Daily Devotional Preaching

Previously unseen poems and letters written by Victorian nonsense poet Edward Lear have been found hidden in a private collection.
The discovery was made by University of Nottingham PhD student Amy Wilcockson in the British Library.
While sifting through manuscripts, Ms Wilcockson noticed some pages written by Lear to a young English woman he had befriended in Italy.
Utter nonsense of course, that's what good about it.

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ABBA's greatest hits album Gold continues to live up to its title, reaching a landmark 1000 weeks on the Official Albums Chart Top 100.Placing at Number 17 on this week's albums chart, Gold – Greatest Hits is the first album to achieve the 1000-week milestone in UK chart history. What does say about the current state of pop music? Are the oldies simply Goldies?

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Do you honour God's presence in your life? A thought for the day from the Bible based on 1 Chronicles 17:16 "Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?"

Sir Ringo Starr has dropped a legal case against the makers of a sex toy called Ring O. ... Starr, whose real name is Richard Starkey, has agreed not to register his own Ringo or Ringo Starr trademarks in connection with adult sex aids, the dismissal contract states. Is he missing a trick? Mark and Pete have the answers.

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If you’ve tried to buy a bike over the past few months you’ll know that demand is far outstripping supply thanks to the effects of government imposed lockdowns because of the mild flu-like COVID-19 epidemic. What about you, are you going to get on your bike? We’ve been speaking to members of the British bike trade to find out what’s going on, how long this situation is likely to last, and how you can maximise your chances of getting the bike you’re after. UK bike shops began running out of stock way back at the start of the first lockdown over a year ago. Lockdown restrictions were announced towards the end of March 2020 and the bike trade saw an immediate uplift in sales as a result of cycling being a permitted exercise option, people wanting to stay off public transport, and furloughed workers having a lot of free time on their hands. Cycle shops were classed as ‘essential' and have therefore been allowed to stay open throughout....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3DcbPUnJs

If you’ve tried to buy a bike over the past few months you’ll know that demand is far outstripping supply thanks to the effects of government imposed lockdowns because of the mild flu-like COVID-19 epidemic. What about you, are you going to get on your bike?
We’ve been speaking to members of the British bike trade to find out what’s going on, how long this situation is likely to last, and how you can maximise your chances of getting the bike you’re after. UK bike shops began running out of stock way back at the start of the first lockdown over a year ago. Lockdown restrictions were announced towards the end of March 2020 and the bike trade saw an immediate uplift in sales as a result of cycling being a permitted exercise option, people wanting to stay off public transport, and furloughed workers having a lot of free time on their hands. Cycle shops were classed as ‘essential' and have therefore been allowed to stay open throughout.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mark-and-pete--1245374/support.

What does the way you speak say about you? Do people think you are stupid when you are not? The UK is a rich tapestry of dialects and accents which in turn reflect the ebbs and flow of local history. But why are people with some accents perceived to be less intelligent, friendly or trustworthy than others?
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-57071805

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Chances are, your inbox holds a wide assortment of email — from spam to newsletters to discount offers to important communications from your boss or colleagues. Business receive and send many emails internally and externally any many of these actually hinder communication. Mark and Pete delve into this thorny issue and ask how can we stop getting buried under all the excess information and drowning in too many emails?

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In one of its most dystopian moves yet, Amazon is introducing tiny booths where its overworked warehouse employees can momentarily escape a job so grueling, many employees say they don't feel like they have enough time to even use the bathroom.

The "ZenBooth'' or "Mindful Practice Room," as it's called, is part of the WorkingWell program Amazon announced on May 17. According to an Amazon press release, WorkingWell is a mix of "physical and mental activities, wellness exercises, and healthy eating support” meant to “help them recharge and reenergize." One of the WorkingWell initiatives is AmaZen, which “guides employees through mindfulness practices in individual interactive kiosks at buildings,” according to a press release

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Britain came last and Italy won, what exactly happened. Does everyone hate the British? Should the whole Eurovision Song Contest be stopped? Mark and Pete have the definitive answer.
At the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, it set the next debacle for Germany. Jendrik Sigwart (26) landed on a disappointing 25th place with his song “I Don’t Feel Hate” and was penultimate. The big winner of the evening in the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam was the rock band Måneskin from Italy, who won the race in a real heart-stopping final.

Sigwart, according to ESC commentator legend Peter Urban (73), the “whirlwind against hateful messages on the Internet”, started the race with start number 15. The 26-year-old musical performer danced, sang and ukulelte quite energetically through his title. But a staid vocal performance and an exuberant performance, including a trumpet solo with a dancing peace sign or middle finger, apparently failed to score points with either the ESC audience or the jury.
Italy wins thanks to the crowd
The national juries gave Sigwart a meager three points – two from Austria and one from Romania. Only Great Britain (James Newman – “Emers”) got even fewer points, namely zero. Switzerland fought head-to-head with its artist Gjon’s Tears (22) and his song “Tout l’univers” and France with singer Barbara Pravi (28) and her classic chanson song “Voilà”. In the end, Gjon’s Tears greeted from first place with 267 points. Pravi was close behind with 248 points.

But with the voices of the audience, everything could change. However, Great Britain did not get any points from the spectators either. Just like Sigwart. With that, the 25th place was finally cemented. In the further course everything was whirled around quite tremendously. Italy, which the rock band Måneskin had put in the running with their song “Zitti E Buoni”, suddenly found itself very popular with the audience and took first place.

But it should actually take until the very last point announcement before the decision was made. Because until the end, Switzerland had the opportunity to overtake Italy. But nothing came of it. The points of the audience voting were not enough to dispute Italy for victory. So it was clear: Måneskin are the winners of the ESC 2021 ahead of France and Switzerland.

Two artists tested positive
In April, the Dutch government declared the huge event a test case and allowed 3,500 viewers each to the nine shows, including six public rehearsals, the two semi-finals and the final. The show was based on an extensive test concept. All employees, journalists and artists had to show a negative corona test every two days in order to even get into the arena.

And in fact there were two corona cases in the field of participants. First known that a member of the Icelandic band Daði og Gagnamagnið tested positive for the coronavirus. The band had then decided to withdraw from all appearances at the live shows. Duncan Laurence (27), who brought the contest to the Netherlands with his victory two years ago, also tested positive a short time later. Laurence should have presented his winning title “Arcade” on stage during the finale. His performance was shown on a video clip.

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