Womens World Cup Football – England, Germany, France and Japan All Book Places In Quarter-Finals

Posted by Sam in Football, Sports

England, Germany, France and Japan are the first teams to book their places in the Women’s World Cup Quarter-Finals in Germany.

England were fighting Japan to secure top spot in their group and the deciding game between the two took place today. The reward? Avoiding favourites Germany in the quarter-finals.

England secured the points with a 2-0 victory, their size, speed and fitness proving a real problem for Japan as they continue to have problems when facing European teams.

There was a bit of flair too as Ellen White, player of the match, scored from just outside the box with a lob over the keeper.

Keepers have come in for a bit of stick in this tournament, perhaps with some justification. The general standard of play has improved greatly since the last Women’s World Cup but goalkeeping mistakes are still very much in evidence.

England will now go on to play France and Japan will have a very tough match against Germany.

The game between France and Germany would decide who would finish top of group A. Favourites Germany came away with a 4-2 win with France having Sapowicz sent off for bringing down Bajramaj in the penalty area. Grings slotting home the resulting penalty.

Not only are Germany one of the best women’s teams in the world at the moment, they also have home advantage and the support they are getting from their home country is amazing. Stadiums are always packed when they play.

It’s no wonder they are overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy, although the USA and Brazil may yet have something to say about that.

Cheryl Cole (Tweedy) Biography

Posted by Sam in Biographies, Celebrity

Cheryl Cole was born 30th June 1983 as Cheryl Ann Tweedy in Newcastle, North East England. Here is a short biography of her life so far.

One of 5 children, Cheryl Cole always seemed to know that she wanted to be in showbiz, from an early age she was involved in dancing schools, commercials and modelling competitions.

She left school at 16 with little in the way of academic qualifications but as with earlier in her life, it was obvious that her priorities were in a different place.

Blessed with model looks, as well as the ability to dance and sing, she auditioned for the UK pop reality show ‘Popstars – The Rivals’. The programme was the pre-curser to the American Idol and X Factor shows that we have today.

In this version ten girls and ten boys were selected as finalists, Cheryl Cole (Cheryl Tweedy as she was back then) being one of them, and then they would sing live every Saturday night and wait for the public to vote. The one with the fewest votes was eliminated.

They were voted down to 4 girls and 4 guys, a girl group called Girls Aloud and a rival boy band were formed. Both would release singles at the same time and go head to head. Girls Aloud released ‘Sound of the Underground’ and the die was cast. We never heard of the boy band again.

Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts, went on to have 20 top ten singles and 4 UK number 1′s. Their 5 albums all went platinum and they received 5 BRIT award nominations to date. In 2009 they all decided to take a year long break to concentrate on their other interests. That year has since extended to two years and beyond.

During her Girls Aloud career, she met and fell in love with the Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole in 2004. They were married in a lavish ceremony in 2006 in London, but news of Ashley’s extramarital affairs were to dog their marriage until they finally divorced in 2010 after more lurid reports of his dalliances were reported in UK newspapers.

In 2008 she was given the job of replacing the X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne after Sharon walked off the show, mainly because of repeated bust up’s with fellow judge Danni Minogue.

Cheryl was given control of the girls in her first series by producers of the show and subsequently came out on top after Alexandra Burke was crowned the X Factor winner.

She also took the crown in the following year, 2009 when her charge, Joe McElderry became the sixth winner of the title and record contract with Simon Cowell.

She also took the opportunity in 2009 of working on and releasing her first solo album, ’3 Words’, using her X Factor high profile to push the album to the number one spot.

In 2011 she was confirmed as the judge on Simon Cowells new American version of the X Factor. It is unclear at the time of writing whether this will mean that she follows Simon away from the UK version or if it is possible that she will maintain both shows.

It would surprise me if she still continued with her UK X Factor work, it appears that she would like to move her career onto bigger and better things and that means the US market. To win over the US market it is likely that there will be no time for anything else.

Photo: rustyallie

US X Factor Judge Cheryl Cole Confirmed by Simon Cowell

Posted by Sam in Entertainment, TV

Simon Cowell has finally confirmed that Cheryl Cole has landed one of the positions on the judging panel of the US version of his show X Factor.

After speculation stretching back into 2010 the popular UK X Factor judge has finally got what she was desperate for, that coveted place on the US X Factor judging panel.

She joins the other confirmed judges, Simon Cowell and LA Reid, alongside an as yet un-named 4th judge With filming scheduled to begin tomorrow it looks like we won’t have to wait long to find out who that 4th judge is.

Tens of thousands of people have applied to take part in the auditions of one of the biggest TV launches of the year. While the American Idol programme has been getting on with things without it’s former judge, there is no doubting Simon Cowells star quality and pulling power for TV audiences.

Cheryl Cole also has that star quality, she has been a big success on the UK X Factor and is herself a successful talent show contestant. Her very successful girl group, Girls Aloud, were put together in 2002 on a UK TV talent show called ‘Popstars -  The Rivals’.

The downside perhaps for American TV execs is that she has a strong accent thanks to her upbringing in Newcastle in the North of England. Will she be able to be understood in America where the accent is not known and therefore not easy to understand? Will she have to tone it down or change it? Time will tell.

Photo: rustyallie

Saint Georges Day – 23rd April

Posted by Clive in Education, Mysteries

Saint George is the Patron Saint of England, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Germany, Portugal and Greece. April 23rd is traditionally his day and is celebrated on this day, although in 2011 St Georges Day falls on Easter’s Holy Saturday.

Ironically for someone so famous and revered, not much is known about St. George. There are almost no certifiable facts about the man behind the legend so much of his life story as we know it today may or may not be true.

It is thought that he was born in an area which is now part of Turkey, in about the 3rd century where he was brought up a Christian. After his father died his mother brought him to her birthplace in Palestine.

He became a member of the Roman army and rose through the ranks until he was ordered to slay Christians by the Emperor Diocletian. He refused and resigned his post in protest. This led to his imprisonment, torture and eventual execution in Palestine.

How much of this is fact and how much fiction is difficult to tell but it is obvious why he was adopted as a Patron Saint by Christian countries. In England the first St. Georges Day was in 1222 after Crusaders returned from the Holy Land with tales of his mystical appearances leading them into battle.

However, there are some people who believe that the entire story is made up and that he didn’t actually exist. Others believe that the Christian Church took a Pagan story and twisted it for their own means.

The image of St. George that we usually see today as a knight slaying a Dragon is from a later time, around the 15th Century.

He achieved fame in this form after a book called The Golden Legend was published, describing his rescue of a Princess and the slaying of a Dragon after the King and his subjects had converted to Christianity.

Photo: colros

The Baftas Dominated by the Kings Speech

Posted by Jo in Entertainment, Movies & Film

The ‘Kings Speech’ once again dominated an awards ceremony as it won 7 Baftas (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) last night at the ceremony in London.

‘The Kings Speech‘ star, Colin Firth, won the best actor award for his betrayal of King George VI and his struggle to overcome his speech impediment.

It also walked away with the BAFTA for best film, outstanding British film, best original screenplay, best musical score and best supporting actors awards for Helen Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.

Colin Firth is one of the few people who have won a Bafta for 2 years in a row, winning last year for ‘A Single Man’.

‘The Social Network’ picked up Bafta’s for best director, best editing and best adapted screenplay.

A heavily pregnant Natalie Portman wasn’t able to fly to over to the UK for the awards night but picked up the best actress award for her multi-award winning film ‘Black Swan’.

Always an interesting category, voted for by the public, Tom Hardy won the Bafta’s rising star award.

Photo: nicogenin

Beyonce Announced as Glastonbury Headliner 2011

Posted by Sam in Entertainment, Music

Columbia Records has revealed that Beyonce will headline the last day of the Glastonbury music festival on the Pyramid stage.

The Glastonbury festival runs from 22nd June to 26th June in Somerset, England and is the biggest festival of it’s kind in the world.

Beyonce said about the event,

“I’m pumped just thinking about that huge audience and soaking up their energy. This really is the biggest festival in the world and I cannot wait to perform there”

If you want tickets you are already too late, they sold out within 4 hours of going on sale in October 2010.

The move echoes that of her husband Jay-Z who played the stage a couple of years ago to a receptive audience after receiving high profile criticisms that his music was not ‘Glastonbury music’.

The lineup for Glastonbury 2011 has yet to be officially announced but is expected soon.

No doubt Beyonce, watching from the sides, enjoyed the experience and took note. Beyonce stands at a height of about 5′ 7″ and she is equally famous for the ‘Beyonce dresses’ and ‘Beyonce hairstyles’ as for her music. Beyonce is bound to bring some high class glamour to the traditionally muddy and filthy music festival!

Photo: Caro_Carlow

David Beckham & Victoria Beckham Expecting a 4th Child

Posted by Tracy in Celebrity

David and Victoria Beckham have announced that they are expecting a forth child sometime in the summer of 2011.

The couple already have 3 boys; Brooklyn (11), Romeo (8) and Cruz (5) who are said to be very excited at the news.

The couple have been married since 1999 and are currently located in Los Angeles, California where David Beckham plays for the soccer team LA Galaxy and Victoria Beckham is a fashion designer.

It was also announced that David Beckham will go home to London, England, to train with Tottenham Hotspur during the US Soccer Leagues close season. He hopes to keep fitness levels high and will try to impress the England national team boss Fabio Capello with his commitment.

It had been hoped that he would be able to play in Tottenham’s 1st team, in the English Premier League; but after an injury he picked up while playing for AC Milan last season the insurance costs are said to be too high for Tottenham to bear.

Photo: JeremyRyan

Dalglish Takes Over Liverpool FC as Hodgson Leaves by ‘Mutual Consent’

Posted by Gary in Football, Sports

A statement on Liverpool FC’s website confirmed what many had thought was coming, Roy Hodgson has left the football club by mutual consent.

One of Liverpool’s owners, John Henry, said

“We are grateful for Roy’s efforts over the past six months but both parties thought it in the best interests of the club that he stand down from his position as team manager. We wish him all the best for the future.”

Results just haven’t been going Liverpool’s way since Hodgson took over as manager from Rafael Benitez, who was sacked for not getting the league results that Liverpool owners and fans demand. It has been along time since they dominated the league competitions.

Roy Hodgson released a statement that said

“Being asked to manage Liverpool Football Club was a great privilege. Any manager would be honoured to manage a club with such an incredible history, such embedded tradition and such an amazing set of fans.”

“Liverpool is one of the great clubs in world football. I have, however, found the last few months some of the most challenging of my career. I am very sad not to have been able to put my stamp on the squad, to be given the time to bring new players into the club in this transfer window and to have been able to be part of the rebuilding process at Liverpool.”

“The club has some great, world-class players, with whom it has been a pleasure to work and I wish the entire squad well for the rest of the season. I thank those with whom I have built up a close working relationship at the club for their loyalty and support during very testing times, and finally of course to the Liverpool fans, your passion and dedication to the club will see Liverpool at the top of the game once more.”

The Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish will now take over the reigns as manager for the rest of the season. Dalglish is Liverpool’s third most successful manager of all time, one of the greatest players of his generation and the person many Liverpool fans wanted as manager in the first place.

Photo: Biagios

England Win The Ashes at a Stroll

Posted by Gary in Cricket, Sports

For the first time for 24 years England have managed to retain the Ashes. Australia were dismissed for 258 in Melbourne with England winning by 157 runs and an innings.

Andrew Strauss praised his team saying

“These guys deserve everything they get because the players stood up and performed when it matters. It’s great for me but we all know a captain’s nothing without the guys who stand up and deliver under pressure. I’m not going to take the credit for this because it’s not my victory, it’s the team’s victory.”

England deserved their win having dominated the series with both bowling and batting being of the highest quality, even if their was a hiccup in Perth when Australia briefly turned the tables.

“Retaining the Ashes for the first time in almost a quarter of a century marks a very special end to the year for sports fans and a great late Christmas present for the country,” he said. “I look forward to welcoming them to Downing Street when they return.”

Australia for their part have been disappointing this series with their captain Ricky Ponting being fined at one point for dissent towards the umpire as the pressure mounted. No one wants to be the Captain during an Ashes defeat, they have become so rare that you will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Pointed commented that they had learned alot from how England had played test cricket and said

“I’m disappointed with the way this series has gone for us so far, really disappointed at the way this week has turned out for us after having such a good week last week.”

Photo: piesgardiner