28/02/2009 by admin.

A lost mobile phone has been found in the belly of a massive cod.  The phone slipped from the pocket of Andrew Cheatle into the sea but was found a week later by fisherman Glen Kerley who rang Rita Smith 33, Andrew’s girlfriend.  The fisherman had been gutting the cod that morning at his stall and found the mobile inside.   The phone was a bit smelly but he was happy to return it.  Andrew had to change the circuit board but the phone now works fine. He said’ I know it sounds a fishy tale but its 100% true.”

All very intriguing given the role of a mobile phone in Charles Lamb’s journal and Bill Richmond’s comments about the world being a far stranger place than we realise supported by his words about fish falling from the sky.  Its also fun that the names of the 3 people involved in the story include letters that spell out HAYMAKERS! Perhaps this is really a reminder about the need to guard against overfishing.  

Posted in Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life? | No Comments »

27/02/2009 by admin.

The earliest footprints showing evidence of modern human foot anatomy and gait have been unearthed in Ileret, north Kenya. The size and markings reflect the size and height of Homo erectus - modern man. They’re estimated to be 1.5m years old. 

Perhaps the discovery is a reminder of the need to consider our carbon footprint? We believe so since we found a linked story on the BBC talks about Lucy - the name given to a fossil footprint of an early human who lived about 3 million years ago. The print was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 by a group of paleoanthropologists who were fans of the Beatles’ song, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’ All very curious given the Beatles’ role in our story and, of course, the star role of Lucy - nature personified.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7F2X3rSSCU

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q46 Do you value a good education? | No Comments »

24/02/2009 by admin.

As predicted in our tale, the White Rabbit has been pulled from the magician’s hat - in Northgate, Kent to be precise.  In the Garden of England a giant runaway rabbit was spotted in the middle of a busy road in Canterbury in the early hours of Sunday.  Pcs Matt Jackson and Yasmin Mossadegh spotted the animal yet only managed to capture the rabbit when ‘kind hearted and pet-loving’ members of the public came to the officers assistance - with ten pairs of hands required to end the rabbit’s time on the run.  The rabbit - named Tiny by his saviours - was taken to the Barton hospital in Canterbury for collection by the RSPCA.

So we have a majestic white rabbit safely in the hands of the animal rescue and welfare charity established by William Wilberforce, a key member of the Blakesware Set, captured by many hands as our tale also predicted (many hands make for light work).  Another curiosity is that the letters which make up the names JACKSON, MOSSADEGH and TINY include the words MAKE HAY!

Mysteriously, nobody knows where the rabbit came from.  

You can find the White Rabbit reference on page 37 of our novel.

Here’s another White Rabbit from the 1933 film Alice in Wonderland… look how late its getting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehDY64su3mw

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

23/02/2009 by admin.

A 26 year old Latin scholar is being hailed as a University Challenge genius.  Gail Trimble led her team from Corpus Christi College, Oxford to victory over Manchester University in the grand final of the general knowledge show. 

Miss Trimble’s performance has been judged as remarkable given she scored two-thirds of the 1,200 points accumulated by Corpus Christi College Oxford in the four qualifying rounds leading up to the final.  Even the show’s host, Jeremy Paxman, was stunned by Gail’s vast array of knowledge. 

Yet her stunning performance has attracted an array of comments - some of which were not particularly pleasant, claiming she’s too clever and smug! Quite ridiculous. We say let’s celebrate her achievement - especially as Malachi likes to see Latin in the headlines! What say the Malachi? “Tacta alea est” - ‘The Die is Cast’ (page 39).

Here’s a video carrying some highlights and an interview on the BBC Breakfast Show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCj4wjV-oqM

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q17 Can you speak another language?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

20/02/2009 by admin.

The latest National Readership Survey (July-Dec 08) shows that readership of ‘The Times’ newspaper rose 9% year on year to an average of 1.8million readers - more than any other quality newspaper - overtaking ’The Daily Telegraph’ for the first time in its history.   

Fine - but where’s the link? Its easy - Charles Lamb’s journal recalls the launch of ‘The Sunday Times’ and his wish that the paper may someday prove widely popular.   

Time for the Belle Stars…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdH0nIsd-B4

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q46 Do you value a good education? | No Comments »

19/02/2009 by admin.

As if to vindicate our recent story about the Black Horse logo for Lloyds TSB Bank we have another curious example of a runaway horse - this time in Paris. The horse named Garibaldi raced along next to the River Seine having thrown his rider, a member of the republican guard. 

Police cars tracked the horse for some 15 minutes as it raced through several red traffic lights.  Fortunately, the horse was wearing a high visibility jacket, which may have helped save it from serious injury.  The sound of the galloping horse reminded Ben of his early encounter (see novel extract). Its curious too that the horse chose France to put on his show given the French connection in our tale.  However, probably the most striking thing about the performance was the red light jumping - was this symbolic of human behaviour - pressing ahead regardless with our exploitation of Nature and continued dependence on fossil fuel despite the warning signs advising us to STOP!

Here’s the dramatic video…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7900077.stm

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings? | No Comments »

18/02/2009 by admin.

Congratulations to debut author Michelle Harrison. She has been named winner of the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize with her book ‘The 13 Treasures’. 

Michelle won £5,000 at an award ceremony in London, which was delightful given her work was initially rejected by several publishers. The novel is set to charm and enthral a generation of readers and has drawn comparisons with the Brothers Grimm.  The book’s been described as ‘an inventive story that makes you glad you can’t see fairies.’

So, we have an author who shares the same surname as one of The Beatles receiving recognition for a novel about fairies! And is there not a reference in our tale to the work of the Brothers Grimm too?

Maybe her success was meant to be…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBwGmOexmNo&feature=related

Posted in Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »

17/02/2009 by admin.

The ghostly encounter recorded at the start of our story (see opening sample in left hand column) records how a distraught and runaway black horse is a clear sign of Mother Nature in serious jeopardy.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwN_CXi41s4 

So, we look on with interest as Lloyds Bank TSB - known for its black horse symbol - quivers under the strain of the global financial crisis - with a £10bn loss last year due to bad debts inherited following a merger with HSBC.  The bank’s share price has plummeted and the prospect of a government bail out looms.  

Amongst other victims of the crisis are car workers at the BMW plant in Oxford where 850 people helping to manufacture the Mini have lost their jobs.  It comes as no suprise given that new car sales have plummeted across the industry in recent months.  Did we foretell the struggles of the car industry at this time too given Ben’s initials are BMW - Ben Michael Whittenbury? We use the acronym several times in our story!

Minis were a key part of the Italian Job movie - let’s here from Michael Caine and others on the need for a ‘Self Preservation Society’ to tackle the challenge of caring for our planet! “Get your skates on mate.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy3BdoWaYxY

Certainly a Lamb or two isn’t wasting any time in getting tough! A new report on bird wildlife by the Scottish Heritage Fund records how a lamb was seen head-butting a golden eagle - one of Scotland’s largest birds of prey.  The incident was recorded at Baile Ailean on the Western Isles of the Outer Hebrides.  Apparently older ewes, especially pregnant ones, have resorted to such action from time to time.   Perhaps this is a reference to Charles Lamb’s quest as recorded in his journal to toughen up through sparring under the guidance of Bill Richmond so as to prepare for the challenges ahead.  Take a look at these little fellas…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoDirD2hw1w

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

15/02/2009 by admin.

Professor Chris Field, author of the 2007 landmark report on climate change, has warned that global warming over the next century could be much worse than previously predicted.  He said the Interdepartmental Panel on Climate Change had underestimated the level of increase in greenhouse gas emissions between 2000 and 2007.   The 2007 report had previously estimated increases in temperature of between 1.1c and 6.4c over the next century.  The Professor said the impact on temperatures of the increase in emissions was unclear but warming was likely to increase at a much higher pace bringing more environmental damage than previously thought.

We see the warning as a wake-up call given the sense of complacency on the issue given the UK has experienced its coldest winter for many years following 2007 being the coolest year globally this century.  Maybe the unwelcome vision of our world in 2100 left to us by ‘The Emperor’  and included in the conclusion of our tale is not so far fetched!

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

11/02/2009 by admin.

A giant statue of a white horse has been chosen as the ‘Angel of the South’ at Ebbsfleet.  The winning design for the public art commission was by former Turner Prize winner, Mark Wallinger. The horse will be 33 times life-size - standing as high as Nelson’s column.  Organisers are hoping the horse will be in place for the 2012 Olympics. 

Mark has described the project as ‘tremendously exciting’.  We couldn’t agree more.  Mark featured earlier in our blog at the time of his Turner Prize success because of his bear costume.  Our story also features a white horse called Jim, drawn by Julia and Sarah early in our tale.  Significantly Ben’s account of Charles Lamb’s accident with his fears heightened for Mother Nature - personified as Lucy Ebbs - unfolded adjacent to the field where Jim was kept out at grass!  Its a stunning coincidence, made all the more profound given that the horse will 33 times lifesize - the number 3 being central to our story - and the links to Turner and Nelson.  Its all very puzzling. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6z8GUywyc

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q74 Do you like puzzles?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »