08/08/2008 by admin.

A truely spectacular opening ceremony for the 23rd Olympic games has taken place in Beijing, China.  In Malachi’s words, “The World Games are well and truely open!” The ceremony began at 08:08 on the 8th of the 8th 2008 - or ‘Triple 8′ day. The number 8 is revered as a bringer of good fortune.  The ceremony occured just one day after the Chinese Valentine’s Day or the Qixi Festival, with the demand for red roses blooming!

The Double Seventh Festival comes with a legend:

‘A long time ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang (Cowhand). He married a fairy from heaven called Zhi Nu (Weaver Maid) who was in love with him and escaped from heaven to earth secretly. They lived a happy life and she gave birth to a boy and a girl.  Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the secret and the Queen Mother wanted to separate the couple. She used her gold hairpins and made a billowy river between them. The Cowhand and the Weaver Maid were separated on the two banks forever and could only feel their tears.   Finally, their loyalty to love touched the magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies came to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually moved and allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month.’

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q61 Have you ever worn fancy dress?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | 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 »

26/04/2008 by admin.

Our readers will know that Sarah deeply admired the young diarist, Anne Frank, and that our account includes a couple of postcards inserted by the Curator’s Assistant.

Well, a teacher from Holland has discovered a postcard signed by Anne Frank. Paul van den Heuvel found the card inside a box whilst going through some books in his father’s antiques shop.  The Anne Frank museum has authenticated the card. A spokeswoman said,”We have seen similar cards sent by Anne and this one fits within the series,. This is an original written by Anne and we don’t have much of that.”

Anne sent the postcard to her friend Sanne Ledeman in December 1937 when Anne was staying with her grandmother during a visit to Germany’s Aachen.  It shows a Christmas bell and clover and the words “Viel Glueck im neuen Jahr,” or “Much Luck in the New Year” and was signed Anne Frank.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q80a Do you keep a diary?, Q59 Do you like surprises?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

04/04/2008 by admin.

Another major anniversary. It’s 40 years to the day since the assignation of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King in Tennessee, USA.  A remarkable champion of equal rights and social justice his campaigns by non-violent means inspired millions.  His ‘I have a dream’ speech in Washington in 1963 is regarded as one of the greatest ever made.  We’ve selected 3 images of Rev. King.

He was a man of courage and vision who understood that love and compassion would triumph over hatred and bitterness.  His legacy will live long in history.

Posted in Q47 Do you know your history?, Q11 Do you believe in justice?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

02/04/2008 by admin.

Graffiti artists from around the world are set to leave their mark on the Tate Modern. The riverside gallery will let six graffiti artists loose on its exterior walls, turning them into a display area for the first time. Each mural will measure 15 metres by 12 metres and will cover the wall facing the river Thames. Among the artists are the Italian Blu, who takes macabre inspiration from death and the body, New Yorkers Faile, twin brothers from Sao Paolo Os Gemeos, photographer JR, Barcelona’s Sixeart and Nunca, whose inspiration is South America.  We’re especially interested in JR - given the indirect reference to JR from the CBS TV series Dallas spotted by Caleb Hitch when adding footnotes to Charles Lambs’ journal.  JR was played by the actor Larry Hagman -whose name conceals A Hay Man!  Here’s a picture from his heyday! Note the dashing top hat?

Across town, the Royal Mint has unveiled the winning entry of a competition to design the first new British coin series in 40 years - since The Beatles topped the pop charts with Hey Jude.   The six designs on the 1p through to the 50p coins can be pieced together to form a complete image of the royal shield of arms. The £1 coin features the complete shield.  It is the first time a single design has been used across a range of coins in this way.  The new coins will appear in the summer.  Take a look:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7320000/newsid_7327400/7327485.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q74 Do you like puzzles?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

30/03/2008 by admin.

Leona Lewis, winner of the 2006 edition of the X-Factor talent show, has become the first British female solo artist to top the US pop charts in over 20 years with her song Bleeding Love.  She becomes only the third British female in chart history to manage the feat.  Curious this as early in our account of events in ‘The Haymakers Survey’ we asked whether we - the human race - have what it takes to tackle the environmental issues we now face? Do we have the X Factor? This is the promotional video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF84pIhP5UM

So far there have been over 37 million viewings - fairy tales do come true! Strange too that the lyrics themselves could almost be a plea from Mother Nature herself!

Posted in Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales? | No Comments »

19/01/2008 by admin.

Capital of Culture is such a wonderful accolade. Culture isn’t culture unless it’s shared, so as part of the project, the people of Liverpool have been invited to create their own treasure boxes in which to store items of special value to them - things with a cultural meaning to them.   Curious this given Ben Whittenbury’s little habit of storing all the Haymaker discoveries, our treasures, in his wooden rider box!  The city is also set to host the UK tribute for the International National Holocaust Day witha dramatic multimedia exhibition  that sees a life-size replica of Anne Frank’s bedroom assembled in the Anglican Church. Another coincidence, given that Sarah was inspired by Anne’s words, wisdome and values.  

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q80a Do you keep a diary?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q11 Do you believe in justice? | No Comments »

16/01/2008 by admin.

In a near repeat of the summer floods of 2007,  Britain is enduring heavy rain and hurricane-force winds once more.  Interestingly, the media are again quoting from Samuel Coleridge’s poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner.    

One of the Fab Four, Sir Paul McCartney, is launching an exhibition of photographs by his late wife Linda to mark the tenth anniversary of her death.   They include a picture of Sir Paul in reflective mood - just like the Thinker. The photos will be exhibited at the Hyman Gallery in London.

Climate change is having a major impact on Britain’s coast, the seas around the coast, and the life in those seas.  The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership says seas are becoming more violent, causing coastal erosion and a higher risk of flooding.  Higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere are making oceans warmer and more acidic, affecting plankton, fish and birds.  2006 was the second warmest year in coastal waters since records began.  Our wildlife is suffering and the trends are set to increase.

The ‘darkest ever’ matter known to science has been made in a US laboratory.  The material was created from carbon nanotubes.  Researchers say it is the closest thing yet to the ideal black material, which abosrbs light from all angles and over all wavelengths.

Posted in Q60 Have you ever experienced deja vu?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q30 Did you ever watch the rain on your window?, Q32 Are you afraid of the dark?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

15/01/2008 by admin.

‘The Messenger’, the first spacecraft to visit Mercury in more than 30 years passes the planet on Monday.  The fly-by is the first of 3 the Messenger probe will make in the coming years as it slows to enter into orbit around the strange, large unchartered, ‘oddball’ world in 2011.  This weeks pass takes place 33 million miles from the sun.  Messenger is operating in an extremely harsh environment.  Perhaps they ought to have named the probe Malachi!

More magic from nature: a newborn shark will grow up never knowing its father, because it was the product of a virgin birth.  The white tipped reef shark is the only European example of partenogenesis, where an egg develops without being fertilised.  Its mother, ibolya, lives at a marina in EAST HUNGARY, and has neve met a male: HAY GUEST RAN.

As if in recognition of our famed hero, Captain Lewin, a cargo ship called the Ice Prince has sunk off the Devon coast.

Three seafaring Queens made history when they met for the first and only time in the same port yesterday: The trio of Cunard luxury liners, the QE2, The Queen Mary 2 and the brand-new Queen Victoria. The trio sailed through New York harbour and in front of the Statue of Liberty.  The celebration began with a whistle salute.  Although there was no Queen Caroline, could it be they were symbolic of our 3 hearts - love, art and nature - reiterating the need for action before the figurehead of freedom?  

Posted in Q47 Do you know your history?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q17 Can you speak another language? | No Comments »

31/12/2007 by admin.

As the first year of Whittenbury’s Watch comes to an end, we were struck by the number of key anniversaries to occur during the year:  The Beatles, Sargent Pepper album celebrated 40 years since it issued; The Sky at Night celebrated 50 years of broadcasting; and HRH Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 60 years of marriage.

The time has passed so quickly, which led Caleb to look afresh at the Brazen Head riddle and the words recorded in Charles’ journal, ‘Time is, time was, time’s passed’.  He quickly realised that, in fact, the actually words used in other accounts of the riddle are, ‘Time is, time was, time’s past.’   This new clarity has grabbed our curiosity. Perhaps further revelations await! 

In the meantime, our instinct is to countinue our Watch for three years in total: three being the significant number in The Haymakers Survey!

We’ve witnessed so much during the first year that appears to vindicate The Haymakers Survey and its underlying message - that we, the human race, need to take urgent action to change our ways and show far more respect and love for our Earth and its resources.

Posted in Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? FREE CHRISTMAS PRIZE DRAW!, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »