Royal Walls Have Ears

Trips round the Prince of Wales's garden are very popular with people who like gardening - and there are a lot of those in the UK. The Prince - who will be the next King of England - is very interested in gardening and has even said he talks to his plants. Around 30,000 people visit his gardens at Highgrove in Gloucestershire every year.

But now the Prince has revealed a secret. In a television documentary, he said that he likes listening to what his visitors say as they walk around his garden.

He admits that he sometimes lies on the floor under an open window so that he can hear people without being seen.

New School for World Leaders

Oxford University has announced that it is opening a new school of government which will develop future world leaders.

The school, funded by a GBP 75m gift from the American industrialist Leonard Blavatnik, will train graduates from round the world in "the skills and responsibilities of government".

The Blavatnik School of Government will take around 120 students a year, and open in 2012. Students on Masters courses will learn how to deal with complex problems such as swine flu and learn practical skills such as handling budgets.

Facebook party problem

A teenage girl from England accidentally invited all Facebook users to her 15th birthday party.

The girl had only intended to invite 15 friends, but accidentally created an event which was open to all users. 21,000 people said they would go to the party. Most of them do not know the girl. The girl's mother is very angry with her.

Police are now planning to patrol the area on the day of the planned party to make sure people do not arrive.

Pope visits the UK

Pope Benedict visited the UK for four days, celebrating Masses which were attended by thousands of people.

One of the Masses was for Cardinal Newman, a former member of the Church of England who converted to Catholicism and became a senior member of the Church. The Catholic Church believes Newman has been involved in a miracle, and the Pope took the first step towards making him a saint during his visit.

The Pope's visit was the subject of much debate. Many people in the UK are not religious and objected to the cost of the visit. Other people welcomed the chance to talk about religion.

by Susan Young
susan@englishuk.com