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Di's Butler makes millions from her memories (Go To Top)

     London: Princess Diana's former Butler has admitted that he cashed in on Di's popularity and made big bucks by selling stories about the royal family. "I am a rich man now. Richer than I've ever been. I can't defend myself against making money - but I am helping to keep alive the Princess's memory," he was quoted by The Sun, as saying. Burrell peddled more stories about the Royal Family at a weekend break he hosted called "A Royal invitation with Paul Burrell". Guests paid 400 pounds each to hear more of his tales at Littlecote House Hotel in Hungerford, Berks, organised by adult- only holiday firm Warners. "The words 'cashing in' mean many things but they will always be attached to me, There are a lot of people who still adore the Princess and want to hear about her life." Burrell, who also charged 5 pounds for photos, added.

Miss Money Penny fancies her new Bond boss (Go To Top)

     Washington: Samantha Bond, who essayed the role of Miss Money Penny in the last four Bond flicks is happy with the choice of Daniel Craig as the new Bond. The actress who played the secretary of the suave agent 007 for the first time in 1995 opposite Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye feels that Craig is the best choice for the role However Miss Moneypenny has been written out of the new movie because she only fleetingly appears in Ian Fleming's Casino Royale. But Samantha has no bitter feelings towards the film's producers, and she is convinced Craig, the first blond Bond, is a suitable candidate to take the role in a new direction. "I think it's an absolutely brilliant choice. He is butch, male, attractive and a bloody good actor. He was by far the most plausible choice," she was quoted by Contactmusic, as saying.

Bond's girls are all in the family (Go To Top)

     London: It will be for the first time that a mother and daughter will have played Bond girls, if producers of Casino Royale, featuring the new Bond Daniel Craig, cast young actress Jasmine Lennard, whose mother appeared opposite Roger Moore in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. Jasmine's mother, 51-year-old actress Marilyn Galsworthy, played the assistant to the evil Stromberg (Curt Jurgens) in The Spy Who Loved Me. "I'd be thrilled if Jasmine gets it. It's early days at the moment," Galsworthy was quoted by the Daily Mail, as saying. "All I said was 'Yes' before I was fed to the sharks. When we were filming my death, I was dangling my feet in the freezing water when some of the crew decided to pull my legs under. The camera was still rolling and I was drowning. The producer Cubby Broccoli liked what he saw, so when you see me on film it's not brilliant acting but me nearly dying," talking about her role 28 years ago, she said. Jasmine too wants to keep up the legacy of her mother and is willing to play even the smallest role in a Bond flick. "I'm sure every girl in the world harbours a secret ambition to be a Bond girl, and growing up with a mother who played one only inspired me even more," she said. "It's a bit boring being one of Bond's lovers. All you get is a bit of fun under the sheets in the final scene. Being the baddie is much more exciting," she added.

'Spitfires' set to recreate WWII 'tally-ho' moments (Go To Top)

     London: More than sixty years after they rose in the skies over the English Channel to knock off the Luftwaffe Junkers, Dorniers and Heinkels that flew in hordes to bombard English cities during WWII, seven RAF spitfires are all set to fly again. The seven spitfires, among the 23 airworthy Spitfires believed to be left in Britain and belonging to the seven different marks, the earliest being the Mk Vb from the Imperial War Museum's collection, are taking part at the final major airshow of the year at RAF Duxford. For the aviation enthusiasts, there's more, as the planes taking part in the show also included the American Tigercat, Hellcat and Corsair, two Soviet Yaks from the Soviet Union, other classic warplanes and a slew of modern era jets, reports The Telegraph. It's noteworthy that the Spitfire was recently feted during the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and a statue of the plane's designer, RJ Mitchell, was unveiled at the Science Museum in London, courtesy a gift from the American billionaire and aviation enthusiast, Sidney Frank.

World events from the New York Times