Man who pocketed tiles from medieval priory as boy returns them 60 years later

Fragments of a priory’s medieval tiled floor that spent almost 60 years stashed in a toffee tin after being pocketed by a nine-year-old boy during a family outing have finally been handed back.The three pieces of decorative clay tiles, dating from the late 13th to early 14th century, were taken as a souvenir by Simon White during a family visit to Wenlock Priory in Shropshire in the late 1960s.White, now a 68-year-old retired chartered surveyor, found the fragments in an old toffee tin during a house move and owned up to English Heritage. He told officials he recalled his father encouraging him to take the pieces but had always felt a little uneasy and was delighted when he rediscovered them.“I can remember the day this all happened with my father standing guard,” he said

Seth Meyers on Trump’s ballroom push: ‘How is this their biggest priority?’

Late-night hosts responded to King Charles’s roasts of Donald Trump during his visit to the US Congress as Republicans try to force taxpayers to pay for Trump’s $400m gilded ballroom.“Donald Trump desperately wants to be a king,” said Seth Meyers on Wednesday evening. “We all know this. He loves pageantry and fanfare and putting his face and name on everything. His official store sells everything from Trump golf balls to Trump beer koozies to Trump pickleball paddles to Trump dog collars, which you could get in three sizes: poodle, doberman and JD Vance

The Festival of Britain opens – archive, May 1951

From our London staff 4 May 1951After an impressive service of dedication at St Paul’s this morning the king, in a broadcast speech from a dais outside the cathedral, proclaimed the Festival of Britain open. To-night he unveiled a tablet at the Royal Festival Hall before attending another service of dedication and hearing the first concert in the new hall.About 10,000 people were crowded into the semicircle of St Paul’s churchyard when the king stepped on to a dais at the top of the steps in front of the portico. The queen, Queen Mary, and other members of the royal family stood on his right as he made his broadcast speech. He referred to the contrast between the Victorian age and the hard experience of our own

Stephen Fry sues tech conference organisers for £100,000 over fall from stage

Stephen Fry is suing two companies that organised a tech conference where he was injured in 2023 after falling off the stage, high court documents show.The actor and presenter broke his hip and had multiple breaks in his right leg, pelvis and ribs when he attended the CogX festival at the O2 Arena, where he delivered a talk on artificial intelligence on 14 September 2023.Now, court documents show he is suing CogX Festival Ltd and Blonstein Events, bringing a claim for damages due to injuries sustained at the event.“The incident was caused by the negligence and/or breach of statutory duty of the defendants, its servants or agents, in failing to ensure that the stage and backstage area were safe, adequately lit and properly protected to prevent a fall from height,” the document reads.“The claimant claims damages for personal injuries and consequential losses up to £100,000, which includes an award for pain, suffering and loss of amenity exceeding £1,000, together with interest on damages … and costs

Jimmy Kimmel on the Trump administration: ‘They’ve hit peak ridiculous’

Late-night hosts roasted King Charles’s state visit and Donald Trump trying to push the cost of his $400m gilded ballroom on to taxpayers.Tuesday was “another weird day”, said Jimmy Kimmel on his most recent show. “There’s so much nonsense – and I mean that in a very literal sense of the word: non-sense happening. And at the same time, there are also so many awful and scary and flat-out unbelievable things going on. The world has been turned upside down, mostly for no good reason

Boom! A melodrama fit for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s doomed love affair

“My very first memory is of pain.” More than a touch dramatic, the words could easily be lifted from the script of Boom! Instead, they are a real-life confession by its leading lady, Elizabeth Taylor.When it comes to pain, Taylor is the poster child-star. In her long life, the actor underwent more than 30 surgeries and was supposedly hospitalised on more than 100 occasions. After a bout of pneumonia almost took her out in 1961, it was the pain of nearly losing her that led to her best actress sympathy win at the Oscars