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.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Montgomerie's men take Ryder Cup
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.
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.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
BBC loses exclusive rights to Masters
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.
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.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Who will Corey pick?
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.
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.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Dreaming helps us remember
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.
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.
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Red spot makes difference
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.
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.
Monday, 12 July 2010
The Open Championship
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.
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.
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