Shocked young busker gets “biggest ever” £100 tip from stranger
By Izzy Hawksworth
A busker captured the heartwarming moment she received her "biggest ever" tip of £100.
Singer Jodie Lauren, 21, was so shocked she even asked the kind stranger if he was sure he wanted to gift her the cash.
The wholesome footage shows Jodie saying 'no way' and asking the man 'if he's sure' he wants to tip £100, before thanking him in Gloucestershire.
Jodie, who has two songs called Find That Part of Me and That Isolated Feeling, says she "didn't expect" him to donate £100 but is "so grateful".
The performer from Gloucestershire said: "I had been busking for an hour and it was really cold.
"My card reader had been dodgy all day and I was losing out on tips because it kept powering itself off.
"He was listening to me sing quite a few songs, then we had a chat about how hard the industry is and then he gave me the tip.
"I didn't expect it - I was shocked but I'm so grateful.
"I couldn't believe it."
The card reader is set at £2 and the video shows the man ask Jodie if he can put in a new amount, before handing it back to her.
Jodie, who studies music at university, has been busking for around 18 months but has been singing "her whole life".
She mainly sings ballads but enjoys busking as she likes "sharing her talent" with members of the public.
Jodie said: "I like sharing my talent and being able to build up as an independent artist.
"It's good to have people hear my music and hear things that I write.
"It's extremely hard to break into the industry as an independent, female artist right now.
"My dad has taught me all he knows about music since I was two and my granny has always been a massive inspiration.
"My family are so supportive of my career.
"This was a great thing to happen."
You can listen to Jodie's music here: https://jodielauren.wixsite.com/jodielaurenmusic
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CCTV shows husband punching his wife in the stomach during a nightmare
By Samuel Wightwick
A home security camera captured the shocking moment a man punched his wife in the stomach whilst reacting to a nightmare.
The video shows Ning Haobo and his wife Da Fan sleeping soundly with their child in a cot next to the bed.
Unexpectedly, Ning Haobo, from Liaoning in China, raises his hand and accidentally lands a soft punch to his wife's stomach.
As Da Fan winces from the shock of the blow, her husband looks at her momentarily before they both drift back off to sleep.
The incident happened on January 20.
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‘I came out as a trans man when I was 22 – people tell me I look like Tom Hardy’
By Ben Barry
A woman who transitioned to become a man aged 22 says people now tell him he looks like Tom Hardy.
Leo Macallan, 32, was born a female and called Liz but came out as gay to his friends and family in June 2010 - before realising he was transgender in May 2014.
Liz started transitioning a month later - starting on testosterone which gave him body hair and lowered his voice - adopting male pronouns and changing his name to Leo.
He had top surgery a year later in 2015 and has never looked back.
Leo said his friends and family were "happy and relieved" when they saw him for the first time after his surgery.
Leo lives happily with his girlfriend, Rebekah Bauer, 36, in Savannah, Georgia, US, and says he now often gets compared to actor Tom Hardy due to his ripped physique and facial hair.
Leo, a content creator, said: "When people say I look like Tom Hardy, it is very validating and very affirming.
"It feels like a dream come true.
"Coming from a place where I didn't even think it would happen to now it is a really beautiful thing.
"I love getting Tom Hardy, it happens all day long."
Leo said for as long as he can remember he realised he was different.
Throughout high school, Leo said he tried to be "girly" as he was sick of being picked on and wanted to fit in.
He said: "I remember being on a boat looking at my dad with his top off and thinking 'wow, I should be doing that'."
Leo said he came out the day before he graduated high school. He then revealed he was trans in 2014 while undergoing therapy.
He changed his name to Leo straight away which was inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio after his performance in the Titanic.
Leo said: "I was a little kid when Titanic came out.
"I remember looking at Jack and I had a connection to him.
"I knew that he was what I associated myself with and I used to go to bed every night and wish I would wake up as him
"I was walking home after watching Titanic one night and realised I should call myself Leo.
"It was a little gift to my former self to be like 'yes, we finally got here'."
In June 2014, Leo started hormone treatment - where sex hormones and other hormonal medications are administered.
A year later he had top surgery, which was paid for after fans and friends donated $8000 after seeing his story online.
The first time he saw his body post-operation, Leo said he felt "free" adding "it was one of the best days of my life".
Leo said: "Predominately everyone was like 'finally' - it didn't feel like much of a surprise for people.
"I was just like 'I can finally calm down and start living'.
"This was when I was able to really start navigating the world myself and breathe."
Since then, Leo said that life has really picked up for him and he is sharing his journey on social media - @thegravelbro.
Leo said: "Things really started to pick up for me.
"It was a long working progress, I have always known I was going to be a public figure, it was just the path of getting there.
"Things have really changed for me, I feel like I am finally on track.
"I live happily with my girlfriend - who I met a year ago.
He said: "It has taken me a long time to get where I am."
He is "grateful" to his old life and everything he went through as Liz so he could become Leo.
He said: "It does feel like a separate life to the one I am living now but I am very open and not opposed to revisiting her.
"I am very grateful for her and for what she went through to be me."
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“I had therapy after breaking up with my best friend of 11 years – it’s harder than a romantic split”
By Hannah Van De Peer
A woman says “breaking up” with her best friend was much harder than any relationship split - and it even left her in therapy.
Sabrina Kirberg, 31, had a decade long friendship with her best friend until they finally ended up parting ways after an argument, she claims.
She said she went through the “five stages of grief,” and believes it’s not as easy as “eating ice cream and having time with your girls” - like a typical break-up.
She had to seek therapy to help her "grieve" the friendship and still thinks about her friend everyday.
Sabrina, a mental health co-ordinator from New York City, said: “Breaking up with a friend is like grief. You go through denial. It’s so much worse than relationship break-ups.
“You think you’ll be fine and you just need to get through the rough patch - but then comes the depression and you just find yourself crying all the time.
“When it comes to a romantic relationship you’ll be sad, have your ice cream and go out with your girls.
“But losing my best friend was like having my support system ripped away from me, all at once.”
Sabrina met her ex-best friend at an athletics club when they were 16, she says.
They shared a number of “firsts” together over the years - including first boyfriends, passing their driving tests at the same time, and being allowed to hang out without parents supervision.
But as they got older, they began bickering a lot more Sabrina claims - and she felt left out when her friend started spending time with other people.
After Sabrina met her partner, Nathanial Baker, 29, she says the two grew even further apart.
The pair had one last argument - during which they argued about Nathanial, she claims.
Sabrina didn’t reach out afterwards, and they haven’t spoken since.
She said: “There’s a lot that triggered the break-up - there were a lot of mean words and anger thrown around."
Sabrina says she’s still coming to terms with her friendship break-up, five years later - and has gone through the five stages of grief in order to accept it.
She denied the break-up was happening at first, thinking the pair would make up just like they’d done before.
Then, she became angry - as well as depressed, and says she “cried all the time”.
Sabrina said: “All you do is ruminate.
“You go through the memories all over again.
“I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the catalyst for our breakup - everything I could’ve done better.
“I just got angry and ashamed of myself for seeing the red flags in the relationship and ignoring them - and why didn’t I end the friendship earlier?
“You go into bargaining a lot when you’re reliving the memories, which is just like the third stage of grief. I kept thinking, ‘if I’d done things this way, it would’ve happened differently in this way’ - and it spirals out of control.”
Sabrina still thinks about the friend on a daily basis - but she has worked through her feelings in therapy.
She said: “Years after, I still think about her every day.
“But, I think acceptance happens.
“Therapy was how I coped with it - I learnt to love myself so much, I don’t feel like I need another person to feel complete.
“I just allowed myself to feel everything - anger, rage and sadness. I realised, the more you push it away, the longer it’ll stay.”
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Meet the kids’ favourite teacher – a 70kg St. Bernard
By Jonathan Coles
Welcome to the school where a 70kg St. Bernard roams the corridors - acting as a canine counsellor.
Headteacher Vicki Joyce started bringing her pet Missy to Exeter's Isca Academy in September 2022.
The two-year-old dog has since become a firm favourite with pupils, parents and teachers alike - and is helping with mental health.
One mum even described Missy as a "Godsend" and said she had helped her daughter settle into 'big school'.
Headteacher Vicki said: "Missy has been an absolute star.
"First thing in the morning she will greet and meet children and parents.
"She then has break and lunch duty enjoying time with many of our children.
"We have reading and literacy sessions, so she is able to develop children's literacy skills. There is also a lot of sleeping that goes on as well.
"Missy is a big dog with a massive heart, making a huge positive impact across the school with calmness off the scale that makes everyone feel relaxed.
"As a school we take our scholars' mental wellbeing very seriously and she is boosting wellbeing in so many ways."
A 2022 research paper into therapy dogs concluded that dog-assisted interventions can reduce stress levels in school children, with effects lasting over the school term.
Ellie, 11, started at the school - which has around 1,000 pupils - in September last year.
She said: “It makes me want to come into school even more and then sit with her, stroke her, and give her treats and Missy helps a lot
"I think more people should have that too”.
Ellie’s mum, Eadaoin, said: “Actually, if it wasn’t for Missy, half the time Ellie wouldn’t come in.
"She struggles quite a bit with it and has done for a while so Missy has been an absolute Godsend.
“As soon as she gets through the door and sees Missy her whole demeanour changes and she says ‘I want to go in and see Missy.’”
This week (February 5 to February 11) is Children's Mental Health Week.
Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust, which runs Isca Academy, said: "We take children’s mental health seriously all year round and it’s brilliant to hear about everything Isca Academy is doing to support students in this area.
“School dogs are a wonderful addition across a number of our schools and we have found their presence to be hugely beneficial.”
Now in its 10th year, Place2Be, the children’s mental health charity, launched the first ever Children’s Mental Health Week back in 2015 to highlight the importance of young people’s mental health.
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