Thursday 30 December 2010

Doctor Who star makes Christmas dream come true for inspirational Alfe

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A YOUNG boy from Northampton who spent last Christmas in hospital fighting cancer has had his dream of meeting Doctor Who come true, thanks to the Chronicle & Echo and the star of the hit show.

Alfe Game was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma when he was just five and spent Christmas 2009 at Northampton General Hospital.

The seven-year-old, from Duston, went into remission from the illness in July and has since dedicated hours of his time to helping children in a similar position to him, including collecting toys for presents for children spending Christmas at NGH and designing Christmas cards to be sold to fund presents for two friends who have relapsed with leukaemia.

To read this story click HERE to visit the Northampton Chronicle and Echo Website.

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Advanced Trojan Could Zombify Your Android Device!.

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An advanced new Android trojan named Geinimi has been found in the wild, mobile security firm Lookout reports.

The trojan is possibly the most sophisticated piece of AndroidAndroidmalware so far, with the ability to steal your personal data and send it to a remote computer, as well as take commands from a remote server, which would effectively turn your Android device into a zombie inside of a botnet.

To read the full story click HERE.

And I was just about to bang on about my new Orange San Francisco ANDROID phone.......damn!.

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Kwik Fit and the mystery of the Insurance renewal "error"!

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On Wednesday my Car Insurance renewal arrived from Kwik Fit. I opened the envelope and nearly fell over after reading the quote for this years premium on the Scirocco.....£606!.

Now I realise that to some people a quote of £606 would appear to be not too bad a deal, after all I recently heard of a company quoting £3100 for a 17 year old to insure a 1 litre Nissan Micra!, and admittedly that would have been a shock.

So why then was I not impressed with the renewal quote? Well it's probably due to the fact that although I have now got one more years no claims, still have no convictions,I am another year older (and don't I know it!) and the car has no performance modifications (you can't really class charity graphics and a tow bar as "performance" enhancing!), the cost had gone up by almost £175 from the January 2009 premium.

Intrigued as to the reason for this increase , and the fact that the renewal also did not include several extras (10% discount on purchases at Kwik Fit,Free MOT,Breakdown recovery etc), I decided to log onto the Go Compare website to see if I could get a better deal.

I specified all of the requirements as per the renewal notice, in fact I also included Breakdown cover and legal expenses just for a laugh,then,after the rest of the details had been filled in I hit the return button and waited for my quotes.......

Imagine my surprise then when the third lowest quote came from...Kwik Fit Platinum Insurance!......£402 to be precise, that's £202 less than my renewal, and included more benefits!.

To cut a long story short I then called the Kwik Fit renewal line and explained my findings. The result? Well lets just say that after a rather confusing explanation by the phone sales guy, they have now agreed to insure me for £445 for fully comprehensive cover with Breakdown, excess protection and several other "extras" to boot.

The lesson is of course, never assume that your insurers have your best interests in mind, or indeed that they do anything more than churn out a random figure when your premium is due for renewal.

Remember.Never assume, always check!

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Wednesday 29 December 2010

UK Government to encourage charity donations at cashpoints.

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One idea being tabled under the the Governments new "Big Society" drive is the option to allow people to donate to charity via new methods, one of which is via bank cashpoints.

It seems like a very good idea on the face of it,but the question that has not been answered very clearly so far is whether our donations via the cashpoint will still attract the Gift Aid bonus of 25p in the pound that all UK tax payers can claim as an extra bonus for their chosen cause.

Worryingly, it appears that far from gaining more cash for charities by offering this option, the Government may in fact save themselves rather a lot in tax relief by avoiding the tax break which turns a £10 donation into a £12.50 donation!.

Mmmmmm. Perhaps this "gift horse" needs it's mouth checking over a little more closely!

What do you think?
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Tuesday 28 December 2010

Ok, now for something a bit more FUN!

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A selection of Real(?) examples of exam question answers that apparently where given by students in REAL exams. Not sure if they are ALL genuine, but some of them are just SO good!

Enjoy.......




























LOl :-)

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So..that WAS Christmas!. But I fear we have again missed the point!

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Perhaps it's just me, but I can't help but think that Christmas now days is all about consumerism and cynical pseudo good will to all men ...well those we can be arsed to speak too anyway!.

Many weeks before the day itself the hype starts with the first Christmas decorations in Tesco's from Early October and those bloody awful French perfume adverts that start to appear on our television screens "Eau de bollocks by laboritoire urine Paris" .

Perhaps I am getting old, but it seems to me to be so wrong that on a day to celebrate the Birth of someone very important, the advertisers, retailers and TV companies seem to concentrate very little on that fact, and instead choose to ram a cocktail of celebrity,repeats of films, sales,holidays and those god damn awful "list" programs (Elvis's top 100 Christmas songs).

Imagine if it was your birthday and hardly anyone bothered to say "Happy Birthday" to you, but instead made a ferking fortune selling loads of stuff in your name and for your special day, then ignored the whole point of what the day was actually about!

Hail to the New God of retail......after all, it's what Christmas is all about now,....isn't it?

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Friday 24 December 2010

105 Marathons in 105 Days.What an astonishing guy you are Neil O'Maonaigh-Lennon!

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105 Marathons in 105 Days would be an astonishing achievement anytime, but to complete it in the weather that we have had for the last few weeks is beyond belief!.What an absolutely gob smackingly amazing thing Neil has done!.

Teacher Neil (30) set off from Brighton on the 10th September....and has run every day since then finishing his "Marathon" effort today. He has embarked upon this wonderful fundraiser to raise money for Cancer Research. Neil says it is a cause very close to his own heart as he lost 2 of his grandparents to the disease whilst he was a child.

If there is any justice in this world then this man will be getting a medal from the Queen in the not too distant future for his super human efforts.

Neil O'Maonaigh-Lennon, you are a superstar in the charity fundraising circles, well done to you sir, and may I just take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very Peaceful and restful Christmas. Now, why don't you put your feet up and congratulate yourself on a truly inspiring achievement....you,of all people,deserve it!. :-)

If you would like to sponsor Neil please click HERE to visit his Justgiving site.

Amazing :-)

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Wednesday 22 December 2010

Why do people blog about their illness?

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Hundreds of people blog about their illness or trauma every day. In her article from the Guardian Sue Eckstein explains why......

"If anyone had told me a year ago that I'd be a blogger I would have laughed. I am a cautious Facebook user – by turns amused and horrified at the very public way that friends (and friends of friends of friends) conduct their lives. It feels like happening upon a hidden diary and taking the wrong decision to have a quick read.

In April, I was diagnosed with a malignant giant cell tumour in my leg, and amputation was the proposed "cure". A few days before my admission to hospital, I was trying to explain to a friend how well-wishers' remarks about Heather Mills's fancy footwork on the ice rink were actually little consolation. "You should blog about it," she said. I was sceptical, not least because I didn't know what a blog was. My friend – a poet – showed me hers, and I loved the clean lines, the elegant prose, the haunting photographs. It seemed a million miles from the shouty randomness of Facebook and the cryptic soundbites of Twitter"

Hallelujah to that ! :-)

To read the full article click HERE to visit the Guardian Website..


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Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism

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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. The literature is sparse on the incidence in the most common lymphoid malignancy, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). We calculated the incidence rates for VTE in an unselected UK CLL clinic population at 1.45% per patient year. This represents a tenfold increase over previously published estimates of incidence in the general population and a twofold increase over that of the local hospital inpatient population. In our cohort, the risk of VTE was related to stage C disease. Clinicians should be aware that CLL patients are at risk of VTE.

Link for more details is HERE

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Friday 17 December 2010

What If the nativity story was set in 2010..............


Dear Aso Mohammed Ibrahim. This post is for you.....


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Just so that you will never ever be able to forget what terrible anguish, anger and despair you caused when you decided to drive an uninsured car, without a licence and ran over poor Amy Houston as she crossed the road. Then you ran away because you are a coward.

Just so you don't think for one minute that you can run away from this with a feeling of victory, and just so that one day when your own children grow up and Google your name ,this post will ensure that they will know what their father did to another family. Immortality by Immorality I call it.

This is your SIN Aso Mohammed Ibrahim. It will NEVER go away.

Whilst the Internet exists your name will be remembered with shame. Enjoy your life because when it ends you will have to answer for your actions to a much higher authority than some idiot judges working within a chaotic law system.

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Wednesday 15 December 2010

Burglars ransack home of late Emmerdale chief Gavin Blyth

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I just could not believe this story when I found it today posted on the Click Lancashire Website.


"Callous thieves burgled the home of Emmerdale boss Gavin Blyth while his widow was away attending his funeral, it has emerged.

Suzy Blyth has appealed for the return of of personal effects, including a passport and laptop computer that were taken from the couple's Yorkshire home".

As Gavin was being laid to rest by his family some callous, lowlife waste of skin and bone broke into his family home and stole several items including his wife's laptop which contained some very personal and precious data.

Who in gods name does such a thing to anyone, never mind someone who is,at the time, attending her husbands funeral.

If you know anything about this despicable crime, please,please get in touch with the authorities on 0113 241 4888, and let them know the details.If you don't want to contact the police then just leave an anonymous comment on this blog and I will pass the info on for you.

For the whole story click HERE to visit the Click Lancashire Website.

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Putting leukaemia stem cells into reverse

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Stem cells are ‘starter’ cells that produce all the organs and tissues of the body. As a baby grows in the womb, its stem cells churn out brand new specialised cells that will form an entire body, from lungs, liver and brain to head, shoulders, knees and toes. And as adults, we still have stem cells that replenish our skin, gut and other tissues as they get worn out.

But stem cells have a rogue counterpart – cancer stem cells, which we’ve written about several times on the blog. They’re the ‘immortal’ cells that appear to lie at the heart of many cancers, including some bowel, breast and prostate cancers, and leukaemia.

Cancer stem cells appear to be more resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than the cells making up the ‘bulk’ of the tumour, so understanding how these rogue stem cells originate – and how we can kill them – will be a big step forward.

To read more about this subject on the Cancer Research Website click HERE.

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Leukaemia "Switch" discovery shows promise.

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Scientists have discovered how to “switch off faulty stem cells” that can lead to leukaemia, The Daily Telegraph has reported.


The research found that blocking the action of a protein called beta catenin in mice could make certain types of cancerous leukaemia stem cells revert to a pre-cancerous stage. The stem cells also became more susceptible to certain chemotherapy drug treatments.


When the researchers suppressed beta catenin in human leukaemia cells they found it could slow their division only if they carried an abnormal form of a gene called MLL, which is associated with certain forms of the disease, including one known as acute myeloid leukaemia. This suggests the results may only apply to cases of leukaemia that involve the abnormal MLL gene.


To read the full story click HERE.


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Monday 13 December 2010

Militant Muslim Swedish Bomber says "Our actions will speak for themselves.".

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Shame he ruined such a nice Audi too!


Yeah, your actions say "EVEN THOUGH I GAINED A DEGREE I CAN'T EVEN BLOW MYSELF UP CORRECTLY!". Then again, perhaps he did blow himself up correctly, after all the only person he killed was himself.....nice one!

Seriously though, what could drive such an obviously intelligent individual to do Such a stupid thing?, At the end of the day it's his kids I feel for as he obviously thought more about his after life in paradise and becoming a martyr than he did about his own children, and lets not forget the fact that he was intending to kill other peoples children also.......

It is said that his wife knew nothing of his terrorist intentions, she probably thought that he was manufacturing a devilishly clever rucksack with a built in radio on the living room table!

Note: This story reminded me of a video I saw on Youtube a few years ago. If you look closely you will notice that the location of the car in the video in relation to that of the car in the failed attack a are very similar...i wonder if Mr Terrorist got his idea from this Viral?




Rest in Pieces !

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Scirocco Stolen in Wakefield.Grey paintwork, registration D833 NJA

This is the stolen car.Note steel wheels and front mud flaps.

If you spot this car anywhere on your travels please get in touch with me and reunite it with it's proper owner.

Details again:

Scirocco Mk2
Grey Colour
Registration Number D833 NJA (Ninja!)
Taken in Wakefield Saturday night/Sunday early morning.

Thanks Folks :-)

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Sunday 12 December 2010

Felicity Gain's inspiring Leukaemia battle.But I have a question.

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I have just read a story in the Daily Mail about a model named Felicity Gain who has just been given the recipient of a bone marrow transplant after she was diagnosed last October with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

Now obviously I am always glad to hear of someone winning their battle with blood cancers, and of course I have in the past been involved in work for the Anthony Nolan Trust, so it came as quite a shock to read the article (posted this week) when it reported Felicity as saying

"Because I don't have any siblings we had to look for a stranger to be a donor. We were horrified to discover there's no international, centralised register of donors - who are all voluntary - and that official searches were swamped in red tape.

But Alon moved heaven and earth for me. He was so determined to find a donor for me that he joined the search, using the resources which were available, to track down a possible match. Eventually, a couple of possible donors were found and I was ecstatic at the prospect of a long term solution."


No international register of bone marrow donors!. What about the ANT or the BMDW register then?


And how on earth did Alon manage to find donors himself without any sort of assistance from any international bone marrow registration organizations?


I'm not having a go, but I think that printing this sort of mis information does little to help the work of the registers that DO exist, and who help hundreds of people every year find the "special one" to try and save their lives.


Sadly the option to comment on this article has been disabled, so I was not able to make this observation at the point of publication, so that is why I have decided to post my comments on my blog.


To read Felicity's story please click HERE.





Friday 10 December 2010

Veteran RAF ex-serviceman savagely attacked - for wearing a Royal Air Force jacket

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Is this another example of the disaster area that the UK is rapidly becoming ?.



Now I know that I shouldn't really be too aggressive in my comments, and perhaps I should simply stick to reporting this story as it stands....but what the f**k is the country coming too when an Ex Service Veteran wearing his RAF jacket and a poppy is kicked to crap in a street in the UK?


(Manchester Evening Post).

A veteran ex-serviceman has been assaulted for wearing a Royal Air Force jacket.

The victim, who was also wearing a poppy, was walking along Sherwood Street, Fallowfield, on 1 November 2010 at 6pm when he noticed two men standing near to the entrance of the Fallowfield Loop, near to the junction of Wellington Road.

One man shouted an offensive remark about soldiers - and when the 69-year-old victim replied, he was approached from behind and punched in the head. He was then headbutted in the face, leaving him with two black eyes and a swollen nose.

The two men escaped on pedal bikes. The attackers are described as being aged 17-20 years old, and Asian or mixed race.

One man was of stocky build, 5ft 6ins tall, had thin braided hair and was wearing dark clothing. The second man was of chubby build, 5ft 4ins tall, had short shaved black hair and was wearing dark clothing.

Pc Michael Seddon from Greater Manchester Police's Metropolitan Division said: "This was a mindless and brutal attack on a vulnerable member of the community.

"The victim was left extremely shaken and he is still recovering from his injuries."


Anyone with any information should call police on 0161 856 4420 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

These 2 wan*ers need to learn a little respect for their elders and I would guess that this old gentleman has more integrity in his arse than this pair have in their whole sorry carcasses. Wastes of skin and bone.

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Kerry Katona tries to revive career....but what does she actually do?

If anyone knows what career Kerry is trying to revive could they please let me know as, since the end of her singing career, all she has done, except get off her face,is make documentaries about herself and advertise frozen food!

P.S Could someone on her publicity team also tell "Mum of the year 2005" that smoking around your kids is not a nice thing to do, but then again neither is using them as pawns in your sob story documentaries.

Get a life Kerry,and get a proper job!

If you REALLY want to see what is being said about Karry's latest docuMEntary, click HERE.

Prince Charles and Camilla's car attacked by Huge Pigeon.....

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Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles had a lucky escape last night after a Giant pigeon ,thought to have been bio engineered by terrorists, dropped a huge crap on their Rolls Royce.

Eye (or perhaps ear?) witnesses report that they heard a loud flapping sound followed by a very runny "splat" noise.

Judging by the pictures,it is pretty obvious what the "splat" noise was , so we can only assume that the flapping was either the wings of the giant bird, or more likely the sound produced by a very worried police escort!.




Wednesday 8 December 2010

Emmerdale Producer Gavin Blyth mourned by Soap Stars.

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Stars of Emmerdale and Coronation Street came together yesterday to mourn the loss of telly hero Gavin Blyth.

Gavin, who produced Emmerdale and used to work on the Weatherfield serial, died tragically last month aged just 41 after losing his battle with suspected Lymphoma, leaving wife Suzy and their three children. His funeral took place at a church in Southport, Lancashire.

Stars including Emmerdale's Mark Charnock, Pauline Quirke and Matthew Wolfenden turned up to pay their respects. Samia Smith, Sally Dynevor and Katherine Kelly also left the cobbles to say farewell to Gavin, who has been described by friends as a telly "genius".
The family have asked for any donations to be made to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research via their Website which you can view by clicking HERE.
Many of the stars of both Emmerdale and Corrie have been involved in raising money for LLR for several years now, and am sure that Gavin would be proud to see this amazing and undoubtably effective support continue for many years to come :-)
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Mother faked Leukaemia and Brain Tumour to make hundreds of pounds

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A mother who claimed to be fatally ill with a brain tumour, bone cancer and leukaemia is accused of inventing her condition to con well-wishers out of hundreds of pounds.

Terri Edkins, 23, allegedly shaved her hair off and wore a headscarf to mimic the appearance of a real cancer sufferer as she told her three young children, friends and family that she had only six months to live................


This is the sort of story that really makes my blood boil!, and the fact that this woman conned hundreds of people out of an awful lot of money, not to mention their good will, makes the job of those who genuinely raise money for REAL causes just that bit more difficult!. Why on earth would someone do such a sick and disgusting thing?


To Read more about this terrible story please click HERE.
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Monday 6 December 2010

Car failed MOT today......

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Sadly Scarlett failed her MOT today due to several problems being found :-(

Loose headlights, a blowing exhaust union,worn suspension mounts and a spot of welding is required on the rear suspension mounting point, oh and both rear wheel bearings require replacement.

As usual this all comes at a bad time,just before Christmas, and only a few weeks after shelling out nearly £500 on "other" repairs.

Still, for a (almost) 24 year old car that does on average between 16-18'000 miles per year it has not cost me a fortune to run, and until now has never needed much more than a regular service.

The parts arrive tomorrow and with a little luck she will be back in service by Wednesday...just the small matter of "how much" still to ponder.....we will see!

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Saturday 4 December 2010

New Child leukaemia drug could boost survival rates

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Scientists are hailing a chemotherapy drug found to significantly increase the survival chances of child leukaemia patients whose cancer has returned.

A Cancer Research UK study found giving mitoxantrone to children whose acute lymphoblastic leukaemia returned led to a 69% survival rate after three years.

The standard treatment offers a 45% survival rate, The Lancet study says.

To read the full article on the BBC website click HERE.

Friday 3 December 2010

Mansfield Woodhouse Christmas Fayre Cancelled due to Weather.

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Sad to report that this years Mansfield Woodhouse Christmas Parade and Market have now been cancelled due to the awful weather conditions that have been with us for over a week now.

This will be the first time that Scarlett hasn't been tasked with towing Santa's sleigh in the last 3 years :-(.




TalkTalk Charge Customers for Mobile Calls to France that they didn't make!

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I received my TalkTalk bill the other day and after looking at the amount due for the month I wondered why it seemed to be a lot higher than normal.

After a look at the breakdown of the charges I was surprised to find that on the 15th and 17th November I had made 3 phone-calls to a mobile number in France!. Even stranger was the fact that the mobile number in question was my own!.....with an 0033 prefix.

I am quite sure that if I had been in France for 3 days in November I would have remembered, so I called the Talktalk customer services, and, after several minutes being forced to listen to their awful "Neon Rainbow" jingle, I got to speak to one of their advisers who confirmed that there was indeed a known "glitch" in the system which had routed some calls via France!.

My bill was therefore an extra £12+ more for the month of November,than it should have been, and apparently I will be getting a refund pretty soon.

I suggest that other Talktalk customers check their bills a little closer this month just to make sure that you have not been charged for the same little "extra"!.

To visit the TalkTalk website click HERE.

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Wednesday 1 December 2010

Book launch to raise funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

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JAVEA - AFTER losing her eldest son Kenan to leukaemia three and a half years ago, Javea resident Gina Gatoli-King will be selling signed copies of her startlingly honest and moving memoir, Oi Oi Saveloy!, at a fund raising day on Saturday December 11 at Bar Quo Vadis, Calle Cannes 5, in Javea.

The day at Quo Vadis, next to Javea Karting, will be a chance to celebrate Kenan’s young life and to have some family fun in the build up to Christmas. Among the attractions will be Father Christmas and a Clown plus an Auction too! The money raised from the Auction will be donated to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Leukaemia is the most common cancer in children, accounting for about one third of cases, and the numbers are still growing. Thankfully more children are surviving through medical advances but sadly, for Gina and her husband Lev, Kenan lost his battle aged just eleven years old.

Gina wanted Kenan’s two younger siblings to understand, in time, what happened to their big brother, and Oi Oi Saveloy! began as no more than a few memories on a piece of paper. But in writing, Gina realised that others in a similar situation might benefit from her experience and the book rides every emotion the journey of cancer brings upon loved ones.

Oi Oi Saveloy! is Gina and Lev’s tribute to Kenan and is her story of how the whole family coped with the daily challenges of dealing with a life threatening illness, and in a foreign country too. Kenan was treated at La Fe hospital in Valencia and Gina and Lev have already raised funds and donated toys and games to the children in the cancer wards there.

Published by UP Publications, Oi Oi Saveloy! by Gina Gatoli-King, can be purchased at the event, and online through UP Publications, Waterstones, WH Smith or Amazon and here soon in Spain through local bookshops and supermarkets.

By Karen Mullally

Driving in the snow.How NOT to do it!

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Here are a few examples of just what can happen if you don't take more care whilst driving in the snow. I always find it astonishing that some people still insist on traveling at high speed even on roads covered in snow and ice.





These video's may be intended to amuse,but please remember to.....

SLOW DOWN
LEAVE A LARGER GAP BETWEEN YOU AND THE CAR IN FRONT
ALLOW MORE TIME FOR BRAKING
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!

Just because your car may be fitted with ABS, EBD,Traction Control and other high tech gadgets, doesn't mean you can defy the laws of Physics!

Take care out there :-)

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NEWSFLASH.Madman in 23 year old VW Scirocco drives 43 miles to Mansfield in snow!

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Durocco.Awesome 4x4 twin engined Scirocco.I want one!.

Yes, this morning, against my better judgement I decided to attempt the 43 mile drive from Sleaford to Mansfield...and ,amazingly!,I made it -).

To be fair it had not really snowed much during the evening in Sleaford, so the car only had a very light "icing sugar" coating this morning. Mansfield though,as I later found out, was a very different story!.

According to conversations that I had with several people at Kings Mill who have been on site overnight, the snow has been coming down in buckets, the result of course is that most area's of the hospital site have perhaps 8-12 inches of snow, and, where the plough has pushed aside material from the roads, it can be found in huge piles over 2 feet in height!

Of course I did not know this as I set of at 7am, and, after making a brief stop at Cranwell service station on the A17,where I ended up helping them to open the pumps, I made my way to work.

The A17 was pretty clearwith only a light "slush" on the road surface,but by the time I got to Newark the depth of extra snowfall since last night was obvious and more of it was now on the carriageway.

The A617 to Mansfield was not that much worse, that was until I got to Bilsthorpe when the road became a little to white for comfort, and the dual sections of the road at the Rainworth bypass and the Mansfield bypass had been reduced to one lane, only used by idiots and people in 4x4's!.This was pretty much the way it remained from that point until I arrived at Kings Mill, but just as I thought that I had cleared all of the obstacles I found a few more in the last few hundred yards.

The slip road from the main carriageway into the rear of the site was very slippery, and as I pulled into the site entrance the incline as I went through the gate appeared to have not been cleared causing the car to scramble for grip.I managed to crawl up the slope eventually, but then when I turned into the compound where my Dept is located I found that the entrance to the Dept car park had been blocked by a huge wall of snow made by the snow plough!. I managed to "abandon" the car in another area, and after wading knee deep up to the entrance to my Dept I finally arrived at 0940...ish!.

More snow is expected today....i think an overnight stop at my folks house in Mansfield Woodhouse could be on the cards !.

A request to (some) 4x4 drivers

Please,please could you stop driving right up against my rear bumper as I try to make my way along some pretty awful roads!. Ok, I know you have a 4x4 and that I may be holding YOU up, but sadly I don't have 4 wheel drive (unlike Anson Clements Durocco!) so I have to be a bit careful. Oh, and to the prat (pr@) in the "60" plate Range Rover who decided it would be fun to spray all of the pedestrians on Berry Hill Road in Mansfield the other day...you are quite simply a total Tw@!

Have a nice day !

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Monday 29 November 2010

Leslie Nielson,one of my Comedy Heroes, has died aged 84.

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"Surely you can't be serious?". "Yes I am,...... and stop calling me Shirley!". Yes Mr Leslie Nielson, a megastar of the comedy big screen has sadly passed away over the weekend...and I am gutted!.


Police Squad,Naked Gun,Repossessed and of course Airplane1 and 2 (plus others I just can't think of right now through this blur of tears!).


"We need to get this man to a hospital!".Why, what is it? "It's a large building full of patients but that's not important right now!"


"Doing nothing is very hard to do...you never know when you're finished.”


and the unforgettable "Nice Beaver", "Why thank you, I just had it stuffed"!.


I could go on,and on,and on...etc quoting line after line that this wonderful guy spoke in his many side splitting roles, but hey, why don't you just go and dig out/rent or buy one of his many films and then just sit down, raise your glass and make a toast to Mr Leslie Neilson, actor,comedian and all round nice bloke who we have sadly now had to bid farewell too. Thanks for the laughs Leslie, you will be sadly missed.......sorry, i must stop calling you Sally! :-)


To listen to some of Leslies finest quotes, click HERE.


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Sunday 28 November 2010

Pakistan Air crash. Georgian Registered Ilyushin IL-76 (MGC-4412) Cargo Crashes after take off.

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An Ilyushin IL-76 Similar to the one involved.

Yet more bad news in the world as an Ilyushin IL-76 Cargo Plane, bound for the Sudan with 31 tons of humanitarian aid, crashes 2 minutes after take of from Karachi Airport. Witnesses told of a fire in one of the right hand engines shortly before the aircraft hit the ground.

The aircraft was operated by Sun Way Airlines based in Georgia.All 8 members of the crew, thought to be Russian, were lost in the tragedy. No certain numbers for those who lost their lives on the ground have yet been confirmed.

The aeroplane came down in a suburb of Karachi which housed officers serving with the Navy.It is possible that the death toll was limited due to the major part of the aircraft landing upon building that were unpopulated or being constructed.

To read more about this awful accident please click HERE.

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Saturday 27 November 2010

Snow in Sleaford......COOL! :-) (Well it's freezing actually !)

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Yes, overnight snow has arrived in Sleaford (Lincolnshire,UK) and as I speak 2 of the 3 kids are busy getting freezing cold and wet in it....don't you just love snowballs?

Just in time for the towns Annual Christmas market then, assuming that the white stuff hangs around for at least another 24 hours or so. We will have to see...

Anyway, got to get out there now and dig out the sledge again!....seems like I only put it back in the shed a few weeks ago.

Time for a thick coat and a scarf I think...see you later :-)

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Friday 26 November 2010

A Tribute to Bernard Matthews, Turkey (meat) Lover and Entrepreneur.

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I just heard that Bernard Matthews has recently passed away aged 80. Love him or hate him he was the man that has always been associated with our favorite Christmas bird.

Bernard also helped the Caister lifeboat and had a great interest in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

A self made millionaire, setting up his business after completing his National Service, he certainly made his mark during his time on this earth!

Anyway, as way of a tribute to Bernard,here is a little clip that is one of my favorite "Turkey" themed comedy sketches.....




Bootiful.....just Bootiful !

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All the "cut" bits from those clever "free running" video's !

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Have you ever watched all of those flashy Par cour and Free Running video's and marveled at how amazing the people are that do that stuff?
Well here are a few clips that show what happens when the routines don't quite go as planned!.

A point to note is that apparently ALL of the people featured in these clips appear to be male....perhaps girls have more sense and a little more perception of the possible painful consequences eh? :-)

Enjoy!



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Heavy snow arrives in the UK.

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It's not here yet in Lincolnshire but hopefully it won't be too long coming !. I am just a big kid at heart and always love that point when the first snow arrives and starts to settle.I love to watch it fall at nigh time, ideally standing below a streetlight so that I can watch the flakes falling to earth illuminated by the soft orange glow, and the wonderful eerie silence that you get when the streets are covered in a soft,white, untouched blanket of the stuff.

The only downside (except for the huge heating bill!) is the problems it causes when driving around. Last year I had a but of a bump with the Skoda when the ice on the road caught me out as I turned into a side street. The car decided it wasn't going to go the way I had asked it too, and had a slight "coming together" with the kerb!. Cost me over £200 for a new wishbone and track rod end plus a nasty dent in my alloy!.....Mmmmm, maybe snow is not all good news after all :-)

But it's great though isn't it?

:-)

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Thursday 25 November 2010

Cashback Scam. ALWAYS check your till receipt !

I had this info emailed to me recently.......a very worrying warning!

CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING THE CHECK-OUT

I bought a bunch of stuff, over £150, & I glanced at my receipt as the cashier was handing me the bags. I saw a cash-back of £40. I told her I didn't request a cash back & to delete it. She said I'd have to take the £40 because she couldn't delete it. I told Her to call a supervisor. Supervisor came & said I'd have to take it.. I said NO! Taking the £40 would be a cash advance against my Credit card & I wasn't paying interest on a cash advance!!!!! If they couldn't delete it then they would have to delete the whole order. So the supervisor had the cashier delete the whole order & re-scan everything! The second time I looked at the electronic pad before I signed & a cash-back of £20 popped up. At that point I told the cashier & she deleted it. The total came out right. The cashier agreed that the Electronic Pad must be defective. Obviously the cashier knew the electronic pad was defective because she NEVER offered me the £40 at the beginning. Can you imagine how many people went through before me & at the end of her shift how much money she pocketed? Just to alert everyone. My co worker went to Milford , Sainsburys last week. She had her items rung up by the cashier. The cashier hurried her along and didn't give her a receipt. She asked the cashier for a receipt and the cashier was annoyed and gave it to her. My co worker didn't look at her receipt until later that night. The receipt showed that she asked for £20 cash back. SHE DID NOT ASK FOR CASH BACK! My co-worker called Sainsburys who investigated but could not see the cashier pocket the money. She then called her niece who works for the bank and her niece told her this. This is a new scam going on. The cashier will key in that you asked for cash back and then hand it to her friend who is the next person in the queue. Please, please, please check your receipts right away when using credit or debit cards! This is NOT limited to Sainsburys; they are one of the largest retailers so they have the most incidents. I am adding to this. My husband and I were in Sainsburys and paying with credit card when my husband went to sign the credit card signer he just happen to notice there was a £20 cash back added. He told the cashier that he did not ask nor want cash back and she said this machine has been messing up and she canceled it. We really didn't think anything of it until we read this email. I wonder how many "seniors" have been, or will be, "stung" by this one????

To make matters worse ...THIS SCAM CAN BE DONE ANYWHERE, AT ANY RETAIL OR WHOLESALE LOCATION!!! BEFORE LEAVING THE CHECK-OUT........CHECK YOUR RECEIPT!!!!!

As we all get caught up in the Christmas rush, please take a few seconds to check your till receipt...it may save you a lot of expense!.

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Tuesday 23 November 2010

PDS POSTAL SCAM do NOT call 09066611911 !!

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I'VE JUST BEEN TOLD ABOUT A NEW POSTAL SCAM.

'UNDELIVERED PARCEL' cards are being posted through letterboxes claiming that a company called PDS or PDC (postal delivery Service/company) have been unable to deliver a parcel. There is a number to ring to reschedule delivery. DO NOT ring it as your phone bill will be charged £315 to a company in Belize.

If you get a card through your letterbox call the Royal Mail Fraud 02072396655 to report them.

Sunday 21 November 2010

Car Sorted...just need to put interior back in now!

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At long last it appears that Scarlett's clutch woes have finally been resolved after she spent a weekend away at my local Pitstop Garage in Sleaford.

The problem with a VERY heavy clutch has been plaguing the car for a few months now after a clutch cable snapped in September, but, after a lot of work being carried out including:

New clutch 3 part assembly (Cover,pressure plate and bearing)
New Clutch Cables (x3)
Bulkhead reinforcing plate welded on
New rear Brake shoes
New front Brake pads
New front shock absorbers
New rocker cover gasket

the problem appears to now be sorted out.

Once again, many thanks to the boys at Pitstop garage in Sleaford for a quick and efficient bit of work which has helped to keep the Rocco on the road for a bit longer....well until December when her MOT is due to be renewed!

Today I will be refitting the trays and covers from underneath the dashboard which have been left off for several weeks now so that I could keep an eye on, and fiddle with, the clutch cable as required.

I must say that the car feels so much easier to drive now that I don't have to stand on the clutch to change gear!. I have noticed though that due to the extra force required to press the pedal, my left leg appears much larger than my right! Does that mean I will have to press the accelerator down harder to balance things up?.......Not sure if Mr Plod would accept that excuse if he catches me going a bit quick though! "Sorry officer, I am just trying to build up the muscles in my right leg to match those in my left one, I need the exercise....honest!"

Have a nice day :-)

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Saturday 20 November 2010

Move over Iron Man,Yves Rossy (JetMan) is the real deal !

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On the 5th November 2010 Yves Rossy became the first person to complete a loop the loop whilst wearing a flying wing suit. The device is powered by 4 small micro jet turbines and after launch from a hot air balloon he spent several minutes in the air before returning to earth via parachute.


Cool or what ?

If you would like to visit the Official JetMan Website Click HERE.

WOW!

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