London 2012 countdown: 50 days until Olympic Games kick off - Stv.tv
The countdown to the 2012 London Olympic Games has reached another milestone with just 50 days until the opening ceremony.
Preparations for the games, which start in east London on July 27, are gathering pace both in the capital and around the country.
To mark the milestone, London 2012 has published a list, 50 Ways To Join In, on a national level and regionally, available from www.london2012.com.
The games will see 10,490 athletes battling for gold in 26 sports and 39 disciplines.
They will be watched by 8.8 million people in 34 venues across 19 days.
The Olympic torch relay, bringing the flame lit in Greece to the stadium in Stratford, continues to wind its way across the UK, bidding farewell to Northern Ireland on Thursday before starting the Scottish leg of its journey on Friday.
Day 20 of the relay saw the flame travel in Northern Ireland between Newcastle in Country Down and Moorfields, near Ballymena in Antrim, before being taken aboard a ferry for the short journey across the North Channel to Dumfries and Galloway.
It will start out from Stranraer on Friday morning and go to Glasgow. The flame will spend seven days in the country before passing south across the border into Northumberland on June 14.
It means that the torch will have visited each of the home nations of the United Kingdom, having started in Cornwall on May 19 and passed through South West England and Wales before going across to Northern Ireland.
It also made a visit to Dublin on Wednesday in a symbol of Anglo/Irish good relations.
Ivor Hyslop, leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council, said: "I am looking forward to welcoming the Olympic Flame to Stranraer and Cairnrayn and feel honoured to host the first moment in Scotland.
"This promises to be an historic moment and will be our moment to shine in front of the world's media. I am sure residents from...the wider Dumfries and Galloway area will come out in force to support the inspirational torchbearers from our region."
London newspapers produce special Jubilee e-editions - Lancashire Evening Telegraph
A group of newspapers in South London has put together a series of online special editions enabling them to publish hundreds of pictures of Jubilee celebrations across the capital.
Newsquest titles including the News Shopper and Your Local Guardian series are bringing out the e-Xtra Jubilee specials alongside their usual e-editions today, tomorrow and Friday.
Other titles taking part in the initiative include the Surrey Comet and Richmond Twickenham Times.
The group’s web team worked over the Bank Holiday period to put them together, missing out on the chance to join in the celebrations themselves.
Web manager Paul Jones said: “When our readers started sending in details of their street parties and other jubilee events, we knew we’d struggle to do them justice in our papers due to space.
“So we decided to utilise our online newspapers, adding innovative and interactive content, allowing us to publish hundreds of pictures from across south London, as well as video and interactive maps from the weekend.
“It was a mammoth effort meaning myself and the News Shopper web manager, Jamie Ross, didn’t see much of the celebrations ourselves – but we hope our readers think it was worth it.”
Croydon Guardian assistant editor Matthew Knowles added in a Tweet: “Hats off to our snappers over weekend who between them went to more parties than the Queen could shake her sceptre at.”
London 2012: Great Britain name powerful rowing squad - BBC News
Great Britain have named 48 rowers in the squad for the London Olympics, with four places still to be decided.
Remaining selections in the men's and women's eights will be finalised "in due course", said a Team GB statement.
Katherine Grainger“There is a sense that the upcoming home Games will be on a different scale to anything we've ever seen before”
Britain will compete in 13 of the 14 rowing events at Eton Dorney, with the men's four and men's lightweight double scull defending titles.
The host nation hopes to improve on the record haul of six medals that saw them top the rowing medals table in Beijing.
"We go to the start in London ready to defend our status as the leading rowing nation from Beijing but we are under no illusion as to how tough winning medals, especially gold medals, will be at this Games," said David Tanner, GB Rowing Team performance director.
As expected, Andrew Triggs Hodge, Tom James, Pete Reed and Alex Gregory will attempt to win a fourth consecutive gold medal for Britain in the men's four, following in the footsteps of Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell among others.
The crew have won both World Cup races this year but were pushed hard by Australia in Lucerne last time out.
"I'm thrilled to be part of the biggest British team ever at our London Olympics," said Reed.
"I have been training for this all my life one way or another. I am a proud lieutenant from the Royal Navy, a proud Olympian and a proud Briton. I'm racing to win."
Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger are firm favourites in the women's double scull, with Scot Grainger looking to win a first gold after taking silver at the last three Games.
Britain row to Beijing glory
"It's been an incredible honour and privilege to be part of the past three Olympic Games and, as wonderful as they have all been, there is a sense that the upcoming home Games will be on a different scale to anything we've ever seen before," said Grainger.
World and Olympic champions Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter will defend their men's lightweight double scull title, while Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are currently the world-leading women's pair.
Greg Searle will get the chance to go for gold in the men's eight 20 years after he won the coxed pairs title in tandem with his brother Jonny and tearful cox Garry Herbert in Barcelona.
Searle, 40, returned to the sport in 2010 having last competed at an Olympics in Sydney 12 years ago.
Only seven rowers have been named in the men's eight, leaving the door open for Constantine Louloudis to be named as stroke despite having missed both of this year's World Cup regattas with a back injury.
A world under-23 champion, it is hoped Louloudis could give Britain the edge after they pushed world champions Germany hard in Belgrade and Lucerne over the last month.
Ten rowers have been named for the women's eight, with selectors likely to use the upcoming Munich World Cup to assess their options once again before making the final decision.
Team GB rowing squad:
Men's Pair - George Nash, Will Satch
Men's Four - Alex Gregory, Tom James, Pete Reed, Andrew Triggs Hodge
Men's Eight * - Richard Egington, James Foad, Matthew Langridge, Alex Partridge, Tom Ransley, Mohamed Sbihi, Greg Searle, Phelan Hill (cox)
* one further rower will be added at a later date
Men's Single Scull - Alan Campbell
Men's Double Scull - Bill Lucas, Sam Townsend
Men's Quadruple Scull - Charles Cousins, Stephen Rowbotham, Tom Solesbury, Matthew Wells
Women's Pair - Helen Glover, Heather Stanning
Women's Eight * - Jo Cook, Jessica Eddie, Katie Greves, Lindsey Maguire, Natasha Page, Louisa Reeve, Emily Taylor, Victoria Thornley, Annabel Vernon, Olivia Whitlam, Caroline O'Connor (cox)
* Eight from the ten rowers listed will be confirmed as racing in the eight. The two rowers not racing in the eight will be selected as reserves.
Women's Double Scull - Katherine Grainger, Anna Watkins
Women's Quadruple Scull - Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton, Beth Rodford, Melanie Wilson
Lightweight Men's Four - Chris Bartley, Peter Chambers, Richard Chambers, Rob Williams
Lightweight Men's Double Scull - Mark Hunter, Zac Purchase
Lightweight Women's Double Scull - Katherine Copeland, Sophie Hosking
Round-up: Vauxhall Ellesmere Port favourite to build the Ampera, and latest on Clinton Cards and North Wales Business Club - WalesOnline
Vauxhall leads Ampera race
THE Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port will reportedly start building the Ampera Extended-Range Electric Vehicle in 2015 or 2016.
The Ampera is currently only built at a factory in Detroit, USA.
However, industry speculation suggests parent company General Motors (GM) is considering building the E-REV and possibly other electric cars in Europe come the 2015-16 period.
The Cheshire plant is now considered GM's favourite choice for taking on this new production run, after it was confirmed the site would build the next generation Astra, adding 700 jobs to the already 2,100 strong staff line-up.
Currently the Cheshire-based plant builds the new Vauxhall Astra, which happens to share the same platform as the Ampera.
Card workers await takeover
CLINTON Cards workers across North Wales will find out in the coming days whether their jobs are safe.
US firm American Greetings is expected to take over the last 400 Clinton Cards shops - including Rhyl, Holywell and Llandudno - later this week.
The company - once one of Clinton’s main suppliers - will reportedly pay nothing for the stores but run them as a separate business.
Card factory and WH Smith were touted as buyers but AG put itself first in line by snapping up the collapsed firm’s £35million debt.
Administrators Zolfo Cooper are closing 350 stores, with 3,000 jobs lost.
The collapse of Clinton’s, which will be sold by Friday, came shortly after high street firms Game, Peacocks and Blacks Leisure folded.
Sign up for a summer lunch
NORTH Wales Business Club will hold its summer lunch event on July 13 at Bodysgallen Hall Hotel in Llandudno.
Guest speaker is Dr Barrie Kennard, director of the Centre for Excellence for Leadership and Management Skills in Wales, who recently authored a report on Higher Level Skills Development in Wales.
Tickets £27; applications to Jean Barlow, Tal y Fan, 98 Deganwy Road, Llandudno, North Wales, LL30 1NA.
Alternatively, email: barlow777@btinternet.com.
London 2012 Olympics: David Millar faces battle to earn place with Team GB - Daily Telegraph
Millar, presently competing at the Critérium du Dauphiné, has endured an injury-disrupted season after breaking his collarbone and a bone in his hand racing in Belgium at the end of March.
Although his track record with GB is excellent and Cavendish has always insisted he wanted Millar in the team regardless of any BOA selection issues, the Scot badly needs to offer compelling evidence of fitness and form before being given the nod because GB have several viable options. With time running out, that effectively leaves Millar with a four-day race in Holland from June 9-17 and the first week of the Tour de France during which to impress.
Much the same goes for Steve Cummings - a powerhouse domestique and a key man at the World Championships last year - who is also returning from injury and Ben Swift, whose switch from the track programme to the road six weeks ago has been hampered by a shoulder injury after he crashed in training with Team Sky ahead of the Giro d’Italia.
Swift is embarking on a busy road programme with Sky and, although he might not feature in their Tour de France plans, the world scratch-race champion could force his way into the squad. If anything happened to Cavendish during the road race at the Games - a crash, mechanical or problems on the Box Hill climbs - he represents a potential Plan B with his climbing ability and sharp turn of speed The GB long list of eight will include obvious starting selections such as Cavendish and Wiggins as well as Chris Froome, back to health, and Ian Stannard, a stalwart worker for Cavendish at the recent Giro and in the form of his life. When naming the final five, Brailsford and the GB road coach Rod Ellingworth have strong candidates to fill the Millar role should he not regain his best form.
The veteran Jeremy Hunt, a lead-out specialist that Cavendish rates highly, could come into the equation, although the feeling is that if the Olympic race finishes in a sprint it will be contested by a relatively small bunch. The need for a pure lead-out man might not be paramount.
Just getting Cavendish to the final one-kilometre is the priority. He has proved many times, not least this season, that he can take it on from there alone if necessary.
Meanwhile, the competition for places in the women’s team is so strong that again British Cycling and the BOA will announce a squad of six squad rather than the four-rider team they must confirm on July 6. Lizzie Armitstead has been the stand-out rider all season, while reigning Olympic champion Nicole Cooke and Emma Pooley, a silver medal winner in the time-trial at Beijing, have been less consistent although Pooley did claim a fine win, her first of the season, at the Emakumeen Saria race in Spain on Tuesday. Sharon Laws, Katie Colclough and Lucy Martin are also well in contention.
As with the men, the time-trial entrant - probably Pooley - has to come from the final four. The National Championship later this month could be the most important race in the selection process.
On an Olympic course that could suit both the sprinters and breakaways, the decision on whether Armitstead or Cook is the protected rider could be delayed until the day of the race. Armitstead’s form puts her in a strong position.
On the track, the only real issue likely to occupy the selection panel is whether the sole place in the individual sprint should go to reigning champion Sir Chris Hoy or to Jason Kenny, who has placed higher than Hoy at the past two World Championships, taking gold and silver. The selectors might again tarry - their only requirement before the Games is to name the men’s team sprint squad - though the memory of Hoy decimating the world’s best sprinters at the World Cup meeting at the London Velodrome could well hold sway.
London 2012: torchbearers picked by sponsors keep flame of commerce alive - The Guardian
Throughout their descriptions of the 70-day Olympic torch relay, the London 2012 organisers talked of having tracked down "8,000 truly inspirational people from across the UK". But while most of the torchbearers were picked through this process, some people – including one of the world's richest men – managed to get on the torch relay by another means: working for, or being affiliated with, one of the London 2012 sponsors.
More than 1,200 spaces were allocated to the International Olympic Committee, the British Olympics Association, and to staff working for Games sponsors – whose picks included company directors, Russian newspaper editors, and even an official at the US's Food and Drug Administration.
Help Me Investigate the Olympics, a crowdsourced news coverage site dedicated to London 2012, looked into torchbearer slots handed out by one particular sponsor, Adidas.
While, generally, slots had been given to junior or mid-level employees, Adidas had also selected Christos Angelides, the £900,000-a-year senior director at Next, which has a retail partnership with Adidas covering the Olympics. Other Adidas slots went to people in the marketing team who had worked on the company's sponsorship.
The group's findings, posted by Paul Bradshaw, also noted descriptions of staff's work performance in their nominating stories, mentioning that one torchbearer had "made a fantastic contribution to the Adidas group business". Another "breathes Adidas … Her positive attitude and 'money in [the] till' approach is legendary" and a third mentioned "achieving my sales targets in every market I have worked in".
A spokesman for Adidas said the firm was restricted by Locog rules and could only offer its torchbearer slots to employees or those in its network. He added that owing to the low average age of the company's staff, not many of their children were old enough to carry the torch.
Other sponsors struck further afield for their choices: among Coca-Cola's selections were the Las Vegas resident Dr Debra Toney, who among other roles sits on a committee of the US's Food and Drug Administration.
Coca-Cola also selected Evgeny Faktorovich, the deputy editor-in-chief of a Russian paper that "supports all social initiative held by Coca-Cola" and Vonta Vontobel, the president of the Brazilian Bottlers Association of Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola, as an official torchbearer partner, was able to allocate places to members of the public – it was responsible for allocating 1,350 slots.
"Over 90% of our allocation has gone to members of the public through our Future Flames campaign, which celebrates inspirational people by giving them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic flame," said a spokesman. "A small number of our allocation has been given to some of our employees through a nomination campaign, and to our campaign ambassadors who have helped to find our Future Flames. Our remaining places have been given to our partner organisations and their affiliates."
ArcelorMittal, another organisation supporting the Olympics, was given six torchbearer slots. Two of these went to the company's founder, Lakshmi Mittal, the world's 21st richest man according to Forbes magazine, and his son Aditya, the group's chief financial officer. Among the others, however, were the US technician Angel Alvarez, who donated his kidney to a fellow worker, and Polish employee Filip Kuzniak, who cycled 600km to raise money for a colleague's daughter.
Among 50 torchbearers selected by BP were Gillian James, a member of the company's North Sea leadership team, and Carl Halksworth, the creative director of Landor, BP's design agency partner for the Olympics. As BP sponsored a particular section of the route, near Aberdeen, the remainder of its picks were made up predominantly of "onshore and offshore BP staff, young relatives of staff, business partners, and nominees from local schools, universities and charities".
The electricity giant EDF, meanwhile, included the group's former director of HR and communications among the 71 staff members chosen to carry the torch on the company's behalf.
A London 2012 spokesman said: "Staging the Olympic Games is a huge undertaking and we couldn't do it without the support from our commercial partners. The rights packages for some partners include a small number of torchbearer places that had to be filled through internal campaigns.
"The same torchbearer selection criteria applied across the whole relay – ie personal bests and/or contribution to the community."
UPDATE: Condolences offered after four die in A39 collision in Cannington (From Bridgwater Mercury) - bridgwatermercury.co.uk
UPDATE: Condolences offered after four die in A39 collision in Cannington
1:20pm Wednesday 6th June 2012 in News By Newsdesk
CONDOLENCES have been offered to families of the four victims who died in a crash on the A39 in Cannington yesterday afternoon (June 5).
A fourth victim has died following a collision involving a VW Passat and a Vauxhall Astra at around 2.30pm yesterday.
Somerset County Council Leader, John Osman, said: “This is a dreadful tragedy and my heartfelt condolences go to the family and friends of all those involved.
“I would also like to pass on my thanks to those members of the emergency services who have worked so hard over the last 24 hours.”
Five people were travelling in the vehicles. A 68-year-old man travelling in the Passat has died. A 73-year-old woman, a 59-year-old woman and a 76-year-old man travelling in the Astra have also died.
Two people died at the scene with three others taken to hospital, two of which later died. One casualty was airlifted.
Police confirmed the third fatality shortly after 5pm yesterday.
The road has now re-opened after being closed for around six hours while police carried out an investigation.
Officers closed the road both ways between Blackmore Lane and the main road and traffic mounted as drivers have been diverted between Charlynch.
Six ambulances, a doctor, police and firefighters were called to the scene.
Resident Nicola Puddy, who lives near the A39, said she and her neighbours were shocked and upset by the crash.
She said: “I’ve never seen so many emergency vehicles. There is a massive amount of police presence and we’ve seen an RAF helicopter at the scene. Things have quietened down now, but I think it will be some time before the roads will be open.
“My neighbours and I are shocked by it. It’s fairly upsetting to think there have been deaths near your house. My thoughts are with their families. It’s awful.”
Charlynch Road resident Alli Baldwin said she had been stuck in traffic for over an hour and had to walk home with her two dogs while her husband stayed behind. She suggested drivers take alternative routes. She said: “It’s complete gridlock. I was stuck for about an hour, despite living in Charlynch Road.
She said some motorists were becoming angry and recommended people turned off at Splatt Lane to go through Spaxton.
Leathea Stephenson, joint landlady at The Globe Inn, said: “People said they’d seen a helicopter and lots of police and ambulance vehicles in the area.
“The roads have become gridlocked because the main road is closed. People are saying even the back roads are getting very busy."
For further information, keep checking this website.
Did you witness the accident? Call our newsdesk on the out of hours mobile on 07816-169323 or the newsroom on 01278-727960.
Officers are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time and witnessed the collision to contact the collision investigation unit on 101. Alternatively, call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Pre-Globe Shakespeare theatre unearthed in London - The Independent
Pre-dating the riverside Globe, the Curtain theatre, north of the river Thames in Shoreditch, was home to Shakespeare's company - the Lord Chamberlain's Men.
Remains of walls forming the gallery and the yard within the venue have been discovered by archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).
"This is a fantastic site which gives us unique insight into early Shakespearean theatres," said Chris Thomas from MOLA, who is leading the archaeological work.
The theatre was immortalised as "this wooden O" in the prologue of Henry V with the lines: "Can this cock-pit hold within this wooden O, the very caskes that did affright the Ayre at Agincourt?"
The discovery will delight historians and Shakespeare fans as excavations offer a picture of where the writer's early productions were performed, although little further detail is known about the early playhouse.
"This is an outstanding site - and a fortuitous find in the year of the worldwide celebration of Shakespeare," said Kim Stabler, Archaeology Advisor at English Heritage.
London has been celebrating its cultural heritage with a world Shakespeare festival taking place at the Globe theatre and across the UK, as part of a festival to coincide with the Olympics this summer and will last to November.
"The find is another wonderful opportunity to further our understanding of Shakespeare's theatres," said Neil Constable, Chief Executive of Shakespeare's Globe.
The Curtain Theatre opened in 1577 close to London's first playhouse "The Theatre" and was one of a number of early theatres built outside the city's walls.
The venue took its name from nearby street Curtain Close.
It was the main arena for Shakespeare's plays between 1597 and 1599 until the Globe was completed in Southwark, but it is unclear what happened to the playhouse after that when it seemed to vanish from historic records after 1622.
Some experts say it may have remained in use until the Civil War in the 1640s.
Archaeologists stumbled upon the Curtain Theatre's remains on Hewett Street after work began on a regeneration project led by local developers last October.
Soon after the remains were found on an exploratory dig, architects began drawing up plans to preserve the remains while allowing the development to go ahead.
A spokesman for Plough Yard Developments, the company leading the regeneration project with the Estate Office Shoreditch, said the excavations could become a preserved centrepiece of a new housing and shopping area.
The plans are set to go on display on 8 and 9 June at the site.
"Although the Curtain was known to have been in the area, its exact location was a mystery," the Plough Yard spokesman said.
Reuters
Shakespeare's Buried Curtain Theatre Unearthed In London - huffingtonpost.co.uk
Shakespeare experts have hailed the "thrilling" discovery of remains of the predecessor to The Globe theatre.
Plays including Henry V were first performed at The Curtain Theatre - immortalised in that play as "this wooden O" - and Romeo And Juliet might also have premiered there.
Parts of the playhouse's yard and gallery walls were excavated in Shoreditch, east London, by the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) as part of regeneration works.
Parts of the Curtain Theatre being excavated in Shoreditch, east London
It is hoped the site could be opened to the public and plays could be staged there in the future.
Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Michael Boyd said: "It is inspiring that the Museum of London has unearthed the foundations of The Curtain Theatre.
"I look forward to touching the mud and stone, if not wood, and feeling the presence of that space where Shakespeare's early work, including the histories, made such a lasting impact."
Actor Eddie Redmayne, who won last year's Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best Shakespearean Performance for his Richard II role at the Donmar Warehouse, said: "The discovery of The Curtain in Shoreditch is a thrilling prospect particularly in this year of the World Shakespeare Festival.
"With The Globe and The Rose having helped add such cultural vibrancy to Southwark, I'm excited to see what the exploration of this exceptional site will unearth and bring to this already brilliant area of the capital."
The Curtain, which opened in 1577, was operated by theatre manager James Burbage and was home to Shakespeare's Company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, before The Globe opened. It was the main venue for the Bard's plays from 1597 to 1599.
It disappeared from historical records in 1622 but could have remained in use until the outbreak of the Civil War, 20 years later.
Plough Yard Developments, which owns the site, is planning to make The Curtain central to its redevelopment of the area.
Further excavations are to take place of the remains, three metres below ground.
An artists impression of what the site might look like following regeneration works
A spokesman for the developers said: "This is one of the most significant Shakespearean discoveries of recent years. Although The Curtain was known to have been in the area, its exact location was a mystery.
"The quality of the remains found is remarkable and we are looking forward to working with Mola, local community and Shakespearean experts to develop plans that will give the public access to the theatre remains as part of a new development."
He added that there was a 50/50 chance that The Curtain, named after nearby Curtain Close, was where Romeo And Juliet was first performed.
Kim Stabler, archaeology adviser at English Heritage, said: "This is an outstanding site - and a fortuitous find in the year of the worldwide celebration of Shakespeare.
"Developer-led archaeology, investigating and recording a site before any construction begins, has undoubtedly enriched our understanding of our towns and cities. A sensitive and creative public presentation of these remains would be a fantastic addition to telling the constantly unfolding story of London."
Neil Constable, chief executive of Shakespeare's Globe, said: "The find is another wonderful opportunity to further our understanding of Shakespeare's theatres."
Chris Thomas, from Mola, said: "This is a fantastic site which gives us unique insight into early Shakespearean theatres. We are delighted that Plough Yard Developments plan to preserve the remains in place and open them up to the public as there are few similar sites across the UK."
A planning application for the redeveloped site is to be made this summer. Proposals for the site are going on display in Shoreditch on Friday.
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