12/03/2008 by admin.

Yes folks its festival time in cheltenham, Horse racing is the main event, so much so there should be about 220 -240 000 people attending it over the 4 days.The feature race will be on tuesday The Smurfit Kappa Chapion Hurdle.

Wednesday we have the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Thursday is Ladies Day - also the long distance hurdlers.

Then Friday will be the highlight of the festival with the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

There is nothing quite like the crowd shouting out there horses name as they approach the final hill. such an atmosphere.

Will you be their or will you just watch at home either way you can share in the fun.

So i thought when i saw this, I thought you would like to know about it ….

So have great time and good luck .

Recommended Read : Cheltenham Festival Guide 2008

By :Paul Jones

Posted in Sport, Gambling, Competitions, Art and Books, General | Print | No Comments »

06/03/2008 by admin.

This is an Easy way to search for a product you are looking for. Just type into the box and press enter.

How easy is that.

but that not all there is to this box, Once you are in MY SHOP you can search by price range.

Give it ago you may find just what you have been looking for eleswhere.

Posted in Mobile Phones, Pets and Animals, Jewellery and Watches, Health and Personal care, Gambling, Electrical Items, Digital Camera's, Sport, Shopping, Gifts, Motors, Food and Drink, Video Games, DVD, Music, Art and Books, Bargain's, General, VHS, Entertainment, Software, Computers, Garden, Fashion, Uncategorised | Print | No Comments »

05/03/2008 by admin.

Are you raring to experience the adventure of a lifetime? Does the idea of sailing your own boat across the blue sea into the horizon with only the power of the wind and your sailing skills to guide you excite you? Are you up to the challenge of sailing? If your answer is yes, then you should consider enrolling at a sailing school to hone your skills as well as to learn the fundamental techniques and maneuvers you need to become a sailor.

Many people say that sailing is actually a very easy sport to learn. Even if you don’t have previous experience sailing, you can enroll at a sailing school to learn the skills and the techniques of a good sailor. Getting in a sailing school will ensure that you get standard skills. There are many sailing schools in most coastal areas equipped with boats and manned by instructors who can turn a beginner into a skipper.

Sailing schools provide a more systematic way of learning how to sail. Before enrolling, inquire about their programs, the types of boats they have, how long the lessons will take, and what certifications the schools offer. You can also ask about the flexibility of their schedules. The type of boats the schools have should also be considered. You can learn the basics faster on a small boat before moving on to bigger boats.

Sailing schools can range from those that are run by private individuals to those that are nationally recognized and accredited. You can ask around and look up a sailing school nearest to your area. Some sailing schools have also established their presence on the web so you can check that out too. Learning how to sail has to start somewhere, and a sailing school is the perfect place to learn and love sailing.

Sailing provides detailed information on Sailing, Sailing Vacations, Caribbean Sailing, Sailing Schools and more. Sailing is affiliated with Caribbean Sailing Vacations.

Recommeded Read:  RYA Competent Crew (A RYA training publication) By Royal Yachting Association

Posted in Sport, Holidays, Entertainment, Art and Books | Print | No Comments »

06/11/2007 by admin.

Men, are you taking the good approach when you are trying to get male six pack abs?

What you first need to realize is that is more than making abs exercises. In fact, you can do hundreds of repetitions of abs exercises a day, and still look fat. Why? Because getting great abs is way more than just doing crunch style exercises. You must also:

-Change your diet.
-Do cardio.
-Take care of your overall health.

Also, the idea of getting male six pack abs can be a little deceiving, because there’s a genetic factor to the whole idea of “six pack abs”. Some people never get this kind of definition, if not for certain periods of time. Do you think models have a six pack all the time? Or body builders? Well, then you are wrong because they always do a diet specifically for a contest or photo shoot. Most body builders look fat when they are not preparing for competition.

So, there are some key point you must need to do to get a nice flat and defined stomach (which not only means it will have the ripped six pack abs):

1. Do a lot of Cardio. Interval training is great to lose weight, what this means is that if you are running, you run a minute with your full capacity and four minutes with your normal capacity. Cardio is running, jumping rope, swimming, hiking, climbing - anything aerobic. This training will also take care of your body as a whole. Cardio is the best six pack abs exercise.

2. Reduce fat and sugar levels. Can’t be any simpler. Sugar is really bad it doesn’t have any nutritive benefit to us and it is addictive. (Why don’t you think even some salty products have sugar?) Do this slowly cause I know it can be hard.

3. Have Patience. If you are serious about having six pack abs, then you know it is a matter of time and a change of lifestyle. Don’t try to push things too hard, or you’ll risk getting frustrated and quitting at any opportunity. Everybody knows about yo-yo diets, they are not only useless, but can also bring serious consequences to your health.

Recommended Read: Six-Pack Abs in 60 Days: The Easy Way to a New, Slimmer Midsection
By Robert Kennedy, Dwayne Hines, Dwayne Hines II

Posted in Sport, Teens, education /psychic, Health and Personal care, Art and Books | Print | No Comments »

04/10/2007 by admin.

Volleyball originated in United States and is more than hundred years old. Volleyball is an extremely popular sport in United States and has gained popularity in various other parts of the world. It is estimated that 46 million Americans play volleyball and there are around 800 million players of volleyball worldwide. In the year 1895, William G. Morgan, thought to mix the elements of baseball, basketball, tennis and handball into one game. He thus created a game called mintonette, which was later called volleyball. The first game of volleyball was played in the year 1896. Earlier, the ball of basketball was used for playing volleyball. In the year 1900, a special ball was designed for the sport. The ball of volleyball now weighs between 9 and 10 ounces and the ball pressure is between 4.5 and 6 pounds

Volleyball is one of the most energetic sports. In volleyball there are typically six players in one team. There are two teams playing against each other. Each team has three players in the front and three players at the back of the court. In between the two teams there are high nets to separate them. The teams use their hands and arms to hit the ball back and forth over the net. The ball should not fall on the ground.

Volleyball can be played indoors as well as outdoors on a rectangular court. The field is divided into two equal half-courts. The rules of volleyball are fairly simple. There are six players on each side. The server of the ball should serve from a line on the court called the restraining line or the end line. It is necessary that the ball is clearly visible to the opponents before the serve. The ball may be served overhand or underhand. The served ball may graze the net and fall to the other side for a point. The maximum hits allowed per side are three. A single player cannot hit the ball twice in succession. If so, it is considered to be a foul. The ball may be played off the net throughout a volley and on serve. A permissible hit is contact with the ball by a player body above and together with the waist, which does not permit the ball to perceptibly come to a rest. If two or more players contact the ball concurrently, it is considered one play and the players concerned may not partake in the next play. A player must not attack a serve. Switching positions will be allowed only between front line players and that also after the serve.

The scoring of the game is also quite simple. Rally scoring is used in volleyball. The game of volleyball is typically played to twenty five points. There will be a point scored on every score of the ball. Scores will count on a defence miss or out of bounds hit. Defense will score on an offensive miss, out of bounds hit, or serve into the net.

***Recommended Read - Volleyball (Know the Game)
By English Volleyball Association

Posted in Sport, Teens, General | Print | No Comments »

25/09/2007 by admin.

I am NOT certified to teach swimming, but am in teaching business. [I have taught scuba diving and have swum for 55 yrs.]

I have all my students do the same thing and I hereby share these with you–in the pool instruction–too.

a; the water is not your friend or enemy. It is a chemical entity. NOT more, not less.

b; 95% of fresh water has some softness to it permitting FLOATING. I require all my students to get comfortable with the water before swimming. Swimming is not automatic nor a born skill and thus, without basic skills, one can die in 3 feet of water.

c; most instructors teach immediately, the different “strokes”; Australian Crawl, breast, side, back, etc. I do not. Those come after one is comfortable in the water.

d; after one gets used to standing and then kneeling in the water, I teach breath holding. Few instructors teach swimming underwater. I find that absurd. IF one is not adept at swimming underwater and one is not in a shallow body of water and one wants flexibility, swimming underwater can be a God send. [many good swimmers do not like being underwater!]

e. After one can hold their breath comfortably, and has no fear of water, we kneel down and look around us underwater, with or without a mask. We become friends with the water.

f; After one has accomplished the above, it is time for the most important life-saving component of swimming; floating. SO many people have drowned because of exhaustion when they were in water over their head.

So, after one is “at home in the water”, we roll onto our back and move our legs and arms around a bit to keep afloat. We initially hold our breath because we will sink often till we can synchronize our movements and the air in our bodies enabling us to stay afloat. I can stay afloat on my back hours at a time–it can go from being very relaxing to very boring.

g. Now, we learn to kick. We need to learn to kick the swimming way and soon thereafter, using a stroke. If we kick INEFFECTIVELY, we get a lot of motion and splashing and little movement in the direction of our choice. So, we grab hold of the edge of the pool and while we are in the water, let go of our standing position and let our bodies float to the surface. We simply experiment with different movements of our legs. The straighter we can keep our legs, the more FORWARD motion we will generate.

h. NOW, it is time to learn to swim! AND, no matter where you are in the pool;

If you get tired and don’t happen to be near the side and you are in over your head, you can just roll over and float and push yourself to a shallower end.

All swimming seems to start with the Australian crawl but I prefer that being stroke #2. I prefer teaching a sloppy “breast” stroke first, as it is easiest and generates forward motion with the least specific things to do.

To do a breast stroke, one “lies” in the water IN THE SHALLOW END TO BEGIN WITH, [on top of the water], and we bring our [two] hands together about 6 inches out from our face, and we smoothly push the water out of our way, while concurrently, kicking with both feet. [We also CUP our hands so that we push the most amount of water with each movement.]

IF we begin sinking, we move our hands and feet faster. If for some reason, we cannot stay afloat, we twist our bodies around and seek to float.

We also learn to play as we learn to swim; we learn what results we get when we move our hands and our feet and our head. Some UNCOORDINATED movements will still provide some forward movement and an assurance that we stay afloat. The more coordinated we get, the more we stay on top of the water [if that is our objective] and the faster movement we get in our choice of direction.

Lastly for now,

i. Swimming –or, doing the Australian Crawl.

We take a breath of air, then, keeping our bodies floating, we can go faster if we do not turn our faces to catch a breath of air, so we hold our breath for 2-4 strokes. In pure crawling, one grabs breath at each stroke.

—The problems novice swimmers have; they demand air at all times instead of practicing EASY breath holding. IF we get comfortable with the water and learn there is nothing there to harm us, and learn to hold our breath, and be comfortable with water IN OUR noses–we can swim under water and above water and we can be in control! When we get tired, we get out of the water. IF we get tired quickly and are many feet from the sides, we roll over and IN A RELAXED manner, float. AS we float, we aim ourselves to a side.

People panic because they are in deep water or cannot breathe at any moment they want to. Practice in holding one’s breath a few seconds longer and longer will almost eliminate one’s panic when the time comes the body is tired and not near a pool’s side or are swimming in a river, lake, or ocean. By turning over and floating, one saves his life! Once one has turned over and gotten one’s wind, one can again turn over, face the shore–and begin casual swimming -or–turning over and –as one floats, aim oneself to the shore while floating! While it sounds complicated, it is the opposite; relaxing and comfortable and one need not hold one’s breath when good at floating!

NOW, save your life and your friend’s life.

… and NEVER ever [in my opinion] enter the water that is over your head, voluntarily without knowing how to swim EVEN if wearing a life preserver of any sort.

[Panic kills, the water does not kill!]

Recommended Read - Master the Art of Swimming: Raising Your Performance with the Alexander Technique
By Steven Shaw

Try the Sports page

Posted in Sport, Teens, education /psychic, Art and Books, General | Print | No Comments »

25/09/2007 by admin.

Skateboarding is a fascinating and fun sport that is growing rapidly. To help you get the most from skateboarding, below are a few tricks and tips that can be very useful.

Here are a few skateboarding tips to get you started.

• Overcome the fear of having your back face the transition
• Learn how to stall properly
• Learn how to gain momentum
• Never let your edge wheels hang up

Here is a list of some of the most popular tricks.

• Stall
• Backside 50-50 on transition
• Frontside 50-50 on transition
• Frontside 5-0 on transition
• Ollie
• Kickflip
• Kickflip nose manual

One of the first things that a skateboarder needs to learn is how to stall. This needs to be done before you attempt to move on to other tricks. Stalling helps you to get familiar with your weight placement which aids in other tricks. Once you have accomplished this move you are ready to move on.

To perform a stall start off with a good amount of speed and as soon as the trucks on the back of the skateboard reaches the coping turn and make your heel edge wheel roll onto the top of the coping. Put your weight over the heel edge to help you get up on top of the coping. Once you have accomplished this, continue by setting your front truck down and finish off the stall by dropping back in, lift up your front truck then kickturn into a tranny. Avoid hang ups by putting weight on the toe edge.

The Backside 50-50 on transition is one of the first tricks that most skaters learn. Begin with more speed than you need to simply perform a stall. When you approach the coping turn slightly so you will be at an angle, this will allow you to ride the coping. The more momentum you have the further you will be able to go before dropping back in with the kickturn.

The Frontside 50-50 can be very intimidating for many skaters because your back is facing down the transition. However, once you get over this fear you will be amazed at all the tricks you will be able to accomplish. Gain momentum and go straight up the transition. When you near the coping turn because, instead of your heel edge wheel you want the toe edge wheel of the back truck to hook as far as possible over the coping. Begin with the back truck first and then set down on your front truck. You need to keep your weight mainly on the toe side of your skateboard.

To do a Frontside 5-0 transition you must get on top of the coping and scrape some metal. Get up as much speed as possible, turn putting your body weight to the front then lock your back truck onto the coping. After some practice and learning how to keep your balance you got it made.

The Ollie will be the next trick that you need to learn followed by the kickflip and the kickflip nose manual. As you may have noticed learning one trick will help you accomplish the next one. For instance, knowing how to do the Ollie will help you accomplish the kickflip, which in turn helps you learn the kickflip nose manual. Take your time and learn one trick at a time. Before you know it, you will be a skating pro that knows all the tricks and tips to success.

Recommended Read - Skateboarding: Book of Tricks (Start-Up Sports)
By Steve Badillo, Doug Werner

Try the Sports page

Posted in Sport, Teens, Entertainment, Art and Books, General | Print | No Comments »

25/09/2007 by admin.

Scuba

Everybody knows what scuba diving is; it is the diver with the air tank on his back and a mouthpiece. The basic scuba set-up is a tank of compressed oxygen on the diver’s back, with a line to a mouth piece. The oxygen is delivered through a mouth piece, allowing the diver to breath. Your carbon dioxide is then either released into the water, or, in self-contained systems or rebreathers, back into the tank. Few people actually know that scuba stands for something, however. The word ‘scuba’ is actually an acronym for “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus”. Scuba diving is, of course, different from unassisted diving. The history of scuba is quite recent. The biggest advance on the path to scuba diving came in the 16th century, when people started using diving bells to pump air from the surface to people underwater. Needless to say, things have advanced a fair bit since then, although the diving bell remained an important method for centuries. Scuba diving as we know it really came together during and after World War II.

Why is scuba diving such a popular sport?

It is hard to think of a sport or hobby more exciting or rewarding than scuba diving. First off, scuba diving gives you access to underwater life in a way nothing else can. The vast majority of the world is underwater and waiting to be explored! When you scuba dive, you become one of the few people to have ever ventured into this exotic world to any degree. The world’s seas and oceans are some of the last few undiscovered places on our planet - that is why scuba diving is so awesome. There is also the fact that it can be absolutely beautiful under the water. If you have ever had the opportunity to go scuba diving off the coast of Australia along the Great Barrier Reef, you will know how amazingly gorgeous life under the sea can be. Scuba diving can even give you the chance to search for buried gold and treasure. From the Caribbean to the Mediterranean to the Great Lakes to the English Channel, there are countless shipwrecks waiting to be explored.

Risks associated with scuba diving

It should be noted that, despite being an amazing hobby or sport, scuba diving can be dangerous; after all, you are putting yourself under water and hooking your lungs up to a tube of air. If something goes wrong with your air or you become trapped, then you will experience obvious difficulties. The most common injury related to scuba diving is a result of changes in air pressure. As you go deeper underwater, the pressure around you increases. If the pressure becomes too much, you can rupture your eardrums or damage your sinuses. And if you come up from underwater too quickly, you can also get ‘the bends’, also known as decompression sickness.

How to become a scuba diver

Before getting into the water, it is important that you receive the proper certification from your national certification board to be a scuba diver. Indeed, many rental agencies will not rent you equipment without proof of certification.

Recommended Read -The Certified Diver’s Handbook: The Complete Guide to Your Own Underwater Adventures
By Clay Coleman

Try the Sports Page

Posted in Sport, Travel, Holidays, Art and Books, General | Print | No Comments »

17/09/2007 by admin.

The sport of soccer, known as football to most of the world, has produced some great soccer players over the past years. Perhaps the most famous of all is Pelé, who amazed the world with his incredible ability to maneuver the ball in a way it hadn’t been done before. Pelé retired more than twenty five years ago but he is still a household name on the lips of soccer players and fans around the world. His story of rising from poverty in Brazil to soccer superstar is a source of inspiration for young soccer players everywhere.

Another soccer great is Pavel Nedved. Pavel is well known both in his homeland of the Czech Republic and around the world as one of the youngest soccer players of all time to make a lasting impression. Pavel played for Sparta in the 1990’s and scored many goals for the team from 1992 to 1995.

The world has seen many players who have been the focus of extreme soccer skills, but none so well known as Zinedine Zidane. Zidane was born in Algeria in 1972 and after struggling in school for several years he decided that soccer was his main interest. He was spotted at the age of sixteen by a soccer scout and very quickly found himself in Cannes. Shortly after that Zidane was playing for the French Division, scoring goal after goal and becoming the star of the team.

Today one of the most popular soccer players is David Beckham, who is the star of Great Britain when it comes to the game. At sixteen Beckham was playing for Manchester United team and was already attracting the attention of soccer scouts around the world. Beckham’s incredible talent found him on England’s World Cup Team in 1997. His handsome looks and boyish attitude make him one of Britain’s favorite celebrities.

The world of soccer continues to give us up and coming stars, but none can ever rival the status that the above players have earned.

Recommended Read - David Beckham: The Great Betrayal - The Inside Story of How Britain’s Greatest Football Club Lost Their Greatest Player
By Virginia Blackburn

Posted in Sport, Teens, Art and Books, General | Print | No Comments »

17/09/2007 by admin.

If you have children then you will no doubt want to share as many activities with them as possible. One which teaches children quite a few useful life lessons and can develop into a lifelong passion for them is fishing.

When you are fishing with children one of the most important considerations is safety. You need to assess what kind of fishing you are going to be doing. There are so many different variations of fishing options, and you need to make sure you select one that is suitable for the children you will be bringing along.

Regardless of how strong a swimmer your children may be, they must use life jackets. Additionally, it is imperative that you have a first aid kit with you. We all know, after all, how easy it is for children to become scratched or cut by hooks and other parts of fishing gear.

Get your children their own personal fishing tackle boxes. This will not only make them feel as though they are in charge of their own equipment, but you will be able to obtain a children’s version of equipment for them to use.

You don’t have to spend too much with this. Simply purchase a few essentials to start with, and as their interest grows, they can decide what they would like to add to their collection.

After you have shown your children how to land their fish by initially playing with it, let them take over. As long as you are on hand to help out as needed, they will love the freedom of being able to battle with fish by themselves and feel quite proud when they reel in their first catch all by themselves.

It is normally best to introduce a children to fishing early in life. This is useful in many ways. The younger children begin, the more they will take in - although never take a child who is too young to understand what is going on. Early life experiences also provide children the opportunity to see the how fish are cleaned and realize that this is not a disgusting practice but rather part of the fishing trip experience. You can also let your children learn as you go concerning the rules of fishing. Doing this will help keep fishing fresh in their minds.

You can never be completely sure that your children will take to fishing as there many factors that could detract from their attention. Your initial trip out on the water could be a slow day and you might not even get a bite, let alone haul anything into the boat. This could result in your children becoming bored. If this happens don’t loose heart. Let your children know that this not unusual when fishing. You never know, you could turn their initial disappointment into a plus as your children may become more excited about finally catching a fish next time.

Children love to feel as though are in charge of doing almost anything, and fishing is ideal for this. Fishing is a great learning adventure, and doing this together should prove to be a wonderful experience.

Recommended Read - Fishing with Dad: Lessons of Love and Lure from Father to Son
By Michael J. Rosen

Posted in Sport, Teens, education /psychic, Entertainment | Print | No Comments »