Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Tiny Christmas trees for trouser pocket
Wood turner Uwe Uhlig holds a crafted small wooden tree in the traditional Erz Mountain village Lengefeld, about 70km (44 miles) south of the eastern German town Dresden December 15, 2007. They are used as Christmas decoration and specifically as Christmas tree for the trouser pocket.
Haj pilgrimage
Muslims circle the Kaaba during night prayer inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca Dec. 15, 2007. Around 1.5 million Muslims from around the world are expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia for the haj pilgrimage.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Beauty wins despite ugly pageant prank
Throughout the Miss Puerto Rico pageant last week, someone apparently doused Ingrid Marie Rivera’s clothes with pepper spray and spiked her make-up so that she broke out in ugly, swollen hives
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Police on Monday sought to determine who tried to turn a beauty contestant ugly by dousing her clothing with a chemical solution and spiking her makeup, causing her to break out in hives.
Ingrid Marie Rivera was composed while appearing before cameras and judges throughout the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant but had to strip off her clothes backstage and apply ice bags to her face and body and she swelled and broke out in hives twice. But the veteran beauty-pageant contestant beat 29 rivals last Friday to become Puerto Rico’s 2008 Miss Universe contestant.
Pageant spokesman Harold Rosario said the symptoms first began showing up during preliminary competition on November 18. “We thought at first it was an allergic reaction, or maybe nerves,” Rosario said. “But the second time, we knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence.”
Police spokesman Stephen Alvarez said on Monday that an evening gown and Rivera’s makeup have been delivered to the Institute of Forensic Sciences for a chemical analysis. Magali Febles, director of the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant, said earlier that the substance used in the alleged attempt to derail Rivera’s bid for the crown appeared to be pepper gas.
Rivera tearfully recounted her ordeal at a news conference on Sunday, acknowledging she had wavered about staying in the contest.
“At one point I said, ‘Am I a masochist?’” she recalled. “But I said, ‘I am with God and this is my goal, regardless of the results’.”
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Robot designed to help elderly, disabled people
Twendy-One, a robot designed to help the elderly and disabled people around the house, demonstrates its ability to hold delicate objects by manipulating a drinking straw in its fingers at Waseda University in Tokyo Nov. 27, 2007. Twendy-one was designed by robotics researchers at Waseda University to have human-sized four-fingered hands cabable of picking up and holding delicate objects without crushing them.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Queen Elizabeth releases 60 wedding facts
The Duke of Edinburgh had two stag parties before his wedding to the Queen and the couple were showered with rose petals as they headed off on honeymoon.
The Royal couple honeymooned at Broadlands, Hampshire
The information is among 60 facts released by Buckingham Palace to celebrate their diamond anniversary.
Another fact reveals how their wedding cake on 20 November 1947 was 9ft (2.74m) high.
Royal family members have attended a celebration dinner hosted by Prince Charles at Clarence House.
The Queen is the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary.
The list of wedding facts also disclosed that on the day of the wedding, the grave of the Unknown Warrior was the only stone not covered by a special carpet inside Westminster Abbey.
WEDDING GIFTS
The couple received 2,500 gifts from around the world
They included a gold and jade necklace given by King Farouk of Egypt
A piece of crocheted, cotton lace made from yarn personally spun by Mahatma Gandhi was sent on behalf of the Indian government
Over 200,000 people visited a special exhibition of wedding presents at St James's Palace
The day after the ceremony, the Queen followed a tradition started by her mother of having her wedding bouquet returned to the Abbey to be laid on the tombstone.
And among the 2,500 wedding presents were two pairs of bed socks and a home-made tea cosy sent by members of the public.
Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip had his two stag parties the night before the wedding - the first, held at the Dorchester, saw the press being invited.
Honeymoon
The second saw the groom head to the Belfry Club with a group of his closest friends.
Preparations for the historic event included the checking of BBC microphones due to a previous incident at a royal wedding in 1934, where the Abbey cross hit a microphone which was dangling above the altar steps.
They departed for their honeymoon in Broadlands in Hampshire, home of Prince Philip's uncle Earl Mountbatten, from Waterloo station, accompanied by Her Majesty's corgi, Susan.
The royal couple have already revisited Broadlands as part of their anniversary celebrations.
On Monday, the day before their actual anniversary date, they will be attending a service at Westminster Abbey, where they were married.
On the day of their 60th wedding anniversary, the royal couple will travel to Malta where they lived as a young married couple from 1949 to 1951 while Prince Philip was stationed there as a serving Royal Naval officer.
Sixty facts about a royal marriage
Buckingham Palace has revealed 60 facts to mark the diamond wedding anniversary of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
THE ENGAGEMENT
1.The Queen is the first British monarch to have celebrated a diamond wedding anniversary.
2. Princess Elizabeth and Philip first met when they attended the wedding of Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece to The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.
3. The engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN was announced on the 9 July 1947. Philip was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and after the war, in February 1947, became a naturalised British subject. Philip was required to choose a surname in order to continue his career in the Royal Navy, and adopted Mountbatten, the name of his mother's British relatives. He was created Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI on marriage.
4. The platinum and diamond engagement ring was made by the jewellers, Philip Antrobus, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to Philip's mother.
5. Philip had two stag parties the night before the wedding - the first at the Dorchester to which the press were invited and the second with his closest friends at the Belfry Club.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
The couple were married after a four-month engagement
6. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November, 1947 at 1130GMT with 2,000 invited guests.
7. It was the first, and so far only time in British history, that the heir presumptive to the throne had been married.
8. The Queen was the 10th member of the Royal Family to be married in the Abbey. The first Royal wedding to take place in the Abbey was when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland on 11 November, 1100. On 26 April, 1923, the Queen's parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (then the Duke and Duchess of York) were married there.
9. The eight bridesmaids were: HRH The Princess Margaret, HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Mary Cambridge, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten, The Hon. Margaret Elphinstone, The Hon. Diana Bowes-Lyon.
10. There were two pages: HRH Prince William of Gloucester and HRH Prince Michael of Kent, both aged just five.
11. Guests attending the wedding included the King and Queen of Denmark, the King and Queen of Yugoslavia, the Kings of Norway, Romania and the Shah of Iran.
THE OUTFITS
Princess Elizabeth wore satin shoes trimmed with silver and seed pearl
12.The Queen's wedding dress was designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, who had submitted designs for the dress in August 1947.
13. The fabric for the dress was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory, using silk that had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle.
14. The Queen's bridal veil was made of tulle and held by a tiara of diamonds. This tiara was made for Queen Mary in 1919. It was made from re-used diamonds taken from a necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood and Co and a wedding present for Queen Mary in 1893. In August 1936, Queen Mary gave the tiara to Queen Elizabeth from whom it was borrowed by Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947.
15. After the wedding, the dress was exhibited at St James's Palace and was then shown in the capital towns of the British Isles and in Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Preston, Leicester, Nottingham, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield.
THE FLOWERS
16. The bride's wedding bouquet was supplied by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners and made by the florist MH Longman. It was of white orchids with a sprig of myrtle from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet. An identical copy of the bouquet was made and presented to The Queen on her Golden Wedding in 1997.
17. The grave of the Unknown Warrior was the only stone that was not covered by the special carpet in the Abbey. The day after the wedding, Princess Elizabeth followed a Royal tradition started by her mother, of sending her wedding bouquet back to the Abbey to be laid on this grave.
18. The bridesmaids wore wreaths in their hair of miniature white sheaves, Lilies and London Pride, modelled in white satin and silver lame. They were made by Jac Ltd of London. The pages wore Royal Stewart tartan kilts.
19. The bridesmaids' bouquets, prepared by Moyses Stevens, were of white orchids, lilies of the valley, gardenias, white bouvardia, white roses and white nerine.
THE SERVICE
The Queen was married in Westminster Abbey
20. The bells of St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey, hailed the arrival of the carriage procession. The Queen arrived at the Abbey with her father, George VI, in the Irish State Coach.
21. Other music at the wedding included: Psalm 67 (God be merciful unto us and bless us) sung to a setting by EC Bairstow; the motet We Wait For Thy Loving Kindness, O God, by Dr William McKie, organist and master of the choristers of the Abbey; the hymn The Lord's My Shepherd (to the then relatively unknown Scottish tune Crimond); the anthem Blessed Be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by SS Wesley was sung by the Abbey choir and members of the choirs of the Chapel Royal and St George's Chapel Windsor; and after signing the register in St Edward's Chapel, the procession made its way out of the Abbey to Mendelssohn's Wedding March.
22. There were 91 singers at the wedding, made up from the Abbey Choir, the Choir of HM Chapels Royal and additional tenors and basses. They sat in the organ loft as the choir stalls were occupied by various dignitaries.
23. William McKie, the Abbey organist, had been summoned to the Palace four days before the wedding so that Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret could sing the descant to Crimond to him so that he could note it down as no other copy was available.
The number of signatures on the marriage register ran into two pages
25. The altar was hung with the white dorsal given in 1911 by King George V and Queen Mary for their coronation and the 1937 coronation frontal given by the Princess' parents. The Abbey plate was displayed on the altar.
26. The bride's wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came from the Clogau St David's mine, near Dolgellau.
27. As not all the people to sign the register could fit into St Edward's Chapel, only the bride and groom, the King and Queen, Queen Mary and Princess Andrew of Greece (the groom's mother), the Archbishop, and the Dean of Westminster signed it at this point. The rest of the signatures were added later at Buckingham Palace. They included: Princess Margaret, Prince George of Greece (the groom's uncle), Henry (Duke of Gloucester), Alice (Duchess of Gloucester), Princess Marina (Duchess of Kent), Lady Patricia Ramsay, Alexander Ramsay, Alice Mary (Countess of Athlone), Earl of Athlone, Victoria Milford Haven, Nada Milford Haven, Edwina Mountbatten of Burma, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, King Haakon (of Norway), King Michael (of Romania), Queen Ingrid (of Denmark), King Frederick (of Denmark).
28. Trumpet fanfares were introduced for the first time at a Royal wedding in the Abbey. A white flag was waved in the organ loft to signal the fanfare once the register had been signed.
29. The position of the BBC microphones had to be carefully checked as at the 1934 Royal wedding, the Abbey cross had hit the microphone suspended above the altar steps. Radio commentators shared the organ loft with the choir.
PUBLIC CELEBRATIONS
30. Thousands of people lined the processional route and were able to file through the Abbey after the service. Millions listened to the live radio broadcast.
31. The film of the wedding was watched by many thousands of people at cinemas across the country.
32. About 10,000 telegrams of congratulations were received at Buckingham Palace.
WEDDING GIFTS
The couple received a pair of Meissen chocolate pots from Pope Pius XII
33. The Royal couple received over 2,500 wedding presents from well-wishers around the world. Most were put on display for a few days in a charity exhibition at St James's Palace. From India, there was a piece of crocheted, cotton lace made from yarn personally spun by Mahatma Gandhi. The central motif reads "Jai Hind" (Victory for India).
34. Other gifts from abroad included a gold and jade necklace given by King Farouk of Egypt, a writing desk from the Government of New Zealand and pieces from a Chinese porcelain dinner service printed with characters denoting "double joy" given by President Chiang Kai Shek of the Chinese Republic.
35. As well as jewellery from their close relatives, including the King and Queen, the couple received many useful items for the kitchen and home, including salt cellars from the Queen, a bookcase from Queen Mary, and a picnic case from Princess Margaret.
36. Other gifts, kindly made and given by members of the public, included a hand-knitted cardigan, two pairs of bed socks, and a hand-knitted tea cosy.
37. Over 200,000 people visited the special exhibition of wedding presents at St James's Palace.
THE WEDDING RECEPTION
The wedding reception was held at Buckingham Palace
38. The "wedding breakfast" was held after the marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey in the Ball Supper-room at Buckingham Palace. The menu was Filet de Sole Mountbatten, Perdreau en Casserole, Bombe Glacee Princess Elizabeth
39. The bride and groom sat at the main table with the bride's parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the bride's grandmother, Queen Mary, her sister Princess Margaret, the groom's mother, Princess Andrew of Greece, the groom's uncle, Prince George of Greece and the Kings of Norway, Denmark and Romania.
40. Individual posies of myrtle and white Balmoral heather were placed at each place setting as "favours" (gifts to the guests).
41. The flowers decorating the tables were pink and white carnations, donated by the British Carnation Society.
42. The string band of the Grenadier Guards played music during the "wedding breakfast" under the direction of Captain FJ Harris. The King's Pipe Major also played at the lunch.
43. The official wedding cake was made by McVities and Price. Eleven other cakes were given as presents. With post-war food rationing still in place ingredients were sent as wedding presents from overseas, for example the official cake was made using ingredients given as a wedding gift by Australian Girl Guides. Pieces of cake and food parcels were later distributed to schoolchildren and institutions.
44. The cake was nine feet high in four tiers, with painted panels of the armorial bearings of both families, and included the monograms of bride and groom, sugar-iced figures to depict their favourite activities, and regimental and naval badges. The cake was cut using the Duke's Mountbatten sword, which was a wedding present from the King.
45. United Biscuits, which now owns the former McVities and Price brand, will be making two cakes to mark the diamond wedding anniversary in 2007. The first of the cakes will be on display at the lunch for members of various Royal Families at Buckingham Palace after the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 19 November. The second cake will be distributed to members of staff
THE HONEYMOON
The Queen and Prince Philip spent some of their honeymoon in Malta
46. The bride and bridegroom left the Palace showered with rose petals. For the Princess' going-away outfit, Hartnell designed an ensemble of a dress and matching coat in mist-blue with mushroom-coloured accessories.
47. The couple departed from Waterloo station with the Princess's corgi, Susan, for their honeymoon.
48. The newlyweds spent their wedding night at Broadlands in Hampshire, home of Prince Philip's uncle Earl Mountbatten. The second part of the honeymoon was spent at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate.
MARRIED LIFE
Prince Philip was not crowned or anointed at the Queen's coronation
49. Early in 1948 the couple leased their first marital home, Windlesham Moor, in Surrey, near Windsor Castle, where they stayed until they moved to Clarence House on 4 July 1949.
50. After marrying Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh continued his naval career, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in command of the frigate HMS Magpie.
51. Although he was the Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh was not crowned or anointed at the Coronation ceremony in 1953. He was the first subject to pay Homage to Her Majesty, and kiss the newly crowned Queen by stating "I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do become your liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks. So help me God."
52. Prince Philip has accompanied the Queen on all her Commonwealth tours and State visits, as well as on public engagements in all parts of the UK. The first of these was the Coronation tour of the Commonwealth from November 1953 to May 1954, when the couple visited Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Libya, Malta and Gibraltar, travelling a distance of 43,618 miles.
53. The Duke of Edinburgh is only one of a few consorts to reigning female Queens in British history. William III was co-Sovereign with Mary II, although she, as daughter of James II, was nearer the throne than him. The husband of Queen Anne was not given the title of King, but remained Prince George of Denmark. Prince Albert was created Prince Consort by Queen Victoria in 1857.
54. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have four children: Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales (b. 1948), Princess Anne, The Princess Royal (b. 1950), Prince Andrew, The Duke of York (b. 1960), and Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex (b. 1964).
55. With the birth of Prince Andrew in 1960, the Queen became the first reigning Sovereign to give birth to a child since Queen Victoria, whose youngest child, Princess Beatrice, was born in 1857.
56. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have seven grandchildren - Peter Phillips (b. 1977), Zara Phillips (b. 1981) Prince William (b. 1982), Prince Harry (b. 1984), Princess Beatrice (b. 1988), Princess Eugenie (b. 1990), and Lady Louise Windsor (b. 2003). The Earl and Countess of Wessex are expecting their second child in December.
57. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary in the year of the coronation, with a dance at Clarence House given by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. They left on their Commonwealth tour three days later.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
58. A service of thanksgiving was held in Westminster Abbey for both the Silver and Golden wedding anniversaries.
59. There will be a service of thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey on the 19 November 2007 to celebrate the Diamond Wedding Anniversary. On the 20 November, the day of their wedding anniversary, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will travel to Malta where they lived as a young married couple from 1949-51 while the Duke was stationed there as a serving Royal Naval officer.
60. Five choristers who sang at the 1947 Wedding Service in Westminster Abbey will be serving at the Service of Thanksgiving on the 19 November, 2007 in Westminster Abbey.
The Royal couple honeymooned at Broadlands, Hampshire
The information is among 60 facts released by Buckingham Palace to celebrate their diamond anniversary.
Another fact reveals how their wedding cake on 20 November 1947 was 9ft (2.74m) high.
Royal family members have attended a celebration dinner hosted by Prince Charles at Clarence House.
The Queen is the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary.
The list of wedding facts also disclosed that on the day of the wedding, the grave of the Unknown Warrior was the only stone not covered by a special carpet inside Westminster Abbey.
WEDDING GIFTS
The couple received 2,500 gifts from around the world
They included a gold and jade necklace given by King Farouk of Egypt
A piece of crocheted, cotton lace made from yarn personally spun by Mahatma Gandhi was sent on behalf of the Indian government
Over 200,000 people visited a special exhibition of wedding presents at St James's Palace
The day after the ceremony, the Queen followed a tradition started by her mother of having her wedding bouquet returned to the Abbey to be laid on the tombstone.
And among the 2,500 wedding presents were two pairs of bed socks and a home-made tea cosy sent by members of the public.
Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip had his two stag parties the night before the wedding - the first, held at the Dorchester, saw the press being invited.
Honeymoon
The second saw the groom head to the Belfry Club with a group of his closest friends.
Preparations for the historic event included the checking of BBC microphones due to a previous incident at a royal wedding in 1934, where the Abbey cross hit a microphone which was dangling above the altar steps.
They departed for their honeymoon in Broadlands in Hampshire, home of Prince Philip's uncle Earl Mountbatten, from Waterloo station, accompanied by Her Majesty's corgi, Susan.
The royal couple have already revisited Broadlands as part of their anniversary celebrations.
On Monday, the day before their actual anniversary date, they will be attending a service at Westminster Abbey, where they were married.
On the day of their 60th wedding anniversary, the royal couple will travel to Malta where they lived as a young married couple from 1949 to 1951 while Prince Philip was stationed there as a serving Royal Naval officer.
Sixty facts about a royal marriage
Buckingham Palace has revealed 60 facts to mark the diamond wedding anniversary of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
THE ENGAGEMENT
1.The Queen is the first British monarch to have celebrated a diamond wedding anniversary.
2. Princess Elizabeth and Philip first met when they attended the wedding of Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece to The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.
3. The engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN was announced on the 9 July 1947. Philip was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and after the war, in February 1947, became a naturalised British subject. Philip was required to choose a surname in order to continue his career in the Royal Navy, and adopted Mountbatten, the name of his mother's British relatives. He was created Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI on marriage.
4. The platinum and diamond engagement ring was made by the jewellers, Philip Antrobus, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to Philip's mother.
5. Philip had two stag parties the night before the wedding - the first at the Dorchester to which the press were invited and the second with his closest friends at the Belfry Club.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
The couple were married after a four-month engagement
6. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November, 1947 at 1130GMT with 2,000 invited guests.
7. It was the first, and so far only time in British history, that the heir presumptive to the throne had been married.
8. The Queen was the 10th member of the Royal Family to be married in the Abbey. The first Royal wedding to take place in the Abbey was when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland on 11 November, 1100. On 26 April, 1923, the Queen's parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (then the Duke and Duchess of York) were married there.
9. The eight bridesmaids were: HRH The Princess Margaret, HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Mary Cambridge, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten, The Hon. Margaret Elphinstone, The Hon. Diana Bowes-Lyon.
10. There were two pages: HRH Prince William of Gloucester and HRH Prince Michael of Kent, both aged just five.
11. Guests attending the wedding included the King and Queen of Denmark, the King and Queen of Yugoslavia, the Kings of Norway, Romania and the Shah of Iran.
THE OUTFITS
Princess Elizabeth wore satin shoes trimmed with silver and seed pearl
12.The Queen's wedding dress was designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, who had submitted designs for the dress in August 1947.
13. The fabric for the dress was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory, using silk that had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle.
14. The Queen's bridal veil was made of tulle and held by a tiara of diamonds. This tiara was made for Queen Mary in 1919. It was made from re-used diamonds taken from a necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood and Co and a wedding present for Queen Mary in 1893. In August 1936, Queen Mary gave the tiara to Queen Elizabeth from whom it was borrowed by Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947.
15. After the wedding, the dress was exhibited at St James's Palace and was then shown in the capital towns of the British Isles and in Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Preston, Leicester, Nottingham, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield.
THE FLOWERS
16. The bride's wedding bouquet was supplied by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners and made by the florist MH Longman. It was of white orchids with a sprig of myrtle from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet. An identical copy of the bouquet was made and presented to The Queen on her Golden Wedding in 1997.
17. The grave of the Unknown Warrior was the only stone that was not covered by the special carpet in the Abbey. The day after the wedding, Princess Elizabeth followed a Royal tradition started by her mother, of sending her wedding bouquet back to the Abbey to be laid on this grave.
18. The bridesmaids wore wreaths in their hair of miniature white sheaves, Lilies and London Pride, modelled in white satin and silver lame. They were made by Jac Ltd of London. The pages wore Royal Stewart tartan kilts.
19. The bridesmaids' bouquets, prepared by Moyses Stevens, were of white orchids, lilies of the valley, gardenias, white bouvardia, white roses and white nerine.
THE SERVICE
The Queen was married in Westminster Abbey
20. The bells of St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey, hailed the arrival of the carriage procession. The Queen arrived at the Abbey with her father, George VI, in the Irish State Coach.
21. Other music at the wedding included: Psalm 67 (God be merciful unto us and bless us) sung to a setting by EC Bairstow; the motet We Wait For Thy Loving Kindness, O God, by Dr William McKie, organist and master of the choristers of the Abbey; the hymn The Lord's My Shepherd (to the then relatively unknown Scottish tune Crimond); the anthem Blessed Be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by SS Wesley was sung by the Abbey choir and members of the choirs of the Chapel Royal and St George's Chapel Windsor; and after signing the register in St Edward's Chapel, the procession made its way out of the Abbey to Mendelssohn's Wedding March.
22. There were 91 singers at the wedding, made up from the Abbey Choir, the Choir of HM Chapels Royal and additional tenors and basses. They sat in the organ loft as the choir stalls were occupied by various dignitaries.
23. William McKie, the Abbey organist, had been summoned to the Palace four days before the wedding so that Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret could sing the descant to Crimond to him so that he could note it down as no other copy was available.
The number of signatures on the marriage register ran into two pages
25. The altar was hung with the white dorsal given in 1911 by King George V and Queen Mary for their coronation and the 1937 coronation frontal given by the Princess' parents. The Abbey plate was displayed on the altar.
26. The bride's wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came from the Clogau St David's mine, near Dolgellau.
27. As not all the people to sign the register could fit into St Edward's Chapel, only the bride and groom, the King and Queen, Queen Mary and Princess Andrew of Greece (the groom's mother), the Archbishop, and the Dean of Westminster signed it at this point. The rest of the signatures were added later at Buckingham Palace. They included: Princess Margaret, Prince George of Greece (the groom's uncle), Henry (Duke of Gloucester), Alice (Duchess of Gloucester), Princess Marina (Duchess of Kent), Lady Patricia Ramsay, Alexander Ramsay, Alice Mary (Countess of Athlone), Earl of Athlone, Victoria Milford Haven, Nada Milford Haven, Edwina Mountbatten of Burma, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, King Haakon (of Norway), King Michael (of Romania), Queen Ingrid (of Denmark), King Frederick (of Denmark).
28. Trumpet fanfares were introduced for the first time at a Royal wedding in the Abbey. A white flag was waved in the organ loft to signal the fanfare once the register had been signed.
29. The position of the BBC microphones had to be carefully checked as at the 1934 Royal wedding, the Abbey cross had hit the microphone suspended above the altar steps. Radio commentators shared the organ loft with the choir.
PUBLIC CELEBRATIONS
30. Thousands of people lined the processional route and were able to file through the Abbey after the service. Millions listened to the live radio broadcast.
31. The film of the wedding was watched by many thousands of people at cinemas across the country.
32. About 10,000 telegrams of congratulations were received at Buckingham Palace.
WEDDING GIFTS
The couple received a pair of Meissen chocolate pots from Pope Pius XII
33. The Royal couple received over 2,500 wedding presents from well-wishers around the world. Most were put on display for a few days in a charity exhibition at St James's Palace. From India, there was a piece of crocheted, cotton lace made from yarn personally spun by Mahatma Gandhi. The central motif reads "Jai Hind" (Victory for India).
34. Other gifts from abroad included a gold and jade necklace given by King Farouk of Egypt, a writing desk from the Government of New Zealand and pieces from a Chinese porcelain dinner service printed with characters denoting "double joy" given by President Chiang Kai Shek of the Chinese Republic.
35. As well as jewellery from their close relatives, including the King and Queen, the couple received many useful items for the kitchen and home, including salt cellars from the Queen, a bookcase from Queen Mary, and a picnic case from Princess Margaret.
36. Other gifts, kindly made and given by members of the public, included a hand-knitted cardigan, two pairs of bed socks, and a hand-knitted tea cosy.
37. Over 200,000 people visited the special exhibition of wedding presents at St James's Palace.
THE WEDDING RECEPTION
The wedding reception was held at Buckingham Palace
38. The "wedding breakfast" was held after the marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey in the Ball Supper-room at Buckingham Palace. The menu was Filet de Sole Mountbatten, Perdreau en Casserole, Bombe Glacee Princess Elizabeth
39. The bride and groom sat at the main table with the bride's parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the bride's grandmother, Queen Mary, her sister Princess Margaret, the groom's mother, Princess Andrew of Greece, the groom's uncle, Prince George of Greece and the Kings of Norway, Denmark and Romania.
40. Individual posies of myrtle and white Balmoral heather were placed at each place setting as "favours" (gifts to the guests).
41. The flowers decorating the tables were pink and white carnations, donated by the British Carnation Society.
42. The string band of the Grenadier Guards played music during the "wedding breakfast" under the direction of Captain FJ Harris. The King's Pipe Major also played at the lunch.
43. The official wedding cake was made by McVities and Price. Eleven other cakes were given as presents. With post-war food rationing still in place ingredients were sent as wedding presents from overseas, for example the official cake was made using ingredients given as a wedding gift by Australian Girl Guides. Pieces of cake and food parcels were later distributed to schoolchildren and institutions.
44. The cake was nine feet high in four tiers, with painted panels of the armorial bearings of both families, and included the monograms of bride and groom, sugar-iced figures to depict their favourite activities, and regimental and naval badges. The cake was cut using the Duke's Mountbatten sword, which was a wedding present from the King.
45. United Biscuits, which now owns the former McVities and Price brand, will be making two cakes to mark the diamond wedding anniversary in 2007. The first of the cakes will be on display at the lunch for members of various Royal Families at Buckingham Palace after the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 19 November. The second cake will be distributed to members of staff
THE HONEYMOON
The Queen and Prince Philip spent some of their honeymoon in Malta
46. The bride and bridegroom left the Palace showered with rose petals. For the Princess' going-away outfit, Hartnell designed an ensemble of a dress and matching coat in mist-blue with mushroom-coloured accessories.
47. The couple departed from Waterloo station with the Princess's corgi, Susan, for their honeymoon.
48. The newlyweds spent their wedding night at Broadlands in Hampshire, home of Prince Philip's uncle Earl Mountbatten. The second part of the honeymoon was spent at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate.
MARRIED LIFE
Prince Philip was not crowned or anointed at the Queen's coronation
49. Early in 1948 the couple leased their first marital home, Windlesham Moor, in Surrey, near Windsor Castle, where they stayed until they moved to Clarence House on 4 July 1949.
50. After marrying Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh continued his naval career, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in command of the frigate HMS Magpie.
51. Although he was the Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh was not crowned or anointed at the Coronation ceremony in 1953. He was the first subject to pay Homage to Her Majesty, and kiss the newly crowned Queen by stating "I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do become your liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks. So help me God."
52. Prince Philip has accompanied the Queen on all her Commonwealth tours and State visits, as well as on public engagements in all parts of the UK. The first of these was the Coronation tour of the Commonwealth from November 1953 to May 1954, when the couple visited Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Libya, Malta and Gibraltar, travelling a distance of 43,618 miles.
53. The Duke of Edinburgh is only one of a few consorts to reigning female Queens in British history. William III was co-Sovereign with Mary II, although she, as daughter of James II, was nearer the throne than him. The husband of Queen Anne was not given the title of King, but remained Prince George of Denmark. Prince Albert was created Prince Consort by Queen Victoria in 1857.
54. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have four children: Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales (b. 1948), Princess Anne, The Princess Royal (b. 1950), Prince Andrew, The Duke of York (b. 1960), and Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex (b. 1964).
55. With the birth of Prince Andrew in 1960, the Queen became the first reigning Sovereign to give birth to a child since Queen Victoria, whose youngest child, Princess Beatrice, was born in 1857.
56. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have seven grandchildren - Peter Phillips (b. 1977), Zara Phillips (b. 1981) Prince William (b. 1982), Prince Harry (b. 1984), Princess Beatrice (b. 1988), Princess Eugenie (b. 1990), and Lady Louise Windsor (b. 2003). The Earl and Countess of Wessex are expecting their second child in December.
57. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary in the year of the coronation, with a dance at Clarence House given by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. They left on their Commonwealth tour three days later.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
58. A service of thanksgiving was held in Westminster Abbey for both the Silver and Golden wedding anniversaries.
59. There will be a service of thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey on the 19 November 2007 to celebrate the Diamond Wedding Anniversary. On the 20 November, the day of their wedding anniversary, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will travel to Malta where they lived as a young married couple from 1949-51 while the Duke was stationed there as a serving Royal Naval officer.
60. Five choristers who sang at the 1947 Wedding Service in Westminster Abbey will be serving at the Service of Thanksgiving on the 19 November, 2007 in Westminster Abbey.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Four Seasons Ocean Residences
Presenting Four Seasons Ocean Residences. Setting a new standard of maritime luxury with 112 graciously appointed homes at sea. Circumnavigating the globe on a private tour of unrivalled international destinations on all seven continents. And surrounding you, the service, amenities and elegance of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
The brand is offering its seven floor plan ocean residences for consideration by those interested to own a personal enclave of luxury.
The 42,500 ton ship will feature luxurious amenities from pool and cabanas to four seasons spa. Different design schemes for residences are available including two bedroom and three bedroom plan. The residences will be sold for a price ranging from $2.5 million to $15 million, depending upon whole ownership or shared ownership and are expected to complete by 2008
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Water Resistant Waterproof TV
Features
17.1” High Quality LCD Screen.
Touch sensitive Power and Standby button.
Heated screen to prevent condensation.
Water tight seal front and rear to meet all current wet room electrical regulations (IP66).
Compatability with Systemline Modular Local Input.
Simple to install, supplied as a sealed unit so no dust penetration between glass and screen.
Interoperability with Hotel ‘pay per view’ systems.
Friday, November 16, 2007
New Xbox 360 Arcade Console
Juicy news is making its rounds on the internet this morning with a Belgian Microsoft source revealing details about a new Xbox 360 console, potential re-branding and the extinction of the Core as we know it.Retailers in the US are taking pre-orders for a new Xbox 360 Arcade bundle, due for release later this month.The Arcade bundle consists of a Core unit, a memory card, wireless controller and five Xbox Live arcade titles including Pac-Man Championship Edition and Uno.
Toys R Us and Amazon.com both have the deal listed, with a price of USD 279.99 – the current asking price for the Core unit.
In the US, leading retailer GameStop has removed listings for the Xbox 360 Core, leading to suggestions that this new Arcade bundle will replace the existing USD 279.99 SKU.
Microsoft was not available for comment at the time of writing.
Whenever the console officially lands, you can expect to pick up the hard drive free console for around $299.99 , which includes a 256MB Memory Card, a Wireless controller, an HDMI port minus the cable, and a disc that includes demos of Xbox LIVE Arcade games Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship, and Uno.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Travelodge hotel chain
The Travelodge hotel chain said today that its Travelpod would soon be available at events such as music festivals and sporting competitions.
Designed to be set up anywhere you might put up a tent, it’s cheering news for anyone who books into B&Bs at music festivals or panics about camping holidays.
The Travelpod - Travelodge’s glamorous answer to a tent
The pod is sealed in a polycarbonate glass box, but includes features offered in conventional hotel rooms such as TV and air conditioning.
Leigh McCarron, Travelodge’s director of sleep, called it “a ground-breaker in outdoor accommodation”. The Travelpod, which measures 6 metres by 2.4, includes a double bed, bedside lights, carpeted floors, and dressing table - plus blinds.
A spokeswoman for Travelodge said: “The Travelpod is a ground-breaker in outdoor accommodation.”
The Travelpod: Available soon at outdoor events such as music festivals or sporting competitions
She added, “With the popularity of outdoor sleeping we saw a definite niche in the market for something a bit more up-market”.
When asked who will be hiring this glamorous answer to a tent, she replied
“One woman wanted 20 of them for the guests at her garden wedding to sleep in.”
The Travelpod also has air conditioning, a flat-screen TV, an en suite wash room and a ‘biodegradable’ loo
“One man wanted one delivered to a beautiful spot in the Lake District, so he could propose to his girlfriend in it”.
The Travelpod will be tested over the next couple of months.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Beijing's highest building near completion
The roof of the main building of the third-phase construction project in Guomao, or China World Trade Center, a major business area in Chaoyang District, Beijing, has been capped on Monday November 29, 2007. The 330-meter-high building, with 74 storeys on the ground and 4 underground, is expected to become the highest in the Chinese capital city upon completion in 2009.
The Fiji Islands
The Republic of the Fiji Islands, or Fiji, is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country occupies an archipelago with two sizable islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, where the majority of inhabitants live, and is joined by over eight hundred islands, with about one hundred regularly inhabited. The name Fiji is the old Tongan word for the islands, which is turn derived from the Fijian name Viti.
Fiji consists of 322 islands, of which about one third are inhabited. The two most important islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Viti Levu hosts the capital city of Suva, and is home to nearly three quarters of the population. The islands are mountainous, with peaks up to 1200 m, and covered with tropical forests. Other important towns include Nadi, (location of the international airport) as well as Labasa, Lautoka, and Savusavu. Other islands and island groups include Taveuni and Kadavu (the third and fourth largest islands respectively, the Mamanuca Group (just outside Nadi) and Yasawa Group, which are popular tourist destinations, the Lomaiviti Group, outside of Suva, and the remote Lau Group.
Fiji consists of 322 islands, of which about one third are inhabited. The two most important islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Viti Levu hosts the capital city of Suva, and is home to nearly three quarters of the population. The islands are mountainous, with peaks up to 1200 m, and covered with tropical forests. Other important towns include Nadi, (location of the international airport) as well as Labasa, Lautoka, and Savusavu. Other islands and island groups include Taveuni and Kadavu (the third and fourth largest islands respectively, the Mamanuca Group (just outside Nadi) and Yasawa Group, which are popular tourist destinations, the Lomaiviti Group, outside of Suva, and the remote Lau Group.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Worlds Largest Passenger Cruise Ship
M/S Freedom of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship. The world's largest passenger vessel, she can accommodate over 4,300 passengers on her fifteen passenger decks, served by over 1300 crew.
She is about 229 ft. longer, about 108,000 gross tons larger, and can accommodate 2,147 more passengers than RMS Titanic. Her operating costs are $1 million per day. Rooms for the maiden voyage were priced from $1,900 to $22,000 for the week. As routine service continues, starting room rates are expected to descend as low as $700 for cruises scheduled in the autumn of 2007. The ship consumes approximately 28,000 gallons of fuel per hour.
Facilities -
The ship features three swimming areas; an interactive water park, a dedicated adult pool and the main pool. There are 2 whirlpools cantilevered out from the ship's sides. The Royal Promenade sports a coffee shop, Sorrento's Pizzeria, a Ben and Jerry's ice-cream shop, Vintage's winery, the Bull and Bear Irish pub, and many Duty-free shops. The 13th deck features a sports area with amenities such as a rock climbing wall, the FlowRider (an onboard wave generator for surfing), a miniature golf course and a full size basketball court. Other items include an ice skating rink, a casino, a Johnny Rockets, Wi-Fi capabilities throughout the ship, flat panel televisions in all staterooms, and cell phone connectivity.
She is about 229 ft. longer, about 108,000 gross tons larger, and can accommodate 2,147 more passengers than RMS Titanic. Her operating costs are $1 million per day. Rooms for the maiden voyage were priced from $1,900 to $22,000 for the week. As routine service continues, starting room rates are expected to descend as low as $700 for cruises scheduled in the autumn of 2007. The ship consumes approximately 28,000 gallons of fuel per hour.
Facilities -
The ship features three swimming areas; an interactive water park, a dedicated adult pool and the main pool. There are 2 whirlpools cantilevered out from the ship's sides. The Royal Promenade sports a coffee shop, Sorrento's Pizzeria, a Ben and Jerry's ice-cream shop, Vintage's winery, the Bull and Bear Irish pub, and many Duty-free shops. The 13th deck features a sports area with amenities such as a rock climbing wall, the FlowRider (an onboard wave generator for surfing), a miniature golf course and a full size basketball court. Other items include an ice skating rink, a casino, a Johnny Rockets, Wi-Fi capabilities throughout the ship, flat panel televisions in all staterooms, and cell phone connectivity.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Company Logos and their Meanings
Ever wondered what company logos mean and whats the significance behind them? Wonder no more!
You might think the arrow does nothing here. But it says that amazon.com has everything from a to z and it also represents the smile brought to
the customer's face. Wow, that is quite deep.
Eighty-20 is a small consulting company which does sophisticated financial modeling, as well as some solid database work. All their work is highly quantitative and relies on some serious computational power, and the logo is meant to convey it.
People first guess that 20% of the squares are darkened, but that turns out to be false after counting them. The trick is to view the dark squares as 1's and the light squares as 0's. Then the top line reads 1010000 and the bottom line reads 0010100, which represent 80 and 20 in binary.
Kinda like the surreal green screen of The Matrix, they want us to read stuff in binary
FedEx
Am not sure how many of you have noticed a hidden symbol in the Federal Express logo.
Yeah, I am talking about the 'arrow' that you can see between the E and the x in this logo. The arrow was introduced to underscore speed and precision, which are part of the positioning of the company.
Paul Rand (who designed the iconic IBM logo in 1972) designed this 'eye bee M' logo in 1981. I like that they are quite relaxed about the logo, unlike certain other companies who do not like the logo to be tampered with in any way even for internal promotions
The SUN Microsystems logo is a wonderful example of symmetry and order. It was a brilliant observation that the letters u and n while arranged adjacent to each other look a lot like the letter S in a perpendicular direction. Spectacular.
The above are two magazines from the Readers Digest stable. Again, the attempt to communicate what it is about quite figuratively through the logo catches my attention.
This was a logo created for a puzzle game called Cluenatic. This game involves unravelling four clues. The logo has the letters C, L, U and E arranged as a maze. and from a distance, the logo looks like a key
This logo is too good. For the name Eight, they have used a font in which each letter is a minor adaptation of the number 8.
You might think the arrow does nothing here. But it says that amazon.com has everything from a to z and it also represents the smile brought to
the customer's face. Wow, that is quite deep.
Eighty-20 is a small consulting company which does sophisticated financial modeling, as well as some solid database work. All their work is highly quantitative and relies on some serious computational power, and the logo is meant to convey it.
People first guess that 20% of the squares are darkened, but that turns out to be false after counting them. The trick is to view the dark squares as 1's and the light squares as 0's. Then the top line reads 1010000 and the bottom line reads 0010100, which represent 80 and 20 in binary.
Kinda like the surreal green screen of The Matrix, they want us to read stuff in binary
FedEx
Am not sure how many of you have noticed a hidden symbol in the Federal Express logo.
Yeah, I am talking about the 'arrow' that you can see between the E and the x in this logo. The arrow was introduced to underscore speed and precision, which are part of the positioning of the company.
Paul Rand (who designed the iconic IBM logo in 1972) designed this 'eye bee M' logo in 1981. I like that they are quite relaxed about the logo, unlike certain other companies who do not like the logo to be tampered with in any way even for internal promotions
The SUN Microsystems logo is a wonderful example of symmetry and order. It was a brilliant observation that the letters u and n while arranged adjacent to each other look a lot like the letter S in a perpendicular direction. Spectacular.
The above are two magazines from the Readers Digest stable. Again, the attempt to communicate what it is about quite figuratively through the logo catches my attention.
This was a logo created for a puzzle game called Cluenatic. This game involves unravelling four clues. The logo has the letters C, L, U and E arranged as a maze. and from a distance, the logo looks like a key
This logo is too good. For the name Eight, they have used a font in which each letter is a minor adaptation of the number 8.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
The Ice Hotel in Kiruna
Although ice hotels now exist in several cold countries, the Ice Hotel in Kiruna, Sweden is best known as the earliest. Since its creation in 1989, the hotel has featured in many television travel programmes, newspapers and magazines. With the exception of the beds, the entire hotel is made completely out of ice blocks - even the glasses in the bar are made of ice. The ice is made from water taken from the River Torne. The hotel features more than 60 rooms and suites, a bar, reception area and chapel.The hotel only exists between November and May.
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