A ship in harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for”
Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it. – Francois de La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680

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One of the most contrasting news bulletins was shown on the BBC yesterday. Seven hearses in one cortege of sadness preceded the England football team. The first showed seven tremendously sad examples of young men who have given their all for their country without much financial reward. Their families will now struggle to make ends meet for many years. The second showed a posse of cosseted millionaires who each earn more in one week than the soldiers would earn in 5 years. Each might very briefly hang his head in shame before rushing to the travel agents and heading off to a holiday destination. This is not the fault of the players. The fact of the matter is there used to be a cap on players’ earnings. Jimmy Hill et al  brought an end to that. This could be brought into play once again. I believe it is in place for Rugby League players. Sanity is taking an awfully long time to realise that this is part of the overall global crisis. How can football not be affected by the recession? Why should football stay immune from the recession? If all these clubs are in debt they are a big part of the recession. Most other parts of the economy realise that you cannot pay huge wages if you cannot afford it. This is one reason why countries are in a mess and a clear example of how wrong are the values being held at the moment.

Well done Spain. I didn’t think it would be easy but the key to the game was keeping the ball away from Ronaldo. Despite comments elsewhere I thought Torres looked a bit sharper and might be getting ready for the big game ahead. Iniesta and Xabi continued to impress whilst the star of the show was David Villa who scored the goal.Meanwhile, Roy Hodgson is set to be appointed Liverpool’s new manager by Thursday, BBC
Sport understands. I am not convinced he is the man for the job especially as we have a number of great players who have all played well in the World Cup. What is he like managing great international temperaments? Does it mean Liverpool will lose Reina, Torres, Mascherano, Skyrtel, Kuyt, Agger, Rodriguez etc who have all featured in the World Cup and most are playing well in this tournament. He will also have to brush up on his scouse. However, on the plus side he did weld together a very good unit at Fulham and if he’s good enough for Kenny Dalglish then he will be alright.

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
29° C | 18° C	30° C | 19° C	28° C | 18° C	27° C | 18° C	28° C | 18° C

Guess where you would find one of he most dynamic economies on the planet? And you never hear much about it…….Russia. They have the flat income tax. They have developed their own energy resources. They in vest in the latest technologies. Did you know they produce more millionaires per year than any other country.

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Word of the Day

efectivo eh-fek-tee’-voh  (adjective)

effective; troops, officers (pl); real, actual, true

EXAMPLES

La citronella es muy efectivo contra los mosquitoes. – Citronella is very effective against mosquitos.

Numerosos efectivos de la policía rodearon el autor. – A large number of police officers surrounded the perpetrator.

IDIOMS

En efectivo – In cash

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Thanks to Mike A for sending me the following group of ideas……
REVENGE ON THE TELEMARKETER

Three Little Words That Work!!

(1)
The three little words: ‘Hold On, Please…’
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off
( instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing
call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales
would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear BT’s ‘beep-beep-beep’
tone, you know it’s time to go back and hang up your handset
…. you have efficiently completed your task..

These three little words could help eliminate telephone
soliciting.

(2)
Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one
on the other end?

This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone
calls and record s the time of day when a person answers
the phone.

This technique is then used to determine the best time of day
for a ‘real’ salesperson to call back and get someone at
home.
What you can do after answering: If you notice there is no
one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button
on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This
confuses the machine that dialled the call and it kicks your
number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have
your name in their system any longer!!!

(3)
When you get those ‘pre-approved’ letters in the mail
for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and
similar type junk, do not throw away the return
envelope.
Most of these come with postage-prepaid return envelopes,
right?
It costs them more than the regular postage ‘IF’ and when
they are returned. It costs them nothing if you throw them away!
In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk
mail and put it in these cool little, postage-prepaid
return envelopes.

Send an advert for your local chimney sweeper to American
Express … they might need one!
Send a pizza coupon to HSBC … in case their canteen packs up. You get the
idea.
If you didn’t get anything else that day, then
just send them back their blank application form ……..
after all, it is their form!

If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name
isn’t on anything you return.

You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to
just to keep them guessing! It still costs them, and it
is their envelope after all .. you are just returning
it!!!!

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a
lot of their own junk back in the post, but folks …… we need
to OVERWHELM them, in order to stop them.

Let’s let them know what it’s like to get lots of junk mail,
and best of all they’re paying for it … Twice!
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The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is planning to sue fast-food giant McDonald’s if the company does not comply with its demands to remove toys from “Happy Meals”. CSPI claims that marketing unhealthy food with toys is contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic and should be stopped immediately.Full Story
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Music Stuff June 30th
1962, Mike Sarne and Wendy Richards were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Come Outside.’ Richards went on to become a famous tv actress in Eastenders and Are you being served?
1966, The Beatles played the first of three concerts at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Japan.
1967, Pink Floyd made their second appearance on BBC Top Of The Pops to promote ‘See Emily Play’.
1973, George Harrison knocked Paul McCartney from the top of the US singles chart with ‘Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth’.
1973, Slade UK No.1- ‘Skweeze Me Pleeze Me’, the group’s fifth UK No.1.
1975, Cher married Greg Allman four days after her divorcing Sonny Bono, the couple split after ten days
1975, The Jackson Five announced that they were leaving Motown Records for Epic Records. The brothers were forced to change their name to The Jacksons since Motown owned the other name.
1976, Stuart Goddard, (Adam Ant), placed the following ad in the classified section of the Melody Maker, ‘Beat on a bass, with the B-Sides.’ Andy Warren answered the ad and the pair went on to form Adam and The Ants.
1978, United Artists released The Buzzcocks single ‘Love You More’, at 1 minute 29 seconds it was the second shortest single ever released. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs 1960 hit ‘Stay’ was the shortest hit at one minute 28 seconds.
1979, Tubeway Army- No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric by Gary Numan
1979, One hit wonder Anita Ward UK No.1 – ‘Ring My Bell’, also a UK No.1.
1990, Police raided Chuck Berry’s estate and seized homemade porn videos, drugs and guns.
1995, Garth Brooks was given a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame. The Country singer buried the master tapes of his ‘Hits’ album under the star.
2001, American guitarist and producer Chet Atkins died in Nashville aged 77.
2001, Beach Boys member Al Jardine went to court in a bid to sue his former band mates.
2001, Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Lady Marmalade.’
2004, Kinks founder member Dave Davies was left paralysed on the right-hand side of his body after suffering a stroke.

Birthday Boys and Girls June 30th
1939, Tony Hatch, UK composer, producer
1943, Florence Ballard, vocals, The Supremes
1951, Andy Scott, Sweet
1956, Adrian Wright, The Human League
1967,Peter James Camell, guitar, The La’s, (1990 UK No.13 single ‘There She Goes’).

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

“Nada es dado al hombre en la tierra – la lucha es incorporada en la naturaleza de vida, y el conflicto es posible – el héroe es el hombre que no deja a ningún obstáculo impedirle perseguir los valores que él ha elegido.”

“Nothing is given to man on earth – struggle is built into the nature of life, and conflict is possible – the hero is the man who lets no obstacle prevent him from pursuing the values he has chosen.”

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. – Freya Stark

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Come on Spain. We know you’ve got a difficult game tonight as the Portuguese have been on fire. It’s a big call but come on you venga boys!

Well, I’m baffled! Both Holland and Brazil played with the same ball that England found difficult to control. Not once was there any suggestion that the ball was a problem. The control and passing was brilliant by both teams. The opposition gave of their best and the Chileans, although beaten 3-0, always looked as if they were competing in the game. The English referee was excellent in this game. The teams seemed to be singing their anthems with great gusto. Perhaps therein lies a clue. I didn’t see any commitment to the English anthem although I quickly admit to also disliking the dreary music. Perhaps the words need to also become a little more inclusive of the nation?

The sun is strong here today and the world looks beautiful with a total clarity between mountains, sea and sky. If anything it is a little too hot and we need to be ever vigilant of the powerof the sun’s rays. Before the weather here’s a quick teaser. A farmer had three sons. One looked after the herd of cows, the other had a love of horses and had a small number of them to look after and the third looked after the pigs. Why did they call the farm ‘Focus Farm’? Answer at the foot of the blog.

Incidentally, it was reported that the England team had been eating the very best food available….In its never-ending attempt to fabricate “mental disorders” out of every human activity, the psychiatric industry is now pushing the most ridiculous disease they’ve invented yet: Healthy eating disorder.

This is no joke: If you focus on eating healthy foods, you’re “mentally diseased” and probably need some sort of chemical treatment involving powerful psychotropic drugs. The Guardian newspaper reports, “Fixation with healthy eating can be sign of serious psychological disorder” and goes on to claim this “disease” is called orthorexia nervosa — which is basically just Latin for “nervous about correct eating.”  Full Story

Let’s get the weather forecast for Alicante Province…

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
28° C | 18° C	29° C | 20° C	33° C | 18° C	27° C | 18° C	27° C | 18° C

Word of the Day

quitar kee-tar’  (transitive verb)

to remove, to take off; to take away, to relieve, to quench (thirst)

EXAMPLES

Quita tus cosas de la mesa de comedor. – Take your things off the dining table.

Quitando los champiñones, me gusta todo. – Apart from mushrooms, I like everything.

IDIOMS

¡Quítate! – Get out of the way!

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Brilliance in one field doesn’t always translate into nutrition
But here’s the really interesting part: The more intelligent a person is in their own field of specialty, the more informed they think they are about foods and nutrition (even if they aren’t). A typical rocket scientist, for example, is so used to being right that when it comes to his dietary decisions and food shopping habits, he thinks he is right by the mere fact that he is the one making his food consumption decisions. Because he’s always right, then whatever decision he makes — whether it deals with food, finances or relationships — must also be the right decision.

Making matters even worse, really smart people are especially susceptible to strategies of non-conscious persuasion — such as those used by food advertisers. Food companies don’t appeal to logic and reason when advertising their junk foods because there really isn’t much logic or reason behind consuming their products at all. Instead, they use emotional anchoring to unconsciously attach feelings to brands. That way, when you’re in the store shopping, you unconsciously experience a preference for a particular product or brand without knowing why.  Full Story

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Faux Pas!!!

1. Ted Walsh – Horse Racing Commentator – ‘This is really a lovely horse. I once rode her mother.’

2. Pat Glenn, weightlifting commentator – ‘And this is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning and it was amazing!’

3. Harry Carpenter at the Oxford-Cambridge boat race 1977 – ‘Ah, isn’t that nice.. The wife of the Cambridge President is kissing the Cox of the Oxford crew..’

4. US PGA Commentator – ‘One of the reasons Arnie (Arnold Palmer) is playing so well is that,
before each tee shot, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them …. Oh my god!! What have I just said??’

5. A female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn’t, turned to the weatherman and asked, ‘So Bob, where’s that eight inches you promised me last night?’ Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too, because they were laughing so hard!

6. Mike Hallett discussing missed snooker shots on Sky Sports: ‘Stephen Hendry jumps on Steve Davis’s misses every chance he gets.’

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NaturalNews) Modern psychiatry went wrong when it embraced the idea that the mind should be treated with drugs, says Edward Shorter of the University of Toronto, writing in the Wall Street Journal.

Shorter studies the history of psychiatry and medicine.

Modern U.S. psychiatry has adopted a philosophy that psychological diseases arise from chemical imbalances and therefore have a very specific cluster of symptoms, he says, in spite of evidence that the difference between many so-called disorders is minimal or nonexistent. These “disorders” are then treated with expensive drugs that are no more effective than a placebo.

“Psychiatry seems to have lost its way in a forest of poorly verified diagnoses and ineffectual medications,” he writes.

Shorter calls for U.S. psychiatry to abandon its emphasis on “psychopathology” and instead adopt the European approach, which focuses on the symptoms and needs of people as individuals. Yet the draft of the latest edition of psychiatric diagnostic “Bible,” the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), shows that U.S. psychiatry has no intention of changing course.

“With DSM-V, American psychiatry is headed in exactly the opposite direction: defining ever-widening circles of the population as mentally ill with vague and undifferentiated diagnoses and treating them with powerful drugs,” Shorter writes.   Full Story

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Music Stuff June 29
1961, Del Shannon UK No.1 – ‘Runaway.’
1965, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts bought the 16th century house that once belonged to an Archbishop of Canterbury.
1967, Rolling Stone Keith Richard was found guilty of allowing his house to be used for the illegal smoking of cannabis.
1968, a free concert was held in London’s Hyde Park with Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Roy Harper.
1968, The Small Faces No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake.’
1969, American soul singer Shorty Long drowned aged 29 after his boat capsized on the Detroit River in Michigan. Had the 1968 US No.8 single ‘Here Comes The Judge.’
1973, Ian Gillan singer with Deep Purple quit the band at the end of a tour in Japan.
1974, Charles Aznavour was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘She’, the French singers only UK No.1.
1974, Singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot US No.1 single with ‘Sundown’.
1985, David Bowie and Mick Jagger recorded a version of the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 1964 hit ‘Dancing In The Street.” for the forthcoming ‘Live Aid’ fundraising event.
1985, U2 played in front of 55,000 fans at Croke Park at their home city of Dublin.
1985, John Lennon’s 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine, with psychedelic paintwork, sold for a record sum of £1,768,462 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
1991, Jason Donovan UK No.1 single with ‘Any Dream Will Do’ a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for the 1968 musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
1996, Record producer George Martin received a Knighthood, also music promoter Harvey Goldsmith became an MBE and Van Morrison an OBE.
1998, Horst Jankowski, German pianist, died of cancer.
1999, Michael Jackson suffered severe bruising after falling over 50 feet when a bridge collapsed during a concert at Munich’s Olympic stadium.
2002, American singer and actress Rosemary Clooney died of lung cancer. Had the 1954 UK No.1 single ‘This Ole House’ appeared in the 1954 movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Her nephew, George Clooney was a pallbearer at her funeral.
2003, Robbie Williams played his first UK in two years when he appeared in front of 62,000 fans at Murryayfield, Edinburgh.

Birthday Boys and Girls June 29
1945,  Little Eva, US singer. She was babysitting for Carole King and Gerry Goffin who asked her to record a song they had written.
1947, Carlo Santanna, guitar, Paper Lace,
1948, Derv and Lincoln Gordon, The Equals,
1948, Ian Paice, drummer, Deep Purple
1953, Colin Hay, Men At Work,

Focus Farm -it’s where the sons raise meat-(sun’s rays meet)!

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

“Anyone who fights for the Future lives in it today.”
(‘Romantic Manifesto’)

Germany 4 England 1.

Without any doubt the better team won. Did the English team know one another? Apart from a couple of Frank Lampard efforts we were awful. When the equaliser was disallowed I thought we might get back into the game but you could have driven two double-decker buses down the middle of England’s defence. Our best player was the goalkeeper and we got beat 4-1! Fabio should go. His tactics were a joke. What did he think Heskey was going to do with a few minutes left? What was the point of bringing Peter Crouch? Was Wright Phillips going to score four goals in the last five minutes? England have been conned, yet again, into paying top brass for ordinary to poor results. What about the ref? He should have gone to Specsavers! Am I unhappy? Come on Spain!  Incidentally, Argentina are looking good.Here’s the Alicante weather forecast…

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
28° C | 18° C	29° C | 19° C	29° C | 18° C	30° C | 18° C	29° C | 21° C

Do we still have a sense of humour. Fabio does. He says England played well………..THE DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU MARRY AN ENGLISH GIRL

The first man married a woman from Cyprus He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.

The second man married a woman from Italy. He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn’t see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table.

The third man married a girl from ENGLAND. He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn’t see anything, the second day he didn’t see anything, but by the third day some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher. He still has some difficulty when he pees.

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with Anu Garg

The French writer and philosopher Albert Camus once said, “Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.” Can you recognize people like that around you? This week’s words will help you describe them.

weathercock

(WETH-uhr kok)

noun:
1. A weathervane, especially one with the figure of a rooster on it.
2. One who changes readily or often.

From weather + cock.

The words weathercock/weathervane are especially suitable for politicians who change according to prevailing winds. Quebec’s legislature has gone so far as to impose a ban on their use.

“William was such a weathercock, how could one be sure?”
Barbara W. Tuchman; The Guns of August; Random House; 1962.

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My attempts at using accents are often criticised  by my friends. They probably feel they can do it better and in my own defence I have to point out it isn’t easy. Just click on this link and you’ll understand just how difficult things can get.

Word of the Day

depurar deh-poo-rar’  (transitive verb)

to purify, to purge, to refine, to debug, to cleanse, to filter

EXAMPLES

El año nuevo es un buen momento para depurar el cuerpo con un cambio de dieta. – New Years is a great time to cleanse your body with a diet change.

Debe depurar el agua cuando estás de excursión. – You should filter your water when you go hiking.

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The TV diet

Don’t get your news from television, and definitely don’t get your dietary advice from commercials.

If you did, you’d turn into a swollen blob gulping down 25 times the suggested daily limit for sugar, according to a new study. Since those allowances are already far too generous, believe me when I tell you that’s enough sugar to restore prosperity to Cuba.

And nutrients? What nutrients! Foods advertised on TV barely have any, despite the ludicrous health claims you’ll always find on package labels.

In one of the riskiest studies ever, researchers braved 84 hours of primetime drivel, then 12 hours of the rot aimed at kids that airs on Saturday mornings, all from a single month in 2004.

Somehow, the researchers kept their sanity long enough to devise the world’s most awful eating plan: A 2,000-calorie diet based on the so-called foods in the commercials that aired during those shows.

OK, forget the first part — anyone who could come up with this, even in the name of research, has clearly lost all sanity.

In addition to a plantation’s worth of sugar, the TV diet would also lack any semblance of normal nutrition. Researchers say anyone demented enough to live on TV foods would lack critical nutrients, including vitamins A, E and D, calcium and potassium, according to the study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

And, needless to say, as-seen-on-TV meals are low in anything fresh, from fruits and vegetables to dairy.

Of course, anyone who trusts a commercial for dietary advice deserves what they get, because it doesn’t take a medical degree to realize that all that food — and I mean all of it — is pure garbage.

And so’s the TV.

No dinners from my TV,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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Drink to avoid dementia

Booze isn’t just good for your heart… a good tipple can also save your brain, because a new study finds that moderate drinkers have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Spanish study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that men who drink had a 20 percent lower risk of losing their minds to this condition, while women lowered their risk by up to 52 percent… so don’t be afraid of Ladies’ Night, ladies.

Other studies have found that moderate drinking can lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, just to name a few. Drinkers are also smarter, live longer and tend to be healthier overall — and that’s true no matter what booze you choose.

So drink for your heart, drink for your body, drink for your brain — and drink to enjoy.

Feeding my brain with booze,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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Music Stuff June 28th
1959, Bobby Darin was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Dream Lover- the song featured Neil Sedaka on piano.
1966, The Small Faces appeared live at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London. Admission 7s & 6d,
1969, Henry Mancini started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Love Theme from Romeo And Juliet’.
1969, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Nice, John Mayall, Ten Years After, Taste, Liverpool Scene and Chicken Shack all appeared at The Bath Festival of Blues in England, the DJ was John Peel. Tickets cost 18/6.
1975, The Eagles No.1 US album- ‘One Of These Nights’.
1975, Wings No.1 UK album ‘Venus And Mars.
1977, Elton John became the Chairman of Watford Football Club.
1980, Roxy Music scored their second UK No.1 album with ‘Flesh And Blood’.
1985, Sister Sledge No.1 UK single- ‘Frankie’, the sisters only UK No.1.
1986, Wham! No.1 UK single-’The Edge Of Heaven’. Also on this day
1996, Burt Bacharach appeared at The Royal Albert Hall, London. Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher joined him on-stage for a version of ‘This Guy’s In Love With You.’
1997, the classic Pink Floyd album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ spent its 1056th week on the US album chart.
2005, 2 Pac feat Elton John was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Ghetto Gospel.
2007, Benno Goldewijk, from Holland, and Spaniard Alfredo Pecina Matias were killed and two other men were injured during an accident dismantling the stage after a Rolling Stones concert in Madrid. Three of the workers fell 10m (33ft) from a metal structure and landed on a fourth. The Stones were currently on the European leg of their A Bigger Bang world tour.
2007, The Spice Girls confirmed they would reform for a world tour to take place in December 2007 and January 2008 with the original line-up who had not performed on stage since Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell quit in May 1998.
2009, Three days after his death Michael Jackson was at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Number Ones’. The Essential Michael Jackson went to No.1 the following week for seven weeks.
June 28th: Born on this day
1943, Bobby Harrison, drums, Procol Harum
1945, David Knights, Procol Harum
1948, John Martyn, singer, songwriter, guitarist, (1973 album ‘Solid Air’). Died in hospital on 30th Jan 2009 in Ireland at the age of 60. The folk, blues and funk artist was widely regarded as one of the most soulful and innovative singer-songwriters of his generation and had been cited as an influence by artists as varied as U2, Portishead and Eric Clapton.
1963, Beverley Craven, (1991 UK No.3 single ‘Promise Me’, 1991 UK No.3 self-titled album).

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

One major thing that stands in between you and the fulfillment of your dream is the willingness to start, the courage to move ahead and the faith to finish.”

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Our weather has changed and I am wondering what the week will have in store for us.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
27° C | 18° C	28° C | 18° C	29° C | 18° C	28° C | 18° C	28° C | 20° C

The forecast presented at the radio station did not suggest anything sinister which is surprising as  we have quite nasty thunder in the air right now. If we think we are badly treated then this article I have recently read is chilling to say the very least……

NaturalNews) It’s hurricane season in the Atlantic, and that means Mother Nature could be whipping up fierce storms and sending them charging into the Gulf Coast any day now. In a normal hurricane season, that’s bad enough all by itself… remember Katrina? But now there’s something even more worrisome in the recipe: There’s oil in the water.

So what happens when a Katrina-class hurricane comes along and picks up a few million gallons of oil, then drops that volatile liquid on a major U.S. city like Galveston or New Orleans?  Full Story

Word of the Day

la ocasión oh-kah-syon’  (noun)

opportunity, chance; occasion, time, moment; bargain, second-hand

EXAMPLES

No tuve ocasión de hablarle a mi jefe. – I didn’t have a chance to speak to my boss.

Estamos reunidos hoy en ocasión del aniversario de nuestra boda. – We are gathered here at this time to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

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Thanks Ian K…the old ones are the best…….
Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place..   Looking up to heaven he said, ‘Lord take pity on me.   If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!’

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, ‘Never mind, I found one.’

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Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and asks the first man he meets, ‘Do you want to go to heaven?’

The man said, ‘I do, Father.’

The priest said, ‘Then stand over there against the wall.’

Then the priest asked the second man, ‘Do you want to go to heaven?’

‘Certainly, Father,’ the man replied.

‘Then stand over there against the wall,’ said the priest.

Then Father Murphy walked up to O’Toole and asked, ‘Do you want to go to heaven?’

O’Toole said, ‘No, I don’t Father.’

The priest said, ‘I don’t believe this.   You mean to tell me that when you die you don’t want to go to heaven?’

O’Toole said, ‘Oh, when I die , yes.   I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.’
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Paddy was in  New York.

He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing.   The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, ‘Okay, pedestrians.’   Then he’d allow the traffic to pass.

He’d done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk..

After the cop had shouted, ‘Pedestrians!’ for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, ‘Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?’
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Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died.   He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.

‘Did you see the paper?’ asked Gallagher. ‘They say I died!!’

‘Yes, I saw it!’ replied Finney.   ‘Where are ye callin’ from?’
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An Irish priest is driving down to  New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut .   The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest’s breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.

He says, ‘Sir, have you been drinking?’

‘Just water,’ says the priest.

The trooper says, ‘Then why do I smell wine?’

The priest looks at the bottle and says, ‘Good Lord! He’s done it again!’
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Here’s another one still doing the rounds……..Cheers Mike…..

The UK is in DEEP trouble…

The population of this country is approximately 60 million.
32 million are retired.

That leaves 28 million to do the work..

There are 17 million in school or at Universities.

Which leaves 11 million to do the work.

Of this there are 8 million employed by the UK government.

Leaving 3 million to do the work.

1.2 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with killing Osama Bin-Laden, and fighting in Afghanistan .

Which leaves 1.8 million to do the work.

Take from that total the 0.8 million people who work for Local County Councils. And that leaves 1 million to do the work.

At any given time there are 488,000 people in hospitals or claiming Invalidity Benefit.

Leaving 512,000 to do the work. ………….

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From Sheenagh

Once upon a time there lived a king.  The king had a beautiful daughter, the PRINCESS.

But there was a problem. Everything the princess touched would melt.

No matter what; metal, wood, stone, anything she touched would melt.

Because of this, men were afraid of her. Nobody would dare marry her.

The king despaired. What could he do to help his daughter?

He consulted his wizards and magicians. One wizard told the king,

‘If your daughter touches one thing that does not melt in her hands, she will be cured.’

The king was overjoyed and came up with a plan.

The next day, he held a competition.

Any man that could bring his daughter an object that would not melt would marry her and inherit the king’s wealth.

THREE YOUNG PRINCES TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE.

The first brought a sword of the finest steel.

But alas, when the princess touched it, it melted.

The prince went away sadly.

The second prince brought diamonds.

He thought diamonds are the hardest substance in the world and would not melt.

But alas, once the princess touched them, they melted.

He too was sent away disappointed.

The third prince approached. He told the princess,

‘Put your hand in my pocket and feel what is in there.’

The princess did as she was told, though she turned red.

She felt something hard. She held it in her hand.

And it did not melt!!!

The king was overjoyed.

Everybody in the kingdom was overjoyed.

And the third prince married the princess and they both lived happily ever after.

Question: What was in the prince’s pants?

M&M’s of course.

They melt in your mouth, not in your hand.

What were you thinking???
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Music Stuff June 27th
1885, Chichester Bell and Charles Tainter applied for a patent on their invention the gramophone.
1954, David Whitfield featuring Mantovani were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Cara Mia’.
1960, Connie Francis started a two-week run at No.1 on the US chart with ‘Everybody’s Fool’, a No.5 hit in the UK.
1964, Peter and Gordon went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Lennon & McCartney song ‘A World Without Love’, also a No.1 in the UK.
1964, The Rolling Stones were the entire panel on UK TV show ‘Juke Box Jury’.
1969, The Moody Blues, Colosseum, Bob Kerr’s Whoopee Band and Orange Bicycle all appeared at Exeter University Summer Ball, in Exeter, England
1970, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention, Dr. John, The Moody Blues and Fairport Convention all appeared at the 3-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England, tickets £1.10s.
1970, The Jackson Five  No.1  US single with ‘The Love You Save’,- No.7 in the UK.
1970, Freddie Mercury made his live debut with Smile (guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylors’ group) at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England.
1981, Michael Jackson had his first solo UK No.1 with ‘One Day In Your Life’ a song recorded by Jackson for his 1975 album, Forever, Michael.
1987, Whitney Houston became the first women in US history to enter the album chart at No.1 with ‘Whitney’ she also became the first woman to top the singles chart with four consecutive releases when ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ hit No.1.
1987, Madonna played the first date on the North American leg of her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida.
1989, Tom Jones was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
1992, Michael Jackson played the first night on his Dangerous World tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany- 69 concerts to approximately 3.9 million fans across three continents. All profits made from the tour were donated to various charities including the Heal the World Foundation, Jackson’s main reason for conducting the tour.
1997, Radiohead, Cast, The Bluetones, Manson, The Chemical Brothers, Ash, The Seahorses, Smashing Pumpkins, The Prodigy, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Dodgy, Travis, Ray Davies, Kula Shaker, Steve Winwood all appeared at the 3-day Glastonbury Festival.
1998, after  30 weeks on the UK album chart The Corrs went to No.1 with ‘Talk On Corners’. It was the best selling UK album of 1998 – 142 weeks on the chart.
1998, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot and Bryan Adams each officially received a granite star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, on King Street in Toronto. They were the first three pop artists to be honoured into the newly recognized group of Canadian stars.
1999, Brian O’Hara, singer and guitarist with The Fourmost hung himself aged 56. The Liverpool group who were managed by Brian Epstein had the 1964 UK No.6 single ‘A Little Loving’.
2000, ex-Take That star Gary Barlow was dropped by his record label. An RCA spokesperson said the decision was made by ‘mutual consent’.
2002, One day before the scheduled first show of The Who’s 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle, died aged 57 in his hotel room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Entwistle had gone to bed that night with a stripper, who woke at 10am to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Las Vegas medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.
2003, R.E.M. David Gray, Suede, The Music, Mogwai, De La Soul, Echo and The Bunnymen, Inspiral Carpets and The Darkness all appeared at this years UK Glastonbury Festival.
2008, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Editors, The Gossip, The Feeling, KT Tunstall, Kate Nash, Jay Z, Amy Winehouse, The Raconteurs, James Blunt, Crowded House, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright, The Verve, Leonard Cohen, The Ting Tings, Goldfrapp, Neil Diamond, Pete Doherty, Scouting for Girls, Mark Ronson, Duffy, The Zutons, Groove Armada and John Mayer all appeared at this year’s 3 day UK Glastonbury Festival.

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

It’s a fabulous day in Spain where the sun is shining and the football team has progressed to the next round of the World Cup.

Spain´s government Thursday announced a freeze in electricity prices, suspending a 4.0-percent hike scheduled for July, in order to help households and businesses cope better with the crisis.

“The (economic) situation demands it,” Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian said.

He said energy was “a fundamental factor for the well-being of citizens and competivity” of businesses. Story
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Forget sniffling pigs — the real swine behind last year’s flu were working for the World Health Organization.

Some people called me a paranoid conspiracy theorist when I said swine flu was a load of bunk and that the unproven, untested vaccine they rushed out for it was a dangerous moneygrab.

But now, two new mainstream reports accuse the World Health Organization of the same sick behavior I warned you about: Financial conflicts, false panic, rash decisions, wasted money and secret panels — with the identities of many so-called flu experts still protected, like witnesses in a mafia trial.

An official report by the Council of Europe says the World Health Organization wasted “large sums of public money” and created “unjustified scares and fears.” Not only that, but the report warns of health problems from the fast-track vaccine, which has been linked to everything from nerve disorder to death.

I hope you believed me, and not the ethically challenged experts, when I told you it wasn’t safe!

The report even points out that the WHO rushed to protect Big Pharma, not the public, by authorizing only patented vaccines for swine flu — instead of vaccines that could have been created just as quickly, and far more cheaply, using unpatented procedures.

At the same time, a report in BMJ written with the Bureau of Investigative Journalists says the WHO’s 2004 pandemic guidelines were based on the advice of a panel that included three experts who were bought and paid for by the leading manufacturers of flu drugs, and representatives from two major drug companies.

There’s a loaded deck for you — and that was just the warm-up act. Last year, the organization created a 16-member emergency swine flu committee — a group so shrouded in secrecy that we STILL don’t officially know who was in it.

Of the handful of members that have been outed, there’s at least one major conflict of interest.

Expect to hear these sordid tales for years to come… and we’ll probably never know the whole truth — like what was really in all those dangerous vaccines.

So — who’s paranoid now?

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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Word of the Day
el atajo ah-tah’-hoh (noun)

shortcut; bunch
EXAMPLES

Si vamos por el atajo llegaremos antes. – If we take the shortcut, we’ll get there more quickly.

Se puede navegar la computadora más rápido si se usa los atajos de teclado. – You can navigate you computer much faster using keyboard shortcuts.

IDIOMS

Echar por el atajo – To take the easy way out
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Music Stuff June 26th
1955, Elvis Presley (Scotty Moore and Bill Black) played the first of three nights at the Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. The local paper ran a preview which read; “A good looking youngster who has become a juke-box favorite with his That’s Alright, Mama, and Blue Moon of Kentucky……..
1961, Gary U.S. Bonds US No.1- ‘Quarter To Three’, a No.7 hit in the UK.
1964, during a world tour, The Beatles played two shows at Town Hall, Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand.
1965, The Byrds went to No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr Tambourine Man’. Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on the song
1974, Cher divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage. Four days later, Cher married guitarist Gregg Allman, the couple split 10 days after that, got back together and split again.
1975, Paul McCartney’s version of the theme to ITV’s UK weekday soap ‘Crossroads’, was aired for the first time.
1976, All members of Roxy Music announced that they were going their separate ways for at least a year.
1976, TV talent show winners from Liverpool The Real Thing were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You To Me Are Everything’, -the first single by a Black British band to top the UK charts.
1977, Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance when he appeared at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Presley would die less than two months later. The last two songs he performed were ‘Hurt’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’
1979, Elvis Presley’s father Vernon died aged 63.
1982, American singer and One hit wonder Charlene was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I’ve Never Been To Me’. The song was recorded in 1976 and was reissued by Motown records in 1982 by which time Charlene had moved to England and was working in a sweet shop in Ilford, east London.
1988, Bros were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Owe You Nothing’.
1993, Gabrielle started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Dreams’. The single entered the British charts at No.2 which was the highest chart entry for a debut act.
1999, Elton John was reported to be in talks with a City finance house to secure a £25 million loan, using his back catalogue of hits as security.
2001, The Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey caused uproar among theologians after rejecting an application from a rock star for a degree course on religious grounds.
2005, tickets for a forthcoming Rolling Stones gig at the Hollywood Bowl were set to become the most expensive in rock ‘n’ roll history-£249 for a seat – £2 per minute to watch the Stones.
2008, Total Guitar magazine voted Celine Dion’s rendition of the AC/DC track ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ as the world’s worst cover version ever- the best cover version- Jimi Hendrix was voted into first place with his version of the Bob Dylan song ‘All Along the Watchtower

Birthday Boys and Girls
1910, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s manager. Before working in the music business Parker ran a troupe of dancing chickens.
1942,  Larry Taylor, bass, Canned Heat
1950, Junior Daye, Sweet Sensation
1955,  Mick Jones, guitar, vocals, The Clash
1956, Chris Isaak, US singer songwriter, actor
1973, US country singer, Gretchen Wilson
1979, Nathan Followill, drums, Kings Of Leon,
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Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou

Reminds me of another quote whose author I don’t know —

“I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care”
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England can win the World Cup again……….. for the next few days.Germany are the next to stand in their way. The might of England, where players are earning 100, 000 pounds PER WEEK crushed the threat of Slovenia where the total population is less than Wales,  by one goal. Wonderful. The world is struggling through a recession and eleven stalwarts carry the hopes of each nation to lift their spìrits. People pay to fly to South Africa for a few days proving how unequal is the recession.

Don’t, for a minute, think I don’t enjoy football. I love the game but when my friends tell me that England were wonderful and commentators tell me individual players were fantastic I think of rose coloured spectacles. Please keep things in perspective. People are dying in floods. People are lying in hospitals with insurmountable problems. Medical staff do fantastic work. Miners and deep sea fishermen do fantastic work. The soldiers are doing a fantastic job whether or not we agree with the political decisions. Get the perspective. When players do something special by all means call it fantastic. England played better against Slovenia. They will need to play better against Germany. Come on England! Come on Spain! Spain must win against Chile. Spain played better against Honduras than they played against Switzerland. They will need to play better against Chile. Come on Spain!

It’s a lovely day again but there are storms about in Spain. Let’s find our Alicante weather….

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
28° C | 19° C	27° C | 19° C	28° C | 18° C	29° C | 19° C	30° C | 19° C

Yvonne Robinson is desperately trying to find temporary

Word of the Day

agradecer ah-grah-deh-ser’  (transitive verb)

to thank, to be grateful, to show gratitude, to appreciate

EXAMPLES

Agradezco tu ayuda. – I am grateful for your help.

Le agradecería que me llamara. – I would appreciate it if you would call me.

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Spain´s birth rate declined last year for the first time in a decade, official data showed Tuesday, despite government financial incentives for couples to have more children.

The number of births in 2009 was down 5.0 percent from the previous year at 492,931, or 10.73 births for every one thousand inhabitants, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said.  Full Story

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The Best Time of My Life
Joe Kemp

It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty.
I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and
feared that my best years were now behind me.

My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout
before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend
Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in
terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular
day, he noticed I wasn’t full of my usual vitality and
asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling
anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look
back on my life once I reached Nicholas’s age, so I asked
him, “What was the best time of your life?”

Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, “Well, Joe, this is
my philosophical answer to your philosophical question:

“When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken
care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was
the best time of my life.

“When I was going to school and learning the things I know
today, that was the best time of my life.

“When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got
paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life.

“When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best
time of my life.

“The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee
Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe
on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time
of my life.

“When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the
best time of my life.

“When I was a young father, watching my children grow up,
that was the best time of my life.

“And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my
health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I
was when we first met. This is the best time of my life.”
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SpanishDict
Word of the Day
luchar loo-char’ (intransitive verb)

to fight, to struggle, to wrestle, to contend with
EXAMPLES

Luchaba con los mandos y se estrelló con el coche. – He fought with the controls and crashed the car.

En la vida hay que luchar por lo que se quiere. – In life you have to fight for what you want
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Music Stuff June 24th
1965, John Lennon’s second book of poetry and drawings, ‘A Spaniard In The Works’, was published. The book consisted of nonsensical stories and drawings similar to the style of his 1964 book ‘In His Own Write’.
1965, The Hollies were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I’m Alive
1967, The Monkees US No.1 album-’Headquarters’
1967, Pink Floyd made their first appearance on BBC Top Of The Pops to promote their new single ‘See Emily Play’.
1969, the UK Top 5 singles this week: No.5, ‘Living In The Past’, Jethro Tull, No.4, ‘Time Is Tight’, Booker T and the MG’s, No.3, ‘Dizzy’, Tommy Roe. No.2, ‘Oh Happy Day’, Edwin Hawkins Singers and at No.1, ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko’ by The Beatles.
1977, The Jacksons UK No.1 – ‘Show You The Way To Go.’ The Jacksons were four members of the Jackson Five, including Michael.
1978, Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Devo, Brand X and The Atlanta Rhythm Section all appeared at Knebworth Park, tickets cost £6
1989, Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler UK No.1 – ‘Back To Life’.
1992, Donny Osmond started a year long run in the musical ‘Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’, in Toronto, Canada.
1999, Eric Clapton put 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie’s in New York City to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua.
2003, a man who had been deported from Sweden for stalking Abba singer Agnetha Faeltskog was arrested near the singer’s island retreat. Gert van der Graaf, 37, had been the singer’s boyfriend from 1997 to 1999, but had been issued a restraining order barring him from seeing or talking to her in 2000.
2004, a Fender Stratocaster that Eric Clapton nicknamed “Blackie” sold at a Christie’s auction for £564,412 in New York, making it the most expensive guitar in the world. The proceeds of the sale went towards Clapton’s Crossroads addiction clinic, which he founded in 1998.
2005, The Thrills, The Zutons, Doves, The Killers, White Stripes, Kaiser Chiefs, Ash, The Coral, Keane, New Order, Coldplay, James Blunt, Brian Wilson, Garbage, Primal Scream and Basement Jaxx all appeared at this years UK Glastonbury Festival.
2007, The White Stripes went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Icky Thump’ the duo’s sixth studio album.

Birthday Boys and Girls June 24th
1944, Arthur Brown, UK singer,
1944,Chris Wood, sax, flute, Traffic
1944, Jeff Beck, guitarist, Screaming Lord Sutch, The Yardbirds,
1944, Mick Fleetwood, drums, Fleetwood Mac
1945, Colin Blunstone, singer, Zombies
1949, John Illsley, bass, Dire Straits
1957Terence Wilson, (Astro), vocals, UB40
1959, Andy McCluskey, vocals, guitar, keyboards, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

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

“Never hesitate to hold out your hand; never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another”. – Pope John, XX11

There is a world of difference between a po faced coach sitting down and making no effort to congratulate the success of his team and a man who goes bananas when success is seen. The Spanish coach remained rooted to his seat when his team scored. Capello rants and raves and seems to react more to the negatives. Maradonna, whoese team are winning at the World Cup, kisses his players almost non stop. He loves his country and he loves his players.Let’s also go back to when his team was losing in the qualifying stages. He selected a 36 year old striker who repaid his faith by scoring a crucial goal. Last night he scored again and the delight for him and all the team and the manager was there for all to see.

I’m sorry but England Football Team needs an English manager. Spain neeeds a Spanish manager. Argentina has an Argentinian manager.The difference is there to see. The selection process  is also in need of a rethink. Please, for those who cannot remember, Brian Robson breaking down after starting with an injury. Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King were always likely to have problems. Is there really such a lack of alternatives? If the answer is yes, then there are really only two alternatives. Trawl the Championship and spend more time coaching what you find there or introduce a cap on the number of foreign players in the Premiership.

Am I the only person who feels the shirt pulling is getting out of control. If football players want to pull shirts then go and play rugby. For goodness sake use the technology. If the viewing public can see the offence and the referee is oblivious then people will become ever more incensed and outraged by decisions. Is it beyond the realms of possibility that a nessage could be sent to the referee after a foul has been spotted by a video ref and a card be administered retrospectively.? I am still feeling annoyed at seeing Kaka sent off in such an unfair situation…..

We have another sunny day with a clear definition on the mountain. Let’s see if this wonderful weather will continue for the Alicante Province.

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
27° C | 16° C	27° C | 18° C	28° C | 18° C	28° C | 19° C	30° C | 17° C

(NaturalNews) People who really know about health know about virgin coconut oil. It’s the oil of choice for health-conscious people, and it’s used in everything from smoothies (delicious!) to personal care products. You can use coconut oil both inside and outside your body.

It’s even useful for cooking because coconut oil has a much higher temperature tolerance than even extra virgin olive oil. Its fat molecules stay intact, in other words, at higher stovetop temperatures, so that makes it safer for use as a cooking oil. It’s also widely used in raw foods recipe as a stabilizer and source of delicious plant-based fats with their own unique nutritional properties. Full Story

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Word of the Day

la medida meh-dee’-dah  (noun)

measurement, measure; extent, degree

EXAMPLES

¿Qué medidas tiene el sofá? – What are the measurements of the couch?

No sé en qué medida la tormenta nos afectará. – I don’t know to what extent the storm will affect us.

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

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A  Kent farmer drove to a neighbours’ farmhouse in his old Landrover, and knocked at the door.

A boy, about 9, opened the door
“Is your Dad home?” said the farmer.
“No sorry, he isn’t; he went to town.”
“Well, is your Mother here?”
“No, she went to town with Dad.”
“How about your brother, Howard? Is he here?”
“No, he went with Mum and Dad.”

The farmer stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other and mumbling to himself.
“Is there anything I can do for you? I know where all the tools are, if you want to borrow one, or I can give dad a message.”
“Well,” said the farmer uncomfortably, “I really wanted to talk to your Dad. It’s about your brother Howard getting my daughter Susie pregnant”.

The boy thought for a moment. “You would have to talk to Dad about that. I know he charges £500 for the bull and £50 for the pig, but I don’t know how much he charges for Howard.”
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Music Stuff June 23rd
1957, Lonnie Donegan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Gamblin’ Man / Putting On The Style. It was the last UK No.1 to be released as a 78rpm as well as a 7′ vinyl record.
1960, Eddie Cochran was UK No.1-’Three Steps To Heaven’. The American singer had been killed 3 months earlier in a car crash while touring the UK.
1962, The film soundtrack to ‘West Side Story’ went to No.1 on the UK charts for the first time.
1966, The Beatles had their tenth consecutive UK No.1 – ‘Paperback Writer’.
1970, Cubby Checker was arrested in Niagara Falls after police discovered marijuana and other drugs in his car.
1973, 10CC were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Rubber Bullets
1973, George Harrison US No.1 album – ‘Living In The Material World’, his second US No.1.
1984, Duran Duran US No.1 – ‘The Reflex’, the group’s first US No.1, also a UK No.1.
1989, George Michael received the Silver Clef Award for outstanding achievements to British Music.
1990, Elton John first UK solo No.1 single with ‘Sacrifice / Healing Hands’
1990, Buddy Holly’s Gibson acoustic guitar sold for £139,658 in a Sotheby’s auction.
1992, Luciano Pavarotti went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Essential Collection’.
1995, drummer Alan White made his live debut with Oasis at Glastonbury Festival. Also former Take That member Robbie Williams appeared on stage with the band during the show.
1996, Bryan Adams UK No.1 album – ’18-Till I Die’.
2003, Diana Ross appeared in court and testified that she was coerced and felt intimidated into taking a breath test that showed her blood alcohol level was 0.2 (well over the 0.08 limit).
2004, UK DJ Tony Blackburn was suspended by radio station Classic Gold Digital for playing songs by Cliff Richard which was against station policy.
2004, Bob Dylan was awarded an honorary degree by the University of St. Andrews Scotland’s oldest University and made a “Doctor of Music.”
.

Birthday Boys and Girls June 23rd
1929, June Carter Cash, country singer, wife of Johnny Cash.
1937, Niki Sullivan, guitarist, singer, one of the three original members of Buddy Holly’s backing group, The Crickets.
1940, Adam Faith, singer and actor
1940, Stuart Sutcliffe, original bassist of The Beatles for eighteen months (January 1960 – June 1961).

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

“Nunca menosprecies a nadie a menos que vos le ayudes.”

“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him/her up.”
Anonymous

Spain won and played well last night but it was not a vintage performanc. Torress still has not found his best form and there were far too many chances to score squandered. They tried to walk the ball into the net and need to take their chances. Elsewhere, Chile struggled against the 10 men of Switzerland which put Spain’s cdefeat in perspective. In the tennis Federer struggled to beat his first round opponent and Murray begins his annual pilgrimage to the final today. We had a grey day yesterday althou we did have some bright spells intermittently. Today, is already looking brighter with a beautiful definition on the mountains. Let’s get our Alicante weather.

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
26° C | 16° C	26° C | 17° C	27° C | 16° C	27° C | 18° C

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I was sent the following and, although written with one particular fanaticism in mind this really describes all fanatics.

Holocaust Survivor’s View on Fanatic Islam

This is one of the best explanations of the Muslim terrorist situation I have read. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. The author of this email is Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well-known and well respected psychiatrist.

A Holocaust Survivor’s View on Islam

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. ‘Very few people were true Nazis,’ he said, ‘but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.’

We are told again and again by ‘experts’ and ‘talking heads’ that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march… It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.

The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the ‘silent majority,’ is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.

China’s huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery? Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were ‘peace loving’?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:

Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don’t speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts — the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand.

So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on!

Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on – before it’s too late.

Emanuel Tanay, M.D. 2980 Provincial St. Ann Arbor , MI 48104
*Dr. Emanuel Tanay MD is a well-known forensic psychiatrist who has been an expert witness in many famous cases. He has served as an officer or committee member on the Michigan Psychiatric Society, the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and others. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and of the American Board of Forensic Psychiatry and a distinguished fellow of the APA and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFC).

A Holocaust survivor himself, Dr Tanay coauthored a book about the survivors of the Holocaust and was asked by the German governmen t to consult on just compensation for the Holocaust survivors. Dr. Tanay has served on several journal editorial boards, authored many publications, and presented countless times on forensic medicine. His efforts have also produced many awards and commendations from groups such as the Michigan State Medical Society, APA, the Detroit Institute of Technology, and AAFC, among others.

I hope this letter gets read and truly wakes up millions of people all across the globe!

Evil flourishes when good people do nothing !

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Daily aspirin myth takes another hit

Whoops! We were wrong.

Not me (of course) — I’m referring to the three major medical groups that have been urging diabetics to gobble down daily aspirin like there’s no tomorrow.

The American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American College of Cardiology have been dishing out bad advice for decades, telling diabetics with heart risk (in other words, all diabetics) to gobble down an aspirin a day starting at 40 years old.

Now, they’re saying that diabetic men can hold off until they’re 50, and women don’t have to start until they’re 60.

Give me a break already! Human lives are at stake here, and they’re busy playing “pin the age on the aspirin eater.”

Look, I don’t care if you’re diabetic, apathetic or telekinetic — no one should be taking daily doses of aspirin. This is a powerful and dangerous med that can lead to gastrointestinal bleeding and even bleeding in your brain — putting you at risk for a hemorrhagic stroke.

Yet for years, the mainstream has been handing out these pills like lollypops at a daycare… despite the fact that there is no credible evidence that proves “aspirin therapy” can lower heart risk.

It’s enough to give anyone a headache!

Whether you’re diabetic or not, the best way to lower your heart risk is through better eating and fish oil capsules, twice a day. Omega-3 fatty acids will do a much better job of boosting your cardiovascular health — and they come with none of the risks of daily aspirin use.

Not only that, but fish oil will also help everything from your eyes to your brain.

Aspirin, on the other hand, is a powerful and dangerous drug, and it should be reserved for when you truly can’t handle the pain — like when you need something to keep yourself from screaming as you head over to the emergency room.

But never, ever take them every day.

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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Sheenagh sent the following

The 6th grade science teacher, Mrs. Parks, asked her class,
‘Which human body part increases to ten times its size when stimulated?’
No one answered until little Mary stood up and said,
‘You should not be asking sixth graders a question like that! I’m going
To tell my parents, and they will go and tell the Principal, who will then fire you!’
Mrs. Parks ignored her and asked the question again,
‘Which body part increases to 10 times its size when stimulated?’
Little Mary’s mouth fell open. Then she said to those around her,
‘Boy, is she going to get in big trouble!’
The teacher continued to ignore her and said to the class,
‘Anybody?’
Finally, Billy stood up, looked around nervously, and said,
‘The body part that increases 10 times its size when stimulated is the pupil of the eye.’
Mrs. Parks said, ‘Very good, Billy,’ then turned to Mary and continued.
‘As for you, young lady, I have three things to say:
One, you have a dirty mind.
Two, you didn’t read your homework.
And three, one day you are going to be very, VERY disappointed.’

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Music Stuff June 22nd

1958, Vic Damone was UK No.1 with ‘On The Street Where You Live.’ The song was from the hit musical ‘My Fair Lady’.
1963, 13-year old Stevie Wonder first entered the US singles chart as Little Stevie Wonder with ‘Fingertips Parts One and Two.’
1968, Herb Alpert US No.1 with ‘This Guys In Love Wi hit inth You’. His first No.1 plus first No.1 for the A&M label and the writer’s Bacharach and David’s first chart topper-UK No.3 .
1968, The Otis Redding album ‘Dock Of The Bay’ UK No.1, (Redding was killed in a plane crash on Dec 10th 1967).
1969, American singer, actress, Judy Garland, died of a barbiturate overdose aged 47
1971, Melanie, Quintessence, The Edgar Broughton Band, Pink Fairies, Terry Reid, Gong, David Bowie, Hawkwind, Arthur Brown, Brinsley Schwarz, Fairport Convention and Family all appeared at the second Glastonbury Festival in England.
1974, Gary Glitter UK No.1 with ‘Always Yours’, his third UK No.1.
1980, Don McLean had his second UK No.1 single with the Roy Orbison song ‘Crying’.
1981, Mark Chapman pleaded guilty to the charge of murdering John Lennon in 1980. He was later sentenced to 20 years to life.
1985, Bryan Adams US No.1 with ‘Heaven’, his first No.1 single, UK No.35.
1985, U2, Faith Brothers, Spear of Destiny, Billy Bragg, The Ramones and R.E.M. all appeared at ‘The Longest Day’, Milton Keynes Bowl, Milton Keynes, England.
1988, American session guitarist Jesse Ed Davis died of a heroin overdose after collapsing in a laundry room in Venice, California, aged 43. Worked with Conway Twitty, The Monkees, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen, Keith Moon, Jackson Browne, Steve Miller, Harry Nilsson and Taj Mahal.
1990, Ry Cooder and David Lindley, The Cure, Happy Mondays, Sinead O’Connor, Deacon Blue, De La Soul, Adamski, Blue Aeroplanes, Julian Cope, Del Amitri, Jesus Jones, James and The Pale Saints all appeared on the first day of this years Glastonbury Festival. A three day ticket cost £38.
1996, The brother of singer Diana Ross, Arthur Ross and his wife were murdered by suffocation in the basement of their rented Detroit home.
2000, After giving himself various new identities’ during the 90′s, The Artist Formally Known As Prince announced he wanted to be known as Prince again.
2000, Mick Jagger was ordered to reveal his financial worth and income to a New York court in his child support battle with the mother of his last child, Brazilian model Luciana Morad.
2003, Luther Vandross was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Dance With My Father.’
2008, Coldplay went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Viva La Vida’, their first UK No.1. History was made by this single, as it had no physical CD-single release in the UK, being available by internet download only. The song won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2009.
Birthday Boys and Girls June 22nd
1936, Kris Kristofferson, US singer, songwriter, actor
1943, , Jimmy Castor, US singer,
1944, Peter Asher, Peter and Gordon
1947, Howard Kaylan, The Turtles
1948,Todd Rundgren, US guitarist, singer, producer
1949, Alan Osmond, The Osmonds
1953, Cyndi Lauper, US singer
1956, Derek Forbes, bass, Simple Minds
1957, Born on this day, Gary Beers, bass, INXS

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

You can’t think your way into a new way of living. You must live your way into a new way of thinking.

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I’ve long been of the opinion that something drastic will need to happen for football to regain sanity. France and England have a management problem off the field as well as on the field. My perception is that it has to be extremely difficult to manage a group of young men who have cash swilling out of their back pockets. They certainly won’t be worrying about financial sanctions if they’re on thousands of pounds per week. The only other incentive can be personal pride or pride in playing for their country. My guess is that this is the nub of the matter and the football is a secondary issue. It’s all very well sitting on the bench and swearing but it’s the players on the pitch that stand or fall by their efforts. I would imagine the teams have a sports psychologist on the team. If they haven’t got one they need one. The manager’s tactics have been dreadful and the selection of the players in the first place was ludicrous. To select the walking wounded and players who have not enjoyed great form during the season was an initial mistake. There’s now just one chance to put this right. I fear the French have the thrown in the towel!

Meanwhile, well done New Zealand. However, I was outraged by the diving incident that saw the dismissal of Kaka from Brazil. It is ludicous for the whole world to see such an incident yet just one man with a whistle who doesn’t see the incident makes the decision to dismiss the player. He didn’t see the incident whilst everyone else did. If ever there was a clear case for the use of technology then this was it.The player who dived is a cheat. He should be dimissed from the tournament and banned from playing football for a year.

Wimbledon starts today and the annual pilgrimage to the altar of anxiety begins at Henman Hill-sorry Murray Mount. The BBC commentators have explained we might not win this year but there’s a wealth of British tennis talent waiting to bubble up over the next few Wimbledons. There’s an Uncle Bulgaria or two with a bat……..

We have another fine day with clouds about giving a modicum of relief from the unrelenting sun. Let´s find the weather for the week ahead in the Alicante Province.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
24° C | 16° C	26° C | 17° C	26° C | 17° C	27° C | 18° C	29° C | 18° C

Cleaner mouths lead to healthier hearts

Yet another new study shows how dental health stretches from your mouth right down into your chest, because people who have the cleanest teeth have the lowest heart risk.

A survey of some 12,000 people in Scotland found that those who rarely or never brushed their teeth had more than just Shrek-like breath — they also had a 70 percent higher risk of heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems.

These ogre mouths also had higher levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammation marker I’ve always said was a much more reliable indicator of heart risk than cholesterol.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Oral hygiene and cardiovascular health have been connected in repeated studies, and I’ve told you about some of them.

Just don’t get carried away with this… because when it comes to heart health, what you eat is about 50 times more important than how often you brush.

But since we’re talking teeth, let me answer a question I get all the time: “Doc, how can I keep my mouth clean when you keep telling me to avoid the dentist?”

Easy — just forget everything you’ve been told about dental care. Take anything in your house with fluoride in it — toothpaste, mouthwash, all of it — and toss it in the trash. Don’t save it, don’t set it aside and don’t put it in the guest bathroom (unless you hate your guests).

All you need is a little baking soda and some plain old 3 percent hydrogen peroxide. Combine a little of each to make a paste, then gently rub it into your teeth and gums after meals. Don’t even bother with a toothbrush. Then, rinse with some of that peroxide (just don’t swallow it).

Skip anything with sugar, and you may never need to see a dentist again.

And believe me, the less time you spend with those radiation-happy, fluoride-pushing, mercury-peddling bone bruisers, the better.

Showing off my pearly whites,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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Word of the Day

culpable cool-pah’-bleh  (adjective)

guilty, responsible

EXAMPLES

Es culpable de varios robos en este barrio. – He is responsible for several robberies in this neighborhood.

Me declaré culpable para los delitos. – I plead guilty to the crimes.

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

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Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs.

The seven dwarfs always left to go work in the mine
early each morning.
As always, Snow White stayed home doing her
domestic chores.
As lunchtime approached, she would prepare their
lunch and carry it to the mine.
One day as she arrived at the mine with the  lunch, she saw
that there had been a terrible cave-in.

Tearfully, and fearing the worst, Snow White
began calling out, hoping against hope that the dwarfs had
somehow survived. ‘Hello…Hello!’ she shouted. ‘Can anyone hear me? Hello!’

For a long while, there was no answer.   Losing
hope, Snow White again shouted, ‘Hello! Is
anyone down there?’Just as she was about to give up all hope, she
heard a faint voice from deep within the mine,
singing;

ENGLAND FOR THE WORLD CUP

Snow White fell to her knees and prayed,
‘Oh, thank you, God!     At least Dopey is still alive.

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Music Stuff June 21st
1955, Elvis Presley played two shows in Beaumont, Texas, with Bill Black and Scotty Moore.
1966, Reg Calvert manager of The Fortunes, Screaming Lord Sutch and the owner of offshore pirate radio station Radio City was shot dead by business rival William Smedley during a confrontation. (Smedley was the owner of pirate station Radio Caroline). Smedley was later cleared of the murder.
1966, Jimmy Page made his live debut with The Yardbirds at the Marquee Club, London.

1968, Geno Washington, The Move, Fairport Convention, Marmalade, Family, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, Spooky Tooth, Tramline, Savoy Brown Blues Band and Baron Richtofen all appeared at the Midsummer Nights Dream, Burton Constable Hall, in Humberside, England.
1968, The Who appeared at Durham University, Durham, England.
1972, Gary Glitter made his Top Of The Pops debut
1975, Elton John, The Beach Boys, Joe Walsh, Rufus and The Eagles all appeared in front of 120,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London. Tickets
1975, Captain and Tennille started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Neil Sedaka song ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’, it made No.32 in the UK.

1975, Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple to form his own group Rainbow.
1980, German orchestra leader and songwriter Bert Kaempfert died aged 56. Both Frank Sinatra (Strangers In The Night) and Elvis Presley (Wooden Heart) covered his songs. Kaempfert released over 50 albums.
1980, the first day of a two day Festival at Loch Lomond, Scotland with The Jam, Tourists, Bad Manners, Wishbone Ash, Saxon, Gillan and The Regents.
1980, The Beach Boys, Santana, Mike Oldfield, Elkie Brooks, Lindisfarne and The Blues Band all appeared at Knebworth ’80, Knebworth Park, England, tickets £9.00.

1985, This was the first day of this year’s Glastonbury Festival with Aswad, The Boomtown Rats, Clannad, The Colour Field, Ian Dury, King, The Pogues, Midnight Oil, Thompson Twins, Misty In Roots and Maria Muldaur. A three day ticket cost £16
1992, The Orb released ‘Blue Room’ the single had a duration of 39 minutes and 58 seconds, two seconds shorter than the maximum permitted for a single under UK chart rules.
1994, George Michael lost his lawsuit against Sony Records.
2001, John Lee Hooker, American blues singer and guitarist died in his sleep aged 83. Had hits will ‘Boom Boom’, ‘Dimples’ and ‘I’m In The Mood’.

Birthday Boys and Girls June 21st
1932, Lalo Schifrin, composer and arranger of film soundtracks, (1976 UK No.14 single Jaws’).
1936, O.C. Smith, singer
1944, , Ray Davies, guitar, vocals, The Kinks
1944, Miguel Vicens, Los Bravos
1945, Chris Britton, guitar, The Troggs,
1948, Joey Molland, guitar, vocals, Badfinger,
1951, Alan Silson, Smokie
1953, Nils Lofgren, guitar, piano, vocals. He joined Neil Young’s band at age 17, playing piano on the album After the Gold Rush.

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