Bob Hoskins Has Parkinson’s

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Acting legend Bob Hoskins has announced he has Parkinson’s and is to retire from acting. The British actor has over 70 film credits to his name. Hoskins was diagnosed last autumn.

The 69-year-old actors publicist released this statement on Wednesday:

“Bob Hoskins wishes to announce that he will be retiring from acting, following his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease last autumn. He wishes to thank all the great and brilliant people he has worked with over the years, and all of his fans who have supported him during a wonderful career,”

“Bob is now looking forward to his retirement with his family, and would greatly appreciate that his privacy be respected at this time.”

Other legends that have Parkinson’s include Muhammad Ali and Micheal J Fox. Micheal J Fox sometimes still acts, he was recently seen in The Good Wife.

We wish Hoskins all the best.

USAIN BOLT: THE MOVIE -“I told you all I was going to be No. 1 and I just did that”

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RELEASED BY REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT, AVAILABLE TO OWN ON DVD 6th August

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In this extraordinary film, French producer and director Gael Leiblang paints us an intimate and boundless portrait of the life of athletic legend and cultural icon Usain Bolt.

Breaking BBC records (reaching 3 million viewers) when aired in mid July, this DVD features an extra 30 minutes of never before seen footage, delving deeper than ever fathomed into the rigorous training sessions and elusive private life of the long-legged Jamaican.

Granted exclusive and unprecedented access to the fastest man in the world, Leiblang explores Bolt’s childhood and chronicles him in a series of in-depth interviews, as he prepares to make history at this year’s Olympic games in London.

Filmed over a 12 month period, leading up to this year’s Games, Bolt is examined both at home with his family and friends and on the road competing across the world.

This stunning documentary expertly exposes his boyish charm in his home environment, juxtaposed to his uncompromising focus and invincibility on the track, where he gallops past the other runners, like a God competing with mere mortals.

Usain Bolt sealed his position as the fastest man on earth and entered the history books when he successfully retained his 100m Olympic title. As over four billion peopled watched the 100m final at the London 2012 Olympic Games on the 5th Of August, the Jamaican sprinter took the gold medal convincingly. The win means that Bolt retains his three Olympic titles and three world records.*

From gruelling sessions on the practice track, to deejaying for fans in Italy and including his infamous false start at World Championships, this remarkable documentary takes us inside the life of the man who could become the greatest athlete the Olympics has ever seen.

USAIN BOLT: THE MOVIE is out on DVD to buy and rent.

RRP for £12.99

Can’t Give You Up – Photos We Can Never Throw Out

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NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP – THOSE PHOTOS WE CAN’T BRING OURSELVES TO GET RID OF

  • ·         43 per cent of Brits keep photographs of former partners

 

Breaking up is hard to do, and while millionairess Tamara Ecclestone has tasked bodyguards with ridding her home of every trace of her love rat ex-boyfriend Omar Khyami, research from Friends Reunited shows many of us can’t bring ourselves to be so cut-throat. The latest findings reveal 21.6 million Brits have held onto photographs of former partners following a break up.

 

Women are more sentimental than men, with 61 per cent claiming they keep the photos as they highlight a part of their life they don’t want to forget, versus 56 per cent of men.  But men may be hiding more from their partners than their other halves realise. One in five men (20%) in a current relationship who have photos of their ex partners say they have hidden photos of an ex fearing disapproval from their new partner, compared to only nine per cent of women.

 

Men also seem to have more weighing on their conscience, as 17 per cent said they ‘sometimes feel guilty about keeping photos of their ex partners’, compared to just 11 per cent of their female counterparts. They may have good reason for this, however, as more than one in ten men who keep photos of their ex partners (12%) admit they still have feelings for their ex, compared to only five percent of women.

 

Corinne Sweet, behavioral psychologist said: “It’s not surprising that nearly half of us keep some kind of visual memento of past partners; a photo generates strong emotions as it unleashes memories of past attachment and times. The main reason people hide their photos (especially men) is probably due to a fear of their current partner’s jealousy, or of evoking comparisons in terms of attractiveness and sexiness, etc.  Emotionally mature partners will be able to accept you have a past love-life.

 

“The point at which people are able to put an ex-partner’s photo away (after a split, divorce or death) is usually the time they are emotionally ready to move on. Yet, it is totally understandable for people to keep photos to remind them of previous loves, as, indeed, these images do form part of our life stories – whether for better or for worse.”

 

Top reasons for keeping photos of ex partners:

  All Men Women
It was part of my life/growing up that I don’t want to forget 59% 56% 61%
They bring back good memories 40% 45% 35%
I don’t like throwing any photos away 37% 38% 36%
They remind me of a special event 24% 22% 25%
I look good in the photos 10% 10% 9%
They make me laugh 10% 8% 11%
I still have feelings for my ex 9% 12% 5%
I think we may get back together one day 2% 3% 1%
So I can use them against him/her one day 1% 2% 1%

 

 

The majority of us (48%) keep these snaps in old photo albums, but others (31%) stash them in cupboards and drawers, or in the attic (12%). Nine per cent of men say they purposely keep the photos in hidden files on their computer.

 

Matt Bushby, Head of Friends Reunited, said: “We all have photos from our past we want to keep; whether we want to share with others, or remain private. Old photos are often the best – they bring back memories and blasts from the pasts, even if we think we’d sometimes prefer to forget! The new Friends Reunited site is the one place you can search, collect and save treasured personal memories, especially old photos that have a special place in our hearts and you make them totally private if you want too!”


Victoria Pendleton Lights Up

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Victoria Pendleton is set to light up the velodrome tonight in the women’s sprint final; if she brings home another gold for GB, the EDF Energy London Eye will shine gold in the evening

In anticipation of Team GB Golden Girl Victoria Pendleton’s quest for Gold this evening EDF Energy is celebrating her achievements so far in the Games. Attached is a creative shot of Victoria who is using bike lights to shine Team GB colours in a show of determination.

This shot is part of EDF Energy’s Energy of the Nation campaign, encouraging everyone to get behind the Games by tweeting their 2012 support. Energy of the Nation is measuring all Olympic-themed tweets and transforming this data into a spectacular lightshow on the EDF Energy London Eye every night throughout the Olympics at 9 and 10pm.

Men’s Fitness deputy editor builds the body of an elite athlete in just 12 weeks

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As the world’s greatest athletes are winning gold to compete in the biggest sports spectacle on the planet, it’s easy to think that getting the body of an elite Olympian requires being blessed with great genes and dedicating every waking hour to exhausting training and sticking to super-strict diets.

But you’d be wrong. Men’s Fitness magazine, the UK’s best-selling fitness title, has proved that it practices what it preaches by putting one of its writers on the cover of the magazine following a 12-week body transformation challenge that saw him change his physique from an out-of-shape journalist into one that wouldn’t be out of place in the Olympic Village.

In the September issue, on shelves now, the magazine’s deputy editor Joe Warner proves smart training and sensible eating it all it takes to completely change the way you look in as little as 12 weeks.

Training for just one hour four times per week, Joe lost 8kg of fat – the equivalent to 16 large packets of butter – while building 10kg of lean muscle mass to build a body worthy of gracing the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine.

‘After turning 30 I decided to see whether I could get into the best shape I have ever been in,’ says Joe Warner. ‘I am just an average guy with a busy 9-to-5 desk job but I wanted to discover for myself how far I could push myself to achieve the “elite athlete” physique I’ve always wanted. By training right and eating well I burned off my belly and built a proper six-pack. If I can do it, anyone can.’

‘Joe has proved that training hard and eating healthily is all you need to do to transform your body into one that can grace the cover of the UK’s best-selling fitness magazine,’ said Nick Mitchell, founder of Ultimate Performance Fitness who oversaw Joe’s 12-week challenge. ‘A smart training plan, executed with 100% effort, really is the best, and most effective, way to build the body you’ve always wanted.’

Why I Love Cricket By Rory Bremner

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BREMNER BRINGS ‘SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT’ TO THIS YEAR’S FLt20 FINALS DAY

One of Frost Magazine’s favourite comedians, Rory Bremner, has teamed up with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is fronting a comedy festival campaign which has seen a host of comedians visiting Friends Life t20 games across the country. This has all been a part of Rory Bremner’s ‘Stand Up for Friends Life t20’ tour – and now it’s Rory’s turn!

Comedians Jimmy McGhie, Paul Sinha, Rob Beckett, Stu Goldsmith and Chris Martin have all visited First Class county clubs across the country on the tour which brings together two of the nation’s favourite pastimes – cricket and comedy. However on 25th August Rory Bremner himself will be on hand to bring ‘Something Completely Different’ to the Friends Life t20 Finals Day at Glamorgan’s SWALEC Stadium.

Like the other comedians involved Rory will interact with the crowd, pose for pictures with fans and inject fun and laughter into the match-day experience. Rory will be slipping in and out of character as he gets involved with a variety of activities throughout the day.

This season’s Finals Day will be hosted by two celebrity presenters, and Rory will be alongside them commenting on the matches, aiding the coin toss, inspecting the crease, commenting on the famous Mascot Race and much more in a variety of flawless celebrity impressions.

In the run up to his highly anticipated appearance at Finals Day Bremner has recorded some exclusive content for the ECB which to date has seen him impersonate some of the biggest characters in cricket including David “Bumble” Lloyd and Geoffrey Boycott. The final video ahead of the season finale see’s Rory impersonate a variety of names including David Gower, Henry Blofeld, Tony Blair as well as everyone’s favourite cricket fan Stephen Fry:

The comedy tour spearheads a wider marketing campaign around the Friends Life t20 2012 season by the ECB entitled ‘Something Completely Different’. The campaign has seen the Friends Life t20 competition being promoted in a fun, fresh and exciting way from the use of ‘Balldogs’ to ‘Wiggle Wicket’ to comedy match day hosts. The aim is to bring even more fans to the competition – which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Rory Bremner, the curator of the tour, said:

“Twenty20 cricket has been one of the games great success stories in the last few years and I can’t wait to host the FLt20 Finals Day, interact with the fans and showcase some of my cricketing impressions. Finals day is a great day out for cricket fans, sport fans, groups and families alike and I can’t wait to be involved later this month.”

Steve Elworthy, ECB spokesperson, said:

“The ‘Something Completely Different’ theme aims to put the fun of being with your friends and family and leaving with some great memories at the heart of your summer. We couldn’t think of a better way to do this than to bring comedy to cricket to enhance what is already a fantastically unique matchday experience, and we have had some great comedic names on board touring the grounds. We are extremely excited to have Rory on board and are thoroughly looking forward to having him at Finals Day.”

Get a Gold Medal Relationship by Jenni Trent Hughes

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GET A GOLD MEDAL RELATIONSHIP

by Jenni Trent Hughes, relationship expert for eharmony.co.uk

How an athlete prepares for podium success can teach us a lot about how we can strive to find a good relationship, enjoy the experience and deal with any knock-backs along the way. So, with the world’s finest athletes about to take centre stage in London, eHarmony®, the online matchmaker, applies the key traits of sports psychology to help singles achieve dating success.

“There are certain characteristics that athletes share and these are all values and beliefs that can help us not only in relationships but across all elements of our daily life.” Jenni Trent Hughes, relationship expert, eHarmony.co.uk. So whether you’re a novice dater or a relationship pro, put Jenni’s four gold medal winning traits in to action:

1) Confidence – when athletes feel confident, they are more readily able to turn sporting potential into superior performance. If someone like Usain Bolt walks into the stadium feeling threatened by his competitors or imagining all the possible things that might go wrong even he will be unlikely to end up on the podium. Many of us go into relationships holding up the possible negatives, dragging in past disappointments, and then walking straight into the result we’ve expected.

· Relationship tip: Raise your expectations: Winners are winners even before they first win. Date with confidence in yourself and allow future partners a fresh slate when entering a relationship.

2) Stamina – is an essential quality for a championship sportsman or woman, especially in events like the marathon or swimming where you really need to go the distance. Using your energy wisely means you will have enough of it in reserve when you need that little bit extra to achieve success. It’s the same in a relationship. If you’re aiming for a long run you should be prepared to go the distance to gain the best of the rewards.

· Relationship tip: Spend your emotional energy wisely. Avoid unnecessary drama, make love not war – avoid emotionally engaging in trivial matters, and save your energy for bigger matters that truly count.

3) Control – the difference between those that make it to the big league and those that don’t is the unwavering belief that they deserve to be there. They believe they are in command of the situation and have the necessary skills to achieve their desired result.

· Relationship tip: You are in control of you. Don’t fret and worry about what the other person is doing, thinking or saying – you can’t control that. Concentrate on your own behaviour and be responsible for it. Behave in a way that you feel will produce the best results.

4) Perseverance – unexpected stumbling blocks are inevitable for athletes, singles and couples alike. How you react in the face of adversity is often what determines the height your career reaches and it is the same in relationships. Michael Jordan famously said: “I have failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Be it a sports injury, performance slump or any of the hitches that a relationship may experience, positive thinking techniques aid recovery, keep your attitude on track and keep on the road to the relationship medal podium.

· Relationship tip: Don’t throw in the towel. If you’ve done your homework in advance then ensure you work together to resolve any conflict. You’re a team after all.

“Remember, you deserve to succeed, and while you may not be able to win gold for the 100 metre race you can certainly be a winner in the dating race!” Jenni Trent Hughes, relationship expert, eHarmony.co.uk

Manchester City Stars Interviews

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Manchester City stars lift the pre-season Blues with Umbro. We have some video interviews with the Manchester City stars below. Watch and enjoy!

Mario Balotelli, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart all face the camera as they prepare for the new season.

As well as giving their opinions on the new kit, the City stars shed some light on a variety of different topics, including;

– Mario Balotelli reveals that a career in UFC would have been his second choice after football!

– Samir Nasri gives his verdict on the cuisine of the North West.

– Vincent Kompany talks about his progression from being a central midfielder, to arguably the Premier League’s best centre-back.

– David Silva explains how he copes with the physical side of the Premier League and the great British weather!

– Joe Hart provides an insight into his approach when facing a penalty

The Home shirt retains City’s iconic sky blue colour and also incorporates black detailing and trim which takes influence from the 1969 FA Cup and 1970 League Cup winning kits. The new Away shirt sees a return to the classic maroon colour worn by the FA Cup winning teams of 1934 and 1956, also tailored by Umbro.

The away kit is on general sale now, while the home kit goes on sale 26th July. Both kits are available to buy at www.umbro.com.

www.umbro.com / www.mcfc.co.uk

Balotelli:

Silva:

Kompany:

Nasri:

Hart: