Somerset East

15 October 2013

Four men were arrested in Northern Ireland today by police investigating historical acts of terrorism.

One was detained for questioning about a murder in Belfast 20 years ago, and three others were held in east Tyrone as part of a separate inquiry involving republicans.

Joseph Reynolds, 40, a Catholic from west Belfast, was on his way to the Shorts aircraft factory in east Belfaast where he worked as a sub-contracting painter, when his van was ambushed in Sydenham Road by loyalist UVF gunmen on October 12 1993.

Detectives from the PSNI serious crime squad arrested a 50-year-old man today in connection with that shooting.

Meanwhile, three men, aged 42, 43 and 44, were detained in the Dungannon area of Tyrone for questioning about historical republican terrorist activity.

More in Northern Ireland (1 of 20 articles)

New deal ‘will help’ NHS claim from south Read More

by Marianne Gray

Of Good Report, one of three South African films in competition at the London International Film Festival, came to town with a buzz long before it was screened to festival audiences.

A tough film about an obsessive paedophile school teacher, it had been banned on the night of its opening screening at the Durban International Film Festival this year. And having seen it, one can see why those censors were perplexed and panicked.

As the first mainstream film banned in the new South Africa, this ruling triggered unprecedented international media coverage of a South African film and, following an outcry of industry professionals, and an urgent appeal by both the festival organizers and the film’s producers, the independent Appeals Tribunal overturned the ruling and classified the film with a 16 year age restriction.

While the Board asserted that the ruling had nothing to do with the artistic merit of the picture, it was argued that the Classification Committee (who discontinued their viewing and made an outright decision just 28 minutes into the film) had not viewed the picture in the context of the narrative.

Of Good Report is a hard-hitting Xhosa urban psycho/romantic drama that is exciting, disturbing and fascinatingly revealing. Shot in black and white in Somerset East in the Eastern Cape and crisply directed by Jahmil XT Qubeka (Small Town Called Descent), Mothusi Magano (Tsotsi) plays a newly recruited high school teacher seemingly of ‘good report’.

It has been almost a year since Parker Sithole, a victim of (undiagnosed) post-war stress pathology, made the long arduous journey to a sleepy rural town to take up his new position as a substitute teacher. He is welcomed into the teaching community for he is an educator who comes ‘of good report’ but is a marked social misfit.

He meets the sexually charged Nolitha (played by Petronella Tshuma) at a local bar and after a brief illicit sexual encounter, finds out that she is an under-age pupil in his class. Obsession, shameful lust and murder follow.

I spoke to Ciskei-bred Qubeka, in London for the festival, about his ballsy film. “It is a South African homage to film ‘noir’ that tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood from the wolf’s perspective,” an unapologetic Qubeka, 34, explains. “It is a psycho thriller.”

 

“A lot of relevant social issues come into play in the story. I try not to preach because entertainment is the central driving force of a genre film like this but gender-based violence in South Africa is at a very high rate. It wanted to tell it like it is. There is a lot of misogynist recklessness in the film and I felt I had a bit of insight into how the man’s mind worked,” says Qubeka, who works in modern commercial making when not on a feature film project. “I grew up in a patriarchal home. People around me did that sort of thing and it was always the other person’s fault. In this case teachers are supposed to be custodians of society.

 

“As a kid I was raised on American cinema and my influences are directors like Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and John McNaughton who made Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer, Sam Peckinpah. I shot it in black and white as an homage to the old classics.

Shooting in black and white enabled us to create this realistic story in this real world, but with all the heightened drama and stakes that are brought to the fore by eschewing colour. By reducing everything to black, white, and grey we were able to peel back the veneer of the character and plunge into Parker’s subconscious.

“In a very real way we also make unconscious associations with films such as Psycho and other black and white classics. Just as Mothusi Magano’s performance is so much more powerful because we never see him speak, the black and white imagery is so much more powerful because we never see any colour.”

The film is eerily enhanced by the soundtrack, which is not an original score but an intense music score made from composer Philip Miller’s musical library in collaboration with the artist William Kentridge.

*Of Good Report is screened at LFF on Mon 14 November at 20.45 at Vue 5 West End and Tues 15 Nov at 18.15 at Ritzy, Brixton.

Booking online : www.bfi.org.uk/lff

tel 020 7928 3232.

It also opens the Film Africa Festival at the Hackney Picturehouse in London on 1 November.

WARREN — A Warren woman has taken the regional crown in one of the largest international pageants in the world and is well on her way to the international competition in Florida.

Brielle LaCosta, 28, was crowned Miss East Coast International on Oct. 5 at the Villa Roma Resort in Calico, N.Y., in the Catskill Mountains. She will compete for the title of Miss International on Aug. 1 and 2, 2104 at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts in Jacksonville, Fla.

LaCosta will be there for a full week, competing in events with contestants from as far away as Australia, India, Ghana, New Zealand, Haiti, Mexico, South Africa and more, she said.

“I am excited about my year as Miss East Coast International and I plan on working with several organizations to bring awareness to an array of causes,” LaCosta said. “I have several causes that are close to my heart including animal shelters, raising awareness for cancer, heart disease, and helping young women with peer pressure and self esteem.”

LaCosta’s reign as Miss East Coast International will run for a full year as she makes public appearances and participates in community service activities until the August international pageant.

LaCosta currently resides in Warren with her father Dennis LaCosta and her mother Dawn LaCosta, as well as younger brother Sean LaCosta. They share their home with her two rescue cats, Pumpkin and Panda, a rescue puppy named Bruno, and her parents’ three rescue dogs.

A former Berkeley Heights resident, LaCosta is a 2003 Governor Livingston High School graduate who also graduated Rutgers University in New Brunswick in 2008 with a degree in psychology.

“I actually was named one of their 2010 Outstanding Alumnae and was a guest speaker at their annual Zagoren Lecture,” LaCosta said. “That was an incredible experience.”

LaCosta knows her way around the pageant stage, having been crowned Miss New Jersey International in 2010. During her reign, she participated in more than 100 charity events, and expects to do even more with her regional title.

Her main platform is “Autism Awareness,” a cause she has worked on for years and one for which she has been recognized worldwide.

“I have worked with over 30 different organizations in the past few years, and I appear with other causes besides Autism — animal shelters, cancer, baseball games, schools, golf tournaments,” LaCosta said. “Basically if it’s to raise money for a cause or educate people, I’m there!”

LaCosta plans to continue as an Autism advocate and fundraiser as she has since 2007 despite having no personal connection to the cause.

“I simply fell in love with it and think those diagnosed are incredible people, ” Locasta said.

She plans on staying grounded, and never letting the pageant wins go to her head.

“With the negative stigma beauty pageants have, I try to go above and beyond so people know I am a real person too and am in no way “above” anyone,” LaCosta said.

“I am so humbled and thrilled to have been given this opportunity to raise awareness for organizations and causes close to my heart,” LaCosta said. “I am so looking forward to my year ahead and would like to make over 150 appearances. My new title really opened up the door for me and I would love to make appearances throughout the east coast.”

“I also want to encourage youth to dream big — anything is possible with dedication and hard work,” she said.

For more information about LaCosta and her causes, visit her personal website, her Facebook page, as well as her House of Motivation page for young girls.

10th October 2013

An initiative to boost the little tern population on Chesil Beach has been hailed a “huge success”.

The birds – which migrate from West Africa and nest on the Chesil Beach stones – have been in decline in recent years and were once thought to be heading for extinction in the area. 

But action by the RSPB has reversed the trend leading to a rise in the number of breeding pairs on the beach.

The RSPB teamed up with volunteers, landowners and other agencies in 2009 to create fenced-off areas with on-site site wardens to protect the birds’ nests – which consist simply of shallow depressions in the pebble surface vulnerable to predators and accidental disturbance.

This summer a further initiative aimed to protect eggs from the effects of cold by creating areas of sand where birds could nest.

The RSPB’s Tony Whitehead said there was no doubt these initiatives are responsible for seeing the number of nesting pairs rise to 25 this summer, up from 21 last year and 18 in 2011, and chick survival rates at their highest levels in decades.

He said: “There is no doubt it has been a huge success. At one point the species was heading for extinction in the South West and if we hadn’t acted they would have been lost to Chesil.

“This is of great significance not just to the South West but the whole of the UK – Chesil Beach can represent 10 per cent of the UK population of little terns.”

The rise in successful breeding pairs on the beach – which one summer saw no chicks at all survive – cannot be put down to random variation or natural envir- onmental changes, according to Mr Whitehead.

He said: “There were two things that really mattered. Firstly the fenced area and site warden protected the nests from predators and disturbance.

“But creating sandy areas for the birds has made a real difference too.

“Given the opportunity to nest on sand, the terns will do so – as they do in [RSPB-managed little tern colony in] Great Yarmouth.

“Because the eggs are better insulated, more chicks survive.”

Mr Whitehead added: “What’s really heartening is that these migrating birds have come thousands of miles from West Africa to this country.

“It’s nice to think that when they get to Dorset they have a good home waiting for them.”

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Although demand for property within close proximity of good schools is no new phenomenon, its less likely now that excellent state schools are found close to home. 

Agents say although fewer excellent state schools, such as King Edward’s School in Johannesburg, Rondebosch Boys and SACS in Newlands remain, demand for residential property in these neighbourhoods as well as that close to private schools is increasing.

The SA Centre for Development and Enterprise recently reported ‘significant expansion of independent schooling in South Africa and that between 2009 and 2012 alone, 118 295 more learners entered independent schools.’ The Independent Schools Association of South Africa (ISASA) estimates that this year there are more than 2 500 independent schools.

A superior level of school education now reigns as a common denominator of private educators, parents, property developers and industry professionals. As business is bypassing the shortcomings of the country’s basic education system, public funds have been raised through the listings of companies such as Advtech and Curro Holdings, to satisfy demand for private schools.

Recent growth in this sector was reported when Curro Holdings outperformed annual forecasts earlier this year. Chief executive Dr Chris van der Merwe also announced the opening of an additional 30 schools, as well as private teachers’ training facilities by next year.

Exclusive housing
Setting aside the historic and current shortages of good schools in rural and township areas, a growing number of private schools are being established in upmarket suburban areas. Although more income groups now have access to lower-fund private schooling than ever before, the property industry is seeing increased demand for exclusive housing developments, close to reputable private schools.

Another trend shows that monthly household budgets increasingly reflect the need for quality education, where private school fees and mortgage bond re-payments now sit side by side, according to agents. Naturally this isn’t a worry for everyone. Adrienne Hersch Properties CEO, Adrienne Hersch in Johannesburg says “Most family buyers and tenants with school-going children who elect to live in luxury lifestyle estates, in particular in some cultural groups, seldom question the cost of private schooling”.  

In the Western Cape, the Boland town of Stellenbosch illustrates how increased demand for private education, from preparatory through to tertiary levels, has impacted on upmarket areas. Rene Coetzee, representative of the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate Home Owners Association says residents usually rate the cost of schooling as less important than the convenience of short travelling distances and security.

“Property owners at De Zalze comfortably afford to prioritise schooling and tertiary education, despite high property prices and monthly estate levies.” She says the location of Somerset College just 5km from De Zalze, has become a huge draw card for young families, especially when breadwinners commute to upcountry and international work destinations.

This area also provides continuity in education, a vital component when making long-term house purchases near a private school, says Coetzee. The towns of Franschhoek, Wellington and Paarl offer alternative tertiary education options to Stellenbosch University. This region is synonymous with reputable cookery schools, as well as agricultural, art and business institutions.    

Hersch says Johannesburg has traditionally been home to any number of very good public schools. “However, more buyers in search for exclusive properties in upper end suburban areas specify locations where private schools cater for specific cultural groups.” She says high end housing in specific residential nodes, such as the North Eastern parts of Johannesburg as well as parts of the Sandton precinct, have grown in popularity as the result of Greek and Jewish schools in central locations.

“More Muslim residents have moved into upmarket Northern suburbs over the past ten years, since the establishment of new mosques in the area.” Hersch says low traffic congestion, and short travelling distances to private Muslim schools in Houghton and Greenside have also resulted in increased demand in upmarket security estates.

However, demand patterns vary in certain geographic areas, as seen in the Southern Suburb of Cape Town where residents in Tokai and Constantia enjoy access to three different private schools. Strong demand, both for residential and retail property continues around exclusive private estates in this area.

Ironically, demand has outstripped supply to the point of new development at the top rated Steenberg Golf and Lifestyle Estate. This award-winning estate, as well as Silverhurst and Silvertree estates are not only located within close proximity of Reddam House and the US Embassy, but are also less than 1km away from Pollsmoor Prison.

Expat communities also show a strong preference for private schools close to security estates and luxury apartment developments. While relocation specialists, who act in the best interest of foreign citizens who are relocated with their families, do mention exceptional educational facilities at ex-model C schools in large cities, the emphasis remains on secure housing and private schooling.

Developers of mixed use and private estates say that schooling is prioritised in the earliest planning processes. Rob Stefanutto, Managing Director of Dogon Properties says: “Demographic planning of new developments include more than one single private school in an area, but also universities, high security and easy access to public transport.”

A tip for buyers of new developments: he suggests looking at traffic reports which form part of environmental impact assessments and provide solid investment guidelines.   

*Anna-Marie Smith’s work as a freelance property writer since 2006 followed a career in the corporate service industry after studying Communications at Unisa. She changed direction from financial communications to writing for property publications, with an interest in sustainable residential and commercial development. She writes for Business Day HomeFront, Property Professional Magazine, PrivateProperty.co.za and Earthworks Magazine.

10th October 2013

A STRANGE but twoo-hoo story has emerged after a tiny owl was found on board a warship at sea.

The shivering stowaway was discovered during Cougar 13 – the Royal Navy’s annual workout of the Response Force Task Group operating in the Mediterranean and Gulf.

Off the coast of Yemen, eagle-eyed sailors on board HMS Illustrious spotted the owl cowering under the ship’s crane on the flight deck.

Leading Airmen Mikaele Mua picked up the exhausted bird which was then passed to the ship’s weather man (Meteorology Forecaster) Lieutenant Chris Patrick – an avid “twitcher” and dedicated member of the Royal Naval Bird Watching Society.

Chris, 44 from Weymouth, immediately identified it as a Eurasian Scops Owl and knew this species would be migrating south towards Sub-Saharan Africa around this time of year.

Lt Patrick, who spent several days nursing the ship’s unexpected visitor back to health, said the owl had “looked as though it was simply waiting to die”.

He fed it pieces of meat in his cabin, waited until conditions were favourable for the owl to fly to shore and then released the bird near the coast of Oman.

He said: “The bird looked in good condition when it left and it was heading to shore with the prevailing winds. We all hope it made the journey safely.’’

PICTURE: Chris Patrick with the owl.

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Private Jonas Johannes of the 6 SA Infantry Battalion passed his first practical test after qualifying as the youngest ever judge for the South African Natural Body Building Association.

The 27-year-old, who is a member of the Makana Natural Body Building Club, was selected to judge at the national championships in Cape Town on Saturday 5 October.

Although he says still has much to learn, he picked up some great tips at the competition – for himself and his team-mates back home.

At the competition Johannes had to assess the quality of body builders’ muscles and structure, “because anyone can be big,” he explained, “but not everyone can show their muscles”.

After getting 86% for his judges’ exam on 8 September, Johannes says he can now have a future in the sport as more than just a competitor.

Body builders get old, he says, but “with judging you can be on the development side. It is also helpful for my team to be a judge among them”.

Grahamstown army base sports officer Lieutenant Mervin Classen said 6SAI is very proud of Johannes and supports him all the way.

“What he does he is doing on his own,” he said.

According to Johannes, where he comes from what he’s managed to achieve is a big accomplishment. “Especially coming from a small town like Somerset East where cultural differences did not make it easy to do body building,” he said.

“I am now happy to say that [my hometown] is 100% behind me and I thank them and everyone for supporting me.”

And then there were four. Given the recent hurried and lamentably quiet exits of first Simon Jones, then Matthew Hoggard and now Steve Harmison, the giants are dropping like flies. Of the down-and-dirty dozen who propelled England’s reclamation of the Ashes eight years ago, only Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones and Kevin Pietersen are still on first-class duty. Maybe it’s my rapidly expanding crow’s feet, but the thought that Joe Root was a scrawny 14-year-old during 2005 And All That seems positively surreal.

Together with Andrew Flintoff, Jones, Hoggard and Harmison formed the best-balanced and most lethal pace attack ever assembled in the name of the northern hemisphere, an all-boxes-ticked posse led fitfully but fearsomely by the reluctant hitman from Ashington. If ever a nickname captured the cricketer, “Harmy” captured Harmison – but perhaps not in the way future Wisden porers and perusers might imagine.

That he could live up to the first half of his name is indisputable. For a few rampaging years during the last decade, no bowler inflicted more harm, mental or physical. From a quivering 17-year-old Parthiv Patel, brusquely and mercilessly undone by a short riser on Harmison’s Test debut at Trent Bridge in 2002, to Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer, bruised, bloodied and beaten on the first morning of the 2005 Ashes, no batsman of any age or stature faced him without a modicum of dread.

Yet there was always something not quite complete, something not quite right about that final “y”. “Harmy” hints at playfulness, a lack of serious intent, a compassionate softness, an antidote to Lillee-ness. A number of variations on movie titles vie for Harmison’s biography: Some Don’t Like It Hot; Kind King Kong; The Beer Hunter; The Bittersweet Smell of Success. If he’s feeling morbidly self-mocking, he could always opt for Barmy Harmy. I still hope he plumps for The Accidental Terrorist.

Our paths crossed just once; hindsight confirms what a timely time it turned out to be. I’d schlepped up to the north-east extremities of Stockton-on-Tees to interview him for the Financial Times shortly before Bangladesh became the initial fall guys of that imperishable summer of ’05. Little did he know it – though he may well have suspected it quite strongly – but Harmison was at the very zenith of the apex of his peak.

After he announced his retirement at the weekend I glanced back at my notes from that 45-minute conversation – it felt much more like that than an interview – and felt a chill fizz up my spine. Those 18-plus years of Australian-induced hurt still had some months to run, but the sense of what made the ending of that unconscionable famine possible was impossible to miss.

“Some of the cricketers in the past have gone out there selfishly,” he asserted, unusually strident. “What we have is a group of players who have been together for a while who play for each other. It’s not just about individual success. If I don’t bowl well but we win, I’ll take that. In the past people couldn’t share in others’ achievements. That change is down to [Nasser] Hussain. His message was: ‘We’ve identified you players as the future and now we’re going to go forward.’ We were told to express ourselves, enjoy ourselves. If I do badly Hoggard will step up. We work for each other, help each other. I still feel I’m there to express myself. I came in at just the right time against South Africa in 2003: we were just starting to go over the top in the right direction. Thorpey [Graham Thorpe] said the selfishness [had] gone.”

When we sat down he was betwixt and between: between innings, midway through a midweek match against Somerset, halfway through an often brilliant career that achieved less than it might but almost certainly more – given his temperament and outlook – than it should have.

A fortnight earlier, against Worcestershire, he had claimed Durham’s first-ever first-class hat-trick; in this fixture he would twice dismiss Marcus Trescothick cheaply and help engineer what turned out to be his county’s best start yet to a Championship campaign. The following week he nabbed nine wickets to lasso Lancashire, the only county Durham had hitherto failed to beat. On the second evening he’d dined with Andrew Flintoff, his best pal; come morning he was softening him up, striking him in the chest with a brutal short ball, the prelude to swift dismissal. If ever a fast bowler intimidated without malice aforethought – “I couldn’t help myself, your honour” – it was Harmy.

Here was a globetrotting athlete who detested leaving home and family; a chap who bowled dangerously despite himself; a fast bowler who didn’t snarl, swear or sledge. “I don’t bother,” he reasoned. “If you’re six foot six and can bowl 90 miles an hour there’s not much need for sledging. A bouncer’s better.”

Here, too, was a man to whom success seemed to have been largely a happy accident, underpinned by a late and sudden growth spurt in his teens. The way he conveyed it, ambition had never been a spur. F***ball had always been his bag. “I didn’t have any cricket heroes, never watched a Test before I played one. I remember little bits on telly with Botham and Robin Smith. I remember little bits but nothing that made me think I wanted to be a Test cricketer.”

The matter-of-factness was bracing. “I’ve never been one to say it’s the be-all and end-all, never obsessed by it. If it all went tomorrow, so be it.” Not that this precluded self-assertiveness: “Not many can do what I do – bowl 90 miles an hour consistently. Name me one.”

The first time it struck me that he possessed an extraordinary talent, and just might be the first English slinger to consistently unnerve quality batsmen since Bob Willis, was on the fourth day at The Oval 11 Augusts ago. Dispatching Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis in the space of four balls – the former slicing one that zipped away, the latter trapped by one that zapped back – he accelerated England’s march to an improbable series-squaring victory after South Africa had kicked off with 484. No other game did more to point the way ahead, to usher in the rebirth of the Old Dart as a cricketing force.

Seven months later came that 7 for 12 at Sabina Park, which even overshadows Devon Malcolm’s “You guys are history” one-man show at The Oval as the most devastating display I have ever witnessed from a Pom who elected to hurl leather for a living. “Every time I ran up I thought I’d take a wicket,” the author mused, the boyish wonder in those alert eyes balanced by an adult’s perspective. “I bowled better in the next Test but didn’t feel like that. I don’t think I’ll ever feel it again.”

Realism was plainly an asset. Deep down, it probably didn’t surprise him in the slightest that the delivery for which he is now most readily and cruelly recalled would be one that flew straight to second slip. Being Steve Harmison, one suspects, has always meant being acutely aware of the clawing talons of vulnerability.

****

The first thing I noticed upon meeting the nation’s latest most terrifying sporting hero was the vastness of his hands. How could a mere ball not obey his every whim? Oh how deceptive that proved. The handshake was half-melting rock, half-wet plaice; gentle rather than weak, genuine rather than arrogantly limp; the handshake of a man perhaps too keenly aware of his own power.

That innate honesty had not always served him well. Trescothick’s brave confession of his own vulnerability, that proud landmark in the annals of freedom of cricketing speech, was still in the future. Above all cricketing breeds, fast bowlers are supposed to be invulnerable, but here, plainly, was one to whom bluster and pretence were anathema.

Had he been too open about those notorious and debilitating bouts of homesickness, not least the previous winter when he had admitted, with that characteristic and refreshing guilelessness, that he’d rather be Heathrow-bound than play in an ODI?

“Possibly, yeah. They hung me for [that]. I was disappointed. I’d never hid behind it. Always been upfront. Speak as I see it. I’ll always be like that. Never liked going away and never will. I probably didn’t say the right thing but there were only five journalists there, and three came and apologised afterwards when the papers made a big splash. They felt as if they’d been stabbed in the back. How’d they think I felt?”

As for what ensued in the weeks after we met, the sense of all-for-oneness continued to mount. “We think as a bowling team,” he declared, exuding a pride in collectivism more befitting a rising member of the Young Socialists. “It’s the only way to get wickets. You look to your partner to help you out sometimes. Dry up the runs. Make batsmen think.”

The success of that philosophy owed much, he believed, to the tell-it-like-it-is approach of Troy Cooley, the Australian whose value as bowling coach should never be underestimated in this tale of Pommie renewal: “Troy keeps everything simple: tells you good things when you’re bowling well, tells you you’re a prick when you’re bowling badly. He’s honest and he’s simple.” Honest as in truthful; simple as in straightforward.

Honest and simple. Harmison wore those virtuous adjectives well. He has been the standard-bearer for a new breed of sporting hero: understated, self-effacing, unafraid to non-conform, unafraid of revealing vulnerability. A role model, in other words, for the Twittering Age.

9th October 2013

YEAR 10 students Sidmouth College Harvey Sargent and Finlay Marks are on a high after being selected to take part in the Devon Youth Cricket Development Tour to South Africa in February 2014.

The boys will join a development squad visiting the Western Province and Mpumalanga and will be in South Africa for just over three weeks in total. They have already represented Devon and are regarded as two of the best players in their age group in the county. 

A college spokesperson said:?“This exciting opportunity to play overseas against quality opposition will play an important part in helping the boys to maximise their potential. Nevertheless, each of the boys has to raise approximately £3,000 in order to take part, and are looking for sponsorship. If anyone within the community can offer their support, please contact the PE department at the college.”

PE teacher Mr Clifton said: “We’re all really delighted for Harvey and Fin. The boys have proven they have the talent and ability to play top level cricket and have trained hard. This is a fantastic opportunity for both of them to take their game one step further.”

PICTURE: Havery Sargent and Finlay Marks.

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AFTER being blessed with a bird’s eye view of the Battle of El Alamein, former Fleet Air Arm pilot Peter Manders, now 92, thought his war had come to an end when his aircraft collided with a Wellington bomber in mid-air.

Prologue

1. ?

   Peter Manders, who flew an Albacore like this during the Second World War, saw the Battle of El Alamein from the sky, before a Wellington bomber crashed into him

Captured: 30.10.1942

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Manders, Sub Lt; Taber, WW Sub Lt; and McBride, A L/A.

While illuminating enemy positions for Wellington W5478 of 104 sqdn RAF, they collided with each other and crashed near El Alamein.

Manders taken POW, and Taber, WW Sub Lt and McBride, A L/A were both killed.

All of the RAF crew killed.

Former Fleet Air Arm pilot Peter Manders aged 92 formerly of Binegar who now lives at Torrwood care centre in Wells SMJB20130930F-010_C

My association with 821 Squadron was from the 9th January 1942 until the 30th October 1942, my last operation ?nishing at 0045 on that final day.

I remember the time distinctly because I had just looked at my watch and the thought in my mind was that in 15 minutes time I could leave the target area and head for home for an early breakfast.

However, fate decided that I, together with seven others, would not be enjoying that.

After the 10th June 1940 when Mussolini, thinking it was as good as all over and he may as well get in on the act and claim some of the spoils, declared war on Britain and the remains of France, the Mediterranean became an increasingly dangerous place, especially for carriers, the danger coming mainly from the Germans.

The ‘Eagle’ and ‘Ark Royal’ were eventually sunk and the ‘Illustrious’ and ‘Indomitable’ had to withdraw for repairs.

The result was that all Fleet Air Arm Squadrons were shore based in Malta or North Africa.

Rommel was entirely dependent on convoys from Italy for men and supplies and aircraft in Malta were ideally situated for attacks against these.

It was the failure of a large percentage of men and supplies to reach their destination that had such a great effect on the campaign in North Africa.

We, in 821 Squadron helped to deal with those that did arrive.

We had really been trained for operations with a naval ?avour and stood by, ready and armed with torpedoes a number of times.

But the targets never came within our range. With hindsight this was probably fortunate for us because our aircraft, the Albacore, was not designed for dodgy daytime operations, where, at least, a reasonable speed would be helpful.

Actually my ?rst operation did have a naval ?avour, illuminating a target on Rhodes for a naval bombardment.

It took 7.5 hours, longer than it takes now to ?y across the Atlantic.

My second operation, also a longish haul of 5.5 hours for a single engine aircraft, was mine laying in Derna harbour.

The night was pitch black and I had a few interesting moments, such as the engine suddenly stopping on the way out, while ?ying at 50 feet, and running out of fuel on the way back but still 100 miles from base.

I still had quite a way to go before I would reach land, so that, with the fuel gauge stuck solidly on zero and the engine demanding three-quarters of a gallon a minute, it seemed a lifetime before crossing the coast.

A bit of luck comes in handy on such occasions and, of course, it was still dark.

The luck was that I had crossed the coast, where there was a desert airfield, just an area ?atter than the rest, which I could just make out.

I landed and taxied a short way before the engine died.

This time everything was in one piece, which was not the case shortly before this incident.

Again it was night. The engine lost power but this time there was no convenient ?at area below.

However, below I had to go to test the saying ‘Any landing you walk away from is a good one.’

We did walk away, but if the aircraft could have spoken, I doubt if it would have use the word good.

It was vertical with bits missing and may still be there. It certainly didn’t ?y again and was not even salvaged for spares.

Strange to say it was the only time any of my crew congratulated me on my landing. I have a feeling that on our way earthward they didn’t fancy our chances and relief dictated their opinion.

The situation on the ground in North Africa at this time in 1942 was not going well for us. In fact things everywhere were at their lowest.

The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbour; the ‘Renown’ and ‘Prince of Wales’ had been sunk and Hong Kong and Singapore had fallen.

Rommel had been driven back to Agedabir 275 miles inside Libya where both armies halted because of supply problems.

But Rommel recovered first and attacked on the 19th January, taking us by surprise. He quickly captured a huge amount of our equipment, including 1,800 trucks, 280 armoured vehicles and 127 guns.

He advanced 175 miles to the Gazala Line where he stopped to gather strength for a summer offensive. The British ground forces were now suffering from a number of disadvantages, mainly in the command area.

We had no generals with the skills of Rommel and worst of all was the increasing awe in which Rommel was held.

821 were now well up in the desert at El Adem, south of Tobruk. We had a few naval ?avoured operations in the form of anti-submarine patrols around convoys attempting to reach Malta.

From now on we would be path finding for RAF Wellingtons. It was realised that it was easier and more efficient if we, in our Albacores, sought out the targets and illuminated them with ?ares, so that the Wellingtons, based farther back towards Cairo, would not have to hunt around themselves.

The usual pattern was that we went out with a mixed load of ?ares and bombs, found the target — at this moment airfields – illuminated them for 45 minutes, dropped our own bombs and returned home.

We were operating thus from El Adem but Rommel began his advance from the Gazala Line, again surprising and confusing our ground forces, so that a retreat eastward, or what was named ‘The Gazala Gallup’ commenced.

It was now May 1942 and this ‘Gallup’ continued until early July when El Alamein was reached, with Tobruk and Mersa Matruh falling with enormous loss of men, equipment and fuel.

Our stay at El Adem was coming to an end and with this in sight we were told to stay in our aircraft until further notice.

When the notice to evacuate came, everyone took off from wherever they were parked.

A Fleet Air Arm Albacore SMJB20130930F-008_C

Desert airfields were only tented affairs with few facilities and minimal organisation. Certainly no permission to take off or land was sought and once airborne there was no communication between yourself and the ground.

For night operations it would be a bit of a luxury to have any lighting. On ‘take offs’ one just opened up and hoped nothing was in the way.

We were now moving back from one airfield to another and co-operating with the Army as well as the RAF, illuminating and bombing tanks and M.T. as well as airfields.

Luckily the Luftwaffe were suffering from aircrew strain and serviceability, so that the army was left virtually unmolested from the air.

While operating from Bagush I had engine trouble and tried to ?y back to Dekheila, our base near Alexandria for an engine change.

The aircraft trailed an oily black cloud and it was obvious, with a rapidly falling oil pressure, that I would not make it, so it was back to Bagush.

An engine was rushed up and almost fitted when the order to evacuate came. Everyone left, leaving my ground crew and myself to ?nish the job.

This was done but when it came to trying to start the new engine we had no luck. Some Army chap came through in a jeep saying the enemy was not too far away and continued his ‘gallup’ eastward.

Actually, the enemy appeared in a few minutes in the form of a ME 109, which proceeded to shoot us up, destroying another aircraft nearby.

Still failing to start the engine, we had no choice but to take to the road, joining up with the Squadron at an airfield farther back from where, that night, I ?ew my last operation from the desert, landing farther back still at Dekheila.

The landing here was a bit of a worry because I had a bomb ‘hung up’ and I didn’t know how secure or insecure it was.

Just to test it I made, probably, the hardest landing I had ever made, unintentionally, but it stayed put.

From Dekheila we continued illuminating and bombing tanks and M.T. concentrations; airfields and Mersa Matruh.

The airfields we were now bombing were ones from which we had been operating a short time ago and Mersa Matruh was a small harbour 150 miles away, past which we had retreated and through which Rommel could now bring supplies.

lt could deal only with small vessels, the nearest large port being Tobruk, where we laid mines on the night of the 21 June, 320 miles west of Dekheila.

By now there was a fair old panic going on. Mussolini had a white horse sent over for him to ride through Cairo in the Victory Parade.

Our headquarters staff in Cairo were legging it back to Jerusalem and secret documents being burnt created so much smoke that the day was called Ash Wednesday.

Barclays Bank was pretty well cleaned out of money by those intent on removing themselves to a safer area. Oddly. at the time, we knew nothing of these capers. We were busy doing what we had to do and really living in a world of our own.

A mass of bureaucracy had built up in Cairo, ‘Cairo Canaries‘ and ‘Groppi’s Light Horse’ (Groppi’s was the popular eating and drinking place), living a life of luxury with siestas, cheap drink and abundant food.

These were the ones to panic because their life style was in danger.

They may well have had good cause to panic because Rommel, now only 60 miles from the Delta, made a final attempt down at the southern end of the Alamein Line, to push for Cairo and Alexandria.

The Battle of Alam Halfa had started. Even before the Africa Korps had started to breach the minefields, we in our Albacores found his units and illuminated them all night for the Wellingtons.

This was the night of the 31st August and I ?ew two operations. It was a bombers battle. Twenty-two squadrons of Spit?res; ten of Hurricanes and two of Tomahawks, cleared the way for the day bombers – the Bostons, Mitchells and Baltimores.

There were 35 aircraft in the air every hour, day and night, so that the enemy had no rest and it was all over in three days.

After this battle and my last operation on the 3rd September, we had a short rest from ops., but not from ?ying. Every day was spent training until we were soon back path finding, ?rst over airfields and then we were switched to enemy positions along the Alamein Line.

The night of the 23rd October was one of these. I took off with my usual load of bombs and ?ares at 2045 and was over the target, beginning my 45-minute stint of lighting things up at 2125.

The ?ares, which were contained in tubes about 3ft 6in long and 6in diameter, were very effective, literally turning night into day. We dropped them from 5000 feet and they descended slowly on a parachute, while the Wellingtons bombed from above us at 5500 feet.

After 15 minutes, at 2140, the ground beneath me appeared to erupt and I gathered that there was some artillery activity. What I didn’t know at the time was that it wasn’t just ‘any’ artillery activity but the beginning of the Battle of El Alamein, with a gun every 13 yards on a seven-mile front opening up, each to ?re 600 rounds in the next 5.5 hours.

Secrecy had ‘prevented us from knowing about the start of the battle and I now realise that I was the only person to have a bird’s eye view of the turning point of the war because no Wellingtons put in an appear while I was there.

In ignorance of events, I ?nished my stint, dropped my bombs, turned for home and touched down at 2300 hours, having more or less forgotten the recent sight.

However, we were soon aware of the situation and operations in the same area were stepped up. After ?ying two operations on the 25th October, I took off again on the 29th at 2330 hours, arrived at the target at 0015 and dropped my first ?are, carrying on until 0045 when I dropped, what turned out to be my last one.

I remember the time, having just looked at my watch and noted that I had another 15 minutes before heading home. One’s eyes are continually on the move, never settling long in one direction but looking left, right, up, down, across the instrument panel and forward.

Having just dropped a ?are I looked down to see what was below and almost immediately looked ahead, not that much could normally be seen in that direction in the dark of the night. This time it was different.

I did see something in the form of a Wellington about 200 yards away and we were in a head-on situation.

I had less than two seconds to do something. There was no time to turn and I was still loaded with bombs and some ?ares, so couldn’t climb in the time. So down it was and I thrust the stick forward but he hit me behind the wings, removing the tail end of the fuselage.

Everything was now hurtling rapidly earthward and soon passed the ?are I had just dropped. The next collision, only seconds away, would be with the ground.

All that was holding me to my part of the aircraft were my straps. Pulling out the pin which held them together, I was thrown clear into sudden silence, still approaching the ground at speed, so that it was something of a relief when, after pulling the rip cord, my parachute opened and I ?oated down to an uncertain welcome.

Peter Manders flying log book recording the mission when he failed to return following a mid air collision with a Wellington bomber, also his flying goggles, medals and Caterpillar club membership card SMJB20130930F-009_C

I couldn’t really be expected to be greeted in too friendly a manner because, as the Afrika Korps diary records say – ‘Officers and men were badly shaken and their ?ghting capacity considerably reduced by the enforced dispersal and lack of sleep and the strain of waiting for the next bomb’.

It is satisfying to know that we had achieved our aim.

As it was, no hard feelings were shown by my German captor when he approached me with the barrel of his gun pointing in my direction. He may well have said ‘For you the war is over’ because after 60 operations. it was.

It had all happened very quickly, the whole episode spanning seconds.

A short while later it may well have been over for him as well, because in a few days, where I was now standing would be occupied by Allied Forces.

Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to hang about waiting for them but taken rapidly westward on the way to Italy and Germany, a tour which would occupy my next two years and seven months.

At least I had witnessed the turning point of the war, a victory for which church bells, which had remained silent since the 3rd September 1939, were rung.

It would be early May 1945 before the European War would end and I arrived home four years after leaving, to be welcomed by a mug of NAAFI tea and a puff of DDT down the back of my shirt — and other places.

Some time later I heard of a signal, referring to this North African struggle, sent by their Lordships at the Admiralty, saying — ‘As the Fleet Air Arm Squadrons have taken no part in the campaign they will be moved to …’

Perhaps we should give them credit for actually knowing we were in the area at all. They were probably a little behind with the paper work.

At least Montgomery knew a bit more, as in his memoirs concerning the Battle of Alam Halfa he says ‘The Albacores found two large concentrations, one of 2,000 tanks and another of about 1,000. These were bombed all night’.

Also in the ‘Official story of Air Operations in the Middle East’ – ‘Such night bombing was achieved only because of the magnificent work of the Naval Airmen and their slow Albacores who went ahead and dropped ?ares for the Wellingtons.

‘There is no doubt that these continuous night attacks were one of the decisive factors in crushing the enemy attack’

So we must have done something, although Headquarters didn’t know about it.

Mon, 7 Oct, 2013

Some of the buildings presently occupied by Fort England Hospital were originally the barracks of the imperial troops, and it was here in September 1820 that William Shaw preached his first sermon in the Eastern Barracks, (later to be known as Fort England) in the quarters of a Methodist sergeant–major (Lucas or Price). These services became a regular practice and in 1861 the Methodist Church in Grahamstown built a chapel near the fort to serve the troops, as well as the local community which had become established in that area. The troops were withdrawn in 1870, but Fort England Chapel continued its services for the townsfolk. When the imperial troops were withdrawn from South Africa, Fort England was closed.

Dr Atherstone opened it as a mental hospital in 1875. The chapel continued to serve both the hospital community and the local townsfolk. In 1911 the hospital became a government institution and the church was bought by the state, providing the capital to build the present church.

The foundation stone for the Wesley Methodist Church in Market Street, Grahamstown, was laid on 23 August 1913. When the church was dedicated on 31 January 1914, it was discovered that three items from the Fort England Chapel had been brought over to Wesley: two brass collection plates inscribed Fort England Chapel, and the oldest pump organ in Grahamstown, built in England.

It is a Hill Organ and dates circa 1820. It is still in working order. It was brought out by ship as a gift for Lord Charles Somerset’s wife, and presented to the church in 1852, when Somerset and his family left Grahamstown. It was declared a historical monument in 1950.

On 25 August 2013 The Wesley Methodist Church held its Centenary celebration. It was a very joyous occasion with the Bishop
giving the sermon. To all our friends who attended from near and far, thank you for making this Centenary such a special day.
We would like to thank the following sponsors who kindly donated goods or gave financial assistance for the recent upgrading
of their Church for its centenary celebrations.

Ann Olivier, Mike Lutge, Glen Craig and the Salem Worship Group, Andy Bradfield, Quintus and Amy Hahndiek, James Sholto-Douglas (Penny Pinchers), Ricky Short, Julia Davy, Bud Hare (RS Plumbers), Budgie Vassilliou (Vassi Builders) Deon (Sole Memorial), Jonathan Voorveldt (Buco), Diane and Louisa, Jane Sonneman, Gorgie Djan, Elaine and Chantelle Kirtain, Tandy
Sebate, Siswe Mabusela, Sheila and Ray Riddin, Wendy and Terry Butterworth (Goodhope Cycles), Gladman, Beauty, Albie Meyer
and James Headbush. Without their donations and contributions, we would not have had such a beautiful church.

The Wesley congregation

SEE ALSO: ‘Lethargic’ Pig In Jogging Bottoms Rescued From Hot Car By Police

A feral pig who made a name for himself after bursting into an Australian campsite, chugging 18 cans of beer and challenging a cow to a fight before collapsing under a tree, had died.

The hog – nicknamed “Swino” was hit by a passing vehicle in a remote stretch of the Pilbara region, local authorities confirmed to the Independent.

The pig was apparently identified by distinctive markings on the back of his ears.

‘Swino’, the feral pig has died after he was hit by a car (file picture)

Last month Swino caused havoc amongst campers at the De Grey River in the Pilbara region.

“It was the middle of the night and it was these people camping opposite us and they heard this crunching of the can and they got their torch out and shone it on the pig and there he was scrunching away at their cans,” one camper recounted.

The rampaging pig was then spotted tearing a bag of rubbish to pieces before it tried to take on a nearby cow.

However the bovine did not take kindly to the challenge of the swine and responded by chasing it around a vehicle.

The inebriated pig was later spotted collapsed under a tree, presumably sleeping off a hangover.

In the aftermath of the incident, campers were reminded to securely store any food and drink while staying in the area.

There are anywhere between 3.6 and 23.5 million pigs Australia-wide, a spokesman for the NSW Department of Primary Industries told The Australian in August.

“Numbers of feral pigs fluctuate depending on seasonal conditions and availability of feed,” he added.

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• Potato Duck

  Dorothea Clinton who dug up a potato in the shape of a duck. Dorothea Clinton will be having ‘Quack-et Potato’ for dinner after digging up this funny-looking potato Sep 13, 2013. The 73-year-old, of Peaton, near Ludlow, thought it bore an uncanny resemblance to a duck, and wanted to show of the funny looking vegetable.

• Heart Potato

  Sally Colburn holds a heart-shaped potato that she found. (Wendy Victora / a href=”http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/woman-receives-message-from-the-beyond-from-husband-1.184125?page=1″ target=”_blank”Northwest Florida Daily News/a)

• German Cops Seize ‘Strangest-Looking Convertible’ Pool Car

  On July 22, 2013, German police spotted “a convertible of a slightly different kind.”

  “I saw the strangest-looking convertible I have ever seen – a roofless BMW, without registration plates, bordered around the open top with wooden boards and fake plastic flowers. It was also full of water,” a href=”http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Drunk_inventors_caught_cruising_in_car_pool?WT.mc_id=ON_MEC_A_AffWin_SkimbitWT.tsrc=AffiliateWT.mc_id=ON_MEC_A_AffWin_SkimbitWT.tsrc=Affiliate” target=”_hplink”the unnamed police officer told Orange News/a.

  The officer observed four young men, clad in bathing suits, splashing around inside the bizarre home-made car pool. According to the police report, “All of them appeared drunk.”

  The car had been sealed with a synthetic material and filled with approximately 530 gallons of water.

  One of the men, a 27-year-old who police suspect was driving, returned to the scene to collect his wallet, police obtained a sample of his blood for a blood-alcohol analysis.

  The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed yet.

  Speaking with a href=”http://www.bild.de/bild-plus/news/inland/verkehrsstraftat/polizei-stoppt-rasendes-planschbecken-31511980,view=conversionToLogin.bild.html” target=”_hplink”The Bild newspaper/a, one of the men called the ride a “stupid idea.”

  “It was the first time we drove on a street and we just wanted to have a little fun,” he said.

• Penis Strawberry

  A mother has revealed that she celebrated Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory with a freshly picked strawberry – shaped like a PENIS. Carole Collen, 52, was pottering about in her garden in Dartford, Kent, this Sunday (7/7) when she spotted the cheekily shaped berry dangling amid her fruit and veg patch. Holding back the laughter she went inside to show her family before taking a quick snap to show her friends. Now the mother-of-two is planning to entering the strawberry into a raffle in a bid to raise money for charity.

• This photo released by the Glendale Police Department shows a black Cadillac that lost control and careened onto the roof of a neighbor’s home on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in Glendale, Calif. The Cadillac driver lost control before leaving his driveway, plunging off a hill “onto the roof of his neighbor’s house directly below his driveway. (Photo courtesy of Glendale Police Department)

• Third Eye Blind

  Tilde Nörgaard, a Swedish sixth grader, is still trying to figure out how she got a third eye in her class photo.

• 150-lb Boulder Crashes Through Car Windshield

  This 150-lb boulder crashed through the windshield of a rental car in Sedona, Az. The passengers, Bob Jaczko and Peter Wilson suffered minor cuts.

• Kid Has LEGO stuck in nose for three years.

  Isaak Lasson can finally breathe easy after three years of sinus problem caused by a single wheel-shaped LEGO that he got stuck up his nose back when he was three.

• Scrapyard Destroys Wrong Car

  Ben Forrer outside Sita UK, a scrap yard in Coventry, today, 25, 2012. Refer to NTI story NTICRUSH. Ben Forrer looked on in horror as a Coventry scrapyard crushed his van by mistake. Ben Forrer had only left his Citroen Relay for a few minutes as he dropped off an old cooker at the Sita yard, in Longford. But workers mistook the van for scrap and began crushing it in the jaws of a mechanical grabber

• Middle Finger Bush

  A bush carved into the shape of a middle-finger has landed a gardener into trouble after somebody failed to share his humour over the shrub. The council received a complaint about the shaped bush eight years after it was carved by Richard Jackson, 53, in his front garden. Despite only receiving one complaint, the council have since contacted Richard to alter the bush as it is considered a public offence. But Richard, from Tamworth, Staffs, said his neighbours are backing his pledge to keep the bush and they have even began a Save the Bush campaign to support him. Credit: Caters News

• Cathedral Licker

  A man has made a 5,000 mile pilgrimage to every Anglican cathedral in England so he can give them a good LICKING. Lawrence Edmonds has staked his claim as Britains first every cathedral licker by tongue tickling an incredible 42 in less than two years. Christian approval, Polish condemnation, and looks of confusion from a flock of Dutch tourists have all been experienced by Lawrence on his epic journey Back in January 2011, Lawrences friend Adam challenged him to a bet- that he couldnt lick every Anglican cathedral in the UK within five years. Credit: Caters News

• Baobab Tree Sculpture

  Mike De Butts adds the finishing touches to a giant Baobab Tree sculpture entitled ‘Under the Baobab’, outside the Southbank Centre on May 24, 2012 in London, England. The Pirate Technics’ installation is made from a selection of brightly coloured fabrics from around the world, and is part of the Southbank Centre’s ‘Festival of the World’ exhibition, which includes a series of large scale pieces of art that will be in place around the Southbank centre over the Summer.

• My Little Ponies

  Some of Sarah’s ponies. Sarah Butler, 28 from Barnsley, Yorkshire has been collecting 1980’s My Little Ponies for 24 years and now has over 1,000 of them as well as having a themed room in her house including My Little Pony curtains, bedspread and other collectables.

• Rapunzel Hair

  Natasha Moraes de Andrade, 12, is nicknamed Rapunzel because her hair is more than 5 feet long — just one and a half inches shorter than her height. In March, she planned to cut and sell the locks for some $2,600 to help get her family in Rio De Janeiro out of poverty.

• Moscow City Lights

  Swirling colors of city lights from a 900ft crane fill the Moscow skyline. Photographer D. Chistoprudov boards the crane, which is being used to build a skyscraper called Federation, and takes pictures over a period of two hours. Chistoprudov, 28, starts taking the swirling snaps around 1am and battles freezing weather to remain completely still so not to ruin the careful process. (Caters News / ZUMA Press)

• iPoo

  The sleek design, the impressive functionality, the distinctive logo – was it only a matter of time before Apple redesigned the humble toilet with the iPoo? The iPoo is literally a case of toilet humour and Belgrade designer Milos Paripovic makes the tongue-in-cheek claim his work isn’t intentionally related to the Apple brand.

• Tamaseseri Festival

  Naked men wearing only loincloths vie for a wooden treasure ball weighing eight kilos to bring good fortune, during the Tamaseseri festival at Hakozaki shrine in Fukuoka, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu on Jan. 3, 2012. Two teams of farmers and fishermen competed for the rich harvest or largest catch at a festival that dates back some 500 years.

• Snow Church

  Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)

• Snow Church

  Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)

• Heine Braeck, 33, from Sarpsborg, Norway, has been without an right arm since he lost it during a freak accident when he was 13. Now he has decided to make the stump look like a dolpin’s head with the help of Bulgarian tattooist Valio Ska.

• Giant Slipper

  A man who ordered a special slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 – after manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order. Tom Boddingham, 27, has a size 13 right foot while his left is slightly bigger and measures a size 14-and-a-half. But when he ordered his custom-fit slipper manufacturers in China misread size 14.5 and accidently made a whopping 7ft long size 1,450

• Eight-year-old girl is world’s youngest drag racer

  Eight-year-old girl Belle Wheeler has become the youngest drag racer in the world — just two days after her eighth birthday. The pint-sized dragster then went onto compete against youngsters more than twice her age and qualified for the UK National Finals.

• Lawn Mower Endurance Race

  Competitors race in the 12-hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, 2011 in Billingshurst, England. First started in 1973 as a motorsport that would be accessible to as many as possible, this year’s competition included more than 30 teams including some from South Africa, America and Luxembourg.

• Pumpkin Art

  An employee arranges pumpkins to form a fish at the pumkin exhibition of the asparagus and experience farm Buschmann and Winkelmann in Klaistow near Beelitz, northeastern Germany on August 31, 2011. The exhibition will start on September 1 , 2011, with over 100,000 pumkins in 400 different varieties.

• Cable Car High Wire

  High wire artist Freddy Nock balances as he walks up on the rope of a Zugspitze cable car in Grainau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. Nock walked up the 995 meters long rope with an altitude difference of 348 meters aiming at collecting money for the UNESCO. He is attempting to set a new world record by doing seven summits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in seven days. It took him about 90 minutes to arrive on top of Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.

• Third Story Exit

  A 16-ton salt spreader blasted through the fifth-floor wall of a Queens Sanitation Department garage and came within inches of plummeting 50 feet to the street. The driver survived the spectacular 9:30 am crash, which sent bricks and debris raining down on cars parked outside the Maspeth repair facility, but spent 15 terrified minutes dangling in the cab of the bright orange vehicle. It’s unclear how driver Robert Legall, a 10-year Sanitation veteran with a clean record, lost control of the big rig. “There are signs up there warning drivers to slow down,” Commissioner John Doherty told the New York Post. “He’s familiar with the rules. We think it was just an unfortunate accident.”

• Speed Record Spins Out

  Driver Joe Wales crashes through the surf after veering off course during an attempt on the British land speed record for battery-powered vehicles in the Bluebird Electric on Pendine Sands on August 14, 2011 in Pendine, Wales. Driver Joe Wales and his father, fellow driver Don Wales, come from a famous family who have been setting land and water speed records since 1924. Don holds the current UK record of 137 miles an hour in an electric vehicle.

• Giant Cabbage

  Harrogate Autumn Flower show Director Martin Fish with a giant cabbage, as he introduced a series of new classes for Giant Vegetables to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Show. Giant onions, tomatoes and many others will all compete for the top prize of the biggest vegetable.

• Keep Claer

  An incorrectly spelled “Keep Clear” road marking is pictured in Kingswinford, on August 3, 2011 in West Midlands, England.

• Etna Volcano lava

  Lava spewed from a crater of the giant Etna volcano in the southern Italy island of Sicily on July 30, 2011 in Catania. The lava flown into a valley overnight and did not represent a danger to inhabited areas. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe at 3,295 metres (10,810 feet) which last eruption was in May.

• Killer Plant Eats Bird

  An exotic plant expert was stunned when he inspected one of his garden
  pitcher plants and discovered it had eaten a blue tit.
  Prize winning Nigel Hewitt Cooper one of Britain’s leading carnivorous plant
  growers, from West Pennard, Somerset, couldn’t believe his eyes when he
  checked the Nepenthes x mixta or Monkey Cup pitcher and found the dead bird
  inside.
  Normally the plants which are native to south east Asia consume insects
  which thy attract by secreting a sticky, sweet fluid at the bottom of the
  pitcher.
  Sometimes in the wild they have been known to kill small mammals like mice
  but Mr Hewitt Cooper who regularly wins prizes at the Chelsea flower show
  says for a cultivate plant to capture a bird is incredible.

• Giant Mermaid

  A man adjusts a sculpture “Giant Mermaid” on the Alster lake in the northern German city of Hamburg on August 1, 2011. The sculpture is created by art and advertising agency headed by Oliver Voss.

• Huge Pastry

  People look at a huge khachapuri (Georgian cheese pastry) in central Batumi on July 28, 2011. The cake was baked using 100 eggs, 90 kilograms of cheese, 150 kilograms of flour, has 8 meters length and was eaten within 1minute 32 seconds by people at a street.

• Velomobiles

  Velomobiles, recumbent bicycles with sleek, colorful outer shells, head for the open road in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 28, 2011. Twenty five riders from Europe and twenty five riders from North America are on a cross-country trip which will finish on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington D.C. on August 26. The bikers are trying to spread the message that sustainable, clean transportation can be fun.

• Bobblehead Bishop

  Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman has been immortalized in miniature with a bobblehead doll made in his likeness. The bobblehead comes as Trautman prepares to end his tenure as bishop of Erie.

• Canadian bubble artist

  Canadian bubble artist Yang Fan, who has set world record by packing 118 people inside a soap bubble, performs at the Gazillion bubble show in Beijing on July 19, 2011. Yang has earned international acclaim as a result of his complex displays of “bubble theater”. In addition to performing he has developed his own bubble solution formulas and equipment to create bubbles.

• Giant Marilyn

  Newly-wed bride Magda Villasenor looks at “Forever Marilyn”, a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The stainless steel and aluminum sculpture, which stands 26 feet tall and weighs 34,000 pounds, will be on display in Chicago through the spring of 2012. The sculpture was inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s iconic scene in the 1955 movie “Seven Year Itch”.

• Hot Dog Hot Rod

  The iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile vehicle is seen outside of the New York Stock Exchange as part of its day-long 75th birthday celebration, Monday, July 18, 2011. To commemorate the milestone, the Oscar Mayer brand rang the closing bell at NYSE. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Oscar Mayer)

• Harry Potter Corn Maze

  An aerial view of Top Pearsy’s Maize Maze in the shape of Harry Potter, on July 11, 2011 in York, England. Farmer Tom Pearcy has cut two portraits of Harry Potter in his crop of maize plants. With some subtle differences the two images create the world’s largest spot the difference competition. At over 50m in diameter, and cut out of over 1 million living maize plants, the York Maze is the largest ‘Maize Maze’ in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

• Recycled Sailboat

  A sail boat made of recycled material makes its maiden voyage to mark World Oceans Day in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

• Pontiac Deluxe Six ‘Ghost Car’

  An extraordinary transparent car could fetch as much as GBP 295,000 when it goes up for auction.The motor, dubbed the ‘Ghost Car’, is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which has been covered in Plexiglas. The first transparent full-sized car to be made in America, it was built in 1939 by General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas. Billed as a vision of the future, it was a sensation at the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair and continues to cause a stir today. Just two were ever made and this model, which has a three-speed manual transmission, is thought to be the last of its kind. It has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime; and now its set to go on sale for the first time since the early 1980s. It last sold for an undisclosed amount. American auctioneers RM expect it to sell for between $275,000 and $475,000.

• Serbian Brides Race

  Serbian women take part in a wedding dress race in downtown Belgrade on June 19, 2011. More than fifty “brides” took part in an annual wedding dress race in the Serbian capital, competing for numerous prizes. (Andrej Isakovic, AFP/Getty Images)

• World Naked Bike Ride

  People take part in the annual “London World Naked Bike Ride” event in central London on June 11, 2011. Now in it’s eighth year, the event has seen participation grow from 58 in 2004 to 1,200 in 2009. Taking a route that passes many of London’s most famous landmarks, the ride allows those participating to decorate their body with messages of protest against oil dependancy and motor vehicle usage.

• Hanging Around

  British artist Alice Newstead hangs by shark hooks during her demonstration to protest against shark slaughter in Hong Kong on June 14. The protest was organized by marine conservation group Shark Savers, and supported by Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics who are launching a global campaign to protect the sharks.

• Reptile House

  Diska Putra, holds one of his snakes in bed at home on June 10, 2011 in Bintan, Indonesia. Putra, 24, cohabitates in Indonesian with a collection of 30 snakes, some of which are deadly poisonous.

• Monkey God

  An Indian priest walks outside the temple of Hindu monkey God Hanuman in New Delhi early June 12, 2011. The highly popular monkey-god Hanuman known for his strength is worshipped for his unyielding devotion and selfless dedication to the Lord Rama.

• Big Baby

  Ron Mueck’s ‘Big Baby’ sculpture is displayed in front of Jenny Saville’s painting ‘Interfacing’ at the Masterpieces Exhibition at Christie’s on June 13, 2011 in London, England.

• Drunken Knight

  A would-be knight who tried to woo a maiden by riding into her home on a horse is facing five years behind bars for aggravated burglary. Lovelorn Jan Rudnicki, 40, hatched the scheme to bowl over divorcee Gosia Domoslawska after a night’s drinking down his local bar in Jarnoltowka, Poland. But terrified Gosia, 36, dialed 999 when her drunken suitor – stripped to the waist – galloped up her garden path and smashed his way through the front door like a battering ram.

• Sideshow Fat Man Dies

  Bruce Snowdon, the last sideshow fat man, was honored in a memorial service on Jan. 30, 2010. Snowdon performed as “Harold Huge,” and weighed 607 pounds (though by some billing he tipped the scale at 712 pounds). Here he is with fellow sideshow star Peter Terhurne, a fire-eating dwarf.

• So, What Do You Do For a Living?

  Mexican tattoo artist and trained lawyer Maria Jose Cristerna, known as “Vampire Woman”, attends the Fifth International Tattoo Convention in Bogota, Colombia, on June 4, 2011.

• It’s All Fun And Games…

  A Sufi Kalandar (wandering ascetic) performs an act of self torture during devotion at the annual death anniversary of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India on June 2.

Television news has given us the chance to witness history as it happened. As part of TV Guide Magazine’s 60th anniversary, we look back at the breaking stories and interviews that viewers will never forget.

1. John F. Kennedy assassination (1963) TV anchors (particularly Walter Cronkite) provide solace and real-time reporting when the nation needs it most. After four days of continuous coverage from Dallas, where JFK was killed, and Arlington, where he was laid to rest, TV Guide Magazine declares, “The medium gained a new sense of what it could do.”

2. Moon landing (1969) The journey of Apollo 11 and the lunar touchdown of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin deliver the greatest TV show ever back on Earth, where an estimated audience of more than 700 million marvel at the astounding images.

3. September 11 attacks (2001) The horrific footage of two hijacked Boeing 767s colliding into the World Trade Center will forever remind us of America’s darkest day. TV reporters help steady shaken viewers during the continuous coverage, but off camera they are weeping too.

4. President Nixon’s resignation (1974) From the final Oval Office address to the awkward victory signs flashed from the helicopter on the White House lawn, Richard Nixon‘s downfall due to the Watergate scandal becomes riveting TV drama.

5. Gulf War (1991) The from-behind-enemy-lines reporting of CNN’s Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman as bombs fall over Baghdad marks the beginning of live-TV war coverage.

6. O.J. Simpson trial (1995) A not-guilty verdict for the football star and broadcaster accused of murder is the stunning climax of a live-news soap opera created by the advent of TV cameras in the courtroom.

7. Challenger explosion (1986) The glory of America’s space program turns into unfathomable heartbreak when the shuttle breaks apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

8. Rescue of Baby Jessica (1987) The successful 58-hour effort to save trapped Texas toddler Jessica McClure from a backyard well becomes a defining moment for CNN as viewers tune in to the then-nascent around-the-clock cable news channel for live updates.

9. Election-night debacle (2000) All the networks give the razor-close race for Florida’s electoral votes to Al Gore and later to George W. Bush (who won the White House a month later, after the Supreme Court ruled against a recount). NBC’s Tom Brokaw says, “We don’t just have egg on our face, we have omelet all over our suits.”

10. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011) President Barack Obama tells the nation in a televised address that U.S. Special Forces killed Al Queda leader Osama bin Laden. But, with the rise of social media, the news spreads first on Twitter.

The Other 50 (Chronologically)

? Vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon invokes his children’s dog Checkers in a televised address that saves his political career. (1952)

? Edward R. Murrow’s criticism of Joseph McCarthy in a CBS News special helps turn public sentiment against the Red-baiting senator. (1954)

? CBS Evening News shows exclusive footage of the Andrea Doria sinking into the Atlantic. (1956)

? President Dwight D. Eisenhower tells the nation he’s sending in federal troops to carry out the court order to desegregate Little Rock schools. (1957)

? Nixon sweats his way through the first televised presidential debate with John F. Kennedy. (1960)

? David Susskind conducts a live interview with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev at the height of Cold War tensions. (1960)

? Murrow’s CBS documentary Harvest of Shame exposes the plight of migrant farm workers. (1960)

? Kennedy holds the first televised presidential news conference. (1961)

? Kennedy announces the blockade of Soviet ships bringing missiles to Cuba. (1962)

? CBS broadcasts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech live from Washington, D.C. (1963)

? Jack Ruby’s murder of accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald is shown live on NBC. (1963)

? CBS’s Morley Safer reports on U.S. Marines burning the village of Cam Ne, a turning point in TV’s coverage of the Vietnam War. (1965)

? The splashdown of manned space capsule Gemini 6 is covered live, thanks to the launch of the first commercial communications satellite, Early Bird. (1965)

? Walter Cronkite comes out against the Vietnam War on CBS Evening News. (1968)

? President Lyndon Johnson shocks the nation by announcing he won’t run for a second term. (1968)

? King is gunned down in Memphis, sparking civil unrest in cities across the U.S. (1968)

? After winning California’s Democratic presidential primary, Robert Kennedy is assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. (1968)

? Security guards rough up CBS correspondents Dan Rather and Mike Wallace at the riot-torn Democratic National Convention. (1968)

? William F. Buckley threatens to punch Gore Vidal in the nose during ABC’s DNC coverage. (1968)

? Nixon makes the first presidential visit to the People’s Republic of China. (1972)

? Peter Jennings and Jim McKay report live from Munich at the Summer Olympics on the murders of 11 Israeli athletes. (1972)

? ABC’s Barbara Walters becomes the first woman to coanchor a network evening newscast. (1976)

? In his second debate with Jimmy Carter, President Gerald Ford stunningly claims that Eastern Europe is not under Soviet domination. (1976)

? Cronkite brokers the first Egyptian-Israeli peace talks on his newscast. (1977)

? In his first interview after resigning over the Watergate scandal, Nixon tells reporter David Frost that he “let the American people down.” (1977)

? Senator Ted Kennedy gives a rambling, incoherent answer when CBS’s Roger Mudd asks why he wants to be president. (1979)

? Iran releases Americans held hostage as President Ronald Reagan is inaugurated. (1981)

? While Reagan recovers from an assassination attempt, Secretary of State Alexander Haig tells reporters he’s “in control here in the White House.” (1981)

? An estimated global audience of 750 million watch the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. (1981)

? Col. Oliver North testifies before a congressional committee on his role in the Iran-Contra affair. (1987)

? Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker defend their scandal-plagued ministry on ABC’s Nightline. (1987)

? TV cameras capture the standoff between a man and a line of tanks during pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. (1989)

? ABC’s World Series telecast turns into coverage of a deadly earthquake that shakes San Francisco for 15 seconds. (1989)

? NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw reports live from the falling Berlin Wall hours after an East German official announced that citizens were “free to travel.” (1989)

? Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela is freed after 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa. (1990)

? Anita Hill raises allegations of sexual harassment against Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas. (1991)

? Rioting breaks out in Los Angeles after a jury finds four police officers not guilty in the beating of Rodney King. (1992)

? Presidential candidate Bill Clinton admits to 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft that he’s caused “pain in his marriage” to Hillary Rodham Clinton. (1992)

? Ninety-five million people watch the police’s low-speed pursuit of O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco. (1994)

? News breaks of a truck bomb killing 168 people at a federal office building in Oklahoma City. (1995)

? Nearly 34 million U.S. viewers watch Princess Diana’s funeral over eight networks. (1997)

? Clinton confesses to his inappropriate relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. (1998)

? Barbara Walters’ sit-down with Lewinsky on ABC draws 49 million viewers. (1999)

? Katie Couric undergoes a colonoscopy on NBC’s Today. (2000)

? President George W. Bush declares military success in Iraq on an aircraft carrier decorated with a banner reading mission accomplished. (2003)

? Fox News anchor Shepard Smith decries the government’s response to victims of Hurricane Katrina. (2005)

? Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin can’t answer when CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric asks which newspapers she reads. (2008)

? The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American U.S. president is the most live-streamed event in Internet history. (2009)

? The world watches as 33 Chilean miners are freed after being trapped underground for 69 days. (2010)

? Terrorism saturates TV news again when two bombs explode at the Boston Marathon. (2013)

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Continued nervousness in the UK and Europe contributed to a flat year for sales and profits at the company behind renowned vacuum cleaner brand Henry.

But Somerset-based Numatic International remains upbeat with a “positive” budget for 2013.

The company, whose main manufacturing base is in Chard, posted sales of £110.4m for the period to 31 December 2012, down from £111.2m a year earlier, while operating profit rose slightly from £5.6m to £6m. Pre-tax profit decreased by £1m to £4.1m.

Alongside its Somerset base, Numatic has operations in Germany, the Netherlands, France and South Africa.

As well as the popular Henry range, the company also designs, makes and distributes commercial and industrial cleaning equipment, mops and trolleys, employing 850 staff.

A report accompanying the newly filed accounts said: “Once again, for the year of 2012, we can only report a good holding operation with trading conditions, both in the UK and Europe, fairly flat as a result of continued nervousness with regard to UK debt and austerity and the fragile condition of the euro in a large percentage of the Euro countries.

“Our RD input still remains strong and new products shown at ISSA in Amsterdam will imminently enter 2013 production.

“Due to poor performance in our Dutch subsidiary, we made a senior management change at the year end and expect to see improvements in the coming year.

“Our budgeting for 2013 is positive and we expect to see the first signs of a return to growth in our major markets.

“Other parts of the world, however, principally the Middle East, are still very unsettled which will not help and could influence the price of oil which has a direct effect on material cost stability.”

Brave servicemen honoured for their work

4 October 2013 |

Afghanistan UK 

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A soldier who single-handedly saved Afghan and Danish soldiers from a complex Improvised Explosive Device (IED) trap is among those recognised for bravery on operations today.

Warrant Officer (WO) Andreas Peat, a High Threat Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operator, took control of the situation after a Danish soldier triggered a device on a compound roof while on an operation in Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan.

WO Peat, 39, from Edinburgh, cleared a route through to the casualty while urging the other Afghan and Danish soldiers to remain still to guard against any further devices.

When WO Peat reached the casualty he realised that there was a further wire underneath it. Tracing it to another IED nearby he disarmed the device manually before clearing a safe extraction route, shielding the stretcher bearers from the main charge with his own body as they carried the soldier off the roof.

For his calm actions in the face of this threat it was announced at the Tower of London today that WO Peat will be awarded the George Medal.

WO Peat’s story is just one example of the many tales of courage which were shared today as scores of other personnel from all three services were honoured at the event.

It is one of 117 awards for gallantry and meritorious service included in the Operational Awards List 41 which covers the period between September 2012 and April 2013. Many of those recognised served with 4 Brigade which deployed to Afghanistan in the Autumn of 2012.

Flight Lieutenant Christopher Gent, 31 from Swanage, Dorset, was an aircraft commander in the UK Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) in Camp Bastion. On 20 December 2012, despite heavy fog grounding all Task Force Helmand activity due to low visibility, Flt Lt Gent’s crew was dispatched to rescue an Afghan soldier who had been shot in the head to the east of Camp Bastion.

Taking off just 14 minutes after the emergency call and flying in visibility as low as 30 metres, Flt Lt Gent skilfully positioned his Chinook to land near the casualty.

The citation for Gent’s Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air describes how ‘through his extremely cool leadership and expert flying in abysmal weather, they returned safely to Camp Bastion.’

Another stirring tale of bravery is that of Marine Craig Buchanan, 26 from Somerset West, South Africa, who has been awarded the Military Cross. Marine Buchanan, who now lives in Exeter, was part of an eight man team tasked to patrol to an Afghan police station to conduct low-level training in October 2012.

En route the patrol was engaged by a member of the Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP) wearing civilian clothing, who fired prolonged and accurate bursts of automatic fire, fatally wounding two members of the patrol and seriously wounding a Marine next to Buchanan.

Unable to return fire for fear of hitting his colleagues, Buchanan moved his body between the gunman and the rest of the patrol. When he was able to engage Buchanan neutralized the gunman before administering first-aid until the MERT arrived.

Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond said: “While the role of our forces in Afghanistan is changing with the Afghan forces assuming the lead for security operations across the country, the courage and bravery of British Forces deployed remains constant and undiminished.

Those honoured today have displayed exceptional dedication and commitment to their country, their comrades and the mission.

As we enter the final phases of combat operations in Afghanistan, British Forces deserve our recognition and gratitude for their role in helping to keep us safe in the UK.”

During Herrick 17 4 Brigade continued to support the development of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) into a force capable of taking control of their own security.

An increasing number of operations were planned and implemented independently by the Afghans with ISAF providing a ‘protective wrap.’

Interviews: Brig Bob Bruce Task Force Comd, Herrick 17
LCpl Tuljung Gurung MC 1 RGR
Mne Craig Buchanan MC 40 Cdo Royal Marines
Pte Ryan Houston MiD
1 SCOTS LCpl Rachel Hughes MiD
RAMC Rfn Ben Taylor QGM
Mercian Regiment Cpl Olly Bainbridge MC RDG

WHEN Hearts and St Mirren do battle today, Jimmy Bone will be 2000 miles away.

You might think this typical of a much-travelled player who lined up against George Best in five different countries and who when he turned to management, didn’t hang about.

This time it’s a holiday on Cyprus which is detaining him, booked long before anyone started calling this game the earliest relegation showdown in football history. Somewhere between pool and bar, though, the old centre-forward will try to catch radio commentary from Tynecastle – and he’ll be torn.

“It saddens me that two of my former clubs are having such a tough time,” he says. Bone had three rumbustious spells at St Mirren and life as a Paisley Buddy was never dull. “I loved the years I spent there, but I also grew up a Hearts fan and made my mum proud when I got the chance to sign for them as an old-timer.”

We meet at Stirling Uni, where Bone works as an SFA development officer, coaching disadvantaged kids. Life seems to be treating him all right at 64: he looks tanned enough to have just returned from somewhere hot. This is at odds with the peely-wally complexion he sported on early-1970s collect-the-set cards, but then the entire Scottish First Division, as was, wore one of them. The wild hair from one of Peter McDougall’s hard-man dramas has gone – and, minor tragedy, so’s one of oor fitba’s most evocative moustaches.

“Ach, I got rid of it a while back. I like to be clean-shaven now – it’s a good discipline. You get up in the morning, have a proper shave and you’re ready to start the day. I tell the young coaches this at Largs where I work as an educator. ‘Guys,’ I say, ‘you want to be setting a good example to your players.’”

He chuckles, possibly at the very notion of the SFA having an anti-whiskers crusader and it being him. “I loved my moustache once. Who was it modelled on? Cannae remember. But I had it before Celtic and after, just not during. I knew Jock Stein didn’t like facial hair. The day I signed he said: ‘You’ve got a moustache. Well, you just keep it, son.’ Next day at training all the boys were staring at me. I didn’t like that so at night I took it off. An example of Jock’s reverse psychology. He was clever like that.”

There’s a lot of ground to cover – we’ve got to get to Zambia at some point – so let’s begin in Fallin in Stirlingshire, where Bone, the eldest of six, was born. “My dad was a Rangers fan, my mum’s side were all Hearts and I had a right soft spot for them, but I didn’t think I could let on to Dad. The only games I got to see were Rangers ones weekabout with my wee brother Alex, and I was worried that if he found out I’d get left at home ?permanently.”

The man who would later be immortalised on a Partick Thistle keyring for scoring the last of the Jags’ four goals against Celtic in that amazing 1971 League Cup triumph – “Bone walks the ball into the net!” is the legend, courtesy of Arthur Montford – would first make an impression as a rugby full-back. Stirling High didn’t play football and Bone was in line for the Scottish Schools XV. “But Jim Ryan came to my rescue. He became the understudy to George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton at Man U but started out playing in a BB team in Stirling. So I joined the Boy’s Brigade. I was that desperate to become a footballer.”

Before then he went down the pits. “My dad left my mum and as the eldest I had to quit school early and become the breadwinner. I was an electrician at Polmaise and it was the making of me. You learned about teamwork in the mines because you were dependent on the other guys for your life. I think I got the natural aggression I had as a player from down there, which made me the determined bugger I was, trying to find myself a club.”

Eleven trials, 11 knockbacks. As “A. N. Other” he scored for Liverpool but they said no. He banged in five for Stirling Albion. At Hibs, where he also scored, the young John Blackley told him he was “too wee”. “The pit helped again. Going up and down the braes, I filled out and got stronger.” At Partick he had three trials, scoring in each one. “And in 1967 I came home from work to find that [manager] Willie Thornton had done a deal with my mum.”

Let’s jump forward to his first spell at the old Love Street. Bone doesn’t believe St Mirren are in a relegation fight, not yet, but back at the climax of 1977-78 – manager: Alex Ferguson – they definitely were. “It was between us and Ayr United, who we had to play at Somerset Park. At half-time with the score 0-0 Fergie said: ‘Win and I’ll double the bonus.’ We did win and stayed up and I don’t think Ayr have ever been back in the top league. But Fergie was sacked. The board said he didn’t have authority for the bonuses. I had to speak in his defence at an ?industrial tribunal.

“Back then we saw some of the things which stood Fergie in such great stead, his relationships with people and man-management. We witnessed the hair-dryer. He trusted his experienced pros like Jackie Copland, Iain Munro and myself, but younger ones like Billy Stark got a hard time because he was so desperate for them to become good players. It didn’t do Billy any harm. Fergie was super-competitive and tried to make us the same. But we had a laugh with him. He was demanding, but always fun.”

A man of many clubs, Bone might be best remembered for that Hampden saunter past Evan Williams for Thistle but he played most often for Saints. “I was an aggressive player at the start of my career and aggressive at the end with Hearts but in between times that St Mirren team played some nice football.” Bone rattles off some personal stats, lest we forget. “I captained the club to their highest-ever finish – third in ’79-’80. We had Dougie Somner and Frank McDougall up front, Starky and Frank McAvennie out wide and myself in the hole. We won the Anglo-Scottish Cup that season and the 25 minutes against Bolton when we went 4-0 up was the greatest display I was ever part of, even better than what Thistle did to Celtic. Then the following year I got Goal of the Season. I had to run with the ball against Aberdeen for 70 yards so reckon I deserved it.”

Bone was back at Love Street for the ’87 Scottish Cup triumph, as assistant to Alex Smith, but five months after it he was sacked. “A faction on the board wanted to bring in Tony Fitzpatrick and Frank McGarvey as the management team. Here’s a daft story: we’d just played Hibs at Easter Road and all the directors were having a drink. Their lot say to ours: ‘We’d give anything to have that cup in our boardroom.’ One of our guys goes: ‘Sometimes I think it’s the worst thing that ever happened to the club. Now the management are going aff their heids.’

“We got accused of trying to buy washed-up foreigners. Ian Ferguson [the cup final goalscorer] was wanted by lots of clubs. Spurs were prepared to give us Ossie Ardiles, Nico Claesen and money for him. Claesen wasn’t so washed-up: he’d go on to score a hat-trick for Belgium against Scotland. And anyway, after Alex and I were gone, Stevie Archibald came and he brought a pal from Barcelona.”

Bone says the reason given for his ?dismissal was he’d got “too close” with the players, but that couldn’t be said about his relationship with McGarvey. “We didn’t get on. Great player, but sometimes he didn’t pull his weight. I was a hard taskmaster and would call him a lazy sod. Against Tromso in the Cup Winners’ Cup, he got hauled off. As he ran down the tunnel he gave me some unbelievable verbal abuse. I went after him and there was a scuffle, which shouldn’t have happened.” That word again: “I was too aggressive.”

Bone’s third spell at Saints, completing a ten-year association, was as manager. No cups this time; just some serious accountancy during a rocky juncture for the club. He takes the credit for steadying things. “I brought in £1.7 million in transfer fees.”

So, let’s talk about the Jambos, his first love. He was signed by Alex MacDonald in 1983, just in time for Hearts’ promotion back to the Premier, and the first derby in a while for Edinburgh’s yo-yoing clubs. “Hibs actually wanted me as Pat Stanton’s assistant but they wouldn’t let me keep playing. I thought I still had some goals in me.” He did. “We won that derby at Easter Road 3-2, Robbo [John Robertson] scored his first two goals against Hibs and I got the winner. But there’s a sad story to that game. Afterwards, Bud [Willie Johnston] and I were enjoying a wee drink in the Barnton Hotel and my brother Alex was with us. Two days later Alex, who worked on the roads, keeled over and died of a heart attack. He was only 32. His funeral was on the Thursday and the gaffer said I should take as much time as I needed. Rangers were coming to Tynecastle on the Saturday and I told him I wanted to play. ‘Get rid of your sadness, Jimmy,’ he said. We won 3-1 and I scored again.

“Alex [MacDonald] was a great boss with Sandy [Jardine] alongside him. That team [also featuring Roddie MacDonald and Stewart McLaren] were known as Dad’s Army, but we did pretty well. Wallace Mercer, a lovely guy, had to pay out more than expected in bonuses. Kids like Robbo and Gary Mackay were breaking through. Myself and Bud had this wee routine. We commandeered the cleaner’s cupboard and called it our tea-room. The young ones would stop by, ask if they could come in, but we’d make them wait outside and listen to us discussing their form. ‘You let us down on Saturday,’ we’d sometimes say. ‘You’re only getting a cuppa if you promise to do better.’

“Regarding Robbo, I thought I’d be the brains of that striking partnership and he’d do all the running, but he only ever wanted to be in the penalty box so I’d end up having to knacker myself. But the wee man did okay, didn’t he? To this day he still calls me Da.”

Bone, who would score Hearts’ 6000th league goal, gave way to Sandy Clark for the thrills and heartache of the ?’85-’86 double-chasing season. “I was sorry to miss that but I’d had a fantastic time finally getting to wear a Hearts jersey and it was the right moment to step down.” Scanning his career as a whole it can look a bit chaotic, peppered with premature endings and surely the odd disappointment. For instance, Celtic: only seven games. “I had a bust-up at training with Sean Fallon, though I think it was stage-managed by Big Jock. If you displeased him or weren’t needed anymore you tended to be sent far away – I went to Arbroath! But to be fair to him, when he was Scotland manager I was playing for the Under-23s and he told me: ‘I was wrong about you.’”

Only two full caps. “Aye, that was disappointing. I think I was in all of Tommy Docherty’s squads and then Willie Ormond never picked me. But there were a lot of great players around at that time – and some who didn’t get any caps.” He scored Norwich City’s first-ever top-flight goal only to be sacrificed later in the season for a midfield purchase as the team fought relegation. “And I missed the League Cup final against Spurs by four days. Whenever I see my old striking partner David Cross he tells me we’d have won the cup if I’d stayed, but I’m in the club’s hall of fame.”

The blizzard of names on his playing CV includes Toronto Blizzard and Hong Kong Rangers and his managerial postings were occasionally exotic (East Fife, South Africa, Stenhousemuir and Kitwe in Zambia, home of Power Dynamos). Has he always had itchy feet? “I guess so,” says our man, married for a second time, to Shona. “I’m not looking forward to my retirement. I always like to be doing something and don’t want that to be bowling. In football, my view was that if you were invited some place, it was good manners to accept. Some moves didn’t work out; I was too hasty. And as a manager I maybe could have been more mellow.” Schooled by Stein and Ferguson, though, he was probably always going to be a disciplinarian.

There maybe won’t be too much mellowness at Tynecastle today. “I know,” he winces, “but whatever the result I really do think that both my old clubs can stay up.” Bone masterminded victory in the African Cup Winners’ Cup – is there anything from that experience that might prove useful in the match? “What, like black magic, you mean? There was a lot of it. Animals sacrificed and secret potions sprinkled in your socks for good luck, but if you found chicken-shit in your goalmouth that was bad luck. Before the final I told my players: ‘Dinnae bother about any of that. Today you’re Scottish.’ I was the only white guy in the stadium, but I made them sing Flower of Scotland with me. It did the trick.”

A New Hampshire woman’s dreams of satisfying her dead husband’s last wish became dust in the wind after the U.S. Postal Service lost his cremated ashes.

Allison Kelley’s husband, Chuck, died in August from a heart attack. One of his last requests was that some of his ashes be scattered over his favorite fishing spot in the Florida Keys.

She sent two ash-filled urns to Chuck’s daughter in Florida, but when the package arrived, the tape on the box was split and the urns were missing.

“I just felt like I lost him all over again,” she told WMUR-TV.

Tracking records show the package went from New Hampshire to New Jersey before being delivered in Florida. It’s unclear when the urns disappeared. Kelley’s only hope now is if the urns somehow fell out at one of those stops and were recovered, the Associated Press reported.

It’s never easy when ashes go missing. They’ve been lost, stolen and recovered under bizarre circumstances before.

• In July, Monica Thomas of Montgomery, Ala., lost the ashes of her deceased newborn baby when a robber stole the handbag where she was keeping the cremains.
• In October, 2012, the cremated ashes of Henry Lefebvre mysteriously appeared at a San Diego car wash 17 years after his death. They were eventually returned to his family.
• In October, 2011, Angeline O’Grady checked her husband’s ashes aboard a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to London. When she arrived, the ashes were gone.

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• Potato Duck

  Dorothea Clinton who dug up a potato in the shape of a duck. Dorothea Clinton will be having ‘Quack-et Potato’ for dinner after digging up this funny-looking potato Sep 13, 2013. The 73-year-old, of Peaton, near Ludlow, thought it bore an uncanny resemblance to a duck, and wanted to show of the funny looking vegetable.

• Heart Potato

  Sally Colburn holds a heart-shaped potato that she found. (Wendy Victora / a href=”http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/woman-receives-message-from-the-beyond-from-husband-1.184125?page=1″ target=”_blank”Northwest Florida Daily News/a)

• German Cops Seize ‘Strangest-Looking Convertible’ Pool Car

  On July 22, 2013, German police spotted “a convertible of a slightly different kind.”

  “I saw the strangest-looking convertible I have ever seen – a roofless BMW, without registration plates, bordered around the open top with wooden boards and fake plastic flowers. It was also full of water,” a href=”http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Drunk_inventors_caught_cruising_in_car_pool?WT.mc_id=ON_MEC_A_AffWin_SkimbitWT.tsrc=AffiliateWT.mc_id=ON_MEC_A_AffWin_SkimbitWT.tsrc=Affiliate” target=”_hplink”the unnamed police officer told Orange News/a.

  The officer observed four young men, clad in bathing suits, splashing around inside the bizarre home-made car pool. According to the police report, “All of them appeared drunk.”

  The car had been sealed with a synthetic material and filled with approximately 530 gallons of water.

  One of the men, a 27-year-old who police suspect was driving, returned to the scene to collect his wallet, police obtained a sample of his blood for a blood-alcohol analysis.

  The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed yet.

  Speaking with a href=”http://www.bild.de/bild-plus/news/inland/verkehrsstraftat/polizei-stoppt-rasendes-planschbecken-31511980,view=conversionToLogin.bild.html” target=”_hplink”The Bild newspaper/a, one of the men called the ride a “stupid idea.”

  “It was the first time we drove on a street and we just wanted to have a little fun,” he said.

• Penis Strawberry

  A mother has revealed that she celebrated Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory with a freshly picked strawberry – shaped like a PENIS. Carole Collen, 52, was pottering about in her garden in Dartford, Kent, this Sunday (7/7) when she spotted the cheekily shaped berry dangling amid her fruit and veg patch. Holding back the laughter she went inside to show her family before taking a quick snap to show her friends. Now the mother-of-two is planning to entering the strawberry into a raffle in a bid to raise money for charity.

• This photo released by the Glendale Police Department shows a black Cadillac that lost control and careened onto the roof of a neighbor’s home on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in Glendale, Calif. The Cadillac driver lost control before leaving his driveway, plunging off a hill “onto the roof of his neighbor’s house directly below his driveway. (Photo courtesy of Glendale Police Department)

• Third Eye Blind

  Tilde Nörgaard, a Swedish sixth grader, is still trying to figure out how she got a third eye in her class photo.

• 150-lb Boulder Crashes Through Car Windshield

  This 150-lb boulder crashed through the windshield of a rental car in Sedona, Az. The passengers, Bob Jaczko and Peter Wilson suffered minor cuts.

• Kid Has LEGO stuck in nose for three years.

  Isaak Lasson can finally breathe easy after three years of sinus problem caused by a single wheel-shaped LEGO that he got stuck up his nose back when he was three.

• Scrapyard Destroys Wrong Car

  Ben Forrer outside Sita UK, a scrap yard in Coventry, today, 25, 2012. Refer to NTI story NTICRUSH. Ben Forrer looked on in horror as a Coventry scrapyard crushed his van by mistake. Ben Forrer had only left his Citroen Relay for a few minutes as he dropped off an old cooker at the Sita yard, in Longford. But workers mistook the van for scrap and began crushing it in the jaws of a mechanical grabber

• Middle Finger Bush

  A bush carved into the shape of a middle-finger has landed a gardener into trouble after somebody failed to share his humour over the shrub. The council received a complaint about the shaped bush eight years after it was carved by Richard Jackson, 53, in his front garden. Despite only receiving one complaint, the council have since contacted Richard to alter the bush as it is considered a public offence. But Richard, from Tamworth, Staffs, said his neighbours are backing his pledge to keep the bush and they have even began a Save the Bush campaign to support him. Credit: Caters News

• Cathedral Licker

  A man has made a 5,000 mile pilgrimage to every Anglican cathedral in England so he can give them a good LICKING. Lawrence Edmonds has staked his claim as Britains first every cathedral licker by tongue tickling an incredible 42 in less than two years. Christian approval, Polish condemnation, and looks of confusion from a flock of Dutch tourists have all been experienced by Lawrence on his epic journey Back in January 2011, Lawrences friend Adam challenged him to a bet- that he couldnt lick every Anglican cathedral in the UK within five years. Credit: Caters News

• Baobab Tree Sculpture

  Mike De Butts adds the finishing touches to a giant Baobab Tree sculpture entitled ‘Under the Baobab’, outside the Southbank Centre on May 24, 2012 in London, England. The Pirate Technics’ installation is made from a selection of brightly coloured fabrics from around the world, and is part of the Southbank Centre’s ‘Festival of the World’ exhibition, which includes a series of large scale pieces of art that will be in place around the Southbank centre over the Summer.

• My Little Ponies

  Some of Sarah’s ponies. Sarah Butler, 28 from Barnsley, Yorkshire has been collecting 1980’s My Little Ponies for 24 years and now has over 1,000 of them as well as having a themed room in her house including My Little Pony curtains, bedspread and other collectables.

• Rapunzel Hair

  Natasha Moraes de Andrade, 12, is nicknamed Rapunzel because her hair is more than 5 feet long — just one and a half inches shorter than her height. In March, she planned to cut and sell the locks for some $2,600 to help get her family in Rio De Janeiro out of poverty.

• Moscow City Lights

  Swirling colors of city lights from a 900ft crane fill the Moscow skyline. Photographer D. Chistoprudov boards the crane, which is being used to build a skyscraper called Federation, and takes pictures over a period of two hours. Chistoprudov, 28, starts taking the swirling snaps around 1am and battles freezing weather to remain completely still so not to ruin the careful process. (Caters News / ZUMA Press)

• iPoo

  The sleek design, the impressive functionality, the distinctive logo – was it only a matter of time before Apple redesigned the humble toilet with the iPoo? The iPoo is literally a case of toilet humour and Belgrade designer Milos Paripovic makes the tongue-in-cheek claim his work isn’t intentionally related to the Apple brand.

• Tamaseseri Festival

  Naked men wearing only loincloths vie for a wooden treasure ball weighing eight kilos to bring good fortune, during the Tamaseseri festival at Hakozaki shrine in Fukuoka, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu on Jan. 3, 2012. Two teams of farmers and fishermen competed for the rich harvest or largest catch at a festival that dates back some 500 years.

• Snow Church

  Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)

• Snow Church

  Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)

• Heine Braeck, 33, from Sarpsborg, Norway, has been without an right arm since he lost it during a freak accident when he was 13. Now he has decided to make the stump look like a dolpin’s head with the help of Bulgarian tattooist Valio Ska.

• Giant Slipper

  A man who ordered a special slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 – after manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order. Tom Boddingham, 27, has a size 13 right foot while his left is slightly bigger and measures a size 14-and-a-half. But when he ordered his custom-fit slipper manufacturers in China misread size 14.5 and accidently made a whopping 7ft long size 1,450

• Eight-year-old girl is world’s youngest drag racer

  Eight-year-old girl Belle Wheeler has become the youngest drag racer in the world — just two days after her eighth birthday. The pint-sized dragster then went onto compete against youngsters more than twice her age and qualified for the UK National Finals.

• Lawn Mower Endurance Race

  Competitors race in the 12-hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, 2011 in Billingshurst, England. First started in 1973 as a motorsport that would be accessible to as many as possible, this year’s competition included more than 30 teams including some from South Africa, America and Luxembourg.

• Pumpkin Art

  An employee arranges pumpkins to form a fish at the pumkin exhibition of the asparagus and experience farm Buschmann and Winkelmann in Klaistow near Beelitz, northeastern Germany on August 31, 2011. The exhibition will start on September 1 , 2011, with over 100,000 pumkins in 400 different varieties.

• Cable Car High Wire

  High wire artist Freddy Nock balances as he walks up on the rope of a Zugspitze cable car in Grainau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. Nock walked up the 995 meters long rope with an altitude difference of 348 meters aiming at collecting money for the UNESCO. He is attempting to set a new world record by doing seven summits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in seven days. It took him about 90 minutes to arrive on top of Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.

• Third Story Exit

  A 16-ton salt spreader blasted through the fifth-floor wall of a Queens Sanitation Department garage and came within inches of plummeting 50 feet to the street. The driver survived the spectacular 9:30 am crash, which sent bricks and debris raining down on cars parked outside the Maspeth repair facility, but spent 15 terrified minutes dangling in the cab of the bright orange vehicle. It’s unclear how driver Robert Legall, a 10-year Sanitation veteran with a clean record, lost control of the big rig. “There are signs up there warning drivers to slow down,” Commissioner John Doherty told the New York Post. “He’s familiar with the rules. We think it was just an unfortunate accident.”

• Speed Record Spins Out

  Driver Joe Wales crashes through the surf after veering off course during an attempt on the British land speed record for battery-powered vehicles in the Bluebird Electric on Pendine Sands on August 14, 2011 in Pendine, Wales. Driver Joe Wales and his father, fellow driver Don Wales, come from a famous family who have been setting land and water speed records since 1924. Don holds the current UK record of 137 miles an hour in an electric vehicle.

• Giant Cabbage

  Harrogate Autumn Flower show Director Martin Fish with a giant cabbage, as he introduced a series of new classes for Giant Vegetables to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Show. Giant onions, tomatoes and many others will all compete for the top prize of the biggest vegetable.

• Keep Claer

  An incorrectly spelled “Keep Clear” road marking is pictured in Kingswinford, on August 3, 2011 in West Midlands, England.

• Etna Volcano lava

  Lava spewed from a crater of the giant Etna volcano in the southern Italy island of Sicily on July 30, 2011 in Catania. The lava flown into a valley overnight and did not represent a danger to inhabited areas. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe at 3,295 metres (10,810 feet) which last eruption was in May.

• Killer Plant Eats Bird

  An exotic plant expert was stunned when he inspected one of his garden
  pitcher plants and discovered it had eaten a blue tit.
  Prize winning Nigel Hewitt Cooper one of Britain’s leading carnivorous plant
  growers, from West Pennard, Somerset, couldn’t believe his eyes when he
  checked the Nepenthes x mixta or Monkey Cup pitcher and found the dead bird
  inside.
  Normally the plants which are native to south east Asia consume insects
  which thy attract by secreting a sticky, sweet fluid at the bottom of the
  pitcher.
  Sometimes in the wild they have been known to kill small mammals like mice
  but Mr Hewitt Cooper who regularly wins prizes at the Chelsea flower show
  says for a cultivate plant to capture a bird is incredible.

• Giant Mermaid

  A man adjusts a sculpture “Giant Mermaid” on the Alster lake in the northern German city of Hamburg on August 1, 2011. The sculpture is created by art and advertising agency headed by Oliver Voss.

• Huge Pastry

  People look at a huge khachapuri (Georgian cheese pastry) in central Batumi on July 28, 2011. The cake was baked using 100 eggs, 90 kilograms of cheese, 150 kilograms of flour, has 8 meters length and was eaten within 1minute 32 seconds by people at a street.

• Velomobiles

  Velomobiles, recumbent bicycles with sleek, colorful outer shells, head for the open road in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 28, 2011. Twenty five riders from Europe and twenty five riders from North America are on a cross-country trip which will finish on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington D.C. on August 26. The bikers are trying to spread the message that sustainable, clean transportation can be fun.

• Bobblehead Bishop

  Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman has been immortalized in miniature with a bobblehead doll made in his likeness. The bobblehead comes as Trautman prepares to end his tenure as bishop of Erie.

• Canadian bubble artist

  Canadian bubble artist Yang Fan, who has set world record by packing 118 people inside a soap bubble, performs at the Gazillion bubble show in Beijing on July 19, 2011. Yang has earned international acclaim as a result of his complex displays of “bubble theater”. In addition to performing he has developed his own bubble solution formulas and equipment to create bubbles.

• Giant Marilyn

  Newly-wed bride Magda Villasenor looks at “Forever Marilyn”, a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The stainless steel and aluminum sculpture, which stands 26 feet tall and weighs 34,000 pounds, will be on display in Chicago through the spring of 2012. The sculpture was inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s iconic scene in the 1955 movie “Seven Year Itch”.

• Hot Dog Hot Rod

  The iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile vehicle is seen outside of the New York Stock Exchange as part of its day-long 75th birthday celebration, Monday, July 18, 2011. To commemorate the milestone, the Oscar Mayer brand rang the closing bell at NYSE. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Oscar Mayer)

• Harry Potter Corn Maze

  An aerial view of Top Pearsy’s Maize Maze in the shape of Harry Potter, on July 11, 2011 in York, England. Farmer Tom Pearcy has cut two portraits of Harry Potter in his crop of maize plants. With some subtle differences the two images create the world’s largest spot the difference competition. At over 50m in diameter, and cut out of over 1 million living maize plants, the York Maze is the largest ‘Maize Maze’ in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

• Recycled Sailboat

  A sail boat made of recycled material makes its maiden voyage to mark World Oceans Day in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

• Pontiac Deluxe Six ‘Ghost Car’

  An extraordinary transparent car could fetch as much as GBP 295,000 when it goes up for auction.The motor, dubbed the ‘Ghost Car’, is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which has been covered in Plexiglas. The first transparent full-sized car to be made in America, it was built in 1939 by General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas. Billed as a vision of the future, it was a sensation at the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair and continues to cause a stir today. Just two were ever made and this model, which has a three-speed manual transmission, is thought to be the last of its kind. It has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime; and now its set to go on sale for the first time since the early 1980s. It last sold for an undisclosed amount. American auctioneers RM expect it to sell for between $275,000 and $475,000.

• Serbian Brides Race

  Serbian women take part in a wedding dress race in downtown Belgrade on June 19, 2011. More than fifty “brides” took part in an annual wedding dress race in the Serbian capital, competing for numerous prizes. (Andrej Isakovic, AFP/Getty Images)

• World Naked Bike Ride

  People take part in the annual “London World Naked Bike Ride” event in central London on June 11, 2011. Now in it’s eighth year, the event has seen participation grow from 58 in 2004 to 1,200 in 2009. Taking a route that passes many of London’s most famous landmarks, the ride allows those participating to decorate their body with messages of protest against oil dependancy and motor vehicle usage.

• Hanging Around

  British artist Alice Newstead hangs by shark hooks during her demonstration to protest against shark slaughter in Hong Kong on June 14. The protest was organized by marine conservation group Shark Savers, and supported by Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics who are launching a global campaign to protect the sharks.

• Reptile House

  Diska Putra, holds one of his snakes in bed at home on June 10, 2011 in Bintan, Indonesia. Putra, 24, cohabitates in Indonesian with a collection of 30 snakes, some of which are deadly poisonous.

• Monkey God

  An Indian priest walks outside the temple of Hindu monkey God Hanuman in New Delhi early June 12, 2011. The highly popular monkey-god Hanuman known for his strength is worshipped for his unyielding devotion and selfless dedication to the Lord Rama.

• Big Baby

  Ron Mueck’s ‘Big Baby’ sculpture is displayed in front of Jenny Saville’s painting ‘Interfacing’ at the Masterpieces Exhibition at Christie’s on June 13, 2011 in London, England.

• Drunken Knight

  A would-be knight who tried to woo a maiden by riding into her home on a horse is facing five years behind bars for aggravated burglary. Lovelorn Jan Rudnicki, 40, hatched the scheme to bowl over divorcee Gosia Domoslawska after a night’s drinking down his local bar in Jarnoltowka, Poland. But terrified Gosia, 36, dialed 999 when her drunken suitor – stripped to the waist – galloped up her garden path and smashed his way through the front door like a battering ram.

• Sideshow Fat Man Dies

  Bruce Snowdon, the last sideshow fat man, was honored in a memorial service on Jan. 30, 2010. Snowdon performed as “Harold Huge,” and weighed 607 pounds (though by some billing he tipped the scale at 712 pounds). Here he is with fellow sideshow star Peter Terhurne, a fire-eating dwarf.

• So, What Do You Do For a Living?

  Mexican tattoo artist and trained lawyer Maria Jose Cristerna, known as “Vampire Woman”, attends the Fifth International Tattoo Convention in Bogota, Colombia, on June 4, 2011.

• It’s All Fun And Games…

  A Sufi Kalandar (wandering ascetic) performs an act of self torture during devotion at the annual death anniversary of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India on June 2.

New Hampshire husband’s ashes lost in mail by WMUR

AN ART SCENE far and away from the one in the Marais (both in distance and substance) is unfolding in the twentieth arrondissement, in working-class Belleville, amid the residential town houses, elementary schools, and cafe?s bordering the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, a Wordsworth poem come to sprawling life. Belleville has long attracted an arty set, but in the last decade there’s been a deliberate attempt to establish a community away from the shiny, commercial, would-you-like-a-Warhol-print-with-your-new-pair-of-shoes, sir, Marais, where, I was told, any sense of solidarity between galleries has been lost.

HAD he lived — he died in 1990 — jazzman Chris McGregor would be in his 80s now. But, like jazz veterans across the globe, he would probably still be surprising audiences with harmonic innovation. Health permitting, jazz isn’t a calling in which years mean much.

McGregor was born on December 24 1936 in Somerset West. And next Tuesday, October 8, at 6pm, the Amandla Forum in Cape Town hosts the Western Cape’s regional launch for the most comprehensive book about his life and work so far.

Written by his widow, Maxine McGregor, Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breath is published by Rhodes University Press. The launch takes place at the District Six Museum, 25 Buitenkant Street, while the Mahogany Room Jazz Club hosts a subsequent concert in tribute to both McGregor and Sathima Bea Benjamin from 8pm.

What made McGregor’s music remarkable is well summarised by editor Cornelius Thomas in his jacket note: compositions, arrangements and working practice embodied “the social coherence of African sound and culture amid the release and logic of free jazz”. It was the creative tension between these elements that gave McGregor’s sound its thought-provoking character.

Though his full opus has yet to find its rightful place in music curriculi here, McGregor’s legacy survives in many ways.

Some of his works have become standards, such as Mra, his tribute to baritone player and teacher Christopher Columbus Ngcukana.

(In Cape Town, Ngcukana was the pioneer of what he called the “fowl run” of free blowing.) The characteristic Eastern Cape chords inspired by overtone singing — which McGregor heard growing up in Blythswood in the then Transkei — can be heard on today in Andile Yenana’s pianism and trumpeter Lwanda Gogwana’s arrangements. Other composers, such as Marcus Wyatt, are exploring similarly piquant combinations of structured marching beats and joyous dissolves into improvisation.

McGregor did not work alone, and his distinctive sound was also shaped by the intellectual and stylistic visions of his collaborators: equally inspired composers and players such as Louis Moholo, Johnny Dyani and Dudu Pukwana. All of these titans demand equally detailed biographies, and this event makes a valuable start to that project. Launch details are available from 083-886-7164 or andre40marais@gmail.com, or (021) 466-7200 and mandy@districtsix.co.za; bookings for the concert from the Mahogany Room on 076-689-2697.

OTHER kinds of creativity, old and new, are also on view in this week’s live events. On Thursday, the Crypt jazz club at Cape Town’s St George’s Cathedral presents Cape Dutch Connection Revisited.

This unashamed nostalgia-fest of a band has played 11 seasons in Franschhoek, and now brings its revival of 1930s swing jazz to the club from 7pm. The players are reed veteran Willie van Zyl, bassist Wesley Rustin, drummer Jack Momple and pianist Derk Blaisse, with vocalist Danielle de Vries. Details of this and more of the club’s events at www.thecryptjazz.com.

On Saturday, the Wits University jazz and classical music students present a showcase of their work under the title, Motswako: the Mix, at 7.30pm. The event happens in the Music Room, on the 8th floor, University Corner, Jorissen Street in Braamfontein. Details from Catherine.pisanti@wits.ac.za or (011) 717-1376.

On the following day, the third African Creative Economy Conference opens at Cape Town City Hall, running until October 9.

This is the first edition of the event in South Africa. The main organising body, Arterial Network, represents people involved with the cultural industries across the whole continent, and previous events were held in Nairobi and Dakar.

Industry experts and practitioners from East, West and North Africa, as well as the south, will speak and lead discussions, while Dr Marina Guo of the John Howkins Research Centre on the Creative Economy in Shanghai will provide a different developing-country perspective on the creative industries.

An art market, an art exhibition in Langa township and film and music events provide a parallel programme to the main proceedings, including African jazz collaborations at the Mahogany Room jazz club. Details at www.acec2013.org.za or from info@arterialnetwork.org.

A mini-Neuschwanstein perches precariously above the immense body of water before you, an architectural folly that, surprisingly, did not spring from the fevered dreams of Mad King Ludwig. In truth, it was an early-twentieth-century German oil baron who treated himself to this gray-stone home, named after a small songbird. Its long-forgotten Anglo-Russian architect, who was tutored briefly by Rodin, had a distinctly sylvan surname—if you recall the classic outlaw tale.

A vintage trolley chugs along for more than fifty miles to reach the southeastern coast of this Sicily-sized peninsula, where a number of ancient civilizations left their mark; the remains of a Flavian Roman castrum are so close to this outcrop that you could trip over them. Just up the coast lies the home of a beloved dramaturge where literary giants once chattered, its now-frail white walls sadly fallen into disrepair. From famous photos, you may recognize the ivory neo-Renaissance palace just two miles south of there where three of the last century’s most incongruous leaders parleyed. And if you have a passion for dactylic dimeter, you’ll surely get a charge out of heading farther west to see where mounted heroes once (literally) gave it their all.

You can depart by following a fragrant four-mile path that was laid out for emperors, or you can make a flashy exit by boat. Either way, there’s no need to rush. This cliff view is one of the region’s most picturesque, and you’ll find a modest Italian restaurant in one of the castle’s former bedrooms. ­Pasta in a palace? Dreams do come true.