mercuryg

Why don't we see if we can get a collection together and perhaps have them displayed in the Sun itself?

Frank.

No surprise; I wasn't around then.......

. Radon discovered by whom……..not sure; priestley? 2. Chicago Ship Canal opens connecting the Mississippi with what. Atlantic? 3. Name 1900 uprising against foreigners in China. Boxer. 4. Puccini premiers which of his operas in Rome. Madame Butterfly? 5. Box Brownie launched by which company. Kodak? 6. Manufacture begins of which famous gun. not sure; Colt 45? 7. F.L. Baum published what famous book. Wizard of Oz, I think.... 8. Who is released from exile in Siberia. No idea. A very cold bloke. 9. In which USA city is there an outbreak of bubonic plague. No idea, guess at new york 10. What aeroplane is tested in Germany. This is a good question; some form of monoplane? 11. Which city hosts 2nd modern Olympic Games. Not sure, I'll go for London Which physicist reveals Quantum Theory. Not sure, Planck?

Good God Malcolm, you are a glutton for punishment! Here are my answers to the ones I think I know.....and some I've guessed at! 1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. Must be something with a handicap....haven't a clue! 2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward? Great question! Is it the Hollywood sign for some strange reason? 3 Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables? No idea! It can't be a root vegetable, so I'll guess at sprouts and cauliflower.... 4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside? Strawberry? 5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle? It grew on a bottle tree! 6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them Contentious question: dwarf, dwell, dwindle, are three, and all have variants, so I would state that there are many more than three (dwindling, dwindled, dwarfed, dwelling, dweller......etc) 7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them? full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, exclamation mark, question mark, er.......are speech marks, parenthesis and so on included? (embarrasingly I'm a professional writer.....) 8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh. lettuce? It would be pretty pointless other than fresh, after all... 9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.' Shoes, socks, sandals, slippers, snow-shoes and skis! Do I win £5?

You witnessed something very rare indeed! As for the Cramlington experience, the location suggests it was most likely a plane en-route to the airport. Sometimes speed can be misconceived.

'Wrong Kind of Cat on Line Halts Train.....'

I can only apologise! Motor racing, and it's history, is my pet subject!

The danger is in oval racing in the USA, and largely thanks to the colossal average speeds. North America has many excellent road courses - Road America (Elkhart Lake) is a superb facility, Laguna Seca one of the best driver's circuits in the world - but none that come up to F1 'standards'. Dan Wheldon, who was killed two weeks back in Las Vegas, was a friend thanks to continued involvement in my website (www.updatef1.com) and will be missed. So have I and, more importantly, so has Mr Ecclestone. When I last interviewed him - a rare opportunity that - he professed to me that he had three locations he wanted to see street races on: New York, London and Paris. There are, however, clear problems, especially that of shutting down a major city - no matter how small a part - for three days. Singapore, the greatest of the 'modern' street circuits and an instant classic - manages it by running at night; Abu Dhabi, a hit and miss affair, by being able to afford to shift all the camels into compounds. There is another problem with any US F1 race, and without wanting to alienate those who do enjoy the sport in the USA, it's that the country as a whole is not interested in it. This has been a major thorn in the side of the car manufacturers who see the US - naturally - as a major market; Honda and Toyota, both having made a recent exodus from the sport, were partly influenced by the demise of the US GP; I have no doubt Honda will be back when the new engine regulations kick in, have it on good authority that VW is also developing an engine, and there are talks of Hyundai - believe it or not - and a couple of others being interested. Securing not one, but two, races in the USA is something that will sway them to the positive. The lack of a US F1 driver also adds to the problem The best have plenty of opportunity to make a living in Indy, Nascar and so on, and do so without having to fly around the world every other weekend. The US has its own single seater legends, and they tent to be patriotic. The last 'major' US import to F1 - I am, apologies again, ignoring the Canadian Jaques Villeneuve and the many South Americans- was Michael Andretti who, in the early 90's, chose to dovetail his McLaren job with racing an Indycar back home. His schedule didn't lend itself to results, and a serious talent was squandered. Scott Speed doesn't count. If F1 can find a serious footing anywhere in the USA it's with this project, and I welcome it with open arms. The Birmingham project was interesting, but picked the wrong series. It's a little known fact that the organisers, when presenting the project, were offered the chance of a 'No Championship' F1 race with guaranteed entries, to be run back to back as a budget event with th British Grand Prix. Instead, they plumped for F3000, and lost a fortune. Lovely idea; I'll dig it out for you when I can, but we actually came close to an international touring car race around the streets of Stockton...... As always, for all your F1 latest, it's updatef1.......

Understatement Brian - you came a long way for it, too! I would write and ask them for your travelk expenses refunded.......

You might like this link (back to the subject of Big Cats, although beer is a favourite of mine....) http://britishbigcats.blogspot.com/2010/09/latest-sighting-northumberland-england.html Scroll down to 'latest sighting'.

I would go to this.

Malcolm, Very nicely done, proof read it (as I am wont to do) and it reads beautifully. Enjoyable and worthwhile, great info.

I have a desire to buy a pub simply so I could rename it 'The Otter and Parsnip', a name sadly lacking among the pantheon of traditional inns.

Indeed, it's a mad, mad, mad, made world

Thank you very much Keith and Malcolm for the helpful advice you have sent me by PM. What is odd is that I initially replied to Keith as Malcolm, before Malcolm had even sent me a message; it must be a subconscious understanding of who is likely to respond! As it happens the avenues you both suggested have been investigated - some with some success I might add - but information is always welcome. As someone who set up his own business a few years ago with the help of local enterprise agencies (NBSL and the now defunct Wansbeck Works, for whom I was the last customer) and who has worked closely with Go Wansbeck in the past few months on this latter project it saddens me to see the government claiming that it will help small businesses when Go Wansbeck, for instance, is 95% certain to be shut down in the very near future. My particular business needed little capital investment - I am a freelance copywriter mainly dealing in website content, and all I needed was a laptop and a desk and chair - but when you look at the empty retail units on Bedlington Front Street and consider the many hoops that we have had to jump through - some seriously tinged with fire - for my friend to get even close to realising her dream it is no wonder the town is in the state it is. Once again thank you gentlemen for your advice; we are, at least, a little further step forward.

Keith Thank you very much for the reply and for the PM. I will keep your number in case I need to talk to you. It was in fact NBSL who helped with my business start up, and they were indeed extremely helpful. The problem my friend has (she, I might add!) is that she has no collateral, and the banks are not interested in forwarding loans secured on a start up business. It is extremely frustrating as she really does have an excellent idea. That we are having trouble finding a suitable loan is getting her down. If any of the contacts you have might be able to discuss a loan suitable for these circumstances I would be interested to hear. Good luck, meanwhile, as starting my own business has changed my life.

I'm reaching out to the local populace here; helping a friend with a business start up in Bedlington and having trouble getting over the final hurdle - funding! Anybody have any experience of getting a loan for business start up in the region? I would be interested in any advice. We have Go Wansbeck on board but need more, and there seem to be large brick walls in the way all over the place. Let me know....

Do we actually have that sort of money to throw around? I must say when I watched the moment when London was awarded the Games I'm sure I heard a collective sigh of relief from the 'losing' candidates.

I'm not sure about that; the BBC will be showing all the races, albeit some in highlight form - the details of which are yet to be explained - and not live. Given the time difference to the asian races - which will be among the non-live offerings - many people watch the re-run nyway rather than get up in the middle of the night. I can't see this deal lasting until 2018, however.

Couldn't agree more Malcolm. On the news yesterday, broadcasting from the 'wonderful' new Aquatics Centre, they seemed very pleased to keep telling me it cost £269,000,000 (written in figures to emphasise) to build. Surely there are international spec swimming pools already in this country? Surely, I would have thought, there is one in London, somewhere? £269,000,000 is, I remind you, just for the Aquatics Centre. What's the total bill? How are they going to recoup it? I didn't agree to paying for it, can I have my share back?

I think I shall join you good folk in this venture.

While the sentiment of this post is spot on - the Norway event certainly was a tragedy - I think the opening sentence needs a little more thinking about. Not disagreeing with you Keith - I have no sympathy for those who choose to ruin their lives in such a fashion - but I would hasten to add that had Amy Winehouse NOT been in the public eye, and led a simple ordinary life like the rest of us with a boring, mundane nine to five job, the chances are she would not have been in the situation that ended her tragically short life. I agree with the original poster who commented on those who, in her immediate circle, did nothing; nearly always it is those surrounded by the wrong people who end up dead like this. Yes, she had a choice, but so did all in her close circle.

What would they expect anywhere? Such a limited scope business will never be sustainable. It's a waste of a useful shop unit.

It is now a restaurant only. I would say that more people are eating there, but have noticed that those who tend to drink there have simply migrated from their previous bars primarily for the cheap beer. He's worth a look as he's incredibly handsome. As for the attitude of the staff I have no complaints; they are - to a man/woman - pleasant and helpful, if a little lacking in urgency. I have come to the conclusion this is a Wetherspoons trait rather than one relating to the specific staff at the Lion. When busy, the problem of delayed service is due entirely to teh food being ordered at the same stations as the drink. If they instigated a specific area for ordering food there would be no problem.