Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight
MUSICAL MOTIVATION
One for the joggers out there… Eye of the Tiger has been named the top tune to run to. No doubt you’ll be familiar with Survivor’s 1982 rock anthem, which famously featured in the Sylvester Stallone film Rocky III. It took the runners’ number one spot in a survey by online fundraising platform JustGiving, beating Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now and Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. So, the next time you’re struggling for motivation, you know what to play!
Clever cuticles
There’s good news for people who regularly forget their bank cards when they head to the shops. A technology firm is offering manicures that will enable people to pay for products using just their fingernails.
Smart Chip has created an ingenious £13 device that holds a user’s bank card details. It’s glued to a fingernail, then discreetly coated in nail polish, so nobody else is any the wiser. Users can then simply hover their finger in front of a card machine to pay their bill. A Smart Chip spokesman said, “It can’t be stolen and you cannot leave it at home.” There’s only one downside – the chip may need replacing every couple of months. But perhaps that’s the perfect excuse for a regular manicure!
Fiona’s flying high
With her 60th birthday and 30th wedding anniversary to celebrate, BBC presenter Fiona Bruce was already anticipating a great year. And now, 2024 has unexpectedly got even better for the TV presenter.
Antiques Roadshow, hosted by Fiona, recently won the fifth slot in the TV ratings war, beating every soap and even Ant &Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. An incredible 4.9 million viewers tuned in, proving that, after an incredible 45-year run, the show is more popular than ever. Priceless! Let’s hope TV bosses take note and remember that we like to see older women on our screens.
MICHAELA’S EMPTY NEST
Wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan (57) has revealed that she’s coming to terms with an empty nest, except we won’t be seeing this one on Springwatch. Her son Ollie (18) has just left the family home in Cape Town to do an internship, before going to university.
And the move has drastically changed Saturday mornings for Michaela and her cameraman partner Nick Chevallier. “In the past we’d have been up and out for Ollie’s sport, but now Nick and I don’t know what to do with ourselves,” she recently confessed. Any mum w
