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 »

09/02/2009 by admin.

Saying ‘I Luv U’ by text is contributing to the demise of the art of romance. As Valentine’s Day approaches, a National Trust survey of some 2,500 adults showed two-thirds admitted to saying, “I Luv U” in a text, whilst a similar number had never spent time writing a romantic love letter of composing a poem for their beloved. 

The National Trust blame a combination of technology and the modern pace of life for killing off romance.  A Trust spokesperson said, “Considering our rich history of romantic letter writing, poems and sonnets - from Shakespeare to Burns - it all suggests we are forgetting to make time for romance in modern Britain.  Yet now we have forgotten the value of putting our innermost feelings down on writing! Pity as the survey showed that 3 out of 4 women would prefer a love letter of dedicated poem than a simple text saying, “I Luv U”.

All very revealing given the role played by Sarah’s mobile in our story and the way in which Charles Lamb’s journal records several examples of love penned by his hand and others in poetry and letters.    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aTLurY3gw&feature=related

Posted in Q50 Do you miss someone you love?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

15/01/2009 by admin.

The world has been marvelling at the miracle of US Airways Airus A320 which crash landed into the Hudson River after a flock of geese caused engine failure just 3 minutes after take off from La Gaurdia airport, New York. All 155 people on board survived whilst the experienced pilot - Captain Sullenberger -has been hailed as a hero for his prompt action and expert flying skills.   It’s the first time in 45 years that an airliner has crashed into water without loss of life - a truely remarkable escape for everyone on board. 

By a strange coincidence on the day when Mother Nature was responsible for bringing down an airplane the British government approved a 3rd runway at London’s Heathrow. 

Despite the rhetoric behind the decision, its ecological madness which will also lead to the demolition of the village of Sipson. 

Baa-humbug! At least there are some determined campaigners, including some celebrities, who have purchased some land in the proposed development area, which may hold things up for a while.

Any wonder that Mother Nature should intervene with kindness in an attempt to warn us to stop!  Even the Captain’s name fits - Sullenberger.  A warning about the hidden berg that we may, unwittingly, be on a collision course to strike. And, oddly, the plane hit the water just a couple of minutes before 3.33 New York time.

Time to celebrate a hero with the help of our X factor friends…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HiwwOttHuv0&feature=related

Posted in Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

10/09/2008 by admin.

Scientists have switched on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland in the hope of shedding light on one of the fundamental questions in physics, ‘What is mass?’ 

The current favoured model involves a particle dubbed as ‘The God Particle’.  The enormous experiment is designed to throw light on this - to understand how Nature works - and on the mysterious ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’ that makes up the large majority of the Universe.

The LHC is the biggest and most complex machine in history, taking 13 years to construct at a cost of 5bn.  The experiment involves sending two beams in opposite directions  - revolving about a huge circle of magnetic tubes. Dr Shears a particle physicist from the University of Liverpool said, “We will be looking at what the Universe was made of billionths of a second after the Big Bang.”

The project has not been without its critics with some fearing the formation of a black hole that might swallow the Earth!  We’re not merchants of doom but it’s curious that the experiment is taking place within the proximity of Lake Lucerne - the source of inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstien.

Scientists clearly hope that the LHC experiment will live long in the memory. Perhaps they’ll adopt an iconic song to remind them of the day, for a study using Beatles music has been set up which catologues 3,000 recollections of Beatles related memories.   For a long time people have noticed that music is a great way to remember events from the past.  See www.magicalmemorytour.com for details.

Our Beatles choice to make the launch of the LHC is ‘Revolution’ … It’s going to be alright!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87yq372R4Ts

Posted in Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

06/09/2008 by admin.

One of the most important parts of our story is a poem called Shadows, which includes the verse:

“Ah, be ours the task to stop it, ours the task this Earth to keep. With imagination blot it, woe decry industrial creep. Woe decry that icy tear, “Forget me Not,” the time is Near.”

In our tale, the poem was passed to Julia by her Grandmother who advised her to, “Look out for the signs. You have the gift…”  Charles Lamb’s journal reveals how the poem came about and who wrote it - that it captures concerns about the impact of machines upon Mother Nature.

Julia wondered if events in the poem were beginning to unfold in the world and at home. Well, Sarah believes the presence of a 50ft mechanical spider creeping about the streets of Liverpool (home of the Beatles) in icy rain represents the line, ‘woe decry industrial creep.’  The creation is by the french company La Machine.  The spider is made out of steel and popular wood and is operated by up to 12 people.

Here’s a video of the spider caught in the snow!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool08/video/08/lamach_lee_snow.shtml

A read of the poem inspired Julia to examine the 12 white stones our dog, Malachi, had helped to discover.  Funny then how a Labrador was discovered with 13 golf balls in its stomach - one of which had turned black and was decomposing.  The dog named Oscar had apparently swallowed the balls when accompanying his owner about a golf course in Fife, which is strange in itself as Malachi passed Ben a fife to help inspire his thoughts and actions on the survey. 

Commenting on the operation, the local vet said he’d never seen anything like it, claiming it was just like a magic trick!

Posted in Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

29/07/2008 by admin.

In Humberside, England, a young romantic named Robert ploughed a proposal for his sweetheart to marry him. The message read ‘Sarah Marry Me’.  He then flew his surprised girlfriend of 10 years over the field. Sarah was amazed, and shed a few tears. She accepted at once, saying the magic words, ‘I do’. 

The Blakesware Set must be delighted. Our Sarah hopes that one day someone might do something similar for her!

Another celebration - The National Areonautical and Space Administration (NASA) are celebrating 50 years since they were established.  The highlights are many - orbiting the Earth, landing on the Moon and adventures into our solar system.  The most famous quote remains, ‘One step for a man, one giant step for mankind,’ and echoed in The Haymakers Survey.  NASAs motto is ‘For the benefit of all’.  NASA’s Office of Education’s motto is ‘Shaping the Future’. 

We recommend a visit to NASA’s website to witness all they’ve achieved.

 http://www.nasa.gov/50th/home/index.html

We come down-to-Earth with a visit to the West Midlands and a safari park to rejoice at the sight of six rare white lion cubs, which is remarkable since according to African legend white lions are a lucky charm and only come along once every 100 years.   Take a peep at the darling cubs…

Word for word, letter for letter, their names are Star, Haze, Neptune, Ariel, Oberon and Ophelia. Fortunately, none are made of stone, unlike Uncle John Plumer’s lion head statue!

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q42 Do you enjoy drawing?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

07/04/2008 by admin.

Global Warming sceptics are rubbing their hands with glee for Briton has experienced a cold spell, bringing snow and ice, bringing the return of winter to the dawn of spring.  The snow follows that which fell on Easter Sunday. “So what’s the big deal?” asked Bill Darvill, especially as the latest predictions are for a cooler year for the Earth in 2008 due to the cold La Nina current in the Pacific. It has contributed to torrential rains in Australia and to some of the coldest temperatures in memory in snow-bound parts of China.  However, The World Meteorological Organization’s secretary-general, Michel Jarraud considers this year’s temperatures would still be way above the average - and we would soon exceed the record year of 1998 because of global warming induced by greenhouse gases.  Let’s see what unfolds.

One of the stars of The Office TV series has opted to buy 5 acres of ancient woodland in Essex, rather than splash out on a classic sportscar.  Mackenzie Crook says he got it for my children, and to keep as a conservation area.  He wanted to make a stand against TV shows that promote a dangerous and misguided attitude about the the human race’s love affair with the car given the current plight of our Earth.   Mackenzie also featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, playing alongside the actor Will Turner.

Posted in Q53 Do you prefer to keep warm?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

15/11/2007 by admin.

As part of a campaign to help strengthen the Climate Change Bill, WWF have made a giant paper boat and will deliver it to the British Parliament. 

This is curious given Mary Shelley made and set sail a paper boat in ‘The Haymakers Survey’. 

Regular visitors will know all about the strange squirrel behaviour we’ve seen and their relevance to ‘The Haymakers Survey’. Well, they’ve been up to their tricks again - this time in the Lake District! Tourists on board a pleasure boat could not believe their eyes when they saw a red squirrel swimming 300 metres from shore. 

Passengers lowered a rope to allow the squirrel to climb aboard and hitch a lift. Once back on dry land, the squirrel fled.  Odd that this should coincide with the WWF’s paper boat campaign!

As part of a Cipher Challenge, a re-built Colossus is cracking codes again for the first time in 60 years - taking on a modern PC.  Based at Bletchley Park, Colossus was built to read messages sent during the last world war.

In its heyday, Colossus could break codes in a matter of hours. It was extremely important in the build up to D-Day. 

Posted in Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

07/08/2007 by admin.

A mobile phone mountain worth more than £1billion is pilling up in homes, a survey has shown. The now has 37m mobile phone owners. Question 29 

This as an infestation of mosquitoes is predicted to hit London within weeks. Apparently wet, warm weather has created perfect breading conditions for a range of bugs, bringing the threat of malaria. Questions 44 and 73 

More from outer space: the largest known planet has been discovered; it’s about 70% larger than Jupiter.  It’s called TrES-4!  It orbits its sun every 3.55 days. Question 70 

Posted in Q73 Do you like nursery ryhmes?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q44 Is there anything worse than a fly at night?, Q29 Could you live without machines? | No Comments »