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EUROPEAN ECCENTRICS
www.gudman.de
2009 - A Year of celebrations
90 Years Bauhaus in Weimar
90 Years Weimar Republic
250 th Birthday of Friedrich Schiller
10 Years Cultural Capital of Europe
exhibitions | theatre plays | festivals | concerts
Service of Weimar Tourist-Office: thematic guided tours |
tickets | accommodations | Incoming service | congress
service | events
You must be Will
Power
A former RAF man called Stan Still
says he suffered ridicule all his life
because of his name. “My commanding
officer used to bellow
Stan Still get a move on” – hugely
boring”. Stan appeared in a list of
most amusing names, compiled
by thebabywebsite.com. Other
victims included Barb Dwyer,
Will Power, Anna Prentice, Mary
Christmas, Annette Curtain, Jo
King and Priti Manek featured
on the site.
25th on the way
History’s most married woman
is looking for her 24th husband ,
Linda now 68 first married at 16.
She married one of her husbands
3 times, one lasted 36 hours, two
were gay, one homeless and one
padlocked the fridge but now she
is lonely and on the lookout.
Good cod! My
phone
Businessman Andrew Cheadle
thought his mobile phone had
gone for good after loosing it on
a beach. But it turned up a week
later in the tummy of a 25 lb cod.
It was found by trawler man Glen
Kerley as he was gutting the fish
and used it to alert Cheadle’s girlfriend.Returned
wet and smelly
but still working.
Straw pole
Computer hackers sent an email
appeal from UK politician Jack
Straw’s computer. The appeal
was for $3,000 as he was on a
charity trekking trip in Africa and
had lost his wallet and needed to
get home. In a letter in the Daily
Telegraph, one constituent wrote
“ The fraudsters were sadly misinformed,
nobody would pay
$3,000 to get Mr Straw back from
anywhere” and he was right, there
were no offers.
Clean sweep
In a UK hospital's Intensive Care
Unit, patients always died in the
same bed, on Sunday morning, at
about 11:00 am, regardless of their
medical condition. A worldwide
team of experts was assembled to
investigate the cause of the incidents.
The next Sunday morning,
a few minutes before 11:00 AM
all the experts nervously waited
outside the ward to see what could
be the terrible phenomenon Some
holding holy objects to ward off
the evil spirits. Just when the clock
struck 11:00, Pookie Johnson, the
part-time Sunday cleaner, entered
the ward and unplugged the life
support system so he could use the
vacuum cleaner.
Kiss goodbye
After a £1 million refurbishment,
Warrington train station
in Cheshire has banned kissing
because it causes congestion and
train delays.
Boogie basher
A woman in Paris came home to
find her husband in the kitchen
shaking frantically with some kind
of wire running from his waist towards
the electric kettle. Intending
to jolt him away from the deadly
current, she whacked him with a
handy plank of wood, breaking
his arm in two places. Up to that
moment, he had been happily
dancing to his new ipod.
Good intentions
Two animal rights defenders
were protesting the cruelty of
sending pigs to a slaughterhouse
in Bonn, Germany . Suddenly, all
two thousand pigs broke loose
and escaped through a broken
fence, stampeding madly. The two
helpless protesters were trampled
to death.
God is Good!
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet did
not pay enough postage on a letter
bomb he posted. It came back
with 'Return to Sender' stamped
on it. Forgetting it was the bomb,
he opened it and was blown to
bits.
Swimming – it’s too
wet
The London Fields Lido has
warned it may have to close the
outdoor pool if conditions become
too wet, saying life guards cannot
see properly as the water becomes
cloudy in heavy rain.
A spokesman for Hackney council
said “We make no apology for pro-
weimar
Culture City of Europe
Tel. +49 3643 745-0 tourist-info@weimar.de www.weimar.de
viding protection for swimmers
from drowning”
Round in circles
Police have rescued a driver who
did 50 circuits of a roundabout
because she couldn’t reach an
exit. Two cars guided 62 year
old Andrea Zimmer to an exit in
Braunschweig, Germany. “I was
breaking in a new car to see how it
does in traffic, and I couldn’t seem
to get close to the roundabout exit
she said.”But it takes roundabouts
pretty well”
Wanted – single,
straight drake
Attempts to save a species of duck
from extinction in the UK appear
doomed – because the last two
mails in the country are gay. Keepers
at the Arundel Wetland Centre
in West Sussex hoped that either
Ben or Jerry would mate with the
only remaining female Cherry but
to no avail.
“They stay together in their enclosure,
parading up and down
together and whistling to each
other, they make a lovely couple”
says Peter Stevens, the warden.
MICE NEWS....
Focus Istanbul
Istanbul, is gearing up for its title
as European Capital of Culture
2010; a recognition that can only
enhance further its status as an
exciting and intriguing meetings,
conference and exhibitions
destination. New state-of-the-art
conference facilities are preparing
to open their doors across the city.
On the European side of the city,
The Sutluce Convention and
Cultural Center is scheduled to
open in March 2009, whilst The
Harbiye Congress Center, located
in Congress Valley is due to open
in October 2009 - and the Ayazaga
Congress and Cultural Center in
2010. On the Asian side, similar
investments are underway, including
the Pendik Exhibition Center
near the city’s second airport,
Sabiha-Gokcen, with capacity for
3,000 delegates.
ITM plans changes
The Institute of Travel Management
- the professional body for
buyers, managers and suppliers
of business travel in the UK and
Ireland, are voting at their AGM
at the end of March to change
their name to Institute of Travel
& Meetings emphasising their involvement
within the conference
and meeting segment.
VB review
A new three year strategy to capitalise
on key events and business
opportunities has been launched
by VB. Setting out its plans to
achieve the full potential of the
visitor economy, VisitBritain’s
British Tourism Framework Review
identifies as a clear enduring
Flames of passion
A reluctant bridegroom set fire
to the hotel where he was due to
marry his girlfriend. Tatsuhiko
Kawata 40, could not decide to
wed his girlfriend or stay with
his wife, so on the eve of the
bigamous wedding he set light
to the hotel. At court recently,
he pleaded guilty to arson and
unlawful entry. He was jailed
for 5 years.
Payback time
A London based passenger who
wrote an amusing complaint letter
to Virgin Atlantic has been invited
by Sir Richard Branson to select
the food and wines for future
Virgin flights.
The complainant contacted Sir
Richard, after a flight from Mumbai
to Heathrow in December last
year, to convey his disappointment
with the food served on
board. The letter has been circulated
around the world and has
been almost universally praised
for its irony and humour.
In his letter, the passenger said
that opening the lid of the main
meal was like being given a
“dead hamster for Christmas”.
He has not yet confirmed whether
he would take up the opportunity.
strength the fact that “Britain has
one of Europe’s most successful
event industries”. It states that,
“Our events and meetings industry
is globally competitive and our
range of venues includes some
of the world’s most famous and
admired buildings”
It argues that these venues need
to be supplemented with more
new, purpose-built conference,
exhibition and meeting venues,
especially in London so that Britain
can remain internationally
competitive.
The report also highlights Britain’s
London and regional theatres and
festivals as having significant
international profiles and making
important contributions to attracting
international audiences. joss.
croft@visitbritain.org
Europe’s largest
Milan - 18,000 seats, a 1,500-seat
auditorium, a 4,500-seat plenary
hall, 73 modular halls accommodating
from 20 to 2,000 seats, and
54,000 m2 of supporting exhibition
space – these figures define the
plans of the new Milano Convention
Centre which will give Italy
the largest convention centre in
Europe in 2011.
ITB defies gloom
The 43rd ITB Berlin 2009 opened
on 11 March, with almost the
same number of exhibitors as
last year, despite the global economic
downturn. Event organisers
Messe Berlin reported that all
available space had been booked
by 11,098 companies from 187
countries - only 49 fewer exhibiting
companies than in 2008.
6 On The Road - Mid March - Mid April 09