Each week, Ben Hopkinson looks back at a serious, crazy, and happy news story from the past week.
Serious News
The Elizabeth Line is set to open to the public on Tuesday 24th May, however the Queen and the Earl of Wessex had a sneak peek at the new Crossrail project (which was named in her honour) in an official visit on Tuesday. The line is coloured purple and stops locally to us here in Greenwich which includes Abbey Wood, Woolwich and Custom House as well as Stratford, Heathrow, and Reading. Joined by Boris Johnson, Sadiq Khan and TfL Commissioner Andy Byford, The Queen was given an Oyster card and showed how to use them at the ticket barriers.
Crazy News
A woman only named as Katty had a funeral in Birmingham that was unique to say the least. Not wanting her send off to be sad and upsetting to those mourning her loss, she organised a DJ to play heavy beats within the grounds. As dancehall was being pumped through the speakers, those dressed in black were smiling and dancing around graves. This has had a split on the internet, where some praised the fun send-off, while others didn’t like the fact that dancing was happening in a place that should be treated with respect. One person even said, this is why wakes are around, so that you don’t jump on other peoples loved one’s graves.
Happy News
A passenger who had no training on flying or landing a plane managed to do the latter when the pilot suddenly fell ill while in the cockpit. The unnamed passenger radioed traffic control at Fort Pierce Tower and was at 9100 feet when taking over. After successfully landing, dispatcher Robert Morgan spoke of the situation saying that nothing like that has ever happened before and it “felt like a movie”. Other planes were listening in and tuned into the frequency, congratulating the newly found pilot on successfully landing the plane.
