29/08/2009 by admin.

Our readers will be aware that Charles Lamb’s journal recalls his nightmare when he sees an Oasis being destroyed and how his voice goes unheard when pleading with Mother Nature to save herself.  So its curious that Oasis, the rock band, has announced it’s spliting up; a move that quickly followed a decision to cancel a concert as the lead singer claimed to have lost his voice. 

We’re saddened by the break-up because the group were inspired by The Beatles but especially as one of the band’s most famous songs was ‘Wonderwall’; a description used by Charles Lamb in his journal when referring to the strange carvings at Royston Cave.

Here’s Noel talking about his love for The Beatles and John Lennon especially.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yhocvav-Xs&feature=related

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument? | No Comments »

08/08/2009 by admin.

Another symbolic anniversary relevant to THS; hundreds of Beatles fans have gathered to mark the 40th anniversary of the camera shot of the famous pedestrian (zebra) crossing cover of the Abbey Road album. 

A reconstruction took place with Beatles lookalikes - a tribute band known as St Pepper’s only Dartboard Band’ - wearing outfits the same as those worn on the day.  Billie Shears would be pleased! The original picture has been copied many times over by Beatles fans.  We’re especially taken by the iconic crossing - Malachi warns in our novel ‘We’re at the crossroads’. Perhaps that’s why Sir Paul chose to cross the road bare-footed as an unwitting reminder of the human ‘carbon’ footprint!

When visiting Abbey Road Beatles fans also like to leave personal messages on a wall by the roadside. Messages like these…

Abbey Road is also in St John’s Wood and St John’s Church is where Julia saw a ghostly figure wearing a replica ‘St Pepper’ jacket. Mmm. we do have fun don’t we?

Ben’s favourite song from the album is ‘Come Together’ which is what we need to do to address the ongoing environmental challenges. Here’s a video with rare footage of Abbey Road and the recording studios. Enjoy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vAqekT-GuA

Posted in Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q18 Do you let your heart rule your head?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

10/07/2009 by admin.

At the heart of our novel and Charles Lamb’s journal is the role of the mysterious medieval carvings at Royston Cave.  On several occasions it’s described as a Wonderwall! Its purpose - to serve as a warning to humanity about the need to curb our runaway consumption of the world’s resources.

How curious then that during the performance by Oasis of Wonderwall at Wembley stadium the sound cut-out due to power problems! Odd too that we should have such a reminder of the Wonderwall so soon after the final video performance by the late Michael Jackson which ended with the hand signs engraved on the wall, perhaps as a reminder to stop!

Given that we remain largely unknown - has the time come for our voices to be heard?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzrDeceEKc

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts? | No Comments »

02/07/2009 by admin.

Footage has been released of Michael Jackson in rehersal for the ‘This is It’ tour. 

The video which - was his last ever performance  -has a poignant haunting edge to it given the unexpected death of the pop icon.  We wonder did the King of Pop unwittingly leave a timely reminder to all of humanity?  Why so? Well, the performance concludes with the superstar and his fellow dancers revealing the same palm signal to that recorded in Royston Cave and explored by Charles Lamb in his journal.   The hands are also mentioned by ‘The Emperor’ as a clear warning about our treatment of this planet: Stop! Stop! Stop!

Here’s the link to the footage…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8131776.stm

And here’s a picture of Royston Cave with the hand prints.

One of Michael’s hits was ‘Earth Song’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOnL5c8LMqM&feature=related

In his words, “Did you ever stop to notice this crying Earth is weeping sure.”

R.I.P Michael - We love you!

Posted in Q61 Have you ever worn fancy dress?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

15/05/2009 by admin.

Norway has emerged victorious with record 387 points in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Singer and violinist Alexander Rybak romped home with the simple high-energy ditty ‘Fairytale.’  He wrote the song himself saying, ”I had a story to tell and I guess people liked that story.”

Coincidental then given the role of the Scandanavian, Hans Christian Anderson, in our story and his fairytale telling.  We also have the ‘Shadows’ poem, which was all about belief in fairies! Above all, we have the presence of Yggdrasil - the magical tree of life from the forests of Norway. Clap hands if you believe!

Congratulations Alexander. Sarah really likes the song. Here’s the winning performance…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8JRtGMBUz0&feature=related

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales? | No Comments »

08/05/2009 by admin.

Newly discovered lyrics by the hand of the former Beatle, George Harrison have been put on display by the British Museum in the same gallery that houses the Magna Carta and Shakespeare’s First Folio.

The lyrics were found by Hunter Davies during research for a new edition of his official biography of The Beatles. Davies used to collect scraps of paper the Beatles threw to the floor of Abbey Road studios in London and keep them as souvenirs.  The lyrics read:

“I’m happy to say that its only a dream when I come across people like you,

 its only a dream and you make it obscene with the things that you think and you do.

Your so unaware of the pain that I bear and jealous for what you can’t do.

There’s times when I feel that you haven’t a hope but I also know that isn’t true.’

George wrote some of the most thoughtful and soothing Beatles songs including, For You Blue, Think for Yourself and Dark Horse. Ben’s favourite is ‘If I needed Someone’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvPLx4dWZxM&feature=related

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q55 Do you believe in truth?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q34 Have you ever restored something? | No Comments »

05/04/2009 by admin.

Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have performed in concert together in New York in aid of the David Lynch Foundation - a charity promoting transcendental teaching in schools.

Sir Paul headlined the concert before introducing Ringo Starr as his pseudonym, “Billy Shears” - from the song Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

“At this point we would like to introduce somebody to you who you know, you’ve heard his name,” Sir Paul said. “He’s going to come out here and play you a little song this joyful night. Ladies and gentlemen: Billy Shears.”

The pair last performed together in 2002. During the performance Sir Paul paid a tearful tribute to thelate John Lennon, before playing ‘Here Today’ a song he wrote for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxpKJAQ10yE&feature=related

So, we have another curious example from The Beatles clearly linked to our novel and one “Billie Shears”  supported by a really strange indirect reference to the transcendental cause promoted by Charles Lamb in his jorunal. Sir Paul or Ringo - if you ever get to read our tale and view our Watch… we truely hope you have been entertained.   

There is of course a serious note to all of this - to look at climate change and environmental issues in a transcendental way.  Interesting then that on the day the two legends chose to reunite, an ice bridge the size of Jamaica breaks in the Antarctic signalling further evidence of rapid change in the region.

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q50 Do you miss someone you love?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

02/12/2008 by admin.

Happy 27th Birthday Britney Spears. Let’s celebrate - in the last year, Britney Spears was the most searched for term on Yahoo.com.  There are billions of searches each year and the troubled pop artist drew more hits than Barack Obama.  He was third on the list, behind Britney and ‘World Wrestling Entertainment’. 

This is all very interesting as some recent buyers of our novel initially mistook it to be by Britney Spears, not Billie Shears.  This was simply an ‘at a glance’ problem, but their names are very similar and rhyme.

Then we realise that Britney’s breakthrough song was, ‘Baby one more time’ with the lyrics, ‘Give me a sign, hit me…” She still believes. Do you? Here’s the video, complete with the clock ringing at 3.00.

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

Curious as a definition of ‘Haymaker’ includes one able to deliver a good punch. Which leads us on to the ‘World Wrestling Entertainment’. Interesting as ‘throwing a haymaker’ is a wrestling move.

Perhaps this all explains why Britney Spears made an appearance on the show, ‘The X Factor’?  Does not our novel ask whether we - the human race - have the X factor? Are we equipped to care for our planet and its eco-systems? Why Britney even chose to wear a top hat, just like the mysterious man in the shadows - the character orchastraing our story is clearly making a big impression.

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q62a Is life logical?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

25/09/2008 by admin.

There’s no cause for a-Lamb, but there’s blue sheep roaming the fields of Tyneside! The blue sheep are the result of a farmer putting blue dye on them so he could check whether mating had taken place. Only trouble was that the rams chose to fight amongst themselves, spreading the dye over their bodies in the process.

All very quaint yet the curiosity for us is that in his diary the colour blue was especially precious between Charles Lamb and Lucy Ebbs! Time to celebrate with some animation …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C81NxEQW01U

And a song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ejP-KZ_tk8

Meanwhile, further South, the former Beatles singer, Sir Paul McCartney has performed in concert in Israel.  The concert comes 43 years after The Beatles were banned from playing in the country for fear of corrupting the nation’s youth.   During his visit he went to Bethlehem. Outside of the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, Sir Paul said, “All we need is peace.” 

What’s remarkable about the visit is that in our tale, Caleb Hitch tells of the curious triangle surrrounding Keeper’s Cottage, with its lines leading east towards Stonehenge, north towards Royston Cave and south towards the Holy Land in Israel - which we suspected was too far to count, but clearly not!  The curious link between our story and The Beatles rolls on.  Here he is performing at the concert singing the Long and Winding Road!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS58AOGpLCQ&feature=related

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Star Question - what happened to the blue ribbon?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q73 Do you like nursery ryhmes?, Q66 Do you have a favourite flower?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life? | No Comments »

13/09/2008 by admin.

Sir Cliff Richard has celebrated 50 years in showbusiness by publishing an auto-biography. Sir Cliff used to live in a council house at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. The house was tiny and he had to share a room with one of his sisters. It was in 1958 that he burst on to the music scene with the song, ‘Move It’ with a style initially based on Elvis.  Sir Cliff has has number one’s in each of the four previous decades. The relevance of the anniversary to to our story is simple - for early in our tale Sarah asks Julia about Peter Pan and Netherland! Sir Cliff seems to defy his years, so was fondly dubbed, the Peter Pan of Pop!  He was also the front singer of ‘Cliff Richard and the Shadows!’

A devout Christian, Sir Cliff has remained a Bacholor Boy throughout his career. What can we say, other than Congratulations!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iArJm9gBvg

Posted in Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q80a Do you keep a diary?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q62 Have you ever helped the poor?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q31 Are you a charitable neighbour? | No Comments »