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The panda enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo has been closed to the public as keepers hope for the arrival of a rare cub.
Britain’s only female giant panda, Tian Tian, was artificially inseminated for the third time earlier this year.
Experts said she conceived but they still do not know for definite if she is pregnant.
Haggis-flavoured ice cream
A dairy farm has cooked up an unusual way to enjoy Scotland’s national dish in honour of the Year of Food and Drink.
Glen Urr will be serving up haggis ice cream with a side of neeps sorbet and oatcakes to adventurous diners at this weekend’s Galloway Country Fair at Drumlanrig Castle.
The dish immortalised by Robert Burns is the latest in a line of unusual flavours created by the Castle Douglas company, including whisky, beer, black pepper, curry and goat’s cheese.
Rude note goes under the hammer
A banknote from the Seychelles in which the word ‘sex’ was secretly hidden in the design is to be sold at auction.
The 50 Rupee note issued between 1968 and 1973 features the Queen and within the palm trees by her head is the naughty message.
Some believe the insult was added because at the time the Seychelles was trying to gain independence from Britain.
Penny policy on fines is changed
A Pennsylvania borough has changed a policy that barred a disgruntled handyman from protesting against a $25 parking fine by paying with pennies.
Chambersburg officials had told Justin Greene, of Shippensburg, that his payment of 2,500 pennies was not allowed under a federal rule designating the copper coins as small change – not tender for debts greater than 25 cents. But borough officials said in a later statement following “public uproar” over the matter that officials had used an outdated federal rule in refusing the payment.
Borough manager Jeffrey Stonehill said coin-counting equipment would be installed in “the next few weeks” – although he is discouraging anyone from using piles of coins to protest debts. Greene said he is “pretty much over” the incident but still annoyed at the borough’s initial response.
Riveting record in San Francisco
Hundreds of women of all ages donned blue coveralls, red socks, and red bandanas with white polka dots and gathered near San Francisco in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for women dressed as Rosie the Riveter, the image used to recruit female industrial workers during World War II.
The attempt was probably successful but Guinness must still review and authenticate the headcount. It will also verify all the Rosies conformed to uniform specifications, which detailed the acceptable size of the polka dots on their bandanas, the Contra Costa Times reported.
Event organisers said they believe the record was broken because more than 800 bandanas that met the requirement were sold before the event at Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Richmond’s Marina Park.
The last record was set in May when 776 Rosies gathered in Michigan. The Rosies are credited with empowering young girls and redefining a woman’s role in the workplace.
Phyllis Gould, 93, who participated in the record-breaking event, worked for three years as a welder at shipyards in Richmond until World War IIcame to an end.
“I felt like I could do anything if I set my mind to it,” she said.