AN article in The Guardian reports that the Tate Britain gallery in London will be opening its doors until midnight for the first time in order to cope with demand for an exhibition of work by Yorkshire-born painter David Hockney.

The event sold more than 350,000 tickets before the doors opened in February, and has gone on to become one of the most popular shows in Tate Britain’s history.

The midnight openings will be held on the last weekend of the exhibition at the end of May.

MEMORIES came flooding back for 100-year-old former RAF pilot Ray Roberts when he took to the air in a Spitfire, reports the Daily Express.

Ray, from Margate, Kent, took part in the flight at London's Biggin Hill to help mark the centenary of the former RAF airport which played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain.

He had to use a walking aid on the runaway to take his place in the legendary fighter plane.

Ray joined the RAF in 1940 and trained as a pilot but was injured the same year when his parachute failed to fully open after he bailed out of a Spitfire. 

He became a member of the Caterpillar Club, a group of servicemen and women who have jumped from a stricken aircraft and survived to tell the tale.