William Shatner to blast into ‘final frontier’

Star Trek actor William Shatner has announced plans to travel into space at the age of 90. “Yes, it’s true. I’m going to be a rocket man... it’s never too late to experience a new thing,” he said after Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, said he would join three other passengers on the trip next week. “I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” the actor added.

Man can burp after 35 years

A 35-year-old from Grimsby has finally been able to burp again after not being able to since he was a teenager. Phil Brown had a throat condition called retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction, which prevented him from belching due to a muscle in his neck not being allowed to relax. He explained that when his friends were drinking beer he could not join them because he would “bloat up and it would end the night”. He can now burp after a private procedure.

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Pumpkin farmer started with pack of seeds

A farmer who is preparing to harvest more than 30,000 pumpkins has revealed that it all began with a packet of seeds sown for his children. Chris Hoggard, of Howe Bridge Farm in Malton, North Yorkshire, started growing pumpkins some 25 years ago. He grew just 10 initially, keeping two and selling the other eight. He now raises about 15,000 plants and welcomes visitors from across the UK.