2018 Other News Stories that might be missed

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Latest post of the previous page:

Paramedic attacked in ambulance 'parking row' in Birmingham

A paramedic has been attacked in what was thought to be a row over where the ambulance had been parked.
The unnamed paramedic had been called to Sparkhill in Birmingham to help a woman with chest pain when he was attacked, leaving him injured.
Crewmate Tasha Starkey said she was also threatened and verbally abused.
A 49-year-old man was arrested nearby on suspicion of assault and a public order offence and remains in police custody.
The assault is the latest in a string involving West Midlands Ambulance Service staff.
Friday's attack, in Stratford Street at 10:40 GMT, led to the woman suffering chest pains being taken to hospital by a different ambulance crew while the two original paramedics gave statements to police.
Full report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bi ... m-43260532

[Mel]

Paramedic attacked in ambulance 'parking row' in Birmingham

The mind boggles

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The mind boggles

I think its high time the people guilty of such attacks should face the full force of the Law.

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NB This Press article was posted 16/02/18

Florida shooting: Meet Jacob the comfort dog, the veteran of mass killings helping victims of America's latest massacre

Among those attending a vigil for the victims of America's latest gun massacre was one rather unusual guest.
Golden retriever Jacob, aged four, a specially trained “comfort dog”, could be seen lying in the shade, surrounded by a group of children and wearing a harness that simply said "please pet me".
Jacob is one of 19 dogs currently in Parkland supporting friends, family and loved ones as they grieve those lost when Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
The dogs are part of a group of 130 golden retrievers, K9 Comfort Dogs, run by Lutheran Church Charities, which specially trains dogs to act as therapy animals in disaster situations.
“When someone pets one of our dogs it lowers their blood pressure and makes them relax.” Tim Hetzner, chief executive of the Illinois-based charity, told The Independent.
“This helps in the healing process of the individual and the community.”
Full story http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 14361.html

[boatbuilder]

Snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan buys food for homeless man

Snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan bought food and drink for a homeless man lying in the snow in Cardiff.
The five-time world champion had left the Motorpoint Arena after losing in the quarter-final of the Welsh Open when he came across the man on Friday.
Student and snooker fan Matthew Lofthouse spotted O'Sullivan speaking to the man.
The player then went into a nearby store, bought sandwiches and drinks and handed them over.
Mr Lofthouse, 23, who captured the gesture on his phone, said: "Just by chance I saw Ronnie there speaking to him.
"He saw this homeless man lying on the floor and went into a Tesco and bought him a couple of sandwiches and drinks.
"Ronnie insisted on the homeless guy not saying thanks to him," said Mr Lofthouse, who is originally from Manchester and studying at the University of South Wales in Cardiff.
"He said, 'mate, don't worry about it'."
The temperature was about -2C at the time, on the day after a snowstorm blew across much of south Wales.
Mr Lofthouse hopes the man was then offered shelter for the night, as he saw a woman come and help him after O'Sullivan left.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-43273127

[boatbuilder]

The youngsters keeping traditional trades alive

In 1999, the Labour government set out a pledge that half of all young people should go on to higher education - an aim that has almost been achieved. But what about those youngsters who do not want to go down the academic route? The BBC has met five who have become apprentices in some of Britain's oldest trades.

Leighann Perry, leatherworker

"There are still companies making leather products?"
This is the response 22-year-old Leighann Perry encounters almost every time she says she works in the leather industry.
She developed an interest in the trade after working at Walsall's leather museum.
"People are always shocked to see me being so young working here in this industry. Everyone expects me to have an office job or something."
Walsall is a town built on leather and its mark runs through it: Saddlers is the nickname for both the football team and the shopping centre.
Whitehouse Cox has been making leather goods, from wallets to luggage, in the town since 1875.
It offered Leighann a three-year apprenticeship in leatherwork when she was 18.Production manager Adrian Harris said the company was "not bothered about A-levels and A grades".
"People need three things [to work here]," he said. "Common sense, good eyesight, and to be good with their hands."
Leighann, who struggles with her mental health, said her schoolteachers "thought apprenticeships were a waste of time".
"I was pushed to do college because I couldn't get my English grades. I wanted to go to university, but at the time it wasn't right," she said.
"I'm happy doing what I'm doing though. College, sixth form and universities - they're not the only way."

Read about the other four trades

[boatbuilder]

Baby chimp rescued from poachers in Africa

Mussa, a baby chimpanzee, was rescued from poachers in Africa and flown to a new home.

The orphaned animal sat with his pilot as they travelled to a new home, Lwiro Primates in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Watch the Video

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Not just snowmen: Wintry erections around England

Snow days, if not spent panic-buying milk, harnessing your neighbour's St Bernard to a sleigh or sliding down a hill on a bin bag, are probably best spent erecting figures - whether they be the traditional carrot-nosed snowman or a more ambitious attempt to sculpt the cast of Game of Thrones chilling out at the Taj Mahal.
Although for most of us, numb icy fingers and wet mittens tend to lead to the abandonment of such projects in favour of a hot drink and a nice sit-down, some determined and hardy souls persevere with their creations.
And so we present some of the best snow sculptures from around England.
The Tynemouth Lodge Hotel in North Shields has a new (cool) customer. Propped up outside the bar is a bobble-hatted man in white. Member of staff Vette Normanly says: "We made the most of our snow day yesterday, building a new visitor."
Not content with just the one snowman, Chris Newson, a former rough-sleeper and now an artist and picture-framer, made four. The figures outside his shop in Leiston, Suffolk, are intended to highlight the plight of homeless people having to face the freezing weather.
Full story http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43256518 – includes photos of “snow work”!

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Son thanks Sainbury's supermarket for employing his mother for five years despite Alzheimer's diagnosis

A grateful son has publicly thanked Sainsbury's for employing his mother for more than five years as she battled with Alzheimer's disease.
In a string of moving tweets, Doron Salomon commended the supermarket giant for going "above and beyond" to accommodate his mother despite her deteriorating condition.
His mother completed her last day at work at a store in Kenton, north London, on Saturday after years of employment.
Mr Salomon said it was a feat that would not have been possible without Sainsbury's consistent compassion.
She had started working at the store after struggling to continue with her previous job as a bookkeeper following her Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2013.
Mr Salomon said his mother had previously been highly organised and good with numbers.
He explained that the supermarket had originally employed his mother as a “picker”, putting together items for online shoppers, but continued to adapt her role as her condition deteriorated.
Mr Salomon wrote: “For context, Sainsbury's have seen my mum deteriorate to the point that every day for the last year or so she has gone into the store confused, as if she'd never been there before. They have always stood by her, going above and beyond to make sure she's happy and feeling valued.”
Full article: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/son- ... 81406.html

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Burger-flipping robot begins first shift

Flippy, a burger-flipping robot, has begun work at a restaurant in Pasadena, Los Angeles.
It is the first of dozens of locations for the system, which is destined to replace human fast-food workers.
The BBC's North America technology reporter Dave Lee saw it in action.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology ... irst-shift includes video report

[boatbuilder]

Trevor Baylis: Wind-up radio inventor dies aged 80

The inventor of the wind-up radio, Trevor Baylis, has died aged 80, the manager of his company has confirmed.
David Bunting said Mr Baylis from Twickenham, south-west London, died on Monday of natural causes after a long illness.
Mr Baylis invented the Baygen clockwork radio in 1991.
He was appointed CBE in 2015 after campaigning to make theft of intellectual property a white-collar crime.
He said chatting with the Queen at the ceremony was "like catching up with an old mate".
Mr Baylis had also worked as a film and TV stuntman and an aquatic showman.
He had been seriously debilitated, having suffered from Crohn's disease, Mr Bunting said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43290756

[muzzy]

I was rather disappointed to see that he made hardly any money from his invention, as his patent wasn't filed properly and many companies simply copied his design, changing it slightly so they didn't have to pay any royalties. This might be good business, but it makes for poor 'men' (I struggled for the right word here).

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Selfies make your nose look bigger by up to a third compared to real life, research finds

If you have ever suffered the deflating feeling of not being able to capture a flattering selfie no matter how many you attempt, it may not just be you.
A new research paper released Friday has found that using smartphones cameras from a short distance tends to distort facial features and make your nose look bigger by up to a third.
The research was carried out by a plastic surgeon from the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Boris Paskhover, who specialises in facial procedures, and a team of computer scientists.
The team created a model of the average human head and face and then calculated how much larger the nose appeared in selfies portraits.
The results showed that selfies made the nose appear around 30 percent larger for men and around 29 per cent for women.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ ... -research/

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Fire leaves 12 stranded at top of Blackpool Tower

Twelve people have been told to remain at the top of Blackpool Tower for their own safety after a fire broke out at the base of the building.
The fire service said the blaze was believed to be in the fourth floor of one of the buildings beneath the tower.
Blackpool Council said the tower was evacuated as a precaution at about 13:00 GMT.
The fire service said 12 people were being held in a "safe area" at the top of the tower as a precaution.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-43317573

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Leeds students left with £19m gas bill after meter reading error

A mistaken digit in a gas meter reading resulted in student housemates receiving a bill for £19m.
The University of Leeds students had wrongly reported their meter reading and woke up on Monday to find the bill for the eye-wateringly large sum.
One of the group, Viktorija Kiselytė, said when they were initially unable to contact their supplier they became so worried they set up a fundraising page.
Huddle Utilities corrected the mistake and issued a new bill on Tuesday.
Ms Kiselytė said: "We panicked imagining court battles, criminal records and bankruptcy, and slept with £19m of debt hanging over us.
"However, the next morning we managed to contact our utilities provider and they swiftly sorted out the problem for us. It turns out that we forgot to put a decimal point in our previous gas meter reading - whoops."
Chloe Parker said: "All the things that could happen went through our heads, like can we hack bankruptcy?"
Oliver Davies, of gas suppliers Huddle Utilities, said: "The students were on a bundled package with a payment plan based on predicted usage. Customers only pay for actual use so if it is a bit over they pay a bit more."
"After they typed their usage in wrongly it showed on their account but the next morning it was sorted."
The students' normal bill for their house in Hyde Park was around £900 for a year, he said.
"It was definitely by far the largest amount outstanding I had seen," he added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-43317148

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Ghostly Tommies rise up in remembrance: Silhouettes of 6ft tall WWI soldiers emerge to mark 100 years since the end of the war

Rising like a ghost from the earth, the Tommy stands with head bowed and rifle in hand, a poppy adorning his chest.
This silhouette of a First World War soldier, 6ft tall and made from aluminium, has appeared in the village of Penshurst, Kent.
It is one of many that will be displayed across the country to mark 100 years since the end of the war and its overwhelming human cost.
The art installation, officially unveiled yesterday and called There But Not There, has seen the silhouettes appear in sentry boxes usually manned by Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London, and on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
The figures have also been displayed at Hearts Football Club in Edinburgh, seven of whose players lost their lives in the conflict, and the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon, South Wales, to reflect the Welsh miners who enlisted.
Charities want community groups to buy similar scale silhouettes for local war memorials. The public will be able to buy ten-inch versions to remember their own relatives.
A poignant reminder of the 888,246 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died and of those who survived but suffered physical and mental scars, the silhouettes will tour the nation until Armistice Day to raise funds for a new charity called Remembered. The aim is to raise £15million for Armed Forces and mental health charities.
All the money raised will be shared evenly between The Royal Foundation: Heads Together, Walking With The Wounded, Combat Stress, Help for Heroes: Hidden Wounds, The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Project Equinox: Housing Veterans.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z595u3CdbC