Postmaster flies 4,000 miles to hand-deliver letter from King to his great aunt
A postmaster has dispatched his ‘furthest letter yet’ after he hand-delivered a card from King Charles to his great aunt in America – 4,000 miles away.
Luke Francis, head postmaster of Bude’s Post Office in Cornwall, took a special trip to Florida to deliver a 100th birthday letter to Emlyn Makofsky.
Emlyn Colwill was born one hundred years ago, at Lewdon Farm in Kilkhampton on January 19, 1925.
Growing up she became a nurse, working across North Cornwall, before moving across the pond and meeting her husband, Mr Makofsky.
After receiving a letter from the King, ready for delivery, Luke made his way over to Florida in secret, ready to hand Aunty Emlyn the card himself.
Having arrived, Luke and his family surprised Emlyn with the letter from HM King Charles III congratulating her on her 100th birthday.
Following the big event, Emyln, surrounded by her family, celebrated in style, enjoying a wonderful 100th birthday party, complete with a Union Flag cake and the English national anthem.
Luke said: “When I handed her the card and she finally got to read it, she got the giggles, she thought it was so brilliant she couldn’t believe it.
“She was overwhelmed and thought it was wonderful and was really privileged to accept the card.”
5ft mum set to become smallest person to row the Atlantic solo
A 5ft mum is set to become the smallest person to ever row solo across the Atlantic – dubbed the ‘World’s Toughest Row’.
Milli Abrams, 48, will begin the 3000 mile “World’s Toughest Row” beginning at La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and reaching the finish line at the English Harbour in Antigua.
Milli will become the shortest and lightest person to complete the feat.
She sets off on December 12 and will also celebrate her 50th birthday after almost two months at sea on 31 January 2026, becoming one of just four women in their 50s to finish the row.
She became inspired to take on the challenge after a sailing the Atlantic with her husband and son over ten years ago and fell in love with the open ocean – but she craved more challenge.
“I sailed across the Atlantic with my husband and my son 14 years ago – and I loved being at sea,” Milli, from East Neuk in Fife, Scotland.
“It felt a little bit easy; challenging but very comfortable, and I’d always craved doing a crossing that was a bit more character building.”
Milli, a former accountant turned small business owner, says she was never a particularly sporty person, and had also experienced struggles with long COVID.
But after a friend completed his own row last year, Milli began to believe she was capable of doing the same – and started an intensive training programme.
“It’s not something I ever thought someone like me could do – I always thought it was for more athletic types,” she said.
“I’m a bit older, and I don’t climb mountains or anything like that. I had long COVID, and it was pretty bad. I wasn’t all that healthy, and so I’ve been working on that.
“But my friend suggested that it’s something I could do – and that was that.
“In the beginning, it was a bit of a fight to get accepted into the race – they can only take a certain number of boats for safety.
“There’s a lot to do. I’ve been on a lot of training courses and had to learn how to use new equipment – and at the same time, I’ve been running my business.
“Pretty much immediately, I started on the physical training – just getting stronger.
“Then it was a case of finding the boat.”
Her boat was purchased second-hand from Liz Wardley, who set a new world record last year for the fastest solo woman to complete the race – beating the record by 15 days.
Milli renamed the boat “Knitannia,” in honour of her love of knitting – and in a nod to her business, Tribe Yarns.
“There’s a very limited number of boats in the world that are designed for solo ocean crossings, so that really narrows it down,” she said.
“Where possible, I try to buy second-hand, so I put out feelers to see if anyone that rowed the year before would have a boat available.
“I got lucky, because Liz’s boat has been incredibly well cared and equipped by Liz. I snapped it up!”
While she has taken every precaution to stay safe during the row, Milli will face storms, waves that frequently reach 40-ft, and the threat of marlins and sharks.
“There will be storms – that’s inevitable,” she said.
“There will be big waves – 40 foot waves are not unusual. It will feel really different compared to when my family sailed it – being on those waves on a tiny rowing boat, right at the water’s surface.
“Marlin strikes are a really big deal and have been increasing over the last decade or so. The boats offer shade for other fish, and marlins come along to hunt. It’s led to a lot of accidents, with marlins tearing holes in boats, almost stabbing people.
“There are sharks – but I’m not as worried about the sharks.
“You’ve also got to try and make sure your kit doesn’t fail. I’ll have two water makers on board – one that’s solar powered, and then a backup hand-pump one, which I really don’t want to end up having to use.
“Your kit is a really big deal – if your water maker fails, that’s life-threatening.
“I’ll be sleeping for two hours then rowing for two hours day and night so there’s no opportunity for my muscles or body to recover.
“Injury is always very possible, and you don’t always have time to recover from that.
“I dislocated my knee a few months ago, and ripped some tendons, so I’ve got to be really careful not to risk that knee again while I’m out there.”
She will be fundraising for two charities close to her heart – The 2 Minute Foundation, an environmental charity dedicated to combatting plastic pollution, and Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) who provide care for children with terminal illnesses. She is also on the hunt for sponsors keen to support her on her journey.
“The reason I picked The 2 Minute Foundation was because they’re an environmental charity and they help the planet,” she added.
“I love the way that they make being an environmental activist easy and accessible for everyone. They do two-minute beach cleans, or rubbish picks – and anyone can do it, especially children.
“I also wanted to find a charity that makes contributions to our local community, so when I found out that there aren’t enough hospice placements for children with shortened lives, CHAS was a no-brainer.
“I think it will help to motivate me through the really tough times out there, to think about making a difference.”
Milli believes that she has the mental strength to survive hard times on her own – and hopes she comes out stronger for it.
She hopes that her achievement will bring her a greater understanding of her strength and mental fortitude.
“Part of the reason I wanted to do it was to see what it was like to be that alone for such a long period of time,” she explained.
“I’m hoping to have a bit of time to reflect and slow down a bit. I don’t really slow down – running a small business, is full-on, all the time.
“The aftermath of all of this is a massive unknown for me. I hope I feel happy and ready to jump back into normal life.
“I’m hoping to get a bit more of an understanding of who I am, and how I cope by myself in tough situations.
“And I’d love to help make this feel more doable to people who are like me – because it didn’t feel attainable to me until I met someone who’d done it.”
Milli has been sharing her journey at https://www.justonemorerow.org/. The charities she is supporting can be found at https://2minute.org/ and https://www.chas.org.uk/.
Baby born healthy after spinal surgery inside the womb
A mum was relieved to see her newborn son kick his legs after he had spinal surgery while still inside the womb.
Serena Nye, 24, was told after her 20-week pregnancy scan her unborn son had spina bifida.
It meant his spine and spinal cord was not developing properly, causing a gap in his spine, leaving at high risk of weakness or total paralysis of his legs.
Serena and partner Chris Bown, 26, were given the choice to continue normally, terminate the pregnancy, or have fetal surgery.
So in an incredible operation, doctors took Serena’s womb OUT of her body, at 26 weeks, to operate on her unborn son’s spine via keyhole surgery.
After the three hour operation, her womb – and baby – were stitched up back inside her body again until it was time to give birth.
Tommy Bown was born six weeks later, at 31 weeks – and was able to kick his legs and feed normally as a result of the surgery.
He spent four weeks in hospital before doting parents Serena and Chris brought him home, to Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Thanks to the super advanced surgery, the tot, now three months old, is hitting all his milestones – and a scar on his back from the surgery is the only evidence of his op.
Serena, a customer service team leader, said: “When we found out he had spina bifida, we were in shock.
“We heard all these stories – we thought he would never walk, or eat on his own.
“But I knew I had to have the surgery to give him the best chance, even though it would be intense – I had never had a surgery before in my life.
“A few weeks later I went into labour and had an emergency C-section – and Tommy was born premature.
“I saw him in the incubator, and he was so tiny – but his legs were moving!
“After weeks in the NICU, it was a massive relief to bring him home – with his scar on his back as a crazy reminder of what happened.
“Now, I look down at my baby and I think ‘you have no idea what you’ve been through already’.”
Serena and Chris, a soldier, were referred for a specialist scan because midwives spotted something during their 20-week gender scan.
The following week they drove up to the specialist clinic in London where their little boy was diagnosed with spina bifida.
Because of the way his spine was growing, and a cyst that was developing at the base of his spine, they were warned that it would likely cause him to be severely disabled.
Serena said: “They gave us the options to terminate the pregnancy, to carry on, or have fetoscopic surgery.
“The whole thing was a very numbing experience.”
After discussing with doctors and other parents, they decided to go for the complex surgery to give him the best chance at a normal life.
Serena said: “Leading up to the surgery, I was so nervous – we knew there were risks, but the positives were still higher.
“If we could give him the chance not to need a shunt, or to be able to walk, why wouldn’t we go for it?”
The surgery took place on August 15, 2024, at King’s College Hospital, in Lambeth, and everything went smoothly.
Because of his health conditions, doctors expected the baby to be born a bit early – but hoped to reach 36 weeks.
But at 30 weeks and six days, a check-up revealed Serena’s cervix shortening.
Two days later, she was being rushed to her local hospital, Conquest Hospital Maternity Unit, because she was getting pains and bleeding.
Serena said: “Shortly after arriving, I told the midwife I wanted to push, and she pressed a button then a flood of professionals came in.
“They said the baby was coming, I was in labour, but my waters hadn’t broken yet so I needed surgery.
“I had an emergency caesarean section due to him also being breech, and baby Tommy was born at 6:53am on September 21, weighing 3lbs 15oz.
“We had no idea what he would be capable of when he was born even though he showed good signs during pregnancy.
“We wanted to be prepared for any outcome.
“The first thing my partner said when I came around was that Tommy’s legs were moving – he could move!”
Because Tommy was premature, he was transferred to King’s College Hospital where he spent three and a half weeks in a specialist NICU before being transferred back to Conquest Hospital.
Tommy was finally taken home on October 19, and has been growing stronger and hitting milestones ever since.
The wound on his back from his surgery is now healed – and serves as a reminder of his fight.
Serena said: “I can’t wait to sit him down and tell him what he went through when he’s older.
“The next steps are waiting for him to crawl and seeing how he moves, but we’ll face every challenge with strength and determination.
“If we hadn’t done the surgery while I was pregnant, he would have been born more poorly and would have needed lots of surgeries after birth.
“Now, nobody can believe how well he is doing.”
