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(PG) Running time: 97min

by ANNA SMITH - Thursday, November 6, 2008

A frothy piece of period escapism, this Noël Coward adaptation is as simple and pleasurable as the title implies

A posh British family lives together in a big house in the late 1920s. Kristin Scott Thomas is Mrs Whittaker, the repressed, uptight mother, while her husband (Colin Firth) is an unshaven eye-roller who makes sardonic quips about his two daughters' hysteria – a Mr Bennet of his age

The reason for all the excitement is the return of brother John (Ben Barnes), who has married an American racing car driver called Larita (Jessica Biel
. As Larita squares off against John's disapproving mother, light humour ensues
Biel doesn't quite nail her character's supposed strong will but what she lacks in depth, she makes up for in glamour – much like the film itself

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Saturday, November 8, 2008


. The Queen arrives at the Royal Albert Hall for the annual Festival of Remembrance

The Queen has attended a Festival of Remembrance to commemorate those who died while serving their country

Her Majesty was joined at the Royal Albert Hall in London by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah also attended the event, which was organised by the Royal British Legion
The Royal Festival of Remembrance has been held annually since 1927 and this year featured a prominent role for Territorial Army veterans as 2008 is the TA's centenary.
Welsh soprano star Katherine Jenkins and tenor Russell Watson were among the performers as well as various Service bands.
Alongside the traditional military marches, the Band of the Royal Marines provided a more unconventional note, playing a funky tune featuring bongos and an electric guitar solo.
. The event culminated in the release of thousands of red paper poppies from the roof of the Albert Hall
More than 8,000 veterans from over 200 regiments are expected to march in the Cenotaph Parade in Whitehall to mark Remembrance Sunday
For the first time this year, ex-servicemen and women from Northern Ireland will take part in the parade

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Friday, November 7, 2008

A mobility scooter

. Thieves returned a stolen scooter to its owner when they read in a newspaper that she was disabled

Not only did they return the item to Agota Lay, but also the local newspaper that had prodded their conscience.
They also changed the headline from "Thieves without a Heart," to "Thieves with a Heart," and laid it on the bike

Romanian national daily Adevarul reports that the 39-year-old woman has been suffering from a muscle wasting disease for 18 years.
.She lives off monthly benefits of 366 lei ($128) and took out a bank loan to buy the scooter
"I think it is a miracle," Lay said

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by ANDREI HARMSWORTH - Monday, November 10, 2008


Beyonce ready to be Wonder-ful

Beyoncé Knowles is so 'inspired' by US President elect Barack Obama, the singer now says she wants to play the first ever black Wonder Woman

The Dreamgirls and Austin Powers actress is so determined, she claims she's already had meetings with DC Comics and Warner Bros, who own the rights to the story.
'I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman?' said the If I Were A Boy singer
'And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It's time for that, right? It would be great.'
The 27-year-old's ambition comes after 007 star Daniel Craig recently said it was time to have the first 'black' James Bond

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by SOPHIE FREEMAN - Monday, November 10, 2008


James Barber carries wife Sally Raynes

. As someone once said, it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world

. Particularly if you're James Bamber and Sally Raynes and bizarre sports are your thing
Through the week they lead 'mundane office lives' - but every weekend they travel around the country seeking wacky challenges

The couple from Devon have enlivened their lives by taking part in more than 90 championships for such fun events as bog-snorkling, gurning, shin-kicking, clog throwing and stinging nettle eating.
Data analyst Mr Bamber, 35, is World Russian Egg Roulette champion - like Russian roulette except with five hard-boiled and one uncooked egg.
Ms Raynes, 36, an event manager, said: 'We became hooked after taking part in a bog-snorkelling contest that we saw advertised in a local paper.
'We had to swim to the end of a 60-yard bog using a mask, snorkel and flippers. It was cold, pitch black... but we had a blast so we started looking around to see what other events were on.'
Stinging nettle eating saw them having to eat as many nettle stalks without being sick.
But that was nothing compared to swamp soccer. 'That was definitely the hardest event,' said Ms Raynes.
'The pitch was a complete quagmire of mud and you had to kick the ball down to the other end.
'Even though James is incredibly fit, within 15 seconds he was exhausted.'
Yesterday the pair, who plan to write a book on their experiences, were out again - taking part in a wife-carrying contest.
Get James and Sally's book 'Wacky Nation', at all good book stores, out now

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Monday, November 10, 2008


Albert the sheep has taken orphaned baby Themba under his wing

Themba the abandoned baby elephant has someone to give him that warm, fuzzy feeling at long last – Albert the sheep

. The six-month-old was introduced to Albert, two, after he was orphaned with little hope of survival
Despite a few teething problems, the two are now best friends, and spend hours playing and cuddling

'When we first put Themba and Albert together, all hell broke loose. Themba chased him around his watering hole,' said Lyndal Davies, who is filming the unlikely couple.
But the next day things changed, she revealed, adding: 'The two were exploring together, with Themba's trunk resting on Albert's back. Since then, they have been inseparable.'
Themba was rejected by other elephants after his mother fell down a cliff and died. 'We faced a very difficult decision,' Ms Davies said.
'Let nature take its course and let him die a slow, cruel death or intervene and give him a second chance.'
She and her team took him to the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They will release Themba when he is two but, until then, he has plenty of time with Albert.
'Albert copies everything Themba does. The other day, they demolished a termite mound together,' added Australian Ms Davies. 'The really sweet thing was that after they ­exhausted themselves they fell asleep on top of it, side by side

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Monday, November 10, 2008

The biggest footballing boar since George Graham's Arsenal

. A football match was cancelled after angry wild boars invaded the pitch, leaving it covered in potholes

The hog hooligans squeezed though a gap in the fence at Soudley Recreation Ground in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and dug up giant mounds with their snouts.
The new pitch was so badly damaged by the boars, who live in nearby woodland, that Soudley's match with Charfield on Saturday was cancelled.
The pitch underwent a £1,000 returfing and expansion last April, paid for by fundraising events such as discos

Gloucestershire Football Association operations manager Chris Lucker said today: "This is the first time we've heard of anything like this.
Usually it's motorbikes or cars that tear up pitches, not boars. There is funding available for the upkeep of pitches."
Club secretary Louise Stephens said members and players were "absolutely devastated" by the carnage that afternoon. She told the Western Daily Press: "A resident saw the pitch at 8.30am and phoned my husband to say we had to get down straight away. There is no way of playing on the pitch now."
It will take several months to get the pitch up to scratch. All matches have been postponed. After being hunted to near-extinction 300 years ago, wild boars have bred rapidly in recent decades after they were imported from Europe for meat.
Escapes from wildlife parks and farms increased in the 1990s as the captive numbers grew. In January this year, a wild boar broke into Ruardean Primary School, seven miles away from the Soudley pitch, and was shot dead in the playground after it became aggressive and stomped its feet.
There have been several instances of horse riders chased by charging boars, boars trashing private gardens and farms and of boars tearing dogs apart.
Farmers also fear the animals spread diseases like classical swine fever and foot and mouth.
It is estimated that there are over 1,000 boars in the UK and sightings have also been reported in east Somerset, Kent, East Sussex, west Dorset and Devon.
Forestry experts say the animals have little fear of people because they have not been hunted and have no natural predators.
A selective cull of boars was sanctioned in February this year by Biodiversity Minister Joan Ruddock

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Monday, November 10, 2008

Richard Jones proud of his old brolley

Long before Rihanna trilled about being 'under my umbrella', Richard Jones was sheltering under a brolly bought from the London Transport lost property office

And thanks to occasional applications of Vaseline to it, Mr Jones has used the umbrella to keep dry ever since – for an amazing 41 years.
The 62-year-old vending machine operator bought the second-hand umbrella in 1967 during a day trip to London for 7s 6d – just 37p

'It has just lasted and lasted. It's showing no signs of wear or rust and is still in perfect condition after 41 years,' he said.
'It just happens to have survived over the years. I reckon there's easily another ten years of use left in it, and it should definitely make it past the 50-year mark.'
And his secret for umbrella longevity? Bizarrely, it's keeping it dry. 'When I get it indoors, I will wipe it down with a rag, and sometimes put Vaseline on it to keep the water away,' he said.
Mr Jones, from Womborne, Staffordshire, said it has also served him as a parasol on occasion – most notably in the blistering summer of 1976

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Monday, November 10, 2008

A remorseful thief sent £100 and an apology letter to a shop seven years after stealingcigarettes from the premises

Imran Ahmed, who runs Raja Foods in Easton, Bristol, was stunned to get the penitent note and the money as compensation for the packs taken in 2001.
Mr Ahmed, 27, who remembers the night-time raid which left him with a broken shutter and windows said the anonymous writer's change of heart was 'really good

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by SUZY AUSTIN - Monday, November 10, 2008

Stealing an apple kept the couple out of the US

A couple's dream trip to New York has been shattered by a 37-year-old conviction forstealing an apple

. John Wells won the transatlantic trip plus spending money but can't go because of the offence in 1971
The 55-year-old has to have an interview at the American embassy in London, where the earliest slot is in February - two months after the trip

'I felt sick when they told me the date of the interview,' he said. 'I don't know what I'm going to do. What amazes me is that if I was a rapist or murderer, I would have to go through the same process. But all I did was steal an apple.'
Mr Wells, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, and a pal stole an apple each from outside a shop during a boozy night.
He was fined £10 and the conviction is now classed as a 'spent offence' in Britain. But American law demands anyone with a criminal conviction, no matter how old or trivial, must declare it in advance and apply for a entry visa.
'I've been all over the world and this has never caused a problem before,' added Mr Wells, who won the trip on a Smooth FM radio contest.
'I might have to raffle the prize for charity now. I'm totally gutted.'
A spokesman for the radio station said: 'There is little we can do now.'
The American embassy declined to comment