The Daily: November 21
British shoppers purchase the most Christmas presents in Europe
The spirit and elation of Christmas is certainly glistening in the UK as a comprehensive study by online marketplace eBay has reported that in Britain we purchase more Christmas gifts than any other nation in Europe. This year, the average British shopper will spend £225 on 16 gifts for an average of 9 different people. Approximately 8% of British people will purchase 21 to 30 presents and three in ten will spend over £320 in total. Disparately, the French will spend an average of £184, the Spanish £167 and the German £115. In addition, it seems that the traditional last minute rush of Christmas shopping may be a thing of the past as now only 5% of British people are leaving their shopping to the last week before Christmas. Two out of five of us have started our Christmas shopping early to stretch the cost throughout the year.
Duchess of Alba has died aged 88
Duchess of Alba, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, has died at home in Seville, aged 88, after a short illness. Having more titles than any other aristocrat and owning palaces, extensive properties and paintings by Goya and Valazquez, she was regarded as Spain's richest woman and one of their most outlandish figures. Her shenanigans featured in the nation's gossip magazines and engaged audiences of TV chat shows, making her one of Spain's most-adored figures. She was the head of one of Spain's oldest noble families yet referred to as the 'rebel noble' as she disregarded convention and pursued her passion for flamenco and art, compiling a private collection of masterpieces. Although being 25 years her younger, husband Alfonso Diez claims, 'It often seems that I'm the older of the two' in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine.
Heroic Labrador detects cancerous tumour in her owner
Despite Labradors regularly using their intense sense of smell to locate a bone or a luscious treat, ten-year-old Daisy has been awarded a medal by Animal rescue charity Blue Cross for identifying the undiagnosed cancerous tumour of her owner, Dr Claire Guest, chief executive of charity Medical Detection Dogs. Medical dogs like Daisy are trained to detect the disease by smelling samples of patients diagnosed with cancer as well as samples of people without the disease so they can learn to determine the difference. Daisy has identified cancer in 551 patients through smelling samples, however, this was the first time she has detected the disease growing inside somebody. Dr Guest explained how her Labrador was clearly upset and completely out of character, 'Daisy seemed to be pawing at my chest - she bumped against my body repeatedly'. Within the next few days Dr Guest detected a tiny lump which was luckily removed before the cancer had time to spread.
Finest preserved skeleton of woolly mammoth expected to sell for £250,000
One of the finest preserved skeletons of a woolly mammoth is predicted to initiate an intense bidding war when it goes for auction on Saturday, with some experts proposing it will sell for £250,000. The 50,000-year-old mammoth, named Monty, is an unbelievable 11.4ft high and 18ft long complete with 8ft tusks. The article was found after spending around 100,000 years under the ice in Siberia. Although comparable to today's elephant, the mammoth had smaller ears and a shorter tail to reduce frostbite and heat loss so it was well adapted for the ice age. Curator Errol Fuller said, 'This is a virtually complete mammoth skeleton with beautiful tusks, which makes it particularly rare,' The auction will take place at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, West Sussex.
Festive jumpers are undoubtedly popular this year
Festive jumpers have risen in popularity this year. In fact, supermarket giant ASDA have announced that along with having already sold their millionth Christmas jumper, sales have risen by a colossal 160% since last year. The jumpers available in their George collection are extremely popular as Jonathan Tillery, Senior Buying Director at George, states: 'This Christmas is definitely a 'Knitmas!' Even celebrities such as Fearne Cotton and Frankie Sandford have been getting involved in the Christmas spirit by wearing festive jumpers for the Save the Children campaign. A 'Multicultural Christmas Jumper' has been introduced this Christmas, available at Britishchristmasjumpers.com, which displays various signs of faith from Christianity and Hinduism to Chinese philosophy.
The spirit and elation of Christmas is certainly glistening in the UK as a comprehensive study by online marketplace eBay has reported that in Britain we purchase more Christmas gifts than any other nation in Europe. This year, the average British shopper will spend £225 on 16 gifts for an average of 9 different people. Approximately 8% of British people will purchase 21 to 30 presents and three in ten will spend over £320 in total. Disparately, the French will spend an average of £184, the Spanish £167 and the German £115. In addition, it seems that the traditional last minute rush of Christmas shopping may be a thing of the past as now only 5% of British people are leaving their shopping to the last week before Christmas. Two out of five of us have started our Christmas shopping early to stretch the cost throughout the year.
Duchess of Alba has died aged 88
Duchess of Alba, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, has died at home in Seville, aged 88, after a short illness. Having more titles than any other aristocrat and owning palaces, extensive properties and paintings by Goya and Valazquez, she was regarded as Spain's richest woman and one of their most outlandish figures. Her shenanigans featured in the nation's gossip magazines and engaged audiences of TV chat shows, making her one of Spain's most-adored figures. She was the head of one of Spain's oldest noble families yet referred to as the 'rebel noble' as she disregarded convention and pursued her passion for flamenco and art, compiling a private collection of masterpieces. Although being 25 years her younger, husband Alfonso Diez claims, 'It often seems that I'm the older of the two' in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine.
Heroic Labrador detects cancerous tumour in her owner
Despite Labradors regularly using their intense sense of smell to locate a bone or a luscious treat, ten-year-old Daisy has been awarded a medal by Animal rescue charity Blue Cross for identifying the undiagnosed cancerous tumour of her owner, Dr Claire Guest, chief executive of charity Medical Detection Dogs. Medical dogs like Daisy are trained to detect the disease by smelling samples of patients diagnosed with cancer as well as samples of people without the disease so they can learn to determine the difference. Daisy has identified cancer in 551 patients through smelling samples, however, this was the first time she has detected the disease growing inside somebody. Dr Guest explained how her Labrador was clearly upset and completely out of character, 'Daisy seemed to be pawing at my chest - she bumped against my body repeatedly'. Within the next few days Dr Guest detected a tiny lump which was luckily removed before the cancer had time to spread.
Finest preserved skeleton of woolly mammoth expected to sell for £250,000
One of the finest preserved skeletons of a woolly mammoth is predicted to initiate an intense bidding war when it goes for auction on Saturday, with some experts proposing it will sell for £250,000. The 50,000-year-old mammoth, named Monty, is an unbelievable 11.4ft high and 18ft long complete with 8ft tusks. The article was found after spending around 100,000 years under the ice in Siberia. Although comparable to today's elephant, the mammoth had smaller ears and a shorter tail to reduce frostbite and heat loss so it was well adapted for the ice age. Curator Errol Fuller said, 'This is a virtually complete mammoth skeleton with beautiful tusks, which makes it particularly rare,' The auction will take place at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, West Sussex.
Festive jumpers are undoubtedly popular this year
Festive jumpers have risen in popularity this year. In fact, supermarket giant ASDA have announced that along with having already sold their millionth Christmas jumper, sales have risen by a colossal 160% since last year. The jumpers available in their George collection are extremely popular as Jonathan Tillery, Senior Buying Director at George, states: 'This Christmas is definitely a 'Knitmas!' Even celebrities such as Fearne Cotton and Frankie Sandford have been getting involved in the Christmas spirit by wearing festive jumpers for the Save the Children campaign. A 'Multicultural Christmas Jumper' has been introduced this Christmas, available at Britishchristmasjumpers.com, which displays various signs of faith from Christianity and Hinduism to Chinese philosophy.