QUIRKY WORLD... Family escape from e-cigarette inferno
A single mother who quit smoking was forced to flee her home with her two children after it was engulfed in flames sparked by her e-cigarette.
Keeley Cooper reportedly put the device on charge in her bedroom only to hear “an almighty bang” minutes later, with the resulting fire gutting her room and filling her flat with thick smoke.
The 22-year-old said she had taken up e-cigarettes after quitting her 10-a-day cigarette habit.
The quick-thinking mother managed to scoop up her sons, Ellis, 5, and Regan, 2, before calling the fire brigade. All three escaped and are now staying in a B&B while the flat in Shard End, Birmingham, is repaired.
She said: “It had only been charging for 40 minutes when there was an almighty bang and flames started coming out of it. The carpet was on fire.
“I thought I had put the flames out but then smoke began pouring from under the bed and I saw more flames.
“The only thing I could do was get me and the kids out.”
Cooper had been using the e-cigarettes for five weeks but had used her iPhone USB plug to link the charger to the power supply — contrary to the manufacturer’s advice.
Lord Of The Rings star Christopher Lee has celebrated his 92nd birthday by releasing a heavy metal version of the Frank Sinatra classic ‘My Way’.
It is one of seven tracks on an album called Metal Knight that he has recorded with an Italian band called Rhapsody of Fire.
Lee, who turned 92 yesterday, said: “The song ‘My Way’ is a very remarkable song, it is also difficult to sing because you’ve got to convince people that what you’re singing about is the truth. It’s a man who is very proud of having achieved everything that he’s achieved his way.”
The actor, who said his version of the song was sung “more operatically” than Sinatra, also recorded two songs from the Man of La Mancha musical, which is based on the character of Don Quixote.
He said: “As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single handed, he is trying to change the world, regardless of any personal consequences. It is a wonderful character to sing.”
One of the most controversial works of art of the last 20 years is going under the hammer when Tracey Emin’s unmade bed is expected to sell for more than £1m (€1.2m) at auction.
The work, called My Bed, caused a stir when it was shortlisted for the 1999 Turner Prize, although Emin eventually lost out to artist-turned-film director Steve McQueen.
The unmade bed, littered with condoms, cigarette packets, and underwear, divided critics but began the process that saw her become one of the country’s most famous artists.
It was later sold to multimillionaire art dealer Charles Saatchi, who is selling it at Christie’s in King St, London, on July 1.
It is being sold with an estimate of £800,000 to £1.2m and all the proceeds from the item will help subsidise free entry at the Saatchi gallery and its free education programme for schools.
A 91-year-old US congressman is facing the toughest test of a very long political career with a run-off against a candidate barely half his age.
Ralph Hall first ran for office in 1950 and won his congressional seat when Jimmy Carter was president.
The oldest-ever member of the House of Representatives is trying to stave off a challenge in the Republican primary from former US attorney John Ratcliffe, in a Texas district stretching from suburban Dallas east to borders with Louisiana and Oklahoma.
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