Where's my mom?

The following account, is a true account, but for the sake of anonymity, and to protect those concerned , names and locations have been changed.

Linda, displayed the courage of a lion when she came to Brazil on one of our volunteer programs

¨I was born in Olinda¨ she had declared, with a glimmer of hope and a great sadness in her eyes.

¨But was adopted at 2 weeks old, by a British couple and taken to England by my adoptive parents¨. (who incidentally are loving , supportive parents and have supported Linda in her quest to find her natural mother).

When we received this information from Linda, it was at first a blinding shock to us!

It was her second day in Recife and she hadn¨t disclosed any of this information during the volunteering application process – indeed - and why should she have!

My wife very predicatably, was in tears on being told this, and before long both Linda and my wife were comforting each other, in a uniquely Brazilian way, which was uncanny, because Linda had had no contact with anything remotely Brazilian (at least in the flesh), for the 22 years of her life – save the 15 and a half days in 1983 , spent as an orphan in a Recife convent.

Linda asked us if we could possibly help her to find her ¨natural¨ brazilian mother - there was only one possible answer to this request!

Linda¨s adoption papers at least showed us her mothers name and also indicated that she had a brother. But hell ! A lot can happen in 22 years, particularly in a developing country such as Brazil.

Questions surfaced; persistent, pertinent and worrying!

Was Lindas mother alive ? If she was, would she still be in Recife ? What about her brother ?

All the negative statistics surfaced; the mortality rate for people living in favelas is much lower than the average, was Linda¨s brother one of the hundreds of thousands of street children in Brazil, and if he was, did he survive ?

Was Linda¨s mother one of the thousands of women who are forced into prostitution ? Is she among the ranks of the countless women who fall prey to the drug dealers ?

All of these things and more were telepathically circulating around us, and through us...

Linda and her adoptive English parents (who were not in Brazil at this time) had supplied us with the information they had about Linda¨s Mom.

The major problem, was the information was dated; 1983, a lot has happened in Brazil in the 23 years which have passed.

At least we had a name and an old black and white photograph to go on, however, our hopes dropped when we discovered that the orphanage was no longer an orphanage and the Brazilian man who had helped the British couple with the adoption had since died.

It was Linda¨s brazilian grandfather who had briefly met the adoptive parents at the orphanage in 83, fortunately , they had written in their diary the district where he had lived, this was a lead, albeit a longshot.

We drove to the district and started to flash the photograph around, the response led us up many blind alleys, including one which pointed us in the direction of a notorious red-light area.

We ventured into a twilight world of drugs and prostitution.There were 2 claims that Linda¨s mother had died; one violently by the hands of her pimp, and the other from drug abuse.

Also on the evidence of our old black and white photograph was the claim that she had been whisked away by a German client to a new life in Berlin.......

To Be Continued.

Note: The photograph above is in no way connected to this true account - it is however, indicative of our orphanage project

Here are some sites of interest - I do hope you may find them useful.

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Muito Prazer, Big Phil...



Scolari was spotted in Lisbon yesterday buying an English/Brazilian Portuguese - Brazilian Portuguese/English, phrase book...

Not that he will need it - as he already speaks better english than David ¨Spice Boy¨ Beckham...

¨Victoria Posh¨ has apparently, already enrolled in a West London Samba School in an early attempt to impress hubby¨s boss apparent...For sure - she will have her beady eye on Davey boy, ensuring that he doesnt get up to any ¨Phil¨andering tricks with Felipe¨s Rio, Ra Ra girls...

There is still work to do to entice the Brazilian Maestro through the Lancaster Gates, but it is clear he has been made an offer to manage England after the World Cup Finals this summer...

There seems to be a mixed reaction from the England fans, although the signs are that he has growing support, at least at grass root level...

However, the voices of dissent will come from the other (home grown) applicants and current managerial ranks (at club level) who will almost certainly take the appointment of Big Phil as a snub - which is clearly a sign that authentic managerial ability is somewhat lacking in England...apparently!



Philo¨s agent has already purchased a warm winter coat for his man - in preparation for the cold british winters......

Boa Sorte Felipe...

HOLD YOUR BETS
- HOLD YOUR BETS...



It seems that due to the tens of thousands of blog surfers, who placed tens of thousands of pounds, on Big Phil Scolari getting his feet under the table at Lancaster Gate come end of summer...

Betting Guru (aka Village Idiot to some people ) John McCririck reported that the Magic Sign (Ladbrokes) are on a hiding to nothing should the Brazilian waltz into the West London Headquarters of the English Football Association come August.

Ladbrokes have cut Phily to 5/2 2nd favourite, whilst BET 365 go a miserly 7/4...

Only the most naive of supporters would bet on Big Phil at those odds - you would get more value investing in one of those Nigerian based email scams...

As usual though, the bookmakers are toying with the old adage ¨a fool and his money are soon parted¨

Notwithstanding they have a fairytale candidate in Scolari to fuel speculation, and thus attracting mug money....... dont fall for it...


Big Phil says ¨HOLD YER BETS¨......





Talking about Brazil and Summer in one sentence, reminds me; what are you doing this summer? You could easily be doing this

¨Big Phil¨ Denies England Job Interview...

Felipe Scolari has denied speaking to the English Football Association regarding a possible move into the England Managers job, after the World Cup finals in Germany this summer.


Scolari, affectionately known as ¨Big Phil¨ on the European scene, is currently Manager of the Portuguese national side.

As ever, Philo was the perfect diplomat, He told a reporter...

¨I am coach of Portugal and I am only thinking and speaking about Portugal until the last day of the World Cup."

but his agent; Acaz Felleger, was much less cagey, when he told a reporter:

"He just needs to do a good World Cup and after this he might talk about his future. ¨

He continued...

"If the FA are really interested to sign him they should have been focused on their work for the World Cup like Felipe Scolari is at the moment. ¨

Of course, agent Felleger, neither confirmed nor denied the rumours - leaving the door of speculation ever so slightly ajar.

It would be a huge coup if England could bag Scolari, he has a mightily impressive curriculum vitae. But the word on the street is that the England fans want a home grown manager...


Will England go Brazilian ? Will Beckam become one of Big Phils Samba boys ? We shall have to wait and see...





Watch this space!

Football Betting Forum

Brazil Serie A

Roll Over Mamma, Camilla is Coming!

Scandal rocked the Queens 80th birthday bash at Kew Palace, when Charlie boy, was rumbled plying his mother with copious amounts of dry London gin.

The heir to the throne and his long term ¨bit of stuff¨ ( aka the second wife), Camilla, had hatched a plot to get mummy drunk – so drunk – that they had hoped to fool her into signing an abdication document.


They were rumbled by a royal butler, who overhead Charles whispering in Camilla’s ear, ¨when mummy goes – Camilla comes¨

This was enough for the late Diana Spencer’s erstwhile butler, Mellors, to ¨äve a word¨ with Phil. Who quickly cornered Charles in the library, Charlie gave his dad a shamefaced explanation, weakly claiming it was all in the spirit of a birthday joke.

The Queen apparently served up revenge at the end of the night, by asking the resident DJ to play the Frank Sinatra version of ¨The Lady is a Tramp¨

I guess its just as well my invite was lost in the post – apparently the dance floor was chock-a-block with dogs…

Happy Birthday Ma'am...

¨Lilibet¨, comes of age today, as the Queen celebrates her 80th birthday.

Eldest son and heir, Charles, is putting on a bit of a bash for Mamma tonight, at Kew Palace.

The Palace announced, the Queen, had received 20,000 cards and 17,000 e-mails.

British Prime Minister, Blair, gave her a china tea set (she must have hundreds of those things), which was made in the Staffordshire potteries.

The birthday girl emerged with a beaming smile from Windsor Castle this morning, before going on walkabout in the town, where she was greeted by more than 20,000 of her subjects.

I have my birthday suit ready, in tip-top condition, may I add , I am awaiting my invite for Kew this evening.

The mailman has already been, so I guess I shall have to wait by the phone all day!

Penblwydd Hapus, Mummy!

Get your goddam arse back here, soldier... Sir! No Sir!


¨Get your goddam arse back here, soldier¨. ¨SIR! NO SIR!¨ This could easily have been a quote from the David Zeiger documentary "Sir! No Sir!" However, as far as I know it is not.

The film recounts the opposition to the Vietnam War that existed within the ranks of the United States Army at the time, and how it found its expression.

It screened in New York City last night, and I would be interested to hear comments from any one who saw it...(please post your comments below).

Here is a review by Manohla Dargis of the New York Times

He who dares - dissents...

Five
Zero
Three
Nine
Two
Six
No sir! No sir, not disporting tricks,
You must pay attention to our dissension,
To ignore our plea, would be disaster you see!

Wrong!
Wrong!
Wrong!
Listen Pentagon,
Mistakes be repeated, morale be depleted.

Excuse the stir
The blur
Concur
Sir! No! No! No! Sir!

Heed the deed, the patriots creed.
Defense!
Offense!
No Pretence!
No malfeasance
Moral credence!

New generation, question away,
No mistakes
No decay!
Lessons learnt, must adhere,
Join the ranks, free from fear,
The whistles blowing, the colors glowing,
Truth is growing, almost knowing!

Alan Thomas, April 2006

Can a Socialist Revolutionary Leader and a Queen really have something in common?


When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born (April 21st 1926) she was 3rd in line to the throne. No one could have predicted then that she would become Queen. Both fate and a scandal or two played their part in launching "Princess Lilibet" to the front of the line...

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13th , 1926 and prima facie, was a most unlikely socialist revolutionary. Castro was born into a wealthy family, and despite his father having arrived in Cuba as an illiterate Spaniard from Galicia, the family owned a 23,000 acre plantation in Birán. Without a shadow of a doubt, Elizabeth and Castro are the two most important octogenarians of 2006.

Queen Elizabeth was born to be a leader, Fidel Castro was not. It is this fact which partly makes the Castro profile the most interesting - If I was to receive an invitation to the octogenarians respective birthday bashes, I would be heading for Cuba, giving Buckingham Palace the widest of berths.

Not only because I prefer good cigars, Daiquiri and Mojitos over cucumber and asparagus sandwiches, but life after Castro will have a greater significance and future impact on the World , than life after Queen Elizabeth.

Unless the United Kingdom experiences a constitutional disaster, the transition of heir apparent ought to be a smooth, painless affair. The most significant potential facing the House of Windsor is the Australians piling on the pressure to become a Republic, no big shake, they are all but this , save the formality.

On the other hand, the Castro succession is a difficult one to predict, notwithstanding, it is fraught with immense ramifications not only for the Americas, but for the World at large.

I will examine the possibilities, with an emphasis on the Americas - I will also touch on Castro’s influence in Brazil.



Castro first hit the international political arena as a student of law at the University of Havana. It was there that he joined the UIR, the Insurrectional Revolutionary Union. He later joined, the Party of the Cuban People, whose agenda included exposing government corruption as well as pushing for reform.

Castro used this platform to polemic, Fulgencio Batista (the de facto military leader who orchestrated a successful coup d etat in 1952) and vehemently opposed , US corporate and political influence in Cuba.

It was in 1947 when Castro’s revolutionary leanings were practically exposed, when as a member of a failed group, who attempted to overthrow the government of the Dominican Republic. This however, was only a minor setback – a practice run - as it were. Because the following year he traveled to Bogota , Colombia, for a Pan – American Student Union Conference.

Now, I do not intend to be the exponent of conspiracy theories, but it is entirely possible that whilst there, Castro (with others) was involved in the assassination of the Colombian Liberal Party Leader, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan.

There appears to be little evidence linking Castro to the assassination, however, his links with the Colombian Communist Party, notwithstanding his certain participation in the insurgency and violence which followed – puts him squarely in the frame.

Events forced Castro to flee the country, and he returned to Cuba.

The stage was now set, splashes of paint already on the canvass, whether you believe the painting is a pretty one, depends very much upon your point of political departure. I will however, attempt objectivity , but do please allow me the occasional polemic.

For the past fifty or so years, there has been and remains a ¨Cold War¨ in the Americas. With Castro’s left-hand perpetually jabbing at the U.S., who have frequently counter-punched with a right - hook.

This ideological sparring will come to a head upon the death of Castro, who has ensured a certain legacy in Latin America, notwithstanding in Cuba itself. I will explore this legacy next time!

Till then!

SAMBA BOYS

¨Dancing In The Rhine¨

Ronaldinho's shimmy will ensure that the FIFA World Cup Trophy is again inscribed with the most successful name in World Cup football.

Ronaldinho, FIFA's player of the year for the past two seasons, helped Brazil win a record breaking fifth world title in 2002, and it will take an outstanding side to stop the ¨samba boys¨ from samba-ing out of Germany with the trophy this summer.

The World champs find themselves in a relatively easy looking starting Group F, consisting of Croatia, Australia and Japan. It would be an almighty shock if they failed to get through to the second stage as winners, where they will meet the runner-up of Group E.The second stage is potentially trickier, but I would hope that the Italians win their Group, leaving either, Ghana (yeah right - smiley), USA or The Czech Republic to face Brazil.

On the 27th June, the Czech’s can enjoy a day out at the famous home of Borussia Dortmund; Signal Iduna Park (formerly, the Westfalenstadion).

I fully expect the Brazilian lads to checkmate the Czech’s, with some winning moves well before the whistle.

The Samba train will make it’s way to Frankfurt, for a Quarter-Final showdown with France, Spain or Switzerland. Assuming the French win their Group, the Brazilians will in all probability face the Spanish. The Spaniards are a damn good footballing side, but never seem to do well in World Cups, and to be frank, they have more chance of recapturing The Rock of Gibraltar from the British than outgunning the Brazilians in a Quarter-Final...A quick march south to Munich will see Brazil face either one of four formidable opponents; England, Portugal, Holland or arch-rivals Argentina.

I have a feeling it will be England...Now this prospect induces a cold sweat. Let me explain:

Cast your mind back to June 2002, England v Brazil, venue - Shizuoka, Quarter Final, World Cup...

I had not long arrived in Brazil with my new Brazilian bride, and upon meeting my father-in-law, whose welcome speech opened with the gambit;

¨there are no divorced women in my family; only widows¨ (yikes).

Guess whose house I was in on that day?

Guess who I ended up watching the game with?

Yes! You got it in one - ¨daddy¨ (yikes).

The fact is of course, I am not English, I am Welsh, but such trivia does not wash on foreign shores.

If you speak English, and you’re from the UK, then you’re English - end of story!

They kicked off - my father-in-law and I were seated at the dining table, some 20 or so inches from the television set and I thought I had successfully faked neutrality.

We were both enjoying the game, until the 23rd minute, when the atmosphere suddenly changed.

I looked over and smiled nervously as Michael Owen scored for England.... (yikes)...

He looked at me in a way that I had never been looked at before - his 76 year old eyes pierced my soul, shivered my timbers, notwithstanding, the steam coming out of his ears had contempt written all over...

It was half-time, and a quick exit to the bathroom, released the tension...

Upon my return, I was searching for something to say, when serendipity intervened in the form of Rivaldo, scoring less than a minute into the second-half to boot...Daddy looked at me smugly, a broad self-righteous satisfaction penetrated. I nervously clapped my hands, and congratulated him on a marvelous goal , the smugness intensified.

I vividly remember thinking that 1-1 would be the perfect result, until Ronaldinho¨s free kick put perfection to bed...He was rather harshly sent off some 10 minutes later for fouling Danny Mills.

England had thirty minutes against 10 men...Surely, Beckham, Scholes and co, could muster a couple of goals against 10 men... Not on your life they couldn’t - and at the final whistle it remained England 1 Brazil 2...

Thank the Lord for small mercy; I would never have gotten out of the house alive, if England had scored 2 more...

Where was I? Oh, of course!

Lets move on to Munich, its Wednesday 5th July 2006 - 2nd Semi-Final.Brazil v England (revisited) This is tough, tough, tough, nevertheless, I take the Brazilians to samba sweetly into the final against France, Italy or the hosts Germany...

On Sunday, The 9th July, every Brazilian will have the right to declare...

¨Ich Bin ein Berliner¨.

BRAZIL INFO

CARNAVAL 2007

SPORTS VOLUNTEERING PROJECT

On a lighter note: A buddy from Bristol, England, telephoned me the other day.

He asked my advice on which university course he ought to enroll on.

He said ¨ I have certain course criteria¨ he went on...

¨The course has to be extremely light in content¨

¨With very little to memorize for exams¨

¨With no big heroes or icons to biographize¨

¨And finally, no textbooks to buy¨

Of course, I replied without a moments hesitation...

¨It has to be the Bachelor of Arts, in French Military Victories¨

Read about the life and times of a footy punter: FOOTYPUNTS

volunteering in Brazil|Volunteering opportunity

Volunteering

Opening the door of opportunity...

¨Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...I have just this minute got in through the door, when the phone rang, it was the headmaster from the school, offering me the postion....I am sure that it was my time volunteering in Brazil that swung it...

The above is an extract from an email we received from Samantha in London.

Samantha spent a couple of months with us , volunteering on one of our childrens projects. She had graduated the previous summer, and was so unsure of what to do with her life.

Her placement, decided her direction...

When she returned to ¨London Town¨ it was, all- systems-go; phone calls, letters, more phone calls, and even more letters. Anyway, to cut the chase, she secured a post as a teaching assistant in one of the toughest inner-city schools in London (yikes - good luck, Sam).

And in her own words ¨I am sure that it was my time volunteering in Brazil that swung it¨

Of course, there are many good reasons to volunteer, and enhancing your resume/CV is just one of them.

Some may say that resume enhancement is one of the least noble motivators for volunteering - wrong - wrong - wrong - before a volunteering placement can be considered a success, all stakeholders must benefit.

Volunteering is a great way to help yourself, as well as helping others.

You maybe midway through a college or university course, even graduated. Perhaps you are bored with your current job, even ¨burnt-out¨ from it. Or your current situation may lack the intellectual challenge that you yearn for. Lets put it another way; if you would rather go to the dentist than go to work - I guess its time to move on...

The right kind of volunteering work, especially, international volunteer work (but any volunteer work is good) will provide you with excellent opportunites to learn new skills, to improve and diversify existing skills, to gain new perspectives. You may even find the personal fulfillment and satisfaction you deserve...

It is worth noting that potential employers will recognise that you are a self-starter (whatever that is - smiley) , motivated by the task in hand, and not by financial reward (you can always ask for the raise later). That you are open to new perspectives, new ideas, that you have kinda gone out of your way to gain new experiences to help yourself , in addition to helping others, and in an alien environment to boot...

Whatever you may do, wherever you may go, remember! Volunteering is not only about helping others - it¨s about helping yourself too...

If you are interested in volunteering in Brazil, you may contacy us through our website enquiry form, here: Volunteering Enquiry

I always try and end with a blag - spotted in a classified section...

FOR SALE BY OWNER: Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000 or best offer. No longer needed, got married last month. Wife knows everything.

Brazilian comes back to earth with a bump!

On Sunday, 43 year old Brazilian Air Force pilot, Lt Col Marcos Pontes found himself on the Russian Steppes (Kazakhstan) at 0437 Moscow time.

Fortunately, it wasn’t much of a bump as "Soyuz has made a soft landing," said a mission control official in Moscow. Marcos’s comrades in flight were , American, Bill McArthur and Russian, Valery Tokarev

Congratulations are in order, as the Lt Col is the first Brazilian to venture into space. And after spending 9 days on the International Space Station, it took the guys only three-and-a-half-hours to get back.


This is a result for the Brazilian space program, which met with sad disaster almost three years ago, when a rocket exploded on the launch pad in north Brazil, killing 21 people.

I wonder if I could become the first Welshman in space! – I somehow doubt it, considering I’m afraid of heights (smiley)…besides, perhaps the money would be better spent, alleviating poverty…

Dan Brown Vindicated

A case I have been following with much interest, sees Brown ¨off the hook¨.

The authors of , Holy Blood Holy Grail claimed that Brown had nicked their central theme when writing his outrageously fanciful, The Da Vinci Code. But the High Court in London rejected the Plaintiffs claims, despite making some notable observations regarding an earlier work.

Under the UK, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works may enjoy protection for original work if they can establish " a degree of labour, skill or judgement" in producing it.

This snippet of the Act is and was crucial in Browns vindication, moreover, any lawyer worth his salt can use this peice of code to vindicate most plagiarisers, providing they dont blatantly , word for word produce a work without putting the effort in!

Personally, from a philosophic veiwpoint, I am pleased he was vindicated, because hardly anything is truely original. There are two points to consider:

1) Most of us share similar thought processes, we are bound to reach similar conclusions - sometimes - no matter how wild the claims maybe.
2) Knowledge is almost always produced from a previous occurence or work. We usually build upon what has been said, written or discovered.

On a lighter note, a guy in our class at Uni was a notoriously adept plagiariser, so much so, we named him xerox.

My World - is Your World!

The following is a true account about one of our orphan boys, as reported and written by Mirian Thomas. Mirian is Executive Director of volunteerbrazil.com, and manages all of our field projects in Brazil.

It was during February…. Carnaval time, time of enjoyment and fun in Brazil that he was found in the Metro station. We called him “special child”. He is an autist who was brought by the police to the boys’ orphanage in Recife. We do not know his name, his age, his back-ground… We thought he was deaf, but Sara, an Italian volunteer in the orphanage noticed that he could hear after saying some sounds to him, that he would repeat afterwards. When he first came he could not socialize or interact with anyone- living in his own world full of barriers…

Liz, one of our English volunteers used to talk to him in English and he could repeat sounds and some words… Great he can talk! We had to take him to a doctor and we called him “Pedro”. During his bath he used to protect his face maybe because the parents who released him used to beat him?? We do not know- but we know that he was scared and afraid to touch people or let anyone touch him.

We solved this problem by giving him warm and loving hugs- “carinho” in Portuguese language. The special child in the beginning could not play along with the other boys at the orphanage. He would sit alone looking at us as if we do not exist, get to pronounce some screams and play totally alone…

Yesterday I went to visit as I go there weekly to see our volunteers and he made my day! The special child ran to my arms and jumped on me making some kind of joy sounds! Now he can play along with the other boys, say some words like water, fire, mother, father, house, etc. We taught him how to draw and what a good surprise, he was very capable to do it so quick. He grabs my hand or comes to sit in my lap and start talking to me through his own words… Every time I see “Pedro” I have tears in my eyes for his progress. He brightens my whole day, my whole week!

The volunteers are taking good care of him trying to stimulate him to come out from his private world and communicate with us. He is now a totally different child a miracle of caring and love!

You will find further information on autism here:
USA Organisation UK Organisation

SIR! NO SIR!

In the 1960s, thousands of American GIs rebelled against the Vietnam War, changing the course of U.S. history and society.

David Zeiger has made a film about the movement, which has already receievd rave reviews...On the 17th April you can see a preview screening, in New York City.

Here are the details:

New York Preview Screening
MONDAY, APRIL 17th
With Jane Fonda and Vietnam GI Resisters From the Film Benefit for Iraq Veterans Against the War 7:45 PM and 9:55 PM Tickets: $20

The Venue
IFC CENTER
323 Sixth Avenue,
West Third Street
live box office: 212-924-5246
online at: www.ifccenter.com

Check out the SIR! NO SIR! website which was put together by James Lewes.

James partner, Abbe, represents us on the east coast, they live in Philadelphia.

If you go to the screening (or indeed, any of the previews), please post your feedback...

That will be all for now - SIR.......yeah, right!

Preparing For Summer Volunteering...

Most Europeans and Americans are now preparing for their summer break, we know this without even consulting the calendar!

The proof is in the pudding; as it were, in as much as the recent influx of enquiries for Summer Volunteering Programs, is keeping our girl and boy Friday extremely busy...

Looks as if our orphans and street kids are going to have plenty of company this summer...Dont worry though if you havent applied - as our capacity hasnt yet been reached...

If you want that extra bit of encouragement - you can have 15% off the placement cost; check this out: A HOT AND SWEATY SUMMER

Thank you to the people of Cork, in Ireland!

When Aoife Murphy decided that she wanted to join our volunteer program in Brazil, she set about fundraising (with the help of her mum). They very creatively produced a batch of volunteer Brazil calenders, then went about Cork City selling them to raise funds for her volunteering project (orphanage for girls in Brazil)...

WOT A RESULT - Aoife and her enterprising mum raised over a 1000 Euros -

Hundreds of mantlepieces in Cork are now adorned with images from Brazil - Obrigado

My wife now has a couple of Irish themed fridge magnets, whilst I tucked into the Irish Cream liqueurs last night - yummy - thanks Aoife.

And finally , on an entirely different note... For those of you who enjoy spectacular sporting events; Aintree in Liverpool, England, is home to the famous Grand National Steéplechase, which is being run at 4.15pm BST. This is a gruelling 4 and a half mile test for some of the best hunter chasers in Britain and Ireland.

Lets hope most of them get around safely, and that those who dont managae to complete the course - suffer no ill effects...

I will be shouting on: HEDGEHUNTER, CLAN ROYAL and JOES EDGE...

Good Luck - And they're off! - and so am I,

See you soon...