14/11/2008 by admin.

Many happy returns to Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who is celebrating his 60th birthday today.

The life of the heir to the throne of the UK and Commonwealth has been eventful and not without controversy, especially on his marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales.  The Prince is well known for his interest in the environment, conservation and natural foods. The landmark anniversary is significant to us given the reference in our story to the Prince of Wales’ heraldic badge.  It consists of three white feathers above a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet reads ‘Ich Dien’ - German for ‘I Serve’. Legend has it that the feathers represent those from an ostrich - another feature in our novel.

We can do all the mind games and play with your brain, but the coincidences just keep rolling in! We simply present the truth. In Mother Nature we serve!

Here’s the Prince’s thoughts on the world’s rainforests…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Cqo1Aksv4

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Star Question - what happened to the blue ribbon?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q55 Do you believe in truth?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth? | No Comments »

07/10/2008 by admin.

The newly launched WATCH TV aired the first episode of ‘Richard and Judy’s New Position’ to be shown weekdays from 8pm.  The husband and wife couple have moved across to the rebranded channel, formerly known as UKTV, from Channel 4.   The pair were renowned for their Book Club and in helping to promote up-and-coming writers. 

 How curious that they should move to the new channel: WATCH! Here’s the series trailer:

http://uktv.co.uk/watch/item/aid/607791/displayVideo/Hi

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q72 Are you a good time keeper?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason? | No Comments »

04/10/2008 by admin.

Barbara Maggs and James McLoud, a couple of toastmasters who have helped 500 weddings to run smoothly, have married each other.  The couple met four years ago and chose to tie the knot today in Thornbury.  Barbara is one of only 12 professionally-trained women toastmasters in the whole of the country.  Her role includes announcing the cutting of the cake and the after-dinner speeches.  They are understood to be the only married toastmasters in the UK.   All very interesting given the importance of love in our story and how much toast figured as Ben, Julia and Sarah first tried to make sense of the 12 ’sacred’ stones used by Sarah in an innocent game of marbles!

Meanwhile, a Torquay couple, have become the first to marry in what’s believed to be Britain’s oldest human-inhabited prehistoric cave system - Kent’s Cavern in Devon.  Axes found in the cave have been dated at 450,000 years ago.  The temperature inside the cave is a constant 14c.  Ms Woodland and Mr Duckworth offered the guests a cake with figurines of a cave man and cave woman on top!  Most curious given the talk in our tale of  ‘not going back to living in a cave!’ and the role of the Royston Cave.

Time to celebrate love in nature …

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

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q45 Are you good at marbles?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings? | 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 »

23/09/2008 by admin.

The autumn equinox is a key part of our story, so it comes as no surprise that the London edition of the cultural and events magazine Time Out is celebrating its 40th Anniversary edition.  The edition features a look back over previous iconic covers, interviews with global celebraties and identifies 40 London Heroes since the birth of the magazine.

So, we have a significant TIME OUT anniversary on the Autumn Equinox! Are we out of time to take remedial action to save our natural world? Let’s consult the Cranberries…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O28YoOIaXMA

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q24 Do you get enough time to yourself?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

12/09/2008 by admin.

A study by York University’s Centre for Sustainability has found that residents in East Hertfordshire have the largest carbon footprint out of all regions in the UK! The study claims that those living in the district are responsible for 14.68 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.  The Chair of the local environmental scrutiny committee, said, “It doesn’t surprise me. We’re a very large, rural district.  A lot of people need cars and a lot of people have very large houses, which would also contribute to the carbon footprint.” The data was collected in 2001, yet has taken a long time to analyse. Here’s a map of the area…

The findings are really curious given our story takes place in the area! Was this deliberate? Did some unseen force have an insight to the challenges which led them to reveal the magic of ‘The Haymakers Survey’ to us? Even the name of the study - Censa - is linked to our survey since Charles Lamb’s journal includes a lenghty debate on the role of the Census.  Can you keep an open mind? Are there extraordinary things inside ourselves?

Maybe its also due to 10,000 years of local history…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOp8FMrRGhQ

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q62a Is life logical?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q46 Do you value a good education? | No Comments »

07/09/2008 by admin.

At a zoo in Japan, the fur of 3 polar bears have turned green! They changed colour in July, after swimming in a pool with algae.  Masami Kurobe, an official from Higashiyama Zoo, said, ‘High temperatures in July and August and less changing of the pool’s water, because of conservation efforts, caused the algae growth.  The animals are unharmed and should return to their normal colour in November.”

How curious that the three bears should go green - is this a protest? Are they trying to tell the authorities to go green? Oh, there’s the words, BUSH IM A HAYMAKER hidden within MASAMI KUROBE, HIGASHIYAMA as well as a SAMOYED!

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? FREE CHRISTMAS PRIZE DRAW!, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

02/08/2008 by admin.

Firefighters had a surprise when they were called to rescue a sheep from the roof top of house in Middlemoor, North Yorkshire.  Three crews tried to rescue the animal after it made its way to the roof top via a kennel, shed and lower adjoining building.  The sheep eventually fell and suffered a broken leg. It was being treated by a local farmer.  The watch manager at Harrogate fire station said, “Its the first I’ve heard of a sheep getting stuck on a roof.” 

Perhaps this is Mother Nature’s way of helping Charles Lamb and his mission - shout it from the roof tops! Here’s some music from The Drifters…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06iKj7o8p9g&feature=related

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life? | No Comments »

10/07/2008 by admin.

Liverpool, The Beatles’ home city, held its first ever Beatles day today.  As if in celebration, two significant items of Beatles related memorobilia achieved remarkable sums at a rock and pop auction at Christies in London.

Top of the Pops was the hand-painted drumskin used on the front cover of the world famous 967 album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It sold for over £540,000, well in excess of the £150,000 pre-sale estimate.  The drum was designed by Sir Peter Blake. It’s regarded as arguably the most iconic image associated with The Beatles and the album cover is the most famous of all time, capturing the spirit of the Sixities. Ringo Starr summed the album with the words, “It was flower power coming into its fullest. It was love and peace…”

A close second were John Lennon’s hand written lyrics for the iconic ‘Give Peace a Chance’ which became an anthem for peace campaigners.  The lyrics reached over £420,000 - more than double the pre-sale figure.  They were written in black felt pen on a piece of white-card.  John gave the lyrics to Gail Renard a 16 year-old girl who dodged tight security at a hotel in New York to request an interview for her college magazine.

It goes without saying how significant the Lonely Hearts Club Band is to our story, and there’s flower power, of course, and Charles Lamb spoke of securing a peace between humanity and nature - no more exploitation of our world’s precious resources! Here’s the lyrics below…

As if to drum home the point, researchers say that one third of the world’s coral species are under serious threat due to pollution, coastal development, over-fishing and climate change.  These are the stark findings from the first ever global survey of its kind. The figure is alarming and the wider consequences frightening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBgh_YmY4lU&feature=related

Posted in Q66 Do you have a favourite flower?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | 1 Comment »

07/07/2008 by admin.

Readers of The Haymakers Survey will know the significance of 7 July in the story in helping to bring the ‘action now on nature’ message to the world. They’ll also know of the specific role played by Sir Peter Scott, founder of the WWF and designer of the panda emblem used by the charity.  Our story also features two identical characters - Ben Whittingbury and Captain Richard Lewin.

Curious then that a 12 year old Giant Panda, rescued from a recent quake zone in China, has given birth to twins.  They’re the first pandas to be born in captivity in 2008. Here’s the video. Warning - high cuteness factor!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7492999.stm

Meanwhile couples in London have today tangoed in silence to promote a sense of ‘compassionate togetherness’ . Wearing headphones as they danced on seven bridges and seven railway stations, it reminded Ben and Julia of their silent tango to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, as recorded in our story. Shall we dance…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7F2X3rSSCU

Maybe some were dancing in memory of lost loved ones, for it seems the spectacular sight of red poppy fields are becoming a rare-sight in Britain.  Numbers have declined dramatically over the past century because of the wildspread use of weedkillers.  Conservation charity, Plantlife, say, “It’s very sad poppy fields have become such a rarity, as they have provided the inspiration for many famous paintings.” The plant is synomous with remembrance as thousands grew on disturbed ground near the trenches during World War I.

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q50 Do you miss someone you love?, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q13 Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »