THE Independent newspaper has paid tribute to a cat called Felix which has been rewarded for her years of mouse-catching services at a railway station by being 'promoted'.
Felix joined staff at Huddersfield station five years ago when she was nine weeks old and now she has been named Senior Pest Controller, receiving a high-vis jacket and a name badge.
She has become such a favourite with staff and passengers that she even has her own cat flap built into one of the barriers, allowing her free roam to carry out her duties.
--------------------------------------
You can tell the British weather has gone to pot when the Daily Mail reports on the discovery of a sandy beach...in the middle of a farmer's field, nearly 10 miles from the coast.
Following the recent floods, over three acres of the field were left covered by sand at Warwick Bridge on the outskirts of Carlisle in Cumbria.
The nearby River Eden had burst its banks leading to tonnes of sand, silt and river sediment being dumped. Then, as the flood waters receded, the sand stayed in place.
--------------------------------------
The house which helped inspire the Peter Pan story has been saved from demolition, says the BBC.
Author JM Barrie played in the gardens of Moat Brae in Dumfries, Scotland but it needed £5.3m
to allow its conversion to a national centre for children's literature.
Now finance has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Barrie moved to Dumfries in 1873 at the age of 13 and credited the "enchanted land" at Moat Brae as helping to inspire the Peter Pan story.
--------------------------------------
A survey in the Daily Express has resulted in bourbons being named as Britain's favourite biscuit.
It received 32 per cent of the vote, followed by chocolate digestives (21 per cent) and custard creams (18 per cent).
--------------------------------------
According to The Independent newspaper, Britain's pets are getting fatter because we keep serving them takeaway food and alcohol.
The charity PDSA claimed cake, chocolate, biscuits, crisps, chips, takeaway and booze are among the inappropriate items served by some owners.
A PDSA spokeswoman said: “Nearly half of pet owners believe that obesity is the biggest threat to animal welfare in the next 10 years - yet pets continue to be fed unsuitable diets which is fuelling the problem. As well as being high in calories, food like takeaways, cake, cheese, chips and crisps are high in fat and sugars which are bad for our pets' waistlines and teeth. Some owners even admitted to giving chocolate and even alcohol, both of which are poisonous to pets and can be fatal.”
--------------------------------------
The Daily Mail revealed the startling price of land in London with a story that a parking space behind Hyde Park Gardens has gone up for sale for £350,000 – almost twice the price of the average UK home.
The spot measures just 19.5ft x 8ft and has 88 years left on the lease. Flats in the area can sell for more than £10million.
The estate agents described it as: “A rare opportunity to purchase a private parking space for one car, located behind the prestigious Hyde Park Gardens and ideally located for the transport links of the M1 and March Arch underground line.”
Reference list:
The Express (www.express.co.uk)
The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)