Must Reads
Retired couple travel from Oxford to Hong Kong on public transport
A retired couple took the trip-of-a-lifetime to visit their son in Hong Kong for his birthday – by travelling all the way there using only PUBLIC TRANSPORT. Phil and Emma Whiting spent three weeks aboard 16 different trains, travelling through Europe, across Russia, into Mongolia and eventually into the Chinese capital of Beijing. Their 12,000 miles of travels took them on buses, taxis, ferry boats, horses, a cable car and even on a fair amount of trekking on foot. Along...
Man takes stunning pictures of wildlife while recovering from a stroke
A man who suffered a stroke so severe he almost lost his ability to speak has won a prize after he turned to photography to help him recover. Richard Raynor, 36, was even able to give a speech at his wedding with the help of slides he had taken. The former business consultant from Chilton, Oxon., developed aphasia - a communication difficulty with speaking, reading and writing - after his stroke in 2012. His sensational snaps have now won him...
Outrage as council plans to charge rough sleepers £1,000
Stoke City Council’s proposals to fine rough sleepers in the city has been met with outrage. The proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) will make it an offence for a person to 'assemble, erect, occupy or use' a tent. Anyone who fails to pay their £100 on-the-spot penalty notice can be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000 in court. GMB, the union for workers in the Potteries, says the decision is an outrage, adding that "we’re not going to solve...
Tory tax changes double David Cameron’s holiday home stamp duty
Tax changes under the Tories resulted in David Cameron paying more than double the amount of stamp duty on his holiday home than if he’d bought under the previous Labour government. It can be revealed the former Prime Minister and wife Samantha paid the treasury almost one quarter-of-a-million pounds in tax after buying their Cornish retreat. Official documents, updated by the Land Registry this week, show the sale went through on November 14 - for a whopping £2,150,000. Stamp Duty...
Man receives £20 from Natwest TEN YEARS after leaving cash in ATM
A council worker has finally received £20 in compensation from Natwest – TEN YEARS after mistakenly leaving the cash in an ATM machine. Steve Titman, 34, walked away from the cash machine in Peterborough, Cambs., without taking the money in early 2008. He was astonished to be sent a cheque for the amount last week – along with £6.80 interest which has added up over the past decade. Steve said: “It was a complete shock but very welcome. I will...
Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA sues Woof-Tang Clan doggy day care centre
As music industry lawyers say "where there's a hit there's a writ" and this one even by music standards is bizarre. Legendary hip hop brand the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA is unamused by a doggie day care centre in New York that has been trading under the name The Woof-Tang Clan. RZA Shankbone (real name Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) is suing the dogs walking and sitting service based in Brooklyn and offering services to "the illest group of dogs in New York...
Drinking three or four cups of coffee a day ‘confers greatest health benefits -except in pregnancy’
Drinking coffee is "more likely to benefit health than to harm it" - with three or four cups a day conferring the biggest boost, according to a new study. Researchers brought together evidence from more than 200 studies and found that drinking three to four cups of coffee a day is associated with living longer and a lower risk of heart disease compared with drinking no coffee. Coffee drinking is also associated with lower risk of some cancers, diabetes, liver...
Police still refusing to declare on cricketer Ben Stokes’ fate
Police are still refusing to say when England ace Ben Stokes might be free to join the team for the Ashes. The 26 year-old all-rounder was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after a brawl in Bristol in September. He was released pending further investigation and suspended by the England team while the case remains unresolved. But two months on - and with the Ashes starting today (weds) in Brisbane - Avon and Somerset say they still have no update...
Mum hand-rears wild FOX as a pet alongside her four children
A mum-of-two has hand-reared a fox cub which she lets play with her young children - despite it having a tendency to nip strangers. Natalie Reynolds, 35, keeps Jasper the fox with her three dogs, cat and horses at their home and even takes it out for walks on a lead. But despite her insisting the eight-month-old fox is domesticated, an animal charity argued keeping the wild animals as pets is wrong as they belong in the wild. The stay-at-home...