TOP MUM SHARON MAKES HER STAGE DEBUT

XFactor judge Sharon Osbourne, recently voted Freemans Celebrity Mum of the Year made her stage debut last night in The Vagina Monologues at The Theatre Royal, Newcastle. Mum of three Sharon is the rock that holds her family together. Apart from fighting her own battle against colon cancer, Sharon has helped two of her children (Kelly and Jack) and rocker husband Ozzy through their addiction problems. On winning the award, Sharon said, “I’m delighted and the fact that this is a public vote makes it extra special.” Well done to her!

ANT & DEC ROYAL INTERVIEW

British tv presenters Ant and Dec have revealed plans to interview Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry in May. The duo plan to keep the interview lighthearted and are hoping to discover the Princes’ tastes in music, tv and films. The interview will mark the 30th anniversary of The Prince’s Trust.

NORMAN KEMBER ENJOYING HIS FREEDOM

Rescued British hostage Norman Kember settled back into home life again by attending a service yesterday at his local church. Many churchgoers were surprised to see the 74 year old peace campaigner so soon after his dramatic rescue. Mr Kember declined to discuss his experience of being held hostage for 4 months in Iraq and asked for privacy to reflect on his experiences.

In a statement Mr Kember said, "I do not believe that a lasting peace is achieved by armed force but I pay tribute to their courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue." He also thanked those people of all faiths who had prayed for his release. The dramatic rescue bid involved SAS, the American, Canadian and Iraq forces, who worked together to rescue Mr Kember and two other hostages. After the terrible murders of Ken Bigley and Tom Fox, at last we have some rare good news from Iraq. Everyone in Britain wishes Norman Kember and the two freed Canadian hostages well. After everything they've been through, they deserve it.

BRITAIN'S ROADS CRUMBLING

According to a recent survey Britain’s roads are crumbling due to lack of funding and a 10 year backlog of repairs. Apparently local council highways engineers are currently only getting 32% of the budget they need for maintenance work, despite the increasing amount of traffic on our roads. On average, the roads are only being resurfaced every 56 years, with local councils being blamed for not providing enough funding. According to the RAC, poor road surfacing is one of the top causes of accidents for motorcyclists.

The survey comes hot on the heels of the news that Britain is to have it’s first US-style car-share lane built on a motorway, in an effort to tackle pollution and traffic congestion. The lane can only be used by cars carrying two or more passengers and will open in 2007, in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Critics of the scheme argue that in America, quite often the lanes are under-used. Also the time saved by using the lanes is lost by stopping to pick up passengers!

DIANA MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN DEVELOPS CRACKS

The Diana Memorial Fountain appears to be cracking up after hairline cracks have been discovered in the structure. This is just the latest in a long line of problems to beset the troubled monument since it was opened by the Queen in 2004. First, the initial building work was delayed and cost well over budget, resulting in the memorial’s opening ceremony being delayed. Then the fountain had to be closed for two weeks after some visitors slipped and were injured. It was also hit by flooding. The cost of repairs will be a drain on the Royal Parks Agency (which is responsible for London’s major parks) and taxpayers, for years to come.

Maybe it’s a sign that the Memorial Fountain just isn’t meant to be and never should have been built in the first place. Surely a great lady like the Princess of Wales deserves something more to keep her memory alive. In my opinion a statue of the people’s Princess would have been a much better option and a lot less trouble as well.

On another note I discovered a beautiful Diana, Princess of Wales tribute site when I was surfing around the other day. If you would like to have a look, here’s the link:- http://www.truebritsjournal.co.uk/links/diana1.htm

KELLY DITCHES THE DODGERS

I was reading in the paper this week that Kelly Osbourne, (the daughter of XFactor judge Sharon and rocker Ozzy Osbourne), has managed to shed two and a half stone. Well done to her. She looks great. Maybe this will now put an end to all the nasty remarks in the press about her weight. Kelly (the face of my favourite shop Accessorize) credits her new slim figure to giving up her favourite biscuits and dancing. Kelly’s a girl after my own heart. She loves Jammie Dodgers. They’re my favourite biscuits too! But alas they’ve had to go as part of Kelly’s new healthy eating regime. Like Kelly I do a lot of dancing but giving up the dodgers – that’s another matter!

GORDON BROWN DELIVERS HIS TENTH BUDGET

In the news this week, Chancellor Gordon Brown delivered his tenth (and according to some Westminster predictions) final budget on Wednesday. As Tony Blair faces increasing calls to step down, Gordon Brown is hotly tipped to succeed him as the next Labour Prime Minister.

Pensioners’ groups were incensed as despite soaring fuel bills, there was no thought for the elderly whatsoever, with the scrapping of their £200 Council Tax rebate and no increase in pensioners' Winter Fuel payments. The major emphasis was on increased spending in schools, with the Chancellor describing his latest budget as “a Budget for Britain's future to secure fairness for each child by investing in every child".

But the Chancellor has made no provision for the cash-strapped National Health Service (NHS) in his budget proposals, claiming in a radio interview that there is a lot of money going into the NHS already and it is up to the NHS trusts to sort out their financial problems so that the public have value for money. Not sure how they’re going to do that, with cuts being made right, left and centre. The whole system just seems to be a shambles. But there we are. With NHS cuts taking place and hospitals being closed up and down the country, critics argue that the reason these cuts are being made is due to Gordon Brown’s failure to reform the NHS. Instead he has just abandoned it.

A package of “green” measures was also unveiled by Mr Brown, with increases in road tax for “4 x 4’s” and other gas guzzling vehicles.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day in England, a special day when we can show our Mum just how much we love and appreciate her! Traditionally Mother’s Day has always been celebrated (in Britain), on the fourth Sunday of Lent since about the 16th century. The original roots of Mother’s Day probably lie in the church festival of “Refreshment Sunday”, when traditionally people would go back to visit their “Mother” church, i.e. the church where they were baptised. As time went by this custom changed to using the day for people to honour their mothers rather than the church. I’m taking my own Mum out for a meal now on this lovely spring day! Happy Mothers Day to any mums reading this!

THE DEMISE OF THE FAMILY DINING TABLE

According to a recent poll, many British families have ditched the family dining table and the majority prefer to eat their meals on their knee in front of the tv. They also prefer to quaff (posh British word for drink!) champagne rather than sparkling wine. So there we go!

DRUG TEST DISASTER

I’ve been following the story of the six men who were in intensive care after suffering severe side-effects from testing the anti-inflammatory drug, TGN1412. Two of the men still remain in critical condition and it’s thought that one of them could remain in a coma for a year. It’s a terrible situation both for the volunteers and also their families.

Drugs like TGN1412 are usually tested in lab conditions first and then on animals, before going to the next stage of human trials. This latest drug trial disaster just proves how unreliable animal testing can be. Animals have different physiology to humans and react differently to certain drugs than we do. What is safe and works effectively for animals doesn’t always have the same effect in a human, and in some cases can have devastating and often dangerous effects as in this trial. A classic example is the Thalidomide drug which caused birth defects in thousands of people, when used by humans, despite having been tested on several different species of animals with no ill effects. Apparently TGN1412 (used to treat leukaemia), was tested on monkeys and the only effect was swollen glands but according to a relative of one of the men in critical condition, his head had swollen to twice its size and he resembled the elephant man, apart from his organs failing. I myself have always been against animal testing. After the latest fiasco, surely it’s time the medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies find a better and more reliable method of testing new drugs.

NHS IN CRISIS

The National Health Service is in crisis again! Nothing new there! Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt’s plan to save money is for some patients with serious conditions like asthma and heart disease to be treated at home by community nurses rather than in hospital.

Only one problem there, there aren’t enough community nurses and most are struggling to cope with their existing workload, so more nurses would have to be employed and paid a wage to look after these patients. Unless the government is prepared to put more money back into the community to fund this, it’s the patients that will be the sufferers. Ms Hewitt has done her sums and reckons that by all accounts the homecare system would save the NHS more than £400million a year. Very astute! but what about the poor patients? They, it seems come bottom of Ms Hewitt’s list of priorities. Her only concern is the savings that can be achieved by offering them substandard care!

Tony Blair had surgery for an irregular heartbeat a couple of years ago. If he has any further problems, I wonder if one of the local community nurses will be going round to see him. Somehow I very much doubt it.

ORSON TOPPING THE CHARTS

American band Orson have knocked Chico from the top spot, to become the new No. 1 in the UK singles chart with their hit song, "No Tomorrow". Well done to them!

DIGITAL TV BOOM

Nearly 70% of homes in the U.K. now have digital satellite tv , the highest percentage in the world. Satellite tv is a great invention! Technology has come so far now, it makes you wonder how we managed in the old days with just three tv stations! With more and more new channels springing up all the time, the main problem is finding enough spare hours in the day to watch them all!

TONY BLAIR'S POPULARITY SINKS TO AN ALL-TIME LOW

A Sunday Times poll has shown that Prime Minister Tony Blair is now even more unpopular than he’s ever been! Very interesting and no surprise at all! According to the poll, the majority of people still believe Tony Blair offered peerages in return for labour party funding, despite his assurances to the contrary.This also comes in the wake of anti-war protests held in London yesterday calling for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.

CURRY FLAVOURED TOOTHPASTE!

I was reading in the newspaper this week that apparently a Japanese range of bizarre flavoured toothpastes, including curry, cola and chocolate flavours! are due to go on sale in the U.K. very soon. Apparently the idea behind them is that they will make cleaning your teeth a treat rather than a chore! Somehow I don't think they'll take off over here!

I think I'll stick with my usual mint flavoured toothpaste!

MULLER RECEIVES APOLOGY

Dr Adam Carey of popular British tv show, “Celebrity Fit Club”, issued an apology to German yoghurt giant Muller last week, after claiming in a January episode of the show that the yoghurts were full of sugar and had a high fat content.

Dr Carey admitted that he had made a mistake and in actual fact the yoghurts contain only 0.1% fat and naturally present fruit sugars.

Celebrity Fit Club follows two groups of overweight celebs as they battle to lose weight and get fit. The programme attracts four million viewers but even the experts get it wrong sometimes! Muller yoghurts are very healthy and ideal as part of a healthy, calorie controlled diet. The chocolate flavour yoghurts in particular are ideal to satisfy chocolate cravings but without the calories! Like the other yoghurts in the Muller range, they taste delicious!

POPE PLANNING VISIT TO BRITAIN

Pope Benedict is planning a visit to Britain in September next year. The actual details of the visit are being kept secret amidst tight security. However the news will delight the nation’s four million Catholics. The last papal visit to Britain was made by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

THE QUEEN'S TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

The Queen is on her way back to Britain after completing a week long tour of Australia and Singapore. Over 80,00 people cheered and joined opera singer Kiri Te Kanewa, in singing Happy Birthday to Her Majesty (in celebration of her 80th Birthday next month), as the Queen officially opened the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The Australian press described this as The Queen's "farewell tour", bearing in mind her age (she will be 80 this year) and also the fact that many Australians are keen to replace Her Majesty with a president. Many believe it's ludicrous to have a citizen of another country who only visits Australia occasionally as their Head of State. Despite this, the warm and rapturous reception that the Queen received at every stop on her latest tour made it clear she is still as popular as ever down under. Long may she reign over all of us!

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OUTRAGE

England’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair has hit the headlines again this week, after it was announced that rapists’ jail sentences could be cut by 15% because jail is said to be “tougher”. What a load of rubbish! In addition, the Sentencing Guidelines Council (set up by Mr Blair) has suggested that men who hit their wives and partners should be sent on a course which challenges “their attitudes towards women”, rather than go to jail.

Women all over Britain (including myself) are outraged by this. Even Refuge (the charity which helps women who are victims of domestic violence) has condemned the new plans. It seems that Tony Blair is condoning domestic violence and trivialising it. If a member of his family was in an abusive relationship or had been raped, I’m sure he would take a different attitude. These plans will just give violent men free reign to rape and batter women and send out the completely wrong message to future offenders. They will put even more women’s lives at risk and also deter victims of domestic violence from coming forward. If Mr Blair lets these plans go ahead, he is letting down every woman in this country and sending out the message to men that it is okay to hit their wives and partners.

MARMITE - THE NATION'S FAVOURITE!

Marmite, the nation’s favourite spread, is to be re-packaged from it’s brown glass jar, into a squeezy plastic container. England has had a love affair with the gooey spread for the last decade with jars of Marmite continuing to fly off the supermarket shelves.

However it’s packaged, Marmite is still as good for you as it’s always been! It’s delicious by itself on hot buttered toast, or adds an extra bit of oomph to a cheese sandwich or cheese on toast! (my favourite way of eating it!) Marmite is a good source of B vitamins. It’s also suitable for vegetarians and completely low in fat and sugar. So go on, indulge yourself today!