Dad 'creeped out' after spotting face of Grinch in Christmas tree
A dad was given the creeps when he spotted a Grinch lookalike in the trunk of his Christmas tree.
Daniel Martyn, 39, couldn't believe his eyes when he unwrapped his new 9ft tree only to discover a pair of eyes staring back at him.
Stunned Daniel called in his daughter, six, to have a look - leaving her so scared that she ran into the kitchen.
Fortunately, the 'creepy' face has now become a welcome addition and Daniel and his partner even plan to give it some decorations of its own.
Initially, Daniel thought it looked a bit like the Grinch - with the chipped wood reminiscent of the mean-tempered character's smile.
Daniel, an IT project manager from Gravesend, Kent, said: "I thought it looked like it had a kind face so it's not going to cause us any mischief but my daughter wanted me to cover it up at first - she even ran into the kitchen!
"I can definitely see the Grinch in it - if you stare at it long enough you see a nose as well!
"But I don't stare at it for too long as it gives me the creeps!
"When I first saw it I thought someone had drawn it on - It's just the luck of the draw with the tree I assume.
"Either way, we'll have to learn to love it as it's too late to be getting another tree so we've decided to call it Kris after Kris Kringle."
Daniel bought the tree from someone at his local pub.
He said: "I went to meet him and when I got home and opened it up and just as I looked down I saw this strange pair of eyes looking at me."
Daniel says his mother, Amanda, 61, suggested the face could be a loved one sent to watch over the family.
He said: "I spoke to my mother and as my grandfather has just recently passed, she said it's him being sent to watch over us."
With the decorating yet to be complete, Daniel says he hopes they can "do Kris proud".
He added: "I've left the decorating to my partner, Natasha, 49, now but I'm sure she'll make it look good.
"I think we're going to try and give him something to wear - my daughter wants to put sunglasses on him!"
Driver battles through 150mph tornado in Tennessee
This is the incredible dash-cam moment a man battled through a deadly tornado in his car.
Cameron McNeil, 25, said his car was "totally totaled" when he was caught up in the storm in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday.
Dashcam from his vehicle shows lightning, telegraph poles bending, debris flying - and then the windscreen cracking - but Cameron still keeps driving.
He added: " In the video you can see transformers blowing up and my windshield getting cracked and things going everywhere."
Six people - including two children - died when a series of tornadoes with winds up to 150mph ravaged Tennessee and Kentucky.
Homes were destroyed and tens of thousands of people were left without power after poles were snapped.
Bird poop-covered classic Corvette sells for more than double estimate
A bird poop-covered classic car has sold for more than double its estimate.
The 1966 Chevrolet Corvette C2 Stingray is believed to have been stored in a barn for years.
The dusty model was expected to make £25-£30k, but sold for £68,625 in a Warwickshire auction.
Classic Car Auctions (CCA) say: "This Corvette C2 Stingray’s bones were still in good enough shape for it to attract bidding that took it to more than twice its estimate."
The previous owner remains anonymous, but CCA say: "Definitely a farm find, as evidenced by the straw and bird droppings in the images, it still presented a tremendous opportunity."
The auction house add: "Imported around 25 years ago, there was no history file as such, but the V5C was present, and the VIN confirmed the car as a 1966 Convertible built in St Louis.
"This car deserves to be lavished with attention, and once fully prepared, it should reward such effort with an excellent outcome."
The Corvette was part of a 9 December sale of twenty cars that had stood in barns and fields for many years, so were all presented as "project cars in need of restoration".
Gary Dunne, Sales Manager of CCA, says: "Once in a while a collection of classic cars comes to market at No Reserve – with all this collection being restoration projects needing copious amounts of TLC, it gave bidders an unrepeatable opportunity to secure a car they have been dreaming of, with the chance to save the vehicle and put their own stamp on it. CCA’s Christmas Sale was just such an opportunity. And the bidders did not disappoint us."
"I'm foraging my entire Christmas dinner"
Meet the woman foraging her entire Christmas dinner – after spending a year gathering mushrooms, chestnuts, and acorns.
Zoe Young, 29, has an interest in social history and previously tasked herself with eating a rationed diet for a week – like families did following World War II.
She found herself going into nature to find food which inspired her next challenge – making an entire Christmas dinner from foraged food.
The support worker has spent the year hunting for mushrooms – such as oyster and chicken of the woods mushrooms – and chestnuts to use in a wellington.
Zoe he is making Yorkshire puddings with acorn flour and eggs from a local with chickens.
She has also urban foraged - identifying and collecting foods growing freely around your city – finding unopened jars of jam and sauces on the streets.
She plans to make and enjoy the meal with partner, Matt, 31, in the run up to Christmas.
Zoe, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, said: “I started off doing social history – like the ration challenge.
“I found out how much I liked it.
“I found myself going outside looking for stuff.
“I thought I could try foraging for Christmas dinner.
“Everything is seasonal – you find things as you go along.
“It’s completely surprised me how much you can find.”
Zoe took part in a ration challenge in December 2022 – only buying food 1950s Brits ate after the war.
It forced Zoe to think outside the box – picking wild nettles and hawthorn berries for soups, teas and jams.
After loving that challenge she decided to go one step further and make a completely foraged Christmas dinner for herself and Matt.
Zoe said: “I had to work out what I could make.
“I couldn’t have a Christmas dinner without a Yorkshire pudding – how do I make a foraged one?”
Zoe collected acorns to ground down into a flour and managed to find a local who had chickens for the eggs - and traded them for some homemade wine and jam.
For the main, Zoe has spent the year collecting mushrooms and chestnuts to make a puree for a wellington.
She said: “I’m a mushroom expert now.”
Zoe got her potatoes and vegetables from a friend - as her crops didn't take.
She has also made a jam to go with the meal from hawthorn berries and has found wild horseradish for an alternative sauce.
Zoe said: “The berries - it’s like a cranberry jam.”
The couple will be seasoning their food with wild garlic and herbs.
They will also be making cocktails from rose hips and have made wine out of apples.
Zoe said: “Things grow on stumps where you least expect it.”
She has found extra unopened sugar, salt, pepper, milk and sauce sachets from the streets to include in her recipes.
Zoe has been amazed by how much she has been able to find and has it all stocked up in her freezer ready to make.
She said: “Chicken of the woods mushrooms taste just like chicken.
“It’s mad.”
Zoe has also sourced some game meat from partner Matt – for his wellington.
Matt said: “It’s been great fun. An adventure.
“I’m looking forward to when we eat it.”
Zoe's foraged Christmas dinner -
Mushroom and chestnut wellington - foraged mushrooms and chestnuts for the filling. Acorn flour and eggs from a friend for the pastry.
Potatoes and seasonal vegetables - grown in a friend's garden
Yorkshire pudding - acorn flour and eggs from a friend
Game for Matt's wellington - sourced from a friend
Apple wine - made from foraged apples
Hawthorn berries jam - made from foraged berries
Two rundown tin bungalows have gone on sale - for 50p each
Two rundown tin bungalows have gone on sale - for 50p each.
The battered houses made of corrugated sheets sit in a South Wales Valleys mining village - and have hit the market for £1 the pair.
The tattered, terraced buildings in Crumlin near Blackwood in Gwent can be developed.
Sean Roper, of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, says no internal inspections of the pair of bungalows has been made due to their current condition.
He said: "The two tin bungalows are currently in a poor state of repair.
''However they do occupy an elevated position with views across the valley and do offer scope for improvement.
"The bungalows in their current state need some work but they may well be able to be renovated for AirBnB-type use or to be refurbished and rented out.
"Alternatively the plot of land that they are on may offer the possibility for alternative development such as the construction of a detached dwelling, subject, of course, to necessary planning consents.
"The village of Crumlin benefits from a range of local amenities and further shopping facilities are available in the nearby towns of Newbridge and Cwmbran, which is south on the A4042.
"Bungalow one is believed to contain an entrance, lounge, kitchen WC and two bedrooms while the second property has a lounge, bedroom and kitchen area.
''There is land to the sides, rear and front, with a parking area.
"The properties, listed with a guide price of £1, are to be sold with vacant possession."
The Paul Fosh Auctions online sale starts on December 12 and ends from 5pm on December 14.
Visit www.paulfoshauctions.co.uk for details.
Great-gran celebrates 101st birthday with NAKED butler
A great-grandmother received a 101st birthday treat to remember when a naked butler surprised her at her nursing home.
Winnie Goode was "beaming" when the hunk presented her with a birthday cake and a glass of Baileys at her landmark party.
Days before her big day she told staff at Summerdyne Nursing Home in Bewdley, Worcs., her birthday wish was for a “nice man” .
Managers at the home didn’t disappoint when they hired a ‘butler in the buff’ to surprise Winnie on her special day.
Winnie, who has two sons, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, said: “That was very nice – I enjoyed that immensely.
“I had two birthday cakes – it was very nice.”
When asked what the secret to a long and happy life was, Winnie added: “A lot of it is luck.
"It's important to keep going, be busy, eat properly and sleep properly and enjoy yourself."
Her saucy surprised was arranged by the nursing home staff with the help of Winnie’s son Chris.
Laura Dourish, wellbeing leader at the nursing home said: “When we asked Winnie what she wanted for her birthday she said ‘a nice man’.
“We took that literally and thought that’s what we’ll get her.
“Her face literally lit up like a Christmas tree. She was really really excited.
“She thought it was so funny as well because we’d taken it so literally.
“We got him to bring in cake and give her a Baileys. She really enjoyed it".
Winnie, who is originally from Essex, was born on November 20, 1922, when David
Lloyd George was Prime Minister and King George V was on the throne.
In 1942 she married her husband George and when World War Two broke out she worked in a munitions factory making fuses.
The couple, who lived in Norfolk, were married for 42 years before George died in 1984. Winnie later moved to be closer to her family in Bewdley, Worcs.
Over her remarkable life, Winnie has lived through 22 Prime Ministers and the entire 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
Last year Winnie was one of the first centenarians in the UK to receive a 100th birthday card from King Charles III.
She said: “I feel very happy to have seen so much in my life.”
Her son Chris, 70, said: "She is a remarkable woman and I'm lucky to live close to the nursing home so see her every day.
"She has got a great sense of humour and absolutely loved the butler in the buff surprise, it was the best birthday present she could have had."
World's most calorific burger revealed - with buns made from eight Krispy Kreme donuts
A food truck owner has created the world's most calorific burger - with buns made of eight Krispy Kreme donuts.
The gut-busting meal contains three beef patties, six slices of cheese and two rashers of bacon - all smothered in melted butter or Biscoff spread.
It is wrapped in eight sugar-covered doughnuts and contains 3,180 calories - the same as six Big Macs or over three roast dinners.
The epic burger was created by Tom Warwick, 29, who trades as Meat Castles and has a cult following across the country.
He is now challenging burger lovers to visit his truck which is parked up every weekend at various pubs in Retford, Nottinghamshire.
Tim is daring people to finish the burger in three bites - with each bite a whopping 1,000 calories.
Tom, from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, is offering a £100 prize to anyone who can manage the monster in
The burger aficionado, who has taken part in numerous eating challenges himself, launched the challenge at the weekend.
He said despite several attempts, no-one has conquered it yet, despite one or two people coming close.
Tom said: “I’m always coming up with new ideas and everyone loves a food challenge, so I thought what can I create that really will be hard to beat.
“Everyone loves a donut burger but I wanted to go bigger and better. So I’ve taken eight Krispy Kremes and pressed them to make the ‘bun’.
“Add the three patties, cheese and bacon, and then smother it in melted butter or Biscoff if people prefer and you’ve got a monster of a burger .
''I’ve worked out it’s over 3,000 calories. So if you do manage it in three bites, you’ve done 1,000 calories a bite.
“Now we’ve just got to see if anyone can actually do it. A few have tried but no-one’s managed it yet.”
Tom created Meat Castles after years of trying burgers himself and judging national burger competitions.
After months of research he created his own blend of meat for his smash patties, using slow grown, grass-fed, hand-reared heritage bred beef.
His creations include the ‘Phat Nut’, an aged beef smash patty with American cheese, peanut butter, and strawberry and vanilla jam.
He also made the ‘Dirty Barbie’, which is a beef patty with American cheese, smokey and sweet barbecue sauce, crispy onions and streaky bacon.
He also regularly comes up with specials and is a popular choice with burger fans from across the country.
Meat Castles was also recently featured in The Times and Sunday Times in a list of the UK’s best burgers according to chefs, with chef Luke French calling his burgers “super-delicious”.
He added: “It’s just gone mad really.
''People love burgers and over the last few years Meat Castles has got itself a bit of a cult following.
''We’ve got all sorts of people who travel from near and far for our burgers.
''Some order what’s on the menu and others want a special creation which we’ll do sometimes.
“We’re known by some for our massive burgers, but for plenty of people it’s about the quality.
''They know the time and effort that’s gone into creating the perfect patty and coming up with great flavour combinations.
''Pretty much all our sauces and relishes and toppings are created in house and we spend hours getting them right.
“This is a bit of fun, but it’s already a hit and I’ve had loads of messages from people wanting to try it. So let’s see if anyone can beat it!”
Daring scuba divers make history - playing board game with SHARKS
A pair of scuba divers became the "first people in the world" to play a board game while being surrounded by SHARKS.
Video shows Travis Oates and Kurt Engstrom playing a board game underwater - surrounded by the predators.
A huge shark can be seen almost brushing Travis as he catches a die floating away into the open ocean.
The "Extreme Board Game Challenge" saw them take the plunge off the coast of the Bahamas.
Travis, CEO of Above Board TV, a media company that focuses on board games, had never been diving before.
He had to undergo days of training and go through a fitness regime before being qualified to use the equipment needed to go under.
The crew was wearing armour to protect them from the sharks but Travis and Kurt bravely went completely unprotected.
The challenge was issued by Chip Theory Games, a board game company.
Chip Theory said: "Travis Oates and Kurt Engstrom from the YouTube channel Above Board TV accepted the Extreme Board Gaming Challenge to play a game in the ocean while surrounded by sharks.
"The game, Too Many Bones UNBREAKABLE is made of plastic and neoprene so it won't be destroyed by the salt water."
Even so, the pair had a bit of difficulty getting the game working and had to staple pieces down to avoid them floating away.
Rough seas caused by a hurricane a little way down the coast, in Florida, USA, made the event even more treacherous.
Travis had to be pushed to the surface by one of the professional divers who accompanied him, as he couldn't get up alone.
Overall, however, he chalked the experience up as a good one.
Travis can be heard after the dive saying: "That's how I got here and the experience, it changed me.
"I don't think I'll ever have to do this again so I probably won't do a lot of shark diving
after this oh my God that was scary."
He also, however, said that the experience was incredible.
"I took my mum backpacking – to celebrate her being cancer free"
A mum is backpacking around Asia with her daughter and her girlfriend – and has been partying on the islands to celebrate being cancer free.
Kate Gearing, 69, was invited to join her daughter, Nessie, and her partner Becca Wolfenden, both 27, on a once in a lifetime trip to Thailand.
Kate was given the all clear in January 2022 after battling breast cancer and the couple planned a trip for her to join them on.
Kate surprised them by being up for backpacking and the trio are making their way around some of the Phi Phi islands - Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta and Phuket.
They have visited an animal sanctuary, gone snorkelling, enjoyed local food and even taken Kate partying.
Kate, a retired doctor, from Gairloch, Wester Ross, Scotland, said: “I’m enjoying it.
“It’s exhausting. They are leading me all over the place. It’s been great fun.
“Luckily my cancer was picked up and treated.
“Make the most the of what time you have and have fun.”
Nessie, who owns a development trust charity with Becca, said: “She’s more free.
“It’s been a change in character.”
Becca added: “She’s legendary.
“Seeing her now backpacking and lying on a beach carefree is so nice.”
Kate was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2021 and had an operation to remove the lump, followed by radiation before being given the all clear in January 2022.
Becca said: “She’s very resilient.”
Nessie added: “She’s a doctor, so a fighter.”
The couple, who have already been on UK trips with Kate, invited her to travel around Thailand with them – and were surprised when she wanted to do it by backpacking.
The trio flew out on November 9, 2023, to Ko Lipe and have been enjoying the islands – taking boat trips and swimming in the sea.
They have been staying in budget hotels and Airbnb's while travelling around.
Becca said: “We went to an animal sanctuary and saw elephants.
“We’ve been on several boats and ferries.
“We’re taking her out partying.
“She’s really taken everything on.
“She’s really taking on the whole backpacking experience.”
The couple have even been trying to convince Kate to get a tattoo while she’s away – and say she is coming around to the idea.
Nessie said: “She would never have got a tattoo. She was against it.”
Kate added: “I haven’t organised anything.
“I loved seeing the elephants and snorkelling.
“I’m very happy to be here.”
Follow Nessie and Becca on TikTok @nessieandbecca
Gorilla's special moment with man she's known since birth
A gorilla shared a sweet moment with a man she's known her whole life - stealing his hat and giving him tender hug.
Video shows Damian Aspinall, an animal conservationist, crouched in front of Tambabi, 37.
The sweet encounter happened at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Canterbury, Kent, which is owned by The Aspinall Foundation, whose Damian is the chairman.
The pair shared this moment on November 11 when Damian visited Howletts, which was started by his father.
Tambabi was born in the park and Damian, 63, has known her since birth.
The gorilla and her family are very close to him.
In the video, Tambabi can be heard grunting and gurgling, which is how the animals communicate.
According to a Howletts spokesperson, by making those sounds Tambabi is "intimating very loving sounds."
The Aspinall Foundation works with wild animals and specifically gorillas.
They protect a gorilla habitat the size of Kent on the Batéké Plateau in central Africa and have saved more than 1,000 animal lives.
According to the Howletts spokesperson, the trust Tambabi shows in the footage is very rare.
They said: "Tambabi and this family of gorillas only interact in this way with Damian and his conservationist daughter Freya Aspinall.
"Tambabi has known both Damian and Freya since her birth."
The park hasn't attempted such close contact between Tambabi and anyone else.
They added: "It has not been attempted with anyone else other than Damian and Freya.
"It’s not something Damian would encourage other people to do as they are wild animals and not pets.
"This relationship is only possible through a lifetime of mutual trust, no training or taming.
"[It can only be achieved through] A lifetime of mutual trust and respect. No shortcuts. No tricks."
