Plans Unveiled for World's Largest Airport in England

Proposed airport in the Thames Estuary

Wired: Architect Lord Norman Foster has proposed an ambitious £50 billion ($80 billion) transport hub on the Thames Estuary, which would host the world's biggest airport and create a series of high-speed rail links that run up the spine of central England.

The imaginative design sees a massive airport with four 25-mile-long runways, attached to the river estuary on reclaimed marshland on the Isle of Grain, in Kent. It would be capable of handling 150 million passengers a year -- ultra-popular Heathrow manages about 60 million.

Deep underground is a four-track railway line for passengers and cargo, which links to an orbital rail route around London, stations in the North and even tracks into mainland Europe. Those trains are flanked by utilities and internet cables to service the UK.

There's also a new barrier crossing that not only extends the flood protection to London and the Thames Gateway, but tidal-turbines along the barrier generate carbon-free energy.

Foster, who designed the new Wembley Stadium and the "Gherkin" skyscraper, said, "if we are to establish a modern transport and energy infrastructure in Britain for this century and beyond, we need to recapture the foresight and political courage of our 19th century forebears and draw on our traditions of engineering, design and landscape.

"If we don't then we are denying future generations to come. We are rolling over and saying we are no longer competitive -- and this is a competitive world. So I do not believe we have a choice."

However, not everyone is overjoyed. Medway Council in Kent said the Hoo Peninsula on the Isle of Grain was one of the worst places for anyone to build a new airport.

Councillor Rodney Chambers, said: "This plan is, quite possibly, the daftest in a long list of pie-in-the-sky schemes that have been put forward for an airport. The Isle of Grain is home to one of the world's largest Liquefied Natural Gas terminals, with a fifth of the UK's gas supply offloaded by container ships and stored there. It is plainly obvious that aircraft and huge gas containers are a potentially lethal mix."

"In addition to this, the sunken American warship the SS Richard Montgomery is submerged just a few miles from the location and laden with high explosives, the London Array wind farm is being built nearby and the airport cuts through an area that is home to hundreds of thousands of migrating birds."

"I can only assume he has not actually left his offices and traveled from London to Medway to have a look before releasing this."

London mayor Boris Johnson previously had a similar idea, and proposed building a floating airport island in the same estuary. Johnson is all for Foster's plan, with a spokesperson for the mayor saying, "The mayor is delighted that a distinguished figure like Lord Foster agrees that the answer to Britain's aviation needs lie in the estuary. This idea is taking off and rightly so because Britain's economic future relies on strengthening our ability to connect with the great growth economies of the globe."

Harry Potter Studio Tour Hopes to Cast a Spell

The Gaurdian: As all good students of the Harry Potter saga know well, Muggles are not usually allowed at Hogwarts school of witchcraft of wizardry. However, a new exhibition will soon give those not gifted with magical powers the chance to see some of the famous Potter film sets, such as the Great Hall and Dumbledore's office, for themselves.

The Harry Potter tour is opening in spring 2012 at Leavesden studios near Watford, where the film series was shot between 2000 and last year. Over the course of three hours, visitors will view original sets, costumes, props and effects that were used in all eight movies, from 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to this year's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Highlights include a recreation of the giant spider Aragog suspended from the ceiling, and the opportunity to pose for photographs in one of the "flying" Ford Anglia cars used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Buckbeak the Hippogriff is also said to be making an appearance.

Potter fans in the US have been able to visit Universal Studios' The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park since June last year in Orlando, Florida, but the new tour offers the chance for British Muggles to take a look inside JK Rowling's world for the first time without getting on a plane.

Leavesden remains a working studio – in fact it will be one of Europe's largest production centres for film when it reopens as Warner Bros Studios, Leavesden next year. "We have an amazing resource in this country which is tens of thousands of incredibly talented film technicians, film-makers, writers and actors," Josh Berger, the head of Warner Brothers UK, told the BBC.

The studio announced its decision to buy the facility, which sits on the site of the former Rolls-Royce factory at Leavesden Aerodrome, last year. It will make Warner Bros the only Hollywood film studio with a permanent base in the UK, and the company's £100m ($154 million) investment will create a facility that is larger than Warner's lot in Burbank, California.

The new Potter tour has received the enthusiastic backing of some of Hogwarts' former pupils. "It was such a magical place to grow up," said Daniel Radcliffe, who played Potter in all eight films. "People will be amazed to see the incredible sets that we've worked in all these years."

"I had the time of my life making these films at Leavesden studios," said Emma Watson, who played Hermione. "It's so wonderful that it's still going to be around for years to come."

Tickets for the new tour must be ordered in advance and will go on sale on 13 October at the price of £21 ($32.50) per child, £28 ($43) per adult and £83 ($128) for a family of four. Warner says around 5,000 visitors will be able to visit the facility on any given day.

UK Theme Park Super-Sizes Its Seats

UK Press Association: A theme park has installed super-sized seats on one of its most popular rides after an "embarrassing" number of people had to be turned away because they were too big.

Thorpe Park in Surrey said it had to tackle the heavyweight issue to make sure all its customers could enjoy the Nemesis Inferno ride.

The park's divisional director Mike Vallis said: "We listen to the concerns of our customers and continually monitor trends, so that we can modify our offering to ensure we're giving them the very best possible experience.

"The reality is that we are super-sizing - and that's a fact we're embracing. Why shouldn't people be comfortable when they are enjoying a day out with their friends or family?"

UK Theme Park Ride Closed After Incidents

Lancashire Evening Post: A woman has told how she clung on to a theme park ride by her hands and feet fearing she was going to fall out - days before a child plunged 30ft from the same ride.

Charmaine Giles, a care support worker, was enjoying a day out at the Camelot attraction with her partner and his two children until her experience on Excalibur 2.

The 25-year-old said she battled to hang on during a visit on Friday with her delivery driver partner Simon Akeroyd, 30, and his daughter Chloe, nine, and son Nathan, seven.

On Tuesday afternoon, a 12-year-old boy fell from the ride, suffering head and hip injuries. The ride is currently closed while an investigation takes place.

Charmaine, who lives in Bridge Terrace, Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, and went on the ride with Chloe, said: “I almost fell out. I was holding on with my arms, feet, ankles, everything. I couldn’t believe it. I just felt myself coming right out of the side and there was nothing to protect me if I’d have let go."

“They had an overhead thing that comes over you and a silver bar comes over the whole row to make you feel secure. But my overhead thing didn’t actually come as close as I wanted it to. I felt as if I was going to come out. I was slipping through the bars. I’m a rollercoaster fanatic and I’m not afraid of heights but this was just extreme. I should have said something (to staff) that day but I just thought that was what the ride was supposed to be like.”

Another woman, Valerie Willis, 48, said she warned Camelot and Health and Safety bosses the ride was dangerous 10 years ago. She said: “I seriously thought I would come out of it. I had to keep pulling myself up on the bars. I said sooner or later there would be an accident but they insisted it was safe. I’m absolutely appalled.”

A spokesman for Camelot said she could not comment until after the investigation was complete. She said: “We are in contact with the boy’s mother and our thoughts remain with her and her family at this difficult time. Our internal investigation is well under way and we are co-operating fully with the police and Health and Safety Executive.

“Every ride undergoes a daily, pre-opening safety and maintenance check throughout the season and is subject to an annual, independent safety inspection. As our internal enquiries are ongoing, we are unable to provide any more details at this stage.”

Harry Potter Studio Tour Trailer

Seen It: Tickets for the Warner Bros. Harry Potter studio tour are to go on sale from 13th October 2011.

The studio says the attraction, which goes under the rather lengthy name of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, will offer visitors the first ever behind-the-scenes tour of the highly successful film series.

The experience will take up more than 150,000 square feet including two dedicated soundstages at Leavesden studios where the films were made.

Guests will be able to see firsthand the sheer scale and detail of the actual sets, costumes, animatronics, special effects and props used in all eight of the Harry Potter films.

Franchise star says Daniel Radcliffe said fans would “be amazed to see the incredible environment we’ve worked in all these years.”

Co-star Rupert Grint added: “The sets all have tiny little details that you may not always notice in the films but when you actually walk through them, you can see all the work that’s gone into it. It’s really amazing.”

“For ten years the Harry Potter film series has showcased the very best in British filmmaking” says Sarah Roots, Vice President, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. “We are thrilled that fans will soon be able to experience the Award-winning artistry and talent that lovingly went into producing the actual sets, props, costumes and special effects of this record-breaking film series.“

Following in the footsteps of Radcliffe, Grint and Emma Watson, guests will be able to walk on some of the most memorable and most recognisable sets, such as the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office, the Gryffindor common room and Hagrid’s hut, among many others.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to see the spectacular real life animatronics in a Creature Effects workshop, which will feature iconic Harry Potter film creatures including Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Aragog, the giant spider, Fawkes the phoenix and the enormous Basilisk head.

Tickets will be available from 13th October 2011 priced at £28 for adults and £21 for children, and must be booked in advance via www.wbstudiotour.co.uk or through approved tour operators.

Harry Potter Studio Tour Tickets Go On Sale Oct. 13

The Telegraph: The Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office, Hagrid’s hut, Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Aragog and the giant spider are just a few of the much-loved sets and props from the movies which will go on display in London next year.

Warner Brothers have announced that tickets for ‘Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter’ will be on sale for £28 for adults and £21 for children, available via the website www.wbstudiotour.co.uk, which will open for sales on 13 October.

Spread over 150,000 square feet warehouse in Leavesden, Watford, north-west of London, the experience will showcase the artistry and technology that went into bringing the most successful film franchise in cinema history to life. It is a tribute to the talent that has helped transform London into “probably the world’s leading centre for visual effects houses”, according to producer Iain Smith.

All the Harry Potter films feature in the UK’s all-time box-office top 20. The films have already helped to boost British tourism. Alnwick Castle in Northumberland saw a 120 per cent rise in visitors following its appearance in the first two Harry Potter films.

Designer Stuart Craig was given free rein to create the look of Harry Potter’s world, and of Hogwarts school.

“It was such a magical place to grow up,” says Daniel Radcliffe. “People will be amazed to see the incredible environment we’ve worked in all these years.”

Rupert Grint adds, “The sets all have tiny little details that you may not always notice in the films but when you actually walk through them, you can see all the work that's gone into it. It’s really amazing.”

"For ten years the Harry Potter film series has showcased the very best in British filmmaking” says Sarah Roots, Vice President, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

“We are thrilled that fans will soon be able to experience the Award-winning artistry and talent that lovingly went into producing the actual sets, props, costumes and special effects of this record-breaking film series.“

UK Bathers Break World Showering Record

Daily Mail: They're wet and just wild about breaking the world record for the largest number of people ever to shower together.

Temperatures soared as 152 people - many girls in bikinis - washed their way into the record books on Bournemouth beach (in southern England). They lathered up under a giant six-metre shower structure.

The bid organized by Lynx beat the previous record set in America two years ago when 145 people showered together in Illinois.

Anna Orford, the official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, said: 'The people of Bournemouth have to be applauded for getting into the spirit of the day and taking a shower together.

'Their reward is a new record for the most people showering simultaneously at the same venue. Congratulations to everyone involved.'

Festival goers will also be given the chance to enjoy the the ultimate shower experience - including music from top DJs - when it goes on tour to V Festival at Hylands Park next weekend.

London Hotel to Have "Floating" Rooms

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TheSun: Premier Inn (plans) to build the UK's first hotel with floating bedrooms. The hotel in London's Leicester Square will feature 84 bedrooms which "float" on neoprene pads to deaden noise from the square and a club below.

Walls and ceilings will be insulated and windows quadruple-glazed.

Patrick Dempsey, managing director of parent company Whitbread, said: "It means we can be confident about guaranteeing a good night's sleep, even in the heart of one of the world's liveliest entertainment centres."

The hotel is scheduled to open next February.

DC-6 Diner Takes Off With Visitors

Terminal U: If you’re ever passing through Coventry in the UK’s West Midlands, a locally-based airline is offering visitors a novel in-flight dining experience without ever leaving the ground. A classic, piston-driven passenger airliner has been given a new lease of life as a trendy, 40-seater sit-down eating establishment.

DC-6 Diner recently opened its cabin doors and offers up to 40 paying guests an experience that harks back to a “golden age” of travel. The Douglas DC-6 plane – which has not flown for about three and a half years – has had an interior makeover, with the cabin restored to how it would have looked in its heyday as a passenger plane in the 50s.

There is no meals on wheels service, but diners can flag the attention of waiting staff by pressing a call button above their heads and order dishes named after classic military aircraft – from Vampire gammon to Meteor marinade fillet and Rapide steak.

There’s even an onboard cocktail bar.

The new attraction is part of the airport’s Airbase exhibition at Coventry Airport.

DC-6 Diner is not the only plane restaurant on the scene in Europe. At Zürich airport, guests can dine under the wings of a Russian, Ilyushin 14 plane, at Runway 34 and enjoy international cuisine served up by pilots and flight attendants in costume.

Starbucks Adds Calories to UK Menus

The Telegraph: Its move follows a deal struck by the Department of Health and the food industry to give more information to customers when they were eating outside of the home.

The information will alarm and reassure customers in equal measure, depending on what their drink of choice is at Starbucks. A simple, small – or "short" – black filter coffee contains a mere 3 calories, but a large – or "venti" – hot chocolate with whole milk and topped with whipped cream contains an astonishing 690 calories, more than a double cheeseburger and french fries from McDonald's.

The coffee company offers similar information in most of its stores in America, where is a legal requirement in some states to give calories on menus. A study by Stanford University indicated that following the introduction of calorie menu boards, Starbucks customers chose to reduce their calorie intake by 6 per cent by choosing lighter options.

Tim McCoy at Starbucks said: "We offer people the chance to personalise their drinks. So if they want to take calories out by choosing sugar-free syrups, or skimmed milk, they can do so. Although the menu boards illustrate the most popular drinks, you can change them in pretty much any way you want."

Fast food chains, including Subway and Burger King signed up to a scheme run by the Food Standards Agency two years ago to give customers more information, but most companies quietly dropped the project saying it was too bureaucratic. Under the new link up with the Department of Health, a greater number of big chains have agreed to put calories on menus or boards above the counter. McDonald's will do so from September.

Britian Kicks Off International Tourism Drive

The Independent: Britain has kicked off a global advertising campaign as the international buildup to the 2012 Olympic Games in London continues. The advert, which is to be screened around the world, aims to boost the country's reputation as a destination ahead of next year, when the country will host both the Olympic Games and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

It features several recognizable faces from the country, including Dame Judi Dench, Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, actor Rupert Everett and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, all of whom extend a "personal" invitation to visitors.

Oliver, perhaps recruited to counter Britain's notorious reputation for poor food, tells potential visitors: "The food can be incredible – great British food is some of the best in the world. We are a magpie culture – we take the world’s best bits."

VisitBritain, the tourism agency behind the campaign, also announced June 16 that it will be the first advertising for BBC Worldwide when it launches an international version of the BBC iPlayer, set to screen popular international shows such as Top Gear and Doctor Who.

It will be first time in ten years that viewers around the world see a television advert for Britain, which hopes to attract four million overseas visitors over the next four years, spurred by the recent royal wedding, the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

In recent weeks, several other countries have debuted major tourism pushes, with mixed results.
Last week, Tunisia launched a major advertising push using billboards in London and Paris, attempting to drive awareness and lighten the mood following the historic events earlier this year, in which several hundred people were killed.

The adverts featured slogans including, "They say Tunisia is nothing but ruins" and a picture of a woman receiving a massage next to text explaining "They say that in Tunisia some people receive heavy-handed treatment."

The ads proved controversial, although the agency behind the campaign insisted it was designed to show that things had changed and lure visitors back to the country, where tourism forms a significant part of the income.

Malaysia also found itself embroiled in controversy last week when it emerged that the government has spent 1.8 million ringgit (€413,000) on developing Facebook pages, with relatively poor results.

However, perhaps some of the negative publicity will pay off for the campaign - when the story broke, the main page boasted around 20,000 fans, a number which has more than doubled following extensive publicity to over 40,000.

See the VisitBritain campaign at http://www.visitbritain.com/en/EN

Best Western Proposes Free Internet for All UK Hotels

Daily Mail: Hotel goliath Best Western has kicked off a national campaign to ensure free internet access for every hotel guest in the UK. The chain insists that if hotels offered their guests free use of the internet it would save British businesses £1.4bn ($2.27 billion) a year.

The country’s biggest independent accommodation group has almost 300 member hotels in the UK, each equipped with unlimited high-speed internet access at no extra cost.

The company claims it will save its guests nearly £30m a year by not charging them for the use of the internet, and is urging other chains to do the same based on the premise that free internet access would give a major boost to the hotel industry and UK businesses. 

Hotels that ditch internet fees could experience a surge in interest levels, particularly among business travellers. Tim Sander, Research Director at BDRC Continental and editing author of the annual British Hotel Guest Survey told TravelMole: 'The importance of the internet offering in hotels has surged in recent years. For business travellers it has developed into a major factor, stating that the provision of the Internet is important when choosing a hotel.'

He went on to say that free Wi-Fi was more important to business travellers than the brand of hotel.

It seems there may be a direct correlation between a hotel's star rating and prices charged for internet access. At the five-star Ritz Hotel in London, for example, guests can expect to pay an eye-watering £26 for just 24 hours of access.

Learn more about Best Western's campaign at www.bestwestern.co.uk/freeInternet

So which hotels will let you surf for free, and which will leave your check-out bill considerably higher? We asked some of the biggest hotel operators to come clean over how much they charge for internet access.

W Hotel London: Expect to pay £5.95 per hour, £14.95 per 24 hours, or £38 a week

Premier Inn, nationwide: If a customer requires Wi-Fi they may purchase vouchers costing £5 per hour, £10 for 24 hours or £15 for the whole week

Radisson Edwardian, nationwide: Free wireless internet

Travelodge, nationwide: £5 for 1 hour, £10 for 24 hours, £20 for 1 week

Hilton Hotels: Most Hilton Hotels in the UK charge £15 per 24 hours for Wi-Fi, but prices may deviate from this depending on location

Marriott Hotels: Again, charges vary slightly across the UK, but most charge £15 per 24 hours for use of the internet in rooms. Prices vary slightly per hour as well – expect to pay £6 an hour at the Manchester Marriott Victoria and Albert Hotel, and £5 at the Marriott Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square, for example.

Ritz Carlton London: A whopping £26 for 24 hours