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Posted on Jul 25, 2009 by 
Today is a sad day for the family of Harry Patch, who was the last British survivor of the First World War. He was 111 years old. Harry Patch was known as the last Tommy. He fought in the battle of Passchendaele in 1917. If you are not familiar with this battle (I can’t blame you, I had to look it up myself, to be honest), it was one wherein more than 70,000 British troops met their end.
If you remember, I posted something about another war veteran last month, Henry Allingham. He became the oldest man at 113 years old last month when the man who held that title passed away. Allingham also served in the First World War. About a week ago, however, he also passed away, making Harry the oldest man.
In what we can probably call a series of unfortunate events, Harry Patch also passed away. He is survived by loving friends and family members. Even Gordon Brown had good words for the veteran: “I had the honour of meeting Harry, and I share his family’s grief at the passing of a great man.”
Jim Ross, a friend of Patch’s said of him: “Harry died peacefully, surrounded by his many friends. While the country may remember Harry as a soldier, we will remember him as a dear friend. He was a man of peace who used his great age and fame as the last survivor of the trenches to communicate two simple messages: remember with gratitude and respect those who served on all sides; settle disputes by discussion, not war.”
For the rest of us, this is a good reminder to remember those who have gone before us.
On Friday, June 19, a British World War I veteran became the oldest living man in the world. The World War vet is Henry Allingham, and he celebrated his 113th birthday on the 6th of June. Prior to his gaining the record, the oldest man was Tomoji Tanabe, a resident of southern Japan. He was also 113 years old but died in sleep early on Friday.
It was then that the Guinness World Records declared that Allingham is now the oldest man on earth. Allingham is actually one of the two World War I veterans living in Britain today. Also, he has held the record of the oldest man in Britain for two years now, since 2007.
A little bit on Allingham’s life. He joined the Royal Naval Air Service, which was what they had before the Royal Air Force, in 1915. In 1916, he found himself in the middle of the Battle of Jutland. This is the largest naval battle in the First World War. He also took part in World War II, where he did his job countering magnetic mines.
Long after the wars were fought and won, Allingham met Dennis Goodwin, who got him involved in various activities furthering the cause of veterans. The two also wrote an autobiography, titled “Kitchener’s Last Volunteer.” The title was meant to refer to the war secretary of Britain who helped encourage people to the cause.
Let’s all make a toast – or two – to this amazing man and his life!
There are certain things that one associates with a nation. In our case, we have fish and chips. We have our flag. We also have British Airways. While the (former) national flag carrier might not be as popular as other symbolisms, I am pretty sure that BA has a place in the hearts of the British.
News has been going around that the airline is in trouble. The question that is hanging in the air right now is whether or not BA will really go under, for good. According to a feature by the Times Online, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the airlines might very well say this one day:
“I am sorry to say that despite our efforts today we have been unable to secure further funding from our banks. The cash drain we sustained as a result of the rolling programme of industrial action by cabin crew and ground staff means we can no longer continue as a going concern. British Airways has this evening been put into administration.”
However, according to experts quoted by the Times Online, Walsh is exaggerating the situation. They say that he has an ulterior motive, which is to get the unions ready when the talks about cost cutting come up. Indeed, if everyone thinks that the airline is in dire financial straits, the unions will probably not have such a hard stance against the airline.
Then again, Walsh’s statements are strong – they might be strong to be crying wolf. Right now, we do not know the real situation, but what we do know is that there are people who want to save BA.
The Prince is following in his mother’s footsteps – at least that’s what everybody is saying. He is currently on a visit in New York, and everybody there seems to be loving him. One of the things that people are raving about is the fact that he is continuing too champion the causes that the late Princess Di upheld.
While it is true that the Prince has had several mischievous incidents in the past, it seems that he is finally getting on the right track. He is young, after all, and young people should be allowed their moments of mischief, right?
Here are the thoughts of some people on Prince Harry:
Accountant Susan Docks, 58, applauded the visiting 24-year-old British royal for honoring the charitable efforts of his mother, the late Princess Diana.
“I respect how he’s following in his mother’s footsteps campaigning for issues like AIDS and poverty in Africa,” Docks said. “He may have made some foolish choices in the past, but blame it on his youth.”
Meanwhile, Capt. Ryan Miller, a 26-year-old soldier injured while serving in Iraq, praised Prince Harry for serving in Afghanistan as part of the British army despite his royal position.
“It was great to speak with someone who knows exactly what it’s like,” Miller told the Daily News. “Royal or not, he is one of us.”
It looks to me that the Prince has a bright future ahead of him. Here is to hoping that he will not be waylaid by other distractions that may change his current course. His mum is surely beaming with pride.
She catapulted into worldwide fame when she sang a song from the musical Les Miserables months back. Since then, Susan Boyle had become a household name. She even has a considerable following in Hollywood. On the other hand, she has had her fair share of critics. In fact, rumors that she was cracking under pressure came up several weeks ago, with an incident in a London hotel being reported. The singing sensation has repeatedly assured her fans that she is fine, though, and that singing makes her confident.
In the finals of Britain’s Got Talent, Ms. Boyle sang I Dreamed A Dream once again, to which judge Piers Morgan responded very well. He told her that she deserved to win the contest. However, it seemed that her confidence and talent were not enough to push her over the edge of victory. She came in second to the dance troupe Diversity.
So Susan Boyle didn’t get the $160,000 (about 100,000 GBP) or a spot in the roster of the Royal Variety Performance – both of which are prizes for the winner/s of the contest. What is in store for her?
Needless to say, her fame just might help her launch her career. If you think about it, previous runners up of the talent show (and other talent shows) have been able to make a name for themselves in show business, despite not winning. As for Susan Boyle, everybody loves her – even Oprah, and you know what that means.
I think we’ll hear more from her in the future.
The competition to become the host of the summer Olympics is always a tough one. After all, more than the honor and distinction that a country gets from being the Olympic host, the economy gets a major boost because of tourism.
The next Olympics, as you should already know, is to be held in London. 2012 is the year, and the UK won the bid as host. However, things are not going as smoothly as everyone has been hoping. The fact is that the British government initially was counting on private financing for a large part of the project. This is not unusual since many companies vie for a piece of the pie when it comes to this event as well. Millions of money that is spent on advertising and sponsorship will naturally turn into income for these companies anyway.
This time, however, it seems that the recession is really biting hard. The British government has been unable to get enough private financing for the 2012 Olympics. As such, they have been putting in a lot of money into the project. As a matter of fact, they recently used $491 million to create the Olympic Village. And since its taxpayer’s money that they are using, the Village is going to remain a property of the government, to do with as they wish when the Olympics is over.
While it may not seem to be a good thing for the taxpayers right now, it should work out just fine. After all, the sales and proceeds from the event will all go back to the government.
The frumpy little lady from Scotland has captured the hearts and affection of countless people from all over the world. No one expected such a sweet and passionate voice to come out of her when she stepped out on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent, least of all the judges. From the moment she sang the first note, however, her destiny was set.
Her success is not all sugar and spice and everything nice, however. Late last week, for example, Susan Boyle headed over to a salon to get a new do and slightly polish her original look. When she came out, gone was her frizzy gray hair, replaced by wavy shiny auburn. Her eyebrows were plucked, and her clothes sleeker.
One would think that everyone would be happy about the new look. After all, no one can deny that she looks so much better – and to be honest, we still see the Susan Boyle that sang I Dreamed A Dream. Now why are people saying that the TV execs will not like the new look? Come on people, give her a break. Wouldn’t you want to style yourself up even just a tad if you were under the limelight every single day?
On another note, Susan Boyle has her own Facebook page now and goodness, she has garnered over a million fans already! I do not know if she actually opens her account and looks through the messages, but if I were here, I definitely would!
The health authorities in the country are on alert due to a case of swine flu. The infected man is an employee of the British Airways. He just came back from a flight originating from Mexico City, Mexico, when he exhibited symptoms. He was subsequently taken to Northwick Park Hospital, where he was immediately treated in an isolation unit.
According to a spokesman from the hospital, the patient “has flu-like symptoms and is responding well to treatment. The patient was admitted directly to a side room and the hospital is scrupulously following infection control procedures to ensure there is no risk to any other individual in the hospital.”
While the alert is up, there is really no need for Brits to panic at this point as the situation was contained very early on. As mentioned above, the man is in an isolation unit, barring any contamination to the outside world. More so, his case is not yet 100 per cent confirmed that it is swine flu.
However, doctors at all Heathrow terminals have been put on alert to be on the lookout for any passengers or airline crew who may exhibit flu-like symptoms. This is especially true for flights coming in from Mexico.
The World Health Organization has already issued statements that every other country in the world should take similar precautions as the flu is highly contagious and without proper safety nets in place, it could easily become a widespread pandemic. For now, if you are not travelling too much, you should be safe.
There are only two things that are certain in life – death and taxes. And it seems that a Lanarkshire GP thinks that everything pleasurable in life should be taxed, including chocolate! I don’t know about you, but I see chocolate as being one of the little pleasures in my life. While there are some expensive chocolate brands, I can rest assured that I will always find an affordable bar of chocolate in a nearby shop. And I know that it will always make me feel better.
And now, this GP says that we should tax chocolate?! Even worse, a group of family doctors, who are of more than average intelligence, I would like to assume, have spent considerable time debating on whether or not to approve the proposal. Now how depressing is that?
The Times Online published a report on this issue recently. Dr. David Walker was quoted as saying:
“I believe that chocolate is a major player in obesity and obesity-related condition. What I’m trying to get across is that chocolate is sneaking under the radar of unhealthy foods. I would say the government taxing chocolate would not solve the obesity crisis, but it might slow the rate of increase of the obesity graph.”
Baloney! I know that a 5p increase in the price of a chocolate bar will not really deter me from buying one. But the fact that they actually considered adding the tax just makes me fume. Don’t these people have anything better to do than meddle with chocolate prices?
The British is not without its extraordinary people when it comes to music and the arts. Remember the Beatles? How about Oasis? Elton John? And even in the contemporary generation, the British are still proving to the world that we have a place in the music industry.
Take for example young singer, Adele. She recently won two Grammys for her single Chasing Pavements. This single comes from the debut disc of the artist, “19.” And what does Adele plan on doing with her trophies? Dallas News had an interview with her, wherein she said that:
“I’m going to put them in my bathroom,” the 20-year-old says. “In England that’s a tradition. It’s a vanity thing. That way every time they go to the toilet they are reminded of how great you are. They aren’t just going to be sitting there, though. They are going to be in cabinets.”
What kind of music does Adele sing? She labels her sound as a blend of folk, jazz, and R&B. She also went on to say that “Folk, jazz and soul is the music that I like. I love Carole King, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Erykah Badu, stuff like that. It’s a mismatch of styles. I don’t know what kind of person I want to be, let alone what kind of musician I want to be. But I’m getting better with the guitar, better with my bass, better with my piano. Songwriters are quite focused, really.”
If you have not heard of Adele yet, then it is about time that you did. And about time that you got her award winning disc.
