Hot, hot, hot
A heatwave was officially declared in parts of the UK this week. Temperatures rose to 32C (90F) in the South of England, the hottest few days since 2006.
Hospitals were busy with people who had collapsed in the heat, and sales of barbecue food and thin bedding rose dramatically.
However, parts of the country were also given flood warnings as thunderstorms hit northern and western areas. Temperatures dropped dramatically on Friday.
High hopes for tennis
The Wimbledon tennis tournament is in its last week – and Briton Andy Murray is still playing.
He has already made Wimbledon history this week by playing the first match which continued after dark. This was possible because the outdoor Centre Court has a new roof. This can be used if it rains, and it includes floodlights.
Now there are real hopes that he will make it to the Men’s Final. If he won, he would be the first British man to do so since 1938.
Strange blindness cure
A blind man can see again, after an operation to put one of his teeth in his eye.
Martin Jones had been blind for 12 years, since an explosion.
In a special operation, the tooth was put into Mr Jones’s eye to hold a lens, which allows light in. The operation only works using a living implant – such as a tooth – rather than a plastic one.
Mr Jones has now seen his wife for the first time. He said his life has changed since getting his sight back. ‘The first car I saw was a Smart car and I couldn’t stop laughing. I thought who had chopped the car in half?”
New world heritage site
UNESCO this week named one new World Heritage Site in Britain. It is a 200-year-old aqueduct (water-carrying bridge) and canal in North Wales.
Poncysyllte is the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain. It was built by the famous engineer Thomas Telford. 16,000 canal boats still cross it each year. It joins around 900 other places already on UNESCO's list of world treasures, including the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge.
by Susan Young - susan@englishuk.com
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