| The perfect Cotswold boltholes
Hello and welcome to my hotel,' says an card left in the room, and at times it feels as if this is all about the owner rather than the guests. Little notes on windowsills repeatedly exhort you to be careful and not to knock over any of the artworks. The leather-bound welcome book is basically a list of grumpy admonishments - more reminders to be careful, notes about the dress code ('casual elegant') and warnings that 'wind jackets are not permitted', 'children are not permitted in the bar', 'keys should always be handed in to reception', 'TV and lighting remotes must not be removed from the room'. Do they really think people paying £200 a night are going to steal the remotes? Feeling slightly put out by all this hectoring, we head out for a stroll round Painswick.
McCain Camp Declares Victory
There may be places where a physical barrier is appropriate. I think when both of us voted for this we were voting for the possibility that where it was appropriate and made sense it would be considered, but as with so much, the Bush administration has gone off the deep end, and they are unfortunately coming up with a plan that I think is counterproductive. [E.A.] Hmm. Isn't that a little like voting for the Iraq War and then saying you were just voting for the possibility that if it were appropriate it would be considered? In this case, though, Obama is attempting the same two-step. He says he and Clinton "almost entirely agree" regarding the fence, adding As Senator Clinton indicated, there may be areas where it makes sense to have some fencing. But for the most part, having Border Patrol, surveillance, deploying effective technology, that's going to be the better approach.
Ready to race in OBX today?
Steve Sedgwick is not an elite athlete. He has run 13.1 miles only once. He plans to do it again Sunday, this time in the Gateway Bank Half Marathon on the Outer Banks. He won't be dressed like the other runners, though. Sedgwick plans to sport a long-sleeved T-shirt that says "Blind Guy." That's because he is. The vision problems started in childhood and got progressively worse through the years, said Sedgwick, a 49-year-old from Vienna. He had to stop driving in 2003. By 2005, he couldn't see to read or work anymore. These days he has only peripheral vision in his right eye. Exercise, and lots of it, Sedgwick said doctors told him, would help stave off total blindness. He swam and lifted weights. But he needed a partner if he was going to run.
Asda recalls 300,000 microwaves
Asda has asked customers to return 300,000 of its own brand microwaves over fire risk concerns. The supermarket said three customers had reported problems with the XB2316 model, which retailed for 22.75. The product was not manufactured with batch numbers, so Asda has decided to recall the entire range. Customers have been urged to stop using the appliance, and take it back to any Asda store for a full and immediate refund. Fault They do not need to return the box or produce a receipt. Recall notices will be put up in stores on Friday and press advertisements will run on Saturday. Asda said its initial investigation had uncovered a fault with the "Durabrand" microwave's timer mechanism. No customers have been hurt. "Even though this is only three microwaves, we take this sort of thing very seriously indeed, and that why we have taken the decision to recall all these microwaves," said spokesman Ed Watson.
Gold meddlers
When the pair came off their bike, the accident was said to have happened in Glyfada but it was dealt with by traffic police from Kifissia - in the north of Athens. Confined to hospital they were unable to make a meeting with the IOC who subsequently gave them an extra 72 hours in which to explain their non-appearance. That allowed time for the Greek Olympic Committee to withdraw the athletes from the Games yesterday. When they face the IOC on Monday, the pair are likely to be facing a two-year ban from the sport. It was the worst possible lead into Friday's opening ceremony, especially as Kenteris was due to light the flame, but Jacques Rogge, the IOC president insists the Games are big enough to overcome the embarrassment. "We have had big doping cases before that have not damaged the quality of the Games," he said.
The Price of Power
But as the potential benefits began to materialize, it didn't take long for the big picture to start coming into focus. "Companies soon realized that the rates fluctuated so significantly that just beating their utilities might not be the best objective," McLeish explains. "Instead, many found that it was better to get on a risk management platform with a supplier, looking for opportunities when the market dips and trying to avoid exposure to price spikes." .
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