Bristol is the most festive place in the UK, with more purchases of Christmas items per head than anywhere else in the country, according to online retailer Amazon.
The city’s residents bought more festive products, including tinsel, selection boxes, decorations and Father Christmas costumes, in the past year from Amazon.co.uk than any other place in the UK.
In second place was Southampton and third was Peterborough, which also topped the list for the area that bought the most Christmas music per capita. (PA)
Panic Saturday – £1.2bn spent
High street spending is set to reach £1.2 billion in a single day as festive shoppers hit the stores on “Panic Saturday”.
An estimated 13 million consumers will spend £2.1 million for every minute the shops are open on last-minute gifts and groceries at an average of £92.31 per person, according to a report by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) for Vouchercodes.co.uk.
The report says delayed fulfilment of online orders, poor weather in some areas and earlier sales are expected to drive 60.9 million shoppers to the high street between Saturday and Christmas Eve – up 14 per cent from last year. (PA)
Musical Balls passes piano exam
Ed Balls has demonstrated his ability to perform under pressure – scoring an impressive 17 out of 18 for his sight reading skills as he passed his grade four piano exam.
The shadow chancellor took the test just two days after responding to George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, having declared that the piano exam would be “far more stressful” than his Commons appearance.
Mr Balls, whose exam repertoire included a piece by Mozart, a Latvian folk song and a jazz tribute to Billie Holiday, said he was now aiming for his grade five qualification. (PA)
Canadian finds global girlfriend
A Toronto man who made headlines last month by offering a free round-the-world air ticket to a woman with the same name as his ex-girlfriend has found Ms Right.
Jordan Axani, 28, and his then girlfriend, named Elizabeth Gallagher, booked heavily discounted round-the-world air tickets in May, but their relationship ended and he did not want her ticket to go to waste. The ticket had a strict no-transfer policy, but since passport information was not required when booking, it can be used by any Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher.
Mr Axani posted his offer last month on the popular Reddit social media website and received thousands of emails, including 18 from actual Elizabeth Gallaghers with Canadian passports. He has now chosen Elizabeth Quinn Gallagher, 23, from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, to receive the ticket. (PA)
Shoe stampede at Ohio mall
Police have used pepper spray to disperse a crowd of people queuing for a shoe sale at a mall in Ohio, USA.
Reports say dozens of people were gathered before 6am at Franklin Park Mall in Toledo to get tickets allowing them to buy the Nike Air Jordan shoe later this week.
Police moved in when the crowd began to get unruly. Nineteen-year-old Jeremiah Fletcher, who was queuing, said police fired pepper spray three to four times. (PA)
No warm welcome for ski event
A special World Cup skiing city event slated for New Year’s Day in Munich has been cancelled due to warm weather.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) says “unseasonably warm temperatures over the past weeks and not enough cold weather forecasted in the upcoming days” led to the cancellation.
FIS says the event, which was to feature parallel races for men and women in Munich’s Olympiapark, will not be replaced. (PA)