Detectorist unearths nugget of gold shaped like Britain
A detectorist has made the ”discovery of a lifetime” after unearthing a nugget of gold – shaped like Britain.
Jonathan Needham, 54, found the gold on the Staffordshire and Derbyshire border – and believes it was formed naturally beneath the ground there.
The nugget – shaped like England, Wales and Scotland – is almost 3cm in length and over 1cm wide and weighs 10.3 grams.
Retired tree surgeon and treasure seeker Jonathan says his ”Holy Grail” find on November 1 is his ”most interesting ever”.
He is now in the process of confirming whether the piece of gold is natural or smelted.
The nugget as scrap could be worth around £800 – but if it is evidence of gold mining in the Midlands in the past it will be worth much more.
History buff Jonathan said: “I really could not believe it. I have dug gold before but I was not expecting to find a nugget of gold.
“When you are detecting in England to find a nugget of gold is exceptional.
“When I dug it I could see it was gold coloured and I knew straight away that it was gold – but I thought it could have been some bit of jewelry but it is not.
“It was quite funny – when I started cleaning it and turned it around I thought ‘that looks just like England’.
“It is rare enough to find a piece of gold but to find one that looks exactly like England is crazy.
”The jury is out whether its natural or whether its part of a smelting process and the gold was smelted and then dropped.
”People are saying it’s natural – if it is natural then I found this on the Derbyshire Staffordshire borders. It could open up a whole can of worms.’
“Some experts are going to have to look into it and if it is natural gold it is going to be worth a lot more money than scrap gold.
“I am hoping it is a natural nugget and if it is it would be extraordinary because not many get found in this country.
“If it is natural gold it will be one in a life time.”
He is now hoping to return to the same area to see if he can discover more similar finds there.
He added: “I will be checking out the area very carefully to see if I can pull any more out – it is an amazing find.”
Last year Jonathan discovered a “one in a billion” Bronze Age artefact – after founding the 3000-year-old dress or cloak fastener on a patch of land in Staffs.
Jonathan wanted to be a treasure hunter decades ago after watching TV about finds.
He is passionate about ancient history and loves watching The Detectorists.
But he was always too busy working – so had to wait until after arthritis forced him to go part-time to take up the hobby.
And now his hobby has turned into a profession.
“This is what I do. I am a treasure seeker I don’t do anything else – this is my job,” concluded Jonathan.
He now runs a YouTube channel where he shares his metal detecting adventures called The Detector-hist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDetector-Hist
Family’s $1,460 fly-tipping fine after bin bag stolen from their home and dumped
A young couple has been slapped with a massive $1,460 fly-tipping fine – after one of their bin bags was stolen and dumped 30 feet from their home.
Abigail Swinn, 24, and partner Travis Raggo, 25, left two bags full of domestic waste and old clothes for collection.
Thieves pinched the bag and ripped it open to steal the clothes before dumping the rubbish 30 feet from their home in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Days after the theft, an enforcement officer from Boston Borough Council knocked on their door.
The officials said they had used letters found in the rubbish to trace it back to the couple, and Abigail and Travis were both fined $730 each.
Abigail, who has a three-year-old daughter Lexi, says she now fears the couple will be unable to afford to pay for Christmas.
The nursery worker said: “It’s ridiculous to think we would fly-tip outside our own home when it was bin day.
“I’d even checked on the council website, which stated you can leave up to four bin bags out with your bin.”
Abigail and Travis had been renovating their bedroom and loaded bags of rubbish which they took to the tip.
They could only fit nine in their car, so left two bags out with their bins on Monday, October 28, ahead of Wednesday’s collection.
Two days later, they were each slapped with a fixed penalty notice, and the council even shamed them by posting a picture of one of their bin bags on Facebook.
Abigail added: “We’d just thought the bins had been collected, but one day an enforcement officer knocked on our door and accused us of fly-tipping.
“I have no idea how the bin bag was ripped open. At first, I thought it could have been a fox, but there was no food in the bag.
“I looked on Facebook, and apparently the day before, a man had been pictured stealing someone else’s bin bags.
“I’ve heard other incidents of people’s rubbish bags being stolen for any clothes which might be inside.”
Abigail has reported the theft of the bin bag to Lincolnshire Police, which has confirmed a report of anti-social behavior.
She added: “We haven’t paid the fines, and I’m trying to ask the council to cancel them because it is just not fair. We haven’t done anything wrong.
“We might have to pay up though because if we lose any court case, we’d face a criminal conviction or up to a $62,000 fine.
“We can’t risk doing that; we don’t want a criminal conviction.”
Boston Borough Council has cracked down on fly-tipping, and culprits can be issued fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to $1,220.
In July, the council vowed to “eradicate” the problem and boasted it had issued 237 FPNs in 12 months.
A spokesperson said: “We take allegations of environmental crime offenses very seriously as it impacts the cleanliness and safety of our community.
“If a member of the public contacts us regarding a fixed penalty notice, we are committed to reviewing the circumstances around each case and ensuring that the correct process is being followed.”
Couple say “I D-ewe” as they wed – surrounded by sheep
This loved up couple said “I d-ewe” on their wedding day – by spending it surrounded by sheep.
Paula Sassen met husband Klaas when she bought a bottle-fed lamb from him and the couple hit it off instantly.
They bonded over their love of Herdwick sheep, which is native to the Lake District.
The couple, in their forties, hoped to marry at Yew Tree Farm in Coniston, Cumbria, which was owned by Beatrix Potter and is known for breeding the breed of sheep.
But as they didn’t have enough time to arrange the necessary paperwork, they tied the knot at a registry office in nearby Kendal.
And they had their wedding reception at the farm on August 7, surrounded by the adorable sheep, sipping champagne and posing for photos.
Paula, of Ouddorp in the Netherlands, said: “Yew Tree Farm was the perfect place for us to celebrate our wedding.
“The history, the sheep, and the breathtaking scenery made everything feel so meaningful and magical.
“A real highlight of our day was sipping champagne surrounded by the very sheep that had brought us together.”
Paula, a teacher, and Klaas, an engineer, now hope to return to the Lake District in the future to celebrate their anniversary.
Klaas, an engineer, said: “Our day was absolutely perfect – just us, surrounded by the Herdwicks we love, at a place with so much meaning.
“The whole experience felt like a dream come true, and we couldn’t have asked for a more memorable way to start our married life.”
Jo McGrath, who runs Yew Tree Farm with husband Jon Watson, said Paula and Klass’ wedding day was “really exciting.”
She said: “It was a really exciting day and the weather was on our side too.
“We were delighted to help Paula and Klaas celebrate with their two guests, who enjoyed an afternoon tea and a champagne toast in the field with our wonderful sheep.”
“I speak to spirits using a Ouija board and connected with actor Paul Walker”
A woman says she speaks to the spirits of dead people using a Ouija board and even “had a connection” with Fast and Furious’ star Paul Walker.
Spiritual advisor Ari Lyons, 41, says she’s also heard from a client’s son who hung himself accidentally and another client’s dead ex-husband – who “said he was in hell and apologised for abusing her”.
Ari, from Brooksville, Florida, claims the spirit world has been a part of her life since about the of age five.
“I didn’t really fully comprehend it until I was around 12 when my grandma passed away,” she says.
“I was never close to her, but she had told me when she was sick that she could see things that haven’t happened yet or has dreams that come true,” Ari explains, adding that her grandmother “passed her abilities” on to her.
“I remember speaking to earthbound spirits when I was really young, but angels and demonic entities later on,” she says.
“It was hard keeping this all to myself. I didn’t actually tell my mom until my late twenties. She didn’t believe me.
“She would call me every day for a year and ask me for a physic reading to see if she got anything wrong. I think she was believing me in the third or fourth month. She was shocked I had a gift.”
“I had a connection with Paul Walker about a year after he died, which was weird,” Ari added.
“I heard his voice in my room and I instantly knew who he was.
“He was pretty much following me for an entire week. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I just remember he kept on talking. I saw him wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.
“He was talking about his movie coming out, the one released after he died.
“He also told me what he likes, like the ocean and being outside. I had to Google this stuff, but everything he said and told me was online.”
Ari says she doesn’t do it for profit because she doesn’t want to abuse her ability and become famous. “I just want to help people. I don’t want to be an entertainer,” she insists.
As someone who’s been ghost hunting since the age of nine, Ari feels the energy surrounding spirits each time she taps into her spiritual practice.
“Ouija boards have worked mostly every time that I’ve used one,” Ari says.
“You have to have some type of relationship with the board in order for it to work.
“You just can’t use it and expect for it to work.
“There’s a lot of respect that goes into it while you’re using the board.”
Respect, according to Ari, is essential for any spiritual tool — whether it’s a Ouija board, tarot cards, or crystals.
“When you get a crystal, you have to have a relationship with the crystal in order for it to charge. These are all tools,” she explains.
“But everybody’s obsessed with the Ouija board because of the experiences that go on while using it.
“People love to be scared. They love to watch these types of things.
“There’s a lot of stuff that you can use to conduct the other side.”
Ari recalls a particularly intense experience with the Ouija board during a gathering with friends in her early twenties.
“It was getting dark, and we all put our hands on the planchette. It started moving really fast — none of us could move it that fast — and it started spelling words,” she says.
“You could feel the energy, like someone else was there holding it down.
“It’s a different type of energy you never felt before.
“I asked how many spirits were in the room, and it said 83. You could feel the room temperature just go down. It was freaking crazy.”
While some might find this terrifying, Ari insists it’s about maintaining control and respect.
“Like I said, it’s all about gaining a connection with the board and really practicing your spirituality.
“You have to distinguish what’s good energy and what’s bad energy, and entities love to manipulate people who are inexperienced.”
Ari points out that spirituality, for her, goes beyond religion.
“To me, spirituality is everything – whether it’s physical or spiritual,” she says.
“I believe this whole place was created in the spiritual part of things… it’s all energy, and we can manipulate energy.”
Ari warns that Ouija boards and other tools aren’t inherently dangerous if handled respectfully.
“Everything’s a portal. A mirror is a portal, you know what I’m saying? So I tell people it’s not bad—it’s a really cool tool. You just have to respect it.”
She remembers a time when a friend was frightened after using the Ouija board.
“Lights started turning on and off, doors were shutting, and they even felt pinned down to their bed,” she recounts.
“People were saying ‘bury it, burn it,’ but I told them you don’t want to burn a board because it has your energy in it.
“All you have to do is cleanse it — whether with holy water or sage.”
Despite the risks, Ari has seen the Ouija board bring comfort to many, including a woman she once gave a reading.
“I said her grandfather told me he was going to do something in her house, and she didn’t believe it,” she shares.
“Then her trash can flew across the kitchen.
“She was freaking out, but I told her, ‘That’s your grandfather saying hi. He told you he was going to do this.'”
Ari’s approach to the spirit world is both practical and deeply connected to helping others.
“I help people get in touch with their spiritual selves, especially those who feel lost, don’t know their purpose, or are grieving.
“I want people to spiritually connect within themselves so they can live a better life.”
For skeptics, Ari has a simple piece of advice: “If you really think it’s not real, experience it yourself.
“You might regret it, or you might just love it. It’s a different world, and some people only believe it when they see it.”
Nomad, 71, sold belongings to travel US in campervan – in epic 6,000 mile road trip
Meet the 71-year-old nomad who sold all her belongings to travel across the US in her campervan – on an epic 6,000 mile road trip.
Barbara Hansen left her two-bedroom rented apartment in Green Bay, Wisconsin, US, and got rid of all her belongings before buying a Winnebago Spirit Motorhome for $22k.
Since then she has visited 22 US States including – Illinois, Michigan Ohio, Texas and Louisiana.
Barbara – who has two children grown up kids – says her favourite place she’s visited is Turkey Bayou, Illinois, where she stayed in a swamp for a month and went hiking.
The grandmother of four loves van life so much she is renovating a Ford Transit van she bought for $37k and is planning to visit he East and West Coast in it.
Barbara, a retired sales associate and a volunteer camp host, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, said: “Covid was just getting started and I took a trip up to Alaska to visit one of my boys and I had a ball.
“When I got back I started thinking about how I didn’t want to stay in my apartment and I wanted to live a little.
“I gave up my 30-day notice on my apartment, bought a camper online and flew for Florida to pick it up and the rest was history.”
After buying the Winnebago Spirit Motorhome for $22k in February 2019, Barbara was determined to drive it back home but she got as far as Atlanta before it broke down.
She sold everything she owned and hit the road full-time and has been travelling around the US for the last five years.
Barbara said: “Everything was wrong with it, it had been sat on a beach for 20-odd years.
“The electricity didn’t work and it took a month or so to get fixed.
“I then sold everything I had and hit the road – I have been living on my camper for five-and-a-half years now.”
After hitting the road in February 2019, Barbara headed to Illinois, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and New Mexico.
She said that she has loved every moment of living in her van – especially meeting new people and visiting new places.
Barbara said: “I have met some really cool people, there is no better group than the nomad group.
“This is going to sound crazy but I loved Alaska, my son, and I went out on a moose counting trip.
“One of my favourite places to be has been Turkey Bayou, Illinois, it was in the middle of the swamp.
“I stayed there for a month, it was in the middle of nowhere and there was a lot of wildlife around.
“I went hiking for days – it was very secluded.”
The hardest part of van life has been what Barbara calls “stupid breakdowns”.
She said: “You expect a vehicle to break down every now and again but what is really annoying is when you create the disaster yourself.
“I loaded up my Fiat on the back of my tow vehicle one day, after I loaded up the car I forgot to disengage the emergency break and I drove off with it engaged.
“By the time I realised what I had done, I was dragging my Fiat down the highway.”
Barbara is currently staying on a campsite just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, where she is fixing up a Ford Transit van she bought for $37k.
Barbara aims to make the van liveable and set off on the road early next year and do a live in renovation and sell her old camper.
She said: “I have wanted a van for a long time, when I saw one come up online I knew I had to have it.
“I personally want to make sure it has insulation as I don’t want to deal with too much of the elements.
“I need some kind of bed set up and a little kitchenette.
“I can stop at gyms and do showers there for a while.
“I am not going to build it out fully in the first year, I am going to do a partial build and then live in it for a year to see what I need.”
Places she’s visited so far –
– Michigan
– Illinois
– Indiana
– Missouri
– Wisconsin
– Minnesota
– Ohio
– North Dakota
– South Dakota
– Wyoming
– Montana
– Arizona
– New Mexico
– Texas
– California
– Florida
– Georgia
– North Carolina
– South Carolina
– Virginia
– Nebraska
– Louisiana
Guide dog becomes star at red carpet events
A guide dog called Bill has become the unlikely star of red carpet events in London’s West End.
The Golden Retriever stole the show at events including the Pride of Britain awards, the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year awards and on stage at the musical The Devil Wears Prada.
At the Pride of Britain awards, Bill was given the full VIP treatment as he was walked down the red carpet with his owner Mohammed Ibrahim and former Love Island contestant and Guide Dogs campaign star, Faye Winter, and was greeted by moustached comedian Troy Hawke.
The two-year-old also managed to sneak on stage for the rehearsals for The Devil Wears Prada musical at London’s Dominion Theatre.
Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty star Vanessa Williams, who plays the iconic role of Miranda Priestly, was among those surprised by Bill’s appearance.
And at the illustrious Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year awards – whose previous trophy holders include Gordon Ramsay – he was photographed with the winners as they collected their prizes.
Bill’s surprise appearances were part of an “Unexpected Bills” campaign for Guide Dogs to raise awareness of the rising costs of pet ownership.
The charity is asking people to support its Guide Dogs Puppy Appeal campaign to raise money for its life-changing work and provide dogs to those who need them, amid rising costs for the dogs in their care.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “Bill has done an amazing job popping up in places where you’d least expect him – just like how household bills can.
“We understand people are being squeezed from all angles, and we wanted to demonstrate in a creative way about what that means for dog and Guide Dog owners. We know pet owners want to provide the best care for their dogs, and as a charity we’re no different.
“Guide Dogs relies on donations to continue our life-changing work and covers the costs of all of our working guide dogs, including vet and food bills.
“We believe a person’s financial situation should never be a barrier to having a guide dog and need the public’s support now more than ever before.”
The campaign comes after research of 2,000 dog owners found 69% are worried about rising costs associated with pet ownership.
And 55% have been hit with an unexpected bill for their dog.
Pet owners estimate on average they spend £1,144 in vet bills alone in a typical year – with 57% admitting that having a dog is more expensive than they anticipated.
With the most expensive bill those polled have paid on average amounting to nearly £2,000.
But amid the backdrop of increasing bills and rising costs, 68% were understanding of the need vets and other businesses have to cover ever-increasing outgoings.
And 83% of those polled, via OnePoll, sympathised with charity organisations which are having to spend more money to keep up with the costs of caring for dogs.
A Guide Dogs spokesperson added: “Our recently qualified guide dog, Bill, has been amazing at spreading awareness about the financial pressures impacting us as a charity, but also for dog owners across the country.
“Bill has been a very good boy, and I’m sure he will continue to be. And who knows, he may pop up in other places when you least expect him, too.”
Mom discovers she’s pregnant with fourth child while in labor
Kristen Biayobzcki experienced the surprise of a lifetime when she discovered she was pregnant — only after she went into labor.
The 40-year-old substitute teacher from Memphis, Tennessee, had been told by doctors her irregular periods were because she was in ‘early menopause’.
And other symptoms like swollen feet and fatigue were blamed on fibroids, claims the mom – who was also on birth control.
But on the morning of August 29, Kristen began feeling unwell with back pain that escalated throughout the day.
Despite encouragement from her husband Issac, 43, a frame shop manager, to go to the emergency room, Kristen resisted, fearing the medical costs after her insurance had been cancelled due to a $6 overdue balance.
She continued her day as a childcare worker, determined to make it through her shift.
But by afternoon, she felt dizzy and was unable to continue working, and Isaac picked her up, and they headed to the ER.
At the hospital, Kristen’s blood pressure was alarmingly high. Doctors initially thought she was experiencing heart failure.
“They gave me morphine for the pain and asked me for a urine sample,” she recalls.
When she stood up after giving the sample, she felt a sudden gush of fluid and assumed she had lost control of her bladder.
She soon learned it was actually her water breaking.
Tests revealed the shocking news: Kristen was not only pregnant but in labor.
The ER team scrambled to find the baby, eventually detecting his heartbeat near her ribcage and discovering she was nearly 2cm dilated.
Her fibroids had concealed the baby throughout her pregnancy, positioning him high in her abdomen, making detection nearly impossible.
“They finally told me I was full-term and in labor,” Kristen says. “It was a wrench in their diagnosis, but we soon realized Stone was on his way.”
Stone, who weighed 8lb and 3oz, was in an unusual position inside Kristen’s uterus.
The hospital rushed Kristen to a larger regional medical center equipped to handle her high-risk situation.
An emergency c-section was performed, requiring an incision extending from her belly to her breastbone.
“When they took him out, he wasn’t breathing,” she recalls.
“The NICU team had to intubate him right away.”
Stone spent over 20 days in the NICU, but against the odds, he’s now thriving at home.
And while many can’t believe she didn’t know she was pregnant, Kristen says she really didn’t have a clue.
“I did gain weight,” she notes. “I thought weight gain was from bloating and menopause. The biggest weight gain was noticeable in the last few weeks. I thought that was from all the swelling in my feet and high blood pressure from what I thought was bloating from fibroids.”
Kristen also says engaged in activities she “never did” during her other pregnancies.
I was taking ADHD meds the whole pregnancy — Focalin 20mg — drank wine on occasion, maybe two glasses when I did, and drank energy drinks almost daily. In my third trimester in May, I was also doing heavy lifting and moving furniture,” she says.
“I was very upfront with doctors about all these things,” she adds. “I was very upset I caused his asphyxiation at birth but was told that those things did not contribute to it. The ADHD meds, wine, and caffeine thankfully caused no effects on his health.
“I didn’t think I was pregnant because the doctors had told me I had numerous large fibroids and was probably in early menopause,” Kristen explains.
Blood work even seemed to support this diagnosis with everything else put down to fibroids.
“I just kept chalking it up to the fibroids and pushed through,” she shares.
The arrival of Stone, her “big surprise,” has brought joy to Kristen’s family, including two daughters, six and eight, and an 11-year-old son.
Her son, who previously only had sisters, was thrilled to welcome a baby brother.
“We didn’t have anything for a baby since my youngest daughter is six,” Kristen says.
Kristen sees her son’s name, Stone, as a fitting choice. “It felt like a pretty strong name for a boy.”
“I dress up as a giant ovary and run marathons after losing my sister to cancer”
A loving brother dresses as a giant ovary to run marathons – in memory of his sister who died of ovarian cancer.
Craig McMurrough, 54, aka Mr Ovary, had the 7ft 4ins costume custommade.
The enormous ovary, which has a bright pink fallopian tube coming out of the top, has facts about ovarian cancer printed on it.
Dad-of-one Craig dons the outfit to run marathons and other long distance races.
Craig, from near Cambridge, does this as part of his campaign to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.
A friend runs with him in an identical costume and they go by Mr and Ms Ovary.
Craig’s sister Cheryl Earnshaw, a speech therapist, died aged 43 of the illness leaving behind a close family including her husband and two children aged 7 and 9.
Craig, who works in business change management, said: “It’s a lot of fun!
“People don’t forget seeing two giant ovaries.
“Sometimes we get mistaken for other body parts – but at least it gets the conversation going.
“Cheryl’s death absolutely devastated our family.
“She was the most beautiful soul in the world – kids and parents she worked with loved her.
“It was awful – there was nothing they could do because it was so advanced – we just watched her slip away.
“It was so harrowing for all of us.
“I just want people to be aware of the early signs: it’s so important to catch it early.
“I just remember the specialist saying it had spread to so many places and chemo wasn’t an option – if I can change that for even one person it would be amazing.
Craig said at least two people have told him they’ve identified their own ovarian cancer early enough to get treatment because of awareness brought through his costume.
Cheryl first suffered with fatigue in April 2016, but a GP thought she had fibroids, Craig said.
Just weeks later she was so exhausted she was staying with her parents for respite, he said.
She was admitted to the Leicester Royal Infirmary when she started to suffer bloating, in early June and diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The illness had spread and was untreatable, Craig said, and she died ten days after the diagnosis.
Cheryl, who worked for the NHS, had a unit in Leicestershire named after her, after she died on June 23 2016.
Craig’s family were very close, he said: he and Cheryl were just 1.5 years apart, and went to the same school and then on to Manchester university.
Craig also uses his running to raise money for the charity Ovacome and has racked up over £70,000 so far.
He had the idea to run as a giant ovary and got the costume specially made to fit his body.
He’s run five London Marathons in the costume, and among others has run the great north run, great south run, and half marathons in Birmingham, Blackpool, Sheffield, and Cambridge.
He’s won awards including the Points of Light award from Rishi Sunak and the World Record for the fastest ovary to do the London Marathon.
He also teamed up with a running friend, Sarah Temple, 46, who has an identical costume and goes by the name of Ms Ovary.
The ovaries are just thirteen pounds in weight and are worn with a harness to keep them in place.
Craig and Sarah have to have their arms stretched out to the side holding a bucket in each hand, which makes running very tough, Craig said.
The pair have targeted a different region of the country each year since 2020: running local races and doing fundraising presentations.
Craig’s been a long-distance runner for 20 years and ran a marathon in Dublin in 4 hours 20 minutes, ten years ago.
But he now runs to fundraise and raise awareness than to achieve a personal best, and said a marathon in the ovary costume can take up to seven hours.
“I find it so much more rewarding”, he said, “It’s never about the time and the more conversations you can have the better.
“Running in the ovary is very difficult – it’s lovely and warm in winter and extremely hot in summer.
“It acts like a wind tunnel: once I nearly got blown into the sea.”
“I turned the MRI noise into music to help me cope with my cancer diagnosis”
A man who was diagnosed with a brain tumour has turned the noise of an MRI machine into music – to relax while undergoing scans.
Alastair Cross, 40, first realised something was wrong when he started suffering from visual disturbances and intense headaches.
He originally put it down to stress but his doctor sent him for an MRI scan due to his sister previously being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
The result showed Alastair a mass on his brain and he underwent a craniotomy which removed 80 per cent of it.
A biopsy then revealed it was a grade 2 astrocytoma – a slow-growing brain tumour.
Alastair decided against chemotherapy and radiotherapy to remove the rest of the tumour and has had more than 20 MRI scans to date to monitor its growth.
Alastair found a unique way to cope with his frequent MRI scans by using the sounds and rhythms of the machine in his music.
Alastair, a visual effects artist, from Dublin, Ireland, now living in Vancouver, Canada, said: “The scans themselves are fine, but I admit there is always an element of nervousness about the conversation I have after the scans with my oncologist.
“I’ve been playing music since I was a kid and lying in the machine I often found myself drifting off to the rhythm of the different phases.
“I could imagine other instruments weaving in and out of the pattern the MRI machine was making, and I thought it would be cool to record them and see if I could create something musical from those sounds.
“I have created a unique and deeply personal body of work using the sounds from my regular MRI scans, transforming them into music that tells a story of resilience, hope, and empowerment.”
Alastair started noticing visual disturbances – “visual Déjà vu ” – and intense headaches in the summer of 2017.
His GP put it down to stress and Alastair agreed but his doctor sent him for an MRI due to his family history.
Alastair said: “I started to experience vision disturbances where I was unable to see people fully.
“It was very sporadic and not regular so I put it down to stress and migraines.
“The reason I got sent for an MRI was because my sister was diagnosed with a brain tumour prior to me.”
In September 2018, Alastair had his first MRI scan which showed there was a mass on his brain.
Then in November, he had an awake craniotomy where 80 per cent of the tumour was removed.
Alastair said: “The tumour was encased in an optic pathway at the right side of my head.
“They would scan an area of the brain and I would be doing field tests on an iPad.
“They were using that to gauge if the area they stunned was critical to my vision.”
After his craniotomy, a biopsy revealed Alastair had a grade 2 astrocytoma – a slow-growing brain tumour.
He was offered chemotherapy and radiotherapy but decided against that and instead is taking a more metabolic approach to his recovery.
And is having his tumour monitored the tumour with regular MRI scans.
Alastair said: “A few days after surgery I went to see the consultant who said the tumour was low grade which was a relief.
“They offered chemo and radiotherapy but I opted to monitor it.
“I had scans every three months and now I have them every six months.
“Some of my MRI scans have showed growth and some have been stable but I haven’t wanted to do chemo or radio.
“I have opted out of those treatment options because my quality of life is good.
“I am not ruling it out in the future but I am just not there yet.”
Since his diagnosis, Alastair has had more than 20 MRI scans and says his way of coping with them is turning the noise of the machine into music.
He said: “I found once I got over the initial claustrophobia of the scan and I was able to relax myself I could hear noises and beats.
“I used to hear melodies and I thought it would be a cool thing to sample and capture.
“When I started it became a cathartic process that helped me reframe everything from the fear of the future and diagnosis to maybe that there is a point of this.
“I do feel a lot more content in my life than I did before.”
Catherine Fraher, Director of Services and Digital Health at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “We’re really grateful to everyone who shares their story to raise awareness of brain tumours.
“We know that every family deals with a brain tumour diagnosis and its aftermath in their own unique way.
“That’s why The Brain Tumour Charity offers support to anyone who needs it. It’s so important for them to know that they are not alone.”
“I’m an extreme day tripper – I flew to Switzerland to spend an hour up a mountain”
An extreme day tripper visited a different country for a DAY for five weekends in a row – including flying to Switzerland to spend one hour up a mountain.
Luke Simmonds, 35, got the bug to travel after the pandemic and came across a Facebook group sharing extreme day trips.
He decided to give the short trips a go and has spent the last year travelling.
Luke recently packed in five day tips on his weekends in September in October – visiting Italy, Poland and Lithuania.
He even flew to Switzerland and France to spend an hour up the mountain and to see Mont Blanc.
Luke aims to get the cheapest flights he can – spending as little as £8.99 on one way- flight tickets.
Luke, an IT consultant, from Guildford, Surrey, said: “It’s certainly cheaper than a day out to London.
“It gets addictive after a while.
“You can pretty much go anywhere for a day and have enough to occupy yourself.
“It’s a really good way to sample places – if you like a place you can go back.”
Luke spent the pandemic volunteering with the ambulance service and said it changed his view on life.
He said: “Not being able to travel made me want to more.
“I wanted to get out and see the world.”
In summer 2023 Luke travelled to three countries in Europe – Poland, Stockholm and Copenhagan – in a week.
He started booking day trips after joining a Facebook group of people doing the same.
He flew to Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, with his girlfriend Amy Hughes, 24, – spending just £30 each on return flights each – and said the day trips spiralled from there.
In the last year he has spent a day in Estonia, Monaco, Nice, Gdynia in Poland, Legoland Denmark, Nuremberg in Germany, Oslo in Norway, Churwalden in Switzerland, and Brussels.
He said: “Hotels are expensive. If you can just pay for flights you save so much money.”
In September Luke ended up going on a day trip for six weekends in a row.
He set off to Kaunas, Lithuania, with his brother, Olly Simmonds, 38, for just 17 hours. They flew from Luton with Wizz Air on a £12.99 flight and arrived at 00:55am.
They spent the next day visiting the war museum, Kaunas Castle and wandered around the town before heading back on £33.69 per person flights.
The following weekend headed off to Grindelwald, Switzerland, with strangers from the Facebook group.
They set off from Gatwick at 7am to Basel on a £38.99 flight before getting a bus, two trains and a cable car.
Luke said: “We had an hour and a bit up the mountain. The views were stunning.
“Once you’re up the mountain – how long do you really need?”
The friends had a late lunch in the village before catching two trains back to Zürich airport to catch their evening flight.
Luke spent the next weekend on a solo trip to Wrocław, Poland – spending £42.17 on his flights and £134.36 in total.
He said: “I had a free weekend. I had a really nice time.”
In October, Luke headed to the French Alps with his friends from the Facebook page.
They flew to Geneva on an 8.10am flight before hopping in a hire car to travel the hour to Chamonix.
The pals went up in the cable car to ascend the Aiguille Du Midi and see Mont Blanc.
Luke said: “It was enough time to see the mountain.
“The views from the top are breathtaking with loads of snow. It was a stunning sunny and crisp day with unlimited visibility. We had amazing views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains.
“We all got altitude sickness.”
Luke flew to Pisa, Italy, the next weekend with Amy – and did the whole trip for less than £90.
Luke was meant to go on a trip to Malaga the following weekend but bailed when his plane hit a bird and had to do an emergency landing.
The couple saw the sights and ate pizza and ice cream.
He already has seven more day trips booked – including a trip to Agadir, Morocco on £8.99 tickets.
Now a seasoned day tripper, Luke says his top tips are not being set on a location and planning ahead to get cheaper flights.
He also says it is worth looking out for the airport sales and being flexible on your destination and timings.
Luke said: “There’s so many places out there you can go to.
“It’s a different way of travelling.”
Kaunas, Lithuania
Flights: £46.68
Lounge: £0.00
Hotel: £12.50
Food and Drink: Approx €25 (£21.10)
Train to Luton Airport £9.19
National Express Coach back £15.50
Funicular: €1 (£0.84)
Kaunas Taxi: €12.50 (£10.55)
Bolts: €8.15 (3 journeys) (£6.88)
Museum: €5 (£4.22)
Total: £127.46
Grindelwald, Switzerland
Flight costs: £93.99
Train: £46.73
Cable Car: £61
Food and Drink: Approx £35
UK travel costs approx £42.40
Total cost: £279.12
Poland
Flights: £42.17
National Express Coaches: £29.00
Bolts in Poland: £26.52
Food and Drink: £27.50
Museum: £9.17
Total: £134.36
Chamonix, France
Costs:
Flights: £38.98
Share of Hire Car: Approx £38
Cable Car: €78.00 (£65.85)
Food and Drink: €11 (£9.20)
UK train ticket: £13.65
Total: £165.68
Pisa, Italy
Costs per person:
Flights: £40.24
Rail Replacement Bus: £0.00
National Express Coach: £17.00
Pisa Mover: £10.90
Food and Drink: £19.29
Total: £87.43
