Norfolk knitter, 93, creates Buckingham Palace replica

Margaret Seaman and her knitted Buckingham Palace

(Image credit: norfolkmakersfestival.co.uk)

published 16 March 2023

A 93-year-old knitter from Norfolk, who won plaudits for her woollen recreation of Sandringham in 2021, has now run up a replica of Buckingham Palace. Margaret Seaman’s 8ft x 5ft creation, complete with tiny guards in bearskin hats and tourists staring up at the building, took eight months to knit, and is now on display at Norfolk Makers Festival in Norwich. Seaman, who has used her knitting to raise more than £100,000 for charity, said she was “very happy” with the response to the Palace – which she thinks will be her last major work. “Some people come up, stand with their mouths open and then start to cry,” she added.

Data centres warm pools and reduce bills

A data centre the size of a washing machine is being used to heat a 25m public pool in Devon. The computers in the centre, designed by start-up Deep Green, are submerged in mineral oil to capture the heat they create; this is then utilised by the pool, and is sufficient to heat its water to 30°C for 60% of the time – saving Exmouth Leisure Centre £20,000 a year and reducing its emissions by 25.8 tonnes. Deep Green says seven other pools have signed up for the scheme.

Travellers passing through St Pancras station in London last week were treated to an impromptu concert by one of the world’s most acclaimed pianists. Lang Lang, a judge on Channel 4’s The Piano, began his recital with a piece by Rimsky-Korsakov, before being joined by his wife, Gina Alice Redlinger, for a Brahms duet. He admitted to being “a little bit nervous”, but said it had been a “special” performance, adding: “I didn’t expect the train announcements, and also when the train stops, you can hear the sound, ssssss.”