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A say day for British fans of jazz and/or the radio programme "I'm sorry, I haven't a clue". Humphrey Lyttelton has died. Grey squirrels, who have pushed out the red squirrel in many places, now fear the same treatment from more aggressive black upstarts! House prices in the UK see sharp decline according to this.
Jerusalem, the well known hymn, has been banned from services at Southwark Cathedral. A premium coffee made from animal droppings is being sold at a London department store for 50 pounds a cup.
The opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5 has been termed chaos by some. British pubs are closing at the rate of 27 a week, seven times faster than in 2006. The police have revealed how their operations get their names. The use of mobiles on planes flying in European airspace has been given approval by UK regulator Ofcom.
Despite predictions of a house price crash, the world's most expensive property has been sold in London for a price exceeding 115 million pounds. The Queen has officially opened Heathrow's fifth terminal. British film director and writer Anthony Minghella has died aged 54.
New figures reveal (perhaps to no great surprise) that UK hotels are the most expensive in Europe. A new trend is emerging of local councils wanting to run Post Offices.
A British man who planned to walk from Bristol to India, has had to quit after reaching Calais, France, and coming up against the language barrier. Marks and Spencers have become the latest retailers to start charging for carrier bags. There are, according to this article 266 different officials who have the right to enter your UK home. On a more sombre note, police are continuing to investigate the site of the Jersey childrens' home where allegations of abuse and even murder have been made.
Residents in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed have voted to become part of Scotland. Perhaps they heard that the break-up of the union is now inevitable? A 10 pound license in order to be able to smoke, is proposed for England. A new device that uses high-frequency sound to stop teenagers congregating outside shops, schools and railway stations has come up against the do-gooder objection squad .
After calling for Sharia law to be recognised in the UK , the Archbishop of Canterbury is shocked at the hostility of the response. The rat population in the UK is getting even larger, as a consequence of the milder and wetter climate. Acoording to a recent survey, a fifth of British teenagers believe Winston Churchill was a fictional character, while many believe Sherlock Holmes and King Arthur were real.
Somewhat surprisingly, support for EU membership is rising, not falling according to a recent poll. Concern is growing about the high calorific content of flavoured coffees served by high street coffee chains, according to the watchdog Which?
An estimated 22,500 police officers marched in central London in a protest over pay. Perhaps they've realised that they're earning less than the children smuggled in by Romanian gangs to beg and steal. The pound has fallen to a record low against the Euro In a bold and decisive move on something that concerned a lot of people, the government has banned the keeping of elephants as pets. The government this week also announced the go-ahead to building 10 nuclear power stations. Sad news, as we hear that former ICI chairman Sir John Harvey-Jones has died.
The country most attached to fast food has been shown to be the UK. A pub chain has implemented severe measures to prevent parents with children drinking in their establishments. It's been claimed that England is now the most crowded country in Europe.
It's been claimed that there are now more active Catholics in the UK than Anglicans, making the UK a Catholic country. Which may explain why a certain Tony Blair has converted to the Catholic faith. Meanwhile the Queen (the defender of the Anglican faith) has launched her own YouTube channel.
Bong!! Here is the news - I'm sleeping on a park bench! Read about the TV jounalist who ended up homeless, here. It's claimed that 80% of new jobs in the UK over the last 10 years may have gone to foreign-born workers according to an official report.There is a new growth industry in Britain - websites churning out false identity cards for underage drinkers.
The news headlines in the Uk have been dominated by the case of the canoeist who disappeared for 5 years. Now his wife has been arrested, after returning to the UK. As house prices dip in the UK, the Bank of England has been forced to cut interest rates in a bid to restore confidence.
The honeymoon period of Gordon Brown is over, as a new poll shows him hitting his all-time low The leader of the SNP Alex Salmond has predicted that Scotland will be independent by 2017.
Truffles are set to be harvested in Pontefract, Yorkshire. The Labour government is looking at raising the school leaving age to 18. The supermarket chain Tesco is to start transporting wine cargos by canal, in a bid to cut down on emissions .
A Labour think tank has suggested downgrading Christmas to help race relations. The Government has come under fire for repeatedly failing to give accurate figures on migrant numbers coming to Britain.
Record numbers of Britons are flying abroad for medical treatment to escape NHS waiting lists and the rising threat of hospital superbugs
Scottish nationalists are feeling very pleased with themselves, claimimg that Scots now enjoy many benefits that the English do not. The Royal Mail has ended Sunday postal collections . The "North" no longer starts at Watford; instead a new line between the Severn estuary and a spot on the North Sea coast south of Grimsby. Which means that Leicester is now in the south, while Nottingham is still in the north.
The population of the UK is forecast to hit 65 million by 2016. The author of the series Harry Potter has revealed that Dumbledore is gay.
A new survey portrays Britain as a society riven by class and no social mobility. Five boys have received a sentence of 2 years detention for their part in a recent stoning death . The best place to live in the UK has been named as Edinburgh according to the property show Location, Location, Location. The worst place to live? - Middlesbrough
The Chancellor Alistair Darling has increased the inheritance tax threshold to £600,000 for married couples, in what has been seen as stealing Tory policies. The Radio 4 soap series The Archers is to be broadcast in a podcast format. The Queen has unveiled a new forces memorial dedicated to those who have died serving their country since World War II.
London's Old Bond Street has now overtaken New York's 5th Avenue in terms of rental paid per square foot. However, the (domestic) property market has ground to a halt in some areas and many sellers are having to slash prices by 20 per cent, according to this report in the Telegraph. Back in the High Street, McDonald's is to offer free internet Wi-Fi access in its outlets across Britain.
Veteran Left-winger Tony Benn wants to become a MP again. Millions of Britons have fallen victim to conmen. A RAF plane has accidentally dropped a bomb on Scotland.
Britain has revealed plans to switch off energy-guzzling light bulbs by 2012, to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. Thousands of holidaymakers have been caught out this year, trying to visit Porthemmet Beach . It's a fictional beach in North Cornwall, created as a joke to confuse holidaymakers. Time to stick to Devon next year?
A new UK-wide version of Monopoly makes St Albans the replacement for Mayfair, whilst Leeds and Liverpool replace the cheap streets. Gordon Brown has launched a mission to find a national motto for Britain, to encourage patriotism and Britishness. Tornadoes have struck the UK amid freak storms.
Britain's famers are hit again by an animal disease outbreak. This time it's Bluetongue. Britain is poised to get much bigger. It plans (along with other countries) to exploit new UN rules to claim huge swaths of ocean. Meanwhile, drivers in Britain are facing paying over £1 a litre for the first time.
Radio1 turns forty years old. Man U manager Sir Alex Feguson is unhappy that Jose Mourhino is leaving his post at Chelsea.
Scalextrix are celebrating 50 years of boy racers .
The Liberal Democrats are holding their conference this week. In line with their tradition for bravely choosing policies that may not be popular, they've called for a migrant amnesty . The much-hyped iPhone is coming to the UK, with O2 winning the contract to sell it on.
It is believed that former World rally champion Colin McCrae has been killed in a helicopter crash.
Gordon Brown has upset people, not only in his own party but also in the Conservative party, by inviting Mrs Thatcher to tea at number 10. Northern Rock, one of the UK's biggest mortgage lenders, has had its public reputation hit by the need to have a bail-out from the Bank of England.
A Czech speedway rider has found out a quick way to learn English fluently after being knocked out cold during a race. Spain and UK lead Euro property boom although the average price is higher in Ireland and the Netherlands.
The UK has a plan to send a satellite into Space, to track a asteriod threat.
Prince Harry has led tributes to Diana, Priness of Wales on the tenth anniversary of her death.
There are at least some people doing well in the UK economy - City bonuses have hit a record high with a 14 billion payout. The number of UK homes with internet access has gone up by a million in the last year.
After a spate of street killings involving children, various political leaders including the Home Secretary have vowed tough action on gun crime. Conservatve leader David Cameron has called for the Human Rights Act to be abolished and replaced with a British Bill of Rights.
The Home Information Pack HIPS , required by law when a house is sold, is being extended to cover 3 bedroomed houses from September.
Brits have chosen their most disappointing tourist sites, which includes Stonhenge (in the UK) and the Eiffel tower (abroad).
Basque bombers in France have targetted holiday homes (including those owned by Brits) with bombs.
Milk prices in the UK set to rise, because of a rise in demand from China
Average house prices in England are set to breach £300,000 according to recent research.
A leaked report claims that half of all boys will be obese by the 2040s in Britain.
The long awaited BBC Iplayer is now in beta testing mode. It will allow people over the internet to catch up on bbc programmes.
As southern Britain reels under heavy flooding, the Environmental Agency has called for an extra one billion a year to be spent on flood defences.
Gordon Brown wants 3 million new homes to be built by 2020, as part of his agenda announced in Parliament on 11 July.
The BBC has had to apologise after implying the Queen walked out of a portrait session.
It has emerged that Gordon Brown (the new PM) once locked himself into a toilet and had to be let out by Tony Blair.
Signs are that the July 1 public smoking ban in England will not go smoothly.
Britain's yob culture to be tackled by... Gordon Strachan.
Voters think Tony Blair will leave Britain an unhappier, less pleasant and more dangerous place to live than when he came to power, a poll has revealed.
The 80s group Spandau Ballet could be making a comeback
If you're heading back to the UK, be aware that the Bank of England now issues new twenty pound notes. The old twenty pound notes are to be phased out.
Find out if chocolate is really good for you.
Good news on the health front, as the Government claims heart disease deaths have fallen by a third since 1996.
Labour is targetting airlines over carbon emissions.
The British government has admitted that the state of housing provided for its armed forces needs improving.
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