A TOWN IN AMERICA WHERE THEY SPEAK ENGLISH...

There's a small American town 2,500 miles away from the Mexican border which has be designated English as its official language !! (Don't blame them, it's a lovely language).

'Jackson' is in New York state and has a population of 1, 700 of which most are white with just a handful of Spanish speaking farm workers.

But apparently inhabitants were determined to protect their English speaking heritage after condemning the federal government for not acting.

And although the town has no shops, schools or even a church all business must be conducted in English.

Another nearby town called Argyle (sounds more Scottish to me) has passed a similar resolution while another, Easton, will debate the issue next month.

Unfortunately even though supporters claim the moves high light support for curbing immigration and preserve the culture which many fear is under threat in some states, the New York Civil Liberties Union wants the laws all to be repealed.

THE BRITISH WEATHER....

What is it about us Brits that we are so obsessed with the weather.

Every time we go into a shop we comment on the weather, we chat about it on the phone, while out walking a dog, over dinner in a Restaurant. In fact, we just don't stop talking about it.  A survey has shown that we spend nearly six months just 'talking' about the weather.

Apparently the British in particular are obsessed with the English weather.

It's one of the most common ways to start a conversation, and I feel sorry for the check-out staff at supermarkets which must listen to people talking about the weather all day long.

We spend almost five times a day talking about it and spend longer discussing it, then on sport or work!

Women talk about it more than chatting about their men, love lives and gossip.

Even Twitter gets 500,000 'tweets' about it, and as for older people, well we have three times as many conversations about it and still believe in old wives tales, such as, cows sitting down (rain comes) something I 'always' say and the family make fun of me and of course, red sky at night is legendary.

These findings prove that we are a nation who is totally obsessed with the weather and with our unusually cold winter, millions of conversations at the moment are about the weather.

WHAT THE FAMOUS CARNABY STREET IN LONDON HAS TO OFFER...

Many fashion traditions were broken during the 1960s, especially those in the United Kingdom. But the most famous street of all in London which housed independent fashion boutiques and designers was 'Carnaby Street'.

According to wikipedia, by the 1960's, Carnaby Street proved for followers of both the Mod and hippie styles. Many independent fashion boutiques, and designers such as Mary Quant, Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin, Lord John, Merc, Take Six, and Irvine Sellars were located in Carnaby Street as well as various underground music bars such as the Roaring Twenties in the surrounding streets.

With bands such as Small Faces, The Who, and Rolling Stones appearing in the area to work (with the legendary Marquee Club located round the corner in Wardour Street), shop, and socialize, it became one of the coolest destinations associated with the Swinging London of the 1960's.

Harry Fox and Henry Moss opened the first ladies boutique in Carnaby Street called "Lady Jane" in 1966.

The Carnaby Street contingent of Swinging London stormed into North American and international awareness with the April 15, 1966 publication of Time magazine's cover and article that extolled this street's role:

The Carnaby Street website now
Womenswear
Menswear
Children's Fashion
Hair, Health & Beauty
Home & Lifestyle
Accessories
Cafes
Bars
Restaurants
Nightlife
Fitness
Hotels
Newburgh Quarter
Kingly Court

THE VERY BRITISH 'WOMAN'S WEEKLY' MAGAZINE...

Woman's Weekly has been running for over 100 years and is still one of the best selling women's magazines on the market.

It had everything a woman could want in the publication from fashion to weight loss.

Some of the advice was on recipes where housewives could earn a 'half a crown' by sending in their favourite recipe.

Readers offers were a little bit different from ours nowadays, with an offer of an 'ABSOLUTELY FREE' booklet of powder leaves, used to scent gloves and handkerchiefs with every purchase of a 2d packet of Oatine shampoo or toilet soap.

Fashion tips were ones we should learn from with for 6d, women could send off for a dress pattern of their choice (they mostly made their own).However, waists in those days were a small 26"!!!

Their answer to weight loss to keep slim was by taking a treatment called Antipon, which, they said contained 'vegetable ingredients of a quite harmless nature' and promised would shed 'between 8oz and 3lbs in the first 24 hours!( I could do with some of that).

Some of these vintage women's magazines have been selling on ebay for quite a lot of money with a vintage Vogue fetching nearly £50. Whenever I go to a charity shop I always look to see if they have any put away in a corner somewhere but I have only been lucky once.