Jenjie

A disabled motorist who caused traffic chaos when she drove along a motorway at 10mph has been ordered to retake her test before she drives again. Stephanie Cole, 57, who was being treated for a phobia of motorways, had strayed on to the M32 near Bristol. Other drivers were forced to swerve to avoid running into the back of her Perodua Kenari MPV as it straddled the hard shoulder and inside lane. A sign in the back window said: “I do not drive fast, please overtake.” The police officer who pulled Mrs Cole over said that not only was she driving so slowly as to create a hazard to other motorists, she kept braking unexpectedly and slowing to walking pace. Mrs Cole, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and had her wheelchair in the back of the car, had been warned to expect a lengthy ban at an earlier hearing at which she pleaded guilty to inconsiderate driving. But magistrates at North Avon yesterday took pity on her after hearing that she needed her car to get to the shops. Instead she was given a three-month conditional discharge, banned from driving for seven days and told to retake her driving test before she gets behind the wheel again. Magistrates were told that Mrs Cole had an unblemished 30-year driving record and was all right on A roads, but as soon as she got on to a motorway her confidence disappeared. She said she had been having treatment from a GP for her fear of driving for three years. Mrs Cole, of Fishponds, Bristol, said: “I think a driver improvement course would help.” She was charged after she was stopped on the M32 in Bristol at 1pm on August 30 last year. PC Duncan Verel escorted her off the motorway. Mrs Cole, a former station assistant at BBC Radio Nottingham, said that she had joined the motorway by accident. She said: “Once I realised that there was no exit from the motorway, that was when my confidence deserted me. The policeman who pulled me over was unaware of my disability. “As soon as I got off the motorway my driving was perfectly all right. I drive perfectly well on normal city roads but I have a phobia when I get on a motorway. “I live alone and I am fiercely independent. Losing my licence will leave me with no social life ? I won’t be able to go shopping or drive to the chemist to pick up my prescriptions. No driving licence for me means I will have no life.” Requiring her to retake her test, magistrate Dawn Killick told her: “We have serious concerns for your safety and that of other road users.” As she left court Mrs Cole said: “I’m very disappointed but will be back driving.” http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/article3134114.ece

A Dutch judge has ordered a leading Amsterdam brothel to close, as part of a campaign to cut links between the sex trade and organised crime. The judge upheld the city's complaint that the Yab Yum Club had been taken over by the Hells Angels biker gang. The brothel, which describes itself as up-market and exclusive, denies this. In September the city announced plans to buy about 50 shop fronts where prostitutes display themselves, and turn them into businesses or homes. In December the municipality decided to withdraw the Yab Yum Club's licence. The club - which operates from a 17th-Century canal house in Old Amsterdam and charges clients about $500 (£250) a time - challenged the move. Ahead of Friday's court decision it said allegations that it was controlled by the Hells Angels were "absolutely wrong". But an Amsterdam city council spokeswoman said after the ruling: "This shows we did the right thing by not giving out the permit and closing the brothel." The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, has said that although prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, there is too much of the sex trade in the city centre. He also said that the trade involved exploitation and trafficking of women, and other kinds of criminal activity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7172087.stm

A winter storm is sweeping California, battering the south with heavy rain and high winds, and dumping snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains. At least 440,000 people were left without power from central Oregon to Washington State, roads were closed and flights cancelled at some airports. Areas denuded by October's forest fires are braced for flooding and mudslides. Emergency services have asked at least 3,000 people living in Orange County canyons to leave home as a precaution. Flash flood warnings were issued for most of Los Angeles County and home-owners have been protecting their property with sandbags and hay bales, the Associated Press reports. "There's a little bit of a let-up right now in the rain but there's still a huge band of rain that's going to come in today," Ted MacKechnie, a US National Weather Service forecaster, said on Saturday morning. There were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries. Blizzards In the Sierra Nevada, the range of mountains which runs up the centre of California, snow forced the closure of Interstate 80, the main east-west link between northern California and Nevada. Up to 44 in (112cm) fell overnight in some parts of the range, and depths of up to 10 ft (3m) are forecast at higher points by Sunday. Up to 2 ft (0.6m) may fall on the popular tourist spot of Lake Tahoe. Flights in the San Francisco area were grounded and storm winds meant large lorries were banned from the Golden Gate Bridge. The tourist attraction of Alcatraz Island out in the bay was closed to tourists. Forecasters believe the blizzard conditions and heavy snow will begin to subside by Sunday as the cold front moves east. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7173149.stm

An avalanche warning has been issued for Helvellyn, England's third highest mountain, with climbers urged to stay away from the Cumbrian peak. The Lake District National Park Authority said unstable snow and ice at all levels of the mountain, plus gales, had made any ascent dangerous. "There is a high avalanche risk until the snow pack has time to consolidate," it warned. On Friday there was a wind chill of -15.9C on the 3,117ft (950m) peak. Fell top assessor Craig Palmer said: "High winds are moving the snow around and it's not bonding. "It's lethal underfoot as edges are literally breaking away. An added danger comes from a cornice of snow, which could break off and avalanche at any time. "I've rarely seen anything as bad as this in the Lake District and I would strongly urge people, even those experienced in winter mountaineering, not to venture out on to hills until the situation improves." The authority said that none of the climbs on the mountain were in a fit condition for climbing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7172652.stm

The UK's oldest emigrant has set sail for his new life in New Zealand - at the age of 102. Eric King-Turner has left Hampshire to emigrate to the country with his wife of 12 years, Doris. The couple waved goodbye to the UK as they embarked on a sea journey from Southampton to their new home. Mr King-Turner said he felt it might be "rather fun to move to New Zealand", adding that his wife, who is from the country, was getting homesick. The couple, who shared the same surname prior to their marriage, met when the New Zealand King-Turner family visited the UK to research their origins. Mr King-Turner, who served on HMS Invincible during World War II, admitted he had not seen everything in the UK that he would have liked, but had seen much of Europe. Mr King-Turner said the move had been planned months ahead, although he added: "I have to live from day to day. "I can't seriously look past tomorrow morning because at my age people go to bed at night and they don't wake up in the morning. I'm resigned to that." Meanwhile, his wife said she and her husband - who have lived in Hampshire since their marriage - believed they would settle down quickly. "He's very easy to get on with and he settles down very quickly, so I think he'll quite enjoy it out there," Mrs King-Turner said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7172925.stm

It is not just the average net user who is a fan of social network sites, so are hi-tech criminals. So say security professionals predicting what net criminals will turn to in 2008 to catch people out. The quasi-intimate nature of the sites makes people share information readily leaving them open to all kinds of other attacks, warn security firms. Detailed information gathered via the sites will also help tune spam runs or make phishing e-mail more convincing. Friendly faces There was no doubt that 2007 was the year that sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Orkut rose to prominence as millions of people signed up to use them and started posting information about themselves and what they were up to. But in 2008 these sites will become an attack vector for the hi-tech gangs who are now behind the vast majority of cyber crime. Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at ScanSafe, said social sites would prove popular for two reasons. "The technologies that play there and the third party add-ons make it an environment that is susceptible to compromise," said Ms Landesman. Already at the end of 2007 Brazilian users of Google's Orkut were subject to an attack by a worm that tried to steal bank account details. The malicious program, which also tried to hijack compromised computers, propagated via booby-trapped links placed on the personal page of Orkut users. Still other attacks have tried to capitalise on the popularity of video clips seen on sites such as YouTube by putting booby-trapped links on pages that show the short films. Alongside technical vulnerabilities in the networks go other problems with the amount of information that people share on social networking sites. This data can give criminals knowledge about the names of employees at a company, insight in its managerial make-up or information about its processes to lend credibility to other attacks. "That information can be very specific, very focused," she said. "It can mention company names, actual events and people." This information, said Ms Landesman, could help attackers embarking on social engineering attacks which attempt to con employees by posing as another worker or a business partner. David Porter, head of security and risk at Detica, said the apparent familiarity of social network sites, which often help people build connections with people who share their interests and outlook meant many people were cavalier with their personal information. "It is remarkable that people use social networking websites to publish details about their lives, loves, jobs and hobbies to the entire world that they would not dream of sharing with a stranger in a bar," he said. "Such data is invaluable to identity fraudsters," he said. This move to exploit social network sites would also fuel a move away from attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system to gain control of a PC or steal data. Far better for the criminal, said Paul King, senior security advisor for Cisco, is to use those phishing e-mails to exploit the end user. "So many attacks now are nothing to do with an exploit. It's about persuading you to click a link," he said. "There's no vulnerability involved in you clicking on that. None." The big challenge in 2008 for individuals and companies was coming to terms and recognising the sheer number of threats ranged against them. But, he said, consumers and PC users should not feel stifled by all the potential security problems. There were a lot of benefits to using social networking sites, said Mr King and the downsides should not put people off using them. "It's about trying to manage risk rather than avoid risk," he said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7156541.stm

The actress whose body was found in the home she shared with a CBBC host may have taken the wrong medication before she died, her fiance's mother has said. After Natasha Collins' death in London, her partner Mark Speight was arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying cocaine, which he vehemently denied. And he would never have "harmed Tash", Mr Speight's mother Jacqueline said. A mix-up with drugs prescribed for a medical condition may have led to the 31-year-old's death, she added. Talking to reporters outside her home in Wolverhampton, Mrs Speight said the couple had been together "for quite a while". "As far as I know, everything was OK between them," she said. Asked for her reaction to the tragedy, she replied: "I'm in absolute shock. I was only with them at Christmas. They both seemed fine and very happy." She added: "There is no way on earth that Mark would do anything to harm Tash." Car accident Mr Speight is known as one of the faces of BBC children's TV, particularly the SMart programme, which he has presented since 1995. He had worked with Ms Collins, who was also a model, on children's series See It Saw It. She was planning to set up her own production company with compensation she received after a car accident seven years ago. On Friday a statement was issued on behalf of Ms Collins' mother, whose first name was not given. "We are all absolutely distraught over the death of Natasha," it read. "She was our loving, caring daughter who was always full of life. "This is a very emotional time for us as a family. We ask simply to be allowed to grieve." A spokeswoman for Mr Speight said the presenter had found Ms Collins' body in the bathroom of their home in St John's Wood "and immediately called an ambulance and the police". "Mark was the only other person present in the flat and has therefore been questioned by police as a matter of course. "He is assisting police with their enquiries and had nothing to do with Natasha's death," she said, before adding: "Mark is absolutely distraught." A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said a suspected drug overdose was one line of inquiry which was being considered. Further details of the circumstances leading up to Ms Collins' death are unlikely to emerge before a post-mortem is conducted, and this is expected to be on Monday. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7172765.stm

i totally agree with them. pubs are not the place to take children for long periods of time, particularly not ones like Wetherspoon's which are definitely not created to cater for them. the sad thing is that its the pub having to limit the time the kids spend there, and not the parents taking the responsibility

If you haven't seen these recently, have a bit of fun passing it on to your friends. Directions! Now, Here Is What You Are Supposed To Do...! Hit copy, paste into the message box, Delete My Answers And Type In Your Answers. Then post it in here So we Can See Your Answers, The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those Coldplaying members. 1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope 2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? New Year’s Eve 3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING Why would you like your handwriting? I’m ambivalent. Sometimes I think its neat, other times its messy. 4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Ham, so long as I can have Branston pickle with it. 5.. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nope 6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Nope, I’m far too geeky 7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Only when necessary 8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS Yes, although as the doctor’s keep telling me they’re abnormally large, I’m not sure why. 9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Never. I don’t like heights as it is without tying an elastic band to my legs and jumping into nothingness. 10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Clusters with the chocolate bits in 11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No 12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not really 13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? You want me to pick one? When there’s so many flavours & brands? It’d have to be Cherry Garcia by Mr Ben & Mr Jerry 14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Depends from person to person 15. RED OR PINK? Pink. 16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOUR SELF? My inability to stick to one thing, and finish it. I always have too many things on the go. 17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST Nan & Grandpa 18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Why not? It’ll be interesting 19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black trousers with white pinstripes. No shoes but brown socks with polka dots in varying shades of pink & pale blue 20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Ham & Pickle butty, cherry scone & a cup of tea. 21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Whatever Ian just put on the stereo 22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Manganese coz I always loved that name when I came across it in my crayola packet 23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Freshly baked bread, bonfire night, christmas trees & Charlie Red perfume 24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Ian 25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? She’s alright I suppose :p (honestly? Aye, I do, she’s pretty ace for a little sister) 26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Rugby, Football, ice skating 27. HAIR COLOUR? Mixed. There’s some blonde, some brown, a hint of red, some dark brown, and a couple of grey. (and its all natural!!) 28 EYE COLOUR Browney-green 29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, glasses 30. FAVOURITE FOOD? I have to choose again? Chocolate, tiger bread, pizza, garlic bread, cantonese style fillet steak. 31.. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings every time. I struggle to watch scary films rated 15, let along anything scarier. 32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Practical Magic 33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Its black with pink pin stripes 34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. Its much more fun to snuggle up than it is to sweat 35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs 36. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Orange jelly with orange pieces in it 37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? dunno 38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND dunno 39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I forget what its called. Some book I picked up in ASDA that a Jane Austen expert has written about some niece to the Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice. 40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? the Random House logo. 41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Shameless, first episode of the new series 42. FAVOURITE SOUND? Don’t have one 43.. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles 44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Crete 45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? nope 46. WHAT IRRITATES YOU MOST? Nothing generally, its usually specific instances 47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Anyone’s. my response rate to these things is usually pretty low

cool ty :) you're now the first person with their book review on our Wiki site :D

I've nearly finished a project to complete a listing of all books about Coldplay, inc biographies & music books, for the Wiki Coldplay site. Its pretty much a Discography but for books. You can find the front page under the heading Library. To help me finish off, I'd like to personalise the pages with your reviews. Any length of review would be ace. If you'd like to contribute, please post your reviews here. Thanks in advance :D

I wouldn't have been drinking in The Lounge either, can't afford their prices lol :D although they do do the most amazing pink cocktails i have ever had

A football club had to call air traffic control after a promotional inflatable blimp was cut free. Burnley Football Club flew the airship, bearing the club logo, above the Turf Moor ground ahead of their Queens Park Rangers clash on Tuesday. But within 90 minutes, someone scaled a wall and cut through the reinforced steel tether to free the blimp. Police were called and a reward has been offered for its return, but there have been no confirmed sightings. A club spokesman said: "We called air traffic control because quite often these blimps get spotted by pilots first, but there has been no news so we are really still waiting. "It was flying on a 200ft-long (61m) cord attached to a container in the corner of the car park, the first 20ft (6m) or so of which are covered in a steel sheath. "It was well-protected, but somebody has climbed on to the container, hooked it, pulled it down a bit and cut through the cord. "They were certainly persistent, and ran away before anyone saw them." The spokesman added that someone had called to say the blimp had been seen over Manchester's Trafford Centre, but there had also been a reported sighting of it flying in the other direction over Cliviger, Lancashire. The club has offered VIP tickets to a match as reward for its return. A Lancashire Police spokeswoman said: "Burnley Football Club contacted air traffic control for safety reasons because you never know how high these things will go. "We have had no information as yet. Who knows where it might end up - perhaps it will be found abroad." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7143056.stm

no idea, but I find it slightly disturbing :stunned:

I used to understand it but then they revealed al the alchohol contents had gone doolally. I knew that one 125ml glass of wine would be acceptable to drive. Except that that was apparently based on old measures which had half the alcohol content of modern wines. Which is my usual process of don't touch any alcohol if i'm driving is probably safest

You leave my Frank alone :P Although having said that, whilst the Louis outfit is perfectly acceptable for a fancy dress party, I don't remember reading that Louis ever wore fishnet stockings!!!!! silk stocking, yes, but FISHNETS???????

i can't see one. can find copies of the 2006 calendar available and there were 2 diferent 2007 calendars. but nothing doing on 2008

30 Days Of Night - 7/10 just a bit too much gore & close-ups for a 15 film. Sleuth - 8/10. filming on this is amazing. jude Law & Michael Caine were brilliant.

December shoot for X Files sequel Filming on the second X Files movie is to begin on 10 December, 20th Century Fox has announced. The film will see David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their famous roles as alien-hunting FBI agents Mulder and Scully. Series creator Chris Carter will direct the as-yet unnamed film when production begins in Vancouver, Canada. The first X Files feature film was released in 1998 as a spin-off to the successful cult TV series. Fox also announced the sequel will be released on 25 July 2008 in the US. 'Supernatural thriller' The script, written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz - who also co-wrote the first X-Files movie - is being kept a close secret. All that is being revealed is that it is a "supernatural thriller" and will develop the complicated relationship between Mulder and Scully. The original cult series was a hit when it ran from 1993-2002, winning three Golden Globes for best TV drama. The first X Files film grossed $187m (£90m) worldwide. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7072794.stm

Just re-reading the 'Women Of The Otherworld' series by Kelley Armstrong and am on 'Dime Store Magic'

I was wondering what on earth that article was going to be!!!! that title gives out completely the wrong vibe

Incubus Dreams - laurell K Hamilton

Ratatouille - 7/10

that's my second favourite of her books. the best is Pride & Prejudice. I do love the Dashwoods. And can't help liking Marianne even if she is a bit silly

looking forward to the special edition roadtrip tomorrow night