972, Looking Glass started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Brandy You’re A Fine Girl’, it didn’t chart in the UK.

1973, 10cc made their live debut at the Palace Lido Isle of Man at the start of an UK tour. Comprising of Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded together for some three years before assuming the 10cc name

1977, Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Golden Earing, Aerosmith, Doobie Brothers, Hawkwind, Racing Cars, John Miles, Graham Parker, The Enid, No Dice and Frankie Miller’s Full House all appeared at the 17th three day Reading Festival, England. A three day ticket cost£7.95.

1978, Frankie Valli went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Barry Gibb song ‘Grease’.

1981, Ottawa City Council named ‘Paul Anka Day’ to celebrate his 25th anniversary in show-business. The council also named a street in Ottawa ‘Paul Anka Drive’ in his honour. The Canadian singer songwriter had written over 900 songs including the classic ‘My Way’.

1987, Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until he was 53, announced that he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, California. He won the election in 1988 and went on to win a seat in Congress in 1996.

1993, A double sided acetate of The Beatles performing live at The Cavern in Liverpool sold for £16,500 at Christies, London, a world record price for a recording.

1994, Scottish singer Frankie Miller suffered a massive brain haemorrhage in New York, while writing material for a new band he and Joe Walsh from The Eagles had formed. Miller spent five months in a coma. He then entered rehabilitation, re-learning how to walk and talk.

1995, Blur scored their first UK No.1 single with ‘Country House’ and won a media battle with Oasis for the No.1 position. B

2003, Rolling Stone Magazine named Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist in Rock history. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder also made the top 10 list. 2004, US Cinematographer David Myers died after suffering a stroke. He worked of various music films including Woodstock, Elvis On Tour, The Last Waltz, The Grateful Dead Movie, Mad Dogs & Englishmen and Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie.

2004, Singer Laura Branigan died of a brain aneurysm.

2005, A plaque was unveiled by fellow Quarrymen John Duff Lowe and Colin Hantonat at the site where the band which was to become The Beatles made their first recordings. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison recorded a version of Buddy Holly’s ‘That’ll Be The Day’ and a Lennon-Harrison song, ‘In Spite Of All The Danger’ as The Quarrymen at the Percy Philips studio in Liverpool in 1958.

2005, Green Day were named best band on the planet at the 12th annual Kerrang! rock awards

2007, High School Musical 2 soundtrack album was at No.1 on the US chart.

Birthday Boys and Girls August 26th:

1940, Nik Turner, Hawkwind,

1941,  Chris Curtis, drums, The Searchers Died on 1st March 2005 at the age of 63 after a long illness.

1948,  Jet Black, (Brian Duffy), drums, The Stranglers,

1948,  Valerie Simpson, singer, Ashford and Simpson,
1954,  Steve Wright, BBC radio DJ and TV presenter, (1982 UK No.40 single ‘I’m Alright’).

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool. – Seneca, 5 BC-65 AD

Wisdom doesn’t automatically come with old age. Nothing does – except wrinkles. It’s true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place. – Abigail Van Buren, 1918-present

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie

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Beautiful weather  yesterday although maybe just a little to hot. However, we will pay for it at some time in the future when then rain comes. Let’s get the forecast and see how long it will last……

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If you’re visiting the website this week please bear with me as I am re-jigging bits of it. It has grown into a monster and takes up a lot of my time. I don’t get any help with it so I have to work when the urge takes me.

Having just completed a really nice podcast with Phil Beal I think I want to make a lot of the podcasts more accessible and more visible to the site’s visitors. All this at a time when we are getting back onto the diet and taking mor exercise. I think we are gluttons for punishment. The royal we is for Anne and myself.

It’s back down to earth for Blackpool being beaten in the Carling Cup last night. Still, I didn’t dwell on Manchester City’s result so I’ll move on before anyone mentions Liverpool. Personally, I would now give them all a basic and pay bonuses by results. Let’s move to my first article for today.

Now and then you get something incredible sent to you. Can you believe this? I am still looking for the punchline-no pun intended!
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Chronic illness is widespread in many industrialized nations like the U.S., and more studies than ever are linking this disease epidemic to pesticide exposure. According to a new database designed to catalog these studies, pesticides are linked to cancer, reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, autism, asthma, birth defects, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and more.

Beyond Pesticides, an environmental and public health group, decided to put together the Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database to raise awareness about the dangers of pesticides and to urge policy changes to get these chemicals removed from use.  Full Story

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Dear Reader,

Tell me if this seems like a good idea to you…

Scientists modify some genes (we’re already in deep water!), attach the genes to a herpes virus, and then prepare this Frankenfomula in an injectable form.

If that sounds like the height of vaccine insanity, hold on because we’re just getting started. (And if you suspect this is one of my “gotchas,” I’m sorry to tell you it isn’t!)

Inside the body, the injected virus travels to the brain where the modified genes neutralize excess hormones that play a key role in chronic stress. And presto! Stress is relieved.

But before you roll up your sleeve to receive this vaccine you should know one more little detail: Those hormones that are getting “neutralized” also play important anti- inflammation and anti-cancer roles in the immune system.

Now what could possibly go wrong with THAT plan?

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Calm and focused
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Even though this stress vaccine is still in the animal- testing stage, it’s already being called the “Sapolsky shot,” named after Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford University neuroscience professor.

But as Dr. Sapolsky himself admitted to the Daily Mail, “To be honest, I’m still amazed that it works.”

Well…it works in rats. Let’s not go jumping to the conclusion that it will SAFELY work in humans.

The vaccine tampers with brain chemistry to produce a state Dr. Sapolsky calls “focused calm.” So the hope is that chronically stressed-out individuals will be able to cruise through a stress-filled life with a relaxed demeanor.

A Stanford colleague of Dr. Sapolsky’s explained to the Daily Mail that the engineered virus would “short-circuit the neural feedback caused by stress, that lingering feeling of tension after a crisis has passed.”

Okay, but what about crisis situations that take years to pass? Long-term problems with health, finances, and the relentless demands of a career and family life are the factors that fuel chronic stress. Mired in any one of these circumstances, would the Sapolsky shot actually give you a focused calm and a Stepford Wife smile?

If so, that’s pretty scary.

Dr. Sapolsky’s colleague boldly predicts: “This could change society.”

But who wants to live in a society of calmed-out zombies injected with herpes?

The opening line of the Daily Mail article suggests that we forget age-old stress remedies like yoga and meditation. And yet, just a few years ago, Dr. Sapolsky addressed a conference on science and meditation.

At that conference, he and others (including the Dalai Lama) discussed research that shows how meditation supports immune function, manages depression, and reduces levels of cortisol, which is known as the “stress hormone.”

I’m not sure how Dr. Sapolsky got from a conference like that to a genetically modified vaccine that uses herpes virus to mess around with hormones in the brain. But this we do know: You can’t make a fortune by telling stressed out people to close their eyes, breathe deeply, and wait patiently for their focused calm.   Jenny Thomson

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Word of the Day

el aviso ah-vee’-soh  (noun)

warning, notice, note; bell

EXAMPLES

No hagas ejercicio hasta nuevo aviso. – Don’t exercise until further notice.

¡Que te sirva de aviso! – Let that be a warning for you!

IDIOMS

Andar sobre aviso – To be on one’s guard

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Events
1718 – Hundreds of colonists from France arrived in Louisiana. Some settled in present-day New Orleans.

1814 – The U.S. Library of Congress was destroyed by British forces.

1875 – Captain Matthew Webb swam from Dover, England, to Calais, France making him the first person to swim the English Channel. The feat took about 22 hours.

1920 – The first airplane to fly from New York to Alaska arrived in Nome.

1921 – The U.S. signed a peace treaty with Germany.

1941 – Soviet and British troops invaded Iran. This was in reaction to the Shah’s refusal to reduce the number of German residents.

1941 – Allied forces invaded Iran. Within four days the Soviet Union and England controlled Iran.

1944 – Paris, France, was liberated by Allied forces ending four years of German occupation.

1946 – Ben Hogan won the PGA in Portland, OR. It was his first major golf title.

1967 – American Nazi leader George Lincoln Rockwell was assassinated by a sniper.

1972 – In Great Britain, computerized axial tomography (CAT scan) was introduced.

1978 – The Turin shroud believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ went on display for the first time in 45 years.

1981 – The U.S. Voyager 2 sent back pictures and data about Saturn. The craft came within 63,000 miles of the planet.

1983 – The U.S. and the Soviet Union signed a $10 billion grain pact.

1987 – Saudi Arabia denounced the “group of terrorists” that ran the Iranian government.

1988 – Iran and Iraq began talks in Geneva after ending their eight years of war.

1990 – Military action was authorized by the United Nations to enforce the trade embargo that had been placed on Iraq after their invasion of Kuwait.

1992 – It was reported by researchers that cigarette smoking significantly increased the risk of developing cataracts.

1993 – Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman was indicted by a federal grand jury for terrorist activities, one of which was the World Trade Center bombing.

1993 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 3,652.09, an all-time high.

1998 – A survey released said that 1/3 of Americans use the Internet.

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Music Stuff August 25th
1957, Canadian singer, songwriter Paul Anka was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Diana’ (written about his brother’s baby-sitter). Anka was the first teenage solo act to reach No.1.

1960, The Shadows were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Apache’. The first of five UK No.1′s for Cliff Richard’s backing group.

1961, After playing a lunchtime gig at The Cavern Liverpool, The Beatles played aboard the Merseyside riverboat M.V.Royal Iris’ supporting Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. Tickets cost 8/6.
1962, Little Eva went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Loco-motion’. The Carole King and Gerry Goffin song was offered to Dee Dee Sharp (Mashed Potatoes), who turned it down. The writers had their babysitter record it who took it to No.1. 1

1967, Bobbie GentryNo.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Ode To Billy Joe’, a No.13 hit in the UK.

1970, Elton John made his US live debut when he kicked off a 17-date tour at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. In the audience that night were Don Henley, Quincy Jones and Leon Russell.

1970, Emerson Lake and Palmer made their live debut at The Guildhall, Plymouth, England.

1973, Donny Osmond  No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Young Love’ his third and last No.1. Tab Hunter also had a hit with the song in 1957.

1973, One hit wonders, Stories started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Brother Louie’. Hot Chocolate who had a No.7 hit with the song in the UK wrote the song.

1973, Bobby Darin performed his final concert, at the Las Vegas Hilton. He died at the age of 37 on December 20th 1973 following open-heart surgery.

1979, 25 years after his first UK No.1 single Cliff Richard had his 10th chart topper with ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ his first No.1 for eleven years.

1979, The Knack t No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Sharona a No.6 hit in the UK.

1989, The Sugarcubes, New Order, The Pogues, The Mission, House Of Love, The Swans, Pop Will Eat Itself, Green On Red, That Petrol Emotion, Billy Bragg and The Wonder Stuff all appeared at the three day Reading Festival in England.

1990, ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ by Bombalurina was the UK No.1 single. Bombalurina was childrens TV presenter Timmy Mallett with a remake of Brian Hyland’s 1960 hit.

1994, Take That kicked off a 36 date sold out UK tour with 3 nights at the SEC Glasgow. During the tour the group played 9 sold out nights at London’s Wembley Arena.

1995, Smashing Pumpkins, Bjork, Neil Young, Green Day, Hole, Paul Weller, Soundgarden, Beck, Foo Fighters, Ash, Deus, Gene all appeared at this years UK Reading festival, a three day ticket cost £60.
1999, Oasis bass player Paul McGuigan announced he had quit the band just a few days after guitarist Bonehead had left the band.

2000, Academy Award-winning film score composer and record producer Jack Nitzsche died of a heart attack. Produced The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield and The Walker Brothers.

2000, Oasis, Primal Scream, Foo Fighters, The Bluetones, Muse, Eminem, Beck, Stereophonics, Blink 182, Slipknot, Placebo, Pulp, Eminem, Rage Against The Machine, Gomez, Limp Bizkit, Embrace and The Wannadies all appeared at Carling Weekend Reading and Leeds festival in England.
2001, American singer, actress Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas aged 22. The small Cessna plane crashed a few minutes after take off killing everyone on board with exception to four passengers who were pulled from the wreckage but later died.

2002, Eva Cassidy No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Imagine’, the singers second UK No.1 album.
2005, Two former members of Guns N’ Roses were suing singer Axl Rose for allegedly naming himself sole administrator of the US rock band’s copyrights. Slash and Duff – otherwise known as Saul Hudson and Michael McKagan, accused Rose of “arrogance and ego”.

Birthday Boys and Girls August 25th

1918, Leonard Bernstein. Composed music for 1957 ‘West Side Story’, ‘On The Waterfront’, conducted the New York Philharmonic aged 25.
1942, , Walter Williams, The O’Jays,
1950,  Willy DeVille, Mink DeVille,Aug 2009.

1951,  James Warren, The Korgis,

1955,  Elvis Costello, (Declan McManus)

1961, Born on this day, Billy Ray Cyrus, US singer,

1987, Born on this day, Amy MacDonald, Scottish singer/songwriter. (2008 UK No.1 with her debut album ‘This Is the Life’).

Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

Ping list

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”
Success is the best revenge.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – ANDREW CARNEGIE
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” – Theodore Roosevelt

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It was scorching hot yesterday and I  spent the first part of the day creating a podcast with Tottenham legend Phil Beal. Phil told me some great stories about his days with the club and, although the playing side has long since gone, he is now working with the club as a host on match days for the corporate guests. You would be excused for thinking this was a case of turning up to drink champagne and talk about the game but Phil has to be at the ground three hours before the game and has a three hour drive to complete before chatting to the guests. However, you will find from the podcast, his enthusiasm for Tottenham has not diminished.

I think my computer has been feeling the heat and it seemed to wilt around midday. However, this was not an internet thing. This is another issue altogether. My internet ADSL goes down at regular intervals and Telefonica give me the usual rubbish to explain the fault. My guess is that they are taking money under false pretences as I rarely get the 3 megabytes for which I pay and I believe the system cannot cope with the demand. I wonder how many others have to grin and bare it as they pay for what we do not receive.

Guadalest was on the agenda yesterday. This is the walled village up high in the mountains about 30 minutes from Benidorm. The Royal Family have been known to visit this special place when they are in the area and it is a very special visit which most of our guests enjoy. It is an immovable feast as is the lady who sits motionless in white waiting for her donations. I wonder what goes through her mind as she sits motionless like a statue. We actually saw her getting back into her civvies yesterday and she then walked down the road to wherever she lives. I wonder how she got into her art. I wonder how anyone would wish to spend the day getting dressed to sit motionless all day. Maybe there will come that day when she tots up all the lost hours……….

Let’s check the weather for the province of Alicante

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
34° C | 24° C	31° C | 23° C	33° C | 25° C	35° C | 24° C	33° C | 24° C
Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear

Word of the Day
la revista rreh-vee’-stah (noun)

magazine, journal; review, inspection
EXAMPLES

Me gustan las revistas en la sala de espera de la oficina de mi doctor. – I like the magazines in the waiting room of my doctor’s office.

El capitán pasó revista cuidadosamente a las tropas . – The general inspected the troops very carefully.
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A fifteen year old Amish boy and his father were in a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again.

The boy asked, ‘What is this Father?’ The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, ‘Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life,

I don’t know what it is.’

While the boy and his father were watching with amazement,

a large old lady in a wheel chair moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button.

The walls opened, and the lady rolled between them into a small room.

The walls closed, and the boy and his father watched the small numbers above the walls light up sequentially.. They continued to watch until it reached the last number, and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order.

Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous 24-year-old blond stepped out.

The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son.

‘Go get your Mother.’
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Apprentice Blacksmith

The village blacksmith finally found an apprentice willing
to work hard for long hours. The blacksmith immediately
began his instructions to the lad, “When I take the shoe out
of the fire, I’ll lay it on the anvil; and when I nod my
head, you hit it with this hammer.”

The apprentice did just as he was told. Now he’s the village
blacksmith.
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Events

0079 – Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash.

1572 – The Catholics began their slaughter of the French Protestants in Paris. The killings claimed about 70,000 people.

1680 – Colonel Thomas Blood died. He was the Irish adventurer that had stolen the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in 1671.

1814 – Washington, DC, was invaded by British forces that set fire to the White House and Capitol.

1880 – Joshua Lionel Cowen was born. He was the inventor of the toy electric train.

1891 – Thomas Edison applied patents for the kinetoscope and kinetograph (U.S. Pats. 493,426 and 589,168).

1949 – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) went into effect. The agreement was that an attack against on one of the parties would be considered “an attack against them all.”

1954 – The Communist Party was virtually outlawed in the U.S. when the Communist Control Act went into effect.

1959 – Three days after Hawaiian statehood, Hiram L. Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-American U.S. senator while Daniel K. Inouye was sworn in as the first Japanese-American U.S. representative.

1963 – John Pennel pole-vaulted 17 feet and 3/4 inches becoming the first to break the 17-foot barrier.

1968 – France became the 5th thermonuclear power when they exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

1981 – Mark David Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of John Lennon.

1985 – 27 anti-apartheid leaders were arrested in South Africa as racial violence rocked the country.

1989 – “Total war” was declared by Columbian drug lords on their government.

1989 – The U.S. space probe, Voyager 2, sent back photographs of Neptune.

1990 – Iraqi troops surrounded foreign missions in Kuwait.

1990 – Irish hostage Brian Keenan was released. He had been held in Lebanon for 1,597 days.

1991 – Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the head of the Communist Party.

1995 – Microsoft’s “Windows 95″ went on sale.

1998 – The U.S. and Britain agreed on the Netherlands as site for the trial of two Libyan suspects for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

2001 – The remains of nine American servicemen killed in the Korean War were returned to the U.S. The bodies were found about 60 miles north of Pyongyang. It was estimated that it would be a year before the identies of the soldiers would be known.

2001 – NASA announced that operation of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite would end by September 30th due to budget restrictions. Though the satellite is best known for monitoring a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, it was designed to provide information about the upper atmosphere by measuring its winds, temperatures, chemistry and energy received from the sun.

2005 – The planet Pluto was reclassified as a “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Pluto’s status was changed due to the IAU’s new rules for an object qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.

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Music Stuff August 24th
1963, Stevie Wonder became the first artist ever to score a US No.1 album and single in the same week. Wonder was at No.1 on the album chart with ‘Little Stevie Wonder / The 12 Year Old Genius’ and had the No.1 single ‘Fingertips part 2′. This was also the first ever live recording to make No.1.
1968, The Incredible String Band, Traffic, Bonzo Dog Band, Family, Fairport Convention, Blossom Toes, Pretty things, Deviants, Blonde On Blonde and Free all appeared over two nights at The Roundhouse in London.
1974, Paul Anka with Odia Coates No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘(You’re Having My Baby’, Anka’s 24th US top 40 hit. It made No.6 in the UK.
1975, Queen started recording ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at Rockfield studios in Monmouth, Wales, (the song was recorded over three weeks). Freddie Mercury had mentally prepared the song beforehand and directed the band throughout the sessions. May, Mercury, and Taylor sang their vocal parts continually for ten to twelve hours a day, resulting in 180 separate overdubs.
1980, Iron Maiden Whitesnake, Def Leppard, UFO, Gillan, Gillan, Pat Travers Band and Rory Gallagher all appeared at the 20th National Rock Festival Reading Rock 80, England. Advance tickets £12.50.
1981, Mark Chapman was given a 20 year jail sentence for the murder of John Lennon.
1983, The fifth wife of Jerry Lee Lewis, Shawn Michelle Stevens was found dead at their Mississippi home of a methadone overdose. They had been married less than three months. Jerry Lee would marry again in 1984 to 22 year-old Kerrie McCarver, but divorce in 2004.
1985, Huey Lewis and the News No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Power Of Love’. As featured in the movie ‘Back To The Future’.
1987, Donny Osmond released his first single in 10 years ‘I’m In It For Love’, (Donny now shaves and has taken to wearing black leather).
1989, The Who perform “Tommy” at the Universal Amphitheatre with special guests Steve Winwood, Elton John, Phil Collins, Patti LaBelle and Billy Idol.
1990, This years three day UK Reading Festival kicked off, featuring, Faith No More, The Cramps, Inspiral Carpets, Pixies, The Fall, Jesus Jones, Ride, Dinosaur Jnr, The Wedding Present, Billy Bragg and others, a three day ticket £35.
1995, Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker presented this weeks UK TV Music show ‘Top Of The Pops’, guest’s included Oasis, Blur, Bjork and The Charlatans.
1996, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher failed to turn up for the recording of the bands MTV unplugged session at London’s Royal Festival Hall in front of 400 fans. He later sat in the audience and watched the show with his brother Noel taking over on vocals.
1998, Producer Gene Page died after a long illness. Worked with Barbra Streisand, Barry White, The Righteous Brothers, Dobie Gray, Bob and Earl. Produced Whitney Houston’s ‘Greatest Love of All’ and Roberta Flack’s ‘Tonight I Celebrate My Love.’
2004, Al Dvorin the announcer who popularised the phrase “Elvis has left the building” died in a car crash, on his way home from an Elvis convention in California. Dvorin aged 81, was in a car driven by Elvis photographer Ed Bonja. Dvorin was never paid for recordings of his words, and was bitter towards the multimillion pound Elvis Presley Enterprises. In the early 1970s, Colonel Parker asked Dvorin to inform fans at a gig that Presley would not be appearing for an encore. He took the stage and announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight.”

Birthday Boys and Girls August 24th
1944, Jim Capaldi, drummer, singer, songwriter, Traffic,
1945, Molly Duncan, Average White Band, (1975 US No.1 & UK No.6 single ‘Pick Up The Pieces’).
1948, Jean-Michel Jarre, French instrumentalist,
1955, Jeffrey Daniels, Shalamar, (1980 US No. 8 single ‘The Second Time Around’, 1982 UK No.5 single ‘A Night To Remember’).
1956, Matt Aitken, part of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman production team, produced over 10 UK No.1 singles.

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