IT'S an iconic car, much loved says the Daily Mirror, by James Bond throughout the decades and now an auction of Aston Martins has raised over £10million.
It took place at the Aston Martin works in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, was the biggest in the 16 year history of the event and set a new sales record.
Indeed, a 1964 DB5 4.2-Litre Sports Saloon, the model James Bond drove in Goldfinger, sold for £595,100.
And a 1962 DB4 Series IV Vantage Convertible, originally owned by the actor Peter Ustinov, went for £1,513,500.
But the highest price in the sale was £1,524,700 for a 1966 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible in Vantage specification.
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The Daily Mirror tells us that a woman has paid £233,000 for a Hindu-related car registration number.
And KR15 HNA is now the most expensive modern plate ever sold by the DVLA , having been auctioned off at the Casa Hotel in Chesterfield.
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A new survey, reported in the Daily Express, claims that women are the best drivers.
Female drivers outscored men not only on in-car tests, but also when observed anonymously using one of the UK's busiest junctions.
As part of the survey by Privilege Insurance, a sample of 50 drivers faced in-car assessment while 200 were watched at Hyde Park Corner in London.
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The BBC tells an amusing little tale about a footballer who has offered to pay for the damage caused when a fan punched a hole through his ceiling while celebrating his goal.
Twenty five year old Ross Morton, from Wetherby, Leeds, was at home watching the Championship play-off match between Ipswich and Norwich when Paul Anderson scored.
In his excitement, Ross jumped and put a fist-sized hole in the ceiling but after he tweeted a photograph of the damage, the Ipswich player offered to foot the bill.
Ross commented: “I only sent it to him because I thought he might have thought it was funny. Then he replied saying he'd pay for it. I was pretty shocked by that. It's a great gesture from him.”
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If you are the sort of person who likes the quiet life then you'd better steer clear of Merlin, described by the Daily Mail as the world's loudest cat!
Apparently Merlin has just secured a Guinness World Record for the domestic cat with the highest decibel-rated purr - 67.8dB which, says the Mail, is about the same as the sound of a shower or two people holding a conversation.
The cat's owner Tracy Westwood, of Torquay in Devon, commented: “Sometimes on the telephone I do get people asking me what that noise is in the background. I tell them it’s the cat – but I don’t know if they believe me.”
She added: “Occasionally when he’s really loud I have to repeat myself. When you’re watching films you have to turn the telly up or put him out of the room. I can hear him when I’m drying my hair.”
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If you fancy a UK train journey, you might be best missing Southern Rail's 7.29am from Brighton to London Victoria.
The Daily Express has labelled it, Britain's worst train service – it did not arrive on time once last year on each of its 240 journeys!
Now in Southern Rail's new summer timetable it as been given an extra three minutes to get there on time.
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Four sisters from Devon who are the world's oldest siblings according to the Daily Mail, have put their long life down to eating only British food and avoiding rich, spicy food.
Twins Freda and Doris Latham have celebrated their 101st birthday alongside sisters Gladys Camp, 96, and Phyllis Friend, 93.
Their combined age of 391 years beats the previous record of the world's oldest set of sisters who had a combined age of 386.
Gladys said: “Our parents would be shocked. It is a great achievement. I think part of the reason we have survived so long is because of the food we ate.. Today they have all spiced-up things and I don't think it does you any good.”
Reference list:
The Express (www.express.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Daily Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)