Elephants at Whipsnade Zoo cooled themselves in this hot summer weather by frolicking in 20 tonnes of real snow donated by Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead.
Assistant curator of elephants, Lee Sambrook, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to keep our elephants cool in this heat, and the youngsters especially love having new things to investigate so we’re expecting them to love their snowy surprise”.
A proud Luton businesswoman has shaken hands with the Queen at a reception for firms that have won prestigious awards.
Former Cardinal Newman Catholic Senior School pupil Julie Richings is finance director of a growing high tech company in Hemel Hempstead.
She and RMG Networks managing director Dan Horgan attended a reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday (July 23) to mark the company winning, in April, a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.
“Meeting the Queen and accepting the award with Dan on behalf of RMG was an exceptionally proud moment,” said Mrs Richings.
“We’ve all worked together over many years to achieve outstanding growth so the palace reception represents such an important occasion for our export team and customers. We are planning a big company celebration when our CEO visits in September!”
Mrs Richings, 42, a mother of three who lives in the Barnfield area of north Luton, is also a foundation governor and parent council member of Cardinal Newman Catholic Senior School.
She is heavily involved in trying to increase awareness of the opportunities of parent engagement and of the newly formed Alumni Group at the school.
She has been finance director of RMG Networks for 15 years. The company makes high-tech screens.
Born and educated in Luton, Mrs Richings has worked in the area for most of her life, only having left Luton for Middlesex University and then Harrogate. Returning in 1994, she joined Ernst & Young, where she went on to gain her chartered accountancy qualification.
In 1998, she started with Dacon Electronics PLC in Hemel Hempstead, which was then a UK-based distributor of contact centre signage, and has remained there through an acquisition (Symon Dacon) and, most recently, a merger (RMG Networks).
RMG Networks was named a Queen’s Award winner in April on the basis of three consecutive years of outstanding export growth. During this period, it more than doubled its international sales, and increased its overall sales by 40 per cent. RMG now boasts a worldwide client base with thousands of customers in more than 50 countries powering more than 1 million digital signage screens worldwide.
A restaurant beat off tough competition from huge retailers to win the public’s vote in a shopping centre’s awards.
Greenfields, in the upstairs section of the Mall, picked up the Shopper Award at the Mall Luton Retailer Awards.
Overall Best Retailer went to Marks & Spencer. Store manager Mark Short said: “I am very proud of my staff as they help deliver such a great shopping experience and it is wonderful to have that hard work reflected in such a highly sought-after award!”
Around 200 guests attended an awards evening at Grosvenor G Casino in Luton where seven shops out of more than 125 at the centre were presented awards. Best Customer Experience: Beaverbrooks. Best Involvement in Marketing: New Look. Best Independent: Smartcartridge. Primark took home the Enivromall Award for reducing waste. The Mall Safe Award went to The Children’s Centre.
Images of a man who took numerous items from a DIY store in Dallow Road have been released by police.
The man entered B & Q store, picked up items including a space and two toilet seats which he attempted to pay for at a self-service checkout.
His card was declined but he took the void receipt and left the store with the items.
The incident took place at around 6.45pm on Tuesday May 14.
The man is described as a white male in his mid 30s, around 5 ft 11, of stocky build.
Call 101 quoting crime reference number C/17347/2013 with information.
A man who stole a bottle of wine from a convenience store in Luton is shown in CCTV images released by police.
The incident happened at around 7.55am on Sunday June 2 at the Premier Store in Hart Lane.
The offender – who was wearing a very distinctive bobble hat at one point – entered the store, picked up a bottle of wine, waited for other customers to approach the counter, and then left the store without making any attempt to pay for it.
If you recognise the offender or have any information relating to this incident, contact the Crime Service Team, in confidence, on the non-emergency 101 number quoting crime reference number C/19410/2013.
Alternatively contact independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111,
Demolition of the derelict Drill Hall in High Town and erection of new social housing on the site will begin imminently, Councillor Tom Shaw revealed today (July 26).
Details of the project will be discussed in secret by the council’s executive on Monday, but Councillor Shaw said members of the public who live nearby and local councillors will help to design the housing.
It’s one of a few new building projects about to begin in Luton, to help the town meet the demand for affordable housing.
Councillor Shaw said: “We are in desperate need of social housing in the town and finding land to build on is a problem. Although we have these projects starting in the next two or three weeks including Roebuck Close, Bradley Road and Ickley Close, for me it’s never enough.”
A Performance Report which will be presented to the executive on Monday says the target for building affordable new homes in Luton was not met in 2012/13.
The target was 200, but only 152 affordable new homes were built, which the report says is due to limited land and funding as well as general difficult economic climate. Therefore the target for 2013/14 will be reduced to 125.
However, Councillor Shaw said these figures do not include homes that have been built on private land, such as houses on the site of the old Barn Owl Pub in Farley Hill.
He said: “If you count all the developments on private land, we are way above the target, probably 80 or 90 above. Now the Drill Hall is definitely going to be knocked down and that will all be social housing built on that site. It’s the way the figures are done that mean they haven’t counted everything, but even though we are above target, I would rather be 200, 400, even 500 above target.”
The Drill Hall site has been a long-running issue, and in 2011 the site was expected to be sold to the Shia Muslim Masjid-e-Ali group for £1.5 million.
Council leader Hazel Simmons chaired a three-month inquiry at the end of 2011 into using the site for housing.
CCTV images of men snatching money from shop tills have been released by police.
The first picture shows a man of Asian appearance wearing a grey Adidass jacket who is wanted for questioning in relation to a till snatch at the Co op in Birdsfoot Lane, Luton on June 29.
He is also wanted for questioning about a further till snatch at Luton’s Homebase Store on the same day.
The second picture show a man in a pink top and checked shorts who is also wanted for questioning in connection with a till snatch that happened on July 10 at the Coop in Flitwick.
The officer in charge of these investigations, Detective Constable Lucy Arnold, of the South Bedfordshire Robbery Unit, is keen to trace these men and would urge anyone who can assist these investigations to contact her, in confidence.
Anyone with information about these men can contact DC Arnold at Luton Police Station, on 01582 394471, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.
Alternatively you can contact the independent crime fighting charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Say hello once more to everyone’s favourite metal- clawed X-Man, easily the most cinematically prolific of the team.
Logan, better known as Wolverine, is played for the sixth time by Hugh ‘Les Misérables’ Jackman in the second spin off movie about our hairy hero which is a sort of semi-sequel to the 2006 outing X-Men: The Last Stand. Everything clear so far?
Here we find Logan bearded and dishevelled, wandering the woods, wracked with guilt over the death of Jean Grey/Phoenix (Famke Janssen), who fans of the franchise will recall he had to kill when she turned to the dark side. It happens.
She haunts his dreams, dressed in skimpy underwear, asking when he’s going to die and ‘join her’ – but that’s the one thing he can’t do thanks to his remarkable regenerative powers.
When he meets a mysterious Japanese swordswoman named Yukio (Rila Fukushima), Logan is re-introduced into society and finds a will to live in the Far East after meeting Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), a soldier whose life he saved when the US bombed Nagasaki.
Director James ‘Knight & Day’ Mangold handles the slim plot well and adds sufficient quality action set pieces to keep X-Fans happy.
Wolverine has his work cut out when he has his powers diminished by nasty mutant Viper (Svetlana ‘Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy’ Khodchenkova), who is determined to reunite him with Jean Grey.
Other perils include Yakuza mobsters, vengeful ninjas and a showdown with a giant robotic Samurai suit of armour made of the same ‘unbreakable’ Adamantium metal as Wolverine’s claws.
There are plenty of things to make you smile in appreciation but nothing likely to really linger long in the mind – 2013 has already seen such a wealth of high spectacle blockbusters, and it’s hard for The Wolverine to stand out.
What certainly does stand out is Hugh Jackman’s frankly fab physique.
He looks every bit as buff now, at a sprightly 44, as he did when he first played the part in the first X-Men movie in 2000, and he spends a lot of the film topless to prove it.
At one point Yashida tells Logan: “Eternity can be a curse. The losses you have had to suffer... a man can run out of things to care for, lose his purpose.”
But thanks to a killer ‘after the credits end’ scene that whets the appetite for next year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past it looks like there is plenty of life in the X-Men franchise yet!
The world of showbiz magic is the setting for a comedy that conjures few laugh-out-loud moments yet offers enough flourishes and pithy quips to sustain interest.
In THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (15: Warner), two stage magicians have been performing together for years without revealing to the public that they can’t stand each other.
Childhood friends Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) grew up to become the toast of Las Vegas, but then their jaded schtick and the need for younger, edgier acts brings their embittered partnership to a halt.
Wonderstone is forced to rekindle his love of magic, aided by his idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin), to fend off the cooler antics of extreme street performer Steve Gray (Jim Carrey). He and Marvelton must settle their differences to mount the most spectacular illusion of their careers.
There are moments of Anchorman-style hilarity, with bad hair and even worse suits, but the movie relies too much on absurd set-pieces for laughs.
Sopranos star James Gandolfini, who died in June, applies his seasoned gangster persona to a casino mogul called Doug Munny.
> A reporter returns to his home town to investigate the story of a man on death row for the murder of a sheriff in jaw-droppingly dire, 1960s-set crime thriller THE PAPERBOY (15: Lionsgate).
The tale begins in John Grisham territory with Florida slacker Jack Jansen (Zac Efron), the black sheep of a long line of newspaper journalists, teaming up with his high-flying reporter brother Ward (Matthew McConaughey) to probe the possibly unsafe conviction of Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack).
They are helped by white-trash murder groupie Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman), whose arrival signals the film’s rapid descent into camp farce, particularly an astonishing scene that requires her to urinate on a jellyfish-stung Jack.
Ineptly directed and clumsily acted, at least its awfulness adds entertainment value whenever the plot enters one of its frequent lulls.
> Slick, London-set action flick WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (15: Momentum) sees a serial heist-puller hiding overseas after a robbery, leaving the detective on his trail tormented by his failure.
While in dogged pursuit of Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong), cop Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) takes a bullet.
Three years later, Max is a shell of a man, crippled emotionally and physically, but he gets a shot at redemption when Sternwood breaks cover to see his critically injured son.
Inspired by Michael Mann’s Heat and the Hong Kong school of cop films, it’s an exhilarating, if predictable, ride played with great swagger. Top-notch support is provided by Andrea Riseborough, David Morrissey, Daniel Mays and Peter Mullan.
> Twilight meets Invasion Of The Body Snatchers in soppy teen romance THE HOST (12: Entertainment In Video), which swaps vampires for aliens.
Saoirse Ronan plays a youngster whose body is implanted with an intergalactic ‘soul’. But as one of the few humans who can fight the parasitic takeover, she uses her host to protect loved ones hidden in a cave-dwelling community.
It’s a daft dual part where Ronan’s inner voice constantly bickers with that of the host and each moons over differing boys. Special effects are minimal and this story of two colliding minds couldn’t be more mindless.
Nadine Dorries has been cleared of deliberately misclaiming expenses but has still paid back £3,000.
In a provisional report the compliance officer to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) Peter Davis found that the MP for Mid Bedfordshire should not have been allowed to claim for some travel costs, but did not do it deliberately.
The matter goes back to February 2013, when following a complaint from IPSA an investigation into Nadine’s accommodation expenses and travel and business costs was conducted.
IPSA was concerned that Nadine’s claims for utilities at her Westminster accommodation rose during a three month period which included parliamentary recess, that Nadine did not routinely stay in her funded accommodation as is required by the scheme and that although she had a parliamentary flat she was still submitting claims for daily return journeys to her constituency home.
Nadine, who last month revealed that she will stop claiming personal expenses in a bid to change the system, said: “I am delighted that the compliance officer made no findings against me. I am pleased that he emphasised throughout the report that I had not attempted to profit from the scheme and that he even highlighted expenses I could have claimed over the years, if I had wanted to, but didn’t.
“I have not claimed travel expenses for some time and have already announced that I have undertaken to pay all Westminster accommodation and travel costs using my salary, thereby working almost for free”
In response to IPSA’s claims Nadine said that a dependent family member had been using the flat when the utility bills increased, something that falls into parliamentary rules.
She also said that during the time being scrutinised she had to be at home more than usual as a family member, and her elderly pet dog fell ill.
In the report Peter Davis said: “There is no evidence to suggest that the explanation given by the MP for the rise in utility costs during recess is incorrect. Further following dialogue with the MP, the compliance officer is satisfied that occupation was by a dependent and, as a result she may have qualified for an ‘uplift’ to her accommodation budget which she has not claimed.”
The report says that Nadine has already paid back £3000.72 for the extra journeys.
A man was hit with a metal bar during a robbery outside Premier Stores in Chapel Street on Thursday (July 25).
The incident happened at about 7.45pm as the victim, 28, used his mobile phone while waiting for a lift.
He was approached from behind by a man described as black and in his early 20s, who grabbed the phone.
The victim woudln’t let go so the offender punched him several times struck him with a metal bar, grabbed the victim’s top which contained a large sum of money, and ran off towards Castle Street.
Call Det Con Lucy Arnold on 01582 394471 or text 07786 200011 with information.
A man was arrested for dangerous driving and making threats to kill after an incident in the B&Q car park in Gypsy Lane on Thursday (July 25).
Witnesses to the incident, which happened at about 7.30pm, are asked to contact the Serious Crime Team with information.
The incident involved a silver Audi A4 being driven dangerously in the car park.
Detective Constable Cathie Layton, investigating, said: “Although a man has been charged in connection with the incident this is still an ongoing investigation. We know a number of people watched the incident and I would urge these people to come forward as soon as possible and support this investigation.”
Anyone with information about this incident can contact DC Layton at Luton Police Station, in confidence, on 01582 394319, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.
Alternatively you can contact the independent crime fighting charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Summer means sequels, as we have already seen, and this week’s release schedule is top-heavy with unashamed retreads of previous hits.
To be fair, the main movies in question are as different as chalk and cheese.
First up is Red 2, in which our wrinkly crew of deadly if slightly doddery retired special agents are called back into action despite their complaining knees and other assorted ailments.
Bruce Willis is trying to take life easy when edgy one-time colleague John Malkovich hoves into view, and together they uncover a portable nuclear warhead smuggled into Moscow during the Cold War by scientist Anthony Hopkins who is now locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane.
Helen Mirren can’t be left out, but this time round she is given orders to take Frank out.
And to bring the average age of the cast down a bit, Catherine Zeta-Jones joins the fun.
There are no surprises here to match the unexpected box office hit that was the original film, which obviously appealed to the more mature movie-goer who wanted something a bit more meaty than late life romance and retired opera singers – you know who we’re talking about.
It’s pretty much a given that Smurfs 2 was not given a green light on the promise of crusty old film fans like me liking it and spending their hard-earned cash watching irritating little blue creatures capering around the screen, so they won’t be disappointed.
It’s sad to see some real talent bound up in this family-friendly but completely forgettable nonsense, whether that’s Neal Patrick Harris who always seems ready to send himself up or Hank Azaria and Brendan Gleeson, who deserve so much better.
Supercool comedy star John Oliver, recently given the plum job of standing in for John Stewart on The Daily Show on the other side of the pond, may well be regretting that decision to voice one of the little chaps – but Alan Cumming, Shaquille O’Neill and the bloke who used to be Pee Wee Herman are in that camp, too.
The plot makes little sense, the character names are deliberately dense, and though aimed at a family audience it will only please children who haven’t really seen any other films. If you’re after a holiday outing, there is much better available.
For grown-up thrills, there’s The Conjuring, another ‘based on a true story’ tale of the paranormal that is so nerve-shredding that it has been restricted to a 15 certificate. Gulp!
Family move into run-down Rhode Island farmhouse, all seems to be going well and then scary things start to happen. Don’t they always? They call in a couple of ghost-spookers, and everything that you would expect to happen happens. Scary? No.
Whether or not the summer has been and gone after that all too brief smuttering of sunshine, there’s no denying that there have been some horrible sights to be seen during the heatwave.
Once upon a time the biggest moan that people came up with as the weather warmed up was the sudden preponderance of knobbly knees, pasty white thighs and sandals being worn with socks as clueless men committed fashion faux pas.
Now those thighs pale into insignificance in comparison to the most upsetting manifestation of summer.
I’m talking about tattoos, people.
While I have no doubt that body art has a long and glorious cultural history, I think we can all agree that you need to have a bit of a bod to carry it off.
David Beckham may look a right state to my eyes, but at least he has the canvas on which to display the finest inking that money can buy.
But even he is going to slip and sag in years to come, and when that happens people will not be quite so keen to see him posing in his pants.
And let’s be honest, most of us don’t start off with his advantages.
Time was when having a tattoo meant you’d either been in the forces or been inside – nobody else would have been seen dead with pictures, proverbs, bits of Chinese script and Maori designs dotted about their bodies.
If that’s what floats your boat, it’s your body and you’re entitled to decide whether or not to make permanent changes to it, I guess.
But that doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to be subjected to the results of your misguided venture, does it?
I doubt anyone in the fashion world ever designed their shorts, swimsuits, strappy tops and other items of hot weather wear with tattoos in mind.
But there’s no way that they would be able to second guess the daft places that some people decide to get inked.
So when the sun comes out we have intricate designs half in and half out of clothing, stretched from their original shape by the passage of the years, or just sitting sadly on pasty patches of flesh. Ugh.
If it’s not practical to stop people decorating themselves in this way, then the least the government can do is try and put the odd obstacle in the way. I propose an immediate tattoo tax, to be paid at the point of the needle, to bring in some welcome revenue to a hard-pressed exchequer.
And for those who already have enough ink on their body for their needs, there should also be an annual tattoo licence to be paid by anyone who wants to display them in public, whether there’s a heatwave or not.
And while we’re at it, a sandals and socks tax might be something to be considered, too...
Two men from Luton have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 24-year-old man was stabbed to death on Sunday.
Police were called to an altercation between a group of men in Barry Avenue, Windsor, at 3.09am.
A man was stabbed and taken to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough where he later died from his injuries.
Thames Valley Police released CCTV images of two potential witnesses to the incident.
Det Chief Insp Vince Grey said: “I would like to speak to the two men captured on CCTV, as they may have witnessed the incident.
“It was very busy on Saturday evening into Sunday morning in Windsor, and I would appeal to anyone who was in the Bridgewater Terrace or Goswell Road area around the time of the altercation to contact the police.”
The men from Luton are aged 21 and 26, and were arrested along with a 21-year-old man from Leighton Buzzard, a 27-year-old man from Harrow and a 26-year-old man from London.
The victim is yet to be formally identified.
If you have any information please contact Case Investigator Ian Walker via the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 101.
If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
A man is believed to be in a serious condition after an incident in Stockingstone Road.
Police, ambulance and a helicopter were called to the scene at 3.15pm and witnesses said a small park in the area had been closed off while forensic staff investigate
At the time of going to press there were no further details but the road was closed and police and ambulance at the scene.
Police were called to wasteland opposite the cricket ground after a passerby called emergency services to say they had found a man seriously injured on wasteground.
Police have confirmed a man found seriously injured on land in Stockingstone Road has died.
A passerby found the man and called emergency services at 3.15pm yesterday (July 30).
Ambulance crews and police attended the recreation ground at the junction of Stockingstone Road and New Bedford Road but were unable to revive the man and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Det Con Insp Jon Hutchinson said: “We are currently in the process of establishing exactly what happened to this individual, how he came to be at this location and how long he has been here.
“We are currently treating this as an unexplained death and I would urge anyone who may any information to come forward and speak with the police in complete confidence.”
Officers cordoned off the area so that forensic teams could carry out a full and thorough search while house-to-house inquiries also took place.
Anyone with information relating to this investigation is urged to contact Bedfordshire Police, in complete confidence, on the non-emergency 101 number or text information on 07786 200011.
Alternatively they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Parks and greens spaces in Luton have scooped a coveted Green Flag Award – the mark of a quality green space in the UK.
Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy this week unveiled this year’s winners and more parks and greens spaces than ever before will be flying a Green Flag in the region.
The Green Flag Awards are judged every year by an army of 800 volunteer expert judges who visit applicant sites and assess them against the eight criteria, including cleanliness, sustainability and conservation.
Celebrating their green flags are Brantwood Park, Kidney Wood Park, Manor Road Park and gardens, Memorial Park, People’s Park, Stockwood Park and Wardown Park.
Catch our video of Kidney Wood Park at www.lutontoday.co.uk
An economic growth partnership has put £14.7million behind four priority road projects in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes area.
The South East Midlands Local Transport Board (SEMLTB) consists of councils in Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes and Bedford, which has been given government cash and tasked with prioritising.
Dunstable’s £42million proposed Woodside Link to the M1 has been backed to the tune of £10million and submitted to the Department for Transport. A £6million scheme to improve access to Luton Airport has been given £1.2million support.
The £16million Bedford Western Bypass has been backed to the tune of £2.5million. A pinch-point near M1 Junction 13, the A421 into Milton Keynes, will be widened forf £17.5million, with £1million from SEMLTB.
Central Beds Councillor Nigel Young, who chairs SEMLTB said: “The board has worked together well to produce a list of transport schemes that will deliver tangible benefits in terms of new jobs and homes for people across the whole of the area. These are really vital schemes that will have real-life impacts on our residents.”
Four other projects will also be considered in future, a northern entrance to Luton Airport Parkway, Bletchley Public Transport Interchange, Central Milton Keynes Public Transport Interchange and Milton Keynes Park and Ride.
A 21-year-old man from Luton has been charged with the murder of a man in Windsor on Sunday.
Jordan Lewis Doyle of Kimberley Close, and Benjamin Paul Brooks, also 21, of The Chilterns, Leighton Buzzard, have both been charged with the murder of Seàn Noctor.
They have both been remanded in custody to appear before Slough Magistrates’ Court this morning.
A post mortem carried out on the 24-year-old revealed he died of a single stab wound to the body.
Meanwhile two more people have been arrested in connection with the investigation including a 25-year-old man from Leighton Buzzard who has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
A 24-year-old woman from Leighton Buzzard has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. and a 20-year-old man, also from Leighton, remains in custody.
A 27-year-old man from Harrow and a London man, 26, have been released on bail until September 10.