Pumpkin patches proving popular due to social media say venues

Post published:October 18, 2025
Post category:BBC Somerset
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Clara BullockWest of EnglandAvon Valley Country ParkVenues say people go to pumpkin patches to get their pictures takenVenues in the West have said pick-your-own pumpkin patches are becoming more popular due to social media.Avon Valley Country Park in Keynsham near Bristol said their Halloween pumpkin event was seeing around 120,000 visitors each year, with many going to take photographs.Fairfield Pumpkins near Yeovil, Somerset started pick-your-own pumpkin patches five years ago and said the number of visitors had risen…

South weekly quiz: How did Tamara run a half marathon?

Post published:October 18, 2025
Post category:BBC Dorset
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Test your knowledge of news from Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight with our quiz. Source link

‘Exciting milestone’ at new medical testing centre in Cornwall

Post published:October 18, 2025
Post category:BBC Cornwall
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An "exciting milestone" has been reached in the development of a new medical testing centre set to open this year. All 13 modular units which will make up the building of the community diagnostic centre at the Camborne Redruth Community Hospital have been delivered and connected. NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly said internal work was now underway to complete the fit-out ahead of the facility opening to patients.Susan Bracefield, chief nursing officer of NHS Cornwall, said: "We…

‘Smuggling people and drugs on yachts a real threat’

Post published:October 18, 2025
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Alex BishSouth East investigations team'Smuggling using yachts is a real threat'"Within a few minutes it had grounded and a number of people were jumping into the shallow water and making their way to the riverbank," said harbour master James Bateman, describing the moment a yacht carrying migrants ran aground in Rye, East Sussex."The yacht itself wasn't suspicious, but it was clearly arriving here at the wrong state of tide, which immediately raised concerns."This week the National Crime Agency…

‘Panic’ as kitchen firm enters administration

Post published:October 18, 2025
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A man setting up a kitchen showroom using products from a company that has gone into administration said the situation had been handled "terribly" because of a "lack of communication".One-hundred-and-five people have been made redundant at Waterline Limited, one of the UK's largest independent wholesale distributors of kitchens and bathrooms, based in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Administrator Alex Cadwallader said the directors had been "forward thinking... proactive and took all the correct steps".But kitchen fitter Dean Bridgen said he…

National Grid customers in Plymouth to get safety check visits

Post published:October 18, 2025
Post category:Devon News
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Plymouth residents are to get electric supply safety checks as part of an inspection programme, National Grid says. The utility provider said some domestic and small business customers in the PL1 postcode, including the city centre, Stoke and Devonport areas, were to be visited by approved contractors from 22 October to check "service termination points [known as cut-outs] inside properties are working as they should".Bosses said inspectors would visually check energy suppliers' equipment and record basic details. No…

Devon carbon monoxide warning as poisoning cases rise

Post published:October 18, 2025
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BBCThe fire service said carbon monoxide alarms saved livesResidents are being urged to install carbon monoxide detectors in their homes after a rise in poisoning cases. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the number of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning cases had doubled nationwide since 2020.It said call-outs to suspected poisoning cases across the country peaked this year at 7703, up from 3,876 in 2020.Mike Porter, manager for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said an…

Thousands evacuate Philippine coast as Tropical Storm Fengshen approaches | Climate Crisis News

Post published:October 18, 2025
Post category:Al Jazeera
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The country is hit by some 20 storms and typhoons a year, striking disaster-prone areas where millions live in poverty.Published On 18 Oct 202518 Oct 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareThousands of residents of a Philippine island have fled their homes along the Pacific coast as weather experts warned of coastal flooding ahead of the approach of Tropical Storm Fengshen, rescue officials said.The eye of the storm was forecast to brush past Catanduanes, an impoverished island of…

Trump administration furloughs nuclear weapons agency staff due to shutdown | Nuclear Weapons News

Post published:October 18, 2025
Post category:Al Jazeera
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About 1,400 workers will be cut from the agency, which is responsible for overseeing the US nuclear weapons stockpile.The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced that it will furlough about 1,400 workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) starting next week due to the ongoing shutdown of the US government.A spokesman at the Department of Energy, of which the NNSA is a semiautonomous branch, said on Friday that nearly 400 workers would remain at…

US Grand Prix: Max Verstappen beats Lando Norris to pole for sprint race in Austin

Post published:October 17, 2025
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Piastri had looked to be struggling compared with Norris since the start of practice and was a good chunk off the Briton in all three qualifying sessions.Norris said: "Disappointed not to be on pole but not a surprise for us to be just a bit slower than the Red Bull lately."A little couple of bits here and there I could have improved on and caught a few bumps a little bit wrong, that's the difficulty of this track.…

Hamas hands over remains of one more Israeli captive, vows to return rest | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Post published:October 17, 2025
Post category:Al Jazeera
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Hamas has handed over the remains of an additional captive it recovered in the ravaged Gaza Strip, as the Palestinian group urges mediators and the international community to pressure Israel to open border crossings and allow aid in.The armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement on Friday that its fighters handed over the remains at 11pm local time (20:00 GMT), without elaborating on where the body was retrieved.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of…

US Grand Prix: Lando Norris sets pace in only practice session in Austin

Post published:October 17, 2025
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McLaren's Lando Norris set the pace in practice at the United States Grand Prix, split from team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri by Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.Norris, trailing the Australian by 22 points with six races to go, headed Piastri by 0.279 seconds at the start of a sprint weekend at the Circuit of the Americas.Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Williams' Alex Albon.This was the only session before sprint qualifying…