15/03/2011 by admin.

The official 2012 Olympics clock in Trafalgar Square has stopped just one day after it was unveiled. The clock is designed to count down by days, hours, minutes and seconds. The digital clock stopped at 500 days and 07:06:56. Officials from Omega are investigating the techincal problems.

The clock has the controversial LDN 2012 logo at its head and we have our own version of the logo. It forms the shape of a large dog - Malachi, the Messenger. 

All most mysterious as early in our novel Ben Whittenbury asks what use is a watch for we need to stop the clocks on the consumption of the world’s finite resources. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_a-eXIoyYA

Posted in Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

24/02/2011 by admin.

The Haymakers Survey uses art as a medium to help inspire love for Nature. Well. there’s an award winning museum and art gallery in Sandhurst, Gloucestershire which is the world’s first dedicated to art inspired by Nature.  Aside from the aesthetic and cultural appeal of what it has to offer we’re drawn to it today because of magical events in neighbouring Quedgeley.

The village of Quedgeley has close connections with the RAF. Its official name was No 7 Maintenance Unit, RAF Quedgeley with the motto, Omnibus Ubique Servimus which means, “We Serve All, Everywhere”.  Interesting…

The Haymakers Survey tells how if you put a frog in a jar of water and slowly heat it the frog will die as it fails to react in time to the threat that eventually brings its demise. It’s a parable often used to highlight the threat to humanity presented by global warming.  Is it just coincidence then that Donna Hunt discovered a tropical tree frog amongst strawberries purchased from her local Tesco store in Quedgeley? She found it at the bottom of her fridge and thought at first it was a mouldy strawberry. Is this rare event so close to the home of Nature in Art a clear message that humanity needs to ‘cool down’ the Earth by reducing its CO2 emmissions and moving away from our dependency on oil?

We’re not the story tellers - Mother Nature is. Is it weird or what?

http://nature-in-art.org.uk/

Maybe the frog arrived with a message from the creator…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4o8TeqKhgY&feature=related

Posted in Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q53 Do you prefer to keep warm?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

22/11/2010 by admin.

This weekend the eight remaining contestants in the X-Factor performed songs by the legendary Beatles. After a short message from Sir Paul Mccartney we witnessed performances of “Imagine, Yesterday, Come Together, Help, Something, Let It Be, All You Need Is Love.” Given the significance of The Beatles and the X-Factor the combination amuses us as it could almost be a covert message to show the need to help Mother Nature through love - which is the whole point of our project.  

We shouldn’t of course forget a quirky melody by Wagner of “Hey Jude, Hippy Hippy Shake and Get Back.” Wagner has not been without his critics, which comes as no surprise since two years ago Malachi our Messenger warned us in light hearted fashion about Wagner and his Ring Cycle linked to Nordic myth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0PpTPvbr-4

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

13/10/2010 by admin.

‘Mision cumplida Chile’ was the sign held up by the rescue workers after they returned 33 trapped miners to the surface. ‘ means in English ‘Mission accomplished Chile!’

The world watched in joyful awe and wonder amid suspense and jubiliance the miners returned to life to be greeted by loved ones. Each had their own stories to tell and reacted in their own personal way to being rescued.  The miners survived underground for a record 68 to 69 days.  As one story put it the miners claimed, “A deep religious faith powered this rescue; miners, rescuers and families alike believe their prayers were answered.”  The Chilean president declared the rescue a miracle.

Our previous item on the event captured the links with The Haymakers Survey - essentially about living in a cave and the biblical conclusion ‘ out of the depths I cried unto the’.  There are some other coincidences…

The second miner to be rescued brought rocks to the surface as momentoes: our novel refers to the magical stones and the biblical reference ‘I tell you with these stones I can raise children’.

Whilst another miner asked when he got to the surface, ”how the’s dog?’” we wonder if this was in reality a testament to Malachi -our messenger.  

It leads us to conclude that the whole episode is a message to humanity - that we can achieve great things together against all odds and that there’s a task to be done - to take proper care of this fragile Earth!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGecqHnN2gQ

Posted in Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q69 Do you put off to tomorrow what you could do today?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q57 Have you ever spied on anyone?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q32 Are you afraid of the dark?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q50 Do you miss someone you love?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

12/07/2010 by admin.

Mother Nature has claimed the World Cup!

Well at least Paul the Octopus has been awarded a replica version of the football world cup after he successfully predicted the winners of eight matches - seven involving Germany and the final itself.   He does so by choosing between two clear plastic boxes each with the flag of competing nations. The odds of completing this remarkable feat were less than 0.5%!  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10603065.stm 

The psychic cephalopod was born in Weymouth, Dorset England but now entertains the world from the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen, Germany.  Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and home to the biggest shopping mall in Germany! The octupus’ name derives from the title of a poem by the German children’s writer Boy Lornsen Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus. 

We’re intriqued by Paul’s exploits as this extract from page 19 of our novel says:

‘Q7: Have you ever dreamed of being a champion? As a fan of football or soccer as its known in America, Ben did. He used the dream of lifting the world cup to admiring crowd. Hey, here’s the thing, if Ben - no if all of us - work together and turn around global warming  or at least its impact we’ll win that cup. Look around you - the World cup is everywhere and its ours for the taking!”

Is it also coincidence that Britain and the United States have experienced a heatwave throughout the period of the tournament? Paul also happens to share the same name as Sir Paul McCartney the lead singer of The Beatles. Now that the Octupus has retired some are calling for him to be released into the sea. We featured ‘The Octupus’ Garden’ in our posting of 18 May. Time for a reprise…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CvE7mIq8YQ&feature=related

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q16 Have you ever had a psychic experience?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

05/05/2010 by admin.

A horse named Chase has become the first ‘animal ambulance’ in Britain.  Chase will be kitted up with a medical kit and will work with his paramedic owner Mark Bennett who patrols Cannock Chase Country Park in Staffordshire. Chase will be galloping to the aid of people across a 3,000 acre country park.  The seven year old steed starts work with the West Midlands Ambulance Service in June and Mark says, “it might sound crazy but this horse really could save lives. He’s very switched on and fast which is what you need in an emergency.”

We agree but for different reasons. The opening scenes in our novel (see online sample) includes the appearance of a steed galloping to the aid of Mother Nature… with a message from a mysterious Lady in Grey (she symbolises the industrial world) that its not too late to save her Mother Nature. There’s an uncanny resemblance between Chase and the horse recorded in our novel. It’s a nine neigh nine call!

Posted in Q72 Are you a good time keeper?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q60 Have you ever experienced deja vu?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q17 Can you speak another language?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

06/04/2010 by admin.

The rules of the word game Scrabble are being changed for the first time in the game’s history to allow the use of proper nouns. Place names, company names or brands will now count. Mattel hope the change will encourage more younger users. Interesting since the scrabble board helped Sarah - then in her early teens - reveal the anagram magic within ‘The Haymakers Survey’.  Scrabble was invented in 1938 by the American architect Alfred Butts - which is a teasing surname in itself.

Posted in Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

03/04/2010 by admin.

Following his slaying of Goliath last November, another world success for the British heavyweight boxer Haye. The champion defended his world crown in nine rounds against the contender John Ruiz.  David ‘The Hayemaker’ Haye became only the second man to stop Ruiz and only the first for 14 years. The Hayemaker’s reign has just started….

Its a powerful message given the role of Bill Richmond the boxer in our story - and the plea that environmentalists need to get tough!

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

23/02/2010 by admin.

A copy of the first comic featuring Superman sold for $1m yesterday, smashing the previous record for a Marvel comic.  The issue of a 1938 edition of Action Comics No 1 considered the Holy Grail of comic books originally cost just 10 cents.  On the cover Superman is seen running with a damaged car held aloft above his head. Ben Whittingbury - our Earth Champion elect take heart.

Posted in Q11 Do you believe in justice?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | 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 »