kokodoko 67 Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I have taught english. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Do you like it steep? Steep thrills: Italy's recession-hit resorts put faith in hair-raising black pistes In the battle to attract skiers after the first big snowfalls of the season, the Alps’ recession-hit resorts are counting on their scariest pistes to bring in the winter thrill-seekers. And the appeal of the most hair-raising descents is such that Europe’s ski resorts are now battling to produce steeper and steeper descents. Switzerland’s famous St Moritz has increased the maximum steepness of its already petrifying Lagalb piste to a scarcely believable 41 degrees to the horizontal slope on average, in order to claim the crown as Europe’s steepest black run. The resorts PR people describe it as “a sheer delight for adrenaline junkies”. The Franco Berthod slope in Italy’s La Thuile resort is now said to beone degree steeper at 37 degrees. Close behind in third spot in the Italian Dolomites, is the Plan de Corones, at 36 degrees. Officials in Italy’s top ski villages are in no doubt about the lure of wickedly difficult runs. An agent of the police unit patrolling the slopes at Moena in Italy’s north-Eastern Trentino region told La Repubblica: “All you need to do is put up a notice telling people that the piste is reserved for expert skiers and you’ll instantly find a queue because there’s a huge desire for people to test their limits – even among those who should realistically stick to the easier pistes.” Some of the most challenging black pistes (colour-coded to denote difficulty, with black being the hardest to ski) are now so steep, that snow-cat vehicles which crawl up the slopes every night to flatten and recondition the snow have to be fastened from a winch to ensure they don’t slither down the mountain. But the commercial incentives for maintaining – or introducing – pistes such as Madonna di Campiglio’s famous Spinale Direttissima or Mayrhofen’s appropriately named Harakiri slope in Austria are clear. Renzo Minella, the president of Dolomite Tourism, said the hardest pistes were in huge demand. “It’s clear that the ambition of every skier is to measure themselves against difficult slopes and therefore the very rapid pistes have an added value, especially for the ski resorts that want to host the competitions at the highest level,” he said. Much of the Alps has been struggling to attract skiers in tough economic conditions. According to Ansa news agency, the average cost of a week in the Italian mountains in peak season will be €932 (£775) per person this year and €2,240 (£1,870) for a family – without taking into account spending money. But Mr Minella added that guaranteeing safety and maintaining the super-steep black runs could be “very complicated and costly”. After a spate of deaths in the Alps in recent years, authorities have sought to introduce more police patrols and even punishments for skiers who behave dangerously or put themselves or others at risk. In Switzerland, fines of SFr1,000 (£675) have been handed out to irresponsible skiers, and some have been asked to pay damages and to meet the cost of rescue operations – often tens of thousands of Swiss francs. Some offenders have also had their ski passes confiscated and been put on resort blacklists. But most of the dangerous incidents have occurred as a result of skiers ignoring warnings about off-piste activity, Statistics suggest that the rate of serious injuries on the exceptionally steep black runs is lower than average. Mr Minella said their reputation – and the sheer challenge they presented – meant that even the best skiers approached them with caution. Tone Valeruz, one of Italy’s best-known “extreme skiers” told La Repubblica that the piste he considered among the most challenging was the Piculin slope at San Vigilio di Marebbe in the Dolomites. “It can scare even a very good skier, not only because of the vertical decline but also because of the lateral slope,” he said. “If you fall, you fly off the piste, especially when the bottom part is icy.” He noted that on the steepest of descents, staying upright was more about controlling your fears than your technique. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Is it as steep at Mt Granview? They should consult some of the 'experts' on here to get more skiers going Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 the prices at Niseko are well steep. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Vitriol. You really should stop it. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Victory Roll Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Very important news of the day. Seagulls continue to be a nuisance on Australian Beaches!!! Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 No wonder he's looking away. Flabby. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 A police helicopter has crashed into a busy pub on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow.It happened at The Clutha in Stockwell Street at 22:25 on Friday. Police Scotland say there were three people on board the helicopter - two officers and a civilian pilot. Police have not confirmed whether anyone has died but 32 people have been taken to local hospitals. It is not known how many people are still trapped inside the pub. A senior fire officer said they had made contact with some people trapped inside the pub but the building was unsafe and they were taking a "methodical" approach to the rescue. It has been reported that about 120 people were in the pub at the time of the crash. Many were rescued or escaped but others have been trapped by a collapse on the left-hand side of the building. Emergency services have erected barriers around the scene and specialist rescue teams are in the pub with sniffer dogs to help with the search. Some of the injured were taken to a nearby Holiday Inn Express, while more serious casualties were being treated in hospital. As he left the Accident and Emergency Department of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a member of staff who did not want to be interviewed was asked how serious the injuries were. He replied: "Very". Glasgow's Health Board said it had put in place its "well-rehearsed major emergency arrangements" and that hospitals in the city had been on "immediate standby" for casualties. A large area of the city centre has been cordoned off. The emergency services could be seen on the pub's roof trying to rescue people from inside. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had a specialist urban search and rescue crew at the scene. Assistant chief officer Lewis Ramsay said: "Our officers are working very hard in what is a very complex and hard environment for them. "We are in the process at the moment of making the building stable. It is very unsafe". He said it was "difficult to tell" how many people were still inside. He added: "We have had some contact (with those inside) and we are working away just now to make sure that the building is safe in order to get people out. "We have got 125 firefighters here and they are not only working outside the perimeter of the building, they are working inside. They have been in the cellar, they have been on the roof." He said "numerous" casualties were removed at the start of the incident and had been taken to hospital and other locations. Images of the crash showed the wreckage of a dark blue helicopter with a yellow "POLICE" insignia lying on the roof of the pub. Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said: "At 22:25 on Friday evening, the Police Scotland helicopter - a Eurocopter EC135 T2 - came down on the roof of the Clutha Vaults pub in Stockwell Street, Glasgow. "There were three people on board - two police officers and a civilian pilot. There were a number of customers inside the bar at the time." She said the rescue operation was ongoing and it was too early to provide any details around why the helicopter came down. "I can confirm there are a number of casualties but it is too early at this stage to provide further details," Deputy Chief Constable Fitzpatrick said. Helicopter operator Bond Air Services said it was working with the police and emergency services. Jim Murphy, the Labour MP for East Renfrewshire, was in the area at the time of the crash and said he ran into the pub to help before the emergency services arrived on the scene. He told the BBC: "I was just a few yards away and I arrived on the scene outside the pub a few seconds after the impact. No-one knew what it was but you saw the pandemonium of the people trying to get out of the pub. "It was almost like slow motion. Like other people you just do what you can to help." Mr Murphy, who is the shadow international development minister, said it was a "horrific scene". He added: "As you stood there you could see the helicopter embedded in the roof and sticking out the top of the roof and you knew it was something really serious." Mr Murphy, who had blood on his shirt which he said was not his, said he did not see the crash happen and it was all a bit of a blur for a few minutes before the emergency services arrived. He added: "People just formed a bit of human chain, side by side with each other, to help pull injured people out." Eyewitness Fraser Gibson, 34, was inside the pub with his brother to see his former band, Esperanza. "Midway through their set it sounded like a giant explosion," he told BBC Scotland. "Part of the room was covered in dust. We didn't know what had happened. We froze for a second; there was panic and then people trying to get out the door." Mr Gibson said that immediately following the incident there was a suggestion that a helicopter had crashed into the roof of the pub. "There was no obvious sign of that," he said. "I couldn't hear of any rotors or anything like that before the event happened or any sign when we came out of the pub." "I would say there was maybe 120 people inside the pub. A lot of people managed to get out straight away, but it was hard to tell how many were actually trapped in the other half of the bar. "We wanted to get out of the way and let the emergency services get in there to help. "I spoke to one of my former band members and he's as much in the dark over the situation as me. "We checked that each other was safe and the rest of the band were safe. The immediate group I was with are all safe. "We're obviously very concerned about what casualties have been sustained in the incident. "There were no signs (of a helicopter) at all. The roof had just totally collapsed, there were shards of wood sticking out the top but nothing that said there had been a helicopter crash." BBC Scotland reporter Andrew Kerr said: "I live nearby and actually heard the helicopter overhead just around that time and there was a definite change in the rotor noise and then there was just silence. "I thought nothing more of it until I heard the sirens. The actual Police Scotland helicopter SP99 is based just two miles west along the River Clyde. It is well-known for the people of Glasgow to see, covering things like football matches in the city." Claire Morris, who lives near the Clutha bar, told BBC News: "We heard this bang. We didn't really know what had happened and then we heard people coming out and screaming. "I wasn't sure whether there had been an explosion. My daughter said to me it was a helicopter that had hit the roof. "Police are everywhere. We are just very shaken." She added the pub was very popular and would have been busy on a Friday night. Drinking in Glasgow can be dangerous at the best of times, but you don't expect to be hurt by a plummeting helicopter!! Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 N-Dubz's Dappy kicked in face by horse The N-Dubz rapper Dappy has been hospitalised after a horse he was riding kicked him in the face Dappy, the diminutive rapper from chart-topping trio N-Dubz, has been hospitalised after a horse kicked him in the face. He was riding the horse at his Hertfordshire home when it threw him and stamped on his face, according to a source who spoke to the Mirror: "Dappy sees himself as a bit of a lord of the manor and he was cantering around when the horse reared up suddenly … He was left sprawled on the ground, and to make matters even worse, the horse then stamped on his face. There was blood everywhere." His spokesman confirmed the accident, saying that he was rushed to hospital for treatment. It crowns a bad year for the star, whose solo album yielded two top three hits in 2012 – in January he was given a six-month suspended sentence and 150 hours of community service following a conviction for affray and assault, and had to pay £6,500 in costs. He later lost an appeal. His planned co-headline autumn tour with grime star Wiley, the awkwardly titled Meeting of the Minds, was cancelled, and he was also accused of hitting a fan in the face with a microphone during a gig earlier in the year Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 good horsie Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 So "Abenomics" did not win the phrase-of-the year award. Instead a 4(!)-way tie among: 今でしょう! お・も・て・な・し じぇじぇじぇ 倍返し Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Tom Daley praised as role model after revealing he is in same-sex relationship Yes, well done on being homosexual! A fabulous achievent. All kids should be like that. Link to post Share on other sites
kokodoko 67 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I would rather be a seagull. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 He's a diver. Nuff said Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Rivetting stuff. I'm sure glad I know now. I hope he tells us all about his sexual experiences in full detail. I will 'follow' him on Twatter an Facebooks just so I can get those instant updates. Yey! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 You are obviously faffing about too much Pies as his coming out video is already on Facebook Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Damn. Has he updated about is most recent "throbbing cock experience"? Don't suppose there'll be much fannying about there.... I think I'm going to announce my heterosexuality on Twatter later today. My audience deserves to know this. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 You'd better get your act together.....Abe may start to think you're slipping and faffing about too much Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Isn't it illegal to take it up the bum until you're 21? Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 or give it up the bum Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Perhaps he'll let us know in his next thrilling update. Or he just enjoys sucking. He really needs to elaborate. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 No, age of consent was standardised a good few years ago in the UK Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 16 for sex and marriage and bumming Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Yes Link to post Share on other sites
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