Wolks Wagen, Wolks Bier - GUINNESS !

Guinness planned to advertise in Nazi Germany with posters featuring Zeppelins and Swastika flags

• Campaign drawn up by company in 1936 - the year of the Berlin Olympics
• Pictures featured Berlin stadium with Swastika flags and a Nazi soldier
• Guinness' London office vetoed the plans, but Irish office asked for posters
• The artwork, which is now thought to be worth £1.2million, was never used.

In 1936 Guinness asked their advertisers to draw up a campaign for Nazi Germany, which featured its signature toucan alongside Swastikas and Zeppelins. The pictures are all from original oil paintings which would have been used to mass produce posters, but the campaign never launched. The canvasses disappeared when the advertising agency was sold, but resurfaced in 2009 and feature in a new book by former brewer David Hughes.

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Drawn by John Gilroy, who produced most of the company's classic advertising, the collection was produced in 1936, the same year as the Berlin Olympics.

The paintings are all originals, made using oil on canvas, and would have been used to mass-produce poster copies, but were never actually used. The images, which are now thought to be worth £1.2million, feature in a new book, Gilroy Was Good For Guinness, 

In the book is a memo from executives at the drink maker to SH Benson, their longtime advertising partner, which shows that the Irish and London offices did not agree on the campaign.

It says: 'Dear John. Another hot potato, I'm afraid. This one comes from St James's Gate [Guinness's Dublin headquarters], who are busy wooing an importer in Berlin.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Hughes said he believes it is unlikely that Guinness, SH Benson and Gilroy were aware of the true horrors of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

In 1936, people were a bit naïve about Nazi symbolism and what it came to mean. People were starting to believe the Germans were dangerous. Guinness in London did not favour getting into the German market but in Ireland there was a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards Nazi Germany.

African Queen

The African Queen sails the Nile again: Boat that featured in film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn is restored

Lovingly restored, the boat is operated by Cam McLeay, a New Zealand adventurer and Nile enthusiast, and took its first passengers for a ride in December. 'The African Queen belongs on the Nile. So it is so important to have the boat back home over 60 years after the film was made,' McLeay said. In 1950 Bogart and Katharine Hepburn flew into Uganda together with a huge team from Hollywood to shoot the movie of the same name. The film told the story of a prim missionary and a gruff adventurer, the captain of the African Queen who in true silver screen fashion end up falling in love despite the odds

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has revealed her third child Bear will take her surname, following weeks of speculation that the infant could be given the second name of her husband, Ned Rocknroll. 

The Titanic actress, 38, told Glamour magazine that giving baby Bear her husband’s moniker had always been out of the question, so much so that which second name the child would take had not even been discussed.

She said: "We haven't ever really had that conversation; it was always going to have my name. Mia and Joe have it as part of their name, so it would be weird if this baby didn't.

"Of course we're not going to call it Rocknroll. People might judge all they like, but I'm a f****** grown-up."

Ned, real name Ned Abel Smith, changed his name by deed poll in 2008.

The couple met in 2011 while they were holidaying on Richard Branson's private island, Necker, in the Caribbean. Winslet gave birth to their son on 7 December 2013, shortly after they wed.

Her comments came during an interview to promote her upcoming film  Labor Day, which is scheduled for release on 7 February. Winslet said she was drawn to the role of a divorced mother in the film because of her experiences as a parent. "It's a film about the desire for a family", she explained, "and family has played such a role in my life. It's my core, really."

Reading-born Winslet was also forthcoming about the issue of losing weight post-pregnancy during the interview."Having just had a baby, I'm not going to be thinking about my arse," she said.

Valerie Trierweiler

Valerie Trierweiler

During a half-hour visit to her bedside on Thursday night, Paris Match said, President Hollande told his partner that he “needed time” to decide between her and Ms Gayet.

In a tweet after leaving hospital – her first public comment since the scandal broke – Ms Trierweiler, 39, said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all those who have sent messages of support wishing me a speedy recovery via Twitter, text and mail. Very touched.”

She is probably intelligent enough to know that her relationship with Mr Hollande is finished.

Today Valérie Trierweiler is perhaps at the end of a journey. 

At his press conference last Tuesday, President Hollande said that he would make a statement on his relationship with Ms Trierweiler before the couple leave Paris on 9 February for a visit to the White House. The French press says that it is now likely that Mr Hollande will make the journey alone.

At their half-hour meeting in the hospital on Thursday night – calm but not warm according to Match – it was decided that Ms Trierweiler would move to La Lanterne to await Mr Hollande’s decision. The mansion, traditionally used by the prime minister but hijacked for the presidency by Nicolas Sarkozy, is on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.

Christopher Chataway dies

Christopher Chataway (1931-2014)

Christopher Chataway was a high achiever who excelled in a number of fields. An Olympic athlete and one-time world 5,000 metres record holder, he was also a television reporter, a Conservative MP and a government minister.

Having also been a successful businessman and a chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, he described himself in 2010 as having ''never made up my mind what I wanted to do".

Born in Chelsea in January 1931, Christopher Chataway was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset and, after National Service, at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics and became president of the University Athletic Club.

He represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games in 1952 and 1956; he ran a memorable 5,000 metres race against Emil Zatopek and was a pacemaker when Roger Bannister ran the first four-minute mile in 1954.

Hungarian Goulash

Hungarian Goulash in its native form is a spicy soup with pieces of beef and potatoes, served as a main course.  Originally it was the regular diet of Hungarian cowboys tending the cattle herds in the 'puszta', the Hungarian flatlands east of the River Tisza. 

Near the end of the day one of the cownoys would put the basic ingredients into an iron cooking pot over an open fire and let it simmer there until it was time for their evening meal. There was nothing fancy about the dish and if you want an authentic, easily-prepared and tasty but simple meal you too should keep it simple.

This is what you need  for 2 adults (for a main coursel):

200g. brisket of beef (shank, shin or leg is also OK but may need longer cooking).
300g. potatoes, 
1/2 onion (c.50g.).
10g. lard or 2 tbsp cooking oil.
2 tbsp paprika.
1 clove of garlic,
1 tsp caraway seeds
Pinch or two of salt.Water

PREPARATION:

Wash the meat and remova all fat. Cut the meat into bite-size cubes, c.2 cm  sq. or whatever size you feel comfortable with.
Peel and chop the onion (as fine as you can).
Peel and chop or crush the garlic (as fine as you can).
Boil 2 pints of water for cooking. (You will not some more later.)


Method:

Heat the lard or oil and glaze the onions.
Add the beef and stir well until no longer raw-looking.
Add the paprika and stir well (do not allow to burn).
Add 2 pints of boiling water and stir. 
Add rest of ingredients but not the potatoes. 
Reduce heat and simmer until meat is nearly cooked (c. one and a half hours)

While the meat is cooking peel and dice the potatoes into bite-size cubes, c.2 cm or whatever you feel comfortable with and when the meat is nearly cooked (after c. an hour and a half) add them into the pot and add more boiling water to cover the contents of the pot. 
Cook for further 10-12 minutes until meat and potatoes are ready.
Remove from heat and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

TIP: Use above measures and volumes as a guide for your first attempt. Thereafter adjust to suit your taste. Much of the water will evaporate, the amount of lard or oil you use will determine how rich or thin the dish will be. 

Remember, this is supposed to be a simple dish of beef and potatoes.

UK cuts

US cuts

"Gay marriages are to blame for UK floods" says UKIP Councillor

A UKIP councillor has blamed the recent storms and heavy floods across Britain on the Government's decision to legalise gay marriage.

David Silvester said the Prime Minister had acted "arrogantly against the Gospel".

In a letter to his local paper he said he had warned David Cameron the legislation would result in "disaster".

UKIP said Mr Silvester's views were "not the party's belief" but defended his right to state his opinions.

Divine retribution

Mr Silvester, from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron's support for same-sex unions.

In the letter to the Henley Standard he wrote: "The scriptures make it abundantly clear that a Christian nation that abandons its faith and acts contrary to the Gospel (and in naked breach of a coronation oath) will be beset by natural disasters such as storms, disease, pestilence and war."

He added: "I wrote to David Cameron in April 2012 to warn him that disasters would accompany the passage of his same-sex marriage bill.

"But he went ahead despite a 600,000-signature petition by concerned Christians and more than half of his own parliamentary party saying that he should not do so."

He then went to on blame the Prime Minister for the bad weather:

"It is his fault that large swathes of the nation have been afflicted by storms and floods."

He went on to say that no man, however powerful "can mess with Almighty God with impunity and get away with it".

A UKIP spokeswoman said: "It is quite evident that this is not the party's belief but the councillor's own and he is more than entitled to express independent thought despite whether or not other people may deem it standard or correct."

PS: This reminds me of an Iranian Imam claiming in public a couple of years ago that earthquakes in Iran are caused by too vigorous and excited copulation due to females not covering up their shape in public thus causing much sexual excitement.