| MUKTASB COMPLETES HAT-TRICK
Muktasb swept to victory in the Kempton For Weddings Handicap at the Sunbury venue to complete a hat-trick and keep the dream alive for his part-owner and stable lass Claire Comery. The seven-year-old was pencilled in for a trip to the sales but Comery stepped in and bought a half-share in her pride and joy at the beginning of November to ensure his future at trainer Derek Shaw's Newark yard. And the 7-2 chance came with his customary late burst to record a double at Kempton and a three-timer in all following on from a victory at Lingfield over Christmas. Comery said: "He always tries and he does love it around here. "He needs settling on the rail and when he gets a split you just let him go and he is off. "He was due to go to the sales but me and another lad bought a half-share each in him, and he has won four races since then and I love him to bits." Sandra Colville was another lady owner to hit the bullseye on a low-key afternoon as Certifiable (13-2) ran out a neck winner of the Panoramic Bar & Restaurant Handicap.
The Guardian profile: Billie Piper
Billie Piper's middle name is Paul, after her dad, but it would be no stranger were it Stakhanovite, such is her astonishing workrate. So far in her 25 years she has packed in four engagements, two whirlwind weddings (the latest last Monday), one divorce, one record-breaking single, three albums, eight TV dramas, five films, one West End play and enough offstage drama to sustain a soap opera for weeks. "This kid is the hardest working, most energetic lady in the industry," said Bill Kenwright, who last year produced Piper's West End debut, Treats. .
Priest's resigning angers residents
Much has changed in the once-blue-collar neighborhood of Locust Point in South Baltimore. Factories have made way for pricey developments, watering holes have been displaced by upscale eateries.
But the edifice on Fort Avenue, Our Lady of Good Counsel, has stood unaltered, long a pillar for the area's Catholics. Down the street is the Episcopal Church of the Redemption. A few blocks away is the Christ United Church of Christ, better known as the German Lutheran church.
For more than 100 years, congregants from these three churches have gone to one another's dinners and carnivals, attended funerals and weddings together, and collaborated on bake sales and bingo nights.
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Kirkland is pitching a hitching for V-Day
Volunteers hope to make Kirkland the wedding capital of the Northwest on Valentine's Day. So far they've booked four weddings but have room for more. The group, Kirkland Weddings (kirklandweddings.com), started during the city's centennial celebration in 2005. The ambitious goal then was to do 100 marriages or renewals of vows. Fifty-six couples participated. It was so much fun the consortium of local businesses and parks department folks decided last year to keep up the marrying. Retired Judge Carolyn Hayek officiates the ceremonies. A couple of photographers, a florist and a wedding consultant complete the package. Stacy Kvam, a wedding planner, assigns tasks and keeps everything on track. The weddings are held at Heritage Hall. The package deal costs $350 and includes the site, a bouquet and boutonniere, a photographer and harpist Anna Jenkins of Kirkland.
Tucson dude ranch industry becoming dud
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Another dude bit the dust in 2007. Citing difficulty in sustaining a dude guest ranch, the owners of Lazy K Bar Guest Ranch in Marana have leased the property and changed its focus to a venue for weddings and corporate gatherings. Its departure from the dude ranch scene leaves Tucson with just two spots where guests can check in, saddle up and play cowboy, or cowgirl. "We are one generation away from no dude ranches existing in the way that we know today," said Russell True, co-owner of White Stallion Ranch in Tucson. "I've watched Tucson go from 30-plus dude ranches to two." While some smaller ranch owners survived by letting their guests ride on vacant land around their property, Tucson's growth boxed them in and the sight of rooftops discouraged some visitors, he said.
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