Helene is favourite

A TYNESIDE comprehensive is to teach all GCSE subjects in eight-minute sessions.

The mini-lessons will be held at Monkseaton comprehensive high school and will be broken up for sport.

It is thought that the technique will help the memory develop and is based on neuroscience research.

A pilot scheme at the school had improved results by an average of half a grade for science pupils.

Critics have rubbished the idea saying it is nothing more than a “fad”. But it seems like a good idea to me, who can forget having to sit through double lessons for school.

A lesson would last for 40 minutes, and a double 120 minutes.

Forty minutes would be about bearable, however I can remember sitting through a a class for well over an hour, without a break, and can recall my mind used to wander.

I would think about what I was doing that evening, what was on telly etc.

It is almost impossible to keep your concentration for that amount of time.

I remember it was worse in the Summer, when the classroom got warm.

So I agree with the principal of what this school is doing, although I think eight minutes is too short.

Perhaps 20 minutes would be sufficient, that would be enough time to teach a number of points and would be a sufficient amount of time to keep children’s attention.

Meanwhile, I have been gripped, as always, to the Apprentice. This week will be the eighth episode, and I think Helene looks like one of the favourites.

Please name that tune

How is it that whenever you hear a song you like on the radio the DJ doesn’t say what it is?

DJs have an annoying habit of forgetting to announce the song they have just played, or the tunes they are about to play.

It is very irritating as the song sticks in your head and you are unable to buy it because you don’t know what it is called.

I have heard people hymning tunes to shop staff, in an attempt to identify them. Although I have to admit I have never done that.

I suppose now we have iTunes we can type in what we think the song is called, to see if we can find it.

Another criticism of DJs is that they talk too much and they only play songs as an afterthought. I won’t mention any names.

But you can tell the presenters who love the music and style the tunes they play around their show.

And, how is it when you listen to the radio in the car, you can wait ages for a good song to come on the radio and it is only when you have reached your destination that the DJ finally plays one.

Meanwhile, Trevor Immleman proved to be a worthy winner of The Masters, even if you had to stay up till 12.30am to watch him clinch the title. I was a bit disappointed that Tiger was not able to put up more of a challenge.

Rickaaay!!!

RICKY and Bianca have returned to Albert Square, but they haven’t come back to many familiar faces.

On their return Patsy Palmer, who plays Bianca, was turfed out of a B&B with her children because she didn’t pay and Ricky was seen at the funeral of his father Frank Butcher.

I think the only characters who were in the programme when they left were Pat, Ian, Peggy, Phil and Dot. Although I might be wrong.

The producers of the soap must have brought R+B back to liven up a programme which has long failed to repeat its glory days of the 1980s and 1990s.

The return of Ricky and Bianca seems to have had a positive effect on the soap’s viewing figures. A total of 10.1 million viewers watched their return on Tuesday, April 1. The show normally has eight or nine million viewers for that night.

I stopped watching EastEnders years ago because I got fed up with weak storylines and poor characters. But the return of these two may make me tune back in.

Who can forget Bianca screaming “Rickaaay” everytime Ricky had done something wrong.

Their return has certainly been well publicised. They have been on the front of almost all of the TV magazines, and the BBC have been using Ricky and Bianca on all their adverts for the show.

Ricky and Bianca aren’t together now, and Bianca’s new man is in jail, and she has four kids.

Will Ricky and Bianca get back together?

Who will master Augusta this year?

THE Masters, which will start this Thursday, will be watched by million of people in this country on television.

It is one of the few golf tournaments to attract viewers who normally don’t watch the sport.

In England it may be a cold and wet April, but you can almost guarantee Augusta will be bathed in glorious sunshine.

The course always looks immaculate on television, and you can tell the greenkeepers have been working from dawn to dusk to make sure the 18 holes are ready for the event, which is held there every year in the second week in August.

It seems the staff have been working magic, because of the manicured fairways.

Although to catch the closing stages of The Masters you have to stay up into the early hours.

My early memories of watching the tournament were of Nick Faldo winning the event in 1990 and Ian Woosnam picking up a green jacket in 1991.

Another year to stick in my memory was 1996 when Nick Faldo grabbed the lead from Greg Norman and Faldo then went on to win his third title.

It was painful to watch Norman capitulate under the pressure placed on him by Faldo, but also captivating at the same time.

Woods, as always, will start as the favourite. Only someone on the very top of his game will be able to catch him. It would be good to see a golfer from this side of the Atlantic do well and repeat the feats of the European golfers of the 1980s and 1990s.

The Apprentice is back

YOU know Spring is beginning when The Apprentice comes back to our TV screens for a new series.

Today (Wednesday) sees Sir Alan Sugar return to BBC 1 in his attempt to find a new recruit.

A total of 16 new candidates will be whittled down to the chosen one, and the lucky candidate will be told by 'Sralan' "your hired".

I have to admit I hardly watched the first series, but over the past two years I have been addicted to the programme.

The programme provides something to look forward to on a Wednesday evening. You can almost feel the tension as the candidates are brought into the boardroom at the end of the programme. It is part of the fun trying to guess who Sir Alan is going to fire.

Last year's winner was Simon Ambrose, although more memorable characters - in my opinion - were Tre Azam and Katie Hopkins. Who can forget Katie trying to manipulate other contestants by back stabbing and being underhand.

The year before there was an interesting battle between Michelle Dewberry and Ruth Badger, with Michelle winning in the end.

This year sees eight unknown males and eight females battle it out, and they come from a mix of business backgrounds.

The tasks will include, selling fresh fish and selling up an overnight laundrette business.

It is always enjoyable seeing how the people react to these situations, and it is this part of the programme I enjoy the most.

Hooked on skiing

SKI boots may be impossible to put on and take off, but many people in the UK are hooked on skiing and head for the pistes in the winter.

I was one of them this year, and have just returned from a skiing holiday in the French Alps.

France is most visited country by skiers from the UK, because it is so close to England. Austria is the next popular country with UK skiers.

Skiing holidays are popular because they offer people the chance to have a go at a sport, while giving them the opportunity to relax as well with the various après-ski (French for after ski) activities, such as having drinks.

One aspect you are almost guaranteed on such a holiday is clean alpine air, even if the sun is not always shinning.

Professional skiers may make the sport look easy on television, but I think skiing is a very technically taxing sport. However despite its difficulty it is addictive and it can be rewarding.

Although the pistes can be busy and potentially dangerous places because skiers and especially snowboarders can reach high speeds.

You have to be extra careful while on the slopes to stay in control, and not to bang into anyone. Hundreds of skiers and snowboarders can be on one slope at the same time, each vying for their own territory.

I remember going skiing with school, and a friend went down the mountain without stopping and broke his leg on the first day.

Tiger's grand slam challenge

BOOKIES are giving 12-1 odds that Tiger Woods is to win a grand slam of golfing majors in 2008.

This year may be his best opportunity of achieving that goal, and Woods has admitted himself the slam is “easily within reach”.

It would be a remarkable achievement for the golfing great who has held all four titles at once, but not in the same season and over two calendar years (2000 and 2001).

The first major of the year – The Masters - will be held at Augusta National in April as it is every year. Woods has won four times at Augusta, and it was here he captured his first major at the age of 21 by 12 strokes in 1997.

Golf’s next big tournament will be the US Open at Torrey Pines, which is also the home of the Buick Invitational. This is a competition that Woods has dominated and he has picked up wins here in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Southport will host The Open this year for the first time in 10 years. The last time golf’s oldest major was in the north west of England, Woods was one stroke off the play off contested by Brian Watts and Mark O’Meara. O’Meara won in 2008, but Woods must fancy his chances this year.

The fourth and final major of the year – The USPGA – will this year be played at Oakland Hills in Michigan. Woods hasn’t won here, although he has claimed four USPGA titles, and that includes the last two.