Celebs On Holiday

'Sleb on Hols favourite Ben Fogle - now free of flesh-eating bug after relapsing back in March - has teamed up with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to make a holiday health vid.

According to RPS bods, half of all Brits who have travelled to countries where tropical diseases are prevalent have caught something - but one in nine don't take any medical odds and ends with them. Hmm.

Admittedly, this isn't technically Ben on holiday. But he's talking on the subject of holidays, and that's... look, just watch it, okay?

Barack Obama took some time out to do some sightseeing in Egypt after his keynote speech to the Muslim world at Cairo University on Thursday.

The US president visited Cairo's 600-year-old Sultan Hassan mosque and was later taken on a tour of the Giza Pyramids by Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's antiquities authority.

Interesting fact: The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence.

Eva Longoria is taking some time out in St Tropez with husband Tony Parker on a private luxury yacht in the latest stop on their European vacation.

The Desperate Housewives actress has been enjoying some time off from filming and in the last two weeks has jetted from Los Angeles to Cannes to Vienna to Rome to Paris and back to the French Riviera.

How the other half live!

Seems that Ronaldo is a creature of habit as he has been spotted on holiday in Porto Cervo AGAIN! 

The eagle eyed among you may remember that Ronaldo spent some time at the Sardinian resort in July of last year.

What we can't work out is whether he is yawning or is in pain from those skimpy, teeny-tiny white manshorts. 

"Help! Help! I am in a lot of pain and I cannot feel my legs"

If a picture speaks a thousand words then these photos of poor Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger trying to do a little bit of shopping in Portofino scream millions ...

Below: the lovebirds attempt a spot of window shopping...

Below: alas, all hopes of shopping are thwarted as crowds of fans descend upon the couple.  Patiently, Hamilton and Scherzinger sign autographs.... 

Below: But enough is enough. Heading home, Hamilton is seen getting a little fed up (rightly so) with the intrusion  

Poor old Amy Winehouse.  Plans to make a comeback at this weekend's St Lucia Jazz Festival ended in a bit of a disaster, according to reports, after the singer had to cut short her performance.

Below: YouTube video footage of Amy Winehouse at the St Lucia Jazz Festival

While some reports (and Amy's spokesperson) place the blame on "technical difficulties", attendees at the concert suggest the singer was "unfit" to be on stage and blame her "painful" performance for the aborted gig after she apparently forgot the lyrics to a song and told the crowd, "Sorry, I'm bored".

But Winehouse does still have some supporters in St Lucia with tourism minister, Allan Chastanet offering the following comment:

"It's a shame it did not go better but we will bring her back in the future. We fully support her and hope she can get well. We have a lot of admiration for her."

Winehouse, 25, has been in St Lucia on an extended stay since last year and is recording new material on the island.

Stars of tv and film descended upon Majorca last weekend for the fifth Pirates Charity Premiere in aid of Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital; TWgroup art editor Flora Ioannou asked celebs Sue Cleaver, Duncan Pow, Katy Cavanagh, Richard Arnold, Claire Young and Tom Felton to pick their dream pirates for next year's show...

Note: Claire, surely that should be Sir Alan Sugarrrrrrrrrr

Just spotted on the MediaMonkey blog: Derek Batey - he of Mr and Mrs fame - has a holiday home in Remington, Florida up for rent.

Below: Derek Batey image courtesy of Rex 

Derek says (rather sweetly) on his official Mr and Mrs website "when my wife and I saw the home for the first time, we loved it and both said together 'a perfect Mr & Mrs holiday home".

If you'd like to book the villa, contact derekbatey@mr-and-mrs.tv 

Poor old Beyonce. she's been at the centre of yet another (not very funny) prank, this time by Austrian radio station, Krone-Hit while in Vienna as part of her world tour.

The radio station (masquerading as Beyonce's representatives) contacted Vienna's Albertina Museum to arrange a private tour for the 27-year-old singer. Then sent a look-a-like in her place. Oh the hilarity

The only mildly amusing thing about this prank was that the double looked nothing like Beyonce.  As you can see from the photos below courtesy of Krone.at.  

Even the Albertina staff were unconvinced, with spokesman Verena Dahlitz reported to have said "We were a little doubtful but [we] weren't really sure. It could have been her."

What wasn't so funny was that Beyonce, unaware of the setup, was spotted shopping in Vienna with her mother at the same time.  So it was reported that the singer was behaving like a diva, was rude, and had snubbed the museum to go shopping instead.  Not true.

Check out Krone-Hit's video of the prank...
 

Rihanna has been spotted frolicking with a mystery man on the Sandy Lane beach, Barbados.

The 21-year-old singer, who is an extended holiday in Barbados, is said to be finally getting over her split with singer Chris Brown who is in court today facing charges of assault and making criminal threats.

According to the Daily Mail's website:

"Brown is believed to still want a relationship with the singer and has pleaded with her to stand by his side. But it seems Rihanna is more concerned about the jewellery she lost on the night of the infamous incident than she is with him.

The pop star filed a motion last Tuesday asking the Los Angeles Police Department to return the jewellery they confiscated as evidence in the case. The earrings and three rings are valued at U.S.$1.4 million (£1m)." 

Rihanna also spent some time in Barbados last week with new best friend Katy Perry who performed in concert on Saturday and another mystery man.  Seems like she is moving on and good for her!  

Andrew Strauss and Freddie Flintoff along with the rest of the English Cricket Team and support staff stayed at The Landings at Rodney Bay, St Lucia, during their recent tour of the West Indies.

The luxury resort, which opened in December 2007 offers one, two and three-bedroom residence villas in a harbor community. According to its website, it spans 19 acres and nearly 800 feet of beachfront, will be opening in four phases with 231 suites once complete in 2010.

Amenities include a 7,000 square-foot RockResorts Spa, Fitness Gallery,The Beach Club, and an open-air restaurant which according to its website offers "the most beautiful Caribbean resort dining experience in St. Lucia".

Richard Lyon, MD at The Landings said "Several of the players said they want to come back with their families, and we are hopeful that England will be based in St Lucia for the 20:20 World Cup next year so they can return to The Landings."

Fancy an A-lister holiday at Z-lister prices? Scottsdale, Arizona looks like a great option.

Below: The Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa

Plus throughout the summer accommodation prices drop by up to 60 percent! But where to stay?

Well... George Clooney and Halle Berry have stayed at The Mondrian in Scottsdale which has rooms starting from $145.00 per night in the summer.

Beyonce and Jay Z honeymooned at the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort  last year, and other stars such as Billy Crystal, Vince Vaughn and Aerosmith have also stayed.  Prices start from $189.00 per night in the summer 

Jamie Foxx, Diane Keaton and Sean Connery have all been spotted at Hotel Valley Ho ($149.00 per night), while Michael Douglas, Kevin Costner and Robin Williams favour the AAA five-diamond Fairmont Scottsdale (from $179.00 per night).

Lance Armstrong, Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson have all stayed at The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa ($129 per night). 

But apparently the up and coming celebrity hotspot is the W Scottsdale Hotel & Residences which opened in September 2008 but has already hosted some very famous guests including James Caan and Fall Out Boy  

Psst.  Fancy sleeping in the same room as American president Barack Obama? Well you can if you head to Kenya...

Ben Fogle is undergoing chemotheraphy after the flesh-eating disease (leishmaniasis) he contracted while filming Extreme Dreams in Peru last year returned after taking part in a 500-mile trek to the South Pole.

Speaking to the Telegraph at the Royal Parks Half Marathon in Hyde Park, the 35-year-old travel presenter said:

"I am facing six weeks of chemotherapy and going to hospital for several hours a day to be put on drips to treat the condition,"

"I am really frustrated as I am normally so active."

Below: Ben Fogle with Zac Goldsmith and The Saturdays at the launch of the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, Hyde Park, London

Morten Harket, A-ha frontman, 80's hearthrob  and Patrick Swayze look-alike has been spotted leaving the Hilton Hotel in Sao Paolo with a lady-friend fan (thanks for the correction, MadaboutMorten) 

The 49-year-old Norwegian will be playing three gigs in Brazil and Chile with fellow A-ha bandmates Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (Pål) and Magne (Mags) Furuholmen

• March 25 - Sao Paolo, Brazil - Credicard Hall
• March 26 - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Citibank Hall
• March 28 - Santiago, Chile - Movistar Arena (Pepsi Music Festival)

A-ha have also announced three UK concerts in November

• November 2 2009: Birmingham (NIA)
• November 3 2009: Manchester (MEN Arena) 
• November 4 2009: London (O2 Arena) 
  
   

Update:  Sadly, Natasha Richardson has passed away after suffering a head injury during a ski lesson. The actress suffered a epidural hematoma (bleeding between her brain and her skull) and died on March 18 2009 after being transferred to Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital

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Actress Natasha Richardson has been admitted to a Montreal hospital after suffering a head injury whilst skiing at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec.

According to reports, Kika Markham - wife of Richardson's uncle, the actor Corin Redgrave, said: "We know that she has had an accident but we really do not know any more details. "We are very concerned."

Richardson, 45, is married to Liam Neeson and is the daughter of Oscar winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson.

They've done it!

Chris Moyles was lucky to have made it there and back in one piece as fellow climbers Kimberly Walsh and Cheryl Cole still haven't forgiven him for the nasty comments he made about bandmate Nicola Roberts.  Apparently Kimberly told him she could easily kick him down the mountain if he started. 

Check out the group's videos from the climb on its dedicated youtube channel page at check out the official Red Nose Day Climb website

Finally, our intrepid celebs are scaling the heights of Mount Kilimanjaro, and so far all is well apart from the fragrant Alesha Dixon taking a tumble during a wee break and everyone suffering mountain sickness

You can catch up with their adventures at The Sun's website 

They're climbing it, but can they spell it?

Denise Van Outen and Ben Shepherd in training for the expedition

Pity poor celebs chum Lisa Pikington...

All set for a lovely weekend away at the Lacemarket Hotel in Nottingham, Lisa and her partner turned up early to check in only to be told they couldn't until considerably later that afternoon .

Understandably Lisa questioned this.  The reply was not very helpful:

"The people in your room have requested a late check out so are not leaving until 3pm"

Now at this point, the fed-up couple made the (quite valid) point that if a room is already booked, a late check-out is ordinarily refused.   It's an unwritten hotel law.

The receptionist leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially: "Between me and you, there's a lot of them and they've taken over the top floor"

This buttered no parsnips with Lisa, who was only at the Lacemarket Hotel for a complimentary stay after a not-so-great experience at its sister hotel in Derby and told the receptionist as much...

Receptionist, reluctantly: "Ahem... but it's a band"

Slightly stunned Lisa: "Anyone we know?"

Receptionist, whispering: "Metallica"

Very stunned Lisa:  "Aaaaaah, ok"

Metallica: The Metal Militia show No Remorse
L-R: Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield  

By all accounts, the band were quiet and very well behaved.  No nude ladies running round reception at 3am. no televisions out of windows and no room-trashing. Indeed, after Lisa and her partner checked in later that afternoon, the room bore no signs of the legendary heavy metal band's stay apart from a slightly cracked bidet.  Boo!

P.S.  Lisa and her partner confirmed that - after a shaky start - they had a wonderful stay. The Lacemarket Hotel was gorgeous and the staff and manager went out of their way to look after them.   So all's well that ends well.