Hello, Peter here, on this wet and windy Thursday.  A quick reminder that this 
weekend is when we put the clocks back.  It is really tricky to remember back 
or forwards – I like to think of ‘spring forward’ and ‘fall back’ to help me.  
Do you have any special way of remembering?

‘Bloodhound’ Rocket Car to Challenge Land Speed Record
The British team that claimed the land speed record in 1997, taking a car 
through the sound barrier for the first time, is planning to go even faster.  
RAF pilot Andy Green made history in 1997 when he drove the Thrust SSC 
jet-powered vehicle at 763mph (1,228km/h). Now he intends to get behind the 
wheel of a car that is capable of reaching 1,000mph (1,610km/h). Known as 
Bloodhound, the new car will be powered by a rocket bolted to a 
Typhoon-Eurofighter jet engine. The team-members have been working on the 
concept for the past 18 months and expect to be ready to make their new record 
attempt in 2011. Bloodhound project leader Richard Noble told BBC News: "This 
is one of the most exciting things you can do on God's Earth; and when you've 
the opportunity to do it really, really well, with the latest technology, you 
can't resist the challenge."  The initial studies have illustrated just how 
grand a challenge it will be.  The 12.8m-long, 6.4-tonne Bloodhound SSC (Super 
Sonic Car)!
  will be expected to travel faster than a bullet fired from a handgun.  Its 
900mm-diameter wheels will spin so fast they will have to be made from a 
high-grade titanium to prevent them from flying apart. The car will accelerate 
from 0-1,050mph (1,690km/h) in just 40 seconds; and at its maximum velocity, 
the pressure of air bearing down on its carbon fibre and titanium bodywork will 
exceed 12 tonnes per square metre.  Those speeds are really hard to comprehend 
aren’t they?

Swanky Sarah
The Republican National Committee has reportedly spent about £92,000 on Alaska 
Governor Sarah Palin's wardrobe since she was chosen as John McCain's running 
mate less than two months ago on a new look. A self-professed adorer of high 
heels, she has sported a number of new styles on the campaign trail. It looks 
as though Mrs Palin's "the heels are on, the gloves are off" comment was more 
firmly based in reality than was previously thought. It is not the first time a 
political candidate has come under fire for spending large sums of dollars on 
improving his or her image. Senator Hillary Clinton's expensive trouser suits 
provoked comment, while former presidential candidate John Edwards was 
criticised for his $400 haircuts.   Do you think it matters what the candidates 
are wearing during an election campaign?   I heard today that in the States the 
most requested Halloween costume for Halloween this year is a “Sarah Palin” 
costume – whatever next!

Hamster Hunt
Eight fire-fighters have been called in to help find an escaped hamster in East 
Lothian. Two crews used a chocolate-covered camera and a vacuum cleaner to try 
and locate missing Fudgie at six-year-old Zoe Appleby's home in Dunbar. Fire 
crews spent five hours trying to recover the pet after it scuttled down a hole 
in the kitchen floor. But, the hamster, which was being looked after for a 
friend during the holidays, is still refusing to come out. How awful would it 
be to lose a pet that you are looking after for a friend?  Zoe's mother, Angela 
Appleby, a nursery nurse, told BBC Scotland how she had to reassure neighbours 
when two fire engines from Dunbar and Newcraighall pulled up outside their 
house on Monday afternoon. "In the search for Fudgie, fire-fighters took the 
family cooker and gas pipes to pieces. In the end we left it in the hands of 
the SSPCA". Watch that space……..  At least it was a hamster and not a snake!

Take care
Bye
Peter

And for the latest news and more where you live, go to:
http://bbc.co.uk/humber and http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe from the BBC Look North newsletter, go to 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/looknorthhull/newsletter/newsletter_index.shtml, 
enter your email address in the unsubscribe box.  

Your email address will be held by the BBC and kept confidential, and
will only be used in relation to this newsletter. You will be given the
option to unsubscribe from this newsletter each time you receive it.
Please visit the BBC's Privacy & Cookies Policy (www.bbc.co.uk/privacy)
for more information.

Reply via email to