Giant love spoon world record

A 44ft (13.41m) love spoon being carved outside Cardiff Castle is due to be completed in the next few days. Ed Harrison from Pontsian, Ceredigion, is attempting to break the world record for the largest wooden spoon which currently stands at 25ft 9in (7.86m). Using a chainsaw, Mr Harrison is carving the spoon out of a felled Red Cedar tree from the Caerphilly area. It has taken him over a week to finish the spoon which features a heart, cage, dragon and links, all symbolising love. Welsh love spoons, which date back to the 17th Century, were traditionally given as a declaration of love or to commemorate a marriage, anniversary or birth. You can see more of Mr Harrison's work on his website, and while there is no doubt that he's a master at carving wood, it doesn't look like spelling is his strong point.

What do you want for Christmas?

Joy for little girl who wants hair for Christmas

A girl of four has offered to cut off her long hair to help another youngster's Christmas wish come true. Earlier this month, four-year-old Kazia-Leigh Rutherford, who has a disease which makes her hair grow in tufts, wrote a letter to Santa asking for a full head of hair.

Now Morna Francesca Moore, four, and her mother Sanja, 36, of Nottingham, have offered to have their own locks made into hair extensions for Kazia-Leigh.

Mrs Moore, who has dark hair down to her waist, said: 'Having a four-year-old daughter with really long hair made me relate to the story. When I told my daughter, Morna Francesca, about it she said: “Mum, I'll give her mine.” She is only four, but she is perfectly ready to do that.' Doctors are baffled that Kazia-Leigh, from Hebburn, Tyneside, has never been able to grow more than a couple of inches of hair. Kazia's family have yet to respond to the offer.

Modern Knight

This is not a spider web;

it's the digitally captured path of a spider during web construction.

Click to Enlarge

Monkey hits banana jack pot

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So reindeer really can fly

Alan Blacklock, a photographer with the New Zealand Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, was certainly surprised when he looked into the afternoon sky from his home in the capital city, Wellington.
'It was Sunday afternoon and my attention was drawn to this cloud,' he said.
'It wasn't a great leap of the imagination to see a reindeer.'
The picture, taken on Dec 2, is of a cirrus cloud, which takes shape at about 30,000ft.

Indian girl born with 8 limbs leaves hospital after surgery

A two-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs left hospital yesterday , more than a month after a marathon operation to remove her extra limbs, doctors said. Lakshmi left Sparsh Hospital in the southern city of Bangalore with her parents and older brother after doctors said she had recovered from the 27-hour operation.

But she will return to hospital in March for doctors to assess whether she will need reconstructive surgery, said Sharan Patil, who headed the surgical team for the operation last month. "She's doing well now and her parents are quite keen to take the baby home," Patil said. There's a news video on this page.

Thumb-Rest Cup

This nifty idea, called the Thumb-Rest Cup, puts two handles on a coffee-cup with thumb rests angled at 60 degrees, allowing a person with limited hand-movement to lift it up to their mouth without any finger or wrist motion. The cup itself is double-walled to protect fingers from scalding.

Say Aaah!!!

Dear Lord