Making Your Small Business Work

Do you own a small business? Do you want to have a small business but don’t know how to go about it? Well, Business in Blue Jeans could be the answer to what you need. One of your options. You know I just love options for it speaks of possibilities. It’s an expansion of ideas and explosion of creativity. It makes you want to get up and go! I run a small business – a preschool to be exact. Looking back, I wished then that we had a mentor or a business coach who would have guided us. But since we had none, we just groped in the dark and made our way cautiously and very slowly learned from our mistakes and triumphs. I realized though that our failures were an essential part of growing, but I also saw how expensive those mistakes were. It was only years later that I was mentored by a brother in community and he helped me a lot in seeing my business in a different way.

I believe that getting a good mentor is one way to help you make your small business work. If you are looking for one, why don’t you check out what Business in Blue Jeans has to offer you. May I share a wonderful interview with none other than the CEO of Business in Blue Jeans, Susan Baroncini-Moe? It pays off to know who you will be working with and what kind of person she is.

Your decision to change careers reminded me of myself. I did that too and it was a decision that changed my life. A beautiful move I believe. I like the name Business in Blue Jeans. It has a certain appeal to it. Why did you choose this name?



My business originally had a different, more corporate brand. It didn't fit me at all, and it bothered me for at least a year. Finally, one day, I was talking with a branding consultant and talking about my business and I casually said, "I hate wearing suits to meetings. I love working with clients who are comfortable and pleasant. I just love hanging out with my clients, rolling up our sleeves and really making their businesses work." The consultant said something like, "So you do business in your blue jeans?" And that's when it hit me. That's exactly what I do. I do Business in Blue Jeans.



That sounds like a lot of work! So do you do all of this by yourself?

When you hire Business in Blue Jeans, I am the primary point of contact. It's really important to me that my clients feel connected to a real person, not like they're dealing with a big corporate brand. So each and every Business in Blue Jeans client works directly with me, regardless of the project. Sometimes that direct contact means I have to prioritize my e-mails, so if an e-mail isn't client-related or project-related it may take me awhile to reply, but following up with people is important to me, even if it takes a week or two. While I'm the CEO of Business in Blue Jeans, I could never run all of these divisions alone. Not only is the company growing and there's a bit more work than I can handle on my own, but I've found the best and brightest professionals who can do certain things better than I can. For example, I can design a logo, but frankly, there are people on my team who can design a better logo. So these days, I leave that work to them. The full Business in Blue Jeans team consists of almost a hundred people scattered across the globe. I spent five years assembling this team, and I'm really proud of the group I've put together. They're not just amazing at what they do, they're really good people who are very pleasant to work with. So it's very much a team effort. That said, I still manage all of the consulting, advisory, and coaching work, as well as most of the project management. I also do most of the copywriting, the e-zine, and that really is me on all of my social networking profiles like Facebook and Twitter.These are the things I'm best at and the things I love the most.

It’s great to know that people can work directly with you and that you have a team of professionals helping you out. Can you share some of the businesses that you have helped and have prospered?

When I met my husband, he was a professional drummer who wanted to add a stream of income. He wanted to use his love of drumming in a new way, so we found a way to match his knowledge of drumming with his experience in graphic and web design, and created TheDrummerShop.com. TheDrummerShop.com is an online store where he sells his own designs on t-shirts, coffee mugs, mousepads and more. It's a very popular store.Another success story is April Perkins, one of my clients who became one of my dearest friends. April was an interior designer who loved designing homes, but who also loved the environment. We paired the two loves and created TheEcoDivas.com. Now April is a successful environmental interior designer and is extremely busy as a sustainable living coach and consultant.Finally, I want to share an existing client who I think is going to become a huge success: Kirk Wilkinson. Kirk is a happiness coach, which I think is fantastic. Kirk is currently going through the Repair, Restyle, Refresh program and we're getting ready to re-vamp his web site completely. I think Kirk is definitely someone to keep your eye on.

Facebook reunited kidnapped son with mum

Social networking site Facebook has reunited a kidnapped son with his Mum, 27 years after he disappeared.
Avril Grube, 62, was awarded custody or her son Gavin Paros when she split with his Hungarian father in 1982. Mr Paros was given visiting rights to his son, but one afternoon he took Gavin out for the day and never returned.
Avril and her sister Beryl Wilson, 59, never gave up the search for Gavin. They made contact with the Hungarian embassy and even took the plight to the then Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher.
Ms Wilson told the BBC: "He said he was going to the zoo or somewhere and when he didn't arrive back we found out he had taken him to Hungary.
"My sister was devastated, her health suffered. We tried everything, but no-one wanted to know."
It wasn't until March this year that Ms Wilson tried using the web to track him down. She entered his name into a search engine which took her straight to his Facebook profile. It shown he was born in Liverpool and his mother's name was mentioned on his profile.
Ms Grube was said to be "on cloud nine" when told her sister had tracked her son down and they met in person for the first time this week.
"My sister would phone him on a Sunday and speak to him through an interpreter. She is just on cloud nine. They have been hugging, really, really happy."
Plasterer Gavin, who celebrates his 30th birthday this Sunday, is married with three kids and said he'd spent the last five years trying to trace his mother.

No more pilgrimages to Mecca

A senior citizen has had her membership to bingo club Mecca cancelled and has been barred from all 100 clubs, simply because she visited a rival bingo hall with friends.
Rosalyn Clemson, 76, was slapped with the "Anti Social Bingo Order" because she broke Mecca's strict membership rules about playing at other halls.
Mecca claims she arranged a total of three outings at Club 2000 Bingo which is 15 miles away.
Rosalyn, of Chester told The Sun: "The way Mecca reacted you would think I was some kind of spy or traitor. It's like they want to own us body and soul. It's so unfair - I did not even know about the rule they say I have broken. They have taken away everything I love."
The retired nurse has been a keen bingo player since 1956. Her and husband Frank, 73, who was also barred, had been playing in the Mecca opposite their home for years. Frank said: "It's very upsetting for Rosalyn. It is playing on her mind all the time."
A spokesman for Mecca said: "We can confirm that Mrs Clemson and her husband are not welcome in Mecca clubs. I must stress that we do not take the decision to bar people lightly."
He also said that Rosalyn had acted "aggressively" towards one of their duty managers.

Headmistress's saucy snaps hacked by pupils

A headmistress has been left red-faced after pupils managed to swipe kinky pictures of her in her underwear and circulate them around the school.
Sue Brearley of Whitecross School in Lydney, Gloucester is said to have told colleagues the pictures were taken on her mobile then downloaded onto her school laptop, reports the Daily Mirror.
Unfortunately for her, it was logged into the school network and two pupils managed to get access to them and pass them around to fellow pupils.
Police were called in as the personal material was treated as stolen. Her fiancé, David Gaston, who was the school's previous headmaster said: "We believe the photos were stolen. They are private."
A spokesman for the Gloucestershire County Council said: "As far as Sue is concerned the photos were stolen. They are just of Sue, not both of them, and show her in her underwear and are not of a pornographic nature."
He continued: "She will not face disciplinary action. Two boys, one of whom is over 16 have been spoken to by police."

keepers of the flame: the hottest babes of the 80s

Welcome back to the crazy 80s! Below are images of several babes who, for me, defined the decade - or at least made it unforgettable. Babes who kept the flames burning, in more ways than one, in music, TV and film. If you are wondering why I kept on using "babe" and not "women," well you have to check them out to understand why.
Also, unlike with the other "picture hubs" I have posted before, I did not edit the pictures to make them monochromatic or black-and-white as I believe that the 80s was more about color - both literally and figuratively. And if you're old enough to have truly "lived" the decade you probably know what I mean.
Lastly, I would like to dedicate this to tony0724 and Tracker Frostfor planting the seed for this hub. My friends, thank you. And oh, you won't be needing your Wayfarers for this one!

molly ringwald

At one time, Molly Ringwald was ranked the greatest teen star ever by VH1 due to her extreme popularity in the 1980s. With starring roles in the John Hughes films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986) she solidified her stature as America's sweetheart and the decade's ultimate good girl. And she rather looked pretty hot in pink!
"I've been called the Women's Auxiliary of the Brat Pack."

madonna

I first saw Madonna, pre-Pop Queen title, on a local music video program (MTV had not crossed over the Pacific) . She was manacled (for chrissake!) and writhing and crawling (for crying out loud!) on the street. And she was saying she's Burning Up! (1983). What's a boy to, do?! Apparently, things had just started getting better for the male of the species and "wannabee" was coined for the other (and they can wear innerwear as outerwear, too!).
"Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another."

brooke shields

At the dawn of the 1980s, came Brooke Shields. Although she had already made movies during the previous decade, it was in 1980, through The Blue Lagoon, that she made being marooned in an island not such a bad proposition afterall. In fact, it became a fantasy getaway for most men, young and old alike. And to further fan the flames and the raging hormones, she said that nothing came between her and her Calvin's.
"What does good in bed mean to me? When I'm sick and I stay home from school propped up with lots of pillows watching TV and my mom brings me soup -- that's good in bed."

phoebe cates

The difference between the X and Y chromosomes had never been more pronounced until Phoebe Cates emerged from the pool in the now cult classic Fast Times at Ridgemond High (1982). And to seal the deal, she followed it up with Private School (1983). Teenage sensuality was born and the renaissance of the pinup/poster as source of warmth during cold, lonely (preferably well-lit) nights ensued.
"Kids today are much more independent than their parents were. We`re really into getting jobs and we mature sexually much earlier than a generation ago. Or, at least, we are involved in sex earlier."

Widow leaves her village £400,000

A village has been left £400,000 by a 90-year-old widow as a thank you for the warm welcome she received when she retired.
Margaret Allan moved to Solva in Pembrokeshire 30 years ago with husband Harry after leaving the Foreign Office.
Mr Allan died in 1990 but villagers helped his widow rebuild her life and cared for her in her final years, reports the BBC.
In return, she has shared her estate among scores of individuals, groups and societies in the village as well as taking care of her ginger cat, Brutus.
Mrs Allan and her late husband used to holiday in the waterfront village, in St Bride's Bay, before retiring there.
When her husband died, it was the friends she had made that helped her through.
Mrs Allan is leaving up to £10,000 to more than a dozen of her close friends and carers.
She is also giving something to everyone over the age of 60 who has lived in the village for more than 20 years. Around 120 people are expected to receive about £500 each.
Her will even takes care of her companion in her final years, her ginger tom, Brutus.
It states: "To any person whom the executors agree to taking care of my cat to avoid it being put down or going into a cattery - the sum of £3,000."
Brutus has gone to live with Mrs Allan's neighbours Dave and Viv Phillips.
Retired BT engineer Mr Phillips, 56, said: "Margaret was a remarkable woman who was friends with everybody in the village.
"She was housebound for a while before she died but she was still so interested in the affairs of the village and the people here."
Mrs Phillips, 53, said: "Because they had no children they regarded the village as her family."
Mrs Allan left instructions that her ashes should be scattered in the rose bushes at the garden of her home at Anchor Down, Solva, as her husband's were 17 years earlier.

Storm over weather forecast

A storm is brewing in Bournemouth, with local officials slating the Met Office over "inaccurate and overcautious" weather forecasts that kept visitors away on Bank Holiday Monday.
While the forecasters predicted rain and thundery storms, the sun came out and the holiday ended up as the hottest day of the year so far.
Mark Smith, of the local tourism department, told the Daily Telegraph that around 25,000 visitors cancelled their trip to the town because of the grim forecast, costing businesses over £1m.
Tourism officials across the country are angry about what they call the "Michael Fish effect", where forecasters present the worst-case scenario in order to prevent later embarrassment.
The phenomenon is named after hapless BBC weatherman Michael Fish, who dismissed rumours of a hurricane in 1987 before a severe storm wreaked havoc on southern England.
The Tourism Alliance has already complained to the Met Office, claiming that unnecessarily gloomy forecasts damage British business and reinforce inaccurate stereotypes.
However, while Helen Chivers of the Met Office admitted that they'd got it wrong on Monday, she denied that they were overcautious with their forecasts.
"We get observations from satellites and local stations and all of that goes into the computers, and you take the best guidance out of that", she commented. "We try and give the most accurate forecast that we can."

Citigroup Hint Of Good New

Wall Street on Tuesday, unleashing a breathtaking scholarship Rally investors that left a little dizzy, but had many experts warning that the rally, as before being so many, could falter as fast as it started .After months of demoralizing losses, investors finally have an idea of what they so desperately craved - a glimmer of good news in the financial industry - from none other than Citigroup, the largest and most troubled of the nation’s troubled large banks.In a memorandum sent to Citigroup employees on Monday night, Vikram S. schoolteacher, Citigroup’s beleaguered executive, said that after more than a year of loss location and three rescues from Washington, the giant financial company was again , to make money. Citigroup, he said, was on track for its strongest quarter since late 2007, when waves of bad loans and trading losses began to crash down the company. But some analysts saw it at the end of problems at Citigroup and other financial companies. Indeed, many predicted that Citigroup and other banks will suffer further losses as the recession deepened. Given the precarious state of the global economy, even optimists have been reluctant to call an end to bear market.“We are poor investors, we do not need much to make us happy, I was beaten so hard,” said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research. “At this point, we’ll take what we get.”
So, for a day at least a hint of good news was enough. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 379.44 points, or 5.8 percent, to 6926.49, the largest one-day gain in this year and the biggest since World War II. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of stocks rose 43.07 points, or 6.37 percent, to 719.60, the Nasdaq composite index rose 89.64 points, or 7.07 percent, to 1358.28.
Battered financial shares pace of earnings. Citigroup share price, in short, which sank below $ 1 last week, rose 40 cents, to $ 1.45. Other banks big and small post similar gains.
But the gate insisted that despite Rally, nothing really changed. Investors’ hopes, the skeptics argued, were displaced. Since last October, the Dow has five stages of the biggest one-day rallies in postwar history, only to falter again and sink to new lows .
Even after Tuesday gains, the Dow and S. & P. 500 were down more than 20 percent this year, and shares of financial companies were more than 40 percent lower.
But for traders, to the green screens offered a welcome relief from the relentless torrent of red as stocks churned steadily lower from last month, long-term financial markets to their most low levels of about 12 years.
“Volatility breeds a lot of nervousness, and nervousness breeds opportunity,” said Anthony Conroy, head equity trader at BNY ConvergEx Group. “It was a way to trade for so long, and it seems that we’re turning here.
Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, added to the optimism of the day call for broader reforms in the financial regulatory system, including a review of accounting rules governing how companies value their assets.
Mr. Bernanke, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, said he did not support suspending mark-to-market accounting rules, in which the asset values peg at current market prices. But he said he supported a review to ensure that weaknesses in the rules, have been identified and fixed.
“In addition to revising the accounting standards governing the assessment and loss provisioning would be useful and could lead to changes in accounting rules,” he said in his speech.
Investors also cheered signals to lawmakers and the Securities and Exchange Commission officials were poised to restore the uptick rule, which is intended to slow the short-selling. The rule was lifted in 2007, and critics have said her absence has contributed to the breathtaking pace of declines in the prices of shares.
But the main catalyst was the news from Citigroup, which, with high investment and banking operations in more than 100 countries, is viewed as a proxy for the broader banking industry. Mr. schoolteacher in his memory, which took place a few rays of hope.
“I, like you, am disappointed with the current price range of basic and misperceptions about our financial position,” said Mr schoolteacher. But Citigroup, he said, was financially sound, its strong business and relatively stable deposits.
“Over time, markets will recognize the many strengths of Citi,” said Mr schoolteacher.
For Citigroup, a major question is whether it can generate sufficient revenues to resist expected losses in November. Citigroup could still support 55.5 billion dollars in additional markdowns in the next 18 months, according to a recent analysis CreditSights.
In memory of Mr. schoolteacher reported that Citigroup could absorb these losses. He said the bank was profitable in January and February, when it generated a combined 19 billion dollars in revenue due to strong trading results and fatter margins credit.
Many analysts were skeptical. Citigroup profits could be temporary if the global economy worsens substantially.
“Citi is not the forest. It is certainly good news that Citi is profitable, but I would not overplay the point.” Said Michael Mayo, financial services, an analyst at Deutsche Bank. “They still write-downs and an increase in problem assets, and they are still dependent on the regulatory authorities on what they do.”
Indeed, regulators are currently conducting “stress tests” for Citigroup and 18 other major banks to assess the depths of their problems, and while Mr teacher said he was confident that Citigroup was adequately capitalized Many analysts question whether the company will need a government rescue. Also hanging in the balance is whether a plan to be supported by government investment funds to buy up toxic assets from banks can obtain from the ground.
But, given the steep decline of late, it does not entirely surprising to see stocks rebound sharply, if only for a short period of time.
“When stocks have been battered as much as they have not so much to take good news to move them forward,” said Marc Stern, chief investment officer at Bessemer Trust. “This is not a green light for investors, but the tone is much more constructive now.”
As investors surged back into stocks, gold prices retreated to a mere $ 900 an oz and the price certainly have Treasury debt fell again as the 10-year yield has risen from 3 percent grade.
Following are results of Tuesday’s Treasury auction for four weeks and 52 weeks of bills and notes for three yearsARTICLES MODERN

Great contains articles from the back issues of magazines, journals, trade publications and newspapers.

N-Dubz launch Orange RockCorps

London trio transform cemetery


Camden r'n'b stars N-Dubz have kicked off this year's Orange RockCorps music-led volunteer programme by lending a hand - not to mention a spade and a rake - to transform a neglected cemetery into a woodland retreat for nearby residents.

The trio headed down to Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, East London to join 40 young volunteers for a four-hour project hacking back years of overgrowth.

Volunteers who lend four hours of graft at one of the specially selected community-based charity projects will be rewarded with money-can't-buy tickets to an all-star gig.

Lady GaGa and N-Dubz are the first acts confirmed to play at an exclusive gig in Manchester on 13 July. They are set to be joined by a host of other stars and DJs to be revealed over the coming weeks.

The line-up for an additional gig at London's Royal Albert Hall on 26 September will be announced shortly, so check back here for details.

The Orange RockCorps programme will also be amplified via a partnership with Sony Ericsson and Channel 4, who will broadcast the volunteer work and UK gigs during a summer of programming on T4.Last year, 5,000 young people in the UK took part in Orange RockCorps, earning tickets to see Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, The Automatic, John Legend, Feeder, Lethal Bizzle and Guillemots perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

To get involved, head along to orangerockcorps.co.uk.

Forex Espionage Review

Is the Forex Espionageautomatic trading robot a scam or does it really work? Before Forex trading software had been developed, it used to be that only professional, full-time traders with years of experience could risk getting started with currency trading and have a chance of coming out with profit. 1. Why Was the Forex Espionage Software Developed? The trader would usually be required to sit for long hours in front of their computer screen looking at price charts all day. This process had to be repeated by the full-time trader day after day, making it very boring and even frustrating for the trader, especially when there is not a single profit opportunity for the day. Nowadays, with the introduction of Expert Advisor automated software like Forex Espionage, this burden has been removed and replaced by automatic trading. On top of that, it has also allowed even the most inexperienced traders to get started making money in this exciting financial market. 2. What If You Run Into Problems with Setting Up the Forex Espionage Robot? This automated software provides full, 24 hour live support for anyone who has any problems with their robot's installation. I personally did not encounter any problems with installation, but I did send out a query asking about the general operating procedures of the software. A prompt and helpful reply was received within just a few minutes. 3. Did Forex Espionage Work for Me? This was the most important issue I was concerned about since I started trying out this robot. I put in a small $500 deposit on a separate account to start this software's testing. After a full week of leaving it to run on its own, I checked out the equity graph again and found an almost smooth, upward trending line that had taken the account to a little more than $1,200.
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Fuel leak - at 35,000 feet

A US airman has been credited with saving the lives of more than 300 passengers - after he spotted a fuel leak at 35,000ft.
Staff Sgt Bartek Bachleda was a passenger on a flight from Chicago to Narita, Japan, when he saw the leak from a window.
He said he first noticed what looked like a leak during take-off, and kept an eye on it to be sure what he was seeing.
Staff Sgt Bachleda, whose job is to refuel airplanes, eventually realised it was an emergency - but when he raised the alarm he was initially ignored.
Sergeant Bachleda then filmed the leak on video before showing it to the flight attendant and telling her: "Ma'am, it's an emergency."
"She was completely serious and was no longer handing out drinks," he said. "I told her you need to inform your captain before we go oceanic."
The captain came from the cockpit to see the leak for himself and view the video footage. Sergeant Bachleda said the crew had been trying to figure out how the aircraft was losing 6,000lbs of fuel an hour.
The captain made a mid-air announcement the flight would be diverted back to Chicago, but then changed it to San Francisco so passengers could catch the only existing flight to Narita airport.
"When we got off the airplane everyone was thanking us," said the sergeant.
The captain said the flight would have never made it to Japan if Sergeant Bachleda had not raised the alarm.

Council fills in half a pothole

Council workmen filled in only half of three huge potholes - as the other halves were not on council land.
When workmen finally arrived to tackle the potholes, locals in Bloxwich, West Midlands, were delighted, reports the Daily Mail.
But after the contractors left, residents were astonished to see that three of the potholes had been filled in only halfway across.
The reason was because the boundary between the council land and housing association land runs straight through the holes.
The council said it could not carry out repairs on privately owned land without permission because it could be held responsible in the wake of any subsequent 'incident'.
Local butcher Keith Clarke said: "I've never seen anything like it in my life. I don't know why they can't just get their heads together with the housing association and sort the thing out."
Walsall Council, which employed the contractors, said the repairs were a temporary measure.
Glyn Oliver, Walsall Council's traffic and transportation manager, said: "We have a duty of care to maintain the highway but this does not extend to private land.
"If we had repaired the pothole on Walsall Housing Group land we could have been liable should an incident subsequently have occurred."
However, it has since consulted with the housing association and said all of the potholes would be completely filled in when the repairs are made permanent.

Books of few words

Some of the world's best known books have been condensed down to Twitter size.
Tim Collins, author of The Little Book Of Twitter, has transformed them into 140 characters, reports The Sun.
They include Shakespeare's Hamlet which becomes: 'Danish guy's mum marries his murdered father's brother. He sees his dad's ghost. Everyone dies. Fail.'
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is rewritten as: 'Orphan given £££ by secret follower. He thinks it's @misshavisham but it turns out to be @magwitch.'
Wuthering Heights by Jane Austin becomes the pithy: 'Catherine Earnshaw marries Edgar Linton but really loves Heathcliff *sigh*.'
James Joyce's Ulysses is reduced to: 'Man walks around Dublin. We follow every minute detail of his day. He's probably overtweeting.'
Collins has also had a go at some modern best-sellers like Dan Brown's The Da Vince Code: 'Professor of symbology tries to solve a murder by following clues around touristy locations in Europe. Very few paragraphs are longer than tweets.'
And he cleverly manages to transform both Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary into the same 18 words.
They are: 'Woman meets man called Darcy who seems horrible. He turns out to be nice really. They get together.'
Story filed: 08:58 Friday 22nd May 2009 -->

Bus driver awarded for safety record

A bus driver who has clocked up over a million miles in 40 years has been given an award for his safe driving.
Peter Nedin, 63, from Swansea has never crashed or even scratched his bus.
He told the Daily Mirror: "I've driven lots of different routes but I still get the same thrill every time I go out on the road.
"I'm sure there aren't many drivers like me."
A spokesperson for First Cymru: "He's a credit to himself and this firm."

Shrapnel dislodged after 65 years

An 87-year-old former soldier has had a new lease of life after a piece of shrapnel that had been lodged in his jaw for 65 years suddenly dropped out.
Alf Mann, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, had struggled to speak and eat properly since he was injured by an explosion in 1944.
One morning he woke to find blood over his pillow - along with a half-inch piece of shrapnel.
Alf can now talk properly and eat food such as steak.
The pensioner from Sheldon, Birmingham, told the Daily Mirror: "I can't believe it. I could hardly open my mouth before and it caused problems with my speech.
"I do have very small bits of shrapnel in my hands and a piece dislodged out of my shoulder two years after I returned from war but I had no idea that it was in my jaw. It's fantastic now I can move my mouth properly and I have been able to eat steak and lamb cutlets, which I couldn't before."
His wife Constance added: "He has never talked about the war much until now. I never knew half the stories he has told me in the last couple of weeks. It took him all these years.
"He seems happier - but the food bills are more expensive."

Would-be gangster shoots off own manhood

A would-be gangster shot himself in the crutch when his gun went off half cocked in his pocket.
Lukas Neuhardt, 27, had forgotten to put the safety catch on when he stuffed the gun into his trouser pocket to impress pals in Saarbruecken, Germany.
He told paramedics that a masked mugger had blasted him in the crutch in a bungled robbery.
But police found a hole in his statement when they saw that the gunshot had miraculously left his trousers intact.
"Instead there was a charred hole in his pocket so either it was the shot of the century or he did it himself," said a police source.
Now - after surgeons stitched his manhood back together - he's facing up to three years in jail for breaching Germany's tough new anti gun laws.

Turning kitsch into cash

Sales of a T-shirt showing three wolves howling at the moon shot up 2,300% after a spate of ironic reviews.
The first review gave the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt five stars, saying: "Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women" but "cannot see wolves with arms crossed".
That prompted hundreds of others to post frivolous reviews, turning the page into an internet phenomenon.
"When I put this T-shirt on for the first time, my wife left me! Thank you, Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt," wrote one reviewer.
Amazon's senior manager of community content, Russell Dicker, said the T-shirt was currently the top selling item in their clothing store.
"The Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt recently moved up 2,300% in sales rank," he said. "We are grateful that our reviewers are so passionate."
The Mountain firm which actually makes the T-shirt initially appeared less than pleased at some of the comments.
"We appreciate humour as much as the next company, but we don't approve of some of the remarks," they said in a posting on Amazon.com.
However, the firms art director, Michael McGloin, later told BBC Radio Five Live the firm was actually rather pleased with the publicity.
"We'll take ironic fashion any day... and we're printing another 400,000 more t-shirts. It's just a fantastic thing," he said.

Glastonbury Festival line-up revealed

Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur to headline



The full line-up for this year's Glastonbury Festival has now been revealed.

With a strong bill throughout the weekend, it's hard to pick out individual highlights - but that hasn't stopped us trying!

Friday 26 June will see a host of top acts pulling on their wellies to perform at the Worthy Farm weekender.

Lily Allen and newly-reunited ska heroes The Specials will support Pyramid Stage headliner Neil Young, while Lady GaGa and The Ting Tings lead the way for Bloc Party to set the Other Stage alight.

Jack Penate, Jamie T and Doves will all grace the John Peel Stage with their presence and Mike Skinner's The Streets will headline the Jazz World stage.

There are still two unconfirmed "special guests" scheduled for the Park Stage. Franz Ferdinand and The Last Shadow Puppets filled these positions last year, leading to speculation about who could rise to the challenge this time around.

The calibre of the act doesn't suffer on the second day of the festival either. Saturday 27 June will see Dizzee Rascal and Kasabian support Pyramid Stage headliner Bruce Springsteen, while The Script, Peter Doherty, Pendulum and Franz Ferdinand entertain the Other Stage audience.

Passion Pit, Florence and The Machine and White Lies all pave the way for Jarvis Cocker's headlining set on the John Peel Stage, while Aussie wobble-board maestro Rolf Harris makes an appearance at Jazz World. Fingers-crossed for his infamous rendition of 'Stairway To Heaven'.

The East Dance tent has a stellar roster that should help even the most weary ravers to stay up. Eric Prydz, Wiley, La Roux, Pete Tong and Deadmau5 should help you to fight back the yawns at the end of a long day.

There's no rest for long though, with Tom Jones, Madness, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Blur all topping off a fantastic schedule of acts on Sunday 28 June's Pyramid Stage.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Glasvegas will stride aboard The Other Stage, before The Prodigy bring the house down with their festival-closing set.

The John Peel Stage will play host to Just Jack, Ladyhawke, Noisettes and legendary Liverpudlian post-punk group Echo & The Bunnymen.

A surprise addition to the line-up, US hip-hop quartet Black Eyed Peas, will headline Jazz World on Sunday night, while Calvin Harris closes the East Dance tent.

For the full festival line-up and the latest updates from the field, head to orange.co.uk/glastonbury from tomorrow (Tuesday 26 May).

For revellers needing to kick back, relax and recharge their batteries, the Orange Chill 'n' Charge tent will be at Glastonbury again this year - providing live music, as well as 600 mobile phone charging points and free internet access. The Orange Chill 'n' Charge tent will be open throughout the weekend, between 10am and 10pm.

To view the full line-up on the go, get your bearings if you lose your way and build your own festival schedule and share it with your friends, download Orange GlastoNav to your mobile. For more information, follow the GlastoNav link below or text GLASTO to 64446 and we'll send you a free text when it's ready to download.

Britney Spears out to prove critics wrong

Star admits she was 'so sad for so long'
Britney Spears has spoken out about her determination to prove her naysayers wrong.
The former teen idol has fallen spectacularly from grace in recent years, following a divorce, alleged drug abuse, hospital dashes and custody battles for her two sons. But now, in the midst of a world tour, the 27-year-old insists that she's turned a corner.
Brit told Hello! magazine: "A lot of people thought maybe I wouldn't make it.
"People thought I was finished, didn't they? I guess for a while last year it looked that way. [There's] nothing I can do about the past, I guess. But I'm hoping to prove them wrong now. And I have really put everything I have into this new show."
She continued: "I'm happy. Truly, I feel like the girl who has it all. I have my family, my boys, my friends, my fans, this show.
"But more importantly, I'm not sad anymore. I was just so sad for so long, but not anymore. And you know what? That feels really, really good."
Britney's Circus tour comes to the UK next month, starting in London on 3 June.

Coma girl sings Abba hit
A toddler who was gravely ill shocked her family when she woke from a coma singing Abba song Mamma Mia.
Layla Towsey's family were told to say goodbye to her after she was struck down with meningitis and suffered a heart attack.

Mum Katy Towsey, 23, told the Daily Mirror: "We'd been preparing ourselves for bad news as the life support machine was keeping her alive.
"Even when doctors took her off life support and reduced the drugs she was on, we didn't know how badly disabled she would be.

"But on the Sunday morning I could hear her singing Mamma Mia! quietly. I couldn't believe it. I knew immediately she was going to be OK."
Story filed: 10:54 Tuesday 26th May 2009 -->

Irate man drives Rolls Royce into Tesco

Irate man drives Rolls Royce into Tesco

An alleged drink driver drove his Rolls Royce through the windows of a Tesco superstore after staff refused to serve him alcohol.
Shoppers and workers at the branch in Andover, Hampshire, had to dive for cover as the luxury car crashed into checkouts.
The 50-year-old bearded man had stormed out of the shop after staff told him he was too drunk to be served any more drink.
He got into the Rolls Royce where managers unsuccessfully tried to talk him out of driving after he told them what he was going to do.
His first attempt at ramming the windows failed but that did not deter the enraged driver, who reversed, revved the engine and had another go.
This time, he put pedal to metal and smashed right into the shop, demolishing two checkouts, counters and ceiling fittings.
Emergency services were called and the store was evacuated - six women were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Hampshire Police spokeswoman Katie Wilson said: "Six women were injured and treated for cuts, bruises and shock by ambulance and air ambulance crew and taken to hospital for further checks.
"A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and attempted murder."

Brad speaks about family life
Angelina Jolie already has us green with envy.
Not only is she probably the most beautiful woman in the world she's also dating the hottest guy on the planet.
They have beautiful children together and now Brad is telling everyone how wonderful his life is... it's enough to make us sick.
Speaking to NBC's Today programme at the premiere of his new film, Inglorious Bastards, Brad revealed he is more picky over roles these days as he doesn't like too much time away from home.
He admitted life with Angelina Jolie and their children is "rewarding".
He said: "Let me be the cliché, it's really rewarding," he said. "It's really been about discovery and finding new things of interest. And the kids are certainly responsible for a lot of that."
When asked if he was happy he said he was "right in the zone" and that this time in his life is "one of the most on-track times".

Britney's big bill

We know Britney Spears is not shy of a penny. But her recent spending on legal fees seems a little bit excessive.
The star needs to have a word with herself and realise there is a global recession going on.
The Womanizer singer earned nearly £8 million last year but she only had £1 million left over.
OK, so £1 million is still a lot of money but Britters definitely has to keep a check on her bills, reports The Sun.
She spent nearly £2 million on legal fees including £428,000 for family court costs in relation to the custody of her two sons with Kevin Federline.
An extra £122,545 was spent caring for Sean Preston, three, and Jayden James, two - they are expensive tots.
The star also managed to spend £300,000 on security.
Her accounts were lodged with Los Angeles Superior Court by dad Jamie.

£3m sculpture 'sold as scrap'

Police believe thieves stole a £3m Henry Moore sculpture - then melted it down and sold it for £1,500.


After more then three and a half years investigating one of the most audacious British art thefts, detectives believe it was almost certainly stolen by travellers and sold as scrap.

The bronze sculpture Reclining Figure was stolen from the 72-acre estate of the Henry Moore Foundation in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, in December 2005.

It took thieves 10 minutes using a crane-equipped flatbed Mercedes truck stolen from nearby Roydon to carry it away.

A global alert was issued but, apart from a sighting by another motorist at a road junction in Harlow, Essex the same evening it was never seen again.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Humphries, of Hertfordshire Police, said inquiries revealed the artwork was moved through a Dagenham scrap dealer and on to another Essex scrapyard.

It was then shipped abroad, possibly to Rotterdam, and then further east where it may have eventually help feed China's growing demand for electrical components.

He said it may have made just £1,500 as scrap metal even though The Henry Moore Foundation is believed to have offered £10,000 for its safe return.

"We have evidence and information suggesting it was cut up on the night, then taken to a location where it was irreparably damaged before it was shipped abroad," said DCI Humphries.

"In my mind we've managed to kill off the mystery as much as is possible."

British couple fly to US to adopt cat

A London couple travelled nearly 4,000 miles to the US state of Michigan adopt a cat.
Rose and Chris Rasmussen flew to Harrison to adopt Sparky the cat from the Clare County animal shelter, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The Rasmussens discovered Sparky on Petfinder.com, a pet adoption website.
They could have had him shipped to the London suburb where they live, but instead decided to make the journey to adopt their new pet.
"He took me here on the other side of the Atlantic," Rose Rasmussen said. "I thought they would say, 'You guys are completely mad'."
Paperwork, a rabies vaccination, a six-month quarantine and other formalities followed before Sparky was cleared to depart for Britain.
Dave Gendregske, the animal control director for the county, said: "A lot of people would ask, 'Why come from England?' When people meet Sparky, find he has a dynamic personality, they fall in love with him."
Staff at the shelter said the black-and-white kitten had become something of a mascot since he was taken in last August.
"Sparky likes to explore," Betty Beadle, a volunteer at the shelter, told the Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant newspaper. "He destroyed Christmas trees twice."

Sex theme park bulldozed


China's communist leaders have called in the bulldozers to demolish what would have been the country's first sex theme park.
Love Land had been set to open in October in the southwestern city of Chongqing, reports The Times.
Within hours of a nationwide blaze of publicity for the park and its over-sized statues of naked genitalia and sex workshops, the bulldozers moved in.
Among the first displays to fall victim to the wreckers ball was a rotating signboard with the park's name straddled by a giant pair of women's legs topped by a red thong.
The park's manager, Lu Xiaoqing, had defended the venture, saying: "Sex is a taboo subject in China but people really need to have more access to information about it.
"We are building the park for the good of the public. I have found that the majority of people support my idea, but I have to pay attention and not make the park look vulgar and nasty."
But he failed to win the support of city propaganda officials. A hasty weekend inspection tour after pictures of the theme park appeared in the media spelled its demise.
One city propaganda official said: "The investigation determined the park's content was vulgar and that it was neither healthy nor educational. It had an evil influence on society and had to be torn down immediately."
He Shizhong, head of the municipal publicity department, said the company behind the park had "ignored its social responsibility and was interested only in profiting from sensationalism".
A project manager for developers, the Mexin Group, said: "It's a pity the park had to close, but we accept the decision. We apologise if we upset any members of the public."

Cocaine and LSD in the air in Spanish cities

Spanish scientists say they have discovered traces of cocaine and LSD in the air in Madrid and Barcelona.
A new study has found the air there is laced with at least five drugs - most prominently cocaine.
The Superior Council of Scientific Investigations, a government institute, said on its website that in addition to cocaine, it found trace amounts of amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid in air-quality control stations.
But it said there was no reason for alarm.
"Not even if we lived for a thousand years would we consume the equivalent of a dose of cocaine by breathing this air," said one of its scientists, Miren Lopez de Alda, in the statement.
The scientific group added that "in no case should these levels be considered representative of the air in the two cities".
In Madrid the test site was close to a ruined building believed to be frequented by drug dealers. And in both Madrid and Barcelona, the studies were carried out close to universities.
The group also said that the study showed higher concentrations of the components on weekends, suggesting that drug consumption was up in these periods.
Story filed: 11:57 Friday 15th May 2009 -->

The Strokes trabajan en su cuarto álbum (por CarlaLaLand

La noticia es breve pero potente… y es que las palabras sobran cuando se habla de The Strokes. Está previsto que lo que será su cuarto álbumse publique hacia finales de este año, aunque según ellos o la prensa “es demasiado pronto para especular sobre una posible fecha”. Para mí en cambio es demasiado pronto para olvidar uno de los momentos más decisivos en mi corta pero suntuosa vida, me explico. Era 2006 (sí, no hace mucho tiempo). Yo hasta entonces escuchaba lo que cayera, lo que mis amigos escuchaban y el último “temazo” que ponían en el bar al que solías ir en tu etapa teenager, es decir... nada bueno. Como decía antes, era 2006, el veranito estaba llegando y yo me encontraba enfrente del ordenador, que a su vez éste estaba en el salón, que a su vez éste…bueno el caso que estaba yo, inocente de mí, en el salón con la tele de fondo sin saber lo que iba a ocurrir a continuación… cuando de pronto, ¿qué escuchan mis oídos? Una melodía que se encargaba de ambientar el anuncio del Fiber Fib de 2006, que nunca me cansaré de escuchar y, no miento, habré escuchado…¿1.237.593 veces?. Ésta era el mítico temazo de The Strokes “Reptilia” y su inconfundible riff de guitarra del estribillo. A partir de ese momento supe que mi vida iba cambiar. Sí, sí, mi vida en todos los aspectos, porque como bien todos sabemos, una cosa lleva a la otra... y cuando menos te lo esperas estás metidillo en el mundo indie/alternativo/pop-rockero (como queráis llamarlo) a la última de qué disco sacarán The Libertines, queriendo ese álbum inédito que sacó Kurt Cobain (aquí hay que quizás poner un poco de freno, no vayamos a convertirnos en unos modernillos remilgados que se ofenden sino has escuchado la última de Guijnko Juy, por ejemplo), iendo a ese festivalillo de verano pegándonos la fiesta madre, conociendo al lead singer de tal banda y casándote con él… vale eso no, pero porque una es joven y quiere vivir experiencias nuevas.
Os comento cómo me inicié en este mundo porque para mí personalmente fue muy importante y realmente agradezco ese día en el que no tenía nada mejor que hacer que estar en casita con la tele de fondo. Quizás cada uno tengáis vuestra propia anécdota, porque realmente SÍ creo en ese momento de un antes y un después en el que uno, si realmente le interesa, pasa de escuchar la última de Natalie Imbruglia y sentirse el amo frente al espejo de su cuarto, a tener criterio y una opinión formada (siempre abierta) hacia la gran industria de la música alternativa. Por eso amigos y amigas mías os animo a adentraros a este mundo, los que no lo habéis hecho, e ir cogiendo un poco de culturilla musical que nunca viene mal. Y si no a malas pensad que siempre podréis acabar siendo groupies de cualquier músico y entrar gratis a las fiestas VIP.
Por eso es muy importante escuchar buena música y tener un criterio, para que cuando lleguemos a viejos y recordemos esa Banda Sonora que decoró nuestros mejores momentos no tenga que ocurrir algo como: “¿Recuerdas Juanín cuando lo hicimos por primera vez en tu estudio sonando de fondo Malena Gracia?”.
It’s up to you!

Muchos la frip arrive bientôt a BTR. Il va mettre en place un nouveau corner ou l'on trouvera uniquement des articles de fripes!Muchos a mit en place quelques conditions :-Le client bénéficie d'un bon d'achat en échange de vêtement d'occasion,utilisable pendant 30 jours dans tout le magasin.(à l'exception des soldes, des autres promotions, des accessoires et des vêtements techniques.)-Reprise de 2 articles au choix tout les 30 jours.-1 reprise = 1 bon sur l'achat d'un article neuf.-La direction ce reserve le droit de sélection des articles-Pour la reprise des articles, voir en magasin.

Pub beats smoking ban

A Barnsley landlady has told regulars they can smoke in her pub - after a customer found a loophole in the law.
Kerry Fenton's tap room has been turned into a 'Smoking Research Centre', reports The Sun.
Customers have to fill in a questionnaire on their smoking habits to satisfy legal requirements, then they can have a cigarette with their drink.
Ms Fenton, 36, claims trade has doubled at the Cutting Edge at Worsbrough since she launched the centre five days ago.
She said: "It's given business a shot in the arm and it's all in the name of research, legal and above aboard. I'm a non-smoker but I believe in the freedom of the individual."
Printer James Martin, 40, studied the smoking ban and believes a research centre can be introduced if a building has a separate room and no through bar.
He said: "I wanted a pub to smoke in before they all closed down. I studied details of the act closely, we drew up questionnaires and it's taken off in a big way.
"I've had inquiries from other pubs about introducing research centres and Im expecting many more to join in."
But Barnsley Council says it plans to enforce the ban. Regulations chief Simon Frow said: "The Cutting Edge is clearly not a research or test facility and is not exempt under the legislation."

It's Up and away for Cannes

Quentin Tarantino and Pedro Almodovar will be aiming to win the Palme d'Or as the 62nd Cannes Film Festival kicks off.



It will open with a screening of the Pixar animation Up - the festival's first 3D movie.

Films competing for the main prize include Almodovar's Broken Embraces, starring Penelope Cruz, and Tarantino's World War Two drama Inglourious Basterds, starring Brad Pitt.

Ken Loach's Looking for Eric, featuring Eric Cantona, will also be shown at Cannes, which runs from 13 to 24 May.

Other highlights include Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which features Heath Ledger's final screen role, and Sam Raimi's horror Drag Me To Hell.

Belgian city goes vegetarian

A Belgian city is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least one day a week.
Starting this week in Ghent, there will be a regular weekly meatless day in which civil servants and elected councillors will opt for vegetarian meals.
The UN says livestock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, hence Ghent's declaration of a weekly "veggie day".
Public officials and politicians will be the first to give up meat for a day. Schoolchildren will follow suit with their own veggiedag in September.
It is hoped the move will cut Ghent's environmental footprint and help tackle obesity.
Around 90,000 so-called "veggie street maps" are now being printed to help people find the city's vegetarian eateries.

World's smallest car

A Buckinghamshire man has created the world's smallest roadworthy car from a former Postman Pat children's ride.



The mini motor is only 39 inches high and 26 inches wide and was converted by car fanatic Perry Watkins, 47, from Wingrave, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The US-based World Records Academy has confirmed that the car - which Mr Watkins has christened 'The Wind-Up' - is officially the world's smallest car.

Mr Watkins, who has previously broken the record for the world's lowest car three times, found the inspiration for his latest motoring endeavour while surfing the internet.

"I searched on eBay for something suitable and found a Postman Pat coin-in-the-slot children's ride from a vendor in Scotland," he said.

"It was in non-operative order, but for what I had in mind this was of no consequence as I only wanted the bare fibreglass body from the ride."

Over a period of seven months, Mr Watkins reinforced the fibreglass shell with a steel frame and mounted it on a mini quad bike.

He added a 150cc engine, mirrors, windscreen wipers, lights, 'go faster' flames and mock racing exhaust pipes. He also had to remove Postman Pat and his black-and-white-cat Jess from the inside.

The vehicle is fully legal and is taxed as a quad bike so Mr Watkins can drive it on public roads. But at 6ft tall, he might be better sticking to his company Jaguar.

Teen banned from graduation for attending prom

A US teenager has been banned from his own graduation for breaking strict 'no dancing' rules by attending his girlfriend's prom.
The Heritage Christian School in Findlay, Ohio, had warned Tyler Frost, 17, he would be suspended if he went to the dance.
Tyler said he didn't think going to the dance was wrong even though his fundamentalist Baptist school forbids dancing, rock music and hand-holding.
He had signed a contract at the beginning of the school year promising to refrain from such activities, and it came back to haunt him when he asked his principal to sign a permission slip to let him attend the prom.
Tyler's principal, Tim England said: "Should a Christian place themselves at an event where young ladies will have low-cut dresses and be dancing in them."
Tyler told his principal that he didn't 't feel any less of a Christian for attending the prom: "I still feel I'm a Christian," Frost said. "I believe in the morals they've taught me."
"It's kind of sad that it has to end this way," Tyler said. "I was kind of looking forward to graduating with my class, you know, that's why you put in 13 years of school - to graduate."
But he added: "It was worth it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to prom, and I'm glad I went. Looking back, I think I made the right decision."
Tyler's stepfather, Stephan Johnson, has hired a lawyer and is considering suing the school. He believes the contract doesn't cover what students do in after-school activities.

Blooming marvellous

A stunning 100-year-old wisteria on a house in Dorset is attracting visitors from all over Britain.
Alison Halliday is celebrating a bumper crop of the flower covering her home in the village of Uploders, near Bridport.
With blossoms measuring four foot long, experts think they might be the biggest in the country.
The climbing plant is of such importance to the village as a whole that locals often gather when Alison prunes it - to ensure the job is done correctly.
Alison and her husband John run their four bedroom cottage, which they have owned for 10 years, as a bed and breakfast.
They have people come from all over the country to admire their wisteria.
The couple are signed up to the National Garden Scheme, and will open their land for the public to visit on May 23.

New crisps could make mum a millionaire

A Derbyshire mum could become a millionaire - after coming up with the idea for Britain's favourite new crisp flavour.
Emma Rushin, 27, from Belper, came up with bacon, buttered toast, eggs and tomato - which she called Builder's Breakfast.
And she won £50,000 - and one per cent of all future sales - after it won crisp makers Walkers' Do us a Flavour contest.
TV chef Heston Blumenthal chose six finalists and the flavours went on sale in January - and Emma's proved the most popular.
Walkers says she'll earn £57,000 a year if they sell like BBQ crisps - but 'substantially more' if they're as popular as cheese & onion.
Emma said: "I'm thrilled. I'm going to buy a house, go on holiday and just get myself some nice things.
"I've always wanted to be a midwife and this could be my chance to do that. The reason I've not done it before was always money - I've got two young kids and I've always needed a wage.
"But now I might not even need to work again."
More than a million Brits voted for their favourite flavour in the contest, with 232,336 going for Builder's Breakfast.
Onion bhaji was second, then fish & chips, crispy duck & hoisin, cajun squirrel and chilli & chocolate.

Bumpy road to success

A Chinese man has successfully patented his new invention - a bicycle with odd-sided wheels.
Guan Baihua, 50, a retired military officer in Qingdao, spent 18 months developing his unique bike.
The front wheel is a five-sided pentagon while the back wheel is a triangle, reports the Bandao City Daily.
Guan says the bike is mainly for fun but says riders could use it to lose weight as it takes more effort to pedal.
"There are too many identical mass-manufactured things. More and more, people like weird and rarely seen stuff. Making this bike gives people an alternative," he added.
However, he admitted that he was now looking for a manufacturer to mass produce his invention.
Guan says he got the frame from an ordinary bicycle but designed and made all of the other components himself.
"I've enjoyed inventing things from childhood, and since I retired from the military three years ago I have been creating small inventions at home in my free time," he said.
A journalist from Bandao City Daily tried the bike, and found it "not as bumpy as it looks", but said riders needed "special skills, otherwise it's hard to balance".

Centenarian's birthday boob

A 100-year-old woman has just discovered that she has been marking her birthday on the wrong day all of her life.
Great-great-grandmother Emily Donoghue, of Llantarnam, near Cwmbran in Wales, had always insisted she was born on 3 May, reports the BBC.
But when her son John had to produce a birth certificate so she could receive a telegram from the Queen he discovered she was actually born two days later.
"I think she must have been celebrating on the third all her life," he said. To mark her 100th birthday her family celebrated on both days.
They took her out for tea on the third and then two days later a party was held in her honour at the Mayflower residential home, where she has lived for the last five years.
Mr Donoghue, 78, said: "We had to produce a birth certificate to inform the Queen so my mother would get a telegram.
"When we looked on there it was, 5 May, and she's been celebrating on 3 May.
"We couldn't make it out because she'd insisted it was the third and we took her word for it. Nobody bothered to look for the birth certificate until we had to send it off."

Ex-midwife, 90, helps deliver great granddaughter

A 90-year-old former midwife helped deliver her own great granddaughter.
When Maggie Jones received a phone call saying her granddaughter had gone into labour, she was happy to provide moral support.
The last thing the she expected was that her decades-old professional experience was about to be put to the test once more, reports the Daily Mail.
But she was left with no choice by the speed of events and ended up helping deliver Kathy Shah's baby Carys on the living room floor.
Mrs Jones, who worked as a midwife in the Second World War and had not delivered a baby for 50 years, said: "I thought to myself, 'Maggie, it's time to wash your hands and don your overalls', and I just jumped right in to help in whatever way I could.
"Thankfully we didn't have any problems and I was just thrilled to be able to welcome little Carys into the world."
Mrs Shah already has 19-month-old son Dylan with her husband Keval, a banker. They had planned a home birth for their second child.
But she went into labour so quickly it was too late to call the midwife, so Mrs Shah told her husband to call her grandmother, who lives next door to them in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.
Mrs Jones rushed round and just 40 minutes later she was cradling Carys, who was born weighing 7lb 7oz.
Mrs Shah, 32, said: "We're so lucky that my gran lives next door - she was totally amazing and just so calm. I don't know what we would have done without her."

'My interests include cooking dogs'

A survey of CV blunders reveals that job applicants are blowing their chances with gaffes such as listing their interests as "cooking dogs".
Experts found that 94% of job hunters risked missing out on vacancies through CV blunders such as poor spelling, grammar or presentation on their CVs.
Failure to use the comma led to embarrassing disclosures such as: "My interests include cooking dogs and interesting people."
In some cases, applicants' attempts to impress potential employers failed through the odd missed word, with phrases such as: "I was responsible for dissatisfied customers."
For others, the omission of a single letter consigned their CV to the dustbin: "I am a pubic relations officer."
From a sample of 450 CVs, researchers found that 81% were laden with spelling and grammatical errors, while nearly half were poorly laid out.
A mere six per cent were error-free, the study by career advisers Personal Career Management (PCM) concluded.
Mistakes were not confined to applicants for menial roles either - many of the CVs riddled with errors were drafted by CEOs, professionals and recent graduates, researchers said.
Corinne Mills, managing director of PCM, said: "Many of the people whose CVs end up in the waste paper bin are perfectly capable of doing the job. However, a poor CV means they will not get the opportunity to prove it.
"Why would anyone want to employ a lawyer or a secretary who makes spelling mistakes or errors? If they can't pay attention to their own CV, why would you trust them to work on any of your documents?"

Robot teacher has human touch

The world's first robot teacher proved a hit with pupils on her first day at a Japanese primary school.
One pupil described Saya as "pretty" another said that she was a bit "scary but fun" while another said that he "couldn't believe he was getting taught by a robot".
First, she called the name of each child before asking the pupils to carry out tasks from a text book for the pilot project in Kudan Primary School, next to Tokyo University.
Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi, of Tokyo's University of Science, who has been developing the robot for 15 years, said: "The children were not fazed by Saya at all.
"They don't see her as a humanoid but human. They were very happy and surprised when she was able to call their names. They treated Saya like a real teacher."
Saya's steel skull is covered with fine latex cast from a female university student. Underneath, a system of 18 motors works like muscles to give her facial expressions including surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness and sadness.
The robot is able to talk, potentially in any language, move her head and respond to questions. She currently speaks around 300 phrases and has a vocabulary of 700 words and is programmed to respond to words and questions.
It is planned that the first robot teachers will be used in several classrooms where they will be operated by 'controller' teachers operating from a control centre.
Each teacher robot has a price tag up to £25,000. They are claimed to be the first economically viable robot and aim to make back their money in a couple of years.
"The aim is to develop something that is useful to society and humans in daily life. The robot teacher is the perfect application for a robot," added Professor Kobayashi.

Coughing judge sparks swine flu panic

A coughing Italian judge cleared a panicking courtroom when he told lawyers: "I've just got back from Mexico."
More than 30 attorneys in Rome told Judge Giovanni Barese they were boycotting the court and adjourning their cases because of fear of swine flu.
One lawyer said: "The judge coughed a few times, I don't know if it was from the flu or he was just clearing his throat, and then said he had just come back from Mexico.
"I've never seen so many lawyers agree on anything in court so quickly but we all decided we had to get as far away from him as possible.
"Maybe he hasn't got swine flu but no one was prepared to take the risk. He should never have even come into work. With so many people in a court room it would be an ideal place to spread it."
The judge agreed to see a doctor and has now gone into quarantine.

Family convicted over horse neglect

Five people have been found guilty of neglecting more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys on a family farm.
RSPCA inspectors discovered the cruelty when they were called to Spindle Farm in Amersham, Buckinghamshire in January last year.
Horse trader James Gray, 45, and his son James Gray Junior, 16, were found guilty of 11 charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, while his wife Julie Gray, 41, and daughters Jodie, 26, and Cordelia Gray, 20, were each found guilty of two charges under the same act.
The animals were left to die of starvation in a "horror scene" surrounded by rotting corpses.
Vets who visited Spindle Farm described the situation as the worst case of animal cruelty they had ever seen. RSPCA inspectors found horses kept with little dry bedding and crammed into pens, ankle deep in their own faeces.
Hooves and body parts were also discovered scattered across the farm, along with a mound made up of bones and skulls. Bicester Magistrates' Court heard there were 140 animals at the farm, many of which were left with little food.
RSPCA chief inspector Rob Skinner said he found 32 carcasses in different locations when he went to look around. Some of these were burnt and dumped on a bonfire while others were left lying on the ground, covered in rubbish.
One dead horse was found on the back of a trailer with ropes around its tail. In total 115 animals, some severely emaciated, had to be rescued and removed from the site.
Mr Skinner said horses looked "dejected" and "emaciated" and some animals could not feed freely as they were being bullied by others. During an inspection he found horses in overcrowded pens littered with faeces.
And he said one pony was unable to stand and had to be rolled over so vets could examine it.