The Daily: November 24
Stray dog accompanies Swedish athletes during 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship
A stray dog befriended and accompanied a team of Swedish athletes, Team Peak Performance, during the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship which incorporates continuous hiking, trekking, mountain biking and kayaking over a consecutive number of days. Drained, ravenous and covered in dirt, the team noticed the scruffy dog as they sat for a meal before beginning the treacherous 20-mile trek through the Ecuadorian rainforest. Team member, Mikael Lindnord, fed the dog a meatball as it appeared hungry and gloomy; from that moment the dog, who they named Arthur, refused to leave their side. Every arduous task the team endured, Arthur would do the same, hauling himself up hills during hikes, lugging through knee-deep mud during treks, even swimming alongside them while they kayaked down rivers. After this journey together, Lindnord decided he could not leave Arthur so he has adopted him and taken him home to Sweden.
Christmas deals in London and New York
A recent survey from Post Office Travel Money has found that New York offers the cheapest Christmas bargains. Top fashion items can be purchased for as much as 73% cheaper in New York than in London, for example, Hollister men's designer jeans cost £59 in London but can be bought as cheap as £16 in New York. In recent years, here in the UK, we have been embracing the American tradition of Black Friday whereby retailers offer enormous discounts on the day after Thanksgiving to commence the Christmas sales season. Amazon is seizing the opportunity to extend and bring forward their sale by a week after experts have anticipated that an increasing number of people will purchase their Christmas presents online this winter.
British man wins the world Scrabble championship
A man who dropped out of university and achieved a grade D in his GCSE English exam has become the second British person to win the world Scrabble championship. 33-year-old Craig Beevers from Guisborough, who admits to have hardly ever read a book, won his world Scrabble title with the 42 points from a Muslim word 'talaq', meaning divorce. Other words used by Beevers were 'ventrous' signifying adventurous, which scored 65 points, and 'diorite' meaning igneous rock, scoring 69. He is the first British person to win this world title since 1993. After contending agaisnt 100 players from 25 nations over five days to win the title and £3,000 in prize money, Beevers said: 'I am absolutely thrilled to have won – it was a closely fought championship.'
Former British wartime spy to receive Legion of Honour
A former British wartime spy will be identified this week for her part in emancipating France from Nazi occupation - 70 years after she was parachuted behind enemy lines. 93-year-old Phyllis Latour Doyle spent years collecting information on German positions and compromised her life to deliver 135 coded messages back to Britain. For decades, she disguised her courageous past and only revealed her noble secret to her four children. In a scarce interview five years ogo, Doyle says: 'My eldest son found out by reading something on the internet, and my children insisted I send off for my medals'. Tomorrow, she will be publicly recognised for her service when she accepts the Legion of Honour from the French ambassador to New Zealand as part of the commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the battle of Normandy.
The property in which Russian duchess, sister to the last Tsar, died is on sale for $539,000
The home in which Russian duchess, sister Tsar Nicholas II, died is on sale for $539,000. Russia's last Romanov Grand Duchess, Olga Alexandrovna was born into the richest monarchy in the world however she concluded her life in 1960 at age 78 in an undesirable semi-detached porperty in Toronto. War and conflict forced her to vanish from her homeland and arrive in the promising Soviet Union while most of her family were executed. Canada's National Post reported that according to Nick Barisheff, whose family previously owned the property, in her last year she resided in bed and consumed only ice cream. Although now decrepit and in need of repair, the property once served as a travel agency, beauty salon, royal residence and even as a religious building.
A stray dog befriended and accompanied a team of Swedish athletes, Team Peak Performance, during the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship which incorporates continuous hiking, trekking, mountain biking and kayaking over a consecutive number of days. Drained, ravenous and covered in dirt, the team noticed the scruffy dog as they sat for a meal before beginning the treacherous 20-mile trek through the Ecuadorian rainforest. Team member, Mikael Lindnord, fed the dog a meatball as it appeared hungry and gloomy; from that moment the dog, who they named Arthur, refused to leave their side. Every arduous task the team endured, Arthur would do the same, hauling himself up hills during hikes, lugging through knee-deep mud during treks, even swimming alongside them while they kayaked down rivers. After this journey together, Lindnord decided he could not leave Arthur so he has adopted him and taken him home to Sweden.
Christmas deals in London and New York
A recent survey from Post Office Travel Money has found that New York offers the cheapest Christmas bargains. Top fashion items can be purchased for as much as 73% cheaper in New York than in London, for example, Hollister men's designer jeans cost £59 in London but can be bought as cheap as £16 in New York. In recent years, here in the UK, we have been embracing the American tradition of Black Friday whereby retailers offer enormous discounts on the day after Thanksgiving to commence the Christmas sales season. Amazon is seizing the opportunity to extend and bring forward their sale by a week after experts have anticipated that an increasing number of people will purchase their Christmas presents online this winter.
British man wins the world Scrabble championship
A man who dropped out of university and achieved a grade D in his GCSE English exam has become the second British person to win the world Scrabble championship. 33-year-old Craig Beevers from Guisborough, who admits to have hardly ever read a book, won his world Scrabble title with the 42 points from a Muslim word 'talaq', meaning divorce. Other words used by Beevers were 'ventrous' signifying adventurous, which scored 65 points, and 'diorite' meaning igneous rock, scoring 69. He is the first British person to win this world title since 1993. After contending agaisnt 100 players from 25 nations over five days to win the title and £3,000 in prize money, Beevers said: 'I am absolutely thrilled to have won – it was a closely fought championship.'
Former British wartime spy to receive Legion of Honour
A former British wartime spy will be identified this week for her part in emancipating France from Nazi occupation - 70 years after she was parachuted behind enemy lines. 93-year-old Phyllis Latour Doyle spent years collecting information on German positions and compromised her life to deliver 135 coded messages back to Britain. For decades, she disguised her courageous past and only revealed her noble secret to her four children. In a scarce interview five years ogo, Doyle says: 'My eldest son found out by reading something on the internet, and my children insisted I send off for my medals'. Tomorrow, she will be publicly recognised for her service when she accepts the Legion of Honour from the French ambassador to New Zealand as part of the commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the battle of Normandy.
The property in which Russian duchess, sister to the last Tsar, died is on sale for $539,000
The home in which Russian duchess, sister Tsar Nicholas II, died is on sale for $539,000. Russia's last Romanov Grand Duchess, Olga Alexandrovna was born into the richest monarchy in the world however she concluded her life in 1960 at age 78 in an undesirable semi-detached porperty in Toronto. War and conflict forced her to vanish from her homeland and arrive in the promising Soviet Union while most of her family were executed. Canada's National Post reported that according to Nick Barisheff, whose family previously owned the property, in her last year she resided in bed and consumed only ice cream. Although now decrepit and in need of repair, the property once served as a travel agency, beauty salon, royal residence and even as a religious building.