News Round Up
by Patrick O'Connor
YOU reap what you sow – or to put it another way, everything that happens to you is the result of your own actions.
That certainly seems to have applied in the case of petty thief Marcus Banwell, who nicked a 'super-hot' chilli pepper from an Asian food store in St Paul's, Bristol.
According to The Sun, 39 year old Banwell grabbed a handful of Scotch Bonnet chillis and stuffed one in his mouth as he fled. Moments later he was found doubled-up in pain, coughing and vomiting on the pavement.
Police were called to the scene and found a further four peppers, a milkshake and fruit juice stolen from the shop.
Apparently Scotch Bonnets are one of the hottest chillies in the world with a heat rating of 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units — compared to just 2,500 to 8,500 for a jalapeno.
Shut up!!!!
A report in the Daily Mail reveals that the owners of noisy rooster Rodney could be fined up to £5,000 because neighbours have complained about its early wake-up call.
Rodney, who is owned by Matt and Kerrie Summers, from Bath, starts crowing as early as 3.43am for up to 76 times over a three-hour period.
Neighbours were so fed up that they set up recording equipment to monitor the racket and now the local council have served the Summers with a noise abatement notice.
Mr Summers said: “I think that they shouldn't be complaining about the noise from one cockerel when in the surrounding farm there are sheep, cows and a donkey who makes plenty of noise.”
A father of six has gone on the warpath to win a court battle to keep badger paws and eagle wings in his home.
Sixty year old Welshman Mangas Colaradas lives as an Apache Indian, having adopted the Native American lifestyle, after his divorce 20 years ago.
He was due to be taken to court and at previous hearings had arrived in ceremonial head dress, tassled jacket, suede moccasins and a snake's head necklace. However, according to a report in The Sun, Jackie Lis, senior crown prosecutor for the CPS in Wales, said: “Having considered expert evidence from a number of sources we concluded in that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to the charges against Mr Colaradas.
“This is because some of the expert opinion on how the owl and badger parts came to be in his possession was contradictory.
Mr Colaradas claimed the wildlife relics were part of his Apache life - even though he lives in a three-bed semi in Swansea.
He has refused to reveal his original name and only answers only to his adopted name in honour of a famous Apache chief.
He said: “I’m against modern life, nobody cares about anybody else, nobody cares about mother earth.
“The whole point of the Native American lifestyle is that everyone believes in mother earth and treats others who you want to be treated.”
Celebrities have the habit of giving their offspring strange names and Jools Oliver, wife of TV chef Jamie Oliver, is no exception.
Her three year old daughter is called Petal Blossom Rainbow after a My Little Pony toy.
Jools, whose other three children are Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela and Buddy Bear Maurice, told Gurgle magazine: “They all have more than one name because I couldn’t decide.
“I’m not sure where Petal Rainbow came from - apparently it’s a My Little Pony! I wanted to call her Rainbow but Jamie told me to calm down.”
The Independent newspaper reports that two giant Chinese pandas loaned to Edinburgh Zoo are to perform £1,000 'meet and greets' with VIP visitors to help pay for their upkeep.
The zoo has launched a 'panda keeper experience' which will allow 'backstage' access to the private area of the animals' enclosure which is normally off-limits. The £1,000 ticket permits guests to hand-feed the animals.
The zoo pays the Chinese government £660,000 a year to house the pair, who will remain in Edinburgh for 10 years. Identical enclosures were built for the pandas at a cost of £285,000 and the zoo imports bamboo from Holland at a cost of £70,000 a year. The pandas' insurance is believed to run to £1m a year.
Darren McGarry, head of animals at the zoo, said: “We're delighted to be able to offer people the chance to get closer than ever before to these fascinating, rare and iconic animals.”
How daft can you get...
According to The Sun, a golf course in Ayrshire, Scotland has banned buggies on health and safety grounds.
A disabled player who was told the carts were too hazardous for use on the course told the paper: “It was a load of nonsense.”
The move is one of 10 rulings named by the Myth Busters Challenge Panel, which helps members of the public take on the clipboard zealots.