Christmas

Just how wise were those three wise men? If they had only been more discreet when they spoke to King Herod, he might never have ordered that terrible slaughter of the innocents. It can't have been comforting for Jesus to know that so many babies died just so that he could be the only child with a divine pedigree. Mind you, as all the others were killed, it ruled out any possibility that the magi had picked the wrong kid. As we know, Christmas has pagan roots. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, it incorporated several ancient festivals and pagan traditions.

* Saturnalia
The customs of gift-giving, indulgent feasting and having fun comes from this Roman festival Saturnalia - which was celebrated around 17th of December. Saturn, to whom the festival was dedicated, was the Roman God of agriculture and plenty. Presents symbolised the redistribuion of wealth from rich to poor during the season of greatest hardship and the rich would lay on big feasts to feed their poorer neighbours.

* Mithras
The ancient festival to mark the solstice on 25th of December was to celebrate Mithras, the Roman God of Light. Traditionally the festival marked the renewal of hope and is believed to have been taken up by Christians as the birthday of Jesus around the fourth century.

* New Year's Eve
Decorating the home with greenery is today seen as a Christmas tradition, but originated from the Roman celebration for New Year's Eve. Dedicated to the two-faced God Janus (who looked both forward and backward ) Romans would have torch-lit processions, sing songs, have their fortunes told, give presents and decorate their homes with greenery to symbolise new life. Other ways of celebrating Christmas were adopted more recently. and were once peculiar to northern Europe. Typical of these, is the Yule log, which is believed to have arrived in Britain only in the 17th century. One theory is that it originated in the Germanic paganism that was practiced across northern Europe before Christianity; others argue it came from Anglo-Saxon paganism,
practiced in England in early medieval times. The Yule Log was seen as a protective amulet and also a source of rivalry between neighbours.

Leonardo's Codices

Leonardo da Vinci is one of the outstanding figures of the Rennaissance and of all time. An entirely self-taught intellectual giant, he was endlessly curious about the physical world.
His amazing notebooks reveal the breadth of his research into areas as diverse as anatomy, architecture, botany, geometry, engineering, mathematics physics, painting, including his extraordinarily understanding of what the future would bring like robots, airplanes in anticipation of modern technology.

During his life, Leonardo produced thousands of pages of notes, sketches and designs 'about anatomy and other interesting things ' (extract from a letter of an agent for the Duke of Ferrara) these pages are called codices, manuscript pages that are bound together in a book form. However, Leonardo's manuscripts were not always grouped together in this way.
Although Leonardo had organized his papers prior to his bequest to his student, Francesco Melzi, the manuscripts have unfortunately not been maintained in that manner. Melzi's heirs were terrible curators. Individual pages were sold chaply to collectors. Folios were re-arranged and separated. The individual that did the most damage was a sculptor from the court of King Phillip IV of Spain. His name was Pompeo Leoni. In an attempt to sort artistic drawings from technical drawings, he disassembled, re-organized, rebound and in some cases completely lost many of Leonardo's papers.

Amazingly, some of the documents were so completely lost, that they weren't found again until 1966 ! What a year that was for the National Library of Madrid ! They found two bound manuscripts, which are now referred to as 'Madrid I and Madrid II ' At present, approximately 5,000 pages are accounted for, in various museums and libraries. I will mention a brief resume of a few of the 20 Leonardo's Codices. For me, the most startling is the CODEX ATLANTICUS. This is the largest collection of Leonardo's manuscripts that has ever been assembled in a series of 12 leather bound books. Within this collection, you can find some of his designs for automatons or robots. Of particular interest, are the pages on gliders and flying machines. Most of Leonardo's aereal machines were designed after he studied birds. In his notes he recorded, " The bird is an instrument functioning according to mathematical laws, and man has the power to reproduce an instrument like this, with all its movements". There is written evidence in this codice, that Leonardo may have flown one of his gliders when he wrote:

" When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there, you will always long to return '

Leonardo built a working model of one of his flying machines and on January 2, 1496, he recorded in his notes that he was going to attempt to fly it the next day. It is unknown whether he did try it or not, but judging by what he later wrote on a note to himself to try any more flying experiments over a lake where he would be less likely to be injured in a landing. Suggests that maybe he came down with a painful thump on the ground as later on this same Codice Atlanticus he has drawn a design for a parachute which might have been conceived to allow for the safe escape of ny pilot from a flying device.

This Atlanticus Codice also includes studies for some of his paintings like The Battle of Anghiari of which we talked about earlier and where recently, an Italian professor has claimed that this painting is behind Vasari's other battle painting.

THE CODEX FORSTER
One fascinating element of this Codex is information that lead Prof. Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo ideale of Vinci, to discover that Leonardo had developed one of the original synthethic plastics. The material was organic, non-toxic and unbreakable. Prof. Vezzosi has recreated the materials based on notes from this Forster Codex. The Forster manuscripts were lost for a number of years. When they resurfaced at the end of the 19th Century, they were purchased by Earl Edward George Lytton, and subsequently inherited by John Forster and it was finally bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1876 and it remains there to this day.

THE MADRID CODICES
There are two. One and Two, which are bound in red Moroccan leather and these codices are an engineer's delight, full of widgets, gadgets, gears, and inventions, dated between 1490 - 1496. Madrid II, is primarily a treatise on Geometry, and was written by Leonardo between 1503- 1505. Although these manuscripts thought to be lost, they resurfaced in 1966. The manuscript now resides at the National Library in Madrid.

CODEX ARUNDEL
This codex aludes to the properties of water and it even has a description and a drawing of a pre-historic sea-monster. This codex is only rivaled in size and scope only by the Codex Atlanticus, since it covers Art, science, and technology in addition to studies in geometry, weights and architectural projects for the Royal residence of the King of France. It currently resides in the British Museum.

CODEX LEICESTER
It was purchased by Bill Gates for $30.8 million. This manuscript dates from 1506-1510, it covers a wide varity of topics. It only has 72 pages and this is the only manuscript that's in private hands. So we cannot see it.

Leonardo da Vinci and the church

In the year 1492, Italy faced troublesome years ahead as the death of Lorenzo de Medici threw the nation's political system off balance and paved the way for an invasion by the French. That August in Rome, Rodrigo Borgia became Pope and Christopher Columbus put out to sea to set foot in the New World just over two months later. In April 1492, Lorenzo de Medici, the powerful and highly respected ruler of Leonardo's native Florence, lay dying. When lightening struck the cathedral dome, the extraordinary Dominican preacher, Girolamo Savonarola took it for an omen, thundering at his congregation ' Behold the sword of the Lord, swift and sure over the peoples of the earth ! ' and he warned the Florentines that terrible times lay ahead for the church and the state.

By 1527 Rome was ransacked by German troops, while Michelangelo worked for the Medici in Florence. Pope Clement VII was held prisoner and was soon to face another crisis - Henry VIII, desperate for a male heir, wanted to divorce his wife, and if the Pope refused his permission the dominion of the Catholic Church in England was at risk.

Against all this historical background, here we are in the year 2009. Now the Vatican is openly ackowledging extra-terrestrials beings associated with Jesus Christ ! The same church which squashed other religions in the New World as heathen.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci has been described as the greatest genius the world has ever known, and for good reason. He was a dreamer inspired to be a painter, a sculptor, an architect, a musical composer, a writer and an outstanding inventor. He designed an aeroplane and a submarine 500 years before they appeared in the twentieth century.

A genius is a visionary and a visionary is a dreamer. We are all dreamers and we may all be visionaries but we are not all geniuses. The difference between the da Vincis of this world and others, is that they can pluck a thought or an idea that comes to them in the still of the night, in a dream and create from it reality. To them, the true world is their inner world. Above all, they are good listeners, not only to other people but to that small, quiet voice within.

Dreams of the famous and infamous throughout the ages have without doubt helped to make history and shape our present way of life. In essence, however, their dreams are no different in any way from our dreams. We all have prophetic dreams, warning dreams and inspirational dreams just as they did, but if we do not accept them as sources of power and original thought, and acknowledge that we can obtain from them all information and solutions we can possibly need during our lifetime, they will be content to remain in the background like shy friends.
Recognize them, however, and immediately they step forward and begin to put our house, the mansion of our soul, in order. But, llike Professor Kekule said, we must first learn to dream.

DREAMS, ART and SURREALISM

Biblical and historical dreams have provided artists with exciting subjects to paint since at least the eleventh century but it was not until the surrealist movement came along that dreams were psychologically captured in essence and in feeling. Surrealism, the name given to an artistic group in France in 1924, endeavoured to express dreams, the action of the unconscious mind, on to canvas. Although nightmares were no stranger to the imagination of the artist, Goya in particular excelling in this respect, none had tried to convey the atmosphere and symbolic message of the dream-experience until this time. 'Surrealism is based on a belief in the omnipotence of the dream', said Andre Breton, often called the Pope of the Surrealist movement.
Reaching its heyday in the 1930's the influence responsible for its emergence was clearly that of psychoanalysis. With Freud's emphasis on free association of ideas, laced with sexual repression and Jung's symbolism; paintings appeared that shocked the world to its artistic roots. And even today there are those who, not caring to understand dreams, let alone art, dismiss this art as total rubbish.

Salvador Dali's paintings, with titles like ' The Persistence of Memory' 'The Birth of Liquid Desires' ' The Spectre of Sex Appeal' are clearly reflections of Freudian-type dreams. Melting telephones and furniture, watches, crutches, barren beaches. Eerily produce appropriate, dreamlike atmospheres of general un-ease and obsession. In contrast, Max Ernest, with his 'Robing of the Bride' and 'The Eye of Silver' fills his scenes with archetypal forests, blazing suns, bird-headed women, rocks towering to the sky, silent swamps and mysterious figures all very much in keeping with the traditional Jungian concept of dreams.

Other artists in this group went on to paint anxiety dreams, portraying strong feelings of fear and terror in one form or another. Hypnagogic dreams were a popular subject, too, showing images falling half-way between sleep and the waking state. Here to stay, surrealism certainly opened the door on our inner world and in so doing, contributed in its own way towards a better understanding of art, ourselves and, of course, dreams too, for dreams are very much like paintings.

Dreams In Art and literature

Before Freud described the dark battles going on in the minds of men and Jung unveiled the world of the collective unconscious filled with prototypes and symbols, poets, writers and painters had long since discovered all this, and more. Their dreams had been mines of information on every subject under the sun, inspiring them to reflect on the profound psychological and paradoxical nature of man.

Expressing that confrontation of repressed savagery and open benevolence present within the authors and other artists, we find literary revelations that could easily have come straight from the confidential casebook of a present-day psychiatrist. The fears of hell and visions of horror were therefore recognized ages ago, as aspects of one's darker unknown self.

Neither Freud's generation, nor Freud himself, should have been surprised by his discoveries concerning man's true self if they had read earlier literature. The symbolic paradise dream, set in a personal garden of delight, was seen and written about in terms of compensation and wish-fulfilment, a long time before it received the analytical Freudian treatment. Throughout Shakespeare's work, run themes and references to sleep and dreams conveying those states of reality and illusion between which we so often find ourselves trapped.

The author Robert Louis Stevenson who was fortunate in that he remembered most of his dreams, in his book 'Across The Plains' he described how complete stories came to him during sleep. Each night he would pick up the fantasy-thread where he had left it the night before and carry on from there. In Shakespeare's Hamlet we find: ' To sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub; for in that sleep of death what dream may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil ?

GHOSTS

I liked Victoria's ghost stories very much and as we have been talking about unusual phenomena, time travel and the fourth dimension, I thought we could continue to talk about ghost stories. I have never seen a ghost apart from distant red stars, which died long ago and their light has taken a million light years to get here to earth but I have experienced some unusual and uncanny happenings like the one more than 30 years ago, when Peter and I had not yet married. Late at night, I was reading my book alone, waiting for a phone call from Peter who was in the U.S. at the time, when the lights started flickering not all at the same time, first, the bedside table lamp on my side of the bed and then on Peter's side and afterwards the lights from the ceiling started to flicker as well. I waited for a little while and the lights all went back to normal, so I turned them all off and went to sleep. During my sleep, in a dream, I saw Peter's father, he sounded anxious and told me that he wanted to give his son an important message; he asked me if I could go and use the ouija board that had been left in our living room. I replied that I was afraid to use that board and if he could just tell me what was his message for Peter was, he replied it had to be written down, I felt mortified that I was not helping him the way he wanted and I was just promising him to remember all what he told me. He just disappeared and I felt frustrated not knowing exactly what this message for Peter really was.

The next day, someone called Nicky called to ask for Peter. I said that he was in the U.S. she said it was urgent but refused to tell me what it was about and that she would talk to Peter when he got back home; that morning Peter called me and when I told him there were urgent news for him here at home, the lights started flickering quite dramatically, so I remembered to tell him about my dream last night and how the lights suddenly started flickering all through our conversation. When Peter came home from abroad, we learned that his father had passed away on the night that I had had my dream.

Powys X-Files revealed

Today there is an exclusive report in the Powys County Times an exclusive report by Richard Jones news@coountytimes.co.uk whether there it's allien activity or natural phenomena as the reports of UFOs have flooded in this summer from across the county. In his very intriguing report, Richard has interviewed people who have also taken photos of what they have witnessed. Whatever the explanation, experts agree that the number of suspected flying saucers has hit unusual highs this summer. Phillip Hoyle, of the UFO Investigation and Research Unit in Shrewsbury, has enjoyed a busy and exciting summer visiting people who have reported sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects.

In an exclusive interview with the County Times, he revealed "There seems to be a concentration of orange sphere reports around the Newtown and the LLansanffraid area, many witnesses are reporting seeing orange spheres in particular over hill farms around Newtown. Other witnesses are describing not spheres but cigar shaped craft with lights or windows along the side. He said, " I met up with Frederick Kershaw, who was driving from Llanfyllin to Llansanffraid when he saw a cigar shaped craft flying very low over his car. "

" A similar shaped craft was also seen just above tree top level and was described as looking like an iluminated railway carriage in size and sighted just outside Knighton." "What is also very interesting is that farmers in these areas are observing odd lights in the sky at night above their farms and bizarrely discovering the next day their animals dead."

"What is going on, is there a connection to these strange animal deaths and the unconventional lights in the sky ? Kay Jones, who lives on the outskirts of Welshpool, saw three spheres appear in succession at 10.45p.m. on Saturday night, but unlike the Newtown sightings, they were not orange, but an incredible shade of vivid green. The lights seem to pulsate and were almost in the bedroom with her. She told me how it left her too shaken to move for a few minutes, and when she looked at her bedside clock, it appeared to have lost an hour." "Since that experience, Kay has had a persisitent headache on one side of her temple, which she is unable to get rid of. "

"At 11p.m. on Sunday July 12, Susan Blake of Bettws Cedewain, told me how she witnessed a large shining bright light approach her house, and as it got closer she could clearly see a disk shaped object with a dome on top. She said, it appeared to land hehind trees, and it was silent, definitely not a helicopter. I have checked with RAF Shawbury and Nesscliffe and they had no known operation flights at that time."

"Emma Richards, of Trehafren, Newtown, observed orange spheres in groups of three, which then tripled in size and became translucent. They then shot through the sky and disappeared above a field by her house. Her husband also sighted three similar orange spheres while driving on the A 470 over the Brecon Beacons between Builth Wells and Rhayader and managed to take photos of them. " By examining these reports for colorations, sometimes it's possible to create a projected flight path of the spheres and many reports that the Brecon Beacons are a hot spot activity and even might be the origin of of some of the orange spheres. "

"On May 28, another person I have met up with, James Hall, was travelling back from Dolanog towards Llanfair Caereinion with his daughter. It was 11p.m. when they came across three orange lights hovering in the sky, two of the lights moved off very fast and disappeared, the other light was left just zig-zagging. Further afield, Ian Hawkins was camping late May at Shell Island when he sighted three orange spheres coming over the sea towards him, they were totally silent before two of the three spheres ascended into the clouds. "

"Another witness, Mr. Ian Welch, from Bala, North Wales, claims he has been in contact with beings not of this world and has many high quality photographs depicting totally unconventional aerial craft. The message related to this encounter witnessed by the occupants of these crafts is very clear and profound, mankind must stop its relentless pursuit of material gain and its favourite past time of tribal warfare, and work for the unification of all nations and work in harmony with the planet and its life forms."

"Also, at Bala a Breakdown Mechanic, Andy Carter, was travelling alongside Bala Lake, en-route to a stranded vehicle. His attention was drawn to a bright orange light, irregular in shape, and resembled something in flames or burning. Many people are still of the belief that all these orange spheres are no more than chinese lanterns but if they are lanterns they must be built by NASA, as many do not conform to any conventional type of aircraft and display intelligent control and advanced technology "

The newspaper then appeals that as more and more sightings are being reported, a picture is developing indicating areas where the UFO activity is concentrated, if any reader would like to report their own sightings contact Phil Hoyle by e-mail at phil.hoyle@yahoo.co.uk or by phoning 01743- 245574.

SWINE FLU DISEASE

The illness started in a part owned U.S. pig farm company called Smithfield Foods. Very recently, they have tried to clean up their act, putting on a real show hosing down visitor's cars and requiring visitors to wear white smocks etc. but the people of La Gloria know better. One sixth of their population of 3,000 have been suffering from severe respiratory problems for years. The other part of this pig farm is owned by Granjas Carroll of Mexico, a mega farm that employs an industrial technique known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations which produces and processes as many as a million pigs a year. Residents of La Gloria, have spoken of the 'manure lagoons' emanating from the facility which they blame for a range of illnesses.

In North Carolina in the U.S.A. near Raleigh, there is a river called the Neuse. Suddenly fish were dying of the most terrible diseases and people were becoming sick. After an intense study of the causes, they found the problem was coming from all the pig farms stationed around it.

There is a film I recommend called ' Pig Business' : Behind the film they tried to ban by Tracy Worcester. It is a ground braking expose of U.S. industrial pig farming conglomerate Smithfield Foods. The film has met with repeated attempts at censorship by Smithfield's company lawyers. In here, she explains how England's libel laws have helped stall the film's general release and stop the world learning more about the environmental realities of intensive livestock rearing.

After a showing of her film 'Pig Business' at the Royal Society of Arts on the 13th of November 2008, Channel 4 which was scheduled to broadcast the film in the New Year, received two letters from lawyers acting for Smithfiled Foods of America the world's biggest pig producer and processor. Fearing the legal might of a $12 billion company threatening to sue, channel 4 pulled her film just before broadcast on February 3rd 2009.

To prepare for the worst, Channel 4 made changes to accord with England's business-friendly libel laws and the U.K. T.V. standards administered by OFCOM. Despite a further two threatening letters channel 4 broadcast the film on its More 4 Channel on June 30th. Not even the tabloids are immune from Smithfield's threatening letters, both the Daily Mail and The Evening Standard have received warning letters for reporting about the film. So did the Polish T.V. station Szczecin T.V. and the Polish National Geographic magazine - the latter was requested unsuccessfully - to apologize for an article that reported on water and air pollution near a pig farm or face legal action.

On the day of a showing at the Barbican Arts Centre in London on 27th May 2009, Smithfield's lawyers told the Barbican management that the film was 'defamatory' as a result, the audience was made to wait half an hour whilst the executive producer and the film producer were told that the showing would only go ahead if they signed a document agreeing to indemnify the Barbican, putting it in her website would apparently expose Tracy Worcester to Smithfield's litigation in every jurisdiction. So the message will have to be spread guerrilla - style i.e. below Smithfield's radar.

For another nine days, the film will be on Channel 4's website there is only one way for you to make up our own mind on whether this film is defamatory or fair and balance reporting - you will have to watch it

Tracy Worcester is an environmental campaigner and filmmaker. Visit the pigbusiness website here.

The War in Afghanistan

British forces have been fighting eight long years in Afghanistan and instead of making progress, one soldier a day has died; fifteen soldiers have died in just two weeks. The goal posts have changed several times. Anti-narcotics was the original goal in the early days.

When are we going to know if this is worth it ? Why are Western lives being lost to support a corrupt government in Afghanistan ? Is there really a chance to create a national entity in one of the most corrupt governments in the world ?

We set out our objective, but now we are not clear what that objective is. Are we in there forever ?

As more British soldiers are losing their lives, in the meantime they must toe the line. Now the goal posts have changed, Afghanistan cannot be turned into a democratic state over- night, it is absolutely an unfeasable undertaking and we should move out of State building. It is not realistic; it is not realizable through military methods. The British forces are being asked to do something unatainable and the politicians are asking them to lay down their lives for something that is can't be done and they do not have a moral obligation to do what you cannot do. People have paid a high price for this. It is an unwinable war, we should not be there. We are a foreign force fighting a war against the Afghan people. Why are we there ?

Received Letter from The Queen ( Part II )

On this chapter we are going to discuss what the Queen does, as that was not addressed in the previous monster long thread. Its amazing how the last thread developed into everything under the sun ! including Existencialism, Religion, the role of the Monarchy, Central America, World Empires, Philosophy, beggars in the streets etc. So here, there will be extra space to carry on answering all those thrilling questions that were left out of the ink bottle !

I Received A Letter From The Queen !!!!!

Oh I was so exited when I opened her letter with her crest on the envelope and her letter-head.
Victoria, I imagine you would like to know what her Majesty had to say, so without much ado I will write down the content of her letter.
2nd July, 2009

Dear Mrs. Birchwood

The Queen has asked me to thank you for your recent letter expressing
your concern that Her Majesty did not receive an invitation to attend the
D-Day sixty fifth anniversary celebrations in France.

The Queen has received a number of letters on this subject and I have
been instructed to forward your letter to the Right Honourable David
Miliband, MP, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
so that your approach to Her Majesty may be known.

In the meantime, I am to thank you, once again, for taking the time and
trouble to write as you did, letting The Queen know of your views.

Her Majesty was grateful for your kind words of support and loyalty.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. Sonia Bonici
Senior Correspondence Officer

HEIR HUNTERS BBC 1

We have had wonderful reviews from the media already ( national newspapers and a radio show in Northern Ireland )

On the Daily Express Matt Baylis wrote on his newspaper article titled: ' Dying To Find Beneficiaries ' the following:

Heir Hunters ( BBC One )
Looks at the work of a very peculiar prefession. Probate researchers hunt down the families of people who died without leaving wills, and, in return for a fee, unite them with never-imagined fortunes. Part private detectives and part family historian, the average private family historian, the average probate researcher is quite an interesting figure and, as the makers of this series have proved, pretty good to follow.

There is something lovely about people getting a knock on the door and a gift from beyond the grave. But that alone would make a boring programme after the first five minutes. An heir hunter's job is more frustrating than that, as last night cases demonstrated. Records are often wrong, and lines of enquiry lead down blind alleys or just peter out. A great deal of work, all too often, seems to lead nowhere. But what turns this process into engaging viewing is the back-story - the truth that's there, all the time and without which, all this painstaking effort would never have been required and their fate reminded us how close each and every one of us might be to the same thing: At one moment a person, with a job, friends, a busy life, at the next an entry on a form, a puzzle for a researcher and nothing more. Heir Hunters, on the of it, seems like a feel-good programme - actually it chills you to the bone. "

In Northern Ireland a radio show was talking about the Heir Hunters show wondering which one of the three main Heir Hunters company was the best. A caller came forward where he said Celtic Research had been wonderful to him in dealing with a case that the other three major companies refused to take on and that we had successfully helped him in a matter dealing with land. Another listener called us to our office telling us, what he had heard on the radio show as he had exactly the same problem, the person on the radio show described, so he decided to give us a call and now, we will try our best to help him too.

We are very happy how the show is going.

Always Check the Signature !

Another famous painting is in doubt as to who could have painted it and experts now believe it has been mis-attributed. This time, is ' The Skating Minister ' long thought to be the work of the Edinburgh artist Sir Henry Raeburn. The Skating Minister is the most emblematic image of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, it has been reproduced on millions of posters, Christmas cards, mugs, coasters and books. But Stephen Lloyd, senior curator at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, believes that it is by Henri-Pierre Danloux ( 1753-1809 ) a "refugee" court painter from France who stayed in Edinburgh during the French Revolution in the 1790's. He points out that the picture is different from any other work by Sir Henry Raeburn. The picture is smaller, unsigned, and the brushwork is "more reminiscent " of Danloux, less so of the more famous painter's "robust style" The canvas is also of a traditional type, while Raeburn preferred a canvas with a herringbone weave.

Neither the case of El Coloso (The Colossus ) a painting long attributed to Goya nor the case of 'The Skating Minister' is yet settled. The Colossus has the marks of Goya's genius, its fearful and sublime idea, the pugilist giant rising up behind the world, could have been one of his ideas. The Skating Minister is a different pickle: Its unlike any other work by Raeburn, but much better than any other work by Danloux. As the art critic Tom Lubbock says: " In its teetering balance between dignity and absurdity, between statis and speed, it creates a work of high comedy that's rare in painting anywhere. It's a work of genius- but whose ? It lingers in an uneasy limbo: a marvellous painting that has, in effect, arrived from nowhere. It will be a long time before people give up finding an author "

THE HEIR HUNTERS Series 3 Celtic Research Stories

Today, they have sent us the new schedule of the new television programme of our company to be shown on BBC I on the 1st of July. Not sure about the time slot, but I would imagine it will be around 9 A.M. It kicks off with the Gibbs & De Keyser case.

The latest episode in the series dedicated to finding heirs to unclaimed estates. This is the case of a man who thought he had no one to leave his money to and the story of a high-profile anti-apartheid activist with an unclaimed estate of £250,000.

Hector Birchwood of Celtic Research is investigating the compelling case of Ethel de Keyser. Leaving Lithuania for South Africa in 1926, Ethel became an anti-apartheid activist after the imprisonment of her brother. and as Hector delves deeper, his attempt to find anyone entitled to inherit her substantial estate highlights the brutal world of South Africa's apartheid regime and the appalling events of the Sharpeville Massacre.

Then on the 8th of July. Hector Birchwood is delving into the mysterious case of Arthur Aldrick. He died in 2005 aged 85, leaving behind an unclaimed estate worth a hefty £350,000. A distant heir is discovered, but that's just the beginning of the story. Intrigued, Arthur's heir is soon on the case and as she investigates his wartime record in the intelligence service, it begins to look as if he may have had an important role to play in cracking the Nazi's infamous Enigma code.

On Thursday 16th of July Researcher Saul Marks from Celtic Research is investigating the case of Sylvia Casson who died in 2008 at the venerable age of 97. As Saul probes deeper in to her case, he uncovers a compelling story of a family forced to flee Russian persecution in the 1880's and of a young girl defying the Blitz and Nazi ' terror weapons '. But just as Saul seems close to cracking the case, an unexpected development threatens to undo all his hard work.

On Wednesday 22nd of July Hector Birchwood is delving into the case of Kenneth Yale. He died aged 79 in a Glasgow hospital after having led an apparently unremarkable life. But as Hector explores further, it becomes clear that the Yale family has a skeleton in the closet and someone is about to have to come to terms with a startling discovery.

On Thursday 23rd of July This is the case of Christopher Bett who died leaving an estate worth £100,000. As he was adopted after his mother died, his adoptive parents are legally seen as his blood relatives. Soon its all hands to the pump for Fraser and Fraser ( our competitors ) as the race to track down surviving heirs, picks up pace. But competitors ( us ) are doddging their every move and, as Christopher's family tree takes the shape, an already overstretched team is forced to spread the net even wider. Next stop Australia.

On Friday 31st of July, At Celtic Research Peter Birchwood is examining the case of Peter Sharpe, a man who died at the relatively young age of 57. As he investigates, he makes the surprising discovery that the brother of the deceased lives a mere 10 miles away and yet is totally unaware of the death. So why did the family members lose toch with each other ? And what memories will be stirred up by the knowledge of such an untimely death.

I hope you enjoy it.

JUNE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

Another rat who has abandoned the ship, Hazel Blears resigned yesterday, James Purnell today Bravo ! at this rate the rats are departing faster from Parliament than the newspapers can keep up with the very latest resignation. Good. At least it won't be necessary to burn down that beautiful building to get them all out from there. Robert, at this rate, your dream about not having a government will finally become true !

A few months ago, Belgium did not have a government for several months and most people did not even noticed it. Belgium carried on working as usual. The trains were on time, the schools were open, every one went to work as if nothing had happened. When you think about it, Parliament takes a few months holiday every single year and the rest of us do not even notice it either. Maybe it will be cheaper for the tax payer if all the politicians took a permanent holiday. They won't be missed. Besides, the laws are designed only for their own comfort and convenience, not for the rest of the people. The only thing is, if the Labour government goes out now. It will serve as a smoke screen in order to divert attention for not changing the crooked expenses system. That is the aim. We will have to see what will be the outcome of this election. I hope Labour comes out last, I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind voting for them, except their family and friends and also the quangos who stand to gain from it. This is a unique time the electorate has to really trash them and put them where they belong... in the bin.

MAY IN MADRID

Hi Robert, Victoria and Dougie !

I had a fun filled birthday party and I laughed like I hadn't done so in years !

I am pictured here with my art teacher, a professor from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid and his wife Macarena. The blond one, is my cousin Patricia and her fiancee Dr. Rafael Garcia, an oncologist and without a shadow of a doubt, the most handsome doctor at the Ruber Hospital in Madrid. On another photo, Peter is caught eating a strawberry jelly. The atmosphere was great and the venue at The Palace Hotel was really excellent; the food, the attention, the music, everything. We were 13 of us and everyone had a jolly good time, a day to remember as long as I live. They all had such a good time, that I even had a request to celebrate my birthday more than once a year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERT

Have a really lovely day on your 29th birthday and I hope you get many nice things. Did you get my nicotine patches yet ? heh,heh,heh

The MPs Expenses Scandal

This is too important to ignore. As the shameful disclosures by my new favourite newspaper: The Daily Telegraph keep coming out, with revelation after revelation of how the dishonourable Members of Parliament mis-use taxpayers money to line up their pockets, I really do not think things are going to be the same for politicians in the U.K. anymore. Most people didn't know what really went on with the expenses; there were some constituencies where the people didn't even know who their MP was, let alone the rip-offs they were up to. Now, we have to thank the courageous decision of the Daily Telegraph which dared to publish the names and misdeeds of those who abused the system quite spectacularly. Now, the guilty ones say it's the system that was wrong. It's not the system that is wrong, it's the MPs who are wrong and they know it. Imagine the idiot David Chaytor who said that he had "made an unforgivable error " when he claimed nearly £13,000 in interest payments for an interest mortgage that he had already paid off. I mean... how can he explain away that ? this is fraud, he faces a criminal inquiry into his expenses.

The police, have been reluctant to get involved after several previous failed political investigations, but they have been left with little choice following serious allegations of fraud, and growing public anger. The Metropolitan police have received a number of complaints from members of the public about MP's including the Cabinet members: Alistair Darling, Geoff Hoon, Baroness Uddin and the former Minister Elliot Morley, who recently resigned after his misuse of public money was published by the Daily Telegraph. Lawyers have said that Mr. Morley's expenses claims could constitute a criminal offense under the 2006 Fraud Act and the 1968 Theft Act. Morley, who was a minister for nine years under Tony Blair, blamed his " error " on "sloppy accounting" he was claiming £800 a month for 18 months after his mortgage had already been paid off and when he was caught, he said it was " sloppy accounting " How can anyone forget that they have already paid their mortgage off ? Does he really expect us to believe it ? The only good thing that has come out of this is, that all the three major political parties have got together and agreed to form the Coallition of the Fraudsters because somehow it's not their fault! Oh no. " It's the system's fault " and they now say they need an independent body to tell them what is proper to do and what isn't. If they cannot tell the difference between what is proper and what isn't, then they have no business in Parliament. The whole lot should go. Having an £8,000 Danish television on expenses is a luxury not a necessity, a crystal chandellier is a luxury, having your moat or your swimming pool cleaned up ,are luxuries ! Anyone with half a brain can see that. Heads are beginning to roll and a few resignations have taken place but that its not enough. Criminal charges have to be brought up and made to stick, if they want people to believe in politicians again.

MAY IN SCOTLAND

We are heading to Edinburg, Scotland on business tomorrow. So on Sunday, I will have a chance to see their National Gallery. I am looking forward to being there, as it has been several years now since we last visited Edinburg . It will be a flash visit but I will be back on Tuesday. I have to devise a way to write on this blog whilst I am away. I couldn't get access from my lap-top. Take lots of care and have a great weekend everyone.

New Jack the ripper book

So what happened to the maxim: ' Never Judge A Book By Its Cover ' ? It seems to me that the established ripper authors are trying to ban a book not for its content but are just judging it for its cover. Pathetic ! and nothing, absolutely nothing that happens at Nut-casebook surprises me anymore. If you are not in their tiny little club, then they will make sure their lobby of a few little number of people will try to make sure your new book does not have good reviews in the hope that the new author will go away and they will be the only people in the market.

Once, the author Stewart P. Evans one of the ripper authors asked me when will it all end ? When will people stop writing more books about Jack the ripper ? and I replied to him, so long as it remains a mystery, there will be more people writing books theorising who did it and you will just have to put up with it. They wish their theories alone are the ones that stand and they do not want any competing books who tell another story other than the one they have already written. It is not good for their sales which is the only thing they are interested in.

Attacking a book for its cover shows how narrow minded these people are. Specially on a photo which has been circulated on the internet over and over again. That is very petty.

Ireland in May

Hello Robert, Victoria and Dougie.

We have just returned from the Emerald Island from having spent nine days there, between Dublin, Navan and Longford. In Dublin, we stayed at the Shelbourne Hotel which is the oldest in town, founded in 1824 and is situated just around the corner from the National Gallery of Ireland so as you can imagine, I spent most of my time there, viewing the paintings and exhibitions in situ brought from the Netherlands from the most iconic images of the Dutch Golden Age. These paintings were borrowed from different art galleries and all date from the middle of the seventeenth century, when the Dutch Republic enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and the Delft art scene flourished. The masterpieces I saw, were specifically from Delft, paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Carel Fabritius & Pieter De Hooch. Downstairs, there was an exhibition by Thomas Roberts an extremely gifted Irish landscape painter who lived between 1748 - 1777 and who unfortunatelly died before he was 28 years old of consumption. I enjoyed his paintings, his detailed and controlled topographical works, and his keen understanding of the fundamentals of classical landscape painting in terms of recession, tone and balance. It just goes to show that Classical paintings are timeless and the day will come, when all this tat, that now passes as " art " will be cast aside as the rubbish it really is. Would you believe, that down the road from there, where Nelson's monument was before the IRA blew it up, it has been replaced by a steel mast ! at a cost to the tax payer of 30 million Euros. Its hard to figure out this is supposed to be " Art " I would say, con-artists did this.

In Longford, we stayed at a charming country estate called View Mount which had a really nice period house ( Georgian ) with impressive and beautiful gardens. One of them was a Japanese garden with a pagoda included. Their restaurant had superb gourmet food, served in four different courses and all the rooms have wonderful views to the gardens. In their library, whilst I was browsing one of their books, in one of the pages of an Irish history book I came across a painting by my Great-great-grand aunt, Maria Spilsbury; this is a painting I had never seen before. I will show it to you here.

Pencil drawings

Well just two. Impossible to photograph them. On the black and white drawing the head did not come out and on the colour pencil one, the legs did not come out and you can hardly see them. Never mind. I am too tired to take more photos so that will have to do. I do not want to be blamed if we miss the ferry tomorrow morning. My bags are packed and I am nearly ready to go. Bye for now.

Holy Week in Spain

Hi Victoria, Robert !

Going to Madrid was an impulsive decision. Peter wanted to go and I doubted whether we could get a room, since this is the time of the year when most people in Spain take their holidays and go out, but we were extremely lucky in getting a really nice one with a balcony overlooking the Neptune fountain and just a stone throw away from the Prado Museum. When we arrived to the hotel on Good Friday, there were blue barricades on both sides of the road and the crowds there were waiting to see the procession with the Christ pinned to the cross. It was only 3 p.m. and this procession was not going to be until 7 p.m. people were prepared to stand waiting for four hours to see this, but the best part of it was when finally 7 p.m. arrived and the procession was cancelled ! There was a lady who had come all the way from Ceuta to see this. I have no idea why, because Ceuta has their own noted Christ, with a real set of human hair and all.

The next day, we went to the Prado Museum to see a Victorian exhibition by the Pre-Raphaelite English painter called: ' The Sleeping Beauty ' by Sir Edmund Coley Burne-Jones. All of these paintings live in Puerto Rico, in the Ponce Museum so I am not likely to see them in England. There was also this huge painting about the death of King Arthur in Avalon. The theme was sleep, sweet dreams which was also associated with death in Victorian times. The roses, symbolised love survivimg death which was a recurrent theme in Rossetti's poems and paintings. Also there was the painting " Flaming June " by Lord Leighton. I enter the museum for free. Someone came to me, a complete stranger and gave me a visitor's badge. The badge allowed me to see all the exhibits including the Rembrandt one, so that was a real stroke of good luck. I think it was an angel who gave it to me. Most people do not normally make this kind of gesture.

Victoria's pictures from Antarctica

Robert, These are 4 of some of the wonderful pictures from Antarctica that Victoria took during her holiday there. I think the pictures of the penguins are really cute ! and the glaciers look like ice lollies or meringues on water.

Red Roses

Unfortunately, it doesn't register too well. The reds do not come as bright as the real picture and the mauves fail to appear. Never mind, this is my latest flower painting. If the real one was as ugly as the one that appears here, I would start again. The photo is very disappointing.

View from the back of my house

I did this painting as soon as we had moved to our home. Everything was in boxes, the house was bare and I had an empty room to just look at this view undisturbed.

It was summer, the colour of the sky was powdery blue, the farmer had just cut off the grass and there was this fresh smell of cut grass in the air so I parked my easel, took out my paint tubes, pallete and brushes and started to paint, I also wished everything stayed in its boxes forever so that my mind wouldn't be cluttered with other stuff in the room.

If I had to choose a few items in my life, it would be my painting gear that is the only thing that really makes me happy. The photos I have taken of this painting are not good. So I posted two to give you a better idea how the view looked in that lovely summer's day.

The latest on the Colossus of Goya

Francisco de Goya's most dramatic and famous picture - At least it was until January this year - when an expert at the Prado Museum declared it was not painted by him. They now believe it was painted by one of his assistants, whose initials may appear in a corner of the canvass. The final decision to remove Goya's plaque attributing the painting to him would be changed , followed by a lenghty study by the Prado expert Manuela Mena, which the museum published on the 26th of January.

Manuela Mena said X-rays of the picture had allowed her to spot the top half of the faded initials " AJ " scribbled in the bottom left-hand corner, which she said may point to it being the work of one of his assistants, Asencio Julia, who is known to have been Goya's main assistant in the later part of his life.

The news has reignited the controversy that first raged when the museum made it known last year that it had begun to doubt that the Colossus could have been painted by Goya. The Prado's expert also claimed the quality of The Colossus was far below that of Goya's other masterpieces. The brushstrokes were deemed: " slow and insecure " According to the report, it revealed an insecurity in the artist which did not match the bold, direct approach normally taken by Goya himself. The painting will continue to hang in its place but the plaque attributing it to Goya, would be changed.

Mothering Day

In most countries Mother's Day is celebrated on the 10th of May, but in Britain, we celebrate it in March. So, for that reason, I wanted to have her here, so that I can see her every time I look at my picture gallery. Thank you for your kind comments about my mother Robert, and just like you, I also thought she looked like a film star too, so once... at a gathering, when I was a little girl, I casually commented : " On the days mummy was a film star " to the other people. Very embarrased, my mother said: " No, I have never been in films, where did you get that idea from ? Its easy to get this idea by looking at this picture, which I was showing to the other children. There is another photo of hers in profile, where she is smiling and she looks far prettier than on this photo.

Mexico, the Maya Riviera

After a week in Antigua Guatemala, we made our way to the airport to catch our plane to Cancun. The traffic was extremely slow due to an enormous traffic jam. Once in the airport, we boarded a small propellor airplane and we made a stop over in the island of Flores, the capital of Peten province. Really beautiful. From the air you could see the clear crystal turquoise waters and the next thing we knew, was that we were in Cancun, where you can get either a taxi for 50 dollars or a mini-bus for 28 dollars to wherever you have your accomodation. Once at our hotel, where all the staff from our previous visits were still working, they greeted us and were very happy to see us and welcomed us back. We were given a really nice room. The view from the balcony was spectacular. It was a real joy to see the the sun rise every morning, as well as to watch from the beach side of the hotel, the wonderful sunsets every day.

The next day, we went to Xcaret, a unique nature park which has everything. It was the brain-child of a wealthy architect who wanted to build his dream home beside the turquoise waters of the Maya riviera, but upon stumbling on so many unique and special features on his estate, like Maya ruins, an old mine, cenotes ( which are places where the limestone has collapsed leaving swimming pools from underground rivers ) rare flora and fauna, he thought this was just too much to keep it just for himself and he wanted to share all this wonder with other people. So he asked his two brothers to join him in the venture of creating a mixture of a park, a resort and also a place of learning for all ages. To go to Xcaret there is no dress code, you can go there dressed just with your swimming suit, a towel and your flip-flops if you like, or how you feel more comfortable. We had gone there before in previous trips but the place is so huge, that it is impossible to see it all in just one day. So this time we headed towards the other parts we had not had a chance to see before and what a treat it was. We had not seen the marine side to it. We saw gigantic turtles swim in the aqua waters at different stages of their development until they are old enough to be released into the sea, which is done at night. We saw all kinds of algaes, sharks, rays, sea horses, star fish and fish of all colours: electric blue, yellow ones with black stripes, mottled ones, red, golden etc.

Before that, we had lunch at one of their restaurants which was like a huge hut that had an enormous buffet with so much to choose from, that you really wish you had two tummies to be able to eat everything that is on offer. We also enjoyed seeing the pumas in their natural environment, as well as the spider monkeys, deer. Also, they have an area where they keep and breed butterflies. That is really like the kingdom of butterflies: you go in through the mouth of a cave into a tiny canyon open to the sky but with netting over it to keep the butterflies inside. The first thing you see, is a water fall with tropical plants and the giant light- blue butterflies like fairies flying with their waffer thin delicate wings, they are not shy to humans, as they land on your shoulders or your head it was unreal and very beautiful.

January in Guatemala

What a change from walking in the balmy sunshine every day in Guatemala, also known as The City of Eternal Spring because the weather is just perfect. Not too hot, nor too cold and it has flowers all year round.

In Antigua Guatemala, the ancient capital, we stayed at a hotel called El Convento. It was recently renovated and they had kept all of its original walls, plus it had two patios a big one in the middle, plus another one on the side, with a small fountain. It was tastefully done without losing the character and feel of an ancient monument, the rooms had names instead of numbers. We stayed at the " ermita " room which had a small interior patio inside it, this sweet patio, had a small stone fountain encrusted in the ancient wall, the water flowed from the mouth of a lion, similar in size and shape to the lions you see in door knobs.

The shower room, had floors with beige flag-stones and on one side of it, it had the original wall whilst on the other, it had crystal clear glass, this elongated shower-room had a high ceiling with a sky-light roof, plus huge shelves at the back, made out of beige flag-stones, so when you walked inside it, it felt like if you were having a shower in the middle of the rain-forest.

The doors were all hand-carved. Each door had a different motif and so distinctive. It was refreshing not having to remember your room number. Out of the room, in the small patio, there was an iron spiral stair-case which led to the roof terrace and when you reached the top, you are greeted with spectacular views to the volcanos and blue skies. There was white day bed with comfy cushions to relax on, plus sofas and round tables and chairs. On Sunday, they had a buffet breakfast up on the roof terrace. It was a day to remember, the food was exquisite and the attention was such, that it did not seem like a buffet but a la carte menu; since once you had made your choice, the waiter would bring back your plate to your table. It was a perfect temperature and soft music was playing in the background. It felt like a dream.

The next day, we visited the Cathedral. This cathedral is only one third of what it used to be, since the terrible earthquakes brought down most of these huge thick walls and even though the walls were strong, they did not have the iron support needed to hold down the structure, so the walls and ceilings came crashing to where they have stood ever since. There is another colonial church which originally had 40 steps, now you can only see two steps, the rest were buried in the incandescent lava that became solidified. Also buried across from this church was the house which once belonged to Don Diego de Alvarado the Spanish conquistador of Guatemala whose wife died buried by the lava, along with all her ladies in waiting.

January in Mexico

Every holiday has magic moments. One of those moments was, when we were flying south-west of Mexico City. As I was looking through the window into a clear and unusually blue sky, not grey with smog, I could not believe what I was seeing at and excitedly I said to Peter: Look, look, look ! because very suddenly, right there, to my great delight and excitement, in perfect view we could see before us : Iztalccihuatl and Popocatepetl. Iztalccihuatl, is also known as " The Sleeping woman " because it has the uncanny resemblance of a woman lying on her back, over the top of a mountain. You can see her head, her long hair stretching downwards, her neck, the arms crossed over her chest, the legs, knees and feet as though she has a sheet over her body, running down through the side of the mountain.

There is a most popular legend about Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl, that comes from the ancient Nahuas, and there are also poems and songs telling this beautiful story which I will narrate as best as I can.

Many years before Hernan Cortez came to Mexico, the Aztecs lived in Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City. The Chief of the Aztecs was a famous emperor, who was loved by all his people. The Emperor and his wife, the Empress, were very worried because they had no children. One day, the Empress told the Emperor that she was going to give birth to a child. A baby girl was born and she was as beautiful as her mother. They called her Iztaccihuatl which in Nahuatl means " White Lady "

All the people loved Izta and her parents prepared her to be the Empress of the Aztecs. When she grew up, she fell in love with a captain of a tribe; his name was Popoca. One day a war broke out and the warriors had to go south to fight the enemy. The emperor told Popoca to cut off the head of the enemy chief and bring it back from the war to show his victory. Then Popoca could marry the Emperor's daughter. After several months of combat, a warrior who hated Popoca sent a false message to the emperor. The message said that his army had won the war, but that Popoca had died in battle. The emperor was very sad when he heard the news and when Izta heard it, she could not stop crying. She refused to go out and did not eat anymore. A few days later, she became ill and she died of sadness.

When the Emperor was preparing Izta's funeral, Popoca and his warriors arrived victorious from war. The Emperor was taken aback when he saw Popoca, and he told him that other warriors had announced his death. Then he told him that Izta had died. Popoca was very sad. He took Izta's body and left the town with his warriors. He walked a long way, until he arrived at some mountains where he ordered his warriors to build a funeral table with flowers and he put Izta lying on top. Then he kneeled down holding a fiery torch to watch over Izta until he died of sadness too.

The Gods were touched by Popoca's sacrifice and turned the tables and the bodies into great volcanoes. The biggest volcano is the Popocatepetl which in Nanuatl means: " smoking mountain"; he sometimes throws out smoke showing that he is still watching over Iztaccihuatl who sleeps by his side. Popoca's torch is still smoking as a reminder of what happened.

Cowardly Invasion of Gaza

The United Nations was supposed to have been created to stop this kind of outrage. It is day 10 of a ferocious unequal war, where the Palestinians are not allowed to defend themselves only to die in silence on the ground by the plutonium bombs unleashed by Israel and their chief ally : the U.S.A. who gives 5 billion dollars in military aid every year to Israel. The United Nations should hang its head in shame, as it has shown the world it is an innefectual organization, and for their inaction in defending the weak; they should all be made to resign and the United Nations as we know it, should be disbanded. The people in the U.N. should tender their resignations for the failures they have shown to be and replaced by another more equitative entity who has the political will to do the lifting of the siege and a ceasefire.

These are false supporters of human rights and their silence has shown them up for what they really are. It says a lot about the people who claim to care about the security of all people. The killing of the innocent women and children is a crime: something we should be asking these people about. For the past 10 days, we have seen the solidarity of the free citizens of the world. Their demonstrations in every major city in the world from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, to Washington and Israel shows there is a need to change this inefectual organization which should be called United Nothing, as it has done nothing to stop the siege or the carnage.