Dr Bush wins mullet of the year contest
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A British GP called Alistair Bush has won a mullet of the year competition. Having grabbed the hairy honour, the "appropriately named" victor is now expected to shave off his locks, said The Telegraph. He had always "sported a short back and sides haircut" until the Covid lockdown, said the paper, and "while others resorted to cutting their own hair or dashed to a barbers as soon as restrictions were lifted", he "decided to keep going".
Sixtieth time lucky for learner driver
A learner driver who failed the theory test 59 times before finally passing has been praised for their "amazing" commitment. The unnamed learner dropped £1,380 and around 60 hours on the process, more than another learner in Hull, who failed a comparatively mere 57 tests. Government data shows that the pass rate for theory tests has fallen from 65% in 2007-2008 to 44% in 2022-2023. The AA told the BBC that "revision is key to success".
Unexploded bomb in couple's garden
A couple who kept an unexploded bomb as a garden ornament said they were ready to "go out with our home and everything in it" when a bomb disposal unit told them it needed to be moved. Jeffrey and Sian Edwards from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire had kept the "19th-century relic" outside their home since 1982, assuming it was a dummy with no charge, Sky News reported. "I told the bomb squad 'if you evacuate the street the wife and I are not leaving our home – we're staying here'," said Jeffrey. It was removed and safely detonated.
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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
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