23/09/2008 by admin.

The autumn equinox is a key part of our story, so it comes as no surprise that the London edition of the cultural and events magazine Time Out is celebrating its 40th Anniversary edition.  The edition features a look back over previous iconic covers, interviews with global celebraties and identifies 40 London Heroes since the birth of the magazine.

So, we have a significant TIME OUT anniversary on the Autumn Equinox! Are we out of time to take remedial action to save our natural world? Let’s consult the Cranberries…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O28YoOIaXMA

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q24 Do you get enough time to yourself?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | 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 »

05/07/2008 by admin.

Adam Warwick, a biologist from Florida, USA, has saved a 375lb bear from drowning.  The bear had wandered into a residential area in Tallahassee prompting wildlife officers to shoot the animal with a tranquiliser dart.  It panicked and raced toward water. 25 yards in and the animal became drowsy.  The animal started to lose the use of his limbs and without Adam’s intervention would surely have drowned.  Adam acted instinctively - taking to the water and managing to keep the bear’s head above water as he dragged the animal back to shore.

The whole experience is curious given Sarah’s comments in ‘The Haymakers Survey’ about her sadness due to a documentary which featured a polar bear which drowned seeking sea ice. 

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q18 Do you let your heart rule your head? | No Comments »

18/06/2008 by admin.

Scientists have found that Arctic sea ice is melting even faster than last year.  Much of the sea ice is so thin that it warms very easily.   The pace of melting is likely to leave the Arctic with ice-free summer’s by 2012.  The consequences are far reaching - accelerating the rate of warming and sea level rises.  The ocean’s are also warming substantially faster than previous worst-case predictions - at 50 percent faster in the upper 500 metres.  At this rate 30 percent of ice cover in the Antarctic is likely to disppear within 40 years. The impact on wildlife will be significant. Take the whale - warmer seas mean less krill, the main food for the majestic mammal. 

Posted in Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

20/04/2008 by admin.

Research funded by the blue-chip US National Science Foundation has found that gases formed mainly from the emissions of car exhausts prevent flowers from attracting bees and other insects to pollinate them.  The pollution is dramatically cutting the distance travelled by the scent of flowers.  In a clean environment scent molecules would normally travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,200 metres, but today they may travel only 200 to 300 metres, making it hard for bees and other insects to locate the flowers.  Already bees - which pollinate most of the world’s crops - are in dramatic decline in Britain and across much of the globe. So, what’s it to be?

Perhaps we ought to rename Flight of the Bumble Bee!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6A-JYbu1Os&feature=related

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | 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 »

26/03/2008 by admin.

As if to symbolise our ‘throw-away’ society, a plastic space warrior has found its way to the incredibly isolated Pacific island of Midway. 

The little figure must have been at sea for months. It was found during a beach clean-up.  We talk about “throwing away” but in reality “away” can mean a place like Midway. And the cost is grisly. The island is littered with the bodies of albatrosses that haven’t made it. Their stomachs are brimming with plastic.  This has a poignant ring of Samuel Coleridge’s, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, where the Captain slays the albatross and it returns to haunt him!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7320000/newsid_7326500/7326581.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

Meanwhile, further South, an ice-shelf is on the verge of breaking-up much faster than experts had predicted.  A chunk of ice the size of the Isle of Man has started to breakaway.  View the story here…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid_7313600/7313662.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

This, as in Bangladesh, a plague of rats is threatening 150,000 villagers in isolated communities with starvation.  Legend has it that the events only happen every 50 years or so.  What did Malachi warn about the rat? Mmm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid_7314300/7314308.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q28 Have you ever lived in poverty?, Q11 Do you believe in justice? | No Comments »

28/02/2008 by admin.

The most powerful earthquake for a quarter of a century has hit the UK. It measured 5.2 on the Richter scale. The quake struck at 12.56 GMT.  The epicentre was in MARKET RASEN, Lincolnshire, which is an anagram of EN: ART MAKERS.  EN might readily mean English Nature?  Curiously, the rare quake was felt across the country - north, south, east and west.  The moment the quake struck was caught on video by a group of students, one of whom described the experience as ‘like the Cloverfield monster’ all over again.  Here’s the link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7260000/newsid_7266200/7266244.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

We also noticed the students were playing computer tennis at the time the quake struck - was the score ‘Love All’?

Oddly, the quake coincided with the conclusion of the consultation period on the expansion of Heathrow Airport to include a 3rd runway.  If the expansion goes ahead it will bring an extra 800,000 flights per year.

Its Earth Energy Day, an initiative backed by environmental and religious groups and major energy companies. It asks people to turn off electrical devices not in use.  Over 24 hours from 1800 GMT today, the National Grid will monitor what effect this has on UK consumption.

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q11 Do you believe in justice? | No Comments »

11/02/2008 by admin.

Temperatures in London have reached an unseasonal 17C, making it the hottest day of the year so far.  We would normally expect about 8C at this time of year. Many Britons chose to enjoy the sunshine by visiting the beach or the park.  Make hay whilst the sun shines.

Posted in Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts? | No Comments »

29/01/2008 by admin.

The South-East of England is to get its very own ‘Angel of the South’ to mark the opening of the new Eurostar terminal at Ebbsfleet in Kent. The sculpture - which will be as high as Nelson’s Column - will be designed by an artist selected from one of a shortlist of five including the Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger (of bear costume fame).   The sculpture is set to be the bodest commission since the ‘Angel of the North’ was built 10 years ago.  The statue, below, was made from steel, so symbolic of the industrial revolution.

The ‘Angel of the South’ is due to be finished by 2010.  It will be built on a hilltop to celebrate the new station and development of the Ebbsfleet Valley, where it will be visible from rail, road and air.  Given the location, perhaps they ought to model it on the woman at the heart of the Haymakers and call it Lucy!  At this time of climate chaos, what better symbol to adopt than an icon for Mother Nature personified, complete with blue ribbon and the words, “Now is the time for action!” Mr Wallinger, are you up for the challenge?

Robert and James Lewis are set to become the first set of identical twins to win international caps in for Wales in senior rugby. They will line up for the Welsh against England in the IRB Sevens World Championships taking place in Wellington, New Zealand.  The youngsters currently play for Ebbw Vale in the Principality Premiership.

Their opponents will surely being seeing double!  If only Ben Whittenbury and Captain Richard Lewin could see you now.

A 2,000 feet-wide asteriod has flashed passed the Earth, missing it by just 333,000 miles, which in space terms is no distance at all, as it was just outside of the moon’s orbit.  The asteriod was called TU24.  There was no chance of impact, but it was still a close call for our home.

Posted in Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Star Question - what happened to the blue ribbon?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? FREE CHRISTMAS PRIZE DRAW!, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q13 Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »