Nineteen dormice have been discovered at Swan Wood during a mouse hunt sparked by concerns over the population's decline across the UK.

Graham Hart, a volunteer with Essex Wildlife Trust, said: "We are extremely lucky to have dormice in Stock and I want to be sure they continue to thrive."

Mr Hart, who lives in Stock, is one of a group of dedicated volunteers with the Essex and Suffolk Dormouse Project.

After finding the dormice he contacted the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the wood is now included in the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme, a long-term project to collate data nationally.

Excited He said evidence of the nocturnal creatures first came to light after survey tubes were placed in Swan Wood, which were later replaced with boxes for long-term monitoring.

Mr Hart added: "We were very excited to discover a total of 19 dormice in the boxes this year, suggesting there is a good population in the wood."

The name dormice is derived from the French word dormir, 'to sleep', and they spend most of their lives up in the trees.

During the winter they hibernate on the ground, sheltering under leaves and roots.

Mr Hart said: "Unlike other mice, which produce cheap ed hardy many large broods that rarely live long, dormice generally have a single, small brood in the summer which can live for five years."

Unfortunately dormice populations have suffered a serious decline in the past 25 years.

Mr Hart said that owing to the decline, dormice are strictly protected by law and you need a special licence to disturb them.

"We have conducted surveys in other parts of the county with no success, so this is an important find for Essex.

"It was very exciting to find them, a bit like finding buried treasure, but better."

Healthy countryside Dormice are good indicators of a healthy countryside, added Mr Hart: "Conservation of this species has a positive effect on other flora and fauna and can even encourage the return of traditional woodland skills like coppicing which is already happening at Swan Wood."

Contact Essex Wildlife Trust at for details.

FACT FILE: The dormouse Dormice are found mainly in southern counties as far north as Herefordshire. However, they are occasionally recorded in the north and Wales but not found in Scotland They live in deciduous woodland Dormice are only about 4in long - with their tail taking up half that length The average adult weighs about the same as two Pounds 1 coins (17g) and up to 40g just before hibernation They live for about five years in the wild or six years in captivity They eat flowers, pollen, fruit, nuts and insects The word dormouse comes from the French word 'dormir', which means to sleep Around 100 years ago, dormice were widespread and often kept as pets, but their numbers have dwindled significantly

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Fred Donaher, eager to chat with the dozen other passengers, sat four seats from the front, his seat cocked back and a green tote bag at his side.

Donaher, 32, is a bus aficionado; Thursday's ride was both a trial and a day of indulgence. Four new buses, including the one tested Thursday, will replace the 5-year-old buses currently in use on Jan. 4, the same day Valley Metro raises the fare to $4 from $3 on the Blacksburg-to-Roanoke route.

The bus upgrade has been long-awaited, contingent upon funding since Smart Way began service in 2004, said Carl Palmer, general manager of Greater Roanoke Transit, which operates Valley Metro. This investment is another step toward bringing the regions of Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Roanoke together and helping citizens cut costs and live "greener," he said.

"You can't build yourself out of congestion, you can manage it," he added.

Donaher pulled the white frame of a miniature bus -- a replica of a South Bend, Ind., Transpo bus, small enough to hold in one hand - - from his tote bag, an on-the-road toolkit.

He painted pencil-thin black lines along the model bus' roof. He rides the Smart Way about once a month and uses the time to work on his models, which he sells online.

The current Smart Ways' bumpy drive challenges his steady hand, he said. He never made a model of those buses.

"That's not what I or real bus enthusiasts would classify as a bus," he said. The four older Smart Ways, blue with bike racks attached to the rear, look similar to school buses. They'll be sold at public auction or kept as Valley Metro backups, Palmer said

The new white buses replacing them look like charter buses, with steep steps into the elevated cabin, overhead luggage racks, TV monitors and upholstered bucket seats.

Donaher intends to make a model of the new Smart Way, manufactured by Motor Coach Industries, confirmation that the new Smart Ways are "real" enough for bus enthusiasts.

And with price tags of $490,000 each, or about $2 million total, they had better be.

The new buses will seat 57 passengers, allowing 25 more people per ride than the older buses. Eventually, seats will have cup holders and access to electrical outlets, Palmer said.

Jim Grigsby, assistant city manager in Roanoke, predicted the additional space will fill up quickly.

Smart Way has increased ridership by 6.2 percent since July, with about 5,000 people riding each month. Some of these hourlong rides fill to capacity with businesspeople, shoppers and students.

"Once you leave Short Pump, the folks in Richmond don't think of us out here," said Bev Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Smart Way Advisory Committee. "When we work together out here, they take note."

He spoke to a small crowd in the Virginia Museum of Transportation parking lot with the bus as a backdrop. Fitzpatrick and Valley Metro, Virginia Tech and local officials repeated the conference on Virginia Tech's Drillfield Drive after riding the bus there.

Roanoke, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County and Virginia Tech contributed about 10 percent of capital
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Thus it was for us in a February some 35 fleeting years ago.

My mother had sent us a St. Patrick's Day card; that's how it began. "The Replica Zodiac Watches Legend of the Leprechaun," charmingly presented. My husband suggested, "Why don't we have the Little People come to our house -- the Scottish ones, of course."

Read the full column on MormonTimes.com.

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Archeologists think the necklace was created while in the stone age approximately 45 tiffany necklace .000 years before than earlier thought. April 2004(Tiffany And Co). experts who were excavating a cave in Southern Africa uncovered forty-one mollusks in which may have been strung as a necklace about seventy five thousand years ago.

Before this finding the oldest acknowledged necklace to have been found about 30.000 B.C. these were made largely of shells . bones replica watches . pebbles. animal teeth or claws. strung on a thread. Fundamentally the identical concept is utilized nowadays nevertheless you will find variants.

Around 2500 B.C. gold metal was beginning to be used in neck jewelry. Gold neck adornments and chokers had been discovered at the Royal Grave of Ur. They are in what is now identified as Iraq. 2000 B.C. had been when Sumerian bead neck jewelry started to make use of alternating patterns of colored stones and gemstones and metals such as copper or silver.

Ancient Egyptian neck jewelry evolved from straightforward stringed beads to intricate patterns and include the ‘broad collar' as well as pectoral kind. These were used by both genders. most commonly royalty as well as wealthy citizens. These were typically laid to rest together with their dead owners.

During the Classical Greek time period from about 480 to 300 B.C. nearly all necklaces had been three dimensional pendants. They were mainly in the form of acorns(tiffany heart toggle bracelet). seeds. or heads. They were dangled from a row of flat elements usually some type of rosettes.

Gold had been plentiful during the entire Greek Empire when Alexander the Great vanquished the Orient in 356-323 B.C. Among golds uses Cuff Links Tiffany. was to manufacture necklaces and also other types of jewelry.

In Historical Rome the bearing of jewelry had actually been frowned on. Legislation governed how much precious metal could be worn by wives or left along with the dead.

From around the first century on Tiffany Earrings. Roman Jewelry begun to differentiate itself. Gemstones came into use and were typically cut in circles or oblong shapes. In the end of the subsequent century gold piercing methods were invented. It produced a lace like quality in gold neck jewelry. The preferred design of that time period would have been a sequence of differently colored gemstones connected by gold links.

During the second and third centuries it became trendy to put on numerous necklaces all at the same time. The types of neck jewelry in some cases suggested the level of wealth or class of the wearer. Necklaces were extremely popular in whichever type could be made. During the next several centuries the interest of wearing necklaces waned considerably. Around the late fourteenth century necklaces began to regain their attractiveness as a result of fashions decolletage.

Ever since then Tiffany Necklace. necklaces have become used by every one of the classes. A favourite gift of kids for their mothers is definitely the famed or perhaps infamous macaroni necklace. What new mother doesn't love such a present from the heart? They're valuable not in crystals or gold but in sentiment and heart value.

Necklaces are generally worn now for various causes not the least of which is personal adornment. Many people put on medals that are religiously important for example those with depictions of the Saints or Jesus Christ. Many people wear an ordinary cross whilst others will wear a Crucifix which is a cross upon which the image of the body of Christ is positioned. It stands to reason that it may be said that necklaces have been ...

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices V S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma expressed disagreement with senior advocate K K Venugopal's submission that the ban was violative of the industry's right to carry on business.

Venugopal assailed the Delhi High Court order directing the Delhi government to consider banning plastic bags in the national capital and said can a court direct a governemnt to legislate?

He said that paper and jute bags were quite costly and out of reach of the common man, who has been put to a lot of inconvenience by the ban on easy-to-carry and cheap plastic bags.

The Bench said: "Did you consider the hazardous effect of the largescale use of plastic bags to environment? It can play havoc." However, it agreed to consider the plea of All India Plastic Industries Association and posted the matter for detailed hearing in the month of April.

But before deferring hearing on the plea, Justice Verma had an advise for Delhiites: "Let everyone carry a bag to the market place like the good old times. I carry one everytime I go to the market."

Acting on a PIL filed by V K Jain and following certain directions from the Delhi HC, the Sheila Dikshit government had on January 7 last year issued a notification banning use of plastic bags in all market complexes and malls in the national capital. The HC had on July 15 last year dismissed the plastic industry association's petition replica breitling watches challenging the ban.

For Reprint Rights: timescontent.com

For over a century the Lincolnshire seaside has given people unforgettable holidays.

Along 50 miles of coastline there are epic, endless beaches, superb swimming spots - good old-fashioned fun for all the family.

This area's beaches were among the first to be given the Quality Coast Award and they have attained Blue Flag status.

Wherever you go you know it's safe to build sandcastles, run about and have a splash. It's the stuff of which childhood memories are made.

Outdoor visit more com The Lincolnshire coast caters for all tastes but many think its best bits are its charm, its nature, and the fun to be had.

replica tag heruer watches There's the gentle joy of donkey rides, seal sanctuaries or a trip on the sand train.

For a bit more excitement, the many amusement arcades of Splash Waterworld at Butlins, Skegness, will keep you entertained in all weathers. And for real thrill-seekers there's surfing, land- yachting and motorcycle sand-racing, water and extreme sports galore.

If you like taking things at an easier pace, there is charm in spades.

Head for Skegness Pier and the Embassy Theatre or its Tower Gardens, and don't miss the August carnival. Mablethorpe has its own celebration of beach life with the Bathing Beauties festival every September in celebration of the beach hut.

Cleethorpes is the perfect place for a stroll, with its promenade and award-winning floral displays.

It's not wholesale sexy lingerie just people who flock to the Lincolnshire coast either.

The remoter spots attract nature such as seals and hundreds of migratory and wading birds, and at Gibraltar Point you can get closer to all sorts of rare flora and fauna.

How you experience this coast is up to you. The one thing for sure is that you won't forget it.

I was walking out to Sumner and called in at the Redcliffs New World to get a couple links of london charms of plastic bags to pick up rubbish I saw on the beach. I managed to fill about three bags in a short space.

I found lots of plastic bags half buried in the sand, and on lifting them I saw they were doggie-doos bags. That day I picked up about 20.

I find it hard to believe that people will pick up their dog poo simply to bury it in the sand.

When I walked back along the road I found lots of similar bags thrown into the wholesale sexy lingerie bushes.

We need to get tough and campaign to stop this needless littering.

E TANNER

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After the glamour of last Saturday's draw with Newcastle, Swansea face back-to-back away days at Argyle and then Derby County this weekend.

And Monk believes Paulo Sousa's men have reached a key stage in their play-off bid.

"We had a team meeting yesterday and we said this is the biggest week of the season so far," the Swansea captain revealed.

"We have got two tough games away from home and it's a chance for us to extend the gap between ourselves and the teams below us.

"If things don't go our way this week we will get drawn back into the pack, so it's important that we get some good results.

"Ideally we would want six points, but if we could pick up four that would be a decent return.

"Maybe two draws would be okay when we look back at the end of the season, but we want to try to win both games.

"If we can start off by beating Plymouth, we will be firing going into Derby."

Swansea have not been beaten in nine league matches since Nottingham Forest won at the Liberty in mid-December. They have lost only two of their last 24 Championship outings, but Monk is warning of a stern test against second-bottom Argyle.

Paul Mariner's team won for only the second time in eight matches at Barnsley last weekend, and Swansea can expect an arm wrestle at Home Park. "We have watched the videos and the pitch down there looks like a cow .AA crucial week for Swansea's play-off replica breitling watches hopes field," Monk said. "That is not going to be great for us, and it's going to be a totally different challenge from Newcastle. "It's probably not going to be pretty, but it's one of those games where we have to try to grind it out like we did at Crystal Palace last week. "Some of the sides below us are playing each other tonight, so some of them are going to drop points and Thomas sabo charms we need to take advantage. "But it's going to be extremely tough. They are expecting heavy rain, too, so it's going to be about character for us. "We have to show again that we're not just a pretty team. We have to show we can do the other side as well." Doubtful Left-back Fede Bessone seems likely to miss out after straining a calf in the Newcastle draw. Leon Britton is again doubtful after suffering a back injury last week, while Cedric van der Gun (hamstring), Craig Beattie (foot) and Albert Serran (hamstring) are all expected to be absent once more. There were some concerns about a foot injury suffered by Joe Allen at the weekend, but he should be fit to feature. The likes of Gorka Pintado, Mark Gower and Tom Butler may also come into contention if Sousa decides to freshen up his team as they play their fourth fixture in 10 days. ? ?From page 48

The trio, styling themselves the Blackburn Resistance, allegedly had a weapons stockpile and studied guerilla warfare for a mission to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Abbas Iqbal, 24, his brother Ilyas, 23, and Muhammad Ali Ahmad, 26, filmed their training at a Blackburn park which appeared to show them "larking about", but the CPS said their overall purpose was "less funny".

Edward Brown QC said: "The prosecution does not suggest they are a sophisticated, well-trained or funded terror cell. We do suggest these three young men had become intoxicated by the evil of terrorism and had started to train themselves to join violent jihad.

"At the stage when they were stopped by police, they had not got very far." The park video and images of the three firing weapons into the air in their garden were held on a mobile phone card. Mr Brown said it was found in the suitcase of Abbas Iqbal when arrested at Manchester Airport in 2008 en route to Europe with an alleged extremist, who cannot be named.

The pair intended to "spread their creed" by encouraging others to commit, prepare or instigate acts of terrorism, he added. The arrests led to the detention of Ilyas and Ahmad. Videos of beheadings were found on Ilyas' computer.

At Ahmad's home in Whalley Range, Manchester, police found extremist speeches he had written, martyrdom videos and images of people having their throats cut.

All three deny preparing for acts of terrorism from 2006 to 2008.

Ahmad had changed his name from Paul Cryer in 2004 and described himself as a "revert" to the faith. The Manchester crown court trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues today.

Our keynote speaker, George W. Bush, Founder of the George W. Bush Foundation and 43rd President of the United States of America, will give his view of current world events; former U.S. Ambassador to China, Senator James Sasser will give his view of Sino-U.S. relations; economist and China expert Professor Pieter Bottelier will have a spirited dialogue with Dr. Zhang Tao to discuss China鈥檚 changing role in the world economy; the heads of the world鈥檚 major stock exchanges will be gathering to talk about how they plan to interact with Chinese companies; and bankers, fund managers and deal makers from around the globe will be there contributing their thoughts and ideas about how Chinese companies can take advantage of the increasing world demand to invest in China.

鈥淭his Summit is coming at a crucial time in the world economy,鈥?said summit founder Timothy P. Halter of Halter Financial Group. 鈥淲e believe that this will provide an excellent platform for many of the world鈥檚 great business and political minds to come together and share their thoughts on China鈥檚 role in this new economy and discuss how Chinese companies can raise capital from investors from around the world.鈥?

On the first day of the conference, April 7, there will be seven separate rooms in which a total of 100 Chinese companies will be giving corporate presentations throughout the day. There will be two rooms dedicated to Chinese companies listed in the U.S. markets. The remaining five rooms will have Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, Europe, Canada, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as well as companies that are still private and not yet trading on any market. The conference will be followed by three days of optional company tours for attendees who want to see these companies up close and personal. The following companies have already been confirmed to present at the Summit:

American Dairy Inc. (NYSE: ADY)China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO)China Integrated Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: CBEH)China Ritar Power Corp replica hublot watches (NASDAQ: CRTP)China-Biotics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHBT)ChinaCast Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CAST)CNinsure Inc. (NASDAQ: CISG)Fushi Copperweld, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSIN)Global Sources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GSOL)Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN)Jinpan International Ltd. (NASDAQ: JST)LJ International Inc. (NASDAQ: JADE)QKL Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: QKLS)ShengdaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SDTH)Synutra International Inc. (NASDAQ: SYUT)VanceInfo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: VIT)Yongye International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YONG)Yucheng Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: YTEC)Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS)

This conference is generously supported by sponsors, including: The Chinese People鈥檚 Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, ROTH Capital Partners, Deutsche Borse Group, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

For more information on the summit please visit our we
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Radix Technologies Managing Director, David Corriveau said: "Radix Technologies has long held the philosophy that, for SMBs, IT infrastructure is a major stress point. Small companies can't attract the best IT talent to manage their systems, and inevitably problems like downtime and security flaws mount up as compromises are made because of cost and a scarcity of expertise."

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In mid-April, Eleanor Moseman will attempt what is believed to be the longest solo and unsupported bicycle exhibition completed by an American female on international soil. Her journey will begin and end in Shanghai and is estimated to be between 10,000 and 12,500 miles.

Moseman said she's doing this because she has traveled throughout China on trains unable to stop and explore the area. She also hopes to raise awareness of undereducated children, especially girls, in underserved countries.

She has been living in Shanghai for about two years and said she's been struck by the way women are treated there.

"I've always considered myself a feminist," Moseman said. "And sometimes I'm like, 'Is it really still the 1950s in China?' Women there are really not encouraged to pursue life outside of motherhood."

Moseman said on her trip she will invite other women to join, even if they can't ride with her the whole way.

The 30-year-old cyclist/photographer grew up in Radford and graduated from Radford High School in 1997.

From a young age Moseman's mother, Marty, said her daughter was full of energy and confidence in herself to do new things, even if others thought she couldn't.

"In the fourth or fifth grade, I had a teacher come to me to tell me how 'worldly' [Eleanor] was at such a young age," Marty Moseman wrote in an e-mail.

Her eagerness to learn led Eleanor Moseman to New York City, where she worked as a freelance photographer and a photographer's assistant from 2004 to 2008.

When work started to fall in the city, she said she took her skills and followed her boyfriend, Jason Yen, to China to continue her photography career.

Eleanor Moseman said she had been in Shanghai for about six to seven months when she started itching to see the countryside. With help from Yen and friends, she became more comfortable with the language and environment.

"For the first few months, even small things were a struggle for her, and she was scared to do things," Yen wrote in an e-mail.

"But as time went on, she developed a good enough grasp of the language to not only complete tasks that needed to be done, but to also go exploring."

Not replica breitling watches only was it important for Moseman to see the countryside, but she wanted to do it on a budget.

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Because most of these families weren't native to the city, the children didn't have the proper paperwork to attend regular schools.

"These schools are literally cement buildings," Moseman said. "But attending them gives children a chance of breaking out of their social status."

Volunteers from the teaching program Stepping Stones would help children learn English, enabling them to seek better opportunities.

Moseman said she is hoping to raise $15,000 for Stepping Stones and Girls Education International as part of her
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The centennial edition of the event begins on Tuesday and Rexy feels that Kien Keat-Boon Heong are overdue for a major title.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong were at the top of their game when they won the All England at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham in 2007 but haven't managed to display such performance since.

The world's best will be in Birmingham but Rexy feels his top pair can go on and win the title a second time.

Clip on charms They play experienced Danes Jonas Rasmussen-Lars Paaske in the first round followed by a possible meeting with South Korea's Ko Sung Hyun-Yoo Yeon Seong in the second round and China's Zhang Nan- Chai Biao in the last eight.

"They have had good preparation and I would say they are playing the way a top pair should. I am optimistic they have the ability to nail a second All England crown," said Rexy.

"They are quite relaxed yet focused in training and serious during match plays. We saw that losing concentration in the second game had cropped up during the Malaysia Open but I believe they have overcome this.

"Kien Keat-Boon Heong know that it is very hard to make a comeback against top pairs if they don't keep up the momentum.

"We have discussed strategies when playing against potential rivals and even Tan Kim Her gave his input on how to handle the Korean pair.

"A win will make them feel they are truly the No 1 pair and the positive effect will help them perform well in the coming major events."

Kien Keat-Boon Heong won their first tournament -- the Malaysia Open in January -- but most of their main rivals, including Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, skipped the Super Series event.

Markis-Hendra are likely to be Kien Keat-Boon Heong's semi-final opponents but Rexy said the Indonesia pair are not at their best at the moment.

"Hendra was down with dengue fever and only recovered a couple of weeks ago and will be short on preparation. They are not the threats. If Kien Keat-Boon Heong can clear the preliminary rounds, they can go all the way," added Rexy.

The national shuttlers left for Birmingham last night.

The Jesmond side dispatched the Buckinghamshire side, shutting them out on the try front and only conceding two first-half Ben Roe penalties.

Powerhouse prop Fraser Balmain plundered in for a first-half try in a move he started with a midfield rampage and finished with a shortrange drive.

After the break head coach Andy Watt's men took their time to assert themselves again, but once they got going scrum-half Drew Harding nipped in for two carbon-copy tries, popping over from the scrum-base after taking passes from No 8 Tom Harrison.

RGS' victory means they will face much-fancied and powerful Whitgift in the March 31 Twickenham final after the Croydon school saw off RGS High Wycombe 29-7 in the day's second semi-final.

Newcastle's win was made all the more remarkable given it came without the help of captain, playmaker and England Under-18s cap Joel Hodgson.

Half-back Hodgson - who plays flyhalf for his school but scrum-half for England - was named in the starting line-up but failed a fitness test just 15 minutes before kick-off after carrying a dead leg all week.

A last-minute switch around that RGS had been rehearsing all week just in case saw Lewis Munnelly slot in at 10, with regular starter James Carding promoted back into the centres from the bench. And the 16-year-old acquitted himself well enough to earn man of the match plaudits from his coach. Munnelly's two penalties that added to Balmain's try left the halftime score 11-6, RGS riding out an early storm to convert one of several promising situations.

After the turnaround Watt's men once again had to weather fierce Stowe attacks, the Bucks boys finally realizing they actually had more than a 10-man game. But that change of emphasis came too late to save them, and try as they might they could not breach the rigid Newcastle defence.

Just when Stowe's pressure was about to links of london charms reach boiling point though, Newcastle forced their way back into the ascendancy, first through territorial gain and then through those two Harding scores.

Deservedly powering in to end the contest, Harding first cut back after Harrison's pass from the scrum base pinched the line, then for his second score he took advantage of a similar situation - this time on the short side.

Underdogs or not for the Twickenham final, RGS fully warrant their place in the showpiece schools event after a comprehensive performance - a fine achievement in Watt's first year as head coach.

NICK PUREWAL

CAPTION(S):

FINAL COUNTDOWN Newcastle''s Lewis Munnelly and Ryan Moore jump for joy as the final whistle goes.

Sevenoaks Rock Choir might be the next best thing to a Sevenoaks nightclub, where punters of all ages and walks of life can sing their hearts out and dance to pop and Motown.

Some 50 men and women are already signed up to the Tuesday evening group, which started in September, and another 20 attend a day choir on Friday mornings.

The basic requirements are energy and a sense of humour.

A typical scene at practices are cries of "Tongues out for this one", from choir leader, Dr Jo Wood, a former GP, who faces the choir during rehearsals, a microphone plastered to her face and a keyboard at her fingertips.

At which point, all participants, ranging from their 20s to replica hublot watches their 70s, hum in unison, with tongues hanging out, as part of their vocal warm-up.

Later on, the group practice their "choreographed moves", swaying from left to right to Cher's Shoop Shoop song and striking a pose for the all-important, "It's there in his kiss".

It is undeniably great fun for participants, but the benefits do not stop there for those who put the work in.

Dr Wood explained the Sevenoaks branch is part of a wider network of choirs, which merge together for concerts or to record albums for general release.

"We think we are the biggest choir in the world," she said of the umbrella organisation, designed to offers singers the chance to experience a choir different from the traditional classical or community variety.

She added: "It attracts the best singers in the borough.

"The ones who know they can do it can do a solo.

"But in the meantime you are welcome to just come and learn."

Not many new singers have the opportunity to perform on an album for general release, but that is what Sennockian Rock Choir participants are hoping for this year.

Dr Wood said: "The first Rock Choir album has been recorded and will be released for Mother's Day.

"We hope we will be on the second album, that will be recorded over this summer.

"You have to build a repertoire.

"We take two weeks to learn a song and we learn four a term.

"We did an end-of-term show at Christmas and we only had four songs."

Participants clearly cannot get enough of the new phenomenon.

Alan McCartney, of Marlborough Crescent, said: "It's good fun, it's enjoyable and I like having a good sing-song.

Speaking of whether he practises hard, he said: "At the end of last term we did a small concert, and we practised a bit for that, but apart from that not really.

"I played the disc and had a sing-along in the car."

Medical secretary Lesley Evans, from Farningham, who attends with her consultant anaesthetist husband Robin, said: "We joined in September after we saw it in the paper.

"We both really enjoy it.

"We are retiring at the end of March and it's something we took up as an interest."

No. 3-ranked IWU faces Franklin (21-6) on Friday at 8 p.m. at Shirk Center in the opening round as the Titans make their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance.

"We've talked about this. For our team it's best to sleep in our own beds, eat our own food and shoot on our own rims," Wesleyan coach Mia Smith said. "It's fun to play in our hometown and in front of our home fans."

No. 21 Chicago (19-6) and Simpson (22-6) square off in the other semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday's winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. with a sectional berth on the line.

The Titans earned the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's automatic bid by winning the CCIW Tournament last weekend.

"I could not have been happier about our game with Millikin and most of the game against Elmhurst," Smith said. "We're playing our best basketball right now. I'm really excited."

Franklin is led by the 15.9 points per game of 5-foot-10 sophomore Sarah Condra. A 5-11 senior, Heather Harper adds 15.6 and senior guard Traci Lippold 10.1.

"I think our inside game will dominate our scoring. We have to stop their two guards," Smith said of Condra and Lippold. "We are definitely deeper on the bench."

Wesleyan defeated Chicago, 64-57, on Dec. 5 in Chicago.

"We had a great game against them," said Smith. "It was very physical. The last five minutes our pressure defense had them exhausted."

IWU is one of two CCIW teams in the field. Carthage earned an at- large berth.

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