22/09/2008 by admin.

Summer? What summer? The season officially ended yesterday - in an ironic blaze of sunshine.  But the warm weather could not save this year’s summer from a place in the worst top ten on record. There was 14 inches of rain and 464 hourse of sunshine - 7% less than the average.  As mentioned earlier on our ‘Watch’ August was a particularly gloomy month.  The poor weather was blamed on a jet-stream of fast winds high over Britain which blocked warm weather arriving from Southern Europe.  All very interesting given Mary Shelley’s role in our story and the reference to ‘A year without a summer’ which led to her writing the famous Frankenstien story.

Meanwhile, the number of fake £1 coins in circulation has doubled over the past 5 years, and now stands at nearly 30 million.  A Survey conducted by the Royal Mint revealed some 2% of £1 coins are now fake.  There are ways to tell a forgery from the real thing, you just need to know what you’re looking for. This curious to us given our discovery of coins from the Maundy Ceremony and Julia’s observation, “Are the coins genuine?’ Coincidence?

And finally, habitat loss is contributing to the worldwide decline of populations of common birds, with Birdlife International reporting fa fall in numbers of 45% of Europe’s common birds.  Farmland birds were the worst affected with the number of European Turtle Doves falling by 79%.  The study shows that environmental degregation is having a major impact, not just on birds but on bio-diversity in general.  Readers may recall how Emma Isola and Ralph Emerson sing a lament to the newly weds, Captain Lewin and Lady Katharine on Christmas Eve, which is all about two Turtle Doves!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCB4-JWZ1kQ&feature=related

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q28 Have you ever lived in poverty?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

29/07/2008 by admin.

In Humberside, England, a young romantic named Robert ploughed a proposal for his sweetheart to marry him. The message read ‘Sarah Marry Me’.  He then flew his surprised girlfriend of 10 years over the field. Sarah was amazed, and shed a few tears. She accepted at once, saying the magic words, ‘I do’. 

The Blakesware Set must be delighted. Our Sarah hopes that one day someone might do something similar for her!

Another celebration - The National Areonautical and Space Administration (NASA) are celebrating 50 years since they were established.  The highlights are many - orbiting the Earth, landing on the Moon and adventures into our solar system.  The most famous quote remains, ‘One step for a man, one giant step for mankind,’ and echoed in The Haymakers Survey.  NASAs motto is ‘For the benefit of all’.  NASA’s Office of Education’s motto is ‘Shaping the Future’. 

We recommend a visit to NASA’s website to witness all they’ve achieved.

 http://www.nasa.gov/50th/home/index.html

We come down-to-Earth with a visit to the West Midlands and a safari park to rejoice at the sight of six rare white lion cubs, which is remarkable since according to African legend white lions are a lucky charm and only come along once every 100 years.   Take a peep at the darling cubs…

Word for word, letter for letter, their names are Star, Haze, Neptune, Ariel, Oberon and Ophelia. Fortunately, none are made of stone, unlike Uncle John Plumer’s lion head statue!

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q42 Do you enjoy drawing?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

20/06/2008 by admin.

In June 1938 the comic book hero Superman first appeared in Action Comics.  Seventy years on and some 40,000 superman fans have descended upon Metropolis, Illinois the superhero’s home town.  Superman’s widely considered the most famous and popluar of superheroes.  He lives amongst humans as a mild-mannered reporter for the ‘Daily Planet’. Here’s a video of the winner of this year’s ‘best superman’.  Pity, Ben Whittenbury’s nowhere to be seen. Perhaps that’s because Julia made clear that he’s not a superhero.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W643-Tixzao&feature=related

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

20/05/2008 by admin.

A flying fish has set a new world record, travelling through the air for 45 seconds - breaking the previous record by 3 seconds.  The fish was caught on camera by a ferry doing about 30 kilometres per hour.  Here’s the amazing video…

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3u7diLCfU&feature=related

Odd how Bill Richmond mentioned how he’d seen ‘fish fall from the sky’ during the Blakesware Set’s debate about the potential value of The Haymakers Survey. 

Meanwhile, a park ranger at Central Park, Peterborough, has been adopted by a baby grey squirrel.  The animal has been named Oakley Junior. It formed a bond with Mr Swift after it was abandoned by its family.  Mr Swift said, “I put out my hand and he jumped on. He looked adoringly at me then clamoured all over me.”  Oakley has won the hearts of local staff. Mr Swift joked that he plans to train him to pick up litter, claiming Oakley would e happy with the wages, as they get peanuts!”

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »