Housands of cushions handmade as gifts for Olympics athletes may go to waste after London 2012 KNITWITS stitched up volunteers by refusing to allow them to hand them out.The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) initially told volunteers from the Woolsack project that they could hand out the 5,000 cushions they had created as souvenirs for the elite stars. But now, in fear of angering commercial sponsors, they have reneged on the deal. Dedicated families and elderly and disabled members of the scheme, which was designed to give athletes a British wool based welcome gift to the games, have grafted since early last year to create the individually crafted presents. A third of the games' athletes, including members of Team GB, confirmed their interest in receiving the decorative welcome gifts with athletics stars Jessica Ennis and Marilyn Okoro posing with samples at events last year.
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
THESE LOVE BIRDS can’t keep their beaks off each other as they share a very public display of affection .
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .
Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .
SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .
MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .
