10/11/2008 by admin.

Tinker Bell, arguably the most famous fairy in the world, has been immortalised in wax at Madame Tussauds musuem in London.  The figure is the smallest ever created at the attraction, measuring just 5 and a half inches.  The artists involved in the pixie’s creation worked studiously to re-create her in a perfect life-like form  - in a way that reveals her magic and love.  At the attraction, children can see Miss Bell at Pixie Hollow, the home of the fairies in Never Land.  All delightfully enchanting given Sarah’s desire in our tale to see a real fairy at Never Land and the, yet to be fully explained, role of the Shadows’ poem.

Let’s celebrate…

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

We do love a green fairy…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyCfi6qcS0

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

22/09/2008 by admin.

Summer? What summer? The season officially ended yesterday - in an ironic blaze of sunshine.  But the warm weather could not save this year’s summer from a place in the worst top ten on record. There was 14 inches of rain and 464 hourse of sunshine - 7% less than the average.  As mentioned earlier on our ‘Watch’ August was a particularly gloomy month.  The poor weather was blamed on a jet-stream of fast winds high over Britain which blocked warm weather arriving from Southern Europe.  All very interesting given Mary Shelley’s role in our story and the reference to ‘A year without a summer’ which led to her writing the famous Frankenstien story.

Meanwhile, the number of fake £1 coins in circulation has doubled over the past 5 years, and now stands at nearly 30 million.  A Survey conducted by the Royal Mint revealed some 2% of £1 coins are now fake.  There are ways to tell a forgery from the real thing, you just need to know what you’re looking for. This curious to us given our discovery of coins from the Maundy Ceremony and Julia’s observation, “Are the coins genuine?’ Coincidence?

And finally, habitat loss is contributing to the worldwide decline of populations of common birds, with Birdlife International reporting fa fall in numbers of 45% of Europe’s common birds.  Farmland birds were the worst affected with the number of European Turtle Doves falling by 79%.  The study shows that environmental degregation is having a major impact, not just on birds but on bio-diversity in general.  Readers may recall how Emma Isola and Ralph Emerson sing a lament to the newly weds, Captain Lewin and Lady Katharine on Christmas Eve, which is all about two Turtle Doves!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCB4-JWZ1kQ&feature=related

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q28 Have you ever lived in poverty?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

08/09/2008 by admin.

Artists in Caracas, Venezuela, have used the living human body as a canvas. Amongst the exhibits was Nature Personified, which is very curious given Charles Lamb’s perception of Lucy Ebbs in his journal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7602547.stm

The exhibition coincided with a £3 trillion rescue package by the US Government for the American lending company, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  “What does this have to do with the environment?”, you may well ask.  Well, in our story did not Fanny plead to Ben for help, quote, “Please, I implore you, we have been waiting for so long.”  Is this life imitating art?  In some ways, the company’s logo resembles Keeper’s Cottage.

Posted in Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q61 Have you ever worn fancy dress?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | 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 »

04/09/2008 by admin.

Our readers will know of the power of peanuts in our tale to stir up a discussion on environmental issues.  Elsewhere on our site you’ll find Sarah’s messages made from peanuts!  It’s therefore with strange co-incidence that we report the death at aged 91 of the animator Bill Melendez, who drew Charlie Brown, Snoopy and other Peanuts characters.  He was the only person given permission by the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, Charles Schulz, to animate his work.  He produced some 70 TV specials, including a Yuletide Charlie Brown Special in 1965.

Good grief! Here’s Sarah’s peanuts tribute to Bill … 

Charlie Brown is a loveable loser, a child possessed of endless hope and determination.  Curiously, one of the key characters is Lucy!  She first appeared on 3 March.  Lucy’s often mean and cynical and is famed for teasing and belittling Charlie Brown with cruel comments and acts. Here’s Lucy famously analysing Charlie Brown…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h38srxvt6qE&feature=related

Charlie was also famed for saying, “Why can’t I have a normal dog like everyone else?” which may amuse Malachi.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q67 Have you ever decorated a tree?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

03/09/2008 by admin.

In his journal, Charles Lamb records the importance of the Harvest Hockey to the local farming community.  Perculiar then that the climate ‘hockey stick’ graph first presented in 1998 has been vindicated ten years later by scientists.  Assessments of an array of evidence, including extra data covering 2,000 years and more methods to anaylse the information led them to conclude that Northern Hemisphere temperatures are ‘anomolously warm’. 

The ‘hockey stick’ graph includes the shaft of the stick, representing a sharp upturn in temperatures since the industrial age.

As if to ratify the findings, scientists have reported a collosal loss of ice shelves in Canada’s High Arctic. Floating tongues of ice attached to the Ellesmere Island, which have lasted for thousands of years, have seen more than a quarter of their cover has broken away to become floating sea-ice. Loss of ice in the Arctic, and in particular the extensive sea-ice, has global implications. The “white parasol” at the top of the planet reflects energy from the Sun straight back out into space, helping to cool the Earth. 

Further loss of Arctic ice will see radiation absorbed by darker seawater and snow-free land, potentially warming the Earth’s climate at an even faster rate than current observational data indicates.

Scientisits have confirmed that another consequence of a warming world is evidence of the strongest storms becoming stronger - they are delivering a more powerful punch. A 1 degree rise in ocean temperatures would increase the incidence of stronger storms by about one third.  Our readers will know that we recorded a fierce storm and a wind of change in the lead up to the discovery of Charles Lamb’s journal.

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

14/08/2008 by admin.

Another relevant annivesary - this time it’s 100 years since Mills and Boon published their first novel. 

Famed for romantic fiction, their books are sold in 106 countries and translated into 26 languages.  They have over 3 million readers in the UK annually. Their exoctic escapist stories typically feature a tall, dark and handsome type who sweeps a cream-and roses heroine off her feet.   The stories inevitably have happy endings!  Charles Lamb would surely salute them as they celebrate their centenary, given his passion for love, art and nature.  Celebrate if you will…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SELp8xfbzJQ

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q18 Do you let your heart rule your head?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

01/08/2008 by admin.

It’s been a long wait, but the second feature-length movie of the cult TV series X Files has reached British cinemas. It’s called ‘The X Files - I Want to Believe’ and comes six years after the end of the TV series.  It ran between 1993 and 2002.  The first feature film, ‘Fight the Future’ issued in 1993.  Commenting on the movie, Director, Chris Carter said, “It’s always magical to see David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson together; it’s almost as though time stops for them.”

The timing of the release is curious as we asked early on in our story - Do we have the X factor?  Humanity must also decide whether the many ’coincidences’ we’ve recorded on this Watch amount to a message from Mother Nature, the Earth itself or some other force, or do we have an over-active imagination? As Mulder would say to Scully, “Open your mind Scully… The truth is out there.”

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

22/05/2008 by admin.

The Hay Festival is celebrating its 21st birthday.  Literary, musical and political figures have gathered within a tented village at Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales.  Happy Birthday. May the gathered haymakers enjoy the key to the door!  The guests include Jimmy Carter - former American president and peanut farmer - present to celebrate ”the abiding passion with Britain’s relationship between America in politics and literature’.

Here he is shovelling peanuts…

Here he is speaking in 1976:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ujaix6ya54&feature=related

During his presidency, Jimmy Carter convinced the Democratic Congress to create the United States Department of Energy. Promoting the department’s recommendation to conserve energy, Carter wore sweaters, had solar hot water panels installed on the roof of the White House, had a wood stove in his living quarters, ordered the General Services Administration to turn off hot water in some federal facilities, and requested that Christmas decorations remain dark in 1979 and 1980. Nationwide controls were put on thermostats in government and commercial buildings to prevent people from raising temperatures in the winter (above 65 degrees Fahrenheit) or lowering them in the summer (below 78 degrees Fahrenheit). Interesting!

But wait, there’s more! Below is a portrait of Lucy, the local landlady taken in her pub, the Three Tuns, Hay’s oldest hostelry.  Shortly after a fire nearly destroyed the pub in 2004, she said the pub has been in her family for 83 years. Lucy’s met thousand’s of visitors to Hay over the years. Many of them seem to remember her more than she remembers them!  Lucy said she really enjoys her work and finds it very interesting. Visitors to Hay are such nice people!  So much love!

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

22/04/2008 by admin.

A common pub quiz question that most Elvis Presley fans would have felt confident in answering has been thrown into doubt. Until now the only time he was known to have been in Britain was on 3 March 1960, during a stop-over at Glasgow Airport. He was on his way back to America from military service in Germany.  It’s now claimed that Tommy Steele, the man dubbed ‘Britain’s answer to Elvis’.  According to Steele’s manager, somewhere between 1958 and 1960, Tommy showed Elvis around London - taking him to the Houses of Parliament.  Here’s Elvis singing wooden heart!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05ZgyoZvhgI

Strange how the puppet in the video resembles Lucy as depicted in George Stubbs’ The Haymakers!

So did the rendevous happen? Who can say, but one thing is for sure it’s curious that Charles Lamb begins his journal by refering to William Blake’s Jeruselum and his dark Satanic Mills. A reminder, the opening verse of the hymn begins, “And did those feet in ancient time, walk upon England’s mountains green.” As with the Royston Cave, is there a secondary meaning to the poem?

Meanwhile, College Green in the grounds of Gloucester Cathedral has been covered in artificial snow for the filiming of a Dr Who Christmas special.  The scene featured mourners in Victorian costume marching in front of a horse drawn cart.

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »