Royal trespassing
One is not supposed to set foot on the Queen Elizabeth II’s lawn at Windsor Castle, let alone use the royal grounds for acts of lewd exhibitionism. But last week, two tourists were arrested for doing just that. In full view of hotels, bars and restaurants, the couple, said to be in their early 30s, stripped off their clothes near the castle’s Garter Tower and had sex for about a quarter of an hour before being arrested for public indecency. Still, even if the Queen had been in residence at the time, which is not known, she may have had more pressing concerns. Her granddaughter, the adventurous Princess Eugenie, 19, was robbed in Cambodia while on her gap-year holiday. Eugenie and two of her friends were out exploring Phnom Penh when two thieves approached them, snatched her friend’s purse and ran. Unbeknownst to the robbers, two officers from Scotland Yard’s elite protection squad were on-hand to chase down and “rugby tackle” the thief with the purse. As they wrestled, the other thief began pelting the officers with rocks. The officers managed to whisk the princess to safety. Some observers say the incident justifies the use of around-the-clock protection for Eugenie and her sister Beatrice, 20, at a cost of $450,000 per year. Even though the princess is paying her own way on her six-week romp—flying economy and staying in cheap, beachfront hostels with friends—the trip budget for her security team, which travels business class and stays in more comfortable hotels, is said to be $90,000.
Barbie, Ink
Call it a mid-life crisis, or an experiment in getting her groove back, but to celebrate her 50th, Barbie is getting inked up. Mattel has launched a new doll range called Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie, featuring a tattoo “gun” and dozens of body art stickers—flowers, hearts, stars, and butterflies—to be placed anywhere on her body. One tattoo designed to span her lower back is even emblazoned with the name of her long-time boy toy, “Ken.” Of course, irked parental groups see this latest attempt to make Barbie edgier as irresponsible. Ed Mayo, the chief executive of Consumer Focus, says parents will now have to field requests from children who want tattoos on their own bodies. One disapproving mother of three, Colleen Pope, 35, told London’s Daily Mail, “Barbie should be at the high end of fashion, not the chav end. Whatever will they bring out next? Drug-addicted Barbie? Alcoholic Barbie?”
Name calling
British MP George Galloway, an outspoken anti-war activist, has not forgotten the cool reception he received at the Canadian border earlier this year. Back in March, Galloway was scheduled to make several public appearances in Canada as part of a speaking tour, but was barred from the country under a section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which denies entry to those who provide material support for terrorist groups. Three weeks earlier, Galloway had delivered humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip following Israel’s three-week offensive against Hamas. In addition to bringing an ambulance, wheelchairs, and food and medicine, he gave $45,000 to the elected Hamas government, though he says he does not support Hamas. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney declined to use his ministerial powers to intervene on Galloway’s behalf at the border. Kenney recently told Maclean’s of the incident, “The issue was not about what he might do or say in Canada, it’s what he did in making financial contributions to an organization that uses money to buy explosives and strap them to teenagers and send them into school buses and discos.” Galloway said last week that he is filing libel suits against Kenney and the heads of the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith of Canada. “I welcome robust criticism,” he said in a statement issued Friday, “but the comments made about me crossed the line. They are not only untrue, they are outrageous.
As seen on YouTube
When the wife of Marc Stephens, an engineer from Cornwall, U.K., went into labour in the night, he called the midwife, as they’d rehearsed. But the midwife was tied up and advised them to call an ambulance. Soon, it became apparent to Stephens that there was no time to waste: his wife was having contractions every five minutes and the baby was coming, midwife or no midwife. And so he did what any modern man would do—he searched YouTube for instructional videos on delivering babies. “I Googled how to deliver a baby, watched a few videos and basically swotted up,” Stephens told the BBC. Their baby, Gabriel—5 lb., 5 oz.—was born soon after, the picture of health. Stephens credits his training in the Royal Navy for helping him stay calm.
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