Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Altered Images

”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’

Our weather today isd better. It’s much cooler although I?ve had an early morning dip and it was still very pleasant. Our high will be around 29 degrees. I looked at the BBC news and the weather is awful Wimbledon has often been affected by the weather and we can all remember Cliff Richard nipping over to the mic on centre court to do a well-rehearsed adlib! Andy Murray has picked up where Tim Henman left off putting the British public through this annual agony ritual. Federer has hurt his back and Sharapova has grunted her way out of the tournament. I’ve almost lost interest now Rafa Nadal has gone home but he deserves a rest and he will be back. I would like to thank all of you who send me articles and jokes for inclusion in my blog. It is a labour of love to go through all the mail each day but there are always gems waiting to be shared. Some will have been seen before others you might have heard. My intention is to share the best with you to help the day appear that bit more pleasant.Here’s one from my friend Mike A inn Hull……..

I can’t get out of my mind the plumes of choking smoke we could see hanging over parts of the horizon at Teruel as we drove down from France. Here is a plan of action being planned in another area.

The group will have the support of the Volunteer Firefighters of Balcon al Mar

Javea. Thursday, 28th June 2012. The Civil Defence volunteers from Javea will reinforce the forest surveillance in the municipality starting this weekend. Councillor for Public Safety, Juan Ortolá, explained that although the surveillance began two weeks ago, the special summer forest fire surveillance plan starts on 1 July and runs until 30 September.

The service consists of eight members of Civil Defence, organized in two shifts with two lorries equipped with water pumps.

The aim of this preventive task force is the rapid detection and response to fires, which is key to avoiding natural disasters.

The surveillance points will be Santa Llúcia, the Granadella tower and Pinosol, as well as a special squad that will be deployed in the Pla area.

This prevention campaign will count with the assistance of the Volunteer Firefighters of Balcon al Mar, who will reinforce surveillance in the evenings and at weekends in the areas of Balcon al Mar and the Granadella. The task force will coordinate with the local police and the Marina Alta fire-fighting squad located in Denia.

Among the tasks performed by these volunteers is ensuring the compliance of the ban on lighting fires in forest areas and nature reserves, monitoring the forest areas of the municipality and verifying the compliance of the new ordinance banning burning in practically all the municipality, highlighted Ortolá.

The group appeals to all the citizens to act responsibly and respect these regulations as well as the signs posted in the recreation areas of the municipality and heed the special instructions on days of high risk of fires.

They also reminds citizens that their collaboration is essential for the rapid detection of fires in the municipal area. For this, they have indicated that people should alert the authorities immediately on the emergency number (112) or the local police ( 96 5790081) if they spot a smoke column.

SpanishVida:- http://www.theleader.info/article/34994/

Fairy Godmother

As an elderly lady sat on her front porch reflecting on her
long life, a fairy godmother suddenly appeared and offered
to fulfill three wishes for her.

“Well,” said the woman, “I guess I’d like to be rich.”

POOF: The fairy godmother turned her rocking chair into
solid gold.

“And I wouldn’t mind being a young and beautiful princess.”

POOF: The fairy godmother turned the old woman into an
exquisite young princess with a priceless crown of jewels.

“Your third wish?” asked the fairy godmother.

The elderly woman’s dog raised his head and uttered a single
weak, hoarse “woof.”

“Could you possibly turn my wonderful dog into a handsome
prince?”

POOF: There, in front of the old woman, who had now turned
into a beautiful princess, stood the most handsome young man
she had ever seen, more handsome than she could possibly
have imagined.

She stared at him in awe, completely smitten. As he came
toward her, her knees weakened.

He bent down, brushing his lips across her ear as he
whispered, “I’ll bet you’re sorry you had me neutered.”

1608 – The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain.Tres bien

1790 – In Paris, the marquis of Condorcet proposed granting civil rights to women.Jusqu’alors

1844 – Ambassador Caleb Cushing successfully negotiated a commercial treaty with China that opened five Chinese ports to U.S. merchants and protected the rights of American citizens in China.  This was a major step forward

1871 – The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company introduced the first narrow-gauge locomotive. It was called the “Montezuma.” I’ve had Montezuma’s Revenge

1898 – During the Spanish American War, a fleet of Spanish ships in Cuba’s Santiago Harbor attempted to run a blockade of U.S. naval forces. Nearly all of the Spanish ships were destroyed in the battle that followed. Dios mio

1901 – The Wild Bunch, led by Butch Cassidy, committed its last American robbery near Wagner, MT. They took $65,000 from a Great Northern train. Bad lot

1903 – The first cable across the Pacific Ocean was spliced between Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila. Amazing

1924 – Clarence Birdseye founded the General Seafood Corp. He became a captain

1939 – Chic Young’s comic strip character, “Blondie” was first heard on CBS radio.Dagwood’s mate?

1944 – The U.S. First Army opened a general offensive to break out of the hedgerow area of Normandy, France. Great work

1945 – The first civilian passenger car built since February 1942 was driven off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, MI. Production had been diverted due to World War II.  Great news

1950 – U.S. carrier-based planes attacked airfields in the Pyongyang-Chinnampo area of North Korea in the first air-strike of the Korean War. Necessary but ugh!

1954 – Food rationing ended in Great Britain almost nine years after the end of World War II.  Quite long after the end of the war

1974 – The Threshold Test Ban Treaty was signed, prohibiting underground nuclear weapons tests with yields greater than 150 kilotons. But how could this be enforced?

1976 – 103 hostages were rescued by an Israeli commando unit at the raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda. The hostages had been taken from an Air France jetliner. There’s now a film about this incident

1981 – The Associated Press ran its first story about two rare illnesses afflicting homosexual men. One of the diseases was later named AIDS. Dreadful disease and let’s hope there’ll be a cure one day

1986 – U.S. President Reagan presided over a ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty. Good….the French gave the present to the USA

1988 – The USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. The jetliner was misidentified as an Iranian F-14 fighter. This was dreadful

1991 – U.S. President George H.W. Bush formally inaugurated the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.  Good

1997 – U.S. President Clinton made his first formal response to the charges of sexual harassment from Paula Jones. He denied all the charges and asked that the judge dismiss the case. Yes, he’s only human but he accepted the goodies that went with the job and let the side down

 

 

1965, The Beatles played the final night of a two week European tour at the Plaza de Toros Monumental in Barcelona, Spain. I bet they loved this gig

1967, A private party was held at the Speakeasy Club in London, England for the Monkees. Guests included: John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu and all the members from Manfred Mann, The Who and Procol Harum.  Hobnobbing eh?
1968, The Equals were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Baby Come Back’. The group’s only UK No.1. The song was first released in 1966 but did not chart.Great rif on this song

1968, At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell’s house in Lookout Mountain, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash played together for the very first time. How cool is that?

1969, Brian Jones drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner’s report stated “Death by misadventure”, and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones and in the early 60’s used the name “Elmo Lewis.” I loved watching the way he played his guitar and harmonicas
1969, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Sly and the Family Stone, Jeff Beck, Savoy Brown, Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Mothers Of Invention and Ten Years After all appeared at the four day US Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. What a great show
1970, The three day Atlanta Pop Festival took place, featuring The Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Johnny Winter, Mountain, Procol Harum and Rare Earth. Over 200,000 music fans attended the festival. Another fabulous show
1971, American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was given as a heart attack. He co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits, including ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two Times’, and ‘Love Her Madly.’ On the 25th anniversary of his death an estimated 15,000 fans gathered at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France to pay their respects.Just look at the power and influence gained through music

1972, Blues singer, guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer aged 68. The Rolling Stones covered his ‘You Got To Move’ on their ‘Sticky Fingers’ album. He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique.Another  great name in the annals of pop music

1973, Laurens Hammond the inventor of the Hammond organ died aged 73. Many rock artists including Procol Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Allman Brothers and The Faces featured the sound of the Hammond. He also invented a silent spring-driven clock and during the second world war he helped design guided missile systems.Obviously his was a wonderful brain

1973, On the last night of a 60 date tour David Bowie announced he was about to retire from live performing, although it eventually transpires that ‘Ziggy Stardust’ the stage persona is being retired and not Bowie himself.  Good gimmick

1976, Brian Wilson played his first live show with The Beach Boys in seven years when they appeared at the Anaheim Stadium, California. Great reunion
1976, When rain stopped play during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Cliff Richard launched into a spontaneous concert, where he led spectators through some of his old hits. It was later learned that Sir Cliff had planned the moment as a publicity stunt.Well done Cliff

1977, Hot Chocolate were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘So You Win Again’. Their only UK chart topper they went on to score over 20 other UK Top 40 hits.Good music

1982, After a record breaking jump from No.33 on the UK singles charts, The Damned’s guitarist Captain Sensible started a two week run at No.1 with his version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song ‘Happy Talk’ from the 1949 musical South Pacific. He was certainly different

1982, The Human League started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles charts with ‘Don’t You Want Me’, also a UK No.1.A favourite of mine

1986, U2 crew member Greg Carroll was killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song ‘One Tree Hill’ on the bands Joshua Tree album is dedicated to Carroll. I should think the band was mortified

1989, Prince had the UK No.1 album with ‘Batman’. Ok

2000, Harvard professor Ronald Ferguson accused the culture of hip-hop and rap music of stalling academic progress among young American blacks. He claimed time spent learning intricate rhyming lyrics detracted from reading. I think he was right
2001, American singer, songwriter Johnny Russell died aged 61. Wrote ‘Act Naturally’ covered by The Beatles and Buck Owens. Jim Reeves, Jerry Garcia, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt all covered his songs. Another great name
2002, A session violinist serenaded a High Court judge during a copyright battle worth an estimated £100,000. The case was over the rights to The Bluebells version of ‘Young At Heart.’ Bobby Valentino won his case as joint owner of the song. Nice, nice, nice
2002, Sir Elton John became the first person to be made an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy Of Music. He is a bit special
2002, The wife of Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne underwent an emergency operation after being diagnosed with cancer. The family had become cult heroes after the success of the MTV ‘The Osbournes Show’. She seems to be a nice lady
2007, Pete Doherty escaped jail after a judge decided to defer sentencing him for drugs offences on condition he went into rehab. Doherty pleaded guilty to possessing crack cocaine and heroin at West London Magistrates’ Court. He was warned by Judge Davinder Lachhar that he would go into custody if he failed to take up a place he was offered on a detox programme.The guy is an idiot

1929, David Lynch, The Platters, (1959 UK & US No.1 single ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’). Lynch died of cancer on 2nd January 1981.

1930,  Tommy Tedesco, American session guitarist. Described by “Guitar Player” magazine as the most recorded guitarist in history recording with The Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, The Supremes, The Monkees, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Sam Cooke, Cher, and Nancy and Frank Sinatra. Died on 10th Nov 1997.

1940,  Fontella Bass, US female singer, pianist, (1965 US No.4 and UK No.11 single ‘Rescue Me’).

1943, Judith Durham, vocals, The Seekers, (1965 UK No.1 single ‘I’ll Never Find Another You’).

1950,  Damon Harris, vocals, The Temptations, joined in 71, (1971 UK No.8 single ‘Just My Imagination’ and re-issued ‘My Girl’ UK No.2 in 1992)

1957,  Laura Branigan, US singer, (1984 US No.4 & UK No.5 single ‘Self Control’). Died of a brain aneurysm 26th Aug 2004.

1960, Vince Clarke, keyboards, Depeche Mode, (1981 UK No.8 single ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’,) Yazoo, (1982 UK No.2 single ‘Only You’), Erasure, (1992 UK No.1 single ‘Abba-Esque EP’, plus over 20 other UK Top 40 singles).
1962,  Taylor Dayne, US singer, (Leslie Wundermann), 1988 UK No.3 single ‘Tell It To My Heart’, 1990 US No.1 single ‘Love Will Lead You Back’.

1975,  Javier Weyler, drummer with Stereophonics. Replaced Richard Cable who left in 2003.

1976, Shane Lynch, vocals, Boyzone, (1996 UK No.1 single ‘Words’ plus 15 other Top 5 singles and 4 UK No.1 albums).

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