2018 Other News Stories that might be missed

[boatbuilder]

Latest post of the previous page:

'Allo 'Allo's Fallen Madonna sells for £15,000 at auction

A portrait made famous in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo has been sold for £15,000.
The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies, by fictional artist Van Clomp, was a running joke in the show, which ran between 1982 and 1992.
The infamous prop was previously sold in 2007 for £4,000 to a private buyer.
Auctioneer Andy Stowe, said the latest buyer was from Nouvion in France where the series was set so "it was going home".
The priceless but elusive masterpiece was the centrepiece to every episode of the classic sitcom.
Stolen and relentlessly pursued by the Germans, the artwork was rolled into German sausages, shoved down trouser legs and singed by an exploding gilded frame intended as a gift for Adolf Hitler.
Described as "a rare and important piece of British sitcom history" the prop was one of the few copies of the picture to have survived all nine series of the show.
Mr Stowe, from East Bristol Auction House in Hanham, said: "I've been overwhelmed by the amount of interest.
"And £15,000 for a TV prop is just fantastic. It's sold for more than most real artworks go for - there are Old Masters that can't get that amount."
Set in a café in Nouvion in German-occupied France during World War Two, 'Allo 'Allo poked fun at the Gestapo, French Resistance and the British.
Mr Stowe said: "We had 25 bidders from all over the world but it was a chap from Nouvion in France, the place where the show was set, that got it...
"It's the best result, the painting is effectively going home."
The painting had an estimate of between £5,000 and £10,000.

BBC Bristol

[Trigger]

Interesting that the news item about the sale of the picture of the “Madonna with the Big Boobies” was reported by BBC Bristol.

[Trigger]

Surge in lion body parts including heads, skulls, skins and feet shipped to UK by trophy hunters - despite government pledge to ban the controversial imports

The number of lion body parts –including heads, skulls, skins and feet – shipped to Britain by trophy hunters has soared in the past three years, despite a Government pledge to ban the controversial imports.
Ministers said they would halt all lion trophies in 2015 following a global outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion by a US dentist in Zimbabwe.
But the ban is still not in force and official figures show more than half of the lion trophies imported to the UK in the past decade have come in the last three years.
Article

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Baby It's Cold Outside pulled by radio station, citing #MeToo

It's a Christmas classic probably being played in shops and radio stations all over the world.
But a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio has decided to remove Baby It's Cold Outside from its playlist following complaints from listeners.
Local media report that listeners said the song was inappropriate and at odds with the #MeToo movement.
But a poll on the station's Facebook page showed a majority of respondents did not want the song banned.
Glenn Anderson, a host at the Star 102 station, blogged that although the song was written in a different era, the lyrics felt "manipulative and wrong".
"The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place."
Written by Frank Loesser in 1944, Baby It's Cold Outside has been covered by Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews and actors Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel in the movie Elf.
Article

[boatbuilder]

If that's the attitude of some of these narrow-minded people, I can see the men of tomorrow having to carry a 'form of consent' for the woman to sign before making any attempt to woo them - just to safeguard themselves against any future backlash. Even then there will be some who will say they were forced to sign. Oh, then perhaps there will also be the facility for two independent female witnesses to sign as well, just to be doubly sure. Hey ho, wouldn't it be fun!?

[Trigger]

I always think you can read anything into a phrase if you want. A recent example seen in the Press was some third-rate, publicity-seeking, TV nonentity, who declared that she won’t allow her young daughter to ever watch Disney’s “Snow White”. The reason? It ends with The Prince kissing the ‘sleeping’ Snow White - without seeking her permission (how could he?) – therefore, in her feminist mind, he forced himself upon her!

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Police hunting couple who lost engagement ring in New York's Times Square

Police are looking for a couple who lost an engagement ring down a grate in New York moments after the man popped the question.
The New York Police Department said the man had got down on one knee on Friday evening and was so excited when she said yes that he dropped the ring.
It fell about 2.4 metres, police said.
Officers have since recovered the ring – and cleaned it – but the would-be bride and groom left without passing on their names or any contact information.
The NYPD has released pictures of the couple and the ring in the hope of reuniting them with the jewellery.
The force tweeted: “WANTED for dropping his fiancée’s ring in @TimesSquareNYC! She said Yes - but he was so excited that he dropped the ring in a grate. Our @NYPDSpecialops officers rescued it & would like to return it to the happy couple. Help us find them?"
https://www.itv.com/news/2018-12-02/pol ... es-square/

[boatbuilder]

Viewpoint: Jameela Jamil on why airbrushing should be illegal

The actress Jameela Jamil, best known for her role in US TV series The Good Place, says airbrushing is a crime against women and should be illegal.
She's one of this year's BBC 100 Women and has also started @i_weigh - a social media initiative designed for people to share what makes them unique and valuable, outside of their appearance.
I would like to put airbrushing in the bin. I want it gone. I want it out of here.
I think it's a disgusting tool that has been weaponised, predominantly against women, and is responsible for so many more problems than we realise because we are blinded by the media, our culture and our society.
I suffered from eating disorders as a teenager and so I know how damaging 'perfect' images in magazines can be.
Here are the reasons why I want to have it banned:

It's a lie to the consumer
_______________________

If you buy the products airbrushing is used to advertise, you won't look like the person in the photograph.
It's used to smooth lines, hide blemishes, lighten skin, slim features, lengthen limbs, and brighten eyes and teeth.
It exists to sell a fantasy to the consumer that this 'perfection' is indeed possible. If you have yet to achieve this beauty standard, it tells you, you should buy some expensive products immediately, because then you will look like the person in the photo. (But, as I said just a moment ago, you won't.)
How is this ethical or even legal?

Read More

I fully agree with her.

[boatbuilder]

Entire family of swans, both parents and all five cygnets - found shot dead 'peppered' with metal pellets

The RSPCA is investigating after an entire family of swans - both parents and all five cygnets - were found dead after being "peppered" with airgun pellets.
The bodies of the birds were discovered wrapped in plastic bags and thrown down the bank of a stream in Stepneyford Lane, Benenden, Kent.
The animals' bodies were recovered today.
One x-ray shows the head and neck of the swan riddled with metal pellets.
RSPCA Inspector Dave Grant said: “Two of the birds bodies were examined by staff at RSPCA Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre in Hastings, East Sussex, and were x-rays revealed that they were peppered with shot or pellets.
“It’s clear that these poor mute swans have been shot and killed deliberately - one of the birds was peppered with pellets.
“It’s absolutely disgusting that someone would purposefully target and kill these beautiful birds, and it’s heartbreaking that an entire family has been wiped out in this cruel incident.”

MSN

I hope they catch the b*******s who did that.

[Trigger]

Police hunting couple who lost engagement ring in New York's Times Square

Good News!

Fellowship of the ring: Newly-engaged couple thank NYPD

Be it fate, or a stroke of good luck, Daniella Anthony and John Drennan are soon to be reunited with their precious piece of jewellery.
"We are so happy, we can't believe it," the young couple said after discovering their lost engagement ring had been found.
The pair, from Peterborough in the UK, had flown to New York to celebrate their 10-year dating anniversary.
Mr Drennan said he'd put a lot of thought into the proposal.
Speaking to BBC News on Sunday evening, he said he had carried the ring around in his pocket for two days before finding the right moment.
"I want to clarify that I did not propose over a grate in Times Square - that's where we lost it," Mr Drennan said.
The momentous occasion had taken place in Central Park a few hours earlier.
"The time was right. There were autumn leaves everywhere and not many people."
Daniella said yes straight away but they both knew the ring wasn't the right size.
"I tried to tell John it was too big, but he insisted I wear it," Ms Anthony said.
"I told her it was fine. I was just so happy to finally call her my fiancée after all this time," Mr Drennan added.
The happy couple decided to grab a bite to eat and see the Christmas Spectacular in Times Square when the ring escaped.
"We were walking back to the hotel. I can still visualise the ring. Bouncing once… bouncing twice and then it was gone," Mr Drennan said.
Article

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Cowbell dispute rings out in tranquil Bavarian town

Life in an orderly and peaceful market town in southern Germany has been disturbed by a long-running legal battle – over cows and cowbells.
A married couple who bought a large house in the fields on the edge of Holzkirchen, south of Munich, are suing a farmer over the clanging cowbells on her cows, which graze in a neighbouring meadow.
When they first moved into their house in 2011, the field was empty, but in 2014 it was leased to Regina Killer, who runs a small dairy farm.
The couple, who have not been named, also object to the bad smells of manure and the accompanying insects.
Mrs Killer says cowbells are part of both Bavarian tradition and her livelihood.
The husband lost his original lawsuit against Mrs Killer in 2017. He is appealing against the decision at a court in Munich.
His wife has now launched a second lawsuit against the farmer.
They have also sued the local council for leasing the meadow to the farmer for grazing.
Article

NB: This article was written by Bethany Bell.

[boatbuilder]

Woman takes in grey squirrel found injured in Somerset

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Three rainbows photographed in Gloucestershire

A Gloucestershire village has been treated to the unusual sight of three rainbows.
A regular rainbow happens when sunlight is refracted through raindrops, splitting the light into the spectrum of colours.
When rays of light are reflected three times within a rain drop, a triple rainbow is produced.
BBC Weather Watcher Gordon photographed the triple rainbow in the village of Frampton on Severn.
"I've never seen such a thing before," he said.
There have only been five scientific reports of triple rainbows in 250 years, says international scientific body the Optical Society.
However, it has been suggested that the photograph has not captured a triple rainbow, as they would all form concentric circles, which is not the case in this instance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46434720

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Wrexham driver banned for having 11 people in Ford Focus

A man who had 11 people in his car, including three sitting in the footwells, has been banned from driving for 15 months.
Kenneth Samuels, of Gwenfro, Wrexham, went to Colwyn Bay railway station to pick up his ex-partner on 4 August.
But when he was stopped by police they found four adults and seven children, three of whom were sitting in the footwells of the Ford Focus.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Llandudno Magistrates' Court.
His solicitor David Jones told the court there had been no criticism of his driving.
The court heard Samuels, 52, answered a call from his ex-partner asking for a lift but had no idea how many people were waiting for him.
"Initially it was a Good Samaritan act," Mr Jones said.
"He should have said no but didn't because there were children and they were screaming and hungry.
"It was a foolish decision and he is genuinely remorseful."
BBC

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Selling bagpipes to India: British company wins £3.5m contract to supply the entire Indian Army

A British firm that supplies musical instruments to military bands has won a £3.5million contract to supply the entire Indian Army.
The British Band Instrument Company, based in Edgware, North London, will be equipping 47 regimental military bands across the subcontinent.
Alun Hughes, managing director and founder of the six-person firm, said it often deals with ‘bands that are a legacy of the Commonwealth’.
He added: ‘It was probably one of the largest contracts I have ever worked on.’
Mail

[boatbuilder]

Ohio dad makes girl walk miles to school for bullying on bus

An Ohio father who made his daughter walk five miles (8km) to school as punishment for bullying has provoked a debate on parenting.
After 10-year-old Kirsten was suspended for three days from the school bus for a second-time bullying offence, Matt Cox decided to teach her a life lesson.
He made her trudge to school on a cold day while he followed behind in a car.
The video of the father's punishment has garnered over 15m views on Facebook and thousands of comments.
In the viral clip, Mr Cox's daughter is seen walking alongside a road, carrying a backpack and school supplies, in 2C (36F) temperatures.
Mr Cox follows behind her in his car in the town of Swanton, offering commentary on entitlement and bullying.
"Bullying is unacceptable," he said. "This is my small way of trying to stop it in my household."
Mr Cox added that many children feel entitled to privileges like being taken to school in the morning by car or bus.
"I know a lot of you parents are not going to agree with this and that's alright," he says.
"I am doing what I feel is right to teach my daughter a lesson and to stop her from bullying."

BBC News