An Age of Magic

Scared of rodents?…look away now!

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If you are afraid of mice then be grateful you were not around four million years ago. The skull of a cow-sized rat that must have tipped the scales at over one ton has been found in South America, where the monster rodents are said to have existed.

Standing five-foot high at the shoulders and weighing almost a ton, it was the largest rodent ever to scuttle across the Earth and 14 times bigger than any alive today.  It lived in the forests of South America four million years ago, dodging attacks from giant meat-eating birds and sabre-toothed cats but I doubt the average mouse trap would have bothered them!

According to the scientists who have examined its skull, it looked liked a cross between a guinea pig and a beaver. The jaws would have been big enough to hold a small animal, but its tastes apparently ran to fruit and vegetables, ground down with ever-growing teeth. Yuk!!

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Whichever way you say it a ‘rodeo’ is great fun

There are some things that are quintessentially American - grid iron football, baseball, basketball and, of course, the rodeo. This is where you get to see the real cowboys go through their paces and show off their ability to stay in the saddle and rope cattle; the highlight of the rodeo season - and the real event to go to - is the National Rodeo Finals held each year. If you are going to be in the US this coming December, now is your chance and the time to book your seats because this is the premier event and you won’t want to miss it.

At the end of the of the season eight competitors will be crowned as world champions in seven different events; bareback riding; steer wrestling; team roping; saddle bronc riding; tie down roping; bull riding (the real exciting one!) and the only event that is exclusive to women, the barrel racing. You may be suprised that here is an event just for the female competitors but be aware that there is nothing easy about it. The barrel racing involves the highest horsemanship skills, strength on the part of the horse and the best handling skills on the part of the rider.  Of course, which part of the action you see best depends on where you are sitting in the stadium. When purchasing your WNFR Tickets have a good look at the seating options and go from there. If you are a roping or buckling enthusiast you will be wanting to go for seating in the balcony levels, if you wish to be right in the thick of all the action consider Plaza sections.

Wherever you’ll be sitting though it will be an event you will never forget.

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The riddle of the last Tsars

I have always found the story surrounding the last days of the family of Tsar Nicolas II fascinating. There was always a certain amount of possibility that the woman who claimed to be Anastasia, Anna Anderson, just may have been her. But that was debunked some years back.  Then there have been other claims that the boy, Alexei, escaped with one of his sisters. But recent tests have proved otherwise. DNA tests carried out on two sets of bones found in the Ural Mountains appear to have solved the riddle.

Forensic experts say initial results show the human remains belong to 13-year-old Crown Prince Alexei and his sister Princess Maria, 19. This is both sad and enlightening…it is always hard to imagine the boy surviving anyway as he was a sufferer of haemophilia - he would have bled to death quite quickly after the shooting.

Now, however, Russian scientists say the first conclusions of DNA tests indicate that the two sets of bones found last year are those of Maria and Alexei. The remains of the tsar, tsarina and other family members were discovered in a grave near Ekaterinburg in 1991. They were authenticated by DNA tests.

This was a tragic event in any case, the Tsar was a cousin of George V and the Tsarina was a great aunt of Prince Phillip; the four daughters were absolutely beautiful. Such a shame they were victims of their birth.

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