:babyroll:

Jack is still the most popular name for baby boys in the UK, while Olivia has become the favourite for a girl, the national statistics agency has said.

Parents have favoured Jack for the 11th year, with Joshua and Thomas unchanged at second and third. Oliver is fourth and Harry rose to fifth.

For girls, Grace was runner-up and former number one Jessica is third.

Ruby, thought to be popularised by EastEnders' Ruby Allen, is fourth. Emily was fifth in the 2006 list.


GIRLS TOP FIVE
1 Olivia
2 Grace
3 Jessica
4 Ruby
5 Emily

Trend for names from past

The Office for National Statistics has noted Grace moved up by 37% since last year and Jessica had 4,416 registrations in 2006.

High-climber Ruby has risen 69 places since 2001.

Floral names have also done well with Lily, Daisy and Poppy all in the top 30, the agency revealed.

Jack has continued to reign with 6,928 boys sharing the name this year.

Harry has risen four places, forcing James out of the top five for the first time in several years.

Theo made it into the top 100 boys' names for the first time with 646 registrations.

The agency suggests young footballer Theo Walcott's appearance in this year's World Cup squad may have influenced some parents' choice.


BOYS TOP FIVE
1 Jack
2 Thomas
3 Joshua
4 Oliver
5 Harry

The 2005 X-Factor winner, Shayne Ward has a dedicated following with the popularity of his first name increasing by 827%.

However, while Celebrity Big Brother may have had an impact on Ordinary Boy frontman Preston, whose name has moved up 767 places to 148, his wife's name, Chantelle has only risen 13 places to 213. :babyroll:

More...

Robok to those who know him

:bday3:

its the 20th this side by now

:tired: :thumbs:

have a good one

tomorrow is my last working day for 2006 - everyone have a stunning time over christmas
xxx

More than 100 passengers on a Saudi plane were left panic-stricken by the unexpected appearance of furry fellow flyers - dozens of mice.

The small rodents - about 80 in total, according to a local newspaper - escaped from the bag of a man travelling on the domestic flight.

An airline official said the aircraft was at 28,000 feet (8,500m) when mice began scurrying around the cabin.

Some of the mice fell on passengers' heads, Al-Hayat newspaper reports.

The incident occurred on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from the capital, Riyadh, to north-eastern town of Tabuk.

The flight landed safely and the bag's owner was detained by police investigating how he managed to get the mice onto the plane.

No explanation was given for the man's live cargo. Source: BBC



Oh my goodness.... how scary!!!

Can you imagine... you have taken your shoes off and a mouse decided that he likes the smell of your feet and starts chomping on your big toe.... :yikes:

Rumour has it the Cheffie was mixing it with the England rugby fraternity giving them tips when they visited the http://www.naked-turtle.com restaurant last night.

In an exclusive interview, this after the Cheffie was condemned for giving the said Mr Andrews a few 'skeef' looks, confessed that he had no idea who Mr Andrews was however he could say the incumbent Head Coach has no sense of humour as well as a few other kind words (due to the family nature of the site) we are unable to publish.

Further rumour has it that if England has won a few more games under Mr Andrews he may well have recognised him.

However it is soon to be announced that after consultation in the kitchen, England will soon announce their new Head Coach.

for further news please consult that other news source which is not known to be as reliable, the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_un...189565.stm

England close on new head coach
England could have a new head coach as early as Wednesday - and the hot tip for the job appears to be Brian Ashton.

---------------------------------

We currently await a further feedback (no pun intended) from our roving celebrity journalist come cook and very own resident Cheffie

Till then this is ForumAdmin, over and out

How true is this?

:braai:

Well what did you expect ?

:rofl:

December 18, 2006 Edition 2

Henri Du Plessis

South African yachting legend Bertie "Biltong" Reed died today.

The much-loved and respected former SA Navy warrant officer died at the Somerset West Medi-Clinic at 8.45am. He would have been 64 on January 19.

Reed's wife Pat, who was at his bedside when he died, said her husband took ill on Saturday after visiting the hospital on Friday.

Reed's death was not unexpected to his many friends and fans, as he had been battling ill health for a long time.

But they were shocked and |saddened at the news today.

Veteran sailor John Martin, who had become close friends with Reed, his mentor, after years of competing against him, was sad.

"What can one say but the very obvious?" he said.

"It is a great loss to his family, his friends and the country. He has done so many things, he leaves so many memories, it is now for his family to bask in the glory of his fantastic achievements."

At the Royal Cape Yacht Club, flags are flying half-mast for Reed, who had used the club as his base while he prepared for many of his international yacht-race exploits.

"We have lost one of the |gentlemen of the sailing world," said Commodore Craig Middleton.

"Bertie always had a smile, never had a bad word for anybody and he was able to make friends all around the world, especially among sailors," Middleton said. "It is the end of an era."

Reed was best known for his adventures in solo races, such as the BOC Challenge around the world.

In the first event, he sailed an ageing and outclassed Voor-trekker 1 to second place behind Frenchman Philippe Jeantot through cunning strategy and uncompromising seamanship.

My son has been pestering me to phone our home insurers to see if I can claim for the ipod which got stamped on while in his bag at rugby practice.
I've been putting it off, not looking forward to the telephone queues and forms to fill and questions and etc etc etc...

Anyhow, I phoned them this afternoon, no queue, got a woman with an English accent, she asked a couple of questions, and then told me that the money (minus the excess) will be transferred to my bank account today.

I am in a state of shock....I only phoned to find out if it was worth submitting a claim and to ask for the claim forms...

Since we always have a go at the inadequacies of customer service in this country I thought it fair to publish a good story.

ps. the insurer is The Halifax.

I will be applying for British citizenship early next year, and as part of this process I have been advised that I need to ask permission from the SA government to retain my SA citizenship.

There are two forms to be downloaded from the SA High Commission website, but on contradictory instructions are given in these forms and on the website.

Has anyone done this application recently, or can anyone help me out please?