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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Eery site... or is it an eery sight? city appears in the fog...


Ghostly apparition of entire city appears over Chinese river... but is it just a mirage?

Last updated at 10:43 PM on 25th June 2011
    Residents in a Chinese city have been stunned after a giant mirage of a 'ghost city' towered across the skyline.
The apparition appeared earlier this month after heavy rainfall and humid conditions along the Xin'an River in Huanshan City in East China.
Tall buildings, mountains and trees appeared to rise up through the ghostly mist that had descended over the river at dusk. There is usually nothing buy sky across the horizon.
Scroll down to see the video
Haunting: The apparition of buildings and trees rises above the Xin'an River in Huanshan City in East China after heavy rainfall
Haunting: The apparition of buildings and trees rises above the Xin'an River in Huanshan City in East China after heavy rainfall. The skyline above the river is usually clear
Mirage: An entire island with trees, tall buildings and mountains in the distance can be seen in the dusk light in the Chinese city
Mirage: An entire island with trees, tall buildings and mountains in the distance can be seen in the dusk light in the Chinese city where hours before it was only an expanse of water
Amazed residents recorded the footage with some even suggesting that it could have been a 'vortex' to a lost civilisation.
The pictures have baffled experts who visited the city to check that there were not actually any of the building already there.
It is believed that the sight may have been a mirage - a form of illusion that is common in in humid weather.
Shimmering: The apparent mirage shows the detailed outlines of buildings that experts may have been reflected from the surrounding city
Shimmering: The apparent mirage shows the detailed outlines of buildings that experts may have been reflected from the surrounding city
Ghostly: High-rise office blocks and flats were seen by residents who said the mirage was the most spectacular of a recent crop that have hit the region
Ghostly: High-rise office blocks and flats were seen by residents who said the mirage was the most spectacular of a recent crop that have hit the region
The phenomenon is caused when moisture in the air becomes warmer than the temperature of water below it and refracts rays of sunlight to create reflections in the sky.
The patterns in the mirage are typically blurred and shimmering with a resemblance to human structures. But the apparent mirage in China would be one of the clearest ever recorded.
'It's really amazing, it looks like a scene in a movie, in a fairlyland,' said one resident.
She said that a number of similar sights had been seen recently although this one was the most spectacular.
A number of mirages have previous been reported in China. In 2006, English-language paper China Daily published four images of what it said were mirages off the coast of Eastern China's Shandong province.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008161/Ghostly-mirage-appears-river-Huanshan-City-China.html#ixzz1QLTER6yZ

Knickers! all in the name of art....

  • 24 June 2011, 16:33

Collection of knickers all in the name of art

Underwear student
An art student is collecting old underwear for her graduation exhibition in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.
Yi Ci, a senior student of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, posted a notice in the dormitory buildings in her bid to collect old underwear a couple of weeks ago.
The notice explained: "Yi Ci, majoring in motion pictures studies, is collecting any old underwear for her graduation work exhibition. Hope you can donate your old underwear in the box in the public bathroom. Your kind actions will make a great art work. Please join me!"
Yi Ci's work is titled 'Privacy' and donations so far have totalled over several hundred pairs of underwear.

Wife asks for husband to be exhumed after being buried with the wrong false teeth


Wife asks for husband's body to be exhumed after realising he's been buried with the wrong false teeth

  • Bedside mix up in the intensive care unit
  • 'I knew he wouldn't rest in peace,' says wife
Last updated at 3:17 PM on 24th June 2011


A wife demanded that her husband's body be dug up after she discovered he had been buried with the wrong set of false teeth.  
Kenneth Ray Manis, 76, died at Parkridge Medical Centre in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
After his funeral, his widow Phyllis Manis noticed another patient's wallet and keys mixed up with her husband's belongings.
Resting place: Kenneth Ray Manis, 76, was exhumed from Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee after his wife discovered he had been buried with the wrong false teeth
Resting place: Kenneth Ray Manis, 76, was exhumed from Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee after his wife discovered he had been buried with the wrong false teeth
She also found her husband's false teeth that were supposed to be in the grave with him.
Mrs Manis said her husband, who was an Army veteran of the Korean War, would not have wanted to be buried with something that didn't belong to him.
    She said: 'I knew he wouldn't rest in peace with this happening.
    'My husband is laying in his grave with this other man's teeth and I just couldn't let it be that way, I knew my husband wouldn't want it that way.'
    Mix up: Park Ridge Medical Centre apologised for the mistake and paid for Mr Manis to be exhumed
    Mix up: Park Ridge Medical Centre apologised for the mistake and paid for Mr Manis to be exhumed
    Mr Manis had been in the intensive care unit at Park Ridge Medical Centre and was later transferred to a private room before he died on June 12.
    Around that time, an 83-year-old gentleman, who Mr Manis didn't know, came out of surgery and was put in the bed next to him in the ICU. 
    When she worked out the mix up, Mrs Manis called the hospital and a court order to exhume her husband's body was prepared. 
    She said: 'I don't know about the other gentleman, he doesn't want the teeth back, but I know my husband is going to be resting a lot easier and so is our family.'
    The hospital apologised to both families for the mistake.
    A court order drafted by Hamilton County Chancellor Frank Brown said Park Ridge 'shall bear the costs of such interment and reburial', along with attorney fees up to $1,250.
    Grin and bear it: The wrong set of dentures were removed from the coffin after a hospital mix-up
    Grin and bear it: The wrong set of dentures were removed from the coffin after a hospital mix-up
    A spokesman for the hospital said: 'We’re also paying for new dentures. We hope that this will bring peace and closure to the Manis family.'
    Chattanooga Cemetery foreman Bill Hartley declined to give details of the exhumation.
    Mr Hartley said: 'We’re trying to honour the family and the veteran. We can’t disclose any information or anything.'
    Hospital officials said they would not release the name of the man who lost his dentures.
    Mrs Manis described her husband as a proud man who never wanted anything that belonged to someone else.
    Mr Manis served in the Army and fought in the Korean War. Five of his eight brothers are also buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007621/Wife-asks-husbands-body-exhumed-realising-hes-buried-wrong-false-teeth.html#ixzz1QI3Fhziw

    Mother chosen as nude model for the Little Mermaid statue copy


    The Little Mermaid... of Folkestone: Mother-of-two chosen as nude model for copy of Copenhagen landmark

    Last updated at 6:54 PM on 24th June 2011

    A bronze statue of a mother striking the same pose as Copenhagen's landmark Little Mermaid model has been unveiled at the start of a seaside town's arts festival.
    Georgina Baker, 38, was chosen from a shortlist of 50 people to model for the £25,000 nude statue which has been installed at Folkestone harbour in Kent.
    The statue, by Turner Prize-nominee Cornelia Parker, was created after Mrs Baker responded to an advert dropped through 20,000 letterboxes in the resort requesting a model.
    Scroll down for video link
    Georgina Baker, 38, was chosen from a shortlist of 50 people to model for a £25,000 nude statue replica in Folkestone of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
    Double take: Georgina Baker, 38, was chosen from a shortlist of 50 people to model for a £25,000 nude statue replica in Folkestone of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
    The statue, by Turner Prize-nominee Cornelia Parker, was created after Mrs Baker responded to an advert dropped through 20,000 letterboxes in the resort requesting a model
    Strike a pose: The statue, by Turner Prize-nominee Cornelia Parker, was created after Mrs Baker responded to an advert dropped through 20,000 letterboxes in the resort requesting a model
    Ms Parker was said to have wanted a robust and 'strong 21st-century woman' rather than a 'stick-thin model' - and Mrs Baker fitted the bill.
    Married with two children, Mrs Baker lives in Sandgate and is a keen scuba diver and a qualified interior designer and aerobics instructor who works part-time helping disabled people through physiotherapy.
      She said: 'I'm really pleased to have been selected as Cornelia's model and my children are excited that their mum has been chosen as the Folkestone Mermaid.'
      Ms Parker said: 'This was not a beauty contest. I was not looking for a lookalike of the idealised Copenhagen mermaid but for a real person and a free spirit.'
      The real deal: The artwork is based on Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue, commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen and which sits on a harbour rock in the Danish capital (pictured)Georgina captures the spirit of the original mermaid
      Have a seat: Cornelia Parker was said to have wanted a robust and 'strong 21st-century woman' rather than a 'stick-thin model' - and Georgina fitted the bill. The artwork is based on Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue, commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen and which sits on a harbour rock in the Danish capital (right)
      The artwork is based on Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue, commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen and which sits on a harbour rock in the Danish capital.
      Unveiled in 1913, sculptor Edvard Eriksen asked his wife Eline Eriksen to pose for the body, while its head was modelled on ballerina Ellen Price who declined to pose nude.
      The Folkestone statue is one of 19 commissions for the three-month Folkestone Triennial arts festival, described as one of the most ambitious public art projects in the UK.
      Artists have been invited to develop new works for Folkestone's streets, squares, beaches and historic buildings to create a contemporary public art exhibition.


      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007832/The-Little-Mermaid--Folkestone-Mother-chosen-nude-model-copy-Copenhagen-landmark.html#ixzz1QI1biBd6

      Tiny beach hut expected to sell for £250,000


      Tiny Tardis-style beach hut with a fitted kitchen, underfloor heating and two floors... and yours for £250,000

      Last updated at 11:14 AM on 25th June 2011
      It looks like a typical tiny British wooden beach hut from the outside, but this is no ordinary cabin.
      It is a Tardis inside with two floors, gadgets galore and is expected to sell for £250,000.
      The newly-built hut measures just 23ft by 6ft, but has a marble wet room and a fitted kitchen with granite worktops.
      Seaside sale: This tiny hut on the coast in Shaldon, Devon is expected to get bids of more than £250,000
      Seaside sale: This tiny hut on the coast in Shaldon, Devon is expected to get bids of more than £250,000
      Sea views: The beach huts have all the gadgets including underground heating, Freeview TV, DVD and wireless internet
      Sea views: The beach huts have all the gadgets including underground heating, Freeview TV, DVD and wireless internet
      Cosy: The 23ft by 6ft beach hut can sleep four and has a fitted kitchen with granite worktops
      Cosy: The 23ft by 6ft beach hut can sleep four and has a fitted kitchen with granite worktops
      It can sleep four people - two on the ground floor and two on a mezzanine - and the owner has a private terrace right on the beach.
      There's under-floor central heating and electric windows which close automatically when it rains. It also has Freeview TV, DVD and wireless internet.
      The hut in Shaldon, Devon, is in the middle of a row of five, with the others being rented out for up to £120 a night.
      Developer Bernard Howard, 64, said: “It looks like a beach hut from the outside but it is like a Tardis inside.
      'The position is exceptional. At high tide you can practically dip your toes into the sea.'
      Catherine Edwards, of Bradleys estate agents in nearby Teignmouth, said the hut is attracting a lot of buyers and there will be sealed bids for it.
      She added: 'We were asking for offers in excess of £200,000, but it is expected to go for a lot more than that.'


      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008025/Tiny-Tardis-style-beach-hut-fitted-kitchen-underfloor-heating-storeys--250-000.html#ixzz1QI0EABjd

      Friday, June 24, 2011

      What the Dickens? Bleak House up for sale at £2m


      What the Dickens? Author's Bleak House holiday home up for sale at £2m

      Last updated at 7:11 PM on 24th June 2011
        Estate agents have great expectations about the sale of this seaside property - once the holiday home of Charles Dickens.
      The Victorian author spent his summer holidays at the cliff-top residence and wrote the novel David Copperfield there.
      The sea views of the English Channel from the study also inspired his 1852 book Bleak House.
      Great expectations: The clifftop property in Broadstairs, Kent where Charles Dicken's wrote several of his famous novels. Bleak House was lived in by the author in the 1850 and is expected to fetch £2m
      Great expectations: The clifftop property in Broadstairs, Kent where Charles Dicken's wrote several of his famous novels. Bleak House was lived in by the author in the 1850 and is expected to fetch £2m
      Inspiration: The house was renamed Bleak House in 1870 after the author's death - in honour of the novel of the same name which is said top have been inspired by the views from the property
      Inspiration: The house was renamed Bleak House in 1870 after the author's death - in  honour of the novel of the same name which is said top have been inspired by the views from the property 
      After his death in 1870 the six-bed property was renamed from Fort House to Bleak House in his honour.
      The four storey grade II mansion in Broadstairs, Kent, has now been put on the market for £2million.
      Dickens and his family visited the property ever summer for 22 years. He called it 'our little watering place'. 
      Melaine Backe-Hansen, a house historian for estate agents Chesterton Humberts of Canterbury, said: 'As a favourite holiday home of Charles Dickens and his family, Bleak House is a fascinating property with a unique history.
      'Dickens completed his novel David Copperfield here and it is where he was inspired to write Bleak House.
      'The property was very important to Dickens as he often stayed there on his frequent visits to Broadstairs.
      'According to John Forster, a friend and official biographer of Dickens, Bleak House was 'the residence he most desired'.
      'His daughter, Mamie Dickens, also said that Bleak House was the one 'on which he had always set his affections'.
      Where it all happened: Dickens wrote David Copperfield from this desk overlooking the busy shipping lanes of the English channel
      Where it all happened: Dickens wrote David Copperfield from this desk overlooking the busy shipping lanes of the English channel
      Inspiration: The house was previously a museum paying tribute to the life and work of Charles Dickens
      Inspiration: The house was previously a museum paying tribute to the life and work of Charles Dickens
      'The property was also visited by other prominent figures including novelist Wilkie Collins and prime minister William Gladstone.' 
      Bleak House was built in 1801 and was the home of the local fort captain during the Napoleonic wars.
      Dickens's permanent residence was about 20 miles away at Gad's Hill Place at Higham, near Chatham, Kent.
      From 1837 to 1859 Dickens leased Fort House from the private owner for his family's summer holidays.
      After it was renamed Bleak House the property was turned into a museum in tribute to the author before going into private ownership again.
      The study is on the extreme right of the building, looking out to sea.
      Although it is privately owned there are several items from when it was a museum still in the room today.
      These include a replica of Dickens' writing desk, a portrait of him and a sign stating: 'From across this desk Charles Dickens viewed his beloved English Channel, here the maritime activity of the 19th century was at its peak, the powerful British naval fleet based at Chatham and the many trading ships operating out of the pool of London made this part of the Channel busy and eventful.
      'Dickens's whole panorama was of sailing activity.'

      James Grillo, of estate agents Chesterton Humberts, said: 'This is a property that could be seen as an antique, and there are a number of buyers who buy properties with this sort of provenance because they just relish the opportunity of being a custodian of such a historic house.
      'But, having previously been used as a museum and with planning permission for a boutique hotel, there is another type of buyer that will recognise the commercial potential of the property and look to buy it for that reason.
      'The Dickens link definitely raises the property's profile within the country house market and will attract a number of people who might not have previously considered this sort of property.
      'This is a beautiful property in a stunning location, an opinion obviously shared by Dickens himself.'
       


      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007820/Charles-Dickenss-Bleak-House-holiday-home-sale-2m.html#ixzz1QFTVTnOD

      Move over Buckingham Palace...mystery owner of London's most incredible home...


      Move over Buckingham Palace! Furious locals, a massive underground extension, and the mystery owner of London's most incredible home

      Last updated at 10:32 PM on 24th June 2011
      Soon its name will join the ranks of Britain's great stately homes. Already, in the most elite of circles, it is being whispered in awe: 'Witanhurst. Do you know it?'
      The residents of London's Highgate certainly do, for this mammoth property has caused an ongoing row, as planners have repeatedly rejected lavish plans for its development.
      The Georgian-style mansion is London's second-largest private residence, after Buckingham Palace.But following a short-lived renaissance in 2002 as home to the BBC's Fame Academy, it had been allowed to decay. 
      Witanhurst
      Witanhurst
      Now, the planning issues having been resolved, it is being turned into a modern-day Xanadu, the palatial mansion immortalised in the film Citizen Kane.The glittering 65-room palace will include 25 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms and an imperial walnut-panelled Grand Ballroom.
      A vast two-storey subterranean extension will almost double its size, making room for a 70ft swimming pool, sauna, hairdressing salon, massage parlour and a huge cinema suite.
      Diggers are carving an enormous  cave beneath the house, which will make the property just 2,000 sq ft smaller than Buckingham Palace. Staff accommodation and a 25-space car park will complete the £50million expansion.
      A borehole system, driven deep into the ground, will heat the house, using the Earth's warmth.Documents lodged with Camden council show that the main house will remain largely the same, except for the demolition of a 20th-century wing, which will be replaced by a super-sized 'orangery'. Work is due to be finished in autumn 2012.
        Mystery shrouds the mansion, however. For despite being the size of ten generously sized detached homes, nobody knows who owns it.Indeed, it is said that even Robert Adam, the celebrated architect behind this extraordinary project, does not know who his client is.
        He receives his instructions via an intricate web of companies and advisers, designed to give the owner absolute anonymity.So just what is Witanhurst and who is behind it?
        It is perched above North London, on the verdant hill of Highgate, an ancient village that is one of the capital’s most sought-after addresses.Overlooking Hampstead Heath, the area once was home to the highwayman Dick Turpin  and philosopher Karl Marx is buried in the nearby Victorian cemetery.
        Today, celebrities including Sting, Bob Hoskins, Jude Law and Ulrika Jonsson have chosen the area as their base.Witanhurst stands in six acres of woodland, commanding some of the best views in London. 
        Move over Buckingham Palace: Kate and Wills walk in the grounds the day after their wedding
        Move over Buckingham Palace: Kate and Wills walk in the grounds the day after their wedding
        Built in 1774, the original Georgian residence was called Parkfield. Bought by the well-connected stockbroker Walter Scrimgeour for his wife and eight children at the end of the 19th century, the house became the venue for masked balls attended by the great and the good.
        When the family left Parkfield in 1913, it was purchased by Liberal MP and soap and candle tycoon Sir Arthur Crosfield. He sold the family company and ploughed the profit into Parkfield, which his wife, Domini - the daughter of a Greek merchant and a former Swiss ladies' tennis champion - helped him turn into a palace.
        Crosfield renamed his home Witanhurst (the old Anglo-Saxon words ‘witan’, meaning a parliament, and 'hurst', a wooded hill). They spent £1 million on the property (£20 million today) replacing the original house with a 40,000 sq ft Queen Anne-style mansion.
        A gate lodge welcomed guests into the main house's teak hallway, which was so vast guests gasped in disbelief.Oak flooring and walnut wall panels embellished with gold leaf added to the sense of opulence.
        The couple used the four tennis courts to host a charity competition in which their illustrious friends - George VI, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, Princess Juliana of Holland and Princess Ingrid of Sweden - played.
        Fame Academy: The BBC talent show was filmed at Witanhurst
        Fame Academy: The BBC talent show was filmed at Witanhurst
        But tragedy hit the family. Crosfield lost a fortune in a failed Greek mining venture and was then killed falling off a continental sleeper car. Lady Crosfield stayed at Witanhurst and her soirees still attracted celebrities and royals: the young Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth visited.
        But when Lady Crosfield ran out of money, the parties stopped and  the property was split into apartments. Her plan to give the house to the nation as a residence for visiting dignitaries came to nothing. When Lady Crosfield died in 1963 the house passed to her adopted son, Paul.
        He put the house on the market and, for years, the fate of Witanhurst hung in the balance. An attempt was made to demolish the house to make way for flats, but there was public outcry and the house was listed.
        In 1971, the property was sold for £1.3 million to a firm called Pamilion Properties and for the next three decades Witanhurst passed from one developer or mysterious foreign owner to the next.
        In the early Eighties, the lower section of the estate — now known as Highfields Grove — was sold for the construction of 24 houses.The house itself, however, remained untouched and the locals were distraught to see the building fall into disrepair. They tried to trace its owners, to no avail. It has for years been on the English Heritage 'buildings at risk' register. 
        Guests: The Royal family were frequent visitors to Witanhurst, seen here sitting in the roped-off enclosure on the right-hand side
        Guests: The Royal family were frequent visitors to Witanhurst, seen here sitting in the roped-off enclosure on the right-hand side
        In 2002, Witanhurst became home to the BBC's Fame Academy talent show. But producer Endemol wasn't allowed to continue filming there after Camden council planners said it had caused 'irreversible damage' to the listed building, by installing a gym and hot tub without consent.
        Witanhurst has also been the setting for costume dramas including Tipping The Velvet, Dorian Gray (starring Colin Firth), Nicholas Nickleby and The Lost Prince. The council made it clear that it wanted someone to restore the house to its former glory. In 2007, it seemed that day had come.
        Local developer Marcus Cooer bought Witanhurst for £32 million from an Arab family, vowing to spend millions on restoration and put it back on the market for £150 million.
        Months later, it was back on the market, untouched, for £75 million. Then matters took a more mysterious turn. When the house was sold again three years ago, the new owners put in plans for an ambitious overhaul, including a three-storey glass pavilion. These were initially rejected, but amended plans were allowed on appeal. Locals have strenuously objected, claiming it will ruin the character of the neighbourhood.
        Some councillors at Camden called the subterranean scheme 'immoral', because of the amount of environmental disruption it will cause. One committee member, Michael Hammerson, said: 'We don’t want limos with smoked windows and men in dark glasses with bulging breast pockets, and the place surrounded by CCTV. That’s not Highgate.'
        Fate: The future of Witanhurst has long been a contentious one
        Fate: The future of Witanhurst has long been a contentious one
        Nevertheless, the bulldozers and cranes moved in 18 months ago, and Witanhurst has become a building site once more. The site is now known locally as Ground Zero, with up to four articulated trucks an hour rumbling through the narrow lanes of leafy Highgate for the past six months.
        As the main thrust of the renovation is downwards, they are removing tonnes of earth. Some 15,000 square metres are being excavated to form the vast two-storey basement which will double Witanhurst's size.
        Who is behind the renovation, then? In 2008, it was reported that Yelena Baturina, the wife of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow, and a billionaire in her own right, had bought the property for £50 million. She denies this.A controversial figure in Russia, the construction tycoon has also fought off accusations of corruption.

        He added that the vast new wing called the Orangery - despised by locals - is necessary as it would offer smaller living quarters, should 'the family fancy a simple night in with pizza and a beer'.

        Baturina, 48, who already has a home in London’s Holland Park, which accommodates her extensive art collection, is known for grand schemes.When she failed to find a school for her two daughters, Elena, 19, and Olga, 17, she built her own, complete with state-of-the-art security.
        Despite being the richest woman in Russia, she denies owning Witanhurst and has launched legal proceedings against a newspaper story that claimed otherwise. 
        In March, Mr Justice Eady at the Court of Appeal opened the way for Baturina to proceed with her libel case.
        What is not in dispute is that Witanhurst was bought by the offshore firm Safran Holdings, registered in the British Virgin Islands.
        David Franklin, from Safran Holdings, says the owners have a vision for the house. He says: 'We have said that if the appeal was successful we will get working on restoring Witanhurst to its former glory.'
        He added that the vast new wing called the Orangery - despised by locals - is necessary as it would offer smaller living quarters, should 'the family fancy a simple night in with pizza and a beer'.
        He also defended the need for the huge underground extension: 'These are the things someone spending this type of money expects in their homes.' The construction team has said that the new owner is a 'wealthy European family looking for a permanent base in London'.
        It could be that we have to wait for the house-warming party to discover who has moved into the capital’s grandest private pile. One thing is certain: they’ll have plenty of room to entertain their new neighbours, that is if any of them deign to accept an invitation to tea.
         


        Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007919/Move-Buckingham-Palace-Furious-locals-massive-underground-extension-mystery-owner-Londons-incredible-home.html#ixzz1QFST6SDr