Queen’s Garden Party Sees 8,000 Invited To Palace

The Queen hosted the first in a series of three, summer Buckingham Palace Garden parties earlier last month, which caters for a guest list of 8,000. Invitations are nominated by civil servants, the diplomatic corps, charitable groups and military organizations, etc and sent out by the Lord Chamberlain. Invitees get a chance to see and sometimes meet the Queen in her 43 acre London home and enjoy a sandwich, a cup of tea and piece of cake. The Monarch’s arrival is marked by a rousing national anthem, then the Queen heads toward the tea tent shaking hands and passing greetings along the way to a selected line-up of people. It can take over an hour for her to reach her own royal cuppa. The Queen has hosted over one million people on her Buckingham Palace lawn since her coronation. It’s a Royal occasion that was started by Queen Victoria in the 1860s, and what she called “afternoon breakfasts.”

Harry Smith, 23, was chosen for the lineup and chatted briefly with the Queen. “It was daunting,” said the student.

“It’s something I will remember forever,” said Jenny Hinks, a 50 year member of the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service.

“It’s very humbling,” said Ken Sanderson, who was thrilled to be part of the occasion.

Accompanying the Queen was her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of York and Princess Alexander. Guests demolished some 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and similar slices of cake.

DNA Study Throws Clouds Of Doubt Over Crippen Murder

Doctor Crippen became the first fugitive captured using the new technology of radio in 1910, after he had fled Britain, with his mistress Ethel le Neve dressed as a boy on the SS Montrose heading for Canada. He had told friends and later police that his wife Cora, had run off to Chicago, but after Ethel had been spotted wearing his wife’s jewelry, Cora’s friends called the police. The pair fled thinking the police had believed his story, while a series of searches in the house finally discovered a head-less body in the cellar. Doctor Hawley Crippen was brought back to London where a five day trial was concluded in 37 minutes by a jury who found him guilty of murder. He was hanged November 28, 1910.

Crippen always declared himself innocent and stuck to his story, but couldn’t explain the body in the basement. The whole murder trial has recently come under further scrutiny after Michigan State University did a Mitochrondrial DNA on the head-less body, from a microscopic slide preserved since 1910. Compared to the DNA of Cora Crippen’s present day grand-nieces it proved negative. There was no match.

“This can’t be Cora Crippen,” said forensic biologist David Foran of the University’s science programme. “We are certain of that.”

Irish author John Boyne, whose 2004 book “Crippen,” seeks to unravel the mystery, thinks the doctor may have been a part-time abortionist and the body in the cellar was an unfortunate victim. Boyne suggests Crippen was a very mild mannered man, and people who new him were shocked and unbelieving by the charges he had killed his wife. The media publicity and fleeing the scene of the crime resulted in his conviction says Boyne, who contends the actual evidence of murder was very flimsy. Ethel le Neve got a good lawyer and was acquitted of all blame; she changed her name, remarried and died in 1967.

The mystery of the body in the cellar and what actually happened to Cora Crippen tantalizes even today, as one of Britain’s most notorious murder cases continues to draw curiosity and interest.

Compost Fungus Kills Home Gardner

Gardeners are been warned to be wary of laying down compost after a man died from a fungus infection in Wycombe Hospital, Buckinghamshire. The 47-year-old unnamed man spread his leaves and debris together with some newly purchased compost and quickly complained of chest pains and difficulty in breathing. Four days later he was dead. Doctors suspect he inhaled fungus spores from the compost, which resulted in a case of aspergillosis. These particular deadly fungus spores grow on dead plants and animal matter. The man was treated for pneumonia, but then moved to an intensive care unit. His blood pressure dropped and he developed kidney failure. He was put on dialysis, but did not survive.

Dr David Waghorn admitted it was rare condition, but it should be considered as an occupational hazard for gardeners.

Cat Rescuer Ends Up Trapped On Tree Branch

When Elly Jenkins spotted a neighbourhood cat by the name of Mercedes, stuck up a tree outside her home in Colchester, she called the local RSPCA. They said they’d get someone round when they could. But a youthful neighbour seeing the feline’s plight decided she’d climb up the tree herself and rescue the cat. When she got close to the cat however, a branch broke away and the young female climber found herself stuck 20 feet up. By this time, the cat decided enough was enough and scampered, unscathed down the trunk of the tree and to safety. Mrs Hinkin put a call out to the fire brigade to rescue the would-be-rescuer. The woman in the tree was embarrassed by the fuss she’d caused, but a well built fireman emerged atop of the ladder and easily lifted her to the ground.

Mrs Hinkin said the woman, who did not want to give her name, may not have enjoyed been stuck in the tree, but the trip down the ladder in the competent hands of a handsome, uniformed fireman did end an unfortunate situation on a positive note.

Bride Is Walked Down The Supermarket Aisle

Shoppers gathered near a checkout in a Sainsburys supermarket in Baldovie Road, Dundee, for the wedding of store employee Kenneth Sutherland,32, to Jane Clark,42. The bride was walked down the seasonal goods aisle before the nuptials. The vows were changed slightly when Kenneth pledged not to nudge Jane too hard if she snored, and promised to look after her fuzzy wig collection. The bride pledged to learn to cook something else than beans on toast, and only buy one pair of shoes a month. Mary Liddle the bridegroom’s mother was fairly stunned when told the wedding was going to be in a supermarket, but after remembering that Ken had worked at Sainsburys since he’d left school she soon understood why he had chosen the location.

Asked if he’d recommend a supermarket wedding for other couples, Ken Sutherland says it great for the guests.

“You can watch the ceremony, and then do your shopping.”

Not Much Of A Golfer Wins Car In Tournament

Allan Errington of Aberdeen, is not much of a golfer but he entered his company’s in-house tournament just to be part of the social scene. He had to borrow a putter from a friend, and even though he’d only been on the fairways a dozen times or so in his life, he was sporting enough to give it a go. His endeavors proved successful at the Newmachar Golf Club however, where at the par three ninth hole, he holed in one and in doing so won a brand new £15,000 Volkswagen Golf. Errington, 43, had managed an average of seven strokes a hole up to then, and had considered a seven iron an appropriate club for the hole. At the end of the round he admitted he had lost 23 balls through miss-hits, hooks and slices but he had produced the magic at the hole that counted.

“It was a fantastic feeling,” said the part-timer, who says his wife will be driving the new car.

Newquay says ‘Eat Your Heart Out Hawaii’

The great Cribbar wave roared in to Newquay, Cornwall, early last month, as Britain’s top surfers gathered to ride the 25 foot monster. Storm swells, onshore winds and diverse ocean currents cause this gigantic wave to form just once a year. It attracts only the bravest and most courageous of sportsmen. Local surfers noticed the yearly occurrence in 1966, but it was not until 1996, that anyone dared to take out a board and attempt to ride the enormous wave. The wave breaks in the shallows where jagged rocks line the sea bed, making it a dangerous wipe-out for the inexperienced. 17-year-old Josh Hughes was one of the fearless few who ventured out to ride the biggest wave in Britain.

“I was really scared at first,” said the semi-professional teenage surfer.” My mum was quite worried too.”

L-Driver Crashes But Passes Driving Test

GARETH PURSLOW’S driving test got off to a disastrous start last month when he crashed into another car as he pulled out from a parking bay. But, to his amazement he passed the test.

Student Purslow, 20, hit a Ford Puma reported the Daily Mirror.

He continued the test with a dent in the side of his instructor’s Renault Clio at High Wycombe, Bucks, but feared the worst. Delighted Gareth said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got the pass slip back at the test centre. When the crash happened I thought, ‘That’s it’, but my examiner let me carry on.”

And at the end of his hour-long ordeal, he hadn’t a fault on the marking sheet and got his licence at the first attempt.

Gareth said: “The examiner sorted everything out after the collision. I was so nervous my legs were shaking.”

Alarm ‘Cluck’ Mistaken For Chickens In Neighbour’s House

A NOVELTY alarm clock caused a Lancashire pensioner lots of trouble with his neighbour’s last month.

Neighbours of Billy Verity, 68, suspected he was keeping chickens in his home, and complained to the council after hearing cock-a-doodle-dos, reported the Daily Mirror.

After two officials visited while he was out, the retired busman, of Nelson, phoned his town hall.

He said: “I was asked if I kept poultry as people had reported crowing noises. I thought it was a joke.”

Billy, who keeps chickens on an allotment four miles away, explained: “I sleep with the window open and it goes off five times before I switch it off, so it would sound realistic.”

Council housing boss Ian Clark said they took complaints seriously but said: “Having followed it up, we’re satisfied it’s unsubstantiated.”

Roy Plants Deed Roots In His Family Tree

Amateur genealogist Roy Blackmore of Taunton, has traced 10,000 of his relatives and ancestors over a period of 28 years.

He was orphaned as child, and was curious to see he had any family at all. Researching various archives, cemetery records, libraries and census registers he was able to trace his lineage back to the Cerdick family in 500AD. Blackmore, 76, can link himself to William the Conqueror and Alfred the Great. He has petitioned the Guinness Book of Records to claim the world’s largest documented family tree.

Tommy’s Autograph Collection Earnings Go To Good Cause

A grocery delivery driver who spent his life collecting autographs brought a figure of £75,000 for his 40,000 signatures at the International Autograph Auctions house. Tommy Scullion of Broughshane, Northern Ireland sent out thousands of beautifully caligraphed requests for signatures and most people obliged. A mixed collection that included actress Grace Kelly, Pope John Paul, traitor-spy Kim Philby, Pablo Piccasso, and terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Tommy died in 1996, but it took his brother Wilson, a dozen years to sort out the collection. The money will go to a hometown museum honouring Tommy, where copies of his numerous autographs will go on show.

Cardboard Bike Invented By College Student

FOR AS little as £15, a cardboard bike could soon be on the market.

Phil Bridge, a 21-year-old design student believes his “ultimate green machine” will be cheap enough for almost anybody to buy while also deterring thieves.

The frame, made out of cardboard normally used in industrial packaging, could be produced for as little as £3. Once the wheels and chain had been added the total price might rise to only £15, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Bridge, who is studying at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “I started by looking at the reasons why people don’t use bikes as a mode of transport, and one of the primary reasons I came up with was the initial investment in a bike.

“A typical round town bike can cost several hundred pounds, and that’s a large investment for people who aren’t sure whether they will use it. The idea of cardboard is to completely devalue the bike”.

He went on: “The cardboard for the frame is the material used in industrial packaging. It’s very strong and it has a honeycomb core. It’s mainly used in partition walling and packaging.

“The prototype does work but it is still quite limited and there are a few problems”.

Bridge, from Stockport, Cheshire, claims his bike is strong enough to support a rider, so long as he or she weighs under 12 stone. And he insists it won’t go soggy in the rain.