Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton says “strong friendship” keeps her bandmates united, almost two decades after they burst on to the pop scene.
The 39-year-old, who topped the charts in July 1996 as one fifth of Britain’s most successful girl band, said her love for Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham remains as firm as ever.
Four of the group made it to David Beckham’s 40th birthday party in Morocco earlier this year, while Bunton was also invited to Halliwell’s wedding to Formula 1 supremo Christian Horner in May.
Speaking to the Sunday Express S magazine, the Heart radio breakfast show host said: “It’s bizarre because sometimes it (topping the charts with the Spice Girls) feels like it was yesterday, and other times it feels like it was over 20 years ago.
Is Scottish accent under threat?
The distinctive rolling “R” in Scottish accents is being lost, according to experts. Younger Scots are no longer pronouncing the “R” in words as forcefully as older generations, softening words such as “car”, “bar” and “fur”. Older generations of Scots had been said to roll the letter in words such as “girl” and “farm”, but younger speakers now appear to miss the letter out altogether.
Some have suggested the change is due to softer accents on television among Scottish actors and broadcasters, but experts at the University of Glasgow and Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh found it is a more natural occurrence.
Professor Jim Scobbie, from QMU, led the research with Dr Eleanor Lawson and Professor Jane Stewart-Smith. Socio-linguist Dr Lawson said: “What we found is that some Scottish speakers are delaying the ‘R’ gesture, so it’s happening in silence afterwards.”
Spending a pound for a flush
A riverside pub popular with tourists has started charging £1 for non-patrons to spend a penny after the owner got fed up with one too many blockages.
The Boatyard in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, is rated top of all the town’s restaurants on TripAdvisor but its popularity – and its convenience – has apparently forced its owner’s hand.
Manager Kurt Murray said on two occasions plumbers have had to be called out – at a cost of up to £400 – to unblock toilets.
“Would you believe it, we’ve had a pair of ladies’ knickers flushed down there, and nappies,” he said.
Murray said non-patrons were walking in off the street and costing the pub on average 46p per flush after electricity, toilet roll and hand soap was factored in.
Hipster tweet ‘unprofessional’
London Fire Brigade (LFB) has apologised after announcing “no hipsters were injured” in a restaurant blaze.
People complained on Twitter that the comment about a fire in east London was “unprofessional” and “not funny”.
Street food trader Hank’s Po’ Boys posted: “Hard work and livelihoods ruined and you make a joke of it? Completely unprofessional and insulting to many people”.
The controversial tweet said: “Shoreditch restaurant blaze early this morning. Thankfully no hipsters were injured”. LFB later posted: “Sorry if we caused any offence by using the term hipsters. Hope Shoreditch businesses are back on their feet soon.”
Six fire engines and 35 firefighters were called to a pop-up restaurant on Great Eastern Street.
Paper trail leads to arrest
Three armed men wearing masks robbed an open-air concert venue in North Carolina, getting away with $500,000 (£320,000) – but left behind a trail of banknotes that led to at least one arrest.
Authorities said a 911 call reported that the business office of Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh had been robbed and the cash taken away in backpacks. Police attended and found a trail of cash leading to a nearby shed.
Adjani Jari Bryant, 22, was arrested shortly after the robbery. He faces 24 charges, including armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy. Officers are looking for two more suspects.