DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Chef Hilda Bassey. PICTURE: Video screenshot/Reuters TV
• Nigerian chef Hilda Bassey has spent 100 hours preparing meals non-stop, aiming to set a Guinness World Record for the longest ever cooking session by an individual. ‘’It’s either I achieve it and I feel good about it, or I don’t and I feel depressed about it, so obviously I chose the route of achieving it,” said Bassey, who finished the cooking feat on 16th May, reportedly creating more than 100 meals based on 55 different recipes. “So I feel a bit of relief, I am very happy and I am very proud.’’ The current record is held by Indian chef Lata Tondon who set a time in 2019 of 87 hours and 45 minutes. Anita Okiri, a fan of Bassey, said “no woman just stands up one day and says, ‘I wanna cook for 100 hours’. Even 50 hours is mind blowing, so yes, it is a good one and I am so proud of her, like, I am speechless.’’ Bassey said she undertook the mammoth task “to put myself on the map, to put Nigeria on the map, to put young African women on the map”. “And just also, you know, it’s almost like to set a precedent for the generation that is to come after me.’’ A Guinness World Records spokesperson was quoted on the Guinness website as saying: “We are aware of the record attempt and are looking forward to receiving the evidence for our Records Management Team to review, before we can confirm the record is official.” – DAVID ADAMS, with Reuters TV
Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, tends to a beehive at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, Britain, in this undated handout photo released in celebration of World Bee Day on 20th May, 2023. PICTURE: Matt Porteous/Handout via Reuters
• Buckingham Palace issued a photograph of Kate, the wife of heir to the British throne Prince William, on Saturday to mark World Bee Day. The picture, taken last year, showed the Princess of Wales, as she is officially titled, beekeeping at Anmer Hall, her residence in the rural eastern English county of Norfolk, wearing a beekeeper’s suit, including protective hat veil and boots. Bees are also kept at royal residences Buckingham Palace and Clarence House producing honey used in the palace kitchens. World Bee Day aims to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. – JAMES DAVEY, London, UK/Reuters
A sign of the headquarters of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, is seen in Berlin, Germany, on 8th February, 2019. PICTURE: Reuters/Axel Schmidt
• Calling wannabe James Bonds. Intelligence services are finding it harder to recruit staff since the pandemic as prospects want to work from home and would rather not part with their personal cell phones, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service BND said on Monday. “We cannot offer certain conditions that are taken for granted today,” said Bruno Kahl, who described finding enough and the right staff as a great challenge as baby boomers are heading into retirement. “Remote work is barely possible at the BND for security reasons, and not being able to take your cell phone to work is asking much from young people looking for a job,” he added. Some 6,500 people work for the BND, according to its homepage. – SABINE SIEBOLD, Berlin, Germany/Reuters
