There has been a flurry of dog-related news recently in the Calder Valley, notably the visit of illusionist Derren Brown to Todmorden. He arrived at Central Vale Park with a camera crew this week to investigate the strange case of the lucky dog statue, which locals say has brought them good luck after patting it.

People claim that they have obtained employment, won raffle prizes and been successful in bonus ball competitions after visiting the canine creation, which is shortly also to feature in a Channel 4 show hosted by Dawn Porter. It is reported that a local landlady was lucky enough to receive the offer of a free gig in her pub by comedian Jason Manford after touching the dog, and in turn, Jason then bumped into Dolly Parton, in a ‘pay-it-forward’ manner of luck transmission.

Now it seems that people are travelling from as far away as Warwickshire to touch the dog. One explanation for the dog’s apparent success may lie with the possibility that people who believe in its powers may feel more positive and go on to succeed in job interviews etc. However, others believe that a totem statue such as the Todmorden dog may have real influence. No doubt public opinion will be divided on the issue.

You can read the rest at The Guardian

Derren Brown – Svengali will be on sale for the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Mon 30 – Sat 5 May 2012 as follows:

Friends of the Grand priority bookings open: Tues 27 September
Public Bookings open: Fri 30 September

Continuing the 2012 Dates for Svengali, Blackpool Opera House has now confirmed it will issue tickets as of today.

Click here to buy.

Tickets are on sale now – click here.

Entries to apply for a certain future TV show will be closing tonight. For those of you who have tried emailing and not got a response, we suggest you find a different email address to use (you can apply through a friends or relatives as long as they haven’t applied).

There’s been a lot of questions which have been updated and answered here. Sorry if you’ve not been able to get through, Objective did have a huge influx originally but things have calmed down considerably so if you’re still having problems it’s very likely to be at your end.

Sorry – but we cannot let ANYONE know if we received your application you’ll just have to put your trust in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

After midnight tonight the golden email doors will be shut and further applications will be not accepted, no matter how bizzare an excuse you have.

Those who have been accepted, will be contacted in due time. We will email and phone so don’t worry about missing a message from Objective if you’re on holiday for a week.

We cannot answer any questions about when this will be either.

Good Luck.