ME and Ophelia

LIVE 8
Concerts underway

Right now it is 17:21 Saturday afternoon here by the sea in England. Watching Live 8 on BBC 2 - and flicking over to BBC1 for coverage of the women's singles final in the 119th All England championships at Wimbledon. Hope Davenport wins.

Had lunch of hot steak pie with a salad. Dressing consisted two dollops mayonnaise into small bowl, stirred in chopped garlic, added few drops of organic wine vinegar and olive oil, mixed in a few drops of water, fresh ground pepper. Drizzled dressing over chopped lettuce scattered with sliced strawberries, red peppers, celery and whole red grapes.

The dressing was invented by accident last week when I mixed in some grated cheddar cheese with mayonnaise and a little water to see if I could make a roquefort type salad dressing. Worked great.

As soon as the tennis is over, I shall slice a banana and top it with half a can of heavenly Devon Ambrosia custard (great standby to have in the cupboard as it can be eaten hot - or cold in place of cream - which seems healthier than double cream).

Live 8 concerts are taking place around the world to put pressure on political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa.

Three billion people are watching. So far, 1.5 million people have added their name to the message being delivered to the Group 8 leaders on Wednesday in Scotland, UK. No matter where you are in the world, please add your name to The LIVE 8 List and visit Make Poverty History if you have not already done so.

Japan kicked off the first concert.



Photo: Japanese band Rize started proceedings in Tokyo (Material and photos courtesy BBC)

The biggest concert, in London's Hyde Park, has opened with Sir Paul McCartney singing with U2 in front of an audience of up to 200,000. Bill Gates and Kofi Annan made a surprise appearance on stage to say a few words for the cause. Click here for line-ups of other Live 8 concerts.



Photo: Great performance by Bono and U2

Mariners begin Sail 8 round trip

The first of the boats answering Bob Geldof's call to ferry people from France for the G8 protests has left Portsmouth harbour. Full report.



Photo: Geldof wants protesters to collect their 'French cousins' (BBC)

Thousands flock to poverty march



Thousands of protesters are taking part in a Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh, Scotland as musicians perform in Live 8 concerts around the globe.

Early estimates are of about 100,000 people involved in the event to highlight their message to G8 leaders meeting at Gleneagles on Wednesday.

1.5 million turned up for Live 8 in Philadelphia.

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