News Round Up
by Patrick O'Connor
RICH Blake Smith and his better half Anna look like the perfect couple.
For they have just emerged victorious from Britain's national wife-carrying championships, says the Daily Express.
Fifty couples took part in the event, in Dorking, Surrey, and the Smiths got round the obstacle course – which sees the men leaping over hay bales and battling water features with their wives slung over their shoulders – in the fastest time.
Now the victorious couple get to compete in the World Wife Carrying Championship in Finland.
Do you consider yourself trustworthy?
Well, a story in the Daily Mail says that scientists have discovered that it only takes saying 'hello' for someone to decide whether or not you can be trusted. In fact, researchers at Glasgow University claim that it only takes around half a second to make that assessment.
Indeed, people will make these judgements, including how attractive they are, without seeing the person to whom they are speaking.
Dr Phil McAleer, from the Voice Neurocognition Laboratory, Glasgow University, said: “It is amazing that from such short bursts of speech you can get such a definite impression of a person.”
The Guardian reports on research published by the British Medical Journal which says that people who live or work near takeaways eat more junk food and are almost twice as likely to be obese as those who have none on their doorstep.
So, if you are planning to move house or job, it might be worth checking what's in your neighbourhood.
The research combined data from home, work and commuting and involved 5,442 adults from Cambridgeshire aged 29 to 62 and showed that people exposed to the highest number of takeaways were 80% more likely to be obese and 20% more likely to have a higher BMI than those with the lowest number of encounters.
You can't trust anyone! Official army documents published by the National Archives reveal that British intelligence officers in the First World War suspected two cats and a dog of spying for the Germans!
The Independent reports that officers believed the animals may have been planted by the Germans to relay messages across enemy lines after they were observed repeatedly crossing British trenches.
However, the document does not state whether the animals were ever detained on suspicion of spying.
David Langrish, records specialist for the National Archives, said: “The case of the dog and two cats, shows the level of suspicion amongst military units at this time.
“Every detail was of potential importance for the planning of further operations, and so every possible suspicion would have been reported.”
Congratulations go to Anne Gilbert, from Sheffield, who has just turned 100 and, says the Daily Express, is Britain's oldest Girl Guide.
The paper reports that Anne became a Brownie at the age of eight and has spent her life with the Guide movement. She was a Brown Owl until the age of 65, then helped with the Brownies for another 20 years. For the last 15 years she has been in the Guide veterans’ Trefoil Guild.
Anne commented: “The Guides has been part of my life, all the way through. I don’t feel any different, I’m still doing things for myself. Children of today are missing out. When I was younger, we did things. Now people take it easy.”
Pet dog Mollypops came to the rescue of her owner Rachel Hayes, from Drefach Felindre, Wales, by performing the Heimlich manoeuvre on her after she started choking.
A Daily Star story says that Rachel fell short of breath after a strawberry fruit pastille became stuck in her throat.
She said: “It got stuck in the back of my throat and I couldn't get it back up. I couldn't phone anyone because I couldn't talk. I was having difficulty breathing and was doing my best to get it out.”
Rachel added: “Mollypops came up behind me, put her paws on me and bashed on my back with such a force that the sweet came out. I just burst out crying and said, 'I love you.' She's an absolute hero.”
Acknowledgement in the Daily Mail for what they describe as a new generation of women beer 'brewsters'.
They say that beer is increasingly replacing wine for women amid successful efforts to introduce brews with sophisticated and subtle flavours.
The Campaign for Real Ale has 20,000 female members and now a group of women at the top of Britain’s brewery industry have developed a range of seven beers designed to appeal particularly to women.
It seems that Cornwall Council has got itself a nice little earner from no-change parking meters.
The Independent says that £11.6 million was collected in parking fees in 2011/12 overall, with £307,293 sourced from an "over-vend".
The council decided not to stock the 250 machines with increased amounts of change, citing possible vandalism and lack of funds.
In a statement, the authority said: “The amount of overspend only represents about two per cent of our total income from car parking. Like any surplus parking income, it is used to support transportation requirements such as road maintenance and concessionary bus fares.”
The Express(www.express.co.uk)
The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk)
The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Daily Star (www.daily star.co.uk)