Each week, Ben Hopkinson looks back at a serious, crazy, and happy news story from the past week.
Serious News
London’s Liverpool Street is set to be redeveloped, even though the plans are controversial.
Network Rail’s £1.2billion project had been given the green light by the City of London on Tuesday.
Similar to London Bridge and The Shard, a mixed-use 97-metre (318ft) tower block will be build on top of the concourse on what is the United Kingdom’s busiest railway station – while retaining the “unique heritage”.
The plans have come under fire, as actor Griff Rhys Jones (and president of both the Victorian Society and the Liverpool Street Station Campaign or Lissca) says that “A disfiguring billion-pound office block on top of a major heritage asset is not essential to the City's development plans”.
In the plans from Network Rail, concourse capacity will be increased by 76%, passenger flow will be improved as well as step free access from all platforms to street level.
Managing director of Network Rail East says: “This decision represents a key step towards the transformation of Britain's busiest station and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Liverpool Street. With annual passenger numbers forecast to grow to 158 million, this approval ensures the station will be future proofed for decades to come”.
Crazy News
An airport has got a new mascot in Amelia the Airplane.
Sylvia Mejia-Bivens grew up down the road from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and used to watch them – even wanting one day to be close to them.
She has spent the last 10 yeas mastering the role of becoming the costumed airport mascot.
Named after aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, the mascot was created in the mid-2000s by the Airport’s public relations department.
Mijia-Bivens herself has become the longest serving person playing Amelia – before she was an aviation courier and now also works as the administrative aide for the aviation’s technology division. She greets many passengers looking to travel west from Arizona’s largest airport.
The costume is light to wear – fabric is buckled to the staff member who is wearing pilot uniform which looks like they are inside the plane.
Happy News
A museum has opened up an exhibition to celebrate Aardman’s 50th anniversary.
Bethnal Green’s Young V&A hosts some of the clay models and props used in films and television shows from the Bristolian studios.
Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep are some of the hits that have come from the stop-motion studio.
Alex Newson is the chief curator, and hopes that the exhibit will “inspire creativity” and show that anything is possible with some imagination.
The display began on Thursday 12th February and will run until Sunday 15th November.
Some of the items on display include Lady Tottington, the rocket from Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Day Out as well as early character sketches, concept art, puppets, set models and even optical illusion toys.
Comments
Add a comment