Smoke Screen

So for those last remaining ones stuck with the filthy habit yesterday was probably a good indication to you that if you survived National No-Smoking Day without a single puff, you can now stop forever and move to Scotland where the air is cleaner. “Whit you aw aboot?” Sunday 26th March sees the enclosed public places ban in Scotland come into effect. Actor Brian Cox and TV presenters Lorraine Kelly and Gail Porter backed the ban. Hundreds of actors and musicians supported the arguments against a ban, including Antony Worrall Thompson, artist David Hockney and musician Joe Jackson. A letter appearing in The Times voiced opposition to smoking bans and was signed by a host of celebrities including Sir Bob Geldof and Sir Stephen Fry. We're still awaiting comment from Rab C Nesbitt. For the time being those remaining few still addicted to the dreaded weed it's business as usual south of the border. Or is it? Will Worrall Thomson win a share of Gordon Ramsay's clientele as "smoking restaurant?" or "non-smoking restaurant?" becomes a question you ask your dinner guests rather than the restaurant asking your table preference? And when entire countries implement their bans? Well, I guess we'll all be off to France!

Spring Fashion 2006 - What will you be wearing?

YUCK! Bird flu, yes it's getting closer and closer (2nd Bird Flu Case found in France). Everyone is asking lots of questions, is it a hoax? Can celebrities catch it? Should we worry? What sort of precautions can we take? For those that have made the move from red meat to white the options seem to be running out. Should we still be eating eggs? Should we still be feeding the wild birds in the garden? Relax, according to the experts you can only catch the dreaded bird flu by handling infected birds or from someone else that has been infected, that's the scary bit right? Well if we have to take steps to cover up we might as well be doing it in style. Maskeraid have taken the recommended mask (for the geek-minded it's the FFP3 mask giving 99% protection) and created a lovely range of bespoke design bird-flu masks for the spring season, each one is printed individually by hand, choose from spring daisies, tiger stripes, a Burberry check, Paul Smith style stripes or a macho camouflage. Prices start at just £4.99 including P&P. You can also order masks with your own personalisation, design, words of love or company logo. Just the thing for a walk in the country or a visit to your local farmers market. 10% of the proceeds go to charity. Let's face it there could be worse ways to step out in style.....in safety.

Celebrities Galore!

Well almost! What do the following have in common? JIMI HARKISHIN, SHOBNA GULATI, CHRISTINE HAMILTON, BRENDAN COLE, DARRYN LYONS, JOHN McCRIRICK, LORD BROCKET, LIZ FULLER, MICHAEL BALL, JEREMY ZIMMERMAN, WAYNE SHARPE, NOEL EDMONDS, JENNI FALCONER, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE NOVELLI, FARIA ALAM AND A MYSTERY FOOTBALLER They've all been voted as your top date for Valentines? No, not quite! They are all trying to make a comeback? No that's not fair, well Noel Edmonds will continue his comeback when he hosts the final of Miss Great Britain 2006 along with GMTV presenter Jenni Falconer. The lovable Noel (who is apparently 57!) returned to TV screens after an absence of several years with the surprise hit game show Deal Or No Deal on Channel 4. For those old enough to remember he dominated our screens in everything from Top of the Pops, Top Gear, Juke Box Jury, The Late Late Breakfast Show, Saturday Roadshow, Telly Addicts, Telly Years, the BAFTA's, the Brit Awards, Noel's House Party and the launch of the National Lottery. And for those even older he was a newsreader on Radio Luxembourg before joining Radio One. So what about the rest of them? OK, the Miss Great Britain 2006 beauty contest will be judged by celebrities including chef Jean Christophe Novelli, Strictly Come Dancing`s Brendon Cole, Coronation Street`s Shobna Gulatti, Christine Hamilton, and two Celebrity Big Brother veterans, John McCririck and Faria Alam. The Miss Great Britain 2006 winner will receive a 12-month schedule of modeling work and a part in a Hollywood movie. (along with loads of top beauty, cosmetic and fashion freebies). The final will be held at Grosvenor House Hotel, London, on Saturday February 25. Sadly it's too late for entries, but stay tuned as we'll be giving you the lowdown on how to get hold of the goodies that the winner bags soon and whoever your date is have a fun Valentines.

Clever Guy

Leave school, make your first million and then decide if you really want to go to university after all! That's exactly what Alex Tew of Million Dollar Home Page has done. First he came up with a smart idea, his plan was to ensure that he did not end up with debts from a student loan after graduation. His idea, like the best ideas, was very simple, he created, or indeed packaged a new way of selling advertising space on the internet. His home page was made up of 1 million pixels and he sold each pixel for $1, in less than six months he reached his $1 million target. So has earning over a million dollars swayed his judgment at all? Well let's face it he has probably learnt more about business in five shorts months than any course could teach him, sure he still has more to learn but right now he is known around the world as a pioneer, and in the advertising world that'll get him a very long way indeed with or without his newly created bank balance. Meanwhile, as with every great idea there are now many spin-offs, one quick search uncovered free and $0.60c pixels at Million Money Maker, as Alex proved you'll need to be quick to take advantage of such things. We are pretty sure that we'll be reading about Alex again soon in the business press or perhaps we'll see him in the glossies with models hanging off each arm, as he becomes this years new, most eligible bachelor. Good Luck Alex.

For Pete's Sake

Newcastle, Leeds and Glasgow gigs off! 25th Jan Doherty was arrested twice. Once at 5:40am for suspicion of possession of class A drugs after driving erratically in London. Following his release he was searched and re-arrested in London at 3:00pm for being under the influence of class A drugs. Riots in Newcastle as many fans turned up to the gig two days ago unaware of the arrests. The judge refused bail and Doherty was remanded in custody until 8 February, for sentencing. The press speculated that he gave the judge the finger after being refused bail. Gossip, gossip, gossip! We'll save the 'rolling stone gathers no moss' jokes until Pete announces he's off drugs for good!