LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Nothing marks the arrival of the British summer like eating strawberries and drinking Pimm's whilst watching Wimbledon.
A warm-up to the Olympics, the prestigious two-week tennis tournament takes place from 25 June to 8 July this year. And just like the Olympics, tickets are notoriously hard to get hold of.
Luckily, thanks to Absolute and Travelodge, Absolute Radio listeners are being given the chance to win tickets to the world famous sporting event. Not only that, but the prize includes a two-night stay in one of 53 Travelodge London hotels, and the two lucky winners will also be given GBP 500 spending money.
Held at the All England Club in Wimbledon since 1877, the competition has become one of the most important sporting events in the UK calendar. And with five Travelodge hotels within five miles of Wimbledon, the winners will be right at the centre of all the action. The fastest growing great value hotel chain in the country, Travelodge has more hotel rooms in London than anyone else - all of which offer clean, comfortable rooms with en-suites and everything that's needed for a good night's sleep.
Details of how to win this once-in-a-lifetime prize will be announced on Absolute Radio from Monday 11 to Sunday 17 June, where listeners will be directed online to the dedicated microsite to enter the competition.
Winners will need to be available for two nights from Sunday 24 June, for the match on 25 June.
This sport-themed competition comes as part of an ongoing campaign between Absolute and Travelodge, with other on-air promotions themed around music and the Queen's Jubilee.
Listeners have also been given the chance to experience other event-filled weekends in London. Absolute Radio DJs Richie Firth, Maggie Doyle ('Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show') and Pete Donaldson ('Absolute Radio 90s'), have been roaming the city and taking advantage of London's sights and attractions in a bid to help their listeners with some fantastic ideas of what to get up to in the capital city.
Previous prizes have included a London Thames Speed Boat experience, horse riding in Hyde Park and tickets for the London Eye and London Zoo - all of which have included a two-night stay in London, courtesy of Travelodge.
About Travelodge:
The first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, Travelodge now operates over 500 hotels and over 35,400 rooms across the UK, Ireland (11) and Spain (4). Travelodge plans to grow its estate to 1,100 hotels and 100,000 rooms by 2025. Over 13 million people stayed with Travelodge last year and 90% of reservations are currently made online at travelodge.co.uk, where room rates start at GBP 19 per night. The chain employs over 6,000 staff.
© Marketwire 2012
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Wimbledon 2012: Andy Murray says playing Queen's will help title bid - The Guardian
Andy Murray hopes a successful defence of his Aegon Championships crown at Queen's Club will help him end Britain's long wait for a Wimbledon champion next month.
Murray will have to wait until Wednesday before he begins his defence of the Wimbledon warmup tournament after heavy rain hit Queen's on Monday, but he is ready to start the grass-court season with a bang.
"I've always liked to go in to a grand slam having played a couple of matches on the surface," said Murray, who is due to face either Nicolas Mahut or Guillermo Garcia-López after receiving a first-round bye. "That's why it's good for me to play here at Queen's.
"I've won Queen's and I have always enjoyed playing here. I like the surface, the courts here are pretty much perfect grass courts and I have great memories from here.
"I won my very first ATP match here when I was 18 and since then I've just really enjoyed coming back and I've got great results here."
Murray has warned Nadal and Djokovic not to expect to walk Wimbledon because of their exploits in Paris.
"You'll very rarely see someone make the French finals and then win on grass the next week," said Murray, who has won at Queen's twice in the last three years. "It's a hard thing to do and it takes a bit of time. The surface change is hard. You try and take each match as it comes but changing surfaces is not that easy."
Murray's French Open campaign looked in doubt when he suffered a back spasm during his second-round game against Jarkko Nieminen but he recovered and went on to make the quarter-finals where he lost to the world No6, David Ferrer, in four sets.
"I didn't want to lose early at the French Open but I managed to get a couple of days off, which I hadn't had in three and a half to four weeks. I really needed that for my back and it's felt much better. I've had a couple of good practices on the grass and it's felt fine.
"I think the French Open went really well considering how it started out. I wasn't feeling particularly well obviously after my second round match. Quarter-finals for me on probably my least favourite surface is not terrible. I would have liked to have done better but it was OK."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Kent remains on flood alert after heavy overnight rain - Kent Online
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A weather warning remains in place for Kent today as the River Darent continues to be on flood alert.
Forecasters at the Met Office say they rain will last until at least lunchtime - and some showers could be heavy.
Water levels on the River Darent from Westerham to Dartford - including Otford, Eynsford and South Darenth - remain high after heavy overnight rain.
The Environrment Agency said the flood alert will be in force until at least 3pm.
The Environment Agency has issued 45 flood alerts, with more than 38 in the south east.
Meanwhile, Kent County Cricket club have moved tonight's Friends Life t20 match against Sussex Sharks to the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, after flash flooding in Tunbridge Wells.
Motorists are also being told to take extra care on the roads. There were delays on Kent's motorways this morning as traffic was slowed down by heavy spray.
Heavy rain flooded the junction of St Marks Avenue and Beresford Road in Northfleet.
And a tree ended up in the River Medway, in Maidstone, close to the bridge that is part of the gyratory road system.
The swollen river has claimed part of the footpath near the Kentish Lady mooring.
A fallen tree also blocked The Square, in Hadlow, at about 9am today.
Have you taken any pictures of heavy rain or flooding? Tweet us @Kent_Online or email them to multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk.
Monday, June 11 2012
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mars 40 wrote:
And we are on drought restrictions! come on Southern water/South East water and Thames water stop being greedy, i have so much water stored i won't need to touch the hosepipe this summer at all?
11 Jun 2012 10:29 AM
Source: www.kentonline.co.uk
Zoo trip for disabled children (From Watford Observer) - Watford Observer
Rotary club to organise trip to Whipsnade Zoo
9:00am Tuesday 12th June 2012 in News By Amie Mulderrig
Disabled children from schools in South Oxhey and Abbots Langley will be treated to a day out at Whipsnade Zoo, courtesy of Watford Rotary Club’s Kids Out scheme.
Tomorrow, 36 children accompanied by 24 carers from Colnbrook School, South Oxhey, and eight children with four carers from Breakspeare School, Abbots Langley, will attend the outing.
The children will be collected from their schools and travel to Whipsnade in mini-buses and cars.
They will then be taken around the zoo by their carers to see all the animals and possibly have a trip on the train.
The Rotary Club is providing seven volunteers to act as drivers and organise a picnic lunch for the children.
This annual event, organised by the Watford Rotary Club, is paid for by the club from its charity fund.
The children suffer from a range of learning difficulties including Downs Syndrome, Autism and a general delay in their development.
Kids Out is a scheme operated by many Rotary Clubs across the country to provide a day out to disabled or underprivileged children.
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Source: www.watfordobserver.co.uk
Anger of Christian GP facing disciplinary action for discussing his faith as his accuser is heard in secret - Daily Mail
By James Tozer
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A doctor facing disciplinary action for discussing his faith in Jesus with a patient yesterday blamed 'anti-Christian' bias after his accuser was allowed to give evidence in secret.
Dr Richard Scott has spent two years under threat of an official warning after the 'suicidal' patient's mother complained about the conversation.
Yesterday a General Medical Council disciplinary hearing agreed to go ahead with the case against him, even though the unnamed patient refused to attend.
Prayer warning: Dr Richard Scott was reprimanded by the GMC for encouraging a young man to look to Jesus
Instead, the patient will be allowed to give evidence over the telephone with the Press and public barred from being present.
Last night Dr Scott accused the GMC of displaying bias against Christians, while his legal adviser said it was another example of 'over-zealous victimisation of Christians by public bodies'.
'I do not feel like I'm getting a fair trial,' the father-of-three said outside the hearing.
'It feels like it's become almost like a secret court or secret justice which is outrageous.
'Now I can't see my accuser. We can't see his body languages or expressions which is crucial for fair justice.'
Christian GP Dr Richard Scott outside the General Medical Council (GMC) hearing in Manchester last year
Last year Dr Scott said he was 'disgusted' by the GMC's stance when it agreed to continuing pursuing the case against him when the patient first refused to turn up to give evidence.
'The GMC have relentlessly pursued me and are determined to put me on trial,' the 51-year-old former missionary said yesterday.
'First he didn't turn up last year, now this.
'There definitely seems like there is an anti-Christian agenda here.
'This case should be thrown out, but now we have got to this outrageous situation where the whole thing is surrounded by secrecy and anonymity.' He is taking legal advice on applying for judicial review of the GMC decision to accept the patient's evidence by phone.
The case is the latest in a series of incidents in which hospitals and medical authorities have been accused of acting to suppress any expression of Christian beliefs.
Dr Scott spoke to the 24-year-old patient, described as suicidal and vulnerable, at the end of a consultation at the Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent in August 2010.
The practice declares its Christian orientation and informs prospective patients that they may be offered spiritual guidance as well as medical help.
He is said to have suggested to the patient that they might discuss religion.
The patient is believed to have replied 'go for it' and Dr Scott told him about the 'additional help which he might derive from Jesus' and added that he might feel better if he prayed, as the patient's own religion did not appear to be giving him comfort.
The patient's mother, who had recommended Dr Scott to her son, later complained.
Yesterday an investigation committee of the GMC, sitting in Manchester, agreed to hear the patient's evidence in private over the telephone.
Committee chairman Dr Christopher Hanning said the decision had been made after considering the man's physical and mental condition.
The patient, who was seen by the GP at the Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, pictured, felt Dr Scott had 'belittled' his own faith, the GMC heard
In a statement afterwards, Dr Scott said: 'I, and every GP, should be outraged at this decision by our professional body.' He said thousands of doctors who carried out one-to-one consultations with patients every day ought to have the right to have them cross-examined if they made a complaint.
Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, which has backed Dr Scott's case, added: 'I am appalled by what I'm witnessing today.
'The GMC is convening a secret court so that it can pursue disciplinary proceedings against a Christian doctor with an unblemished professional record, despite the complainant refusing to even turn up.
'This is unheard of and many doctors will be deeply concerned with the way this is being handled by the GMC.
'This is another example of the over-zealous victimisation of Christians by public bodies. Something has to change, and soon.' The committee has the power to give Dr Scott a warning, not to strike him off.
The hearing is due to begin today.
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Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Women urged to get on their bikes (From Watford Observer) - Watford Observer
Big Breeze Bike Ride campaign urges women to cycle
11:40am Tuesday 12th June 2012 in News By Mike Wright, Chief Reporter
An Olympian-backed push to get more women in Watford on their bikes is being held in the town later this month.
Residents are being encouraged to take to the Grand Union Canal in Cassiobury Park on June 23 and 24 as part of a national drive to get more women cycling.
The event is being organised as part of the national Big Breeze Bike Ride campaign, which has been backed by British Olympic cyclist and London 2012 hopeful Laura Trott.
She said: "I’ve cycled since I was a child and have always loved the freedom it’s given me to go places.
"Unfortunately I’m currently in the minority because a lot of girls have a fear factor about cycling, but once you’ve tried it you’ll never look back."
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Source: www.watfordobserver.co.uk
Cardiff City fans must back owners says manager Malky Mackay - BBC News
Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has said supporters must trust the club's Malaysian owners after the change of colours from blue to red and the introduction of a new badge.
The club said the changes are part of a "major and significant" investment pledge from the owners.
Mackay says the club are in a better position as a result of the changes but understands some fans' objections.
"We've got to trust our backer," Mackay said.
Malky Mackay Cardiff City manager“I absolutely get the fact that the red or blue debate goes on and some of our fans will feel it's moving away from tradition”
"Everyone's trying to do their best for the football club going forward."
Cardiff will be wearing red rather than blue home shirts from next season after investors Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Dato Chan Tien Ghee pledged their commitment to the club.
Chief executive Alan Whiteley said the driving force behind the move was to put Cardiff on a firm financial footing, with the aim of gaining promotion to the Premier League.
"Obviously it's going to be different but change is constant in life. If you embrace and go with it then success can happen," Mackay told BBC Sport Wales.
"I absolutely get the fact that the red or blue debate goes on and some of our fans will feel it's moving away from tradition.
"But on the other side of that I've also been at Watford where we were two hours from administration and that being the case it's a scary place to be.
"If we don't have backing from a major financial backer then there's a good chance that could happen to football clubs.
"But at the end of the day I think we've got to be realistic that we've got Tan Sri [owner Vincent Tan] is actually backing our football club.
"He's someone who could have left the football club after the play-off final against Blackpool [and] could have walked away at that point.
"He could have walked away a year later when we didn't make it [and] could have walked away this summer."
Mackay said he was flattered to have been linked with the managerial role at former club Norwich City after Paul Lambert left the Canaries to join Aston Villa.
Norwich have since appointed Chris Hughton and Mackay insists he still has work to do at Cardiff City.
"I was flattered to be linked," said Mackay. "It's a club, that's well documented, is close to my heart. I had a long and successful period there.
"I do know the owners Delia [Smith] and Michael [Wynn Jones] well and I know that the chief executive has done a very good job at the football club.
"But I've got a project that I've started here, a project I'm working with really good people at this football club.
"I'm enjoying living in south Wales and working for Cardiff. This is a club that I want to push forward."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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