I remember it as if it was yesterday. 12th April 1981, I was 11 and the first Space Shuttle takes off. Columbia blasted off onto the sky and I was sure it was going to go horribly wrong. However it did not and the mission was a success. the only real hitch was some of the tiles fell off the vehicle and it had to be repaired before re entry.

However 5 years later my pessimistic predictions were brought to fruition with the Challenger Disaster when the shuttle exploded during take off killing all seven astronauts.

 Not All Low Points

The shuttle missions have reached some high points with the launch of many satellites, the launching and fixing of the Hubble telescope and its involvement with the building of the International Space Station. They have even had Russian cosmonauts on flights.

However Columbia also had its own disaster when it was destroyed on re entry 15 minutes before completing its 28th mission.

So today, weather allowing the shuttle will fly for the last time. America is retiring its fleet as it cuts its budgets. Nothing is in place to replace it and NASA will have to rely on Europe and Russia for contact with Space.

Supa Swap would like to take its hat off to all the men and women who have worked and especially those who have given their life to this project. Somehow space will not quite be the same.

It is not often that we a Supa Swap get to see a royal wedding but this year we had the opportunity to follow two. After the lavish wedding of Wills and Kate (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) we have now had the wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock.

Charlene who was 33 years old, was rumoured to have been having second thoughts but last Friday the ceremony went ahead. She is a previous Olympic swimmer and the couple met in 2001 while she was taking part in an event in Monaco.

The two were married in in civil ceremony but this was followed by a Catholic ceremony in the Palace court yard.

The guest list for the event was as lavish as the event itself. Guests included the Bond actor Roger Moore, Karl Lagerfield, Giorgio Armani and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

Music for the ceremony was composed by French composer Jean Michel Jarre and the event was caped by an extravagant fire work display.

We all wish them the best for the future.

With the sad news about the death of Peter Falk this week, we at Supa Swap thought we would delve into the world of the TV detective.

Who Loves Ya Baby

Traditionally those of us of a certain age will remember the traditional detectives, be it the all very British Miss Marple to the American Columbo. All had their gimmicks, like Kojak’s lollypop and some had their catch phrases.

In recent years, this genre has had a bit of a renaissance. Some of them have been re-workings of traditional stories like Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime writers and others have been quite new, Frost, Lewis, Morse to name but a few.

Most of these programs follow the same format, a crime, usually a murder, followed by our amazing detective deducing who did it. However some like Columbo actually show you who did it at the start.

But there are a few questions that should be asked.

1. Why does anyone live in Midsommer or St Mary Mead. It does seem most likely that you will be killed if you live there so to start with the population must be depleted for all these deaths. But if I had a house there I think by now I would have moved.
2. If you are invited into a room by the detective with all involved in a murder and you did the murder, why turn up?
3. Why do CSI manager to get answers to very complicated science questions within 45 minutes.

Of course these shows are only for entertainment and should not be taken too seriously. However if you want a bit more fun there is a very good film with an amazing cast that pokes fun at the TV and film detective called Murder by Death, worth a watch if you fancy a laugh.

We have written about one of our favorite royals here at Supa Swap and I am pleased to include another blog about the Prince Harry.

As the restrictions on the news of his activities in Afghanistan were restricted, we followed the rest of the press and reported on the Soldier Price and what he had been up to.

Increased Popularity

Harry’s service in the armed forces with the ordinary rank and file has really endeared him to the nation, changing him from one of the most unpopular to one of the most respected member of the counties first family.

Recently it has been reported that Harry has the opportunity to return to the front line but this time as a helicopter pilot.

Some have, and still do comment that having such a high profile target in the field of conflict could cause great risk to the man and women serving around Harry, but we certainly feel at Supa Swap that the message that his willingness to put himself at risk with his fellow soldiers makes for a much stronger message.

The Service

The Procession

Day Off

Apple are currently in a lawsuit to sue their biggest rival Samsung.

Apple states that Samsung have recently copied their biggest sellers, the iPhone 4 and the iPad by releasing its Galaxy mobile and the Tablet.

Apple say that Samsung have copied nearly every feature down to the look and even the packaging of their products, thus violating trademark rights saying ” Rather than develop its own technology and unique design, Samsung are having to copy latest mobile and computing devices and that Samsung decided to take the easy option and copy Apple’s which clearly proves to us that we have the best technology on todays market”. Apple are currently in a 38 page lawsuit against Samsung.

Apple are stating that Samsung released the Galaxy Si9000 model in March 2010 and was a distinct resemblance of the Apple iPhone 3GS model which was released in June 2009.

Giving photographic evidence showing packaging similarities and even down to size and the icons for folders, music and messaging were identical.

Apple will not let this defeat them as they say that it does, and will continue to dominate the market of smartphone’s and computing tablet’s and to continuously release faster and smarter devices above any other on the market.

The lawsuit continues, but Supa Swap believes that Apple are big enough and clever enough to drown out their current rivals. Watch this space…..

As much as I am not really a trend follower, well unless it includes the word Apple, I do feel that it would be very amiss of me not to mention this weeks big news story, Super Gran.

If any of you have missed the story (have you been living in a cave) this is the story of Ann Timson a lady in her 70 who foiled a robbery on a jewelry store.

Caught on video, this “Supa Gran” headed towards the gang who were trying to smash their way into the store using sledge hammers. Armed only with her hand bag she fearlessly fought of the robbers who took off, one assumes rather stunned by the whole experience. “I clobbered him with my shopping but he got away. The rest of them were still trying to smash and grab at the jewelry,” she told an interviewer.

The four suspects have since been arrested and charged but is the better punishment the ridicule they will now face having their defeat being all over the media and social networking platforms.

The store are meeting with her and wish to give her a reward but for my part I would like to nominate Ann Timson for the Supa Swap courage award, if there were such a thing

At last the justification us men have been looking for, man flu is not a myth.

Scientist in South Korea have stated that the ailment that women have found a source of amusement for years could actually be real.

Wikipedia´s definition on man flu states that “Man flu is a pejorative term that refers to the idea that when many men have a cold, they exaggerate and claim they have the flu”.

However studies have shown that this perception could be linked to work stress. Scientists studies 1,200 workers from 40 different companies. They discovered that 74% of men with demanding jobs are more likely to complain of cold symptoms than those with less demanding jobs. However a similar study could find no such link in women with differing work stress levels.

So ladies, when you are looking down on one of us men, looking pathetic and complaining of the unbearable headache and soar throat, do not laugh or judge him too quickly. Remember that this could mean that he has a very successful job. Actually I think I can feel a sniffle coming on now.

Something happened on 23rd November 1963 that changed the lives of many people and still has an impact to this day. This momentous event has caused successive generations of children to hide behind the sofa.

It has sparked a multi million pound industry and has made news headlines. Of course I am talking about the first ever episode of Doctor Who on BBC 1 The Unearthly Child.

The show, about an alien who travels in time and space, is now the longest running science fiction series in the world and not only is it on TV but includes books, comics and audio adventures. It has been sold all over the world and now has a massive following in many countries including the States.

So in tribute to Doctor Who, here are a few facts you may not know.

Officially 13 actors have played the Doctor on screen although they only represent 11 actual incarnations. The extra doctors all played the first Doctor who was originally played by William Hartnell, in the two Hollywood movies he was played by Peter Cushing and in the 20th Anniversary episode The Five Doctors he was played by Richard Hurndall.

William Hartnell was so ill during some of the time when he was the Doctor that at times only his hands can be seen in shot (not actually his hands) and his voice heard.

The Doctor can only regenerate 12 times, and he has done it 10 time so far.

Doctor Who has met many of the Earth´s greatest legends and historic figures, including Gengis Kahn, Picasso, The Queen, Shakespeare and the Loch Ness Monster

In Doctor Who history there was a female prime minister in the UK long before Margaret Thatcher actually came to power.

The Tardis is actually meant to be able to change shape but its chameleon circuit got stuck in 1963 when it was shaped as a police box. It has changed once during Colin Bakers time when it was fixed for a short time but as it was out of practice it did not blend it its surroundings.

The Doctor has four main enemies, The Daleks, The Cybermen, The Master and Davros.

Dalek was the first fictional alien to appear in the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Master is also a Time Lord like the Doctor but has gone past his 12 regenerations. He has overcome this, firstly by absorbing another body on the planet Traken and secondly when he was given his regenerations back by the Time Lords to fight the time war.

The Doctor usually travels with a companion who is there to ask, why? Over the years three of these companions have died including Adric who crashed into the Earth in a space ship causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. (this pleased many fans as he was not popular)

The first episode was broadcast the day after the assassination of JFK and had to be repeated a week later as it was missed by many who were caught up in the events in the USA.

So if you have never seen Doctor Who, you should start now through the new stories with the new Doctor Matt Smith or via the many DVDs on sale. We at Supa Swap hope is running for many more years to come.

Yesterday, news broke about a long running depute being resolved, Apple finally announced that after a Long, Long, Long time The Beatles´music will finally be available on YouTube.

Over the past few years it has been a Helter Skelter ride of legal battles after The Beatles took Apple to court over their company name as their record label is called Apple Corps Ltd. This was settled in 2007 after many a Hard Day´s Night of negotiations.

This settlement has Helped to pave the way for this historic decision . The Beatles have sales of over 30million in the last 10 years, but Paul McCartney has stated that he is very excited about their music now being available on one of the biggest download services in the world.

So in true Beatles fashion the sentiment of We Can Work It Out, proved to be true, and the fact that I believed it would have been When I´m sixty four until it was resolved were proved wrong.

(Unfortunately they did not write a song with Supa Swap in the title)

The End