After 7 years of planning, the Olympic torch will land this evening on British Soil to mark the 70-day countdown to the Olympic Games.
On May 10th, honouring Greek tradition, the torch began its journey in front of the ancient ruins of the Temple of Hera by the ancient Olympic Games stadium.
An actress playing the role of the high priestess lifted a blazing torch from a parabolic mirror, as if the flame was being lit by the sun’s rays from the Greek god of the sun, Apollo. According to tradition, this method guarantees the purity of the flame and is the only way the Olympic flame can be lit.
The torch (after being relit) at the end of ceremony in Olympia was handed to the first torchbearer, Olympic silver medalist Spyros Gianniotis. The flame then began its trip around Crete, Piraeus, Thessalonica, Xanthi and Larissa, among other places, in a relay around the Greek mainland and islands.
The torch won the Design Museum’s Design of the Year for 2012 at the end of last month and celebrates the best of British design, engineering and manufacturing talent.
The triangular form of The Torch design has been inspired by multiples of three to highlight the history of London hosting the Olympics for the third time, previously in 1908 and 1948 and represents the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect; the Olympic motto – faster, higher, stronger and the themes of 2012 – sport, education and culture.
Footballer David Beckham, Princess Anne and Lord Coe, chairman of Games organisers Locog, are flying from Athens, Greece with the flame and will arrive at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall at around 7.30pm this evening, and will be carried from the aircraft in a lantern by the Princess Royal.
Saturday morning at Land’s End landmark, Ben Ainslie, who won gold medals in Sailing at the Beijing, Athens and Sydney Olympic games, will begin the 70-day relay in the UK where it will then be carried through more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages before ending its journey at the Opening ceremony in the Olympic stadium on the 27th July. By the time it reaches its final destination, the torch will have in total been carried by 8,000 people on a 8,000mi journey around the country.
If you’re in Milton Keynes the torch will pass through Bletchley on July 9th (Day 52). With the wet weather of late, let’s hope the torch doesn’t have to be relit too many times on its journey.
Back in April we introduced you to Helen from our Perth office. This month in our fourth instalment of ‘our man in’ we’re introducing you to Phillip Rinaldo from our head office in Texas.
Before joining the TXM team, Phillip was in the US Army until 1998 and then transitioned to ITT Corporation in Germany. While in Germany, Phillip played American football for 10 years in division 2.
Phillip joined the team in March 2012 and is President of TXM Inc in Dallas. We asked Phillip what’s been happening this month in the US TXM office.
Any new projects or office news you can tell us about?
We’re currently working on 3 proposals for work in; Alabama, Africa and Kuwait. With the new work in Kuwait, we’ve been able to add Tonya Spears to our team as an operations assistant for new contracts and employees.
We have brought a long term US military contract opportunity forward for work and support in Australia and are currently helping the customer in their proposal effort.
What’s been the most significant news story for you this month?
We have just been added to a one year closed bidding competition on work in Kuwait which will add 45 people in a 45 day period.
What’s the top water cooler discussion?
Image credit: Layne Murdoch/Getty Images North America
The Texas Ranger’s (Dallas based baseball team) season is under way and they are leading their division by 4 games, 30 games into the season. They play 162 games per season during a 28 week season from early April through late September followed by the playoffs. On Sunday the hard-hitting Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 13-6. The 47,000 supporters at the sold-out Rangers Ballpark roared their support and for the second time in the series went home happy with a voucher for a free taco, (guaranteed once Texas scored their 10th run of the game.)
For those of us who have been blown away by the sheer power and entertainment value of the IPL, (Indian Premier League) you will be delighted to see that Chris Gale will be available for some of the one-day and Twenty20 internationals here in the UK.
He may not be appearing in the full test series, which is a real shame, but if there was ever a player you would want to take your kids to watch, then it is Chris Gale (or Mr Value for Money.)
The last time England met the West Indies at Lord’s England were victorious, winning by 10 wickets with two of the England team producing ‘Honours Board’ performances.
The West Indies will be in no mood to repeat that performance and you can expect this first Test of the summer to be extremely competitive.
There are some interesting selections in the home squad, with the injury to Ravi Bopara meaning a call-up for Jonny Bairstow, the Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman, and Samit Patel being left out after featuring in Sri Lanka. As always the form of James Anderson at Lords will be crucial to the overall success of the squad but the decision to drop Patel is indicative of the change in emphasis from turn to swing as they play under potentially heavy English skies.
Despite worries upon arrival of only having a 11 a side team, West Indies expect to have a full-strength squad to pick from for this week’s tour match against England Lions after Marlon Samuels arrived in the UK on Tuesday morning.
Disruption in their build-up caused by the IPL has meant Marlon Samuels was late joining the squad, but if they can get it together and Fidel Edwards continues to recover well from his back injury there is every chance Lords will be an interesting contest.
The expansion is to put the new F-Type Jag into production, backed by an investment of £200 million. The design of the F-Type will look familiar to car enthusiasts – it’s inspired by the C-X16 concept car first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011.
Image credit: The Telegraph
The F-Type will be an all new convertible, bringing the E-Type Jag bang up to date in a bid to revitalise the classic British marque. The E-type jag was one of the most iconic cars of the 60s and 70s, immortalised in films, loved by Hollywood royalty like Frank Sinatra and Steve McQueen (as well as Austin Powers) and called ‘the most beautiful car ever made’ by no less than Enzo Ferrari.
Not an easy act to follow, but the supercharged 3.0 litre V6 petrol engine is just one of the differences that 50 years had made. In 1961 the E-Type cost £2,256 and averaged 17.9 miles per gallon; the F-Type is rumoured to cost £50,000 and does 41 miles to the gallon.
Many luxury car manufacturers have reported strong demand this year, particularly from China. Jaguar Land Rover announced earlier in the year that it would be expanding both its Halewood and Solihull plants, partly driven by demand for the Range Rover Evoke. The company also announced that it will be spending an additional £1billion with UK suppliers over the next four years, creating 300 jobs at a new purpose built automotive logistics site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
Twenty seven UK companies showed off their innovative defence products at the Special Operations Forces Exhibitions & Conference 2012 (SOFEX) held in Jordan last week. This international defence conference is held every other year, hosted by His Majesty King Adbullah II and held at the King Abdullah I Airbase.
It’s publicised as a way for heads of state, defence ministers and army chiefs to network and see the latest innovations in weapons and security technology. The promotional video is amazing and could be straight from a Bond movie. With big guns, explosions and tanks, all that’s missing is a car chase.
With such high profile attendees, it’s not the kind of event that the UK defence industry can afford to miss. The UK trade organisation for Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space industries were there promoting UK innovations to Middle Eastern nations. Exhibitors include Cobham who exhibited their military vehicle intercom systems, Qioptiq showcased their night vision sights, Prometheus Medical with trauma medicines and Magnum’s amazing camouflage footwear that reflects the colour of its surroundings.
Closer to home, the MoD’s Centre for Defence Enterprise showed off some of the gadgets and gizmos that are produced by smaller UK companies for the defence and security industry. Innovations on show in London included e-textiles which allow electrical power and data to pass through material and are used in high-tech uniforms for soldiers.
The defence sector makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and our international profile. UK engineering companies, large and small, are at the heart of this, as they are creating these amazing, innovative products that have international application and export potential.
TXM Recruit was delighted to act as a judge to this years “Attitudes to Disability” poster competition. Paul Edmonds of TXM Recruit said; “The standard was extremely high, but the award rightly went to Tailer Harratt for her powerful poster design”.
TXM Recruit is on a journey to becoming “Clear Assured” and promotes inclusive recruitment to their clients, their suppliers and their own people. The Event was a joint sponsorship between Leicester College and Popularis Ltd, a specialist in the management of ballots and elections.
Anne Hock, Managing Director of Popularis has said previously about the competition that she’s been delighted with the response to the posters designed by Leicester College learners.
“We have been working with Leicester College to create and promote simple effective messages to combat discrimination. This is a great way to make staff aware of mental health issues, particularly due to stress in the workplace.
Many people suffer from stress and do not ask for help due to the stigma attached. The idea of the posters is that they develop discussion and I hope this will be fruitful for the future.”
Next stop on the Formula One circuit is the Spanish Grand Prix. With four different teams having won the opening four grands prix of the season, predictions as to who will win are mixed. On Sunday the race will begin at 1pm and if you’re venturing over to Spain to watch the race live, here’s a quick guide on what’s there and how to get around.
the Spanish Grand Prix has been hosted on 5 different racing circuits – Barcelona, Jerez, Jarama, Montjuich and Pedralbes.
Saint George Day (Diada de Sant Jordi) is a national Catalan holiday celebrated on 23d of April. Traditionally, couples on this day would give gifts of roses and books to each other.
the seafront used to be industrialised and filthy – the first beach in Barcelona appeared only 19 years ago, created for the Olympic Games in 1992.
How To Get To The Circuit
The Circuit de Catalunya is to the north of Barcelona in Montmeló. Once you arrive at Montmeló, you have a few options on how to get to the circuit. You can walk but it’s worth noting that this is quite a difficult journey by foot. It will take around 30 minutes and is along some rather large roads.
Your best bet is probably the small shuttle buses or trains that operate between the Rail station and the Catalunya circuit. These run all day on the 11th -13th May and are free of charge for people with tickets for the grand prix.
Alternatively there are 32,000 parking spaces at Circuit de Catalunya. The race organisers pride themselves on having one of the international circuits with parking close to the racetrack. Despite this, it is worth bearing in mind that the track is over 4 km long. Therefore, it is essential that you park your car as close to your seating as possible.
Image credit: The Guardian: Alamy
Food and entertainment
Around the edges of the track there are more than 120 points where food and drink are available. These include sandwiches, pizzas and other fast foods. In Spain a lager on average will cost you £1.69.
If you’re looking for places to dine in Barcelona, one of the most visited restaurants is Café de l´ Academia in Calle Lledó or for a Spanish speciality of tapas, head towards Las Ramblas but bear in mind the best places are often those a street or two off Las Ramblas itself.
For a sweet treat try a ‘Crema Catalana’, the region’s famous egg-based dessert or venture towards Bubo, a popular chocolate/dessert shop.
Want to try something completely different? Why not dine in the dark at Dans Le Noir. Blind waiters lead you into a pitch black room and attend your every need as you learn to eat without your eyes.
If you’re extending your stay and looking for places to visit, head towards the Picasso Museum, one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. Its collection of the Spanish artist’s work is the most extensive in the country and one of the most notable in the world. If built environment is more your thing then La Sagrada Familia is worth a visit, but it will be busy. Avoid the crowds and check out the amazing Casa Batllo which in addition to the stunning architecture has a museum in the attic showing how Gaudi was inspired by nature to build massive strength into his delicate designs.
For a spot of shopping, the Maremagnums is a shopping mall located at the end of the Ramblas in the sea port. Open from 10 am to 10 pm Monday to Sunday.
Not going to Barcelona or watching the Grand Prix?
In Perth enjoy a mother’s day picnic on the rooftop at The Aviary or for a more active day out why not partake in the Mother’s Day Classic fun run and raise funds for breast cancer research.
Sydney
The Sydney Opera house is sure to be a great day out and is the perfect mother’s day present with daily shows, back stage tours or even treat your mum to a tasting menu (events from $30 up.)
Kuwait
A great family activity and place to visit for people with an interest in rare animals, The Zoological Garden of Kuwait is not only famous for its collection of endangered animals, but is also a centre for preservation, education and research. Another major attraction of the Zoological Garden at Kuwait is the train which picks a path among the tree shaded animal compounds. While here children can enjoy camel, horse and donkey rides along with magic and electronic games.
Milton Keynes
If you’re are in Milton Keynes this weekend why not head down to Campbell Park Pavilion and Cricket Pitch on Sunday 13th and watch the Mayor’s charity cricket event. The cricket will start at 2pm.
Armchair commentator but F1 not your thing? ITV4 has coverage of the Indian Premier League Cricket live and there’s the Premiership finale on Sky Sports. For food lovers, Fernando Peire tries to resurrect flailing restaurants in The Restaurant Inspector or if you’re looking after the kids, you’ve got a great excuse to watch Scooby Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed. It should keep them occupied for long enough for you to have a little doze on the sofa.
Here at TXM our topic of discussion often falls toward who watched what and what the results were over the weekend. Last Saturday we saw Chelsea beat Liverpool to win the FA Cup and Manchester City moved a step closer to winning their first Barclays Premier League title.
Man City now face Queens Park Rangers at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 13th and as the team and fans alike prepare for the final game, we’ve rounded up the offices highs and lows from the season so far. I’m a Man Utd supporter and while I’ve included quotes from the team, this post may include a tiny bit of personal bias. I guess your agreement on these highs and lows depends on your point of view!
High points
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal
Back in August at the beginning of the season, Man U swept to a magnificent 8-2 victory over 10-man Arsenal.
Resurgence of Paul Scholes
Back in January, Paul Scholes came out of retirement and has been key to United’s resurgence in the Premier League. Normally, you wouldn’t encourage a recall for a 37-year-old after an international absence of eight years but at the moment there isn’t a midfield player in England playing any better than Scholes.
City’s 6-1 at Old Trafford
Manchester City inflicted Manchester United’s worst home defeat since February 1955 as they thrashed the champions in a ruthless fashion to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Image Credit Stuart Dunsmore
Chelsea ‘parking the bus’ against Barca.
Barcelona could not penetrate Chelsea and drag defenders away from the centre. Their amazing defensive display kept the score at a tie and gave them the chance to progress to the Champions League final.
The Resurgence of Newcastle
It could be down to a new manager or bargain signings but with seven wins from their last eight games, Newcastle had a meteoric rise in form in April, even if May hasn’t started as well.
Fergie losing the mind games against Mancini.
While Ferguson has tried to heap the pressure on Manchester City in previous weeks, Mancini has brushed it off staying calm and collected. The Italian has tactfully dealt with questions about the touchline spat with Ferguson unlike others who’ve been under the same pressure. Talking of which, we can’t resist sharing this classic Keegan clip:
Image Credit: Dan Staples
Balotellis antics.
There’s no denying that Balotelli is a fantastic player but for all of his talent he seems unable to control his emotions and has often left team mates and Mancini frustrated. As well as his on pitch performances, his private life has proved a constant source of headlines throughout his two seasons at City. Have you heard the rumour that Man City had to employ someone who’s sole job is to pick up Balotelli’s cars from the pound after they’ve been towed for being illegally parked? Where the wonderful Balotelli is concerned, we’d believe nearly anything!
Swansea and Norwich joining the Premier League and playing football the right way rather than the Stoke way.
Norwich and Swansea have respectively excelled this season – and have done so on a budget. Norwich and Swansea got promoted into the premiership last year and have been complimented on their style of football and as a result have finished mid-table above Stoke who’s long ball tactics and tough play has let them down this season.
Kyle Walker winning young player of the year
Kyle Walker won PFA young player of the year award and is a great potential for the England team. He must’ve learnt all he knows from his loan spell at Northampton!
Winning the company Fantasy Football Manager for the season.
James Poulton stormed to victory in the TXM league leaving myself “the early season pace-setter” trailing in his wake by over 100 points. At least we now know what he does on his overseas trips!
Northampton looking dead certs for relegation in January
Arsenal coming back from 2-0 down to beat Spurs 5-2
This must have been the best turnaround this season with Arsenal completing an amazing comeback from 2-0 down at the Emirates to record a resounding 5-2 victory over North London rivals Tottenham.
Low points
Embarrassing performances in the Champions League by English teams, apart from Chelsea.
While this could be one of the best Premier League seasons so far, the performance by the English teams at the UEFA Champions League has been overly disappointing. The Blues are the only British club still competing on the continent despite lying in a poor sixth position in the domestic table.
Image credit: Andy Couldridge/AP
England appointing Roy Hodgson
The public were left wondering who the new England manager would be until it was confirmed that Roy Hodgson had been appointed. Almost everyone expected Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp to be top of their list and as a result there has been some mixed views about the appointment of the new England manager.
Comedian and Liverpool fan John Bishop added: “Are the FA mad- no offence to Roy Hodgson but how can you ignore Harry Rednapp!! Unbelievable !!!!”
Losing Rooney for the first 2 games of the Euros
With Rooney banned for the first two group games, the United striker faces the prospect of playing as little as 90 minutes at Euro 2012.
Image credit: AP photo
Muamba and Petrov
Fans were left shocked when Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba collapsed during a Spurs-Bolton match. The 24 year old player was taken to hospital after suffering from a cardiac arrest. While Muamba is now doing well and recovering at home, another blow was dealt to the beautiful game when Villa’s captain Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia.
Team-mate Carlos Cuellar has revealed the illness might not have been discovered had it not been for Bolton star Muamba’s on-pitch collapse in a recent FA Cup tie against Tottenham. Stiliyan Petrov has begun treatment at a London hospital and we wish him and his family all the best and hope he returns with a clean bill of health.
8-2 defeat to Man Utd
While for some in the office this game was a highlight, the Arsenal fans disagreed and found the game to be a particular low light at the beginning of the season. The Gunners suffered a humiliating afternoon at Old Trafford back in August as part of their worst start to a campaign for 58 years but have since recovered to lie third in the table.
Government policies aimed at extending working lives could see UK citizens waiting until their 70s to collect their state pensions after research found a rise in life expectancy.
The Office for National Statistics predicted that life expectancy is rising by around 2.5 years every decade with nearly one-in-five people currently in the UK to live to see their 100th birthday. This rate of increase is expected to continue for the next 10 years before slowing.
Chancellor George Osborne revealed in the Budget announcements, that there would be an “automatic review that keeps up with increases in longevity”. The Budget document expanded their proposal by saying: ‘Budget 2012 announces that the Government will commit to ensuring the State Pension age is increased in the future to take into account increases in longevity and will publish proposals at the time of the Office for Budget.’
However, while we may be living and working for longer, nearly half the working population are not saving enough for retirement and one fifth are failing to save anything at all.
With the current growth in life expectancy, coupled with the economic climate and cost of living, we could see could see the cost of retirement increase by 50 per cent for both individuals and the Government.
The new Budget plan also has implications for people who have retired after the controversial announcement of the ‘granny tax’, meaning the average pensioner will lose £83 a year. Almost half of pensioners will be affected by the changes, which will raise more than £1.25bn a year (of the £3bn needed to be saved) for the government by 2016. The decision to stop age-related allowances (introduced by Winston Churchill in 1925) has been condemned as “outrageous”, but the Chancellor insists that: “they’ll be better off because the basic state pension is going up in a couple of weeks by over £5 a week. No one loses any cash from this Budget.”
Image credit: Leftfootforward
Research undertaken by Scottish Widows found that the average person would still like to retire at 61 with only one in five saying they would be happy to carry on working until the age of 70. But what steps do we need to take now to support ourselves in retirement and prevent any shortfalls future taxation brings?
Ian Naismith of Scottish Widows said: “The message is that everyone should be putting aside as much as they can afford for their retirement…Put simply, people need to save an extra £58 per month on average to prepare adequately for retirement and make up the shortfall we are seeing currently. That is roughly the cost of a cup of coffee every day’.
If you are concerned and feeling uncertain about how to plan for your retirement, Thisismoney.co.uk has provided a guide with steps you can take now ‘to plan for a richer retirement.’
The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering was launched in February this year and is designed to showcase the way in which engineering is changing the world. The £1 million prize will reward an outstanding engineering-led advance that has benefited the public – similar to the Nobel Prize but for engineering, it shows the extent to which the UK is getting behind engineering advances. The Queen says:
“Over the past 60 years, I have had the privilege of seeing how engineering developments can make a profound impact on people’s lives. I am delighted to lend my support to this prize and I hope that it inspires many more people across the globe to develop life changing engineering creations in the years to come.”
You can get involved by nominating your outstanding engineer. All you have to do is go to the website – qeprize.com – and fill in the online nomination form before the closing date of 14 September 2012. You can nominate any living engineer, except yourself or your close family.
The judging panel is made up of an impressive collection of professional engineers, academics and engineering entrepreneurs from around the world including Professor Brian Cox and Paul Westbury the CEO of Buro Happold. Their tricky job is to decide which person (or team) has made the most global impact through a ground breaking engineering innovation. Not easy, as engineering is so pervasive: it could be life-saving, cultural, ecological, computing etc. The winner will be announced in spring 2013.
We hope to see some of our clients on the shortlist at the end of this year.
The torch (after being relit) at the end of ceremony in Olympia was handed to the first torchbearer, Olympic silver medalist Spyros Gianniotis. The flame then began its trip around Crete, Piraeus, Thessalonica, Xanthi and Larissa, among other places, in a relay around the Greek mainland and islands.
