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Article date: 26 August 2005
Norwich Union Healthcare today revealed plans to make Solutionsavailable to companies covering two to nine employees meaning thatbusiness of any size can now benefit from the price and benefitflexibility usually only available to large corporate clients.Solutions was previously available to companies covering 10-249employees,
The introduction of Solutions 2-9 completes Norwich UnionHealthcare's ambition to introduce benefit flexibility acrosstheir whole PMI product range, and means that intermediaries cannow tailor the most appropriate corporate benefits package from onecomprehensive product.
Mark Noble, head of intermediary sales at Norwich UnionHealthcare said, "The success of Health Solutions for theindividual market, and the ongoing appeal of solutions for 10-249employees, convinced us that a comprehensive core product withoptions to pick and choose extras is what the market needs. Nowwe're responding to the demand by broadening its availabilityto companies with two to nine employees. We believe solutions leadsthe way in modular private medical insurance propositions. Theintroduction of Solutions to schemes covering two to nineemployees will complete our ambition to make flexible PMI availableto all Norwich Union Healthcare customers.
Solutions 2-9 product includes a comprehensive set of corebenefits and a selection of additional benefits that the employerhas the option to choose from. They can add extra benefits orselect from a range of cost containment options and can alsomix-and-match the options to fit best with their company structure,their company's needs and current benefits. This modularapproach enables employers to create an affordable healthcareproposition adapted to their needs and budget.
To support the launch of solutions there is a promotionalcampaign aimed at intermediaries and a new suite of literature,this will be followed by a campaign aimed at corporatecustomers.
Further details regarding the launch will be announced inSeptember.
Press office contacts:
Lorna Wiltshire 020 76621013 Out of hours 07800 695 150
James Evans 01904 452791 Out of hours 07800 699 525
Notes to editors:
- Norwich Union is the UK's largest insurer. It is theUK's largest providers of life, pensions and investmentproducts and one of the leading Financial Adviser (FA) providers.FAs provide around 75% of the company's long-term savings businessin the UK.
- Norwich Union has strategic alliances with building societiesand other leading UK brand names including Tesco Personal Financeand The Royal Bank of Scotland group.
- Norwich Union's news releases and a selection of imagesare available from Aviva's internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media.
Norwich Union Healthcare
- Norwich Union Healthcare was founded in 1990 as the healthcarearm of Norwich Union and now provides a range of income protectionand private medical insurance products that cover over 800,000lives. It is one of the largest providers of income protection andprivate medical insurance in the UK.
- Norwich Union Healthcare is authorised and regulated by theFinancial Services Authority and is a member of the Association ofBritish Insurers and the Financial Ombudsman Service.


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Birth Date: 12th April 1982
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland UK
Residence: Windermere, Florida USA
Website: www.ryandalziel.com
Marital Status: Married (Jessica)
Tudor United Sports Car Championship
Driver of the #1 Patron ESM HPD Prototype
Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Driver of the #2 Starworks Motrosport FORD/Riley Daytona Prototype
4th in driver standings. 1 victory at Indianapolis
American Le Mans Series
Driver of the SRT Motorsports factory Viper GTS-R
12 hours of Sebring, 24 hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans races
World Endurance Championship (WEC)
Driver of the #44 Starworks Motorsport HPD ARX-03b LMP2
Winner of the WEC World Championship with 3 victories and 7 podiums
Winner of the LeMans 24hr
Winner of the 12 hours of Sebring
Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Driver of the #8 Starworks Motorsport FORD/Riley Daytona Prototype
Pole Position for the 50th Running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Winner of the North American Endurance Championship
Finished Runner Up in driver championship with 1 victory and 8 podiums
Most laps led during the season of any driver
American Le Mans Series
Driver of the #06 Core Autosport LMPC
Won 3 races including Petit Le Mans, Long Beach and Baltimore
Gulf 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi
Driver of the #11 AF Corse Ferrari 458GT3
Finished 2nd and 3rd Overall (January 2012 & December 2012 races)
6 Hours of Bogota Colombia
Driver of the #80 Starworks Motorsport FORD/Riley Daytona Prototype. Overall Winner.
Winner of the SMRC Willam Lyons Trophy
Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Driver of the #8 Starworks Motorsport FORD/Riley Daytona Prototype
Lap record holder for a Daytona Prototype around Daytona International Speedway - January 9, 2011 - 1.39.973s
Winner of season finale at Mid Ohio Road Coarse
4 podium finishes
American Le Mans Series
Driver for Core Autosport. Runner up 12 Hours of Sebring
Grand American Rolex Sport Car Series
Winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona driving for Action Express Racing, finished 5th in 2010 Grand Am Daytona Prototype Championship with StarWorks Motorsport.
American LeMans Series with RSR Jaguar GT2
Competed at the LeMans 24 hours Race
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series and Historic Sports Car Racing
Driving for Orbit Racing in the Grand American Rolex Series (Daytona Prototype) and Motorsports Technology Group in the Grand American Koni Sports Car Challenge (Grand Sport). Qualified 4th for the 2009 24hours of Daytona in January, finished 15th with Alegra Motorsports. Winner of HSR Sebring Feature race, March 6th with Alegra Motorsports.
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series with SAMAX Motorsport
(Daytona Prototype) 1 Win (R5 Laguna Seca / May 2008), 1 Podium (2nd – R4 Virginia) Tested for ProDrive Racing for their Aston Martin GT1 LeMans 24hour effort with Heinz-Harold Frentzen Formula SuperLeague Championship with Rangers FC Team Competed in 5 of 6 races, recorded five Top-10 Finishes with a best result of 4th.
Champ Car World Series with Pacific Coast Motorsport
11 Starts, Scored six Top-10 Finishes, Led laps in Toronto, Canada
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series with SAMAX Motorsport
4 Starts in Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype, Scored four Top-5 Finishes including 2 Podiums (2nd - 'Rolex 24 at Daytona', 2nd - 'Sunchaser 1000')
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series with Pacific Coast Motorsport
Scored five Top-10 Finishes in Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype, 1 DP Class Podium (2nd – Phoenix International Raceway)
American Le Mans Series, GT1 Class with Pacific Coast Motorsport
7 ALMS Starts – 5 Top Ten Overall Finishes, 1 GT1 Class Podium (3rd – Portland)
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series
6 GT Class Starts – 1 GT Class Podium, 1 Daytona Prototype Start – 6th place
Champ Car World Series: 1 Start – 9th place Molson Indy Toronto with Dale Coyne Racing
Champ Car test with PKV Racing
Toyota Atlantic Series – Championship Runner-Up
4 Wins, 7 Podiums, 5 Pole Positions, 5 Fastest Race Laps
Awarded Gilles Villeneuve Trophy
Champ Car test with PKV Racing
Toyota Atlantic Series – Championship Runner-Up
2 Wins, 9 Podiums, 2 Pole Positions, 3 Fastest Race Laps
Champ Car test with Walker Racing
Toyota Atlantic Series – 8th Overall
3 Podiums, 1 Pole Position, 8 Top-10 Finishes
Scored podium finish (2nd) on series debut in Monterrey, Mexico
British Formula Three Championship – 13th Overall (missed 4 events)
17 Top-10 Finishes, 4th place at British Grand Prix International Invitation Race.
British Formula Renault Championship – Championship Runner-Up
1 Win, 6 Podiums, Rookie of the Year Winner
Finalist in McLaren Autosport Young Driver Award
British Formula Vauxhall Championship – Championship Runner-Up
3 Wins, 7 Podiums, Rookie of the Year Winner
Finalist in McLaren Autosport Young Driver Award – Awarded Ecurie Ecosse Trophy

subset: commoncrawl


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The $4.8 million cap hit is just icing on the cake for the Donkeys. Maybe Wes can rush the passer?
This isn't just about the agent, Elway screwed up also. Phones go two ways
if its 1:45 and you still don't have the contract don't you find out what's
going on??? But the media won't roast Elway because of his play on the field
but that was a ROYAL screw up on his part
this is something that would happen to the Jets
There is now speculation that the Agent had heard from other teams that Elvis was worth more than the agreement with the Broncos would have paid. The mistake could have been intentional.
@JasonColeYahoo: Plenty of people in the agent world encouraging Dumervil to sue his agent. It's ugly out there.
For some reason this reminds me of the 2003 off-season, when Terry Bradway found multiple ways to f*ck up the Jets.
@MichelleBeisner: Source close to the situation telling me Dumervil not generating a lot of interest from other teams. #freeagency
I read somewhere that something similar happened to Pats back in the 70's when Bucko Kilroy was the GM. Funny part was , it was the whole team that wasn't under contract due to a snafu like that.Only player that knew about it was Phil Olsen because he wanted out I guess. They kept everything hushed until the new paperwork was signed by all their players.
The team that wasn't.
@JasonLaCanfora: Elvis Dumervil will be signing with agent Tom Condon, though no official paperwork has been filed yet


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"The best way to predict the cinematographer's future is to re-invent it."
THE HOST Directed by:
Andrew Niccol Inferno Entertainment,
Chockstone Pictures
Cannes Film Festival 2012 - Competition Directed by:
Lee Daniels Millennium Films
MACHINE GUN PREACHER Directed by:
Marc Forster Relativity Media
LEAVES OF GRASS Directed by:
Tim Blake Nelson Millennium Films
QUANTUM OF SOLACE Directed by:
Marc Forster EON / MGM/Sony
THE KITE RUNNER Directed by:
Marc Forster DreamWorks
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Directed by:
Christopher Guest Castle Rock
STRANGER THAN FICTION Directed by:
Marc Forster Sony Pictures
STAY Directed by:
Marc Forster 20th Century Fox / New Regency
AT LAST Directed by:
Tom Anton Independent
Nomination, Best Cinematography BAFTA Directed by:
Marc Forster Miramax Films
MONSTER'S BALL Directed by:
Marc Forster
Lion's Gate Films
BEST IN SHOW Directed by:
Christopher Guest
Castle Rock
WAITING FOR GUFFMAN Directed by:
Christopher Guest
Castle Rock
EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER Directed by:
Marc Forster
Furst Films
JUST YOUR LUCK Directed by:
Gary Auerbach
Propaganda Films
LOUNGERS Directed by:
Marc Forster
Tuba City Prods.
LE MOSCHE IN TESTA Directed by:
Gabriella Menozzi MVM Films, Rome
LA FINE DELLA NOTTE Directed by:
Davide Ferrario Pagnoni Films, Milan
TELEVISION (partial list)
FAMILY TREE Directed by:
Christopher Guest NBC Universal / HBO /BBC
HALLELUJAH(pilot) Directed by:
Michael Apted ABC TV
THE THICK OF IT(pilot) Directed by:
Christopher Guest ABC/Sony
ROBBERY HOMICIDE DIVISION (pilot) Directed by:
Stephen Gyllenhaal CBS / Studios USA
NATIONAL LAMPOON (pilot) Directed by:
Troy Miller WB
DOA (pilot) Directed by:
Christopher Guest HBO
ROAD RACER(MOW) Directed by:
Robert Rodriguez Showtime
COOL AND THE CRAZY (MOW) Directed by:
Ralph Bakshi Showtime
Christopher Guest, Kinka Usher, Paul Hunter, Ray Dillman, Speck and Gordon, Michael Mann, Tom Carty, Tim Hamilton, David Shane, Vadim Perelman, Jeff Kaumeyer, Christopher Guest, Tom Foley, Chris Hooper, Martin Granger, Graham Henman, Russell Young, Leslie Libman, Russell Mulcahy, ACNE, Pat Sherman, Mike Maguire, Harry Cocciolo, Ric Cantor, Dennie Gordon, Sam Cadman, Tomas Skoging, Jesper Hiro, Jim Jenkins, Chris Smith, David McNally, Rob Cohen, Eric Joiner, Scott Z. Burns
**Fox Sports, Groupon, Nike, American Express, Microsoft, Boeing, Burger King, Comcast, Busch Beer, Netflix, Clairol, Panasonic, Pioneer, DirecTV, ESPN, Footlocker, Ralston Purina, Suave Shampoo, Kinko's, Tide, Xerox, Suzuki, Bass Ale, DMX, MTV Promos, Ethan Allen, T Mobile, Kia, NY Times, Bell South, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, Nextel, Wal-Mart, Crest, Healthy Choice, US Census, Chili's, CA Lottery, Mercedes, RadioShack, Verizon, Cheez-It, Bud light, UPS, Money Supermarket, Daloc, Stain Master, Viagra, SPDR, Jiffy Lube, 8th Continent, Red Lion, Showtime, NFL, Blue Cross, Oscar Meyer, Chevrolet, Nature Valley, Barnes & Noble
U2, Pearl Jam, Aaliyah, Super Deluxe, Blind Melon, J.J. Cale, Belinda Carlisle, Des'ree, R. Kelly, Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl
*NOMINATION, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – BAFTA, British Academy Awards, 2005
** WINNER, GOLD LION -- Cannes Advertising Film Festival, 1998
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769656/


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wikiHow to Be the Best Mayor in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you are the mayor of your town. If you have the game, and you'd like to know how you can be the best mayor for your town that you can be, then keep reading this article.
1Check your approval rating. By checking your approval rating, you know how well your town is doing and how you can make improvements to your town. To check your approval rating, go to the town hall and talk to Isabelle.Once you've talked to her, and you were given tips on how to improve, go do the things that she mentioned you could do.
- When you talk to Isabelle, you only need to talk to her with her behind the desk as opposed to you sitting in the chair behind the desk.
2Chat with the townsfolk often. If you communicate more to the townspeople, you'll start to form strong friendships with them! Who knows? You might even get to hear the latest gossip, and they will also invite you to their house time to time. There are so many things that the villagers might talk to you or ask you about in Animal Crossing: New Leaf!
3Add more public works projects. Make life more fun in your town by dazzling your place up with some interesting projects such as fountains, camp sites, bridges, etc.
4Visit the shops both in your town and in the city often. You might create new bonds with the shop owners, which is important because if you not only visit the shops, but sell or buy things there, you may get other special buildings, or the shop may upgrade.
5Grow more flowers. This will make your town bloom in harmony; it really helps if you want to show off your town to any of your friends that may visit your town through WiFi.
6Decorate your house. Make your house look the way you want to, by adding new items inside and decorating it the way you would like it to be! It doesn't even have to be perfect, just start working on your house! Check T&T Emporium for new items everyday.
7Donate to the museum in the city. Try to donate fossils, fish, bugs, and paintings to Blathers, who is the owner of the museum, and he will gladly take these off your hands! Plus, it'll help make your museum grow! This is helpful, so donate as much as possible to it. You may even gain respect from your friends, and more villagers will visit the museum.
8Sell fruits and other items to Re-Tail or Tommy and Timmy's shop. This will help you get many bells, which you can spend on clothing, furniture, and many other items.
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- Sometimes villagers will request public works projects when you are talking to them. Build these projects to make the villager become even better friends with you.
- When it comes to building public works projects, if you build a campsite, a new villager will arrive into your town and stay in the campsite. Once you see it happen, talk and be very friendly to the villager, because you may be able to convince them to move to your town.
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Scuffling Nieuwenhuis gets Wednesday off
Scuffling Nieuwenhuis gets Wednesday off
Nieuwenhuis, who has one hit in his last 14 at-bats, was not in Wednesday's starting lineup. Manager Terry Collins said he wants the 2008 Draft pick to work with hitting coach Dave Hudgens to fix his swing, which he said has been dragging into two parts.
"He's really struggling. I try to make sure that we don't get some of these young players in a deep pit where they all of a sudden start questioning whether they belong here or not."
Nieuwenhuis' struggles have only occurred for the last couple weeks. He began June with four multi-hit performances in his first 14 games and has blasted five of his seven home runs this month.
More than just batting average or power, Collins wants Nieuwenhuis to get on base out of the leadoff spot. Collins said he thinks the main problem with the young outfielder is he's not seeing the ball well and he's pulling his head out.
"We've got to start getting him on base," Collins said. "If you're going to lead off, you've got to get on. That's part of the job. We know he can do some damage. If he gets a pitch to hit he can hit a homer."


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Although this trip did involve a cruise, I thought I'd post in the Africa/Middle East forum, as most posts on the cruising forum do not include trip reports.
The trip involved a journey through Jordan, followed by a Red Sea cruise on the Island Sky with stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea.
I first learned of the British company Noble Caledonia through some travelers I met on a different trip a couple of years ago. I decided on to book this trip because it included a stop in Eritrea, a country I was not willing to tackle independently, and I could travel in relative comfort. I was also interested in seeing Saudi Arabia, another relatively difficult country to visit.
Turns out I'd forgotten about the inconveniences of traveling with large groups (primarily interminable waiting), but the trade off was the convenience of the company taking care of all the details. All visas were obtained as part of a group process by Noble Caledonia. Also all meals were included for the duration of the trip, and the buffet lunches on land were of good quality and allowed for a sampling of the local cuisine. Meals on board the ship were generally European. I found them rather bland, but they appeared to be to the taste of most of the clientele.
Coming from the US, I flew to London and met up with most of the other passengers for the flight to Jordan. The flight from LHR to Amman on Royal Jordanian was uneventful, food and service were good. We arrived at Le Meridien in Amman at about 2 am.
The following morning we were loaded onto 3 buses (~30 people/bus) and set off on a city tour of Amman which included a stop at the citadel. Lunch was at a hotel on the Dead sea, and we had another stop at the crusader castle in Kerak. The guides were of varying quality, and because of the group size, it was frequently difficult to hear and understand what was going on. As time went on I began to realise that a little more prep-work on my part would have been beneficial. With the variety of stops, an investment in several different guide books was required, which I regretted not doing, and the few guidebooks I did have, I left at home because of my reluctance in carrying the additional weight.
Upon arriving in Aqaba we checked into the Intercontinental hotel. The next day involved a full day's visit to Petra. Petra was very crowded, and while this made the visit less than ideal, visiting in the heat of the low season would have been worse. I enjoyed the visit to Petra, but found it rather overwhelming. The crowds, heat, and having to avoid galloping horses used for transporting tourists were all quite distracting. If I were to visit again, I would plan to stay much closer and visit in the early morning. In fact the distances of various sites from the coast meant that by the time we arrived anywhere, the heat of the day was well in force.
The next day involved a visit to Wadi Rum which was a definite highlight for me. Several converted flat bed trucks had been hired and we sped from site to site in the desert. Lunch was a buffet at a desert campsite for tourists.
The day ended with our arrival at the port and embarkation on the Island Sky which was to be our base for the next nine nights. At each successive port there were three large buses to provide transportation for the day's sightseeing.
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Sailing to Eritrea
Although this trip did involve a cruise, I thought I'd post in the Africa/Middle East forum, as most posts on the cruising forum do not include trip reports.
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I'm looking forward to your report on Asmara -- I may combine a short visit with my trip to Ethiopia and Djibouti in December 2010 (I like to plan ahead). I do intend to travel independently. Did anything you learned suggest you were right not to tackle Asmara independently?
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Femi: I, too, am very excited about the upcoming report on Asmara....excellent report so far! You have a great travel spirit!
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Thanks Eks
Michael our guide did hint that it was easier to get permission for travel out of Asmara for groups rather than individuals. There is still unrest at the border towns, and there is some concern about spies. Groups are easier to keep track of, and our guide said it would be slightly riskier to accept responsibility for keeping tabs on a single client as they have been known to dissappear of their own accord. There were several check points on all the roads we traveled outside of Asmara.
Also I do not think that travel between Ethiopia and Eritrea is allowed at this time, so that may lead to rather circuitous routing.
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The next day was a visit to St. Katherine's Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. The site was very crowded, as were most of the stops in Egypt, and the drive of several hours round trip left us with little time at our destination. I found the following day's visit to the monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul to be much more enjoyable. The monks were very friendly and patient with questions. And I found the architecture of St. Anthony's in particular to be much more appealing.
For security reasons our road trips in Egypt required that our tour buses travel as part of a convoy. Buses that are to travel in convoy meet up at a set point at specific times of day, and even the rest stops are orchestrated. Our trip to Luxor involved the longest convoy yet, and we lost count after about sixty buses! A lot of visitors to Egypt now come from Russia, and I think they outnumbered most other tourists. The long drive from the port of Sharm-El-Sheikh once again left us with precious few hours at Luxor, but we managed to squeeze in a visit to the temple of Hatshepsut (another personal highlight for me), the valley of the kings (with entrance into two tombs) and the temple at Karnak. Coming upon the lush fertile Nile valley after hours of hostile desert is a sight I will not soon forget.
Most of us decided that the visit was really a sampler, and the sites really deserved the dedication of a lot more time on a separate trip. We were given the option of remaining in Luxor overnight, to see the sound and light show at Karnak, but I chose to return to the ship that night.
The following two days were spent at sea, and by this point it was a well needed rest as the pace since the start of the tour had been exhausting.
During this respite, we were briefed on the requirements for our stop in Jeddah. As Saudi Arabia is officially a 'Dry' state with the consumption of alcohol forbidden, all alcohol on board (including personal supplies) was rounded up and placed under lock and key. Inspections were carried out by Saudi officials when we docked, and additional seals were placed over the locks.
Abayas (long black cloaks) were brought on board for the women, with instructions that we be covered from neck to ankles. Overall the prepartion for arrival at Jeddah involved a lot more excitement than was really necessary. Even the Saudi officials said that we could relax and didn't have to wear the abayas while on board the ship.
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The Saudi guides were very gracious and flexible, making our visit to Jeddah quite enjoyable. One got the impression they hadn't been doing it for long as at one point our guide freely admitted he was thinking up random details to fill the time.
Our half day visit included a tour of the animal market (camels, goats and sheep). Several times through out our trip we were warned that the nomads, or animal herders were 'wild' and not quite like normal folk. At the animal market it simply seemed that the traders had not the polished manner of the Saudis who dressed in shimmering spotless whites with gold wrist watches. However the traders were friendly enough, and when it appeared they were getting a little too friendly, our guide deemed it was time to go.
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Femi this is great...please give us every last detail..many thanks!
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One portion of the highway was lined with sofas (!) at regular intervals, before which were placed wooden tables with three metal bowls. Further from the road across an aqueduct were groups of camels. I would never in a million years have figured out what was going on. Camel's milk for sale! At my request the guide did not hesitate to stop. He indicated what size bowl of milk he wanted, and the seller ran down and across stepping stones in the aqueduct and up the other side. There he chased away a baby camel from its' mother, balanced the bowl on one knee, milked as if his life depended on it, and dashed back to the road side leaving flying milk froth in his wake. The milk was better than I expected, very rich and smooth. As much as I wanted to gulp it all down, I had only a couple of sips.
We toured the souk in the old town with a visit to Nasseef house, a merchant's residence constructed in the 1880s. The city tour ended with a drive around the modern city including the corniche with its several modern art sculptures and the world's highest (?) fountain.
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I thought I would spend more time on the Eritrea portion of the report. It's scary to think how quickly the details fade!
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Another day at sea was followed by a visit to Eritrea's Dahlak islands for snorkeling in the warm, crystal clear waters among giant heads of coral. A boat tour around the uninhabited island included visits to a pod of dolphins, and the occasional sighting of a sea turtle as well as myriad multi colored fish. Although the island we stopped at was uninhabited, there are others with more developed tourist infrastructure.
The real adventure for me began with our final stop and disembarkation in the port of Massawa, Eritrea. Walking around the port that evening revealed a balmy, laid-back atmosphere. Several locals were out for an evening stroll. Makes sense because it was simply too hot to do much during the heat of the day. Although it was sweltering, the locals defined the season as 'winter' and bundled up accordingly, particularly the elderly.
Another discovery was how soft-spoken and generally quiet the Eritrean people are. For the duration of our stay I felt like I was constantly straining to hear what people were saying. It was quite a surprise on the flight back home to find I could hear the entire conversation of Americans several rows away.
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Femi - this is great!! I just skimmed b/c I am severely jet lagged (am posting from Tehran) but when I saw the title it woke me up a bit, so I hope there is more to come, along with pictures.
I looked into going to Eritrea from Ethiopia and it was going to involve an expensive flight through Djibouti to get there, and it appeared I couldn't leave asmara w/o going through some convoluted, confusing and time consuming permit process so I gave up.
can't wait to re-read when I am more awake. thanks for posting this.
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Ha ha Maxwell! I also have a beastly case of jet lag, which seems worse than usual. I imagine you feel the same. Looking forward to your report...
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Linda, wow, you made it to Iran!
I checked as recently as last week and there are no direct flights between Djibouti and Eritrea -- easiest is currently via Sana'a, Yemen, but it requires and overnight.
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Changing money was very straight forward. We had to declare all our currency prior to leaving the ship, and each time we changed money (1 US Dollar = 15 Nakfa), our currency declaration form was stamped and the balance of funds duly noted. The officials at the airport were quite strict about this form, making enquiries about why our funds didn't tally and conducting searches for hidden currency. They found all the funds I had been too lazy to declare (ten Egyptian pounds, and some English change). Several times it was stressed that it was illegal for local Eritreans to be in the possession of foreign currency.
Most of the ship's passengers chose not to stay for the post-cruise extension and headed to Asmara, returning to London that night. Our party of eleven instantly felt more intimate as we left the ship for a tour of Massawa. Although it wasn't quite ten in the morning, the humidity was fierce and the temperature felt like it was already in the eighties and climbing.
Another surprise was how many people spoke English, which I found to be true throughout the country. The second, far less pleasant surprise was the presence of the pesky flies. Our guide said the numbers were unusual and probably related to the recent rainfall. While there had been some flies throughout the trip, Massawa's were the most irritating, probably because of the combination of heat and humidity. At night I woke myself flailing, trying to get rid of the flies in my dreams.
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The one place in Massawa that seemed free of the pests was Haile Selassie's crumbling, bullet-scarred palace set on crystal clear azure waters of the port. We also stopped by the museum and the old post-office for post cards and stamps.
We spent the night at the Red Sea Hotel in Massawa, with the most wonderful thing about it being that it had a fan and air conditioning, offering blessed relief from the flies. The fact that it had no hot water, and cold water that only ran at a trickle (surprisingly successful at flooding the bathroom floor) was besides the point.
(I'm looking at my Massawa photos now and there is nary a fly in sight. Hmmm.)
The next morning after a visit to the Massawa Salt Works, we set out on the road to Asmara. On the way our guide agreed to stop at a Bedouin camp of a tribe called the Rashaida. Once again we were duly warned of how 'wild' they could be. The difference was this time, even I found the nomads intimidating. They formed quite a contrast to regular Eritreans. The women were very animated and laughed a lot. They were veiled by intricate beadwork, but from what little one could see each was more stunning than the last. We had been warned not to take pictures as they could be very aggressive, and the plan was for the guide to reach an agreed price with the headman before anyone could take any shots. Unfortunately the chief was not home, and one of my biggest regrets of this trip was not being able to photograph the women. A group of them pulled me into their tent and invited me to squat with them for a more intimate conversation. First they were surprised at the difficulty I demonstrated in squatting for the prolonged period, and next they were taken aback that I did not carry a 'mobile'. "Where is your cell phone?" they repeated in disbelief. Unfortunately this was all I could understand of their rapid-fire questions. They were eager to communicate, pulling at my sleeves and even delivering mild slaps to get my attention.
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Femi - I'm caught up now and waiting for the rest of this!
I can identify with your comment about the pace of the tour being exhausting.
I do not enjoy traveling at breakneck speed...
I love the story about the rashaida tribe and the cell phone - classic.
I hope you'll be posting pictures too - I'm particularly interested in your Eritrea and Saudi Arabia visit.
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I suppose I have become a bit lazy, didn't think anyone would notice, LOL.
I'd better get to work on the pictures...
Our guide had informed us that the government had great difficulty in getting the nomads to settle down and had eventually chosen to look the other way during the numerous border crossings of the Rashaida. These days the caravans included shiny new 4x4s as well as goats and camels. He also explained that although there were no problems with the Rashaidas taking a local Tigrinya for a wife, Rashaida women were notoriously difficult to control and their male relatives would run you through with a sword given the slightest provocation. They were also ruthless when it came to money, and while 'regular' Eritreans did not like to bargain, Rashaida would mark up the price by 300%. All in all, within seconds of meeting them, it was easy to understand why he found the tribe so intimidating. One of the ladies motioned that I could take pictures without having to pay, but I was too chicken to take accept her offer.
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On the drive up from Massawa to Asmara we got our first introduction to the traditional coffee ceremony. It did require some adjustment getting used to the pace of life in Eritrea, as a quick 'pit-stop' would stretch into nearly two hours. First a brazier had to be lit, and then the beans would be roasted in a well used pan. Then the coffee had to be brewed before it was filtered, had sugar added and finally served. It sounds simple, but it was an intricate process. When I tried my hand at roasting the beans they got a bit burnt, and I ended up having several blazing coals tumble out onto the rug (our server picked them up barehanded, and tossed them back into the brazier without batting an eye). Some of the coffee ladies would add dried ginger to the concoction.
I found Asmara to be much colder (50s Fahrenheit at night) than I expected.
My primary reason for visiting Eritrea was to photograph the beautiful people. It was rather disappointing to find most did not wish to be photographed. On the streets of Asmara in particular I found the women stunning. Even in the countryside it was difficult to get used to just how good-looking the women are.
After spending the night in Asmara, we hit the road once again, this time headed for the town of Keren. The road to Keren is particularly bone-jarring. At one point I actually lost my balance and fell over in my seat! Keren turned out to be my favourite city in Eritrea. The weather was perfect and I loved the laid-back country feel. Although it was a quiet town, we happened upon youth in the public library where they had free access to the web, and could Google all they wanted. We drove up to the fort high on a hill and were able to see how organized and well-planned a town Keren was, courtesy of the Italians of course.
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The shrine of St. Maryam Dearit is located at the end of a lovely tree lined drive. There is a baobab tree that contains a little shrine with the statue of the Virgin Mary. The shrine is apparently popular with women who hope for children. They sit along the drive and serve coffee, made the traditional way, which they present to passers-by as an offering. It is supposedly good luck to have a male drink the coffee. We stopped by one lady who was happy enough to serve the tourists in our group, but was quite insistent that our guide participate. He felt pressured to keep our group moving so we wouldn't be late for the next stop, but she made sure he had at least two cups. He drank them to please her, gulping them down scalding hot.
We stopped by the only school for the deaf in Eritrea, and the level of dedication of the staff was very inspiring. The kids and their enthusiasm for learning were very endearing. We visited the workshop that displayed items the kids had made. Seemingly nothing was for sale. Whenever someone came across a particularly nice pillow cover or handkerchief it was 'not for sale'. More than anything else, what was needed was a lesson in marketing! I found a lovely woolen scarf which was of course not for sale, but it was the only item that I had come across in all our travels through Eritrea that I actually desired. More firmly than I probably should have, I told the instructor I was taking it, for sale or not, and he grudgingly gave me a price for it.
During our stop at the town hall, the caretaker took us on a little impromptu tour of the buildings. He seemed quite practiced at it, keeping the group together (no small task) and moving, and pointing out the highlights, all without speaking a word. I tried to take his picture and he put out his hand to stop me. Slowly and methodically he buttoned his many layers of clothing, straightened his collar, and replaced his hat with a turban. Then when he was ready, and not a minute before, he gestured it was ok to begin the shoot. I shot one picture, when he realized the lighting was all wrong and moved over to a sunny patio. He thought our guide might like to join in, but put a hat on him before we could resume. By this time he had found his tongue and we learned he was in his 80's and could speak Italian but no English.
When I asked a boy at the market in Keren, "What's your camel's name?" "Camel." He said trying to disguise his opinion of such a stupid question.
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Pictures. Hope this link works...
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Thanks for the interesting report Femi. From your photos, Eritrea looks like a cleaner, calmer version of Ethiopia.
There was an article recently in the NYTimes travel section about Eritrea, if anyone is interested.
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I'm loving this report, but with those pirates attacking everything from oil tankers to cruise ships... is this the time to be planning a visit to the area?
There's usually not much that warns me off from travel, but steel flying past my ears is one of them.
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Cruisinred, Asmara is justifiably proud of being one of the cleanest cities in Afica, and we found this to be true for the most part wherever we went.
Sandi, the ship did have pirate repelling measures, and they practiced while we onboard. Suffice it to say I didn't find their techniques comforting. I just hoped they had some high powered secret weapon they would whip out should a real need arise. I don't think the company will be returning to these waters in the near future.
I wasn't overly worried, I didn't think we were close enough to the troubled area, but this was before I heard about the Nautica. True they were in the gulf of Aden and we didn't sail down that far. I was really dissappointed to have missed out on Yemen, as the company had already stopped going that far south because of the associated risk.
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Great pictures!! I read about all these placed in Eritrea when I was trying to plan a trip there, so it's really interesting for me to see photos. I think my favorite is the profile shot of the little girl in the green shirt.
I'm curious - What were they making the items for at the school for the deaf?
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There were students there working at sewing machines, supposedly learning a trade. I had thought the proceeds of what they made might go toward supporting the school. But they really weren't set up for sales. There was a table with lots of things piled on it, and the people in my group naturally gravitated toward the best looking items which unfailingly were 'not for sale'. The instructor said a couple of these items were to be used as a pattern for the students to replicate, but why then have them on display with everything else?
I wanted to make a donation to the school but they weren't set up for that either. I didn't want to just hand over a wad of cash, and they couldn't accept foreign currency anyway.
They made our guide a very nice looking pair of trousers in less than a day. I asked him why they didn't promote their abilities for potential income. He said there were often problems with the supply of fabric, etc and they could never be sure if they would be able to complete an order.
I never thought about who the items might be for, it just seemed they weren't really for us.
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Upon our return to Asmara we did the obligatory city tour, of which I am not very fond, but are included in just about every organized trip I have been on. I found it more interesting to watch our guide deal with the problems that arose along the way. The bell tower in the catholic church was locked and no one could find the key. There was a funeral going on in the coptic church and this brought about a debate between our Eritrean guide and British tour director as to whether it would be appropriate to tour the facility during the ceremony, although we had been granted permission. In the end I went in with the guide. We were followed rather closely by a Coptic priest which made me nervous at first. Within a few minutes I discovered he wasn't there to protest our intrusion, but to discuss the results of the American presidential election which had taken place the week before! He was quite chatty, but unfortunately the conversation was cut short because our guide was worried about the others waiting outside. The funeral ceremony looked interesting, involving very sonorous chanting and candles, and I would have liked to explore more, but we had to leave.
The next day we spent the morning riding the steam train (originating in the 1880s) down into the hills of Nefasit through spectacular scenery, over bridges, and through several tunnels. We got to meet the locals every 12 kms or so, when we would stop for 'pressure' related issues. It was fascinating to see several dwellings were perched over steep precipices.
For our last day in Eritrea, we drove down to the Filfil forest a couple of hours from Asmara. It was a lovely location (we picnicked beside a dry riverbed), but unfortunately we had arrived in the heat of the midday sun. We spotted a few birds and some baboons playing in the distance, but it was really too hot out of the shade for me to be wandering around. I was feeling a little under the weather to begin with, I think the pace of the trip was finally catching up with me, and I didn't want to add sunstroke to my problems. It would have been much better to visit in the cool of the morning with a knowledgeable guide. It looked like a great spot for birding. I'm not sure what nearby accommodation options are available.
Our meals were a combination of traditional Eritrean fare and Italian pasta. Varying items on the menu were frequently not available in restaurants. The meat I enjoyed the most was lamb. The goat was frequently unchewable, and more than once I would just swallow whole chunks. Fish was plentiful and good. The ubiquitous enjera (or injera) varied widely in quality. We later found that this was because various ingredients (such as sorghum or millet) would be added to the more expensive teff (?) to make it stretch a little farther.
Toilets ran the gamut. Carrying your own tissue is the norm. In one situation people waved at me through the alarmingly low window of the toilet as they walked by. By the end of the trip all the ladies in the group became expert at gauging just how long we could wait.
Now that I've been back a while and am recovered from the exhaustion of the pace and the flight back (ASM-JED-FRA-LHR-SFO-LAX!) my memories of Eritrea are becoming fonder. The strongest impression I was left with is the quiet dignity of the people. Cruisinred's comments have stirred a flicker of interest in Ethiopia and how it would compare.
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Review for Humane Society Of Puerto Rico Inc, Guaynabo, PR, USA
Nunca tendre manera de agradecer, la enorme ayuda que he tenido de este albergue. Dios los bendice
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I am married with two children – a boy aged 13 and a girl aged eight. The children can't seem to behave civilly with each other and it is driving me to despair. The elder child is constantly picking on the younger one – he scoffs at, mocks, criticises or competes with everything she says and does. She in turn reacts aggressively, he reacts aggressively to her and it flares up into hitting, screaming rows.
This goes on constantly. I have tried talking calmly to both of them, explaining how upset it makes me. I have explained that we love them both and that it's not a competition. I have asked them to change their behaviour, I have lost my temper, I have cried openly. Nothing makes the tiniest difference. Whenever we are together as a family, it usually means we are in two separate pairs – my husband together with our son and me with our daughter. I find myself longing for the day when our son leaves home – not because I want him to go, but because I can't stand this constant fighting. My husband says he thinks it's normal. I have been taking antidepressants for the past year. They are both lovely children separately, and absolutely fine with other children, just awful with each other. H, via email
I don't think it's inevitable that siblings don't get on, but it can take lots of hard work from the parents. Some of the things I'm going to say may sound as if I'm blaming you. Believe me, I'm not. But I think it's important – empowering – to realise that a better situation is within your control.
Your son had you to himself for five years, so the appearance of a sibling has, it appears, been hard for him. I wonder what your expectations were? Did you get on with your own siblings? Do you/did you allow your son to talk to you about how he feels? It's lovely that you do age-specific activities with your children and "pair off", but I think it's important not to splinter your family into two units. I sense, rightly or wrongly, that you feel more comfortable with your daughter. I can't help wondering if your son feels that his sister has usurped him in your affections. If this is the case, no amount of telling him stuff will help. You need to show it.
I consulted Chris Scalzo, a psychotherapist. One thing he said really stood out: "This 'sibling rejection' is not a rejection of their brother or sister directly, but a manifestation of experiences of rejection themselves as the attention they crave is given elsewhere by a parent, usually the mother. In some cases, this can reach an extreme point of children refusing to eat with the same cutlery or drink from the same cups – or physical attacks, often directed at babies, who generally receive greater attention than their older siblings."
Scalzo advised: "The habits could be broken through the use of behavioural techniques, eg by looking at the trigger points, providing distractions and training the children to develop alternative responses. More importantly, though, the mother must consider what is being communicated, if the effect of these changes is not going to just be ephemeral."
Scalzo recommends "regular and special time for both children, and to focus this on nurturing activities that meet their primitive needs. Let the children know that they have been 'held in mind' – for example, cuddled up on the sofa together when the younger child has gone to bed would be a good start."
I started doing this with my children (similar age gap) – the younger was put to bed an hour or two before the older one, who then had special mummy and daddy time. It has been hugely effective. While a sibling is a gift, don't underestimate – to your son's eyes, at least for now – what he feels he lost with the arrival of his sister.
Regarding the hitting, I would advise saying something along the lines of "You can be angry with each other, you don't have to like each other but I will not allow you to hit each other." If they keep doing it, they both lose privileges. You also need to accept that there are times they won't get on and you need to just let them get on with it. But I also sense guilt from you, and I think that stops you acting with confidence. That and the antidepressants makes me think counselling (ukcp.org.uk) would really help you.
Your problems solved
Contact Annalisa Barbieri, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU or email firstname.lastname@example.com. Annalisa regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence.
Follow Annalisa on Twitter @AnnalisaB


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Hollys House is a calm and loving environment where individuals go after horrific situations and/or crimes. Instead of sitting in a cold interrogation room, a victim has soothing surroundings and nurturing counselors that ask questions about what has happened.
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The Well-Tempered Wok
Published: February 9, 2005
(Page 2 of 2)
MANY Chinese-Americans buy new woks or wok tools before the Lunar New Year to bring the holiday's theme of renewal into the kitchen. A new wok needs seasoning, the first step in acquiring the patina of a ''virtuous wok'' -- a Chinese term for a wok that has served its owner long and well.
The best wok for most American kitchens is a 14-inch heavy-gauge carbon-steel wok with a flat bottom. Although the flat bottom is not authentically Chinese, it corrects for the completely different design of American stovetops. To test the gauge of the metal hold the wok in both hands and try to press them together. If the metal flexes at all, the wok is too thin.
(Nonstick woks need not be seasoned, but most Chinese cooks do not use nonstick woks for stir-frying. The surface never gets hot enough. Nonstick is fine for steaming or deep-frying.)
To season a wok you need vegetable oil and a fistful of Chinese chives, cut into two-inch lengths. If Chinese chives are unavailable, substitute a bunch of scallions, cut into two-inch lengths, and half a cup of fresh ginger slices. Open a window and turn the exhaust fan on, if possible.
Scrub the wok with hot, soapy water. Dry it well and put it on the stove. Turn the heat to low and heat the pan just until it is dry. Turn the heat to high. To test the heat, flick a few drops of water into the wok. When the water vaporizes within two seconds, the wok is hot.
Swirl two tablespoons of oil around the edges of the wok and add the chives. Reduce the heat to medium and stir-fry for five minutes, using a spatula to push the aromatics and the oil up the sides of the wok.
Make sure that the wok's inside surface is completely coated with oil, even the top edges. If necessary, add another tablespoon of oil. Turn off the heat, let cool and discard the mixture.
Wash the wok again with hot water and a soft sponge. (Soap should never be used on a seasoned wok. It will remove the patina.) Dry it over low heat for two minutes. The wok is now ready for cooking.
To rescue an old wok that has rusted or become dusty pour a cup of coarse salt into it. Heat it over medium heat for five minutes, then let it cool completely. Using a soft rag, rub the salt over the surface of the wok until it is clean. Then reseason it as above.
Stir-Fried Shrimp With Snow Peas and Ginger
Adapted from Grace Young
Time: 30 minutes
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3. cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons rice wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
6 ounces snow peas, strings removed, washed and dried
1 scallion, chopped.
1. In a large bowl combine 2 cups cold water and 1 tablespoon salt, stirring until salt is dissolved. Add shrimp, and let stand five minutes. Rinse shrimp under cold running water, and set to dry on paper towels. With more towels, pat shrimp dry. In a bowl, combine broth, wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and pepper.
2. Heat a wok over high heat. To test heat flick a few drops of water into wok. When water vaporizes within 2 seconds, wok is hot. Swirl in 1 tablespoon oil around sides of wok. Add shrimp, spreading them in a single layer, so they have contact with hot metal. Stir-fry for 1 minute or just until pink, tossing them with a wok shovel or spatula. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 5 seconds. Add snow peas and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and stir-fry 1 minute more..
3. Stir cornstarch mixture, swirl it in around sides of wok, and bring to a boil. Stir-fry just until shrimp are cooked through and sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds more. Stir in scallions, and serve immediately.
Yield: 2 to 4 servings.
Candied Walnuts
Adapted from Grace Young
Time: 30 minutes
1 pound shelled walnut halves
1 cup sugar
6 cups vegetable oil.
1. In a saucepan bring 1 quart water to a boil over high heat. Add walnuts, and return to a boil. Drain in a colander and immediately return to pan. Add sugar, and mix constantly with a rubber spatula until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Nuts will be shiny and coated in sugar.
2. Lay out about 2 feet of aluminum foil. In a wok or deep pot, heat oil to 375 degrees over medium-high heat. Carefully add walnuts, spreading them out in oil. Let them cook undisturbed for 2 minutes, then cook, stirring, 1 to 3 minutes more, until golden brown.
3. Turn off heat and quickly remove nuts with a slotted spoon, spreading them out on foil. Make sure nuts do not touch one another. When nuts have cooled, transfer them to drain on paper towels, then into an airtight container.
Yield: 4 cups.
Photos: BY HAND -- Chefs buy from artisans who hammer each wok from a single piece of carbon steel. (Photo by Alan Richardson)(pg. F1); SEASONING -- Grace Young preparing the inside of a wok with Chinese chives. (Photo by Ruby Washington/The New York Times); ORIGINS -- From the book ''The Breath of a Wok,'' a blacksmith in Guangxi Province. (Photo by Alan Richardson)(pg. F4)


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I have been a bad blogger. But I have a very good excuse.
I'm pregnant!
8 weeks and 1 day to be precise.
Here's the rundown of symptoms:
1. Sore boobies - this was worse in the beginning, now it comes and goes.
2. T-I-R-E-D - you cannot believe how physically draining pregnancy is, at least in the first trimester. There for about 3 weeks it was all I could do to keep my body erect at the computer. You just want to lay down and never get up again. Here about week 8 though I am FINALLY starting to get some energy back, so hopefully that means that my hormones are evening out.
3. Nauseous - just a little bit throughout the day. The only thing that helps is constantly snacking, which is going to catch up with me sooner than later, see #4.
4. The Pooch - yes, the waistline is already getting thicker. Since my baby is only the size of a kidney bean, I can hardly blame it on him.
That's about it. So I would say I am definitely one of the lucky ones. I wouldn't really say I am having cravings in the sense that I want ONE food, but I am definitely picky. Mostly because of the nausea. There will be about one thing per day that I HAVE to HAVE or else.
Of course....
I wouldn't be me without a little drama.
So here is how my little Kidney Bean's first 8 weeks of life have gone:
1) The first week that I found out I was pregnant, I started having stabbing, aching pains in my right shoulder blade. So of course, after much neurotic searching on the internet, I had diagnosed myself with ectopic pregnancy. One emergency trip to the gyno and here is my little nugget at 4 weeks and 1 day:
Just a little black spot.
My doctor gave me a fervent lecture on being positive. "If you think negatively, negative things will happen," I believe were her exact words.
Clearly she knows nothing about me.
Fast forward about a week and half and all hell breaks loose at my office, when I lost my administrative assistant. I am using the word "lost" here, and trust me when I say that is a saying a mouthful. This is all in the throws of a cold for which I can't take any medication and morning sickness from which I was sure I was going to die.
That Monday, with the universe against me, I headed to the doctor with my hubby in the hopes of hearing a heartbeat. And hear it we did. Here is our little nugget at 6 weeks and 1 day:
135 bpm. Slow and steady. "Maybe a boy..." my doctor says. The heartbeat is amazing to hear, like pounding hoof beats. But I have to say that the only thing cooler than hearing the heartbeat is SEEING the heartbeat. My sister said it best. It looks like a little twinkling star on the ultrasound. Breathtaking.
Armed with my good news I head back to the office to find out some bad news. My former assistant has blown the whistle on my pregnancy to my boss in what I can only imagine was some pathetic attempt to get me in trouble.
Soapbox, please.
Women have a difficult enough time navigating the murky waters of the workforce, without getting pregnant. Pregnancy and family, however, make the waters even murkier than they already are. To take away my right to announce my pregnancy to my employer at the time and place of my choosing is not only a violation of me personally, but it is traitorous to ALL women. Furthermore, to use my child to further some sinister and malevolent agenda makes her not much better than a child molester. All I've got to say is give your heart to God, because your ass belongs to Karma, Lady. I pity you.
Okay, you can put the soapbox away now.
So, after an awkward discussion about family planning and trying to answer questions that I don't even know the answers to yet, that little nightmare is over.
Onto the next nightmare.
Our company website gets hacked.
Picture Office Space and the TPS reports. We have about 75 employees in the company. I think I heard on a daily basis from 73 of them, letting me know the website was "broken". We are still sorting out the website issue....
When the ice storm hits and knocks out my power for three days.
So the poor little Kidney Bean.
I am trying so hard to remain zen and give him the most relaxing and soothing environment possible that I have actually been seeing an anxiety specialist to learn diaphragmatic breathing techniques.
I will get through this and come out the other side a stronger person.
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I am sure there will be many many many updates to come, but for now, check out my little widget to the right. That's about what my baby looks like right now. Freaky, huh?
Friday, January 30, 2009
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Discordant notes
The BJP's identity crisis and the RSS's increasing control over it are threatening India's secular fabric, writes Sitaram Yechury.columns Updated: Oct 09, 2009 16:39 IST
Every political party has its own set of rules and moral standards by which it decides on discipline. For outsiders, therefore, the BJP's decision to expel Jaswant Singh is a non-issue. However, the recent controversy shows that the BJP is in the grip of an irreconcilable contradiction. In the last two decades, while LK Advani's 'rath yatra' brought aggressive Hindutva to the fore mobilising its hardcore support base, the experience of the 13-day AB Vajpayee government in 1996 made them realise that such support alone was insufficient to capture power and that they needed allies. Thus was born the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the 1998-2004 Vajpayee government.
The need for allies, however, forced the BJP to put its Hindutva agenda on the backburner. This, in turn, made the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) uncomfortable and also alienated the party's hardcore support base. When Advani attempted to broaden the BJP's appeal by speaking favourably about Mohammad Ali Jinnah's secular credentials, the RSS forced him to quit as the BJP president.
Advani's presumption, expecting support from Indian Muslims on this count, was outrageous. In the 1951 census, the first after partition, India had 374 lakh Muslims while West Pakistan had 337 lakh Muslims. More Muslims stayed back in India because this was their place of birth and this is where they chose to live and die. It was preposterous to expect them to be enamoured by Jinnah's two-nation theory that left in its trail 10 lakh dead and 150 lakh refugees.
If portraying Jinnah in favourable light led to the expulsion of Jaswant Singh because it went against "the core ideology" of the RSS-BJP on the grounds of the two-nation theory, then what does the BJP have to say about Veer Savarkar, who, three years before Jinnah's Muslim League , advanced the two-nation theory at Lahore in 1940. In his 1937 presidential address to the Hindu Mahasabha, he said: "India cannot be assumed today to be a unitarian and homogeneous nation, but on the contrary, there are two nations, in the main, the Hindus and the Muslims". Jinnah was only carrying forward the "cherished mission" of Savarkar, whose portrait was so ceremoniously put up in Parliament by the Vajpayee government.
Clearly, the ideological battle between the three visions, which emerged during the course of our freedom struggle in the decade of the 1920s, continues to impact the consolidation of the modern secular democratic Indian republic. The mainstream vision, represented by the Congress, envisioned independent India to be a secular democratic republic. Distinct yet not antagonistic was the Left vision that wanted to transform the political independence of the country into the economic independence of our people, i.e. establishment of socialism.
The right-wing vision, however, was always distinct, antagonistic and conflicting. It envisaged independent India to be a country whose character was defined by religion. This vision found twin expression in the RSS that advocated its fascistic 'Hindu Rashtra' and the Muslim League that pushed for a separate Islamic state.
The fact that Jinnah succeeded and the mainstream vision prevailed in India created conditions that culminated in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. In order to obfuscate the role of the RSS and its political arm, today they are attempting to appropriate Congress' 'man of steel' Sardar Patel and also trying to forge a link with the freedom struggle where there was none.
In a government communique (February 4, 1948) Sardar Patel, who was then the Union Home Minister, announced the ban on the RSS by stating "the objectionable and harmful activities of the Sangh have, however, continued unabated and the cult of violence sponsored and inspired by the activities of the Sangh has claimed many victims. The latest and the most precious to fall was Gandhiji himself".
Advani now says that this was done at the behest of Jawaharlal Nehru. Even if that was the case, their appropriation of Patel remains inexplicable. On November 14, 1948, Patel issued a 'press note' on the talks that were held with the then RSS chief, MS Golwalkar, who made many deceitful compromises. This informs that the "professions of RSS leaders are, however, quite inconsistent with the practice of its followers" and Patel refused to withdraw the ban. A further request by Golwalkar for a meeting was refused by Patel who ordered his return to Nagpur. It was only on July 11, 1949, that the ban was withdrawn when the RSS accepted the conditions set by the government including that it shall remain a "cultural organisation" "eschewing secrecy and abjuring violence".
The current identity crisis in BJP is due to the irreconcilable contradiction that we spoke of at the beginning of the column. The BJP's crisis and the increasing control of the RSS over it is a grave challenge for India's secular democratic fabric.
Sitaram Yechury is CPI(M) Politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP


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Heidi Klum looks stylish in stripes as she enjoys the NYC sunshine with her children
SHE'S a world famous supermodel, so it's no surprise that Heidi Klum looks good even when she's dressed down.
The 40-year-old star was spotted out and about in the Tribeca area of New York City yesterday afternoon, looking effortlessly cool in a pair of denim shorts and a baggy, striped top.
The monochrome garment featured shredded sleeves and looked great with the ripped shorts, which highlighted Klum's slender pins.
She completed the look with a black pair of sandals, dark sunglasses and a thin studded belt as she strolled along the street with her two daughters Leni and Lou in tow.


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~ My Opinion ~
Winzip - it sounds like something you would attach to your underpants or maybe something you would get your mum to sow onto your jeans but it isn't it's an application created to enable computer nerds to compress and decompress files on your PC with ease.
Winzip is a popular and is normally trusted throughout the IT world, I know I am and have used it since 2001 but other packages such as WinRar have become a real challenge to the winzip software and will find it difficult to remain the leader in the compression of computer files.
~ So what does this version offer? ~
Basically version 12 adds the function to handle photographs and allows users to share these with success. You also have the ability to zip to email which is a new capability of the Winzip series.
This version also comes with a built in email CD/DVD and FTP burning software which enables the user to burn zip files to disc in the blink of an eye. Obviously some of your file may be more confidential than other so encryption is available and maximises your security.
I have also been able to extract file just over 3.5Gigabytes so it can do quite a lot of functions all reliably and quickly.
~ Any downsides? ~
Yes there are - mainly with the photographic compression as it isn't that impressive and can be quite hard to organise your photographs using this tool. Overall this application adds little photographic tricks to its original winzip application and to be honest it isn't that impressive compared to what you would pay to get the full licence.
~ Costs ~
To buy a full version of winzip pro 12 you would have to pay around £20 - £40 and all depends on what version you purchase standard or full. I have looked around and you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk.
~ Compatibility ~
This version of winzip is compatible with RAR, LHA, CAB, Z, GZ, UUE, TAR, XXE amongst many more. Having so many compatible file extensions makes this version of the most flexible and useful tools there are out there on the market.
~ Conclusion & ratings ~
I personally prefer WinRar but after using the Winzip 12 pro it does have a few features that are different such as compressing photos but it just lacks a bit of organisation. My recommendation would be to get the standard version as you can get other compression packages for photos which will do a better job.
Quality: 4/5
Number of features:4/5
Overall: 3/5


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AUT's inaugural three-day design challenge recently wrapped up and saw teams tasked with creating the missing element for a baby incubator, which was recently designed by independent development agency Medicine Mondiale for use in developing countries. Days out from the event, the teams were armed with not much more than $100 and basic prototyping materials.
Medicine Mondiale chief executive Ray Avery played a key role in the 3-Day Challenge, briefing the students, critiquing their designs and announcing the winning team.
Watch below to see the challenge unfold.


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By Dr. Valinda P. Gueye
It is very common for any culture to assign a linear role to time and progress. There seems to be no culture in which this is truer than the culture of the United States, where anything that came before is backward and anything that is new is progressive and therefore, superior to anything historical. This is true to industry and technology as well as many other cultural issues such as education. However, within the United States, and to some degree the rest of western civilization, there is no greater truth in this regard than that of the cultural view of medicine. Modern medicine is a demigod of western culture.
Allopathic medicine is thought of as the proud brainchild of the modern world. It is even referred to as "modern" a term that nearly always denotes superiority, making it seem more logical and scientific to practitioners and recipients and therefore, somehow more effective. Within this passage written by an American born natural medical care provider, in this case acupuncturist, there is a clear understanding the message of the American culture toward traditional or what some would call alternative medicine:
I am a practitioner of Oriental medicine. In China, I would be called "Doctor" but in the United States I am not permitted to use that title. When I fulfilled the requirements for being licensed to practice acupuncture in my state, I had to agree not to call myself "doctor." It seems a small matter, but it reflects a view held by many Americans that only practitioners of Western medicine are worthy of the name. Acupuncture can alleviate prolonged pain, discomfort, and anxiety, and end severe dependence on a medical system so huge and impersonal that each patient feels like a forgotten cog in a machine. (Cargill 1994, 3)
Almost from the beginning of the allopathic medical movement that became the standard in the United States and other western nations and the basis for nearly all medical regulations and laws pertaining to health care, has been questioned and opposed through active membership in natural health organizations and participation in natural healing arts.
The challenges to allopathic medicine are intrinsic. As an individualistic society grows more and more conscious of the need to have greater personal control over their own health, they individually become more demanding of personal control. Additionally, many have a pervasive sense of separation from the technologically driven and complicated nature of allopathic medicine that makes them feel isolated from solutions to their own health problems. It almost eliminates, as crucial, the need for balance in the life of a patient, by allowing or even forcing the patient to believe that health and healing are not within their own control.
Although, many people superciliously believe that which is practiced by medical doctors in the United States today is far more progressive and effective than any traditional medicine practiced prior to the development of allopathic medicine, there is still great vocal dissent in practice and culture. This dissent is leading many people back to the roots of medicine as they explore options that are more personal and self-centered forms of healing; a personal rejection of allopathic medicine and a proactive measure for self-control and opportunity.
In seeking options outside the allopathic medical world, people are finding the solutions to life problems they didn't even know existed. They are re-balancing their lives and their spirits, clearly the most important element of health. Even the "alternative" and "complementary" health care system is corrupted by a few capitalistic standards, including but not limited to the fact that so many theories and practices are only explained by those who wish to sell them, sometimes regardless of its value or lack of value. It is for these reasons the individual must take charge of their own health, learn from the knowledge which builds a balanced ideal of health and discovery a holistic plan, and secures a practitioner who cradles their needs and their spirits.
Even so, what is becoming even more common are those who practice a kind of collective health care process, including elements of both allopathic medicine (non-natural medicine and surgery) when needed and natural medicine and as a restorative and as a preventative modality. This has resulted in the reference of traditional medicine as alternative medicine. Anything which falls outside the norm of allopathy is considered complementary medicine, which is being utilized by many as something that reinforces rather than replaces allopathic medicine.
Poor public opinion of natural healing as quackery is changing as more and more people become aware of the restorative and even preventative focus of "alternative" medicine and more people become disillusioned by the sometimes cold and calculating feel of allopathic medicine.
According to a nationwide survey done in 2002 and published in May by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of American adults had used at least one form of complementary or alternative medicine in the previous 12 months … Many of these techniques have deep historical and intellectual roots in the cultures of other countries and have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In fact, for more than 70 percent of the world's population, they are not "alternative," but the primary approach to health care according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine. (VanScoy, 2004). Allopathic physicians are being asked hard questions by their patients, as their patients take responsibility for their health, researching alternatives and complementary services offered by natural healers.
The influx of information that is available to the individual on almost any medical condition online is a growing source of personal knowledge that drives hard questions to their allopathic doctors. Sometimes these questions are followed by realistic investigation and other times they are followed by informing the patient to fear the unknown. Many allopathic doctors are not even aware that many of their standard procedures have not been put through clinical trials.
Very few surgical procedures — which are not, as drugs are, subject to FDA approval -have ever been through large-scale clinical trials. This is also true of many long-used conventional diagnostic techniques and drugs: a 1978 study by the U.S. Congress' Office of Technology Assessment indicated that approximately 85 percent of all therapies and procedures that were commonly used by physicians and in hospitals had never received any kind of rigorous evaluation. (Gordon 1996, 273)
Another point in need of mention is the economics of medicine. Though most individuals would like to remove medicine from those prolific social institutions driven by economic forces this cannot be done, as like anything else in a capitalistic culture is driven by the all-mighty dollar. The cost of the technology that has driven allopathic medicine is now being questioned as a price too high for the product the culture has received.
A capitalistic economy and culture drive the ideas and research that dominate the medical world. Though, it is not to say that individuals involved in the industry are necessarily greedy when they conceive of a way to help a sick person, when they bring the idea to their bottom line supervisors, it dies if it has no chance of paying for itself. Choosing the bottom line as the common denominator between what is researched and brought to fruition and what is not, complicates the holistic ideal and buries ideas that are simpler and often much less harmful, while it promotes treatments and plans that are technologically complicated and sometimes even dangerous.
Since the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the Chinese have taken major steps toward repudiating accepted ideas of the superiority of western technology and the neutrality of science. In the West, the development of science and medicine within the capitalist system has led to the monopolization of science by elites. This is not an automatic result of scientific and technological advancement, as some western sociologists will have us believe. Rather it results from capitalist relations of production. (Luh, and Wilson 1978, 67)
In this case, the culture may be helped, as more and more allopathic physicians and medical organizations and insurance companies become aware of the monetary potential of alternative therapies. More people are softening to the idea of their use in allopathic centers.
With this tentative introduction of just a few natural healthcare techniques, such as massage therapy, meditation, relaxation and aromatherapy, more and more people are becoming aware of alternatives and complementary services that then seem far less daunting and mysterious.
Dr. Keith Berkowitz, who is medical director at the Center for Balanced Health in New York City, said many conventional physicians are becoming more open to alternative and complementary therapies even before clinical trials have fully confirmed their value. He points to the availability of acupuncture in many hospitals, along with the widespread use of massage. Furthermore, said Berkowitz, the integration of supplements and herbs with diet and prescription medication is a sign of the shift that's under way to meld once-marginal therapies with mainstream medical techniques.
"When I was in medical school, I learned close to zero about nutritional approaches, herbal medicine, vitamins or minerals," said Berkowitz. "When I first saw patients in the hospital who were taking vitamin C, it scared me. I didn't know whether it was good or bad for them." Dr. Keith Berkowitz, the medical director at the Center for Balanced Health in New York City (VanScoy, 2004)
Within the US medical community there has been a vocal distrust for medical practices, which fall outside the structure and politics of allopathic medicine. Practitioners and a group of the public maintain a common sense of the ignorance of natural medicine and conclude that the unknown should be feared, at least with regard to medical care, despite the fact that there are multitudes of unknowns even within the allopathic tradition.
The upward trend in popularity of complementary and alternative medicine continues to grow. According to the Journal of the AMA, In 1997, patients in the U.S. made 629 million visits to providers of non-conventional care. These are more visits than were made to primary care doctors during the same year.
Further, the annual cost of these visits, $21 billion, exceeds the annual cost of ALL hospitalizations. It is clear from this statement that the numbers do not lie. (Shiel 2000).
As more and more people become practitioners of natural alternatives, the financial growth trend will continue to show allopathic physicians and health care organizations the financial potential of alternative or complementary care, which will in turn continue to grow, possibly changing the face of medical care in the western tradition.
Fear of the unknown can be seen demonstrated very clearly with regard to the required labeling of natural supplements and products. Despite the fact that Alternative Medicine has been documented and practiced for over 5000 years, while allopathic medicine has only been in existence for 200 years, there are special cultural and legal challenges to alternative medicine that restrict its use and cloud the judgment of those who could benefit from it, though things are definitely in transition.
Given the strong cultural bias in favor of the allopathic, biomedical model, we should not be too surprised that in both the United Kingdom and the United States, discussion of law and ethics in the healing professions has been dominated by medical ethics and medico-legal issues … the ethical dilemmas seized upon by the media reflect the highly technological, invasive nature that characterizes much of modern medicine. (Julie Stone, and Joan Matthews 1996, 118)
My future articles will focus on the ideals of natural medicine and outline a number of natural healthcare options that reflect the historical value of natural healing. The articles will focus on the idea that natural medicine is actually traditional medicine and should be looked at as such, with benefits and drawbacks, just as allopathic medicine is by many. Additionally, I will focus on the benefits and possibilities of such medical practices and attempt to further the understanding and practical application of natural and holistic health models.
Cargill, Marie. 1994. Acupuncture: A Viable Medical Alternative. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Vanscoy, Holly, Sept. 2004, "Alternative Medicine Slips into the Mainstream" Health Daily News. Website:http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp
Gordon, James S. 1996. Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies. Reading, MA: Perseus Publishing.
Luh, Catherine L., and David A. Wilson. 1978. A Review Essay Acupuncture: Politics and Medicine. Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars 10, no. 1: 67-72.
Vanscoy, Holly, Sept. 2004, "Alternative Medicine Slips into the Mainstream" Health
Daily News. Website:
Shiel, William C. M.D. August 2000. "Complementary & Alternative Medicine. Stone, Julie and Joan Matthews. 1996. Complementary Medicine and the Law.
(If you have comments, you may contact Dr. Valinda P. Gueye, at XXXXX).


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OK, so I finally made it to Momofuku Ssam last night after literally wanting to go for over a year. I had read several reviews, looked at pics, and perused many menus over that time. So, you could imagine how excited I was about finally going. From the second I woke up I couldn't wait to just get out of work and be one my way to the Momofuku feast that awaited me. I was staring at the clock all day trying to rush the hours and get out of work. Once it was time, I flew out of my office and into the subway to embark on my journey. I was psyched about what I figured would be an ethereal experience. So was it ethereal? Hardly. Almost? Nope. Disappointing? That would be the most accurate way to describe it for me unfortunately.
So why didn't it live up to my expectations? Well, we all know that the piece de resistance and signature dish at Ssam is well- the Bo Ssam… that beautiful 7 pound bone-in pork butt that all lovers of meat would love to sink their teeth into. Unfortunately, you need 6-10 people to take on this behemoth and knowing that I was dining solo this was not a viable option. So, I went for the next best thing, the $140 ribeye.. of course. Afterall I am steakrules, steak is my passion, my love, my death bed meal (yes PL porterhouse please). So I just HAD to try to pan roasted ribeye from Four story farms. Many restaurants in the city offer it, however I was bent on trying Momofuku's version. Now onto what happened.
After arriving at 5pm I was seated right away at the bar as the place was empty (it opens at 5 for dinner). As a solo diner you are basically forced to sit at the bar since there is very limited table seating reserved for group parties. My first thought was wow this place is small- and all of the seats are backless stools. If you are into décor this place doesn't have much of it. For me, this isn't a big deal I just want great food. One cool thing though is that they have an open kitchen so anywhere you sit you can see the kitchen cooking your meal.
OK so now I am at the bar and a young lady takes my order. I knew what I wanted but I perused the menu just to see if there was anything different from what was on their website, which there wasn't. So I preceded to go with the pork buns to start, ribeye bloody rare with a charred crust, and a side of snap peas with egg and xo sauce. I knew coming in that Momofuku slices the ribeye off the bone and actually prefer to have my steak served whole but whatever. I for one LOVE to have a nice chunk of meat still attached to the bone so I can pick it up and gnaw the meaty goodness! Yes I know I am a pig when it comes to steak but hey I am not ashamed to admit. So I told this to the waitress and she said " We will call you over when its done and you can instruct the kitchen how you'd like it cut". I thought this was a great gesture! So when the steak was finished they did, however as I made my way up to the open kitchen the cook already had the knife in hand and in one quick motion of the knife sliced the whole steak off the bone! He left barely any meat on it… and I felt my heart kinda sink into my stomach. Oh well I thought I am sure it will still be good.
So I went back to my table where I was presented the steak, snap peas, and a side of fingerling potatoes with zucchini topped with arugla in a buttermilk ranch type dressing (this comes "complimentary" with the ribeye). The ribeye was presented very nicely in about 14 slices with the bone beside it and it was topped with a great shallot confit, which basically tasted like roasted garlic. I actually loved this shallot confit and wished they gave me more. It is also served with sea salt and a bowl of the pan juices of rendered fat from the steak which I thought was really cool since not many places do that. Now how was it?
Pork buns are supposed to be a must try here but honestly I didn't think they were anything special. You get two buns with 2 pieces of pork in each for $9. 2 pieces were nice and juicy but two were dry. I have had much better pork belly at Craft, and bacon at Peter Luger and Old Homestead.
Ribeye- As stated before, my favorite part of a steak is the meat right on the bone. And yes the darn cook left me absolutely nothing but fat on the bone. Barely any meat on it but there were a few tasty crispy bits of fat on it. So I looked for the rarest piece and took my first slice, sprinkled a little sea salt, some shallot confit, and spooned some of the pan juices over it. First thought- this is a pretty good piece of meat. However, the steak was overcooked for me. It was more medium to medium rare than my requested rare. The crust was very good on the outside, but I was bummed about my internal temp not being correct. Also, about 1/3 of the steak was FAT! Yes, I like some fat with my steak, that's the flavor, marbelization is key I know. But when 1/3 of a steak this expensive is uneatable fat that is ridiculous. This was the most expensive steak I had ever ordered. Comparable steaks I have had in this price range were the $120 porterhouse at Craft (which I shared with my dad), and the 64 ounce monster double cut ribeye for $110 at Quality Meats. Both were far superior to Momofuku's ribeye and the QM ribeye is double the portion for $30 less!
Now comes the part that really got me mad! I am a butter FANATIC. I love to have some extra butter with my meal whether its for my steak or to put on my veggies or whatever. So I asked my server if I could have some butter. Around 2 mins later one of the expediters comes over to me and says "Sorry the kitchen refuses to give out sides of butter, they do not like when diners tweak their dishes". I could not believe what I was hearing. I started dying laughing and I said hey buddy listen I am paying over 200 bucks for this meal when all is said and done and you can't get me some butter? Again he refused and offered some lame ass apology. He then left and I guess sensing my anger came back and said.. "You know what if you want we can actually give you the bread and butter which comes with sea salt and whipped lardo but it will be $8." That really put me over the edge! After all that I had already spent this guy was trying to get me to pay 8 bucks for some butter? I laughed in his face, said I didn't want any bread, and sent him on his way. At this point I was also tempted to say the steak was overcooked, too fatty, and really disappointing, but I am really not one to send my food back- especially not a $140 steak.In any event I continued eating, and made my way through a good amount of the steak. It had a good dry aged minerally tasted that all of us steak lovers crave. I'd say I wound up eating about 18-20 ounces of it. I get into this "steak zone" where I just keep eating an eating. But I really think it was more because subconsciously I was thinking.."This is $140..must..keep..eating", rather than "Oh my God this is an orgasmic piece of meat".
In any event I'd say it was good, certainly not great. For this price and my high expectations I was left utterly disappointed. I was expecting at least this one to be in my top 10 steaks but it definitely didn't make the cut. And the fact that they wouldn't give me extra butter really pissed me off. If they had given me my butter maybe I would have been more lenient in my review, maybe even lied a little and said it was better than it was, or cooked better than it way, etc. But no I am going to be completely honest. It just didn't live up to the hype.
Snap peas were good, but nothing great. They could have used more egg and xo sauce. The star really actually was the fingerling potatoes that came with the ribeye. The zucchini and buttermilk dressing were amazing and a great complement to the potatoes.
I was offered dessert however I passed for three reasons 1. I was really full after consuming a huge amount of food …2. Mostly because I wanted to try Momofuku Milk bar (which I did and will review later).. and 3. Because I knew I had already spent about $200 and was totally pissed at the whole butter refusal ordeal.
One other thing will say is the service sucked. Maybe it was cuz I was sitting at the bar but I don't know. After the food was plopped in front of me I didn't see my waitress again until it came time for the check. But I think this was more isolated incident, because the people behind me had a great waiter who checked on them several times. I think groups get more attention that solo diners oh well.
So in conclusion, evern though it seems like I am trashing the whole meal, the steak was a quality piece of meat and meal was pretty good. However, the price was totally unjustified. I left here over $200 lighter in my wallet and disappointed. For a great steak stick to a steakhouse where you can get a great steak for $50. No need to spend 140 on a "pretty good" steak. Oh well, you live and learn and I have no regrets- I want to try it and I did so that's fine.
As if this post wasn't long enough (I know lol), I will close with this. As I was leaving I saw a table of 10 eating that Bo Ssam! OMG it looked so amazing… this is what I am coming for next time. I will be back to Momofuku to try that Bo Ssam it looked just too good and I KNOW there is no way that can be disappointing. This thing was huge and I was so tempted to ask the people if I could pull some uber juicy pork butt and stuff it into my mouth for a taste. Ahh it looekd so good. So that was it. My Momofuku meal was a bit of a letdown.. the lesson is stick to steakhouses for steak. I advise all of you who want a great meal at Momofuku to avoid the ribeye and go for the Ssam. Better bang for your buck also at around $35-40 pp.


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Chimps treated to Easter surprise
Chimpanzees at a safari park have been treated to an Easter surprise with tailor-made eggs filled with their favourite foods.
The chimps tucked in to giant ostrich eggs stuffed with peanut butter, strawberry yoghurt, honey and mealworms, which were hidden around their enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling.
Staff painted the shells in bright, colourful designs and the animals were sent on a traditional Easter egg hunt. Hot cross buns were also on the breakfast menu on Chimp Island to help warm up a cold morning.
The park, which recently opened for the summer season, currently houses five chimp residents: Chippie, 24, who is known as The Boss, his mother Blossom, 55, Rosie, 25, Copper, 23, and 19-year-old Tupelo.
Head keeper Alasdair Gillies said: "Chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, are extremely intelligent animals. We provide many forms of enrichment for them every day to stimulate them and prevent them from getting bored and fed up.
"Staff came up with the Easter theme for a bit of fun, but it does have a serious side and the chimps certainly seemed to enjoy it. No chocolate eggs for these guys, though, they have a much healthier alternative tailor-made to suit the preferences of an ape."
He added: "While the ladies were interested in the contents of the eggs, Chippie, after an initial investigation, found it very amusing to throw one of his eggs back at the keepers showering them in strawberry yoghurt. It's all part of the fun."
Blair Drummond is inviting members of the public to hunt for their own golden Easter eggs at the park on Sunday and Monday.


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A story published in most editions of Wednesday's North County Times about unsolved homicides gave incorrect information about a man whose name and picture appeared on the Oceanside Police Department's Web site. Oceanside homicide detectives have talked to Jeffrey Frederick and he is not a person of interest in their investigation.
We apologize.