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 »

25/12/2008 by admin.

The American singer, dancer and actress Eartha Kitt has died today from colon cancer at the age of 81. 

Eartha famously played Catwoman in the Batman television series in the 1960s. Amongst her hits songs are Let’s Do It, Old Fashioned Girl and Santa Baby.  She rose to the top of the entertainment world from humble beginnings.

Given her name was Eartha, the timing of her death is very curious  - falling as it did on Christmas Day, which are odds of 365 to 1.  It curious as the Blakesware Set came together on this day in 1822 to leave us ‘The Haymakers Survey’ out of fear that our actions would lead to the death of the Earth as we know it due to industrial creep and environmental abuse.  

Another coincidence is that Eartha’s middle name was Mae - the month when Charles began his journal. So, Let’s Fall in Love - Hey watch out for the Tiger fur - another clue of the threat of extinction?

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=U-oEA1sK374

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

15/09/2008 by admin.

Long lost tapes documenting Agatha Christie, recording her autobiography have been uncovered at her home in Devon, nearly 33 years after her death. The recordings of the best-selling fictional writer of all time were hidden for more than 40 years and discovered hidden in a cardboard box by her Grandson, Matthew, in a storeroom at her former home in Greenway.  The reels of tape were working notes for her autobiography.  Only a handful of recordings of her voice are know to exist. Matthew said, “The one thing you can count on is Agatha’s unending capacity to surprise.” The tapes probably date from around the mid-sixties.  An extract of the tapes include a discussion about comparisons of the characteristics of the fictional Miss Marples with Agatha’s Grandmother. 

Here’s the face of the woman who set the template for fiction…

The connections with our story are a mystery too - links to a curious Grandmother, a long-hidden discovery in a box, revealing a past life story and many a surprise.  The plot thickens!

Posted in Q80 Have you ever searched for buried treasure?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

29/08/2008 by admin.

The eccentric and controversial popstar, Michael Jackson, has celebrated his 50th birthday. It’s not for us to judge his personal life. We just wanted to share some things he said in an interview to a US breakfast show today. He said how much he enjoyed making people happy through his music.  The anniversary is curious as in May 2007, the singer auctioned a red-military jacket similar to that discovered Ben during our adventure.

During his interview, the fallen icon said his happiest time was during the release of the album, ‘Off the Wall!”  Did he have the Royston Cave in mind?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDzxl_Q0qYE&feature=related

He also had a huge hit with the song, Ben…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSqo17o2a1w

Another amazing video is ‘Don’t stop till you get enough’! Just take a look at those stones? They look just like those sacred to the Royston Cave. As Michael said, ‘The force, it’s got a lot off power!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_hz2am90Hk&feature=related

So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Michael once performed the ‘Earth Song’!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Hcd60VoRM

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q61 Have you ever worn fancy dress?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q39 Do you believe in magic? | No Comments »

16/08/2008 by admin.

Mystery surrounds the ‘discovery’ of the remains of the legendary ape-like creature Bigfoot by two men in Georgia, US.  Matt Whitton and Matt Dyer claim to have come across the corpse in the North of the state in June. Bigfoot experts have reacted sceptically to the claims, and are refusing to investigate further. Whatever the truth, the timing of the ‘incident’ is curious - perhaps linked to our carbon footprint?

Another annivesary linked to our project - Madonna, the celebrated Queen of Pop, has turned 50!  Since 1983, the highly-talented artist has had a steady stream of hits making her the most successful female popstar of all time. Her hits included True Blue! She has reinvented herself many times, which is a lesson for us all. 

 Our Watch recorded her appearance at the July 07 Earth Live concert, and we find her ’Hey you’ song especially inspirational.  Happy Birthday Madonna - and thank you for all the beautiful music! Here’s one of Ben’s favourites…

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

As if to honour her birthday and Ben’s favourite Madonna song, the sprinter Usain Bolt has set a new world record for the 100 metres.  In the competition’s Blue Ribbon event, he raced like a bolt of lightening, making the line in an amazing 9.69 seconds to claim Olympic gold. He left the rest of the field in his wake.  Given the Frankenstien links in our story, does this mean the human race needs to act in record time on environmental issues?

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Star Question - what happened to the blue ribbon?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q72 Are you a good time keeper?, Q55 Do you believe in truth?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | 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 »

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 »

16/07/2008 by admin.

More magic from Mother Nature. Scientists are baffled by the sudden and strange appearance of an unidentified insect in parts of London. Tiny black and red bugs about the size of a grain of rice were first spotted in the wildlife gardens of the Natural History Museum.  They’ve also been spotted in Gray’s Inn and Regent’s Park.  Our tale also feature references to the Natural History Musuem during discussions about the future of our endangered species. The Prince Regent is mentioned several times in Charles Lamb’s journal and we all now about the Lady in Gray!

The bug appears to have an X marking on its back, perhaps in response to our poser - do we have the X-Factor? And, The Haymakers Survey is all about YES or NO responses, putting a tick or a cross in the box!

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q27 Do you like gardening?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

03/07/2008 by admin.

Columbia pictures has announced plans to direct a new film about the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.  In a comic remake, the film will star Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen.  Sarah will be pleased as she’s a fan of both actors - pity none will be Earth Detectives though…

New research suggests that the risk of extinction for many species has been seriously underestimated - by up to a hundred times greater in some cases.  Key factors have simply been ignored, including the ratio of the number of males to females.  Professor Alan Hastings from the University of California, Davis, said, ”There may be many species - and some will not be the large, charismatic ones, but things like insects and other smaller ones that are still very important - where we may be underestimating the risk by quite a bit.”The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified more than 16,000 species threatened with extinction. One in three amphibians, one in four mammals, one in eight birds and 70% of plants so far assessed for its Red Lists of Threatened Species are believed to be at risk.

Posted in Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q57 Have you ever spied on anyone?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q11 Do you believe in justice?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

25/06/2008 by admin.

Ben’s delighted that previously unseen film of The Beatles’ visit to Plymouth Hoe in 1967 has been discovered.  Here’s the incredibly rare footage of the band’s Magical Mystery Tour!  Bring back the Summer of Love!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7474139.stm

A timely celebration - as it’s 41 years to the day since the Beatles became the first band globally transmitted on television to 400 million viewers world-wide. The song, ‘All You Need is Love!’ 

Plymouth Hoe is most famous for the story that the controversial Sir Francis Drake played out his famous game of bowls at the Hoe before sailing in his fleet to face the Spanish Armada.  Sarah’s view is that bowls represents a larger version of marbles - a game which she holds with all fondness.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q45 Are you good at marbles?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument? | 1 Comment »