Extravagant hair colour has more than doubled in popularity after celebrities like Dame Helen Mirren (pictured) and Rihanna were seen sporting shades of purple, pink and even grey.
Home hair dye sales are up 128 per cent on this time last year, according to figures from online retailer Amazon.
The retailer said high-profile experiments by celebrities including Rihanna and Fearne Cotton had reignited the trend, with fans eager to emulate their idols’ looks.
Dame Helen surprised reporters at the Bafta Awards in February when she took to the red carpet with bright pink hair. She joins popstars Jessie J – who recently dyed her hair blue, purple and platinum blonde in the space of a week – and Rihanna, who opted for an unusual grey. (PA)
Open day at crematorium
The doors of an award-winning crematorium are being thrown open to visitors in what organisers have labelled an “interesting” day out.
Stafford Borough Council, which runs the town’s cemetery and crematorium, recognised as one of the best in the country, is hosting an open day on Saturday, August 10, because it wants people to see what services are on offer following an overhaul.
The council said staff attending on the day will be able to discuss topics including “stone-cutting, grave-digging and eco-friendly funerals” while visitors can view different types of hearse, including a converted Morris Minor. (PA)
City apologises to Mandela
The City of Johannesburg apologised to Nelson Mandela and his family yesterday for mistakenly posting a non-payment notice on the former South African President’s house warning him his electricity was about to be cut off.
The city, which has faced a barrage of complaints from residents for bungled bills, said the notice demanding payment of 6,468.48 rand (€500) was supposed to have been delivered to a different house.
“The city wants to convey an apology to the Mandela family for any inconvenience caused by this unfortunate incident,” it said in a statement. (Reuters)
Hotel with an inflatable room
A hotel in Denver is offering a package that includes a one-night stay in a pop-up inflatable room that can be lifted 22 feet in the air on a scissor-lift mounted on a van.
Architectural artist Alex Schweder created the room for the Biennial of the Americas arts, culture and idea festival in Denver.
It has a chemical toilet, shower, sink, inflatable bed and living room. It costs $50,000 dollars a night (€37,500). (PA)
Bieber’s unpaid monkey debt
German authorities have posted a public notice urging Justin Bieber to get in touch with them about an unpaid bill for his former pet monkey, Mally.
Bieber failed to produce the necessary vaccination and import papers for the monkey when he arrived for a European tour in March. Mally became the property of the German government when he failed to claim his pet.
The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation says Bieber has a week to pay €1,000 for the monkey’s care otherwise customs officials “have ways of making him pay” next time he enters Germany. (PA)
Poe’s poem sold for $300,000
An original manuscript of a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe has sold for 300,000 dollars (€226,000) at an auction in Massachusetts.
The poem, with Poe’s signature, had been owned by a Rhode Island family since the 1920s.
The poem, The Conqueror Worm, is believed to have been written in the 1830s and is among more than 100 published by the author. (PA)