We know we're lucky to have our four miracles - but we'll never forget the two we lost

By HELEN WEATHERS

Little miracles: Vicky and Andy with their four surviving sextuplets, from left, Ellen, Eric, Layla and Rose


Sextuplets mother Vicky Lamb shares the joy - and anguish - of a tumultuous first year...

At the stroke of midnight, Vicky and Andy Lamb saw in the New Year with four bottles — not champagne, but the small plastic variety topped up with infant formula for their quartet of young babies.

Every evening the Lambs set the alarm for midnight to wake them from their bleary-eyed slumber — usually on the sofa in the living room — to give seven-and-a-half month old Layla, Eric, Ellen and Rose their ‘dream feed’, and New Year’s Eve was no exception.


Fab four: The Lamb babies when they were a few days old...


It takes a full hour to feed all four infants before these proud, but exhausted, parents can finally climb the stairs and collapse into bed before the whole feeding, burping, changing, cuddling, playing, napping and washing routine starts afresh — and Vicky and Andy wouldn’t have it any other way.


.. and happy and healthy a year on


‘When we look at them all sleeping peacefully, sometimes we just can’t believe they are finally here, home with us,’ says Vicky, 32, a former ­nursery manager from Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

‘For us, 2010 was such an emotional, life-changing, traumatic year. So what we are hoping for in 2011 is health and happiness for our children.’


Precious delivery: Vicky with newborn Ellen, at one time it was feared none of the sextuplets would survive


‘There were tears of sadness for Matthew and Pippa, tears because I felt so tired and disappointed that Christmas wasn’t how I’d hoped, but also tears of happiness and thanks that we still have Layla, Eric, Ellen and Rose.

‘But when they smile, all the pain and heartbreak has been worth it. Sometimes I just can’t believe that these four lovely babies are really ours.’


source: dailymail

Met Office knew big freeze was coming but hushed it up

By RACHEL QUIGLEY

Cars try to make their way through the centre of York in the snow at the start of December. Councils could have been better prepared for the cold snap if they had been pre-warned by the Met Office


The Met Office warned ministers to expect an ‘exceptionally cold winter’ but then kept the prediction secret from the public.

The forecaster decided not to reveal the information because it was embarrassed after wrongly predicting a ‘barbecue summer’ in 2009, BBC analyst Roger Harrabin said.

Instead of a seasonal forecast, it offered only monthly snapshots.


Snow ploughs struggle to clear the taxi ways at Heathrow Airport after heavy snowfall in late December. Thousands were stranded at the airport as flights were cancelled and the airport struggled to clear the backlog


The disclosure raises questions over whether transport authorities and councils could have been better prepared for the cold snap which brought chaos before Christmas.

As temperatures fell to a record low, train services were badly disrupted, roads were covered by snow and thousands were stranded at Heathrow as flights were cancelled and the airport struggled to clear the backlog.

Last night Mr Harrabin said: ‘With Britain shivering through a third winter in a row, shouldn’t the weather forecasters have warned us well in advance? Why didn’t the Met Office tell us?

‘The truth is it did suspect we were in for an exceptionally cold early winter, and told the Cabinet Office so in October.


A train skulks through the snow in Horley, Surrey. Train services were badly disrupted last month after transport authorities failed to prepare properly for the immense snowfall


A water fountain was frozen solid in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, after freezing temperatures in December last year


Campaigners have claimed it has become too interested in calling for action to cut carbon emissions.

They say it is in thrall to a belief that temperatures will rise in the long term, and so has neglected its focus on accurate short and medium term forecasts.

The BBC announced last year that it was considering dropping the Met Office as its official forecaster after 87 years. But in July it decided to extend the contract for a further five years.


Ducks waddle across a completely frozen River Ouse in York on Christmas Day


The Cabinet Office said that Met Office forecasts are shared ‘as appropriate’ but could not say if roads authorities, airports and water companies had been passed the explicit deep freeze alert.

A spokesman said: ‘The Met Office provides the Government with regular updates throughout the year to inform short, medium and longer term planning. This information is shared as appropriate between departments and with local responders.

‘Government departments have, since winter 2009, continued to enhance preparedness and build resilience, informed by Met Office advice as well as the recommendations from David Quarmby’s review into last winter’s disruption and Dame Deirdre Hine’s review of the 2009 swine flu pandemic.’


source: dailymail

Meet the real Happy Feet! Baby penguin can't contain his excitement as snow starts to fall

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Full of the joys: The penguin dances around the compound, much to the bemusement of his friends


It's normally little children that get excited at the sight of their first snowflake.

As permanent residents of the chilly, snow-covered South Pole, you'd think for penquins it would all be a bit, well, mundane.

Not so for this little chap who clearly couldn't control his excitement as the white stuff started to fall.

Looking like the real-life star of animated film Happy Feet, the baby penguin tears up and down while his bemused friends look on.

Or maybe he's a fan of penguin-suited dance legend Fred Astaire, who often went through his paces wearing a top hat and tails.

The clip was posted on YouTube two days ago and has already attracted thousands of views.


Inspiration: Is our dancing penguin a film fan? If so he might have seen Happy Feet or one of Fred Astaire's many films


In the Happy feet film, Mumble the penguin is cast as an outsider because he has a terrible singing voice. But he soon becomes the star of the show when he discovers he has talent for something none of his friends has seen before - tap dancing.







source: dailymail

New Year celebrations in Times Square

Revellers cheer as confetti falls during New Year celebrations in Times Square in New York January 1, 2011.



Confetti is dropped on revellers at midnight during New Year celebrations in Times Square in New York, January 1, 2011.




NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 01: Fireworks go off at the strike of midnight in Times Square January 01, 2011 in New York City. This year a 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball descended a 141-foot tall flagpole to mark the beginning of 2011.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Singers Taio Cruz and Ke$ha celebrate New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Singer Ke$ha performs during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.




NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Miss USA Rima Fakih celebrates New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.


Midnight - New Years Eve 2010 / New Years Day 2011



Times Square New Years Eve 2011 ( New York)



source : Daylife
photo: Gettyimages

Happy 2011! London sees in the New Year with Eye-catching display on the Thames

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Masses gathered in London to see in the New Year in front of the London Eye where up to 250,000 people enjoyed the carnival atmosphere


Hundreds of thousands of revellers took to the streets tonight to begin saying goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.

Masses gathered in London to see in the New Year in front of the London Eye where up to 250,000 people were expected to enjoy the carnival atmosphere.


And festive organisers in Edinburgh prepared for up to 80,000 partygoers to enjoy the Hogmanay street party and festival, which began last night with a torchlight procession along the Royal Mile.


Red sky at night: The London Eye sparkles in one of its finest-ever displays


Fireworks explode behind the Big Ben clock tower during New Year celebrations


During the early evening, crowds gathered along the banks of the River Thames and spilled into Trafalgar Square and central London.

BBC Radio 1 DJ Nihal hosted the event, drawing cheers from the crowds after the music started at 10pm accompanied by lasers and lights from the Eye.

Peter and Harriet Hughes travelled from Cardiff in Wales to see the firework display with 18-month-old daughter Phoebe.

Mr Hughes, 28, said: 'It's amazing. We see it on the TV quite a lot and my wife has never been so we decided to come down. Plus we couldn't find a baby-sitter.'

First aiders were already out on the streets by 10pm as the party geared up for the climax at midnight, while security teams had to ask some high-spirited partygoers to get down from traffic lights along Victoria Embankment.


Throng: Revellers wait on the Embankment along the River Thames for the fireworks


Under a crimson sky: Hogmanay festivities in Edinburgh (left) and Big Ben flanked by the London Eye


Petra Stolfa, 20, travelled to London with her friend Krista Likar, 19, from Slovenia for the celebrations.

'We came here last Friday and we came to see New Year because of the fireworks. We have been here since 7pm,' she said.

'We don't have the big fireworks at home and so this is something we usually see on the TV.'

Many said they were hoping for a better year in 2011.


Scotland the rave: The party gets into full swing in Edinburgh as people celebrate the new year


Michelle Burns, 30, from Canvey Island, said: 'We come just for a change because we usually spend New Year with family.

'It's been good. It's been a rough year so hopefully next year will be better.'

In London, 3,000 police officers were on duty.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the crowds were larger than last year but so far there were only five arrests for minor offences.


Happy New Year! Revellers take to Princes Street in Edinburgh for the fireworks display to celebrate


Weather forecasters said as the clock struck midnight - and we moved to 'all the ones', 1/1/11 - the nation's enjoyment of firework displays might be marred by patches of fog, cloud and mist.

Most of the UK was expected to have a covering of cloud with some drizzle although the evening should remain dry.

After weeks of Arctic temperatures and a year of economic belt-tightening for most, revellers were keen to welcome in a new year.

Tonight's Concert in the Gardens, in Edinburgh, features top bands The Charlatans, Biffy Clyro and Billy Bragg and sold out along with the Keilidh in Resolution Square.

Meanwhile, around the world...

Thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin tonight to welcome in the New Year with a dazzling light show.

And while revellers lapped up the atmosphere in the German capital, crowds gathered in Moscow's Red Square as Russia celebrated the arrival of 2011.

The chilly night sky was a sea of red and green as the fireworks complemented the colourful domes of St Basil's Cathedral.

Meanwhile, Dubai held a stunning fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building - the 2,717ft structure seeing pyrotechnics seemingly shoot from every storey.

And earlier this evening, Malaysia celebrated New Year's Eve with a light show by the Petronas Twin Towers in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Auckland, New Zealand, was the first major city to celebrate the New Year before Australia, Singapore and China followed suit later today.


Thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin tonight to welcome in the New Year with a dazzling light show


Red sky at night: Crowds have gathered in Moscow's Red Square as Russia welcomes in the New Year


Fireworks lit up the sky in Dubai tonight as the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building - formed the centrepiece of New Year's Eve celebrations



Spectacular: Fireworks light up the sky near the landmark Petronas Twin Towers during new year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


'Reddy' for the New Year: Celebrating in Malaysia by the iconic towers


Singapore: Fireworks explode over Marina Bay in front of the Marina Bay Sands casino and resort during a pyrotechnic show


Roads were due to be cordoned off in London as the capital prepared itself for its own fireworks display tonight.

Australia has welcomed 2011 with a spectacular fireworks display over Sydney Harbour. Despite losing the Ashes this week, thousands of party-loving Aussies had camped out for hours at parks alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge to win the best view of today's spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks.

As the clock ticked closer to 2011, Europeans were looking forward to celebrations that could help them forget their economic worries.

Japan and South Korea both celebrated New Year at 3pm GMT - and India was readying itself for its celebrations in the next few hours.

In New York City, nearly a million revellers were expected to cram into the streets around Times Square to watch the traditional midnight ball drop several hours after the UK has marked the start of 2011. The 20-inch snowstorm that blanketed the city will be just a memory thanks to work crews and warmer temperatures.

At least 1.5 million people lined the harbour in Sydney, the first major city where the new year arrives after 2011 hit New Zealand. Celebrations began with aerial displays by vintage aircraft and a parade of boats around the harbour.

In Christchurch, New Zealand, two minor earthquakes on Friday did not shake plans for all-night celebrations.

'There is more reason than ever for people to get together and celebrate the beginning of a New Year,' Christchurch's acting mayor Ngaire Button said, urging residents to celebrate in the central Cathedral Square, where workers were removing loose masonry after the quakes.

A powerful 7.1-magnitude quake wrecked thousand of buildings in Christchurch on September 4, but nobody was killed.


Ready for 12: Revellers in Hong Kong, China, prepare for the New Year


This year marks the first time Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, officially celebrates the new year with a countdown blowout, complete with a light show and foreign DJs in front of the city's elegant French colonial-style opera house.

Vietnamese in the past paid little attention to the changing of the calendar, instead holding massive celebrations during Tet, the lunar new year that begins on Feb. 3. But in recent years, the Western influence has started seeping into Vietnamese culture with teens, who have no memory of war or poverty and are eager to find a new reason to party in the Communist country.

In South Korea, up to 100,000 people went to a bell-ringing ceremony in central Seoul, with officials and citizens striking the large bronze bell hung in the Bosingak bell pavilion 33 times at midnight.

Some South Koreans also go to the mountains or beaches on early Saturday to watch the first sunrise of the new year.

At midnight in Taipei, Taiwan, fireworks will form a spiralling dragon climbing up the city's tallest skyscraper. Some 50 dancers will beat drums in the freezing cold river in a dance to underscore how people should live with nature in harmony.


Happy New Year! Sydney Bridge is lit up as Australia becomes the first country to welcome 2011


In Japan, New Year's Eve is generally spent at home with family but those who venture out go to temples to pray for good luck in the new year. At Zojoji, a 600-year-old Buddhist temple in central Tokyo, thousands were expected to release balloons at midnight carrying notes with their hopes for 2011.

In Beijing, about 500 people were expected to gather at the Ancient Bell Museum for the chance to ring in the new year on the 46-ton bell. The city is also trying to start a new tradition, with an orchestra playing a 'Hymn to China' at the China Century Monument just two minutes before midnight.

While many Asian countries famed for their firework displays were planning to light up the night skies, Myanmar's military government banned all fireworks for New Year's Eve and said severe action would be taken against anyone selling or using them.


First New Year: Auckland was the first major city to celebrate the start of 2011


A local news journal, Modern, noted that last year 62 people were given six to 12-month prison terms for violating this ruling.

The government gave no reason for the ban but in the past has said that it feared 'unscrupulous persons' might take advantage of the fireworks to create disturbances.

In Europe, many people will be partying simply to forget their economic woes after a year that saw Greece and Ireland needing financial bailouts and others, such as Spain and Portugal, battling speculation that they will need similar aid.

If not at home or at private parties, Spaniards traditionally gather in their main town squares to eat 12 grapes one by one as the bell in the square marks the countdown to 2011.

In the Irish capital of Dublin, people will flock to the Christchurch cathedral to listen as the bells chime in the new year.

In London, thousands will witness a musical and firework display at the 135-meter high London Eye, located on the southern banks of the Thames River. The Eye, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, lies almost opposite the Big Ben clock tower at Parliament that will chime in 2011.

In Paris, tens of thousands are expected to pack the Champs Elysees and the area around the Eiffel Tower for dazzling light and firework displays.






source: dailymail

Happy New Year 2011

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: The NIVEA Kiss Platform in Times Square on New Years Eve 2011, co-hosted by Bill and Guiliana Rancic, featured surprise games and celebrations for the crowd as revelers rang in 2011.




The Dubai Burj Khalifa lights up at midnight during a fireworks display to celebrate the New Year's Day in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011.



EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 31: New Year revellers gather on Princes Street ahead of the New Year celebrations on December 31, 2010 in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is expected that around eighty thousand people will attend the festivities in Scotland's capital.



Revellers fill the streets of Times Square as New Year's Eve celebrations begin in New York, December 31, 2010.



Revellers gather during the New Year Hogmanay celebrations in Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland December 31, 2010.



People celebrate ahead of New Year's Day in Red Square in Moscow December 31, 2010.



People launch a floating paper lantern into the sky as they celebrate ahead of New Year's Day in Red Square in Moscow December 31, 2010.



Fireworks explode over the Central mosque during New Year's Day celebrations in Grozny January 1, 2011.



Revellers celebrate the New Year on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. Visible in background is the Arc de Triomphe.



People celebrate the New Year on the Champs Elysee avenue in Paris, early 01 January 2011.



French mounted gendarmes of the Republican guard patrol on the Champs de Mars near the Eiffel tower in Paris, on December 31, 2010, to prevent outbursts during the New Year's eve party.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: The NIVEA Kiss Platform in Times Square on New Years Eve 2011, co-hosted by Bill and Guiliana Rancic, featured surprise games and celebrations for the crowd as revelers rang in 2011.



Lebanese crowds watch fireworks on New Year's Eve in the heart of central Beirut at midnight on January 1, 2011 as New Year revellers around the planet began welcoming 2011 in a blaze of fireworks and parties.





LORNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 31: Festival goers cheer in the New Year on day three of the Falls Music & Arts Festival on December 31, 2010 in Lorne, Australia.



LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Fireworks light up the London skyline and Big Ben just after midnight on January 1, 2011 in London, England. Thousands of people lined the banks of the River Thames in central London to see in the New Year with a spectacular fireworks display.



Fireworks explode over the London Eye on the bank of the River Thames, in the annual display to celebrate the New Year in central London, Saturday, Jan.1, 2011.



Fireworks light the sky above the Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, shortly after midnight on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011, greeting the New Year. Hundred thousands of people celebrate the beginning of the New Year 2010 in the German capital.



People take pictures of the sunrise on New Year's Day at the open-air Sky Deck of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo on January 1, 2011. At 238 meters above ground level, and 270 meters above sea level, it will be the highest open-air facility in Japan.



People celebrate the New Year in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square, on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. As rainclouds cleared, thousands of people at Puerta del Sol square to take part in "Las Uvas," or "The Grapes," a tradition in which people eat a grape for each of the 12 chimes of midnight.



Lebanese revellers celebrate on New Year's Eve in down town Beirut at midnight on January 1, 2011 as people around the planet began welcoming 2011 in a blaze of fireworks and parties.



EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in. Tehran. A Christian girl lights a candle before a New Year mass at Saint Serkis church in central Tehran December 31, 2010. New Year is celebrated by the Assyrian and Armenian minorities in Iran, where a majority of its citizens are Muslim.



LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Fireworks light up the London skyline and Big Ben just after midnight on January 1, 2011 in London, England. Thousands of people lined the banks of the River Thames in central London to see in the New Year with a spectacular fireworks display



LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Fireworks light up the London skyline and Big Ben just after midnight on January 1, 2011 in London, England. Thousands of people lined the banks of the River Thames in central London to see in the New Year with a spectacular fireworks display.



Fireworks explode behind The Big Ben clock tower during New Year celebrations in London January 1, 2011.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Bill and Guiliana Rancic were on hand to co-host the NIVEA Kiss Platform in Times Square on New Years Eve 2011, where a long-distance couple reunited on stage for the first time in 6 months.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Bill and Guiliana Rancic, co-hosts of the NIVEA Kiss Platform in Times Square, help others Prepare to be Kissed on New Years Eve 2011.


New Year 2011 Central London



happy new year 2011 Celebrations from round the world CNN



Welcomes 2011 Fireworks skyline Pattaya Bangkok Thailand Happy new year 2011



new year celebration fireworks 2011 oulu finland Uusi vuosi 2011 kunniaksi ilotulitus Oulu Suomi



source: Daylife
photo: AP photo, Gettyimages, Reuters