The Daily Mirror reports that thousands of local people lined the streets of Axbridge, Somerset (population 2,025), to cheer their new village carnival queen – 15-year-old David Bridge.

‘Schoolboy David beat three girls to the title. He wore a tiara and flowing dress as he took pride of place in the parade. David proudly waved to 2,000 wellwishers who turned out to see him.’

Photos here.

I love funny old Britain sometimes :-)

I love this, not just because it is hot. But also because it is funny in many different ways, such as the guy who walks in but then gives up and walks out.

Here’s a great idea. The top of the rechargeable AA battery flips to reveal a USB plug. You just plug the battery into a spare USB port on your PC and it charges up. Nothing else needed.

I love rechargeable batteries. If you take care of them, they can last for years. I have four NiCad batteries that I bought on Old Compton Street in 1992 (was that electrical shop called Rayners?). I think they cost about £10.

For years I used them in my flash-gun. Now I use them in my digital camera. They must have been recharged hundreds of times and still work perfectly.

Imagine the damage to the environment if I had used standard batteries all this time instead and what would the cost have been? Maybe £500?

There are two types of rechargeable AA battery. The older NiCad type and the more recent NiMH. The secret to getting long life out of Nicads is to make sure you always run them down completely before you recharge. Otherwise they develop a ‘memory’ effect, which means you never get a full charge from them again. Whereas the NiMH type can be ‘topped up’ whenever you like.

In fact, my experience so far has been that, if they are looked after, NiCads seem to survive much longer than their NiMH counterparts.

These USBCell batteries are NiMH and cost £12.99 for two. Which isn’t bad if you get a few years of use out of them.

BBC Panorama reports on a European investigation which suggests that a VAT (sales tax) scam may have cost the UK up to £8.4 billion (£8,400,000,000).

The theft comes from so-called ‘carousel fraud’, where crooks repeatedly import and export high value goods such as mobile phones, failing to pay VAT but then claiming it back from the government.

If this figure is true, it amounts to £140 for every person in Britain.