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Is This Proof That Ghosts Exist?
March 27, 2009 12:15 PM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
If you think ghost sightings are only for the superstitious, here are a few pictures that might change your mind.
British psychologist Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire recently held what he calls “the largest ever investigation into the photographic evidence for ghosts.” Members of the public were asked to submit photographs of possible ghost sightings to Wiseman. The best images were posted online, after which 250,000 people cast their votes on which pictures showed a genuine ghost.
The prize-winning picture, by Christopher Aitchison, is posted above. It was taken at Tantallon Castle in Scotland. Aitchison told Wiseman that he was unaware of anyone -- visitor or staff member -- being present at the castle opening. Wiseman told ABC News that he has “had a couple of Photoshop experts look at it, and it has not been digitally manipulated.”
Here are two more images that received a high number of votes from viewers. The first shows a figure in the woods, and the second shows a figure on the street. In both cases, the photographers say no one was actually there when the picture was taken, and that they cannot account for the “ghostly” presence.
What do you think? Are these ghosts or a trick of the light? To see more pictures, go to http://www.richardwiseman.com/hauntings2/experiments.html
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March 27, 2009 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (38) | TrackBack (1)
Bucket Baths Make Babies Happy
March 26, 2009 1:27 PM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
Anyone who has spent time with a newborn knows how stressful bath time can be. Now a Dutch company has come up with a product that claims to “make bath time enjoyable from birth.”
Behold the Tummy Tub: It's a small bucket that parents can fill with warm water, allowing babies to enjoy a warm bath without fearing they'll drown. The makers say that the tub is “designed to replicate the comfort of the mother’s womb, and once in the Tummy Tub, babies naturally adopt the fetal position and instantly feel reassured and relaxed."
The manufacturer recommends filling the Tummy Tub with water that covers the baby’s shoulder, to keep the baby warm.
According to its maker, the Tummy Tub has been endorsed by maternity hospitals, physicians, midwives and child caregivers throughout Europe. But to many of us who grew up in countries where overhead showers were deemed exotic, the bucket bath for babies is hardly a new concept.
Still, there’s no denying that these seven babies in their seven Tummy Tubs make a very cute picture. And they don’t look unhappy either.
And while the Tummy Tub retails at about $36, you can buy an ordinary bucket for a lot less, making this a recession-friendly way to make your baby happy.
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March 26, 2009 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (36) | TrackBack (0)
Lovers' Island Almost Perfect for Valentine's Day
February 11, 2009 11:33 AM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
If you are running out of ideas for how to make your Valentine’s Day exciting, here’s a thought -- three days on a private island … shaped like a heart.
The 130,000-square-yard island of Galesnjak, located off the Croatian coast, has become a hit with lovers who discovered its perfect heart-shaped dimensions on Google Earth.
Even the island’s owner appeared surprised by the surge of interest in the island. Vlado Juresko, whose family owns Galesnjak (now renamed Lovers' Island), told reporters that the attention “has been incredible.”
“We think it is the most perfect heart-shaped island in the world," he said. "Nobody lives there, so if lovers really do want to spend time alone, it's the perfect desert island.”
Privacy comes at a cost, though. There are no provisions for food or drink or a bed to lie on. So if you are planning on a trip to see the heart-shaped isle for yourself, be sure to pack a sleeping bag and some provisions. You will need it.
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February 11, 2009 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
'The Best Job in the World' Could Be Yours
January 12, 2009 12:45 PM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
How’s this for a dream job? Spend six months exploring Hamilton Island in Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, live in a three-bedroom villa (with its very own swimming pool) for free and make $102,560 a year. All you have to do is write a weekly blog, put up pictures from your stay online and file video updates designed to attract visitors to the reef’s 900 islands.
Interested? Well, you are not the only one. Thousands of candidates have lodged their video applications with Tourism Queensland.
So is this position, billed by Tourism Queensland as “the best job in the world,” just an elaborate sales pitch to attract more visitors to the reef in these cash-strapped times? Probably, but the organizers aren’t bothered.
“We just want to give somebody from another part of the world the opportunity to experience the Queensland life,” said Helen McNaught, a spokeswoman for Tourism Queensland. “And we thought this was a more unique way to attract people than a straightforward ad campaign.”
Well, it seems to have worked. If you think you have at least a year’s worth of “relevant experience,” “excellent communication skills” and crucially, “a willingness to try new things,” apply away. Rules are below:
About the application process
Candidates are required to create a 60 second or less video application in English explaining why they are uniquely qualified for the job. Candidates are also required to complete an application form and upload the video to www.islandreefjob.com. Applications open on 10th January and close 22nd February 2009. Tourism Queensland and their representatives in international markets will select ten candidates and visitors to www.islandreefjob.com will have the chance to select one Wild Card candidate. All candidates will participate in an interview selection process which will be held on a number of the Islands of the Great Barrier, on the 3rd - 6th May, 2009.
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January 12, 2009 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)
Unsung Heroes Recount Mumbai Attacks
December 05, 2008 7:53 AM
By Ammu Kannampilly, ABC News Mumbai
When terrorists attacked Mumbai's historic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, two men – Sanjay Kate and Manoj Negar – helped the hotel's guests, bringing the injured and the afraid to safety.
Kate and Negar are not part of the city's police force or the hotel's security staff – they are drivers employed by a company that regularly contracts cars and drivers to the Taj hotel. This is their account of that night at the Taj; they did not leave the hotel premises until 3 the following morning.
Kate: We were working at the Taj, we were [parked] at the back of the hotel so when the [Cafe] Leopold firing started. We heard it. Initially we thought it was gangsters, some gang war. [Then] we saw the terrorists, we saw them firing at guests.
Soon, the two men made their way to the front of the hotel, to help escort guests to safety.
Kate: In the Taj lobby, we could see bodies strewn -- there were some security staff and doctors there. There was a lot of blood on the lobby floor. I could see people crying, children crying. At that time, no one was there from the military or the navy, only local police -- two cops, one with an AK-47 and the other with a revolver. We stayed to help because there were some very old people there and children as well. We could see the hotel staff helping people, getting them out, looking after them, and we thought, we work for the hotel too, so we stayed.
Negar: We thought we had to fight, we should go up and fight [the attackers]. But they had guns and we didn't have anything. …We saw two of the terrorists -- one in a red jacket, carrying a rucksack, the other in a blue jacket. They must have been 20-25 years old. They were shouting loudly.
Negar: There were three to four people, foreigners, old people. We helped to take them out of the hotel. Then we went up to the third floor, there was a foreigner there, he had been shot in the leg. We tried to help him down with the help of a hotel security guard. We were near the stairs, when we saw one of the terrorists trying to break through the glass and get into the cake shop, to get inside the hotel from the back. We had nothing in our hands -- the attacker was less than 50 meters from us. But somehow we made it. Sadly the man we were carrying died. Then on the first floor we found two foreigners shivering with fear, we escorted them to safety.
Kate: My family saw me on television that night and I must have got some 50 calls, telling me to come home. But [staying there] was the right thing to do.
Negar: My 18-year-old daughter phoned me after seeing me on TV -- told me, "papa, come out of there, come home." My brother called me from his village in Bangalore, saying the same.
Kate: I couldn't walk away. I saw the faces of my family in the faces of the people there.
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December 5, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Dancing's Unlikely Star Quits Show
November 19, 2008 10:11 AM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
Visitors to Britain might be surprised by the reams of paper devoted recently to coverage of “Strictly Come Dancing,” the U.K. version of “Dancing With the Stars.”
And they would almost certainly be shocked by the unlikely figure at the center of all the fuss -- a 64-year-old man more famous for his skills in the newsroom than on the dance floor.
In a sign of just how obsessed the country is with veteran political correspondent John Sergeant, today BBC News ran a breaking news banner announcing that the nation’s new hero had quit the show.
Before his shocking exit, Sergeant posed stiff competition to his fellow contestants. All this despite the fact that the man couldn’t dance to save his skin, much less to win the approval of the show’s judges, who have repeatedly panned his performances, calling him a "dancing pig" whose moves are “more ha ha ha than cha-cha-cha.”
But the British public couldn’t care less – viewers voted to keep him in the running each elimination round and their vote makes up half of the total score for each dancing couple.
Younger voters in particular have been quite keen on the former newsman, setting up Facebook groups called “John Sergeant to win” and “I love John Sergeant and want him to be my granddad.”
Until Sergeant’s decision to withdraw from the competition this morning, bookies William Hill had slashed the odds on him winning the top prize from 66-1 to 16-1, calling him “a genuine contender.”
So what lies at the heart of the portly journalist’s appeal?
Some have attributed his success to the British fondness for the underdog. As the London Times’ Giles Hattersley put it, “The less talented they are, the more we like them.”
TV presenter Esther Rantzen put it down to his “unbeatable” charm. “He may be a little older, a little heavier, and considerably slower than some of his rivals,” Rantzen wrote in the tabloid The Daily Mail, but, she added, he makes men “who, like him, are not as skinny as they once were, feel good about themselves,” and women “laugh and want to cuddle him.”
Everyone loves Sergeant, it seems, apart from the show’s despairing judges and a few disgruntled contestants.
Cherie Lunghi, an actress who was the most recent contestant to be voted off the show, claimed that Sergeant was turning the program into a “soap opera.”
Other contestants don’t seem to mind though, with model Jodie Kidd telling the London Times a week ago that the old newshand is “adorable.”
Television actor Tom Chambers, one of the favorites to win, spoke to the London Times Saturday, calling Sergeant “the man of the moment,” saying, “I think he has got the whole nation under his, um . . . charming spell.”
But the judges don’t agree: Craig Revel Horwood, a judge and a choreographer, told the London Times, “We are supposed to be voting for the best dancer, not the worst.”
And judge Arlene Phillips attacked Sergeant in an interview with BBC Breakfast News, saying, “There is nothing correct about his performances.”
“In terms of dance everything is wrong -- posture, movement, the position of his head,” Phillips said. “When [other celebrities] put hours in the practice studio they are constantly working. They do not sit down, and I know with John, he sits and reads the Guardian. A lot of time he and his dance partner spend fooling around.”
But for all the fooling around, Sergeant’s presence has made this season of “Strictly Come Dancing” a hit.
“‘Strictly’s’ ratings were down on last year,” Boyd Hilton, television editor of U.K. celebrity magazine Heat, told the London Times, “then suddenly last week it got a huge boost — and that’s down to the John Sergeant factor. How boring would these shows be if the good, talented dancers and singers just stayed in week after week?”
Well, viewers will now have a chance to find out after Sergeant’s withdrawal.
For all the hand-wringing, however, no one seemed to have a better time on the show than him, or have a clearer sense of its absurdity. Discussing his efforts to learn the tango, he joked, “It has all the characteristics people associate with me -- passion, rhythm and a raw sexuality.”
Even his statement announcing his decision to leave the show was not without humor.
"The trouble is that there is now a real danger that I might win the competition. Even for me that would be a joke too far."
For those who will miss him -- and there are many -- it’s been announced that he will return on Saturday's show for a "farewell dance.” And presumably, a tumble or two.
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November 19, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Oxford Students Throw Party With 'Fit Jews'
November 14, 2008 12:22 PM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
Oxford University is in the news this week but for all the wrong reasons.
The controversy? The university’s under-21 rugby team reportedly threw a party with the theme “Bring a Fit Jew.”
Partygoers reportedly caricatured Orthodox Jews -- attaching side locks to their heads and carrying bags of money –- at the event, which was reportedly held Wednesday at a South Asian restaurant.
News of the party plans leaked out before the event took place.
In an interview with ABC News, Aaron Katchen, the university’s Jewish chaplain, said he began working with the Oxford University Student Union to have the party canceled about 10 days before the party.
“OUSU [the Oxford University Student Union] was in touch with the director of Rugby, and we were assured that the party was not going ahead with the original theme,” Katchen said.
“Then, on Wednesday night, we were informed that that was not the case, when I was contacted by people who had witnessed it. But whether the official theme of the party stayed the same, or whether it was just a few students who decided to turn up in costume, it’s unclear.”
Katchen said that a number of “quite upset” students –- Jewish and non-Jewish –- had called him to complain about the party.
After the uproar over the party appeared in the student press, the university opened an investigation into the matter.
In a statement released to ABC News, the university said it was “currently investigating a report about inappropriate behavior by two or three students. We cannot comment on the case as we are yet to establish the facts. However, the university condemns unreservedly racial stereotyping.”
Phil Boon, the captain of the under-21 team, told reporters that he “didn't see what the problem was.” He said that Jewish girls had accepted invites to the party. “I can understand why it might have offended some people, but it would have been an awesome social,” he said.
The apparent absence of any remorse is suggestive of what Katchen describes as the “general insensitivity to the Other in the U.K.”
“Obviously no country is immune to racism, but compared to the U.S. and Canada, I find it to be more overt here,” he said.
There may be some truth to that sentiment: News of this party comes only a month after Britain’s University of Gloucestershire hit the headlines for a Nazi-style student initiation ceremony that was caught on tape.
And, in January 2005, Prince Harry ran into rough weather when the U.K. tabloid The Sun published pictures of him wearing a German uniform and a swastika armband to a fancy dress party.
The prince apologized for his “poor choice of costume.” As this latest flap shows, though, it may be some time before we hear the last of such parties.
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November 14, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (93) | TrackBack (0)
How to Stay in a $9.9M London Mansion for Free
November 07, 2008 11:40 AM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC NEWS London
One of London’s most exclusive addresses is now home to an squatters’ art collective. Blocks away from Michelin-starred restaurants, Hyde Park and the U.S. Embassy, a group calling itself the Da! Collective has found an empty house with an open window and moved in.
The group has been living there since October 10 and its members claim that they have yet to hear from the property’s owner, a company called Deltaland Resources Ltd, based in the British Virgin Islands.
In the meantime, the group has made itself at home, changing the locks, hanging a black flag from the first-floor balcony and decorating the rooms with art installations.
The house's floorboards may look too worn-out to support people living there, but that doesn't faze its latest occupants, who have reconnected the utilities and plan to pay for electricity and heating.
The $9.9 million, six-floor townhouse is now filled with sleeping bags, old mattresses and rucksacks stuffed with clothes. The 30-plus rooms in the building are now home to art installations featuring tree branches, test tubes and a lot of exposed electric wiring.
Although its idea of redecorating might repel some observers, the group doesn’t believe that it has done anything wrong.
Stephanie Smith, 21, a member of the collective, told reporters, “If anything, we are improving the building by mending leaks and things like that. The building is listed so English Heritage might be interested to see how the owners have let it disintegrate.”
One of the other members, Sophie, 19, told ABC News the collective does not "want to degrade the house."
She added, "Anyone can come in here, anyone off the street, there's no money involved."
Unless the owner takes the group to court, British law allows squatters to stay put wherever they choose. And if they are able to hold on for 12 years, the place is theirs for life.
So far, the members of Da! Collective have no plans to move. As Smith told reporters, “If the owners want to kick us out they will have to apply for an eviction notice at the county court.”
If the owners take them to court, then other owners had better watch out. In the past the collective has taken over several empty houses in central London, including two in the upmarket neighborhood of Kensington.
But before the group's members move, they intend to enjoy their new premises to the hilt. They held an opening night event to promote their artwork on November 7, which attracted a steady flow of interest from people passing by.
And, as for neighbors minding the noise, that doesn't seem to be a problem. Sophie said that they had had many friendly visits from "elderly neighbors". The night of the party, a local restaurant, Corrigan's, offered them free plates of food, as a goodwill gesture.
At any rate, the Da! Collective's latest neighbors may well have to get used to their presence. In May, 70-year-old Harry Hallowes became famous when he won legal rights to a piece of land in Hampstead Heath, north London, after squatting there for more than two decades. The price of the land? A cool $3.1 million.
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November 7, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Obamamania Takes Hold of the World
November 05, 2008 10:37 AM
By Ammu Kannampilly, ABC News London
When the world woke up to the news of Barack Obama’s win, it quickly became apparent just how much hope people from all over the world had invested in the U.S. president-elect.
Some, like 52-year-old Sara Joseph from the South Indian city of Kochi had even signed up to Obama’s Web site more than 20 months ago. All this for a candidate fighting an election in a country she has yet to visit. Why take the trouble?
Joseph said, “What Bush was doing to Iraq and one of the world's oldest civilizations angered me a lot. …I was on the lookout for someone who could at least offer to make a change.”
The freelance writer could not make any donations because she is not a U.S. citizen but she’s followed the campaign intently from February 2007.
And today she got her wish – a victory for Obama, and this letter from the campaign headquarters:
sara --
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack
Reading the news, Joseph said, was like feeling “a whole new world opening without all the lies and politics of hatred that we have been reading about” for the last eight years.
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November 5, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (53) | TrackBack (0)
A Food Fight With a Difference
August 27, 2008 1:03 PM
By AMMU KANNAMPILLY, ABC News London
It’s a food fight that sees over a hundred tons of overripe tomatoes being thrown around.
Every year, on the last Wednesday of August, tens of thousands of people take to the streets of the Spanish town of Bunol, armed only with tomatoes, which they then throw at each other.
It’s called La Tomatina, and the celebrations last for a week, featuring music, parades, dancing, fireworks and plenty of good food.
In fact, the night before the battle of the tomatoes, participants compete in a cooking contest to see how can make the best paella (a rice dish typical to the Valencia region of Spain, where La Tomatina is celebrated).
No one is sure when the festival began, though many estimate that it’s been around for at least 60 years.
Today, thousands of tourists descend on the small town of Bunol. The town’s normal population is 9,000 and, by some estimates, up to 40,000 tourists turn up each year to take part in La Tomatina.
The days before the festival, as the town celebrates in preparation for the tomato fight, local shopkeepers cover their storefronts with plastic sheets to prevent damage. Participants in the tomato fight are also urged to wear safety goggles and gloves, for safety reasons.
Finally, the momentous occasion arrives, and once the town’s water cannons are fired, it’s every man for himself as the city’s streets are flooded with tomato pulp.
The only rule, other than the requisite goggles and gloves, is that everyone must squish their tomato before throwing them at anyone. Additionally, no one is allowed to throw anything other than tomatoes, of course.
An hour later, the water cannons are fired a second time – to signal an end to the fighting.
Once the fighting has stopped, fire trucks take to the streets, cleaning the last vestiges of the tomato war.
La Tomatina is ostensibly in honor of Bunol’s patron saints, Luis Bertran and the Mare de Deu dels Desemparats (Mother of God of the Defenseless – another name for the Virgin Mary).
In an interesting historical side-note, Spain’s General Franco banned the festival for its supposed lack of religious significance.
But, perhaps proving that you can’t keep a good food fight down, the festival made a triumphant comeback after Franco’s death in the 1970s.
Theories abound as far as La Tomatina’s mysterious origins are concerned – from a local food fight between pals, to an accident involving a ton of tomatoes falling off a truck. There is no dearth of stories regarding its background.
One of the most popular notions is to do with angry locals throwing tomatoes at town officials. However La Tomatina came to pass, it is now a staple part of the Bunol calendar and a must-see for tourists going to Valencia during August.
And, although some bloggers have criticized the festival for wasting food at a time when so many nations are battling food shortages, there seems to be no end to its popularity.
August 27, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
