04/01/2009 by admin.

A base jumper is lucky to be alive after his parachute failed while leaping from Melbourne’s EJ WHITTEN BRIDGE. 

Miraculously, the daredevil fell 100ft and survived only picking up injuries to his feet and ankles.   The paramedic at the scene said the man was ‘lucky to be alive’.  All very curious as this miracle occured at a place almost custom made to report a miracle under the Whittenbury Watch!  Are you a believer yet?

As for the bridge itself, its named after the Australian Football legend Ted Whitten. An extraordinary talent with superb all round skills, capable of kicking supremely well with both legs.  He was regarded as the greatest natural talent of his era in the 1950’s and 1960’s and bestowed with the title of Mr Football.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

21/12/2008 by admin.

Our readers will be aware of the significance of the X Factor poser in our narration. Well, the saga continues for the winner of this year’s contest Alexandra Burke now tops the pop tree with her powerful cover version of the song, Hallelujah.  The version has two fewer verses than the original and includes a key change.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=wAaw6VWpk4A

Alexandra’s closely followed in the charts by a more sombre but much acclaimed version by Jeff Buckley, first released in 1984.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ

It;s the first time in 51 years that the same song has occupied the top two positions in the UK pop charts - and the first time ever at Christmas.

A remarkable trinity of the song’s presence in the Top 40 is completed by Leonard Cohen’s original version, released in 1984.

We wonder whether the trilogy represents Art, Love and Nature?  Is it a call to arms from God - afterall the Hebrew meaning of the word Hallelujah is a request for a congreation to join in praise (of a divine force’s influence on The Haymaker’s Survey)?

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

03/12/2008 by admin.

Stargazers have enjoyed the sight of a smiley face in the night sky.  An extremely rare positioning of Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon provided a smiley face over Asia.  What a wonderful coincidence to have the crescent moon right beneath the two planets just as they appear close together in the night sky.   The next time the 3 will be this close together will be in 2054.

It’s amazing as the Moon, Venus and Jupiter all feature in our story, and the ‘magician’ chose to leave us a emoticon ’smiley face’ in one of his messages.  What’s more, the date of the event is curious too - the 3rd of the 12th - when our story is designed to promote 3 things - Art, Love and Nature - and the role of the 12 sacred stones in helping to reveal the wonder of the survey.  

There’s more magic to this life than we know! LOL!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7ljA9y7QRF8&feature=related

MARCH OF THE INVADER ANTS

A recently discovered ant species, Lasius Neglectus, capable of forming supercolonies has begun to invade Northern Europe, including the UK.  Originating from Asia, a garden infested with them will contain between 10 to 100 times more ants than their European counterparts.  One of the species co-discoverers, Professor Jacobs from the University of Copenhagen, said, “When I first saw them I didn’t imagine it possible that so many ants on the same lawn.”  Perhaps Charles Lamb would have something to say about this given his encounter with ’super ants’ invading his boots just prior to the arrival of Malachi, the messenger.

Posted in Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q27 Do you like gardening?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

08/11/2008 by admin.

For one week only, the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral will be lit up was part of search for answers under, ‘The Question Mark Inside’ project to help celebrate the 300th anniversary of the completion of the topping out of the cathedral.  The project seeks to answer the question, “What are the things that make modern life worthwhile and what does St Paul’s Cathedral mean in that context?” A stream of possible answers will appear as text projections on parts of the Cathedral.  The projections will run from the 8th to the 15th of November.

Most curious given the reference to St Paul’s Cathedral in our tale and the role of questions in our story! It makes you think?

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

21/10/2008 by admin.

We have an encore! A mysterious luminous fushia cloud appeared in the sky above London last night, turning the heads of amazed commuters.  Metrologists suggest that the pink cloud is simply a reflection of city lights on a low cloud against the background of a low sun.  Others suggest it’s the work of Breast Cancer Awareness - pink is their adopted colour and October is devoted to their campaign.  The proposal is they simply sent a beam of pink light into the sky.

None of these explanations are especially convincing.  We judge this the most amazing of all the signs from Mother Nature or a divine force of the need to change our behaviour. Why? In our story Charles Lamb’s journal opens in May with he and Lucy - Nature personified - sat upon Philosopher’s Point when he witnesses a rose cloud in the zenith. He tells Lucy it represents his undying love for her.  Prior to this he had speculated about adorning her way with petals from the Mayfair celebrations from the day before.  So, on the eve of the birthday of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, we have the spectacle of ‘The Rose Cloud over Mayfair’.     

For the benefit of the doubters, here’s the text verbatim (from page 227)! Remember - we published the book in May!  In the journal Charles wrote:

‘To convince her of my devotion, I searched the heavens for inspiration. Clouds drifted serenely from west to east, from whence it came; and ambassador of love.  “Lucy, open your eyes,” I enthused. “Look, directly above us - in the zenith.  There, the cloud, do you see it?” I asked.  In the heavens was an ancient symbol of love  - a rose in the shape of a cloud, as though sent to us as a gift from the Greek goddess, Aphrodite herself. “Mother Nature speaks,” she said. “Why it is the rose I vowed to thee, to honour our eternal love,” I claimed.  Lucy smiled. I kissed her. “hark, they call in celebration,” I cried, as a peel of bells rang out from the distant St John’s Church, Widford. “May this rose endure?” I called, with my arms outstretched.  “Do you wish it so, Charles?” she said, as I watched the rose travel across the sky. “I do.” Two little words that rang in my heart. “Then it shall be,” she claimed, but the shape of the cloud was soon lost.”

Surely, this is beyond coincidence? What’s more, the cloud appeared at 08:30pm for an hour or so before fading away, which is also very strange as there are 83 questions in ‘The Haymakers Survey.’  As the magician in our tale says, “I save the best ’till last”.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | 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 »

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 »

04/08/2008 by admin.

Astronomer, Patrick Moore, McFly and Gillian Anderson have signed up to A Message from Earth. It’s an initiative by the social networking site Bebo. On 9 October, they plan to beam 500 messages in a digital capsule to the nearest planet thought able to support life - Gliese 581c.  Bebo users are invited to submit ideas for the messages, which will arrive in 2029.

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=6864550350

Meanwhile, Grace Bergere, a 12 year-old girl from New York, has miraculously survived a 14 storey fall down a chimney. She plummeted 180ft but emerged largely unscathed after landing in a huge pile of soot.  Firefighters  had expected to find her dead. Grace’s father described her survival from the fall as a miracle.  Curious that the chimney and the soot seem to be an uncanny reminder of the ‘Dark Satanic Mills.’

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7118899&version=1&locale=EN-US

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

01/07/2008 by admin.

What’s thought to be the earliest surviving Beatles interview from 1964 has been found in south London.  Beatles historians say it is the earliest surviving interview in which Lennon and McCartney talk about how they met and discuss the songwriting process. The nine and a half minute video was recorded for a television programme broadcast in Scotland but has never been seen or heard in the rest of the UK.  Many believe it a miracle that the footage survived at all - for some 40 years it was stored in a rusty can in a damp garage, unopened, unloved and almost thrown away - until finally someone took a look inside and found the hidden gem.  During the interview John Lennon explains how he met Paul McCartney for the first time at a village fete in Liverpool.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument? | 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 »