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My friend Etienne di Cosimo has written a new trivia book, about international pop superstar Kylie Minogue!!!
Pop Goddess. Diva. International Superstar. Soap Star. Fashion and Style Icon. Gay Icon. Sex Symbol. Humanitarian. Cancer Survivor. Fair Dinkum Aussie Girl. These superlatives can be used to describe only one person: The incandescent Kylie Minogue! Can't Get Her Out of My Head: A Kylie Minogue Trivia Book by Etienne di Cosimo is the ultimate love letter written for Kylie's millions of fans from across the four corners of the globe and is the perfect gift for all "Lovers"...
There are some red faces at Buckingham Palace in London today after it was revealed armed security guards mistook Prince Andrew for an intruder on the grounds of the royal residence and ordered the prince to prove his identity!
The 53-year-old Duke of York had apparently decided to take a stroll on the well-manicured grounds of the royal palace to enjoy the gardens and the early-evening sunshine when he was approached by two police officers with guns.
A royal insider has claimed that the officers pointed their guns at Prince Andrew, and ordered him to the ground before realizing who he was, but Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard insist that no weapons were ever brandished. The police force released this official statement: "On Wednesday, September 4, at approximately 6PM, two uniformed officers approached a man in the gardens of Buckingham Palace to verify his identity. The man was satisfactorily identified. No weapons were drawn and no force was used." The statement does not mention the identity of the man.
The incident comes less than 48 hours after an intruder who had scaled the security fence around the palace was discovered by officers on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The man was arrested and is currently in jail awaiting charges.
Needless to say, Prince Andrew is not very happy about the embarrassing incident, but at least the Royal Family know that the security officers given the responsibility to protect them are doing a very thorough job...
A shiny, brand-new 37-story skyscraper in the heart of London's Financial District is acting as a gigantic magnifying class, but instead of melting toy soldiers or burning up ants, it's melting luxury automobiles!
Martin Lindsay parked his Jaguar on Eastcheap near the building, dubbed "The Walkie Talkie" due to its unusual shape, and when he returned a little over two hours later, he discovered that the rear-view mirror had warped and melted, ostensibly from the bright sunlight reflecting off the building's many windows and onto his luxury vehicle. The construction company had left a note on Lindsay's car stating "Your car's buckled, could you give us a call?" The damage to the vehicle is £946 ($1400 US).
This isn't the first time this has happened. A few weeks ago, a van parked near the area also suffered heat damage and a plastic water bottle left on the dashboard had completely melted! Now, local residents have re-christened the building "The Walkie Scorchie".
The developers of the building have issued an official statement regarding the situation, stating "We are aware of concerns regarding the light reflecting from 20 Fenchurch Street and are looking into the matter." As a precautionary measure, the City of London has agreed to suspend three parking bays in the vicinity until the situation can be further investigated and a solution to the problem is found.
She won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the movie The Queen, and now actress Helen Mirren has stepped into the Royal Monarch's shoes once more...to grant one final wish to a dying boy.
After the real Queen Elizabeth was unable to fulfill the wish of 10-year-old Oliver Burton—who has Down’s syndrome and terminal spine as well as bone marrow cancer— to meet the monarch, Helen Mirren graciously offered to help make little Oliver's dream a reality. Mirren, who is actually portraying the Queen once again in the play The Audience on London's West End, arrived to meet Oliver dressed as the Royal, complete with a periwinkle dress and her requisite pearls. She also arrived with the Queen's beloved Corgis (the real love of the monarch's life, obviously!).
Mirren had a Royal Footman serve high tea and biscuits to the delighted Oliver, who has been battling leukemia for most of his life and was diagnosed with the disease at the age of three. This is the third time the precious young boy has battled cancer, and doctors fear that he may only have weeks or months to live. This makes Dame Helen's gesture even more beautiful, and we hope the real royal recognizes what she has done.
Little Oliver was none the wiser that it was actually Helen Mirren and not the Queen who was visiting him. Reports Oliver's father James Brown, "She was really lovely. She did the whole thing — had a butler there, was
dressed in costume and did it all properly for him.”
Parliamentary officials in Great Britain have signed on for a petition to re-name London's famous clock Big Ben in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee this year.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, as well as Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are among senior figures from all political parties who have backed the proposal to rename the clock the Elizabeth Tower. A total of 331 MPs have now signed up to the campaign.
The campaign is similar to an honor bestowed upon beloved Queen Victoria, who is the only other monarch to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee, which marks 60 years of rule.
Big Ben is the nickname for the Clock Tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster on the River Thames in the heart of London. Long the very symbol of the city of London as well as the entire UK, the tower was constructed in 1858, after most of the former parliament building was destroyed in a fire.
The UK Parliament's governing body, the House of Commons, is expected to meed by the end of June to officially adopt the name change for the world-famous tower. It is anticipated that the Clock Tower will be renamed the Elizabeth Tower, but it is expected to still be known colloquially by its nickname, Big Ben.
UK singer Dido has revealed she (quietly) gave birth to a son...this past July!
The beautiful "White Flag" songstress, who turns 40-years-old tomorrow on Christmas Day, has a son with her husband, writer Rohan Gavin. The super-secretive couple are believe to have married last year and live in relative anonymity in a quiet neighborhood in North London.
In an ironic twist of fate, the name of Dido's son has been revealed as Stanley, which is the name of her signature hit duet with rap superstar Eminem. The highly controversial song about a deranged fan named Stanley who is so obsessed with the rapper that he commits murder and mayhem, topped the charts in 2000 and featured a violent video starring Final Destination actor Devon Sawa as the mentally disturbed young man.
Dido, whose real full name is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong, went on to win Grammy awards for her multimillion copy selling album Life for Rent and was nominated for an Academy Award for the song "If I Rise" from that album.
High-end English department store Harvey Nichols has come under fire from animal rights activists for selling reindeer meat pate in a can. The product, which retails for $30, is described on the label as an "Arctic Delicacy", an "Indulgent Winter Treat" and a "Farm Raised Relative of Rudolph".
Animal rights groups are calling for the product to be removed from store shelves, claiming it exploits the killing and abuse of wild animals. The product, which is also available for purchase on Amazon.com, is produced and sold by a London-based company called Edible. The meat is said to be produced from Swedish Arctic reindeer and is cured in cognac and spices. Edible claims on their website that the meat is "delicious served on hot, buttered toast and with a glass of brandy." Constance Cooper, a spokesperson from Harvey Nichols, says "Our online stock has sold out due to the publicity and demand we've received. It's a seasonal product and stocks are limited so we will not be restocking prior to Christmas."
Activist group Vegetarians International Voice for Animals today urged Harvey Nichols to ban the product from its shelves. In a letter to the store, they wrote: "I understand that the reindeer meat you sell claims to be from farmed animals, this... raises concerns – as farming methods are likely to cause huge amounts of stress to animals used to relatively free range over wide areas."
The exclusive department store's Knightsbridge location announced it had already sold out of its stock of the canned reindeer meat and the product had also been removed from their online website as of today.
Superstar singer Adele is currently searching for properties to buy outside of London after specialists and doctors suggested leaving the city for fear the metropolis' high air pollution levels would damage her voice. The 23-year-old is said to be looking at properties in the area of West Sussex, located some 40 miles from London. The British capital is known locally by the nickname The Big Smoke.
The singer is still recovering from delicate throat surgery for a hemorrhaged vocal cord performed last month in Boston by Steven Tyler's doctor. She was forced to cancel the rest of her US tour, after having rescheduled many of the dates from a previous cancellation due to health and voice problems. She is reportedly desperate to be well enough to perform on the upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony, where she is nominated for a host of awards, as her 21 album becomes the top selling recording of 2011 in the United States. Her single "Rolling in the Deep" also claims the Number One song of the year honor in both the UK and US.
The singer plans to keep her £3 million London estate, and is said to be looking at properties in the £2-3 million price range in West Sussex and the surrounding area. Ironically, Adele mentioned London's air quality problem in her debut hit "Chasing Pavements" with the line, "I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque."
If it's damaging your voice, it's not so great, sweetheart...