HOUNDTON TABBY
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters. The art works entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after she combined her love of drawing and Downton Abbey. 'I've been painting portraits of animals in historical costume for some time,” explains New Yorker Kim. “I've taken some familiar and beloved characters whose demeanour, personality, and appearance seemed to translate to certain breeds of dog or cat. 'I got to thinking about Mr Bates' character and storyline, and Brendan Coyle's facial structure, and how he could look hard but also had the warmest, kindest eyes.
Other great stories
FLYING PENGUINS LEAP OUT OF THE OCEAN
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
MUM LOOKED LIKE A MONSTER AFTER HAIR DYE ALLERGIC REACTION
A mum-of-one was left looking like a ‘monster’ after suffering a horrific allergic reaction to hair dye while pregnant .
FIGHTING FOX IS BEATEN BY EAGLES
A fox takes a tumble and lands on his head when he tries to fend off a pair of eagles in Japan .
LIFE-LIKE PENCIL DRAWINGS
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .
IT'S A WATERING CAN-VAS
AS graffiti goes, this giant mural of a sweet little girl tenderly watering a tree beneath her is a far cry from what you usually see emblazoned across cities .
JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK
PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .
GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
ROAD-KILL CUDDLY TOYS
With their guts spewing and eyes hanging out, these are the cuddly toys children might be reluctant to curl up to .
PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS NIGHT AND DAY IN CITYSCAPES
ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .
BOSTON MARATHON PICTURES
T least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
ADORABLE BABY ORANGUTAN PLAYS WITH MUM
TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .