Although I personally want the traditional white wedding complete with three tier cake, horse and carriage and meringue style dress, I have always toyed with the idea of doing something completely crazy when I get married but the most outrageous thing I'll probably end up doing is having a chocolate wedding cake instead of the traditional fruit cake.

However two couples gave tradition the shove for their Flintstones themed wedding. Dressed in full Flintstone costumes the pairs walked up the aisle to the Flintstone theme tune watched by a congregation dressed as cavemen and women. The couples then headed to a dinosaur park to have their wedding photos taken before heading off for their reception for celebration and great shouts of
YABBA DABBA DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

If you've got a spare £8.5 million pounds laying about this September, you might fancy putting in a bid for the most expensive car in the world and if you love a convertible it will be just the thing for you.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II, ‘Star of India' is owned by renowned collector Hans-Gunther Zach and he recently put the car up for auction as part of the entire sell-off of his classic car museum.

Built in 1934, the 40/50 horsepower "All-Weather Convertible" is likely to become the most expensive car yet sold if it reaches its expected price tag, as it will beat the sale, in May, of a 1957 Ferrari Testarossa by over a million pounds.

The ‘Star' was one of the first cars to be fitted with tracking headlights that follow the movement of the steering wheel – a feature which has evolved into ‘adaptive-curve lights' as found on today's high spec saloons in the BMW and Mercedes ranges.

You can see the shiny little number by clicking here and if tiger hunting is more your thing, well there's also a Roller with an integrated gun rack for just that purpose, so get bidding now.


Image © anuradha via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Perhaps hoping to steal some of the speculation and top ratings that Top Gear's The Stig succeeds in attracting, ITV have created their own female version which they hope to wow the viewers of their new game show 'The Cube' with.

The game show incorporates a set of mental and physical challenges which all take part in a giant glass cube.

Mrs Stig or 'The Body' as she is officially known as on the show will be dressed all in white with a helmet rather similar to the one worn by The Stig on Top Gear.

Rumoured to be a stuntwomen that has previously worked on films and TV shows, her identity has so far been kept a secret.

Whether she will attract the same kind of fan club that Stig original has managed to create seems a little uncertain however with a figure like Wonder Woman and dressed from top to toe in lycra, it is likely that she will certainly help pull at least a few viewers.

Maybe in a couple of years we can expect to see a couple of baby Stigs on channel four?
[Image © SWP Moblog via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence]

An attack on the priceless work of art by Leonardo De Vinci in the Louvre recently made me think.

Not only was I puzzled by the conflicting reports over the attack – did the Russian woman's mug have steaming hot tea in it as per the Mirror or had it just been bought in the gift shop as the Telegraph would have us believe?

Well it doesn't much matter as the painting is held in a special box to protect it from vibrations and humidity, and it is further protected by thick, bullet proof glass.

The woman - who was not protected by bullet proof anything – was wrestled to the ground by guards and then taken away for psychological examination.

And would you believe it, there is a scientific name for such irrational attacks on art. It's known as Stendhal Syndrome and its sufferers, usually perfectly sane and rational people, momentarily lose all reason and attack a work of art.

Hmm, all very interesting, but I wish she'd thrown something a bit more exciting than tea.

A bunch of bananas would be good or how about a bowl of jelly – yes jelly would be very good, but not particularly clever or witty – I'm trying very hard but haven't thought of anything that could be construed as a perfectly rational thing to throw at the enigmatic lady.

And by the look of the frustrated art fans below, it could be that the next thing to end up launching towards the most famous picture in the world is going to be a camera or two or three…

Image © sergeymk vis Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Driving home on Sunday afternoon, the in-car conversation turned to that night's TV and the stalwart of the weekend that is Top Gear as we were all awaiting the last programme of the series.

Out of the blue, my friend, who has always been in my opinion the show's biggest fan, declared that he felt Top Gear had had its day and unless the programme's producers could come up with some drastic revision of the format then the show would die a slow and possibly painful death.

I was aghast.

This pronouncement came only a few weeks after we had discussed comments made by Angela Rippon (ex BBC news reader) that what the show needed was a woman's touch and that the all-male presenting team was outdated.

At the time my friend had ummed and arred about the concept of a woman on Top Gear, but as we drove home in the summer sun, he suddenly said, "I think she could have a point – a strong female figure who really knows her motoring could be just what the show needs.

"I'd watch," he added.

And this seemed to be the pertinent point because in the most recent short season he had confessed to having missed several episodes, preferring instead to sit in front of his PC and catch up on NFL news from the States.

Would a woman presenter make him get in front of the TV again, I asked.

"Oh, yes, " he said. "Clarkson taking on board the opinion of a woman about a car – that would be priceless."

And there you have it BBC programming chiefs. A female presence on Top Gear – it's the future and we, the British public, want it.

Image © tonylanciabeta via Flickr, under Creative Commons licence

If only the rules that apply to wannabe Chinese astronauts going onto the space shuttle could apply for the passengers allowed in your car. Sick of the bad smells that are delivered with a smug little chuckle and the resounding stench of beer that lingers in my car every time I give my partner a lift home from the pub, I feel I should apply the same rules to any men that wish to grab a lift in my car.

Astronauts competing for China's space programme must comply with a strict list of 100 personal hygiene regulations. No one with bad breath, bad body odour or bad teeth will be allowed to go onto the shuttle – rules that should definitely be made standard policy for passengers in my car.
Intended to recruit "super human beings", the regulations also prevent anyone with a runny nose from going into space, no doubt to prevent the annoying sniff of the hanky-less passenger that you are destined to get on a long car or bus journey.

Another marvellous thing about the Chinese space programme protocol is that astronauts are only allowed to enter the regime with their wife's full permission. However, I don't see this happening in every day life. Having your partner ask permission every time he wants to hit the pub or change the channel to the footie is perhaps asking a bit too much.

Successful candidates must also possess a "pleasant and adaptable disposition", another great regulation that should definitely apply to passengers catching a lift in your car.

There is so much negativity in the press these days that it makes a change to read a ‘feel-good' story and today I found one about bad boy actor, Russell Crowe.

Apparently, while filming a new Robin Hood movie in Sunningdale, Berkshire, the actor with a reputation for volatile behaviour queued in line at the till of a Cancer Research shop before asking assistants if they would accept a donation.

He was apparently directed into the back of the shop where he signed his name in the donations book having given the charity £1,000.

A volunteer told reporters, "We couldn't believe it when Russell Crowe came in and gave us the money. We knew he was in the area and we were all hoping to see him, but we never thought we would get quite so close to him.

"We were all a bit star-struck, but it was lovely to meet him and he stopped and took the time to speak to us."

And last month, it was reported that the star gave a very generous £600 tip to staff in a Welsh pub after they served him and his nine friends with dinner.

Pub staff said it was the last thing they expected and that he was "friendly and chatty like a really nice guy."

Well, now I can like him again – I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Aaah!

Image © cristee12 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

After squirming in my seat listening to the embarrassing gush of emotion from Tom Daley's dad after his Championship win, I couldn't help but think that it is dads and not mums who are the more embarrassing parent.

With the good sense to stand back and let her son enjoy his moment of glory without humiliating him with shameful pleadings of a hug, Daley's mum deserves a gold star for her parental restraint. After all his bullying troubles at school, the last thing Daley needed was an over-proud parent stealing his limelight.

Although it must be said that the obvious pride that Daley's dad has for his son is very touching and his support for his son is commendable, there does come a point where you need to back off and let your children have a bit of space for themselves – a lesson that's hard to learn, but one his mum is obviously getting the hang of much quicker than dad.

Fingers crossed that Daley will be unperturbed by his dad's overzealous enthusiasm for his achievements and carry on bringing home the golds.

[Image © Neeta Lind via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence]