Last series for reality show

Programmes which show real people doing odd things are now common on British television. But the programme which started this trend 10 years ago is about to end.

Thousands of people apply to join Big Brother, which is shown on Channel 4 during the summer. This programme puts a number of people in a house without books, music or TV, and films them 24 hours a day. There is a highlights show each night, but it is also possible to watch live everything that happens in the house.

The programme-makers try to choose unusual people who will make interesting television. They then give them strange tasks and give them lots of alcohol. Winners in past years have gone on to have careers in television themselves.

The final series began this week. It includes a man who has to spy on others in the house without them guessing.

Another huge artwork for the North East of England

The North-East already has a very big sculpture called the Angel of the North, a giant figure with aeroplane wings. Millions of people see this every year as it is close to a major road.

This week a new giant artwork for the area was opened for people to see. Temenos, by Anish Kapoor, is a 100m long structure of nets and rings floating in the air.

People in Middlesbrough hope it will change the image of the dockland area where it has been built. The artist said it had to be big to compete with a famous nearby bridge and the docks’ cranes.

Rubbish in the news again

Lots of people in the UK get very upset about rubbish collections. In the last few years many local councils have started to empty household bins once every two weeks instead of once a week.

Then the Government said it would change the law so that people could be taxed more if they threw away more rubbish. The idea was to make people recycle more, but instead lots of people got cross about this.

Now the new Government has said it will scrap these plans. It wants to reward people for recycling more rather than punishing people who fill their bins. This doesn’t sound very interesting but was a big story in this week’s newspapers.

Fox tales

The largest wild animal in the UK is the fox, a creature which is about the size of a medium dog. Foxes will kill smaller animals such as chickens, and used to be hunted to keep numbers down.

Fox hunting has been banned for several years, and foxes are now common in British towns and cities, where they live on waste food. But this week it was reported that twin baby girls were attacked as they slept by a fox which got into their house through an open door.

This is very unusual. You may see a fox outside as it gets dark but it will run away from people.

Now there is lots of debate about whether more should be done to cut the numbers of foxes.

by Susan Young
susan@englishuk.com