Looking for adventure

In the summer of 1990, Sir Peter de la Billière decided his military career was near its end and was preparing for retirement when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

"The announcement set my adrenalin going," said Sir Peter, who wears two hearing aids and is a life member of RNID. "The Government started deploying all three services to the Gulf and a commander was needed to take charge of them. I saw that my whole career had equipped me to be that man, and so I volunteered." The many years he had spent living, working and fighting in Arab countries, his knowledge of the people and his recent spell as the Military Commissioner and Commander of British Forces in the Falkland Islands had made him the ideal candidate for the role.

"It was the biggest challenge of my career," said Sir Peter when we met up at the Naval and Military Club in London. "I was incredibly lucky to have been in the right place at the right time and get the opportunity to use all my command skills. But luck only brings you opportunities, it doesn’t give you results. It’s up to you to select the right opportunities and make them work."

TV Makeover

Imagine if you could experience the cinema in your own home and enjoy amazingly detailed pictures, vibrant colours and better sound. This is what High Definition TV (HDTV) is all about and it can provide up to four times more picture detail than standard definition.

HDTV has rapidly become the new global TV standard and broadcasters around the world are busy re-equipping their studios for high definition production. In the UK, the BBC has been making dramas and documentaries in HD for the last five years and Sky are broadcasting around 5,000 hours of HD programming a month. 

There is no shortage of HD equipment – from flat-panel LCD and plasma HD-ready TVs which have edged out their bulkier cathode ray tube predecessors to Blu-ray and HD DVD players. But does HDTV live up to the hype – and what about subtitles?

Real Life – Millie Dollar

Burlesque is a way of life for me. My family were wary at first but they are supportive; my mum has been to see me a couple of times and I’m putting a night on for her workplace. My nan hated it until she saw a show. There’s nothing stranger than having your nan waving, saying "Coo-ee" when you're in a sold-out room, onstage, covered only with balloons!

I was born at home in Liverpool in 1985. My mum planned to have me in the hospital but I had to make an entrance! My parents had left the window open and a crowd soon gathered outside. When my father announced, "It’s a girl!" they all applauded! It explains a lot! I was very deaf when I was born but then, between the ages of two and three, I had operations to fit grommets. I always wanted to be something glamorous, but I knew it was too late for me to star in MGM musicals with Gene Kelly, so I became a burlesque dancer instead. I discovered burlesque through watching old films and being into pinups.