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13 July 2022

This England: Bin the wars

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the NS since 1934.

By New Statesman

A wheelie bin from Hampshire has been discovered 1,200 miles away in war-torn Ukraine.

A journalist covering the conflict spotted the bin from Test Valley Borough Council close to the Polish border, and posted a video of it on Twitter.

The council, which covers the towns of Andover and Romsey, replied: “Hi Philip, umm, hmm. I’ve checked the notebook, but we don’t seem to have a stock answer for this query… Can I ask where in Ukraine this is? I’d just [like] to make sure this collection address is added to our fortnightly rounds and not reported as missed.”
Hampshire Chronicle (Steve Morley)

All mouth and no trousers

An exhibitionist dubbed “the naked carpenter” because he does DIY in the nude is again facing jail after visiting a police station in transparent pants.

Robert Jenner went to Maidstone police station to collect a mobile phone, having just been released from a prison stint for exposure offences. Between the prison and the station he changed into see-through pants and a mesh thong in a bid to get around a court order making him wear at least two layers.
Metro (Jenny Woodhouse)

Creature comforts

An Eon survey found that 31 per cent of people left a light on for their pet while they were out, while 28 per cent said they left the radio on and 23 per cent kept the TV on. BBC Radio 2 and BBC One were the most popular choices to keep pets company.
The Times (Amanda Welles)

[ See also: This England: Urban cowboy ]

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This article appears in the 13 Jul 2022 issue of the New Statesman, The Selfish Giant