Fans sink fangs into Twilight

With the Twilight: New Moon film out later this month, fans are eager for another dose of romance and vampires. But what makes 800 devotees gather at a hotel over three days to worship the stars of Stephenie Meyer's hit franchise? (Some fans of the franchise have been labelled Twi-Hards) My husband is a Twlight widow. He thinks I'm bonkers," says Odette, from Milton Keynes. This is Odette's third Twilight convention, and she says it's not just about meeting the actors. "It's more the social atmosphere, meeting friends who are in the Twilight community, hanging out with the girls, and getting away from my husband for the weekend. "I do have a social life. I'm not a typical Twi-Hard, as they call them. I don't follow them around the world." 'Robsessed' On this autumnal weekend in Northampton, five actors from the Twilight films have flown in for an extended bout of hero worship at this unofficial event. They include "bad vampires" Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria) and Edi Gathegi (Laurent), members of the werewolf pack Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley) and Tyson Houseman (Quil Ateara) plus Gil Birmingham (Billy Black). While the film's romantic leads Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen) and Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan) are not present, their images are everywhere: on T-shirts ("Robsessed"), on mugs ("Team Edward"), and on bags ("I freakin love Edward Cullen"). In the dealer's room, fans can also buy Twilight badges, action figures, baseball boots, plasters and air fresheners. (There are not many men - disappointingly!'Twilight fan Emma (left), with Odette'). There is even a Robert Pattinson snow shaker. 'Love story' Odette's friend Emma makes an observation about the male-female ratio at the convention. "There are not many men - disappointingly!" she says, surveying the hoards of teenage girls. "A big lack of men." Among the 800 attendees, the vast majority are still at school. Emily, 15, from Milton Keynes, says it is Twlight's "intense love story" that appeals to teenage girls. "I got into the books quite a while before the film came out. I'm really excited about New Moon - to see how the characters have progressed." She says she's keen to meet Edi Gathegi: "He seems such a down-to-earth guy, and I thought they'd be stuck up because they're Hollywood stars." Emily's friend Ellie, from Northampton, adds: "We've got school on Monday but we won't be able to stop talking about it. In our school literally the whole of Year 11 loves Twilight." Emily adds: "It's 10 million times better than Harry Potter!" Both girls say they are looking forward to the three themed parties that will run each night of the convention - baseball, masquerade and 1920s. 'You're so cute!' Ahead of the baseball party, the opening ceremony takes place in the main hall. Organiser Jason Joiner, of Massive Events, makes a plea for the audience not to "squeal" as the guests arrive. Instead there are screams and whoops. Edi Gathegi is first up on stage. "You beautiful UK people!" He has them eating out of his hand in seconds. Next it's Tyson Houseman, a newcomer to the Twilight family and at his first UK convention. "I have always wanted to run onto a stage and yell 'Hello England!' really loud," he says. "You're so cute!" calls a woman's voice in the audience. "Don't try to jump on me, I'm really sick right now," says Houseman, who is genuinely nursing a cold. 'Weird encounters'(Gathegi (centre) and Lefevre (right) appear in both Twilight and its sequel, New Moon). Away from the excited fans, Houseman downs a hot honey and lemon and ponders how New Moon will change his life. "A lot of people I've met so far haven't been too crazy or too scary," he says, "but I know the other guys have had some weird encounters. "Taylor [Lautner - who plays Jacob Black] was telling me there was a 40-year-old woman who pulled down her pants and she had Taylor's name on her underwear. I'm trying to prepare myself for that kind of thing." Co-star Edi Gathegi says: "I've been with this movie since the beginning and I feel like I've been on this never-ending rollercoaster. The fans are some of the most amazing that anybody can ask for." He sees the romantic backdrop to the story as a key factor in its success. "It's romance first and vampires second, so it draws teenage girls in their millions." 'Not just for girls' (Shaun from Dublin says being one of the few males "has its perks") Caralee Loonat, from Batley, West Yorkshire, who is attending the convention with her 10-year-old daughter, agrees: "I like vampires I like love stories - it's a good mix." One of the handful of male fans at the hotel is Shaun Hancock from Dublin. It's his first convention and he's just emerged from a photoshoot with Rachelle Lefevre. "My friend dared me to get Rachelle to bite my neck!" he laughs. "I read the books about six months before the first movie. It's like a drug, you get addicted to them, you have to read them over and over. "It's not just for girls, there's fighting stuff that would catch guys' eyes." There are other European fans too, including some from Sweden and France. Nadege, from Lyon, says: "I write for a website and I sometimes talk to the actors on the phone, but I want to meet them so I am coming here." Her friend Doriane, from Bordeaux, at her first convention, has just met Rachelle Lefevre. "It was awesome," she says. Gold pass (Nadege and Doriane crossed the Channel to meet the stars) Of course, being a Twilight fan takes time - and money. Rebecca, 15, from Newbury has paid £195 for gold pass access to her heroes. The price includes an intimate drinks reception. "You get to meet famous people and you don't normally get to do that," says Rebecca, who adds that her mother paid for the ticket. She admits it can be daunting to meet someone famous for the first time. "You have to forget about that," says Rebecca, "and think of them as another person, or you'd be stuttering all the time - which I did a little bit." She says she's most excited about meeting actor Chaske Spencer. Why? "Because he's hot." Sheep machine If there's any evidence needed that the stars are happy to mix informally with their public, witness the scene at the first night baseball party. A huge crowd suddenly gathers around the "bucking sheep" machine in the main hall, whooping and cheering. Astride the sheep is actress Rachelle Lefevre. She hangs on like a tenacious vampire, until she's flung to the ground in a blaze of red hair. That really is what you'd call getting down with the fans. Twilight: New Moon is released in the UK on 20 November.

Sex attacks by women on children soar

Reports of women carrying out sex attacks on children have soared in the last five years, a charity said on Monday.ChildLine said there had been a 132 percent rise in reports of female sex abuse made to its telephone helpline, compared to a 27 percent rise in abuse by men in the same five-year period. "Most sex abuse calls to ChildLine come from girls saying they were assaulted by a male," said Sue Minto, head of the helpline. "But a growing number of callers now say they were sexually abused by a female. Many would find it shocking that any woman -- let alone a mother -- can sexually assault a child. But they do." Britain has been stunned by a number of high profile sex abuse cases involving women in recent months. Last month Vanessa George, a female nursery worker and a married mother-of-two admitted a string of sexual assaults and making indecent images of children. One of George's two co-accused who admitted similar charges was a woman. ChildLine said last year it had heard from 2,142 children who said they had been abused by a woman, almost a quarter of all cases where the abuser's gender could be identified. The report said 1,311 children said they had been sexually abused by their mother, 61 percent of calls about female sex abuse, although more than twice as many said they had been abused by their father. "This report reveals that ChildLine, by listening to the direct and authentic voices of abused children, has shattered common myths about sexual abuse," said Esther Rantzen, President of ChildLine. "It does not only happen to girls, as many people believe, it happens to boys too. Mothers can sometimes sexually abuse their sons".-(my view)-And woman BITCH about men being perverts and pedo's.......WELL FUCK YOU!your sick like other male pedo's,do NOT preach to us how sick the male mind/actions are when you do the same...i am NOT taken the sick males side on this.....all i am saying here is....STOP thinking your better then us when your the same!

Pc in court over police dog deaths

(Regarding the article i posted a few mouths back on this case on the day it happened)....he's due in court......... A police dog handler accused of leaving two of his German Shepherds to bake to death in his car is due to appear in court. Pc Mark Johnson faces one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to the animals after he allegedly left the police dogs to die in the back of his car on June 30 of this year. The 40-year-old is due to attend a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates' Court from 9.45am on Monday, accused of leaving his dogs, Jet, 10, and 18-month-old Jay-Jay, to die after he popped into Nottinghamshire Police's HQ in Arnold. The prosecution is being brought by the RSPCA, which accuses Johnson of "unnecessarily confining them (his dogs) in an environment that was detrimental to their well-being". The deaths happened on one of the hottest days of the year, when temperatures reached 29.3C (84.7F).

'Retrain ex-troops' as teachers

Ex-servicemen and women should be retrained as teachers to bring military style discipline to tough inner city schools, a think tank has said. The government is being urged to adopt a US-style programme returning former soldiers, sailors and airmen to school. The Centre for Policy Studies says ex-soldiers could have a profound effect on discipline and learning. The Conservatives are backing the idea, saying children need order and role models for self-discipline. A report by think tanks says the fact that ex-soldiers had a macho image could help engender respect - particularly among boys. The Troops to Teachers (T3) programme in the US retrains soldiers with a minimum of 10 years' experience, and a degree, as fully certificated teachers. Those with lower qualifications are retrained as vocational teachers. Some 16,000 service personnel have qualified as teachers since T3 was set up in the US in 1994. The report said the programme had been an "outstanding success", with some 88% remaining in the profession three years after they qualified. This compared to the usual retention rate for teachers in the US of 50% after five years. The report suggested ex-servicemen could have a particularly strong effect on discipline and learning. "This is not merely because ex-servicemen are sure of their own moral authority. "They are not intimidated by adrenaline-fuelled adolescents: they have, unlike most teachers, been there before," it added. It also argued that the perception that these teachers had been in a "macho profession" would be well-received by inner city children. "Whether we like it or not, children from more deprived neighbourhoods often respond to raw physical power," it added. 'Terrific boost' Chief of Defence Staff Lord Guthrie said knife crime, drugs and violence were reported daily in the inner cities. He said the T3 programme was a "possible answer" that had been shown to work in the US. "This will not, of course, solve all the problems of the inner city. But it will help," he said. "It will provide youths with role models who understand discipline and self-restraint at the time in their lives when they need it most. And it will be a terrific boost for our Armed Services." The charity Skill Force is already running a similar programme with 35 teams across 200 schools in England, Scotland and Wales, and the report says it could be expanded with government help. Shadow Children's Secretary Michael Gove said helping soldiers retrain as teachers would be great for our schools. "Many British schools need a change of culture because they face real problems with violence and bad behaviour. "Children, particularly in the worst schools, desperately need order and role models for self-discipline." A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said: "We know that professionals with industry experience can make really inspirational teachers and we are always looking to recruit teachers who have skills in other fields." The Ministry of Defence said it was already working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families on a scheme to encourage more ex-military personnel to consider secondary-level teaching. A spokesman said help and advice on pursuing a career in education formed part of the resettlement package for service leavers. -(my view)- Ok but what if one day that teacher(who was in the army)began to have flashbacks of killing an enemy and kills a child instead..thinking it her/she was the enemy...what then? it'll be the governments fault-and after that happens(like with everything that goes wrong)the government ALWAYS says"Lessons Have Been Learned".....to which they do FUCK ALL ie:ex soldiers WILL still be in schools teaching..OUR KIDS ARE AT RISK!!!........bit by bit they are AMERICANIZING England...and i fucking hate it.....no offence to my American friends but they laws you have are REALLY stupid and put lives in danger and now....OUR government wants to kiss your government asses.......i can't wait to die!

Twilight-New Moon Trailer

--Do not read the spoiler at the bottom if you wish not to know about the plot-- After Bella recovers from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, she looks to celebrate her birthday with Edward and his family. However, a minor accident during the festivities results in Bella's blood being shed, a sight that proves too intense for the Cullens, who decide to leave the town of Forks, Washington for Bella and Edward's sake. Initially heartbroken, Bella finds a form of comfort in reckless living, as well as an even-closer friendship with Jacob Black. Danger in different forms awaits