Something for the weekend
Skids put on Northampton roads
Those worried folk in Northampton are preparing the town's residents for July's Grand Prix weekend. Our favourite warning was to "all non racing traffic" - presumably not exclusively Hamilton, Button and co - which is advised to avoid all roads in the area if possible.
If you can't get out of the town for the Silverstone event on 8-10 July, panic not - a Highways Agency spokesman has declared the area will be subject to "a tried and tested traffic management system in place". And with that reassuring statement comes another – residents can follow the breaking highways news on Twitter @HAtraffic_eastmid. Not while you're driving, mind.
Smelling of roses
A Derbyshire security company is really making any potential criminals work for a living. Plantscape has installed floral features laden with anti-ram raid devices outside the world's most exclusive address.
One Hyde Park: The Residences at Mandarin Oriental - the iconic £500m development in London - has invested in 14 decorative anti-ram-raid planters produced by Ashbourne-based floral features company Plantscape.
The devices are capable of stopping a 7.5-ton truck travelling at 30mph.
Mark Stone, Plantscape's managing director, said: "One Hyde Park is the latest iconic building enhancing London's skyline and we are delighted that our planters have been chosen as part of this exciting scheme.
"We are on a mission to prove that protecting a building doesn't mean doing things the ugly way. By providing a display that enhances the area, they provide a robust defence which delivers peace of mind while being easy on the eye."
Opportunistic press release of the week
Thanks law firm Lester Aldridge for this. "With Father's Day approaching, many men who are to become fathers for the first time (by birth or adoption) or who are having or adopting another child, may be wondering what rights they have to time off as the child's father." They might, mightn't they? Luckily, here are a few pointers to help them on their way. "Fathers of children born or matched for adoption on or after 3 April 2011 will be entitled to new paternity leave rights of a period additional to paternity leave and an increased statutory paternity leave pay of £124.88 per week." So that clears that one up.
