A town crier has stepped down after admitting to making up a career in the armed forces. Anthony Church has performed the voluntary role in Thame since 2008 and was also used by Bucks County Council in May 2013 when he patrolled Aylesbury town centre to encourage more people to vote at the elections.He tendered his resignation to Thame town council clerk Helen Stewart after it was alleged online by the Walter Mitty Hunters Club that he wrongly wore medals including the British Read more [...]

Saudi Arabia is rolling out the red carpet on Friday for its second film festival in seven years but the deeply conservative country has one major problem -- cinemas are banned. More than 60 short films will compete for "Golden Palm Tree" trophies crowning best drama, documentary and student film at a gala event attended by film and television celebrities from around the Arab world, festival director Ahmed al-Mulla said. The kingdom practises an austere version of Islam that does not permit conventional Read more [...]

USE it or lose it – that’s the message from bosses at a South Tyneside theatre. The Customs House, in South Shields, was set to close on January 30, but saved after help from Arts Council England.The theatre, in Mill Dam, South Shields, was also given a £25,000 boost at the weekend through a star-studded fundraising event led by South Tyneside comedians Jason Cook, Chris Ramsey and Sarah Millican.But executive director, Ray Spencer, says the venue isn’t out of the woods Read more [...]

More than 500 people have backed a campaign to protect a four-time CAMRA award-winning pub after learning its lease was being put up for sale. Louisa Andrews is stepping down as landlady of the Red Lion, in Linkfield Road, Isleworth, having spent six years at the helm. She has assured customers she is selling the remaining 12-year lease through a pub lettings agency and there is no danger of the building becoming anything other than a hostelry. But that has not stopped them launching a campaign Read more [...]