a southern gal in the north

Women get equality at last at Wimbledon
Times Online; Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent; and Simon Cambers

The All England Club will give men and women equal prize-money at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. It will be the first time in the tournament’s history that there has been equal pay through all rounds for men and women, ending 123 years of inequality.

“Tennis is one of the few sports in which women and men compete in the same event at the same time,” said, Tim Phillips, the All England Club chairman. “We believe our decision to offer equal prize-money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon.

“In short, good for tennis, good for women players and good for Wimbledon.”

The Times

Over on Transatlantic Plantsman, Graham is ever-so-helpful to his newbie blog-readers back home in England.  It's Blogging 101, plus some more advanced details I'm still confused about myself.  (Feedburner "Subscribe Here" creates emails to readers of your new posts?  And how's that different from using a blog-reader?) 

But Graham quickly moves on to our favorite part – the blogs he recommends.  Heaps of thanks and a virtual group hug for the generous endorsement!

Find the links here

A friend points out this exhibit opening this week…

Arturo Toscanini: Homage to the Maestro
From February 21, 2007 through May 25, 2007
Vincent Astor Gallery
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Hours: Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat: 12 to 6; Thurs: 12 to 8

George Orwell lived long enough to know the Third Programme; he adapted his own Animal Farm for it. Language that is manipulative and deceitful is now for ever Orwellian. He would have undoubtedly recognised some of the ways in which the Third’s successor, Radio 3, has sought to neutralise hostility and influence reaction to its controversial new schedule, which began yesterday.

Its changes are many. Nine shows have been axed. Another five have been moved. Apart from the Proms and other special seasons, and the last act of some New York operas, there will be no live music after 7pm. Late Junction is reduced, Discovering Music extended. There will be a new weekday breakfast host, six new series and afternoon opera.

Paul Donovan in the Sunday Times

It’s been a long time since British television was the envy of the world. BBC radio still is. Roger Wright’s myopic vandalism will go some way to wrecking one of the last bastions of serious culture in this country.

The above is from a prescient article by David Self in the Telegraph last November.

New York, NY (February 21, 2007) — Lorin Maazel, one the world’s most esteemed maestros, will return to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in 45 years to conduct five performances of Wagner’s Die Walküre, beginning January 7, 2008. These performances will be Maestro Maazel’s first conducting assignments at the Met since the 1962-63 season, when he made his debut conducting performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.

Met Opera Press Release

Opera Chic has ALL the JDF you would want!

well… this is interesting – apparently he INSISTED that he go – threatened to quit and make a big scandal.

Prince Harry moves into the line of fire as 1,600 troops get set to move out
White House unhappy with timing of Prime Minister’s announcement that British forces are being cut back
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Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Philip Webster, Political Editor

Prince Harry and his squadron from The Blues and Royals have received their marching orders to deploy to Iraq in May despite yesterday’s announcement that 1,600 British troops will be withdrawn at that time.

Second Lieutenant (or Cornet) Wales will be leaving with A Squadron The Blues and Royals, Household Cavalry, as part of the next rotation of troops for Operation Telic.

As Tony Blair made his long-awaited statement that British forces can start thinking of returning home, the Prime Minister refused to apologise for the Iraq war. Facing calls from MPs to take responsibility for the chaos that came after the invasion, Mr Blair declared that terrorism would be defeated “when we do not apologise for our values but stand up for them”.

No details have been given about the Prince’s responsibilities, but he is likely to serve with his squadron wherever it is deployed. This could mean being posted to Maysan province for reconnaissance along the border with Iran. Prince Harry has already made his wishes clear. He wants to be with his squadron, not locked away in a staff job in a heavily protected base.

Every attempt will be made to treat Cornet Wales like any other junior officer, but his commanding officer will have a special responsibility to secure his safety. That will not mean surrounding him with bodyguards while on patrol, but he is expected to have a personal protection officer when required.

Prince Harry moves into the line of fire as 1,600 troops get set to move out-News-Politics-TimesOnline.

Reaction from the White House and Howard Dean:

Diplomatic sources in Wash-ington told The Times that the White House had been unhappy with Mr Blair’s announcement so soon after Congress had delivered its rebuke of the planned increase in US troop levels in Iraq. Although President Bush had long been aware that Britain was likely to begin withdrawing troops this year, he believed that “the timing of this was not helpful”, with aides asking if this “really needed to be done now”.

Howard Dean, a leading Democrat, described the British pullout as “a clear setback for the [Bush] Administration that is just simply out of step with our allies”.