Usual at the Castle this morn, coldish, darkish and windyish, after the sky water the lawn is a nice green/brown mixture and the roses have exploded into bloom.
Always knew that salad was bad for you.
Despite coming to power with a pledge to destroy the database state and enhance people's protection from state intrusion, the government has pushed hard for comprehensive data collection from European and American passengers.
U-Turn Cam does it again.
Coat hanger Cameron travelled with their baby daughter on Friday, while her husband flew out with their elder children – Nancy, 7, and Arthur, 5 – yesterday morning.
It is understood that coat hanger Cameron attended the International Music Summit – the annual event for the dance music industry dubbed the "Davos for DJs" – at Dalt Villa overlooking Ibiza Town, partying until midnight on Friday. The Cameron’s are visiting friends who live in Ibiza. Although Mrs U-Turn Cam is a long-time friend of Mick Jagger's daughter Jade, who has a luxury villa on the island, sources declined to confirm that this was where the family were staying.
Nice to be able to afford a holiday…
Officers raided the Bucktail Lodge last week in search of code violations and to shut down the Mouse racing den.
The sleepy country bar was also cited for several health violations from the on-site rodents, old food and trash in the building's basement.
When the mice aren't competing, they are adored as pets in the family's apartment above the bar.
"It's not like they are getting ate, 'If you're a loser you die.' It's not like that," said Beach.
For now, the races are on hold, but the mice racers said they will be in court to fight for the right to their rodent-race night. They said the incident makes it clear that the local police have little to do.
"There's no meth heads or makers around here, you just gotta mess with the mouse racers," said Beach.
Sounds like rodent racing is orf.
Dahn in Florida, a woman allegedly flooded her home when she fired a rifle at a target inside her husband's wardrobe, missed and hit the washing machine instead.
Deputies entered the home in Hesperia, St Lucie County, to find "a lot of water on the floor covering most of the residence", according to Sheriff's Office records.
The 21-year-old woman and her husband, 33, are divorcing but had spent an evening together in hope of a reconciliation, reports WPTV.
They had a "good evening" but later started arguing when she told her husband she had a new boyfriend. She said her husband "went crazy" and started shooting indoors.
However, the woman later told deputies she had been shooting the AR-15 rifle with her husband. Asked to write a sworn statement, she allegedly said: "I'll try my best but I'm drunk."
The man told deputies he and his wife had been firing the gun at a target in a bedroom closet and his wife missed a shot while he was outside and struck the washing machine.
Investigators found cartridge casings in the master bedroom, and a target in the wardrobe. Bullet exit holes were found in the wall opposite the washing machine which was riddled with bullet holes.
Deputies said no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.
All washed up then….
Meerkats at a new enclosure at Longleat Safari Park have developed a fetish for women's sandals and painted nails – and have even been sneakily peering up visitors' skirts.
The creatures seem to be enjoying their new enclosure in Jungle Kingdom – an enclosure into which visitors can enter and walk among the Meerkats – but their foot fascination has forced staff to put up warning signs about their keen interest in feet.
Keepers have been kept on their toes and have been on alert over the past week, watching out for the 19 adventurous 'Leerkats'.
Keeper Catriona Carr said: 'We've had to keep an eye on anybody wearing sandals or flip-flops, especially if they have painted toenails.
'They seem to be more attracted to reds and blues for some reason. We're not entirely sure what it is about the feet. It might be the bright colours of the footwear and toenails, the movement of the toes or even the smell.
I blame the government….
With more of its customers now falling into the over-65 age bracket, it says it makes "good business sense" to focus on the health of its drivers.
Six small sensors fitted into the back of the seat trace the heart's rhythm in the same way as an ECG.
If a problem is spotted the car could alert the driver and even bring itself to a halt.
And vital information could be sent to medical centres via the driver's mobile phone.
Ford believes its seat, which it says needs another couple of years of road-testing, could reduce the number of accidents caused by heart attacks at the wheel.
With 23% of Europe's population expected to be 65 or older by 2025, and 30% by 2050, the number of drivers at risk of heart attacks is likely to rise considerably in the coming decades.
No more looking at young ladies in short skirts then….
And finally:
Firemen helped 17,000 animals over the period, and only four of Britain's 56 fire services have passed on the cost of the rescue to the owners.
The figures were uncovered by a Freedom of Information request for BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme.
A crew of nine with ladders and nets rescued a cat that had been stuck 60ft up a tree near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, for three days.
In total more than 2,400 cats, 2,180 dogs and 1,700 horses have had to be rescued by firemen. Crews saved 2,090 birds, including 1,244 seagulls, 159 pigeons, 57 swans and 12 parrots.
Twenty-six foxes, 19 squirrels, seven ferrets, seven badgers, ten hamsters, 15 snakes, 11 fish and seven dolphins were also rescued.
The Taxpayers' Alliance questioned the use of resources, but the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) insisted distressed animals could pose a danger.
Twenty-five fire services supplied the programme with figures detailing their total costs for rescuing animals.
Of those, Northern Ireland spent the most with £813,485, Devon and Somerset came second, spending £561,912.
We do pay for the service, and if they aren’t fighting fires it must be good practice, well apart from the snail….
And today’s thought: "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self". - Cyril Connolly.
,
Angus
