Inn | SilverScorpio.Com

Holiday Inn hotel made of key cards is world’s first

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Sep 18 (ANI): A Holiday Inn hotel made entirely of key cards has been unveiled in New York.

The 37-square-metre hotel, built by world record-holding Cardstacker Bryan Berg, is made from more than 200,000 key cards and weighs 1814 kilograms.

It includes a guest bedroom, bathroom and lobby, with life-sized furniture.

The design was created by Holiday Inn, the world’s largest hotel group, to mark the relaunch of 1200 of its hotels around the world.

“The Key Card Hotel is a fun and interactive way to showcase the changes happening at our hotels and is the only structure of its kind to ever be created by a hotel brand,” News.com.au quoted Kevin Kowalski, Senior Vice President, Global Brand Management, Holiday Inn, as saying.

Berg, who will also build a freestanding three-metre replica of New York’s Empire State Building in the lobby of the Key Card Hotel using Holiday Inn playing cards, said constructing the hotel has been a great challenge.

“This is my largest cardstacking challenge to date and the only card creation I have ever made at full human scale,” Berg added about the hotel.

The first 250 guests who attended the Key Card Hotel grand opening received a free night stay at any Holiday Inn.

The company’s 1 billion dollar relaunch is one of the largest in the history of the hospitality industry. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, bathroom, bedroom, brand, Bryan Berg, building, card, Card Creation, Card Hotel, Cardstacker, challenge, com, company, creation, date, design, dollar, empire, empire state building, fun, furniture, Global, Global Brand Management, grand opening, group, guest, Guest Bedroom, history, History Of The Hospitality Industry, holiday, Holiday Inn Hotel, hospitality, hotel, Hotel Brand, Hotel Group, industry, inn, Kevin Kowalski, key, key card, kind, Kowalski, Largest Hotel, lobby, management, Melbourne, New York, NEWS, night, opening, Playing Cards, president, replica, scale, Senior, senior vice president, Sep, showcase, Sized Furniture, square metre, state, stay, structure, vice, way, world, world record

Attempt to break Elvis impersonator world record bites the dust

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 1 (ANI): An attempt to have the most number of Elvis Presley impersonators bit the dust after only 29 people turned up.

Organisers of the event had their fingers crossed to beat a previous world record with 148 people dressed as ‘The King’ to sing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ at The Ship Inn at Par, Cornwall.

Pauline Giles, who ran the attempt, held the poor turnout on a combination of bad weather and the credit crunch responsible for the failed bid.

“It’s been raining all day which puts people off. Things are also a bit tight at the moment so all in all it was a slightly poor show,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.

The existing record was set by 147 Australians eight years ago. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: ANI, attempt, australians, bad weather, bit, break, combination, cornwall, credit, credit crunch, crunch, day, dust, elvis, Elvis Impersonator, Elvis Impersonators, elvis presley, Elvis Presley Impersonators, event, fingers, giles, impersonator, inn, king, London, moment, number, organisers, par, Pauline, Pauline Giles, people, Poor Turnout, Raining All Day, record, September, ship, Ship Inn, show, Telegraph, turnout, Viva Las Vegas, weather, world, world record

Prince William follows tradition, becomes an honorary barrister

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 7 (ANI): Heir to the British throne, Prince William, has been made an honorary barrister at one of the ancient Inns of Court but promised not to practice.

Prince William visiting the Queens room in Middle Temple, on the occasion of his Call to the Bench.

The ceremony on Monday at London’s Middle Temple saw the Prince not only being called to the Bar, but also being called to the Bench, the Inn’s governing body, The Telegraph reports.

William received good wishes from his “proud grandmother”, the Queen, who could not make the event as it clashed with another engagement.

The Queen regretted not being able to attend the ceremony but Sir George Newman, the Middle Temple treasurer, read her words of support.

The Prince made his acceptance speech in the Inn’s Elizabethan hall before almost 300 guests sat down to dinner and, in accordance with tradition, described his interest, hobbies and passions.

William told the law lords, senior barristers and law students associated with Middle Temple: “I play football, rugby and water polo, not very well, but particularly pride myself in being a quite magnificent armchair centre-back at football and flanker at rugby… and now you have made me a barrister – I promise not to practice, except for the odd speeding ticket.”

The Prince is the sixth member of the Royal Family to be called to the Bench as a Royal Bencher and is following in the footsteps of the Queen Mother, called in 1944, and his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, called in 1988.

William, who wore a gown for the ceremony, told the guests about his activities during the past decade, describing how he spent a gap year in Chile and Africa, had the privilege of serving in the Household Cavalry and was now in the RAF training to be an operational search and rescue pilot.

Talking about his charitable interests, the 27-year-old royal said he wanted to do what he could to help society’s “disadvantaged”, adding: “I’m also very interested in initiatives in creating sustainable development in the light of climate change.”

The Queen said in her message to her grandson: “I regret that I am unable to be with you this evening for your call to the Bench which follows in the tradition of Royal Benchers established at Middle Temple for my great-grandfather, the Prince of Wales, in 1861.”

In a reference to the Queen Mother, who referred to herself as the “woman of the domus” – or house – after become a Bencher, the Queen added: “I should not wish this message to be an unwelcome intrusion into this evening’s proceedings.

“However, as the daughter of the ‘first daughter of the domus’ and the proud grandmother of your latest Royal Bencher, I would simply ask that my warmest of wishes be extended to all present for a most successful and memorable occasion.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: acceptance, accordance, Africa, ANI, armchair, bar, barrister, bench, Bencher, Benchers, body, call, Cavalry, ceremony, change, Chile, climate, Court, daughter, decade, Development, diana, dinner, Elizabethan, engagement, evening, event, family, flanker, football, gap, governing, gown, grandmother, grandson, great grandfather, hall, heir, house, household, inn, interest, intrusion, July, law, light, London, member, message, middle, Monday, mother, occasion, pilot, polo, present, pride, Prince William, princess, privilege, queen, Queen Mother, queens, raf, reference, rescue, room, royal, rugby, search, Sir George Newman, society, speech, speeding, support, Telegraph, Temple, the, throne, ticket, tradition, training, treasurer, wales, warmest, water, william, woman, year

Polish town set to cut down tree gifted by Adolf Hitler

June 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Jun 23 (ANI): A Polish town is all set to cut down a towering oak tree that had been planted as a gift from Adolf Hitler, during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War.

The authorities in Jaslo want to cut down the tree, and burn it to make way for a new roundabout,

But some residents have come to the defence of the 40-foot oak, and are lobbying to save it.The tree has not hurt anyone and is not guilty of anything,” the Telegraph quoted Kazimierz Polak as saying.

He also added that his group was appealing to local and regional authorities to preserve the tree.

“It is growing healthy and tall. Let it grow,” he said.

But the town’s mayor, Maria Kurowska, said that it was a reminder of Jaslo’s connection to Hitler, whose Nazi troops razed the town in late 1944 as the Soviet Army advanced.

“It’s only a tree; we have hundreds of them here. Instead, I can plant trees in honour of Hitler’s victims,” Kurowska said.

Kurowska said that the tree also interferes with a planned roundabout that would increase road safety, explaining why authorities were only now looking to have it removed.

But the mayor said that she had received emails and letters from residents both for and against saving the oak.

Polak recalled that a tiny tree arrived in April 1942 in a box wrapped in the Nazis’ swastika flag. It was a gift from Hitler on his birthday and came from the Austrian city of Braunau am Inn, where the Nazi leader was born in 1889.

With two friends, Polak watched German authorities plant the tree with great pomp – part of an effort to “Germanise” the town, he said.

Two years later as the Red Army approached, the Nazis ordered that the town to be evacuated and looted, according to historians. By the time they left, only 39 of the town’s more than 1,200 houses remained.

Polak, now 81 years old, is the town’s source for information about the tree’s provenance, and the mayor noted that he is active in studying Jaslo’s history and there is no reason to doubt his account.

Nevertheless, she said that the town would decide within weeks about the proposed roundabout.

“You plant trees in honour of truly great people, like John Paul II,” she said.

“If we keep it, we will walk in the city centre remembering this is Hitler’s tree,” she added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: account, Adolf Hitler, ANI, anyone, anything, April, army, Austrian City, birthday, box, Braunau, Braunau Am Inn, centre, city, connection, defence, effort, flag, foot, Foot Oak, German Authorities, Germanise, gift, group, history, honour, information, inn, Jaslo, John Paul II, Jun, Kazimierz Polak, leader, London, Maria Kurowska, mayor, nazi leader, Nazi Occupation, Nazi Troops, Nazis Swastika, oak, Oak Tree, occupation, part, plant, Polak, Polish Town, pomp, provenance, reason, red, red army, Regional Authorities, reminder, road, Road Safety, roundabout, safety, Second, second world war, source, soviet, Soviet Army, swastika, Swastika Flag, Telegraph, time, Tiny Tree, town, tree, war, way, world

A dozen of Havelock women pose nude for cancer charity

May 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Wellington, May 25 (ANI): In a bid to raise funds for breast cancer and the fire service, twelve of Havelock women have posed nude as “calendar girls”.

One of them even went to the extent of wearing nothing but a mussel shell for the shoot.

Tania Varcoe posed for her photograph outside The Mussel Pot restaurant dressed just in a big mussel shell.

In fact, just when the mussel maiden was getting clicked, she was spotted by the passengers of the InterCity coachline.

“I was shocked, as I use those buses to go to Christchurch and I knew the driver, but as I am normally dressed I don’t think he recognised me,” the NZPA quoted her as saying.

She added: “The passengers stared, as they would, seeing a female outside a restaurant with no clothes on dressed only in a mussel shell.”

Varcoe, a hairdresser by profession, works with Blush and owns Metamorphosis, a beauty therapy and massage business.

“Being famous in Havelock is great, but I will avoid nude shots in future,” she said.

The pin-up girls include-a new mum, volunteer fire fighter, nurse, retailer, real estate agent and publican-who have all posed for pictures which are a little naughty but not offensive.

According to ship broker Pat Copp, the brain behind the calendar, it would put a smile on faces and show Havelock’s innovative spirit and character.

The calendars will go on sale for 15 dollars each at a Pink Ribbon Breakfast at the Slip Inn on May 30, and the proceeds will go to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation and Havelock Fire Service. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Agent, ANI, beauty, Beauty Therapy, bid, blush, brain, breakfast, breast, breast cancer, Breast Cancer Foundation, broker, business, calendar, calendar girls, cancer, cancer charity, character, charity, Christchurch, coachline, Copp, dozen, driver, estate, extent, fact, female, fighter, fire, fire service, Foundation, hairdresser, Havelock, inn, intercity, Intercity Coachline, maiden, massage, Massage Business, May, metamorphosis, mussel, Mussel Shell, naughty, New, nothing, Nude Girls, nurse, nzpa, pat, photograph, Pin Up Girls, pink, Pink Ribbon, pot, profession, real estate agent, restaurant, retailer, ribbon, sale, service, she''ll, shoot, show, slip, Slip Inn, smile, Smile Faces, spirit, Tania Varcoe, therapy, volunteer, Volunteer Fire Fighter, Wellington, zealand

Martha’s Vineyard prepares for possible Obama vacation

May 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 5 (ANI): Though the White House says President Obama and his family have “no plans” to vacation on Martha’s Vineyard this August, businesses on the island for the rich and famous are preparing for a possible “First Family” visit.

Well-connected residents of Martha’s Vineyard, a seashore paradise, say President Obama has rented a home in the East Chop neighborhood of Oak Bluffs — a town on the island’s northeastern shore that is rich in African-American history.

Notable black Americans have owned homes in Oak Bluffs, including writer Dorothy West, former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke, and New York Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African-American congressman from the East Coast since Reconstruction.

Other celebrities, including Spike Lee and Oprah Winfrey, have been frequent guests in the island community, Fox News reports.

Oak Bluffs is gearing up for Washington royalty as the Obamas’ popularity on the island is palpable.

Art galleries lining Vineyard Haven’s main street are adorned with paintings of the president. The Crocker House Inn is arranging a Michelle Obama “welcome bag” filled with island delicacies and local flowers. And Mocha Mott’s coffee shop is brewing a special roast called “Mochabama” — a blend of black and white chocolates, store owner Tim Dobel told FOXNews.com.

“His visit would be great for business,” said Andrew Gilmore, a worker at the island’s landmark retail store, The Black Dog.

Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce executive director Nancy Gardella could not confirm that the president will be staying here this summer, but said “people are definitely talking about it.”

Gardella said she is working to create a Web site where islanders can post activity suggestions for the first family, such as a kayaking trip out to Cape Poge in Chappaquiddick or a trip to the island’s most popular ice cream store.

“The vineyard has a long history of presidential hospitality, and we would be thrilled to welcome the president and his family,” she said.

Bill and Hillary Clinton made several trips to Martha’s Vineyard in the 1990s, often staying at friends’ homes in Edgartown.

Though the island has an eclectic mix of people, Gardella and others said Martha’s Vineyard has long appealed to the rich and famous because “you can walk around without having a shave and nobody cares.”

While residents express excitement over a possible presidential visit, the question most whispered in local taverns is: From whom might Obama be renting a vacation home?

“No oyster knife has cracked that one open just yet, but all bets are on Ron Davenport, Wayne Budd, or Charles Ogletree,” said a local businessman, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Obama, who does not own a vacation home, visited Martha’s Vineyard last August to attend a campaign fundraiser at the waterfront home of Ron Davenport — chairman of Pittsburgh-based Sheridan Broadcasting Corp., the largest African-American-owned communications network in the United States.

The president has stayed at the Oak Bluffs home of Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree — a close confidant — on several occasions, beginning in 2004 after the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett also has a home in Oak Bluffs.

Planned visit or not, residents say the buzz over an Obama retreat is a boost to the island’s economy. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: activity, Activity Suggestions, Adam Clayton Powell, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., adviser, african, African American History, American Congressman, American-owned, Andrew Gilmore, ANI, anonymity, art, August, bag, bill, black, blend, Bluffs, boost, boston, broadcasting, business, businessman, buzz, campaign, Cape Poge, chairman, chamber, Chappaquiddick, Charles Ogletree, clinton, coffee, com, commerce, community, condition, confidant, congressman, convention, corp, cream, Crocker, Democratic, director, Dobel, dog, Dorothy West, East Chop, east coast, economy, Edgartown, Edward Brooke, excitement, executive, family, fox, Fox News, FOXNews, Frequent Guests, fundraiser, Gardella, harvard, haven, hillary, history, home, hospitality, house, ice, inn, island, knife, landmark, last, law, lee, lining, local flowers, Martha's Vineyard, massachusetts, May, Michelle Obama, mix, Mocha, Mochabama, mott, Nancy Gardella, national, neighborhood, network, New York, NEWS, nobody, northeastern shore, Notable, oak, Oak Bluffs, Obamas, oprah, Oprah Winfrey, owner, Owner Tim, Oyster, paradise, Pittsburgh, planned, popularity, president, President Obama, professor, question, reconstruction, rep, retreat, roast, Ron Davenport, royalty, seashore, sen, Sheridan, shop, shore, site, spike, store, street, summer, Tim Dobel, town, trip, United States, vacation, Valerie Jarrett, vineyard, visit, Washington, waterfront, Wayne Budd, web, Well-connected, white, winfrey, worker, writer

Pope Benedict XVI spends 82nd birthday resting

April 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Castel Gandolfo, Italy – Following a week of intense Easter festivities, Pope Benedict XVI was set Thursday to spend his 82nd birthday resting at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo in the hills south of Rome.

The low-key commemoration contrasted with April 16, 2008 when Benedict, who was on an apostolic visit to the US, was feted in Washington by then US president George W Bush.

On that occasion a choir sang “Happy Birthday” for the pontiff on the White House lawn.

In March this year Benedict made his first trip to Africa as pontiff when he visited Cameroon and Angola, while his next trip abroad is scheduled in May when he will travel to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Before then, he is expected to visit Italy’s central Abruzzo region which last week was struck by a devastating earthquake in which almost 300 people were killed.

Unlike many other monarchies, Vatican City state does not officially celebrate birthdays of popes but holds public holidays to mark the anniversary of their election.

Benedict who took that name following his election on April 19, 2005, was born as Joseph Ratzinger in the town of Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany.(dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abruzzo region, Africa, Angola, anniversary, Apostolic Visit, April, Bavaria, Bavaria Germany, benedict, benedict xvi, birthday, bush, Cameroon, Castel Gandolfo, Castel Gandolfo Italy, central Abruzzo, choir, commemoration, devastating earthquake, DPA, earthquake, Easter, Easter Festivities, Election, George W, George W Bush, Germany, happy, house, inn, Israel, Israel And The Palestinian Territories, Italy, Jordan, Joseph Ratzinger, lawn, March, Marktl, Marktl Am Inn, May, Monarchies, name, occasion, Palestinian, papal, Papal Residence, pontiff, pope, Pope Benedict, Pope Benedict XVI, president, President George W Bush., Public Holidays, region, residence, Rome, state, Thursday, town, trip, Trip To Africa, US, Vatican City, vatican city state, visit, Washington, week, white, White House Lawn, year

Fortune Hotels opens Fortune Inn Grazia Hotel in Noida

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Noida, Apr 10 (ANI/Business Wire India): Fortune Park Hotels Ltd., today announced the opening of its property, ‘Fortune Inn Grazia’, in the centrally located Sector 27 of Noida.

Fortune Inn Grazia is the second operational Fortune Hotels property in the NCR region after Gurgaon and there are five more to open in the near future.

The Fortune Inn Grazia is located next to the commercial and shopping hub of Sector 18. With the Fortune Inn in Noida, the total number of l Fortune Inn category hotels in the country now stands at four with Jammu, Pune and Visakhapatnam hotels already operational.

Targeted at businesses travelers, the hotel offers a choice of 42 well appointed rooms including 30 standard rooms and 12 Fortune Club Rooms, equipped with all modern amenities to ensure pleasant stay for travelers.

Other offerings at Fortune Inn Grazia include a gym, spa, swimming pool and two restaurants, Earthern Oven and Fortune Deli for the perfect dining experience. It offers free Wi-Fi connectivity in the lobby, restaurant areas and also in the rooms.

Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Verma, Senior Executive Vice President, ITC Ltd.-Hotels Division, said, “We currently have 26 operational Fortune Hotels in India and 52 alliances across the country and our Noida property is placed to strategically serve the NCR region. We will be expanding our presence in key markets with our different brands of Fortune Hotels in accordance to market demand. We are all set to launch our new properties in Mussoorie, Jaipur, Bangalore and Manipal in the next two months.”

Suresh Kumar, President, Fortune Hotels, said, “We are delighted to announce the launch of Fortune Inn Grazia in Noida and expect to bridge the existing gap with our excellent service and hospitality commitment. We will be able to redefine service standards available to the business traveler in this region. With a large number of corporate and other institutions based in the region we are sure of receiving good response for our hotel. Overall, the responses to all our properties have been excellent. We are looking forward to taking our services to other cities across India.”

“Fortune Inn Grazia is an effort to reinvent the experience of hospitality for the corporate segment and the new age travelers in this region,” said Rahul Agarwal, Director, Angel Baby Products Pvt. Ltd..

“Our variety of services caters to the evolving needs of the guests. We are committed to offer excellent services at good value proposition to the business and leisure travelers. Also since our hotel is centrally located we expect it to become an ideal place to host business meetings and in-house conferences,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: accordance, age, alliances, Angel Baby, ANI, Apr, Bangalore, business, Business Traveler, category, choice, club, commercial, commitment, connectivity, country, Deli, demand, dining, director, division, Earthern, effort, Excellent Service, executive vice, experience, fortune, Free Wi Fi, future, gap, grazia, Gurgaon, gym, hospitality, hotel, hub, India, inn, itc, Itc Ltd, jaipur, jammu, launch, leisure, lobby, ltd, Manipal, market, mussoorie, NCR, noida, number, occasion, opening, oven, park, Pawan, place, pool, presence, president, property, proposition, Pune, pvt, Rahul Agarwal, region, response, restaurant, Restaurant Areas, rooms, sector, Sector 27, segment, Senior Executive Vice, senior executive vice president, service, shopping, spa, stay, Suresh Kumar, swimming, swimming pool, targeted, today, traveler, value, variety, verma, visakhapatnam, W.I., wire

Assault charge against Liverpool’s Gerrard dropped

March 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Mar.21 (ANI): Liverpool football star Steven Gerrard has expressed relief after an assault charge against him was dropped on Friday.

The Liverpool midfielder, who faced the possibility of going to jail for five years for allegedly causing bodily harm to businessman Marcus McGee, 34, in a wine bar last December, hugged his lawyer after the charges were dropped.

On Friday, according to the Daily Star, prosecutors told magistrates they had decided to drop the assault charges due to lack of evidence.

Gerrard, 28, however, still faces a charge of affray following the alleged bust-up while he was celebrating a Liverpool victory with pals at the Lounge Inn bar in Southport, Merseyside. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: affray, ANI, assault, Assault Charge, bar, Bodily Harm, businessman, bust, charge, daily, Daily Star, December, evidence, football, football star, Friday, Going To Jail, harm, inn, jail, lack, lawyer, Liverpool, Liverpool Football, London, lounge, magistrates, mar, Marcus McGee, Merseyside, midfielder, pals, possibility, prosecutors, relief, Southport, southport merseyside, star, Steven Gerrard, victory, wine, Wine Bar

Mike Tyson set to send autobiography for publication

February 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, Feb 13 (ANI): Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is all set to send his memoir for publication, and is leaving no stones unturned to avoid any leaks.

He has made it a point that only five publishers see his book proposal, according to reports.

“It is similar to the way the Kurt Cobain journals were sold, which went for 4 million dollars,” the New York Post quoted a source as saying.

“Just eight people were invited down to the Inn on Irving Place to view Kurt’s actual journals and hear his unreleased song.

“The book went on to be a No. 1 best-seller,” the source added.

Tyson started penning his own story while he was in jail.

“Me and my cellmate would read to each other at night,” he told one editor.

“One night I would read out loud to him, the next night he would read out loud to me. And we would do that back and forth until the book was completed,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: ANI, autobiography, best seller, book, cellmate, champion, editor, Feb, former, inn, Irving, jail, kurt, kurt cobain, memoir, Mike Tyson, New York, night, place, point, post, proposal, publication, song, source, story, tyson, way

Step wall from Mughal period still exists in Pakistan

February 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Feb 9 (ANI): One of the Mughal era’s architectural constructions, a step wall from that period, still exists in a well preserved condition, in Pakistan.

According to a report in The News International, the step wall, called as the ‘Losar Baoli’, is located among the Margalla Hills at Shah Allah Ditta, in the Potohar plateau.

Potohar plateau is the area which was the home of the Soan Civilization, which is evidenced by the discovery of fossils, tools, coins, and remains of ancient archaeological sites ranging from Stone Age to the Mughal architectural remains.

Being situated in the rich Potohar plateau, Margalla hills also preserves various remains of history which though lost their original shape, yet maintain the glory of the past kings and emperors.

The ‘Losar Baoli’, situated right upward the caves at Shah Allah Ditta, is thought to be constructed by Sher Shah Suri in order to facilitate the caravans moving towards Kabul via Taxila.

The traces of an old passage (darrah) are still found in its dilapidated condition, starting almost 100 feet upward from Shah Allah Ditta caves towards Girri (Taxila).

According to archeologists, this passage was regularly used by the Mughals and before that for the purpose of trade and other purposes.

Along with this old passage, a step well (Losar Baoli) constructed in grey limestone still exists.

The blocks, known as dressed blocks, are used in the construction of the step well in order to ensure its durability.

The width of the well is about six to eight feet while the steps of the well are still in their original shape.

Quoting famous archeologist Dr Dani, archeologist Ansar Ahmed said that the step wells were usually constructed during the regime of Sher Shah Suri, who in order to facilitate the caravans, used to construct these wells at the distance of almost 10 kilometers in a passage.

“He not only used to construct wells but also a mosque and an inn (Saraai) for the passengers so that they could continue their journey with comfort,” said Ahmed.

Ahmed pointed out that there were traces of step wells, mosques and inn in the way of Peshawar and Lahore and they are situated almost at the distance of 10 kilometers.

“There were several step wells either in their good or bad shape along with the trunk road,” he said.

According to Ahmed, although there were no traces found of any mosque or inn near the ‘Losar Baoli’ of Shah Allah Ditta, yet its relevance to Sher Shah Suri could not be denied. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: age, ahmed, ANI, ansar, archeologist, area, Baoli, civilization, comfort, condition, construction, darrah, discovery, distance, Ditta, Dr Dani, durability, era, Feb, Girri, glory, history, home, inn, international, Islamabad, journey, kabul, Lahore, limestone, Losar, Margalla Hills, mosque, Mughal, Mughals, NEWS, order, Pakistan, passage, period, peshawar, plateau, Potohar, purpose, regime, relevance, report, road, Saraai, Shah Allah, Shah Suri, shape, Sher, Soan, step, stone, taxila, the, trade, trunk, wall, way, well, width

UK budget hotel rooms teeming with mould, blood and faeces

January 7, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta 1 Comment

London, Jan 6 (ANI): Budget hotels in the UK have been found to be contaminated with blood, mould, urine and even faeces, an investigation has revealed.

In fact, the “most disturbing” discovery was made in a room at the Ibis hotel on Charles Street in Manchester—there the mattress was so badly soiled that the cover had started to fray and mould had begun to grow.

The investigation by the consumer group ‘Which?’, during stays at the UK”s five most visited budget hotel chains, also found food debris and stray fingernails lying on the floor, and duvets with suspected blood stains.

The five hotel chains investigated were –Travelodge, Premier Inn, Jurys Inn, Ibis and Comfort Inn.

“The rooms we inspected varied quite significantly when it came to standards of cleanliness, adding a whole new meaning to the concept of a dirty weekend,” The Telegraph quoted the report as saying.

The investigation found that carpets in one of these hotels contained high levels of dust and the mattress was in such an appalling condition that mould was growing on it.

Other than that, bathrooms were seen with urine streaked down the outside of a toilet and faeces on the toilet seat.

The report claimed that the revelations come, as the budget hotel sector seems to be bucking the downward trend in the hotel market amid the economic downturn.

For the investigation researchers from Which? Holiday inspected 16 rooms in budget chain hotels in London and Manchester during a four-day period in September 2008.

Lorna Cowan editor of Which? Holiday magazine said: “Our investigation was only a snapshot, but we are concerned about the standards of cleanliness we found.

“It is clear from our research that bacteria can be eliminated if appropriate cleaning materials and methods are used – as was the case in some of the rooms we inspected. Paying guests should be guaranteed, at the very least, a clean room.”

Experts called for a single accepted standard for hygiene in hotels across the UK to help improve standards. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: ANI, appalling, appropriate, bathrooms, blood, budget, chains, charles, claimed, clean, cleanliness, clear, concerned, cowan, dirty, discovery, dust, experts, faeces, floor, found, fray, grow, guaranteed, holiday, hotel, ibis, inn, inspected, investigation, London, manchester, market, materials, mattress, mould, period, Premier, quoted, report, Research, rooms, sector, seems, standards, toilet, trend, U.K, urine, used