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The crew of a British Ministry of Defence helicopter broke low-flying rules, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to a Sussex mansion, so that they could get a closer look at a sunbathing au-pair, a High Court was told this week. The owners of the Old Stables in Eastbourne, East Sussex, claimed that the 14-tonne Merlin hovered at lower than 152m so that the crew could "communicate" with their au-pair. The couple's barrister said the downdraft damaged their glass conservatory. They want £250,000 ($679,000) in damages. The eight-day case is likely to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs. If the ministry loses, the taxpayer will foot the bill.
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Firefighters have been banned from using their ladders to take down festive bunting because it is deemed a health and safety risk. In previous years, firefighters have helped remove decorations in the centre of Ampthill, Bedfordshire, after the town's gala day in July. Three months on, the green and white bunting is still there. Bedfordshire deputy chief fire officer Graeme Smith said: "It sounds like the world has gone mad. Firefighters will climb ladders to rescue people from burning buildings but not to remove bunting." The festival committee is now trying to find another way of removing the bunting before the winter. (Source: BBC online)
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Stephen Picard says it's always wonderful to read Oscar Wilde's aphorisms as mentioned in Sideswipe, but he didn't say "Either those curtains go or I do" on his deathbed. "On his deathbed in a Parisian hotel (the Hotel d'Alsace, which still stands today), it was his antipathy to the wallpaper (not the curtains) that occasioned his supposedly last words: 'My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go.' However, as his most respected (and latest biographer) Richard Ellmann states, these words were spoken a month before his death to a woman acquaintance. On his actual deathbed, Ellmann says, he was unable to speak and could only raise a hand when asked if he wanted to receive the last rites."
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Cathy Pole's legs have been stolen. True. "I am a mosaic craftsperson in my spare time and I've been working towards an exhibition. I have mosaiced a male mannequin pair of legs. It stands proudly at 1.2m, has beautiful embellishments of coloured glass flowers and tapa patterns all in celebration of the male form. Until Saturday night it stood proudly by my front door, a grand entrance to our humble Grey Lynn house." Any information gratefully received.
Today's Video Webpick: Ladies, you can have it all with Enjoli perfume. This 70s ad says you can bring home the bacon, fry up the bacon, and never let him forget he's a man (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). All sung to Peggy Lee's I'm a Woman.. Watch it here. Scroll down. These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
