YesBut what's the local news?

From the Chronicle Herald, published in Halifax, Nova Scotia:

Gone fishin’:

No girls allowed. 9-year-old wants to join boys-only outdoor day camp, but girls offered only day at the spa. -

Nine-year-old Lydia Houck was looking forward to a day of fishing, hiking and golfing when she browsed through a list of summer day camps offered near her Nova Scotia home, but the only option that fit her interests was just for boys.

In contrast, the only all-girl camp, dubbed Glamorous Girls, offers jewelry-making and a trip to the spa for manicures and pedicures for girls aged five to 12. Lydia says she’d rather be fishing.

"It was really frustrating that they were being discriminatory and they were saying that boys should look forward to doing this and that girls shouldn’t do this," Lydia, who will be entering Grade 4 in the fall, said in an interview from her home in Windsor. "My brother and I go fishing a lot and I enjoy going outside a lot, and this camp seemed to fit that description and it was pretty much the only day camp that did."

The Municipality of the District of West Hants offers three other day camps that are co-ed — a trip to an amusement park, a day at the waterslides and a pirate-themed excursion into Halifax — but Lydia said none of them sounded as fun as the camp for boys.

The municipality says the idea for next Monday’s spa day came from similar all-girl day camps elsewhere in Nova Scotia, with at least one Halifax-area community staging its own spa event for young girls this summer. West Hants recreation director Kathy Kehoe denied the camp lineup is discriminatory and said there are no plans to reverse the decision before the event for boys takes place on Tuesday.

From the Milton -Ulladulla Times, New South Wales, Australia.

Shed 'inappropriate'

A MEN'S Shed, planned for the grounds of the Milton-Ulladulla Baptist Church, is inappropriate according to neighbouring residents.


Opponents of the workshop support the need for such a facility in the district, but believe it would be better suited to an industrial or commercial area, rather than a residential estate in Narrawallee.


The Men's Shed is planned for a site on the corner of Matron Porter Drive and Leo Drive adjacent to the existing church building.


The project is part of the national Men's Shed network and will provide an opportunity for local men to work on timber and metal projects for local charities and community groups, while fostering men's health and providing a meeting place seven days a week.


I have only one question: What about the girls and women?

YesBut what's the local news?

Last week I missed doing my weekly review of local newspapers. So it was nice this week to surf the net to see what stories were reported Worldwide last week.

From the Geelong Advertiser, Australia - “Perfumed night gets Marmalade on the carpet”.

“PERFUME wafted through the air, purple lighting set the mood as Geelong's business leaders strolled down the red carpet anxious, nervous and excited.
It was the night of nights for the business community The Geelong Advertiser Business Excellence Awards and the tension was thick.
Prestige, honour and prominence were words used to describe the award as penguin suits and sparkling dresses strolled the red carpet.
Tui Pickett was lapping up the glitz and glamour. Her staff members at Shannon Park Industries joked the red carpet would be rolled out for her, and it was, as she stood posing for a photograph to prove to them she was right.
``I got a letter telling me to write a speech but I haven't had time,'' Ms Pickett said with a nervous laugh, as the reality hit she may just have to make that speech.
Dirty nappies and crying children were a distant memory for the women from City Learning and Care.
They had spent a good couple of hours frocking up, attending hair appointments and getting ready for the big night, of which they had entered three awards.
``This would be great for our business. It would give us recognition within the community that we are doing a great job and that what we are doing is important in working with children and families,'' childcare co-ordinator Julie Thompson said.”

The Vulcan Advocate, Alberta, Canada - “Vulcan home to one and only Scrapbook Café”.

Found no where else in the country, Vulcan has recently become home to the first cafe geared towards scrapbooking.
“It’s not just a cafe, it’s a social,” said Lillian Duxbury, 57-year-old owner of Scrapbook Cafe. Operating the business with her husband, Tim, also 57, the couple packed up and left Calgary in 2002 in search of a new home outside the city.
Third time was a charm, as their house in Vulcan was the last of three attempts to settle in a new residence and community.
“I love Vulcan, I think it’s a great little town,” Lillian said.
Having delved into the art of scrapbooking over two years ago when her daughter introduced her to the craft, Lillian has spent her share of time in other scrapbook stores that ended up giving her the direction she needed to create the best possible atmosphere.
Previous experience included cramped conditions in dark rooms hidden away in the back of a store, so Lillian knew exactly what not to do.
“I turned all the negatives into a positive,” she said.
Remembering cramped conditions, she made sure the Scrapbook Cafe had plenty of spacious tables and lots of light to work with.
Although not yet available, plans are to be offering scrapbook lessons by September. Once that comes to pass, memberships will be available, offering members access to a scrapbook tool room on hand in the cafe.
“So they don’t have to bring their own stuff,” Lillian said, “they come work whenever they want to.”

From the Evening Post, Swansea, Wales - “SHAMBO MONKS PROTEST IN VAIN”.

A Group of 20 police officers broke up a day-long vigil at a Carmarthenshire temple after monks and protesters gathered to protect Shambo the bull.Worshippers at the Hindu temple in the Skanda Vale religious community surrounded the sacred animal to stop officials putting him down. However, their attempts were in vain as vets destroyed him yesterday evening.

Brother Alex, one of the monks at the community where Shambo was worshipped, said: "We have done our duty and we have a clear conscience in this. Shambo is all right. I know the Lord will take care of him, I have no worries about that.

"It is the the Assembly that is going to pay. The consequences of their actions will haunt them for generations to come. That is the Karma in action."

The bull had tested positive for TB and Defra officials ordered it to be destroyed to prevent the infection spreading.

However religious leaders at Skanda Vale, near Llanpumsaint, mounted a legal bid to save him and when that failed they formed a human chain round the bull.

But their efforts were in vain as a warrant was served and police moved in.

One of the worshippers, 65-year-old Verena Blum, said: "It's bad, but I don't blame the police because they were friendly and they did their duty.

"There is no way that you desecrate a temple in that way."

Police had originally wanted to remove Shambo at 8am yesterday but the Hindu monks at the temple began a vigil which prevented officers from getting to the six-year-old Friesian.

At around 2pm they again tried to remove Shambo. But with around 100 protesters at the site they decided to pin a warrant to the door and "take advice".

Returning two hours later police began to remove worshippers and used bolt cutters to open Shambo's stall.

Speaking after she had been moved, Christine Hough said there was no need to put Shambo down.

"He is sacred to these people - he is not in the food chain," she said.

An attempt by the community's monks to stop the the Assembly destroying Shambo failed at the Court of Appeal this week.

Worshippers laughed as Brother Alex said the Assembly had asked the gathering to disperse because "they are worried it might be upsetting Shambo".

Well that’s the local news for another week, finishing on the sad news that Shambo is no more - well at least not in the reincarnation of a sacred bull.

Six Nations Rugby Championship - 2nd Weekend

Today England is playing Italy, and Scotland playing Wales. Tomorrow Ireland is playing France.

The Italians like playing with the sun on their backs, so the cold winter weather of the last four days would not be to their liking. After last weeks game against Scotland, the English supporters were singing the praise of their team. But really the Scots were so weak; no concrete evidence of a recovery can be taken from the game. It will not be until 24th February when they play Ireland that the strength of the English team can be measured. Unless England beat Italy by a margin of over 30 points, it will be seen as a poor performance.

Wales should beat Scotland, but they are still weakened by injuries. After last weeks defeat Scotland will be playing for their pride. Whoever loses today their season will be over, and it will also dent their confidence leading up to the World Cup, to be played later this year.

Tomorrows game is really juice, both Ireland and France have the potential to not only win the Championship but achieve the Grand Slam (winning all their games).They are also the two Northern Hemisphere teams who have the capabilities to challenge, if not New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Ireland have suffered a big blow losing their captain Brian O’Driscoll due to injury. The French like the Italians play their best rugby when they have the sun on their backs. Its finely balanced, hopefully its going to be an open running game.

It's going to be a tense afternoon watching Wales, but first the England vs Italy game.

Did you hear that thump; it was England falling to ground after spending last week in dreamland.

It was as if there was an invisible wall at the Italian 10 metre line through which England could not pass. They had to wait 35 minutes before they got into the Italian 22. Up to that point Wilkinson had kicked penalties at the 3rd, 14th and 24th minute. On the 37th minute Italian forward Marco Portola was sin binned for 10 minutes. In the 39th minute Jason Robinson went over in the corner for a try, which Wilkinson failed to convert, making the half time score England 14 - 0 Italy.

Fifteen minutes into the second half Wilkinson put over another penalty. Virtually all the play in the second half took place in the English half. The Italian pack had full control of the game, and England looked devoid of ideas. Italy got their reward in the 65 minutes with a try under the posts. In the 73rd minute Wilkinson put over his fifth penalty, to make the final score England 20 - 7 Italy.

Two statistics say it all, in the second half Italy had 75% of the possession and territory. Though they won, this was a reality call for England, last week’s performance was a false dawn, in reality they have made little progress since their Autumn Internationals dismal performances.

In the other game of the afternoon Scotland started strong with Wales conceding penalties at the 5th & 18th minute. Wales got a penalty back at the 24th minute to make the score Scotland 6 - 3 Wales. Scotland got a further penalty in the 36th minute, with Stephen Jones putting over a penalty just before half time to make the score Scotland 9 - 6 Wales.

In the second half Wales lost control of their own lineout and Scotland dominated possession. However even when Wales were reduced to fourteen men in the 57th minute with the sin binning of Rhys Thomas Scotland failed to score a try. In the second half Scotland scored 4 penalties to Wales’s one, making the final score Scotland 21 - 9 Wales.

The win will give Scotland confidence for their match against Italy in two weeks, while Wales are left to lick their wounds and pray for inspiration for their visit to Paris.

Would you believe it England have beaten Australia.

Call me a cynical grumpy old fart, but I must ask did England beat Australia or did Australia let them win?

This was the first match of the best of three final. If Australia had won they might have had a reasonable crowd for the second game, but that would have been it. As it is now, the final will go to three matches and almost guaranteed sell out for the next two games.

You might say “Give England credit for the win”, but look at the evidence England were 15 for 3, McGrath dropped the simplest of catches which would have made it 35 for 4 and England would again be Walking Dead.

Or is the answer, if England play Australia enough times then they might win one game.

What is the above all about? Just Cricket.

Toys for Big Boys

I hear the odd mutter coming from my wife’s direction, to the effect I’m spending too much time on the computer. But if you have a new toy, you must play with it. Since the Broadband was connected yesterday, I’ve had great fun looking up web pages that previously took, what it seemed, an age to download. Photos would emerge jerkily, line by line. Now they pop onto the screen instantly - great.

Thought I would be in trouble and my wife would pull the plug on the computer, then my son-in-law came to my rescue. Previously playing with my new toy, I had created a web page for my granddaughter and had emailed the link to her parents. After seeing the page, they decided to call us on Windows Messenger. As soon as my wife saw my granddaughter she became an instant fan of Broadband - so its big toys for girls and boys. Glad something had a happy ending.

A group that’s not feeling so happy is the English Cricket team which was not so much beaten but trounced by Australia 5 tests to 0. The first Whitewash since 1920 -21. Two years ago everybody wanted to be seen with the England team when it won back the Ashes. I wonder whether the Prime Minister will invite the players to 10 Downing Street when they return home? I think not. He’s desparately looking for one success before he resigns as Prime Minister. You never know next year we might see Tony on Celebrity Big Brother.