Picture Yourself There

First match of the season

Love it or hate it, there’s no escaping it - the Premier League season kicks off this Saturday with a clash between Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspurs at the Stadium of Light. Sure, we know that the beautiful game can indeed be a spectacular demonstration of athleticism and skill… but we at Picture Yourself There can’t help thinking that the real artistic genius lies in some of the terrace chants that fans manage to come up with.

BBC Sport is currently running a poll to find the most amusing chant. We don’t know about you, but we particularly like the call from Scottish fans to their Italian opponents: ‘We’re gonna deep-fry your pizzas’. While it’s not big, and it’s certainly not clever, we can’t help thinking that if you can’t beat them, join them. Grab yourselves a team scarf and a Ginster’s, and get the NavPix here…

Endeavour Launch at the Kennedy Space Centre

What was your childhood ambition? Did you want to be a teacher, a train driver or a movie star? Like most people, my life turned out differently to how I imagined it would be (I wanted to be a lollipop lady), and if you were one of the millions of kids with starry-eyed ambitions to be an astronaut, you may have been particularly excited and a touch nostalgic to hear that a spectacular launch of the space shuttle Endeavour took place on Wednesday evening.

The Endeavour, which last flew before the Columbia disaster in 2003, launched successfully from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida last night and will carry its passengers on an 11-14 day mission to the International Space Station. The astronauts will take part in a number of six-hour spacewalks to carry out construction work on the structure using a robotic arm and, presumably, nerves of steel. If you’re envious that these men and women managed to make their childhood ambition of space travel a reality, don’t forget that their line of work involves not just skill, but a great deal of courage.

Get the Kennedy Space Centre NavPix here…

Vancouver Aquarium

For all of you who thought that it was safe to put those childhood terrors to bed… prepare for an unwelcome sequel to a classic horror story. [Cue ominous strings…] Experts have recently been divided over the supposed sighting of a great white shark off the coast of England’s St Ives – and while some of us are assuming (and, presumably, hoping) that the dark fin moving through the water belonged to a benign basking shark, many more will be keeping our toes out of the water for the time being just until we know for sure. The water’s probably freezing, anyway…

But sharks are not just dangerous – they’re pretty spectacular creatures too. And if you dare, you can now spend an evening in their watery world at the Vancouver Aquarium with their Shark Night overnight stays. With lectures, dinner and a bed in front of the exhibits, this is like staying in a hotel, but actually learning something instead of watching TV and eating Toblerone from the mini bar. Just don’t go ordering fish and chips for dinner.

Get the NavPix here…

And thanks to www.arcatapet.net for today's image.

Car ban in Beijing before Olympics 2008

If you live in the UK, you’ll be more than aware of the perhaps controversial smoking ban that has descended upon us. Whether you’re a relieved smokefree supporter or an unashamed nicotine nut, the effects are plain to see: combine the ban with a showery summer, and you’ve got a lot of damp, disgruntled addicts grabbing their fixes in rainy doorways – even what with the smirting (that’s ‘smoking and flirting’ – do try to keep up) it’s not much fun, huh?

But if you’re of the opinion that these are extreme measures all for a bit of fresh air, try to imagine what it will be like in Beijing for the next two weeks when 1 million cars are banned from the city. In a bid to freshen up before the 2008 Olympics, the number of vehicles in the Chinese capital will be dramatically cut down, starting tomorrow. So, while you’re sitting in a restaurant tearing your hear out because you can’t have a post-dinner cigarette with your espresso, thank your lucky stars that you’re not walking to work in the mornings.

Well, perhaps you'll be able to enjoy this city's beautiful locations more without the roar of traffic. We think the Forbidden Palace, which was the Chinese imperial palace between the Mong and Qing dynasties, is particularly special. Get the NavPix here…

Thanks to http://po-ru.com/ for today's image!

The 'Cheese Grater' - and an upside down demolition

If you’re of a nervous disposition, you may want to stay away from London’s Leadenhall Street for the time being, while the former P&O building located there is demolished from the bottom up. This seemingly bizarre deconstruction, which makes the structure in the City of London look like a massive game of Jenga at the point when it’s all getting a bit precarious, does have some method behind the madness: each floor was suspended from the one above it and therefore had to be taken down first.

In what seems like a bid to rename the city’s landmarks according to the contents of a kitchen cupboard, the tower that will appear in its place nearby the Gherkin has been nicknamed the cheese grater. Who would have thought it - but all this talk of architecture is making my mouth water.

Get the NavPix here…

The 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis

From his humble upbringing in Tupelo, Mississippi to record breaking attendances in Las Vegas, Elvis’s life has certainly been well documented. The King of Rock n Roll died thirty years ago this month (the 16th to be exact) and he remains the most influential cultural icon of our lifetime.

But is he really dead? The rumour mill is, of course, rife with reports of sightings. There is actually an official Elvis Sighting Society, based in the US state of Ontario; the roadway beside the restaurant is called ‘Elvis Lives Lane’. Hmm, a little too weird for Navpix we think…

Alive or not, the legend lives on - Elvis still has a bigger fanclub than any of today’s multi-platinum sellers. Let us take you to Graceland Too (yes it is spelt correctly), Holly Springs, Mississippi. This truly houses the world’s biggest Elvis fan, Paul McLeod, along with his son, Elvis Aaron Presley McLeod. They say his personal collection is valued at well over $10 million. Let us just say (from first hand experience) that the free guided tour is very, very surreal. Only in America.

Get the Navpix here…

The Zurich Street Parade

The official website describes the event as “full of throbbing beats and dancing masses”. If it all sounds too much, that’s because it probably is; the Zurich Street Parade is actually Europe’s largest and craziest street carnival. This year, well over a million people are expected to attend, there are at least thirty ‘lovemobile’ sound systems and countless DJs are ‘spinning tunes’ till the early hours. Expect the weird, the wonderful and the downright odd.

German techno behemoth, Sven Vath famously opened the event last year, and this year’s line-up is certain not to disappoint. Ever heard of Sander Kleinenberg? Yves Larock? Don’t worry, we haven’t either but they are apparently huge stars in central Europe. So get your dancing shoes on you party animal, yeah!

Get the Navpix here…

The Sauna World Bathing Championships

Finland is known for being the most sparsely populated country in Europe. We’re expecting it to be literally heaving this weekend though, as the Sauna World Bathing Championships comes to the southern town of Heinola.

The idea behind this (seemingly very popular) sport is to get into the sauna, sit as still as possible and wait while the heat is racked up and up to as much as 110oC. The winner is the person who can hold out the longest, presumably without passing out or dying through heat exhaustion. One leading competitor last year proclaimed “My skin looked like a waffle iron had been repeatedly pressed against it”. Lovely.

We advise that contestants are well-hydrated before commencing – and thankfully the best water in the world is found in Finland, according to a recent UN report.

Get the Navpix here…

Somerset House Summer Screening with Film4

Copyright: PA/David Parry

London's beautiful, neo-classical Somerset House was built by famed Scottish architect, Sir William Chambers in the 18th Century. Always an important centre for politics, arts and learning, it was even rumoured that celebrated seafarer, Lord Nelson worked there. It now houses HM Revenue & Customs, formally the Inland Revenue.

As thoroughly fascinating and historically significant all this is, we’re more interested in whats happening this week and next. The Film4 Summer Screening transforms the Fountain Courtyard into a giant open-air cinema. Movies include the incendiary 1980s horror classic, The Thing, slightly underwhelming Brit comedy Hot Fuzz and the frankly hilarious Rushmore, starring the legend that is Bill Murray. For full listings, check it out here http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/film/. And as it is outside, lets hope for a continuation of the truly fantastic weather we’re having. (erm…)

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Britain's Favourite View

Day in day out, the only thing we see out of our window is the unassuming 1960s towerblock opposite, covered in scaffolding and semi derelict. It is hardly what you would call a ‘killer view’. Grey though Britain can be however, we’ve all got our favourite towns, beaches or areas of natural beauty that we love to escape to. Well, at least to use as a screensaver on our desktop.

As busy as our celebrities are, they’ve now taken time out to tell us about their own favourite British vistas and locations. Famous faces that have contributed to upcoming TV series Britain’s Favourite View include evergreen Des Lynam, funnyman Vic Reeves and Corrie’s Sally Whittaker. Cartoon artist Rolf Harris may be more familiar with the Sydney Opera House, but he also has a love affair with St Ives Harbour in Cornwall, which we’ve chosen as today’s Navpix.

Britain’s Favourite View starts on ITV1 on August 12, so sit back, relax and feel faintly depressed that you aren’t there. Plus you can have a peek at www.britainsviews.co.uk for the full list of locations our celebs hold close to their hearts.

Get the Navpix here