[GreatBriton]

Untidy Brits creating super rats

25th August 2006




Rats are getting bigger, more active and living longer. There are now around 60 million rats in Britain - one for each person.



A national charity has warned that 15 million people across the country are helping to create a new breed of "super rats" by discarding left-over fast food in the street.

Keep Britain Tidy is kicking off a major new litter campaign by revealing burgers, chips and kebabs left on the nation's roads are creating bigger rats who have more energy and a longer life span.

Experts said that despite their increased size the rats have the ability to squeeze through a gap of just over one centimetre, making it easy for them to get into our homes.

Littering

However, the charity said it's not only young fast food fans who are to blame. In research revealed today high earners, who wouldn't normally dream of littering, have admitted to ditching food remains one the street adding to the country's rat plague.

The new campaign will feature cinema adverts across the country depicting a couple cosying up in bed together with a hoard of rats crawling across them.

Alan Woods, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "Food litter is a big problem on our streets. It looks a mess and attracts pests - expanding the population of fat rats to 60 million.

"People think it's only boozed-up revellers chucking their chips and burgers after a heavy night out that is causing rats to come out of the sewers and roam the streets, others are also doing their bit to scruffy our streets by dropping their fruit peelings and left-over lunches."

Environment Minister, Ben Bradshaw, added: "Cleaning our streets costs millions of pounds each year and it's the taxpayer who foots the bill.

Bin it

"Binning your litter protects the environment and saves money on your council tax bill. You can now also be fined on the spot up to £80 for failing to do so."

The charity said people who think they are doing a good deed by throwing fruit peelings onto the ground or feeding crusts to the birds are actually doing more harm than good.

Most gets dropped on pavements at lunchtime, the food then breaks down on the concrete rather than into soil leaving a dirty stain and a mushy meal for vermin.

Research revealed other culprits are drink-loving young people who, after a night of partying, are drawn to the local kebab house or burger bars and then are too lazy to bin the rest. In the poll 45 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds admitted dumping their fast food.

Keep Britain Tidy has now teamed up with twelve councils in England to hammer home the litter message. Each council will be displaying posters with scavenging rodents writhing over rubbish.

Plus, takeaways and shops will also be doing their bit by reminding the public through posters that litter bins are "open all hours".

Mr Woods said: "With seven out of ten items of litter being food related we really need to see a change in people's dirty habits.

"Whether you are a lazy lout who litters because you can't be bothered to use a bin or chuck bits of food because they biodegrade you must stop.

The only place your litter belongs is in the bin."
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Here's what readers have had to say so far.

I love England and would like to see it become as clean as many other European cities I have been to. The citizens (and tourists) need to respect their country and be proud of it, not fill it with rubbish.

- Ruthie, Hollywood, CA
---------------------------

Unfortunately this country is fast becoming like the US. Its sometimes cheaper to buy take-away fast foods than it is to cook at home ...If these fast foods became much more expensive instead of the cheap prices that they are there wouldn't be as much rubbish and litter caused because people wouldn't buy them.

- Hayley Mcnulty, Luton,Bedfordshire
-----------------------------------
If asked "what feature of Britain sticks in your mind" I would answer, without hesitation, "the litter". Brits live on a beautiful island but have absolutely no respect for it and treat it worse than a pig treats it's sty.

- Mike Randall, Worcester, England

dailymail.co.uk

[SireJoe]

GreatBriton GreatBriton:

The Times August 25, 2006


Little Britain aiming for huge remake in America
By Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent



"Don't like it!"



"Yeah, but, no, but, yeah, but, no, but, yeah, but you know Carla? She an ugly b**ch....."


"I'm the only gay in the village!"


THE hit comedy Little Britain is to be remade as an all-American show by the cutting-edge US broadcaster HBO.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams are to adapt their outrageous comic creations for American viewers under a deal with the cable channel behind the award-winning The Sopranos and Sex and the City.

The search is on to find the urban American equivalent of the schoolgirl nightmare Vicky Pollard and a suitable deep South locale for the only gay in the village. The duo will work with American writers and Simon Fuller, the British entrepreneur behind Pop Idol, will oversee the show.

The sketches could not be remade on network American television because federal broadcasting rules result in $500,000 (£265,000) fines for material considered indecent.

But Lucas and Walliams could attract up to ten million viewers for an adapted version of a show that the US Entertainment Weekly called “joyously off-kilter, manufactured for maximum offensiveness”.

Lucas and Walliams have benefited from America’s current love affair with British television talent. Simon Cowell, the American Idol judge, is the country’s highest-earning entertainment star, and even Piers Morgan, former Editor of the Daily Mirror, is now a hit talent show judge.

British comedy, which has so often failed to cross the Atlantic, is finding a niche audience. The prime-time NBC remake of The Office has won an extended run by swapping Slough for Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Darren Star, the creator of Sex and the City, has been signed up to write and produce an American version of Julia Davis’s dark BBC sitcom, Nighty Night. HBO already works with the BBC as a co-producer on Gervais’s follow-up show, Extras.

The Little Britain model will be Sacha Baron-Cohen, who reinvented his Ali G character as a hit with American viewers through HBO.

“We are on the brink of confirming something rather special,” Fuller told Broadcast magazine. “Think back to Monty Python. Who would have thought that would have been such a big hit in America?”

Lucas and Walliams will be free to work on the American version after concluding Little Britain with a BBC Christmas special. The British shows are shown in 13 countries and have already won a cult audience on the BBC America cable channel. Spin-off opportunities from a hit US version will be considerable. The pair will have earned an estimated £20 million over four years after the conclusion of a 140-date nationwide tour for which 200,000 tickets were sold in one day.

There will be a live DVD, for which they received a £2 million advance, to add to the BBC DVD releases that have sold 5 million copies. Talking Pollard dolls and other merchandise are expected to be strong sellers again this Christmas. Episodes will soon be on sale as paid-for downloads.

Lucas and Walliams will create a new comedy sketch show for BBC One next year, featuring some Little Britain favourites.


thetimesonline.co.uk


The American version will not be funny as the British one.

Ya, there is pretty much no way they can achieve what they did with little britain in a new comedy adaptation.....but if they are at the wheel hopefully they can pull off something really good.

Little Britain was freakin brilliant. I watch and rewatch them all the time. Cant wait for the xmas special!

[GreatBriton]

It's all backwards. During the World Cup, England striker Wayne Rooney was sent off for an accidental "stamp" on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho. Rooney still insists that it was accidental and that he was merely stopping himself from falling over. As his was was about to land on the ground whilst trying to keep himself upright, he accidentally stood on Carvalho's groin. Rooney, though, was sent off despite Carvalho suffering almost no injury whatsoever.

However, in this week's Premiership game between Manchester City and Portsmouth, Welshman Ben Thatcher of Manchester City elbowed Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes in the side of the face that left Mendes unconscious. Mendes's injuries were so severe that he had a fit and had to be connected to a drip whilst on the field and then taken to hospital where he had tests on his nervous system. Unbelievably, Thatcher was NOT sent of and only received a yellow card for a tackle that initially left players and fans fearing for Mendes's life.

Thatcher has a history of bad tackles. In a Premiership game in January 2000 between Wimbledon and Sunderland he elbowed Sunderland's Nicky Summerbee in the side of the face. And two years ago he broke two of David Beckham's ribs.

And now the police have got involved in this latest horror challenge.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Mendes: I feared the worst
By IAN LADYMAN

25th August 2006


Helping hands: Mendes receives attention after being injured by Thatcher.




Portsmouth midfielder Pedro Mendes has revealed how he feared Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher's horror challenge could have left him with permanent injuries.

Mendes was released from hospital yesterday having been the victim of a forearm smash by Thatcher which saw him suffer a fit while unconscious on the running track at the City of Manchester Stadium.

The full back has already been fined a week's wages by City and is now the subject of a police investigation and an FA inquiry following a challenge that could yet land him in the criminal courts.

Last night 27-year-old Mendes spoke for the first time about the incident and vowed to help the FA bring Thatcher to book.



Manchester United and England's Wayne Rooney was red carded for this accidental "stamp" on Carvalho.


But Manchester City and Wales's Ben Thatcher only received a yellow card for this tackle that left Portsmouth player Mendes unconscious and connected to a drip whilst still on the football field. He also suffered a fit.



'The moment was terrible,' said Mendes. 'After the incident my head crashed into the fence and I do not remember anything after that until I was in hospital. At first I had real fear about possible after-effects of the incident, but the doctors told me they are optimistic I will be OK.

'I am a strong person and one day I hope to forget what happened. But this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my career. It is the hardest to deal with.

'The tackle was totally unnecessary by Thatcher but the subject is in the hands of Portsmouth and the FA. If I am called by them to speak then I will give my opinion.'

Thatcher, who has a history of controversy, wrote to Mendes yesterday to offer his apologies for the shameful incident. He has also been fined £24,000 after City moved quickly to condemn his actions but it remains to be seen how the 30-year-old will be dealt with by the authorities.

The FA have a problem because the incident was seen by Gallagher and, under FIFA guidelines, cannot review the incident using video evidence.

But an FA spokesman said: 'We are looking at the possibillity that this was an exceptional incident and how we can take it further.'

Greater Manchester Police revealed they are looking into the incident. Thatcher could be charged following the precedent set when former Newcastle player Lee Bowyer was fined £600 last month by magistrates after admitting starting a fight on the field with teammate Kieron Dyer.

A police spokesman said: 'We have received a number of complaints from members of the public.

'Officers will now be liaising with the injured player, the clubs and the FA to review this matter and determine if any further action is required.'

dailymail.co.uk

[LittleBastard]

Ahhhhhhhh... KICK HIM IN THE BALLS (for real)!!!

I have to laugh when I watch soccer and see a player take a dive to get a call... and the other player wasn't even CLOSE to him... great acting ability... NOT!!!???

LMAO

[Ripcat]

Do those rats eat Tim Horton's coffee cups?

If they do we could soon have a plague of them here in Canada....

[GreatBriton]

Glasgow Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has been cautioned for blessing himself in a match against arch rivals Glasgow Rangers. He made the sign of a cross as Catholics do, but this angered Rangers fans in the stadium. Why? Because Celtic are supported by Catholics and Rangers are supported by Protestants and, up until the 1980s, only Catholics could play for Celtic and only Protestants could play for Rangers. Celtic fans are usually nationalists, wanting independence for Scotland, whereas Rangers fans are pro-British unionists. As in Northern Ireland, there is a hatred, in Scotland, of Catholics amongst its majority Protestant population. The rivalry between Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic is the biggest and most intense in British football.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Footballer gets criminal record for making sign of the cross
25th August 2006




Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has been cautioned for blessing himself in a match against arch rivals Rangers.




The Catholic church has blasted a decision by the Procurator Fiscal to issue Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc with a caution for blessing himself.

Polish star Boruc was rapped for making the sign of the cross at Ibrox (Rangers' stadium) in an Old Firm match last season.

The caution was issued after a six-month police investigation into the incident, which is said to have angered a section of the Rangers support.

Boruc is reported to have been completely baffled by the decision to issue him with the warning But the move has angered the church and prominent Scottish Catholics including outspoken composer James McMillan and Celtic author Dr Joe Bradley.

Last night Peter Kearney spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, slammed the move. He said: "It is quite worrying that firstly some spectators saw fit to complain, but even more so that police felt that the act merited investigation.

"Incitement to religious hatred normally involves demeaning the signs and symbols of a person's faith "So, it would be interesting to know how a gesture of reverence falls into any of these categories.

"This decision could lead us down a very intolerant road.

"What if a family in a restaurant say grace and make the sign of the cross, would they be deemed as having inflamed the sensibilities of non-Catholics?" Renowned composer and Celtic fan James MacMillan, who's spoken out in the past about sectarianism, said the fuss over Boruc's act was a 'disgrace'.

He added: "It is completely ridiculous but then cases like these always are.

"It's a disgrace that in this day and age, such a fuss is being made over an incident like this. "It is a mark of shame that people cannot express their faith in a certain manner."

Dr Joe Bradley, editor of two books about Celtic and lecturer at Stirling University, said Boruc should be free to bless himself anywhere he likes.

He said: "This seems to tie in with the police report on Boruc who had apparently upset a section of the Rangers support.

"Only when people like Artur Boruc can bless themselves wherever and whenever they want will Scotland's sectarian problem be on its way to being solved." A Crown Office spokesman said that following careful consideration it was decided to use an alternative to prosecution in Boruc's case.

Options open to the fiscal included a straight warning or a warning plus payment of a monetary penalty known as a fiscal's fine.

Celtic have refused to comment ever since the caution was issued to their Polish keeper last week.

But last night Eddie Toner former General Secretary of the Celtic Supporters' Association said the club had "hung Boruc out to dry". He said: "It is sad that Celtic as a club appear to have made no objection to or comment on the caution.

"They seem to have hung Artur Boruc out to dry. "Celtic have a responsibility to protect the community from which they derive support, especially when that community come under attack.

"Perhaps those who made the complaint to the police should have a look at themselves, as it seems that it is they who have the sectarian problem.

"This gesture is one which is made by sportsmen and women all over the world, but bizarrely it only seems to cause offence here in Scotland." Boruc is not the first footballer in Scotland to have caused controversy by making the sign of the cross.

In 1999 Rangers fans complained after Celtic's former Croatian striker Mark Viduka blessed himself during an Old firm game.

Rod McDonald of Partick Thistle received a caution for blessing himself in a match against Rangers in 1996.

The yellow-card led to him being sent off for two bookable offences.


dailymail.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest in Europe and the second-largest in the world after the Rio Carnival.


Two million expected at Notting Hill
By Jasper Copping



Past attendances

2006 - 2 million?
2005 - 750,000
2004 - 750,000
2003 - 600,000
2002 - 1,400,000
2001 - 1,250,000
2000 - 1,500,000
1999 - 1,400,000
1998 - 1,150,000
1997 - 1,300,000
1996 - 1,000,000




Final preparations for the 42nd Notting Hill Carnival were under way in west London last night.

Among those putting the finishing touches to the colourful displays which have become a feature of the event was Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey, 17, a student of art and design at Kingston College.

Billed as Europe's biggest street party, up to two million people are expected to descend on the area today and tomorrow for the celebration of West Indian culture which this year carries the theme "Aspiring and Achieving in Unity".

As last-minute alterations were being made to an array of costumes and floats, several tons of music equipment were brought into the area while some homes and businesses were being boarded up.

In previous years, the carnival has been marred by violence and vandalism. But last month police launched an operation to target individuals they suspected would use the weekend to commit crime.

By last night, officers had made at least 93 arrests for offences ranging from supplying class A drugs to robbery and money laundering. Officers seized loaded firearms, in one raid more than 12lb of cannabis, plus £15,000 cash and £100,000 worth of stolen goods.

Supt Michael Wise, who is in charge of policing operations, said: "This four-week operation has been about tackling gangs who intend to use the carnival as a 'target rich' environment."

More than 10,000 officers will be on duty but police urge people to leave jewellery at home and not to carry too much cash or credit cards.

Tomorrow, a "Caribbean showcase" event, organised by Ken Livingstone, London's mayor, will take place in Hyde Park.

telegraph.co.uk
****************************************************************************


About Notting Hill Carnival




Labroke Grove is the heart of the spectacular Notting Hill Carnival, held each August Bank Holiday since 1966. This holiday always falls on the last weekend of August with Sunday and Monday being the major carnival days. The festivities started as a local affair set up by the West Indian immigrants of the area and has become a full-blooded Caribbean carnival, attracting millions of people from all around the world. There are scores of massive ’sound systems’, many spectacular floats and steel drum bands additionally, to keep you well fed, there are hundreds of stalls lining the streets of the area selling all sorts of food and drink including Caribbean specialities.

The Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place in London, on the last weekend in August, since 1966.

The arrival of Trinidadians in Great Britain, remembering their great Carnivals back home, provided the spark which ignited Notting Hill Carnival. From a small procession through the streets with just a few people in costume and carrying steel drums in the 1960s, has evolved a huge multi-cultural arts festival, attended by up to two million people. It is a great tourist attraction that brings life to London during the month of August.

DISCIPLINES OF CARNIVAL
The five disciplines of Carnival are: Mas’ from (costume, Masquerade), Steelband, Calypso (political, social and satirical commentary, set to music), Soca (the traditional music of Carnival, a fusion of Soul and Calypso) and Static Sound Systems all play their part on the two days of Carnival-on-the-Road, creating what is the climax to a month of pre-Carnival activities such as dances, sound and soca jams, costume galas, steel band competitions, etc.

In recent years the Notting Hill Carnival has grown and grown, reflecting the multicultural nature of our society, with groups participating from Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Bulgaria, Russia, Brazil and many other places as well as from all parts of the Caribbean, Africa, Central and South America and the United Kingdom. Notting Hill Carnival operates an all inclusive policy encouraging artists to celebrate their cultural traditions through art, dance and music media with which they feel most comfortable.

In addition to the procession of costumes, soca and steel bands, which wend their way over a route of some three miles, the area plays host to 45 licensed Static Sound Systems, each playing their own selection of soca, reggae, jazz, soul, hip-hop and funk music, house, garage. This is the aspect of Carnival that appeals to the youths and is evolving at an unpredictable pace with innovative styles and forms of music.

There are hundreds of licensed street stalls selling exotic foods from all corners of the globe as well as arts and crafts. Carnival aims to celebrate the cultural heritage of its founders and at the same time be open enough to take on board evolving contemporary culture with its multiracial, multicultural trends.

CONTEMPORARY CARNIVAL
In addition to the traditional aspects of Carnival, there are also three live stages within the Carnival area, featuring local bands, top international artistes, and music from all around the world. These stages play from 12 noon to 7pm on both of the two days. Artistes that have appeared at these stages have included Eddie Grant, the Mighty Sparrow, Arrow, Freddie MeGregor, Burning Spear, Jamiroquai, Wyclef Jean, Amaponda, Courtney Pine amongst others.

THE NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL is the largest arts festival in Europe and in Carnival terms is second only to Rio. It’s fantastic, it’s vibrant, it’s full of life, it’s for everyone and it is FREE! DON’T MISS IT!

----------------------------------------------------------------------


Build up to Carnival


T’was the week before Carnival
And all through the town
You could hear builders banging
Erecting boards with a frown…

Notting Hill is battening down the hatches in preparation for Carnival – somewhere a small forest is being turned into 8 ft high boards just to protect our communal gardens and posh shop fronts. However, the amount of boards I see with gaping holes and chipped sidings suggest that these have been out to play around here a fair few times already.

Notting Hill in the week pre Carnival resembles an area preparing for a riot. There is an air of excitement and resigned inevitability in the air, as crash barriers get stacked alongside the pavements, weird markings appear on the road and shops put up their ‘have a nice Carnival, see you on late on Tuesday’ signs.

Back in the days long lost in the midst of stray feathers and old chicken bones, the Carnival was a small affair and the procession could head up the narrow Portobello Road. There was no need to safeguard everywhere you turn into a fortress. But times they have a changed and nowadays everyone with a building, garden or small shed to protect plays safe.

The build up to Carnival also builds up the feeling of camaraderie with fellow residents. There is an air of ‘we’re in this together’ spirit as everyone stocks up from Tesco Metro down Portobello. Whether you plan to embrace Carnival or barricade yourself in for the entire weekend, there is no escaping the festivities if you live here, unless you have already gone to queue for your plane at Heathrow.


















http://www.mynottinghill.co.uk/nottingh ... nival1.htm

[GreatBriton]

Aussies fear Muslim way


Australia fought in the Iraq War.


FOUR in 10 Australians believe Islam is a threat to our way of life, a national poll has found.

And most people say the religion treats women as inferior and encourages violence.

But a Muslim leader yesterday said most Australians were ignorant about Islam.

Australians' attitudes toward Muslims is revealed in a McNair Gallup Poll, commissioned by the Sunday Herald Sun.

The poll of 502 people discovered:

ONE in three people are more fearful of Muslims since 9/11.

SEVENTY-ONE per cent say women in Islam are treated as inferior.

FIFTY-SIX per cent believe Muslims are unfairly discriminated against and two in three people believe Muslims should be allowed to wear religious dress in schools and workplaces.

ONLY a quarter of people say they understand Islam well.


People in the North Eastern state of Queensland feel the most threatened.


The research summary states: "The results show a complex mix of feelings about Muslims in Australia."

People aged between 18 and 29 are more likely to hold sympathetic views about Muslims, the research found.

Queenslanders and people in the over-56 age group felt most threatened by Islam, while Victorians and people in the 40 to 54 years age group felt they had the best understanding of the religion, according to the poll.


http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...86-421,00.html

[hwacker]

$1:

"ONLY a quarter of people say they understand Islam well"

That should be more like 98%, unless you're studing it why would you need to understand it?

I don't need to understand a useless religion to get why 200+ people died in a nightclub in Bali.

[GreatBriton]

The Scottish nationalists the SNP have said that they want the abolition of the "anti-English" university charges where English students are charged to attend Scottish universities.

Unfairly, Scottish students aren't charged to go to English universities.
-----------------------------------------------------

The Sunday Times August 27, 2006


SNP wants abolition of 'anti-English' university charges
Eva Langlands



Unlike his brother who studied at St Andrew's University in Scotland, Harry stayed in England and studied at Eton.



THE Scottish Nationalists have become the first party to pledge an end to the fees discrimination against English students at Scottish universities.

The party has said that it will scrap the anomaly whereby English students at higher education institutions north of the border pay thousands of pounds more in tuition fees than home-based Scots and other European Union students.

The Labour and Liberal Democrat-led Scottish executive introduced the higher charges in response to the imposition of top-up fees at English universities (again, unfairly, top-up fees were imposed on England by Scottish MPs despite English MPs having no say on wherether or not they be introduced to Scotland and Scottish MPs voting against introducing them in Scotland).

Fearing a surge of applicants escaping the charges, Holyrood ministers imposed annual charges on English students of £1,700 from next month.

Those from Scotland and other EU countries such as France, Greece and Estonia will pay only £2,000 for their full four years of study. For English students the total will be £6,800.

Several English students have sought to challenge the legality of the move, which they claimed breached their human rights.

Now the Scottish National party (SNP) has denounced the charges as “discriminatory” and “anti-English” and said that it will scrap them if it wins power in next year’s Scottish elections.

The party has already announced a £100m package for Scottish students and graduates which would see the graduate endowment fee of £2,145 abolished, making university education free for Scottish students. Under the new initiative, students from England and Wales would also receive free education.

Recent opinion polls have placed the SNP ahead of Labour and suggest that the most likely outcome next June would be an SNP/Liberal Democrat coalition. “English students would be treated the same as students from any other country, including Scots,” said Fiona Hyslop, higher education spokeswoman for the SNP.

“We would be looking to undo this situation. We are the only party that has made a stance on this. We want to be broad-minded about this.”

At present there are 15,000 English undergraduate students at Scottish universities, compared with 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students from other EU states. Scrapping tuition fees for those from south of the border would cost £6.9m out of the Scottish parliament’s total budget of £23 billion.

Fears that there would be a rush of English students to Scottish universities ahead of the introduction of top-up fees in England and Wales have so far proved unfounded.

Only 1.7% more English students have applied for places at Scottish universities this year, compared with last, although the lure of free education would be stronger.

“English students come to Scotland for the quality of our education, not because it’s cheaper,” said Hyslop. “The experience so far [of Scottish universities] shows that there has not been a flood of English students. One university said they didn’t even have enough English students to fill a bus.

“The added cost of a four-year degree and extra travel expenses means we won’t see English students flooding to Scottish universities.”

A spokesman for the National Union of Students welcomed the SNP’s pledge, adding: “The current system is discriminatory. Any move to abolish tuition fees is welcomed. It’s fantastic that the SNP is opening up this debate.

“Now it’s time for other parties to follow. Given the negative impact of tuition fees, it would be worth it.”

thetimesonline.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

Dreams of England helped sex slave girl through ordeal
By KATHERINE OKE

27th August 2006




The girl held as a sex slave in a dungeon for eight years dreamed of a holiday in England during her captivity.

Natascha Kampusch has told psychologists and her family that her dearest wish is a trip to the UK after seeing pictures of the English countryside on a video she had been allowed to watch.

The dream of being outside in the fresh air of an English country garden and of planning the trip with her half-sister helped her keep her sanity during her ordeal, police said.

Natascha, who was locked in a small room under her kidnapper's garage in Vienna, had been strictly limited as to what she could watch on television and what she was given to read - books, mainly fairy stories, and carefully edited newspapers.


She dreamt of the beautiful English countryside whilst in captivity.


But a video with scenes from British gardens and sights such as Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London, captured her imagination.

Her Hungarian-born stepmother Georgine Koch, 49, of Vienna, said: 'Natascha is enormously excited by the idea of going to England. She has already started the planning.'

But for the next year at least, she is expected to remain in the care of a team of psychiatrists day and night.

Natascha, now 18, cried when she heard that her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, had taken his own life, it was revealed yesterday. Professor Ernst Berger, a psychiatrist at Vienna University, who is leading the team caring for her, said: 'Eight years alone with just one man who has now been ripped from her life has certainly left her in shock.'

As psychiatrists declared Natascha unfit for interview until tomorrow, police tests on DNA taken from her kidnapper showed he was not involved in other known crimes.

Priklopil, threw himself in front of a Vienna commuter train within hours of Natascha's escape last Wednesday.

Natascha was ten when she was abducted on her way to school in 1998.

dailymail.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

Zara Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, won gold for Great Britain at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen yesterday on her horse Toytown.

Her close friends and family have a history of sporting success. Her mother, the Princess Royal, became the European champion in 1971, and her father, Mark Phillips (who is now the coach of the United States team), won a team gold in Munich in 1972 and is a four-times winner of Badminton and her boyfriend, Mike Tindall, plays for the England rugby team and won the World Cup in 2003 when they beat Australia in the Final.

As she jumped the last fence and as she collected her gold medal, she shed a tear for her close friend and fellow showjumper Sherelle Duke, who was killed last Sunday when her horse fell on top of her during a competition.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


The Times August 28, 2006


Equestrianism: Phillips fulfils the destiny of one born to succeed
From Jenny MacArthur in Aachen, Germany



IF ANY rider was predestined to succeed in the sport of eventing it is Zara Phillips, who won the individual gold in the three-day competition at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen yesterday.

Both her parents competed in the Olympic Games. Her mother, the Princess Royal, became the European champion in 1971, and her father, Mark Phillips, won a team gold in Munich in 1972 and is a four-times winner of Badminton.

“I was so young when they first put me on a pony I can’t remember exactly how old I was,” Zara said. She can remember that the pony was called Smokey and that he had “a mind of his own”. Early instruction came from both parents and from the local Beaufort Pony Club during her holidays from Gordonstoun.

However much talent a potential top rider has, it must be harnessed to the right horse. Toytown, a chestnut gelding whose exact breeding is unknown, was spotted by Mark Phillips when his former rider, Meryl Winter, went to him for a lesson in 1999. “I told her that if she ever thought of selling him I would be interested,” Phillips said. Winter decided to sell her “cross-country machine” a few months later.

It was not an instant partnership. Winter was right about the cross-country but both the dressage and showjumping had to be worked on. At the Windsor Three-Day-Event in 2001, Phillips was in the lead going into the final showjumping phase but dropped to 33rd after six fences down, prompting a sharp exchange between mother and daughter.

Intensive instruction at Gatcombe from her father, who has trained the United States three-day event team for ten years, improved the showjumping while her dressage reached a new level under the tutelage of Bettina Hoy, the Germany event rider.

By 2002 the hard work was paying dividends. Phillips’s first significant success came in the Under-25 Championship at Bramham Horse Trials. In September she won the individual silver at the Young Riders European Championships in Austria. But it was her debut at Burghley in 2003, at the age of 22, that announced her arrival at the forefront of the sport.

Competing at this level for the first time — over a cross-country course that had even the most experienced riders scratching their heads — Phillips found herself in the lead at the end of the cross-country. Although one fence down in the showjumping dropped her to second place — allowing Pippa Funnell, the rider Zara most admires, to win the Rolex Grand Prix — it was still a sensational performance.

Sponsorship in the form of the spread-betting company Cantor Index (now part of BGC Partners and Associates) followed swiftly on this success. Although there was disappointment the next year when an injury sustained in the field put Toytown out of the Athens Olympic Games, the sponsors were rewarded beyond their expectations in 2005 when, as a late replacement for Funnell in the team, Phillips won team and individual gold medals at the European Championships in Blenheim.

“I felt I was in a dream — it seemed surreal to be in the lead at my first European Championships,” Phillips said. The last to go in the showjumping, she fulfilled expectations with a clear round watched by her proud parents. “I couldn’t have asked for more, I’ve never seen her ride better,” her father said.

They little dreamt that such a scene would unfold in Aachen. Both parents, together with Phillips’s boyfriend, Mike Tindall, the England rugby player, had watched her cross-country performance in which she finished inside the time on Saturday.

Phillips, dismissive as ever of her achievements, described it as “not very pretty at times”. Her mother disagreed. “You did a fabulous job,” she said as she greeted Zara at the end of the round that put the British team in contention for the team silver medal and Zara in the lead for the individual gold.

Yesterday Phillips had to manage without the help of her father — his role as trainer of the United States team barring him from helping her under International Equestrian Federation (FEI) rules. But Kenneth Clawson, the British team trainer, had been on several trips to Gatcombe to watch Phillips’s training methods — knowing that he would have to take on the role in Aachen.

Toytown will still be young enough, at 15, for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Zara, who lives in a cottage on the Gatcombe Estate, is also campaigning several young horses and two other advanced horses. Her sponsorship covers the cost of keeping her eight horses and pays for her state-of-the-art horsebox. With this set-up in place — and her father keeping a wily eye out for “the next Toytown” — Phillips looks set to keep her place in the top echelons of the sport.


thetimesonline.co.uk
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Not many national sporting teams can say they have a queen's granddaughter playing for them.

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Zara's triumph tinged with sorrow over friend's death
27th August 2006



As she collected her gold medal, she shed a tear for her close friend and fellow showjumper Sherelle Duke, who was killed last Sunday when her horse fell on top of her during a competition.


It was the moment when Zara Phillips triumphantly shook off her royal rebel tag.

As she punched the air after winning gold at the World Equestrian Games, the Queen's granddaughter showed she had finally come of age.

The 25-year-old came from behind to capture the top prize in Germany and land the three-day eventing title which eluded her mother the Princess Royal.

But the victory was tinged with sadness for Zara, who burst into floods of tears after clearing the final fence. She dedicated her success to a close friend and fellow showjumper Sherelle Duke, who was killed last Sunday when her horse fell on top of her during a competition.

Zara and the British team competed wearing red-and-white ribbons - Miss Duke's cross-country colours - as a mark of respect.

"I went out today to do it for a friend of mine, who died a week ago today, to try and get her a gold medal," said Zara. "And I was just so relieved that I had managed to give that to her because we did not manage to go over and say goodbye."

Miss Duke, 28, from County Armagh, died after hitting a fence at the Brockenhurst one-day event in Hampshire. Zara was unable to attend her funeral on Friday because she was riding in Germany.

At Zara's side during her triumph were her parents Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, as well as her boyfriend, England rugby star Mike Tindall. The Queen was said to be 'glued' to her TV set at Balmoral, where she watched the event live on a satellite channel. Despite Zara's reputation for being fiercely independent, her family played a crucial part in her success.

Her mother, who became European Champion in 1971 but was never selected for the World Championships, has been her staunchest supporter while her father, who won an Olympic gold in 1972, has taken a particularly keen interest in her training - despite recently being appointed official coach to her rivals in the U.S. team.

He recently went so far as to claim Zara's winning streak is down to the fact that his headstrong daughter had 'finally' started to listen to him.

Another key player in Team Zara is her stepmother Sandy, who coaches her in dressage. The 54-year-old American heiress, now a British citizen, married Captain Phillips in 1997 following his amicable divorce from the Princess Royal. Last but not least is Tindall, who is expected to marry Zara in the next few years.

Over recent months the down-to-earth Yorkshireman has devised a strict fitness programme for her to follow which includes running, weights and using a cross-trainer in the cottage they now share on Princess Anne's Gatcombe Park estate. Despite Tindall's presence yesterday, Zara had eyes only for her 12-year-old horse, Toytown, which she hugged and kissed with tears streaming down her cheeks.

The chestnut gelding, with a distinctive white blaze, was picked up by Captain Phillips for just £400 six years ago after he spotted him at a Pony Club event.

Since then Zara has worked hard to turn Toytown, or Noddy as she calls him, into one of the finest horses in the sport. He is so devoted to his young mistress that he kicks his stable door down if she doesn't go in to see him first thing every morning.

"My parents and I jointly bought Toytown and from the moment I sat on him, I knew he was special," she said recently.

"Mind you, it's taken a great deal of hard work to have got him to the stage he is at now."

Despite her image as a party girl, Zara is used to hard work. "People don't believe me when I go on about it but they should come down to the stables at 6am and help me muck up before riding for seven or eight hours," she insists.

Her groom, Catherine Owens, said: "People think it must be easy for her but she works unbelievably hard, sometimes 14 hours a day. She's very driven, very competitive and very hard on herself. It comes from her mother and father and, because she has been in the public eye all her life, she feels she has to please everyone."

Zara earned her royal rebel tag when she had her tongue pierced and had a succession of public screaming matches with her boyfriend, jockey Richard Johnson.

But her new-found passion for her sport and steady relationship with Tindall has changed all that.

Thanks to her win - she is only the fourth British rider to claim the World Champion title - Zara is now one step nearer to her ambition of competing in the 2008 Olympics and the odds have been slashed against her following in her mother's hoofprints to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.


Comments from Daily Mail readers.

Here's a sample of the latest comments published.

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Can a commoner say "nice one girl". If I can - nice one girl!

- G Brown, Manchester, UK
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Well done Zara. Carry on the good work. Your parents must be thrilled and what marvellous news for your grandparents too. The icing on the cake for the Queen.

- At, Newcastle upon Tyne
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A credit to her family.

- Billy, Norfolk, UK


dailymail.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

Not only has a song by British rockers Oasis been voted the greatest song of all time, but one of their songs was also voted the second-greatest of all time.

The Beatles had the most entries of any band, with six.
-----------------------------------------------------

Oasis song greatest ever






By SEAN HAMILTON



Oasis: The Manchester supergroup has produced the two greatest songs of all time, the 20th greatest of all time and the 35th greatest of all time.




OASIS’S Live Forever has lived up to its name – and been voted the greatest song of ALL TIME.

The 12-year-old track has beaten classics by The Beatles, U2 and Queen in a Q magazine poll of music fans.

But its writer Noel Gallagher said: “People said after Live Forever, ‘Where are you gonna go after that?’ I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s that good.’ I think I can do better.”

Oasis pulled off a double feat.

Their hit Wonderwall was No2 in Q mag’s all-time Top 100.

And two other Oasis songs — Don’t Look Back In Anger and Champagne Supernova — also made the list.

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit was third in the rock-heavy poll.

The Beatles’ six entries were the most for any band.

A Q spokesman said: “Live Forever doesn’t date. It satisfies a timeless need for communal joy.”

100 greatest songs of all time


1 Live Forever – Oasis (British)

2 Wonderwall – Oasis (British)

3 Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana (American)

4 A Day In The Life – The Beatles (British)

5 One – U2 (Irish)

6 Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen (British)

7 Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division (British)

8 Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin (British)

9 Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve (British)

10 Paranoid Android – Radiohead (British)

11 Angels – Robbie Williams (British)

12 Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan (American)

13 There Is A light That Never Goes Out – The Smiths (British)

14 London Calling – The Clash (British)

15 Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley (American)

16 Billie Jean – Michael Jackson (American)

17 With Or Without You – U2 (Irish)

18 God Save The Queen – Sex Pistols (British)

19 Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd (British)

20 Don’t Look Back in Anger – Oasis (British)

21 Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys (American)

22 Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns n’ Roses (American/British)

23 Hey Jude – The Beatles (British)

24 Kiss – Prince (American)

25 Imagine – John Lennon (British)

26 Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (British)

27 Like A Prayer – Madonna (American)

28 Everybody Hurts – REM (American)

29 Hey Ya – Outkast (American)

30 Creep – Radiohead (British)

31 Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles (British)

32 I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses (British)

33 Karma Police – Radiohead (British)

34 Walk This Way – Run DMC featuring Aerosmith (American)

35 Champagne Supernova – Oasis (British)

36 God Only Knows – The Beach Boys (American)

37 I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys (British)

38 Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks (British)

39 Hurt – Johnny Cash (American)

40 Unfinished Sympathy – Massive Attack (British)

41 All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix Experience (American/British)

42 Street Spirit (Fade Away) – Radiohead (British)

43 Where The Streets Have No Name – U2 (Irish)

44 Common People – Pulp (British)

45 Life On Mars – David Bowie (British)

46 Anarchy In The UK – The Sex Pistols (British)

47 Mr Brightside – The Killers (American)

48 What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye (American)

49 Teenage Kicks – The Undertones (British)

50 Take Your Mama – Scissor Sisters (American)

51 Fight For Your Right To Party - Beastie Boys (American)

52 Yesterday - The Beatles (British)

53 Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley (American)

54 Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead (British)

55 Can’t Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue (Australian)

56 How Soon Is Now - The Smiths (British)

57 In My Life - The Beatles (British)

58 Losing My Religion - REM (American)

59 Stan - Eminem (American)

60 Drugs Don’t Work - The Verve (British)

61 Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush (British)

62 Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones (British)

63 My Generation - The Who (British)

64 Yellow - Coldplay (British)

65 Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters (American)

66 I Can’t Get No Satisfacton - The Rolling Stones (British)

67 Fools Gold - The Stone Roses (British)

68 Heroes - David Bowie (British)

69 Blue Monday - New Order (British)

70 Hotel California - Eagles (American)

71 Song 2 - Blur (British)

72 Winner Takes It All - ABBA (Swedish)

73 Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd (British)

74 Kashmir - Led Zepplin (British)

75 Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles (British)

76 Babylon - David Gray (British)

77 Californication - Red Hot Chilli Peppers (American)

78 Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana (American)

79 Everybody’s Changing - Keane (British)

80 A Town Called Malice - The Jam (British)

81 The Scientist - Coldplay (British)

82 Superstition - Stevie Wonder (American)

83 Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode (British)

84 7 Nation Army - The White Stripes (American)

85 Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix (American)

86 Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (American)

87 Golden Touch - Razorlight (British)

88 Motor Cycle Emptiness - Manic Street Preachers (British)

89 Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding (American)

90 There She Goes - The LA’s (British)

91 No Woman, No Cry - Bob Marley (Jamaican)

92 Crazy - Gnarls Barkley (American)

93 I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses (British)

94 Rocket Man - Elton John (British)

95 Debaser - Pixies (American)

96 Fairy Tale Of New York - The Pogues (Irish)

97 Last Nite - The Strokes (American)

98 Going Underground - The Jam (British)

99 Killing In The Name - Rage Against The Machine (American)

100 Paranoid - Black Sabbath (British)


thesun.co.uk

[hwacker]

C'mon a list with Crazy - Gnarls Barkley that song has been around for what 3 months. so much for that list.

[Blue_Nose]

...plus 90% of them are British.

"Greatest Ever" lists are stupid anyway.