Royal Wedding Dresses

Two dresses - one day, one designer.  The now famous - yes already - creation by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen went to the top of the tree (yes one of those beautiful trees used to decorate the Abbey) with fashion police all over the world.  The simplicity of the look belied the obvious work and attention to detail that was needed to create the vision of a princess that the new Princess William has become.

Kate's second Burton outfit for the evening celebrations was a strapless white satin gazar evening gown with a circle skirt and diamante embroidered detail round the waist.  This was no less inspired than the day dress.  The full circle skirt billowed and whirled whilst she walked and the topping of a white angora bolero cardigan was just the final touch.

These dresses will be available to everyone next week but they will never be re-created to such a high degree as was seen yesterday.  The scene, the crowds, the sun, the guests, the bridesmaids and page boys, the whole creation was irreplaceable and such class will be hard to emulate.

Its not really about money and position - its about class.  The whole day was set to become a huge anti-climax if "one" was not careful.  The declaration of an extra public holiday in the UK opened the floodgates for excesses in all directions.  There was always a possibility that it would rain - but it didn't.  There was a concern (although not a real one) that "The Dress" would be an OTT "fairy princess" creation as has been seen in the past.  As I say, this was not a real concern.  It is certainly obvious that Miss Middleton, as she was, had more than a hand in the choice of design together with all the other simple touches that went to make up a truly delightful scene,

I personally, am somewhat ambivalent about our Royal Family.  However I have to say they are very useful for the tourist trade and bring in a very tidy sum of money to the country.  This flurry of weddings (with Zara Philips following on later this summer) will do the country's coffers the world of good in these rather bleak times.  And talking of rather bleak times - what a boost such a day was!  There was bunting galore, good spirits, bonhomie and generally a FGF (feelgood factor) all over the country.  Yes there were those against it but on the whole I think most people saw it for a great day out (or in front of the tv) enjoying the spring weather and the romance of two people very clearly in love.  

And today - an announcement that there will be no honeymoon for the time being - the Prince will resume his work with the Search and Rescue team next week.  Such a decision can only enhance their public profile further.

30th April - Leaving Buckingham Palace

Pippa Middleton - Royal Bridesmaid

Well I have to say - although the actual wedding dress of Kate Middleton was beautiful, elegant and understated, the dress that stole the show in my eyes was Pippa Middleton's bridesmaid dress.

Maid of honour Pippa Middleton looked absolutely stunning in an unusual and elegant dress by designer Sarah Burton.  The dress in ivory completed the dresses of the little bridesmaids and flower girls and in no way detracted from the lady of the day, Kate!

However, the stunning simplicity of the dress and fresh beauty of the younger Miss Middleton has gained her a "following".  Pundits are putting her and Harry together and online spoofs are already being shared in the social media.

For me, however gorgeous Kate's dress was, Pippa's was "the dress of the day".

Japan trying to contain Potential Nuclear Crisis

A explosion an earthquake-hit nuclear plant in Japan has sparked fears of a radiation leak at.

The walls and roof at Fukushima Number 1 nuclear power plant were destroyed in the blast which was confirmed by the Japanese Government.  

White smoke billowed into the sky and its feared that several worker  at the plant have been injured.  An evacuation radius has been extended to 12 miles and residents of the region have been urged to stay indoors, turn off air conditioning units and not to drink tap water.  Radioactivity in the control room at the plant is 1,000 times the normal level - and eight times the normal level in the area immediately outside the site.

All this as a result of the earthquake and resultant Tsunami only yesterday!  

Its a measure of the amount of natural and man-made disasters that seem to hit the world these days by how quickly aid of various descriptions leaps into action like well-oiled machinery.

Take for instance "Shelterbox" - this UK (Cornwall) based charity saw a gap in the aid responses and in 1999 one man, Tom Henderson, took the steps to fill that gap.  He saw the aid response to most disasters was in the form of food and medicine.  But there was very little assistance given in terms of proper shelter.

The Mission:  To provide shelter, warmth and dignity to families who have been affected by disasters worldwide.

So with the Japanese earthquake made so much worse by the Tsunami and now the possibility of nuclear fall-out its charities like these that charge to the rescue. 

Tom Henderson, ShelterBox Founder and CEO, said: ‘At present the scale of the disaster is difficult to measure. What we do know is that the combination of such a large earthquake followed by the tsunami has the potential to cause significant damage across the Pacific Rim.

‘We have aid pre-positioned locally and a member of the ShelterBox Response Team stationed in the Philippines enabling an immediate response.’

So for Japan the world rallies to help and the people of Japan can only wait and watch the result of the latest disaster - the explosion at the Nuclear Plant.  

Is this too much for one nation to bear in less than two days?

Like all charities - Shelterbox needs funds - and what better place to give your donation?  (or volunteer help).

Follow the link and DONATE now! 

Pippa Middleton gets the TOP job at Wedding

Kate Middleton's sister Pippa will be the maid of honour at the Royal Wedding in April. Prince Harry - younger brother of William will be the Best Man.

The much anticipated event of the first Royal Wedding of the year means that Pippa has been thrown into the limelight almost as much as her sister.

Following the official announcement of her sister's engagement to Prince William on 23 November 2010, the Daily Mail commented "Ironically, family friends of the Middletons say that everyone always thought that the sparkly Pippa rather than the quieter and less glossy Kate would be the one most likely to make a spectacular marriage

Since the news was announced earlier this week people have been searching for pictures of of Kate's younger sister. Back in 2008, Tatler Magazine named Pippa the 'No. 1 Society Singleton', beating off competition from the likes of JAMES BLUNT and PRINCESS EUGENIE. Last summer, Pippa, whose full name Philippa Charlotte Middleton, launcher her own online party magazine, titled 'The Party Times'. The website offers information for planning events including theme ideas, tips, and games and her parents founded a similar business named 'Party Pieces' back in 1987.

Pippa also serves as an ambassador for the charity 'Too many Women', which raises money for breast cancer research.

Its thought that Pippa could also be asked to be Kate's Lady in Waiting after the wedding.

Brisbane Next?

People are being urged to abandon their homes and flee the surging water as Brisbane becomes the latest victims Queenslands floods.

Floods 2011

Nearly 9000 homes and businesses are at risk of this new flood threat and this is not even expected to peak until Wednesday or Thursday this week.

The streets are very quiet with many families having moved to refuge centres with at least 200,000 people having been affected.

When all the danger is past the Queenslanders will then have to face the clean up and try to restore what is estimated at billions of dollars of damage.

What is happening in Brisbane is a result of the floods in the rest of Queensland.  Brisbane is facing a combined surge of water from the flooded Lockyer Valley and the Wivenhoe Dam, which is so full it has been forced into controlled releases.

Floods 1974

Authorities fear the Brisbane River will go beyond the 5.45m (17.9ft) peak that was reached during the devastating floods of 1974.

Sandbags have been given out in a city that houses almost 2 million people.  Many have already fled to the refuge centres and cars are constantly leaving the city.

Mayor Campbell Newman said: "Today is very significant, tomorrow is bad, and Thursday is going to be devastating for the residents and businesses affected."

To add to the mayhem - power has been cut affecting 100,000 homes and businesses.  This is a safety measure and the substations will be checked on Wednesday (today in Brisbane) afternoon after the high tide.

The natural crisis that follows this one is the supermarkets and shops running out of food.  Panic buying will have lead to the supermarkets shelves being depleted and now the shops themselves are closing in the face of this latest disaster.  

Food prices are set to rise as much as 30% in the next few months as a result of the Queensland floods and this will also push up headline inflation according to a JP Morgan.

JP Morgan also said that coal mining had been significantly damaged and estimated that the floods would shave 0.4% off GDP growth in the last quarter of 2010 and the first three months of 2011.

Dioxin Scare in Eggs Imported from Germany

Newly released test results have revealed much more of a toxic chemical in tainted animal feed than previously thought.

The tests at the plant in northern Germany where the contamination happened revealed levels of dioxin at 77 times the permitted level.  The plant produces fats to be used in industrial processes like paper-making as well as to enrich feeds for animals.  The dioxin-laden industrial substance went into the animal feed ingredient.


(Dioxin is the name generally given to a class of super-toxic chemicals, the chlorinated dioxins and furans, formed as a by-product of the manufacture, molding, or burning of organic chemicals and plastics that contain chlorine.  It is the nastiest, most toxic man-made organic chemical; its toxicity is second only to radioactive waste.)

The route to the UK of the affected eggs was somewhat circuitous with the eggs being exported first to the Netherlands for processing and then to Britain.  The eggs were then destined for a variety of processed foods from mayonnaise to cakes and quiches.  

The contamination in Germany is very widespread with  4,700 German farms have been banned from making deliveries after tests at the Harles und Jentzsch plant in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.  The firm was found to have supplied 25 animal feed makers with 3,000 tonnes of contaminated fat. German officials say the farm measures are only a precaution.

The contaminated fats contained 58 nanograms of dioxin per kilogram.  The acceptable limit is actually 0.75 nanograms of dioxin per kilogram - this according to Schleswig-Holstein's agriculture ministry.


It appears that tests done as far back as March 2010 showed high levels of dioxins but the results were not brought to the attention of the Ministry until late last month.  These results have now been seized as evidence on behalf of the prosecutors.


"The first indications point to a high level of illegal activity," said a spokesman for German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner on Friday.  "There are indications that the company was not even officially registered, in order not to expose itself to official controls".


German agriculture officials will brief their European Union counterparts next week and the incident could lead to new rules on animal feed.


Food Standards Agency in Britain says there is no danger to people's health.

US Oil Spill Report

"Continue reading the main story

In a 48-page report, the presidential commission wrote that the failures were "systemic" and likely to recur without industry and government reform.  The new report criticises BP, which owned the Macondo well, Transocean and Halliburton, which managed the well-sealing operation, and blames inadequate government oversight and regulation.

This was one of the worst cases in history when last April 11 people were killed on the Deepwater Horizon rig killed.

a small plane flying over rust-colored "streamers" of crude oil

The Macondo well, gushed millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico from April to July.  Hundreds of miles of coastline were affected causing serious marine and environmental damage which will take years to correct.

BP said in a statement that the report, like its own investigation, had found the accident was the result of multiple causes, involving multiple companies.

But, it said, the company was working with regulators "to ensure the lessons learned from Macondo lead to improvements in operations and contractor services in deepwater drilling".

The new report identifies specific risks:

• A flawed design for the cement used to seal the bottom of the well
• A test of that seal identified problems but was "incorrectly judged a success"
• The workers' failure to recognise the first signs of the impending blow-out

Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, said that "the procedures being conducted in the final hours were crafted and directed by BP engineers and approved in advance by federal regulators".

"Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the Macondo blow-out clearly saved those companies significant time (and money)," the presidential panel wrote.

"BP did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that key decisions in the months leading up to the blow-out were safe or sound from an engineering perspective."

Don Boesch, a member of the investigating commission said they had identified "a whole sequence of poor decisions with unfortunate consequences when put together".

He said that not all the faults lay with BP, although the company did have overall responsibility.

Mr Boesch said government regulators are also criticised in the report.

"What we found was very limited oversight of these various activities and decisions, that the agency responsible in the Department of the Interior was understaffed, [and] didn't have the inspectors and technical analysts who were up to the task fully."

The conclusions run counter to industry efforts to portray the Deepwater Horizon disaster as a rare occurrence, as oil companies prod the US government to open greater areas of the US coast to oil exploration.