Spring is late

Spring is going to arrive a month later than usual after a very cold winter, say weather forecasters.

This winter was the coldest in 30 years throughout the UK. Scotland had the coldest temperatures in 50 years.

This week, Wales had its usual national celebration of St David’s Day. This is usually celebrated with daffodils, which are bright yellow spring flowers. However, flower growers say that daffodils are five weeks late because of the bad winter.

Children’s TV presenter in the news

Blue Peter is a famous British children’s television programme. It encourages children to be active, and its presenters often learn to do amazing things.

One of its presenters, 26-year-old Helen Skelton, has spent six weeks boating alone down 2,010 miles down the Amazon in a kayak (a type of canoe which is a narrow boat for one person).

She is the first woman to do this. She has also completed the longest solo kayak journey, and paddled (using one oar) further than any other woman in 24 hours.

Miss Skelton had never used a kayak before. Her journey was part of a charity event later this month, called Sport Relief.

Come to the circus

A town in Northern England which was once famous for building ships now wants to be famous for making people happy.

Barrow is starting an international circus festival in June this year, and hopes that it will become part of Britain’s Olympic celebrations in 2012. Julie Tait, who is directing the festival, says they hope Barrow will become a place for people to learn about becoming circus performers.

“It is about happiness,” she said.

Child murderer back in prison

Seventeen years ago, two ten year old boys horrified the UK when they murdered a two-year-old boy, James Bulger.

The boys were found guilty of murder and told they would serve life sentences in prison. Both boys were released at the age of 18, and given new names so that nobody would know who they were. They had to behave well or they could be sent back to prison.

After nine years of freedom, one of those boys, Jon Venables has been sent back to prison. The Government will not say why this has happened and many people are very angry about it, some because they do not think the boys should have spent more time locked up before they were released.

by Susan Young
susan@englishuk.com