Mark Templeton surfs the Net

THEY have been haunting the charts for months with a chant that must be the bane of bar staff across the English-speaking world - the lager-whisky-vodka-cider refrain of Tub- thumping.

And if you want to find out more about the wild and wacky world of Burnley band Chumbawamba you can check out their official web site, The First Church Of Chumbawamba.

It includes several right-on, common sense articles written by the band like how Danbert got arrested for wearing a skirt, why Alice became involved in a war of words with the Prodigy and why she doesn't rate the Spice Girls.

Plus there's some nice portraits of anarchists throughout the world and a staggeringly comprehensive discography of the various recorded works the band have created.

Web site: http://www.chumba.com

Mission is possible...

SOMEWHERE in Wales there is a group of serious rocket builders who want to send a small unmanned mission into space - and are inviting schools to help them.

The group, who say they are serious researchers and not a bunch of loonies, have set up a site which explains a bit more and invites input from the general public.

Certainly any serious space project in the British Isles is something that deserves support.

Better still, the team say they want to launch mini scientific experiments on the rocket, which stands 25ft high on the launch pad and has its mission control in the local pub.

Project leader Peter Burt said: "We may sound like a bunch of shed scientists but we are certain we have the expertise to send our rocket to parts not reached by other amateur designers.

"NASA may not have heard about us yet - but they soon will. Our plans are already well-advanced, what we need now is sponsorship."

About £60,000 worth to get a prototype rocket launched, in fact.

Web site: http://www.dragonfire.co.uk

Question of Kwanzaa

DON'T know what Kwanzaa is then? Perhaps it's about time you tried finding out.

It's a combination of religious, cultural and social festival for Africans or those descended from Africans, and it is rapidly growing in popularity in America and on the Net.

This accessible Web site tells you all you need to know.

Web site:

http://www.netnoir.com/kwanzaa/index.stm

Friend of the family

FAMILIES.co.uk. The name says it all!

From simple things like finding a playgroup or a pub that welcomes children, to ensuring your family is protected with a will in case the parents die.

A simple design style ensures fast and easy access.

Web site: http://www.families.co.uk

A play on words

THIS is an enjoyable site offering a vast amount of wordplay antics for your pleasure.

Jokes, puns, quotes, word games, lots and lots of content.

Dying words of famous people and the jokes about lawyers sections are particularly worth visiting.

Web site:

http://members.aol.com/WordPlays/words.html

Chalming!

YES, that TV programme about going on your hols has set up its own, very funky, web site.

It offers simple guides, almost like old-style TV factsheets, about the destinations visited by the show.

The design is something very different. Well done Judith Chalmers!

Web site:

http://www.wishyouwerehere.com

DON'T forget to contact me by e-mail and look at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph web pages at http://www.newsquest.co.uk/let

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.