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The Week
The Week
National
Chas Newkey-Burden

Holiday island goes phone-free

And other stories from the stranger side of life

A holiday island has announced a “no phones” policy for tourists planning to visit this summer. The island of Ulko-Tammio, located in the Eastern Gulf of Finland National Park, is “fostering a peaceful, phone free atmosphere this summer”, said The Mirror, by asking visitors to “keep their mobiles in their pockets this summer”, so that holidaymakers can “switch off, take a break from social media and enjoy nature”. “People are not meant to be glued to screens all the time,” said Terhi Mustonen, psychologist at the social welfare NGO Sosped Foundation.

Granny refused to hand back cash

A grandmother who refused to hand back £25,000 sent to her in a banking app error has been given a suspended jail sentence, reported The Telegraph. Catherine Thomas, 59, was accidentally sent the money by Mark Morgan, who was meaning to buy a motorhome. He contacted his bank to report the mistake but Thomas refused to return the cash. Instead, she moved the money to a savings account to stop the bank taking it back and spent it paying off debts, booking holidays and buying clothes. She pleaded guilty to theft.

‘Graffiti-daubed urinal’ joins heritage list

A public lavatory known as the Gentleman’s Urinal has been added to an at-risk heritage list. Conservation group Save Britain’s Heritage said the grade II listed structure in Norwich was the oldest of its type, having been installed early last century. The Times described it as a “graffiti-daubed urinal”. Liz Fuller, the group’s buildings-at-risk officer, said the structures being added to the list represented Britain’s national heritage “in all its different forms”.

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