Boris in Union Jack undiesIJ Musical finds fun in Brexit
A retelling of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and its dramatic political consequences might perhaps be framed as high drama or extreme farce. But audiences at the Edinburgh Festival are lapping up a light-hearted sung comedy version, Brexit The Musical, a sellout featuring a cavorting Boris Johnson, the most prominent Brexit campaigner, in matching Union Jack underpants and socks, looking for a lost plan. On hearing the news that “leave” has won, Johnson, who in reality surprised many with his decision to campaign to leave the EU and is now Britain’s foreign secretary, sings in horror: “leaving Europe will be a catastrophe/Overnight we’ll bugger the economy.”
Britons voted to leave the EU in June 2016, but since then a host of unforeseen political consequences, including a snap election in which the Conservative Government lost its majority, have mired the country in uncertainty. There is still no clarity about what Brexit will mean in practical terms.
With the political outlook still confused a year after the Brexit vote, the show’s writer, 39-year-old EU trade lawyer Chris Bryant, says the show was meant as “an escape from the dreary reality of where we are”.
(Reuters)
100-yr-old fruitcake found in ‘almost edible’ condition
A fruitcake more than 100 years old was recently discovered in near-edible condition by conservators in Antarctica. The New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust uncovered a rusted iron alloy tin in Cape Adare containing the fruitcake which could be at least 106 years old. Conservators said the tin was in poor condition, but the paper wrapping was largely intact and the fruitcake nearly looked and smelled edible.
“With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artefacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake in amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise,” lizzie Meek of the trust said.
The trust said the fruitcake, made by Britain’s Huntley and Palmers, was a favourite treat of Robert Falcon Scott and could date back to the Northern Party of his Terra Nova expedition from 1910 to 1913. “It’s an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the Ice,” Meek said. Although the cake survived the century well, a significant amount of work was required to treat the rest of the package.
(UPI)
16-year-old boy is running for Kansas governor seat
He won’t even be able to vote, but a 16-year-old Wichita high school student says he’s serious about his bid to run for Governor of Kansas. Jack Bergerson has filed to run as a Democrat in the 2018 race for Governor of Kansas, saying he wanted to give people another option, The Kansas City Star reported. And it doesn’t faze him that he won’t even be old enough to vote in the election.
“Under Kansas law, there is no law governing the qualifications for Governor, not one,” said Bryan Caskey, director of elections at the Kansas secretary of state’s office. “So there’s seriously nothing on the books that lays out anything, no age, no residency, no experience. Nothing.” When Bergeson, a junior at The Independent School in Wichita, found out about the lack of requirements, he thought, “You know, let’s give the people of Kansas a chance. “let’s try something new that has never really been tried anywhere else before.
The teenager said he wants to “radically change” the healthcare system and would support legalising marijuana for medical purposes, while being willing to explore legalisation for recreational use. But he is conservative on gun rights and supports laws that allow people to openly carry their weapons. “I think if you offer the people of Kansas something radical, something new, that shows that we can move in a new direction, I think that will put the Democratic Party in a good position to win the seat next year,” Bergeson said.
(AP)
‘Nastiest’ crocodile named after lemmy
Scientists named a newly recategorised Jurassic sea-crocodile after Motorhead frontman lemmy. The lemmysuchus obtusidens was a giant 19-foot-long crocodile that was considered one of the “biggest coastal predators of its time,” using its broad snout and large blunt teeth to crush shelled prey in a way that lorna Steel, curator of london’s Natural History Museum, believed would have delighted lemmy.
“Although lemmy passed away at the end of 2015, we’d like to think that he would have raised a glass to lemmysuchus, one of the nastiest sea creatures to have ever inhabited the Earth,” Steel said.
The lemmysuchus, or lemmy’s crocodile, was originally improperly categorised along with remains of other sea crocodiles found in the area, but as scientists uncovered more about the species, Steel saw an opportunity to pay respects to the Motorhead rocker.
“I’ve always been into heavy rock, and Motorhead are one of my favourite bands. Since lemmy died, I have been keen to name something after him. I had found a small crocodile in Morocco and thought that would have to do, but then this one emerged and I thought: ‘This is the nastiest, meanest, biggest sea crocodile there was. So it was perfect’.”
The lemmysuchus lived during the Middle Jurassic Period around 164 million years ago and was part of an extinct group of marine crocodiles known as teleosaurs. “Sea crocs are extinct now, but they were once a massive group of their time,” Steel said.
(UPI)