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Meanwhile, Scottish cyclist David Millar has insisted he will take part in the London Games if he gets selected for Team GB. The 35 year old, who has served a ban for doping, is available to compete following a court case that forced the British Olympic Association (BOA) to drop their by-law on lifetime bans for athletes found guilty of taking illegal substances.
"I'm available. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, but I've concluded that if I can be of benefit to the team, I would be happy to help. The most rational thing is to leave it to the selectors to decide. If they think that including me might be in any way detrimental, even if, physically, I could be one of the strongest riders, I will respect any decision they make. I have spent time fighting the idea of lifetime bans for a first offence and it gets confusing if I don't make myself available," the Telegraph quoted Millar as saying.
Sprinter Dwain Chambers is also expected to compete for Team GB at the London Games after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned BOA's ban on the 34 year old for drug use.
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Source: www.ibtimes.co.uk
Queen to lead giant jubilee flotilla in London - msnbc.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth joins an armada of 1,000 boats in a gilded royal barge down London's River Thames on Sunday in a spectacular highlight of four days of nationwide celebrations to mark her 60th year on the throne.
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Hundreds of thousands of people waving "Union Jack" flags and dressed in red, white and blue braved the wind and rain to line the 7-mile route for one of the largest flotillas ever seen on the river.
Up and down the country, millions more were due to attend diamond jubilee street parties over the long holiday weekend in honor of the 86-year-old queen, the only British monarch after Queen Victoria to have sat on the throne for 60 years.
Leisure cruisers, rowing boats, yachts and canoes made up the colorful Thames armada that also features vessels from the 1940 evacuation of British and Allied troops from Dunkirk in northern France, a famous rescue performed by crafts of all shapes and sizes and a celebrated piece of British history.
A typically inclement British summer's day failed to dampen enthusiasm, with boisterous crowds five people deep massed along the banks of the Thames, watching giant TV screens showing black-and-white images of the queen from her childhood.
"We're English, we know what the weather is like. We really don't care if we get wet you know - it's the jubilee, it's the queen, so it's nice to come up and celebrate it," said Jackie, a 39-year-old sales consultant who travelled across southern England to watch the event.
Organizers say Sunday's river pageant is the largest of its kind in 350 years since a similar spectacle was held for King Charles II and his consort Catherine of Braganza in 1662.
A floating belfry with a set of eight church bells specially cast for the celebrations will be at the head, with bells from riverside churches pealing out as it passes by.
The queen will be on board "The Spirit of Chartwell", a barge adorned with flowers, together with her 90-year-old husband Prince Philip and other members of the royal family including heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, his eldest son Prince William and new wife Kate.
CHURCHILL AND EISENHOWER
Other vessels include Motor Torpedo Boat 102 on which Allied Forces commander General Dwight Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspected warships before the 1944 D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France.
The flotilla will travel under 14 bridges and past landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, and the Tower of London.
"It's a pageant and there haven't been pageants like this on the River Thames for 300 years and that makes it extremely special," said Peter Warwick on board "The Macaret" launch.
"You look at the river banks and they are packed with people -- thousands of people watching this happening."
Another boat taking part, "Amazon", also featured in diamond jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria, Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother, held in 1897 when Britain's empire spanned much of the globe.
Although the queen is still head of state in 16 countries from Australia and Canada to tiny Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, Britain is now a shadow of its former imperial self.
Historians and commentators say the pomp and spectacle of British royal occasions gives the country a sense of national pride at a time when the economy is in recession and people face deep austerity measures.
Across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, street parties were being held to mark the occasion. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla dropped into one in central London before the pageant, joining in a rousing rendition of the national anthem.
The government hope the festivities will mark the start of a summer of revelry capped off by the Olympic Games in London, raising the public's spirits and their own poll ratings.
"What is great is that we have the jubilee and then the Olympics. We should show how great we are in Britain," said Joanne Richmond, 61, from central England, who was in London for the queen's coronation as a two-year-old.
However, economists have warned that the extra public holidays will hit Britain's already ailing economy, potentially prolonging a recession.
WILLIAM AND KATE WEDDING
The celebrations come as polls show the overwhelming backing for the monarchy, which has overcome a slump in the 1990s following marital infidelities and the death of the hugely popular Princess Diana in a 1997 Paris car crash.
Last year's wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton was proof of such enduring appeal with the ceremonial extravaganza attracting a global audience of up to two billion people.
However, not everyone in London will be cheering. The small yet vocal republican movement plans a protest during the flotilla, saying the jubilee was "a celebration of inherited power and privilege, and those celebrations have no place in a modern democracy".
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Dilapidated home of infamous 'mole man' who built network of tunnels underneath goes under the hammer - Daily Mail
- William Lyttle built and under ground network of 60 foot-long tunnels under his home
- The house, in Hackney east London, is now expected to fetch 750,000 at auction
By Tammy Hughes
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The house where the infamous 'Hackney Mole Man' constructed an elaborate labyrinth of tunnels underneath his London home is going under the hammer.
Eccentric William Lyttle, a retired civil engineer, spent 40 years digging 60 foot-long passages below his property.
Now the house in east London's Hackney area is expected to fetch around 750,000 when it goes up for auction next month.
Dilapidated: The house in Hackney, east London, is expected to fetch 750,000 at auction next month
Planning permission to knock the house down and replace it with two town houses - with basements has now been granted.
Lyttle died at the age of 79 two years ago, leaving a 408,000 bill for his four decade long underground campaign.
He was evicted from the house in 2006 'for his own safety' after Hackney Council discovered his exploits.
Mr Lyttle was dubbed the 'Mole Man' after his underground exploits were discovered. He was evicted in 2006
Labyrinth: William Lyttle built an underground network of tunnels under his home. This picture shows a mock-up of what the passages might have looked like
They found skiploads of junk including the wrecks of four Renault 4 cars, a boat, scrap metal, old baths, fridges and dozens of TV sets stashed in the tunnels.
Mr Lyttle was then put up in a hotel for three years, at a cost to the taxpayer 45,000, before being re-housed in a nearby council-owned property.
Towards the end of his life the reclusive pensioner battled to keep his mole tunnels preserved, but after his death council workers filled in the tunnels with concrete for safety reasons.
Dangerous: Despite slapping a number of notices on the building the council refused permission to demolish it due to the street's status as a conservation area
Tip: The council found skiploads of junk including cars, a boat, scrap metal, old baths, fridges and dozens of TV sets. The house went up for sale last year but no deal resulted
It is now surrounded by high fences and most of the tunnels have been filled reports The Independent.
The building went on sale last year for around 500,000 but no deal resulted.
'Putting the property up for auction is the best option to achieve the maximum property price' said Sean King of estate agent Move with Us.
'We expect lots of interest in the sale. The property is prime real estate in Hackney with the added cachet of being the 'Mole Man's former house.'
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Get rid of eyesore shops demand angry traders - The Bolton News
Get rid of eyesore shops demand angry traders
9:40am Sunday 3rd June 2012 in Local
A SUPERMARKET looks set go back on plans to knock down a row empty shops and replace them with a car park.
Bosses at Asda in Astley Bridge could now extend the store instead.
The supermarket announced plans to demolish the eyesore shops in Blackburn Road earlier this year.
The supermarket was set to replace the units with 36 extra car parking spaces, as well as greenery surrounding the new car park.
But now, neighbouring traders in the area have been left angry that the eyesore is still blighting the Astley Bridge high street. The row of units, which formerly housed Global Video, Subway, Belvoir Lettings and St Andrews Travel, among others, has been boarded up since before Christmas.
Astley Bridge councillor John Walsh said Asda was currently carrying out a traffic survey to determine if extra car parking was needed.
He added: “I have spoken with the manager at Asda and they are carrying out a traffic study so we will have to see what the outcome of that is.”
Store bosses confirmed they were reviewing the plans with a view to extend the store rather than the car park.
An Asda spokesman said: “We are currently reviewing our plans with regards to any potential development at the store.”
One local business owner, who asked not to be named, said: “The site looks a mess. I’m not bothered what they do with it, whether it’s a car park or extending the store. I just want them to get on with it.
“If they are not going to build a car park then the least they can do is demolish the shops in the mean time so it doesn’t look quite so bad.
“Businesses pay high rates in this area and we deserve better. It does not look attractive and it makes us look bad.”
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Source: www.theboltonnews.co.uk
London 2012: Mo Farah impresses at Diamond League in Eugene - The Sport Review
Mo Farah may be undecided about whether he will look to secure a world and Olympic double over 5,000m – but his current form is certainly encouraging.
Farah says his London 2012 focus is trained firmly on the 10,000m, with heats of the 5,000m following several days later on the Games schedule.
However, he clocked a world-leading and meeting record 12:56.98 to win over the distance at the IAAF Diamond League in Eugene.
Farah, who won the Bupa 10,000 in London last weekend, kicked clear of Kenya’s Isaiah Koech and American training partner Galen Rupp to claim victory.
Elsewhere, Shara Proctor produced a personal best 6.84 metre leap to win the women’s long jump.
Anguillan-born Proctor, who won her first senior medal for Britain with a bronze at the World Indoors, is now just six centimetres short of Bev Finch’s 29-year old British record, set at the first-ever World Championships in Helsinki.
While British rising stars Lawrence Clarke and Andy Pozzi are impressing over 110m hurdles this season, world bronze medallist Andy Turner is still struggling.
Turner, who has admitted his Olympic dream may be shattered by an untimely recurrence of a tendon injury, finished last in Eugene in 13.46 seconds. 
© Sportsbeat 2012
Source: www.thesportreview.com
Jubilee spirits not dampened by rain: River pageant Queen fans shrug off wet weather ahead of 1,000 boat flotilla - Daily Mirror
Diamond Jubilee river pageant spectators have shrugged off the cold, damp and wet conditions that have shrouded London.
The gloomy weather is in contrast to the recent heatwave but the river banks in central London are already filling up with crowds.
Organisers remain upbeat despite rain and drizzle being forecast for most of the day, with Pageant Master Adrian Evans declaring preparations were in hand.
Mr Evans said: "There is some rain around, but it has not dampened any spirits.
"We in Britain are experts at not letting the weather spoil our fun. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing Singing In The Rain as they travel down the river, and the crowd can sing along with them.
"We are all set to have one of the most spectacular pieces of river theatre that London, and the world, has ever seen. Excitement is building, and everything is ready."
The water-borne extravaganza will be one of the highlights of the four-day Diamond Jubilee weekend with organisers hoping to recreate scenes not seen since the reign of Charles II.
With the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh onboard the lavishly decorated royal barge will be the Prince of Wales, the pageant's patron, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Every conceivable vessel will be afloat on the Thames from kayaks, skiffs, Dunkirk little ships and dragon boats to tugs, barges, rowed shallops and passenger vessels.
At its head will be a floating belfry with each bell named after a senior member of the Royal Family.
People have been gathering along the seven-mile course of the river pageant since first thing, with a few hardy souls sleeping overnight to get a good spot.
Many of those were wrapped up against the cold weather but looking forward to the spectacle.
Karen Chen, 32 and David Ip, 31, from Streatham, south London, said the rain had not put them off coming to the river early to get a prime spot.
"We got here just after 7.30, it would have been earlier if we thought we would have more competition.
"The rain actually works to our advantage," Ms Chen said.
The pair have bagged a prime spot on a bench next to Battersea Bridge and said they were ready for the long-haul.
"We are wrapped up warmly and have waterproof sheets to shelter under. We have got a picnic of marmalade and cheese and pickle sandwiches and Mr Kipling cakes," Mr Ip added.
"Today is a spectacular event, nothing would have stopped us from coming to see the boats. We are so excited about all the variety. It will only happen once in our lifetime and we will be here until the very end," Ms Chen said.
Matt Dobson, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup, said: "For the all important Jubilee Thames Pageant today, the skies will be mostly cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle. However, don't be surprised if the clouds do thin and break from time to time and a few welcome rays of sunshine may even break through.
"A chilly day in London with temperatures of 12C or 13C, potentially rising to 14C or 15C if it brightens up."
Dafydd Richards, 35, and Felicity Anderson, 30, from New Zealand, arrived at Tower Bridge almost six hours before the boats were due to pass by and said they were used to braving the elements.
Felicity, who now lives in Wimbledon, south-west London, said: "We wanted to make sure we had a good spot because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"We've brought a very British picnic with scones and shortbread and we'll toast the Queen when she sails past with some Champagne."
Meanwhile, mother and daughter Christine Steele, 57, and Jemma, 29, said the prospect of bad weather had not stopped them travelling from Maidstone in Kent.
Huddled under blankets and umbrellas on a bench near Battersea Bridge, Mrs Steele said: "It's England, we are used to this. It would have been wonderful if it had been sunny like last Sunday but we have come prepared.
"We have got blankets, brollies, flags and bunting. We even got our glittery Union Jack hats and wigs and the Champagne is on ice.
"You name it, we've got it in our picnic.
Mrs Steele's husband Graham, also 57, said he had sent a friend off to try to buy a gazebo for them to shelter under.
"If we get one we will make a lot of new friends, especially ones in uniform," he said.
Mrs Steele added: "This is a once in a lifetime experience and it is good for the country to celebrate together, we would not have missed it."
Source: www.mirror.co.uk
Why have the DM photoshopped away the roof in the first photo?
- Phil, Sussex, 03/6/2012 15:25
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