Chairman Fish has wished all micronationalists and A1 citizens “a very happy anti-Christmas and new year”. Anti-Christmas is a variation on the celebration in A1, which involves the highlighting of the “exploitation of the day and its significance by big business” and its “over-corporatisation”.

The A1 Weather Bureau has issued a minor flood warning for all communes of New Central, after a heavy downpour hit the protectorate, dumping at least 12mm of rain in just under 7 minutes. The flood warning is mainly for flash flooding, and all citizens are advised to take extra care when outside and especially when driving.

The rain is expected to cease soon as the cold front, the remnants of a from Western Australia, Cyclone Lawrence, moves across Eastern Australia.

Drowning red wine….

Dạo này bị thèm vang đỏ đến kì lạ, như kiểu 1 ngày ko có vang đỏ là sẽ chết…..

Cảm thấy hạnh phúc vì dưới tủ lạnh đang có một hộp vang còn tới hơn nửa……

Thích cảm giác uống rượu lạnh. Thích cái vị ngọt ngọt chua chua đắng đắng đọng ở đầu lưỡi. Ai uống vang cũng bảo ngọt, riêng mình nếm ra được 2 cái vị của nợ kia *smirks*

Thích cái cảm giác lạnh buốt khi rượu trôi qua cổ họng và ở trên đầu lưỡi, thích cái cảm giác chill chạy dọc xương sống vì rượu để tủ lạnh, thích cái nóng rát như kiểu sắp cháy cổ 1 mins sau khi uống, thích cái cảm giác người bắt đầu nóng lên vì ngà ngà say, thích nghe thấy nhịp tim đập ở gáy khi đã say hẳn, tóm lại là rất thích uống vang đỏ lạnh……

Đặc biệt là trong cái tiết trời như thế này……

Chill out 1 tí, self-indulge 1 chút, dù đang ở giữa examination hell……

Lại nói về vang đỏ, khi say rồi thì thấy làm cái gì cũng nhanh hơn, viết graph, làm bài tự nhiên, học văn thì hôm nay sẽ thử……

Nhưng mà bây giờ chỉ ngồi nghĩ thôi, nghĩ về nhiều thứ, nhiều khi phải laugh at myself vì lúc nào cũng over-analyze things và nghĩ quá nhiều…..

Nói thế, nhưng thực sự là có nhiều thứ để nghĩ……

Thực sự là mình ko quan tâm lắm đến cái so-called thi hk, dù vẫn sẽ học, học chăm là đằng khác, sẽ cố gắng với đến cái học bổng danh dự khỉ khô kia, chẳng cần gì cái position đấy, nhưng mà cần tiền để mua ipod, 200k ko phải là một khoản tiền nhỏ *smirks*

Quay trở lại với việc có nhiều thứ để nghĩ…..

Thứ nhất là rất muốn có job, rất muốn đi làm cái gì đấy, tutor cũng được, đi chạy fastfood cũng được, thậm chí đi rửa bát ở hàng phở cũng ổn. Muốn nếm đời 1 tí, experience 1 chút, và muốn lớn lên nhiều hơn…..

Thứ hai là nghĩ đến mọi người. Cảm giác thỉnh thoảng hơi (quá) heartless, emotionless và ko biết quan tâm đến mọi người. Chưa bao giờ giỏi chọn quà sinh nhật cho người khác, nên cũng coi như bỏ luôn đi. Đến cả mm và pp, cũng chưa tặng gì nhiều, mà toàn bring troubles thôi, feeling guilty, xong rồi lại get over ngay, đến những lúc như thế này mới để nó ngấm fully vào trong tâm. Năm nay (có lẽ) sẽ thay đổi, dù có 1 em ipod classic $249 lơ lửng trên apple.com chiếm tới 1/10 số neuron rồi *smirks*

Thứ ba là về sarcastic và ironic. Ko giỏi create, nhưng có thể realize là ai đó đang nói cái gì đó ~ về mình, hay là về the ones I love. Thực ra có gì muốn nói thì cứ nói hẳn ra, cứ bóng bóng gió gió, tạo cho người ta một cảm giác khó chịu. Chưa bao giờ embrace sarcasm, nghĩ là nó hay hay, nhưng chỉ dừng lại ở “hay hay” thôi, bởi nếu sarcasm được sử dụng cho mục đích ko tốt, thì cũng mất đi cái tốt đẹp vốn có của nó.

Thứ tư là về tương lai. 2 từ: ảm đạm và mù mịt. Muốn scholarship đến phát điên, nhưng giờ này vẫn còn ngồi wp, fb và tweet [tự nhiên nhớ đến Baba O'Riley "it's just a teenage wasteland *double smirks*]. Ko phản đối gì mấy cái social network đó, nhưng mà thực sự ko thích cái kiểu bị cuốn vào chúng nó xong ko gỡ ra được. Ah mà còn Tumblr, chắc thi xong sẽ bắt đầu ngồi edit. Như kiểu addiction á, như kiểu red wine của mình, như kiểu Nescafe 3 in 1 của mình, như kiểu trà đá của mình. Mà bây giờ vẫn chưa định hướng fully được mình sẽ làm gì, hy vọng là được nửa psychologist nửa businesswoman……..

Cuối cùng, lớp. PBA thực sự rất vui, nhưng ngoài nó ra thì lớp còn gì chứ. Uh còn nhiều đứa thân mình, còn có twister n twistee *smirks*. Nhưng mà thực sự thế là hết rồi, chỉ có 1 nhóm là active, 1 nhóm cứ lờ dà lờ dờ. Tức là lớp mình vẫn chưa thực sự là 1 khối, hy vọng tình hình sẽ khả quan hơn sau X-mas *grins*….

Thích mùi của Nhím, của cả 2 Hoa, của Jay [sau khi tắm], của Thạch, của Pup, của Tiên, của Thúy, của Ngân, của Đặng Hà, prob của Hà Vũ và của Hà Phương……..

Còn 1 mùi kì lạ nữa mình thích, mùi quần áo cất lâu ngày trong tủ, khi ngửi dù cảm thấy nauseous nhưng vẫn thích một cách điên cuồng……

1 tuần nữa thôi………

Rồi mình sẽ đến cái chỗ “cần người giúp việc hàng phở buổi sáng”……… *smirks*

Và sẽ cố gắng thúc giục pp mm đi tìm mối để tutor *grins*

Đời lúc nào cũng vui hơn khi có việc để làm……..

Hết say rồi, chán quá, đi lấy thêm red wine đây……

Để còn học văn nữa chứ……..

Nostalgia pretty much sums up the preweekend for me. Me and my best friend, Anette took the bus all the way up to Oslo to see our childhood heroes reunited. Finally, 10 years after we started loving them, we got to see them live. It was majorly and überly cool. And to top it off we even met and chatted to them at the afterparty. I am thrilled to say it; a1 are back!!
(All pictures are taken by and copyrighted me)

Lovely, Lovely men!

Thursday 17th December goes down as one of the best days of my life. It started with waking up and going down to a lovely breakfast buffet at the Thon Hotel Opera, before taking off up Karl Johan, the shopping street in Oslo, then meeting up with my gorgeous boyfriend and one of me and Anette’s old school friends, before we then took a “little” drink and headed up to Christiania Theater to see our lovely, lovely men!

Me and Mark

And they truly were lovely. We just made the start of the concert, thanks to a certain person who misread the time that was written on the tickets(!) , but we made the start to “Same Old Brand New You” and the party started. Unfortunately the concert was far from sold out, maybe due to it being a Thursday night or them having had 4 concerts before, but it made it more intimately and brilliant for us that did show up. They played a variety of their old brilliant songs, hits like “Be the First To Believe”, “Summertime of Our Lives”, Take On Me”, “Ready Or Not”, “Caught In the Middle”, “Everytime” and of course “Take You Home”. They also played some solo stuff, and their newest song, which I think was called something in the lines of “It Happens Everyday” which was just absolutely lovely! I can’t tell you how much I want their new album. As soon as it gets listed for pre-ordering I’ve already pre-ordered it!!

Me and Christian

Afterwards there was a special a1 afterparty at Grotten where we got a chance to get autograps, pictures, a chat and hugs from the guys. They were truly great and I’m so thrilled I got to meet them all 10 years after. It’s all so surreal…

Me and Ben

Well, some shopping got done, new friends made, and the last kiss with my boyfriend of 2010 was shared. It was sad to leave. Truly, truly sad, but work awaited and christmas is soon knocking on the door. And hopefully we will get a white christmas!!! It’s white outside now!! And that is so awesome.

I heart this guy!

In 30 minutes there’s only 4 days ’till Christmas Eve and a week (just a week!!!) until I fly over to Emma to stay there for aaaaalmost a week. Then it’s school again and I finally get to spend some time with my lovely boy’s arm around me. I can’t wait. It is OK to admit that I miss him right??

That’s all for now. Merry Christmas if I forget to blog.
Love, Liz XXX

The Central Committee (formally Cabinet) have announced that a new government office is to be created. This new office is to be named the ‘Office of the People’, and “…will deal with such matters as censuses, determining ‘active’ citizens, etc”, according to Chairman Fish.

A1 “Keep Coastin” Video OUT NOW.  Track is produced by ATG

Download “Keep Coastin” –> http://usershare.net/8mcarhdr7uot

“I’m Broke” remix ft. Sean Price coming SOON.
Download “I’m Broke” –>http://usershare.net/zre37pkl1nd3
——————————

Here’s an A1 Advent calendar I designed for Orange using brand assets by Chrissie Macdonald, and no, there isn’t any chocolate behind the doors.

The Ministry of Defence today announced the successful testing of the RED II missiles, following the release of a video of the launch on the A1BC YouTube channel yesterday. The A1 Government emphasised that it was “not part of militarism” but rather the “testing of technology”.

The A1 National Liberation Front comdemned all of A1’s missile launches, saying that it was “threatening A1’s foreign standing by making us look like trigger-happy tinpots”.

After being diverted off the A1 we somehow found ourselves at The Charnwood Hotel rather than the Blyth Services…  from the outside it looked comfortable and welcoming so we decided to stop for some lunch in their bar.

The bar area looked like it was struggling to decide whether it was a bar or a cafe.  Comfortable enough, but the furniture was mismatched and the vinegar bottles needed a good scrub.

When we asked for a menu at the bar we were told menus were on the tables, so we sat down…

There was a lot of choice on the menu – I plumped for Chicken & Mozzarella Baguette with Basil Pesto, my husband for a Cajun Chicken Baguette. When we realised it wasn’t waitress service my husband headed for the bar, ordering drinks and meals.

After 10 minutes the coffee hadn’t arrived… we could tell they’d forgotten, but my husband was told it was on its way. Hmmm, how long does it take to pour a small cup of coffee?  Another five minutes is how long!

Food followed soon after. The Chicken and Mozzarella was odd, bland and rather disappointing (I realised once we were back in the car that they’d forgotten the pesto – doh!).  The Cajun Chicken was drowning in mayo and while the flavours were good, it too was bland due to the mayo-attack.

The baguettes were served with a salad garnish (lettuce was slightly brown, not good) and a small dish of coleslaw… well, I say coleslaw, it was more chopped cabbage in mayo.  On the plus-side – they had beetroot in the salad which was a nice change to the norm!

So overall we were disappointed. A hotel bar offering a wide range of dishes, wetting our appetites with fancy photos on the brochures, sadly let down by inattentive, unrefined service.

Wandering through to the hotel lobby to the restrooms it like entering a different world… the toilets were immaculate!

The Charnwood Hotel is a Best Western Hotel – www.thecharnwood.com

Milk. It’s a product that virtually all of humanity drinks all over the world whether it is from bovines, sheep, goats, camels, or humans. It has built our culture, our culinary food practices, and how we all gather together in for meals. A year ago, I read a book called ‘Milk’ by Ann Mendelson that gave that gave the entire history of how it came to be. It’s a fascinating book really pushed me to understand more on where our dairy is coming from, how it is made, as well as gave me the push to make my own cheese and yogurt ( which is by far the best I have ever tasted before, fyi). I would suggest to all to make their own mozzarella, paneer, and yogurt. It really is so very simple to do.

But now, after a visit to an organic dairy farm I learned from the vet about something entirely off my radar… a thing called A1 and A2 milk.

What the heck is this? A secret formula that ‘Big Dairy’ has come up with as a new marketing tool to sell more milk as a heath food? Which, by the way, countries who drink large amounts of dairy have osteoporosis that is off the charts compared to countries who don’t drink milk….they have virtually no cases. And as you think about it, who tells you that you should drink milk anyway? The Dairy Association whose main goal is profit? The government whose interests are to sell milk because of research made BY the dairy association and who lobbies tenfold? I’m sorry, but major corporations for me put up a large red flag and ESPECIALLY if their ‘research’ is not able to be looked at from outside 3rd party sources. I will almost call bullshit on that immediately. But this A2 stuff…. where is it coming from? And why was the vet talking about it so highly? And then what the heck was he talking about as A1 being a major source of Type 1 diabetes, heart disease, autism, and schizophrenia? Red flag immediately popped up.

Listening to him talk to the group, I learned that he got this information from research from a New Zealand Professor named Keith Woodford. Since then, he has been informing his dairy farmers, that he works this, about this information (local and organic..not with major ‘Big Dairy’). I was quite curious on who this prof. was and who he worked for…New Zealand’s ‘Big Dairy’? Or with the university getting funds from them? That, I found out, was not the case. And is quite the opposite.

Keith Woodford is a professor of farm management and agribusiness at Lincoln University in New Zealand. They do not get funding from any dairy corporations ( Like New Zealand’s Fonterra [which stars a major role in the A2 battle]) and when academics speak about an issue they are representing themselves and not the university that employs them (unless that is a paper that is being published); which is quite different from the situation of scientists who work for commercial organizations or for non-university gov. research organizations. He believes that A2 needs to be told in lamen’s term to the general public and wrote a book called ‘The Devil in Milk‘ (which can only be bought on Amazon in the US) and has research from various fields that are all from peer-reviewed journals. He also has written his own peer reviewed article. I believe that this man has a lot of credibility. Plus, If our milk really is screwed up….. then why not switch over? The research shows that there is not any harm anyway. So…there is not much to fight about.

But anyway, here is the general synopsis of the issues at hand in ‘The Devil in Milk‘:

-The interest in the book is with Type 1 Diabetes. But, other issues come up as well and correlate with it such as heart disease, allergies, intolerance, auto-immunity, autism, and schizophrenia.

-A1 bovine: gene found only in cattle in the western world (Bos Taurus). This would include North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Northern Europe.

-A2 bovine: (Bos Indicus) Asian cattle that do not produce A1 beta-casein. African cattle (mainly Bos taurus, also do not produce A1 beta-casein.

-A2 is the original. The mutation occurred about 8,000 years ago in that the proline (strong bond) at position 67 was replaced by histidine (weak bond).

-A1 is only found in bovine. A2 is in everything else that includes sheep, goat, camel, and humans.

-Science has shown that any and all problems only occur in A1 dairy.

-To give a brief history on A1 vs. A2 fight: Corran McLachlan (along with Bob Elliott) was the scientist who found this discrepancy. They presented it and eventually founded A2 Cooperation. Fonterra (who is the largest dairy exporter in the world and is based in New Zealand) fought tooth and nail against this. The only main reason that they fought was that “A2 milk would need to be marketed in a way that did not cast doubts on A1 milk. This would be a challenge.” Fonterra is in the business to make money and they cannot just stop producing milk. It takes 10 years ( 2 generations of cows) to switch a herd to A2. Eventually, Fonterra started switching silently but not without a major fight with A2 corporation first.

-In the scientific world, 4 important peer-reviewed journals came out:

1. strong relationship across countries between level of A1 beta-casein consumption and heart disease (no relation with A2 beta- casein and heart disease).  The data showed that the correlations were so high that they were extremely unlikely to be due to chance.

2. Looking at relationship between milk & heart disease, milk & diabetes, as well as other factors such as fish, meat, vegetables, alcohol, and tobacco, therewas no obvious dietary factor that could provide anywhere neat the association that existed for A1 beta-casein in milk.

3. Trial work on rabbits (and other animals) were fed a diet containing high amounts of either A1 or A2 milk and concuded that Beta-casein A1 ia atherogenic compared with Beta-casein A2. (Atherogenic means that is causes heart disease.

4. The last was a series of papers that showed the link between BCM7 and the symptoms of autism.

Now this was just some of the information provided in this book. It goes into greater detail with the trials, more research, and how they are all interconnected.

To then give you a quick rundown as to what this beta-casein and BCM7 is….

-Bovine milk is made with about 87% water and 13% solids (depending on the breed of animal).Solids broken into: lactose, fat, minerals, and proteins. In proteins it’s broken into whey and casein. The casein protein has 3 parts: alpha-, beta-, and kappa-casein. The beta-casein protein has a chain on 209 amino acids.

-Beta-casein THEN has 3 types: A1, A2, and A3. A3 and A2 act the same and are the originals. A1 is the mutant.

-At position 67 in the amino acids, A1 is a histidine (weak bond) and A2 (and A3) are a proline (strong bond).

-Beta-casomorphone-7 (BCM7) is a chain of 7 amino acids that break from position 67 in A1 dairy. Casomorphins are derived from casein and they have opioid (narcotic) properties (this was first reported in 1979 by German scientists).

-Scientists in other countries could not get BCM7 to break from A2 beta-casein (dairy association in NZ found this as well).

-BCM7 (in what he calls ‘Devils Milk’) is the major problem because of it’s ease to get into our system. Once in the bloodstream, it quickly goes across the bloodstream and attaches to opioid receptors..which have shown to be a link to autism and schizophrenia. It also causes apnoea (breathing dysfunction) which leads to sudden infant death syndrome. BCM7 is a strong oxidant of low-density lipoprotein (‘bad’ cholesterol) which, because LDL is the foundation of fatty plaques, lead to heart disease.

So, what else must I say on this topic? Well….if you are more interested, I would suggest reading the book. The information is quite compelling and really….what is the harm to switch over anyway? Looks like none. So for me personally, I am going to stop drinking milk (butter is OK because it is fat, and cheeses act differently as well) unless I can get a hand on some A2 milk. Oh, and having it raw/unpasteurized makes no difference. Remember, it’s the chemical make-up of this.

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The A1 News Service is set to open its first news bureau outside of New Central, with the new protectorate of Lichthalzen the location. The bureau will be able to report directly from Lichthalzen in both English and Indonesian. The bureau is due to open later in December.

The Governor of Lichthalzen, Mars McTavish, has “been recognised for her extraordinary achievements”, by having the Order of A1 bestowed on her, with the rank of Dame (Grade II). The award “was on its way”, according to Chairman Fish, “for the setting up of Lichthalzen, single-handedly gaining at least an extra 30 citizens for A1 and other important contributions.”

The A1 government, following the amalgamation of the Central, Mukhazia, B31, B29, B27 and B2 protectorates, has announced the beginning of the “second phase” of A1ism. Sources say that sweeping democratic reforms may be on the horizon, including the formation of councils and granting ordinary citizens more power over official policy and legislation.

This is the time of year; the perfect day and the perfect weather to just lie in, chillax and ejoy life. But can you?? Nooooo. Of course there are gazillions of exams to study for. You feel guilty and a little unfullfilled because you can’t really do what you love, write, without feeling guilty about not doing schoolwork. I’m fed up right now. I have a 3 000 word term paper to write this week in philosophy(!). It’s the most boring subject ever made and I don’t see the point with it. It’s clearly something the Norwegian government thinks it’s funny to make me study. I bet they’re all laughing as they can see me being all miserable…. Buuu!

Who the bloody hell cares??

But today, in addition to all this, I feel like utter garbage! I woke up with the heaviest head ever known to mankind and all I wanna do right now, five hours later, is to sleep. Sleep, dear ol’ sleep! How I miss you! I feel like I’m coming down with the flu or something. I’m like Katy Perry : Hot and Cold… And totally unmotivated to read this book I was planning to read in preparation to my term paper. But you believe me when I get that paper done I’m gonna enjoy my life so badly. I’m gonna hang with my beautilful boyfriend until he leaves me for christmas then enjoy seeing A1 liiiiiiive! YAY! And then christmas at home, before taking off to celebrate new years with my dear “twinny” Emma! I just need to get through one more week. Oh yeah and mainest (lovely grammar there) of all! I’m gonna write my effing socks off! YAY! Cause at this point things are really starting to get reeeeeeally interesting between David and Amanda. I am also seriously considering changing the title to David Jones instead of Mrs Jones. What do you think??

Yes you read that right – Milton Keynes.

What could possibly have dragged the Whingers there? Well the clue is in the title. Mickey Rooney (aged 89). The Mickey Rooney!! Oh and er… Anthea Turner (aged 49), (Perfect Housewife).

But Mickey Rooney! Yes, Mickey’s putting on the show right here in the barn that is the admirably prosaically titled Milton Keynes Theatre (aged 10). Because it is a bit of a barn, to be honest: three tiers and a capacity of 1,400.

This was an awfully big adventure for the Whingers: Phil (64) had never been to Milton Keynes;  Andrew (16 going on 17) had visited once before but couldn’t for the life of him think why. But with MK only a £14, 30-minute Virgin train ride away (well, 45 minutes as it turned out) the Whingers thought, “what the hell!” Mickey Rooney!

The surprise on stepping out of the station was to find that Milton Keynes (aged 42) has an entire theatre district and that it’s a mere 20 minutes’ walk away. Andrew suggested a taxi but Phil berated him for his delusions of grandness and the pair set of at a pace through the deserted boulevards.

The first thing to strike the Whingers when they arrived huffing and puffing from their exertions was how deserted the theatre seemed to be. Where were all the people milling about trying to pick up tickets? Why no queues for the ladies toilets? The chilling prospect of an audience consisting of just eight 6 year olds and the Whingers presented itself.

But in fact the house was almost full. It turns out that this modern purpose-built theatre has employed the cunning ruse of building a huge front-of-house space that effortlessly absorbs the crowds, boasts multiple ticket windows and contains enough toilets for everyone! Brilliant.

So the Whingers took their seats excitedly and opened their large format glossy programmes (£3.50; not bad) and dipped into the bios. The first thing that caught their eye was the small type (4 point?) which had been employed for Mister Rooney’s column – understandable in order to cram in an overview of a legend who has been in show-business for 87 years (he first appeared at the age of two).

More surprising was the discovery that Anthea Turner’s biography was the same length and in the same tiny type. It begins:

Always in the spotlight, Anthea Turner has enjoyed a media career of over twenty years, and in this time has amassed an enviable portfolio of experiences and insight. Anthea now bring her unique, high profile brand to the corporate sector, adding value and impact to any enterprise’s event activities.

Bet you can’t wait to read the rest of it.

Turner’s Fairy Godmother kicks off the show with basically her CV set in rhyme Blue Peter, Perfect Housewife and GMTV all name-checked, in case anyone were in doubt who she was. But sadly Help me Anthea – I’m infested must have proved too tricky for the poet to scan.

Anyway, Cinderella tells the story of a young woman (Louise Dearman) who lives with her dear father Baron Hardup (Rooney) and her jealous and ugly sisters Britney and Whitney (Chris Dennis and David Langham). She meets a man in the forest who turns out to be one Prince Charming (Ben Adams aged 28, of the British/Norweigan boy band A1 who has been too busy to update his website since leaving the Celebrity Big Brother house). The Prince determines to hold a ball in the hope of meeting her again. But when Britney and Whitney tear up Cinderella’s ticket to prevent her from going, it looks as though her hopes of true love are dashed forever…

Oh well, you know the score but what you don’t know is that the Whingers had a whale of a time! The big revelation for them was Bobby Davro (50) who was served up a series of great, quick-fire gags (“For Christmas I got her a bag and belt to match. The Hoover works fine now”; “I went into PC World. You have to be careful what you say in there, don’t you?) and generally held the thing together.

Dennis and Langham are perfect as the suitably outlandishly attired ugly sisters and West End regular Dearman gives a charming and melodious Cinderella (and – Phil assures Andrew – she did a cracking impression of Stacey from X Factor).

All the panto requisites are there: a fine mix of corny old gags mixed with contemporary nods to Katie Price (3 references), swine flu (2 references), Jedward, and Susan Boyle plus glittery scenery, live Shetland Ponies and of course lots of audience participation.

This was only the second performance and hopefully they will get the sound sorted out soon because we couldn’t hear most of the lyrics and even some of the more quick-fire dialogue.

But who cares? It’s Mickey Rooney! He shuffles on several times and croons a couple of songs. The children seemed a bit non-plussed but the adults gave him the applause due to the old trouper.

Another plus was that this turned out not to be one of this year’s 22 pantos featuring Churchill the dog off that advert. Cinderella is actually sponsored by drinks manufacturer Robinsons (part of the Britvic empire) but all their marketing effort was wasted on the Whingers who stuck to wine during the interval.

Andrew was so in the panto spirit as they tumbled out of the theatre at the end that he insisted Phil starred in his own Panto as Cinderella (see below). Unfortunately there wasn’t a photo opportunity for the Whingers to appear more appropriately as the ugly sisters.

Footnote: Cinderella was written by Eric Potts who according to the programme, this year, “is writing a total of twelve pantomimes for venues across the country.” Aficionados of Coronation Street may be interested to learn he has fingers in many pies as he played baker Diggory Compton in the show and is giving his Widow Twankey at the Opera House, Manchester in Aladdin (also written and directed by him) opposite Gray O’Brien (Corrie’s Tony Gordon). Phew! Corrie fan Phil is sorely tempted.

The newly installed Lichthalzen Government has announced that at least 20 new citizens have been registered for A1. Governor of Lichthalzen, Mars McTavish, said that other than the 20 citizens, “…around 30 others have expressed their interest”.

Chairman Fish greeted the news “open mouthed”, according to an inside source, and was “speechless” for around five minutes. He later said that “This is an absolutely fantastic start to Lichthalzen, way beyond anything anyone could have dreamed of”.

The Ministry of Interior today announced sweeping reforms to A1’s protectorate system “to make it leaner & cleaner”, according to the Minister for Interior, Sir. Philip Fish. These reforms include the amalgamation of almost every protectorate in the Central area and the re-classification of the protectorates.

B2, B27, B31, B29, Mukhazia, Central and Filland are all to be amalgamated into one protectorate and Lichthalzen is to be granted more autonomy.

The A1 government has announced its imposition of information restrictions on all Erusian publications, citing “reasons of a ‘return address’ nature”. This imposes restrictions on all A1 citizens meaning that no Erusian publication may be read or be held in possession without the written permission of the Chairman or nominated representative.

Erusian State Media has reported that the Erusian Government has imposed “official censorship…against publications from the nation of A1″, citing “the anti-Socialist and counter-revolutionary propaganda that poisons the media of that nation”. It is assumed that this includes the A1 News Service, although this is not specified directly in the article.

The A1 government has responded to this censorship by stating that it is “sour grapes” for the Erusian government, “…either looking for a scapegoat or finding faults in us that don’t actually exist”.

Chairman Fish also weighed in on the issue stating that he would “not be intimidated in any way” by the censorship announcement and that he wished to “strongly emphasise” that “although the A1 News Service is government-funded and owned, we do not control the content of the A1NS in any way, shape or form. We can provide numerous examples of this if anyone wishes to see them”.

But the leader of the A1 National Liberation Front, Colonel Moller, said in a statement released today that this was “…yet another example of the Fish & Caulfield dictatorship stuffing up A1’s foreign policy and standing in the micronational world. We, once again, call on them to both remove themselves from A1 and any positions that they hold”.

The leader of the Erusian Government, Robert Lethler, is well-known to have had run ins with Chairman of A1, Philip Fish, especially in recent times.