Spice Girl horse plan causes village war

A war has broken out in a Northamptonshire village over a Spice Girl’s plan to build a horse barn. Geri Horner and her husband Christian overcame stiff opposition to the plans after some neighbours said the “hideous” barn would spoil views and weaken the mobile phone signal in the area. The couple had been accused of altering public footpaths near their home in Marston St Lawrence. West Northamptonshire council was accused of “caving in to the desires of the rich and famous”, said The Times.

Octogenarian viola player breaks world record

An 86-year-old viola player has been awarded a Guinness World Record after playing with the same orchestra for over seven decades. Ann Miller has played viola for the Redhill Sinfonia in Surrey for 71 years and 194 days. Miller, who first played with the Redhill Sinfonia at age 14, claimed the record from bass player Jane Little, who spent 71 years playing for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Squirrel takes out power in Tennessee

Nearly one-third of customers in a Tennessee town lost power when a squirrel came into contact with power station equipment, reported UPI. Dickson Electric System said that many customers lost power for a brief time when “a cute little squirrel created a whole lot of chaos”. Writing on Twitter, it added that “we don’t always lose power to nearly a third of our customers all at the same time, but when we do, it’s usually related to an uninvited guest”.

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