TAKE THAT star MARK OWEN is to become a dad for the second time.
The Never Forget singer, 36, and his fiancee Emma Ferguson are expecting the new tot in December (08) and are delighted with the news.
Announcing the pregnancy on his website, he says the couple is "thrilled about having a new addition to their family".
They already have a 22-month-old son, named Elwood.
The Long Blondes have cancelled all their upcoming tour dates after the band's guitarist, Dorian Cox, was rushed into hospital.
According to a statement on the band's website, Cox “is still in hospital in Sheffield in a serious condition.”
The guitarist was admitted to hospital on June 9th, the statement reads.
“Because of this we will regrettably be cancelling all our live appearances until the end of July. Dorian is improving slowly and we will keep you updated on his condition.
“If you would like to leave a message on MySpace, Facebook, or through the website, we would be glad to pass them on to him when we visit.”
Among the shows affected is the Long Blondes scheduled appearance at Glastonbury next week and their recently announced support slots with Duran Duran.
Every time the history of the 20th century has been written, the places of Sir Winston Churchill and Mohandas Gandhi are secure.
Each is remembered as a man of great courage, and rightfully so: They were giants who resisted tyranny with defiance, who shaped nations with their indomitable wills.
But prevailing memories of the two tend to be one-dimensional. Churchill was far more than just the brilliant prime minister who inspired Great Britain against the Axis powers in the Second World War, just as Gandhi was more than a man who used nonviolence and civil disobedience to hasten India's independence.
In "Gandhi & Churchill," historian Arthur Herman restores the human side to both men. He writes a fascinating tale that lays bare each leader's faults and missteps alongside his greatest victories.
What emerges is a pair of striking profiles.
It's easy to think of Gandhi and Churchill as wildly popular leaders who commanded the love and respect of their nations. In truth, each had a stubborn single-mindedness that left many people hateful and alienated. And both endured multiple setbacks, any of which could have derailed their larger ambitions.
Herman begins by explaining how British forces, though woefully outnumbered, still managed to seize control of the vast Indian nation in the 18th century. Then we meet Churchill. His lust for military glory antagonizes first his fellow soldiers and later his fellow politicians. He creates powerful enemies but is such a garrulous blowhard that he can bully opponents by burying them in thundering diatribes.
As a politician, he makes countless blunders. After each embarrassment, his career hangs by a thread, yet his single-minded belief that he is always right allows him to persevere.
Meanwhile Gandhi studies in London and becomes a lawyer in South Africa. There he suffers the racial oppression that launches his lifetime of moral crusades.
He, too, struggles to develop a following. He launches civil disobedience campaigns in the name of equality. But supporters waver as long jail terms cost them wages and keep them from their families.
Eventually the paths of Gandhi and Churchill cross - a single meeting that leads to a lifelong battle of wills over India's independence.
Churchill believes that India is better off under British rule, with its access to British education and protection by the crown's military. He fights tirelessly to convince Parliament that he's right. But Gandhi is convinced that Indians can rule themselves. The Mahatma helps create an Indian National Congress to lead the march toward independence, although the group turns out to be a contentious body of Hindus and Muslims who never learn to work together.
Many readers may already be familiar with the broader history. But Herman's talent lies in presenting the nuanced details that complete the picture.
He gives the reader a full sense of Churchill's frustrations, of Gandhi's anguish. With that understanding comes a much deeper appreciation for what each man was able to accomplish.
However, the book's greatest assets - its lavish detail and rich litany of quotes - are also its biggest drawbacks.
Herman introduces scores of characters and their multiple viewpoints. The technique gives the reader a clearer understanding of who did what and why, but it also makes the book difficult to read quickly as the reader works to keep all the players in mind.
The author also makes liberal use of direct quotes, another pro and con. Virtually every paragraph has at least one partial quote from a politician or government official. Naturally, it's thrilling to "hear" Gandhi's and Churchill's actual voices, but a reader switches back and forth so much between Herman's prose and the quotes that, again, the reading pace slows.
All that means is, "Gandhi & Churchill" isn't a book you will finish quickly. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Either biography would have been enlightening on its own but in Herman's capable hands, the tales are even more fascinating as one. For more than 40 years Gandhi and Churchill were locked in an unwavering battle of wills. Indeed, theirs was a rivalry that changed the world.
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"Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age"
By Arthur Herman (Bantam Books)
DAWSON'S CREEK star JAMES VAN DER BEEK loves showing off his vocal talents and insists his membership of his university's a cappella choir is not geeky.
The actor, who played Dawson Leery in the hit teen sitcom for more than five years, enjoyed the musical past-time - which sees singers perform unaccompanied - in the mid 1990s.
While studying at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey, Van der Beek performed in all-male a capella group 36 Madison Avenue - and insists his choir drew in larger audiences than his friends' 'cool' rock band.
He says, " I had some friends who played in actual bands, and 10 people would show up for their gigs.
"Meanwhile, we were singing for hundreds of fans."
