News Round Up
THE Daily Mirror reports that compensation claims in schools in England and Wales over the last three years have cost more than £10million including almost £600 after a pupil was struck by a piece of apple.
Somerset County Council spent £575 on the legal battle over the apple after the pupil sued his school.
Other payouts included £7,800 for a student in Swindon, Wiltshire, who fell off a skateboard, £8,000 for a staff member who was hit by a ball, a primary school child in Middlesex got £50 for falling out of a tree and a girl in Bow, East London, received £43 after a fight
Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Some incidents range from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
A women's institute in Sidford, Devon created a knitted village for a children's hospice but when they tried to donate it, health and safety issues cropped up, says the Daily Express because the 6ft by 4ft woolly creation couldn't be sterilised.
Sidford WI secretary Beryl Kingman, said: “Everybody has had a go and we all enjoyed it. We didn’t think of health and safety but it is understandable. The hospice said they were not allowed to accept it because they could not sterilise it.”
A spokeswoman for Children’s Hospice South West said: “We are very grateful. However, as we care for vulnerable children we have to be careful of infection control.”
The economic climate in England may still be pretty grim but that didn't stop the country's Premier League football clubs from spending a record £630m in the summer transfer window, the BBC says, quoting Deloitte's Sports Business Group.
“The story of this summer transfer window is of new records: a new record for Premier League spending as well as a new world transfer record fee," said Dan Jones at Deloitte, referring to Gareth Bale, who was sold to Real Madrid by Tottenham Hotspur for £85m.
Still on the subject of football, although of a more regal nature, the Daily Mail says Prince William will host a match at Buckingham Palace as part of The Football Association's 150th anniversary celebrations.
Civil Service FC and Polytechnic FC, both based in Chiswick, London, two of England's oldest amateur clubs, will play a Southern Amateur League fixture in the gardens of the palace on Monday, October 7.
We Brits just hate queuing. 1,000 adults were quizzed by website Ask Jeeves about things they hate most and, says the Daily Express, 22 per cent moaned about queuing such as in a bank, bus stop or post office.
Top of the list with 40 per cent was being nice to people we dislike. Other pet hates included eating healthily (18 per cent), drinking water (14 per cent) and going to the gym (nine per cent).
According to the Daily Telegraph, a vegetarian who was told she would never have children started to eat meat and now has triplets!
The report says that 34 year old Laura Dixon, from Essex, was told she had a high risk of miscarriage after she got pregnant following two failed IVF tests and 10 years of trying for a baby with her husband Tim.
So Laura, a lifelong vegetarian, decided to improve her chances by switching to a diet of chicken, bacon and a daily McDonald's big breakfast to increase her protein levels.
She said: “I just remember the cravings were so strong that I would wake up in the night and make my husband go and get me a McDonald's. Several times my husband had to go up to Nandos for chicken and chips.
"Eating meat definitely helped me get all the protein you need when you're pregnant. I think it could be one of the reasons I managed to carry all three to full term.”
What a calamity!
The Daily Express says that firemen in Crawley in Sussex had to use a tin opener to help free a hungry cat that got its head stuck in a can of pet food.
The animal was found by a woman wandering the streets in distress with its face inside the empty Felix cat food tin.
She took it to the local fire station, where crews used a tin opener to cut off the bottom of the can before freeing the cat with a ring cutter.
Reference lists:
The Express(www.express.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Daily Mirror ((www.mirror.co.uk)
Daily Telegraph (www.telegraph co.uk)
BBC (www.bbc.co,uk)