This week's UK news: 19 March 2015
j0314269
20 March 2015


Popular writer dies

Sir Terry Pratchett, who wrote more than 40 novels about a place called Discworld, died last week. He had sold more than 85million books worldwide in 35 languages.

His books, which mixed odd ideas and lots of jokes, were hugely popular in the UK and people were very sad when his death was announced. Sir Terry had been suffering from a brain disease which usually affects older people, and died at the age of 66. He had raised a lot of money for research into the disease that killed him.

 

Prince Harry is looking for a new job

Prince Harry has announced that he is leaving the Army. At the age of 30, the Prince says he is looking forward to a "new chapter" in his life. He says he is thinking about what he will do in the future, but will spend some time working in Africa this summe. 

 

British people "not good at making tea"

You think we are very good at drinking tea in the UK. But scientists say 4 out of 5 people do not make tea properly. 

Here in the UK we drink 165 cups of tea every day. Each cup is made with tea leaves, which are usually in little paper bags. We drop a tea bag into a cup or a tea pot, add boiling water, and leave it for a few minutes. Then we remove the teabag and add the milk.

But scientists at University College London say we do not leave it in the teapot or cup for long enough before drinking. They say tea is made of 30,000 different chemicals. It should be left for at least five minutes, and ideally made in a teapot.

 

Hotel in a hut

A farmer in the UK has created a copy of an ancient hut for guests to stay in. The "roundhouse" is based on an "Iron Age" design and between 2 and 10 people can sleep in it. Charles Cole and his family spent six months making the house, with a stone floor and a fire in the middle of it. There is an extra small hut with a shower, and the roundhouse is fully booked all summer.

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