maribago bluewater resort

I love the place.....

New hybrid London bus debuts

New hybrid London bus debuts


London Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled an all-new London bus. It uses an efficient hybrid drivetrain that makes it the most fuel efficient bus ever to hit the capital.

Built by Wrightbus, the as-yet-nameless double-decker also sees the return of the traditional open rear platform, allowing passengers to jump on and off quickly.

It features two staircases to make embarking and disembarking quicker and the open back can be closed off if necessary.

Passenger comfort has been prioritised, too. The bus has a torque limiter in first gear to allow it to pull away smoothly - so falling over in the aisles should be a thing of the past.

It is packed with modern technology, including an aluminium spaceframe chassis similar in principle to that of the Audi R8 supercar.

The diesel-electric hybrid drivetrain uses a battery-powered motor at the rear to boost power. It also improves economy by making less work for the diesel engine. Noise will be lower than ever.

The battery is charged by a generator linked to the 4.5-litre diesel engine. Hybrid buses are already on the streets of London, but Wrightbus claims that this is the most efficient by some way.

Testing will begin in early 2011 at a closed track, before the bus hits the city's streets later that year. The current London bus will be gradually phased out from 2012 and this version will eventually make up the entire 8,000-strong fleet.

Highest earning athlete

Professional golfer Tiger Woods has been off his game since his extramarital affairs were exposed last year, but he's still the world's highest earning athlete, according to the 2010 rankings.
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Woods claimed the top spot on a US list of 50 athletes for the seventh consecutive year, though his total earnings fell 10 per cent to £59.53 million, according to Sports Illustrated.

His total is also down 40 per cent from £84.15m in 2008.

The US magazine publishes separate lists for US and global athletes, but you can see the overall top 10 at the bottom of the article.

Tennis star Roger Federer, at £40.63m, bumped football player David Beckham from the top spot he had held the last two years on the international list.

On that international list, Federer jumped from number nine last year as his earnings doubled, while Beckham slipped to number three at £26.64m, behind FIFA world player of the year Lionel Messi at £28.95m.

Rounding out the international top five were Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo (£26.31m) and boxer Manny Pacquiao (£24.99m).

Federer was second overall in the rankings but Beckham is only seventh.

Overall, the average earnings for the entire US list of 50 athletes rose 11 per cent to a record £17.25m, and were up 1.7 per cent to £19.7m for 20 international stars.

Woods's earnings for the 2010 list are comprised of £13.5m in earnings and £46.08m in endorsements from such sponsors as Nike Inc and Electronic Arts Inc. Woods's endorsement earnings fell £14.48m from last year's list.

Woods's personal life took centre stage for fans after a car accident outside his Florida home last November brought to light extramarital affairs and led him to make a public apology. He has played several tournaments since his April return from a self-imposed, five-month exile but has yet to win.

Rival golfer Phil Mickelson came in second on the 2010 US list (third overall) at £40.56m, and the US top 10 included four players from the NBA, led by LeBron James at number four (£30.12m).

The US top 10 also included boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr (number three at £39.64m), two Major League Baseball stars, including Alex Rodriguez at number five (£24.34m), and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning of the National Football League (number nine at £20.28m).

Basketball player Allen Iverson, number eight on last year's US list, dropped entirely out of the top 50.

Tennis player Maria Sharapova was the only female athlete to make either list, ranking number 20 on the international list at £13.1m.

Overall Top 10

1. Tiger Woods - Golf (£59.527,723)

2. Roger Federer- Tennis (£40,627,103)

3. Phil Mickelson - Golf (£40,556,493)

4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. - Boxing (£39,636,452)

5. LeBron James - Basketball (£30,117,628)

6. Lionel Messi - Football (£28,946,700)

7. David Beckham - Football (£26,640,962)

8. Cristiano Ronaldo - Football (£26,312,100)

9. Manny Pacquiao - Boxing (£24,993,547)

T10. Alex Rodriguez - Baseball (£24,335,598)

T10. Ichiro Suzuki - Baseball (£24,335,598).

norman house christchurch

The Norman House in Christchurch was built near to the original castle keep around the year 1160, to house the castle’s Constable. It is a rare survivor of twelfth Century domestic architecture and is notable for having one of only five remaining Norman chimneys in Britain, as well as one of the earliest garderobes or toilets, which overhangs the adjacent River Avon. Although roofless, the walls stand to full height in places, offering examples of some fine window tracery and other early stonework of the period.

Christchurch castle

Christchurch Castle is located in Christchurch, Dorset, England (grid reference SZ160927). It originated as Norman motte and bailey castle raised around 1100 by Richard de Redvers, cousin of Henry I. A great tower was built later probably about 1300. Nearby on the banks of the mill stream is the Constable's House which is a notable example of a Norman Domestic Dwelling.
[edit] Castle

The castle saw military activity in 1147 during the war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. It was also involved in the Civil War when it was initially a Royalist castle. As a result of this it was slighted in about 1652. The castle is now in ruins. A couple of the keep walls remain, surrounded by a rectangular moat.

Originally known as Twynham Castle. The motte and part of the early 12th century keep, which was 3 stories high with walls 9' thick, still remain surrounded by a rectangular moat. Next to it stands the remains of the Constable's House (below) which was added in 1160. The castle was demolished in 1652 after the Civil War.

christchurch priory

The Christchurch Priory Through 900 Years Saxon and Norman: 7th Century AD to 12th Century The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles record that in 634AD Birinus, a missionary priest sent by Pope Honorius landed in Britain and in 635 baptised King Cynegils of Wessex. It was thought that he might have founded a Saxon Priory at Thuinam as a base for his work in this area, as part of the Pope's general plan to re-introduce christianity to Britain.

Christchurch Priory(Thuinam near a fine harbour and at the confluence of the Rivers Avon and Stour would, in those times, have provided sea communications as well as access to an extensive hinterland by the two rivers, which in the case of the Avon was navigable as far inland as Salisbury).

There is no specific evidence for this, however, but it is reasonably certain that there would have been a church here in the 9th century when Thuinam was sufficiently important to be included in King Alfred's list of fortified boroughs. The Domesday Survey of 1086 records that there was a Priory of 24 secular canons here in the reign of King Edward the Confessor (1042-1066).

In 1094 Ranulf Flambard, a chief minister of King William II (Rufus) began the building of a Norman church on the site of the old Saxon Priory. A paragraph in the Christchurch Cartulary (1312-1372) states: 'Flambard (the Norman founder of the present Church) destroyed the primitive church of that place and nine others that had been standing below the cemetery. The nine others probably referred to nine individual monastic cells grouped around the main building.

In 1099 Flambard was appointed Bishop of Durham, but work continued under his successors in the office of Dean of Thuinam Priory, and by about 1150 it would have comprised a basic Norman cruciform church namely a nave (up to Triforium level) with its north and south aisles; probably a central tower; and an apsidal-ended quire extending eastwards from the crossing at the nave to about as far as the sanctuary steps in the present quire.

During this period of the 12th century it is probable that the legend of the Miraculous Beam originated, a legend which changed the name of the town from the Saxon Thuinam to the present day Christchurch.

Arches

located: surrey road, bournemouth
taken : saturday july 3, 2010
Time: 6pm
really like it when i saw the twins arch..