Wise Words for You

The  Bargain Hunt  presenter Tim Wonnacott has stepped down after being suspended by the BBC following an alleged altercation with the show’s producers. Wonnacott, who has presented the daytime show for 12 years, was suspended in September following a row with production staff. Reports suggested that staff at BBC Bristol issued a complaint after objecting to Wonnacott’s behaviour, leading to a probe into alleged bullying claims. A  Strictly Come Dancing  contestant last year who replaced David Dickinson as  Bargain Hunt  presenter, Wonnacott had a showdown with BBC bosses following the decision to suspend him, pending an investigation. The BBC declined to comment on individual staff matters and announced his departure on 25 November. Wonnacott said: “I am pleased to have been part of  Bargain Hunt  for so many years and have thoroughly enjoyed every one of my, roughly, 1,200 programmes hunting out bargains with the contestants. Alon...

As today is the 3rd anniversary that I started this Blog I am celebrating by bringing you memories of by gone days on this day or as I call this series of Blogs "Moments in time". Enjoy.. On this day in 1993,  Mrs. Doubtfire,  starring Robin Williams as a divorced father who disguises himself as an elderly British nanny in order to spend time with his children, opens in theaters. Directed by Chris Columbus ( Home Alone ) and based on a 1987 novel by Anne Fine titled  Alias Madame Doubtfire,  the film co-starred Sally Field, Harvey Fierstein and Pierce Brosnan. With Williams following in the footsteps of such actors-in-drag as Dustin Hoffman (1982’s  Tootsie ) and Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis (1959’s  Some Like It Hot ),  Mrs. Doubtfire  was a big commercial and critical success. At the time of  Mrs. Doubtfire’s  debut, Robin Williams had already gained fame in Hollywood as an actor capable of playing both comedic and straight roles...

Crossrail's £1 billion fleet of new trains was revealed today — but passengers will face an even greater battle to find a seat. The number of seats per carriage is being cut from around 75 to 50, meaning 1,050 of the 1,500 people who can be carried on the new nine- carriage trains will have to stand. Services will start running on the eastern end of the Crossrail route, between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, in May 2017. The rest of the long-awaited £15 billion route — to Heathrow, Reading and Abbey Wood via Canary Wharf — will be operating by 2019. It will carry 200 million passengers a year and add 10 per cent to London’s rail capacity. The fleet of 66 trains, being made in Derby by Bombardier, will have a mixture of “metro-style” seating seen on the London Overground and “bays” used on the Metropolitan line. A TfL spokeswoman said the new Crossrail trains would have 454 seats, compared to 632 on existing eight-carriage trains to Shenfield. She said passengers w...

Jonny Wilkinson and David Beckham have led the tributes to Jonah Lomu, the New Zealand rugby union legend who died on Wednesday at the age of 40. Wilkinson, who kicked England to victory in the 2003 World Cup, described Lomu as the "greatest superstar and just a fabulous human being". Auckland-born Lomu burst onto the global stage at the 1995 World Cup as a 19-year-old and is best remembered for scoring seven tries in four matches in that tournament, including four in the semi-final against England in Cape Town. He retired from the game in 2007, the year he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. He also joined the IRB Hall of Fame four years later. New Zealand prime minister John Key was quick to take to social media and pay tribute to Lomu, who was in the United Kingdom for the recent Rugby World Cup - which was won by the All Blacks. Jonah Lomu's phenomenal career in numbers Kay tweeted: "Deeply saddened to hear of Jonah Lomu...

Don't fight it if you feel yourself falling in love.  Few things are better for your health than being in love!  If you are in love - and loved - both your mind and your body will benefit.  You don't have to MAKE love to benefit - just BEING in love is enough!  Researchers around the world have produced evidence to show that people of all ages benefit from being in love.  * For some conditions - and some patients - a cuddle can have magic healing powers!  * If you and someone you love share a loving kiss every morning you will live five years longer!  * If you go off to work with a kiss lingering on your lips you will be less likely to have an accident on the way!  * In some hospitals - and in particular maternity units - double beds are provided so that men and women can cuddle.  * Babies who get lots of love - and are given heaps of hugs and cuddles by their parents - will grow up into more emotionally stable children than babies who don't ...

New Zealand is mourning one of its greatest sporting heroes after the former All Blacks player Jonah Lomu passed away unexpectedly in Auckland on Wednesday, aged 40. “We’re all shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden death of Jonah Lomu,” New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said. John Mayhew, the former All Blacks doctor, confirmed the news on Wednesday morning, TV3 reported. Lomu had suffered from health problems since his retirement from playing in 2002 due to the rare kidney disease, Nephrotic syndrome.  He had recently travelled to the UK for the Rugby World Cup, during which he was a spokesperson for Heineken. He played in 73 Tests for New Zealand after making his debut in 1994. More details soon …

Radio stations to fall silent at 11am for Paris Radio stations across the UK will fall silent for at 11am today for the victims of the Paris Attacks. Radio stations owned by Global, Bauer Media, UKRD, UTV, Lincs FM, Communicorp plus independent and BBC stations will stop regular content, news, music and chat in honour of those who lost their lives on Friday night. The silence is being led by the Government, when flags will also fly at half-mast on Whitehall government buildings in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the series of terrorist attacks in Paris, France. IRN and RadioNewsHub will also acknowledge the silence in their bulletins. The terrorist incidents, which took place on Friday 13 November, claimed at least 129 lives and resulted in widespread casualties. Since the news broke on-air at 21:35 Friday evening, two of the UK’s national news/speech stations LBC and BBC Radio 5 live have been providing almost non-stop coverage of the incidents in Paris.

When you take a moment and look around at the world, things can seem pretty messed up. Take 5 or 10 minutes and watch the 6 o’clock news. Chances are, the entire time, all you are going to see is war, conflict, death, illness, etc. Sure, this is part of the mainstream media’s content strategy to sell drama and keep people focused on it, but besides that, it reveals something real about the current state of our world. I believe Michael Ellner said it well in his quote:  “Just look at us. Everything is backwards, everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, psychiatrists destroy minds, scientists destroy truth, major media destroys information, religions destroy spirituality and governments destroy freedom.” Now obviously Ellner’s quote is a simplified way of looking at our current state, but in many ways it’s bang on. Most of what we do in the name of “good” ends up destroying something else in the process and is passed off mainly in...

Cornish pasty makers have created the first ever mince pie and custard pasty. This new sweet pasty will be in stores from Sunday November 15 , just in time for the festive season. Jason Jobling, master baker at Warrens Bakery, has been busy over the last few months developing something outstanding which would stand out as a clear culinary winner this Christmas. He said: "We wanted to give a new Cornish twist to a traditional mince pie. "We've made the pasty using rough puff pastry, filled it with specially selected mincemeat and a vanilla custard and have crimped it in the same way we would a savoury pasty. It's glazed and topped with a cinnamon and sugar blend for extra crunch." Recent recognition for Warrens Bakery's hand crafted, sweet and savoury bakes has seen them selected as one of the top three craft bakers in the UK in the prestigious Craft Business Award in the Baking Industry Awards 2015. It was also shortlisted for The 2015 Great C...

I got asked this question several times and as today is Friday the 13th I thought I share today the origins of 13th to you. Friday the 13th: What's the history behind the superstition? Today is the first of three Fridays this year that will fall on the 13 day of the month, but where does our superstition surrounding Friday the 13, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia, originate from? Friday 13 in history and fiction Folklorist claim there is no written evidence for the superstition before the nineteenth century however; the date has long been connected to notorious events in history and religion. According to Catholic belief the crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place on a Friday the 13, the day after the Last Supper – involving thirteen participants – on Thursday. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci shows 13 around the table Geoffrey Chaucer made reference to the apparent unluckiness of the day, recording in his  Canterbury Tales  that it was bad luck to star...

The best  iPhone 6S deal  in town is a doozy, and it's just been extended. Getting the jump on this month's  Black Friday deals , Mobiles.co.uk is offering an impressive £100 off the upfront cost of the  iPhone 6S . Helping wannabe iPhone owners secure the 64GB version of Apple's latest pocket blower while pinching the pennies, those keen on snapping up the device can do so for a heavily reduced price. 'How?' we hear you cry. Well, when buying the device, entering the voucher code  BLACKNOV15   at the checkout  will cut the phone's upfront cost from £175 to a far more manageable £75. This deal, in partnership with O2, and reported by  TechRadar , sees the iPhone tied to a £31 per month, 24-month contract that bundles the handset with unlimited calls, unlimited texts and a 3GB monthly data allowance. Having originally stated the deal would be offered "for a limited time" only, Mobiles. co.uk - sister site to Carpho...

West Midlands Ambulance Service The man had jumped down onto the tracks at the end of a tunnel near Ludlow Railway Station Paramedics have used a train to take a man to hospital after he plunged 20ft (7m) onto a railway line. The 28-year-old had reportedly jumped down onto tracks at the end of a tunnel near Ludlow station in Shropshire, but had underestimated the drop. West Midlands Ambulance Service said the man had a serious chest injury but was conscious and breathing when medics managed to reach the location. He was taken by train to the station and then put in an ambulance. 'Complex case' The ambulance took him to a waiting helicopter which then flew him to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, for emergency care. The man fell at about 10:15 GMT and  several trains were delayed  as a result. An ambulance service spokesman said: "Due to their location and the difficult terrain, staff decided to use a train to safely transport the patient back to the s...

Scientists Discover A Food That Reduces Your Chance Of Alzheimer's By 75% The old adage of  an apple a day keeps the doctor away  still has some validity. And new research has discovered apple juice three times a week helps prevent Alzheimer's and heart disease.  Dr. Thomas Shea, a neurobiologist, and his research team at the University of Massachusetts topped off 10 years of studying apples' effects on brain health. They used test tubes, Petri dishes, and mice for years. Then finally they confirmed their findings with a  human clinical trial . Twenty-one AD patients from ages 72 to 93 were fed four ounces of apple juice twice daily for thirty days. There were improvements with memory as well as the negative emotional moods normally associated with AD victims. Dr. Shea concluded that by drinking apple juice only three times per week, you would reduce your chances of Alzheimer's by 75%. And there are other benefits. Other animal studies have demonstrated that ...

The annual John Lewis Christmas advert was released on Friday at 8am on YouTube, which of course means that people up and down the country are either fighting back tears, or complaining about the ubiquitous coverage of an advert. The 2015 campaign focussed on loneliness, featuring a girl who spies a lone man on the moon through her telescope, to whom she attempts to send a gift. It's as calculatedly tearjerking as you'd expect. Twitter, as usual, failed to come to any kind of consensus on the topic of the day, with reactions ranging from the innocently enthusiastic: Me waiting  #JohnLewisXmasAd pic.twitter.com/r79Mr6ALVC — Jelena D (@ItsJelenko)  November 6, 2015 Don't think I am emotionally prepared for the release of the  #JohnLewisXmasAd tomorrow — Faye Wilson (@wilsonmaryfaye)  November 5, 2015 Okay so I tried to watch the  #JohnLewisXmasAd  without crying. Epic fail. I am sorry. — SueThearle (@SueThearle)  November 6, 2015 ...

Most women are either bisexual or gay but "never straight", research suggests. Women who say they are straight are in fact aroused by naked men and naked women, whereas lesbians are much more attracted to the female form. The study, led by Dr Gerulf Rieger from the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex, involved 345 women. They were shown videos and had their responses recorded, including whether their pupils dilated in response to sexual stimuli. Straight women were strongly sexually aroused by videos of attractive men and attractive women, even though they said they were only interested in men. This was in contrast to lesbians, who showed much stronger sexual responses to women than to men. The researchers said lesbians were the most like men in their responses because it is usually men who show distinct sexual responses to their favourite sex. Dr Rieger said: "Even though the majority of women identify as straight, our research clearly ...

If you're about to pop out to buy a new laptop, TV or tablet, stop. What are you thinking?! Black Friday 2015 is just weeks away, with thousands of tech deals set to save you significant sums on the year's must-have gadgets. Our bastardised version of the American holiday has become a pretty big deal over the past couple of years, and this November is set to be bigger – and more wallet-friendly – than ever. While you work on saving the pennies, here's everything you need to know about Black Friday 2015, and the subsequent Cyber Monday. When is Black Friday 2015? ©    REX/Ray Tang The biggest shopping day of the year is almost upon us. The day after our American cousins tuck into their Thanksgiving turkey, we'll be queuing outside shops hoping to get our mitts on the best techy bargains around. This year, that fateful day falls on  November 27 . So you've not got long to wait – or much time to practise your department store brawling. Given the si...