Mother of all weddings?

It may be the most unusual or odd wedding in the long history of holy unions. After you read this story you might even call it the" Mother of all weddings'. On this important occasion the young and beautiful bride wore white - a floor-length ivory dress and was carrying a lovely bouquet.

The 14 guests - all her close friends - in attendance included the Mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Fos, a neighbouring town. On June 17, in Southern France Jodi Rose an Australian artist entered into holy matrimony with Le Pont du Diable, a 600-year -old bridge. Choosing the venue was simple enough and the pair made their vows at the groom's entrance.

The groom otherwise known as "The Devil's Bridge" seemed to be happy as he accepted everything that happened quietly. "The Devil's Bridge is everything I could desire in a husband - sturdy, trustworthy, sensual, kind and handsome,' Jodi says on her website.

"There is longevity in the arch of his back, he has stood for 600 years and he will stand for 600 more."

'He understands that I love other bridges - and men - ours is a love that embraces the vagaries of life, as materialised in the swirling currents of the river that flows beneath his magnificent body,' Rose said.Their union is not legally recognised in France, but Rose claims their marriage is as strong as any other.

She has insisted, however, that their love is a symbolic and pagan affair as part of a world view that sees 'spiritual vibration in everything'. Jodi Rose who travels the world recording the vibrations of bridge cables for her "Singing Bridges" music project, knew it was true love the first time she laid eyes on Le Pont du Diable.

Although he is made of stone, the resonance of his being is very present, and I feel at peace in his strong embrace. He makes me feel connected to the earth and draws me to rest from my endless nomadic wanderings, Rose said. Now will you call this unusual episode "The Mother of all Weddings"?

'Smoking kills', so says the cigarette pack! 'No Smoking!'

This notice can be seen almost everywhere.

But who cares! The smoking addict goes on puffing away and enjoying the destructive nicotine-mixed smoke that engulfs his lungs and in the end dies without even knowing the cause for his death.

Now researchers in the Stirling University, Scotland have come out with a bright idea.

The talking cigarette packet!

When you open the cigarette packet blurts out:" Hey! Are you addicted to smoking and if you need to quit please contact this telephone number" or "Beware! Smoking reduces fertility"

The researchers from University Centre for Tobacco Control Research created two talking cigarette packets with this kind of health messages.

The packets use a technology similar to the ones used in birthday cards that play a message, when opened. The packs are fitted with a voice recording and playback unit that helps the message to get repeated every time the packet is opened. Stirling University has initially tested the devices on women between the ages of 16 and 24, as this remains one of the groups with high smoking rates.

Volunteers said that they found the messages about fertility 'hard-hitting' and 'off-putting'.

Crawford Moodie, one of the researchers said: "It is possible in the future we may see packs that play music or talk, so we wanted to see if that could be used for our purposes. "With the talking packs, people thought they were really annoying, but that is a really good way to capture attention. It created a lot of interest."

Any changes to packaging would require new legislation to force companies into using them. However, campaigners have welcomed the idea.

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Scotland said: The tobacco industry buys a great deal of creative expertise to market its addictive and lethal products to new consumers, mainly young people. In March 2006 Scotland enforced the ban on smoking in public places - including bars and restaurants. After initial resistance smokers and establishments responded quickly to the changes. England, Northern Ireland and Wales followed a year later. In all four countries heart attack rates and hospital asthma admissions have fallen since the introduction of the ban, while Scotland's premature birth rate has dropped by 10 percent and lethal products to new consumers, mainly young people.

The invention connects directly to the Scottish Government's efforts to help people stop smoking. Scottish Public Health Minister Michael Matheson set a target to reduce the number of smokers in Scotland from 23 percent to five percent by 2034. Funding for the talking cigarette box came the from the Cancer Research UK, which supported the Stirling study "to see if the marketing tools of the tobacco industry can be used to help smokers quit instead'', according to spokesperson Alison Cox.

Now for us Sri Lankans it would be a welcome news if a similar device be fitted on to the bottle of alcohol!