The former home of children’s book writer Astrid Lindgren, known internationally for the Pippi Longstocking series, has been opened to the public – except for children.
The Astrid Lindgren Society is offering guided tours of the Stockholm apartment where Lindgren lived and worked until her death in 2002. It said: “This is where timeless classics such as Pippi Longstocking, countless letters and articles were written.”
Ms Lindgren’s family has preserved the apartment as it was when she lived there. Tours must be booked in advance on the society’s web page and only 12 people will be allowed in at a time. In a move that appeared at odds with Ms Lindgren’s respect and love for children, the society said visitors must be 15 or older.
Sixpences for Christmas puddings
The Royal Mint has announced plans to give away 2,015 sixpences to put in Christmas puddings, the Sunday Mirror reported.
Sixpences were traditionally hidden in the puddings, with the lucky finder keeping the coin. However, the tradition called Stir Up Sunday, is slowly dying out.
The decision came after it was revealed in a poll of 1,000 people that only 55 per cent planned on serving up Christmas pudding this year, the newspaper reported.
Sexless couples are on the increase
One in three couples in a long-term relationship cannot remember the last time they had sex, the Mail on Sunday reported.
According to a new study, millions find themselves in sexless relationships, with many blaming family life and work for getting in the way of passion.
One in 10 even admit they no longer have a sexual relationship with their partner at all.
Bid to rename airport as Loch Ness
A campaign has been launched to change the name of Inverness Airport to Loch Ness International Airport, the Sunday Mirror reported.
It follows an announcement that British Airways will resume flights between Inverness and London Heathrow next May.
Steve Feltham, who is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for the longest continuous monster hunting vigil of the loch, has launched the online petition.
Four fined for eating rattlesnake
Four young men got more than a meal when they killed and grilled a timber rattlesnake in western Maryland – they were hit with fines of $200 each in court.
The men, from Glen Burnie, pleaded guilty to possessing or destroying the rattlesnake, a state-protected species, last week. Each was fined $500, with $300 suspended. All received probation before judgment, meaning their convictions can be expunged after probationary periods ranging from 14 to 28 months.
Police said the men were camping in the Green Ridge State Forest in August when they killed the snake with a BB gun and grilled it.
Smuggling Heineken in Pepsi cans
Customs officials in Saudi Arabia have cracked a case of smugglers trying to bring illicit cans of beer through the kingdom by disguising them as Pepsi.
They intercepted 48,000 cans of beer moving through the al-Batha border crossing with the United Arab Emirates. In a video posted on Twitter, the Customs officials show an officer using a box cutter to open a wrapped 24-pack of the fake Pepsi only to find the green-and-white Heineken cans beneath it.