Is Facebook Spying on users?

Facebook has come under a lot of scrutiny recently after it started telling users about online purchases their friends had recently made. The Beacon opt-out scheme collected information about each users' purchases and then automatically told their friends what they'd been buying, by displaying the info in their news feeds.

After much criticism, Facebook made this 'service' an opt-in scheme instead of an opt-out scheme, meaning that you now have to give Facebook explicit permission. But it seems this is not the end of the story.

The controversial Beacon tracking system will allegedly report back to Facebook information on all your online purchases regardless of whether you've opted in or not. The only difference is that if you choose not to opt-in, this data will not be displayed to your friends.

Stefan Berteau, a researcher at Computer Associates, tested the Beacon system and found that Facebook was still receiving his private data. It didn't matter whether he opted in or out, and it didn't even matter that he was logged out of Facebook at the time.

Facebook: the silent witness

Facebook was being informed of his actions on certain retail sites, regardless of whether he had given his permission for such details to be shared.

"I then checked the network traffic logs, and was dismayed to find that [even when logged out of Facebook], data about where I was on Epicurious, what action I had just taken, and what my Facebook account name is was transmitted to Facebook," he says on his blog.

"The first two cases involve the transmission of user data despite 'No thanks' having been selected on the opt-out dialog, and are causes for deep concern. They pale, however, in comparison to the third case, where Facebook was receiving data about my online habits while I was not logged in, and was doing so silently, without even alerting me to the cross-site communication."

It is perhaps slightly ironic then, that 23-year old Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has recently had his own personal data exposed to the public. A magazine in the US reportedly published his application to Harvard University, without his permission.

The application included such details as his social security number, his girlfriend's name and his parents' address in New York.

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How to Make Money With Photography

Kazam Media have a brand new service.
We are now offering advice and guidance on how you can make money through photography.

We can tell you how to take over £1000 per night doing event photography.

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Grant guides Girls to Shelter

Guides in St Austell are jumping for joy over a grant for £250 from Restormel Borough Council, which will make their time away at camp this summer more comfortable.

The St Austell Boscoppa District of Girlguiding intends to buy a fire shelter so that the girls will have protection from the elements as they cook their food over open wood fires.

Assistant Division Commissioner Pam Goudge said: "Previously we have adapted an old tent to shelter us from the rain when we cook, but this was not ideal. But it was better than trying to cope with umbrellas or have rain running down our necks!"

Jo Pascoe, District Commissioner for Boscoppa commented: "We are so grateful to Restormel Borough Council for giving us this funding. The guides love to cook over wood when we camp and the money means we can now have a purpose-made fire shelter."

Councillor Steve Honey presented a cheque to the guides during a camp preparation meeting.

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The Music Slut: We're Awesome!: Amy Winehouse Spits At Crowdgoers In London

The Music Slut: We're Awesome!: Amy Winehouse Spits At Crowdgoers In London

Amy Winehouse @ Eden

It's spitting in Cornwall and that's not just the weather...

After much anticipation over whether or not she would even turn up, Amy Winehouse appeared on stage at the Eden Project to a packed audience of 6000 fans.
Bookmakers William Hill had odds of 2-1 that she wouldn't appear.
The first couple of songs were great. For someone so tiny, it's hard to see where that huge singing voice comes from, and it bellowed out of the arena and into the surrounding countryside.

But then things started to go a bit pear-shaped.

Amy appeared to want more feedback from the crowd than she was getting, and when this didn't arrive she seemed to become more introvert on stage, and less confident in her ability. She tried talking to the audience and referred to the biomes as "BioDomes" which is a common mistake - when this was met with several chuckles from the audience Amy appeared flustered and referred to herself as "stupid".
Several times she appeared to lose the lyrics and could be heard to mumble through the songs, and was apparently seen referring to lyric sheets on the stage floor. Staring blankly into the stage lights for long durations during songs was also a bit worrying.

Amy rushed off stage a couple of times and appeared to come back on crying at one point. After a bizarre introduction of her band which lasted for 10 minutes, Amy had a "wardrobe malfunction" which saw her fiddling with the zip of her tiny shorts for a couple of minutes.

More worryingly Amy began to hit herself in the head with her fist and microphone and looked frustrated with her performance.

Toward the end of the show, Amy finished a song and ran off stage. The crowd looked stunned and couldn't believe this was the end of the show and started booing and shouting. After 5 minutes Amy appeared on stage again and launched into a further song.

It was during this song that Amy decided to spit at the crowd. Our photographer managed to get a three shot sequence of her doing this which ran in the Daily Mail and on other International websites.
She could be seen wiping and holding her nose during this song (which many concert-goers thought to be suspicious) and toward the end simply dropped the mic and ran off, jumped into a waiting Land-Rover and sped off out of the Eden Project.

The stunned audience waited for 10 minutes then started to leave. Heading out of the venue, people were discussing the show saying how poor the performance was and how they felt they had wasted their time and money.

We just hope that someone shows Amy some support and real guidance, and that Amy has the commonsense to accept it.
Bring back the real Amy Winehouse, we know she's in there somewhere.

Links to our spitting image in the Press:
The Music Slut
Evening Standard
Daily Mail
Mail on Sunday
Mollygood
Gossip Rocks
Our Chart
Celebrity Mania
D-Listed
Craigslist!
Pulp & Circumstance Blog
Celebrity Smack
ABC News
FrostFirePulse
Right Celebrity

Link to Big Pictures Blog:
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Polkyth take 5 medals at Kent International

Polkyth Judo Club is based in Polkyth Leisure Centre, St Austell, Cornwall.

Head Coach Ronan Byrne said that he was "overjoyed with the huge success achieved" by his players at the Kent International Judo Championships, held at Crystal Palace on the 23rd June 2007.

Ronan said "I was extremely proud with the courage, conviction and fighting spirit in which they fought". It was extra special as it was the childrens first International Competition.

Danny Byrne won every contest to win a Golg Medal in the "Under 50kg" category. Jamie Grigg also took a Gold Medal in the "Under 55kg" category.
Nathan Fitzgerald gained a Silver in the "Under 34kg", while Edward Tse also gained a Silver in the "Under 42kg".
Kimberley Holness gained a Bronze Medal in the girls "Under 40kg" event.
Mason Rescorla, Andrew Palmer, Jade Skews and Henry Stittle also fought extrmely well with Henry Stittle winning 5 out of his 6 contests with "Ippon" the maximum 10 point score, only narrowly losing in the semi-final.

Ronan would like to take this opportunity to thank the coaching staff, Kylie, Frank & Neal, the Parents and Polkyth staff for all their help & support. Finally, and most importantly, Ronan would like to thank the children for all their hard work, dedication and loyalty to the Polkyth Judo Club.

Images of the Club with their medals and in action can be viewed at www.kasstzam.com

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Children's Commissioner for England visits Biscovey

Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green spent the morning in Cornwall visiting children from Biscovey Junior School. As part of his visit, Al (as he likes to be know) spent time with Biscovey Junior School's Council. The School Council members gave a presentation and discussion on elections and Council business. They were also encouraged to grill Al on his job and being the leader of "11 Million".
Photographs from the event can be viewed at www.kasstzam.com

Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green is the first ever Children's Commissioner for England and leads 11 MILLION.
He was appointed full time in July 2005 to be the independent voice for all children and young people and represent their views, opinions, interests and rights to the people who make decisions that affect them.
Before becoming the Children's Commissioner, Al was a children's doctor for 30 years.

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Sticker 5 Mile Race & 1 Mile Fun Run 2007

The Sticker 5 is part of the Cornish Grand Prix series.
This years event saw the largest ever field with 394 competitors battling along the narrow country lanes of Sticker and the surrounding areas.
The Fun Run was also well attended, with children and adults competing against each other over a 1 mile course.
Full results and photos of every competitor in both events can be found at www.kasstzam.com

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Seed sculpture opens at Eden

The much-anticipated Seed sculpture was formally opened to the public yesterday (June 21), marking the completion of the Eden Project’s education centre the Core.

On June 11, the giant 70-tonne work of art created by the internationally-acclaimed artist Peter Randall-Page was gently lowered by crane into the bell-shaped chamber at the centre of the building.

Yesterday, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Chairman of Eden’s architects Grimshaw and President of the Royal Academy of Arts, performed the opening ceremony in front of 400 guests including the artist and his family, Eden Chief Executive Tim Smit, Judith Donovan of the Big Lottery Fund, and Simon Robertson, Chairman of Rolls Royce and an Eden Trustee who, with his wife Virginia, sponsored the sculpture with a generous donation.

The dedication began with Tim Smit introducing a choir of gifted and talented children who sang a new song to “The Elders of our Community”, including a group of people in their eighties and nineties from Cornwall who were invited specially for the event. The same choir opened a celebration concert on Wednesday (June 20) featuring Peter Gabriel, Show of Hands and Charlie Winston, in the Eden arena.

Tim Smit introduced Mr and Mrs Robertson and talked about the “Capsule” containing letters to the future written by Her Majesty The Queen, who officially opened the Core last year, and ten schools from the Restormel area of Cornwall who led the sculpture on its last journey in a colourful parade before it was installed. Also contained were the hopes for the future of the Eden team.

Mr Roberston placed the container in a trough underneath the flat bottom of Seed, ready for the gap to be sealed to form a time capsule for the next 300 years.

Heralding the completion of the Core and arrival of Seed, Tim Smit said: “It is the strangest and most wonderful thing to build a magnificent structure with its centrepiece missing.

“It feels like finding the last piece of a jigsaw, which makes sense of the whole picture at last. This sculpture is utterly wonderful and worthy of the phrase ‘awesome.’

“It draws together everything that Eden is about – the perfection of nature and the difference between substance and hype.”

He added: “We have been so lucky with our friends and collaborators who shared a vision that we hope will mark a moment for reflecting on our generation’s need to work with the grain of nature, rather than against it.”

Sir Nicholas said that there was a lot of talk about the relationship between art and architecture and here was a relationship between a sculpture and a building that really worked.

He said the Core was a building with the lowest carbon footprint it was possible to have, adding: “Until the seed arrived, it was as if the building was missing a vital organ.”

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Get Set (Top Box) for Summer

We all like a bit of sunshine, but if you don't keep your set-top box cool, you may find your TV freezes or goes blank.

So if you keep your box in a cabinet, it's a good idea to leave the doors open.

It's also important to make sure the air vents on your set-top box aren't covered by anything, including other equipment like DVD players or video recorders. This will help ensure you don't lose your service.

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Seed sculpture planted in the Core of Eden

When Seed, the 70-tonne solid Cornish granite sculpture, is lowered gently to the ground within the central chamber of the Core building at the Eden Project, it will be the fulfilment of a long-held ambition of the acclaimed artist Peter Randall-Page.

For many years he has wanted to make a sculpture whose mass would almost totally fill an architectural space offering an awe-inspiring experience.

The search for a stone big enough to be turned into this most challenging art work and then the painstaking and intricate process of fashioning it into an ovoid and carving 1,800 nodules into its surface has spanned four years.

Today (June 11) the silver-grey stone is due to be lowered by giant crane through the circular roof of the Eden Project's education building to sit within the bell-shaped chamber specifically designed and built to receive it.

It will be a slow, precise process. The gap between the top rim of the chamber and the edge of the sculpture will be a matter of inches as Seed descends into the centre of the space.

Heralding the arrival of the sculpture, Eden's chief executive Tim Smit said: "Seed is the perfect embodiment of Eden's creative approach to public engagement. This is a fantastic work of art that will stand forever as a symbol of our generation's recognition that we are part of nature, not apart from it, and that to survive we must learn to work with the grain of nature."

The sculpture will be celebrated with a concert featuring Peter Gabriel on June 20 and officially opened on June 21 when visitors to Eden will be able to experience the stone within its chamber.

Like Magritte's painting 'The Listening Room' in which an over-sized apple fills a room, there will be a surreal dimension to the experience of seeing 'Seed' occupying the space and coming to within 250 cm of the walls.

Seed makes a play on scale, offering an Alice in Wonderland-like experience: Alice who grows to fill a room and also shrinks to be dwarfed by ordinary domestic objects.

In the manner of Rothko who stipulated the dimensions and light conditions of the rooms in which his work should be seen, the chamber and art work were conceived as one.

Peter Randall-Page very much wanted to separate this inner sanctum from the bustle outside to give the chamber a meditative and contemplative atmosphere.

Seed will be lit from the natural daylight filtering down through the central aperture, meaning that the weather and seasons will play across the sculpture's surface.

From the very outset, Peter Randall-Page worked closely with Jolyon Brewis of Grimshaw architects, who designed the world famous Biomes at Eden and was lead architect on The Core itself.

Peter said: "The shape of the chamber echoes that of the stone, like a seed in its pod. The space between the sculpture and the walls will create extraordinary spatial drama. Being in a confined space with such a monumental mass should be exciting.

"The whole process has been an enormous challenge because of the sheer scale and complexity of the sculpture.

"Many people have been involved in helping me bring this project to fruition: quarrymen, engineers, architects, computer experts but particularly my own remarkable team of technicians and stone carvers."

Jolyon Brewis said: “Seed was not only a fitting centrepiece for the building but was a crucial part of it.

"The design of this building has been a true collaboration between architects and an artist. Peter Randall-Page has been involved in setting the geometry of the structure as well as the design of the sculpture inside.

"The roof of the building is based on spiral geometries found in nature. They can be seen in the heads of sunflowers and many other plants. They are linked to the system of proportion used in classical architecture and have a well-known mathematical basis.

"Peter's sculpture will sit in a specially designed room at the heart of the building and will be carved with the same pattern of spirals.

"This will be much more than a sculpture inside a building. Art and architecture combine in a way that is rarely achieved. This should be one of the finest rooms in the world."

Explaining how the sculpture is integral to the building, Eden's Director of Learning Dr Jo Elworthy said: "Seed and the Core roof pay homage to nature, efficiency and collaboration. Take the sunflower as an example. The giant bloom is made of hundreds of little flowers that combine together to create a massive functional landing pad for bees. Its efficiency and strength symbolises what can be achieved when people work closely, both together and with the grain of nature.

"We're planting the Seed in the middle of the Core to symbolise the next stage in Eden's development: to sow ideas for the 21st century and work towards a world we want to live in.”

She said that the Core building was a perfect marriage of art, technology and science and was educational in form as well as function.

"It is crafted from natural materials and is an exemplar of sustainability in its approach, design and actual construction. A centre for learning and discovery, the Core contains permanent and temporary exhibitions, hosts events, including workshops, talks and short films, is home to Eden's innovative schools programmes and has a tasty little café with a solar terrace that will soon look down on the Seed."

Dr Elworthy added: "Nature has a fundamental blueprint which goes beyond DNA. We have translated that blueprint into the structure of Eden's Core. Seed is the last piece of the puzzle and the start of a new beginning. We can now work on sowing ideas for the 21st century."

Grimshaw's chairman Sir Nicholas Grimshaw said: "I think it is a wonderful thing when a work of art and a building come together like this. The geometry generated from the Fibonacci series unites the two but until Peter's wonderful sculpture arrived the building seemed to lack a vital organ."

Press Release - Eden Project

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Search for Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann was born 4 years ago. She has one brother Sean and a sister Amelie. She lives with her family in Rothley, Leicestershire.

Her father comes from Glasgow and has 3 sisters, Patricia, Jacqueline and Phil, and a brother John. Madeleine's Grandmother, Eileen lives in Glasgow. Her other grandparents, Sue and Brian live in Liverpool.

Both sides of the family are very close and all are working in different ways to try and help in the search for Madeleine.

Phil, who resides in Ullapool and is a teacher, has asked that the heartfelt thanks of the whole family be passed to everyone who has helped in the search so far. She said "There have been so many messages of support and prayers from people all over the world. We (the family) are overwhelmed with your assistance. The media people have been wonderful and so helpful in making everyone aware of our plight. Madeleine’s family are so grateful to you all. Please keep Madeleine in your thoughts and prayers. We pray that she will be returned to us safe and well."

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Madeleine was abducted from her bed in the Ocean Club Resort, Praia da Luz, on Thursday 3rd May 2007. She has not been seen since.

Please help Madeleines family by showing your support, either by donating funds to "Madeleines Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned" or by placing a poster or banner available from here.

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The Official Website is available here: http://www.bringmadeleinehome.com/

1 Million

In a fit of craziness, I decided to set up a new group on photo-sharing site flickr. Nothing unusual in that I hear you say, maybe not. BUT, this groups intention is to reach 1 Million members with 1 image each!
"What's the point of that", I hear you shout... well, potentially there isnt any, but my idea is to get each member to post their best photo, then publish these photos in a book or exhibition with all the profits going to a nominated Charity - that's quite a nice point I think :) Raising awareness, raising money.

Here's a slideshow of images currently available in the group. (If it doesnt show up, click here)

Add to my blog

If you want to join this free incentive, sign up for flickr here and join the group.

Images shown copyright original authors.
Images not for unauthorised distribution or copying.

Caption Contest #1

Caption Contest - Hayle Middle Distance Triathlon 2007
All you have to do is come up with something witty for the following pictures. Add your caption as a comment at the end of this post. Choose any one or all three.
If you include your details we'll enter you into a draw to win a print of your choice on our website.

First Image:


Second Image:


Third Image:


Dont forget to include your contact details (or join our Mailing List) to be included in the Print Draw. The winner will be able to choose a 10x8 print of any image from our website, where you have a selection of over 20,000 images to choose from.

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Michael Portillo at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

I was, in truth expecting a presentation which would not perhaps be the most entertaining from a man who was for so many years a leading Politician.
How wrong I was!

From the moment he entered stage right Michael Portillo demonstrated that he is a very accomplished orator with an excellent sense of humour and a genuine ability to hold his audience in the palm of his hand.
Discussing his political career as well as many personal aspects of his life he demonstrated a side unlikely to have been seen by many of the audience before. When it came to answering questions by members of the audience again, I was not disappointed as nowhere to be heard was the politicians favourite pastime of never giving an answer. To the contrary he gave a full, descriptive and direct answer to every single question raised - a long way from Prime Ministers question time!
By David Hughes

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Peter Sallis at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

What a national treasure we have in this much underrated actor.
Despite his health just beginning to fail a little, Peter's representation of being a little more absent minded than he is in reality, interspersed with sabre like wit
delivered with a lifetime's learning of comic timing was a joy to watch.
Despite knowing it was Peter the person in conversation with Samantha Norman (daughter of Barry Norman), listening to such a well known voice I was constantly expecting either a comment about the antics of Foggy and Compo or for him to utter "more tea Grommit"?
Of course he didn't do either but what he did do was to enthrall and entertain a packed house for nearly two hours not least with an outstanding impression of Sir John Gielgud!
May Peter Sallis drink many, many more glasses of the last of the summer wine.
By David Hughes

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Justine Picardie at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

Justine Picardie is clearly extremely knowledgeable not only about the works of
Daphne du Maurier but also the lady herself as a person.
Her speech and subsequent discussion with members of the audience (which included several members of Daphne's family with whom Justine is clearly well aquainted) delved deeply into the views and insights that Daphne may have held regarding Branwell Bronte and the possibility that she may well have considered the parallels between their lives.
Justine is a writer and can therefore be excused her lack of comfort at being on stage which was somewhat evident.
For those who have or are studying the great Daphne du Maurier to a level which includes attempting to understand the psychology of the author to a considerable depth then this presentation would have been fascinating and no doubt beneficial but was perhaps a little too deep for most others.
By David Hughes

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Barry Norman at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

Immortalised by the impressionists quoting the catchphrase "and why not" which also happens to be the title of his latest literary offering, Barry Norman is as familiar to most of us as our own lounge.
That is not to say that we are necessarily familiar with Barry as the person in his own right but more his laid back individual style of delivering his opinions as a film critic.
It was therefore with great delight and true captivation that spending one and one half hours in his company where he revealed some of his own favourite movies liberally sprinkled with little known facts behind some of them (can you imagine James Cagney being cast in the role of Robin Hood which Clark Gable played) was great fun and far more entertaining than many of the movies mentioned.
Barry Norman was no different chatting and answering questions than he appeared on the small screen during his thirty years as a critic on the BBC.
Comforting to discover that some people really are as genuine and nice as they appear to be on screen - and why not.
By David Hughes

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Suzi Quatro at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

For those of us who are at a "certain age" and have happy memories of strutting our stuff as teenagers in discos of the early and mid 1970's.
Anticipation was very high given the opportunity to see one of the great icons of "down and dirty" rock n roll namely Ms Suzi Quatro.
Tinged with slight concern that after the passing of some thirty odd years which have left us all with a little less hair and considerably less energy I was overjoyed at the start of the concert to discover that the years have been extremely kind to Suzi Q in looks and that she is still just as raunchy and sexy at 57 in her black leather.
What followed musically for the next two hours was equally pleasing as Suzi delighted a packed marquee with firstly a good selection from her new album entitled "Back to the drive" followed by all of her classic early tracks. Vocally Suzi has lost very little of her talent and hearing songs like "can the can" and "Devilgate Drive" showed she can still pretty much belt them out as she did in her heyday.
Most impressively her ability to still cavort around the stage with equal energy and agility as she did thirty years ago would put many current young artists to shame.
Over all this was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, an excellent concert containing just the right mix of real gritty nostalgia coupled with a showcase of her still considerable talent in writing and performing superbly crafted new material.
If you get the chance to see Suzi in concert - make the effort for it will surely be well worth it.
By David Hughes

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Ken Russell and Humphrey Burton at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

Ken Russell joined Humphrey Burton on stage to discuss how they met, became friends, their careers but ultimately the work of Ken Russell.
Ken talked about his very first interview with Huw Wheldon at Monitor. Ken explains, “I shot a film about a young Catholic girl who was in a nativity play and she naughtily takes home her angel wings to show her mother. Her naughty brother ends up breaking them so she then has to scour the streets of London to find new ones and being a good Catholic girl, she does so.”
After the showing of the film Huw Wheldon uttered that it looked like it had been shot on toilet paper but you've got the job.
Ken went on to make his first professional film "John Betjeman - A Poet in London". This was a visualisation of John Betjeman's poems.
Throughout the morning clips were shown from both the 1961 film Prokofiev, Ken Russell's portrait of the Great Russian composer, and the remarkable and imaginative portrait of the composer Elgar in 1962.
During the discussion Ken and Humphrey were both witty and amusing which greatly delighted the audience. Ken shared with the audience the story of when he cast Oliver Reed and Alan Bates for the 1969 film “Women In Love”.
At first they were reluctant to do the infamous nude wrestling scene but after a night at the pub, a few drinks and a joint trip to the gents, while standing waiting for nature to take its course one looked to their left the other to their right, they suddenly realised that there was nothing in it and they had nothing to be concerned about. This had the audience in fits of laughter.

At the end of the discussion, the audience were invited to ask questions and also to meet Ken and Humphrey. Enthusiasts were thrilled with their morning of recollections and memories from Ken and Humphreys early years.
By Deborah Brennan

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Daphne du Mauriers Children at The Festival

To mark the Centenary of the birth of Daphne du Maurier, her three children Lady Tessa Montgomery, Lady Flavia Leng and Christian “Kits” Browning, came together on stage for the first time ever to recount their memories and discuss what it was like to grow up with a mother who was one of the most successful authors in the country.
Helen Taylor, author of The Daphne du Maurier Companion, joined them on stage to lead the discussion.
Every seat in The du Maurier Theatre had been filled with admirers who had travelled from all over the World to have the opportunity to hear first hand about the life of one of Britain's most popular novelists.
Helen began the discussion by asking the three children “What would your mother think of you being here together on stage at a festival, talking about her?”
Lady Tessa felt that she would be highly amused; Lady Flavia playfully said “payback time” and son Kits Browning thought she would have seen it as “get them out there working”.
When asked if she would have been pleased with the festival, Lady Flavia replied that she would have been truly gratified.
The audience were treated to an afternoon of family stories, their relationships with their mother, how they felt about her work and what influences did it have on them and their own lives.
Helen asked “If your mother were sitting here today on her 100th birthday, what would she think of The Daphne du Maurier Festival?”
All three children felt that Daphne would have been thrilled and very happy with the festival. She would have given a big thank you to everyone here today and also to all who appreciate her.
Helen Taylor gratefully thanked Lady Tessa, Lady Flavia and Kits for joining the panel with her and for sharing some wonderful memories and ended with wishing Daphne du Maurier a happy 100th Birthday!
Many, if not all who attended “The Children’s View” found it to be a truly unique and memorable occasion.
By Deborah Brennan

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Nina Auerbach at The Daphne Du Maurier Festival

Nina Auerback who is the author of the acclaimed biography “Daphne du Maurier - Haunted Heiress” talked about her book and her view of Daphne du Maurier with Helen Taylor, author of “The Daphne du Maurier Companion”.
Nina described finding more and more books that she’d never heard of by Daphne du Maurier “Was like eating mashed potatoes, so many Daphnes, it was wonderful”.
She described Daphnes work as compelling, haunting, weird, wonderful, great suavity, insightful and insane.
The audience had the opportunity to ask Nina questions and her opinions on the subject of Daphnes work and other work that Nina had achieved.
Daphne du Mauriers eldest daughter Lady Tessa Montgomery, who was in the audience, was introduced to Nina at the end of the discussion.
Lady Tessa found Nina’s discussion very interesting, learning things she had never known.
By Deborah Brennan

View images from this event here

Media images available on request to info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for unauthorised distribution/copying
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

Marcus Brigstocke at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

Marcus Brigstocke stand-up comic, host of BBC 4's The Late Edition, writer, presenter, actor, Radio 4 regular and father of two delivered this extremely enjoyable and hilarious evening in his usual satirical style covering topics from Tony Blaire stepping down to Cornish/Devon cream teas and hilarious annotations of Fowey Town itself.
The audience were brilliantly entertained as Marcus selected stories from several daily newspapers and proceeded to humorously demolish their content.
Marcus was a comical delight from start to finish.
By Deborah Brennan

Charlie Dimmock at The Daphne du Maurier Festival

The indomitable enthusiasm for gardening and the classic Charlie Dimmock infectious giggles were both present in abundance during a very enjoyable two hours in her company with BBC Radio Cornwall's Tim Hubbard.
Conducted in a relaxed style which was something akin to a cross between "an audience with" and a chat show interview, Charlie easily slid through numerous anecdotes of her time with "Ground Force" and before along with "Charlies Garden Army".
The audience were treated to out-take clips from her various television shows which did not make the final broadcast!
After a short interval and more recounting of various events Charlie spent some time answering gardening and other questions asked by members of the audience and concluded a pleasant and entertaining two hours.
Overheard in the queue for the coffee was a comment between two elderly ladies who observed how natural and relaxed Charlie Dimmock was even down to the way she dressed which really summed up the event.
By David Hughes


View images from this event here

Media images available on request to info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for unauthorised distribution/copying
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

Alex Higgins Vs Jimmy White

Snooker legends Alex Higgins & Jimmy White appeared in Cornwall together to give fans a memorable evening.
The audience was packed full of fans of all ages who cheered & clapped this great exhibition.
Local players enjoyed every minute against their snooker heroes.
Some of the frames may have lasted only minutes but everyone was happy just to be at the table with the legends.
Both Alex and Jimmy posed for photographs and signed autographs making it a perfect end to the evening.
By Deborah Brennan

View images from this event here

Media images available on request to info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for unauthorised distribution/copying
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

Nick Carter Cricket Memorial

Members of St Blazey Cricket Club paid tribute to the late Nick Carter at their first match of the season on Saturday.This year, which would have been Nick Carter's 40th season, also marks the centenary of the club joining the Cornwall Cricket League.


Spokesman Darren Kirwan said: "Nick was a main stalwart of the club. As well as being an outstanding player, he devoted countless hours on the ground, providing the club with what is regarded as one of the best playing surfaces in the county.

"Nick was also very generous financially, and whilst the word 'irreplaceable' is often used glibly, with Nick it is very true.

"The club are determined, as he would have expected, to continue to maintain facilities to the standards he set."

Members of the club have planted a tree at the ground in tribute to Nick.

They are also asking local businesses to support the club in their centenary year by buying advertising space around the ground.

Darren said: "With increased costs, we are asking businesses to help and hope they will support us.

"Over the hundred years much has changed.

"We have had three different grounds in this time, firstly at Kilhallon, then to what is now St Blazey football field - where Ken Crowle once hit six sixes in one over - and at our current ground at Middleway where we have been resident since 1967."

Saturday's match was very close, but good news for St Blazey's centenary year.

The team played St Austell's second team and won by two runs.

View images from this event here

Media images available on request to info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for unauthorised distribution/copying
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

As seen on the BBC

Cornish Live Music Awards
A very small sample of the 2000 images taken at the Cornish Live Music Awards 2007 (CLMA) have been presented on the BBC website here.
We hope to have a full round-up of the event available soon.
All the images taken by ourselves on the night are available on our website at www.kasstzam.com or directly here.

Tutorials - coming soon

We will be creating some online tutorials to help you get more out of your digital camera.
Topics will include:
Digital Infra-Red photography
Basic post-processing techniques using PhotoShop and Paint Shop Pro
and more.
If you would like us to include a specific topic, please let us know by commenting on this post.

Gorran Pre-School Easter Fair

Gorran Pre-School held their Annual Easter Fair at St Ewe Village Hall on Saturday 31st March.
The hall was packed with children and parents, with stalls ranging from face-painting to cakes, manicures to plants.

Everyone had a great day, and the raffle helped boost funds for the pre-school. The kids all had a banging time with their inflatable hammers!

More images from the day can be viewed and purchased at www.kasstzam.com

Media images available from info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for distribution/copying.
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

Cornwall Spring Flower Show at Boconnoc House

It may have been April Fool’s Day but for those of us lucky to have been at The Cornwall Garden Society’s Spring Flower Show on this sparkling sunny Sunday it was a rare treat; Saturday and Sunday made up one of those only too rare, brilliant sunny spring weekends, a touch of frost in the early morning air and Boconnoc Gardens in the full flush of their spring plumage.

This year’s show was the best yet, with the gamble taken on extending the space in the stable yard, for the competitive classes more than paying off. I doubt the high standard of the entrants in all classes could have been matched let alone exceeded anywhere, nationally or internationally; unsurprisingly Caerhays Castle Gardens triumphed with its Magnolias winning both the George Johnstone Perpetual Trophy and the Treve Holman Memorial Cup but in the Camellia section the honours were evenly shared with the Duchy of Cornwall Nurseries, Mrs C Petherick, Mount Edgcumbe and Mrs J Cook of Falmouth all winning cups.

The Floral Art Exhibit caused a sensation with its intriguingly contrived class entitled ‘Coiffeur’ a series of polystyrene heads topped with the most amazing plant based ‘hairstyles’; the extended ‘sculpture in the garden’ added a new dimension, but I confess that my favourite piece of sculpture was the St Mellion Cof E School’s waste sculpture, worthy of a place in the Tate Modern, made out of old plastic milk bottles and entitled ‘Milk Maids’. This year’s botanical art exhibition was beautifully displayed and of a very high standard, as a result of which many of the pictures were sold.

In the Trade Stand Prize list ‘Large Gold’ went to Ron Scamp’s more than large golden display of stunning daffodils, with the Eden Project’s cool and magical grey, white and purple garden, complete with pool and floating candles taking the Gold. ‘Down to Earth’ won the Gold in the Sundries category, this show was to have been their last, however, I am delighted to report that they enjoyed themselves so much that they’ve decided to come back next year. Their view of the show was I am sure shared by many of the more than six thousand visitors who came to the show; the happy family atmosphere, the delicious food (widely available), the warm sunshine and wonderful stands meant that many families used it as an opportunity to spend the whole day outside, the large gardens and surrounding area providing the perfect relaxed and uncrowded setting for ad hoc picnicking with the strains of the brass bands adding to the festive feel and the whole event making for a wonderful start to the spring holiday period.

Next year’s show will take place on Saturday and Sunday the 4^th and 5^th of April, for details please contact the Show Director, Sally Jane Coode 01726 882 488

Release written by: Deborah Hinton, Press and Publicity, Cornwall Garden Society

Media images available from info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for distribution/copying.
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

The Sexy Green Car Show at the Eden Project

Welcome to the Sexy Green Car Show!!

A Saab BioPower 95 Turbo Estate

With the climate in trouble and oil expensive, cars need to get greener, fast...
From March 30th to April 15th 2007 Eden will be packed with beautiful green machines. Admission is free with entry to Eden. Open 10am to 6pm, last entry at 4.30pm.

The transport sector is the third largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, and the only sector where emissions are expected to be higher in 2020 than in 1990.

Despite the rise and rise of air travel, by 2010, 85 per cent of these emissions will still come from road transport.

Traditionally, environmental organisations have not had much to say about cars, except to try and persuade people not to use them, and more recently not to buy 4x4s. But here at Eden, in rural Cornwall, we are acutely aware of all our dependence on the private car. With reduced ticket prices for every other means of getting here, £1.2m of cycle tracks, and the best private facilities for coaches in the country, still 86 per cent of our visitors come by car. Why?

We realise that for many of us, much of the time, it is simply not practical or affordable to travel another way. This country’s transport infrastructure is currently based upon the car. So we started thinking about cars and what could make them greener… fast.

Cars of about the same size in the same class vary hugely in efficiency: the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has worked out that if everyone switched to the most efficient car in the same class, emissions from cars would fall by 30%. Exciting new developments in fuels, engines, aerodynamics and ultra-lighting all have the potential to make cars much more efficient… and they’ll be here all the quicker if we demand them.

Government schemes, such as the new fridge-type efficiency labels on cars, car tax bands based on emissions, and congestion charges are there to try and help us all make better choices, but what underlies the policy? What is a hybrid?… Can we really grow our own oil wells? What about hydrogen? When is a good car a dead car? Does eco-driving really work? Is it better to drive with the air-conditioning on or the windows open?

We thought we’d better share what we’d found out… and here it is, with a little help from our friends...
The first ever Sexy Green Car Show!
A selection of images from the launch night are available at www.kasstzam.com.
Visit the Eden Project website here: Eden Project

Media images available from info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for distribution/copying.
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

Young Leisure & Pirate FM Spa Pool Open Day

How to mix business and pleasure...

Young Leisure (Cornwall) and Pirate FM teamed up to offer visitors to Young Leisure's Open Day the chance to win a complete spa pool, including fitting by Young Leisure's professional and experienced team of engineers and installers.

MD of Young Leisure Nigel Brawn took the opportunity to mix business with pleasure as he jumped into one of the demonstration spa's for the morning, even conducting part of his live radio interview with Pirate FM's Bob McCreadie from the comfort of the spa.

Suzy Cleaver (from Caldera Spas) helped out in the spa, admitting that although she had been promoting and selling spa's for more than a few years, this was actually the first time that she had actually managed to have the opportunity to use one.

Pirate FM's Bob McCreadie couldn't be persuaded to strip down to his boxers though, but did manage to find out how comfortable one of the other spa's were without water. Even Bob's glass was empty!

A good turnout of customers and visitors attended the Open Day which Young Leisure hailed as a huge success. With free drinks, snacks and plenty of advice on offer, everyone had a great time.

Further information about the Spa Pools and services Young Leisure provide can be found at http://www.youngleisurecornwall.co.uk/
Visit Cornwall's Pirate FM here: http://www.piratefm.co.uk


Further images from the day can be viewed at www.kasstzam.com.


Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for distribution/copying. All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

World Water Day. Adam Hart-Davis

Celebrate World Water Day with the Eden Project and Adam Hart-Davis, March 22

TV presenter Adam Hart-Davis will be leading walkers from St. Austell to the Eden Project to mark World Water Day on Thursday March 22.

The aim of the event is to highlight the fact that millions of women and children have to walk an average of five miles every day to find water which is then often unsafe, bringing disease to their families.

Some carry up to 20 litres at a time and those walking to Eden have been challenged to carrying 20kg to feel just how tiring this can be. Or, if that’s too much, some will be carrying 10kg - the equivalent to the amount of water used for one flush of a toilet.

The route showcases the beauty and history of Cornwall’s clay country, leading through woodland and heathland, bringing glimpses of abandoned clay driers and brick chimneys as well as stunning views over active mines and clay pools.

There will be music and displays in St. Austell and at Eden and all walkers will get a water stop, Sustrans goodies, first aid support and marshals along the route. They will be admitted to Eden free of charge and be entitled to a complementary Truronian bus back to St. Austell town centre.

The walk is suitable for most ages and fitness levels but there are one or two steep slopes along the route. Paths will be mainly Sustrans Clay Trails with a little road walking. It starts at Aylmer Square at 11am on March 22 (registration from 9.15am) and should take between one and a half and two hours.

Afterwards, Adam Hart-Davis – presenter of What the Ancients Did For Us and Local Heroes – will give a talk in Eden’s Gallery restaurant on his recent trip to Bangladesh to see WaterAid projects.

People will also be able to see the documentary film The Long Walk during the course of the day. The film is shot in real-time and follows one woman’s epic journey to fetch water.

Justine Quinn, Eden’s Public Education Manager, said: "This walk is a fun way to highlight the issues some people have getting clean water and we're delighted that Adam Hart-Davis will be joining us.

“As well as looking at the problems, we'll also be celebrating the fact that we in the UK do have clean water on tap. Plus, walking is a good way to stay healthy and the route we're taking is beautiful."

Adam Hart-Davis said: "It's fantastic that the Eden Project are supporting WaterAid this World Water Day.

“I've seen for myself the difference WaterAid projects can make, the simple act of having clean water and sanitation means women can work and children can go to school, yet 5,000 children still die every day from water related diseases.

“Help WaterAid and the Eden Project help more people out of poverty. Your support can make a difference."

Councillor Annette Egerton, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration at Restormel Borough Council, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Eden Project to highlight World Water Day and promote events in the town centre which focus on coping with water scarcity.

“One of the council’s priorities is to maintain the unique character of our environment and this is an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of the part we can all play in preserving water at a local level, at the same time as drawing attention to the increasing significance of water scarcity worldwide.”

Tasha Davis, St. Austell's Town Centre Manager, said: "World Water Day is a great opportunity to forge links between St Austell and Eden and to promote important issues such as water usage and sustainability issues such as water recycling within the new Aylmer Square development.

“It also gives the people of St Austell the chance to come in and see the great range of shops available in the town centre as well as taking advantage of some of the offers that will be available on March 22."

View images from this event here

Media images available on request to info@kasstzam.com
Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for unauthorised distribution/copying
All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

Big Ones!

Red Nose Day - Comic Relief
Loads of people in St Austell and Truro got their "big ones" out on Friday in aid of Comic Relief and Red Nose Day.
Check out more of these images on www.kasstzam.com

Photo credit: www.kasstzam.com
Images not for distribution/copying. All rights reserved. © 2007 kazam media ltd

All Change

As of March 1st 2007, "Kasstzam Photography" is no more... but dont worry!

Our photography is now a part of Kazam Media Ltd - the freshest media company in the UK. Kazam will be bringing you a load of exciting new services and products, complete with a brand new website to be launched in the next few months.
Based in St Austell, Cornwall, Kazam provides a complete range of media services throughout the UK.

We are looking for more people to help us with our expansion plans, and full details of the positions available can be found in a previous blogger post.

If you want to find out more about Kazam, please contact us by calling 01726 817437.

Sponsor Deborah

Kazam's Deborah Brennan will be running around the Eden Project again this year for Charity and is looking to top last years total of £127.

The charity Deborah is racing for is Cancer Research UK and the event is called "Race for Life".

Race For Life is the UK's biggest women-only fundraising event.

Since it started in 1994, Race for Life has grown to become the UK’s biggest women-only fundraising event. All the money raised by the participants helps fund the crucial work of Cancer Research UK – the world’s leading independent organisation dedicated to cancer research.

So far, over two million women of all ages have run, walked or jogged to raise over £140 million in sponsorship for the charity. This year we hope to raise £60 million for our life-saving work by bringing an amazing 800,000 women together to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

To see how much Deborah has raised so far and make a donation, click here:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/deborahbrennan

Your Choice Wedding Photography

Kazam have changed their wedding package with a new "Your Choice" service.

Essentially, we are giving you the choice of services you want to add on to your wedding day, so depending on your budget, you get exactly what you want or can afford.

Kazam's Deborah Brennan says "We want to give people as much choice as we can with regard to the services we provide for their big day. We dont feel it's right to dictate to them what they should have, and only give them a choice of three different packages.

Our "Your Choice" service gives the couple what they can afford without compromising on quality."

Find out more about this unique service by visiting http://www.kasstzam.com/services.html#Wedding%20Photography

Positions Available Now

Kazam are expanding in 2007 and have numerous positions available.

If you have experience in any of the following areas please get in touch:

• Event Management (experience of establishing and running events)
• Web Site Design (advanced HTML, CSS, Flash, etc)
• Modelling (females 5ft 9in plus only please)
• Sales (selling online advertising and direct face to face sales)
• Photographers (experience essential, see AP page on www.kasstzam.com)
• Financial (experienced and qualified financial advisors only)
• PR (experienced and qualified PR executives required)
• News (experienced journalists only)

If you are interested in any of these positions, please get in touch asap - use the contact details on our website - www.kasstzam.com.

New News Blog!

Just to let you all know that we have a brand new news blog, here on Blogger...
Our old news service was just too slow for us!