Interesting Facts

Local Authorities in the UK will be able to hand out vouchers and loyalty cards to households that recycle their rubbish. (England’s biggest council, Birmingham city council, is trialling the scheme by offering Nectar points to incentivise paper waste collections. Residents will receive 25 points every time paper recycling containers are put out for collection. The points can then be redeemed at a range of stores, including Argos, Homebase and Sainsbury’s. I wonder if they can recycle their plastic loyalty card.)

Swansea has been named the most likely place for a person to have a one night stand in the UK. (Runners up for this dubious honour were:- Edinburgh (11%) Birmingham (11%) London (10%) Chelmsford (9%) Coventry (9%) Brighton and Hove (9%) Oxford (9%) Manchester (8%) Belfast (8%) For this to actually make sense you need to know what a one night stand is, in this context it means a sexual relationship lasting only one night. Now, before you think "What a great idea!" and start booking your tickets, research has shown that one night stands are linked to depression and suicidal thoughts.)

According to the TV Licensing authority, the UK still has 13,000 black-and-white TVs. (London had the highest number of monochrome licences, at 2,715, followed by Birmingham and Manchester. Or maybe I should say there are 13,000 households with a black-and-white TV license. You see, a black-and-white TV licence costs £49 a year, but a colour licence costs £145.50.  You do the math.)

According to research by Jurys Inn to mark the start of British Tourism Week, the UK's least welcoming cities are:- 1. London 2. Glasgow 3. Bradford 4. Birmingham 5. Liverpool 6. Manchester 7. Aberdeen 8. Wolverhampton 9. Belfast 10. Leeds (No surprises at number 1, but I have to say I found Glasgow friendlier than Edinburgh.)