Simon Bourne

Welcome to my Personal Portal

This is my personal site. For those with access please enjoy, and any constructive comments would be gratefully appreciated. Please check back as I intend to update this site as much as I can.

All the views expressed here are my personal opinions.

What's New

I'm using this portal as a learning experience to get to know the new features in Microsoft's latest Express Edition tools that are free, I would recommend you check these tools out.

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Latest News

BBC News - UK Sun, 20 May 2012 16:57:34 GMT

VIDEO: Vulcan flypast at Falklands memorial - Veterans of the Falklands War, and their families, have watched a flypast by the UK's last airworthy Vulcan Bomber at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
VIDEO: Military parade for Queen's Jubilee - Thousands of members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force have taken part in a parade and flypast to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
VIDEO: 'Remember Lockerbie bomb victims' - Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people, has died at his home in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
VIDEO: Banksy 'marks Queen's Jubilee' - Andrew Marr and experts ask if the graffiti artist Banksy's latest offering ahead of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee means he is as radical as ever.
VIDEO: Missing fishermen search halted - The search for two fishermen missing off the Dorset coast has been called off, after a life-raft was found with the wreck of their boat.
VIDEO: Jamie: 'I've given up on politics' - TV chef Jamie Oliver says he has given up on trying to change governments' attitudes to healthy eating, as he visits New York in a bid to tackle obesity there.
VIDEO: Huge crowds greet Olympic torch - Sailing champion Ben Ainslie starts the London 2012 Olympic torch relay from Land's End amid tight security.
VIDEO: Ecstatic Chelsea fans celebrate win - Chelsea have won the Champions League for the first time in the club's history, beating German team Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot out.
VIDEO: Falklands memorial to be dedicated - A service will be held on Sunday at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to dedicate a new memorial to the 255 Britons who died in the Falklands War.
VIDEO: Kirstie: Parenting 'isn't rocket science' - Mother-of-two Kirstie Allsopp said it is difficult for some people to be good parents, because they didn't have good parents themselves. It comes after David Cameron dismissed claims that a new scheme to teach parenting skills amount to a 'nanny state'.
VIDEO: Beckham: 2012 a special year - David Beckham attends a ceremony in Athens where the Olympic flame is handed over to the UK delegation.
VIDEO: Flypast for Diamond Jubilee - Thousands of members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force take part in an event to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, including a flypast of 78 current and historic aircraft.
AUDIO: Do foreign owners take the heart out of football? - Stoke City chairman Peter Coates and Dave Bassett, former manager of Wimbledon and Sheffield United, discuss the impact f foreign owners on the English domestic game.
VIDEO: Epic journey for rugby final - More than 20,000 rugby fans from Belfast and Dublin are descending on Twickenham for the first ever all-Ireland final of Europe's premier club competition, the Heineken Cup.
VIDEO: Chelsea fans upbeat ahead of final - Thousands of Chelsea fans have been soaking up the sunshine in Munich ahead of Saturday's Champions League final.
VIDEO: Plaque to IRA bomb victims stolen - Thieves have stolen a metal plaque erected in memory of two young boys who were killed in an IRA bomb attack in Warrington, Cheshire.
VIDEO: Queen's head carved on coffee bean - A miniature portrait of the Queen has carved on to a coffee bean by a Birmingham-based micro sculptor.
VIDEO: Sacha Baron Cohen as himself - Sacha Baron Cohen steps out of character to give a rare interview as himself, but admits it is 'probably a mistake'.
VIDEO: Ship 'floated' on sea of jelly - A ship moored in Bristol which is more used to being featured in oil and watercolour paintings is being "floated" in a sea of neon-green jelly.
AUDIO: Jessie J: The Voice 'a learning curve' - Jessie J spoke to BBC Radio 5 live about her new single, her new look and starring on The Voice.
VIDEO: How to organise a military spectacular - Some 2,500 troops and six massed bands will march past the Queen on Saturday to mark her Diamond Jubilee, followed by a flypast of over 80 aircraft.
VIDEO: Should Britain build a spaceport? - A new report is recommending that the UK builds its own spaceport, to enable tourists to go into space.
VIDEO: World royals gather to mark Jubilee - Royals from around the world have gathered in Britain to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
VIDEO: From prison to Belfast distillery - A notorious Belfast prison that held IRA inmates during the worst of the city's sectarian troubles is to be transformed into a whiskey distillery.
VIDEO: Rolf Harris exhibition a 'thrill' - Rolf Harris tells the BBC's Colin Paterson that the largest retrospective of his paintings to date, at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, is ''a thrill''.
VIDEO: 'Very drinkable' wines at less than £5 - Wine expert Jilly Goolden claimed there were some 'very drinkable' bottles of wine for less than £5 as she discussed plans by the Scottish government for minimum pricing for alcohol.
VIDEO: Queen hosts royals for Jubilee lunch - Kings and queens from around the world have gathered in Britain to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
VIDEO: 'Business leaders should work harder' - Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie has said British business leaders should work harder to get the UK out of the current economic downturn.
VIDEO: 'I felt trapped' in female body - Music producer Thomas Dolby describes how one of his latest songs, Simone, was inspired by his son, Harper, who was born a girl but changed genders.
VIDEO: UK prepares for Olympic flame arrival - The Olympic torch will spend 70 days winding its way around the UK en-route to London for the start of the 2012 games.
AUDIO: Discobolus, ancient and modern - The ancient Greek sculpture, Discobolus, epitome of the Olympic spirit, is going back on show at the British Museum after four years on display at foreign museums. Dr Ian Jenkins, senior curator at the British Museum, explains the history of the sculpture.
VIDEO: Help offered on bringing up baby - Parents are being offered free support and advice on bringing up their families, under a new initiative being launched by the government.
VIDEO: My friendship with Donna Summer - Producer and song writer Pete Waterman talks about his friendship with singer Donna Summer, who has died from lung cancer at the age of 63.
VIDEO: Why do the Brits love the monarchy? - Thousands of street parties will be held all over the UK to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with millions expected to line the Mall in London and cheer Her Majesty.
VIDEO: Police trial fog cannons in shops - Fog machines have been installed in a number of shops in Nottinghamshire in a bid to deter thieves.
VIDEO: Lancashire crowds welcome Queen - As part of her Diamond Jubilee celebration tour, the Queen paid a visit to the North-West of England.
VIDEO: Princess on pressure of Olympics - The Princess Royal has expressed her sympathy for athletes preparing for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
VIDEO: A history of the Olympic torch relay - With the Olympic flame due to arrive in the UK on Friday, Tim Muffett looks at the history behind the torch relay.
VIDEO: When live TV goes wrong - it's Odd Box - The perils of being a reporter on live TV, the cafe just for cats and the $1,500 hot dog.
VIDEO: PM: 'Make up or break up' - David Cameron has said he will do whatever is necessary to protect the country and secure the economy and financial system whatever the fate of the eurozone.
AUDIO: Should workers be tested for drugs? - BBC Radio 5 live's Victoria Derbyshire got reaction to the Metropolitan Police chief's suggestion that all workers should be screened.

Quotes

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. Chinese proverb.

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it. Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919).

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny...' Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992).

Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings. C. D. Jackson.

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962).