Posted on 08/27/2005 3:37:59 AM PDT by Mo1
More info from my local paper - the cables will be 5,330 Mts. long and 1.24 Mtr. in diameter each one made up 44,352 steel strands.
Good job it is in the Mediterranean not in the tornado zones
Queen heads guest list at Lady Thatcher's 80th By Duncan Gardham (Filed: 14/10/2005)
Baroness Thatcher celebrated her 80th birthday last night at an impressive reception attended by the Queen and the cream of the Establishment.
The Queen greets Lady Thatcher
Lady Thatcher arrived uncharacteristically late at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge but an assistant explained that she had a good excuse - she had been delayed by 15 minutes because she was on the phone to President George W Bush.
Among the guests was Lord Archer, the former vice chairman of the Conservative Party, with his wife Lady Archer. Before they entered, the couple were stopped by a policeman and asked for their invitation.
Lady Thatcher had earlier enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at her London home but her presents were delivered later for security reasons.
Her aide, Cynthia Crawford, said: "She cannot believe she is 80 and neither can I. She looks absolutely wonderful."
Having spent most of her birthday at home with members of her family and close friends, she arrived wearing a navy blue coat and silk chiffon dress by Camilla Milton.
She was followed by Sir John and Lady Major and Tony Blair and his wife Cherie.
The Queen, wearing a cream ensemble, and Prince Philip, in a dinner suit, arrived at a back entrance to the hotel where they were greeted with a curtsey by Lady Thatcher.
They were among 670 people from politics, industry, the arts, showbusiness and sport.
It had emerged earlier that only two of the four contenders for the Tory leadership had been invited, David Davis and Dr Liam Fox.
Kenneth Clarke, a pro-European, was not invited, and it was pointed out that the former prime minister "doesn't know" David Cameron.
Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, was also missing from the guest list.
Michael Howard, who arrived with his wife, Sandra, called Lady Thatcher "a very special lady" and added: "She has made an enormous contribution to the life of our country.
"People forget what a state the country was in 1979. We were on our knees, we were the sick man of Europe. The bulk of the credit for the turnaround that has taken place since then belongs to her."
The occasion was not regarded as an evening for speeches, but a toast to Lady Thatcher was to be proposed briefly by Lord Carrington, the former foreign secretary.
Her doctors advised her some time ago that she should not make public speeches in the wake of some minor strokes, although she still attends the House of Lords regularly.
Many of Lady Thatcher's close friends were among the guests as were her twin children, Carol and Sir Mark Thatcher.
Most members of her former cabinets were invited, including Lord Howe, whose attack on her in the Commons played a key role in her downfall. But Lord Heseltine was not among them.
Among showbusiness figures attending were Joan Collins, Dame Shirley Bassey, June Whitfield, Lord Lloyd-Webber and Sir Tim Rice.
Miss Collins said: "It is a great way to celebrate a great lady who I have absolutely always adored."
Other guests included Terry Wogan, Sir Jimmy Young, Sir Trevor McDonald, Frederick Forsyth, P D James, the comedian Jim Davidson, the television presenter Jeremy Clarkson and chef Marco Pierre White.
Environmentalists say the bridge is potentially hazardous, given that it lies in an active earthquake zone.
Messina, the main city on the Sicilian side of the straits, was destroyed by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 1908 that killed some 87,000 people. Architects say the structure would be able to withstand an earthquake of more than 7.1 even if the epicentre were as close as 15km.
The entire bridge, including supporting cables, would weigh some 300,000 tonnes, and if all the cables used to support it were put end to end they would circle the earth five times.
Taco Maria Has Her Arms Chopped Off
"Monster Maria," a statue of Maria Corbalan, owner of a Taco XPress in South Austin, Texas, has had its arms chopped off by daring vandals. They climbed atop the restaurant on the night of September 14 and hacked off her eight-foot arms, leaving only shreds of styrofoam on the roof.
The vandals then reportedly called a local newspaper to boast that Maria had had "liposuction" on her arms.
The desecration of the statue, which was a beloved local landmark, has led some to speculate that it was performed by a local taco competitor. Maria has pledged to replace the arms, suggesting the new ones might be made of cactus to discourage future indignities. [10/01/2005]
Oh my, Hawaii is such a long way from NH or FL.... You're gonna miss having that little one around.
Ummmmmm, that looks good.
Have a good weekend, Y'all. Hope the weather is good for everyone.
Egads.
Isn't there some concern about earthquake damage?
Enviros.. yug.
Cactus?
Hmmm..
Unbelievable.
Wow.
Hope they catch them.
Dreaded red 'x'!
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That reminds me where is grannie. :)
When that happens to me I will click over the area where the gif should be copy the url and go to the file to post and click than the image activate and shows up to me!
Right click and show picture - that worked for me.
you better duck pray that grannie don't see that.....
They show a pic of the mortuary mask of Pretty Boy Floyd...
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