Henry's say

Amazon pilots City centre lockers

2011-10-30T20:33:00.000Z

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

2011-10-23T20:37:00.001+01:00

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

2011-10-16T19:50:00.000+01:00

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

2011-10-09T16:21:00.000+01:00

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

2011-10-08T19:27:00.001+01:00

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

2011-09-18T20:06:00.001+01:00

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

2011-09-12T08:25:00.001+01:00

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

2011-09-05T09:45:00.001+01:00

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

2011-08-29T16:44:00.000+01:00

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

2011-07-31T09:08:00.000+01:00

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?

2011-07-17T10:52:00.001+01:00

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

2011-07-10T23:00:00.001+01:00

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

2011-07-04T08:32:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-27T07:57:00.001+01:00

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?

2011-06-12T09:17:00.000+01:00

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?

2011-05-22T19:11:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-19T17:52:00.001+01:00

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

2011-05-07T21:00:00.000+01:00

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

2011-04-23T20:42:00.000+01:00

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

2011-04-17T20:46:00.001+01:00

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?

2011-04-06T19:57:00.000+01:00

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

2011-03-26T15:01:00.001Z

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

2011-03-13T10:31:00.000Z

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

2011-03-09T17:53:00.001Z

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

2011-02-27T14:41:00.001Z

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

2011-02-21T08:05:00.000Z

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

2011-02-13T21:04:00.000Z

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

2011-02-12T17:04:00.000Z

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

2011-01-31T07:55:00.000Z

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

2011-01-23T19:48:00.000Z

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

2011-01-16T21:05:00.001Z

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

2011-01-09T15:50:00.002Z

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.

The boys beat the girls

2010-12-06T21:29:00.001Z

WHEN the girls revealed they had picked up ten items out of ten in last week’s episode of The Apprentice, you automatically presumed they had won the task.

They had spent a number of hours at the beginning of the day preparing and planning where they were going to make their purchases.

While the boys went into the buying head-on and seemed to be running around like headless chickens. They ended up with only seven items, and Jamie spent hours trying to find a kitchen worktop.

However when the result came, and the boys were fined for every item they did not buy, it was the boys who had won. There was shock on the faces of the girls.

Last week was one of my favourite episodes for some time. Though why do the candidates have to be chauffeur driven everywhere? Surely it would be more realistic to have them travel on the tube or bus.

There is no favourite yet, though Liz might be in with a chance. Stuart is providing the comedy.

Meanwhile it is good to see England having the upper hand, so far, in this year’s Ashes in Australia.

Four years ago was an embarrassment when they lost the series 5-0.

Fortunately, they can’t lose by the same margin this time.

When they were all out in the first innings at Brisbane for 260, I thought England were going to lose the test, but their fight-back was amazing and they drew.

They have, so far, carried the momentum into the Adelaide test and Cook has been terrific.

Bring Downton back soon

2010-11-20T16:45:00.000Z

TV bosses should not wait long to bring back Downton Abbey.

It was one of the best costume dramas on television for years.

There was a great mix of characters in the programme from the scheming lady’s maid Sarah O'Brien to the beautiful Cora Crawley.

Julian Fellowes, the writer of Downton Abbey, also introduced some good plot lines. One of my favourite was Isobel Crawley arguing with the Dowager Countess of Grantham for progress at the local hospital.

I also like it when Downton Abbey received its first telephone. The butler – Carson – did not know how to use the device, which is now seen as an everyday item in a household. He was shown practicing how to answer the phone.

The series was very well set and Downton Abbey was actually Highclere Castle in Berkshire, the home of the 8th Earl of Carnarvon. It was an earlier Carnarvon who funded Howard Carter’s expedition to find the tomb of Tutankhamun.

These dramas are also always filmed on perfect Spring days.

Nearly 11 million people were reported to have watched the last episode and the next series is due to appear on our screens next autumn.

Meanwhile, I could not believe someone would pay £56m for a vase.

This was a remarkable story and it was amazing that the vase, which had been used as a bookend, was worth so much money.

Thoughts on November 5

2010-11-08T08:31:00.001Z

IS it me or were there less fireworks going off this year?

A few years ago on November 5 you could hear fireworks going off throughout the night at different displays.

But this year I only heard the occasional bang of a firework.

Could it be that health and safety regulations are putting people off having displays?

I have fond memories of going to firework displays as a child. Let’s hope youngsters do not miss out on this experience because of too much red tape.

It was brilliant to see the passion of Steven Gerrard on Thursday night.

He obviously did not like the experience of being on the substitute’s bench in the first half of Liverpool’s game against Napoli.

Liverpool were 1-0 down and the team lacked spark.

This was all to change in the second half and the sight of Gerrard warming up lifted the crowd.

As soon as he came on Liverpool’s tempo improved, you knew a goal was not far away.

He spoke after the game about his desire, and I think it was this that turned the game round.

Gerrard knew Liverpool should not have been losing the game, and he had the skill to make the difference.

Now the team need more players like him.

The Apprentice is back

2010-10-24T18:35:00.001+01:00

THE latest series of The Apprentice has been as addictive as other years.

The programme, which is normally shown in the Spring, returned to our screens a few weeks ago.

In the first three programmes the team leader of the losing side has been the one to be fired. So you know if you put yourself forward to be a team leader, you are taking a huge gamble.

The arrogance of some of the contestants is unbelievable and some of their comments, such as, “my first word wasn’t money it was money” are laughable. It is often the case that the one’s that talk themselves up the most are the most incompetent, for example Melissa.

Melissa put herself forward to be a team leader because she said her experience was perfect for the task. However she was unable to work out costs, or make a decision. Luckily for her, her team just won and beat Shibby’s.

The behaviour of Shibby, a surgeon was scary. You would have thought he would have been good under pressure, but as soon as a situation became tough he went into a sulk. He was also very argumentative with potential customers.

It is interesting when a team fails and the internal arguments start. No one wants to accept the blame and the finger pointing begins.

Keeping an eye over the tasks again is Nick Hewer, and he is joined this year by Karren Brady, who brings some glamour to the programme. Nick doesn’t say much, but he doesn’t need to, as his facial expressions normally tell the whole story.

Finally it is too early to predict an overall winner.

Montgomerie's men take Ryder Cup

2010-10-16T19:22:00.001+01:00

WHAT a great win for Montgomerie’s European Ryder Cup team in this year’s match at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Who’d have thought during the downpours and play suspensions on the Friday that they would have ever finished the event.

Europe took the contest in dramatic fashion, and it was one of the most memorable Ryder Cups in recent times.

Montgomerie proved to be a good captain and the team never looked back after his pep-talk, when the air was said to have turned blue.

He had told his team they lacked passion, but that was certainly there on the Monday during the singles matches.

And you could feel the tension as the contest went down to the final match between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan.

It was amazing to read in a new study that nearly nine million adults can’t ride a bike, and five million can’t tie their shoelaces or swim.

The study has been published by www.one-poll.com, who used 3,000 people to get their findings.

People said they did not learn when they were younger to ride a bike and thought it was too late to start learning now.

A One Poll spokesman, said: “These stats are absolutely startling.”

Meanwhile, I’ll drink to another study that says that three cups a day can prevent heart problems.

The review could be found in the journal of the Molecular Aspects of Medicine.

According to the study tea reduces plaque in the arteries.

A total of 80% of this country drinks tea.

Dr Catherine Hood from the Tea Advisory Panel, said: “Evidence is growing that three to four cups of black tea each day is good not only for general health, but also for cardiovascular health.”

Firstly after Europe’s success in the Ryder Cup, let’s hope England can follow suit and retain The Ashes in Australia.

The first test is next month.

BBC loses exclusive rights to Masters

2010-09-26T18:51:00.001+01:00

IT’S a shame the BBC has lost exclusive live rights to the Masters golf tournament.

The corporation has been the only network to have screened the event in this country for the last 24 years and it will now be sharing coverage with Sky.

Next April the first two days of the tournament will be on Sky only, with both the BBC and Sky showing the final two days.

The Masters has been on the BBC since 1986 and throughout those years it has shown some great events.

One year that stands out was 1996, when Sir Nick Faldo won the green jacket. Greg Norman had led going into the final day, but the pressure seemed to get to him and Faldo took the event.

Another memorable championship was 1997. This was the year of Woods’ first major victory and he took the title by 12 strokes from his nearest rival.

Commenting on the new deal, Barbara Slater, the BBC’s director of sport, said: “The BBC is very proud we have broadcast the Masters every year since 1986 and we are delighted that this new deal enables us to continue this relationship.”

Meanwhile it was interesting to see the England squad chosen for the forthcoming Ashes tour of Australia.

England currently hold The Ashes and let’s hope they can retain them with a series win on Australian soil for the first time since 1986-7.

We don’t want another 5-0 defeat.

Who will Corey pick?

2010-09-07T08:23:00.000+01:00

COREY Pavin has a difficult decision to make before he announces his four captain’s choices for this year’s Ryder Cup.

That choice is whether he should pick World Number 1 Tiger Woods, or if he should leave him out of the team.

Woods may be the best player of his generation, but he has never performed well in the Ryder Cup.

In his first Ryder Cup in 1997 at Valderrama Woods was expected to gain five points from five, but he only took one-and-a-half.

In 2008 at Valhalla, the last time the Ryder Cup was held, Woods was missing through injury and the team beat Europe. You could feel that America generated the team ethos, which I think had been the reason Europe had done so well in the proceeding events. That year Faldo was not able to instil the team ethic.

I feel that Woods will be picked today (Tuesday, September 7) and he will play his role at Celtic Manor, Newport, from October 1-3.

In my opinion Europe will win this year after a very close contest.

Montgomerie had all the qualities to be a good captain.

Meanwhile, The X Factor has started again and is as watchable as ever.

Did Abbey Johnstone and Lisa Parker ever seriously think they could be singers.

Dreaming helps us remember

2010-08-16T08:30:00.000+01:00

ACCORDING to a new study dreaming helps us remember.

The results of the study were reported at the American Psychological’s Society’s annual conference.

Researchers showed volunteers three words and then told them to find a word which would link them together.

Volunteers were shown so many words that it was hard for them to remember the linking words.

There was a break of several hours and then the volunteers were shown the same words again.

During the break some of the volunteers had a nap with REM sleep, when we are supposed to dream a lot.

The other volunteers slept without REM, and the final group did not sleep, but had a quiet period.

The researchers found those in the REM sleep group did the best in the second trial, and they recorded a 40% increase in their scores.

This year’s Ryder Cup looks like being a close contest.

Europe and America both have fiery characters in Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin.

Last time Europe had Nick Faldo as captain. Although he was a great golfer, he proved to be a poor captain and the team lost for the first time since 1999.

This time I think the contest will go to the wire and the Europeans could have the upper hand.

The event this year is being held in October, I don’t know the reason for this as it is usually held in September.

Red spot makes difference

2010-07-25T09:59:00.000+01:00

THE Open this year was not as close as at Turnberry in 2009, but it had a worthy winner in South African Louis Oosthuizen.

He seemed very focussed on the final day and he did not look like he would throw his lead away.

Sports psychologist, Karl Morris, helped him prepare for last week’s event, which he won by seven shots from England’s Lee Westwood.

So how did Karl Morris help him prepare? Morris said a red spot was marked on the glove of Oosthuizen.

He was then told to look at the spot and focus his mind at the start of his pre-shot routine.

It was said that this was the key to Oosthuizen looking so focused before every shot.

Oosthuizen was part of the management company ISM, which includes Lee Westwood, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and Darren Clarke.

It may not have been a close open at St Andrews, but the viewer of the event got a sense of the history of the course.

You can see why the players say they get a shiver down their spine when they play the course.

St Andrews has some of the most iconic holes in golf, such as the 17th and the 18th.

I think the R&A are right to hold The Open Championship there every five years.

The Open Championship

2010-07-12T07:57:00.001+01:00

IT was sad to read that Seve Ballesteros will not be playing at St Andrews in The Open Champions’ Challenge.

There would not have been a dry eye in the Scottish town, or among those watching on television, if he had competed in the event.

The Daily Telegraph also ran a very moving interview with him where he was reported as saying: “You know, for everything in life, there is always a beginning and there is always an end. This is the tough part, the most difficult thing, when you see that it is coming: the end.”

Let us hope that the light is not fading from this charismatic golfer.

The Open Champions’ Challenge will be played next Wednesday, it is being staged a day before the 150th Anniversary Open Championship.

For the Challenge each team will have a captain. The captains of the seven teams are the most senior competitors, Peter Thomson, whose team of Tiger Woods, Sir Nick Faldo and Mark Calcavecchia boast a total of 12 Open Champioships between them. Thomson will not play because of medical reasons.

The Open Champions’ Challenge will be played over holes 1, 2, 17 and 18 of The Old Course.

This year’s Open will be played from Thursday, with the Claret Jug being presented on Sunday evening.

The winner this year will receive £850,000, which compares with the last three years when the champion has collected £750,000.

“The Open Championship sits at the forefront of world golf and it is appropriate that our prize fund reflects that position in the game,” said the R&A’s chief executive, Peter Dawson.

What makes a great album

2010-06-14T07:49:00.000+01:00

EVER brought something and then wondered why you purchased it.

Last week I decided to buy Katie Melua’s new album called the house as I had heard the first single of it called The Flood and had really liked it.

Also it is produced by William Orbit who had worked with Madonna on her ray of light album, which is among my favourite.

However on playing the house, I was disappointed with what I heard.

The songs at the start of the album sound very similar, although I have not listened to the whole disc yet.

It may be one of those albums that grow on you, the more you listen to it.

Although a great album is one which hooks you in the first time you play it.

Abbey Road by The Beatles is, arguably, an example of a great album.

The songs seem to flow seamlessly.

Abbey Road’s Side Two (I have got the lp) is exceptional.

It starts with Here Comes The Sun and finishes with The End.

There are some other great tracks in it, such as Come Together and Something.

Another good album – but a bit darker – is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

Good tracks on it include Money and Us and Them.

Are pollen levels down?

2010-06-05T19:54:00.000+01:00

IS the pollen count lower this year as I don’t seem to be suffering as much from hay fever?

Around June I normally get horrendous hay fever and I think it is linked to the tree pollen.

It results in a runny nose, sore eyes and a dry throat. Although this year I don’t seem to have had those symptoms yet. But I don’t want to tempt fate.

Will Andy Murray this year become the first British tennis player since Fred Perry to win a singles grand slam?

His form since losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open has been mixed, so the chances of him winning must be slighter than last year.

He lost in the last 16 at The French Open, but I think his best opportunity is at The US Open because that is his favourite tournament.

Meanwhile, one of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films was shown last Tuesday afternoon on Channel 4. Although I missed it.

Psycho and The Birds may be more famous, but North by Northwest I think is more gripping.

First it has one of the most famous scenes in the film – the one where Cary Grant is being shot as from a crop-dusting plane.

And secondly it is action packed and has a cracking storyline with many twists and turns to boot.

One lucky EuroMillions winner

2010-05-17T09:39:00.001+01:00

The winner of Friday’s £84m EuroMillions jackpot has yet to be made public.

If one person has won the prize they will have almost as much money as the singer Robbie Williams and Rolling Stone Charlie Watts. And they would be 789th on the list.

The winning numbers were 1, 17, 31, 43, 47 and the Lucky Star numbers were 2 and 3.
Lottery operators - Camelot - said that the millions could be in the winner’s account by today (Monday).

The last big winners of the EuroMillions were a man from Cirencester who shared £113m with a Spanish winner.

Research done in Toronto and published in The Sunday Times has showed that youngsters who learn to lie at an early age have better developed brains and therefore could end up at the top of the pile.

They believe lying uses many brain processes, for example combining sources of information and using the knowledge for their own gains.

The study looked at 1,200 children, from the ages of 2-16.

According to the study the most deceitful age was 12.

Meanwhile, The Monaco Grand Prix - where sport meets glamour - was held on Sunday.

This is the most colourful venue on the Grand Prix circuit. It is also very gruelling for the drivers as there is little room for manoeuvre on the circuit.

It is held at the same time as the Cannes Film Festival, so a handful of A-list celebrities are guaranteed to be walking the pit lane before the race.

Waiting for a compromise

2010-05-10T09:34:00.000+01:00

THIS year’s general election was more gripping than those of 2005, 2001 and 1997.

In the last three elections Labour returned to power with a convincing majority.

But this year no-one was sure how the result would go. However it was predicted that a hung parliament was a distinct possibility.

So I am astounded that no party had made any plans for that result.
David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown should have each put together an action plan, in case there was a hung parliament.

Labour and the Lib Dems could have talked about what they would do in the event of a hung parliament and the Tories-Lib-Dems done the same.

This would have prevented the state of limbo we are currently going through. The result was known on Friday and a government has not been formed yet. How long will it take for a conclusion to be reached?

There are many issues that need to be resolved in the country and a government must be found sooner rather than later. We can’t afford to waste more time.

Meanwhile, I was very disappointed that Liverpool finished in seventh place in this year’s Premier League, below Man City, Aston Villa and Tottenham.

That’s another season gone without any silverware.

Something must now be done to try and reverse the fortunes of this great club.

Turning back the clock

2010-05-02T19:00:00.000+01:00

IT will be interesting to see what will happen when The Times and The Sunday Times begin to charge for online content from June.

To be able to read an online article in those papers from June you will have to pay a week’s subscription for £2, or a day’s access for £1.

The decision was made last August by Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation. It was decided to go down this route because advertising revenues are falling.

When the change is made, it is uncertain what the consequences will be.

Will people decide not to pay to read news on these sites, because they can go to other avenues which don’t charge? Or will readers pay to log onto The Times and The Sunday Times?

It may mean that people decide to buy the paper instead of accessing their news by the internet and it could lead to an increase in sales? Who knows?

Meanwhile, snooker’s veteran Steve Davis, 52, turned back the clock to beat the sport’s world number one, John Higgins, at The Crucible in Sheffield. He outfought Higgins and took the match 13-11.

Davis was playing in his 30th World Championships and last won the event in 1989. He has six World titles.

Although the 52-year-old lost last Tuesday to Australia’s Neil Robertson.

Mickelson a worthy winner

2010-04-18T09:43:00.001+01:00

ALTHOUGH I wanted Lee Westwood to win, I thought Phil Mickelson was a worthy champion at this year’s Masters.

Phil Mickelson had started the final round one shot behind the Englishman, but finished with an overall score of 272 as opposed to Lee Westwood’s 275.

This was Mickelson’s third green jacket as he took the title in 2004 and 2006.

One of the highlights for me was the shot Mickelson hit from the trees at the 13th onto the green.

For Westwood it was another major gone where he had an opportunity. In the last three he has now finished third, third and now second. Surely his time will come soon.

It was good to see Tiger Woods back again playing competitive golf after his five month absence.

Although he looked far from happy with his game, Woods still finished fourth. He could be seen often taking one hand off the club in the follow through and his facial expressions showed he was far from pleased.

His three-putt from six feet on the 14th green was uncharacteristic though.

I thought the event was covered well by the BBC.

Hazel Irvine proved to be a good presenter and Peter Alliss was his usual quirky self.

I am sure that the event finished earlier and I remember in the past that the winning putt used to be sunk well after 12am, compared with this year when the tournament ended at 12am.

Meanwhile, I found the first televised leaders’ debate a bit of a turn-off. There were no real confrontations between the politicians and it would be good to see more audience participation.

Locked in!

2010-04-13T08:20:00.000+01:00

I couldn’t believe it last week when I was locked inside the bank!

It was on my day off and I was in town and had paid a visit to the bank.

I was just about to leave the premises when a chain was put across the door and all customers were told they could not leave the building.

No members of the public were allowed in the building either.

From what I observed, it looked like a cash delivery was being made to the bank and the front door was shut for security measures.

Obviously these deliveries have to be made, as they are essential for the running of a bank, but customers should be given prior notice before the front door is shut.

It was annoying that this had happened, as I only had a few minutes left on my car park ticket at the supermarket and if I had exceeded that I would have had to pay a large fee.

That leads me on to another point, why is there nowhere to park for free in town centres these days?

Pay and display must bring in a large income for councils, but what about the shopper?

Could there not be areas in the town centre where shoppers could park for free?

If you visit town by car and use the pay and display, you are always looking at the clock, because you know if you are slightly over you will be faced with a parking ticket and a hefty fine.

No wonder people are flocking to the supermarkets, which offer a range of goods under one roof and free parking.

Benefits of chocolate

2010-04-05T21:53:00.002+01:00

THERE were two interesting studies in the papers last week.

The first of these could be seen on Tuesday and was about chocolate, while the second was published on Thursday and was about diet.

According to Dr Brian Buijsse, a bar of chocolate a day can cut your risk of heart disease by 39%.

Dr Buijsse said dark chocolate was better than milk as it contained greater amounts of antioxidants, which are good for beating cancer. He added dark bars also have more cocoa, believed to be good for blood pressure and the health of the heart.

A total of 30,000 people were used in the study of Dr Buijsse and he carried it out over an eight year period.

He found that even a small chocolate square can help and the optimum weight was 50g, comparable to a Wispa bar.

It was good to see a study that showed the benefits of chocolate, especially to a chocoholic like me.

I found the second study slightly more surprising.

In it scientists in America found that bacon for breakfast was healthier than muesli or fruit.

They carried out their study on mice and saw that eating fatty food in the morning led to the mice's metabolism starting earlier, which in turn meant they snacked less in the day.

The Masters 2010

2010-03-28T19:59:00.002+01:00

GOLFING fans will be tuned into the BBC on April 8 to watch The Masters 2010.

This is the first golfing major of the year and is held at the picturesque Augusta National in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The course is well known for its lightning fast greens and colourful flower beds.

Last year Angel Cabrera took the green jacket after he defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a play-off.

This year all eyes will be on Tiger Woods, who makes his return to professional golf following his time out from the game after the revelations about his private life.

Despite his break from professional golf, Tiger, will start as favourite to win this year’s event.

You know that Spring is here when The Masters is being played and it is light relief to watch after the long winter months.

When you tune into watch The Masters, it is difficult not to be over-awed by the beauty of the course, which was designed by British-born designer, Dr Alister MacKenzie.

I think the best day to watch the event is the Sunday as it is the most exciting. Coverage normally finishes in the early hours of the morning, but still the climax of the tournament is the best to watch.

The BBC present the tournament well too and their output is not spoilt by adverts. Peter Alliss is often entertaining too.

My money is on Tiger!

Elementary my dear Watson

2010-03-15T08:02:00.000Z

HE’S probably the most famous private detective in the world.

Most people have read a Sherlock Holmes book or seen a film about the detective.

So it is such a shame that the home of the fictional character creator (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) is in such a bad state.

The owners of the Victorian house – which can be found in the Surrey-Hampshire-Sussex border (and called Undershaw) – want to turn it into eight executive homes.

But fans of Sherlock Holmes believe that the home should be kept as it is of historical value and I agree with what they say.

Surely lottery funding could be used to buy the home and restore it for the benefit of the nation, who would be able to go and visit.

This is the house where Conan Doyle wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles, which most people know the story of.

I have visited the Sherlock Holmes museum in Baker Street, but I think Undershaw would be of more interest as it was where Conan Doyle found his inspiration for so many plots and interesting and quirky stories.

If you want to object it is elementary, all you have to do is log onto waverley.gov.uk and quote planning reference 0172.

Lebanese treats

2010-03-07T10:54:00.001Z

It may not have been my first choice of restaurant, but I visited a Lebanese bistro in Southport recently and was pleasantly surprised.

The food was good and the atmosphere was authentic.

We were presented with a selection of dishes which ranged from Sujuk (homemade pan fried spicy sausages with lemon) to Laham Bilajeen (Lebanese style pizza with ground lamb, tomato, and pine nuts.)

The food was different, but tasty as well.

Meanwhile the Oscars are to be announced tonight (Sunday) in America.

Favourites to take the best picture award are The Hurt Locker and Avatar. Other films nominated in that category are The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglorious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in The Air.

Out of that list the only two I have seen are Inglorious Basterds and District 9. They were both good films, but they don’t deserve the award.

The most nominations go to James Cameron’s Avatar and his ex wife’s (Kathryn Bigelow) The Hurt Locker.

The Hurt Locker, an Iraq bomb disposal drama, won Best Film at the Baftas 2010.

Bigelow is also up against Cameron for the Best director award and if she did she would be the first female winner in this category.

Among the British nominees is Nick Park for a Matter of Loaf And Death. If he won it would be his fifth golden statuette. Although he is along way off Walt Disney who collected 26 Oscars.

Oscar fever

2010-02-14T14:50:00.000Z

INTERNATIONAL seafaring charity, Sailors’ Society, have been running a good scheme.

Last week they ran their Wear Your Woolly Hat Week. It finished on Saturday (February 13).

The idea was that employers encourage their staff to take part and send a donation to the charity.

Money from the week will be used so that woolly hats can be purchased and distributed to ill-prepared seafarers.

A woolly hat has been essential in this recent cold weather and it helps you to keep warm, as a lot of heat is lost through the head.

The Sailors’ Society campaign distributes 20,000 hand-knitted hats to sailors.

For more information on the Sailors’ Society log onto www.sailorssociety.org

Meanwhile, the nominations have been announced for this year’s Oscars, which will take place on Sunday, March 7.

Avatar, which I have not seen yet but want to, has nine nominations and amazingly Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds has eight. I thought this was a good film but not one of his best.

Christoph Waltz who is up for Best Supporting Actor in that film deserves an award though as his performance was very scary.

Poirot to be axed?

2010-02-06T19:27:00.001Z

Sacre bleurs! Poirot could be axed from ITV after 20 years on our screens.

Yes, that is right mon ami, David Suchet, who plays the character in the TV show, has revealed that there are no plans to film the final stories in the Agatha Christie series.

The Belgian detective could have reached the end of the line.

The series started in 1989 and so far 65 films have been made and David Suchet had wanted to film all the stories Agatha Christie wrote about Poirot.

This year viewers will be able to see Poirot use his “little grey cells” to solve three more cases. These include The Clocks, staring Jaime Winstone, Hallowe’en Party and Murder On The Orient Express – which is seen as one of Christie’s best works.

I think it would be a shame if Poirot is axed – even though the show is now a bit tired. This sort of programme does not seem to be in fashion these days.

ITV have axed a number of programmes recently including The Royal, Sharpe, Kingdom, Where The Heart is and Heartbeat.

Meanwhile, it was a shame that Murray did not win a set against Federer.

It was interesting to see the difference in appearances between the two players in the third set. Federer looked composed and in control, as opposed to Murray, who was rushing through points.

Murray had his chances in the third set and was 5-2 up and had set points in the tie-break.

Let’s hope Murray gets another opportunity to win a slam.

New sporting year

2010-01-24T15:27:00.001Z

IT may only be January, but a New Year means that there is a whole new year of sporting events to look forward to.

The Australian Open tennis started on January 18 and will continue until the 31st. Last year Rafael Nadal won and he beat Roger Federer. In 2009 Andy Murray was favourite, but hopefully this year he can become the first male British tennis player to win a major since Fred Perry in 1936.

In March the Formula 1 season will get underway on the 14th at Bahrain. It would be good to see more British success and Lewis Hamilton will have a new McLaren team-mate this year in Jenson Button.

Argentine Angel Cabrera will defend The US Masters in April. April will also see The Grand National (10th) and the snooker World Championship, which starts on the 17th.

In June Roger Federer will attempt to defend his Wimbledon crown. And England will try and win their first trophy since 1966 at the football World Cup in South Africa.

The Open will return to the home of golf, St Andrews, in July and I will be sorry if Tiger Woods is not playing again by then.

I think Colin Montgomerie will prove to be a better Ryder Cup captain than Nick Faldo. I am sure he will be able to inspire the Europeans to a win at the event in Wales in September.

In 2010 the Ashes will be played in Australia. England regained them last year, but they will find it more difficult to repeat the feat Down Under, where the Aussies have not lost an Ashes’ series in 23 years. The first test will take place in Brisbane on November 25.

What makes us happy

2010-01-17T12:40:00.000Z

A NEW survey has said that a good night’s sleep makes us really happy.

I would agree with this up to a point – there is nothing better than waking after an early night.

But I think there are more important activities to me, such as spending time with family and friends.

Or maybe enjoying a good tasty meal, I also like chocolate treats throughout the day.

Meanwhile it was a novelty to see heavy snow this month – children were able to build snowmen and have snowball fights, but it led to some dangerous roads and pavements.

Many pavements were turned to sheet ice and there must be ways to tackle the ice on the pavements.

People’s leisure time was also interrupted too with football games cancelled and golf courses closed. In many cases the only sports that have been able to be played are indoor ones like snooker.

Finally I enjoyed Lynda La Plante’s The Red Dahlia on ITV recently.

The first episode was gripping and was acted very well.

But as soon as the murderer was revealed in episode 2 I lost some of my interest.

Let’s have more shows like this on TV.

Tiger Woods takes a break from golf

2009-12-15T16:00:00.002Z

I HOPE Tiger Woods does not take a long break from golf – as it would be a big loss to the game.

Over the last few weeks, as the alleged affairs he has had have been revealed, some people have said that Tiger is now less boring.

I would disagree with that, as the man has brought so much excitement to so many people and is far from boring.

And I am sure many youngsters have wanted to learn the game after watching him in person, or on television.

In 2010 Tiger has an excellent chance to add to the 14 majors he has already collected and has an opportunity to try and catch Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18.

The Masters will be played in April – and this is an event that Tiger has won four times, although the last time was in 2005.

Then The US Open will be staged at Pebble Beach, again Tiger has won here last time the major was played on the famous course.

In July The Open will return to St Andrews and Tiger has won here twice before.

I am sure Tiger will be back to play in these events as I think these are some of his favourite venues. If he doesn’t, then the game of golf will be missing one of its greatest players.

Walking in the Lakes

2009-12-08T16:37:00.000Z

IF you want to go to the Lake District – an ideal time to visit is before Christmas.

I have just been to the Lakes for the weekend with some friends.

We were supposed to stay at Ambleside but because of the recent heavy rain The Youth Hostel was closed.

However The Youth Hostel at Hawkshead was still open, so we decided to stay there instead.

The facility was self-catered and had a pool table, unfortunately I was not successful in the two games I played.

On the first full day we were provided with a full breakfast, which is just what you need before a day of walking.

Just before 10am we started off on our walk, but didn’t get very far before the heavens opened – and we soon found ourselves back at The Youth Hostel.

Luckily it was only a shower and after about 10 minutes we were on our way again.

One of our party had brought outdoor cooking equipment and sausages, eggs and bacon and managed to cook the food during a stop on the walk.

An off-road car rally was also taking place that afternoon – and provided the entertainment while we enjoyed our lunch.

On the way back we stopped off at the Grizedale visitor centre and the hot chocolate I had was well received.

Tea was a tasty curry.

We then made our way to Hawkshead for drinks.

At the first pub we visited we played cards and had a quiet drink. The second pub we went to was much more lively. The pub was small and packed and an excellent Irish band was providing the entertainment.

On the next day it was time to go home.

New Red Arrows recruits

2009-12-03T15:37:00.001Z

THE RAF Red Arrows have their first woman pilot.

She is Flight Lieutenant Moore and she will be involved in the Red Arrows display for the London Olympic Games in 2012.

She was one of two chosen out of 30 or 40 pilots who had applied for the positions.

The world-renowned aerobatics team are busy preparing for next year’s 2010 air show season.

Watching the Red Arrows at this year’s Southport Air Show was one of my highlights of 2009.

Everyone time I watch them I am amazed at how close the planes are as they do their manoeuvres.

Meanwhile Sky TV’s coverage of The Ashes this year was excellent, but it would be good if the clash becomes a free-to-air event again.

All England’s home and away World Cup and European Championship football matches could be added to that as well.

The proposals are part of an independent review being headed by David Davies.

I can’t remember the year when The Ashes was last broadcast on BBC, but I do remember enjoying the coverage during the School Summer holidays and who can forget the theme music at the start of the programme. It was very catchy.

Channel 4’s coverage of cricket was good to, in particular The Ashes of 2005.

Millions tuned in to watch these tests and see England win the event for the first time since 1987.

Finally let’s hope Liverpool FC can put a winning run together.

Winners of Euro Millions announced

2009-11-10T16:15:00.002Z

I wish I was one of the winners of Friday’s Euro Millions.

The record-breaking £90 million jackpot was won by a couple from South Wales and a group of IT workers from Liverpool.

The couple from South Wales will pick up £45,570,835.50, which makes them the biggest lottery winners in this country.

Before this jackpot, the biggest British win was Angela Kelly who collected £35.4 million in August 2007.

The £45 million would rank you equal at 1,023rd in the Rich List.

And if you invested some of it in the bank and business it could make you £2 million a year in interest.

Meanwhile the odds of you having a fake £1 coin in your pocket are one in 40.

The treasury released the figures and said it represented £37 million of the £1.4 billion in the market.

After the £1 coin the second most forged denomination is the £20 note.

Finally David Haye is the first man from Great Britain since Lennox Lewis to receive a world heavyweight title.

He beat the 7ft giant Valuev on points and now joins other Brits such as Bruno, who have won heavyweight belts.

Steak sales up

2009-11-03T16:27:00.000Z

IT was interesting to find out that steak sales have increased by nearly 200%.

It is said the reason behind this is Brits are eating comfort food in their own home instead of going out to restaurants.

Figures show sirloin and rump cuts are eaten the most – and, although expensive, fillet steak is being eaten by more and more people too.

Sainsbury’s have reported rump and sirloin steaks are up by 200%. While Marks and Spencer has said sirloin and rump sales are up 40%. And fillet has increased by 70%.

They say you should never sit infront of a comedian during a stand-up show and I think they are right.

I normally would not dream of sitting in the front row, but last week during one of the comedy shows I found I had to sit in a seat next to the comedian.

He did pick on me saying I look scared but shouldn’t worry. Thankfully he soon picked on someone else and left me alone.

It was a good night and it took my friends and I to four venues across town, with a different comedian at each place.

Meanwhile, Liverpool is having a bad time of it at the moment.

After a brilliant victory against Manchester United supporters were more hopeful, but defeats to Arsenal and Fulham have not helped the cause.

Put your clocks back

2009-10-20T15:06:00.002+01:00

DON’T forget to wind your clocks back next weekend.

British Summer Time officially ends next Sunday and it is the ninth before the Christmas period.

On the downside it gets darker much earlier at night, but I quite like the feel of the season in the run up to Christmas and the sense of excitement.

The lights in the shops twinkle at night and the Christmas lights start appearing from the end of November.

Although the clocks may go back next Sunday, winter does not officially start until Monday, December 21.

Meanwhile Colin Montgomerie has pledged to do better than Nick Faldo at next year’s Ryder Cup, which will be held at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Nick Faldo was criticised when he was captain. When Faldo played he kept himself to himself and he failed to gel the team together and also had difficulty communicating with the press.

Monty is more of a team player and, although he has not been as successful as Faldo, he is very highly respected by the top players on the European tour.

He also has a very intense character and I hope he does not get too carried away.

Montgomerie will be pitting his wits against the American Corey Pavin – another strong character.

Interview with golfing great Seve

2009-10-13T15:43:00.002+01:00

Seeing the pictures of Seve Ballesteros in the papers over the weekend was upsetting, but it was good to read that his willpower was unaltered.

The golfer – who won three opens, two Masters and 91 tournaments – has remained positive since being diagnosed with cancer a year ago.

The Spaniard is fighting for his life and wants to play in The Open next year at St Andrews, which is where he won the event in 1984. He says this was his greatest win.

It was also Seve’s determination that brought about Europe’s success in The Ryder Cup in the 1980s. I am sure his passion rubbed off on the other players.

Seve Ballesteros and His Fight for Life, an Inside Sport Special will be shown on Wednesday, October 14 at 10.45pm on BBC 1.

Meanwhile do Premium Bonds ever pay out?

Mine never seem to, but I haven’t given up hope - yet.

Luckily the interest rate now on Premium Bonds, which determines how much money you can win, has been increased from 1% to 1.5%.

Apparently many people with £1,000 of Premium Bonds won’t win anything over a year.

I suppose you have more chance of winning on them though than on The National Lottery.

Watching the Red Arrows

2009-10-06T15:10:00.001+01:00

It was amazing to watch the Red Arrows at Southport again this year.

I have lost count of the amount of times I have seen their display over the years, but they are just as good every time.

There is always a sense of anticipation before they arrive and they never disappoint.

My 21^st birthday, 10 years ago now, coincided with the Southport Airshow and I will always remember the Red Arrows flying past during my party.

My favourite manoeuvre of theirs, is when they almost fly towards each other and then turn away at the last moment.

Their display is on for about 20 minutes, but you are transfixed throughout.

All of the Red Arrows team are fast jet pilots from frontline Royal Air Force squadrons.

Meanwhile, there is nothing worse than having to wait for ages in a queue in a supermarket while nearby there are lots of empty check outs.

I am not saying it is the fault of the sales assistants, but the managers – who should be making better use of their staff.

Finally The X Factor is as addictive as ever, but do we have to be subject to the programme over two nights.

On Saturday we had to wait till after the first advert for any of the hopefuls to sing. And Sunday’s programme was solely dedicated to the judges’ decisions.

I wonder what will be Christmas number one this year.

Beatlemania

2009-09-15T16:49:00.000+01:00

Whoever decided to re-release all the Beatles’ albums in a digitally re-mastered format came up with a brilliant idea because there are 11 of them in the top 40 this week.

None of the fab four’s records hit number one spot though. Vera Lynn’s best of collection took that honour.

The Beatles’ album to reach the highest spot (5) was Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which may be their most famous, but I don’t think is their best. My favourite has to be Abbey Road, it was released in 1969 and was the final Beatles’ album recorded.

On Abbey Road the songs seem to run seamlessly one after the other. Some of my favourite tunes are: You Never Gave Me Your Money and Carry That Weight.

The cynic in me says why do you need to buy the albums again, however I have yet to hear the new recordings. It must be a big money spinner for the record label EMI.

It is amazing so many of the albums have hit the charts as you, as yet, can’t buy Beatles’ music on iTunes.

You can also now buy a new computer game called The Beatles Rock Band where you get the chance to be Paul, John, George and Ringo and score points against each other.

This is another novel idea as it will introduce a whole new generation to McCartney and Lennon songs.

Live Forever

2009-08-31T19:08:00.001+01:00

SO Oasis have split, which is sad.

I can remember very vividly first hearing Live Forever by Oasis on the radio and being blown away by their sound.

This is the first Oasis’ single I can recall and I still think it is their best.

The band split after Noel left and he said on the internet, “the lack of support from my management and bandmates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new.”

In the 1990s Oasis and Blur were two of the biggest bands on the scene and their music dominated the charts.

I like them both, but I think Oasis are better as their sound is grittier and seemed to hit a chord with me.

When the bands released singles on the same day, I preferred Oasis’s Roll With It to Blur’s Country House.

In 2001 or 2002, I can’t remember now, I had the good fortune to see an Oasis’ gig in Newcastle. They were brilliant. As soon as they started to play you were transfixed and as they continued the quality of their output did not diminish.

Their first album – Definitely Maybe – is probably their finest. I also like their album of b sides – songs like Acquiesce and Half The World Away rank among their best.

Congratulations on Radio 2 for having a Beatles’ weekend. Even though the songs are 40 years old, they are still relevant today.

Nothing like a good brew

2009-08-18T14:44:00.001+01:00

A BREW can help people in times of stress, it’s official.

Psychologist Dr Malcolm Cross from City University has released findings of a study he has done which shows just one cup of tea can reduce anxiety after experiencing stress.

In the study people were put through a stressful situation and those who were not given a cup of tea had a 25 per cent rise in stress. While individuals who went through the same ordeal and were given tea had a four per cent decrease in stress.

Mr Cross believes the actual act of putting on the kettle can help alleviate stress.

He said: “Put simply, the findings illustrate what most mothers would tell us: if you’re stressed, anxious or just feeling blue, make yourself a nice calming brew.”

Meanwhile why is it that the winning lottery numbers often come in a close sequence, i.e. Saturday’s draw was 16, 31, 32, 46, 47, and 48.

I bet not many people would have had 46, 47, 48. Oh well, there is always next week’s draw.

Moving on, it is good to see tennis player Andy Murray has moved up to world number 2 in the world, replacing Rafael Nadal.

Nadal and Roger Federer have each been one or two for the last five years.

I now think Andy Murray has a good chance of winning this year’s US Open, the first Brit to do so since Fred Perry in the 1930s.

Flying iPods

2009-08-11T15:12:00.001+01:00

I think the decision about Freddie Flintoff’s selection should have been decided upon on Thursday, ie the day before the fourth test was to start at Headingly.

To leave it to the morning of the test was unwise as it must have left a feeling of unease over the England side.

The matter should have been sorted out sooner because a team very rarely relies on just one man.

This was a crucial test that if England had won, they would have taken back The Ashes.

There is nothing worse than seeing a field of happy Australian players, or an England batting collapse. When England start to collapse, there is an almost inevitability about it.

Meanwhile it was disturbing to read that an 11-year-old had claimed her iPod Touch had “popped, emitted a big puff of smoke and flown 10ft in the air.” Apple has refused to comment on the issue.

Also it is now being said Facebook is uncool.

The suggestion comes after Ofcom, which is a media regulator, recorded a 10% drop in 15 to 24-year-olds using the site while there was a 25% increase of 35 to 54-year-olds on them.

Facebook may be uncool, but I think it is here to stay.

It may not be used very much by those people in their late 30s but those in the teens, 20s or early 30s rely on it more and more to communicate with friends.

The Street goes from strength to strength

2009-08-04T14:07:00.002+01:00

With all the fuss over the licence fee, one programme is proving it is worth the money.

The Street, which is written by Jimmy McGovern, returned a month ago to BBC1 for a third series and I have been gripped ever since.

This year the programme has already attracted the Hollywood names of Anna Friel and Bob Hoskins.

In the first episode, Hoskins played a landlord who stood up to the local hard nut. The story was similar to the film High Noon and saw Hoskins bar the son of the local gangster after he caught him having a cigarette in the pub’s toilets.

The local gangster viciously beats up the landlord, but Hoskins shows up his son when he serves him a drink with a decorative umbrella in it and saying he is treating him just like his father does.

The second episode saw Anna Friel play a mother of two who has to turn to prostitution to pay for her sons to go to a better school.

She starts a relationship with the man who comes to do some work in her house, little does she know his father is one of his clients.

This episode had more ups and down than a fiddler’s bow, but it did finish with a happy ending.

The following week’s stories told the tale of how a soldier coped after coming back from Afghanistan injured and on Monday (August 4) we followed the man who is mistakenly called a hero.

It such a shame this is the last ever series to be made.

TV decisions

2009-07-24T16:47:00.001+01:00

IT was a shame The Open golf clashed with The Ashes Test at Lords.

The Open is the greatest prize in golf and The Lord’s Ashes test is the most prestigious event in the world of cricket.

Those lucky enough to have Sky were able to switch between the golf and the cricket.

It was hard to concentrate on one event, when both were on at the same time.

Just like last year at The Open it was a golfer in his 50s who was making the headlines. Last year at Birkdale it had been Greg Norman, while this year it was Tom Watson.

Tom Watson went very close to winning the Claret Jug, but you almost knew when he made five at the 18^th that he would lose the play-off.

Stewart Cink seemed to be in the dominant position throughout the play-off and there was an inevitability he would win in the end.

Turnberry proved to be an excellent venue for The Open and it provided some amazing back drops to some memorable action.

The Lord’s test was equally exciting.

England fought back well after the draw in Cardiff and notched up their first win against Australia at Lords since 1934.

On Sunday night I was unsure if they could pull it off, but there was no need to worry as Freddie Flintoff was on a mission taking five wickets in the second innings.

The Ashes now looks like it could go either way.

You're hired

2009-06-02T14:57:00.002+01:00

THE Apprentice is reaching its last couple of episodes and it has proved to be for me addictive viewing again.

On Wednesday night the contestants had to sell a number of items on a live shopping channel.
It seemed to be a difficult task, and one I think would be challenging to have a go at.

Surprisingly Debra, who had been one of the weaker contestants, took to it like a duck to water and the producers at the channel said they would be happy giving her a job.

Lorraine and Howard struggled, but it was surprising to see Howard fired, as he seemed to be fairly good at selling.

This Wednesday (June 3) the contestants will be interviewed by a panel of Sir Alan Sugar's business colleagues.

Moving on, I think Susan Boyle was better in the final than the overall winners Diversity. Susan's performance of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables was powerful.

I thought that Diversity's audition was stronger than the dance they did in the final.

Anyway that's the end of Simon Cowell's shows for a few months.

Big Brother next! The 10th series of the show will start this week, yes it has been going that long.
Davina McCall will be hosting the show again this year.

We will be introduced to this year's contestants on Thursday.

The Happy Gilmore

2009-05-26T14:17:00.002+01:00

I WAS not fair on 10-year-old Natalie Okri that she was made to stand in front of the cameras as The Britain's Got Talent judges decided on her fate.

She had already been made to sing live in front of millions, a feat most adults would find difficult, let alone a child.

Natalie then had to wait while the public were given their chance to vote.

Susan Boyle went through first, while Diversity and Natalie had to go infront of the judges, who had the final say.

Amanda Holden went for the singer, but Piers and Simon chose Diversity.

The 10-year-old was obviously devastated and she broke down in tears. It was not right someone so young was built up and then knocked down, ie exploited, just for the purpose of television.

Meanwhile golfer Padraig Harrington has been trying out a new golf swing that involves the player running up to the ball before he or she hits it.

The new shot has also enabled the player to gain an extra 30 yards.

This new swing has been named The Happy Gilmore following the 1996 film featuring Adam Sandler.

Harrington is not planning in adopting the routine into tournament golf as he looses accuracy.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the sport's ruling body, said it was something they would not want to encourage.

Blackpool is worth a look

2009-05-19T13:25:00.002+01:00

THIS year many people are deciding to spend their Summer holiday in this country in a bid to save money.

So it is good to see that Blackpool has come up with a good advert on YouTube to try and encourage more people to visit the town.

At first in the advert you think you are watching something about Paris as the trailer has a French actress and shots show iron towers, but by the end you realise the subject is Blackpool.

Ok, so Blackpool does have its negative aspects such as it is used by many people for drunken nights out. However it has many good attractions too.

I have many happy memories of visiting Blackpool with family and friends. Blackpool Pleasure Beach has some truly scary rides.

I can first remember going on the Pepsi Max Big One and being petrified as the carriage was pulled hundreds of feet into the sky and then dropped almost vertically. It didn't help that the week before we went on the ride it had broken down at the very top.

Another good rollercoaster is the Grand National, where you race an opposing carriage.

I have other happy memories of visits to the Sandcastle, which had a wave machine and water slides.

One musn't forget too the Blackpool illuminations, taking a car ride as a child down Blackpool promenade to see the illuminations is like entering another world.

Maybe Blackpool doesn't have the weather of a Mediterranean resort, but it does have plenty to provide hours of fun and entertainment.

Slow down

2009-05-12T15:41:00.001+01:00

AN interesting group has started called the Slow Movement.

They recently held The Slow Down London festival with activities such as walking as slowly as possible across Waterloo Bridge. They contrasted with the businessmen running to their trains.

The idea behind the movement is to encourage people to stand away from the fast pace of modern life and take stock of what they are doing.

The “slow” in the movement does not mean we have to move at a snail's pace, but the ethos is that we enjoy what we do and don't try and cram too much into the day and by doing this miss the best bits.

Other activities during the festival included: wine tastings, orchestral performances, and yoga workshops.

Organisers were trying to emphasise the point that you don't have to live in the countryside to “live slow.”

Meanwhile, I wasn't the lucky person who bought the winning Euro Millions ticket.

That honour went to someone in Spain, who by having the numbers 4, 23, 24, 29, 31, and lucky stars 8 and 9, picked up £110m.

If that ticket was bought by one single person, then they would become the world's biggest lottery jackpot winner.

The last highest lottery win was in Italy in October 2008 when someone scooped £81m playing Superenalotto.

Just by keeping the £110m in the bank you would receive an estimated £1,959 in interest a day.

So near, yet so far

2009-04-28T14:57:00.002+01:00

I must have had two numbers in the National Lottery Saturday draw now for at least the last three weeks.

It is like getting so far in a sporting competition and then just missing out.
Just as you get nothing for coming second in sport, you pick up nothing for two numbers in the National Lottery.

I have always thought £10 for three numbers is too little, though it must be about time that they looked again at the prize fund.

£50 for three numbers would be more like it, with maybe £5 for two numbers and less for the jackpot.

Meanwhile, I have a lot of respect for those people that take part in the London Marathon.
It is a gruelling 26.2 mile street race around the streets of London.

Amazingly the race started only in 1981, and since then 711,260 people have taken part.

In the early days about 7,000 people took part, but now as many as 46,500 compete in the race.

Moving on I want to see the new film State of Play.

It has a good cast in Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe and from what I have read about the plot, it sounds like a good story.

New films wanted

2009-04-21T14:51:00.003+01:00

Film bosses are turning to old favourites for ideas to reduce risks in the recession.

This year films such as: The Karate Kid, Robocop, Highlander and The Never Ending Story, are to be remade.

I think original films are often the best though, and remakes inferior.

For example the remade The Italian Job hardly compared with the 1960s classic of the same name, which starred Sir Michael Caine.

What about the remake of Psycho? You don't see that in lists of classic films do you?

Critics have said film studio bosses are running out of ideas, however they have defended the decision pointing out good movies are good stories and can be told over and over again.

One film I would like to see though is the planned new film version of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock.

Meanwhile, I didn't think Kenny Perry was going to win The Masters, he came very close though.

For me the most exciting part of the event was the charges made by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. You could almost feel the electricity coming of that group.

Angel Cabrera was a worthy winner though.

Hot tea risk

2009-03-31T14:57:00.000+01:00

It was worrying to read the reports last week that drinking boiling hot tea increases the risk of oesophageal cancer by the likelihood of eight times.

Experts are asking people to make sure they have allowed their cup of tea to stand for four minutes before drinking it.

Oesophageal cancer is a disease which is found in the tube connecting the throat to the stomach, and it kills over 500,000 people worldwide each year.

The most prevalent type is called Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), and it mostly occurs in people who smoke and drink alcohol, but drinking hot drinks may also be a cause.

The British Medical Journal reported the study, which was undertaken in Northern Iran.

Meanwhile, what an amazing win for Jenson Button in the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne.

Button has been in F1 for years and never seemed to have reached his full potential.

Everyone seemed to forget about him when Lewis Hamilton came along.

You also have to applaud the work of Ross Brawn at the team. Brawn was the mastermind behind Schumacher's seven world titles at two separate teams.

It will be interesting to see though if the authorities allow Button's car to keep the same aerodynamics.

Clcoks go forward

2009-03-24T15:20:00.000Z

Don't forget to put your clocks forward next weekend for the start of British Summer Time.

Although we will lose an hour's sleep in bed, it won't get darker till later and the extra hours of daylight will mean we will able to enjoy more outside activities.

The run up to Midsummer day is my favourite time of the year, because after that date you feel the nights are drawing in and when you get to the end of August you begin to think that Autumn is on its way.

There is nothing better than leaving work while it is still light and walking to the car in the daylight.

Another added bonus is the lighter mornings.

Meanwhile, it seems the credit crunch has even had an impact on this year's Apprentice, which starts on Wednesday.

In the fifth series the international task – where contestants go to foreign countries such as Marrakech and France – has been axed.

Also the task where a team has to sell a foreign item in this country has been changed to a number of “Buy British” tasks.

This year the show will start with eight female and seven males candidates, one male has already dropped out.

The programme will be on our screens for the next 12 weeks.

Without seeing the people on the screen it is hard to see which of them will stand out, but reading what they have said in the paper I think Kate Walsh and Ben Clarke may have the biggest attitudes.

The Apprentice is back

2009-03-17T14:59:00.000Z

The Apprentice Series 5 is to start on Wednesday, March 25.

Those who couldn't wait were able to catch Comic Relief Does The Apprentice last week.

I found the celebrities on the show irritating. Why is it every time we turn on the TV we are greeted with Jonathan Ross? The show, I think, did not have the same appeal as the real series, and lacked the tension.

It does not seem like a year ago that Lee McQueen was the surprise winner of series four, with the runner-up being Claire Young. Helene Speight and Alex Wotherspoon were in the final.

I missed the first series, but have been hooked since series two. As the weeks go by you get to know the contestants on the show and see the scheming unfold as the people try to assert their authority and ideas.

Some people are brilliant at certain tasks, but then are useless when asked to do something else.

The winners normally are tough and are steely.

My favourite part of the show is the tasks that the teams take part in. It is always difficult trying to guess who is going to win.

It was amusing one year when one of the teams tried, very unsuccessfully, to sell cheap English cheese to the French.

So, who will be Sir Alan Sugar's Apprentice of 2009?

The Masters

2009-03-10T14:21:00.000Z

The Masters - the first major of the golfing year - will take place next month.

It will be held between Thursday, April 9 and Sunday, April 12.

The tournament is not the oldest Major, although it is arguably the most famous.

Trevor Immelman will be defending his title after winning the tournament last year.

But I think all the limelight will be on Tiger Woods and his return to professional golf.

He played his first competition since winning the US Open at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in late February and lost in the early rounds. However it is the majors he concentrates most on and he will be trying to add to his tally of 14 in April.

This will be the 15th time he has played at Augusta and he has won the tournament now four times.

Greg Norman is also going to play in the Masters and he will be hoping to regain the form he showed at last year's Open Championship at Birkdale, where he finished in the top five.

The Masters will be a chance to see Rory McIlroy, who is an exciting prospect. He will be playing his first Masters and has already won this year at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Augusta is one of the most beautiful courses in the world and its holes have provided some exciting golf over the years.

Who will be wearing the green jacket on Sunday, April 12?

Thatcher

2009-03-03T16:50:00.000Z

Love her or hate her, it is 30 years since Margaret Thatcher began her 10 year reign as Prime Minister.

The BBC have been showing a number of programmes to mark their date.

One of these was Margaret, which was a one off drama portraying Thatcher's final days in power. The two-hour drama could be seen last Thursday night (February 26).

Geoffrey Howe started the coup when he sensationally resigned in the House of Commons and then the film slowly but surely showed how the power slipped from Thatcher's grasp.

There were some big names in this cast and they included Robert Hardy, Ian McDiarmid and James Fox.

Lindsay Duncan was also excellent as Margaret Thatcher.

Some interesting points to come out of the drama - though how true they were I don't know – were the fact Margaret Thatcher did not have a sense of humour.

The other was how big a role John Major played in Thatcher's downfall. He only put his name forward for the leader's position after Thatcher stood down.

The other drama was Margaret Thacher – The Long Walk to Finchley.

This shows Thatcher's battle to become an MP in the 1950s. Thatcher experienced a number of setbacks before she finally won the seat of Finchley.

Woods is back

2009-02-24T12:52:00.000Z

There were some good performances at this year's Brits '09.

You can always rely on Girls Aloud and U2 to put on a good show.

It was Duffy's night as she won Best British Female, Best British Album and Best British Breakthrough Act, though I think there should have been an award for Coldplay and Take That. Both groups were up for awards in five categories, but walked away with nothing.

The one weak category was Best British Male and it must have been difficult to pick a winner there.

It was interesting to see Pet Shop Boys play their old hits too.

Kylie proved to be a glamorous host, but I thought that Gavin and Stacey stars James Corden and Matt Horne's jokes did not always hit the mark.

Meanwhile I am glad to hear Tiger Woods is to begin playing competitive golf again.
He is to play his first event this week at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championships. It will be his first event since winning The US Open last year.

The world of golf has not been the same without Woods.

There is nothing more exciting in golf than seeing Woods make a charge up the leaderboard.

Blobby returns

2009-02-03T14:47:00.001Z

So Mr Blobby may be retuning to our screens in Noel Edmonds' House Party.

Apparently Noel Edmonds has been asked to come back for a special show and if it is successful to make a series.

Mr Blobby had a Christmas number one single in the 1990's, which would only happen in Britain.

I enjoyed Noel Edmonds' House Party at first, and remember watching the Gotchas, Grab a Grand and The Gunge Tank. But I think the shows became very repetitive and they were eventually scrapped.

Noel Edmonds has longevity though, and is currently riding high with shows such as, Deal or No Deal and Noel's HQ on Sky TV.

I caught the end of the Australian Open final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, won by Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2.

Nadal was obviously ecstatic to have won and was gracious in his success, and Federer was distraught in comparison. He was left physically and mentally broken by the defeat.

I think the Federer-Nadal battle can now be compared with that of McEnroe and Borg.

Andy Murray may have been favourite for this year's Australian Open, but he is still a long way off beating these two in a grand slam final.

Oscar season

2009-01-27T13:49:00.000Z

Kate Winslet must be favourite to win an Oscar at this year's awards ceremony.

She has been nominated on five separate occasions, but has yet to pick up a statue.

This year she is up for an award for her role in The Reader, a film where she plays a former Nazi death camp guard who has a fling with a school boy from Germany.

In that category she is up against Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melissa Leo (Frozen River) and Meryl Streep for (Doubt).

This year's Oscar ceremony, which will take place on February 22, is a good one for Britain. A total of 20 directors, technicians, producers and actors from this country have nominations.

One of the biggest UK hopes on Oscar night will be for Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Britain's Danny Boyle. The film is up for 10 awards.

The film, which has received rave reviews, is about an India orphan who goes on the country's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

The highest nominated film though is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which has 13 nominations. Though let's not hope it's unlucky for some.

Also up for an award in the supporting actor category is the late Heath Ledger for his crazy portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Now is one of the best times to go to the cinema, with many of theses films just being released, coincidentally, to coincide with Oscar season.

Barack Obama's inauguration

2009-01-20T14:51:00.001Z

BARACK Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States today (Tuesday.)

It promises to be one of those events that years from now you will be able to remember what you were doing when it happened.

Billions of people across the globe are likely to be watching Obama's inauguration on television.

It is not known what soundbite the incoming President will come up with. Abraham Lincoln said on the same day he wanted to “bind up the nation's wounds;” Franklin D Roosevelt commented: “Americans had nothing to fear but fear itself;” while John F Kennedy remarked: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

But no matter what Obama, who will become the first black President of the United States, says, he will carry the hopes of millions of people all over the world.

He has now become the most famous person on the planet and has some of the hardest decisions to make of any President during peacetime.

It is said that millions of dollars have been collected for the inauguration party. Soul queen Aretha Franklin will give a performance and Leona Lewis and Oprah Winfrey should be involved too.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray has one of his best chances of winning a grand slam at the Australian Open. He is bookies' favourite and will be hoping to go one better than last year's US Open where he lost in the final to Roger Federer.

Library ticket found

2009-01-13T14:55:00.000Z

I lost my library card last Tuesday.

At first I thought I had dropped it at home, but on returning to the house it was nowhere to be found.

I looked everywhere in a 15 minute search, however it had vanished.

On realising the card had been lost I was not too disheartened as I knew it would be easy to get another one. It was not as if it was a credit card. Although I was annoyed that a card I had had since 1995 would not be found again.

However I went to the library on Wednesday and was pleased to be told by the librarian that the card had been handed in. So, whoever found it and brought it to the library, thank you.

It is a shame that a cricket team that showed so much unity to win The Ashes in 2005, is now in such disarray.

Kevin Pietersen had shown a lot of promise to marshal his side in their win in the last test at The Oval against South Africa and also brought back a rejuvenated Steve Harmison.

The situation turned though when England lost five one-day games against India.

In the end Pietersen thought he had the support of the players in asking for their coach Peter Moores to resign, when in fact they were indifferent to his calls.

Andrew Strauss, who is now England captain, has a difficult task in building bridges to unify the team, while dealing with the egos.

Let's hope that England can win back The Ashes this year. It's a shame there is no Ashes test at Old Trafford though.

Price of a pint

2009-01-06T16:37:00.000Z

One place worthy of a visit now is JD Wetherspoon, because they have dropped prices of a pint of Greene King IPA and a bottle of San Miguel to 99p.

This is a big saving for anyone who loves a pint, as the average pint of beer is about £2.75.
And if you visit a trendy bar you can pay up to £3.50 for a lager.

It is thought that other high street operators will react to this and cut their drinks in a similar way.

Experts say the move shows that the industry is having to react to the current climate and add it goes against government attempts to cut binge drinking by trying to prevent price-led promotions.

The company has rejected the suggestion that its price cuts would lead to irresponsible drinking.
Meanwhile a cut of another kind is proving not as popular. Chocoholics are complaining that Cadbury have removed Dreams and Crunchies from their boxes of Heroes. These chocolates have been replaced by Bournvilles and toffee Eclairs.

The company say they brought about the change to please dark chocolate fans, but critics say the range should include Cadbury's favourites, and want to see Dreams and Crunchies brought back.

Last year the company also cut Time Outs and Picnics from its boxes of Heroes.

I think the Time Outs and Picnics should be brought back and I bet that the Bournvilles and Eclairs are now the last chocolates left in many people's Heroes boxes.

New Year telly treats

2008-12-30T16:31:00.001Z

So you’ve finished the Christmas Turkey, and the parties have dried up, then why not turn to the television.

Among the highlights are two shows from the pen of Lynda La Plante.

The first of these is Above Suspicion (January 4, January 5, ITV1). This is billed as an attempt to bring Prime Suspect up to date, with Kelly Reilly playing the lead role this time and not Helen Mirren.

Lynda La Plante is also behind Trial and Retribution, which is back on January 9 on ITV1 for six new episodes. DCS Michael Walker and DCI Roisin Connor return.

Showing through the first week of 2009 on BBC 1 is a new dramatisation of The Diary of Anne Frank, the 13-year-old who kept an account of her life hiding from the Nazis. There have been many versions of The Diary, but for this one the BBC has been granted the rights to base their version directly on Anne’s diaries from her cousin Buddy Elias.

On a lighter note documentary lovers can watch The Natural World (January 9, BBC 2). The show on the 9th is about the cuckoo. David Attenborough is again narrating.

Hustle is also back (January 8, BBC 1) for a fifth series, although Jamie Murray has left the show. In this episode property developers in London should watch out.

Another programme to look out for is a one-off drama called The Antiques Rogue Show (January 4 BBC 2), which tells the true story of a family who sold fakes to the art world.

If you want to exercise those grey cells in 2009, then you could tune into QI (January 9, BBC 1). Stephen Fry asks the questions and guests include Charlie Higson and Andy Hamilton.

Rubik's magic

2008-12-10T17:47:00.000Z

Apparently the Rubik’s Cube is back in fashion.

And with Christmas coming up, it could be a popular gift for nieces and nephews, or sons and daughters.

Do you remember the Rubik’s Cube, it was the toy where you had to manipulate the puzzle, so all the sides were the same colour.

I had one when I was younger, and remember it used to drive me mad as I twisted and turned the block to try and solve the puzzle.

Some people used to cheat by switching the stickers, or dismantling the pieces.

While other kids used to solve it within minutes.

When I was younger, I also had the Rubik’s Clock and Rubik’s Rings.

With the Rubik’s Clock, you had to try and make all the clocks match and tell the same time. It was almost impossible and again sent me crazy.

The Rubik’s Rings required you to complete the shapes.

These toys may not be as exciting as computer games but provided hours of fun. They were also less expensive.

Meanwhile the X-Factor final is next week. Diana Vickers was booted out on Saturday.

Competing for this year’s prize will be JLS, Alexandra Burke and Eoghan.

All the judges apart from Dannii Minogue have an act in the final.
My money is still on Alexandra.

25% off in the sale

2008-12-03T10:58:00.001Z

THE English love a bargain don't they?

I was in Southport town centre at the weekend and noticed that one clothes shop, which was selling most items at 25% off, was packed, while a similar store nearby was empty.

The tills were ringing in the shop with 25% off and there was a queue of people waiting to buy items.

It looked like shoppers were purchasing the clothes because they were reduced, not because they needed them.

Another busy day for shops is Boxing Day. Folk haven't finished off the Turkey and they are already rushing to the nearest shop to search for the latest bargain.

Meanwhile how is it that some types of meals or desserts make you feel ill? I like almost all foods, but can't eat lemon meringue pie, or cheese and onion pie without feeling slightly queasy.

I think it must be because I had a bad experience of eating the two dishes at school, and it has put me off them for life.

I can't even stand the smell of cheese and onion pie.

Liverpool will again be recognised when the BBC's Sports Personalty of the Year Awards are held at the city's Arena.

The city has already just held the MTV Europe Music awards. My bet for first prize is F1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

Switch-on time

2008-11-25T16:35:00.001Z

IT’S that time of year again – the run up to December 25.

With only a matter of weeks till Christmas, people’s thoughts are already turning to the festive period, and what they will be doing over the holiday break.

Many shops have already got Christmas trees in their windows and Christmas lights are being switched on, or are about to be turned on in towns across the country.

And soon the panto season will start with Cinderella on at both The Southport Theatre and Liverpool Empire. Pantos are as much a part of Christmas as Turkey or crackers.

The run-up to Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year.

Meanwhile, council chiefs have said they want roadside cafes to replace their greasy spoon image with healthier alternatives.

This seems to be another example of the nanny state trying to organise our lives.

Surely it is up to us to choose what we want to eat. If we want a bacon butty and a cup of tea, then it is our choice.

The roadside café is supplying a demand, and if they were to only sell salads they would surely lose trade.

Now roadside cafes who continue to serve unhealthy options could face seeing their licence cancelled.

Council bosses want to see “healthy food”, which includes low-fat grilled sausage with wholemeal bread, muesli and fruit yoghurt. I know what I would rather have. Give me a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea in the morning any day.

"Fairly unique" blog

2008-11-12T10:16:00.002Z

Oxford researchers have compiled a list of the most irritating clichés.

At the top of this is “at the end of the day” - most people have said it, and the phrase is often used by footballers when they are interviewed after a game.

Next to follow is “at this moment in time,” which uses six words to say “now.”

Other clichés on the list are: “fairly unique”, “at this moment in time”, “with all due respect”, “absolutely”, “it's a nightmare”, “24/7”, “it's not rocket science”, and “shouldn't of.”

One phrase is out of favour with employees at a local council though.

Staff at Salisbury District Council are not allowed to say the phrase “singing from the same hymn sheet,” because it might offend atheists.

Meanwhile The X-Factor is providing a few surprises and one of these is that Daniel has not yet been voted off.

I think Daniel is the weakest link out of the people still in the show, but the British public are voting for him as they are for John Sergeant in Strictly Come Dancing.

Cheryl Cole seemed shocked to see Laura White leave on Saturday night.

Laura sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow in the sing-off and was joined by Ruth Lorenzo, but lost out.

So far I think Alexandra is the best performer.

Custard is back

2008-11-05T10:50:00.001Z

Many people will be going to firework parties this week to mark Bonfire Night.

Each year we brace the cold and stand around bonfire to remember Guy Fawkes and The Gunpowder Plot.

Here is the story of The Gunpowder Plot.
Over 400 years ago in April 1604 a group of conspirators met to think of what they could do to stop the persecution of fellow Catholics in England.

They included Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright, Thomas Winter and Guy Fawkes.
Catesby's plan was to blow up the Lords' Chamber on November 5, which was the day Parliament opened. On that day King James I and all of Parliament would be in the room.

But Guy Fawkes was caught on November 4, with gunpowder in a vault under the Lords' Chamber.

On January 27, 1606, Guy Fawkes and seven conspirators were sentenced to death.

That same month Parliament passed a law saying November 5 should be a day of public thanksgiving.

Meanwhile did you know that custard is making a comeback. I never knew that it had gone out of fashion.

Annual sales of custard – which the French call crème anglaise – is now more than £80 million.
Custard made well can spice up many puddings. Lumpy custard, which many people have suffered at school, is to be avoided though.

Race to the White House

2008-10-28T08:32:00.001Z

AMERICA will go to the polls next Tuesday (November 4) for the 56th United States presidential election.

Standing for the Republican Party will be John McCain and for the Democratic Party is Barack Obama.

It proves to be an historic result whoever wins. If Obama triumphs, then he will become the first black US president and if John McCain succeeds, his vice president, Sarah Palin, will be the first woman to achieve that office.

Barack Obama, who is favourite to win, has been accusing John McCain of negative campaigning.

It is said that McCain’s strategy of attacking his opponent has had an adverse effect and has turned voters off him.

A key issue is the race to the White House state of the economy, with another being Iraq. Obama opposes the war in Iraq and, if he takes office, wants to see all US troops out of the country within 16 months.

McCain had wanted US troops to remain in Iraq, but now says if he becomes president US troops would be withdrawn by 2013.

Last week Obama took two days out to look after his dying grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, and John McCain has being trying to fight back. While Sarah Palin has been attempting to shake off bad publicity about her wardrobe. It had been said she has spent over £100,000 on new clothes, as a way of improving her style.

Millions will vote on Tuesday and a result will be expected within 12 hours.

The new president won’t be in office until January 20 next year though.

No more ketchup

2008-10-14T16:07:00.002+01:00

I COULDN’T believe that tomato ketchup had been banned from school canteens.

It has been banned because of its “high level of salt.”

But it seems to me to be another example of the nanny state.

A primary in Wales is among the schools to not allow their children to eat ketchup on their premises. Apparently they are following guidelines set out by the Welsh Assembly Government.

If they ban ketchup because of its salt content, then surely crisps should be next, and then chocolate and coke could follow, because of their potential health risks.

Ketchup may have too much salt in it, but a little of it with a meal often helps to improve the taste of the food.

Meanwhile Tess of the D’Urbervilles reached its gloomy conclusion last week.

I knew the ending, but still watched on regardless and was just as annoyed at the ending.

I enjoyed the drama, although why did we have to be put through it on a Sunday night.

It was such a sad story to end the week with and there was no upbeat programme to follow.

The next classic drama to be serialised will be Little Dorrit. Look forward to more misery on a Sunday night.

Isn’t there a classic drama they can serialise that is more upbeat? No more Hardy or Dickens for now please!

007 returns

2008-10-08T11:19:00.001+01:00

James Bond is back later this month.

The publicity machine has already started rolling for the latest film Quantum of Solace, which will be out on October 31.

It will be Daniel Craig's second time playing Bond and his first outing as the secret agent in Casino Royale, was the most successful Bond movie of all.

Quantum of Solace is a sequel to Casino Royale. This time 007 is seeking revenge for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd in the last film.

The makers have copied a scene from Goldfinger in the new movie where Goldfinger's accomplice is killed by being covered in gold paint, after sleeping with James Bond. In the new movie the scene is similar but this time Gemma Arterton, who has been appearing in Tess of The D’Urbervilles, drowns in crude oil.

Quantum of Solace promises to have all the ingredients of a James Bond film: beautiful girls, plenty of action, fast cars and exotic locations.

What I didn’t like about the last film though was the lack of humour, it seemed to be too dark. In earlier Bond films the jokes provided some lighter moments. Roger Moore was the best at comedy.

In my opinion the stories are not as strong as they used to be either. The best Bond movies were those taken from Ian Fleming books such as: Goldfinger and Dr No.

But the latest release is something to look forward to as the nights draw in.

Fantastic flight

2008-10-01T10:25:00.001+01:00

ONE story lifted the spirits last week.

It was the tale of Yves Rossy, aka Fusionman, who became the first human jet to fly the channel.

Fusionman took ten minutes to fly from Calais to Dover with the jet-propelled wing on his back.

The Swiss adventurer had very few instruments to help him and had no flight controls, just his body. To move the wing Mr Rossy had to move his head and limbs slightly.

The wing was built by Rossy in his garage.

It took me by surprise watching his flight across the channel on the TV last week.

Will his jet wing catch-on? It would be useful in a traffic jam.

Meanwhile two weeks ago America got their hands on the Ryder Cup for the first time this century.

Nick Faldo should shoulder the majority of the blame.

It looked like he was unable to generate the team spirit, which had played a major factor in Europe’s last three wins.

He also should have spread his best players out in the final singles. America gained momentum on the final day and this was to be crucial in their win.

Despite Faldo’s failings America were the better side and deserved to win the trophy.

We're still here

2008-09-16T15:01:00.001+01:00

We are still here then.

Concerns that the whole world might be sucked into a black hole following an experiment to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang were proved to be wrong last week.

The Large Hadron Collider cost £5 billion, took 14 years to make and involved 10,000 researchers, but it left me thinking: what was the point?

Meanwhile the end of Summer sees new TV dramas being shown. And the return of old favourites.

The first episode in a new series of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday. I am usually a fan of Casualty, however I did not see the need for them to show someone being impaled.

Also we wait for weeks for a TV drama to come along and then two are shown on the same night, at the same time no less.

My gripe concerns last Sunday where Tess Of The D’Urbervilles was being shown on one side and Poirot on the other. Why couldn’t they have been shown on different nights?

Finally Liverpool has beaten Manchester United.

This match always proves to be an amazing sporting occasion and you can cut the tension with a knife. This game means a lot to both players and supporters. And for the first time in years Liverpool have the upper hand over United, although it is very early in the season.

Faldo takes gamble on Poulter

2008-09-04T20:45:00.000+01:00

SO Nick Faldo has gone for Ian Poulter as his wild card Ryder Cup pick over Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie.

Poulter’s inclusion in the Ryder Cup has been seen as a gamble in many quarters because Montgomerie had played in eight successive matches, never losing a Ryder Cup singles.

And Clarke had experienced a successful partnership with Lee Westwood that had won six points from a possible eight in Ryder Cup matches.

In the last month Clarke has seen a return to form and he picked up his 19th professional title recently.

Many believed Poulter had already been given the nod by Faldo, because Poulter didn’t try and qualify outright for a Ryder Cup place at Gleneagles. However Poulter and Faldo had been quick to deny this accusation.

Poulter is also above Montgomerie and Clarke on the world rankings and had impressed last month at The Open at Birkdale.

It is said he will be paired with Justin Rose and only time will tell if this partnership will gel.

Europe, who have won the last three encounters, will start as favourites for this year’s cup, even thought the competition is being played in America.

But maybe the Americans will come together more as a team without Tiger Woods, who is injured. Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, although he never seems to excel in a team.

If Europe are to retain the Cup, they will be looking to Padraig Harrington (The Open and USPGA winner) and Sergio Garcia to play lead roles.