St David's Day - March 1st

St David's Day - March 1st

Saint David, or Dewi Sant as he's called in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales. His day is 1st March.

His influence is shown in the number of churches dedicated to him in Wales and the celebrations each Saint David's Day.
Saint David factfile

There aren't many facts about St David; but here are the only undisputed ones.

* He really existed
* He was at the heart of the Welsh church in the 6th century
* He came from an aristocratic family in West Wales
* His mother was a saint, Saint Non
* His teacher was also a saint, St Paulinus
* He founded a large monastery in West Wales
* He was one of the early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of Western Britain
* He became Archbishop of Wales, but remained in his community at Menevia (now called St Davids)
* He was active in supressing the Pelagian heresy
* His shrine became a great place of pilgrimage; four visits to the shrine at St David's were considered the equivalent of two to Rome, and one to Jerusalem!

The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him.

Most information about the Saint comes from a biography written by Rhygyfarch in the eleventh century. But because it was written so long after the Saint's death, it isn't likely to be very reliable.

Anyway, Rhygyfarch was a bit of a spin-doctor, and slanted his book to make the case for the Welsh church being independent of Canterbury. One writer describes Rhygyfarch's book as "chiefly a tissue of inventions".

So most of what we know about Saint David is really legend; and none the less inspiring for it.
Before his birth

The first legend is set 30 years before David was born when an angel foretold his birth to Saint Patrick.
The legend of his birth

Saint David's father was a prince called Sant, son of the King of Cardigan.

His mother, Non, was the daughter of a local chieftan (and possibly the niece of King Arthur).

But David wasn't the child of a love-filled marriage. He was born after his father either seduced or raped Non, who went on to become a nun.

Non left her family and gave birth by the sea. So intense was the birth that her fingers left marks where she grasped the rocks.

As David was born a bolt of lightning from heaven struck the rock and split it in two.
The legend of his baptism

St David was baptised by Saint Elvis of Munster, and it is said that a blind man was cured by the water used for the baptism.
David's early life, and another legend

David was schooled at the local monastery, Hen Fynyw, which is south of present day Aberaeron, and was taught by Paulinus, a blind monk.

David cured Paulinus of his blindness by making the sign of the cross. Realising that David was a special and holy person, Paulinus sent him off as a missionary to convert the pagan people of Britain.

David the monk

In the course of his travels, David is said to have founded twelve monasteries.
David escapes poison

At one of his monasteries David became so unpopular with his monks for the life of austerity he made them live, that they tried to poison him.

David was warned about this by St Scuthyn, who travelled from Ireland on the back of a sea-monster for the purpose.

David blessed the poisoned bread and ate it; and came to no harm.

David was a great church leader, but not in the sense of a present day bishop or archbishop.

He was a prophet and a teacher, a man of prayer and a miracle worker.

He was the heart of the monastic community he founded in what is now St Davids, and through his direct teaching, and the work of the monks he influenced, he shaped the spirituality of his time and place.
A monk's life

David believed that monks should live simply, and he prescribed a harsh life for his followers.

As well as praying and celebrating mass, the brothers had to work hard.

They rose at dawn for prayer, and then worked in the monastery and the fields around it. David would not allow them to make animals work for them, but made them pull the plough themselves, saying, "every man his own ox."

And while they worked, they continued to pray.

They had a spare diet, too, eating only vegetables and bread, and having only milk and water to drink.

St David himself drank only water, and is sometimes known in Welsh as 'Dewi Ddyfrwr' (David the water drinker).

St David's monks were expected to remain silent, except for prayer or in emergency.

But though it was a hard life, David's holiness and personal charisma were enough to hold the community together in the service of God.

The example of his life, and the modernity of his most famous saying - that we should concentrate on "doing the little things in God's presence with conscientiousness and devotion," make St David a figure with a very contemporary appeal.

St David is often shown with a dove on his shoulder. The bird symbolises the Holy Spirit which gave David the gift of eloquence as he preached the Good News of Christianity.

But although he was a great preacher, the message by which St David is most remembered is not a flowery piece of preaching but a simple statement about simplicity. It comes from his last sermon...

In his last sermon David told his monks to "do the little things, the small things you've seen me doing".

Archbishop Rowan Williams thinks that phrase resonates with modern people because...

...it reminds us that the primary things for us are the relationships around us, the need to work at what's under our hands, what's within our reach.

We can transform our domestic, our family relationships, our national life to some extent, if we do that with focus and concentration in the presence of God.
Rowan Williams

BBC gardening expert Smith dies

Gardener, broadcaster and writer Geoffrey Smith has died aged 80.

He appeared on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time for 20 years and created one of the great gardens of northern England - Harrogate's Harlow Carr.

Gardening was his great joy as well as his work. "If I am depressed, or I think the world's a filthy place, I just go and look at a flower," he said.

His BBC2 series Geoffrey Smith's World of Flowers was watched by more than five million viewers.

They were attracted by his philosophy that plants have unique personalities, share human feelings and "need as much pampering as women".

He presented several series on BBC2, including Gardeners' World.

Life's tonic

Mr Smith was an old school gardener and staunch Yorkshireman with a golden rule: "Put the brown end in the soil, the green end above it, and you're in with a much better chance."

He was proud to grow plants in Yorkshire which were thought unsuitable for a northern climate, saying it was a "confidence born of ignorance".

He decided his life's work would be outdoors after a year at boarding school, where he felt "incarcerated" and had to leave.

Mr Smith trained with his father for six years, then at horticultural college.

At the age of 26, he was made superintendent of the garden at Harlow Carr, where he worked for 20 years.

Gardening, he believed, put the world to rights.

"Some people go to the whisky bottle," he said. "I go into the garden."

SEE RHS VIEWPOINT

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Nicolas Sarkozy collects stamps.
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2. Doodling aids memory.
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3. Peanut allergies have trebled in the past decade.
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4. Wendy Richard was in Up Pompeii.
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5. The biggest underground machine in the world mines salt in Cheshire.
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6. There are two types of intelligence.
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7. About 1,000 people in the UK lose their voice box annually.
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8. Hitler spared Blackpool because he wanted to use it as his personal playground.
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9. Fleeces were part of the acid-house scene in the 1980s.
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10. Rio has a Sambadrome.
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Actress Wendy Richard dies at 65

Former EastEnders actress Wendy Richard has died at the age of 65, her agent has confirmed.

The star, who played Pauline Fowler in the BBC One soap opera for 21 years, had been suffering from cancer.

Her agent Kevin Francis said: "She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end."

Last October, Richard revealed she had an aggressive, terminal form of cancer. Soon after that she married her long-term partner John Burns.

Wendy Richard was in EastEnders for 21 years Obituary: Wendy Richard

Francis said the star passed away in the Harley Street Clinic in London with her husband by her side.

'True professional'

In an interview with the Sunday Express last year, Richard revealed she had already planned her funeral and written her will.

She discovered the disease had returned after her usual annual check-up, which revealed cancerous cells in her left armpit.

She told the paper: "Now I have a cancerous growth on my right kidney and the cancer has spread to my bones.

"It's more aggressive this time, unfortunately, and has spread to the top of my spine and left ribs."

Have Your Say

A world without Ms Brahms is a sad place.

Richard Smith, London

Bill Treacher, who played Richard's on-screen husband Arthur Fowler in EastEnders, said the actress was a "true professional".

"We worked together for over 11 years and we never once had an argument," he said.

June Brown, who also co-starred in EastEnders as Dot Branning, said: "I loved working with her. We were good partners, we really enjoyed our scenes and that's why I missed her so much when she left."

"She was a very kind woman, particularly if anybody was ill. She would rush round finding doctors, and she was always giving you unexpected presents," she added.

Veteran actress Mollie Sugden who appeared in Are You Being Served? with Richard described her as "a daughter I never had and I shall never stop missing her".

'Funny and witty'

THE CAREER OF WENDY RICHARD 1965 Aged 22, joins the cast of soap The Newcomers 1970-73 Stars in four episodes of Dad's Army as Private Walker's girlfriend, Shirley 1972 Plays Miss Willing in Carry On Matron 1972-85 Stars as Miss Brahms in the series Are You Being Served? (pictured) 1985-2006 Appears in more than 1,400 episodes of EastEnders as Pauline Fowler 2008 Films her last TV role as Mrs Crump in Marple: A Pocket Full Of Rye

Presenter Dale Winton had known Richard for years.

"I'm very saddened to hear the news, she was a real fighter and actually a very kind and funny lady in her own right," he said.

"My thoughts are with her family, she will be missed."

In 2000, Richard was awarded the MBE for services to television and in 2007 she was given a British Soap Award for Lifetime Achievement for her role in EastEnders.

As well as her 21 years on Albert Square, Richard starred in sitcoms Are You Being Served?, Dad's Army and Grace and Favour.

She joined EastEnders when the programme began in 1985 and remained in it until 2006, when her character died.

The reason she gave for her departure was because she objected to a storyline that saw her character remarry.

"I left because I wasn't happy," she revealed in 2008. "Also, I couldn't believe in what they wanted me to do and unless I can find some truth in what I am doing, I cannot play it.

"Pauline remarrying was wrong. Some women never remarry. My mother never remarried after Daddy died. I always had it in my heart that Arthur was Pauline's husband and that was that."

The Simpsons to break US record

A new episode of The Simpsons is to premiere in the UK for the first time

Animated comedy The Simpsons is to become the longest-running prime-time series in US TV history after makers Fox ordered another two seasons.

The show is currently in its 20th season which matches the record of Western drama Gunsmoke, shown on CBS, which ended in 1975.

The 21st season will begin in the autumn with the 22nd airing next year.

The Simpsons was first shown in December 1989, and made its UK debut on Sky in September 1990.

The new commission of 44 episodes over two seasons will bring the total number of shows to 493.

The popular cartoon, featuring Bart, Homer, Marge and other residents of Springfield, has received 24 Emmy awards in its 20 years on screen.

Next month, a new episode of The Simpsons is to have its premiere in the UK for the first time in the show's history.

New episodes are usually shown in the US on Fox a week before being shown on Sky1 in the UK.

In The Name Of The Grandfather, a St Patrick's Day special which details a family holiday to Ireland, will be shown on Sky1 on 17 March.

'Oldest English words' identified

Medieval manuscripts give linguists clues about more recent changes

Some of the oldest words in English have been identified, scientists say.

Reading University researchers claim "I", "we", "two" and "three" are among the most ancient, dating back tens of thousands of years.

Their computer model analyses the rate of change of words in English and the languages that share a common heritage.

The team says it can predict which words are likely to become extinct - citing "squeeze", "guts", "stick" and "bad" as probable first casualties.

Across the Indo-European languages - which includes most of the languages spoken from Europe to the Indian subcontinent - the vocal sound made to express a given concept can be similar.

New words for a concept can arise in a given language, utilising different sounds, in turn giving a clue to a word's relative age in the language.

At the root of the Reading University effort is a lexicon of 200 words that is not specific to culture or technology, and is thereby likely to represent concepts that have not changed across nations or millennia.

"We have lists of words that linguists have produced for us that tell us if two words in related languages actually derive from a common ancestral word," said Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading.

"We have descriptions of the ways we think words change and their ability to change into other words, and those descriptions can be turned into a mathematical language," he added.

When we speak to each other we're playing this massive game of Chinese whispers Mark Pagel, University of Reading

The researchers used the university's IBM supercomputer to track the known relations between words, in order to develop estimates of how long ago a given ancestral word diverged in two different languages.

They have integrated that into an algorithm that will produce a list of words relevant to a given date.

"You type in a date in the past or in the future and it will give you a list of words that would have changed going back in time or will change going into the future," Professor Pagel told BBC News.

"From that list you can derive a phrasebook of words you could use if you tried to show up and talk to, for example, William the Conqueror.

"The words he would've used would've derived from a different common ancestral word to the English words that we're using today."

However, the model cannot offer a guess as to what the ancestral words were, only that they are not shared across languages.

Dirty business

What the researchers found was that the frequency with which a word is used relates to how slowly it changes through time, so that the most common words tend to be the oldest ones.

For example, the words "I" and "who" are among the oldest, along with the words "two", "three", and "five". The word "one" is only slightly younger.

English time-travellers would need to figure out William's word for 'bird'

The word "four" experienced a linguistic evolutionary leap that makes it significantly younger in English and different from other Indo-European languages.

Meanwhile, the fastest-changing words are projected to die out and be replaced by other words much sooner.

For example, "dirty" is a rapidly changing word; currently there are 46 different ways of saying it in the Indo-European languages, all words that are unrelated to each other. As a result, it is likely to die out soon in English, along with "stick" and "guts".

Verbs also tend to change quite quickly, so "push", "turn", "wipe" and "stab" appear to be heading for the lexicographer's chopping block.

Again, the model cannot predict what words may change to; those linguistic changes are according to Professor Pagel "anybody's guess".

High fidelity

"We think some of these words are as ancient as 40,000 years old. The sound used to make those words would have been used by all speakers of the Indo-European languages throughout history," Professor Pagel said.

"Here's a sound that has been connected to a meaning - and it's a mostly arbitrary connection - yet that sound has persisted for those tens of thousands of years."

The work casts an interesting light on the connection between concepts and language in the human brain, and provides an interesting insight into the evolution of a dynamic set of words.

"If you've ever played 'Chinese whispers', what comes out the end is usually gibberish, and more or less when we speak to each other we're playing this massive game of Chinese whispers. Yet our language can somehow retain its fidelity."

When is a wine drinker not a wine drinker?

Irregular wine drinkers in the UK choose wine mainly from Australia, but France, Spain and Italy are the countries of origin that more regular drinkers turn to, according to new research.

A report by wine researchers Wine Intelligence, assessing wines based on frequency of consumption, says that Australian wines do not figure in the top three of wines drunk by frequent wine consumers.

Wine Intelligence asked a sample of the public which source countries they drank from in the past six months, and then which one country they drank from most frequently. This provided a ranking of countries of origin for infrequent drinkers - a 'usage' measure.

It then asked consumers who drink wine from a given range of countries at least once every three months how many times they drank wines from each country within the range during that period. This provided a ranking for people who have a wide portfolio of source countries, but would perhaps only drink wine from certain countries infrequently throughout the year - a 'frequency' measure.

Under the first measures, the top three ran Australia, France, South Africa. Under the second, it changed to France, Spain, Italy.

Richard Halstead, chief operating officer at Wine Intelligence said: “Both measures have a role in helping us understand consumer relationships with different countries of origin. More specifically, for those that do well in the ‘usage’ measure, we can hypothesize that they are better at establishing some kind of relationship with consumers, be it through better distribution, or being seen as particularly appropriate for a certain occasion.

“For those countries doing well at the ‘frequency’ measure, the suggestion would be that consumers are using them across a number of occasions, or perhaps that there is a correlation between frequent drinkers and buyers of wine from these countries.”

French minister says wine is fine after all!!!

As a follow up to last week's post on the evils of wine, the Health Minister has just injected a little common sense in the debate. Roselyne Bachelot says that alcohol should be consumed in a "reasonable, cultural and balanced" way. That's Bachelot with the pink champagne above, with Xavier Bertrand, the new boss of President Sarkozy's Mouvement Populaire party.

Bachelot noted the conclusion of the cancer institute that a single glass of wine a day more than doubled the risk of certain types of cancer. But she added: "We are a country that produces wine. I enjoy a glass with my meals. Banning wine in our country is impossible and not desirable."

Growers are reassured. They are also pleased that the Government does not, as they feared, intend to forbid wine-tasting at winery cellars and food fairs. This prospect had arisen because a new law will ban open bars at public social events. This is intended to discourage youngsters from getting drunk. These as-much-as you-can-drink venues are said to contribute to the rapid spread of British-style binge-drinking among French teenagers and students. Wine-tasting has nothing to do with this, said Bachelot. "I have never heard of wine growers offering as much as people want. They usually just put a little drop in the glass."

The industry was also pleased to hear from Bachelot that the government will not prevent them from advertising and selling on the internet. A new law will set rules on the net and the alcohol trade. No pop-up advertising will be allowed and none will be tolerated on sites for sports or young people. But vineyards can continue to promote their produce and take electronic orders.

Give up wine, French government says......

In the midst of the winter gloom, President Sarkozy's administration has chosen this moment to tell its people to stop drinking wine. You are hearing right. The Ministry of Health has issued rules for reducing the risk of cancer and one of the main ones is never drink alcohol.

"The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged," say guidelines that are drawn from the findings of the National Cancer Institute (INCA). A single glass of wine per day will raise your chance of contracting cancer by up to 168 percent, it says.

Not surprisingly, the wine producers are seeing red. Forget those 1980s findings that anti-oxidants in wine were good for your health. "Small daily doses of alcohol are the most harmful. There is no amount, however small, which is good for you," said Dominique Maraninchi, INCA's president.

Of course this is not new. Experts around the world have been telling people to go dry if they want to stay healthy. But it's sobering when the authorities in France, a country where wine is part of life and the national heritage, decide that it's time for everyone to get on the wagon.

The pleasantly-illustrated ministry brochure makes grim reading. In the interests of prevention, the INCA collated hundreds of international studies and summarized the relation between types of cancer with food, drink and life-style. As you can guess, apart from wine, the dangerous stuff is red meat, charcuterie, salt and so on. Sentences like this do not do much for the appetite: "The risk of colon-rectal cancer rises by 29 percent per 100 gramme portion of red meat per day and 21 percent per 50 gramme portion of charcuterie."

Being over-weight greatly increases risks of certain types of cancer. As well as eating a balanced diet, the ministry tells us to undertake 30 minutes of vigorous exercise at least five days a week.

Alcohol facilitates cancers of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, colon-rectum, and breast, says the guidelines. "The cause is above all the transformation of ethanol in alcohol to acetaldehyde, which damages DNA in healthy cells."

The wine producers are calling foul, accusing the "ayatollahs" of the health lobby of trying to kill one of the glories of the nation. They are noting the suspicious coincidence that France now has its' first tee-total president. Nicolas Sarkozy sips mineral water and orange juice when all around him are knocking back the Champagne and Burgundy (Carla Bruni, his wife, is not so abstemious and both she and Sarko are smokers). "This persecution of wine has to stop," said the General Association of Wine Producers. The growers say that the scientific evidence is contradictory and they point to a World Health Organisation study that found that moderate consumption had a preventive effect against cancer.

Xavier de Volontat, president of the producers' assocation in the southwestern Languedoc region, told us by phone today: "The extremists must not be allowed to take consumers hostage... Wine consumption has dropped by 50 percent over the last 20 years in France but cancer has increased. You have to admit, that's a paradox."

"We never said that alcohol is not dangerous for health," de Volontat said. "We give advice on our internet sites and at public events. We are for responsible, reasonable and moderate consumption. .. It is not in our interest to see our consumers dying of cancer or in car accidents."

I would like to believe Mr de Volontat and his fellow growers. It's hard to imagine a good meal in France without wine (if you're not working, driving or piloting planes afterwards). But I remember reporting similar defensive arguments from the tobacco industry when they were fighting cancer claims in the 1980s.

Recognising that the French people are not super-human, the ministry says that if you are unable to stop entirely, the main thing is to drink only occasionally. It's wishful thinking, I suppose, to imagine that maybe an extra dose of my daily exercise will cancel the damage from the daily wine.

Eu, the little French town that wants a longer name

Last week the English city of Birmingham caused a furore when it dropped apostrophes from street names. The reason was confusion over spelling for satellite navigation. An elegant Norman town near the English Channel has come up with a similar high-tech problem. It wants to change its name because internet searches are unable to find it -- and because the lady mayor may be a little embarrassed.

The town of 8,000 on the border of Normandy and Picardy is called Eu. It is an honorable, ancient name that has featured in literature and is appreciated by cross-word enthusiasts. It is pronounced in the same way as "euh", the delaying sound in French speech that corresponds to err or um in English.

Eu, which is close to the coastal town of Tréport has been suffering from a drop in holiday visitors and they think they know the reason: the internet. People booking on line are not directed to the town's fine hotels and inns because search engines fail to recognise a two-letter place name which is the same as the past participle of the verb avoir (J'ai eu, pronounced roughly like the letter U in English, means I had). It also does not help that EU stands for European Union in English. Further complicating Eu's problem is the fact that two other French words are pronounced the same way: eux, meaning them and oeufs, meaning eggs.

After making only 7,700 euros in hotel visitor tax instead of the expected 24,000, Marie-Françoise Gaouyer, the new Socialist Mayor of Eu (above), has set out to add a few more letters. She has an extra good reason for doing so. Try saying her title in French. La Maire d'Eu (The Mayor[ess] of Eu) is pronounced the same as La merde (sorry for spelling out what will be obvious to most here).

Because of that, the town hall stationery carries the careful heading "Mairie de la Ville d’Eu". (...of the Town of Eu) That is one of the possibilities for a new name, along with Eu-en-Normandie or Eu-le-Château. That's its historic château in the picture.

Of course the change is being resisted by locals who are not keen on bowing to the internet. Eric Pradels, owner of the town's main newspaper shop, told Paris Normandie newspaper that he likes the quirky name: "When people ask my address, I hear them hesitate. They think that I have not finished my sentence. That gives me a chance to talk about the town."

Jean-Claude Andréoni, another local, said: "If people don't know it, we say near Tréport. Or Dieppe. There is no way it is going to be changed because of the internet."

Madame la Maire says that it will take four years to make the change. This requires a council vote, a referendum, a parliamentary act and approval by the President's cabinet of ministers.

A pilot's footnote: Eu has a nice little aerodrome. It's almost impossible for English weekend flyers to state their destination on the radio as "Eu". So the airfield is called Eu-Mer (pronounced roughly 'Ermer' in English).

Storm in a pint glass over black lager launches

-Budvar is trialling fount technology that will allow the blending of its Original and Dark beers

Controversial Scottish micro BrewDog is launching what it claims is the UK's first mass-market commercially available black lager.

But Budvar, a brewer that would dispute that claim, has also launched a new innovative serve based around its black lager.

BrewDog’s Zeitgeist is an example of lager as the beer style used to appear before the invention of lighter Pilsners in the 1840s.

“Zeitgeist is an idiosyncratic, alternative black lager, said James Watt, MD of Brewdog, a brewer that has been in the news recently for its disputes with alcohol watchdog the Portman Group. "It seeks to recreate the spirit, attitude and autonomy of an age gone by. Its inspiration is found more than 200 years ago. Zeitgeist takes an age-old classic, a forgotten masterpiece and gives it relevance and an avant-garde edge.”

Meanwhile, indecisive drinkers torn between a pint of Budvar Original and Budvar Dark can now choose a combination of the two – Half and Half.

On trial at the Lord John Russell, in King’s Cross, London, a third tap on the font has been activated so drinkers can get a mix of the two brews. It could become commonplace in pubs that stock Budvar on draught.

Budvar UK spokesman Denis Cox, said: “This is the first one but it is how we are going to present it at other outlets and hopefully there will be a few takers. People have been drinking it in other places anyway by just mixing the two together.

“With every duo-fount there is a third tap that can be easily activated by a technician to do the job.”

The taste has been described as similar to that of a “classy mild and bitter.”

Fry, Dee and Brydon take on Clue

The three new presenters have all appeared as panellists on the show

Stephen Fry, Jack Dee and Rob Brydon are to share hosting duties for a new series of BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue this summer.

The series, which begins recording in April, will be aired in June and will be the show's first appearance since host Humphrey Lyttelton died in 2008.

Comedian Brydon said he was "hugely proud" to be asked to present.

Lyttelton, famed for his innuendo, died in April, aged 86. He was chairman of the series since its 1972 inception.

He died following complications from surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm.

Just before the operation, the BBC had announced it was cancelling recording of the latest series of the show.

People don't do it for the money, they do it for the enjoyment of it and it's a unique radio show and one that I think we're all hugely proud of Rob Brydon

Gavin and Stacey star Brydon, who like all the new presenters has appeared as a guest panellist on the show, said it was "not really a question of filling Humph's shoes because that couldn't be done - he was a complete one-off".

"I'm a real latecomer to it, I only came to it about three years ago but I'm so proud to be a small part of it and this is really just about continuing that lovely atmosphere.

"People don't do it for the money, they do it for the enjoyment of it and it's a unique radio show and one that I think we're all hugely proud of."

He added: "It's a unique atmosphere on that show of such warmth that I've never really found on any other show and I think it's important for people to realise that it's a group of friends playing games together."

'E-mail torrent'

Regular panellist Barry Cryer, who has also appeared on the show since the beginning, said Lyttelton's were "big shoes to fill".

Humphrey Lyttelton (second left) died in April at the age of 86

"It was a strange sort of watershed when dear Humph went, there was a relatively small movement that you must never do this show again," he said.

"And then a torrent of e-mails and stuff came in saying you must go on, you must go on.

"It's no disrespect to Humph at all.

"It's just people want the show to carry on and we'll be pleased to do it, even without the great man."

Announcing the changes on the station's blog, Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer said the new presenters were "men of huge talent and I am confident that the show will work".

Veteran trumpeter Lyttelton retired from hosting Radio 2's The Best of Jazz programme a month before his death after more than 40 years presenting the show.

Eurovision 2009 Norway finals winner Alexander Rybak & FRIKAR dance company

Alexander Rybak and FRIKAR dance company win Eurovision 2009 Norway with "Fairytale" getting 75% of the votes. Alexander is famous for winning the Norwegian TV program "Kjempesjansen" and the play "Fiddler on the roof", while FRIKAR dance company has got success in So you think you can dance Scandinavia, Norways got talents and has brought the traditional acrobatic Norwegian dance to the European stages of ballet and music. FRIKAR got traditional and contemporary dancers, break dancers, capoeira dancers and sircus artists in the crew. The dance in this clip is called halling

The Oscars 2009

Here is the full list of winners at the 81st Academy Awards, which have been held in Los Angeles.

Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Frost/Nixon; Milk; The Reader

Sean Penn shook as he used a scrap of paper to thank people for his award

Best director: Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: Stephen Daldry - The Reader; David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon; Gus Van Sant - Milk

Best actor: Sean Penn - Milk
Also nominated: Richard Jenkins - The Visitor; Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon; Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Best actress: Kate Winslet - The Reader
Also nominated: Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married; Angelina Jolie - Changeling; Melissa Leo - Frozen River; Meryl Streep - Doubt

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Also nominated: Josh Brolin - Milk; Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder; Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt; Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Also nominated: Amy Adams - Doubt; Viola Davis - Doubt; Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Best original screenplay: Milk
Also nominated: Happy-Go-Lucky; Wall-E; In Bruges; Frozen River

Best adapted screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Doubt; Frost/Nixon; The Reader

Best animated feature film: Wall-E
Also nominated: Bolt; Kung Fu Panda

Best animated short film: La Maison en Petits Cubes
Also nominated: Lavatory - Lovestory; Oktapodi; Presto; This Way Up

Best foreign language film: Departures - Japan
Also nominated: Revanche - Austria; The Class - France; The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany; Waltz With Bashir - Israel

Best documentary feature: Man on Wire
Also nominated: The Betrayal; Encounters at the End of the World; The Garden; Trouble The Water

Best documentary short subject: Smile Pinki
Also nominated: The Conscience of Nhem En; The Final Inch; The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

Art direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Also nominated: Changeling; The Dark Knight; The Duchess; Revolutionary Road

Costume design: The Duchess
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Australia; Milk; Revolutionary Road

Make-up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Also nominated: The Dark Knight; Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Changeling; The Dark Knight; The Reader

Best live action short film: Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Also nominated: Auf der Strecke (On The Line); Manon on the Asphalt; New Boy; The Pig

Visual effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Also nominated: The Dark Knight; Iron Man

Sound editing: The Dark Knight
Also nominated: Iron Man; Wanted; Slumdog Millionaire; Wall-E

Sound mixing: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Wanted; Wall-E

Film editing:Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Frost/Nixon; Milk

Best original score: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Defiance; Milk; Slumdog Millionaire; Wall-E

Best original song: Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: Down To Earth - Wall-E; O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire

Hi-De-Hi!'s Yvonne dies aged 78

Holland with her on-screen husband Barry Howard in Hi-De-Hi!

Comic actress Diane Holland, who played condescending dance instructor Yvonne Stewart-Hargreaves in holiday camp sitcom Hi-De-Hi!, has died aged 78.

The star had a long career on stage and screen, with roles in Crossroads, Casualty and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.

She had been suffering from bronchial pneumonia and died on 24 January.

"She had a very dry sense of humour, extremely kind-hearted," said her agent, Bo Keller, adding: "I miss her very much."

Holland's character in Hi-De-Hi! was a former ballroom dancing champion, horrified at having been reduced to working in a holiday camp.

If any of the youngsters coming in today were like her in terms of attitude, this would be a wonderful profession to be in Bo Keller, Diane Holland's agent

Along with her screen husband, Barry, she fought to preserve her dignity against the backdrop of donkey races and drab living quarters.

A typical episode saw the pair forced to put on a children's show, grimacing through a play about "drinking a glass of sunshine" while dressed as a pixie and a fairy.

Although they were largely incidental characters in the series, Yvonne's snooty asides - "Barry, don't be so common" - were often a highlight of the show.

However, the actress said she was "not at all" like her character. "I would hate people to think that," she said.

'Real trouper'

Keller agreed, saying his client had been "a joy to look after".

"If any of the youngsters coming in today were like her in terms of attitude, this would be a wonderful profession to be in," he added.

She won plaudits for her role in Casualty in 2001

"She was a real trouper. You could throw anything at her and she'd do it."

Holland started her career in musical theatre and, until recently, performed Christmas recitals at the Royal Opera House in London.

One of her favourite roles was that of the maiden aunt in the Royal Ballet's TV production of The Nutcracker.

She also turned her hand to dramatic roles, winning critical acclaim for her portrayal of a terminally ill patient in Casualty.

Holland's sister, Gilda Perry, is also an actress and is married to Hi-De-Hi! and Dad's Army scriptwriter Jimmy Perry.

A private family funeral will be held on 28 February, followed by a public memorial "in the spring".

ELO member Groucutt dies, aged 63

Kelly Groucutt played with ELO between 1974 and 1983

Kelly Groucutt, the bass player in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), has died aged 63.

He suffered a heart attack on Wednesday night and was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital but did not regain consciousness and died on Thursday.

Groucutt, who also sang on the Birmingham band's records, joined the group in 1974 and left in 1983.

His friend Mike Sheridan, of Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders, said he was "gob smacked" by the news.

He added: "When I heard the news this afternoon I just couldn't believe it. He seemed to be such a fit guy."

Groucutt played with The Sight and Sound before joining ELO and was an influential figure in the Brum Beat scene of the 1960s

Dame Vera loses out on old songs

Many of Dame Vera's songs are free of copyright

Dame Vera Lynn is reportedly outraged over the inclusion, without her consent, of her famous song, The White Cliffs of Dover, on a CD sold to raise funds for the far-right British National Party (BNP).

But the 91-year-old former forces' sweetheart - who is said to be consulting her lawyers - is unlikely to win any legal battle against the BNP.

This is because, like many other older musicians, she has lost the rights over any material she recorded more than 50 years ago.

Now that may change, as a directive currently working its way through the European parliament will, if passed and then approved by the Council of Ministers, extend performers' copyright beyond the current limit.

The rules aim to extend performers' copyright to up to 95 years after songs were recorded.

It would mean that performers, or their heirs, and their record companies would be paid every time their old recordings - which would be copyright-free under current rules - were broadcast.

There is nothing to stop a creative person using an old recording as part of their work - as long as they do not release it Record industry source

Downloading old songs would also come at a price - with recording companies likely to get the lion's share of any money to be made.

The rules would not be retrospective, and would apply only to songs about to slip out of copyright.

But the appetite for change is being partially driven by the prospect of huge amounts of popular material from the 1960s - such as Beatles songs - becoming royalty-free over the next few years.

Supporters - including Dame Vera and Sir Cliff Richard - say it is unfair long-standing musicians lose rights over their own material in their lifetimes.

They say it denies them income which they honestly earned.

But critics say the new rules will "stifle creativity" and that it is the record companies, not the artists who will benefit most.

Showbusiness lawyer Nigel Angel - who represents Dame Vera - said he had "nothing to add" on the reported row between his client and the BNP.

But he confirmed that other older musicians he represented were concerned at losing out on royalty income in their later years.

"Some of them have no pensions and need this money," he said. "You are either gifted or good at business. It's rare to be both."

HITS AFFECTED BY CHANGE Lonnie Donegan - My Old Man's A Dustman Everly Brothers - Cathy's Clown Eddie Cochrane - Three Steps To Heaven Johnny Kidd and The Pirates - Shakin' All Over Shadows - Apache Ricky Valence - Tell Laura I Love Her Roy Orbison - Only The Lonely Elvis Presley - It's Now Or Never

Jonathan Morrish of PPL - which represents the rights of 38,000 performers and their record companies - said "millions" of songs would be lifted into copyright if the rules were changed.

"About 90% of our performers earn less that £15,000 a year, and even a few hundred pounds extra would mean an awful lot to them."

Negotiations are ongoing about precisely how long performers' copyright should last.

A few countries - like the Netherlands - have opposed any change to current rules.

The record industry favours 95 years, but UK ministers say this period "goes beyond" what is necessary to protect performers' interests.

The CD being sold by the BNP is also available from many other outlets

Intellectual property minister David Lammy confirmed that performers "should be protected throughout their lifetime."

A European Parliament source confirmed that a compromise 70-year extension was currently being discussed.

Opponents of copyright extension say any benefits accruing to older performers are outweighed by the "stifling of creativity".

Professor Lionel Bently, of Cambridge University's Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law, said extending copyright risked putting thousands of recordings - free to use under current rules - out of the reach of other artists and fans.

"For instance, it means that someone who wants to put up a website about, for example, the history of jazz will now have to seek permission and pay for the recordings," he said.

"It probably would not be worth their while."

Artists who wanted to use part of an old recording as part of a new work would be affected, he added.

And he estimated consumers and broadcasters would pay about £2bn extra for music and other recordings if copyright was extended to 95 years.

The Beatles back catalogue is worth many millions of pounds

Critics also accuse the recording industry of backing copyright extension because it is they, rather than the performers, who will benefit most.

Jim Killock, of the Open Rights Group, said research had shown that an estimated 80% of of extra money earned by copyright extension would go to recording companies, rather than artists.

"Extension won't help incentivise creativity or aid our artists," he added.

Critics also say the extension will lead to many older songs languishing unheard in record companies' back catalogues and unheard - a prediction record companies dispute.

They argue that copyright extension will encourage firms to digitise and release old songs - because there is money to be made from them.

An industry source told the BBC that record companies were determined to lobby for a 95-year copyright extension, arguing it would "harmonise" Europe with the US.

Said the source: "The 'creativity' argument is based on ignorance.

"There is nothing to stop a creative person using an old recording as part of their work - as long as they do not release it.

"If they do want to release it - and perhaps make money from it themselves - then they need to seek permission from the originator and pay them a fair price."

Easy login plans gather pace

Open ID compare their system with a credit card - as opposed to the "cash" of passwords

Plans for a system that would allow people to use one username and password across the internet have moved closer with a number of popular sites agreeing to the scheme in recent weeks.

Earlier this month Facebook became the most recent site to sign up to OpenID, joining the board of the scheme that provides users with a single digital identity which can then be used across many websites.

Microsoft and Google were early adopters of the single sign-on scheme, and have since been joined by the likes of AOL, Yahoo, IBM and PayPal.

"The idea is that just as you can use e-mail anywhere on the web to sign up for a new service, you should be able to do the same thing with an Open ID - but without having to create a new password," Chris Messina, an Open ID board member told BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme.

'Reusable and durable'

Mr Messina, who describes himself as a "social web advocate," said that Open ID would be much more convenient than the current system of individuals having to create separate accounts for each website they visit.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you could just use these accounts over and over again without having to divulge a password?" he said.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE More from Digital Planet Download the Digital Planet Podcast

"That would also mean you have to remember fewer passwords, and gives you more control over your online personas.

"Longer term though, it is also important that people are able to establish themselves on the web in a way that is reusable and durable - so they can create connections from one place to another, and those connections go with them."

He admitted that the risk of what would happen if Open ID got hacked was "a very good question" - but added that the risks in the current system are even greater.

"A lot of people on a lot of websites today require you to sign up and provide an e-mail address in the case of forgetting your password and things of that nature, so they can send you a link with a new password to access your account," he said.

"The problem though is that, since you're using only one or two e-mail addresses, if your e-mail gets hacked then not only can you be locked out of your e-mail account but nefarious parties could then use your e-mail to reset all of your different passwords.

"The difference here is that with Open ID, you're able to choose the level of security that you might use. This allows you to avoid being stuck in the situation where you're giving passwords away to a number of different websites."

Different solutions

It is also hoped that the Open ID system will reduce people's vulnerability to phishing scams, as they will not be typing in their username and password into a fake website set up to get their personal details.

Facebook are now on the board of the Open ID scheme

Additionally, Mr Messina said Open ID will be the key to unlocking what has been termed "cloud computing" - the practice of doing traditionally desktop-based tasks, such as word processing or accounting, on the web.

"Just as e-mail created the boom over the last 10 years in terms of the way people communicate, Open ID should lead the next wave forward in terms of collaborating online," he said.

Technology commentator Bill Thompson said cloud computing requires a sophisticated identification system of the type that Open ID offers.

However, he added that this did not automatically mean Open ID was the best option.

"It's just one solution to the problem," he said.

"There's no guarantee Open ID will be the one that takes off - but at the moment it is well-placed to do so."

Digital Planet is broadcast on BBCWorld Service on Tuesday at 1232 GMT and repeated at 1632 GMT, 2032 GMT and on Wednesday at 0032 GMT.

You can listen onlineor download the podcast.

Galaxy hunt draws massive traffic

Users can classify as many galaxies as they like

An online initiative which asks members of the public to classify galaxies recorded unprecedented traffic in its first 48 hours.

The venture is a follow-up to the Galaxy Zoo project launched in 2007.

Co-founder Dr Chris Lintott said the website had been getting 12 clicks per second in its first two days.

He said members of the public had answered some two million questions about galaxies in the database during that same period.

"To put that in perspective, we think it would have taken a PhD student working non-stop nearly eight months to match that," Dr Lintott, from the University of Oxford, told BBC News.

The more people take part the more accurate the results are Dr Chris Lintott, University of Oxford

The site's founders say that, by working together, the public have proven to be just as good at galaxy-spotting as professional astronomers.

The original site asked web users to say whether a galaxy was spiral or elliptical, and which way it was rotating.

Galaxy Zoo 2 asks them to delve deeper into 250,000 of the brightest and best galaxies to describe any distinctive or unusual features about them. It was launched on 17 February.

Dr Stephen Bamford, an astronomer at the University of Nottingham, commented: "This project is a fantastic opportunity for people to experience the wonder of space and learn about astronomy and science in a fun and engaging way."

Some of the galaxies that are being classified by Galaxy Zoo

Visitors to the site have come from more than 164 different countries.

Dr Lintott, who also co-presents the BBC's Sky At Night programme, said the number of people who had contributed to Galaxy Zoo and its successor Galaxy Zoo 2 was now larger than the population of Sunderland.

However, he said, those behind the site wanted to recruit even more people.

"There are 250,000 galaxies in our database, and the more people take part, the more accurate the results are," he said.

Professor Bob Nichol, from the University of Portsmouth, and a member of the original website team, said: "Personally, the most exciting aspect of projects like Galaxy Zoo is the immediate response they obtain.

"Scientists can ask questions in their office and then, within days, or even hours, have thousands of assistants working with them. It means we can ask bigger and bolder questions as we are empowered by 'people power'."

Technical lead Dr Arfon Smith of Oxford said he had battled to keep the website online due to the heavy traffic.

Galaxy Zoo 2 includes a feature that allows users to pit galaxies against each other, based on their relative properties. In addition, site members can compete against their friends to describe more objects as well as record their best finds.

'Superguns' of Elizabeth I's navy

Test firing a replica Elizabethan cannon The English navy at around the time of the Armada was evolving revolutionary new tactics, according to new research. Tests on cannon recovered from an Elizabethan warship suggest it carried powerful cast iron guns, of uniform size, firing standard ammunition. "This marked the beginning of a kind of mechanisation of war," says naval historian Professor Eric Grove of Salford University. "The ship is now a gun platform in a way that it wasn't before." FIND OUT MORE Timewatch: Elizabeth's Lost Guns BBC Two, 2000 GMT, Sat 21 Feb It is also available to UK viewers for seven days on the BBC iPlayer Marine archaeologist Mensun Bound from Oxford University adds: "Elizabeth's navy created the first ever set of uniform cannon, capable of firing the same size shot in a deadly barrage. "[Her] navy made a giant leap forward in the way men fought at sea, years ahead of England's enemies, and which was still being used to devastating effect by Nelson 200 years later." Deadly artillery Until now, it was thought Queen Elizabeth was using the same cannon technology as her father, Henry VIII. His flagship, the Mary Rose, was ultra-modern for its day. However, it carried a bewildering variety of cannon - many designed for land warfare. They were all of different shapes and sizes, fired different shot at different rates with different killing power. Elizabeth's navy created the first ever set of uniform cannon, capable of firing the same size shot in a deadly barrage Mensun Bound, Marine archaeologist It is known that during Elizabeth's reign, English sailors and gunners became greatly feared. For example, at the beginning of Henry VIII's reign, the English fleet was forced to retreat from heavily armed French galleys. By the time of Elizabeth, even Phillip of Spain was warning of the deadly English artillery. But no-one has ever been able to clearly show why this was. The new research follows the discovery of the first wreck of an Elizabethan fighting ship off Alderney in the Channel Islands, thought to date from around 1592, just four years after the Spanish Armada. The ship was a pinnace, a small ship carrying 12 guns, two of which have been recovered. "There's a very good chance this ship fought against the Armada with its revolutionary guns, but there's no proof that all or even some of the others were armed similarly," says Saul David, historian and presenter of a BBC Timewatch documentary about the guns. "Bear in mind that our ship is a pinnace and not a full-size warship. So it is probably going too far to say these guns defeated the Armada four years earlier. Saul David and Mensun Bound examine a recovered cannon "But they certainly represent a huge leap forward in military technology and may have contributed to the Spanish defeat." Spain attempted to invade England in 1588 with 200 ships. The Spanish were unable to overcome the English navy, but there were also other reasons for the defeat. The English used fire ships in a night attack, the Spanish lacked a good deep water harbour to load their troops and they were eventually scattered by a storm. At the time, Spain was Europe's superpower and Philip II wanted Elizabeth's throne and to return England to Catholicism. Replica cannon The two cannon were recovered from the Alderney wreck last summer. Replicas were recreated in a modern foundry, and tests carried out for the Timewatch documentary showed that the Elizabethans were throwing shot at almost the speed of sound. The only way to learn about their power was to recreate a cannon Elizabeth's "supergun", although relatively small, could hit a target a mile away. At a ship-to-ship fighting distance of about 100 yards, the ball would have sufficient punch to penetrate the oak planks of a galleon, travelling across the deck and out the other side. Elizabeth's navy worked out that a few big guns were less effective than a lot of small guns, all the same, all firing at once. The English navy stood up to the Spanish Armada. But, perhaps more significantly, as England's reputation for naval prowess was growing, Philip abandoned any further attempts at invasion. "What we have shown is that the English navy and its gun founders were almost 50 years ahead of their time technologically," concludes Mensun Bound. This made Elizabeth I the mother of British naval dominance lasting three centuries.

Watch more clips at the BBC Timewatchwebsite.

Shepherds flock to indoor trials

Watch sheepdog Stan training for the competition indoors in Ceredigion Hill farmers are normally a hardy bunch but now they are getting a little comfort - their latest sheepdog trials are being held indoors. The idea is to give spectators a chance to see their shepherding skills at closer quarters. A dozen competitors from across Wales are flocking to Pontrhydfendigaid, Ceredigion in what is thought to be the UK's first indoor trials. "This will be a first for the sport," said pavilion manager Owain Schiavone. Some of Wales' top shepherds will battle it out for the Berthlwyd crystal bowl at Bont Pavilion, Pontrhydfendigaid, near Aberystwyth. Hundreds of people are expected to attend shepherds battle it out for the Berthlwyd crystal bowl at Bont Pavilion near Aberystwyth. Not baaad - sheep inside the pavilion near Aberystwyth Mr Schiavone added: "For the first time ever an audience of hundreds will be able to enjoy the sport from the comfort of their seats. "This will be a first for the sport, first staged in Wales in 1873 by entrepreneur R J Lloyd Price of Rhiwlas, Bala. The rules set down by Lloyd Price then exist almost unchanged today." 'Closer than usual' He said the indoor venture was the brainchild of sheepdog enthusiast Charles Arch. Mr Arch said: "People will be able to sit or stand, watch a large screen, whatever the weather. "I came here one day and saw the building empty, I realised there was a lot more room here than i thought and I saw the potential for this kind of event. "The interest has been unbelievable. They will be able to witness the relationship and partnership between dog and master far closer than usual, and appreciate the special craft involved."

Bulgarian challenges chess record

Kiril Georgiev's opponents faced a long wait between moves

A Bulgarian grandmaster has begun 360 chess matches in an attempt to break the world record for the number of games played simultaneously.

Kiril Georgiev is working his way up and down rows of tables at which his rivals are seated, in the Inter Expo Center in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

He needs to win 80% of the games to beat a record set by Hungarian-American chess champion Susan Polgar in 2005.

She played 326 games, winning 309, drawing 14 and losing three.

On her blog, she advised the Bulgarian grandmaster to wear comfortable shoes.

Mr Georgiev is a three-time Bulgarian national champion and a former under-18 world champion, according to the Bulgarian News Network.

It said his opponents, ranging in age from children to pensioners, were chosen from a pool of 600.

Journey's end for Flight Simulator

FSX replicates real airports

The news that Microsoft has disbanded the team developing its successful Flight Simulator computer game has come as a shock to virtual aviators like Mike Smartt. He looks back at almost 30 years of taking off and occasionally landing safely in the world's longest gaming franchise.

It's supposed to be the computer game that grown-ups can own up to playing.

For years, Microsoft's Flight Simulator set the standard. Initially, the bar was low as the processing and graphics power of early home computers - like Sinclair's rubber Spectrum - struggled with the demands of replicating global air travel.

But in the early 1980s, as others were still guiding blips across black-and-white screens playing Pong, the thrill of attempting to land a single-engine Cessna, in colour in Flight Simulator's first iteration, was fun unsurpassed.

Never mind that it looked as if the instrument panel in your plane was cardboard stuck on with superglue and the runway facing you was a single dark strip in a featureless yellow field - and that was supposed to be Heathrow. You just had to use your imagination.

What every simmer dreams about is being called on to land an actual plane in an emergency. Job cuts ground Flight Simulator

Twenty-seven years and many updates later, FSX - Flight Simulator Ten - uses the muscle of today's high-end PCs to reproduce faithfully most of the world's airports in millions of colours in minute detail. Cities and landscapes look exactly as they do from the air in real life and air-traffic control instructions for final approach crackle continuously, and often confusingly, over the cockpit intercom.

And still the appeal remains a mystery to many.

With today's computer games, you can wipe out an entire German Panzer division, navigate Formula One's most challenging circuits and manage your football team in the European Championships, all without leaving the comfort of the chair at your PC. So flying an imaginary Boeing 757 from Stansted to Sarajevo in real-time can seem pretty tame.

But later versions of Microsoft FS do seem to "flight simmers", as we are known, to be just like doing the real thing. And more importantly, those who actually do the real thing say it's like that too.

Passenger applause

As one real-world pilot writes: "As a pilot, I use Microsoft Flight Simulator for training scenarios and often fly to a new airport virtually before flying there for real."

Of course, what every simmer dreams about is being called on to land an actual plane in an emergency. A trembling stewardess announces over the public address that both flyers upfront are suffering debilitating convulsions from the in-flight catering and has anyone flown an Airbus before?

"Er, not really but ….." you splutter.

You are the last hope and with increasing confidence and cool, you inform ground-control that the myriad of dials and gauges you face, once the ailing captain has been hauled from his seat, are second-nature. Eventually, you plop the aircraft on the runway with a couple of harmless bounces, just for dramatic effect, and applause from the passenger-cabin rings in your ears.

Taking the controls of a real plane is a 'simmer's' dream

That, of course, is one of the few times you would actually admit to being a simmer in normal company. My wife once informed a telephoning friend that I was "flying around the Australian outback" which gained me more respect than Aretha Franklin until she explained, after which I was never treated in quite the same way again by that particular mate.

Now Microsoft has announced that the special team of developers who have been updating Flight Simulator constantly for a generation is no more. And when asked why and what happens now, Microsoft HQ have chosen to give about the same amount of information you get at most departure gates enquiring about flight delays. Zilch.

Flight simmers (and there are millions of them, believe me - just google Flight Simulator) are devastated. Branded by many as sad nerds, today they really are, at least, the former.

As one asked quite reasonably, why would Microsoft kill off one of the few activities for which they attract much affection?

Tough times

It may be that FSX is so good that further improving the franchise on a computer screen is almost impossible. It may be that yes, the number of people who get a kick out of spending hours at the controls of a pretend aeroplane at which no-one is shooting maybe quite large but there are few new recruits.

It could just be that games are not Microsoft's thing and it is true that there are few in-house success stories. So in tough financial times, concentrating on core activities is a good idea.

One could speculate for hours. But sorry folks, my 14.30 take-off to Lucerne awaits and in five minutes I miss my slot.

Baboon book makes award shortlist

Baboon Metaphysics is an investigation of the primates' social structures

Shortlists for major literary prizes often leave casual readers scratching their heads, as they wonder why such acclaimed novels have passed them by.

But even avid bookworms may have missed out on Baboon Metaphysics, which is up for this year's Diagram Prize.

The award, which is run by The Bookseller magazine, aims to reveal the oddest book title of the last year.

Five more titles, including Strip And Knit With Style, have been shortlisted. A public vote will decide the winner.

'Problematic'

The Diagram Prize has been running since 1978 under the watchful eye of The Bookseller's Horace Bent.

Announcing this year's shortlist, the columnist said he had never found it "so problematic to pick a shortlist of just six".

"At a time when the economic climate is forbidding and cost-cutting companies are ten-a-penny, I'm proud to report that the British publishing industry has remained as stubborn in the face of change as ever," he added.

Bent's colleague Philip Stone revealed some of the titles which failed to make the grade - including Excrement in the Late Middle Ages and All Dogs Have ADHD.

The 2008 shortlist is as follows:

• Baboon Metaphysics by Dorothy L Cheney and Robert M Seyfarth

• Curbside Consultation of the Colon by Brooks D Cash

• The Large Sieve and its Applications by Emmanuel Kowalski

• Strip and Knit with Style by Mark Hordyszynski

• Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring by Lietai Yang

• The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais by Professor Philip M Parker

Last year's winner was If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs by "celebrity bodyguard" Big Boom.

"So effective is the title that you don't even need to read the book itself," noted the Bookseller's deputy editor, Joel Rickett.

The self-help tome took 33 per cent of the public vote. I Was Tortured By The Pygmy Love Queen came a close second, on 20 per cent.

Third place was taken by Cheese Problems Solved - which was described by its publishers as providing "responses to 200 or so of the most commonly asked questions about cheese".

This year's winner will be revealed on 27 March.

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Elephants kiss.
More details

2. Members of the public can be New York police officers for one day.
More details

3. The Catholic Church studies confessions.
More details

4. British "superguns" defeated the Spanish Armada.
More details

5. Hitler had bad table manners.
More details (The Times)

6. Injured turtles can wear artificial flippers.
More details (ABC Australia)

7. Pills can banish bad memories.
More details

8. Grizzly bears hate getting their ears wet.
More details

9. "Prawo Jadzy" means "driving licence" in Polish and is not a real name.
More details

10. Chimps can log on.
More details

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Danton wreck found in deep water

The Danton was carrying over 1,000 men at the time

A French battleship sunk in 1917 by a German submarine has been discovered in remarkable condition on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Danton, with many of its gun turrets still intact, is sitting upright in over 1,000m of water.

It was found by the Fugro geosciences company during a survey for a gas pipeline between Algeria and Italy.

The Danton, which sank with 296 sailors still onboard, lies 35km southwest of the island of Corsica.

Naval historians record that the Danton's Captain Delage stood on the bridge with his officers and made no attempt to leave the ship as it went down.

The French government is now keen to see that the site is protected.

"Its condition is extraordinary," said Rob Hawkins, project director with Fugro GeoConsulting Limited.

"After it was hit by the torpedoes, the Danton clearly turned turtle and rotated several times. You can see where it dropped some infrastructure on the way down and then impacted on the seabed.

"You can see where it slid along the seabed before coming to a rest," he told BBC News.

The wreck is just off the point where the southern pipeline meets Sardina

A comparison with the original plans for the battleship - in particular, the position of its 240mm guns - confirms the wreck's identity.

The final resting place is a few kilometres from where people have traditionally thought the ship met its end.

"The French Admiralty did argue with us for a while that it should have been several nautical miles away, but we reminded them that modern GPS methods are more accurate than the sextants they used in those days," said Mr Hawkins.

Details of the discovery were released on Thursday at a press conference at the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

The pipeline is being built by the Galsi (Gasdotto Algeria Sardegna Italia) consortium and will be the deepest underwater conduit for gas ever constructed when it becomes operational in 2012.

Finding a safe route for it was extremely challenging, said Mr Hawkins.

About 20% of the course lies on the abyssal plain in water depths of about 2,850m. There are also steep descents from the continental shelf.

Fugro can deploy an array of geophysical survey equipment

Fugro deployed its Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to gather bathymetric (depth) and geophysical data.

It also used Remotely Operated Vehicles to make more detailed surveys of particular locations, such as where sediment conditions were uncertain or the route crossed known submarine telecommunications cables.

The discovery of the Danton, named after the French revolutionary Georges Danton, requires the gas feed must take a slight detour to avoid the war grave.

The ship was one of the most advanced in the French Navy at the time of its loss, although it was already outclassed by the newer HMS Dreadnought design being introduced by the British.

The 19,000-tonne, 150m-long vessel was carrying over 1,000 men when it was attacked by Germany's U-64 submarine at 1317 on 18 March, 1917. Patrol boats and a destroyer managed to save most of those onboard.

The Danton was travelling between Toulon and Corfu, where it was due to meet up with other vessels in the French fleet. Many of those making the trip were actually crewmembers for the other ships at Corfu.

'I get my kicks from plastic bricks'

Work doesn't have to be a chore. For the second in our series on dream children's careers, Lucy Rodgers meets a man who never outgrew a childhood passion for building with Lego.

Guy Bagley has single-handedly designed and built some of the most famous buildings in the world - including a large part of London - down to the very last brick.

Follow the yellow, blue, green and red brick road: One of Guy's creations

But the 37-year-old master builder didn't have to lift a trowel or use a single digger - because his architectural creations are built entirely out of Lego.

Guy is the chief model maker at one of Britain's most popular theme parks, Legoland, and is paid to construct the thousands of sculptures at the park, much to the envy of the attraction's many younger visitors.

But, instead of a future of building out of coloured bricks, when Guy was a little boy he had the rather more common dream of being a train driver.

"I had Lego as a child, but I never thought I would be doing this for a living," he laughs.

Millions of pieces

Guy heads a 12-strong team which spends its days maintaining as well as designing and building models - from six-piece pigeons to a huge Boeing 747 cockpit made out of 2.2 million bricks.

They start their working day at 7am, before the park opens its gates, when existing models are checked for wear and tear and made safe for visitors. They then spend time coming up with new ideas for attractions, designing them and making them a colourful reality.

LEGO FACTS Company founded in 1934 More than 400bn bricks made Voted Britain's top toy in 2008 survey

There are almost 55 million plastic pieces, or "elements", currently in use at the park. All are the "bog standard" bricks that can be bought in 10 colours at any toy shop, Guy explains, so in theory anyone could replicate any of his models.

It was the noted modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who believed "architecture began when two bricks were put together". Guy Bagley remains truer to that description than just about any real world architect.

He particularly enthuses about the merits of the classic eight-stud brick because, he says, "no matter what you build it is used".

The team is busy because the park is always evolving, with the large Miniland London section regularly updated to reflect current events, such as the addition of mini runners when the capital's marathon is taking place.

"We are adding lots of new things constantly - it is an obsession," confesses Guy, who regularly finds himself on a busman's holiday when building models at home for his young son.

Team 'undefeated'

Some of the largest models Guy has worked on, such as the dragons or the replica of US landmark the Empire State Building, can take the builders half a year to complete.

I wouldn't change it [his job] for all the tea in China Guy Bagley

According to Guy, the hardest task with Lego is getting the required level of detail using bricks. But, he says proudly, his team has not yet been defeated by any challenge thrown at them.

"Everything we have been asked to do we have done - down to the Boeing cockpit," he says.

For Guy, the greatest job satisfaction comes when he reveals his creations to the public for the first time.

"When you build a model and bolt it down and see guests admiring it, that's a high," he says. But even dream jobs have a downside, and for Guy, it's not the elements he builds with but the elements most of us avoid by working in a warm office - the weather. The cold and a rain make things less pleasant, he says.

So, what does it take to follow in Guy's footsteps? The right attitude is essential, he believes.

LEGO BUILDERS Salary: General model makers £19,000-£30,000+ Numbers: 12 UK Legoland builders Breaking in: Take courses in art and design, keep a portfolio of work Source: Legoland/Careers Advice

"Being a child at heart. You have a lot of fun in the job. You have to get on with people - it is a very people place. You need a passion for it."

As for skills, a background in art and design can help, he says, and practice is crucial.

"You can train. Like anything experience is important - the ability to turn a two dimensional image into a three-dimensional model."

Lego test

While others in his team come from work in theatre set design or sign making, Guy started as an industrial model maker. While constructing architectural models, he was commissioned to create one for the then new Legoland. This led to a prized interview and the job itself.

Guy gets the most satisfaction from seeing visitors with his models

"It was very much a case of being in the right place at the right time," he says. As part of the selection process, Guy was given a box of plastic bricks and an hour to build either an animal or a building from scratch. And, he recalls, his resulting parrot succeeded in winning over his future bosses.

But he admits: "I could do better now."

Guy advises would-be professional model builders to keep a portfolio of their work, including the designs and photographs of their best creations. But, most of all, they should "keep the passion going", he says.

However, any of those wanting to jump into Guy's shoes any time soon may face a long wait. After 16-and-a-half years in the job, he declares he will not give it up without a fight.

"I wouldn't change it for all the tea in China."

Jacksons star in Nigeria resort row

Visitors can contemplate the horror of slavery from their luxury rooms

One of pop superstar Michael Jackson's brothers, Marlon, is involved in a controversial plan to develop a $3.4bn (£2.4bn) slavery memorial and luxury resort in Badagry, Nigeria.

The historic slave port is to be transformed through the bizarre combination of a slave history theme park and a museum dedicated to double Grammy-winning pop-soul group the Jackson Five.

The idea is that the band will help attract African-American tourists keen to trace their roots back to Nigeria.

The men behind the plan say it will honour the history of the transatlantic slave trade and provide employment opportunities for Nigerians.

But the plan has been condemned by Nigerian commentators.

Slave tourism

The African-American history trail is worth billions of dollars, the developers say.

Ghana and Senegal have successfully turned slave ports into tourist attractions.

The Jackson Five got discos moving in the 1970s and the 1980s

The developers say the Badagry Historical Resort will be marketed to African-American tourists as a mixture of luxury tourist attractions and historical education.

Visitors will be able to see the route their ancestors walked, shackled together as they were whipped toward the "point of no return".

They can then retire to their five-star hotel to drink cocktails by the pool.

Visitors will be able to pay their respects at the site of a mass grave for those who died before boarding ships across the Atlantic Ocean.

And then travel a few yards in a buggy to play a round of golf.

They can visit a replica slave ship to see the conditions Africans suffered, before visiting the world's only museum dedicated to the career of the Jackson Five.

Academics believe up to two million people died during the transatlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th Centuries.

The Jacksons' upbeat tunes like ABC and Blame it on the Boogie enlivened US and UK discos throughout the 1970s.

On display at the museum will be animatronic vignettes of the band, memorabilia and "holographic displays" of the group that launched the career of Michael Jackson.

'The right place'

"The Badagry Historical Resort development project will certainly enhance the quality of life for millions of people across Nigeria," promotional material for the resort says.

It's like dancing on the graves of dead people and telling them you're honouring them C Don Adinuba Writer

But critics have dismissed the project as a cynical money-making scheme, inappropriate for the subject of such seriousness as the transatlantic slave trade.

The idea to bring together slavery and the Jackson Five came during a visit to Nigeria by US businessmen and former Jacksons singer Marlon Jackson.

"The Jackson Family had been looking for a place to site their memorabilia collection for some time," says Gary Loster, a former mayor of Saginaw, Michigan, and chief executive of The Motherland Group.

"We visited the site of the slave port in Badagry and Marlon turned to me and said: 'Let's put it here, this is right'.

"It's such an emotional place, and I think we all felt that it was the right place to have the Jackson family memorial."

Money

But respected writer and historian Toyin Falola has condemned the project.

"It is not appropriate from a cultural or historical point of view. Those who are looking for money care about money and no other thing," he said.

THE SLAVE TRADE Transatlantic slave trade ran between 1650 and 1866 About 10.2m slaves arrived in Americas from Africa 35% came from the Niger River area 10-20% died on the journey An estimated 4.5% died in slave ports like Badagry Source: slavevoyages.org

The professor of history at the University of Texas and author of many books on the Nigerian diaspora and African-American history said the development was exploiting painful history.

"Money-making and historical memory are allies in the extension of capitalism. You cry with one eye and wipe it off with cold beer, leaving the other eye open for gambling," he said.

Writer, columnist and PR consultant C Don Adinuba said if the resort was being built by a company run by a white person, there would be uproar.

"This plan is morally reprehensible, it's like dancing on the graves of dead people and telling them you're honouring them."

The developers say they will treat the slave memorial with sensitivity.

They hope it will become a "historical destination" similar to the Holocaust museum in Berlin.

The luxury hotels near the site will provide jobs and development to the local economy, they say.

'Aggressive'

The developers, who include the creator of the hit TV series Power Rangers, have ambitious plans for the resort.

The Motherland Group says the resort alone will pull in 1.4m visitors in the first year, rising to 4.4m in five years.

But that would represent an incredible increase.

Mr Loster says they will have to work with the government to change some of the bureaucratic restrictions on tourists if their project is to attract the numbers it needs.

Currently fewer than 300,000 tourists a year visit Nigeria, they say.

It is impossible to get a visa without a letter of invitation.

Flights to Nigeria are expensive, and there is little tourist infrastructure to cater for European or American consumers when they get there.

And then there is the country's reputation as a chaotic and violent place.

Mr Loster admits their projected figures are "aggressive".

"We know the problems facing us, we have visited Nigeria several times," he said.

Afghan role of 'Muslim Battalions'

Twenty years on from the Soviet Union's pull-out from Afghanistan, the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie looks at the role soldiers from the Central Asian nations played in the conflict.

Men from several Central Asian nations fought for the Soviets in Afghanistan

In the almost 10 years that Soviet forces battled Afghanistan's Mujahideen, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from across the USSR took part in the conflict.

The troops included soldiers recruited from Afghanistan's mainly Muslim northern neighbours, who shared culture with their Afghan cousins.

They were involved in the fighting from the very beginning.

On 27 December 1979 - in an event that effectively marked the start of the Soviet-Afghan war - Soviet special forces stormed the Tajbeg Palace in Kabul and killed President Hafizullah Amin.

The troops included members of the 154 Special Operations Detachment, also known as the Muslim Battalion.

Dressed in Afghan army uniforms, Muslim Battalion soldiers took part in the seizure by providing cover for KGB officers.

"The idea was to put together a unit of Soviet Central Asians who looked like Afghans," said Colonel Vladimir Sharipov, who was in charge of one of the Muslim Battalion units during the operation.

The first Muslim Battalion was formed in Chirchik, near the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, and was drawn from ethnic Uzbek, Tajik and Turkmen recruits.

Soviet authorities believed that these troops, coming from traditionally Islamic backgrounds with similar customs and, most importantly, similar dialects to those spoken in Afghanistan, could be used for covert operations.

"We were trained to provide security for President Taraki of Afghanistan. But when he got killed the Muslim Battalion was on hold for some time. Finally the order came to go to Afghanistan in early December 1979," recalled Col Sharipov.

"The new president, Hafizullah Amin, wanted to use our detachment for his own security. I personally had a pass to the president's external guards unit," he added.

Second unit

A second Muslim Battalion, or Musbat, was formed in 1980 in Kapchagai, near Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Sergei Mahashev fought with Musbat 2 in the Panjshir Valley

"The unit included around 300 Uighurs who had originally been drafted in to help build sites for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow," said Major Sergei Mahashev, who was the battalion's intelligence commander.

Uighurs were assigned to Kazakhstan to join the battalion and in October 1981, its 500 soldiers crossed the Soviet-Afghan border.

They ended up in the Panjshir Valley, the stronghold of Mujahideen commander Ahmed Shah Masoud and a region that had famously resisted the Soviet military.

By the spring of 1982, Soviet troops had suffered heavy losses there.

"Military action in Panjshir was ineffective," said Sergei Domnin, an Almaty-based journalist specialising in the Soviet-Afghan war.

"Afghan communist leader Babrak Karmal announced that there was no longer any point keeping the troops in the valley."

Musbat 2 spent months in the valley's mountainous terrain

Ahmed Shah Masoud, said Maj Mahashev, swore that within a month not a single Soviet soldier would be left there.

So the Soviet command decided to leave Musbat 2 in Panjshir for a month to prove a point.

"We managed to survive there for eight months," recalled Bahitjan Jatakpaev, who was in charge of one of the Musbat 2 units.

The Panjshir operation ended in a ceasefire after the Soviet command ordered a deal to be done with Ahmad Shah Masoud.

Radicalised

The Muslim Battalions were soon dispersed and renamed. The first battalion was sent back to Tashkent after the storming of the Tajbeg Palace.

The division re-entered Afghanistan a year later but it no longer consisted solely of Central Asians.

The same applied to Musbat 2. Most of the Central Asian reservists were withdrawn within 12 months of their commitment and replaced by new conscripts.

Some of the Soviet Central Asians were affected by their service in Afghanistan. Many were struck by the religious dedication of their enemy.

There were cases when Central Asian soldiers who were taken prisoner joined the Mujahedeen. In other instances soldiers were radicalised by their experiences.

One example is Uzbek paratrooper Jumaboi Khojayev, who established a radical Islamist group in the city of Namangan in north-eastern Uzbekistan after he returned from Afghanistan.

He escaped the Uzbek authorities and in 1998 formed the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan from exile in Tajikistan. The militant group has been associated with the Taleban.

Are coin fairs the new investment clubs?

A rich variety of coins and notes were on show at the Midland Coin Fair

Coins have always been popular among collectors but as purse strings are tightening and people worry about their financial future, investing in the right kind of coin could make all the difference.

In a bustling exhibition hall on a cold February morning Andrea and Mark Leigh, from Reading, are hoping to find something that will improve their financial standing.

Poring over the thousands of coins on display, ranging from hundreds of years BC to to the most recent Royal Mint editions, Andrea explains what she is looking for.

"We are collecting gold and silver coins at the moment, for investment purposes because of the current economic problems," she says.

It may not be a foolish search. One collector at the fair describes how an investment he made has paid off.

"Just over four years ago I put £30,000 into gold sovereigns, it is now worth £250,000."

Fair trade

The Midland Coin Fair is a monthly exhibition held by the British Numismatic Trade Association at Birmingham's National Motorcycle Museum. Coin dealers and exhibitors from around the country display their wares hoping to entice a collector to buy that all-important penny, sovereign or stater.

Rarity and condition make coins collectable. The better the condition the more it will be worth. An uncirculated coin would be worth the most Paul Revell, coin dealer Fun of the coin fair: in pictures Special report: When the penny drops

Intense concentration can be seen on the faces of the collectors, mostly men, as they move from stand to stand, many of them equipped with reference manuals and magnifying glasses.

This is a serious hobby for some. But its appeal goes further than just the older generations.

Dylan Adams, 10, from Birmingham, is hoping to add a Roman artefact to his collection that was started by his father.

"I'm looking for a Julius Caesar coin, it has got an elephant on the back. My best coin so far is a George III gold sovereign. It is very good quality," says the enthusiastic youngster.

With traditional savings accounts currently offering low interest rates some parents are encouraging a hobby that could offer a good return in the future.

But Mike Veissid, who has been in the coin business for 35 years and runs this coin fair, urges caution for those looking to make money during the recession.

"Collectables are generally seen as a pretty safe haven - but the value tends to get too high and then it starts to fall as things get back to normal."

'Beauty before age'

One of the oldest coins on display is an Ancient Greek coin dating from 385 BC. It is on a stand belonging to Paul Revell, a dealer from Suffolk.

This Celtic Stater is thought to date back to 385 BC

His guide price for this piece of history is £200, but age does not always equal best value.

"Rarity and condition make coins collectable. The better the condition the more it will be worth. An uncirculated coin would be worth the most," says Mr Revell.

"There are probably hundreds of these about so they are not that expensive to buy."

It is not just collectors who can cash in. The most popular coin to collect, according to Alvin House, a dealer from Yeovil, is the sovereign - a gold coin dating from the time of Henry VII onwards.

Mr House cites an example - a coin from the turn of the 21st Century, being sold for £150, that marked 500 years of the sovereign.

"Just over 10,000 were issued and I think you could get £600 to £700 for one now," says Mr House.

While profit may be desirable, it is rarely the reason that the dealers at the Midland Coin Fair became enthusiasts.

"I was 13 and my school were collecting Victorian bun pennies for charity. Each night I'd look through my brothers' change to see if I could find one and that is how it started," recalls Paul Revell.

For Alvin House it was a distant relative that really sparked his interest.

"My great, great grandfather worked on the tea clippers and brought back coins from abroad. My gran then gave them to me," he says.

Rich Clamp, 25, is fairly new to the coin collecting game. He started his collection at the turn of the millennium when he saw a commemorative set of coins for sale at the Post Office.

"I wanted to celebrate the millennium and I saw these two coins. One had 1999 on and the other had 2000. It is a bit of an heirloom, an investment," he says.

Future of cash

Everyone trawling through the trays of gold, silver and copper coins has a reverence for the history of cash. But its demise has been predicted for some time. What difference would it make to fairs like this one?

Dylan Adams was one of the youngest enthusiasts at the show

"Coins will become more of a novelty and more collectable but I can't see cash dying out completely. Can you imagine going to a car boot sale and paying with a card?" says exhibitor Royston Norbury.

Few of the dealers at this fair still collect, but occasionally they find the odd item that is hard to resist.

Paul Revell has a keen eye for exhibits that are not all that they seem.

"I have my own collection of fakes. Today I've found a 2000-year-old Celtic Stater to add to it," he says.

"Even in those days they were forging."

As collectors at the fair continue to search for that special piece to complete their collection, or investors look to get in on the act, it is a timely reminder that all that glitters may not be gold.

Coldplay top 2008's global chart

Viva La Vida sold 6.8m copies worldwide in 2008

Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends was the best-selling album of 2008 worldwide, figures show.

The band sold 6.8m copies according to the IFPI, the body that represents the recording industry worldwide.

Veteran rockers AC/DC secured the number two spot with their 15th studio album Black Ice.

The cast of Mamma Mia! The Movie, including Meryl Streep, were at number three with their soundtrack album, which was released in July 2008.

The figures show four of the top 10 albums of 2008 were by British artists.

Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy was placed fourth with her debut album Rockferry and was also the biggest-selling new artist worldwide in 2008.

Metallica's ninth studio album Death Magnetic took fifth place.

Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse were sixth and seventh respectively with Spirit and Back to Black, even though their albums were released one to two years earlier.

The soundtrack to High School Musical 3: Senior Year was the eighth best-selling, with Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III at nine.

Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad completed the top 10.

Viva La Vida sold more downloads than any other album in digital history within a month of its release in June.

Coldplay also recently picked up three Grammy awards in the US, including best rock album, and are nominated for four of Wednesday's Brit Awards.

The North-South divide - in verse

The new symbols of North and South, the Angel and the yet-to-be-built Horse

England's North-South divide has been the object of good-natured humour and debate for decades. And now it's being fought on a new battlefield - poetry.

Football, weather, food and life in general. Nearly all subjects have been covered in the endless banter between northerners and southerners.

But on Monday in Kings Cross, London - the gateway to the North, for rail travellers - the regional differences are being explored in verse.

Poets from either side of the divide - and some who have crossed it - are holding a recital organised by Poet in the City, in which they will be expressing their love or loathing for one side or another.

Kit Wright, who lives in the East End, and Liverpudlian Paul Farley will be among them. Here is one example from each of them. If you'd like to write your own poem on the North or South then use the form at the bottom of the page.

THE NORTH - PAUL FARLEY

AN INTERIOR

They ask why I still bother coming back.

London must be great this time of year.

I'm not listening. My eyes have found

the draining-board, its dull mineral shine,

the spice rack, still exactly how I left it,

knives, a Vermeer vinyl table-mat.

How many hours did I spend watching

the woman pouring milk into a bowl

that never fills? I never tired of it.

Vision persists, doesn't admit the breaks

the artist must have taken, leg-stretching

alongside a canal twitching with sky

not unlike the leaden one outside;

or just leant on the door jamb, looking out

onto a courtyard, smoking a pipe

before going in, to sleep on his excitement.

THE SOUTH - KIT WRIGHT

ODE TO DIDCOT POWER STATION

What vasty thighs outspread to give thee birth,

DIDCOT, thou marvel of the plain?

Colossal funnels of the steamship EARTH,

Thy consummate immensity

Enshrines the rare propensity

Of fumes to form eternal acid rain!

While, in their pious hosts, Romano-Celtic ghosts

Are knelt to worship thy

All-belching amphorae,

And shadows of thy sacrificial breathing fill the sky!

DIDCOT, thou bugger!

Thou teaser of the mind

And recollection-tugger! Thee I find

To replicate the days when I was small

What time my mother, sweet and kind,

The fragrant Friar's Balsam did infuse.

She therewithal

A towel placed upon my head

And loving care did use

That pulmonary perils might not wake me with the dead.

DIDCOT! To one more

Soft eidolon thou steam'st ope mem'ry's door ...

For in thy hanging shrouds I view return

Far other blue-grey clouds;

My father's pipe-smoke I in thee discern,

Companion true,

That followed him all days

And ways he ventured through this singing maze,

To take that turn

All entrants in their bafflement and grace may not eschew.

What links of tenderness are forged by thee,

DIDCOT, thou ever-burning core!

Insensate lover of the loves that flee!

Thou glade of past felicity,

Thy sap of electricity

Complicit in our veins for evermore!

Struggling anent the storm, thy children ghost the form

Of all our quickenings may ever be ...

DIDCOT, thy billows pour,

Connatural, contiguous, familial as the sea!

Alien life 'may exist among us'

Could "shadow life" be lurking in the deep ocean?

Never mind Mars, alien life may be thriving right here on Earth, a major science conference has heard.

Our planet may harbour forms of "weird life" unrelated to life as we know it, according to Professor Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona State University.

This "shadow life" may be hidden in toxic arsenic lakes or in boiling deep sea hydrothermal vents, he says.

He has called on scientists to launch a "mission to Earth" by trawling hostile environments for signs of bio-activity.

Weird life could even be living among us, in forms which we don't yet recognise, he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Chicago.

"We don't have to go to other planets to find weird life.

"It could be right in front of our noses - or even in our noses," said the physicist.

"It is entirely reasonable to expect we will find a shadow biosphere here on Earth.

"But nobody has actually taken the trouble to look.

"The question is why? The cost is not expensive - it would be a fraction of the money we spend searching for extraterrestrial life."

'Second genesis'

Professor Davies was one of the speakers at a symposium exploring the possibility that life has evolved on Earth more than once.

How do we know we are dealing with separate Earth genesis and not a Mars genesis? Professor Paul Davies, Arizona State University

The descendants of this "second genesis" may have survived until today in a "shadow biosphere" which is beyond our radar because its inhabitants have biochemistry so different from our own.

"All our microscopes are customised for life as we know it - so it's no surprise that we haven't found microbes with different biochemistry," said Professor Davies.

"We don't quite know how weird life would look. It's as wide as the imagination and that's why it's really hard to look for."

If it exists, weird life could be based on DNA and RNA - but with a slightly different genetic code or different amino acids.

At the other end of the spectrum, we could find creatures which have more drastic differences.

"Maybe one of the elements life uses - carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus - could be replaced by something else," said Professor Davies.

"When I say that, everyone immediately thinks of silicon life - because of Star Trek. But I'm not talking about anything that drastic.

"For example, most of the jobs that can be done by phosphorus can be done by arsenic."

Arsenic may be poisonous to humans, but it has chemical properties which might make it ideal in a microbe's machinery, he said.

'Mission to Earth'

So how do we go about hunting for something we have never seen before?

"There are two possibilities," said Prof Davies, Director of the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science.

The "mono lake" in the US is home to arsenic-fuelled microbes

"One is that weird life is ecologically isolated, in niches beyond the reach of mankind."

In this case, we must begin trawling the world's most inhospitable environments - deserts, salt lakes, and areas of high pressure, temperature or UV radiation.

"We could have a 'mission to Earth'. There's a big long list of places we could be looking," observed Professor Davies.

"For example, if we are looking for arsenic life, we could head for environments which are both arsenic rich and phosphorus poor - such as deep ocean vents.

"There is also a heavily contaminated lake in California which is arsenic rich - Mono Lake - and we do find microbes in there which get their energy from arsenic.

"But they don't actually incorporate the arsenic into themselves. They spit it back out again. They smoke but they don't inhale."

On the other hand, it could be that "weird life" is actually all around us - intermingled with carbon based life.

"In that case it's going to be really hard to detect - you have to find some way of filtering everything else out."

This laborious process has been used to search for unknown organisms in seawater - by painstakingly filtering everything else away.

If we did discover something unprecedented, "we'd all start arguing" said Professor Davies, a theoretical physicist.

"The question would be whether this life was truly different, or whether there was a common precursor a deep branch on the main tree of life.

"Also, how do we know we are dealing with separate Earth genesis and not a Mars genesis?

"We know rocks do get traded between the two planets, and life could hitch a ride.

"Personally, I'm only interested in establishing whether life happened more than once. If we find it has happened twice from scratch then its going to have happened all around the universe.

"It's going to be teeming with life and there's a very good chance we are not alone."

Life in the lab

If we want to understand what alternative life might look like, is to invent it ourselves.

If we can create new molecules which can behave in life-like way, we may then go out and look for these in the environment, says Professor Steven Benner, of the University of Florida.

His team have created perhaps the closest yet to a man-made alternative form of life.

"We are announcing the first example of an artificial synthetic chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution," he told the conference.

"Is it alive? Well, I can tell you that it is not self-sustaining.

"You have to have a graduate student stand there and feed it from time to time, but it is evolving."

The molecule is essentially a modified version of our own DNA double helix - but with six "letters" in its genetic alphabet, instead of four.

These nucleotides pair up in strands, which can replicate, though only with the help of polymerase enzymes and heat.

"Sometimes mistakes are made in pairing and these mistakes are maintained in the next generation - it is evolving," said Prof Brenner.

"The next step is to apply natural selection to it, to see if it can evolve under selective pressure.

"The accepted definition of life is a molecule capable of Darwinian evolution, so we are trying to put together molecules that are capable of doing it."

But he questioned whether our definition of "living" is perhaps too "Earth-centric".

"Remember - just because you are a chemical system which is self-sustaining and capable of Darwinian evolution, that doesn't mean that is the universal definition of life," he said.

City monument reopens to public

A new viewing platform has been installed at The Monument

One of London's most famous landmarks built to commemorate the Great Fire of London has reopened to the public after an 18-month restoration.

The Monument, in the City of London, welcomed visitors from midday on Monday following a £4.5m face-lift.

Restorers have cleaned and repaired its stonework and regilded its famous golden orb.

The site was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke to commemorate the fire of 1666.

The fire began in a baker's house in Pudding Lane on 2 September, 1666, and was finally extinguished after burning for five days and destroying much of the city.

Repairs to The Monument are carried out roughly every hundred years, with work last undertaken in 1888.

It is located at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill 202ft (61m) from the spot in Pudding Lane where the Great Fire is thought to have started.

The Monument is the tallest isolated stone column in the world, towering above the city at 202ft (61m) and has a spiral staircase with 311 steps leading to the observation platform.

Henry VIII love letter exhibited

Henry wrote Anne's initials in a heart at the bottom of the letter

It seems even one of history's most notorious womanisers had a romantic side - at least in the beginning.

Concealed in the Vatican for almost five centuries, a love letter from King Henry VIII to his second wife Anne Boleyn is to go on display at the British Library in London.

Probably written in January 1528, it shows a softer side to the infamously bloodthirsty royal as he pursues her.

He assures Anne that "henceforth my heart will be dedicated to you alone," and apologises profusely for ever suggesting she could be a mere mistress.

Unfortunately, that devotion did not last and as school children learn, things ended badly for Anne.

Henry eventually had her beheaded at the Tower of London in 1536 and subsequently married another four women.

Turning point

The letter is part of a major exhibition on Henry VIII opening at the British Library in April.

Never displayed publicly before, it was almost certainly stolen from Anne.

It speaks of the king's "unchangeable intention" to marry her and marks a turning point in their relationship.

Anne Boleyn was the second of Henry VIII's six wives

Before then, Anne had held out - aware of Henry's womanising reputation - and had refused any pre-marital sexual relations.

The letter - originally written in French - appears to show that she has finally made a "too humble submission" to his advances.

It reads: "The demonstrations of your affection are such, and the beautiful words of your letter are so cordially phrased, that they really oblige me to honour, love, and serve you for ever....

"For my part, I will out-do you, if this be possible, rather than reciprocate, in loyalty of heart and my desire to please you.

"Beseeching you also that if I have in any way offended you, you will give me the same absolution for which you ask, assuring you that henceforth my heart will be dedicated to you alone, and wishing greatly that my body was so too."

The letter is signed like a love-sick schoolboy, "H seeks A.B, No Other Rex," alongside his beloved's initials in a heart.

Historical significance

Henry battled with the Vatican throughout his life, ultimately leading to him separating the Anglican church from Rome and creating the Church of England.

Anne was executed at the Tower of London in 1536

The exhibition - which also includes portraits, tapestries and armour, as well as correspondence, official documents, maps and books - gives an insight into what drove him.

It is curated by historian and broadcaster Dr David Starkey, who said: "Henry is not only England's best-known king - with his wives, his girth and his bloodthirstiness - he is also our most important single ruler.

"When he came to the throne, Henry was the pious prince who ruled an England at the heart of Catholic Europe.

"When he died, he was the great schismatic, who had created a national church and an insular, xenophobic politics that shaped the development of England for the next 500 years."

Henry VIII: Man and Monarch is open from 23 April to 6 September.

Nude Madonna 'sets sale record'

The photo was taken when the singer was in her twenties and still unknown

A nude photograph of pop star Madonna, taken in 1979, has sold for $37,500 (£26,000), at an auction in New York.

The explicit black and white picture was taken when Madonna was a dancer struggling to make ends meet.

An unnamed buyer bought the picture, which had been expected to fetch $15,000 (£10,365), said Christie's.

Meanwhile the singer topped Billboard's annual list of money-makers, following the unprecedented success of her Sticky & Sweet world tour.

MUSIC'S TOP EARNERS 1. Madonna - $242.2m 2. Bon Jovi - $157.2m 3. Bruce Springsteen - $156.3m 4. The Police - $110m 5. Celine Dion - $99.2m Source: Billboard

The singer earned $242.2m (£167.7m), despite her album Hard Candy being only the 50th best-selling album of the year in the US.

Bon Jovi were second on the list with $157.2m (£108.8).

Each of the top five money-makers on the list toured in 2008, a year when recorded music sales fell once again.

'Street-wise'

The photo of Madonna was among 150 images from the collection of Leon and Michaela Constantiner, which included portraits of Linda Evangelista, Joan Crawford and Lana Turner.

The aspiring singer had replied to a newspaper advert by celebrated American photographer Lee Friedlander, who shot her for a series of nudes he was working on.

Madonna reportedly earned just $25 (£17) for the session. The photographer described her as "very confident, a street-wise girl".

Matthieu Humery, head of Christie's photography department, said the picture was "probably the most explicit" shot Friedlander took of the future pop icon.

The full-frontal image, and five others taken at the same session, were sold to Playboy in the 1980s.

A second picture of the singer, by Helmut Newton, sold at the same auction for $18,750 (£12,888), also beating an earlier estimate.

The image of Madonna in a short red dress while a man kneels beside her, contemplating her stockings, appeared in Playboy in the 1980s.

A Herb Ritts photo of Madonna's True Blue album cover, which sold for more than $15,000 in 2006, was previously the most expensive photograph of the singer to sell at auction, according to Christie's.

Pop star Allen hits chart double

Lily Allen reached number two with her debut album in 2006

Lily Allen's new album has shot straight to the top of the chart, while her single also remains at number one.

It's Not Me, It's You is the 23-year-old pop star's second album, and her first number one, after her 2006 debut Alright, Still made number two.

The album's first single, The Fear, has topped the chart for a third week.

Prodigy's comeback single Omen is a new entry at number eight, while Morrissey has a new entry at number 21 with I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris.

In the album chart, Kings of Leon remain at number two with Only By The Night, while Valentine's Day sales helped propel UB40 and the late Luther Vandross up the charts.

UB40 compilation Love Songs rose to number three, the best performance by the Birmingham reggae veterans since 1993 album Promises and Lies.

A similarly-titled collection of Vandross songs, Lovesongs, rose to number four.

Bette Midler's The Best Bette rose to number six, while US rock band The Fray saw their self-titled second album enter the chart at number eight.

Celebrating the UK's computer pioneers

In their infancy computers used to fill entire rooms

The computer seems the very essence of the modern world, especially as the gadgets we sit before and carry around shrink as fast as they become more powerful.

But if truth be told the computer has had a long and honourable history that stretches back to the closing years of the World War II.

And, say conservations and computer history enthusiasts, Britain played a big part in the development of the modern computer.

"The layman when asked about the introduction of steam power will usually reel off Newcomen, Watt and Trevithick," said Chris Burton, of the Computer Conservation Society.

"But when it comes to computer pioneers they are absolutely baffled," he said. "They have no idea."

Foundational work

When pushed, he said, they might be able to remember the name of Alan Turing but few know of any others beyond that.

Turing established the conceptual and philosophical basis for the rise of computers in a seminal 1936 paper called "On Computable Numbers". But it took a large cast of engineers and scientists to solve the real world problems that arise when those ideas are turned into whirring, clicking reality.

At Bletchley Park forerunners of modern computers were built to help the Allies crack German codes.

Colossus was crucial for D-Day operations

Although Turing worked at Bletchley and helped create the Bombe that cracked messages enciphered with Enigma machines he had little to do with Colossus - a programmable machine that tackled the encrypted messages sent by the German High Command.

Conceived, designed and built by Tommy Flowers, Allen Coombs and Max Newman, the first Colossus was working in 1943 - three years ahead of the rival pioneering American machine known as Eniac.

For a long time the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (Eniac) was better known than Colossus because the Official Secrets Act prevented those that worked on it talking publicly about their achievements.

Kevin Murrell, a trustee for the National Museum of Computing where a rebuilt Colossus is housed, said Bletchley was just one of the locations where the UK's computer pioneers did their influential work.

Colossus, he said, amounted to about one-third of all effort being put into those early machines. Similar pioneering efforts were underway at Manchester and Cambridge.

Cakes and computers

At Cambridge, Maurice Wilkes and his colleagues were working on the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (Edsac) - another recognisably modern machine that used tubes of mercury five feet in length as a data storage medium.

Edsac ran its first programs in 1949 and was developed to act as the heart of a number crunching service for Cambridge scientists.

Some principles of computing date from Victorian times.

The creation of Edsac was backed by baking and catering giant J Lyons which bought a copy of the finished machine and turned it into the world's first business computer - the Lyons Electronic Office (Leo).

"It was the first programmable computer that went into routine operation," said science writer Georgina Ferry, author of a book about the genesis of Leo.

"What was innovative about Leo was not the hardware," she said, "but the systems and the way they used it."

John Pinkerton, David Caminer, Ernest Lenaerts, Derek Hemy and others at Lyons pioneered the use of computers in the dull repetitive tasks formerly carried out by legions of clerks. One of its first roles was to calculate how much each worker at the hundreds of Lyons tearooms was to be paid.

Steadily more and more of those basic tasks were studied by Caminer and his team and broken down into steps Leo could replicate. In the process Caminer and his colleagues created systems engineering.

"Leo led the world in business computing," she said.

Big baby

At the University of Manchester engineers such as Tom Kilburn, Freddie Williams, Geoff Tootill, Alec Robinson, Dai Edwards and others worked to create what became the Small Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM) or Baby.

The Baby was recognisably modern electronic computer because it could easily be re-programmed to carry out different tasks. By contrast older machines either just carried out one function or had to be re-wired to change what they did.

A replica of the original Baby now resides at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

"When we wrote the proposal to build the replica machine an explicit goal which was to re-run the first program as a tangible tribute to the pioneers that brought this about," said Chris Burton who led the effort to re-build the SSEM.

Mr Burton said none of them had any idea about the influence their work would have.

"They did it to help engineers, forecasters and scientists to do their calculations," he said. "They had no idea of the fantastic proliferation that we have had since."

Code-cracking and computers

By the end of WWII, 11 Colossus machines were in use

Bletchley Park is best known for the work done on cracking the German codes and helping to bring World War II to a close far sooner than might have happened without those code breakers.

But many believe Bletchley should be celebrated not just for what it ended but also for what it started - namely the computer age.

The pioneering machines at Bletchley were created to help codebreakers cope with the enormous volume of enciphered material the Allies managed to intercept.

The machine that arguably had the greatest influence in those early days of computing was Colossus - a re-built version of which now resides in the National Museum of Computing which is also on the Bletchley site.

Men and machine

The Enigma machines were used by the field units of the German Army, Navy and Airforce. But the communications between Hitler and his generals were protected by different machines: The Lorenz SZ40 and SZ42.

The German High Command used the Lorenz machine because it was so much faster than the Enigma, making it much easier to send large amounts of text.

"For about 500 words Enigma was reasonable but for a whole report it was hopeless," said Jack Copeland, professor of philosophy at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, director of the Turing Archive and a man with a passionate interest in the Bletchley Park computers.

Bletchley employed thousands of code breakers during wartime

The Allies first picked up the stream of enciphered traffic, dubbed Tunny, in 1940. The importance of the material it contained soon became apparent.

Like Enigma, the Lorenz machines enciphered text by mixing it with characters generated by a series of pinwheels.

"We broke wheel patterns for a whole year before Colossus came in," said Captain Jerry Roberts, one of the codebreakers who deciphered Tunny traffic at Bletchley.

"Because of the rapid expansion in the use of Tunny, our efforts were no longer enough and we had to have the machines in to do a better job."

The man who made Colossus was Post Office engineer Tommy Flowers, who had instantly impressed Alan Turing when asked by the maverick mathematician to design a machine to help him in his war work.

But, said Capt Roberts, Flowers could not have built his machine without the astonishing work of Cambridge mathematician Bill Tutte.

"I remember seeing him staring into the middle distance and twiddling his pencil and I wondered if he was earning his corn," said Capt Roberts.

But it soon became apparent that he was.

"He figured out how the Lorenz machine worked without ever having seen one and he worked out the algorithm that broke the traffic on a day-to-day basis," said Capt Roberts.

"If there had not been Bill Tutte, there would not have been any need for Tommy Flowers," he said. "The computer would have happened later. Much later."

Valve trouble

Prof Copeland said Tommy Flowers faced scepticism from Bletchley Park staff and others that his idea for a high-speed computer employing thousands of valves would ever work.

Colossus kept valves lit to ensure they kept on working

"Flowers was very much swimming against the current as valves were only being used in small units," he said. "But the idea of using large numbers of valves reliably was Tommy Flowers' big thing. He'd experimented and knew how to control the parameters."

And work it did.

The close co-operation between the human translators and the machines meant that the Allies got a close look at the intimate thoughts of the German High Command.

Information gleaned from Tunny was passed to the Russians and was instrumental in helping it defeat the Germans at Kursk - widely seen as one of the turning points of WWII.

The greater legacy is the influence of Colossus on the origins of the computer age.

"Tommy Flowers was the key figure for everything that happened subsequently in British computers," said Prof Copeland.

After the war Bletchley veterans Alan Turing and Max Newman separately did more work on computers using the basic designs and plans seen in Colossus.

Turing worked on the Automatic Computing Engine for the British government and Newman helped to bring to life the Manchester Small Scale Experimental Machine - widely acknowledged as the first stored program computer.

The work that went into Colossus also shaped the thinking of others such as Maurice Wilkes, Freddie Williams, Tom Kilburn and many others - essentially the whole cast of characters from whom early British computing arose.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Fresh start for lost file formats

The project aims to get at files held on older storage media

Long lost file formats could soon be resurrected by pan-European research.

The 4.02m euro (£3.58m) project aims to create a universal emulator that can open and play obsolete file formats.

Using the emulator, researchers hope to ensure that digital materials such as games, websites and multimedia documents are not lost for good.

The emulator will also be regularly updated to ensure that formats that fall out of favour remain supported in the near and far future.

Called Keeping Emulation Environments Portable (Keep), the project aims to create software that can recognise, play and open all types of computer file from the 1970s onwards.

As well as basic text documents it will also let people load up and play old computer games that technology has left behind.

"People don't think twice about saving files digitally - from snapshots taken on a camera phone to national or regional archives," said Dr Janet Delve, a computer historian from the University of Portsmouth and one of the research partners on Keep.

"But every digital file risks being either lost by degrading or by the technology used to 'read' it disappearing altogether," she said.

Without work to preserve ways to access the formats that are common today, 21st century citizens risk leaving a "blank spot" in history, said Dr Delve.

Already the number of unreadable documents in archives is beginning to mount up.

Britain's National Archive estimates that it holds enough information to fill about 580,000 encyclopaedias in formats that are no longer widely available.

Research by the British Library estimates that the delay caused by accessing and preserving old digital files costs European businesses about £2.7bn a year.

"We are facing a massive threat of the loss of digital information. It's a very real and worrying problem," said Dr David Anderson, who will work with Dr Delve on the UK end of the project.

"Things that were created in the 1970s, 80s and 90s are vanishing fast and every year new technologies mean we face greater risk of losing material," he said.

Dr Anderson said emulation was more workable in the long term than the usual method of preserving old files which involves migrating information on to new formats with its attendant risks of data degradation and corruption.

Record nails broken in car crash

Lee Redmond had not cut her nails since 1979

An American woman listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world's longest fingernails has had them broken off in a car crash.

Lee Redmond from Salt Lake City, Utah, had not cut her nails since 1979.

Their combined length was more than 28ft (8.5m), with the longest nail - on her right thumb - measuring 2ft 11in (89cm), Guinness said.

Ms Redmond suffered serious injuries in the crash, but is expected to make a full recovery.

A local newspaper, the Deseret News, said she was a passenger in a sports utility vehicle (SUV) at the time of the accident.

Her nails were "damaged beyond repair", according to the Guiness World Records website.

The company said she had been a "fantastic ambassador" for them, and that her nails had been "a fundamental part of her life and unique character".

Guinness World Records

Galaxy has 'billions of Earths'

The number of stars points to there being many rocky planets

There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard.

Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.

He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.

So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System.

Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. Most are gas giants like our Jupiter; and many orbit so close to their parent stars that any microbes would have to survive roasting temperatures.

But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet.

This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life.

"Not only are they probably habitable but they probably are also going to be inhabited," Dr Boss told BBC News. "But I think that most likely the nearby 'Earths' are going to be inhabited with things which are perhaps more common to what Earth was like three or four billion years ago." That means bacterial lifeforms.

Dr Boss estimates that Nasa's Kepler mission, due for launch in March, should begin finding some of these Earth-like planets within the next few years.

Recent work at Edinburgh University tried to quantify how many intelligent civilisations might be out there. The research suggested there could be thousands of them.

St Valentine 'not saint of love'

If roses won't do the trick, try Saint Raphael suggests the Catholic Church

Britain's Roman Catholic Church is advising lovelorn singles to direct their 14 February requests for love to St Raphael, rather than St Valentine.

Over the years St Valentine has come incorrectly to be associated with finding love, the Church says.

He is the patron saint for those who have already found their soulmate.

St Raphael is the patron saint for happy encounters and it is to him those fearing the Valentine's post should properly direct their prayers.

Divine intervention

Clare Ward, spokeswoman for the Catholic Enquiry Office, the official body providing information on Catholic life, said that while the distinction between the saints has always been clear within the Church it has, over the years, been blurred outside.

"Saint Valentine passed a note to his jailer's daughter, whose sight he is thought to have cured," she said.

"The note had no romantic content, but it's from this story that the tradition of sending notes of appreciation has come from.

Why not come along to a prayer group it could be your lucky night Clare Ward, Catholic Enquiry Office

"If tomorrow you are still looking for your soul mate, the actual patron saint is St Raphael.

"He's the person you should dedicate your day or pray to if you are looking for Mr or Mrs right."

St Raphael, according to legend, helped Tobias enter into marriage with Sarah, who had seen seven previous bridegrooms perish on the eve of their weddings.

It is he within the canon of Catholic saints who is properly associated with helping to forge partnerships.

The oldest known Valentine's message, dating from 1477

St Valentine is said to have been martyred in Rome in 269.

While his exact history is unclear, Valentine is thought to have existed as archaeologists have unearthed an early church dedicated to someone of that name.

One theory is that he was a priest in Rome who continued to marry Christian couples in defiance of the law of the day.

On the eve of his execution, he is said to have signed a note to his jailer's daughter: "From your Valentine."

Spiritual networks

Those hoping for divine intervention to help their love lives may well appreciate the correction in target for their prayers, but Miss Ward also had some more advice.

"There is a lot of evidence to suggest that young people who have tapped into prayer groups have found partners," she said.

"Those who have exhausted traditional routes like online dating should try spiritual networks.

"Why not come along to a prayer group - it could be your lucky night."

Right name, wrong place

The glossy brochure in the travel agent's window does not always tell the whole story. But how can holiday plans go so hideously wrong that people end up in the wrong country, or even the wrong continent?

In 1881 Robert Louis Stephenson came up with this nugget: "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour."

Samantha Lazzaris, a 33-year-old holistic therapist from Bristol, would beg to differ following a nightmarish holiday experience.

Samantha Lazzaris was the victim of tour operator's error (Photo: SWNS)

It all started OK. Her flight had landed safely, and she hailed a cab. But when she gave the driver the name of her hotel he laughed and said: "This is not Costa Rica. It's Puerto Rico."

Having ended up 1,300 miles away from her intended holiday destination, she spent a night in Miami airport as she desperately tried to get to the right part of Central America.

Ms Lazzaris' problem stemmed from an error made by holiday giant Thomas Cook, where a member of staff had used the booking code for San Juan (SJU), Puerto Rico, instead of San Jose (SJO), capital of Costa Rica.

Frances Tuke, from the Association of British Travel Agents, says arriving in the wrong country in a case of mistaken identity is rare.

"That kind of thing is just human error," she says. "Usually it doesn't happen because someone will see the mistake beforehand. I remember a journalist who was trying to get to Recife in Brazil, rather than Arrecife in the Canary Islands - but he noticed the error and his travel plans were rectified."

Ms Lazzaris is definitely not alone. Her case is comfortably trumped by the experiences of a young London couple who thought they were on their way to Sydney, Australia, when they had in fact booked tickets to a former mining town in the north-east of Canada, also called Sydney.

Emma Nunn and Raoul Christian were both 19 when their flight from Heathrow, which they booked online, touched down in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2002.

Dhaka or Dakar?

"We though we were going the long way, and that a big plane was going to turn up and take us to Australia," said Mr Christian. "But it did not quite happen that way."

Right name, wrong place: The perils of flying to a (near) namesake destination

After the couple's horror story was unearthed, a whole catalogue of mistaken destinations was disinterred. Tales included an army recruit being flown to Lisbon, Portugal, rather than Lisburn, Northern Ireland, and how a family living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, invited a friend over from Britain - who flew to Dakar, west Africa.

Then there are the stories - apocryphal perhaps - of visitors regularly pitching up in the historic Oxfordshire village of Woodstock with a frown on their faces. Why? Because they had been expecting to witness the site of the 1969 festival of "three days of peace and music" - ie. Woodstock, New York.

The Americas can play particular havoc with travel plans that have not been detailed with the necessary precision.

Laura Rendell-Dunn, of Journey Latin America, said one group of tourists hoping to visit San Jose in Costa Rica had found themselves instead in San Jose, California - so had to ask the way to San Jose while already in San Jose.

"Often people confuse La Paz, Bolivia, with La Paz, Mexico," she adds.

Hardly behaviour that's becoming of Woodstock, Oxon

Other tourists hoping to see Santiago in Chile have booked tickets for San Diego, the city in southern California, thousands of miles to the north.

But with so much travel these days booked from the sanctuary of the bedside laptop, a slip of the mouse can be perilous. So what happens if you do make a vital error - putting the wrong name, the wrong date or, perish the thought, the wrong place?

Basically, it's often going to cost you.

But if you do find yourself in the wrong place you should console yourself that people have been wrestling with similarly named places for millennia.

Pity the merchant of antiquity who found himself setting out for Thebes in Egypt instead of Thebes in Greece. And woe betide the traveller who tried to find Caesarea in the Roman Empire without establishing whether it was the one in Judaea, the one in the Golan Heights, the one in Numidia, or the one in Cappadocia.

They couldn't simply shell out for an extra flight.

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. King Henry VIII was a soppy romantic.
More details

2. Toddlers from well-off families use more hand gestures.
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3. The Neanderthals had the speech gene, FOXP2.
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4. You can safely eat more than three eggs a week.
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5. Nobody really knows when Titian was born.
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6. Some of the smells that emanate from chip shops are comparable to butterscotch, onion and ironing boards.
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7. Delhi's sewers are cleaned by workers wearing only shorts and rubber gloves.
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8. Vladimir Putin prefers the Beatles to Abba.
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9. About 6,000 satellites have been put into orbit so far.

10. Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th.

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What does the white horse mean?

By Denise Winterman and Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine

A giant statue of a white horse has been chosen to be the new "Angel of the South" at Ebbsfleet. But why is this giant steed such an important symbol?

There is a stereotypical artistic representation of the horse.

It rears back on its hind legs, its front hooves are raised, its eyes stare wildly, mane and tail fly in an imaginary wind, every sinew is strained.

We see horses drawing chariots or the horse's hooves crushing a barbarian peasant Stephen Budiansky Historian Giant horse to become £2m artwork

And the person on its back is usually thinking about doing somebody a grievous injury with a sharp metal object.

Think of the painting of Napoleon and his horse Marengo crossing the alps, think of the statues of Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus, think even of the Duke of Wellington on a rather excitable horse.

Man has been trying to "do" horses in artistic form for as long as we have been trying to ride them. And there's a bit of a theme.

"From the beginning of man's association with the horse, the horse was a symbol of power, wealth and status," says historian Stephen Budiansky, author of The Nature of Horses.

Horse and civilisation

"If you look at the way the horse was depicted in art for the first 6,000 years it is as a symbol of power and often a symbol of terror.

"We see horses drawing chariots or the horse's hooves crushing a barbarian peasant."

And perhaps it was only natural for us to depict the powerful and even military horse, because this was the horse that changed the world, transforming warfare and communication after it was first domesticated in 4000BC.

We have been using horses for 6,000 years

The first depiction of horse and rider came two millennia later, says Pita Kelekna, author of the forthcoming book The Horse in Human History.

"The first far-flung, equestrian empire was forged by Persian Achaemenid Cyrus the Great's cavalry c 550BC. In the Far East, Qin Shi Huangdi's intensive chariot and cavalry campaigns unified China in 221BC."

These two horse empires made extraordinary advances at the same time, says Ms Kelekna, establishing thousands of miles of roads, a unitary language and writing system, an imperial legal code, and systems of weights and measures.

When Achaemenid Persia was eventually toppled, it was by the Macedonians, with their Companion shock cavalry, led by Alexander on his much depicted horse Bucephalus.

Obsolete cavalry

When the Western Roman Empire was overrun in the 5th Century it was by horse peoples. The Arab caliphates, the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks, and the Mongols showed that those who mastered horses, also mastered warfare.

The association with power and war continues today, despite the horse not having played a meaningful military role for well over a century, says Mr Budiansky.

"We still have this received cultural and visual heritage - a very strong force in the way we think about the horse."

The Heavy Horse outside Glasgow symbolises the city's industrial past

Even when the classic horse statue is not in a military pose, it is often still an "action" horse. The Horses of St Mark, four copper horses looted from Constantinople's Hippodrome in 1204 and now in Venice, form a team that would have pulled a racing chariot. This type of four-horse chariot, or quadriga, sculpture can also be seen in a more military style on Berlin's Brandenburg gate, London's Wellington Arch, and Paris's Arc De Triomphe.

But of course, the white horse at Ebbsfleet is not an "action" horse. It will stand passively on all four legs, its head slightly turned. It is said to be inspired by George Stubbs, the 18th Century painter famous for his naturalistic representations of our equine friends.

Some of George Stubbs' horses looked so real that the viewer half expected them to jump off the canvas in search of a sugar cube. Sadly for animal lovers, he got this look from a knowledge of horse anatomy gained from extensive dissection.

Speed of light

Equus Ebbsfleet is white, so calling to mind a tamer version of the prancing white horse, the symbol of Kent and the 5th Century Saxon Horsa. It is also rather less frisky than the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire.

But the Ebbsfleet horse can have its own symbolism, says Mrs Kelekna.

The white horse statue at Ebbsfleet embodies man's ambition for ever more complex and rapid locomotion Pita Kelekna Historian

"In [ancient Indian] Vedic myth and ritual the white horse represented the primeval force that moves at the speed of light. The white horse played a key role in later religions: Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity.

"Outside Luoyang, the Han emperor constructed the White Horse Temple to welcome Buddhist missionaries arriving from the west. In medieval England, St George battled the dread dragon on a magnificent white steed."

Despite its passive stance, the horse - which will be visible to passing Eurostar passengers - could be a symbol of speed, she suggests.

"The white horse statue at Ebbsfleet embodies man's ambition for ever more complex and rapid locomotion."

And perhaps artists like horses because there are indeed so many associations that can be made.

"There isn't an emotion that we don't use horses to symbolise, which isn't true in the same degree of any other animal," says artist Christine Moss, whose work focuses on horses.

HORSE ART c550BC: Rampin Rider, Athens 176AD: Statue of Marcus Aurelius, Rome Unknown: Horses of St Mark, Venice 1762: George Stubbs' Whistlejacket, London 1801: Jacques-Louis David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps Ongoing: Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota

"This even includes contradictory characteristics - power and vulnerability, grace and strength, passion and resignation, movement and stillness."

Andy Scott, the artist behind the Heavy Horse sculpture on the M8 near Glasgow, says horses in art are often used as a broad metaphor, as well as something more personal.

"Horses are instantly accessible and everyone has their own relationship with them, even if they don't own one," he says.

"In art horses can work as a metaphor, but people also make their own narrative from the piece of art."

And ultimately we can appreciate a statue of a horse because we get on well with horses.

"We do share, in a sort of bizarre fashion, a common social structure with the horse," says Mr Budiansky.

"We are both group dwelling animals. There is a fascination that we can have this kinship with an animal that is so large and so powerful."

Four decades of a flying giant

The original Boeing 747 was so big that airports had to be adapted to accommodate it. Hangars were enlarged to fit the tail-fin, while tow-trucks and stairs on the taxiway had to be changed. The turbofan engines were more powerful and quieter than jet engines. There were 16 wheels – twice the normal - to spread the weight. Passengers in economy class had a greater sense of space because there were twin aisles and higher storage cabins. Travellers in first class had access to a cocktail bar up a spiral staircase. Pilots (two plus a flight engineer) had to be retrained in new simulators because the cockpit was so high off the ground.

By John Strickland An object of boyish wonder, an aviation milestone, a sea-change for cheap air travel, a Jumbo of a plane, the Boeing 747 celebrates its 40th birthday. Four decades ago, Boeing's prototype 747 took to the skies over Washington State for a flight lasting some 75 minutes. The aircraft, named City of Everett after the location of the factory where it was manufactured, handled well. And so was born the aircraft which has become an icon of the aviation industry and helped bring cheap airline travel to millions of people. 747 FACTS 1,500 planes built or ordered 17 million flights made 42 billion nautical miles flown Equivalent to moon and back 100,000 times BA has biggest fleet - 57 of the planes I remember as a small boy at the time, watching awestruck a BBC documentary about the development of the 747. The music used to convey the imposing size of the aircraft was Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights - familiar today from the opening sequence of the Apprentice. What then made the 747 unique was that it was the first "wide body" aircraft - it had more than one aisle. Today this is the norm for most long haul (and some short haul) aircraft. But at the time it was a big step towards reducing any sense of travelling in a narrow tube, and inducing a sense more equivalent to flying in a large room with high ceilings. Also new was the upper deck, accessed by a spiral staircase. When the aircraft entered service this was initially a rather exclusive bar for first class passengers - today it is more typically used as an additional business or economy class seating area. The plane helped bring cheaper air travel to the masses The 747 also saw the introduction of "big fan" engines, with an air intake large enough for a person to stand in. These engines were considerably more powerful than earlier generations, but in their early days did experience some problems with overheating. The upper deck was also the location for the cockpit, requiring pilots to learn new techniques for handling the 747 from this new vantage point, for landing, take off and taxiing around airports Airports had to adapt to the sheer size of the new plane once it entered service in 1970 with, for example, wider and stronger taxiways and new jetties (the walkways that connect with the plane). For airlines the big question was whether they would be able to fill the massive increase in seats, with a doubling of capacity compared with previous jet aircraft. Less glamorous There were times, particularly in the early 70s when the 747 did seem too big, as airlines struggled after the oil price shocks of the time. But over the years, airlines have been successful in attracting customers with most choosing a 3-class layout with around 350-400 seats. Against this growth the travel experience has arguably become less glamorous and more frustrating - just think of those times when several 747s arrive at once and disgorge all their passengers and baggage into the arrivals hall. Nevertheless, since that first flight, the 747 has fulfilled the faith of its designers and has led to reductions in air fares, opening up air travel to many in a way that was previously unimaginable This has been made possible by the economies of scale which a larger aircraft can offer. The big fan engines were a milestone in aviation In simple terms the overall costs of operating an aircraft with, say 400 seats, are typically not double those of an aircraft with 200 seats. In effect, the cost per seat is reduced. On the one hand, the increased size of the 747 necessitated airlines offering lower fares to encourage more customers and on the other, it gave them the economic basis on which to do so profitably. So although we might complain of travelling in "cattle class" we have the 747 to thank for being able to do so at affordable prices. The 747 has also found a place in popular culture. It is one of the few modern aircraft to have made it into song - "I lost my heart on a 747" (Tom Paxton) and "got on board a westbound seven forty seven" is a line from "It never rains in southern California". This is an aircraft that has truly made its mark.

New train fleet 'to boost jobs'

The plan is billed as the biggest train investment in a generation

A multi-billion pound order for a new fleet of inter-city trains is to create or safeguard 12,500 jobs, the government has announced.

A British-led consortium won the £7.5bn order to build and maintain a fleet of new "super express" trains.

The fleet will replace high-speed trains 20-30 years old on the Great Western and East Coast main lines.

A new train-making plant will be built at one of the following places - Ashby de la Zouch, Sheffield or Gateshead.

As well as the new factory, there will be new depots in Bristol, Reading, Doncaster, Leeds and west London and upgrades to existing depots throughout Britain.

'Prepared to invest'

The consortium, called Agility Trains, is made up of John Laing, Hitachi and Barclays.

The first of the new trains is scheduled to enter service on the East Coast mainline in 2013, and is hoped to be fully operational from 2015.

The fleet will link London with Cambridge, Leeds, Hull, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh and connect London with the Thames Valley, Bristol and South Wales.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon described the plans as the single biggest investment in inter-city trains for a generation.

The procurement process for this project has been painfully slow and very expensive Theresa Villiers shadow transport secretary

He said: "This announcement demonstrates that this government is prepared to invest, even in difficult economic times, by improving our national infrastructure.

"It is good news for the British economy that over 12,500 jobs will be created and safeguarded, good news for the regions that the government is supporting significant inward investment, and good news for passengers that we are taking the steps necessary to improve their rail journeys."

The decision was welcomed by Alec McTavish, director of policy and operations for the Association of Train Operating Companies.

He said: "The fleet will provide long-distance operators with the trains they need to meet the needs of a growing market and passengers with an attractive, cost-effective travel choice."

He added that this "is essential if rail's potential to reduce the UK's carbon footprint and transport congestion is to be realised".

Theresa Villiers, shadow transport secretary, also welcomed the announcement, but said the plans had taken too long to finalise.

She said: "The procurement process for this project has been painfully slow and very expensive, demonstrating that government micromanagement is pushing up costs and slowing up progress on improving our railways.

She added: "And there is still no sign of the 1,300 extra carriages that the government have been promising for years."

Russian and US satellites collide

Satellite collision reconstruction US and Russian communications satellites have collided in space in the first such reported accident. A satellite owned by the US company Iridium hit a defunct Russian satellite at high speed nearly 780km (485 miles) over Siberia on Tuesday, Nasa said. The risk to the International Space Station and a shuttle launch planned for later this month is said to be low. The impact produced massive clouds of debris, and the magnitude of the crash is not expected to be clear for weeks. There are thousands of man-made objects orbiting the earth, but this is thought to be the first time two intact spacecraft have hit each other, the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Miami says. The space station does have the capability of doing a debris-avoidance manoeuvre if necessary John Yembrick Nasa spokesman Nasa is now tracking the hundreds of pieces of wreckage from the collision. It is hoped that most of it will burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, our correspondent adds. Shuttle launch The concern is whether the debris will spread and pose any risk to the ISS, which is orbiting the earth some 435km below the course of the collision. According to the Washington Post, a Nasa memo said officials determined the risk to be "elevated" but have estimated it as "very small and within acceptable limits". SPACE DEBRIS Around 17,000 objects tracked in space Monitored by the US Space Surveillance Network Nasa says four other cases of minor collisions in orbit ISS has had to manoeuvre away from debris eight times Nasa spokesman John Yembrick said the ISS has the "capability of doing a debris-avoidance manoeuvre if necessary". He said this had happened on just eight previous occasions during the course of its 60,000-plus orbits. Officials said there were no plans to delay the launch of Nasa's space shuttle Discovery later this month, although that would re-evaluated in coming days. Nicholas Johnson, an orbital debris expert at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said the Hubble Space Telescope and Earth-observing satellites, closer to the collision site and at a higher orbit, were at greater risk of damage, according to the Associated Press. 'Extremely unusual' Communications firm Iridium, based in Bethesda, Maryland, said it "lost an operational satellite" after it was struck on Tuesday by the Russian satellite. It said its clients may experience some brief outages until it had temporarily fixed the problem by Friday. Iridium said it hoped to replace the 560kg satellite, launched in 1997, with one of its in-orbit spares within the next 30 days. The firm described it as an "extremely unusual, very low-probability event", stressing that it was not caused by any fault on its part. Russia's civilian space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed the collision with the defunct 950kg (2,094lb) satellite, which was launched in 1993. Spokesman Aleksandr Vorobyev was quoted as saying the satellite had "in all likelihood... belonged in the past to the military", and was therefore not the responsibility of Roscosmos. He did not comment on claims the satellite was out of control, and said the incident would be investigated. Littered orbit Space debris experts say such a collision had only been a matter of time. Litter in orbit - caused in part by the break-ups of old satellites - has increased to such an extent that it is now the biggest threat to a space shuttle in flight. Mr Johnson said that at the beginning of this year around 17,000 manmade pieces of debris were orbiting earth. The items, some as small as four inches (10cm), are tracked by the US Space Surveillance Network - sending information to help spacecraft avoid the debris. Some 6,000 satellites have been sent into orbit since 1957. Around 3,000 remain in operation, according to Nasa.

Where does road salt come from?

From here, beneath the ground in Winsford, Cheshire...

With heavy snow falls all week, supplies of the rock salt are running low. Where does the salt scattered by gritters come from? Forget all those notions about political dissidents with pickaxes.

De-icing or gritting salt is nothing like the white grains we use to season food. Made from crushed rock salt carved out of underground mines, it is brownish in colour and resembles gravel.

The salt used to melt ice and add traction on the UK's snow-covered byways comes not from the sea but from three main mines - the Salt Union's Winsford Rock Salt Mine in Cheshire, Cleveland Potash in Teesside and the Irish Salt Mining and Exploration Company in County Antrim.

THE ANSWER Salt now used instead of traditional grit made of sand and small stones De-icing salt is rock salt carved from mines deep underground Mine deposits formed as ancient bodies of salt water dried up Death trap fear as salt runs out How do they know when to grit?

These deposits were formed millions of years ago when the UK and Ireland were covered by inland seas. Over time, the seawater evaporated, leaving vast salty deposits that were gradually covered over. Some are 100m deep, others well over 1.6km - a mile - underground.

Today rock salt is extracted by machines known as continuous miners fitted with rotating steel cutting picks which grind salt from the walls of these vast cathedral-like spaces.

"The salt is then carried away from the cutting surface by conveyor belts to be crushed and treated further," says Salt Union spokeswoman Katie Moffat.

... to the gritting lorries

It is treated with anti-caking agent, then put into storage to await transportation to gritting depots by lorry or rail.

Those who work the salt mines are trained engineers who keep the machinery running - a far cry from the pickaxes and buckets used in the mine's early days in the 1800s, when rock salt was primarily used for salt licks - blocks of salt - for animals.

Deep storage

Rock salt is now used for winter highway maintenance as salt lowers the freezing point of water to below zero Centigrade - how low depends on the concentration of salt to water.

A miners' tea break in the 1920s

This means when salt is spread over a road or a footpath, it either melts the snow and ice as it dissolves, or helps prevent ice forming.

After heavy snow throughout this week and more forecast to fall, de-icing salt has been in such demand that council stocks are running low. And to restock when the roads are slick with ice can be problematic, so supplies are being rationed. Meanwhile, production has been stepped up at Salt Union's mine which has been working 24 hours a day since the beginning of January.

But as well as drilling salt for the nation's byways, Salt Union has also found a use for the spaces left over by mining - storing important documents.

"A salt mine is clean and dry, with huge caverns carved over time, leaving giant pillars of rock salt for stability," says Ms Moffat. "With low humidity, no water and no UV light, it's perfect for archive document storage."

As well as storage rooms, the spaces formed by extraction also form road-sized pathways for the miners and mining equipment to move around between cutting surfaces.

The Salt Association, the trade body for producers, estimates the UK's salt mines to have about 225km (140 miles) of tunnels - almost as long as the M5 motorway. Which is itself in need of de-icing after Thursday's blizzards.

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. The world's longest snake was 13m (42ft) long.
More details

2. Salt mines are ideal for storing important documents.
More details

3. Facebook was originally called "The facebook".
More details

4. The English Channel between Dover and Calais froze over in 1673.
More details

5. The Victoria line, and Waterloo and City line, are the only two of the 11 London Underground lines that are entirely below ground.
More details (the Times)

6. The famous "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster was never actually used during World War II.
More details

7. Being born with additional digits (fingers/toes) is called being polydactyl.
More details

8. Barbra Streisand is an honorary knight of the Legion of Honour.
More details

9. In Norway some streets are heated by pumping seawater through pipes below them.
More details

10. Dalek operatives in Dr Who used to wear just swimming trunks, so hot would it get inside.
More details

Quiztime UK

Download Junkie

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Food For Thought

Where is the cat in the catwalk?
Do models walk like cats?

Why are apartments so close together?

What idiot put an 's' in the word lisp?

If man evolved from apes why do we still have apes?

Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?

If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?

Why does your nose run, and your feet smell?

What should you do if you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

Y2K???? Maybe 1 K just isn't enough.

If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make
terrible?

If you had amnesia and then were cured, would you remember that you forgot?

Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?

Why is the word abbreviation so long?

Is it true that cannibals won't eat clowns because they taste funny?

Do hyenas laugh even when they are being killed?

Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?

You know when you are driving and you notice one shoe on the road... whatever happened to the other shoe?

Why do we press harder on remote control buttons when we know the battery is dead?

Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

When you have your picture taken with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, does the guy inside the costume smile for the camera?

"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language.
Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?

Why is it that if someone tells you that there are 1 billion stars in
the universe you will believe them but if they tell you a wall has
wet paint you will have to touch it to be sure?

How much deeper would oceans be if sponges didn't live there?

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

If a member of a synchronized swimming team drowns, do the rest also drown?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

No one ever says "It's only a game," when their team is winning.

Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

Why do sky divers wear helmets ?

After eating, do amphibians have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?

How can there be self-help groups?

If someone has a mid-life crisis while playing hide and seek, does he automatically lose because he can't find himself?

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?

Instead of talking to your plants, if you yelled at them would they still grow, but only to be troubled and insecure?

Is there another word for synonym?

Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"?

When sign-makers go on strike, is anything written on their picket signs?

When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you're just sitting there, staring at carpeting?

Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?

Why do they report power outages on TV?

Why are builders afraid to have a 13th floor but book publishers aren't afraid to have a Chapter 11?

Do you need a silencer if you are going to shoot a mime?

How does the VCR clock work anyway?

How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?

How many times do you use a disposable razor?

Why do banks charge you an 'insufficient funds' fee for money they already know you don't have?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of his nose?

If nothing ever sticks to TEFLON, how do they make TEFLON stick to the frying pan?

If our knees bent the other way, what would a chair look like?

If you are refinishing a table, shouldn't you have to restart?

If you have 24 odds and ends on a table, and 23 fall off, what do you have left, an odd or an end?

If you are cross-eyed and dyslexic at the same time, would you see okay?

If your in a vehicle going the speed of light, what happens when you turn the headlights on?

When a crash-test-dummy hits his head, and no engineers record the results, does he make a sound?

When it rains, the sky is completely covered in clouds. How does the rain get through?

Where can you buy those little plastic ends to put on your shoe laces?

Why are there floatation device under plane seats, instead of parachutes?

Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive up ATM?

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Why does sour cream have a use-by date?

Why does the door bell ring just after you've stepped out of the shower?

Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it's called a cargo?

Why is there always one in every crowd? If you took all the ones in every crowd and put them in another crowd, will there be one in that crowd?

Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

Why do we tend to raise our shoulders when we're out in the rain?

Why is it that when You're driving and looking for an address, You turn down the volume of the radio?

Why is it that you see this written on car seat belts:? This seat belt does not offer any protection if it is not buckled up?

Why is it that international magazines that advertise products will have the same description of something in different languages, but the description of each language is written in english? Who's that supposed to benefit?

Why do they print "serving suggestion" next to the picture of a product on its label?

Why do they print warning labels telling you not to eat poisonous substances when there isn't a "serving suggestion" on the label?

If you throw a cat out a car window does it become kitty litter?

If corn oil comes from corn, where does baby oil come from?

Why do they put Braille on the number pads of drive-through bank machines?

How did a fool and his money get together?

How do they get a deer to cross at the yellow road sign?

Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

How do you know when it is time to tune your bagpipes?

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

How come Superman could stop bullets with his chest, but always ducked when someone threw a gun at him?

How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn't grow in it?

Why buy a product that it takes 2000 flushes to get rid of?

Why do we wait until a pig is dead to "cure" it?

Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

What is the speed of dark?

How come you never hear about gruntled employees?

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

How can there be self-help groups?

Why do we play in recitals and recite in plays?

Are there seeing eye humans for blind dogs?

When you open a new bag of cotton balls, are you supposed to throw the top one away?

When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you're just sitting there, staring at carpeting?

Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories...

How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn't live there?

Did Washington just flash a quarter for his ID?

I just got skylights put in my place. The people who live above me are furious.

I live on a one-way dead-end street. Makes sense ?

It doesn't matter what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature.

Why in a country of free speech, are there phone bills?

What would happen if there were no hypothetical questions?

Pub failure rate on the increase

The pub sector’s problems have been highlighted in new research which shows the failure rate in the sector is on the increase.

According to insolvency practitioners at PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC), business collapses in the pub trade rose from 64 in the third quarter to 74 in the Christmas quarter, up 16 per cent.

Stephen Broome, PwC’s hospitality & leisure director, said the pace of commercial failures was growing: “With beer sales falling to a record low and almost 40 pubs closing a week, up from the previous average of 36, we are seeing this trend continue to gather speed.

“The industry has been ravaged by a combination of negative factors over recent years, and the recession is likely to put further pressure on an already difficult trading environment. We expect our recent prediction of 4,000 pub closures by 2010 to sadly remain on course.”

However, a recent PwC consumer poll suggested people were less willing to reduce their visits to the pub or indeed how much they spend when they are there, and were instead cutting down on take-aways, fast food and eating out.

“Of course this sentiment may change as more consumers face job threats and experience a reduced income. But for those pubs that get it right, and there are many that do, there is still a loyal customer following to be enjoyed,” Broome added.

In the PwC poll, asking consumers what would be first choice if they were forced to cut spending, take-aways, fast food (14 per cent) and eating out (11 per cent) were top of the ‘chopping list’, while only half of respondees said they would reduce their grocery purchases.

PwC added that nearly a third more restaurants went bust in 2008 than in the previous year, as more UK consumers chose to eat in.

SOURCE - THE PUBLICAN ONLINE

Legendary British warship 'found'

An artist's impression of how HMS Victory may have looked

A US-based salvage firm is believed to have found remains from the wreck of a legendary British warship which sank in the English Channel in 1744.

Odyssey Marine Exploration is expected to announce on Monday that it has found HMS Victory, the forerunner of Nelson's famous flagship of the same name.

The valuables from the vessel, including brass cannons, could be worth millions of pounds, some experts say.

If confirmed, the find could trigger a row with the British government.

The remains from HMS Victory have been reportedly found in international waters.

We found this [the shipwreck] more than 50 miles (80km) from where anybody would have thought it went down Greg Stemm Odyssey Marine Exploration

But as a military wreck, they officially belong to the British state.

'Gold coins'

Ahead of the expected announcement at a news conference in London on Monday, Odyssey Marine Exploration's CEO Greg Stemm said the firm was negotiating with Britain over collaborating on the project.

"This is a big one, just because of the history," Mr Stemm was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

"Very rarely do you solve an age-old mystery like this."

Mr Stemm declined to reveal the exact location of the warship's remains.

"We found this more than 50 miles (80km) from where anybody would have thought it went down," he said.

HMS Victory has been described by some maritime experts as "the finest ship in the world" at its time.

It sank with more than 1,100 seamen aboard, including Admiral Sir John Balchen, in a fierce storm off the Channel Islands.

The ship's exact location has since remained a mystery, despite numerous attempts by salvagers to find it.

The vessel had 100 brass cannons and reportedly some 100,000 gold coins on board.

In 2007, Odyssey said it had salvaged 17 tonnes of gold and silver coins, worth $500m (£343m), from a shipwreck in the North Atlantic.

The Spanish government later sued the company, claiming the the sunken ship was a famous 19th-Century Spanish galleon.

The case is pending.

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You

Jade Ewen won Eurovision: Your Country Needs You tonight with a show-stopping - and aptly chosen - rendition of Beyonce's Deja Vu.

The singer, who has been a pop contender for the past three years, will now represent the UK with the brand new Eurovision song My Time in Moscow in May.

The 23-year-old broke into tears as she sang this year's entry, written for the competition by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren, after the results were announced.

Winner: Jade Ewen breaks down in tears as she sings this year's Eurovision entry My Time

The victory comes after a nail-biting semi-final last week, when Jade received the fewest viewer votes along with Emperors Of Soul, who were booted off the show.

Tonight, she sang Lady Marmalade, My Time and Beyonce's Deja Vu.

For the finale, the three acts each sang three numbers, including this year's Eurovision entry, which was debuted live on the show.

To start the night, the four hopefuls set the mood with a joint performance of Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz.

Sizzling! Diva Jade set of the night with a performance of Lady Marmalade

Then Jade set off the evening with a sizzling performance of Lady Marmalade.

Wearing black PVC leggings, killer heels and a glittery black top, the former popstar wowed both the audience and all the judges.

Lulu said: 'You tick all the boxes. You can sing, you look great and you can move.'

It was the first time that Andrew Lloyd Webber has had a song debuted live on TV.

The twins sparkled in white, flowing dresses for their duet of the show tune, before being outshone by Jade, who wore a glittering, floor-length gown.

Lulu said: 'This song translates into whatever language. This is the song.'

Andrew said he didn't know how the public would vote, but that each of the acts made the song their own and, whoever wins, he would be 101 per cent behind them.

Stunner: Jade gives 'My Time' her soulful and glamorous edge in a full-length, silver gown

Jade will perform live at the Eurovision final in Moscow on May 16.

Last year's entry X Factor reject Andy Abraham came last with just 14 points and it is hoped the combination of Lloyd Webber's music and Warren's lyrics will produce a winning song.

Warren wrote hits like Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me, Toni Braxton's Unbreak My Heart and Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time.

123 entries for the 2009 Grand National

Comply or Die, ridden by Timmy Murphy, is hoping for another success

Last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Denman heads the 123 entries for the 2009 Grand National at Aintree on Saturday 4 April.

The nine-year-old is to set to make his racecourse return next month after having treatment for a heart problem.

He is one of 11 entries from the yard of champion trainer Paul Nicholls, who is seeking his first win in the race.

Last year's victor Comply Or Die bids for a repeat win, along with the 2007 winner Silver Birch.

Also among the 35-strong Irish entries are the 2006 Gold Cup winner War of Attrition, the Irish National winner Hear The Echo, Snowy Morning and King Johns Castle, who was second to Comply or Die last year.

Trainer Arthur Moore's charge is recovering from injury but the trainer is hopeful he can enjoy another good run around the four-and-a-half mile course and give owner JP McManus a first win in the race.

Other notable entries include Madison Du Berlais from the same David Pipe stable as Comply or Die, the Jonjo O'Neill-trained Butlers Cabin, Cloudy Lane from the yard of Donald McCain and Joe Lively, the winner of last weekend's Letherby & Christopher Chase at Cheltenham.