Gunner news: Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal

Magnificent Robin van Persie hat-trick caps incredible match as Gunners come from behind twice at Stamford Bridge

Arsene Wenger's men secure fantastic win in entertaining affair littered with questionable defending and impressive goals but it was a certain Dutch striker who stole the show

Arsenal managed to move themselves up to to sixth with a remarkable 5-3 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with Robin Van Persie grabbing an impressive hat-trick.

The hosts should have opened the scoring with just 4 minutes on the clock as Daniel Sturridge looked to play the ball across the goal to Fernando Torres who had the net at his mercy, but the Englishman’s pass was poor and went straight into the arms of Wojciech Szczesny.

Arsenal had their own reasons to be disappointed a few moments later as Theo Walcott got behind Ashley Cole before delivering a great low cross, but Gervinho somehow missed the target from just a matter of yards.

Less than a minute later, Robin Van Persie got himself on another very good Walcott cross, but the Dutchman connected with it after bouncing up and the in-form striker cleared the crossbar.

The Gunners were made to rue those misses however as Frank Lampard gave the hosts the lead after 13 minutes. Juan Mata beat Andre Santos before putting in a brilliant delivery for the England midfielder to head past the helpless Szczesny.

Just shy of the half-hour mark, Sturridge should have added a second for Chelsea as Lampard played a remarkable ball over the top of the Arsenal defence for the young striker, but the finish was poor as the former Manchester City man scuffed his shot past the far post.

However, Arsenal got their equaliser in the 35^th minute after a lovely move started by an excellent forward pass by Aaron Ramsey to Gervinho. The Ivorian cheekily squared the ball to Van Persie as Petr Cech approached, giving the striker an easy finish.

But they were only level for 10 minutes as John Terry, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, bundled the ball past Szczesny after out-muscling Per Mertesacker at a corner to give Andre Villas-Boas men the lead.

The teams had not even been out for 40 seconds in the second half when Van Persie registered another chance. Ramsey also went close, but it was Santos who got the equaliser for the visitors.

Alex Song did brilliantly to pick out the unmarked-Brazilian who was flying down the left, before the former Fenerbahce man stroked the ball past Cech with confidence.

Ten minutes into the second half, Arsenal got themselves into the lead for the first time of the day. Walcott marched through the Chelsea defence, fell over, got through again and produced a good strike, beating the fairly helpless Cech.

With just under 20 minutes to go, Ramsey almost gave Arsenal a two-goal lead as the midfielder received a clever pass from Van Persie as he arrived late in the penalty area, but the Welshman’s shot was taken wide of the post thanks to a deflection.

But, in keeping with the rest of the match, Arsenal couldn’t keep hold of their lead as up stepped Mata in the 80^th minute, smashing a fantastic effort towards the far side of the goal, giving Szczesny no chance whatsoever.

Four minutes later, however, suspect defending reared its head again. Florent Malouda playing a poor pass back to Terry, and the England captain slipped over giving Van Persie a free route to goal; the former Feyenoord man rounded Cech and slotted home to make it 4-3 to the visitors.

A minute into stoppage time, Arsenal secured the three points. Van Persie grabbed his hat-trick after a brilliant counter-attack; Mikel Arteta picking out the brilliant Dutchman who smashed a swerving effort past Cech.

The three points see Arsenal join Tottenham on 16 points in the Premier League, while Chelsea lost even more ground on the two Manchester clubs at the top of the table.

Waves of Hawaii.

This guy stands in the water and waits until the last sec to snap his camera shutter then takes a beating when the wave collapses over him.-----

Waive Bay shore-break surfing pioneer, husband, and father of two, Clark Little has gained nationwide recognition for his photography on National Television..

It all started in 2007 when Clark 's wife wanted a nice piece of art to decorate a wall.

Voluntarily, Clark grabbed a camera, jumped in the water, and starting snapping away capturing the beauty and power of monstrous Hawaiian waves from the inside out.

" Clark 's view" is a unique view of the ocean that most will only
be able to experience safely on land while studying one of Clark 's photos.

Now with a camera upgrade and an itch to get that better shot, Clark has taken this on full time and has moved his office from land, to the inside of a barrel.

Since the recent stir of Clark 's work, his images have been run
on the Today Show, ABC World News Now, Nature's Best Photography, Paris Match(France), La Vie ( France ), Hana Hou (Hawaiian Airlines) magazine, Surfer magazine, Surfer's Journal
as well as multiple publishers and newspapers in the U.S. and overseas.

These incredible images of waves in the Hawaiian Islands were taken by Clark Little, the number one photographer of surf.
He is dedicated to photographing the waves and has published a selection of his best


Sun glints off wave
Clark Little/SWNS

Sand in surf
Clark Little/SWNS
This shot captures sand from the ocean's floor being swept up by a monstrous wave and resembles a sandstorm.

Little calls it the Sand monster.

There were clouds of sand ten feet high and I'm standing there. I'm holding on to my camera and my trigger as long as I can.
Then I have to jump into the cloud of sand to try to get out of danger's way.

His fans pay as much as $4,000 for his gorgeous photos.



Tubular shining
Clark Little/SWNS



Beach - surf crashes down
Clark Little/SWNS



Molten liquid gold
Clark Little/SWNS


White tumultuous water
Clark Little/SWNS



Splash - stunning shot
Clark Little/SWNS



Red mysterious shot
Clark Little/SWNS



Break - wave crashes down
Clark Little/SWNS


Beauty - water drops
Clark Little/SWNS

This shot is his favorite.

With a high shutter speed he caught the brilliant fanned effect of two waves intersecting each other and throwing out this beautiful fan of water.

"Faith is not about everything turning out OK; Faith is about being OK no matter how things turn out."

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, Than to live my life as if there isn't, and die to find out there is."

Gunner news: Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City

Robin van Persie comes off the bench to save Gunners as late double stuns Potters

The introduction of the in-form Netherlands international changed the game for the home side after a display that showed drastic impotency in the absence of their captain

It took the introduction of Robin van Persie for Arsenal to kill off a resilient Stoke side as the hosts won 3-1 in their Premier League encounter at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.

Gervinho opened the scoring after excellent work by Aaron Ramsey, though Peter Crouch bundled home an equaliser before the interval.

Arsenal came up short in the ideas department, before Van Persie was brought on and chalked up a quick-fire brace after some smart play down the wing by Gervinho on both occasions.

It was a game that served to perpetuate several popular Arsenal stereotypes, most notably a marked listlessness without Van Persie, though the Gunners' revival continues after the ground-out win.

The one surprise on the team sheet was the relegation to the bench of their captain, perhaps with the forthcoming match with Chelsea on Arsene Wenger’s mind. Marouane Chamakh was drafted in to replace the Gunners’ top scorer, with Alex Song laying claim to the captain’s armband.

The visitors made one change from the last Premier League encounter, with Dean Whitehead replacing Jermaine Pennant after the winger failed to recover from the hamstring troubles that also saw him miss the Europa League tie with Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

It was Chamakh who had the first opportunity to open the scoring yet after being found free in the box by a Mikel Arteta corner, the Moroccan unconvincingly glanced his header wide.

Gervinho’s heavy touch let him down when through on goal after Ramsey’s pass prized open the Stoke defence, though the Ivorian made no mistake in a similar incident a few minutes on, collecting the Welshman’s delightfully scooped pass on his chest, before rifling past Asmir Begovic from close range.

After almost exclusively being camped in their own half for the entirety of the match, Stoke managed to plunder an equaliser, with Andre Santos caught napping by a quickly taken free-kick allowing Crouch to see home Jonathan Walters’ nod across goal.

The introduction of the Van Persie sparked some life into the hosts, though Stoke’s resilience made things increasingly difficult as the Emirates crowd began to become agitated.

Their fears were allayed when Gervinho bundled his way along the byline, to centre for Van Persie who tucked an effort into the near post, with Begovic unable to keep the effort out despite getting behind the ball.

The same partnership linked up again to deliver the killer blow to Stoke, as Gervinho cut down the opposite flank to cut back for Van Persie, who yet again did just enough to force the ball beyond Begovic.

With that, the game was over, as Arsenal cantered home to climb up to seventh in the Premier League table on the back of three wins in the space of seven days.

Gunner news: Olympique de Marseille 0-1 Arsenal

Aaron Ramsey stuns OM with late winner for the Gunners

There was to be little excitement at Stade Velodrome, though the Gunners can be delighted with their victory against Didier Deschamps' insipid side

Arsenal moved top of Champions League Group F, and they can consider their 1-0 victory over Marseille at Stade Velodrome as a competent European performance.

An uninspiring 90 minutes were up by the time Aaron Ramsey was given acres of space on the edge of the box to drive home the game's only goal.

The first half was a largely evenly balanced affair, which was often played at a surprisingly high tempo from both teams, but it would be littered with technical errors, as would the match as a whole.

It was the Gunners who came closest to scoring when Robin van Persie had a header cleared from the line by Souleymane Diawara following a corner kick that caused the hosts real panic, but it was OM who created the greater volume of chances.

In the early stages of the game, Didier Deschamps’ men were restricted to long range efforts, though by the interval they had fashioned two fine openings. Loic Remy’s persistence down the left channel saw him get the better of Per Mertesacker, but his final effort was deflected wide by Carl Jenkinson. Five minutes later, a Mathieu Valbuena cross was prodded just wide by the largely anonymous Lucho Gonzalez.

After the interval, the Premier League side took a firmer grip on proceedings and started to dominate possession. Too often their passing around the box was sluggish or simply inaccurate, though Marseille’s defence stood up well to the threat of the London side.

A terrible error from Nicolas Nkoulou was the exception to this rule, as it released Theo Walcott in the box. Having spurned several good crossing opportunities early in the match, the England international was found wanting in front of goal, with his effort kicked clear by Steve Mandanda.

Even the intermittent threat that Marseille displayed in the first half disappeared following the break. Remy was left isolated for long periods, while Arsenal’s defence managed to crowd out the likes of Valbuena and Andre Ayew.

It was the visitors who finished the match stronger, and in the closing 10 minutes they carved open a handful of openings before Ramsey was finally left to crack the winner. The Welshman came off the bench to sweep home Gervinho's cross with virtually the last kick of the game, and hand the London club victory.

Given the impotence of Marseille, it was hard to argue that Arsene Wenger’s men were not deserving winners of this encounter, and now head into their final three group matches one point clear of the French side, whose lack of ambition merited their defeat.

Extreme Mountain Climbing...

For most of us, hauling yourself up some of the Earth's highest peaks would be enough to keep us occupied.

But for one mountaineer, the exertion he goes through to scale the heights is just a means to capturing some of the most stunning images of nature's peaks.

Robert Bosch, 57, has climbed to the summit of Everest, the icy Alps of Europe and even to the frozen desert wastes of Antarctica in pursuit of adventure and the perfect snap.

Clinging on: Climber Pesche Wuthrich swings for another handhold in the Alps on the border between Italy and Switzerland

Perilous: This image shows Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck ice-climbing near Pontresina, Switzerland

Balancing act: Two climbers perch on top of Salbitnadel in Uri, Switzerland, in another of Mr Bosch's stunning images

Perspective: Mr Bosch has spent nearly 40 years climbing the Earth's highest peaks to get his images

Working with some of the greats of European mountaineering, Mr Bosch's vertigo-inducing photography portrays the loneliness and grit that all climbers need to conquer the world's highest peaks.

He said: 'Climbing Mount Everest is relatively straightforward for an experienced climber.

'I had previously attempted to ascend the notoriously difficult west ridge route but that had defeated me.

'So in 2001 I succeeded climbing the north face, but I must tell you that to climb Everest up the commercially popular route is easy.

'Everyone travels to the top and thinks they can write a book about it, but the majority of these people are not mountaineers, they are relying ont he incredible work of the Sherpas of Nepal.'

Give me a leg up: Climbers half way up the artificial wall on the Diga di Luzzone in Tessin

Staying cool: Ueli Steck ice axes in hand as he climbs near Oeschinen in Bern, Switzerland

Don't look down: Annatina Schultz makes her way up The Fall on Klettern in Meringen, Switzerland

Eyes on the prize: Mr Bosch stands suspended at a 90 degree angle on the artificial wall in Tessin, Switzerland

Photographing the greats of the climbing world, including 34-year-old Ueli Steck, Mr Bosch has witnessed the skill needed in perilous climbs.

He said: 'Ueli is a wonderful climber, an exceptional mountaineer, we climb a lot together looking for that perfect shot that sums up the strength and balance and fitness that climbers need.

'His free climbing abilities are what most impresses me, he is a good friend and it is a pleasure to work with him.'

As an experienced climber, Mr Bosch - who lives near Zurich in Switzerland - has scaled more than 100 different peaks across the world.

He considered Cerro Torre in Argentina one of the hardest ascents, despite its relative unknown status.

Nearly there: This close up was taken near the summit of the wall as Mr Bosch was suspended over the drop

Bleak: The photographer counts Cerro Torre, in Patagonia, Argentina, as one of the toughest to climb

Scaling new heights: This image shows ice-climbing on the Godwin Austen Glacier in Pakistan with K2 in the background

Mr Bosch said: 'My passion was born when my parents would take me to visit the Alps when I was a boy.

'My main concern was climbing, but another interest of mine had always been photography and in my mid twenties I began to take pictures during my ascents and by the time I was 30 I had launched my own business concentrating on my climbing.

'I was working in the Swiss Alps on my photography, hanging from a rope and using my crampons digging into the rock face to balance myself.

'Unfortunately I had a momentary lapse of balance and I turned 180 degress upside down to face a sheer 3,000ft drop.

'My heart skipped and luckily for me my rope held and I managed to right myself, but that incident haunts me every day because I came so close to falling down head first.'

Top 10 Most Expensive Weddings

FYI - Total cost of which could probably rid the world of famine…

For these folks, if their wedding day(s) weren’t the happiest days of their lives, then something is seriously wrong. If you thought your wedding was astronomical, try these top ten of the most extravagant weddings to date ranging from $2 million to $78 million dollars where broadcasting your wedding vows to the world is as important as showing the lining of your wallet.

10. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes ($2 million)

They’re still together, almost 6 years later, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and they come in at number 10 on the top ten list of grandest weddings of all time. After Tom proposed to Katie on the top of the Eiffel Tower, 19 months before the wedding date, they were married in Italy at the 15^th century castle, Odescalchi Castle in Rome on November 18^th, 2006. Giorgio Armani designed all the apparel for the bridal party and Andrea Boccelli gave a musical performance. The wedding was attended by 150 guests. The couple honeymooned in Maldives following the elaborate wedding event.

9. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills ($3 million)

Fireworks, grand feasting and dancers dressed in Indian costume performed for Paul McCartney and Heather Mill’s wedding in 2001. The $3 million dollar wedding ceremony took place in County, Monaghan, Ireland. The ceremony was held in St. Salvador’s Church and the reception took place at Castle Leslie with 300 guests. Heather Mills wore a dress she herself fashioned and carried roses named after her husband. Following their affair they honeymooned at a private island in Seychelles. They spent their first evening on a $20 million yacht for $19,000 a night.

8. Liza Minnelli and David Gest ($3.5 million)

Held at the Manhattan’s Collegiate Church in 2002, with a sum total of 850 wedding guests, the wedding was a monumental event with guests including Natalie Cole singing “Unforgettable”, a 60-piece orchestra also kept the guests entertained along with Tony Bennett. The wedding included a $40,000 6-foot, 12-tier cake, a staff of 500 and a bill of over $700,000 in flowers.

7. Elizabeth Hurley &ArunNayar ($7 million)

Wed on June 29, 2006, Elizabeth Hurley and ArunNayar, an Indian businessman married in a 15^th century castle in Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire in Britain. The festivities lasted for 8 days across the 2 continents of Europe and Asia. The proceedings began at Sudeley and then the wedding party traveled to UmaidBhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India. The palace suite cost $10,000 a night.

6. DelphineArnault and Alessandro VallarinoGancia ($7 million)

Who said a bride isn’t worth it, especially when she’s the daughter of the wealthy French businessman, Bernard Arnault? A father coined the ‘pope of fashion’ in France too means of course, a fancy dress, in fact, one so fancy that it was fashioned by the famous designer, John Galliano. It certainly was a price you’d not find on the racks at David’s Bridal either. Add to a wealthy bride a wealthy groom with a family with a wine dynasty business and you’ve got a splendid party, with of course, plenty of fine wines. They couple wed in 2005 at the Cote d’ Azur in France. The venue was decorated with 5,000 white roses. Harper’s Bazaar called it the “Wedding of the Year”.

5. Wayne Rooney & Coleen McLoughlin ($15 million)

Okay if that previous wedding bill wasn’t enough to impress you, try doubling that with a few little extras and you’ve got the wedding of Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLaughlin at $15 million. Colleen McLoughlin, a television presenter/product endorser plus a Manchester United/England football star resulted not only in an expensive wedding but an interesting one at that. The 4 day wedding ceremony took place in Villa Durazzo in Portofino Italy on June 12, 2008. With stunning views of the Italian Rivera on a yacht with 64 guests flown in on five different private jets, the ambiance was beautiful. After spending almost $4 million dollars on a dress designed by Georgia Chapman’s Marchesa label, guests had to wonder if the budget had run out after being served pizza for the reception. In the end, they were able to cut costs of $5 million by allowing Britain’s OK! Magazine to publish exclusive information and pictures about the event, that is, after the pizza was served.

4. VikramChatwal and PrivaSachdey ($20 million)

Let’s make it an even 20 after 15, that is, $20 mil, and then everything will be up to par for the wedding of VikramChatwal, son of a New York hotel magnet and a jet-setting hotelier and actor and for his model/actress/investment banker bride, PriyaSachdey (who ever said a man couldn’t have it all). The wedding took place on February 18^th, 2006 and is known as one of the most luxurious weddings ever in all of India. Bill Clinton was on the guest list along with many other well-known, high-powered people. The wedding took place over 10 days and was spread across 3 cities in India (Mumbai, Udaipur, and Delhi). There were 600 guests from 26 countries who were all retrieved for the event on chartered jets.

3. Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovic and AndreyMelnichenko ($30 million)

Topping a $20 million dollar wedding isn’t easy but for Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovic and AndreyMelnichenko, it wasn’t hard with a $30 million dollar extravaganza that made history in world famous weddings. AndreyMelnichenko, the Russian billionaire and founder of MDM Bank and the Serbian model, Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovic married in Cote D’ Azur, France on September 3^rd, 2005. There were performances by Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston for a full house of guests of the rich and famous. The singers alone cost $3.6 million each to perform.

2. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Salama ($44.5 million)

The Arabs really know how to have a wedding party and especially the ruler of Dubai who married Princess Salama in 1981. The wedding earned a place in the Forbes list of “Billionaire Weddings”. A stadium was built just for the occasion to entertain 20,000 guests for 7 days of luxury.

1. Vanisha Mittal &Amit Bhatia ($78 million)

The Indians, however, outshined the Arabs on November 18^th, 2004 when Vanisha Mittal &Amit Bhatia wed in what is recorded as the most expensive wedding in history. 1,000 guests from around the world attended after each had received a 20-page silver card to the event which included all the lavish details the entire venue that lasted for 5 days. The party took place at the finest chateau and garden in France, the 17^th century, Vaux le Vicomte. The bride, Vanisha Mittal, daughter to the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Amit Bhatia, the investment banker wed in sheer riches. A performance by Kylie Minogue the pop singer was the high-lighted attraction to the event. 100 different dishes were prepared by a top Calcutta Chef and the wine cost $1.5 million. The costs of everything else we’ll leave to your imagination!
Weddings are a happy time for all, especially for the guests who were able to attend the top ten most expensive weddings in history. Of these wedding events, the real two questions are who is still together and who will be next to top the list?

Gunnner news: Arsenal 2-1 Sunderland

Getty Images

Arsenal claimed their third win of the season as they beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to a brace from captain Robin van Persie, while former player Sebastian Larsson netted for the visitors.

The Gunners got off to a great start, scoring after just 29 seconds when Gervinho was put clear of the Black Cats defence by Tomas Rosicky, and slid the ball across to Van Persie who made no mistake firing past Simon Mignolet.

Arsenal should have doubled their lead through Van Persie, who was on top form, as he controlled the ball and skinned Kieran Richardson before chipping a delightful effort at goal which looped over Mignolet, but struck the inside of the post and was cleared to safety.

Sunderland, however, equalised against the run of play through former Arsenal man Larsson, as his spectacular 25-yard free-kick soared into the top corner leaving Szczesny with no chance.

Indeed, the visitors should have taken the lead as the half neared its end. Sessegnon was put through again behind the Gunners defence and the Benin international then crossed for Cattermole whose header was fantastically saved by Szczesny at close range.

The Gunners came out in the second half and began to dominate possession. Mignolet was forced into an early save as a Theo Walcott effort was deflected towards goal but the Belgian was equal to it.

Gunners substitute Andrei Arshavin nearly found a way through the stubborn Black Cats defence as he jinked between John O’Shea and Wes Brown, but he fired just wide with Mignolet beaten.

Wenger’s men finally got their second goal in the 83rd minute through Van Persie, whose sublime free-kick sailed over the Sunderland wall and into the top corner of the net leaving Mignolet with no chance.

From them on, Arsenal were able to hold onto the points as they climbed into the top half of the table to ease the pressure on their French boss, while Sunderland are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference, increasing the strain on Steve Bruce.

Gallery: Singapore's vibrant wet markets

As with most wet markets in Asia, morning is the busiest time at Little India's Tekka Market. This sprawling two-story building brims with traders peddling everything from vegetables, to fruits, meats and even obscure ingredients for ethnic food.

“This market is like Singapore -- it has international appeal”, says Ida, who operates one of the 300 or so stalls here. “There's Vietnamese rice paper, Indian curry powder and Thai mangoes. On weekends, people from all nationalities come here for their supplies.”

The owners of Wee Chai chicken stall enjoy a few quiet hours after the morning rush at Tekka Market. It's not all idle time for vendors Osman and Wee Chai, who still get customers every few minutes during the midday slowdown. This is far from boring work, says Osman (at left): “We know most of our customers so it's just like being visited by friends.”

The white-haired Osman answers a phoned-in order for chicken legs -– lots of them –- to be delivered to a nearby hawker stall. In addition to the low prices, wet market stalls like these offer butchering and on-foot delivery services at no additional cost.

While waiting for customers, a shopkeeper at the Yu Mun Ji Niang Dou Fu stall in Tiong Bahru Market creates more of her produce -- eggplant and chili slices stuffed with fish paste, to be used as the main ingredients to the popular Yong Tau Foo dish. As a testament to the freshness of their product, Tiong Bahru's Yong Tau Foo vendors are located just beside the fish section.

Little India's residents are ensured a constant supply of fresh mutton, thanks to the Tekka Market's numerous meat stalls. “Unlike groceries that only sell meat in 200-gram packs, here you can buy as much or as little as you want,” says this butcher. “It doesn't matter if you want 50 grams or 500 grams. I'll chop it up however you want.”


A burst of color punctuates the drab interiors of the Tekka Market as a dry goods vendor sells her curry powder to a customer. The lease for stalls in this particular market range anywhere between S$1,500-S$2,500, depending on its size and location. However, unlike other Singapore markets which merely open till 1 p.m., the stalls at Tekka Market do business all day.

62-year-old fruit stall owner Susan has run her corner space at the Tekka Market with her husband Johnny for more than 30 years. A third-generation hawker, she takes the long hours in stride. “We work from 4 a.m. till around 7 p.m. Customers come anytime so we don't even have time to eat. We have a quick breakfast before the shop opens, and then a quick lunch at 3 p.m. when there isn't much people. That's our day”

While Susan caters to the buyers, husband Johnny is busy slicing up a massive jackfruit. “Some fruits are bought in bunches, while others are too big to sell as a whole,” says the 64-year-old shopkeeper. He also gives the chop treatment to fruits that have been bruised by the hands of too many customers. “The skin doesn't look nice anymore but the inside is still perfect,” says Johnny.

Soybean stall owner Linda proudly displays a basket of beansprouts, along with a selection of tofu, tempeh and other soybean-derived products at the Tiong Bahru Market. A second-generation stall owner, she sees the family business lasting for another generation, thanks to her son who helps her keep shop.

Fresh fish changes hands for seven busy hours at the Tiong Bahru Market, starting at around 6 a.m. The merchandise is trucked in from Malaysia in the wee hours of the morning, and is usually sold out by lunchtime. The working day doesn't end soon after, though. “We have to thoroughly clear our space after we close,” says a fish vendor. ”If we leave it dirty we'll get fined!”

As the lunchtime crowd begins to drift back into their offices, the workday at the Tiong Bahru Market tapers down. With tonight's food in hand, a butcher stops to chat with a fruit stall owner before heading off. Behind the high-rise buildings, the corporate environs and the glitzy malls, Singapore's wet markets are a refreshing throwback to its humble blue-collar origins.

As the lunchtime crowd begins to drift back into their offices, the workday at the Tiong Bahru Market tapers down. With tonight's food in hand, a butcher stops to chat with a fruit stall owner before heading off. Behind the high-rise buildings, the corporate environs and the glitzy malls, Singapore's wet markets are a refreshing throwback to its humble blue-collar origins.

Who loves roses?

Friends who do not like flowers - are becoming patience, and the rest rejoice! I visited the Nikitsky garden roses at the ball and now'm taking you captive to the queen of flowers. For a week, maybe ten days, if not exhausted imagination. World Rose Garden Nikita is huge - about 1,000 varieties, but also those that are exposed, and they, according to my calculations, about one hundred and fifty, that's enough to tell people about these amazing colors indefinitely.



Collection Rose Garden Nikita is one of the best in Eastern Europe and more than a thousand varieties, types and forms of roses out of 30 garden groups, which include roses, dwarf to 10 cm tall from a group of miniature roses and roses of the giants of pletistyh roses, rising to height of 10 m, is blooming varieties once only in May and June for 10-20 days and is pleasing to our long-term varieties bloom for 200 days, that is to fall on the southern Crimean coast of the snow cover.


At the end of last year and the beginning of this century in Nikitsky garden created around 100 varieties of roses from the garden groups Hybrid Tea roses, floribunda, Grandiflora, climbing, polupletistoy, miniature, polyanthus and groundcover.


Ambians. Hybrid Tea. Huge flower tenderest tricolor paint - gold color and easy summer dawn.


Angelica. Polupletisty flowering cultivar for vertical gardening. Hedge, consisting of a large bright pink bouquets, as if out of a fairy tale Anderesena.


Big Purpl. Hybrid Tea. The purple flowers are rare multilobe hue, typical of blue roses.


Blue Nile. And here is the blue rose itself. The bluish-purple shade petals - a real masterpiece of breeding rosarian. Somewhere in the recesses of the garden and hid the rose petals with green - the star of the collection. I was not trying to and could not find her.


Bonica. Profusely flowering ground cover. Buds and flowers blossom pink immediately after, and eventually become lighter to almost white.


Comtesse du Barry. Floribunda. At the base of the petals are golden-yellow, and this flower as if lit from within. This effect I have seen and chrysanthemums .


Crus am Heidelberg. Climbing variety with bright red flowers will enliven any arbor and fence.


Dolche Vita. Hybrid Tea. Large flowers of classical form. Delicate salmon tint the petals are absolutely in tune with the name of the variety.


Fair Play. Ground cover variety. The flowers are different versions of pink gathered in huge bunches of up to twenty pieces.


Fiona. Ground cover. Abundant and long blooming, the ideal plant for landscaping.


Flamentanz. Climbing shrub during a mass flowering is almost entirely covered with large scarlet flowers. Fiery flamenco at the Crimean land.


Foklore. Hybrid Tea rose with a unique color of the flower. Young golden flower buds opening to pale cream are, and then more and more turn pink.


Roses are known to mankind since ancient times. Mention of these colors are found in Asian documents and objects, decorated with ornaments of roses, which date from the third millennium BC. In Europe, they came much later. There is a perception that for the first time heard here on roses by ethereal oils obtained from these colors. Having learned its unique aroma, Europe has become to cultivate roses.


The appearance of a red rose tells a few myths. After all, wild rose hips, which marked the beginning the whole manifold cultivars have white or pinkish petals. According to one myth, the goddess of love Aphrodite was walking one day and accidentally stepped on a spike of white roses, creeping along the ground. A drop of blood fell to the goddess of flower petals and painted it red. According to another version, Cupid, having fun, shed a drop of red wine on white petals. Thus was born the red rose.


Masters rosarian Nikitsky garden by vaccination and skilful pruning rose bushes turn into small trees.


Judging by the imprints of leaves roses on the rocks, found in the Colorado Rockies during the excavation of our ancestors who lived in the stone age, already know this flower. This is probably one of the oldest traces of roses, preserved since the Paleolithic times. By rough estimate, more than thirty million years ago when homo sapiens roamed herds of wild land, roses were in bloom already on it.


Michele Meiland. The interior of the flower of this variety is preserved for a long time closed, while the outer petals, revealing, attached to a rose sculptural relief and expressiveness.


Patte de Velours ground cover is absolutely fantastic, with its small shiny pionovidnymi flowers. I was so passionate about her photography, in search of the right angle accidentally broke a young runaway, and was publicly ashamed orhrannikom:)


President de Seze - rose Gaelic type. Extremely decorative white terry its pink flowers with a hundred petals.


Climber Schwanensee - swan tenderness!


Sylvia, Hybrid Tea. Large Rose with characteristic curved convex petals that make the flower interior and magnificent.


Sylvie Vartan, floribunda. The original hot pink flower with many petals, not like a rose in our conventional sense.


Polupletistaya Westernland interesting abundance of unpretentious, but evolved a unique salmon otttenkom colors.


Bells, Hybrid Tea rose with petals of orange-pink color to the edge of turning into a pale pink.


Kakhovka. Climber, with powerful drooping stems, and bright crimson-red flowers. A feeling of infinite colors of the incident flux.


Marina Steven. Hybrid Tea, large-, the classical form of a rose. The middle of the flower rich terracotta-orange, pale pink petals edge, almost white.


Motley fantasy. Hybrid Tea, warm, dark pink color with white, yellow and korichnevmi sparks and stripes on the petals.


Pink News - polupletistaya, flowering, the petals of all shades of pink.


Carte Blanche. Floribunda. During the flowering bushes are completely covered with bouquets of white roses.


Flamingo. The name of this hybrid tea roses, speaks for itself. There is nothing more than expressing a fondness than pink.


Hybrid Tea Emmy beautiful in bud and flower in full disclosure. I love these shades that are impossible to describe a descent.

I go to the Rose pushed intuition. In past visits, I was interested in Nikita guide when coming to full bloom roses. The answer was - on June 25. I imagine that I saw there, if you are already in last Saturday 30% of the varieties have almost faded. So go on a visit to the roses need at the beginning of June.