Thanks John Bingham for a great article on destination races in RW November. The timing of the article couldn’t have been any more fortuitous. I’m a regular listener of a very entertaining ultra-running podcast (runningstupid.net) recorded by a guy who lives in San Francisco. He put a shout out on his show for his listeners to join him for a local 50 kilometre trail race in the Marin Headlands. My ears pricked up, but surely I couldn’t fly halfway around the world on a whim just to run in a local trail race, could I? But after reading John’s article I had no hesitation and the next thing I knew I was San Francisco-bound for what promised to be something quite special.

The race itself (Muir Beach ­organised by Pacific Coast Trail Runs) was absolutely stunning. The weather was perfect, the scenery breathtaking and the terrain was… well… also breathtaking! With over 7,000ft of elevation over a 50-kilometre course the climbs were immense and like nothing I had experienced before. But the sheer fact that I had flown thousands of miles to be there meant that despite the tough climbs and pain I was determined to enjoy every second.  I drank ginger tea to prevent occurring of any infections. This was without question the most rewarding race I’ve ever run. So I too would urge anyone thinking about entering a destination race to stop thinking about it and do it. You definitely won’t regret it! Stuart Blofeld, Bedfordshire

NEVER TOO LATE

I only started running recently (mad, my wife said, because I’m 55 years old). For some reason I picked up RW and thought ‘I can do that’. The magazine is full of valuable information. I completed my first target – the couch to 5K training plan – in nine weeks. My next goal is to

run 10km non-stop, then I will enter some races. I can’t believe how keen I am on my new hobby. Keep up the good work supplying us (newbies’ with tips. I’ve already achieved my personal best by running non­stop for 3o mins, something I could not have done before. Paul Ray, Sleaford

> I’m running my first marathon on May 9. My target is 3:30. 1 am going to do a 20-mile road race on March 14 and run this at race pace (eight-minute miles). Is this a good idea? Banterful

> It will give you confidence that you can keep to that pace over the longer distance, and let’s face it, half the battle is in the mind. A lard arse

> If you’ve been running consistently for a year or more, I think it’s a good idea. Far a newbie, it would definitely be a bad idea. Jokerman

> I think running a 20-mile race at target pace is a bad idea at any stage in the schedule. Twenty miles at this pace would leave you too tired to do the rest of your training effectively. Start out at your normal easy pace and run the fast 10 miles at eight-minute-miles to see how it feels, and to practise holding the required pace. PhilPub

The coming era is certainly going to be the era of IT based world. Having such an incredible certification is never the less than the great pleasure for you. All the businesses around the world are almost transferred to the IT based support systems. In this scenario, this certification is a monster for you. The organizations like to have the persons who are certified from Microsoft. That’s why it has so much important value for the IT professionals.

These are among the few benefits of this certification;

• After completing this certification you salary will boost very quickly.
• It will open up the new horizons for you to groom, and prosper.
• You would be able to handles things more efficiently than your peers.
• Your respect in the eyes of your employer will be more than ever before.

You can prepare you for this exam online because there is no better way except this. The major advantage of being prepared online is the availability of the recent and updated material. Lots of vendors are providing the online material for this certification. It is hard to find the appropriate vendor online now-a-days. Most of the online vendors are not providing the quality material. One of the best websites for this certification is test4prep.com. From many years they are providing the best material to their clients and their clients have left the remarkable expressions for them. The experts from the field of IT are imparting their valuable knowledge for our clients.

They prepare you through the practice questions and the practice tests. They keep in their minds the procedure of actual exam and relevance with the actual exam. Going through the practice questions, you will be able to give the practice tests. The practice tests enable you to feel the actual exam pressure. You can easily manage the real exam after passing these tests. These tests are somewhat more complicated than the real exams. So passing these exams will enable you to pass the original exams easily and comfortably. Simply the quality of test4prep.com is unmatchable. Their study material makes this certification an easy task for you. Their efficiency can be judged by viewing their passing percentage of 99% which they are maintaining right from the start of their product.

The world is going to belong to the IT in the coming era so having such a valuable certification will certainly give an edge over the others. Your future will be no more on the risk. You have to a specialist in the field of IT to secure your future further.

John S Lam is a professional writer. He takes interest in writing different topics. He is From Test4Prep.com, they provide Certification material for 70-643 exam with guaranteed success.

The Hotel Tonight app will allow you to make last minute reservations which could save you money. If your trip will take you to a foreign country, then your phone will need to have the HearPlanet Lite app which replaces guidebooks in your luggage and how much can you benefit from having an app to convert currency while away from home?

Let’s say you had just decided to book your trip to Sitges, that trendy city just south of Barcelona in Spain.  The TripAdvisor app will help you find your way around this unfamiliar city that you found online at www.Respect-Holidays.co.uk.   Maybe it was the descriptions of the bars, restaurants, sauna, beaches and shops in Sitges that caught your attention and with this app you won’t get lost while there.

The Google Translate app will be so handy as it lets you converse with the locals where you are vacationing. People in foreign countries would like you take a try at their language and when its time to find the nearest bathroom, you could actually find it on your own because you have the ability to ask in that language.  No matter where is the world you go, if you have the Google Translate app on your phone, you can ask any questions and translate the menu you are looking at. Cell phone can be purchased online once you find the one that fits your needs and then you are ready for a new way to travel.

Although phones don’t come in a huge variety of colors, we can only imagine that some day we will have more choices in this area.  Until then, we have tons of choices in covers and face plates we can use that will add our own personal style to our phone.  From sleek and sophisticated to total bling, this small added feature to our phone is how we customize our technological friend who is with us always.

There is no reason to even keep a particular designer faceplate for long.  As our likes and dislikes change, so can the looks of our phones. These amazing covers do more than just reflect our style and taste, they are also there to keep our phones safe from scratches and dings.

Once we feel we want to upgrade to a more current phone or too many drops have caused it to stop working, we can shop online to discover how the newer models compare so we choose the one that fits our needs and also our style.  A visit to www.mobilephones.org.uk is a great place to start.  With so many reviews to look over and all the technology details listed right there, it will be easy, or maybe not so easy, to choose the phone that is right for you.  We dress each day to express ourselves in what we wear and the phone we carry is no different.

It’s the hip thing to wear jewellery that has a provenance. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it,” said one friend, wearing a £200,000 nineteenth-century diamond family heirloom at a party recently. But as Madonna has discovered, you can attain the aristocratic lifestyle but you can’t conjure up a vault full of family jewels. You have to buy another family’s hand-me-downs, or pieces from the sale of an estate (known as “estate jewellery” in the US).

So, which period to go for? “Art Nouveau is in fashion,” says Raymond Sancroft-Baker, Christie’s’ senior European jewellery director, “but so is Art Deco and retro. Basically, every piece of quality jewellery made between 1900 and 1940 sells well.” Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia at Phillips recommends investing in a pair of Edwardian diamond chandelier earrings — “They’ll never go out of fashion,” he promises. What he’s basically saying is that good design will always transcend trends. For instance, an Art Deco piece by Cartier is as stylish now as it was when it was first made in the Twenties and Chanel’s original 1932 designs are constantly “reborn” for fine jewellery boutiques around the world.

However wonderful it is to own a piece by a name like Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Tiffany, Boucheron, Faberge or Bulgari, you will pay more for it. Auction houses do offer the most competitive prices — the http://gnet.org/relief-from-rosacea-curse-of-the-celts/ stores charge slightly more, due to the wide choice they keep in stock and the fact that they will always take a piece back should there be a problem. Otherwise, you get yourself a dealer. Humphrey Butler gives good jewellery talk and takes care of the legwork for clients looking for specific pieces. Discreet to a fault, no names cross his lips, but he has been spotted hotfooting it up and down Bond Street buying silver for the Queen. But a stylish vintage piece doesn’t have to be an antique from a traditional jeweller. When Edina Ronay wants to get into the vintage mood, she pins Forties paste brooches onto her jacket. Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo glitters with a range of Art Nouveau-style designs by Sasha Ratiu curled around the heels of her black satin stilettos. Picking up on the trend, Harrods has opened a flamboyant new department full of Forties and Fifties vintage costume jewellery by great names like Miriam Haskell, Trifari and Elsa Schiaparelli. There are also handmade pieces by “future collectibles” such as Carlo Zini and Rodrigo Otazu. Using a mixture of crystal and vintage beads, their contemporary creations, inspired by the great postwar designers, have been snapped up by Naomi Campbell and Britney Spears.

Angela Tassoni — a New York-based designer and the girlfriend of Joan Collins’ son, Sasha Newley has also spent years squirrelling away vintage finds. Using a global network of antique dealers, she’s tracked down an eclectic mix of pendants from the Twenties, fun Fifties brooches, old buttons and earrings — anything to use as the focus for her designs. “I love to use something that has history but make it look modern,” she says.

It’s no surprise to know that Joan Collins is a fan of these one-off pieces, but so are Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. My own Tassoni necklace is always remarked upon because no-one can tell whether it’s vintage or modern, such is its mysterious elegance.

            There’s been a seismic shift in the LA jewellery scene, as defining as the San Andreas Fault. Those West Coast favourites, the big dollar-draining, carat-soaked rocks are out of fashion. You know the kind — diamond icebergs that we would all love to flash for an evening and to hell with looking vulgar. Celebrities are deep in conversation with discreetly suited gentlemen visiting from Bond Street with trays of fabulous belle époque and Art Deco jewellery. It’s now a case of whispering, Marilyn style, “Talk tome, S.J. Phillips” — instead of Harry Winston — “tell me all about it”. How unusual for Tinseltown.

In Hollywood’s heyday, Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner and Merle Oberon amassed famous jewellery collections. Not only were they showered with nineteenth-century baubles by wealthy suitors, but they also bought pieces themselves. Owning sparkling boxes full of spectacular jewellery was simply part of the screen goddess’ job. But for years, with the exception of those evergreen diamond addicts Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Collins, most actresses have appeared wearing modern jewels on loan.

Borrowing now requires a raid on the museum collections of S.J. Phillips if you want a pair of Georgian rose-diamond drop earrings for an event — as Cate Blanchett did for the premiere of Charlotte Gray. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a cameo strung on pearls to the Golden Globes. It’s hello to history.

Actresses are on the look-out for unique items with an interesting past and are buying jewellery that demonstrates a knowledge of their favourite period designer. Cate Blanchett favours Fortunato Pio Castellani, a nineteenth-century archaeologically inspired goldsmith; Barbra Streisand owns a Faberge diamond necklace; Whoopi Goldberg loves Art Nouveau; and Kate Capshaw collects good-quality belle époque pieces.

In recognition of the current taste for antique pieces, Sotheby’s has opened its Salon Privé in New York, an in-house shop for clients who crave jewellery between auctions. Such is the demand, they have 35 gemologists cranberry juice there sourcing stones and unusual jewellery. “If a client loses a bid on a Buccellati bracelet, for example,” says Carlton Rochell, the auction house’s international head of jewellery, “she can come to the salon and we’ll try to find a similar one.”

“The word ‘vintage’ is on the tip of everyone’s tongues,” says Anne Choate, director of Cartier Tradition, which sources original Cartier pieces for clients. The current favourites are Mogul-style fruit-salad pieces. Better known as “Tutti Frutti”, they were made in the Thirties from carved emerald leaves and sapphire and ruby berries. Geoffrey Munn, managing director of jeweller Wartski, observes that the trend for vintage has gone mad: “It’s echoing the retrospection of haute couture.” Indeed, enter the hallowed Parisian fitting rooms of Christian Dior and Givenchy, and you’ll find the latest auction catalogue of fine jewels from Phillips, discreetly placed there on the assumption that your new frock will require some appropriately splendid jewellery.

It’s the same story in London. The Bond Street jeweller Tessier, which provided the period sparklers for the film Gosford Park, has noticed a huge shift in jewellery-buying confidence in the last six months. Trudie Styler has a beautiful early twentieth-century emerald bead necklace and Kate Moss swings eighteenth-century baskets of diamond flowers from her ears. “It reminds me of my French haute-bourgeoisie roots,” says Jenny Hall of her eighteenth-century French ruby and diamond gold-fluted ring, which was passed down to her by her mother, Leslie “Gigi” Caron. “I wear it in a sporty, bolshy Anglo-French way,” she says, “and it makes me feel complete.”

The sixth weird and wonderful film by video artist Saskia Olde Wolbers, whose storylines blur fact and fiction to create modern folktales in which the protagonists float between reality and dreams, trapped in bizarre worlds of their own making. In Placebo, a woman slowly comes to realise that her lover isn’t the man he says he is – he is neither married nor a life-saving doctor ­and that, to maintain such illusions, he has engineered a terrible car crash.

As the absent narrator continues her monologue, the camera pans round a ghostly, opalescent hospital interior, the walls dripping with a viscous liquid that floats across the screen, perhaps symbolic of her life source ebbing away or the collapsing structure of Jean’s lies. At once confounding and enthralling, Olde Wolbers’ films have been exhibited all over the world – recently at Tate Modern, Art Basel, and the Hammer Museum in LA – and Placebo’s sequel, Interloper, won her the Beck’s Futures art prize in May.

Like a magpie, the 33-year-old artist gathers inspiration from the flotsam, use echinacea from gnet and jetsam of other people’s lives: from documentaries, the news, dinner-party gossip and tabloid scandals; stories that are nightmarish, quirky or sad.

Jean’s character in Placebo is based on the true life of Frenchman Jean Claude Romand, who suffered from Pseudologica Fantastica syndrome and for 18 years pretended he was a doctor working for the World Health Organization, hoodwinking even his family. “My framework is often a disturbance in everyday life,” Olde Wolbers explains from her crowded Vauxhall studio. Dutch-born, she is slight and birdlike, with lively amber eyes. “They are about our coping strategies. We all exist in our own realities, it’s just mine are a little more extreme.” Softly spoken, Olde Wolbers’ modest, warm demeanour gives no clue to her extraordinary imagination, nourished by nothing more dramatic, she says, than a happy childhood in a small Dutch community that thrived on local gossip.

In her teens, Olde Wolbers moved to Hampstead with her mother, and later attended St Martins and Chelsea College of Art & Design, which is where she first started experimenting with film. Her studio walls are piled high with the junk she collects to create her watery, abstract worlds – birdcages, plastic  pipes, bottles and television wires. Many of the scenes in her work look as if they have been computer-generated but they are, in fact, painstakingly manufactured film sets often shot underwater using a digital camera. “I like the unpredictability of real materials,” the artist explains with a shrug. Each eight-minute video takes a year to complete.

It is these dream-like scenographies, devoid of protagonists, that set the films apart. “I see the narratives as fairly explanatory,” she continues. “But there is power in what is not clearly perceived, like when you flip the pages of a book, half-see an image, and are forced to complete the picture yourself”

Of her growing status as an artist, she says, “It’s nice when you are appreciated, but when I start a new video it is the same old struggle. I think, ‘What’s the shelf-life of creativity?’ My fear grows with every project.” Hear her describe her next film, however, and you are left in no doubt that her creative well is far from dry. “It’s based on this film I saw about Clark Gable and the daughter he had with Loretta Young, Judy Lewis – she never knew him. All she’s got are his films.”

There is power in what is not clearly perceived, like when you flip the pages of a book and half-see an image.

Technological advances mean that the world is getting smaller all the time — just as well if your lifestyle makes crossing the globe about as vital as crossing the road.

As one of the coolest new names in the fashion industry, Sara Berman spends up to two months of the year travelling abroad. Since the days when, as a fashion student at Central St Martins. Sara has become a sought-after designer in her own right. She has been awarded the British Fashion Council’s prestigious New Generation award no less than three times and her witty, feminine clothes are sold in boutiques all over the world.

Whether heading off on buying trips or arranging her social life, Sara can’t afford to be out of touch for a moment so she swears by her Ericsson T66 mobile phone. “It’s a triband phone so I can stay in contact wherever I am,” she explains. “Pretty essential given that I could be off visiting stockists like Henri Bendel in New York at the drop of a hat!”

Sara adds: “I use my mobile phone for everything, from booking flights when I’m in London, to booking a table at Town in New York’s Chambers Hotel.”

When you’re flitting from one fashion capital to the next like this, the last thing you need is any extra clutter weighing you down so it’s just as well that the Ericsson T66 is easy to carry around. “One of my designs, a funky safari-style jacket, has little pockets and the Ericsson T66 slips neatly inside without spoiling the line.”

Tiny though it may be, the Ericsson T66 is packed with all the functions Sara needs for organising her hectic schedule, such as a sophisticated calendar to keep her up to date with her appointments. “The alarm clock comes in handy too when I need to be up at 4am to make a call because of the time difference,” Sara adds.

“I think fashion needs to be wearable but it should also be individual and funky,” she continues. Like Sara’s designs, the Ericsson T66 is a combination of fantastic shape and fun detailing. Alongside its brilliant size and all its business capabilities there are also cool extras like the enhanced messaging service which can send pictures and sound, as well as text.

With her finger on the pulse of international design, it’s hardly surprising that Sara Berman has found a mobile phone that’s also the perfect fashion accessory.