Cheap Olympics, Flower Pick-ups and Beauty Routines...

Wednesday at a Glance!

Day 165 of 2012
201 days to go til 2013
196 days until Christmas
134 days until the 23rd James Bond film ‘Skyfall’ is released
67 days till The FA Premier League is back!
43 days until the Olympics in London 
7 days until the Summer Solstice

• It’s National Lobster Day, Kitchen Klutzes Day, Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence, Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week, Diabetes Week, Men's Health Week, National Pooper Scooper Week, Small Charity Week, Make A Noise In Libraries Fortnight, International Childhood Cancer Campaign Month, Motor Neurone Disease Awareness Month, International Speak About Aphasia Month. 

• Leveson Inquiry – Nick Clegg and Alex Salmond appear 

• Rebekah Brooks charged with perverting the course of justice – the court hearing takes place today. City of Westminster Magistrates Court, London, 10:00AM 

• Olympic Torch Relay – Day 26 – St Andrews to Edinburgh 

• The Queen's Diamond Jubilee – East Midlands visit 

• ‘Chip Shop Awards’ – Ministry Of Sound, London, 7:00PM 

• HMS Diamond – the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer deploys to the Middle East from the Naval Base in Portsmouth 

• The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games has been announced. It’ll recreate the best of the British countryside – including real farmyard animals. The Olympic Stadium is being transformed into an idyllic scene, with a village cricket team, giant maypoles and even clouds overhead to supply a downpour of rain. 

• Looks like thousands of us are braving the summer storms by holidaying in the UK. Around 41% of families will shun foreign hot-spots in favour of a staycation again this year, up 6% on last year. Top three destinations are Cornwall, Edinburgh and the Lake District. 

• OLYMPIC ticket and hotel packages are on sale for just £89. Thomas Cook has slashed the prices of Games deals this morning. It means we can watch the girls play beach volleyball for just £89 or the men’s football group stages for £99. Anyone who wants see diver Tom Daley in the synchronised platform final can get ticket packages, including hotel, for £899. 

• If you thought eating white fish was good for you, think again! Eating fish and chips just once a week increases your risk of heart failure by almost 50%... Researchers reckon white fish is among the most effective at reducing heart disease. But frying the fish not only cancels out any benefit, it reverses it and clogs up the hearts arteries... 

• Did you get a pay rise last year? I bet it wasn’t 12% BRITAIN’S top bosses saw their pay soar by more than 12% last year to an average of nearly £5million! That’s more than 200 times the average wage. Topping the league is Barclay’s Bank fat cat Bob Diamond who banked £20m, while the average take-home package for company chiefs was £4.8m. The average pay rise for a typical worker on £24,000 was barely 1%. 

• It’s time to stop flashing in the car! Looks like drivers are being fined for flashing their headlights at oncoming cars to warn them of speed traps. In an anti-speeding campaign recently, Lancashire Police have told us they handed out 23 tickets for breaking the limit – and 20 for 'misuse of headlights' and more forces say they’ll be doing it soon!
  
  
• We’re on course for our wettest June ever. The latest warnings came after the Met Office said that 15 to 30mm fell across southern England and Wales yesterday. The figures mean this month could become the wettest June ever, beating the record of 149mm set in that very wet summer of 2007. Thames Water, Anglian Water and Southern Water will announce later that they’re lifting hosepipe bans that have been in place since April. 

• "Bond, James Bond” has been voted the top film quote of all time, closely followed by "ET phone home” and ‘Star Wars’ gem "may the Force be with you”. The survey for Empire Magazine also includes ‘To Infinity And Beyond’ from this week’s number one DVD – ‘Toy Story 3’ – at Number 4, whilst. ‘frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn’ from ‘Gone with the Wind’ completes the top 5. 

• Cheryl Cole has confirmed plans for an arena tour this morning. Her ten-date tour kicks off on October 3rd and ends on the 17th Tickets for the shows start at £35. Tickets go on sale via CherylCole.com this morning at 9am. 

• Jeremy Kyle has admitted – he doesn’t wear any pants! Why do we need to know that? YUK...He’s told today’s Daily Star "I’ve not worn any kecks for 20 years.” 

• Gary Barlow is promising fans a new Take That album and tour next year. He says that he hopes the boys can get together to release a new album in 2013, to be followed by a new tour. He’s writing a new set of songs now! 

Health bosses in Yorkshire are reminding young women in the region to have regular cervical cancer screening. They claim, 20% per cent of women in Yorkshire still don't get regular screening for cervical cancer. A new campaign's been launched to get more women to attend their regular appointments. 

Speculation is rife that the Yorkshire Regiment will face cuts as the government looks to streamline the army. MP Patrick Mercer, a former army colonel, claims the County's regiment will lose its third battalion in the cuts. The MoD claims no final decision has been made yet. 

School Test...

Today’s homework question is on Geography... 

In which City can you see St Basil’s Cathedral?  

The answer to yesterday’s question...Which three letters replaced CQD? was SOS. 

Rod’s Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos #98… Why does the food that tastes the best contain the most calories? 

Headline Makers with the Barnsley Chronicle... 

How would you like to see your words printed in Friday’s Barnsley Chronicle? That’s the reward for coming up with the best headline for this week’s story on Headline Makers. The current score is Dearne FM Listeners 9 Barnsley Chronicle 6...can we win again this week? We are looking for your suggestions of a headline for this story... 8 year-old Lauren Gilroy got a bit of a shock this week when she opened her packet of Olympic Stickers and pulled out a picture of...her mum! Table Tennis Champ Sue Gilroy had no idea that she featured in the album so was as shocked as her daughter, she also appears on an Olympic stamp! Editor Andrew Harrod’s offering is "Mum’s The Word for Sticker Star Sue” can you do better? You have until 8am Thursday morning to submit your headline by email, phone, text, twitter or on our Facebook wall. 

The Top Ten Jobs That Make You Fat...the reason? High levels of stress and lack of movement throughout the workday: 

1.         Travel agent

2.         Lawyer/Judge

3.         Social worker

4.         Teacher

5.         Artist/designer/architect

6.         Administrative assistant

7.         Doctor

8.         Protective services (police, fire-fighter)

9.         Marketing/PR professional

10.        IT professional 

We’re on course for our wettest June ever. The Environment Agency has issued flood warnings to 31,000 homes and businesses in just four days. But it says 16,000 properties have been saved from damage thanks to its flood defences. The latest warnings came after the Met Office said that 15 to 30mm fell across southern England and Wales yesterday. The figures mean this month could become the wettest June ever, beating the record of 149mm set in that very wet summer of 2007.. 

OLYMPIC ticket and hotel packages are on sale for just £89. Thomas Cook has slashed the prices of Games deals. It means we can watch the girls play beach volleyball for just £89 or the men’s football group stages for £99. And a trip to the Olympic stadium for the men’s marathon and taekwondo costs £279. Anyone who wants see diver Tom Daley in the synchronised platform final can get ticket packages, including hotel, for £899. Thomas Cook originally marketed them as part of luxury hospitality packages, aimed at corporate businesses – but they didn’t sell. So with a month to go, they’re flogging them off cheap from today. 

It’s time to stop flashing in the car! Looks like drivers are being fined for flashing their headlights at oncoming cars to warn them of speed traps. In an anti-speeding campaign recently, Lancashire Police have told us they handed out 23 tickets for breaking the limit – and 20 for 'misuse of headlights' and more forces say they’ll be doing it soon! Critics are saying its just another ‘money-making exercise’ that would erode public support for police...Surely the flashing of lights causes the oncoming vehicles to slow down, and isn't that the point. 

Did you get a pay rise last year? I bet it wasn’t 12%! BRITAIN’S top bosses saw their pay soar by more than 12% last year to an average of nearly £5million! That’s more than 200 times the average wage. Executives running the country’s 100 biggest firms renewed fury over boardroom greed when their monster pay deals were revealed yesterday. Topping the league is Barclay’s fat cat Bob Diamond who banked £20m, while the average take-home package for company chiefs was £4.8m. The average pay rise for a typical worker on £24,000 was barely 1%. But the Government’s promise to tackle high pay by giving shareholders the power to block deals looks set to be watered down in the commons later today. The report showed a quarter of the FTSE 100 chiefs enjoyed pay rises of up to 41%. Thames Water boss Martin Baggs even got a £418,000 bonus, nearly as much as his £425,000 salary. 

Oh Dear! First it was Portugal, then Ireland, then Greece – and on Monday Spain joined the bailout club. So, is Italy next? Austria has issued a warning that the Eurozone’s third largest economy will soon need major financial help this morning…Spain may have been temporarily saved from a complete economic meltdown with a €100billion bailout – but attention is now turning to Italy who could soon need similar help – with Germany footing most of the cash. Some Euro MEPs are saying this morning that Germany should just take over the running of the EU – as they’re paying for most of it now… 

It’s the nation Fish & Chip Shop awards tonight in London. If you thought eating white fish was good for you, think again! Eating fish and chips just once a week increases your risk of heart failure by almost 50%; researchers reckon white fish is among the most effective at reducing heart disease. But frying the fish not only cancels out any benefit, it reverses it and clogs up the hearts arteries...The study analysed the diet of 30,000 of us over eight years. Those who ate five or more portions of baked or boiled fish a week were found to reduce their risk of heart attack by 30 per cent. 

Forget going to London during the Olympics! That’s the message this morning...Motorists are being told to avoid London for the Olympics so traffic lights can be turned to green for VIPs in the 'Games Lanes'. We’re being told work on converting thousands of traffic lights to flick to green when a VIP drives up to them will start on July 1 to make sure a new ‘go green’ system is up and running in time for the games…It’s yet more misery for commuters because they’ve have already been warned to avoid trains and tubes during the games if possible.. 

Looks like thousands of us are braving the summer storms by holidaying in the UK. Around 41% of families will shun foreign hot-spots in favour of a staycation again this year, up 6% on last year. Top three destinations are Cornwall, Edinburgh and the Lake District. The figure is the biggest seen in the UK since the recession started in 2008. 

Yours for just a Million! How do you fancy five HUGE lighthouse keepers' cottages for a million? Trouble is they’re on Wales’ most isolated street and they’re being sold off as a job lot. The cottages are perched on a cliff top about St Ann's Head on the far west coast of Pembrokeshire. If only I’d won more than a tenner on last Fridays Euro millions draw. And the sellers say there is no trouble with the neighbours – as they’re porpoises and Atlantic grey seals in the waters below. It would be the perfect hideaway for anyone who has sung along to the song: 'I want to marry a lighthouse keeper...' The blurb from the estate agent says "The lighthouse will carry on blinking away on the headland as a warning to shipping… So anyone in the cottages may want to close their curtains at night… 

Flowers ARE the way to a woman's heart a survey says today...But men don't have to buy them to reap the rewards… Red roses don’t always work I know that from past experience, yellow do though! Researchers in France say that women were far more likely to give a young man their phone number if they were approached outside a florists as opposed to a cake shop or shoe shop…I knew I was doing it wrong... I’ll have to stop hanging about outside Greggs… 

Beware the dinner party guest! 10% of us admit to snooping around the host's home a survey this morning is saying! While we're busy in the kitchen, slaving away over a hot stove, do you ever wonder what your dinner party guests are doing in the room next door? Well, according to new research they could be busy sifting through your worldly possessions in a bid to find something they were never meant to see. Experts reckon British etiquette is in danger of a becoming ‘a lost art’ as poking around uninvited isn’t the only offence committed. More than a quarter of us say we turn up at friend's house without a gift, 17% of us swear in front of our hosts and 13% of us smoke, despite not smoking in their own homes. Just 15% of men offer to wash the dishes, while over a quarter of women (27 per cent) were more than happy to help out where they could. Some people are just downright rude and this has been worsened by the likes of Come Dine with Me and May the best house win…Where the guests are encouraged to have a snoop! You’d never catch me on that show! 

A glassware set that came from Adolf Hitler's Berlin bunker is to go under the hammer later. Let’s hope just not quite literally, or they won’t be worth much… The glasses are thought to be worth around £8,000 are up for grabs in the States. I’m just trying to get my head round the fact that someone nicked a set of glasses from the Fuhrer’s bunker as Hitler lay dead and Berlin was falling all around them...The dealer who is selling them later sold Hitler's sword a few years ago…SO if you’re after some new glasses for Summer, pop along to Christies in New York...It’s on at the auction house this afternoon… 

Royal Mail is set to signals end of the 'Sorry, you were out' card today. Plans will be announced saying that our postman will be allowed to deliver our parcels to a neighbour. The decision follows a successful trial in around 750,000 homes in seven parts of the country – including Swansea, Norwich, Edinburgh and Wigan. Great if we all had honest neighbours! Unlike other delivery services, the post office is currently banned from leaving post with a neighbour under the current regulations – but these rules are expected to be lifted within the next few weeks by the regulator Ofcom. 

It's the advice every man trying to become a Dad wants to hear…Have a drink and relax. Researchers say that they have evidence that it probably won't harm our chances of starting a family if we drink loads, smoke or were overweight. You’ve only got to switch on Jeremy Kyle to see this is true... They found men with unhealthy lifestyles were just likely to be just as fertile as those living more sensibly Phew! So the future of London is safe. Let’s raise a glass to these researchers…. 

Leicester City Council has been forced to admit that it has no emergency plan…On how to deal with a zombie apocalypse. They got a Freedom of Information request from a "concerned citizen" so they had to reveal how they would protect residents from ‘the undead’. The request asked, "Can you please let us know what provisions you have in place in the event of a zombie invasion?" The question to the council came after the writer had watched several films and became concerned about the level of preparation…. And it looks like they were right to be concerned, because the authority says the undead do not yet appear in their emergency plan. Anyone think they could be zombie awareness officer; could they please get In touch with Leicester City Council? 

The recession has sparked a new level of comradeship amongst neighbours not seen since WWII, we’re being told today. Millions of us love our neighbours. The Mail says it’s all down to the ‘common hardship suffered by the entire nation and the conversations neighbours have shared about their situations’. It takes them about a tree’s worth of paper to tell you that though...40% of us say we now regularly chat to the neighbours over the garden fence about how the recession has affected us. And one-in-ten of us say we've made new friends as a result of ‘recession bonding…’ Yeah, until they need something more than a cup of sugar. Then I’m not answering the door… 

ALMOST half of us have stopped writing letters. A study by has found 42% of us would rather send a text or an email than put pen to paper...Emails also dominate communication in the workplace...51% of us prefer to send them to colleagues rather than speaking face to face to them! 

Two thirds of men have no idea the lengths their other half goes to – to look her best. Girls average 5 hours per week in the bathroom plucking, fake-tanning and waxing. 28 per cent of men are unaware women do things like pluck hairs from their chin, wear false eyelashes or file their nails. A sneaky 18 percent of women say they purposely keep their partner in the dark about their beauty regime and amazingly 1-in-20 claim their bloke has NEVER seen them looking 'au natural'. However, this is probably a good thing... Because looking at some beauty routine’s - some women end up looking like the incredible hulk with cucumbers on their eyes.. 

Half of Brit Blokes are flops and cannot rise to the occasion, were being told this morning... A survey says alcohol was mainly to blame for the bedroom let-downs. 19% have struggled to rise to the occasion when they were sober but 31% have suffered problems after a boozy night out. Two-thirds of married men refuse to discuss the issue with their doctor and one in eight is too embarrassed to talk about it at all. 

MILLIONS of us have admitted we shamelessly lie and cheat to get our own way, new research shows. Faking pregnancy to get a seat on the bus and pretending to cry when we’re losing an argument are just some of the underhand tactics we use. They reckon both men and women are equally guilty of using sneaky tricks to get ahead. The ideal of fair play is most often abandoned in the car and on public transport. 4 out of 10 of us say we have pushed ahead of others to get the last seat on a train or bus, while a similar number race other drivers to get ahead in a queue of traffic. A third admits they regularly compete with strangers to nab a parking space. The researchers found that 6% of us – more than 2.8 million people – resort to some form of emotional blackmail to get their way. As many as 750,000 women and, more surprisingly, 450,000 men fake tears during an argument. Stats also show that 44% of women have pretended to be pregnant to get a seat on public transport. 

Sales of extra-high heels have quadrupled this year as women splash out on looking glamorous. General shoe sales are up 10% on last year - but those of heels between four-and-half and six inches high have soared by 400%. Best-sellers include bright red styles and heels with sexy lace details. 

Josie from Athersley had a go at Look Who’s Talking, she thought that 7 year old Grace from Hemingfield was talking about a bead...sadly it wasn’t right so the prizes will roll on to 8:20 in the morning!