Amazon pilots City centre lockers

AMAZON is piloting a new service that will enable people to pick up parcels from City centre lockers.

The internet firm is introducing collection points to take delivery of books, CDs and even food.

Items are brought to collection points on the same day they are ordered.

The company has already started trials in America and in London.

Shoppers order goods and the items are then delivered to 7ft high lockers, which have been placed outside office blocks. They have a touchscreen on the front and over the top is the name of the company.

Greg Buzek, president of the IHL Group, a research firm for retail technologies said: “No other online retailer has lockers, and traditional retailers should be scared too.”

Shoppers using Amazon could be given the opportunity to ask for their purchase to be sent to a locker instead of it being delivered to their home address. When the item is delivered they will receive an email and a code to access the locker.

The scheme has already been run close to London’s St Paul’s Cathedral at a shopping complex called One New Change.

The idea would reduce Amazon’s shipping expenses, which this year are about $1billion (£625m). It is predicted that they have doubled over the last 12 months.

In the future the lockers could be refrigerated so fresh food could be ordered and stored in them.

£16.5 billion profits for Apple

IT was surprising that analysts were disappointed with Apple’s annual profits of £16.5 billion, which were up 85 per cent.

In the three months to September the company sold 17.7 million iPhones. However experts had predicted it would sell 20 million.

The firm also sold 11.1 million iPads during the same time – this was an increase of 166 per cent on the year before.

Apple closed many of its stores for an hour last week to mark its founder Steve Jobs, who has recently died.

Meanwhile non-United fans will remember for a long time the expression on Sir Alex Ferguson’s face as his team conceded goal after goal at Old Trafford to Man City. He looked furious.

In the end it was 6-1 to Man City, who completely outplayed United with some fantastic goals.

This was United’s worst result at home to Manchester City since 1926.

After the game Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I can’t believe it. It’s our worst-ever day.”

You know it is the autumn and that Christmas is round the corner because a lot of CDs and books are released.

For example Coldplay are issuing their new album tomorrow, just in time to be considered as a Christmas present.

A host of celebrity autobiographies are now in the shops too.

It is a good time of the year to have a birthday as there are plenty of new books and CDs to choose from.

Finally has X Factor’s bubble burst? Viewers are switching off in droves and it is not surprising. It was unbelievable that the first studio show this year was on for about two and a half hours with less than an hour’s singing in it.

The Open returns to St Andrews

IT has been announced that The Open is to be played at St Andrews in 2015 from July 16-19.

This will be the 29th time the old course has hosted golf’s oldest Major and it will be the 144th Championship.

The last time The Open was at the Home of Golf was in 2010. Louis Oosthuizen, from South Africa, was the winner that year by seven shots and he had a total of 16-under par, with an aggregate of 272.

The R&A’s chief executive Peter Dawson said: “We are delighted to announce that The Open will be returning to St Andrews and the historic old course in 2015.

“St Andrews has proved time and again that it is perfectly equipped to host The Open and I am certain we will yet again see a worthy winner lift the Claret Jug.

“Players, spectators and officials alike will welcome a return to the game’s spiritual home and I fully expect that we will witness another thrilling championship.”

Tiger Woods won at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005, by eight and five shots. Other winners at St Andrews are: JH Taylor (1895, 1900), James Braid (1905, 10), Bobby Jones (1927), Peter Thomson (1955), Bobby Locke (1957), Jack Nicklaus (1970, 78), Seve Ballesteros (1984), Sir Nick Faldo (1990) and John Daly (1995).

In recent years The Open has returned to St Andrews every five years.

The R&A, who organise The Open, have said independent research they commissioned with Event Scotland showed that the Open Championship in 2010 brought a £100m benefit to Scotland, and of this £40.1m entered the local economy.

£101m EuroMillions prize claimed

LAST Friday’s EuroMillions winner has come forward to collect the £101m jackpot.

The prize has been won by someone in Britain and they will collect the third biggest prize in the UK.

A national lottery spokesman has said: “This is amazing news – we are absolutely delighted for the winner.

“We’ve got the champagne on ice and look forward to welcoming the ticket-holder into the National Lottery millionaires’ club.”

Camelot, who run the Lottery, said that they are not yet able to say if the winning ticket holder is part of a syndicate.

The biggest-ever Euro Millions win went to Colin and Chris Weir, from Scotland. They collected £161m in the first part of 2011.

The second biggest prize was collected by one ticket-holder in October 2010. The lucky winner won £113m and has stayed anonymous.

The winners of Friday’s draw are now £1m richer than David Bowie, who is Britain’s 703rd richest person.

They could now buy 600 of the most expensive sports cars – the Ferrari 458 Italia, which has a price tag of £140,000.

Or if they wanted to they could have a party and invite Rihanna to sing at it. She charges £500,000 a performance.

Meanwhile, the best way to watch the X-Factor is to record it, so that you can fast forward all the adverts. It was on for a mind numbing two and a half hours on Saturday and then a further hour tonight (Sunday).

There seemed to be endless adverts during its slot. But I suppose it gives you a chance to make a brew.

You know when the studio programmes start that Christmas is not far away.

Never write Tiger Woods off

WAS Rory McIlroy premature to write Tiger Woods off?

He said: “We saw the best of Tiger in 2000 and 2001. I don’t think golf can be played any better than that.

“He didn’t even need to play that well to win tournaments – he won the US Open by 15 shots, the Open by eight – so I think we’ve seen the best of him, but that’s not to say he won’t win again.”

I’m not sure you can say that about Tiger. Although he has not won for two years, and is now ranked 49th in the world rankings, he still has the potential to turn his situation around.

He is only 35 and could reach Jack Nicklaus’s tally of 18 major titles. At the moment Tiger has 14 majors.

When he was on form and leading a competition other players used to be fearful of challenging him. Players were also fearful of when he made a charge up the leaderboard. In recent years, I think the fear factor has disappeared, maybe due to all the lurid headlines, which could have burst his invincibility bubble.

For golf viewers there is nothing greater than watching Tiger on form, and it must not be forgotten that Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in 1986 at the age of 46. While Tom Watson was 59 when he came so close to winning The Open at Turnberry in 2009.

If Tiger can sort out his injuries, then he can win again and secure more majors.

One of his worst injuries was in June 2008, which he won despite having to limp for most of the 72 holes of competition.

After that event he had surgery on his left knee and missed the rest of the season, including the 2008 Open Championship.

McIlroy made his comments after signing with Santander.

He won The US Open this year in June, his first major, and also came very close to taking The Masters, at the start of the year.

Tom Lewis turns professional and joins up with IMG

TOM Lewis, who was part of the winning GB&I Walker Cup team and winner of the Silver Medal at this year’s Open Championship has turned pro.

Lewis was first seen on the world stage at this year’s Open, where he scored a 65 in the first round, which gave him the lead at the end of Thursday with Thomas Bjorn. He had qualified through Local Final Qualifying at Rye.

His round was the lowest by an amateur in the history of The Open Championship. He was also the first amateur since Michael Bonallack to lead The Open. Bonallack had led in 1968.

Lewis was placed 30th and took the Silver Medal for being the best finished amateur.

The golfer has had a good amateur career and had wins at the 2009 Boys Amateur Championship and the 2011 St Andrews Links Trophy.

Lewis will make his professional debut at the Austrian Golf Open and will also play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Tom explained: “I am very excited to get out there and see how I measure up. The Open Championship was fantastic for me and I learnt a lot from the occasion. All the experiences gleaned from my amateur career, along with the help and support I have received from the R&A, EGU and my family and friends, will hopefully stand me in good stead as I try to earn my European Tour card for next year.

“I am very grateful to the tournament promoters who have generously offered me invitations, particularly the Austrian Golf Open presented by Lyoness and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. I hope I will perform at my best to thank them for the opportunity.”

He has signed with International Marketing Group (IMG).

Andy Murray misses out on a Major for another year

ANDY Murray will have to wait another year to see if he can win a Grand Slam tournament.

He lost in the semi-final to Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Rafael Nadal will now face Novak Djokovic in the men’s final of the last Major of the year.

Djokovic was 2-0 down in sets at one point and also had to save two match points to beat Roger Federer.

It is another frustrating year for Andy Murray who lost in the final of the Australian Open, reached the semi-final of Wimbledon (before losing to Nadal) and also was beaten by Nadal again here.

Let’s hope Murray can break his duck in the Majors next year and clinch one of the big four, perhaps it will be at the Australian Open.

The final of this year’s US Open will start at 9pm tonight (Monday).

Meanwhile Downton Abbey is to start again next Sunday (September 18).

This year there is to be eight new episodes plus a Christmas special.

Over ten million people in England watched the first series of the programme, which was written by Julian Fellowes who won an Oscar for Gosford Park in 2002.

Many of the characters from the first series return, such as Violet Dowager Countess of Grantham, Lady Mary Crawley and John Bates, the Valet.

The second series follows on from the first which ended in 1914 with Lord Grantham announcing that England was at war with Germany.

The new series will highlight the social changes that took place during the first half of the 1900s.

Music helps depression

IN a study published this year it has been stated that music therapy may help depression.

The study was carried out in Finland, and printed in this country in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

The project included 79 people and subjects who listened to music scored better than those who had not and had only received the normal treatment for depression.

All the people in the study, who were all suffering from depression, were given the normal treatment of counselling and appropriate medication.

But 33 of them received 20 classes with a trained music therapist and took part in drum workshops.

Anxiety and depression were measured after three months in the patients and those who had been given the music therapy were less anxious and depressed than those that hadn't.
But after six months there was no improvements.

It is believed music can help people engage in a way that words can't.

Meanwhile Andy Murray is through to the last 16 of the US Open after beating Feliciano Lopez.

In the second round he was taken to five sets by the Dutchman Robin Haase. He had been two sets down in that match, but managed to fight his way back.

And in the first round he beat Somdev Devvarman from India in three sets, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.
The best Andy Murray has done in this competition was in 2008 when he reached the final, losing to Roger Federer 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

Murray has also been in the Australian Open final for the last two years. In 2010 he lost to Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 and this year he was beaten by Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

New additions in the dictionary

MANY words used for texting have now been included in the dictionary.

The newest edition of the Chambers Dictionary lists acronyms like ‘OMG’, which is short for ‘oh my God.’

Also to be found in the dictionary is ‘BFF,’ meaning ‘best friend forever’.

Many of the new words have come from the internet, and others come from text speak, street slang and rap music.

Those people buying the new edition will also see ‘skank’ – the word to describe a loose woman.

Terms taken from Facebook find there way into the dictionary too and these are ‘unfriend’ and ‘defriend.’

Some traditionalists may not like the inclusion of some of these words in the English Language.

Meanwhile at the time of writing The US Open schedule does not look like being badly affected by Hurricane Irene.

The tournament will last for the next two weeks and is the final tennis major of the year.

It is played at Flushing Meadows and Great Britain’s Andy Murray will be seeded four.

Fred Perry was the last British player to win the tournament in 1936.

Last year’s winner of the men’s championship was Rafael Nadal. He beat Novak Djokovic in the final 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

This year Novak Djokovic is seeded one, while Caroline Wozniacki is seeded one out of the women.

Andy Murray faces Somdev Devvarman in the first round.

The Red Arrows impress at Southport Air Show

THE RED Arrows never fail to impress and they were again one of the highlights at this year’s Southport Air Show.

One the Saturday they were the last to appear at 5.15pm, but no one had left the beach and there were thousands of people waiting for their display.

Before they came there was a sense of anticipation. Individuals were looking to the skies and checking their watches.

Then bang on 5.15pm they flew directly over the beach and out to sea.

It was worth the wait to see them.

The display lasted about 30 minutes and manoeuvres included planes flying towards each other then turning at the last minute.

Another display saw two planes draw a heart in the sky with their trails.

When they had finished there was a round of applause from the crowd.

Meanwhile, it was good to see Darren Clarke take this year’s Open at Royal St George’s.

On the last day he played excellent golf, although he was lucky on a couple of occasions.

He had been close to winning an Open before at Royal Troon in 1997, but this time he held his nerve.

Many people’s favourites, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood (World number one and two) did not even make the cut.

Lee Westwood must be wondering when his first major is coming.

Yani Tseng is putting up a good defence of her title at The Women’s Open at Carnoustie.

Can Darren Clarke win The Open?

IT will be interesting to see if Darren Clarke can go on and win The Open at St George’s this afternoon.

He has come close at The Open before, in 1997 he came second to Justin Leonard and in 2001 he was third to David Duval.

Clarke looks very relaxed on the course and hopefully he can keep that frame of mind for the final day when the pressure will be more intense.

All the talk has been of Rory McIlroy, but I think Rickie Fowler has played better. He looks hungrier than Rory to win this week.

It will also be good to see Thomas Bjorn do well as he should have won The Open in 2003, the last time it was played at St George’s.

Many people were shocked to see Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the world number one and two, fail to make the cut. They were seen as favourites to win before the tournament started.

Meanwhile, Helen should win The Apprentice tonight.

She is the strongest contender of the four remaining, which also includes Tom, Susan and Jim.

I suppose it all depends on the business plan that she has put forward to Lord Sugar.

Tonight, they will be interviewed by experts in the field and watching them being quizzed is always entertaining as those who have been economical with the truth are often found out.

It is a shame that the programme is on for two hours though, because the one hour shows are a better format.

Luke Donald among the favourites for The Open

THE Open is returning to Royal St George’s next week.

Royal St George’s is on the south coast of England and has held the event 13 times before.

The last player to win the Claret Jug there was Ben Curtis in 2003. Ben Curtis was a little known American at the time.

Thomas Bjorn had led The Open that year by two with three holes to play. But it wasn’t to be Bjorn’s year, he dropped shots at the Par 3 16th when he took three to get out of the bunker, finishing the hole with a double bogey five.

In the same year Mark Roe was disqualified after he had signed for a 67. He and his playing partner, Jesper Parnevik, and forgotten to swap their cards before the round.

Those who watched the event will also remember Woods losing his opening drive in the thick rough of the course. He had to go back and play three off the tee.

Unfortunately, Tiger Woods won’t be playing this year as he has had to pull out because of an injury.

Royal St George’s is also the setting for Ian Fleming’s book Goldfinger, where James Bond plays golf against the villain of the story. The venue was not used for the setting of the film though and it was changed to Stoke Park, near London.

Ian Fleming was a member of RSG too.

Favourite to win among those who will be playing are Rory McIlroy, who has just won The US Open, in spectacular style.

Another European player in with a chance is Luke Donald, a golfer in good form at the moment and the World Number One.

Lee Westwood, yet to win a major, will be hoping to break his duck as well.

Andy Murray can win Wimbledon

WATCHING Andy Murray take the first set from Rafael Nadal in Friday’s semi-final, I thought Murray could have a chance of reaching his first Wimbledon final.

He was beating Nadal at his own game and was playing very aggressively.

Murray seemed to be in control and was serving well and taking the game to Nadal.

Even Andrew Castle, commentating on the match, was asking the question, ‘could we have a British player in a Wimbledon final?’

Then after one point Nadal took the advantage and didn’t let go of it until he had won the match.

The point came in the third game of the second set. Murray was 15-30 up on Nadal’s serve and had an open court to hit a winner, but unfortunately flinched and hit the shot long. What could have become 15-40 (with two break points for Murray) ended up being 30-30.

Murray seemed to be a different player after this, it was as if he was beating himself internally for his missed opportunity.

He went on to take the next seven games on a trot and Nadal was to win the next three sets convincingly.

It is now 75 years since the last player from Great Britain – Fred Perry – won Wimbledon.

I am sure Murray can go two steps further at Wimbledon and lift the title, but he needs to work with someone on the mental side of his game.

It also felt on Friday that Nadal was more hungry for the win and chased down every ball in sight.

Maybe Murray will be able to clinch his first Grand Slam victory at this year’s US Open at Flushing Meadows.

He reached the final of the US Open in 2008, but lost in straight sets to Roger Federer.

Brilliant win for Rory McIlroy

IT was good to see Rory McIlroy overcome his disastrous last round at this year’s Masters and win The US Open by eight shots.

Earlier in the year it had been painful watching McIlroy’s back nine at Augusta as he had one hand on the trophy.

But the 22-year-old led the US Open from the beginning to the end and became the youngest winner of a US Open since Bobby Jones, 21, in 1923.

Surely the Northern Irish golfer will now go on and win more majors.

With McIlroy so far ahead the rest of the field were playing for second place.

Meanwhile Coldplay, in my opinion, outshone U2 at this year’s Glastonbury.

Their set seemed to be more powerful than U2’s and the crowd seemed to enjoy it more.

You forget how many great songs Coldplay have and their rendition of Clocks was my favourite.

U2 even sang Yellow – one of Coldplay’s songs - during their set.

Andy Murray has reached the second week of Wimbledon, but I don’t think he can go all the way this year.

First he will have a tough test on Monday against Richard Gasquet in the last 16.

And if he gets to the semi-final he could have to play Rafael Nadal who he has a poor record against at Wimbledon.

Who checks cinema seats?

I’M sure no-one checks the tickets of those people who sit in the more expensive seats in the cinema.

How do they know who sits there?

There is a marked difference in price between a standard seat and a luxury one.

Yet, when you go to the cinema, the luxury seats are always full, but I have never seen anybody check tickets inside a screening at the cinema.

Haven’t you noticed also if you arrive late the last seats are always in the middle of a row and that you have to disturb half the audience to get the free spaces. People seem to like sitting on the end of rows.

Meanwhile, where are the blockbuster movies this Summer? Is it too early? When I was younger there used to be a handful of blockbusters every Summer. Massive films used to be released about this time, such as Jurassic Park.

The new Harry Potter sequel is out next month, but it would be good if there were some big original films released.

This week sees the US Open being staged from June 16-19 at the Congressional Country club at Bethesda, Maryland.

The last time the course held a major was in 1997, when Ernie Els took the tournament.

Defending the title this year will be Graeme McDowell who was the winner last year at Pebble Beach.

McDowell’s form has not been as good this year, and he missed the cut at Augusta and also shot an 81 at the Welsh Open.

Tiger Woods won’t be playing.

Is the end of the printed book in sight?

IS the end of the printed book in sight?

The announcement from Amazon that is selling more ebooks in America than print books might show it could be.

Since April 1, Amazon has said it has sold 105 ebooks to every 100 print books in America. The company brought out its Kindle electronic book reader there four years ago.

In the UK the ebook is bought by more people than the hardback, according to Amazon. They released figures showing they have sold more ebooks than hardbacks. The Kindle was launched in Britain in August 2010.

You can buy up to 650,000 ebooks at Amazon.co.uk.

The bestselling ebook titles at Amazon.co.uk of this year are Stephen Leather’s The Basement and The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris.

Despite all the fuss of ebooks, I still think I would rather buy an actual book than purchase an ebook.

Although I have yet to read anything on an ebook, so I don’t know what they are like.

Talking about download books outselling print books in America Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon told the Guardian: “We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen so quickly.”

Meanwhile, it was a shame that Liverpool could not grab fifth place from Tottenham for a place in the Europa league. Let’s hope Liverpool do better in the league next year.

Double dose of The Apprentice last week

LAST week there was a double dose of The Apprentice.

The show, which this year sees Sir Alan Sugar give £250,000 to the winner to start a company, was just as watchable as ever.

Some of the people on The Apprentice often come across very poorly to the viewer and there are some funny moments.

The boys lost to the girls on the first two tasks they have had to carry out.

Last Tuesday night both teams were given £250, which they had to invest in food. They then had to sell the food to people in the city.

The girls mainly sold fruit salad, while the boys flogged soup. Alex Cabral was fired.

On the following night’s episode the teams had to produce a mobile phone application. I though that both apps were uninteresting and there seemed to be no point to them.

The boys app, I think was called Slangatang, and if you downloaded it you could hear different regional dialects.

While the app the girls produced was named Ampi App. Those who downloaded it were able to hear a number of annoying noises. At the end Edward Hunter was fired.

I think it is too early to pick out a clear favourite.

Meanwhile, last Friday’s £107 EuroMillions jackpot was won by a ticketholder from Spain.

That’s enough money to get you a place on the Sunday Times Rich List.

There is now a EuroMillions draw on a Tuesday night also.

Golfing great Seve Ballesteros has died

IT was sad to hear of the death of Seve Ballesteros who had been battling brain cancer for a number of years.

His life was cut short at the age of only 54, however he had achieved so much in the world of golf.

He won the Open Championship in 1979 at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, at St Andrews in 1984 and again at Lytham in 1988.

Seve also clinched the US Masters in 1980 and 1983.

Many other European golfers were inspired by Seve after his triumphs in the majors.

His success was the beginning of a halcyon period for European golf with Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam all taking major after Seve’s first Open triumph in 1979.

The Spaniard also played a big part in the achievements of the European Ryder Cup team.

Great Britain and Ireland (GB and I) had not won the cup since 1957. In 1979 it was decided to let players from Europe play against America. Seve played a part in the first European teams that began to turn the table against the Americans.

Europe were to win the Ryder Cup in 1985 and again in 1987 in America – the first time America had lost the cup on their own soil.

Seve was a successful Ryder Cup captain too and led Europe to a win against America at Valderrama in Spain in 1997.

He will be remembered for his flair and spirit. His driving was often wayward, but when he was at the top of the sport, his short game was the best in the business.

When he won his first Open, he was called the car park champion because he drove into a car park at the 16th, however Seve still managed to win.

Meanwhile it will be good to see The Apprentice return to our screens this week. The last series only finished at the end of last year and there are due to be some changes this time around.

Writer of Only Fools and Horses has died

IT was sad to see that the writer of Only Fools And Horses, John Sullivan, had died.

Only Fools and Horses was one of my favourite comedy programmes when I was growing up.

The exploits of Del and Rodney were followed by millions over the years the show was on BBC1.

Who can forget The Jolly Boys’ Outing – the Christmas feature length special from 1989.

Del Boy organises the annual trip to Margate, but the day goes wrong when the coach blows up on the way home.

It is lucky for Del though, as he bumps into an old flame (Raquel) who he later goes on to marry.

The day is also bad for Rodney, who ends up being arrested, much to the annoyance of his wife Cassandra.

Another favourite of mine was The Unlucky Winner Is. Here Rodney wins a competition to the Mediterranean after Del Boy enters a Megaflakes competition. But there is a snag as Rodney has to pretend to be 14 years old on holiday.

The show made household names of David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst.

John Sullivan was only 64, but he was behind many other famous programmes, such as Just Good Friends and Dear John.

Meanwhile, I was surprised to find out that today (Saturday, April 23) was St George’s Day. April 23 is the day Saint George was supposed to have died in AD 303.

St George was a Roman soldier who fought against the Romans because they tortured Christians. He died for what he believed in.

He is believed to be popular in England because the Crusaders are said to have seen him in a vision before they won a battle.

Action for Happiness launched

SOME people raised their eyebrows at the announcement of a new group called Action for Happiness aimed at bringing about a happier society. The idea was launched on Tuesday, April 12 and was covered on the BBC and ITN news programmes. Action for Happiness wants to bring about an alternative culture where people are more interested in the happiness of others. If you join you have to promise to bring about more happiness in the world, in a number of different settings, whether it be at home, in the community or at work. The people behind Action for Happiness are Lord Layard, Geoff Mulgan and Anthony Seldon who come from the world of economics, education and politics. Those involved with the group have said people in America and Britain may have more material goods than people 50 years ago, but they are no happier. Mark Williamson, director of Action for Happiness, said: “Now more than ever we need to help people build their personal resilience and create a culture where we are less preoccupied with material wealth and more focussed on each other’s happiness and well-being.” Those behind Action for Happiness believe humans are made happy by their relationships, at work, at home and in the community. Meanwhile, this year’s Masters was one of the most exciting for many years. The final day was pulsating. You could not help but feel sorry for Rory McIlroy. He had been leading going into the final day and fell away dramatically after a terrible back nine. Tiger Wood’s charge on the last day was exciting too. Charl Schwartzel played terrific golf to win.

The end of the single on CD?

IT’S a shame that some record labels have decided to stop producing singles on CD and vinyl because of lack of sales. Many people have fond memories of going into their local music store and buying the latest releases. In the past, I have been told there were booths in record shops, where you could listen to a record before buying it. Music label Mercury Records has announced they are no longer going to produce singles on CD, because most of their singles sales are now on downloads. Artists such as Elton John, U2 and Arcade Fire are with the label. But the company will release discs for charity singles. People are downloading music now. This way of buying songs again offers you a brief chance to listen to a single or album before you purchase it. It is also a lot more convenient – as you don’t have to leave your own home. Meanwhile, for the first time in years you won’t be able to watch the first two days of The Masters live unless you have satellite television. The tournament will be live on terrestrial television from the weekend though. This year’s event will start on Thursday, April 7 and finishes on Sunday, April 10. It is good the BBC has not lost the whole event, but I hope next year the full coverage can return. This year will also be 25 years since Jack Nicklaus’s famous win at Augusta. He took his 18th Major (and last to date) in 1986 at the age of 46.

Countdown to Olympics starts

THE Olympic clock stopped just a day after it was launched and let’s hope this is not a bad omen for the main event next year.

The clock was put in place to mark 500 days before the 2012 Olympics start next July.

It had been unveiled by Lord Coe, London 2012 chief and the mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Omega, who are the official Olympic timekeeper, admitted the clock had stopped.

The clock froze seven hours, 56 seconds after it was started.

Thankfully, the clock was re-started after six hours.

Also, the application process for tickets for London 2012 Olympic Games has started.

Those interested must put their application in by April 26 of this year.

The organisers have 6.6m tickets to sell for 645 sessions across 26 sports.

It is being considered as a “chance in a lifetime” because this is the first time the country has hosted the Olympics since 1948.

The most sought after tickets will be for Sunday, August 5 at the Olympic Stadium.

On that day you will be able to see the final of the men’s 100m.

When England last held the Olympics – the event was called The Austerity Games as it was only three years after World War two and rationing was still in place.

The Olympics were also held in London in 1908.

Companies bucking the recession

JOHN Lewis and Waitrose have proven to be success stories in the recession.

It has been said that less people are going on nights out because of the uncertain financial situation and are instead spending the spare money they have on computers, gadgets and the latest HD TVs and stereos. And they are choosing to go to John Lewis for these items.

Waitrose has also been doing well. Some of their success has been attributed to Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal.

Since the advertising campaign with those two celebrities was launched an extra 370,000 people have gone through Waitrose’s tills.

Waitrose is also well known for providing affordable luxury.

John Lewis and Waitrose are part of the same brand and have just announced profits of £368 million.

The workers of these businesses also benefit as they own the companies. They are due to receive a bonus of two months’ pay.

Meanwhile, I find it difficult to believe that Subway has overtaken McDonald’s as the largest fast food outlet.

But it is true, Subway now has 33,749 restaurants compared with McDonald’s, which has 33,737.

This I found surprising because in town and city centre in England you would think there would be more McDonald’s.

However the American burger chain trails behind Subway, which has 200 more.

Subway started in 1965 and has an annual turnover of £9bn.

They can also be found in 95 countries.

European dominance of golf

ON Monday (February 28) the top four places in the world golf rankings were taken by Europeans.

Martin Kaymer was number one, Lee Westwood at two, Luke Donald at three with Graeme McDowell at four.

Luke Donald moved from number nine in the rankings to number three after beating Martin Kaymer three and two in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The last time Europe was doing so well was on March 15, 1992 when Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Severiano Ballesteros were the top players.

Donald’s win also pushed Tiger Woods to fifth spot.

In winning the competition Donald took £870,000 in prize money, the cheque was for $1.4m.

It also means that for the last two years, an Englishman has won the trophy. Ian Poulter lifted the title in 2010.

The chances of a European also taking The Masters must now have increased also.

The last European to win The Masters was Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999.

In the 80’s and 90’s the Europeans dominated The Masters.

Seve Ballesteros won the event twice as did Bernhard Langer.

The most successful player though during this time was England’s Nick Faldo, who took three titles from 1989-1996.

The margin of victory in 1996 reads five, but Greg Norman should have won that year.

This year’s Masters will take place between April 7-10.

The Oscars are hours away

TONIGHT (Sunday, February 27) is the 83rd annual Academy Awards.

The King’s Speech is still the hot favourite to take Best Film at this year’s ceremony.

Also in with an outside chance is The Social Network, which is a film about the social networking site Facebook.

The Best Director category is proving to be a very close award to predict. Experts are saying David Fincher, for The Social Network has the best chance. Fincher is the man behind Se7en and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, both excellent films.

Many are saying Colin Firth is the most likely to receive the Best Actor award for The King’s Speech. While for Best Actress, Natalie Portman is favourite for Black Swan.

Black Swan was the last film I saw. In my opinion it is a very good psychological thriller, although over the top in its violence at times.

There is a sense of impending doom throughout the film, you constantly think something bad is going to happen.

It was also difficult to work out, at times, if Natalie Portman’s character is actually hallucinating, or not.

Meanwhile, I was glad An Audience with Ken Dodd was repeated on Saturday.

The audience were laughing throughout the show and Dodd must have relentless energy to keep going.

He just tells joke after joke, and never stops.

His theatre shows normally go on for hours, even though he is now well into his 80s.

Happy as Larry

IT was funny to see 10 Downing St has a new cat called Larry.

Larry has been bought to deal with a rat problem at the home of the Prime Minister.

ITV reporter, Lucy Manning, had reported on the issue and had asked the Prime Minister’s spokesman, if Downing Street would be getting a cat. She was told no at first, but the government did a U-turn and decided to get a cat.

The cat arrived last week and was reported to being stressed about meeting the Prime Minister.

Lucy Manning had to wait an hour outside 10 Downing Street while a Russian minister departed and the cat rested. But she was finally able to film Larry, although he left four scratch marks on her arm.

After meeting Larry she said she was “happy as Larry” to give up being the cat correspondent.

Meanwhile it is National Chip Week this week (starting Monday, February 21).

If you are a fan of French fries, during this week, you will be able to win the chance to eat them in your dream destination, across the globe.

To win the competition, called The Chip Factor, you have to go to your nearest chippy and film yourself singing a song about chips.

Entries should be uploaded to www.lovechips.co.uk.

I think if I could eat chips anywhere in the world, it would be in a restaurant on the promenade of a town in the Mediterranean, or in the Caribbean.

Finally let’s hope Liverpool can beat Sparta Prague on Thursday and make it through to the next round of the Europa League.

Golf's greatest prizes

THERE the golf tournaments the professionals most want to win – the majors.

The majors are made up of The Masters, The US Open, The Open and The US PGA.

First to be played is The Masters, which is held at Augusta National every year.

This year the event – the 75th – will be held from April 7-10.

Last year’s tournament was won by Phil Mickelson. It was the third time he had won The Masters.

Following the Masters will be the US Open. The event will be staged at The US Open Championship Congressional Country Club from June 13-19.

Last year, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell was the first European golfer to win the title since Tony Jacklin in 1970.

The third major of the year is golf’s oldest tournament – The Open.

This year Royal St George’s will host The Open and the best players in the world will gather on the south coast to compete for the Claret Jug.

It will be the first time The Open has been played at St George’s since 2003 when Ben Curtis of America took the title, with Vijay Singh coming second. Tiger Woods was fourth that year.

The Open is now played at four courses in England and they are Royal Birkdale, Royal St George’s, Royal Lytham and Royal Liverpool. Luckily three of them are in the North West. The Open will be returning to this region in 2014, when it will be played at Royal Liverpool.

The last major of the year will be the US PGA and it will be held from August 8-14 at the Atlanta Athletic club at Johns Creek in Georgia.

Last year’s event was won by another European. Germany’s Martin Kaymer took the title at Whistling Straits.

JR is back

DALLAS is to return after a break of 20 years.

But will the eighties soap opera work today.

Many of the original actors have signed up, including Larry Hagman as JR Ewing, Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing and Linda Gray as Sue Ellen.

Dallas ran from 1978 to 1991 and was shown here on the BBC. Another similar programme to run at the same time was Dynasty.

Dallas was about Texan oil barons and the problems within their families.

JR was the villain and best remembered character. The show’s most watched episode – who shot JR? – was seen by 360m people all over the world.

It has been said the new series will feature the Ewing offspring and their battle for power of the family business.

The pilot has been written, but it has yet to be said when filming will start.

I wonder if the same soundtrack will be used in the new programme.

Meanwhile new Liverpool owner John Henry has given a clear indication the club will be staying at Anfield, instead of moving to a new ground.

Anfield is a unique place and there can’t be many sporting arenas to rival the atmosphere there on a match day, especially when Liverpool play Everton or Manchester United.

John Henry told an American sports channel: “The Kop is unrivalled.”

Murray falls at the final hurdle again

THE King’s Speech has the most nominations for this year’s Oscars.

The film about George VI and his battle with his stammer is up for 12.

Favourite to pick up Best Actor is Colin Firth for his portrayal of the king. He was also nominated last year, but missed out to Jeff Bridges. Firth has already, this year, won a Golden Globe for playing George VI.

But I think Geoffrey Rush’s performance in the film was better.

He is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. However all the press attention has been on Firth. In my opinion it is Rush who brings the humour to the film and his is slightly unpredictable.

The film has already taken £20 million at the box office.

Favourite for Best Actress is Natalie Portman for the film Black Swan.

Meanwhile, what a shame Andy Murray could not make it third time lucky and take his first major title at the Australian Open.

He has now reached three finals, the first being The US Open in 2008, the second last year at Australia and the third this year, also at Australia, but he has yet to take a set in the final.

Many have said this year was his best chance so far as both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had been knocked out.

Howvere Novak Djokovic was too strong for him and applied the pressure from the first game. Murray’s first serve percentage was low and he looked beaten from very early in the game.

Olazabal new Ryder Cup captain

JOSE Maria Olazabal is a worthy successor to Colin Montgomerie as Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain.

He will take the helm when the European team attempt to defend the cup in America at the Medinah Country club in 2012.

I am sure he will be a competent captain, although he probably won’t be as good in the role as Colin Montgomerie, who always seemed like he was born for the part.

Olazabal was vice captain of the Ryder Cup team in 2008 at Valhalla and also last year at Celtic Manor.

He is best remembered for his Ryder Cup partnership with Seve Ballesteros. They played 15 matches together and they were only beaten twice. Olazabal said the following on Seve last week: “We understand each other totally. We saw the shots the same way and didn’t have to talk a lot. We were fighters who never gave up.”

In his singles matches he won two, lost four and halved one.

It was Olazabal who was involved in the infamous Ryder Cup at Brookline in 1999. He was playing Justin Leonard and Leonard holed a putt on the 17th green that looked like securing the cup. However Olazabal still had a putt to stay in the match, but before he could take it US players and wives ran across his line. He went onto miss the putt.

The opposing Ryder Cup captain will be Davis Love III.

Meanwhile it was pleasing to see Kenny Daglish’s first win in his second spell as Liverpool manager.

Let’s hope he can bring some much needed confidence back to the team.

Blue Monday

TOMORROW is Blue Monday.

No it’s not New Order’s single, but the worst day of the year – according to experts.

It was Dr Cliff Arnall who came up with a mathematical formula claiming that tomorrow (Monday, January 17) is the most depressive day of the year.

Factors which have been highlighted are: terrible weather, the arrival of credit card bills post Christmas, and the fact that many people have gone back to work.

A number of suggestions have been put forward to help combat the January blues, these are: starting a new hobby, having fun and doing an activity you have been putting off for years.

It is a way of diverting your mind away from the negative thoughts.

Meanwhile it was standing room only at the Vue Cinema on Saturday for their screenings of The King’s Speech. You even had to queue before you went into the film.

I think work of mouth must be an important factor in the success of this film. People are going because their friends have seen the film, and recommended it.

The film shows how George VI was able to combat his stammer with the help of Lionel Logue, a speech therapist.

Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth portray the interaction between George VI and Lionel Logue very well.

It would be very surprising, if one or both of these actors did not win an Oscar.

Kindle is a success

I AM yet to be persuaded of the point to the Kindle, which has become the most popular product for Amazon.

As the more device becomes more and more successful, less and less books will be printed.

This new gadget allows people to download digital copies of books and newspapers and it similar to the ipod, where people download music.

There are points in its favour and these are: it is portable, it allows you to keep all your books on one device, it saves using paper and it saves space.

But we have had books for many years and I prefer looking at a book to read, as opposed to staring at a computer screen. Critics of the Kindle have said a real book never runs out of battery.

Though the device is catching on and Amazon sold eight million of them in Britain and the US last year.

Already you can buy 500,000 digital books on Amazon.

Stieg Larsson’s novels The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire also featured on the top ten best sellers on amazon.co.uk in 2010.

Meanwhile I was glad England’s cricket team won the final test in Sydney to take the series 3-1.

If they had lost the match and drawn the series, it would have taken some of the shine of their performances.

It is an amazing effort to win the Ashes in Australia for the first time since 1987.