News Round Up
by Patrick O'Connor
IT seems that the UK is set to be invaded by millions of huge, bright butterflies.
The Daily Mail reports that Painted Ladies - three-inch butterflies with distinctive orange and black markings - are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
They are regularly seen in Britain, having flown 1,500 miles from Morocco to lay their eggs but, says the Mail, once every decade or so the UK has a ‘painted lady summer’ when millions arrive.
The last mass migration was in 2009 when around 11 million painted ladies arrived.
Now the butterflies have been in seen in large numbers in southern Europe, indicating they could be on their way.
Richard Fox, of the Butterfly Conservation charity, said: “The painted lady migration is one of the real wonders of the natural world.”
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There's a bit of a rumpus going on at the moment amongst those Brits who have a gamble on the National Lottery.
An article in the Daily Express reckons that Lottery bosses are being accused of ripping off players after adding 10 extra balls to the draw.
This means that chances of scooping a Lotto jackpot will rise to 45 million to one. The Express reports that the National Lottery Facebook page has been flooded with accusations of “shameless greed” and threats to boycott the draw.
Professor Ian Walker, of Lancaster University Management School commented: “The chance of winning the jackpot lengthens considerably.
“It will increase the number of rollovers – which will generate more spikes in sales but too many rollovers can be bad.
“People may well think there is no point playing a game where nobody wins. Adding 10 numbers… might just make it too difficult to win.”
Camelot said the revamp, due in October, will create an extra 1.8 million winners a week.
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The Daily Mirror tells us that Brits have an average of nearly 200,000 close living relatives.
A study by AncestryDNA - part of the online family history resource – showed that the typical Brit has five first cousins, right up to 174,000 sixth cousins.
Brad Argent, commercial director at Ancestry, said: “It’s incredible to think that many of us will be in daily contact with unknown relatives - with no idea that we share much more than the same sporting team or commute to work.”
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Twenty nine year old Nicky Ashwell, from London, is now able to ride a bike for the first time after being fitted with what has been described as the world’s most lifelike bionic hand.
A story in The Guardian says that Nicky can now carry out tasks with both hands for the first time.
She was born without a right hand, had previously used a cosmetic prosthetic that she was not able to move.
The hand has been developed by prosthetic experts Steeper and is described by the company as a bionic breakthrough that uses Formula One technology to deliver “unrivalled level of precision and natural movements”.
Nicky said: “The movements now come easily and look natural – I keep finding myself being surprised by the little things, like being able to carry my purse while holding my boyfriend’s hand.
“I’ve also been able to do things never before possible like riding a bike and lifting weights.”
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The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo has been marked in a special way by toy soldier enthusiast Derek Brown (84) from Weston-Super-Mare.
The Daily Express says that Derek has spent the last 35 years collecting and painting over 800 toy soldier figurines in the style of people at the Napoleonic Wars. For the anniversary he proudly displayed his figurines on a 4ft by 7ft board.
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Travel guide experts have claimed that the county of Kent is Europe's top spot for a family holiday.
The Daily Mail reports that Kent was chosen as the best family destination by compilers of Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2015, with County Kerry in Ireland in second place.
Singled out were the resort of Broadstairs, which was once home to Charles Dickens, the White Cliffs of Dover and the seaside town of Margate which has become 'gentrified without losing its personality.
Reference list:
The Express (www.express.co.uk)
The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Daily Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)