Marilyn and Lionel Partridge have grown a marrow in their vegetable patch which looks just like a duck!

Marilyn Partridge, 62, said, “I have never in my 40 years of gardening and growing my own vegetables come across anything that looks like an animal before.
“I am absolutely delighted. The marrow just looked a bit odd at first, but we then realised that it looked like a duck.
“When I saw it, I burst out laughing. It is so realistic. We haven’t done anything to it, it is perfectly natural.
“It is in the shape of a duck with its head turned about to preen itself.
“We couldn’t eat it because it looked so adorable. Besides, would it be a meat or vegetable course?
“My two-year-old granddaughter Sophie loves it. She kept looking at it and saying “duck, duck”.
“Everyone thinks we must have done something to it to make it grow like a bird but we didn’t. In fact we completely forgot we had planted it.”
Marilyn added, “It would be great to grow another odd-shaped plant but seeing it took us 40 plus years to find this one, we won’t hold our breath.”

Marilyn and Lionel’s marrow is now part of a display in honour of Wild Bird Care Week at the garden centre where they bought the original plant.
‘Marilyn said, “When our grandchildren, Matilda, Henry and Finley Doel told us that they had entered a bird modelling competition at Sanders GardenWorld, we decided to take it along to add to the garden centre’s display.”

Posted on ZEITGEIST

ZOQY

I wonder what Burberry will make of the Norwegian artist who has painted the exterior of his house, which used to be a public toilet, in the brand’s signature Haymarket check?
Artist Jens Werner, 33, has covered his entire house in the famous beige, black and red tartan design. Jens Werner lives in Larvik, and he said the painting took several weeks and cost thousands of pounds.
Jens said he thought it would be ‘a fun idea’ to repaint his house, which he has owned for six years.

Burberry is over 150 years old, and is worn by lots of celebrities including Alexa Chung and Agyness Deyn.
The Burberry brand was commissioned by the War Office to adapt coats for officers which would be suitable for the conditions of contemporary warfare. When the war ended the macs became popular with civilians.
Burberry’s signature print, the Haymarket check, became incredibly popular in the 1990’s with football fans and then the chav generation took a liking for the design, and millions of cheap imitations were sold at markets across Britain.
Daniella Westbrook, an actress on the BBC 1 soap EastEnders, is often blamed for the chav love affair with Burberry after she was papped whilst out with her daughter, both of them were dressed head-to-toe in Burberry tartan, even the pushchair was in the matching design.
Burberry fought hard to rid itself of its association, with ‘Chavs’ and U.S. businesswoman Rose Marie Bravo transformed the brand’s image after joining the company in 1998. She set about Burberry’s renaissance using Kate Moss, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Watson to star in its advertising campaigns.

I’m not sure Rose Marie Bravo has completely managed to rid Burberry of its Chav associations, as the Haymarket check is still pretty common.
I definitely wouldn’t wear it, or any other piece of Burberry clothing for that matter, which is a shame as I do like some of their stuff, especially their coats, but I still associate Burberry with the word chav!

When I first saw the photos of Jens Werner’s Burberry check painted house I thought it was a photoshop project - maybe it is!

Posted on Zeutgeist

Life in France

Crazy kite surfing thrill seekers Lewis Crathern, 24, and Jake Scrace, 25, used the recent stormy weather that has hit the UK to propel themselves over Worthing Pier, in England.
In this video Lewis and Jake talk about how they used mother nature to fly 70 feet over the pier.

I’ve seen people kite surfing at our local beach here in France and it looks like a lot of fun, but as I’m not a fan of water, or heights, I don’t think I’ll be flying high anytime soon!
I’m sure Lewis and jake enjoyed the thrill, but rather them than me.

Posted on Zeitgeist

LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE

Patrick Roger, the Paris confectioner who built his own Berlin Wall made of chocolate, has knocked it down.
The chocolate wall reportedly weighed over a ton.

What a crazy mixed-up world we live in.
I hope the chocolate didn’t go to waste.

Posted on Zeitgeist

The Wine Connoisseur

Shaun Clark, a former soldier, has had the names of every British soldier killed in Afghanistan tattooed on his back.

Shaun Clark, 43, served with the 8th Battalion Light Infantry Regiment from 1989 to 1996.
The first name was inked on to his body on Wednesday morning, the 11th of November, at 11am, just as the traditional Armistice Day two-minute silence began.
Shaun said, “I don’t mind suffering for a few days if I can let the lads know that people really care about what they’re doing out there, and raise some money for the guys coming home wounded as well.
“The family thought I was mad to begin with, but they’ve come round to the idea now, and my wife is backing me all the way.”

Shaun Clark, a married father-of-two from Doncaster, England is hoping that his challenge will raise £500 for the charity Help for Heroes.
Speaking before the tattooist started working on him Shaun said, “It’s going to be painful business but it’s nothing compared to what the troops are going through every single day on the front line.”
He added, “I know it’s a bit extreme covering the top half of your body front and back with 223 names, but it’s my way of honouring all those men and women and it’ll be there as a memorial for as long as I live.”

Speaking about his aim to raise £500 for the Help for Heroes charity, Shaun Clark said, “I wanted to do something to raise money for the heroes who still need help and to honour the memory of the fallen.
“I’ve still lots of friends from my days in the Army over in Afghanistan and there’s lots of Donny lads out there as well.
“Lots of people do things to raise money but I wanted to do something different and something permanent.
“It’s not just about raising money - it’s also about letting these lads know that people care about what they’re doing.”

Shaun Clark served in Denmark, Gibraltar, and Norway before he left the Army in 1997.
He says he has received lots of messages of support from his from former colleagues and soldiers who are still out in Afghanistan.
Shaun has set up a page on the Just Giving fundraising website and has raised £165.
His page is full of supportive comments from well-wishers.
One supporter wrote, “Good luck Shaun it means a lot to me what you are doing as my husband is there soon.”
Another supporter wrote, “Top bloke. We will remember them.”

A spokesman from Help for Heroes said, “We are used to people going the extra mile, but this goes far beyond the norm.
“Shaun was in touch a few days ago to confirm everything was going ahead.
“It turned out to be a very poignant conversation because the volunteer who took the call lost her husband in action earlier in the year and, of course, his name is among those on the list.”

The tattoo artist Kevin Kent, donated his services free of charge, and said, “We’re going to start just as the two minute silence begins at 11am on Wednesday, and I’ve told Shaun that’s it’s going to be a slow and painful process.”
Kevin Kent drew up a list of all the British casualties in Afghanistan since April 2002 with the help of the Ministry of Defence.
Shaun Clark and Kevin Kent have said they will update the list of names each year if necessary.

Help for Heroes is a charity that raises money to help support members of the Armed Forces who have been wounded.
In just over two years Help for Heroes has raised over £30 million from over than 10,000 individual events.

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ZOQY Zeitgeist, Opinions, Questions, Yatter

A confectioner in Paris, France has built a chocolate replica of the Berlin Wall to mark the 20th anniversary of its fall.

Posted on ZEITGEIST

World leaders are gathering in Berlin, Germany today to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.
The fall of the Berlin Wall expedited the collapse of communism across eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War, and led to German reunification within a year

9th November 1989 ~ News Breaks of The Fall of the Berlin Wall

9th November 1989 ~ Celebrations at the Fall of the Berlin Wall

10th November 1989 ~ Celebration at the Berlin Wall

Today, 9th November 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are among those expected to be at the Brandenburg Gate. A speech will be made by Angela Merkel, who grew up in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
Thousands of tourists have arrived in the city for an occasion which Angela Merkel has described as, “A celebration of the happiest day in postwar German history”.
The Brandenburg Gate once loomed over the barbed wire barrier that divided East and West Berlin for 28 years until the night of 9th of November 1989.
239 people were shot trying to escape from East Berlin to a new life in the West. Over the years many people attempted to flee East Berlin, by various means including strapping themselves underneath cars and one man even manged to fly his family to freedom in a home-made hot air balloon.
5,000 people successfully managed to make it to freedom in the West.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the centre of Berlin today to recapture the euphoria that was felt across Europe when the Berlin Wall fell two decades ago.
The commemoration Fest der Freiheit (freedom festival) which is reportedly costing £4.6m (€5.1m) commences events over the following days and weeks to commemorate the collapse of communism across Germany and central and eastern Europe.
The festivities in Berlin, which will be attended by European leaders and other world dignitaries, are expected to climax this evening with the falling of a line of 1,000 huge dominoes, which represent the chain effect of the events of 1989. This will be followed by a huge display of fireworks.

The conductor Daniel Barenboim, who was in Berlin at the fall of the wall in 1989, will conduct a concert on an outdoor stage at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate with his Staatskapelle orchestra.
The music of Beethoven and Wagner aims to capture the joyous mood of the 9th of November 1989, when at approximately 8:27 p.m. East Germans started to squeeze through checkpoints before falling into the arms of West Germans on the other side of the wall.
As well as the Staatskapelle orchestra concert, the descent of a swarm of human angels adorned with huge white wings, from some of the rooftops of the buildings which were constructed along the former line of the wall will help mark the anniversary.
The descending angels will be reminiscent of Wim Wenders 1987 film, Wings of Desire.

In churches across Germany services of thanksgiving are being held, as well as ceremonies remembering the 136 people killed whilst attempting to flee the GDR.
At offices of the East German secret police, the Stasi, candlelit vigils are planned to highlight the plight of all those people who were persecuted by what was once one of the world’s most sophisticated intelligence organisations.

Todays party is being backed by corporate sponsors. Images of Trabant cars driving across the borders will be projected on to huge screens at the Brandenburg Gate. The Trabant images are provided courtesy of German car manufacturer Audi whose logo ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ will also be flashing in large letters.

Not everyone is using this momentous occasion to cash-in, British artist Martin Butler has organised a flash mob via the internet. He wants to put the Berlin Wall back up, using bodies instead of concrete and barbed wire. Martin Butler hopes to gather 33,000 people to recreate the entire path of the Berlin Wall, which was about 100 miles in length.
Martin Butler’s project, ‘Mauer Mob 2009: Recreating the Berlin Wall’ intends to ‘reconstruct’ the Berlin Wall using a human chain. The Mauer Mob (Mauer means ‘wall’ in German) flash mob will see thousands of people will descending on the former route of the Berlin Wall to form a temporary monument from 8:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Speaking about his idea Martin Butler said, “It’s a very simple gesture. I’m not taking a strong political stance. It’s more about asking people to think about division.”
Martin Butler, who stages performance projects with an Amsterdam-based group called the Liminal Institute, has divided the route into 330 segments and is aiming for a total of 33,000 participants.
Apparently over the past few months about 9,000 people have already expressed their interest in taking part via social networking websites Facebook and Twitter etc.
According to reports approximately 4,000 people have said they will show up at event.
Will Martin Butlers idea work? I think it just might, and even if it’s not a complete success it will definitely be a great opportunity to take part in a very unique commemoration for the people of Berlin and visitors to Germany.

Posted on ZEITGEIST

Life in France

Famous French chefs give cooking lessons on the metro in Paris, France.

Posted on ZEITGEIST

Playfish, the two-year-old UK-based social gaming company says it’s already turning a substantial profit, despite offering its games for free on social networks such as Facebook.

I’m a fan Playfish, I play Pet Society via my Facebook account, and I love it!
Despite reaching quite a high level in Pet Society I realised that I was spending way too much time on it, so earlier this year I decided to stop playing. I gave all of my furniture, clothes, and belongings away to friends, but I couldn’t resist the temptation for very long and a couple of months later I was back, wishing I hadn’t gievn all of my pets belongings away!
Since I started playing Pet Society again I have refurnished and redecorated my pets house several times because I get fed up quite quickly always seeing the same stuff every time I play. That’s the genius of Playfish, they are constantly introducing new items and new themes that players want, which helps keep the game fresh and interesting.
I doubt I’ll be stopping any time soon - I am definitely addicted.

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John Lynch, 78, a retired Barclays bank manager has set a new world record for the most body piercings.
John has a total of 241 studs and rings, 150 of which are on his head and neck.
John, of Apsley, Hertfordshire, England, is also nicknamed Prince Albert due to having a “few bits and bobs” on his manhood.

John who worked for Barclays bank for 30 years said he had to give up flying years ago because his large number of piercings kept setting off the security scanners at airports.
John got his first piercing on his eyebrow when he was in his 40’s after decided he’d enough of working at the bank, and he also got his first tattoo on his right arm which is of an eagle.
Since retiring from the bank John Lynch has become a well-known character in the local area.
John said, “I gave up working at the bank all those years ago because I was a square peg in a round hole and I always wanted to get a few piercings and tattoos.
“I knew I wanted to stand out a bit from the crowd, and I could not do that at the bank.”
John added that his appearance gets a lot of attention from passers-by, most of which is favourable.
Speaking about the Guinness World Record John said, “I never thought about breaking the record. I’ve always just done it because I like it but it is quite an achievement.
“I was actually a few short so had 20 or so popped into my arms to up the numbers and if somebody beats me I could always find space for a few more.”

John also has a lot of tattoos on his body including his favourite one which is a big portrait of film star Marilyn Monroe which covers most of his torso.

The Guinness Book of Records confirmed that John Lynch was the most-pierced person in the world. John said, “I was a few short so had 20 or so popped into my arms to up the numbers.”

I’ve only ever had my ears and my nose pierced, and with just one nose piercing I had to be careful when washing my face. When I see people like John Lynch with lots of facial piercing I always wonder how they manage to wash their face without catching any of the rings or studs - Ouch!
Good for him though, it’s cool that now he’s retired John can do exactly what he like to his appearance.

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LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE