Star Wars fans and commuters found themselves immersed in the midst of the Death Star trench run as they travelled around a galaxy not too far away.
The 49ft-long 3D artwork, a recreation of the scene in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, runs underneath Southwark Bridge in London, close to London Bridge station and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on Bankside.
The trench run featured in George Lucas’s 1977 film, when Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing and his fellow rebel pilots try to destroy the Death Star while avoiding being shot down by the Imperial fleet and its TIE fighters.
P-p-penguin poo, please!
An allotment owner has contacted The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham with an unusual request – seeking droppings from its Gentoo penguin colony.
Jane Ffoulkes, owner of a local allotment in the Midlands, heard that penguin poo was a good fertiliser for plants. She said: “The excrement, known as guano, contains the contents of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, all three essential nutrients for plant growth.”
Sadly, though, her request was denied due to licensing restrictions. George Paige, marketing manager at the underwater attraction, said: “However, it’s great to know how everything about these cheeky little chappies is so valued.”
Cost of raising child jumps £3,500
The cost of raising a child to the age of 11 in the UK has jumped almost £3,500 in the last 12 months alone, new research has found.
It means parents spend around £87,000 bringing up each child, which works out at more than £650 a month, according to Halifax.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, parents in London face far higher bills at £122,500, while Wales and West England enjoy the lowest costs at £76,600. Childcare is by far the biggest outlay, costing parents £3,840 a year on average.
Explosive gifts for bride and groom
A wedding gift was no joke to security agents checking bags in a screening room at Denver International Airport.
An agent watching an X-ray monitor spotted wax and fuses inside a bag at the airport. Officials said the bride and groom’s names both start with “T,” so their wedding souvenirs were labelled TNT.
The agents determined that while the wax and fuses were on bottles that said TNT, inside was just bath salts. The bottles were wedding favours for guests.
T-shirt undoes man of ‘steal’
Police in the Philadelphia suburbs say the Man of Steal was undone by his Superman T-shirt.
Kyree Henneghan, 18, was charged with two Upper Darby burglaries that police linked him to the crimes because of the shirt. Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said a man wearing a T-shirt with the Superman shield bolted with a laptop computer after the homeowner walked in on the second raid.
Henneghen made a not-so-speedy getaway on his BMX bicycle and police found him a short time later – still wearing the Superman shirt – trying to sell the computer to men in a car.
Neighbour’s screen surrender
A Vermont woman is taking down a massive screen she built to block her view of her neighbour’s home.
Ruth Dwyer has agreed to remove the 60ft by 24ft structure by November 1 as part of a settlement filed earlier this month. Ms Dwyer will face a $200 fine for each day the screen remains up if she does not remove it by that date.
Ms Dwyer has said one of her horses was startled by a child on the neighbour’s driveway, prompting her to plant trees to block the view. She had the temporary screen installed while they grow. Thetford officials say it violates planning rules.