Pamela Stephenson: (61) My Strictly Secret Diary

 

By Pamela Stephenson
Last updated at 12:55 AM on 18th December 2010

Tears. Battle wounds. And oh-so intimate moments with her toyboy partner. We asked Strictly’s supergran Pamela Stephenson to keep a diary of her six frenzied days before tonight’s final.

SUNDAY

I woke up at 4.30am, my body still surging with adrenaline, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Still can’t believe I got through to the finals of Strictly Come Dancing last night!

My husband Billy (Connolly) is jet- lagged, so he was up, too, banging the bathroom door as usual. His last words before he fell asleep were: ‘By the way, how’d you get to dance like that?’

‘I told you before,’ I muttered. ‘James!’

Supergran: Pamela Stephenson promises to turn up the raunch for Strictly Come Dancing's final

‘Oh aye,’ replied Billy. ‘Good lad.’

As he started snoring, I allowed myself to bask in a surge of pride and relief, remembering that last night the judges gave me and my adorable professional partner James Jordan four tens. This was followed by a fit of anxiety at the thought of having to do it all again.

On Strictly, there’s no such thing as a day off. Today, a couple of hours filming at the BBC’s TV Centre in West London was followed by an intense training session, with James in his usual bullish frame of mind.

‘Don’t think,’ he started, ‘that just because you did well last night I’m going to go easy on you this week!’

As if. For the next several hours, ‘Supergran’, as James has taken to calling me, was tortured with relentless teasing about my apparent inability to take three spinning steps to the left and remain on balance.

I don’t know why, but my legs feel like jelly. Oh wait, maybe it has something to do with the fact I just danced the paso doble, the quickstep and a swing marathon (the latter involving four flips over James’s head, two splits jumps, a couple of swings through his legs to a standing position and several other assorted leaps) on live TV watched by 14 million people. Not bad for a 61-year-old, eh?

Saucy: Pamela Stephenson has lost two-and-a-half stone since she started training for Strictly Come Dancing.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1339701/Pamela-Stephenson-writes-week-Strictly-Come-Dancing.html#ixzz18RaDdaRp

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Strictly Come Dancing: Pamela Stephenson, 61, promises sexy finale

 

At 61, she is the oldest contestant ever to reach the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

But Pamela Stephenson says that won’t stop her turning up the raunch on tonight’s show.

She has even gone so far as to liken her dancing to ‘full-on sex’.

Sexy: Pamela Stephenson and her professional partner James Jordan rehearse the Argentine tango ahead of tonight's grand final of Strictly Come Dancing

Miss Stephenson, who is married to comedian Billy Connolly, said she was looking forward to performing the most ‘gorgeous’ and ‘sensuous’ Argentine tango.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1339697/Strictly-Come-Dancing-Pamela-Stephenson-61-promises-sexy-finale.html#ixzz18RZSNeen

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Neither Mexico nor India: The world's hottest chilli comes from a tiny greenhouse in Cumbria

 

By Jaya Narain
Last updated at 8:39 AM on 3rd December 2010

It is so hot weapons experts plan to use a couple in a spice bomb to incapacitate enemy soldiers on the battlefield.

But the world’s hottest chilli does not hail from India, Thailand or Mexico but from a small greenhouse in Cumbria.

It was created by crossing three of the hottest varieties of chilli pods known to man.

The Naga Viper rates an astonishing 1,359,000 on the Scoville scale, which measures heat by the presence of the chemical compound capsaicin

The result is a record breaking chilli that will make your eyes stream, throat burn, nose run and much, much worse.

The Naga Viper chilli packs an astonishing 1,359,000 on the Scoville scale, which measures heat by the presence of the chemical compound capsaicin.

Experts at Warwick University carried out tests on the chilli and officially declared it the hottest.

It beat competition from the ferocious Bhut Jolokia pod - the previous holder - to take the title of the world’s hottest chilli in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Creator, Gerald Fowler, a full-time chilli farmer for five years, said: ‘When they grow chilli in India or the Caribbean they’re used to the heat and the drought. When they’re grown over here I think they fight back against the harsher climate and produce even more heat.’

Dozens of customers at Mr Fowler’s village pub, the Engine Inn, signed a disclaimer stating they are of sound body and mind before sampling a curry cooked with Naga Viper. Only two managed to finish the whole dish.

He sells the chilli as a tongue-blistering sauce for curries but says he is getting a lot of interest from chilly growers keen to get their hands on the seeds.

Gerald Fowler with his Naga Viper chilli pods, the hottest chilli pods in the world

‘It’s painful to eat,’ said Mr Fowler, 52, who runs the Chilli Pepper Company, in Cark-in-Cartmel, near Grange-Over-Sands. ‘It’s hot enough to strip paint.

‘It numbs your tongue, then burns all the way down. It can last an hour, and you just don’t want to talk to anyone or do anything. But it’s a marvellous endorphin rush. It makes you feel great.’

The most popular chilli – Jalapeno – measures a pitiful 2,500 to 5,000 on the Scoville scale.

Mr Fowler’s Naga Viper is more than 270 times hotter and trumps the previous world record holder, the Bhut Jolokia, at 1,001,304.

The Indian Government has been examining ways of using the very hottest chillis such as the Bhut Jolokia to produce a spice bomb that would completely incapacitate enemy soldiers without killing them.

Earlier this year they created an 81-mm tear-gas like grenade which could be thrown by a soldier.

The mix of spices and phosphorous chokes the enemy’s respiratory tract, leaving targets barely able to breathe for a time.

It also causes severe stinging to the skin as well as streaming eyes, a burning throat and disorientation.

Mr Fowler crossed the Bhut Jolokia, with two other varieties, the Naga Morich and Trinidad Scorpion, and grew the plants in his 8ft by 16ft heated greenhouse.

He said: ‘The chef Heston Blumenthal gave a volunteer our chilli oil and monitored their brain activity on a CAT scan. It showed the part of the brain which registers heat was right next to the part of the brain which makes us feel happy.’

He said: ‘Some people have actually eaten the raw pods, because that’s the sort of macho thing that some people do, and posted it on YouTube. A couple were sick.’

Mr Fowler has sold chilli seeds to the Eden Project in Cornwall, to the Edinburgh Horticultural Society, and to farmers in Afghanistan, as a alternative to growing poppies for opium.

‘I’ve been growing chilli for 10 years, and doing it full-time for five,‘ he said ‘I was a website designer and just got drawn into it when my dad got a chilli plant.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335043/Worlds-hottest-chilli-grown-tiny-Cumbrian-greenhouse.html#ixzz17dbbMfS1

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Environment :: Reef Protest

Hundreds of Belizians and international supporters gather on an island to form a message on the Barrier Reef off the coast of Belize City November 13, 2010. The message, which was to call on humanity to be in harmony with the natural world, was created on the final day of the three-day Belize Reef Summit.

 

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END OF AN ERA: THE RISE AND FALL OF CONCORDE

 

Concorde was the world’s first supersonic passenger jet, capable of speeds of up to 1,350mph.

But the planes - built as part of an Anglo-French government treaty and first flown in 1969 – were long dogged by controversy and never really became profitable.

The main problem arose from the sound of its sonic boom – the loud noise left its wake made when the aircraft broke through the sound barrier.

By the early 1970s, Concorde had been banned from flying at high speed in most countries throughout the world, making only limited transatlantic flights possible for super-rich passengers.

Despite flights from London and Paris to New York and Washington taking less than half the time of other passenger jets, few airlines wanted them.

Only 20 aircraft were ever built - and these were sold at a cost subsidized by the French and UK governments to the formerly state-owned Air France and British Airways.

Development of the planes was prohibitively expensive, so its only crash – on July 25, 2000 – sounded the death knell after questions were raised over its safety.

Though Concorde flew again, the cost of improvement in a post-9/11 world became too much to bear – even as a loss-making badge of prestige – and its retirement flight was made on November 26, 2003, pictured above.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336065/Continental-Airlines-blamed-2000-Concorde-crash-killed-113-people.html#ixzz17LO39g16

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Jakhu Temple:: Abhishek Bachchan unveils world’s tallest Hanuman statue.

Situated at the highest peak of Jakhu hill, the Jakhu temple is a century old structure dedicated to Lord Hanuman (Hindu god). One of the famous pilgrimage centers of Shimla, Jakhu temple attracts devotees as well as adventure freaks tourist, who indulge themselves into trekking and mountaineering activities organized by the Himachal Pradesh government.
Location : The Jakhu Temple in Shimla is situated on the top of Jakhu Hill, at an altitude of 2.5 kms.
Famous For : The Jakhu temple in Shimla is dedicated to lord Hanuman, and is said to be existing from the times of Ramayana.
The Temple
The Jakhu Temple in Shimla is situated at an altitude of 2455 Mts. The temple is dedicated to lord Hanuman, the monkey god in Indian mythology. Hanuman was the most faithful aide of lord Rama (India’s most revered mythological hero). The temple of Hanuman is in the thick forests of Jakhu hills, and is on top the Jakhu Hill. Jakhu is derived from Hindi word Yakhsa. Yakshas are the mythological character in Hindu mythology, who are a link between human and gods. The original dates of temple is not known, but it is believed to be existing from the times of Ramayana, a pre historic event as per ancient Hindu texts. The Jakhu hill is the highest peak around Shimla, and is famous for its trekking options. The Jakhu hill offers excellent views of sunrise, sunset, mountains and town. The hill is full of narrow paths and roads which are an enjoyable walks.

The Legends
The Jakhu temple is said to be formed when lord Hanuman visited Jakhu hill. As per legends, Hanuman visited this place during the famous Rama - Ravana fight. Lakshman, the younger brother of Rama, was critically injured during the fight and the only medicinal herb which could have saved his life was available in the Himalayan range. Hanuman came to Himalayas, but got confused, so as to which was the particular herb. Out of desperation, he dug out the whole mountain, which contained the herbs and flew to Lanka, where injured Lakshman and his doctor were waiting for him. On his way back, Hanuman rested on the Jakhu hills, and the top of the mountain got flat by his and mountain’s weight. The temple of Jakhu has since been highly revered by the locals. The shrine of the temple is the foot prints of Hanuman. In most of the Hanuman temples in India, one can come across numerous monkeys and Jakhu is no exception. There are hundreds of monkeys in and around the temple. Though mostly very peaceful, they can attack a person, if provocated. Pilgrims offer them eatables, which they readily accept.

At the top of the Jakhu hill the famous Jakhu Temple of Shimla has another famous feature. A 108 feet tall Hanuman statue, has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crores. It has been unveiled by another famous personality, Bollywood superstar Abhishek Bachchan. The Hanuman temple is hardly 2 kilometers from the Ridge with an uphill climb among the Deodar trees. The Jakhu temple is situated at a height of 2455 meters and the highest peak in Shimla.

Weighing 1,500 tonnes, the statue — one of the tallest in the world — is situated at Jakhu Mandir in Shimla. The daunting task was undertaken by JHS Nanda Trust, the philanthropic wing set up by oral health care manufacturers JHS Svendgaard Laboratories Ltd. The statue has sensors that keep birds away.

‘After unveiling the statue, I recalled the time spent with my grandmother who was a huge devotee of Lord Hanuman. She used to tell us stories about his adventures,’ Abhishek said, after unveiling the statue.

‘Jakhu temple is a very strong temple. There is a lot of power in here. When Nikhil (JHS managing director) approached me to be part of it, I readily agreed as I felt this was a call from god himself. It’s fantastic that a statue so tall has been erected in India. It is an achievement that will make the people of India proud,’ he added.

Wearing a brown kurta and white pyjamas, the actor was accompanied by sister Shweta Nanda and veteran actor Parikshit Sahani. He had even kept a fast until the statue was unveiled.

Nikhil Nanda, managing director of JHS, said: ‘All my family members are huge devotees of Lord Hanuman. We laid the foundation of the statue two years back. And today it gives me immense pride to unveil it.’

The idol was built at a cost of Rs.1.5 crore.

‘The working conditions were very tough as we had to work through extreme cold. The monkeys also created a lot of problems. We thought that we wouldn’t be able to complete even in five years but we are happy that we could complete it in two years,’ chief architect Naresh Kumar told IANS.

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Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni arrive in India

 

Bangalore: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his celebrity wife Carla Bruni arrived here on Saturday morning on a four-day official visit to India aimed at expanding cooperation in defence, nuclear power, sustainable development and culture.

Accompanied by a large official-cum-business delegation, 55-year-old Sarkozy and Bruni landed at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) airport in the city at 10.05 a.m. amidst tight security.

While the president was in a black suit, the first lady wore a light peach dress. Sarkozy's only official engagement here will be a visit to the satellite centre of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He will address top scientists, executives and students post-noon on space cooperation between the two countries.