Robert McAngus
Sep 3, 2018 · 7 min read

The Daily Tulip — News From Around The World

Monday 3rd September 2018

Good Morning Gentle Reader…. In case you hadn’t noticed the new month is with us, Boy! This year has gone by so fast… is it me or as we get older the time goes quicker..??? I tried to slow down time yesterday, I laid on the beach and tuned the rest of the world out by listening to the sound of the waves.. time passed by just as quickly, but I walked home refreshed and ready for another battle with the world.. was greeted on my arrival by Bella who bounced around all over the place, she clearly thought I had gone forever.. isn’t love grand…..

COCA-COLA TO BUY COSTA COFFEE CHAIN FOR £3.9BN…. Whitbread acquired Costa in 1995 for £19m from founders Sergio and Bruno Costa. The coffee shop to hotels group said earlier this year that it would split Costa and list it as a separate entity, following pressure from activist investor Elliott. But on Friday the company said a sale of the business is now “in the best interests of shareholders”. Proceeds of the deal will be used to pay down debt and boost the pension fund. Whitbread added that it intends to return a significant majority of net cash proceeds to shareholders. The Press Association reported earlier this year that Whitbread has been approached informally over a potential buyout of Costa. The company said the sale of the coffee chain will allow it to focus on its Premier Inn hotels business. Chief executive Alison Brittain said: “This transaction is great news for shareholders as it recognises the strategic value we have developed in the Costa brand and its international growth potential, and accelerates the realisation of value for shareholders in cash. “This combination will ensure new product development, continued growth in the UK and more rapid expansion overseas.” Whitbread acquired Costa in 1995 for £19 million from founders Sergio and Bruno Costa when it had only 39 shops. It now has more than 2,400 outlets and is embarking on overseas expansion. Coca-Cola boss James Quincey said: “Costa gives Coca-Cola new capabilities and expertise in coffee, and our system can create opportunities to grow the Costa brand worldwide.
“Hot beverages is one of the few remaining segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand. “Costa gives us access to this market through a strong coffee platform.”

TAKING HOLIDAYS IS KEY TO PROLONGING YOUR LIFE, STUDY SAYS…. Taking at least three weeks of holiday each year could help you live longer, a study has found. Researchers said a healthy diet and regular exercise were still no substitute for time off when it came to relieving stress. The 40-year study found that patients who took fewer than three weeks of annual holiday were a third more likely to die young than those who took more. “Don’t think having an otherwise healthy lifestyle will compensate for working too hard and not taking holidays,” said Professor Timo Strandberg, of the University of Helsinki in Finland. “Vacations can be a good way to relieve stress.” The study, which began in the 1970s, involved 1,222 middle-aged men born between 1919 and 1934 who were at risk of heart disease, due to factors such as high blood pressure, smoking or being overweight. Half were given instructions to exercise, eat healthily, achieve a healthy weight and stop smoking, while the others were given no extra advice. The research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Munich, found that those given the regular advice were more likely to die young — with the experts suggesting the interventions may have added extra stress to their lives. Among the same group, those who took less than three weeks off each year were 37% more likely to die young over the next 30 years. Professor Strandberg said: “The harm caused by the intensive lifestyle regime was concentrated in a subgroup of men with shorter yearly vacation time. “In our study, men with shorter vacations worked more and slept less than those who took longer vacations. “This stressful lifestyle may have overruled any benefit of the intervention. We think the intervention itself may also have had an adverse psychological effect on these men by adding stress to their lives.”

BOLIVIAN WOMAN MAY BE WORLD’S OLDEST PERSON AT NEARLY 118…. The Bolivian woman still sings in her indigenous Quechua tongue and strums a tiny Andean guitar known as the charango at her home in the rural town of Sacaba. In her long life, she has witnessed two world wars, revolutions in her native Bolivia and the transformation of her home town from having a population of 3,000 people to a bustling city of more than 175,000 in five decades. Her national identity card says Ms Flores Colque was born on October 26 1900 in a mining camp in the Bolivian mountains. Aged 117 and 10 months, she would be the oldest woman in the Andean nation and perhaps the oldest living person in the world. However, Guinness World Records has said it has received no application for her and Ms Flores Colque does not seem to care that her record has not been confirmed. She has not even heard of the reference book. These days, she enjoys the company of her dogs, cats and chickens. She is lucid and full of life, and she loves a good cake and singing folkloric songs in Quechua to anyone who comes to visit the dirt-floor adobe home she shares with her 65-year-old grand-niece, Agustina Berna. Ms Flores Colque told reporters: “If you would have told me you were coming, I’d have remembered all the songs.” Growing up, the now-centenarian herded sheep and llamas in the Bolivian highlands until she moved in her teenage years to a valley, where she began selling fruits and vegetables. The produce became her main source of sustenance, and she still maintains a healthy diet though she does indulge in the occasional cake and glass of soda. She never married and has no children.
The previously world’s oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, died earlier this year. Nabi Tajima was born on August 4 1900. Her passing apparently leaves Ms Flores Colque as the world’s oldest living person. Birth certificates did not exist in Bolivia until 1940, and births previously were registered with baptism certificates provided by Roman Catholic priests. Ms Flores Colque’s national identity card, however, has been certified by the Bolivian government. Her longevity is striking in Bolivia, which still has one of South America’s highest levels of mortality, according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Sacaba mayor’s office has named Ms Flores Colque a living heritage. The office and a private foundation have improved her home, building a brick path where she walks, and a shower and toilet with a railing so the centenarian can safely make her way to the bathroom at night. Just a few years ago, she still walked briskly. But then she fell and hurt her back, and a doctor said she would never walk again. She proved the doctor wrong.

STEALTH JET TAKES TO SKIES ARMED WITH BRITISH MISSILES…. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the milestone means its F-35 Lightning jet is a step closer to operations on the front line. Defence minister Stuart Andrew revealed the test flight on a visit to a Welsh site set to become the repairs base for the F-35 aircraft. “The F-35 Lightning fleet has moved another step closer to defending the skies and supporting our illustrious aircraft carriers with this landmark flight,” he said. “Exceptional engineering from the UK is not only helping to build what is the world’s most advanced fighter jet, but is also ensuring it’s equipped with the very best firepower.
“This flight by a British pilot, in a British F-35 jet with British-built weapons, is a symbol of the major part we are playing in what is the world’s biggest ever defence programme, delivering billions for our economy and a game-changing capability for our armed forces.” Mr Andrew was speaking at the Defence Electronics and Components Agency (DECA) in Wales, which is set to become a global repair hub for F-35 systems. British companies are building 15% of the 3,000 F-35s planned, with an estimated contribution of £35 billion to the UK economy and 25,000 British jobs.

PASSENGER JUMPS OFF FERRY NEAR PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR…. The person was travelling on the Wightlink ferry from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight when the incident happened at around 10.50am on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said an “extensive search is being carried out”, involving a search and rescue helicopter, two lifeboats, harbour patrol vessels and a Royal Navy vessel. HM Coastguard has asked other vessels in the area to join the search.
Wightlink said in a statement: “On the 10.30am St Cecilia car ferry from Portsmouth to Fishbourne a passenger was seen to jump overboard, just outside Portsmouth Harbour. “The crew of St Cecilia deployed the ship’s rescue boat and the coastguard is now the lead authority on this matter, with a number of vessels assisting in the search.”

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the news from around the world this, morning… …

Our Tulips today are incredible….

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it’s always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of “Colombian” Coffee and wish you a safe Monday 3rd September 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff….But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus
#Spain
#Tulips
#Travel
#Coffee

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