Image copyright Donna Martin

A visitor to a Scottish animal park captured a perfectly-timed selfie with a large male Amur tiger.

Donna Martin took her image at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, as tiger Marty put a paw on a pane of protective glass behind her.

Marty is one of two Amur tigers held in the collection at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s park in the Cairngorms near Aviemore.

Ms Martin let the park’s staff know of her close encounter with the big cat.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-41365225

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Thieves who broke into a football stadium to steal giant TVs raided fridges and staged a food fight with frozen cheesecakes.

Police said the break-ins at Ipswich Town Football Club’s Portman Road ground took place overnight on Saturday and in the early hours of Wednesday.

During the first raid, the intruders partied on wine and food, the BBC understands.

A club spokesman said they have increased the stadium’s security.

It is understood the thieves got into hospitality boxes – one next to chairman Marcus Evan’s personal box – and helped themselves to “expensive vintage” wine and food.

They then took the lift down to the kitchens beneath the stands to raid the fridges.

The same gang of at least four people carried out the raids on both occasions, it is understood.

Suffolk Police said officers were called to the ground at 07:50 BST on Sunday and at 06:00 on Wednesday.

A number of plasma television information screens from public areas around the ground were stolen on the gang’s second visit, the force confirmed.

Police said no arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing.

An Ipswich Town spokesperson said: “We can confirm there have been two incidents over the last week of intrusion at the stadium.

“The police are aware and are investigating. We have increased our security as a matter of course.”

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-41609231

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Image copyright Jon Cluett

A family stranded in the Scottish Highlands have been rescued by the “Hogwarts Express” steam train.

Jon and Helen Cluett and their four young children were staying at a remote bothy in Lochaber when their canoe was swept away by a swollen river.

Facing a long walk back to their car across boggy land, they phoned the police for advice.

To their delight, they arranged for the steam train used in the Harry Potter films to pick them up.

The train, called The Jacobite, is used for excursions on the West Highland Railway Line, crossing the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct that also features in the movies.

Image copyright Reuters

The Cluetts and their children – aged six, eight, 10 and 12 – were enjoying a half-term break at the Essan bothy, on the south shore of Loch Eilt.

“You can get to it by quite an arduous walk in – or you can paddle for 10 minutes in a canoe across the loch from the road. We had a canoe so we paddled across the loch to the bothy,” explained Mr Cluett.

“We were all in the bothy, warm and fed – all was good – but we’d moored the boat in a little burn behind the bothy, tied it to a wall, pulled high out of the water. My daughter woke up yesterday and says ‘Daddy, Daddy – the stream is massive’.

“The burn was overflowing. The entire area was underwater. The rocks I’d tied the boat to were pulled apart and the boat was gone.”

Image copyright Jon Cluett

The family weighed up their options for getting back to their car. A three-mile walk with small children across difficult boggy ground or along the nearby railway line were discounted as impractical or too dangerous.

“In the end I decided the only option was to phone the police and mountain rescue, ask if they have any local knowledge that could help us out,” said Mr Cluett.

The police came back with a magical solution. They arranged for the next train on the railway line that runs close to the bothy to make an unscheduled stop.

‘Big smiles’

“The amazing thing was it wasn’t just any train. The next train that was passing was the Jacobite steam train – the Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express steam train that goes up and down that line.”

The family hurriedly packed up their belongings and made their way to the line, about 400 metres way.

“We threw all our stuff into some bags and boxes and ran out of the door of the bothy at the same time as the train is coming around the tracks,’ said Mr Cluett.

“The train is getting closer, we’re running down, stuff bouncing everywhere, big smiles on the kids faces. It all started to be fun at that point.

“I’m slightly sad because I’d lost my boat – but the kids, when they saw the steam train coming, all sadness left their little faces and was replaced by excitement and fun – just the real joy of having an adventure and having the train stop right next to them.”

Image copyright Jon Cluett

The family were dropped off at the next stop, at Lochailort, from where Mr Cluett was able to hitch a lift to retrieve his car.

He reflected: “The kids have certainly had an adventure. We’ve all had an adventure – a big thanks to everyone who helped us.”

His only regret is that his canoe has still not turned up – although he remains hopeful someone will find it.

“I think it will still be bobbing around in the loch somewhere. A big red canoe – so if you see it, that would be helpful. That would make the last part of the story even better.”

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-41621266

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President Trump is an early starter and immediately tweeted his ‘warmest’ condolences: 

The mass shooting, which took place at the Route 91 Harvest Festival near the Mandalay Bay, is already the deadliest in the U.S. history according to The Associated Press. 

The suspected gunman, who was named by police as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, from Vegas, was found dead by police on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, according to Clark County sheriff Joe Lombardo. 

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/10/02/donald-trump-las-vegas-shooting-us-president/

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He may be scruffy-lookin’, but he ain’t no nerf-herder.

Harrison Ford appeared on The Tonight Show in what is possibly the most low-fi interview ever. No matter how peppy Fallon gets, Ford stays stalwartly chilled out. So chilled out that Fallon busts out some of Ford’s favourite scotch Bruichladdich (10 points to Gryffindor if you can pronounce it).

The two then proceed to tell jokes, and Ford’s glacial delivery is absolutely brilliant, and not just because he tells a joke about ice…

Conclusion: we all wish we could chill with Harrison Ford. 

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/09/29/harrison-ford-tells-jokes-on-fallon/

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Even after her death Carrie Fisher is having none of your bullshit. 

Heather Ross, a friend of Fisher’s, spoke to a local radio station in Tucson, AZ. about her experience with sexual assault in Hollywood. On the 94.9 Morning Mix, Ross recalled inappropriate advances from a big name producer and how Fisher made clear she had a zero-tolerance policy for that kind of behavior.

After Ross was assaulted by “an Oscar-winning producer” – not Weinstein, but another – Fisher was furious. After the initial shock and fear wore off, Fisher ran into the producer at Sony and delivered him a package.

“It was a cow tongue from Jerry’s Famous Deli with a note that said, ‘If you ever touch my darling Heather or any other woman again, the next delivery will be something of yours in a much smaller box.’”

The cow tongue was all Fisher’s idea, natch, and she made sure to deliver it in person and watch him open the box.

“That’s just how she was,” Ross said. “I miss her dearly. She stood up for people…She put things out there and in your face.”

Ross met the producer online – their conversations weren’t sexual or romantic, she said, but he did want to meet up and get her involved with his latest project. 

“I felt safe thinking, ‘I’m overweight, I’m not attractive to these people, I’m not looking to become an actress,'” she explained. 

She met with him and he made sexual advances. “When it happened, it happened so quickly that I was ashamed of myself,” she said. “I thought I did something wrong. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe by meeting up with him…I was asking for it.'”

The producer picked her up in his car then made an excuse to pull over. He reached over her to quickly recline the passenger-side seat then pushed himself on top of her. 

Ross explained she thought she was “protected” by not fitting Hollywood’s beauty standards, but her story confirms what most women know and what a piece like Mayim Bialik’s New York Times column failed to pick up on: This happens to all women.

Ross told her mother and friends but ultimately stayed silent for many years, describing the massive power gap between a “kid from Tucson” and an award-winning producer. 

h/t Page Six

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/10/16/carrie-fisher-heather-ross-cow-tongue/

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A “lost” portrait by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens has been rediscovered after almost 400 years.

The 17th Century Flemish artist’s “head study” of the Duke of Buckingham was identified by Dr Bendor Grosvenor from BBC Four’s Britain’s Lost Masterpieces.

It was in Glasgow Museums’ collection and on public display at the city’s Pollok House stately home.

But overpainting and centuries of dirt meant it was thought to be a later copy by another artist.

The restored portrait of George Villiers, the 1st Duke of Buckingham, was authenticated as a Rubens by Ben van Beneden, director of the Rubenshuis in Antwerp.

He said it was a “rare addition to Rubens’s portrait oeuvre, showing how he approached the genre”.

Dr Grosvenor said: “The chance to discover a portrait of such a pivotal figure in British history by one of the greatest artists who ever lived has been thrillingly exciting.”

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Councillor David McDonald, chairman of Glasgow Life, said: “Unsurprisingly we are beyond delighted to discover the painting is by Rubens, an artist renowned globally as one of the most important painters in history.”

The portrait of the duke in a doublet with an elaborate lace collar and a sash dates from around 1625.

He was a controversial figure in the Jacobean era who rose from minor nobility to become one of the favourites of James I, who was James VI in Scotland.

The nature of their relationship has been the source of much debate. Some experts claim they were lovers, while others believe it was a close platonic friendship.

Image copyright NAtional Trust/PA

Renovation work carried out by English Heritage at Apethorpe Palace in Northamptonshire, one of the king’s favourite residences, revealed a secret passage linking the two men’s bedchambers.

The Duke was assassinated in 1628 at the age of just 35, three years after James died.

Overpainting of the background and other areas by a later artist, along with hundreds of years of dust and dirt, had obscured Rubens’ work.

But scientific analysis of the wood it was painted on dated it to the 1620s, and found it had been prepared in a way done by Rubens’ studio.

Additional cleaning and x-rays of the hair showed it was not a copy but was by the artist himself.

The painting underwent conservation work by restorer Simon Gillespie to return it to its original appearance.

It will go on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow on Thursday.

The painting will feature in the first programme of the new series of Britain’s Lost Masterpieces at 21:00 BST on BBC Four on 27 September.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41373007

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Sanitary towel and tampon ads don’t exactly portray periods in the most realistic way. If it’s not strange-looking blue liquid being poured on pads, it’s women jumping around splashing each other for reasons that remain unknown to us. 

Bodyform’s latest ad shows something refreshingly different. An actual period. 

The ad opens with red liquid being poured onto a pad. Not a drop of blue dye in sight! It also shows a closeup of a woman’s thighs in a shower, with menstrual blood trickling down the inside of her leg—a sight that’s familiar to anyone who has periods.

The ad is part of Bodyform’s new #bloodnormal campaign, which aims to bring “blood out of the dark, onto our screens and into the conversation” in a bid to end period taboos. As part of the campaign, Bodyform surveyed over 10K men and women and found that 74 percent wanted “more realistic representation of periods” in ads. 

About bloody time!

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/10/18/bodyform-ad-menstruating-woman/

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President Donald Trump has a way with words, as you may know. 

Trump was speaking at Values Voter Summit on Friday when once again, he embarrassed himself with his choice of words. 

While speaking on the natural disasters that have struck the United States in the last few months, Trump accidentally said he met with the president of the Virgins Islands. The problem? Trump is literally the president of the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory. 

Even the official White House transcript of the speech points out the error, noting that Trump was likely speaking about his meeting with Kenneth Mapp on October 3, the governor of the islands.

“I will tell you, I left Texas, and I left Florida, and I left Louisiana, and I went to Puerto Rico, and I met with the president [governor] of the Virgin Islands,” the transcript reads. 

As always, the internet used the gaff as an opportunity to mock Trump. 

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/10/13/president-trump-virgin-islands/

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Nicolas Cage has become the “Nicolastick” in Japan, thanks to some creative marketing.

Ahead of December’s release of his 2016 movie, Army of One, in Japanese cinemas, some theatres are offering a limited edition Nicolas Cage corn puff snack that only comes with an advance ticket purchase.

Army of One is only coming out in the Asian country a year after its U.S. debut, and its Japanese title translates more accurately to “Bin Laden is My Prey.”

The cylindrical corn puff snack, called Umaibo, is commonly and cheaply available in Japan, where it typically retails for just 10 yen ($0.08).

Still, marketers thought it was clearly an edge putting Cage’s face on the packaging, given that people in Japan recognise him, after a string of weird Pachinko ads he did in the mid-2000s.

Pachinko is a Japanese pinball-style gambling game, which continues to achieve national levels of obsession.

Cage’s commercials captured some of that pachinko mania, with the Hollywood actor hallucinating about its slot machines, and singing a piano ditty in tribute to it.

All together now, pachinkoooo, pachinkooooo…

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/10/04/nicolas-cage-japan-nicolastick/

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