2018 Other News Stories that might be missed

[boatbuilder]

Latest post of the previous page:

The Very Old Skateboarders: Hyde Park club growing

After being told that they were too old to skate, Sabina and Elizabeth set up a Facebook group to create opportunities for people of a similar age to interact.
With over 1,000 members, and growing, the Very Old Skateboarders meet in Hyde Park to indulge in their love of the board.

Watch the video

[Karen]

'Emotional support peacock' barred from United Airlines plane

A female traveller was recently banned from taking a large "emotional-support peacock" on board a United Airlines flight, it has emerged.
She had offered to buy the bird its own plane ticket, according to travel blog Live and Let Fly.
Nonetheless the airline refused to let the bird board at Newark airport in New Jersey, saying it did not meet guidelines due to its weight and size.
United says this was explained to the traveller before she arrived at Newark.
Pictures of the striking bird and its owner, attempting to travel to Los Angeles, emerged via The Jet Set, a travel-based talk show.
The images show the animal perched on an airport baggage trolley, as fellow passengers gaze at it in shock.
After six hours at the airport, the exotic bird and its human companions decided to take to the road and instead drive across the US.

Full story

Good for United. The airlines are finally starting to crack down on these "emotional support" animals. A lot of it is a scam and takes away from genuine sevice animals that do such wonderful things.

[boatbuilder]

I've never heard of it before Karen.

[boatbuilder]

Man fined 'for helping homeless on Christmas Day'

A man who pulled in to a bus stop on Christmas Day to help a homeless man was fined by a council.
Lee Williamson, of Evington, Leicester, said he stopped to give a homeless man a blanket, hat, gloves, scarf, food, and chat to him.
He later received a £70 fine, despite there being no buses on 25 December.
Leicester City Council said the camera enforcement was an important safety measure after a cyclist died there in 2016.
Mr Williamson, 43, said: "I feel like I am being punished for helping someone - £70 could have put a homeless guy in a B&B for a week.
"Normally that is a busy road and I would never dream of stopping in a bus stop. But with it being Christmas Day, with no traffic and buses I could not see the harm in it."
He added that he wished the council could have "a little more discretion and common sense".
"I am not going to pay it. They will have to take me to court," he said.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: "While buses may not be operating on Christmas Day, there is every likelihood that cyclists and other traffic will be using this stretch of road and stopping illegally in this area should still be considered dangerous.
"While we do recognise the good intentions in this instance, ample safe and legal parking was available within just a few metres of the bus clearway."

BBC Article with CCTV Image

Sounds like another 'jobsworth' incident.

[boatbuilder]

Further to the previous post, thankfully common sense seems to have prevailed:

Driver who helped homeless man has fine overturned

[boatbuilder]

Following on from the two previous posts, here is another '£70 fine' story:

Parking fine placed on car where permit was hidden by snow

A council has issued a £70 parking fine to a driver whose permit was hidden by the snow on his car's windscreen.
Oliver Claxton, from Chester Green, in Derby, who had been working away in London for a few months, was surprised when he returned home to find he had been fined.
He said he had never moved the permit from his car, so has challenged the fine from Derby City Council.
The council said it was looking into it and would respond to Mr Claxton soon.
Mr Claxton, who works at the BBC, said: "I thought it was odd because if I wasn't displaying it I would have got a parking ticket every day because I had left my car there while I was in London. I was thinking what could it possibly be that meant they couldn't see the permit on this particular day?
"When you go on the website they have the photographs they took and the reason the permit wasn't visible was because it had snowed overnight and the windscreen was covered in snow.
"I just laughed. It was ridiculous."
He added that if they had swept the snow away, they would have seen the permit.
Sue Meakin, who worked as a traffic warden for 30 years, said she thought it was "silly" he had been fined.
Derby City Council said: "We're not able to comment on individual cases but we are looking into the challenge and will be responding to the individual directly soon."

BBC Story with images

[Trigger]

And another one!

Parking warden tickets blood donation vans at Tenterden Leisure Centre
A parking warden has slapped tickets on two NHS blood donation vehicles.
The van and truck were parked behind Tenterden Leisure Centre, as donors turned up to give blood during afternoon and evening sessions on Friday.
A concerned Tenterden resident tweeted Ashford Borough Council with pictures of the ticketed vehicles, with the message: “Is there really any need for this?
"Could your parking attendants not exercise a little discretion here?”
Tenterden town councillor Sue Ferguson said: “Something has obviously gone wrong as I haven’t seen the vans ticketed before and the mammography van also parks in the car park without a problem, but you would think there would be some leniency.”
An Ashford Borough Council (ABC) spokesman initially defended the ticketing, insisting that the authority’s rules had to be “consistent”.
The spokesman said: “While we believe the penalty charge notices were correctly issued as the vans were in a coach bay, we are of course open to checking this through the appeal process.
“We understand this is an emotive issue due to the nature of the vans but we must be consistent in our enforcement activity.”
ABC has since reviewed its position, admitting an error had occurred. A spokesman said: “The ticket was issued by mistake and should not have been. It has now been rescinded. There are arrangements in place to provide parking in such situations.”
Mark Rowland, area manager of Kent and East Sussex, NHS Blood and Transplant said that the service had a “long standing” parking agreement with ABC.
He added: “Two of our blood donation vans were issued with parking tickets during a regular session at Tenterden Leisure Centre.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/tenterden/n ... ns-159746/

[Trigger]

'Monster' Whitechapel fatberg unveiled at London museum

The last remaining chunk of a toxic "monster" fatberg found in London's sewers has been unveiled at a museum.
Once weighing 130 tonnes and stretching more than 250m, the mass of congealed fat, wet wipes, nappies, oil and condoms has been conserved by the Museum of London and industry experts.
Thames Water is using the launch to warn against the rise of fatbergs, which "smell like rotting meat mixed with the odour of a smelly toilet".
The display will run until 1 July.
Open to the public from Friday, the Fatberg! exhibition will tell the story of the nine-week battle to remove the massive blockage and its journey from the Victorian sewers in Whitechapel to the sealed display case it now rests in.
Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42986433 – article includes videos and photos.

[boatbuilder]

BBC Television Centre reopens after five-year revamp

For decades, BBC Television Centre in west London was home to some of the nation's best-loved programmes.
But the site was sold to make way for a housing and leisure development.
More than 900 flats have been created on the site, and some of the old magic is set to return to the studios too.

Video Report

[Trigger]

Bolivia's lonely frog: Scientists race to find mate for Romeo

Conservationists in Bolivia are scouring the country to find a mate for a childless frog who they fear may be the last of his species.
Romeo, a 10-year-old Sehuencas water frog, has been calling in vain for a mate for the past nine years.
A dating website donated to the search, and even gave him a profile that says he is "looking for my Juliet".
Scientists are now searching streams and rivers for a female with whom a breeding programme can be started.
"We don't want him to lose hope," Arturo Munoz, a conservation scientist, told AFP news agency.
"We continue to remain hopeful that others are out there so we can establish a conservation breeding programme to save this species," he said.
Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-43004367

[boatbuilder]

Man, 85, has TfL fine quashed over 'emergency pee'

An 85-year-old man had a £130 parking fine quashed, after arguing he had the right to park illegally in central London in order to relieve himself.
Michael Nyman was driving near Regent's Park on 15 November, 2017 when he felt "his bladder could have burst."
Transport for London (TfL) issued him with the ticket after saying Mr Nyman had parked illegally.
The fine was cancelled by an adjudicator who ruled that going to the toilet can constitute an emergency.
Mr Nyman said while driving he became in desperate need of the toilet and parked his car outside a florist on Park Road, where he dashed inside to use the loo.
"I am a human being, and I just felt my bladder could have burst," Mr Nyman, from Hindhead, Surrey, said.
"As Shakespeare once said to pee or not to pee, so I was going from instinct and was thinking about the laws of nature and not the laws of traffic."

Full Article

[Trigger]

Bunch of balloons in Billericay halts trains in their tracks

Rush-hour trains were disrupted for more than two hours by a bunch of balloons tangled on overhead lines.
Commuters using Greater Anglia services were delayed in the Billericay area of Essex when about 50 yellow and black balloons got stuck.
One commuter said his driver announced a "party balloon" was to blame.
Asked why a train could not plough through balloons, Greater Anglia said they could damage the train. Network Rail engineers removed them.
Disruption to trains started just after 08:00 GMT on Friday and lasted until 10:35.
Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-43006771

[Trigger]

Trafford to be 'first' council scraps library late fees

Fines for late library books are being scrapped in Greater Manchester in an attempt to encourage more people to use the service.
Trafford Council said it was the first public library authority in the UK to scrap fines for late returns.
The local authority currently charges adults a penalty of 15p a day per late item.
It runs a total of 13 libraries across the borough. The fines are due to be cancelled from April.
The council said in a statement: "Trafford will become the first public library authority in the country to adopt this policy which sends a welcome message to our residents in Trafford that they will have access to a completely free library service.
"This decision will overcome evidence that suggests that this charge is off-putting for customers and help to see a further increase in usage of libraries across the borough".
Conservative leader of the council, Sean Anstee, tweeted: "Anything that removes barriers to joining and using the library is very welcome."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ma ... r-43015919

[Trigger]

Special pin for poppy seller Ron Jones' 100th birthday

A 100-year-old poppy seller is to have a set of commemorative pins released in his name.
Ron Jones, from Bassaleg, Newport, served in World War Two and has been selling poppies for more than 30 years.
Mr Jones, who turns 101 in April, was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2017.
Now the Royal British Legion has decided to honour his work by releasing the pins in his name as part of the 2018 poppy appeal.
Each of the 100 packs will contain a pin from 1914 to 1918, to mark 100 years since the end of World War One, and Mr Jones will sign them.
"I am very proud - very proud indeed to have this honour," he said.
"I'm very grateful that people still take an interest in me and my stories, and part of that ties in with the work for the Legion.
"People are still surprised by my memory, particularly the schoolchildren."
Lynne Woodyatt, the Royal British Legion's community fundraiser, said: "Ron is a remarkable gentleman.
"These commemorative Poppy pin packs, marking both his 100th birthday and him receiving the British Empire Medal are a wonderful idea, and we thank him for allowing them to be produced in his name."
Mr Jones was captured while serving in the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Regiment during World War Two, and was sent to forced labour camp E715, part of the Auschwitz complex.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-sout ... s-43022859

[boatbuilder]

Thanks for posting that Trigger. What a lovely gesture to the man.

[Trigger]

You're welcome, bb! Was going to post the Mirror's article which gives a bit more info + photo of one of the packs - see: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/b ... o-12009636