DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
PICTURE: James Newcombe/Unsplash
• A bid to mark Brexit with a bong from Big Ben seems to have failed. A group of pro-Brexiteers had wanted the bell to ring out on 31st January – the date the country exits the European Union – but thanks to renovation works currently underway on the Houses of Parliament tower in which Big Ben is housed, it was estimated it would cost up to £500,000 for the bell to be rung. Boosted by comments from PM Boris Johnson that an online campaign to raise the money could be established, they did so but said this week that despite raising £272,000 from people in 56 countries, they’d failed to convince House of Commons authorities to accept the donation. The StandUp4Brexit group now reportedly says the £272,000 raised will instead go to a veterans’ charity. Downing Street has said it plans to mark the occasion in a number of ways including a light display.
• Still in the UK and an insurance company has apologised for mistakenly calling thousands of people “Michael” in emails. Aviva reportedly said the error was caused by a “temporary technical error” in its mailing template and added that there were no issues with the personal data of those affected – “the remainder of the email and its content was correct,” it told customers.
• We’re all familiar with the idea of putting images of missing people on milk cartons. A Florida brewery has joined with a local animal shelter in taking the idea in a different direction – they’ren placing images of dogs which are yet to be adopted on the sides of beer cans in a bid to attract new owners for them. Motorworks Brewing also said proceeds from the sale of beer packs with the cans featuring the images would be donated to Manatee County Animal Services. There has been some early success with reports at least two dogs had been newly adopted. Others, however, are still awaiting new homes.
