Details of river show announced

A full orchestra and other performers will take part in a Royal procession travelling through London on the river this summer.
The river pageant is the main event of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations to mark her 60 year reign.
This week the details of the event were announced. There will be 1,000 boats on the Thames, travelling from Putney to Tower Bridge on Sunday June 3. People will see a seven-mile procession of boats of all kind, led by a boat with bells.
The Royal Family will travel on a barge decorated in green and gold. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing towards the front of the procession, with other "music barges" playing specially written music.
London's mayor has said it could be a more spectacular event than the Olympics.

Criminals work hard for a small reward

Criminals in Manchester spent six months digging a long underground tunnel to break into a cash machine.
The tunnel had roof supports and lighting, and went under a car park. The gang then had to break through 15 inches of concrete. After all their efforts, the cash machine only had GBP 6,000 in it because they broke in after a public holiday. If the machine was full, it could have contained GBP 20,000.

Unreleased Michael Jackson songs go to Scotland

More than ten years ago Michael Jackson and music producer David Gest recorded songs based on the poetry of Robert Burns, Scotland's best-known poet.
Both men loved the Scot's poetry and apparently planned to stage a musical based on his life and work. They recorded around 10 of the poems with modern music.
Now David Gest has agreed to give some of the recordings to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Scotland. The museum hopes to produce a music CD to raise funds and get more people interested in the poet.

The UK's best fish and chip shop

Fish and chips are one of the UK's national dishes. If you haven't tried it, this is fresh sea fish deep-fried in crispy batter with fat chips. It is traditional to put salt and brown vinegar on the chips.
This year's national competition to find the best fish and chip has chosen Seniors, in the Lancashire village of Thornton. The shop came third in last year's competition and then worked on improving the business. The fish is caught locally and brought into the nearby port of Fleetwood.
Shop staff say they are now getting visitors from all over the world, because they have heard from relatives who live locally how good it is.

Susan@Englishuk.com