Quirky World: Pig’s bacon in space as Peake enjoys maiden meal

Some of the weirder stories from around the world

ENGLAND: British astronaut Tim Peake has settled into life in space with some earthly comforts — tea and a bacon sandwich.

Major Peake, who blasted into orbit on a Soyuz rocket on Tuesday, said he was “loving every minute” of his first few days on the International Space Station (ISS).

With a nod to station commander Scott Kelly, a US astronaut who is spending a year aboard ISS, the 43-year-old revealed his first meal was a British favourite. He said: “What makes a good leader? @StationCDRKelly having a hot bacon sarnie waiting as my 1st meal on ISS. Boy that tasted good! Principia.”

Shumpert’s clutch delivery

USA: NBA superstar Iman Shumpert showed he has more than basketball skills by calmly delivering a baby girl when his fiancee unexpectedly went into labour.

According to his fiancee, R&B singer Teyana Taylor, the couple welcomed their daughter in their bathroom at home. Taylor posted on her Instagram account that she did not initially realise she was in labour and Shumpert helped deliver the baby with “his bare hands”.

Taylor said the Cleveland Cavaliers star tied a pair of headphones around the umbilical cord while they waited for the ambulance.

Sleepwalking on the job

ENGLAND: The British navy discharged five sailors last year for sleepwalking, it has been disclosed.

The Armed Forces’ medical rules are being updated to make the entry bar official and also to disqualify those who suffer from “sleep terrors”, the ministry of defence’s navy command secretariat said.

Organ transplant

USA: Efforts are under way to restore a pipe organ described as the largest musical instrument on Earth.

The massive machine at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, has not worked properly since a hurricane in 1944. Overall, it weighs about 150 tons and boasts more than 33,000 pipes. Historians say that, during its heyday, its power and tonal range were unequalled, but it currently operates at about a quarter of its capacity.

Supporters say they have raised about $2m of a $16m goal, which will also help refurbish a smaller organ in an adjacent ballroom. Experts hope to have the main organ working at 50% capacity by the summer.

POW Christmas cheer

ENGLAND: Cheerful Christmas notes written by a prisoner of war have revealed a rarely seen festive side to life in an infamous Stalag Luft camp in the Second World War — including carol singing and pantomimes.

John Crook, who went on to become a Cambridge University academic, was captured during the 1943 Allied landings in Italy. He was taken to the Germans’ Stalag Luft VIII-B in Poland, where he remained for two years.

Crook wrote reassuring letters to his parents, and in a letter dated December 12, 1943, he recalls performances of carols, a band concert, a pantomime, and even decorating the barracks with paper chains. He urged his parents not to worry, saying he had “no time to pine away”. The letters form part of a collection of personal items which will be published online on Monday.

Long arm of the lawyers

USA: A teenage armed robbery suspect who fled a courtroom during trial and escaped the grasp of officers is back in custody after lawyers tackled him in the courthouse hallway.

Israel Pointer, 19, had just learned his bond had been revoked and he was heading back to jail when he bolted from the courtroom.

After Pointer escapes jail officers, footage shows him meeting Oklahoma County district attorney David Prater and several other lawyers, who pin him down.