$140 billion in bullion – Die Hard With A Vengeance Makes The Biggest Heist In Film
Could you track down and outsmart a ring of international thieves? Would you go on one last, big score to pay the bills? And most important of all, how far would you get with $140 billion in gold bullion? The new infographic from Gocompare.com Van Insurance looks at the 56 biggest heists in film since 1956. While only 41% get away with it (and a further 27% at least avoid getting caught), the total amount stolen across all the films is about $151 billion...
Britain’s smallest microbrewery pumping 1,000 pints a week from garden shed
Britain's smallest microbrewery is producing 1,000 pints a week - from inside a garden shed. The Bulletproof Brew Co has been created in the back garden of founder Patrick Lawrence's mum's house. Mr Lawrence and co-director Connor Johnson are now struggling to cope with demand and say the 400 litres of German-style craft lager they are able to pump out every week is being snapped up. Their products - Hollow Point Helles, Schwarz Beer, and the 6.7 per cent ABV...
Pretty Woman was wrong: It’s time we gave opera a chance
Stephen Tiller, the director of charity Kent Opera’s latest production, explains why Pretty Woman got everything wrong about opera, except the fact it is so good it might just make you want to pee your pants, (metaphorically speaking). For many people, trips to the cinema and even the theatre are part of their life. Cost may not mean they are a weekly or even monthly treat but they are enjoyed on a regular basis and they are very much on...
Climate change could decimate coffee crops
Coffee lovers could be left tired and grumpy as heatwaves caused by global warming threaten to decimate coffee crops. Even the predicted short bursts of hot temperatures expected this century could lead to heat stress wilting the plants and stopping them producing flowers and fruit. That means there will be no beans and no daily grind, Oregon State University researchers warned. Their study looked at the impact of global warming on Coffea arabica plants which accounts for around two thirds...
Kray’s prison set to be turned into student accommodation
A jail which has been home to some of the most notorious inmates in British history is set to become student accommodation. The infamous lags who have set foot in HMP Canterbury, in Kent, during its 205 year history include the Kray twins and disgraced cricketer Salman Butt. But since the last inmates left in 2013, the prison has been brought by Canterbury Christ Church University, and plans are in the pipeline to turn it into student living quarters. Prisoners...
Husband and wife to stand against each other in council elections
A husband and wife are to battle against each other for a seat in Scotland's upcoming council elections. Michael and Agnes Coyle will both contest fight for the same seat in North Lanarkshire which they had jointly represented on an SNP ticket in the last council term. The couple will stand against each other in Airdrie South. Both of them were axed from the SNP's candidate list during party vetting but Mr Coyle was handed a lifeline after he was...
Who’s afraid of a new Virginia Woolf?
The recent controversy over the placing of the small statue of a brave girl opposite the huge statue of a bull in Wall Street, New York, reveals the ongoing lack of female representation in our public spaces. In the UK, statues of men outnumber those of female figures by 16 to 1 and if Queen Victoria were removed from the equation, those numbers are far worse. Virginia Woolf, one of the founders of modernist literature, has been commemorated with a...
German Conservative candidate compares “nationalist” SNP to Nazis
A German Conservative candidate in next month's council elections has come under fire for comparing the SNP to the Nazis. German-born Reiner Luyken, a retired journalist, has had a running battle with SNP politicians who have branded the comparison "ridiculous and offensive". Hours after the candidate selections were published, Moray MP and SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson took to social networks, urging people to search Mr Luyken's name on the internet to see "some of the offensive stuff" he had written....
An emperor’s gold Rolex is about to sell for an obscene amount
An emperor's gold Rolex is set to become one of the watchmaker's most valuable timepieces when it sells for more than £1.5 MILLION. The iconic Rolex Reference 6062 is widely considered by the collecting community as being amongst the most desirable Rolexes. One of only three made, the 1952 model is known as the "Bao Dai" after its first owner, the 13th and last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam. Dai bought the watch himself in Switzerland in 1954...