The pricey official collection of gifts, which are approved by the Queen herself, include a #25 coffee mug and a cake stand that will set punters back a staggering £395.

A simple box of chocolates costs #15.95 and royalists will need to stump up #495 for an ornamental urn gilded with the Royal Coat of Arms in 22-carat gold.

But with the 26-strong collection out of most people’s price range, a cheaper collection has been launched to help hard-up Brits celebrate the Queen’s special day in style.

Budget company 99p Stores have rolled out their Diamond Jubilee products – with punters able to pick up a three-tier cupcake stand for less than a pound.

The 99p Jubilee range, which hit the shelves last week, includes a portrait of Her Majesty in a mock antique gold frame, 30ft of bunting and five flags on sticks.

Brits can also buy 30 union jack paper cups or 20 Union Jack paper plates for just 99p – as well as key rings, tea towels, tablecloths and 300 other products.

Hussein Lalani, boss of the 99p Stores , said: “We all love the Queen and I’m very patriotic but I think a lot of people would be really pushed to buy a £400 cake stand.

“If you had a choice over a £400 cake stand or a 99p one then it’s obvious which one you would pick.

“Maybe street parties in Kensington might use a £400 cake stand but I can’t see anyone else paying that much and then using it.

“It’s all about having a bit of fun, it’s a perfect range for street parties and for everyone who just wants to enjoy the long weekend celebrating the Jubilee.”

With millions of Brits set to go street party mad over the long bank holiday weekend of June 2 – 5, cheapskate Brits can also put together an ‘Ultimate Street Party DIY’ kit of ten items for under a tenner.

Mr Lalani added: “Anything left over can be used again in a few weeks time for London 2012.

“We have found that the sales have been a lot better than even the Royal Wedding collection last year.

“Last year we sold bunting that if laid out would have stretched from London to Windsor and back five times over.”

“We are already preparing second and third print runs of the portrait. The memorabilia is really flying out, I guess everyone loves the Queen.”

The Queen will take part in a glittering procession through the streets of London to mark her Jubilee on June 5.

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Tree surgeon Phil Bye, 35, was on his daily egg collection from the coup in his garden when he found the miniscule egg – which is smaller than a 2p coin.

As it was Good Friday, his family thought he was playing a practical joke on them.

His wife Helen, 37, said: “We had about 30 of my family over for Good Friday.

“My husband went to the garden to collect the eggs and came back with normal eggs and this tiny egg and we were are ribbing him thinking it was a joke.

“We thought he had slipped it in with the others. I thought he had stuck a small chocolate egg in with the chickens’ eggs.

“But we could soon tell by his reaction it wasn’t a joke at all.

“We were all quite excited. My aunt is convinced our egg is definitely the smallest. I don’t think it is a common occurrence.”

The egg created a spectacle for the couple’s children and guests, but it was not until two days later that they considered applying to the Guinness Book of Records to have it registered.

Helen’s aunt, June Jennings, had seen an article about Harry Evans, from Bakewell, Derbyshire, last week who was claiming to have the world’s smallest egg with one weighing 7.3g.

She quickly called to tell the Bye’s that their egg was smaller.

Although they had difficulty measuring it using a ruler and tape measure due to its size but – it weighed in lighter than Mr Evans’ at 3.5g.

Fitness instructor Helen, added: “It was really exciting. We thought it was odd but we didn’t think it would be a contender for the smallest chicken egg in the entire world.

“We are going to look into and get in touch with the Guinness Book of Records. It is something for the kids to treasure – it is quite special.”

The couple’s six hens produce up to six average-to-large-size eggs each day and enjoy collecting them with their children, Lily, seven, and Sonny, five.

Helen, from Rougham, Suffolk said: “The children are very fond of the chickens. They have never produced an egg this small before. They are all big hens.”

The mini-egg is currently being kept in their fridge and will be sent off to Guinness in the hope of it being crowned the world’s smallest.

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Clown-footed women can now benefit from the special shoe-shop opened by size 10 businesswoman Louise MacLellan.

Selling everything from flip-flops to flats and high-heels – Louise’s shop specialises exclusively in footwear ranging from a size 8 – 11.

The 40-year-old had been at the end of her tether travelling the country in order to find shoes that fit her, as well as a fortune on returning wrong-sized shoes bought from the internet.

With the average shoe size in the UK for a woman currently a 6,  Louise had always dreamt of creating a shop where women of larger than average shoe size could come and try on fashionable footwear in comfort.

And after being made redundant last year, Louise took it as the opportunity to realise her dream and now her shop Lou Lou Shoes is opening in Lutterworth High Street in Leicester on Thursday.

She said: “I am a size 10, the average is size 6, so I find it really difficult to get fashionable yet affordable shoes in larger sizes, so I know there must be lots of women out there with the same problem.

“It was a real problem just trying to find anything, no one does shoes at a size I can wear.

“I used to have to spend loads of time down in London just to buy a pair of shoes.

“My friends enjoy trying on shoes in shops but, because of my foot size, my experiences have not been as enjoyable – with limited choice and often long journeys to find a shop with larger shoes.

“There are a number of websites that offer a range of shoes for people with larger feet but, to me, there’s something lovely about going into a shoe shop, trying on shoes, walking in them and making sure they are right for you.

“It was a real ache trying to get shoes off website because I spent a fortune in return fees from all the shoes that never fitted.

“There are companies that specialise in this kind of shoe, and some that do all sizes from smallest to largest, but hardly any big shops sell shoes that us women with larger feet can fit into.

“Which is a bit odd really, as the average height in this country is going up and with it the foot size.

“Now I expect people to come to my shop from absolutely all over the place, there’s no other options for them where they can actually get to try the shoes on.

“It’ll get all sorts of clientele, from children who need shoes for school to middle aged women who need them but struggle to find them, it’s a real gap in the market.”

Mother-of-two Louise, who lives in nearby Cosby, Leicestershire, with her husband Neil, left her job as an accountant at a family-run forklift truck manufacturer last year when it closed down and has been working on her dream shop ever since.

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The 15 pots, valued at between #7,000 and #8,000, were found in Thailand and belong to the Ban Chiang period.

Measuring a massive 3ft 6in tall, the largest pot is big enough to fit a small child inside – although experts are not sure what their exact use would have been.

Experts found some of the pots in graves while others were dug up in domestic settings – and think the repeating pattern suggests they were of some significance.

All of the pots were reconstructed and their age established using thermoluminescence dating, a process similar to carbon dating, at a world-renowned lab in Oxford.

Mark West, antiques dealer, said: “These are really spectacular pieces, they’re better than what the V&A museum has got.

“It’s a bold claim but it’s true.

“I just think they are extremely pretty, extremely beautiful things.

“They could be from a 1950s Italian collection or part of a 20th Century European movement – they’ll work with anything and would fit in to a modern home or apartment.”

The rare pots are due to go on display at Antiques for Everyone, the UK’s largest antiques fair, which returns to the NEC near Birmingham between April 12 and 15 this year.

A special Downton Abbey inspired feature, including a dramatic period home and room set, is planned for the fair – but Mr West expects the pots to steal the show.

He added: “There are a growing number of collectors for these pieces.

“They are very rare but cost a fraction of Ming vases and other more established rare pottery.

“We’ve put them back together after they were recovered from the ground.

“Anyone who tells you that such a great pot like these has come straight out of the ground is pulling your leg – especially something of this size.”

The post Going potty appeared first on News Today.

The card game, which goes on sale tomorrowexactly 60 days to the Queen’s  Jubilee anniversary, features Kate Middleton as Her Majesty’s top Royal and David Cameron as her first choice Prime Minister.

Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, beats off Susan the Corgi, her favourite tipple Gin and Dubonnet and the Britannia yacht.

But the strongest Trump card of the £3.99 pack is hubby the Duke of Edinburgh – whilst the weakest is the Queen’s bank Coutts.   

The five ranking categories in the popular game where you can “trump” your opponent are: Age; Magic Moment; Pomp and Ceremony; Off Duty; and Quintessential.

A spokesperson for Winning Move, who created the cards to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee year, said: “We have studied just about every word ever printed about the Queen – and every body language – and we feel this pack is definitive.

“It has taken a dedicated team a wonderful fulfilling age putting it all together. We are absolutely delighted with it.”

The game, which was originally popular with children in the Seventies and Eighties, gets players to compare ratings in five different categories.

The card with the highest score wins, and the losers have to hand their card to the winner.

JUBILEE TOP TRUMPS EXAMPLES:

‘CORGI’ – Susan, given to her as an 18th birthday present by her mum and dad, King George V1 and The Queen Mother.

‘ROYAL’ – Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge for her PR shot in the Royal Family’s arm.

‘PM’ – David Cameron.

‘CORNER SHOP’ – Harrods. It says on this card the luxury store is somewhere the Queen can despatch “her butler to if she runs out of milk on a Sunday morning”.

‘BANK’ – Coutts.

‘OUTFIT’ – a pink number, designed by Stewart Parvin who has designed some of her most stylish outfits including for Royal Ascot and meeting the Obamas.

‘COUPLE’ – King George V1 and the Queen Mother, her beloved mum and dad.

‘TV SHOW’ – Coronation Street, of course! A renowned must-see at Buckingham Palace.

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Angry mums have said their youngsters have reacted with horror at the “distasteful” ornaments which show a dead gnome lying face down with a knife embedded in it’s back.

The £12.99 gnomes are currently on sale at the Hollybush garden centre, near Cannock, Staffs.

Disgusted mother Sarah Valentine, 35, from Lichfield, Staffs., says her five-year-old daughter Amelia was left ‘in tears’ after she spotting the massacred gnomes.

She said: “We have lots of gnomes sitting on toadstools and pushing wheelbarrows in our back garden and my daughter has a little name for them all.

“But when I picked this one up she looked horrified and asked what was wrong with him and why his eyes were closed? She got really upset.

“I think they in a bit distasteful. There are loads of kids that enjoy the centre and gnomes are very popular.

“Who wants to see one with a knife in his back? I don’t and I’m sure most kids don’t either.”

Garden centre bosses claim the stabbed gnomes are away from family-friendly ornaments but parents yesterday (Wed) claimed they were in full view of children.

Mum Jayne Mellor, 40, from Walsall, Staffs., added: “I think they look horrible.

“They are a lovely tradition in this country – whether you like them or not, you wouldn’t want to see them murdered surely. I don’t find it in good taste.

“Knife crime is not a subject to be made light of.

“A friend of my sons was stabbed in an unprovoked attack in Birmingham, he survived but it ruined his life.

“I can’t see anything funny about a stabbed gnome.

“I have seen lots of children walk past the murdered gnomes.

“The boys generally find them funny but I have seen several kiddies, especially the girls look genuinely upset.”

Garden centre bosses on Wednesday refused to withdraw the gnomes, claiming they were one of their biggest sellers.

Manager Steve Hallet said: “They have proved very popular with our customers.

“A lot of people buy them for their neighbours as a bit of friendly banter.

“I am not aware of people not finding them anything more than a bit of fun.

“We position them away from the other gnomes, at the back of the display, but they sell really well.

“They are disappearing from shelves at a rate of around five a week.”

The 2011 film Gnomeo and Juliet has been credited with reversing a decline in the sale of garden gnomes – with sales doubling in the last year alone.

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The popular goldfish-in-a-bag will no longer be handed out at the May Fair in the market town of Ludlow, Shrops, following complaints from residents that it is cruel to the fish.

But despite organisers saying they will use ‘RSPCA approved’ plastic containers instead of bags this year – Ludlow Town Council have still enforced the ban.

David Wynn, who runs the funfair, called the row a ‘storm in a teacup’ and says the annual fair is the only event he runs in the country where complaints have been raised about goldfish being given away as prizes.

Mr Wynn said: “Because one person took exception I think it is spoiling the fun for thousands of others.

“Ludlow is the only place where we cannot give goldfish away as prizes  but it is entirely up to the town council.”

The decision has also been slammed by angry residents of the town who enjoy the fair each year.

Resident Edward Simpson, 50, said: “This is PC nonsense. Fish don’t feel any pain they have a brain the size of a pea, what is the problem with this.

“I cannot believe it. I have so many memories of winning fish at fairs as a kid, good memories, harmless memories.

“This Government is so totally bureaucratic and politically correct it’s unreal.

“No doubt this is some EU Directive implemented by their socialist stooges in local government who are all animal rights activists and socialists.”

Another resident, James Hooper, 61, said: “I remember winning a couple of goldfish at a fair.

“We put them in the garden pond, where they both grew to giant proportions, lived to a ripe old age and had several broods of little fishlets.

“I can’t see the problem at all.”

Ludlow Town Council first outlawed goldfish as prizes on stalls at the May Fair two years ago after complaints from concerned townsfolk.

In the 2006 Animal Welfare Act the Labour government watered down a total ban on giving away animals as prizes.

Instead children who were accompanied by someone aged over 16, were allowed to take away fish.

Speaking about Ludlow Town Council’s services committee’s decision to retain the ban, Councillor Vivienne Parry said: “The RSPCA believe that it is cruel and I do not like it either.

“Using a plastic bucket could be worse than the bag because people may be tempted to leave them in there instead of putting them in a proper tank.”

Ludlow May Fair takes place on the first May day bank holiday every year.

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Desperate Lee Knowles, 42, wore a suit and sat in his spotless Renault Clio for three days before he was invited for an interview.

He placed a sign which read “Please can anyone help, I need a job” on his windscreen along with a list of his valeting skills.

Lee parked on an industrial estate last week near several car dealerships.

Determined Lee wore a suit and tie and carried a second copy of his CV on the off chance of being noticed by prospective employers.

Incredibly, after three days Lee was asked to apply for a job at a nearby Vauxhall dealership.

A manager had seen him sitting in the car and after reading his CV she invited him for an interview the same day.

After sailing through the three day selection process, Lee was offered a post of valeter at Thurlby Motors, Lincs.

Lee, from Alvingham, Lincs., said he resorted to drastic action after losing his job last year and was struggling to find work.

He added: “I started to believe that I couldn’t get work, but decided after sending out several CV’s and hearing the usual we’ll be in touch, I came up with the idea of doing something different that would make me stand out.”

Lee Millington, Service Manager for Thurlby Motors said: “Lee really caught our eye, we were impressed by how he had gone to all that trouble and actually had the initiative to try something different to gain employment.”

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At first glance, the domineering female appears to be riding on the back of her hen-pecked mate.

And the put-upon drake’s feathers don’t look too ruffled, as he carries on swimming unawares.

However, a closer look reveals that all is not as it seems, and that the photo is in fact an  optical illusion.

For the female is actually perched on a rock behind her partner, rearing up on her webbed feet.

Amateur snapper Robert Adamec spotted the unusual scene whilst taking a morning walk near his hometown of Prerov, Czech Republic.

Robert, 48, thought that the female duck was balanced on the drake’s back when he first looked out over the local lake and spotted the pair frolicking in the middle.

It was only when he bagged this amazing close-up shot with his zoom lens and examined it later on that he realised what was going on.

He said: “The duck seems to surf, but it is an optical illusion, she’s actually standing on a stone behind the drake.

“When I was looking at the pictures after my walk I couldn’t believe how much it looks as though the female duck is riding her mate like a surfboard.

“You have to look very closely to see that she’s actually on a rock behind him.

“A lot of people don’t notice and are very surprised when they realise.

“They accuse me of using Photoshop but it’s a genuine image.”

Robert, a head chef who has been photographing wildlife for seven years, said that he has never captured such an amusing image before.

He added: “It is definitely a one-off, in seven years of photographing animals this is the most unusual picture I’ve taken.

“With photography I learn to perceive the beauty of nature, light, and also learn about animal behaviour.

“It is a new experiences for which I am very grateful.”

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Confused viewers were met with an on-screen graphic showing the south of England and the Midlands – with the East Midlands labelled as the West Midlands.

During a report on the drought risk facing parts the UK, unwitting news readers and pundits passed comment on the blue and orange map.

The dodgy graphic flashed up several times before dozy staff on the news desk noticed the error.

It was almost half an hour after the image was first shown until the mistake was picked up and quietly corrected.

The embarrassing gaffe, which flashed up several times during Monday afternoon’s live broadcasts.

Eagle-eyed viewer Jenny Winters, 23, from Birmingham, couldn’t believe it when she spotted the blunder.

She said: “I thought I was seeing things at first – I didn’t think that a big news organisation like Sky would make such a silly mistake.

“They obviously didn’t listen to the old rhyme in school to help kids remember their compass points.

“My seven-year-old nephew has no problems remembering.

“I know that people down in London think that the North is all one big place but they shouldn’t be making big mistakes like that.”

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