This week's UK news: 28 March 2014
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28 March 2014


Charity event raises GBP 53m

Sport Relief is a huge UK charity event which takes place every second year. It uses sport as a theme to raise money through a television special, celebrity events, and sport. Children dress up as sports stars for school and donate small amounts of money, and there are lots of mile runs around the country where runners are sponsored to take part.

This year the celebrity events included the Prime Minister and his wife running a mile in a special event in Oxford, and a TV presenter swimming across a freezing cold lake before taking part in a long cycle ride and run. This year's Sports Relief has raised more than GBP 53m. Next year the organisers will run Comic Relief, a similar fundraising event which uses more comedians and well-known people to raise money.


Referee is not the man of the match

A Premier League football match between Arsenal and Chelsea was in the news for all the wrong reasons last weekend. It was manager Arsene Wenger's 1000th game at Arsenal, and his team lost 6-0, but those were not the most important things of this game.

Afterwards, what everyone was talking about was that referee Andre Marriner sent off an Arsenal player. But he sent off the wrong man.

Everyone watching the match could see that it was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who had put his arm out against the rules. He even told the referee it was him. Yet it was another player, Kieran Gibbs, who was given a red card and sent off.


New problem caused by awful weather

Parts of the UK had terrible weather this winter, with some of the worst and most frequent storms ever recorded. The weather has got better, but there is a new problem. So many garden fences were blown down or damaged in the high winds that many major shops have sold out of replacement fences.

This means prices have risen and in some cases people have had their fences stolen from their gardens.


Favourite way to eat fish and chips is banned

As you probably know, fish and chips is a traditional food here in the UK. Most people buy fish and chips from a specialist shop (we call it a "chippy") and take it away to eat. Traditionally, the food was wrapped in a layer of plain paper and then lots of newspaper, to keep it warm. The chip shop owner would put salt and vinegar on the chips before wrapping them up, and provide a small wooden fork to eat the food. Many people would sit outside and eat their food out of the newspaper, not take it home to eat from a plate.

Now Liverpool has banned cafes from selling fish and chips to eat outside unless they provide a plate and a fork. The council says it is because it wants to cut down on litter being dropped on the streets. But local people are not happy and have complained.

 

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