Racing Information

Today's selection runs at Southwell in the Southwell-racecourse.co.uk Handicap, run over 7f. The selection is the Mick Channon trained Imperial Skylight, Tony Culhane rides.

Sunday 1st February 2009. Southwell 3.20

*Imperial Skylight*

Despite never having won in sixteen starts the 3.y.o Imperial Skylight has been running well of late and looks to have a good opportunity to get off the mark at today's weights. Good luck with this selection!

Beanz Meanz Heinz

On the 14th January I reported in the Journal that since the start of the economic downturn the sales of baked beans had increased by a staggering 22.6%. Yesterday, a second article caught my eye which was also on the subject of baked beans. A decade after Heinz dropped their Beanz Meanz Heinz slogan they are about to resurrect it. The slogan was penned by Maurice Drake in a London pub in 1967 and became one of the best known slogans in advertising. The advertisement was dropped in the 1990s amid concern that it drew attention away from other Heinz products.
John Alderman, Marketing Manager for Heinz Beanz says "Heinz Beanz has been successfully nourishing generations of growing families in both good and bad times for over 100 years. Well, the bad times are back and as from today so to are those 'Beanz Meanz Heinz' advertisements on our television sets. Bearing in mind times have changed since the original advertisements last appeared on television, 10 years ago, it will be interesting to see if they are still as effective.

Today's Smile - Height Of Discretion

Six retired Irishmen were playing poker in Monaghan's flat in Dungarven when Shaun O'Toole loses £700 in a single hand, clutches his chest and drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen brother, the other five continue playing standing up. Michael Lennon looks around the table and asks, "Oh, me boys someones got to tell Shauns wife. Who will it be?" They drew straws. Cavan Colquhoun picks the short one. They tell him to be discreet and gentle and not to make a bad situation any worse. "Discreet? I'm the most discreet Irishman you'll ever meet. Discretion is my middle name. Leave it to me." announced Cavan. He goes over to O'Toole's house and knocks on the door. Brenda O'Toole answers and asks what he wants. Cavan declares "Your husband just lost £700 and is afraid to come home." "Tell him to drop dead!" snarls Brenda. "I'll go and tell him" says Cavan.

Who Am I

Below are a series of clues as to the identity of a well known personality. Study the clues carefully and see if you can work out who this person is. Good luck!

Who Am I

01 I was born in London in 1935
02 I came from a wealthy Jewish family
03 My mother was Polish and gambled 8m pounds in the seventies
04 I was Editor of the Cambridge student rag 'Varsity'
05 I have interviewed several film personalities including, James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich
06 I have directed many British and American films
07 I regularly appear on television
08 I am sure you will guess who I am.

The identity of the personality will be revealed in tomorrow's Journal.

Looking Back - Columbia Space Shuttle Tragedy

On this day in 2003, the US space shuttle Columbia broke up as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere killing all seven astronauts on board. Six of the seven astronauts were US citizens. They were Rick Husband,William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown and female astronauts Laurel Clark and Indian-born Kalpana Chawla. The seventh member, fighter pilot Colonel Ilan Ramon, was Israel's first astronaut. Columbia was just sixteen minutes away from landing at Cape Canaveral, Florida when it disintegrated. Debris from the shuttle was scattered across eastern Texas and western Louisiana, crashing into car parks, forests, backyards, a reservoir, a rooftop and a dentist's office. A piece of insulating foam from an external fuel tank was blamed for the tragic accident, it is thought it hit the shuttles left wing as it took off. The shuttle was famous for being the first reusable space vehicle. Columbia was the oldest of a fleet of four, having flown her maiden voyage in 1981. It was the first time in 42 years of American space flight there had been an accident on landing.
President George Bush announcing the tragedy to the nation said: "The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors." Sean O'Keefe Nasa's administrator said: "This is indeed a tragic day for the Nasa family, for the families of the astronauts and likewise, tragic for the nation.