The cars with a certain 'je ne sais quoi' take to the track at Le Mans - French track hosts 2,500 Citroens, the ultimate Gallic vehicle.

Thousands of French car enthusiasts gathered from around the world for an event to celebrate classic models produced by automobile manufacturer Citroen.

These pictures show more than 200 2CVs during a parade at 'Euro Citro 2014', on the circuit of Le Mans, western France, today.

In total, almost 2,500 Citroens took part in the event, dedicated to French carmaker Citroen's fans and car owners.

When it was first manufactured in 1948, the Citroen 2CV was launched to appeal to the large number of farmers in France. Nicknamed the 'Tin Snail', it has now become a classic, known for being easy to drive, cheap and simple to maintain.

Also on display are numerous Citroen DS, manufactured from 1955 to 1975 and often named as the most beautiful car of all time

When it was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1955, 743 orders were taken in the first 15 minutes of the show and order for the first day reached 12,000.

The event also featured a museum of exceptional models from the company's earliest days and an auction of Citroen cars.

Citroen was one of the first mass-production car companies outside America and was founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroen.

See more here:

First Muslim mayor to face fraud trial: Tower Hamlets borough boss accused of promising houses for votes Daily Mail

Lutfur Rahman

  Lutfur Rahman allegedly used illegal tactics to win May mayoral election

  Islamic voters were 'told they should be good Muslims and support him'

  Supporters accused of branding his main rival racist and anti-Islamic

  Four voters have submitted damaging dossier of evidence to High Court

Britain’s first elected Muslim mayor is to face trial over claims he committed widespread voting fraud.

Lutfur Rahman, 48, is accused of using illegal tactics to win the mayoral election in Tower Hamlets, East London, in May.

People were allegedly promised council houses if they backed him and Islamic voters were told they should be ‘good Muslims’ and support him.

His supporters are accused of doctoring ballot papers, manipulating postal voting and sabotaging the chances of his main rival, Labour candidate John Briggs, by branding him racist and anti-Islamic.

Four voters have submitted a damaging dossier of evidence to the High Court in an attempt to overturn Mr Rahman’s election victory.

Yesterday Mr Justice Supperstone and Mr Justice Spence granted them the right to have their allegations heard at a full trial, which is expected to be heard in Tower Hamlets later this year.

Mr Rahman was a member of the Tower Hamlets Labour Party and was its candidate to be the first directly elected mayor of the borough in 2010.

But he was expelled from the Labour party after allegations surfaced about his close links with an Islamic extremist group called the Islamic Forum of Europe.

Mr Rahman then won the 2010 mayoral contest as an independent candidate.

Read more here:

Homes for votes deal in council election fix': Petition claims polling for mayor in London's Tower Hamlets was fraudulent

Hospitals send parking bully boys to hound sick and grieving: NHS spends your cash on 'dodgy' debt collectors Daily Mail

  NHS Trusts are employing bogus lawyers to threaten vulnerable patients

  Patients taken to courts over £60 tickets issued while receiving treatment

  Trusts are using bailiffs to go after those who do not pay exorbitant 'fines'

  Parents issued a £50 ticket while at hospital to say goodbyes to dying son 

  Hospital refused to apologise and instructed solicitors to chase payment

Hospitals are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to force patients to court over car parking tickets.

NHS Trusts are employing ‘unfit’ debt collectors and bogus lawyers to threaten vulnerable patients and their families and make them pay up.

In some cases, patients have been dragged through the courts over £60 tickets issued while they received treatment.

Documents seen by the Mail show Trusts across the country are using bailiffs and legal firms to go after those who do not agree to pay exorbitant car parking ‘fines’.

Elderly parents Robert and Josephine Taylor were issued a £50 ticket while at hospital to say final goodbyes to their son Stephen, who was dying of pneumonia. 

They had accidentally parked in the wrong bay but the hospital refused to apologise and instructed solicitors to chase the payment, threatening court action.

Read more here:

See the previous part of this series

DVLA rakes in millions colluding with cowboys: Nearly 100 firms trying to buy drivers' details, official figures show

NEIL HERRON: We saw off the rogue clampers. Now let's purge the parking ticket pirates

Why do Hospitals feel the need to charge ridiculous car parking charges ?, it’s a tax on the ill and their visitors, and must be stopped  

'Thought Police' Target NFL Super Bowl-Winning Coach for 'Intolerance', Charisma Magazine

Tony Dungy.

Former Super Bowl-winning coach and current NBC football analyst Tony Dungy became the latest target for the "Thought Police" last week, when he said he wouldn't have drafted openly gay player Michael Sam because of the distractions it would cause for the team.

Said Dungy, "I wouldn't have [drafted] him. Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn't want to deal with all of it. It's not going to be totally smooth ... things will happen."

And for his innocuous comments, Dungy was dubbed the "World's Worst Person in Sports" by ESPN's Keith Olbermann, and other swift attacks on Dungy came from all over.

Read more here

Further Reading

Equal Marriage,  Just plain wrong

Menace of the new parking cowboys: Drivers 'fined' £100 for overstaying by minutes at fast food chains and shops , Daily Mail

  Tickets doled out  private firms do not have official legal status

  Many are in fact issued unfairly and without the proper legal authority

  AA president Edmund King says many use 'scare tactics and bullying' 

  Drivers cannot be compelled to pay unless a court order is granted 

‘Cowboy’ parking squads hired by High Street firms are hitting hundreds of thousands of drivers with £100 ‘fines’ and using threats to make them pay up.

The companies – employed by fast food chains, retailers and railway operators – issue what appear to be official penalty notices, similar to those used by council traffic wardens. They then extract huge sums from drivers who are sometimes just a few minutes late in returning to their cars.

However, the tickets do not have the same legal standing as official fines.

Many are being issued unfairly and – in some cases – without proper legal authority.

Please click here to read more

Additional Story on Parking

Scotland could run out of cash just like Greece, Scottish Sunday Express

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cotland would need to severely downsize its financial sector in order to avoid a major economic crisis if the country votes to break away from the rest of Britain.

According to former Scottish Government economist Florian Baier and former Bank of England economist Erik Britton, an independent Scotland would be left over-reliant on its financial sector and North Sea oil.

The economists’ upcoming paper for Fathom Consulting estimates the country’s banking assets as potential liabilities would be 1,100 per cent of GDP, similar to the liabiities that caused an economic crisis in Iceland in which its government took over three of its largest banks in 2008.

Please click here for more:

Dog owner to sue council because her spaniel slipped a disc in GRASS and she cannot afford to pay the £5,000 vet bill Daily Mail

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 dog owner plans to sue a council for thousands of pounds after her pet slipped a disc in grass while chasing a cat.

Scooby, a three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was injured after getting his leg caught in long grass on council-owned land in Brighton, East Sussex.

His disabled owner Rebecca Richardson, 48, claims that she now faces a £5,000 veterinary bill which she cannot afford to pay as she lives on benefits.

Campaigners criticised Mrs Richardson and her husband Steven, 49, for their claim and said it was yet another example of the ‘compensation culture gone mad’.

But Mrs Richardson said Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns her house and the land outside it, was negligent and ‘completely responsible’ for what happened to her pet. 

She claimed that she and other neighbours had been asking for the long grass outside their homes to be cut for a month before the accident. 

  Scooby the spaniel slipped a disc after getting his leg caught in long grass

  Disabled owner Rebecca Richardson, 48, says she now faces £5,000 vet bill

  Claims she cannot afford to pay it as she lives on benefits at Brighton home

  Believes city council is 'responsible' for fall because it failed to cut the grass

  But campaigners deem claim an example of 'compensation culture gone mad'

Please click here to read more:

Rebecca Richardson

EXCLUSIVE: Calais lorry drivers BEG for aid as migrants turn VIOLENT, Daily Express

They say French police have given up trying to deal with gangs of up to 100 migrants who surround lorries and demand passage across the ­Channel under threat of violence.

The situation is so bad they want the British Army to be called in to help protect the drivers.

Many have been verbally abused or physically attacked and one needed hospital treatment after being kicked and punched by an angry mob.

Please read more

Commonwealth Games provide a 'tantalising glimpse' at a YES vote result in Scotland, Daily Express

It is a tantalising glimpse of what might become of the UK if there is a "yes" vote in September's independence referendum. Team GB would be no more.

It has proved irresistible to Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland and professional sports fan, who recently spoke about a "self-denying ordinance" under which he would avoid talking about independence during the Games.

He did so with a glint in his eye for he knew such an ordinance would be impossible to enforce.

At least three times over the past week the SNP leader has raised his self-denial and three times he has gone on to break it, for he is happiest when taking potshots at Westminster, while highlighting the fact that most of the countries in the Games achieved their "independence" from the UK was too good an opportunity to miss.

Read more here

Inside a church for Born Again Christians: Speaking to God in a Manchester multiplex, Independent News Paper, 26/07/2014

Anthony Delaney is a retired policeman. Now aged 49, he grew up on a council estate in a rough part of Manchester and joined the Police Cadets at 16, which was "all about outdoor pursuits and the pursuit of girls".

Today, Delaney is "above all" a Follower of Jesus: a self-proclaimed man of the people who has successfully utilised his gruff voice and engaging, measured manner to grow Manchester's Ivy Church – a community of Born Again Christians now with more than 1,000 members meeting on a weekly basis – to more than four times its size since he joined as leader five years ago. So significant today is the congregation, that events are now held several times a week at venues across the city, including Cineworld, a warehouse and even a pub.

 

When the last census was taken in 2011, the number of Christians across the UK had fallen to 33.2 million – that was 59 per cent of the usual resident population at the time and a 12 per cent decrease from 37.2 million, 10 years earlier. The most recent self-evaluating research from the Church of England, found in the Church Growth Research Programme published in 2007, showed a sharp decline in numbers, with just 2 per cent of attendees of CoE churches in the UK at last count being between the ages of 18 and 24 – with a whopping 47 per cent aged 65 and over. In this context, the rise of the Born Agains in this largely white suburb on the north bank of the River Mersey is all the more striking.

Read more here

Further reading

Mystery of First World War officer's portrait solved as researchers discover he was a teenager killed by a shell at the very beginning of the conflict

A mystery portrait of an unknown First World War soldier has finally been identified - 100 years after his death.

For years the painting of the unknown soldier hung in Carmarthen County Museum in Wales but no one knew his name or if he survived the horror of the trenches.

It remained a mystery until an amateur historian posted a picture of the painting on the Great War Forum website and asked for help to uncover his identity.

Read more here

Commonwealth Disney Eurovision Brigadoon... reflections on the opening ceremony, Christian Today

John Barrowman

It was a great example of liberal imperialism....you had better adopt our values or else! The government has also funded 'pride house' at the Games to ensure 'equality'. I wonder what would happen if I went and asked for 'Christian house' to be fully funded to ensure that the millions of Christians who are currently being persecuted throughout the world, got attention and support?! And we know of course that that 'equality' does not extend to those who dare to disagree with the liberal elites absolutist morality.

Dancing Tunnocks Tea Cakes

The words, 'equality, humanity and destiny' were blazed up on the massive screen (at least the ceremony got that aspect of Scottish life right – we spend more on the screen than we do on anything else!). The message was clear. Humanity can be God. You can control your own destiny. We are all equal – Those who are more equal than others (being smarter, richer and more powerful) will deign to tell the rest of us what that 'equality' is. It was a strange mix of liberal fundamentalism, the power of positive thinking, and Brand Scotland. But I don't want Scotland to be a Brand, where our past and present is marketed for a world shopping centre, according to the fantasies of those who believe they are the children of the Enlightenment. I want to cry 'freedom' for the poor and the rich, black and white, men, women and children. Whatever political system we have that will be a false hope until we return to our historic Scottish Christian roots. True freedom is found in Christ and in his Word.

What is true Freedom ?

Please read more here

Further Reading

The ship that totally failed to change the world, NS Savannah, BBC News

Fifty years ago the world's first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship sailed from the US to Europe on a publicity tour to persuade the world to embrace the atomic age. It didn't quite work out like that.

Sleek in shape, painted red and white, its interior decorated in what was then ultra-modern chrome, the NS Savannah wasn't quite like any other cargo ship.

It had facilities for passengers. The 600ft, 12,000-ton ship boasted a cinema, veranda bar and swimming pool. The cabins had no curtains. Instead, "polarised" windows, designed to cut glare, lined the sides of staterooms.

The ship was one of the few to spring directly from the imagination of a US president. In 1953, Dwight Eisenhower had made his famous Atoms for Peace speech, attempting to balance the growing fear of nuclear apocalypse with optimism about the possibility of civilian use of atomic energy.

And he wanted an atomic ship. A civilian one.

Tonight: Is Britain Christian?

David Cameron believes Britain is a Christian country, but these days less than half of us describe ourselves as Christian, and only 5% of us go to church on a weekly basis.

Nadia Eweida

In ‘Is Britain Christian?’ Tonight asks if the Prime Minister is right, and if it matters if he’s not? Should we accept that Christianity needs to take a back seat in a modern secular society, or will some communities lose more than bricks and mortar?

Britain’s history, laws and traditions are rooted in Christianity. The Queen is head of the Church of England - a tradition that dates back to the Tudors. Some of our greatest art, literature and music is inspired by Christianity. But these days, less than half of us describe ourselves as Christian.

This has left some of those who continue to hold very strong beliefs feeling marginalised. British Airways employee Nadia Eweida and nurse Shirley Chaplin have both fought in the European Courts for the right to display crucifix necklaces as part of their uniform.

But it’s not all bad news for the church: in the UK, membership of Pentecostal churches has risen by around 20% over the past five years, often boosted by immigrant communities.

Read more here

Vicar in the trenches: The story of Reverend Theodore Hardy in the Great War, Robert Gore Langton, Daily Express

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ut there was one breed of non-combatants that has been rather forgotten: chaplains.

By the end of the war there were 3,500 clergy in khaki, going about their rounds in a dog collar and representing God while all hell broke loose.

They were a mixed bunch and many were frankly worse than useless.

Padres who got the least respect were the ones who preached patriotism behind the lines and frightened the men going to the front. But some performed quiet miracles on the front line, earning undying admiration.

Perhaps the most astonishing of them all was a small, unassuming country vicar and one-time headmaster from near Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria.

He joined up as a relatively old man at 51.

He was to become the most highly decorated non-combatant of the Great War, winning to his considerable embarrassment the DSO, MC and VC.

His name was Theodore Bayley Hardy.

Read more  here

Further reading

1)     Royal Army Chaplains Department

2)   Theodore Hardy, Wikipedia

Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.

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fter the fractious introspection and months of angry debate about what it means to be Scottish, the people of Scotland enjoyed a well-deserved break from it all last night – as they welcomed the world.

And by the end of an exuberant, good-humoured, periodically chaotic evening – starring everyone (and everything) from a giant haggis, cabers, golf clubs, a gay wedding, 41 Scottish terriers, Rod Stewart, rousing cheers for the Queen and lashings of self-deprecation – Scotland seemed to have answered her own question.

All of the above, we can safely say, encompass what it means to be Scottish. Quite what last night’s opening of the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow means for that referendum campaign, on the other hand, is anyone’s guess.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2703216/Tunnocks-Tea-Cakes-Irn-Bru-Forth-Bridge-Gretna-Green-Glasgow-opens-Commonwealth-Games-world-Scottish-flavour.html

Please read more here

'THE BONDS THAT UNITE:' THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE TO THE COMMONWEALTH

 

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The Queen spoke of the 'shared ideals and ambitions' of the Commonwealth when she delivered the message which has travelled the world in the Games' baton relay.

She highlighted the 'bonds that unite' the 71 nations and territories when she formally declared the 20th Commonwealth Games open.

In an address directed at all the athletes competing in the Games, she made special reference to the young people of the Commonwealth, saying they are entrusted with its values and future.

The message, which was kept secret until tonight, has circled the globed over the last nine months, since the Queen placed the paper inside the baton which then visited all 71 locations.

Reading the message, the Queen said: 'At Buckingham Palace last October I placed this message into the specially-crafted baton and passed it to the first of many thousands of baton-bearers. Over the past 288 days the baton has visited all the nations and territories of the Commonwealth, crossing every continent in a journey of more than 100,000 miles.

'The baton relay represents a calling together of people from every part of the Commonwealth and serves as a reminder of our shared ideals and ambitions as a diverse, resourceful and cohesive family.

'And now, that baton has arrived here in Glasgow, a city renowned for its dynamic cultural and sporting achievements and for the warmth of its people, for this opening ceremony of the Friendly Games.'

The Queen, in her role as head of the Commonwealth, sent her best wishes to the competing athletes when she addressed the opening ceremony at Glasgow's Celtic Park.

She said: 'To you, the Commonwealth athletes, I send my good wishes for success in your endeavours. Your accomplishments over the coming days will encourage us all to strengthen the bonds that unite us.

'You remind us that young people, those under 25 years of age, make up half of our Commonwealth citizens; and it is to you that we entrust our values and our future.

'I offer my sincere thanks to the many organisations and volunteers who have worked diligently to bring these Games to fruition, and indeed to the spectators here in the stadium and to the millions watching on television. Together, you all play a part in strengthening our friendships in this modern and vibrant association of nations.

'It now gives me the greatest pleasure to declare the 20th Commonwealth Games open.'

  

BARROWMAN'S GAY KISS

 

John Barrowman, the Scottish-American actor, singer, dancer and presenter, kissed one of the performers during the ceremony. 

In what was seen as a clear message to the 42 countries of the Commonwealth where it is still a crime to be gay, Glasgow-born Barrowman reached out to kiss the man before holding his hand during a sequence to celebrate Gretna Green.

Barrowman is openly gay and married.

Comment:

It’s a shame  that a wonderful celebration of the cultural variety that is the Commonwealth was hijacked by Gay Rights, although I believe that it shouldn’t be a crime to be gay,  there isn’t need to push Gay Rights into focus.  Hoping that someone’s Gay Kiss is going to pressure other countries to de-criminalise homosexually is a fallacy and foolishness. I believe that’s not okay to be gay.

Faith in God Is a Virulent Infection, Columnist Claims, Charisma Magazine

Belief in God is a "virus," and evangelical Christianity is one of the more "virulent infections," a Conservative peer and columnist for The Times has claimed.

In an attack on faith schools, Matt Ridley said that "rationalists" want to "protect" children from religion.

And the peer, who is a supporter of the British Humanist Association, said, "secular, free-thinking" should be adopted to "combat the rise of radical Islam and radical Christianity."

His comments in The Times came as a report was released on the "Trojan Horse" Islamic plot in some Birmingham schools.

Please read more

Scottish Independence, a Vehicle for Alex Salmond's Grandiose Ego ?. Updated

Two months to go until the referendum, but acrimony will last for years,  Daily Express Scotland

The Yes Scotland campaign - comprised largely of SNP members and sympathisers, aided by a ragbag of Green nationalists, a small number of disaffected Labour voters and rather more anti-English bigots than anyone cares to admit - is in trouble.

The separatist movement has had three years to persuade us of the wonders in store if only we would sever our links with the UK.

Much longer if we consider that the SNP has been fighting for the breakup of Britain for eight decades.

Yet, here we are, eight weeks to go before the most crucial vote Scots have ever been involved in, and all the indications are that Mr Salmond and his followers face a humiliating defeat. read more here

Comment:

I believe that Mr Alex Salmond and his colleagues in the Scottish National Party have not only dis-honoured the people  of Scotland but also the people of the rest of the United Kingdom by their disgraceful lies and actions to push their agenda to separate Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom,  Does he see himself as President Salmond rather than First Minister ?.  I was surprised to see last night that Mr Salmond has the  title  right honourable, which means he is a privy councillor and advises Her Majesty The Queen,   at the end of the day as the First Minister of Scotland, he serves at her Majesty’s Pleasure, maybe it’s time that he steps aside and lets  someone who is not only  loyal to the people of Scotland, and the people of the rest of the United Kingdom, but also loyal to The Crown to lead the people of Scotland, Mr Salmond and his colleagues in the SNP are using the people not only of Scotland but the people of  the rest of the United Kingdom to serve their grandiose egos.,  The evidence points to one thing that Mr Salmond is a Charlatan!

Another own goal for Alex Salmond

Alex Salmond's blatant electioneering at the Commonwealth Games

Why the EU wouldn't allow Scotland to join the European Union

Nearly 1 Million Scots consider leaving Scotland if it's Yes Vote

Void at heart of Salmond's plan laid bare for all to see

Alex Salmond loses first independence TV debate

Further Reading:

1.      Does The SNP Economic Plans really mean Independence?

2.    The Currency Question?

3.     The National Debt?

4.    Pensions

Going, going, gone! A small town loses THREE banks in a year as branches continue to close all over Britain, Daily Mail.

One year ago there were four banks on the High Street in the north Essex town of Brightlingsea. By this autumn only one will remain.

First Nationwide shut, then NatWest said it would leave, and now Barclays has followed suit. The closures are threatening to bring this thriving community to its knees. 

Susie Bowes has only been running Vintique antique shop on the High Street for two months and the Barclays branch is six doors down. She knew NatWest - further down the road - was going to close when she was looking to open a business bank account. She chose Barclays. It never said it was going to go, too.

Read more here