Teen turns shed into Dad's Army shrine....

Don't panic Mr Mainwaring: Teenager turns shed into shrine to Dad's Army TV heroes

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 4:25 PM on 11th June 2011

A teenager has turned his garden shed into an incredible shrine to classic BBC comedy Dad's Army.

Now dedicated Darren Stride, 19, is hoping his five-year labour of love will storm to victory in this year's National Shed of the Year competition.

The student is up against a garden 'pub' where smoking is still permitted, a pink palace summer house, a Noah's Ark creation and even a Doctor Who Tardis.

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Dedicated: Dad's Army fanatic Darren Stride in his garden shed which he has turned into a shrine to the BBC show

Nostalgia: Darren became obsessed with Dad's Army when he watched endless repeats of the comedy with his grandfather

But the Dad's Army fanatic is confident his astonishing tribute to the brave men of Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard will give him a shed start.

Darren, of Scratby, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said: 'I'm just hoping for the best but I'm sure we can do it.'

His bottom-of-the garden Bygones Museum first hit the national spotlight four years ago and has become an established local landmark.

He has now made the final shortlist of nine from more than 1,500 sheds entered nationwide in the Cuprinol-sponsored contest.

And it is not just one shed that is being judged. Darren's shrine to Capt Mainwaring, Sgt Wilson, Jonesy, Private Pike and the team has spread to three huts. 

Home guard: Darren has installed a donated World war Two Anderson war shelter made of corrugated iron in his garden

Memorabilia: Authentic gas masks, ration books, identity cards, uniforms and newspapers, including a wartime sweet shop, complete with sherbet lemons

Ready for battle: Joining up with the Walmington-on-Sea warriors

The talented teenager has even installed a donated Second World War Anderson shelter in the family's garden.

Darren, who has just finished his A-levels at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, Gorleston, said: 'Ever since my museum became known we have had people knocking on the door and asking to look round. 

'I have even given conducted tours to Scout groups.'

No one could accuse him of being a 'stupid boy', in the immortal words of Arthur Lowe's Capt Mainwaring, for Darren aims to turn his grand obsession into a career. 

He said:'My idea is to give Second World War talks dressed up in uniform.' 

Darren's interest in Dad's Army started as a boy watching endless BBC repeats on the knee of his grandfather John Fenton, a private in the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). 

He fought in North Africa and Italy, including the legendary and bloody battle for Monte Cassino in 1944.

Before he died, aged 75 in 2001, he gave his grandson his wartime medals. Since then the collection of memorabilia has grown so big that Darren plans to move his unique museum into a permanent home.

It includes everything from gas masks, ration books, identity cards and uniforms to an authentic wartime sweet shop, complete with sherbet lemons and liquorice branches.

Frontline: Dad's Army team led by Arthur Lowe as Capt Mainwaring, John Le Mesurie as Sgt. Wilson, Clive Dunn as Jonesy, John Laurie as Pvt. Frazer, Arnold Ridley as Pvt. Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Pvt. Pike and James Beck as Pvt. Walker

Darren said he was forced to move it out of his bedroom into the garden when his long-suffering mum Pat, 60, became unhappy about the musty smell.

Darren, a regular visitor to the Dad's Army Museum in Thetford, Norfolk, has met cast members and writer David Croft, who even sent him a prized photograph of wartime leader Winston Churchill. 

The competition winner, who will pick up a £1,000 prize, will be announced on July 4.

Darren said: 'I would just like to thank everyone who has supported me from day one - especially my late grandfather who got me into this obsession of mine. 

I'd like to think he's up there smiling on what I have achieved so far as well as chuckling away with me at episodes of Dad's Army.'

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002475/Teenager-turns-shed-shrine-Dads-Army-TV-heroes.html#ixzz1P1F95ktN

Leonardo da Vinci's 'machine gun' cannon discovered

Leonardo da Vinci's 'machine gun' cannon discovered by archeologists

Archeologists in Croatia have identified what they believe is the world's only triple-barrel cannon inspired by the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci.

The weapon almost exactly matches a model of da Vinci's triple-barrelled cannon design 

By Nick Squires

5:53PM BST 10 Jun 2011

The bronze cannon, from the late 15th century, bears a striking resemblance to sketches drawn by the Renaissance inventor, notably in his Codex Atlanticus - the largest collection of his drawings and writing.

Mounted on a wooden carriage and wheels, it would have allowed a much more rapid rate of fire than traditional single-barreled guns - in a precursor to modern day machine guns. Soldiers would have been able to fire three cannon balls instead of one.

It was also lighter and more mobile than most cannon of the time, enabling troops to move it around the battlefield with comparative ease - a precursor to much later artillery.

It was found in the grounds of the 15th century Klicevica fortress, in a part of southern Croatia that had strong trading links with the Venetian Republic and that was on the front line of defence against the invading Ottomon Turks.

"We think it was either made in Venice and brought here, or it may have been made locally," said Marin Curkovic, the director of a museum in the nearby town of Benkovac, where the cannon went on display this week as the centre-piece of a new exhibition.

"We cannot say with 100 per cent certainty that it was built to Leonardo da Vinci's designs but the resemblance to his sketches is remarkable. We think there is a very high probability that it was manufactured to his designs."

The weapon almost exactly matches a model of da Vinci's triple-barrelled cannon design, which is on display in the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

The cannon may not have been an enormous success - the lower part of the barrels has been blown away, suggesting it may have jammed and exploded, probably killing or seriously injuring whoever was operating it.

The gun was found in 1968 by a group of children who were digging in the fortress, but it was only donated to the museum in the 1990s.

Attempts to properly analyse it were stymied by Croatia's war of independence and a lack of funds.

"There are no markings on the cannon so it was hard to date it until we were able to excavate the area where it was found and start putting it into some sort of context," said Tomislav Basic, also from the museum.

"As far as we know, it is unique in the world. Nobody else has found anything like it. It's a very exciting discovery."

"It was clearly designed by a man' Glass staircase leaves women exposed

'It was clearly designed by men': Glass staircase in $105m new courthouse leaves women open to prowling eyes from below

By MARK DUELL

Last updated at 4:12 PM on 10th June 2011

Watch out, ladies - as one courthouse has taken legal transparency a little too far in a design disaster.

Anybody walking up a glass staircase opened in a brand new $105million courthouse in Franklin County, Ohio, can be viewed from underneath.

That means female court officials in robes and any woman walking up the courthouse stairs in a dress or skirt risks surprising people standing below.

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Transparent: Anybody walking up a glass staircase opened in a brand new $105million courthouse in Franklin County, Ohio, can be viewed from underneath

‘I wear dresses (under my robes) because that's my personal choice,’ Franklin County Judge Julie Lynch told WBNS-10TV in Central Ohio.

‘When you stand under the stairwell, you can see right up through them.’

Court officials at the 32-room building are discussing what to do about it and are currently warning women they can be viewed from underneath.

Dress problems: Judge Lynch said the courthouse must have been designed by men and you cannot rely on people to be mature about the issue

Judge Lynch said the courthouse must have been designed by men and you cannot rely on people to be mature about the issue.

Attorney Lori Johnson regularly visits the courthouse and is concerned about the use of camera phones from below.

‘Next thing you know, you're on the Internet,’ she told WBNS-10TV.  ‘(It) sounds like a lawsuit in the making.’

See-through: Court officials in robes and any other women walking up the 32-room courthouse stairs in dresses risk surprising people standing below

The courthouse only opened on Monday, but Judge Lynch claims architects failed to consider half of the population in their stairs design.

'Men designed it - they had no women input on this, that's what I thought,' she said.

County facilities management officials have not yet commented.

New building: The Franklin County courthouse has also had problems with police radio signals, mobile phone reception and wireless internet

This is not the first problem to plague the courthouse.

Problems with reception for police radios in January delayed its opening by five months - and were eventually solved by a $500,000 upgrade.

But wireless internet services will not be available in most of the building for another month, reported the Columbus Dispatch.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002171/Glass-staircase-105m-new-courthouse-leaves-women-open-seen-below.html#ixzz1OyNx22FT

Germany team players strip down for Playboy before the Women's World Cup

Germany team players saucy photoshoot for Playboy before Women's World Cup

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 9:19 PM on 10th June 2011

What better way to promote the Women's World Cup than for your national side to show off their new strip?

That's the approach these young fraulein, members of Germany's national squad have taken.

But their approach, it can be safely assumed, did not have the the sanction of the blazered and booted herren of the Deutscher Fussball-Bund.

Wet look: Bayern Munich players Annika Doppler, 19, Ivana Rudelic, 19, and Julia Simic, 22, as well as Gütersloh's Kristina Gessat and Wolfsburg's Selina Wagner leave little to the imagination as they frolic

The madchen took part in their raunchy photo-shoot for the German edition of Playboy magazine, which went on sale yesterday and  will be found on top shelves all over the host country during the duration of the three-week tournament that kicks off in Germany on June 26.

Germany begin their defence of the tournament in Berlin on June 26, when they play Canada. England kick off their campaign with a match against Mexico the next day.

Sporting: Germany's international women footballers have thrown themselves into a different kind of strip 

Cover girls: Back row left: Annika Doppler (Bayern Munich), Kristina Gessat (FSV Gutersloh). Front from left: Selina Wagner (Wolfsburg), Julia Simic (Bayern), Ivana Rudelic (Bayern).

Nina van Splunter of German Playboy, said: 'For us, this makes a lot of sense.

'Everyone knows how popular football is in Germany and, just like their male counterparts, the female team are very successful. 

'The girls we have used are not yet first-team players with Germany, but they have all represented their country at various levels.

Van Splunter added: 'We have only just published, so we're waiting to hear comments.

'There was not agreement - we didn't ask the DFB, we went direct to the ladies. 

'But it should be OK, otherwise they would have been told not to do it by their clubs." 

Annika Doppler, 19, Ivana Rudelic, 19, and Julia Simic, 22, play for Bayern Munich; Kristina Gessat plays for Gütersloh and Selina Wagner plays for Wolfsburg.

In the accompanying interview, Gessat says: 'The message is, look, we are normal - and lovely - girls.'

One can only hope that Wayne Rooney never follows suit.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002264/Germany-team-players-saucy-photoshoot-Playboy-Womens-World-Cup.html#ixzz1OyLzXpdK

SWAT team breaks down man's door over ex-wife's unpaid student loans....

Dept. of Education Fed Swat Team Breaks Down Man’s Door Over His Ex-Wife’s Unpaid Student Loans-With Video

8 June 2011 12:02

News10:
STOCKTON, CA – Kenneth Wright does not have a criminal record and he had no reason to believe a S.W.A.T team would be breaking down his door at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
“I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers,” Wright said.
Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts as a S.W.A.T team barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.
“He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there,” Wright said.
According to Wright, officers also woke his three young children ages 3, 7, and 11 and put them in a Stockton police patrol car with him. Officers then searched his house.
As it turned out, the person law enforcement was looking for was not there – Wright’s estranged wife.
“They put me in handcuffs in that hot patrol car for six hours, traumatizing my kids,” Wright said.
Wright said he later went to the mayor and Stockton Police Department, but the City of Stockton had nothing to do with Wright’s search warrant.
The U.S. Department of Education issued the search and called in the S.W.A.T for his wife’s defaulted student loans.
“They busted down my door for this,” Wright said. “It wasn’t even me.”
According to the Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General, the case can’t be discussed publicly until it is closed, but a spokesperson did confirm that the department did issue the search warrant at Wright’s home.
The Office of the Inspector General has a law enforcement branch of federal agents that carry out search warrants and investigations.
Stockton Police Department said it was asked by federal agents to provide one officer and one patrol car just for a police presence when carrying out the search warrant.
Stockton police did not participate in breaking Wright’s door, handcuffing him, or searching his home.
“All I want is an apology for me and my kids and for them to get me a new door,” Wright said.

The Duke of Edinburgh at 90...

The Duke of Edinburgh at 90: the life and times of Prince Philip in pictures

Prince Philip was born on 10 June 1921. He is pictured above in July 1922

Picture: GETTY

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I think the engine's flooded: Flash flood ruins supercars in luxury car park

I think the engine's flooded: Supercars costing millions wrecked by flash flood in underground car park of world's most exclusive apartment block

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 11:38 AM on 10th June 2011

Paying exorbitant prices for supercars may be a drop in the ocean for multi-millionaires, but they could do without their luxury motors being flooded - in their own underground car park.

This was the devastating scene after millions of pounds worth of exotic motors were wrecked when a flash flood hit the basement of one of the world's most exclusive apartment blocks.

The St Regis Apartments on Singapore's coastline cost up to £10million and the car park is packed with luxury motors.

Washed up: A Lamborghini and Ferrari worth £550,000 in the flooded underground car park of an exclusive apartment block in Singapore

Submerged: Millions of pounds worth of exotic supercars were damaged when the warning system in the underground car park failed to alert residents to the flood

But the mega-rich residents are counting the cost after a warning system failed to alert them to potential flooding.

As a result a dozen supercars were submerged up to their wheel arches - including a yellow Ferrari 458 Italia and green Lamborghini Gallardo parked next to each other.

The owners have to pay huge taxes on imported luxury cars in Singapore, with the models costing significantly more than they would in the UK.

As a result both the Lamborghini and Ferrari cost more than £550,000 each while a Rolls-Royce Phantom parked near them is a staggering £885,000 - £500,000 MORE than in the UK.

Exclusive: The St Regis apartments in Singapore which cost up to £10 million

A £450,000 Aston Martin V12 Vantage and £250,000 Porsche 911 were also victims of the flood, which caused major damage a nearby shopping centre in Singapore's commercial hub.

It is estimated the cost of repairing the vehicles will run into hundreds of thousands if water has made its way into the interiors or affected the electrics.

Tommy Wareham, from prestige car dealer SuperVettura, said: 'If the dirty flood water has managed to get inside the cars it could deform and stain the interior which would be very costly to replace.

'The biggest fear is that some of the motorists may have tried to have started their cars which could suck water into the engine.

'I'd recommend the owners have a water inspection which could be a long, painstaking and possibly expensive job.

'These certainly aren't the sort of pictures insurance companies want to see!'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002032/Supercars-costing-millions-wrecked-flash-flood-underground-car-park.html#ixzz1OsVL7HLm

Postvan rolls into river bed but postman still delivers...

Postman prat: Royal Mail man's van rolls into river bed... but he still delivers

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 1:51 PM on 10th June 2011

Postie Les Steele was determined to deliver all of his mail - even though his van was stuck in a river.

Mr Steele was left red-faced after watching his parked Royal Mail van roll into the river at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland.

But despite his shock and embarrassment, the postman climbed into the back of the vehicle to retrieve the mail and parcels so that they could still be delivered.

The mail must get through: Les Steele didn't let a little thing like his van being stuck nose down in a river bed prevent his round being completed - he retrieved it all from the back of the vehicle, watched by amused onlookers

The blunder took place last Thursday in the Longstone View area.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: 'We heard a loud bang at about 8.45am.

'We initially thought a builder's lorry had dropped its load, but looked outside and saw the mail van in the river.

'He's parked up but it must have rolled across the road, up the kerb and then nose-dived into the river.

'We saw the postman just along the road and he said he'd just looked around and his van had gone.'

High tide: How Berwick-upon-Tweed looks when the water is in, illustrating how much worse it could have been for the postman

Luckily the tide was out at the time, no one was hurt, and all of the mail was recovered.

A breakdown truck was called but it was unable to tow the van out, so a bigger digger was needed to drag it up the six-foot drop.

'There were lots of people standing around by that time, many of them taking photographs,' added the onlooker.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, but it is believed the handbrake was on when the van hauled back on to the road.

It is not the first time a vehicle has suffered the same fate in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

It is believed there was a similar incident elsewhere in the town four months ago.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2001988/Postman-prat-Royal-Mail-mans-van-rolls-river-bed--delivers.html#ixzz1OsU33Gh6