This week's UK news: 10 June 2016
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10 June 2016


New Harry Potter story, 90-year-old banned from rollercoaster, new theory on Stonehenge and children at risk from mobile phones.

Every week, we summarise the UK news to help you understand what is happening in Britain, and what people are talking about.


Harry Potter comes to the London stage

A new Harry Potter story was released this week, at a London theatre. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, written by JK Rowling, is being billed as the eighth story in the series.

There are now eight weeks of "previews" of the play before it officially opens at the end of July. Previews are performances which are used to make changes to the show to make it as good as possible. 

The play is actually two separate shows, at 2 hours and 35 minutes and two hours and 40 minutes.

JK Rowling has asked audience members to "keep the secret" about what happens in the story, and there is a lot of security to prevent people from filming when they are in the theatre. 

The show is booked up until next May, and tickets are being re-sold at up to GBP800 each.

 

Birthday ban from rollercoaster

Joyce Wathes was looking forward to going on a rollercoaster ride to celebrate her 90th birthday. She wanted to go on a ride called Stormforce 10 at a UK theme park.

But she was stopped from going on the log flume ride, because park staff said she would not be capable of climbing down from the top of the 60ft high ride if it got stuck, and would be a danger to other passengers. The ride is like a lifeboat rescue and Mrs Wathes has been a lifeboat volunteer for more than 30 years.

Mrs Wathes had to watch when her great-grandchildren went on the ride. Park staff suggested she go on a lake trip instead, but she said: "It wasn't really the excitement I was looking for on my birthday."

 

Children at risk because parents obsessed with phones

Almost a quarter of parents say they have been busy on their mobile phones when their child has had an accident or nearly had an accident. And 15 per cent of children have had accidents or near-misses when on their own phones, according to new research.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust is suggesting families switch phones off at busy times of the day to keep children safe.

 

New theory on Stonehenge

Experts think Stonehenge was a tomb in Wales, and was later moved to its current site. Pofessor Mike Parker Pearson of University College London told a festival that the smaller bluestones of Stonehenge came from Wales. He suggests that part of the circle was actually a Welsh tomb, and when the ancient people decided to move they took the stones and their ancestors' bones with them. He believes this was done to stop the war between different tribes.

The UCL team think Stonehenge is the largest cemetery of its time in Britain. They have found the burned bones of several hundred people there, many of whom had lived in different parts of the country. They will try to find the original tomb site this summer. 

 

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