David Beckham Pop Art Canvas Painting

David Beckham Pop Art Canvas Painting

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The UK spaceplane aiming to go to a new level (Use this Code 5XXXUKRA, and get 5% of all canvas art)

If there is one British space project that has the capacity to inspire at the moment then surely it is Skylon.

This is the spaceplane concept that would take off from a conventional aircraft runway, carry over 12 tonnes to orbit and then return to land on the same runway.

It promises a step change in our approach to space. The spaceship would be truly reusable and this, crucially, would dramatically reduce the cost of access to orbit.

The concept is being driven by Reaction Engines Limited (REL) in Culham, Oxfordshire.

Skylon’s key enabling technology is its Sabre propulsion system.

It is part jet engine, part rocket engine. It burns hydrogen and oxygen to provide thrust – but in the lower atmosphere, this oxygen is taken from the atmosphere.

This is extremely tricky. At high speeds, the air entering the Sabre intakes would be 1,000 degrees, and it has to be cooled prior to being compressed and burnt with the hydrogen.

Reaction Engines’ breakthrough is a remarkable heat exchanger pre-cooler.

Arrays of extremely fine piping plunge the hot intake gases to minus 130C in just 1/100th of a second. Pause and think about that for a moment. That’s astonishing.

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BMW to quit F1 at end of season (Use this Code 5XXXUKRA, and get 5% of all canvas art)

BMW will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of this season.

The German car manufacturer, who took over Sauber in 2005, have cited “current developments in motor sport” as the reason for their pull-out.

BMW are the second major manufacturer to leave the sport in eight months after Honda’s withdrawal in December.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said BMW had given themselves three years to win the world championship, but they have only amassed eight points this season.

“It’s not quite been like that so perhaps that’s why they’ve [decided] to stop,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“When you consider how much money they’ve spent and the results they’ve got, it’s probably not such a good investment.

“They were quite sure that they were going to win the championship within three years, and I was hoping they would.”

BMW held a meeting on Tuesday where they made the decision to quit the sport.

They will instead devote resources to the ‘development of new drive technologies and projects in the field of sustainability’.

“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us, but it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” said Dr Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW.

“Premium will be increasingly defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead.

 

“We are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability.

“Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.”

BMW’s takeover of Sauber in 2005 saw them enter their own team in 2006 and in their debut season they were fifth in the constructor’s championship before being promoted to second in 2007 after the exclusion of McLaren-Mercedes.

They put up a strong challenge in 2008 but ended up third behind Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes.

Their only grand prix win as BMW Sauber came when Polish driver Robert Kubica won in Canada in 2008, while he also achieved the team’s only pole position with his qualifying effort in Bahrain in 2008.

BMW motorsport director Dr. Mario Theissen added: “Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years.

“But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula One racing.”

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Government advice urges tweeting (Use this Code 5XXXUKRA, and get 5% of all canvas art)

New government guidance has been published urging civil servants to use the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Launched on the Cabinet Office website, the 20-page document is calling on departments to “tweet” on “issues of relevance or upcoming events”.

The website is already used by Downing Street, the Foreign Office and many individual MPs.

Neil Williams, of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), published the “template” strategy.

Writing on the Cabinet Office’s digital engagement blog, Mr Williams – who is BIS’s head of corporate digital channels – conceded that 20 pages was a “a bit over the top for a tool like Twitter” but added: “I was surprised by just how much there is to say – and quite how worth saying it is.”

‘Add-on to business’

The template had been written for BIS to consider using Twitter but could be used by other departments, he said.

Publishing tweets, replying to incoming messages and monitoring the account would take less than an hour a day, according to the strategy.

There would be an “add-on” to “business as usual” activity due to quick discussions of potential tweets at daily meetings, as well as e-mails between officials and digital media staff about potential content for tweets.

The advice says BIS should produce between two and 10 tweets per day, not including replies to other Twitterers or live coverage of a crisis or event.

Tweets should also be limited to issues of relevance or upcoming events rather than just campaign messages, and insights from ministers are encouraged.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “At the moment, around 65% of homes are on the internet and there are 15 million visits a month to directgov and these numbers are growing.

“With more and more citizens using the internet it’s important that, as part of its communications approach, the government develops its capability to use digital channels effectively and that includes social media tools such as Twitter.”

More than one million people follow Downing Street’s business via Twitter.

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Rail Franchise Reforms (Use this Code 5XXXUKRA, and get 5% of all canvas art)

The rail franchise system is “a muddle” which allows train companies to “take advantage” of passengers and needs reform, a report by MPs has warned.

The Commons transport committee said operators were making profits in good times but forcing the government to step in when revenues fall.

And they charged “unacceptable” fare rises of up to 11% above inflation.

The Association of Train Operating Companies said four-fifths of passengers bought discounted tickets.

The MPs urged the government to run East Coast trains itself.

They said nationalisation could be a way of comparing the performance of the public and private sectors.

The report found operators had exploited a loophole to charge “unacceptable” fare rises.

Passengers had to go to “extraordinary lengths” to get cheap fares and that fares had risen out of all proportion to the rest of the economy, it said.

Tighter rules will now tie all prices to inflation plus 1% – resulting in cheaper fares by next January.

The committee’s Labour chairwoman Louise Ellman said: “The fare rises we saw this year were excessive.

“Companies cream off profits in good times, but leave passengers to pick up the bill when hard times hit.”

The report found the current structure had allowed rail operators to hike-up prices at the worst possible moment.

But Mrs Ellman said the price formula that allowed companies to take advantage in 2009 would remain in 2010 – when changed economic conditions should have the opposite effect.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has now closed a loophole which allowed train companies to increase prices of certain journeys if average fares remained within rules.

‘High profile failure’

Mrs Ellman said: “We are pleased Lord Adonis has decided to tighten the rules and to hold firm in face of pressure from operators.

“The system which allowed unreasonable fare rises this year will be kept in place next year when it will be disadvantageous to train operators.”

The MPs pointed to the “high profile failure” of operators GNER and National Express as evidence of underlying problems.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: “Rail users will not welcome the conclusion of this report which is scathing about the way Labour has run the rail franchising system.

“The government has failed to tackle the problems on our railways, creating a franchise system which resorts to pricing passengers off the railway to deal with overcrowding.”

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, said: “This report exposes the chaos of the franchise system.

“The franchise mess is beyond reform and the only real solution is a return to public ownership of railways.”

Peter White, professor of public transport systems at the University of Westminster, told the BBC that franchising was a delicate balancing act.

“If franchises were awarded for a longer period of time, that could have substantial benefits,” he said.

“For example, they could invest in improved ticketing systems such as smartcards.

“But the problem is that if you’ve made a long-term franchise commitment and the company runs into difficulty, you must have some means of curtailing that franchise over a shorter period.”

Lord Adonis said reforms to improve the rail franchising system were being considered – including longer franchises.

The “risks and rewards” of the rail industry are shared between operators and the government, he said.

He said: “When the rail franchising system was examined by the National Audit Office last year they found that it was delivering good value for money, and steadily improving services.

“The government will consider the committee’s report and respond fully in due course.”

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Hamilton seals first win of 2009

Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix to take his first victory since October last year and complete a remarkable turnaround for McLaren.

The Englishman took the lead after pole-sitter Fernando Alonso’s Renault made an early pit stop and dominated ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber was third with Brawn’s Jenson Button down in seventh.

The Australian replaces team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who retired, in second place in the world championship.

Vettel, who suffered a front suspension failure while running eighth on lap 27 of 70, slips to 23 points behind the Englishman with seven races remaining and a maximum of 70 points available.

Nico Rosberg was fourth for Williams ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, Toyota’s Timo Glock, Button and the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

Raikkonen’s second place was a big boost for Ferrari who had gone into the race with only one driver following Felipe Massa’s high-speed crash in qualifying, which resulted in the Brazilian undergoing emergency surgery in Hungary.

“Maybe I can speak for all of us, but today was a sad day given what happened with Felipe,” said Hamilton.

“We miss him, wish him well and we all wish him a speedy recovery.”

Raikkonen is being investigated by race stewards following a coming together with Vettel at the start of the race.

Red Bull, who dominated the last two races in Britain and Germany, put in a surprisingly uncompetitive performance but they were in much better shape than Button.

The Englishman qualified eighth, but was starting on a heavy fuel load and was optimistic he would have a strong race. Instead, he was unable to make any impression on the cars at the front.

For the first time this season, that meant McLaren, whose form here confirmed that the revised aerodynamics they introduced in Germany two weeks ago have transformed the car.

“It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels like such a long time away, and such a struggle with me and my team. I’m just so proud of the guys,” said Hamilton.

Red Bull, who dominated the last two races in Britain and Germany, put in a surprisingly uncompetitive performance but they were in much better shape than Button.

The Englishman qualified eighth, but was starting on a heavy fuel load and was optimistic he would have a strong race. Instead, he was unable to make any impression on the cars at the front.

For the first time this season, that meant McLaren, whose form here confirmed that the revised aerodynamics they introduced in Germany two weeks ago have transformed the car.

“It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels like such a long time away, and such a struggle with me and my team. I’m just so proud of the guys,” said Hamilton.

“After four laps my tyres were destroyed. I had rear graining and couldn’t keep up with the cars in front.

“Our car is not what it was to drive a few races ago. It’s not like it was at the start of the season, there is obviously an issue.”

Alonso got a good start from pole position and retained first place but Hamilton briefly got up into second place at the first corner before being re-passed by Webber.

The Red Bull was expected to be the strongest car in the race but, while Alonso initially built a small gap, Webber found himself under pressure from Hamilton, who passed him on lap five and proceeded to pull away and close on the Renault.

Alonso, who had planned to do a three-stop strategy in contrast to the two stops of most of the rest of the field, pulled in for his pit stop on lap 11.

He was released a fraction too early before the right front wheel was fully attached and it parted company with the car part way around the lap and was forced to retire with the consequent damage and a fuel pump problem.

By the time all the front-runners had done their stops, Hamilton had a six-second lead over Raikkonen and he was able to control the race from the front.

Webber slipped behind Raikkonen after a problem with a front wheel at his pit stop and he was also passed by Toyota’s Timo Glock as he rejoined.

The Red Bulls lacked their recent pace but Webber drove consistently well to take the final podium position and make it a good race for him from a championship point of view.

By contrast, his team-mate Vettel had a disastrous weekend, making a poor start from second on the grid and running eighth in the early laps.

He was running behind Rosberg when he suffered a front suspension failure on lap 27 and was forced to retire.

Toyota, both of whose drivers qualified outside the top 10, used a long first stint to put themselves in contention for the minor points places.

Button finally showed some pace in the closing laps once the track was coated in rubber and he was back on the softer tyres after using the harder ones in the middle stint.

That lifted him to seventh from eighth, but he will still be concerned at a third consecutive uncompetitive race.

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Steven Gerrard cheered by fans as he’s cleared of affray in bar brawl court case

Steven Gerrard was cheered by supporters as he left court a free man yesterday, after being cleared of attacking a man in a bar brawl.

The England star admitted punching Marcus McGee three times but a jury took 75 minutes to find him not guilty of affray.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Liverpool captain, who has scored more than 100 goals for the Reds, stood alone in the dock as the verdict was announced.

Gerrard, 29, showed no emotion as he learned he had been cleared.

The Judge, Henry Globe QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, told him: “You can walk away from this court with your reputation intact.”

A relieved-looking Gerrard emerged from Liverpool crown court to cheers, applause and shouts of, “Come on, Rocky.”

He told the fans: “Can I just say how pleased I am with today’s verdict. I would like to put this case behind me.

“I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on football now.

“I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team, my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool Football Club for supporting me. Thank you.”

Club manager Rafa Benitez echoed his relief yesterday.

Benitez, who is in Singapore for Liverpool’s pre-season match there on Sunday, said: “We are really pleased. Now he can just concentrate on playing football.”

And Gerrard wasted no time getting back on the pitch. He played for Liverpool XI against Tranmere Rovers last night, scoring in their 2-2 draw. He had not joined the rest of the first team squad in Singapore because of his trial.

But his team-mates heard the verdict during a training session at the Singapore National Stadium. Led by Jamie Carragher, the squad linked arms and danced as fans started chanting Gerrard’s name.

Gerrard always maintained he was acting in self-defence when he clashed with Mr McGee in the Lounge Inn bar in Southport, Merseyside, on December 29 last year. But Mr McGee spoke of his fury last night at the verdict.

He said: “I can’t believe this. What message does this give to any young lad who goes into a pub at the weekend?”

Gerrard and a group of friends had gone to the Lounge Inn following Liverpool’s 5-1 victory over Newcastle United, during which he had scored twice. CCTV footage showed his party drinking beer, dancing and singing football songs.

But after Gerrard argued with McGee over the music a fight broke out. CCTV footage showed him landing three uppercuts at Mr McGee, before being dragged away.

The fight continued without him and later a second brawl broke out, not involving Gerrard.

Mr McGee, 34, lost a front crown and needed stitches to a head wound as a result of his injuries.

Five of Gerrard’s pals admitted affray earlier this week and a sixth admitted threatening behaviour.

But Gerrard always insisted he was trying to resolve the dispute and that he only lashed out at Mr McGee in self-defence.

He told the jury: “I am sorry about the whole incident.” The judge had reminded the jury to put aside their football loyalties while considering the evidence.

After the verdict, he told Gerrard: “With hindsight you may agree it was unwise of you to have approached Marcus McGee in an attempt to speak to him about your earlier trivial disagreement .

“However, that is far cry from saying you were criminally responsible for the violence which thereafter erupted.”

He said that CCTV proved it was his pal John Doran who had launched the initial assault.

Gerrard’s friends Ian Smith, 19, Doran, 29, Paul McGrattan, 31, and Accrington Stanley footballers Robert Grant, 19, and Ian Dunbavin, 28, all admitted affray.

Another friend John McGrattan, 34, admitted threatening behaviour. They will be sentenced next month.

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Jackson’s doctor is probe target

Michael Jackson’s personal doctor has been identified as the target of a manslaughter investigation into the singer’s death, US court papers say.

Dr Conrad Murray’s medical clinic in Houston, Texas, and another site rented by him were searched on Wednesday.

Police have said previously that Dr Murray is not a suspect but the search warrant allowed the authorities to seek evidence of manslaughter.

The doctor was at Jackson’s mansion and tried to revive him before he died.

Dr Murray has already been interviewed twice by police, who had asked for medical records in addition to those already provided.

He has not been arrested or formally charged.

Unwelcome attention

According to the warrant, approved by a Houston judge and filed in Harris County District Court, authorities were looking for “items constituting evidence of the offence of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offence”.

Items seized during the searches included 27 tablets of the weight loss drug phentermine, a tablet of the muscle relaxant clonazepam, two hard drives, notices from the Internal Revenue Service and a controlled substance registration.

Speaking a few days after Jackson’s death, Dr Murray’s lawyer, Edward Chernoff, denied his client administered painkilling drugs that could have contributed to the singer’s death.

But he said that, because of his closeness to Jackson at his death, the doctor had received unwelcome attention from people angry at the singer’s demise.

Mr Chernoff was present at Wednesday’s searches.

“I do not know what they are looking for and I can’t possibly tell you how anything they took in any way connects with the death of Michael Jackson,” he was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying.

The BBC’s Peter Bowes in Los Angeles, where Jackson died, says it is now up to public prosecutors to sift through the considerable amount of evidence and decide whether to charge Dr Murray.

An official determination of what killed Jackson will not be made until after a toxicology report, which is expected to be completed next week.

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Banksy Art Exhibition Now On In Bristol !

The new Banksy exhibition has been unveiled after months of secrecy at Bristol Museum. The exhibition is open for three months and admission is free to the public.  Check out Modern Canvas Art for a fantastic collection of Banksy canvas prints.

Banksy "Close Shave" Canvas Art Print