Tropical England!

If you were in England last week, it must have felt like you were in the Mediterranean. In some places it was over 30 degrees Celsius. In Gravesend, Kent the highest temperature measured was 30.9 degrees. According to the meteorologists the warm weather is set to stay for the next week. In many places in the UK the temperatures will reach at least 30 degrees which will make the Glastonbury festival one of the hottest in times. The weather will remain nice at least until Thursday and will stay average onwards.

I would love to be in England at the moment, not only because of the good weather but also the Glastonbury Festival. Unfortunately, I am going to Canada next week so I will not be able to go there. It was quite warm in England the last couple of months and now we are in a peak. According to some meteorologists the temperatures will go up to 39 degrees and there is a chance that this will break the record of the highest temperature measured in Kent which was in 2003 when a temperature of 38.5 was recorded!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/warm-weather-set-to-stay-for-most-of-uk-2012580.html

Police are above the law..

Two police officers have stopped a young photographer when he wanted to take pictures of an armed force parade. Jules Mattson, 16 years old, was stopped by an officer who claimed he needed parental permission to take pictures of the cadets. After arguing with the police he took his mobile and recorded the conversation with the officer. He claims the officer treated him roughly and pushed him of some stairs. Jules is going to sue the officers for having no rights to stop him from taking pictures in a public area.
I think it is ridiculous what the police officers did. The law does not forbid you to take pictures of police officers in the streets, but the policemen claimed they needed no law to detain him. I can imagine that police officers do not want to be taken a photograph of in some cases, but this was just a parade and police had been sued a couple of days before for the same case. I do not understand why the police acted so aggressively and I think they should be sued for sure!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/officers-claim-they-dont-need-law-to-stop-photographer-taking-pictures-2012827.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQucfv0slOE&feature=player_embedded#!

Trapped on an Island

How about living in a peaceful place, where no one has committed a crime for over 60 years, beautiful nature all around you and so on? If you are in search for a place like that you have to hurry up, because soon there will be no more place like that in the UK. The people of Isle of Muck want you come to live on their island because there are only 40 inhabitants left on the island. Recently, some people have moved away and now the inhabitants are afraid they have to leave soon as well because there is no way living on an island with only a few people left. So pack your stuff and join the big family!

I think it would be quite nice living on a reserved island like that. Not for the rest of my life, but just a couple of years. The environment is beautiful, many different kinds of animals live there (even Orcas!). The only problem is that I do not have an idea what I have to do on that island. Maybe I will become the legendary thief which they have not seen in 60 years. The man stole 2 bottles of wine and I might succeed the man by stealing 4 bottles.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/wanted-a-family-to-join-the-diminishing-inhabitants-of-muck-2013057.html

Rat overboard!

A surfer is missing after entering the water at a popular surfers beach in Cornwall. The surfer is now feared to be drowned since the Coastguard has been looking for him over 16 hours now. The 26-year old Indonesian was surfing at Fistral Beach in Newquay and had a female companion. A surfer headed towards them after seeing they were having difficulties. The surfer managed to reach them and was able to rescue the woman and brought her back to the beach where they immediately warned the Coastguard. The Coastguard mounted a search for the man but they were not able to find him, even not with a helicopter and lifeboats. The Coast guard have been searching for him for almost a day now and they are very concerned for his welfare.

When I read this article I immediately got a flashback from last summer. I have been surfing there as well at the very same beach and me and my brother were not surfing in between the flags (the area where you are supposed to surf) but 50 yards to the right. All of a sudden we felt that the current was dragging us back into sea and I had to be rescued by the Coastguard while my brother managed to get back to the beach himself. So when I read this article, I think the surfers were not experienced surfers like me and I think it was very stupid of them to go this far into the sea. However, it is really tragic the man is missing now and is probably drowned and then I think back at last summer and realise I was very lucky and I should be grateful for that!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/swimmer-missing-on-cornish-beach-2012608.html

BMW C1-E vs. Puch Maxi

BMW have launched a new concept of the BMW C1. The new motorcycle is quite ugly with the roll-over bars over the rider’s head which should make it safer for the rider along with the seatbelts. The new motorcycle is called the BMW C1-E which is a two-wheeled electric-powered vehicle. The key change on the new motorcycle is that it has an electric-powered engine with a special lithium-ion battery. Like the standard C1, the E version also has energy-absorbing features at its nose end and a harness for the rider.
This BMW is supposed to be an evolution of the motorcycles and has to compete other motorcycles on the Bike Safe show next week.

I would never ever buy one of these motorcycles because I think they are ugly, expensive and one massive vehicle. It is supposed to be safe because of the harness etc. but if you ride 30 miles per hour and you fall you have as big a problem as me who rides an old moped. My Puch moped is quite old and it might be a little less safe but you do not pay over 5,000 pounds to get one, not talking about insurances. The BMW’s could be handy if you are a business-man who lives in a busy metropolitan and need to get to different places quickly, but for me my old moped is fine.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorbikes/7816990/BikeSafe-show-launches-this-weekend.html

Keep your hands off them!

A six-year old girl has been stabbed in the chest in a house close to Guildford, Surrey. The ‘little angel’ or ‘princess’ as her neighbours call her has been taken to the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Neighbours heard screaming and loud noises late at night and warned the police. When the police arrived they found the stabbed girl and her forty-four year old mother who had been stabbed in her hand and a twenty-eight year old man. The police have taken them into custody and are investigating the case. The little princess has to stay in the hospital until she has been recovered.

I always wonder how parents can ever stab a child. How could you ever hurt a child? For some children this is reality, and I am one of the lucky ones who have not experienced such thing. I feel really sorry for the little girl and I hope she recovers soon, but when she comes back, she might have nowhere else to stay if her mother is found guilty. This is really shocking and hopefully the mother does not have anything to do with this. People should just get their hands off children otherwise they should go to prison!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mother-quizzed-after-girl-stabbed-in-chest-1996838.html

All right, you're off.

‘You should not work too much and too hard’. That is something most people will like to hear their boss say that to them. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy found that one third of the people who have a crapload of work to do skip their lunch and just keep on working. The organisation says that this and also working long in the same position or going to work when ill or stressed, damage health. Back pain, heart diseases, obesity and stroke could be the result of this, so employers should adopt healthier working practices.

The first sentence is definitely something I would like to hear my boss say to me. Usually he says exactly the opposite when I want a little break or have lunch and that there is no time for this. I think you destruct yourself when you work too long without breaks. Work is good for us and it can contribute to physical and mental wellbeing, but working too much does exactly the opposite, it breaks you down. Therefore I think it would be good if the government or National Health Service puts more emphasis to this and make employers let their employees work in a healthy atmosphere.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7814754/One-in-four-people-risking-their-health-by-working-through-the-day-without-a-break.html

Stand up you Rat!

The majority of pregnant women cannot find a seat in busses or trains, because people cannot see the difference between corpulent women and expectant women. Two surveys have been done why people would or would not relinquish their seat and it turned out that people were either selfish or they were uncertain whether a woman was pregnant or not. One thousand pregnant women were questioned and four out of five said they had to remain standing in the bus. The thousand women were in between 29 to 40 weeks and most of them experienced swollen feet and dizziness because they had to stand. Nifa McLaughlin, editor of gurgle.com, said that it is ridiculous that the health of young mums is being put at risk because of embarrassment!

I think Nifa McLaughlin has a point here. It is very selfish of people not to stand up because they do not know whether a woman is pregnant or not. I think this is ridiculous because pregnant women do not necessarily have to be fat. They usually have a belly which makes it obvious that the woman is pregnant. Still, fat women should take care that they do not look like they are pregnant! And for all the selfish people here: Make sure you stand up for pregnant women and old people because it is really hard for them to stand that long, and if you don’t…




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/7809871/Why-pregnant-women-cant-get-a-seat-on-the-bus.html

England, the next World Cup Champion...

Tomorrow, is the World Cup kick-off for England. After England had been placed in Group C, David Beckham picked the ball with the USA’s name on it as the World Cup draw was worked out in South Africa on Friday night. On 12:30, the match will start and the coach of the English national team thinks England has a good chance to win this match as well as the other matches against Algeria and Slovenia. ‘England is going to win the World Cup this year’ said the coach and after being placed in Group C England will definitely make it to the semi- finals at least.

I doubt this, because England might have invented football, but their national team is not that good anymore and it has been a very long time since England won the World Cup. This was in 1966 when England beat West-Germany, but they have not won the Cup since then and two years ago they did not even qualify for the European Championship. This time, however, I wish the English team the best of luck and it would be nice if they made it to the semi-finals, but they would never win the World Cup because therefore you have to beat the Dutch!



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/6728852/World-Cup-2010-draw-England-v-USA.html





For the English Football fans amongst us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ccrO056eg&playnext_from=TL&videos=WvpZptdSt4I

Let's go swimming.. in the crap!

Almost all of Britain’s beaches are clean and have good water quality. Yesterday a report of the EU mandatory standards for water quality showed that the bathing water was in good condition. The figures showed an improvement on 2008 and the UK has climbed up in the league table of European countries for the cleanliness of the bathing water. The quality of the water has increased with 10 percent on 2008 and the UK is now 12th out of 22 of the members. ‘Over the last 20 years the water quality has improved beyond recognition’ says Chris Tuckett of the Environment Agency, ‘but we are not complacent’. New EU standards will set even more ambitious targets in 2015, so there is still work to do!

I think it is good the EU forces countries to do something about the water quality, because some beaches can be really dirty and the water just does not look clean. Bad water quality can cause diseases and blood poisoning. If the government helps to decrease water pollution by charging factories and ships that dump their rubbish in the sea or rivers and cleaning the beaches, the water quality can get a lot better. This is also very pleasant for sunbathers and people who go off to the beach and also for national health care!


http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/british-beach-waters-mark-of-quality-1997335.html

Romanian adventure.

A 20 year old Romanian has been very lucky surviving a flight from Vienna to Heathrow. Usually, most people survive this two-hour flight, but this young man was a stowaway who hid in the undercarriage of a plane after he crawled under a fence at Vienna Airport. The man was on his way to Britain to work there, however, he had no idea where the plane was going. At Heathrow the man was found by the security staff when he fell out of the rear wheel compartment. The man was in ‘incredible good shape’ and the ambulance service checked him over but he did not need any medication. The man survived because the plane did not fly very high due to the bad weather. Usually the plane flies on a high altitude and it is freezing cold up there. The man was very lucky indeed!

This guy is just one lucky bastard! He managed to get on the airport unseen and just picked a random plane (the plane that was closest to the fence) which took him to the right destination! Up in the air the man does not freeze to death because the weather was horrible and made the plane fly quite low. No other fatal things happened like people falling down when the plane approaches the airport because the wheels pop out etc. When he arrives in England he does not even need medical attention! The only bad thing for him is that he was arrested by the police for having no valid passport and for stowing away on an aircraft. This will probably cause him to be send back to Romania which means it was all for nothing. Not so lucky after all, is he?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/from-vienna-to-heathrow-in-the-undercarriage-of-a-plane-1996225.html

Cameron cancels visit Helmand due to Taliban.

Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to stay put on the base he visited in Afghanistan. He wanted to fly to a patrol base in Shahzad in Helmand Province but they feared to be attacked by the Taliban. A Government source said that a telephone call had been intercepted referring to bring down a helicopter in that area. Later on the source intercepted another call in which was said that the chopper transported a VIP. Cameron said he was very disappointed that he could not visit the regiment at the patrol base, but for security reasons it was better to stay on the ground.

I think that this case stinks. Why? Because how on earth could the Taliban know that there was a chopper about to mount up? And how could they know the chopper was transporting a VIP? This is probably the work of spies in the army, or just people who wanted to earn money with it. This might sound a bit harsh, and it is, and I do not have evidence for this theory but I still think this is not all right. But we must not forget that we should be thankful for the source intercepting this call and Cameron not being hurt or killed.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/cameron-cancels-helmand-visit-amid-attack-fear-1997007.html

Hate bees? Buy a mobile phone! Wanna stay alive? Destroy it right away!

Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared: ‘Man would have only four years of life left’. This he did not say for nothing, in fact, it is true. The crops need to be pollinated by bees in order to grow. Recently, some scientist claim they have found evidence that radiation from mobile phones disorientates the bees navigation system and prevent the bees to find their way back home. In America and parts of Europe, lots of beehives are found abandoned and the bees have disappeared. Now there is a big chance that crops will fail and the human race will disappear because of crop failures. This all could happen in less than ten years if Einstein is right.

When I read the article I was a bit shocked. Imagine, this is all true, that would mean that if we keep on using phones all human beings will die out in just a couple of years. However, I wonder how come bees died and abandoned their hives only in the last couple of years. We are using mobile phones for almost two decades now. Still I think the scientists have a point and that we should be careful with the use of phones because you can get diseases from it as well. We should also try to find out why the bees keep on dying and find a way to stop it because it can be more serious than we think it is.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/are-mobile-phones-wiping-out-our-bees-444768.html

License to Kill.

Britain is one of the countries with the most strict rules when it comes to owning guns. All different kinds of guns are treated differently, for some guns are less dangerous than others. Shotguns for example are easier to get than firearms, however you still need a license for both the sort of weapons which you can only get after a police-approved firearms liaison officer is satisfied that you are a fit and proper person. Anyone who is been in prison for more than three years is banned for life from having a gun, and having been in prison for three months or more up till three years will result you being banned from having a gun for five years. To get a license you have to undergo all different sorts of checks and interviews by the police, who will then decide whether or not you can have a gun.

I think it is not too bad Britain got this policy and therefore makes it one of the most regulated countries when it comes to owning guns. In fact, I think this is a very good idea because what you see in countries in the Middle East that in fights it will get out of hand and the police will not be able to control the crowd. Also, in civil wars or in some African countries you see that the militia have loads of guns and kill and torture people. Things like this should never happen in England, which I think is not very likely, but if it was easier to get guns you would hear more often about people being killed in gun fires. I think the police are doing a good thing by not letting people who have been imprisoned have guns. Especially not people who have mental illnesses and are far from capable of having a gun. People who have been in prison for a shorter time have not done very serious things, at least not things that had to do with killing etc. so that should not be too much of a problem. Still I think the police should get it very clear why people want to have guns and in case you have to reason to get a gun, always no!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uks-gun-laws-are-among-the-toughest-in-the-world-1990075.html