Terry or Cfadm, please freeze topic 20 - England - since it no longer appears on the hot lists or new posts lists. Thanks. I was gonna do it, but I do not have access to the freeze button in this conference.

Thanks Marcia, I was getting really frustrated! Now I haven't anything to put in after all ..... Watch this space!

me too...*grin*

Topic 20 frozen.

Mahalo, Terry!

Men Opt for Pedicure Over a Pint? LONDON (Reuters) - A third of young men in Britain would shun a night at the pub in favor of a session at the beauty parlor, the Times newspaper said Monday. Research by Lloyds TSB showed an increasing number of men bought their own skincare products and treated themselves to facials. Some 85 percent of men questioned admitted to spending more than 15 pounds ($22.91) a month on skincare.

Oh Dear, this is not going to help what is left of the Englishman's macho image. (I'd say something about the stiff upper lip being the last to go, but will not go there...)

Man Smuggles Dead Father-In-Law on Bus LONDON (Reuters) - An English rugby fan dressed his dead father-in-law and tried to smuggle the body back home from Scotland on a tour bus, police said Sunday. The bizarre incident happened last weekend after the two men watched a rugby league final in Edinburgh on the Saturday and then only the son-in-law woke up in their hotel room in Glasgow on the Sunday morning. ``For reasons known only to himself, he decided to dress the man I believe in a shirt and tie and a suit and also a baseball cap and he got him onto the bus,'' a Glasgow police spokeswoman said. ``Apparently, he pulled the cap down over the man's eyes and the rest of the coach were unaware that the man was dead.'' Once on the bus, the man phoned his wife to tell her that her 77-year-old father had died, prompting police in England to stop the bus en route and remove the body. The son-in-law was not charged.

1. Aerial view of Arundel Castle. (Aerofilms) 2. Arundel Castle - The Library (Photo: Peter Aprahamian). This is the principal survivor from the 11th Duke of Norfolk's remodelling of the castle c1800 and is entirely lined in Honduras mahogany. The carved detail is by the Jonathan Ritsons, father and son. The red plush seat furniture was supplied by George Marat in 1846. Tahank you, Maggie!

You said your home was a modest little housing estate affair...! Thank you, Maggie, that should have said but I did not have the heart to do it all over again!

Arundel Castle Arundel castle in the south of England is well worth a visit. The castle has the same plan as Windsor Castle with a central earthen mound or motte supporting the keep, flanked to the north and south by irregular walled enclosures known as baileys. The story of the castle begins in 1067 when Roger de Montgomery was created Earl of Arundel and given a third os Sussex as a reward for his careful stewardship of Normandy while William was away conquering England. It is likely that Roger built the Motte and bailey himself, probably of earth and timber which was later replaced by stone. The castle is now the home of the seventeenth Duke of Norfolk.

The Chiltern Hills of South Central England Thank you Maggie. She lives on this sacred ground

The windmill in the middle picture and the surrounding area are where Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was filmed. Sorry, but I don't live in the house in the last picture!!!

Oh I know!!! I am sorry I don't live there, too. and all those lovely sheep all around... (What are you doing awake at this hour??!!)

(Talking to YOU!!!) There's a nice little picnic place where I took those photos. Just room for one car, and there's a bench overlooking the valley (you have the pic of T there looking silly!)

(Looking delightful, actually!) gonna post more of Britain but you're gonna have to so to Garden conference to see them...*grin*

CAMPAIGNERS PLAN NUDE MARCH IN SEASIDE RESORT Saturday, June 03, 2000 11:46 A group of campaigners is planning to march naked through a seaside town tomorrow to highlight what its demands for the legal right to appear in public without clothes. Up to a dozen members of Coventry-based group Freedom To Be Yourself � who all insist they are not naturists � will walk naked from Brighton's Royal Pavilion, past Brighton Pier and east along the promenade to the town's nudist beach. The march, at 2pm, coincided with World Naturist Day, but was not in support of the event, said the group's leader, Vincent Bethell, 28. Mr Bethell, an unemployed clerical worker, said: "We are critical of naturists because they believe in segregation. We are campaigning for the abolition of segregation and the legalisation of appearing in public naked. "Being human is not a crime yet we are being punished for the way we look. It is a discrimination against being human; the style of our bodies, the shape of our body parts." Mr Bethell said he hoped police in Brighton would take a "liberal" attitude to the marchers and not arrest them for indecent exposure. He might keep his clothes on so that at least one member of the group will be able to meet the media if the police decide to act, he said. "It is very important to get our message across so I may keep my clothes on. But if it's a nice day I may take the plunge. "We have had reports that the police in Brighton are quite relaxed and that Brighton is a very liberal place so hopefully we will be allowed to march without interference. "Whether or not others protest is a bit up in the air." Tomorrow's march is a "warm up" for the group's biggest event of the year, a nude march on New Scotland Yard in London on July 15. Dozens of naked protesters will gather at 2pm march to Parliament Square and into Whitehall before disbanding in a London park. � Press Association

Didja go? Didja take pictures? Can I see um? Please????? I promise not to tell...

sorry - too far! didn't see it on the news either

Funny thing! The Beeb does not DO things like that...

I wonder why!!!!

Send Page Last updated: Tuesday - 18:32 06/13/2000, EST Britons Sigh Over Wobbly Thames Bridge LONDON (Reuters) - London bridge is falling down. Well, not quite. But Britain's feted Millennium Bridge, built to form a ``blade of light'' across the capital's mighty River Thames, has got a serious case of the shakes. And Britons are not amused. ``Sad, isn't it?'' was the Daily Mirror's reaction to news that the slender steel structure designed by leading architect Norman Foster and built by engineers Ove Arup has been closed just two days after its already delayed official opening. The 320-meter long footbridge linking St Paul's Cathedral to the new Tate Modern art gallery, was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth last month and opened to the public on Saturday. It swayed violently when the first pedestrians strolled across it on a breezy but far from blustery summer's day. By Monday the Millennium Bridge Trust had caved in and said it was closing the 18 million pound ($27 million) bridge ``for weeks'' to investigate and correct the swinging issue. British newspapers had fun with the puns, with phrases like ''winds of change,'' ``shaken but not stirred'' and ``a bridge too far'' peppering editorial pages. Commentators bemoaned the ghost of failure which haunts so many of London's Millennium projects. BRIDGE BLAME GAME The 758 million pound ($1.15 billion) Millennium Dome is now being kept afloat by government subsidies, the giant London Eye ferris wheel was not ready for passengers on January 1, and the ``river of fire'' overture to the Millennium night fireworks simply failed to light. ``Like the famed 'river of fire' that never ignited, the 'blade of light' has not quite cut the mustard,'' wailed the capital's Evening Standard newspaper. ``When one damn thing follows another with the regularity we have seen in London over the millennial celebrations, the choice is between seeing these mishaps as awful auguries for the unfolding age, or seeing the humorous side of it,'' it added. But the serious task was asking who was to blame for the wobbly bridge. Not me, said architect Norman Foster who told the Daily Telegraph the fault was ``an engineering issue.'' Not me, said Culture Secretary and chairman of the Millennium Commission Chris Smith, whose office told Reuters that no apology would be made. ``The bridge has encountered some technical problems, but they will be sorted out and then London will have its bridge,'' a commission spokeswoman said. The spotlight inevitably fell on the engineers Ove Arup, whose chairman Tony Fitzpatrick was forced to admit that he and his company were ``very embarrassed'' by the closure. But even though no one will cross it for the foreseeable future, and some of those who did complained of sea-sickness, Fitzpatrick told the Evening Standard it was ``fantastic'' that London boasted ``the slenderest suspension bridge in the world.'' The irony in his appeal for patience was not missed. ``Just hang on and it will be fine,'' he said.

(and you didn't post the story and pictures I sent you???? *grin*)

Nope...*sigh* I should and here would be perfect... as soon as I can - but have to put it on the hard drive - think it that important?

no, probably bad taste anyway! *grin*

probably... but I really enjoyed it *grin*

Makes up for the lack of Coventry pix earlier!!!*grin*

A lovely word picture of where I live. It goes with the pictures in post number 12 here. ENGLAND We have been dwellers in a lovely land; A land of lavish lights and floating shades, And broad green flats, bordered by woody capes That lessen ever as they stretch away Into the distant blue. A land of hills; Cloud-gathering ranges, on whose ancient breast The morning mists repose; each autumn tide Deep purple with the heath-bloom; from whose brow We might behold the crimson sun go down Behind the barrier of the western sea; A land of beautiful and stately lanes Aerial temples most magnificent, Rising with clusters of rich pinnacles And fretted battlements; a land of towers., Where sleeps the music of deep-voiced bells, Save when in holyday time the joyous air Ebbs t o the welling sound; and Sabbath morn, When from a choir of hill-side villages The peaceful invitation chimes. So were our souls brought up to love this earth, And feed on natural beauty; and the light Of our own sunsets, and the mountains blue That girt around our home, were very parts Of our young being; linked with all we knew; Centres of interest for undying thoughts, And themes of mindful converse. Happy they Who in the fresh and dawning time of youth Have dwelt in such a land, turning their souls To the deep melodies of Nature�s laws, Heard in the after-time of riper thought, Reflective on past seasons of delight. (Henry Alford (1810-1871, a friend of Tennyson)

Found a webcam of one of my favourite local spots - courtesy of Maidenhead Rowing Club. Perhaps you'll see me sitting there with my picnic basket .... http://www.maidenhead.rowing.org.uk/webcam/javacam.htm

Here's a virtual tour of Maidenhead and the surrounding areas. Click on the blue links on the site to get more pictures. http://www.maidenhead.net/tour/

Found a super map site for Britain, you can search by post code or location name. Even found my street!!! http://www.multimap.com

Hundreds flee floods in southern England By Mark Herlihy LONDON (Reuters) - Large areas of southern England were on full-scale flood alert on Friday after heavy rains raised river levels, swamped towns and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes. "We are saying there is an imminent threat to life and property," an Environment Agency spokesman told Reuters late on Thursday. Some insurance experts said Britain could be facing its biggest bill for a natural disaster. The bill could run to four billion pounds, Jeffrey Salmon, of Salmon Assessors, was quoted as saying by the BBC. Officials estimated that several hundred people had left their homes after rivers broke their banks and flooded towns, villages and roads in the counties of Sussex, Kent and Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight. Some unconfirmed reports said the figure for the number of homeless could run into thousands. Helicopters and lifeboats were rushed in to help rescue people stranded by the floods caused by several days of heavy rain. A man in East Sussex was swept away by floodwaters outside a supermarket and was carried downstream clinging to a door. He was plucked from the water and airlifted to hospital by a coastguard helicopter. SEVERE FLOOD WARNINGS "We have currently 16 severe flood warnings in effect -- all in East Sussex and in Kent," the Environment Agency spokesman said. "We have a total of 40 flood warnings, which means people in those areas should prepare now, and 89 flood watches currently in force across the south, southwest, midlands, central and eastern England." The Environment Agency said it expected the severe flood warnings in Kent and East Sussex to remain in place for the next few days. "Even though the rain has been easing off, the rivers are at very high levels. It will take a long time to return to normal," the spokesman said. Kent police said on Thursday they had started to evacuate whole villages because of the rising waters. A spokesman said emergency centres had been set up in the affected areas. "The number of people evacuated from their homes is in the hundreds," he said. A Sussex police spokesman said: "The general situation in the south is very bad and every road in the area is affected. "We are warning people not to drive if they don't have to." Sussex police said about 200 people had been evacuated from their homes in the county, mainly from the town of Lewes. Rail services from London to the English south coast have been disrupted by the weather and some stretches of line have been closed. "There are some delays in the region, where parts of the track are under as much as four feet (1.3 metres) of water," said a spokeswoman for railway network operator Railtrack. Police in northern England plan to resume a search on Friday for a teenage girl swept away by a fast- flowing river. North Yorkshire police recovered the body of 14-year-old Rochelle Cauvet on Wednesday and have widened their hunt for her friend Hannah Black, 13. The pair were swept away by the swollen waters of the Stainforth Beck river while on a school walking trip along its banks.

Hunting for all these webcams to watch Maggie eating here cucumber sandwiches. This is great stuff. Will also hunt up Yew trees. They are special to me!