14/10/2011 by admin.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox has resigned as Defence Secretary in the British government after feeling the heat of revelations about his working relationship with friend a political adviser Adam Werrity.  Mr Fox had been pursued for days by baying hounds in the form of journalists. 

Not for us to dwell on Mr Foxes behaviour but you may ask, ‘What does this have to do with The Haymakers Survey’? Well, Charles Lamb’s journal reveals how the Duke of Wellington forewarns that a fox hunt will serve as a ‘wake up call’ to defend the majestic of the natural world. We have been warned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo

Posted in Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Q18 Do you let your heart rule your head?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

17/11/2010 by admin.

Using a metal detector, James Hyatt, a 3 year old boy from Essex has unearthed an amazing engraved 500 year old gold locket estimated to be worth £2.5m. Believed to have once belonged to royalty the locket carries an engraving of a woman - assumed to be the Virgin Mary holding a crucifix and depicts a rose bud. The figure is also standing on a mesh or web. On the reverse are five bleeding hearts. On the sides are the names of the three kings or Magi who visited Christ after his birth, including Jaspar in Latin. Experts believe the locket once held alleged parts of Christ’s thorn of crowns.

James found the lost treasure in a field near Hockley when out with his father, a web designer. James said, “I was holding the detector and it went beep,beep,beep. Then we dug in the mud and there was gold there”.  

The discovery of a gold locket in mud against a web-log is central to our story - see free sample. A metal detector is also a key part of the journey of discovery. The locket in our novel belonged to a Great Creator and represents Mother Nature. It was heart shaped and brings a message of faith and hope. A message that we need to take care of Planet Earth and the natural environment. The locket’s discovery shows us that humanity is at the crossroads. It’s the begining of the journey that led to the Whittenbury Watch and the magical events recorded on this site.  A rose bud also features strongly in our tale - to symbolise the beauty of our world and we are warned that the rose is dying.

We believe the discovery is priceless. It vindicates the messages in the Whittenbury Watch. Afterall the very final words in the book are ‘To Jasper - we did it!” Do you believe yet?

It’s all a matter of faith!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=883t2Pac8pk 

Posted in Q80 Have you ever searched for buried treasure?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »

08/11/2009 by admin.

Our regulars will know we’ve been following the fortunes of Lucie Jones on this year’s X-Factor. Sadly, we have to report that Lucie has been voted off the show at the expense of the controversial twins - John and Edward (Jeward).  Despite putting in a wonderful performance Lucie came in the bottom two in the public vote, probably because the public thought she was safe. In the sing-off she performed ‘One Moment in Time’ whilst the twins did ‘Rock DJ’. Although Lucy was far and away the better performer, Simon Cowell, the lead X-Factor mogul chose to put the decision to the public vote. Lucie had received the least votes so had to bid a tearful farewell at the expense of a couple of lads who can’t sing yet have attracted celebrity status through immense media attention.

Lucie’s eviction and the manner of it comes as no surprise to us.  “Does humanity have the X-Factor?” is a poser within our novel.  Lucie’s plight - Mother Nature in our tale - is perilious yet people assume she’ll be fine and complacency will be our downfall. Even Lucie’s final song ‘One Moment in Time’ was significant given the run up to COP15.  Will we seize that moment in time? Are we going to set Mother Nature free?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4b0uQJc6y0

A further coincidence is that Lucy Jones is also a seismologist at the US Geological Survey currently working on a multi-hazards demonstration project developing a new programme to integrate hazards science with economics and emergency response to incease community resiliency to natural disaster.  She also serves on the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council - ominous?

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q69 Do you put off to tomorrow what you could do today?, Q11 Do you believe in justice?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »

18/02/2009 by admin.

Congratulations to debut author Michelle Harrison. She has been named winner of the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize with her book ‘The 13 Treasures’. 

Michelle won £5,000 at an award ceremony in London, which was delightful given her work was initially rejected by several publishers. The novel is set to charm and enthral a generation of readers and has drawn comparisons with the Brothers Grimm.  The book’s been described as ‘an inventive story that makes you glad you can’t see fairies.’

So, we have an author who shares the same surname as one of The Beatles receiving recognition for a novel about fairies! And is there not a reference in our tale to the work of the Brothers Grimm too?

Maybe her success was meant to be…

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

Posted in Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »

01/01/2009 by admin.

We wanted to mark our first post of 2009 with an iconic statement - a reminder of our purpose.  Our readers will be aware of the symbolism of the sinking of the Titanic neary 100 years ago, when it infamously struck an iceberg and sunk following complacency and arrogance that the ship would never sink.

Well, the two co-stars of the marvellous Titanic movie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, have reunited after 10 years to make the movie ‘Revolutionary Road’.  How apt!

Here’s the famous clip of the ship striking the iceberg - a poignant warning to all those complacent about the likelihood of impending human induced climate change on our world.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nMMD-XeCFiM&feature=related

And here’s the link to Leo’s site devoted to his movie, ‘The 11th Hour’.

http://11thhouraction.com/seethefilm

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

14/09/2008 by admin.

Noel’s HQ is an inspirational show where ordinary people do extraordinary things.  It’s just the kind of thing our very own local champion, Ben Whittenbury would do. The magic of The Haymakers Survey is spreading! Our project about the power of art, love and nature is designed to help change the world - encouraging local champions and a new way of living, that sees a world beyond the grey, money and needless regulation.  Three cheers for Noel…

Well, the funds raised from our ‘not for profit’ scheme, in partnership with the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is currently supporting the campaign to save Balls Wood Nature Reserve.  Together we can!

http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/hertfordshiremercury-news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=332073

We’ve given many examples on this blog about the syncronicity of our tale and world events, well we now have a very local and in many ways most extraordinary experience to tell you about.  Our story reveals how it seems that long ago a man called Ben Whittenbury was once involved in a confrontation with the Murderous Pie Man of Ware!  Well, at a fair at Castle Hall in Hertford today some distant relatives of the orginal Benjamin Whittenbury came to our book stall.  The odds against the union must be very high. It was a most remarkable and humbling experience.

Posted in Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

11/09/2008 by admin.

Sgt Mark Baxter has told how swift action led to the rescue of his three year old daughter, Leona, after she was sucked into a storm drain and swept 200 feet along a drainpipe and into the River Wear.  Leona was playing in what appeared to be a large puddle before she disappeared into what appeared to be like a whirlpool in the middle of the puddle.  Her father quickly realised that she’d fallen into a drain that led to the river and dashed to save her.  Leona is barely 3 feet tall and weighs just 3 stone.  Leona’s mother said, “We are the luckiest parents alive, someone must have been watching over us.”

A whirlpool features more than once in our story. Here’s one in action…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw7YGnL137E

A miracle of another kind has taken place involving an animal called Dixie.   A family in Birmingham were delighted when an RSPCA officer turned up with their cat missing for nearly a decade!  The owners were overjoyed at the micro-chipped cat’s return, and amazed that Dixie seems to have retained all her personality and mannerisms. The owner, Mrs Delaney, says the cat has hardly stopped purring since her return.  Sarah’s told her pet Dixie all about the happy ending!

In a miraculous set of events, a historic watch belonging to a champion has been reunited with its Hertfordshire owner.  The 100 year old watch awarded to James Douglas Edgar to honour his victory in the Canadian Golf Open in 1919 was stolen from Wheathampstead Golf Club in February 2008.  Yet last week James’ grandson, Douglas, received a phone call from a jewellery collector who bought the watch at a car boot sale in Surrey.   The woman, Mandy, showed the watch to her parents - who live in Harpenden in Hertfordshire - and they instantly recognised it as the missing watch.  The circumstances are a little different but its curious that a Hertfordshire champion’s watch was lost then miraculous found again, something Ben Whittenbury and Malachi know all about - an event that triggered our Watch!

What we take from these 3 stories is that it’s not too late for humanity to change our relationship with the Earth -we can still secure the miracle needed to preserve the natural world on this planet blue in a sea of black.

Posted in Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

05/09/2008 by admin.

A parrot named Luna from New Jersey has fooled emergency services into an attempt to rescue a damsel in distress.  Concerned neighbours had called the police after they heard cries of, ‘Help me! Help me!” Police resorted to knocking the front door down, only to find a parrot was reponsible.  The owner wasn’t especially surprised as seven years ago Luna alarmed authorities by mimicking a baby’s cry for hours on end, triggering a visit by child welfare officials fearing an abandoned infant!  This is all very familiar given our story.

Meanwhile, in Kent, England, Leonard an African Grey has been showing off his repetoire of impersonations and moves.  The parrot was missing for about 4 days but has now returned home.  Here he is performing Beethoven’s Fifth and doing Dalek impressions - all features from our story!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7600955.stm

However, Sarah pointed out that this is nothing compared with Einstien’s performance. Now here’s a real superstar…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSDFzg8_Wfg

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q17 Can you speak another language?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »

22/08/2008 by admin.

A man who threw a message in a bottle into the sea when he was just a boy has been reunited with his note 23 years after the event!  Donald Wylie was just 11 when he tossed the bottle into the water at Sandside beach, Orkney.  It was found by eco-volunteers clearing a beach at Fife, Scotland and traced to Mr Wylie, now 33.   The organiser of the beach clean-up said, ‘The message in a bottle was quite a find and surprised us all. It’s remarkable that it should turn up after all this time.”  Maybe the discovery is a coded SOS from Mother Nature?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQ2yXE1mpU

Meanwhile, the sprinter, Usain Bolt, has been at it again, collecting his 3rd Olympic Gold and his 3rd World Record. Quite a feat! This time he was part of a quartet, the 4×100 relay.  They ran the distance in just 37.10 seconds, smashing the existing record, set in 1992, by 0.3 seconds. A fantastic champion. Congratulations Usain.

Let’s celebrate with some Chariot’s of Fire…

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

Posted in Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »

24/07/2008 by admin.

A woman from West Yorkshire has revealed how her £1.2million Lotto win followed a good omen from her deceased father involving mysterious white bird feathers.  Mrs Crossland found a white feather on her doorstep after his death two years ago and saw it as a gift from him.  Just days before her emotional jackpot win, showers of them began appearing in her garden.  The origin of the feathers is a mystery. “My win must have been fate,” added Mrs Crossland, who won with her father’s cherished number line a day after her 44th birthday.   

This is most curious given the role played by a white feather in our story! Has ‘The Haymakers Survey’ hit the jackpot - an ecological message for all humankind?

Meanwhile in Japan, Ichero a 42 year old chimpanzee, climbed on to the roof of his enclosure to cool down during a heatwave.  Zoo staff tried to coax him down and at one point he grabbed a tranquilizer gun.  Following on the heels of the Trafalgar Square sleep-in, was the chimp trying to issue a wake-up call to humanity? After all, we share 95% of our genes with a chimpanzee. Here’s the video…

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f9e_1216810602

Posted in Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q.5 Do you believe in fate? | No Comments »