PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012
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Two-year-old Lavinia Ramirez plays piano concert to 200 guests S
he had been learning the instrument for just six weeks when she played Mary Had A Little Lamb before a live audience in Plymouth, Devon. Her music teacher Matej Lehocky said she was 'bright' and her talent was 'unheard of'. 'To play at her age is something extraordinary, something very special,' he said. 'Usually children that young are not able to control themselves or do what they are told. 'Normally they just run down the keys and get bored.' Mr Lehocky added she had shown great maturity for a person as young as her and although there were moments she would get distracted, she had something exceptional. Neither of Lavinia's parents, Ian and Jenna, who work as managers at a local Tesco, play instruments. Jenna, from Ivybridge, Devon, said: 'I don't know where Lavinia gets her brains from she's more intelligent than me.
Prodigy: Lavinia Ramirez has been labelled the 'mini Mozart' (Picture: SWNS) 'Before she was two she could write numbers and letters and recognise them in books.
'She told me what a trapezium was the other day; I didn't know. 'She seemed to be on the toy
piano all the time so we asked her if she wanted to learn, and she said she would.' Young Lavinia, who has just
turned three, will be hoping she can fulfill her promise and title of 'mini-Mozart'... no pressure then.
Thrillseekers flock to Utah Mole Man’s £1m Mole Hole sells at desert 'playground' to auction minus the tunnels get adrenaline fix T his roofless shell, which has been sold at auction, was previously owned by the socalled Mole Man - an elderly eccentric who dug out a labyrinth of tunnels up to 8m (26ft) beneath the house. At just over £1.1million you might expect a decent size basement. They've all been filled in since William Lyttle was evicted six years ago but his legacy remains: the new owners have named the plot the Mole Hole. It was sold with permission for two new houses after stiff bidding saw the guide price of £750,000 outstripped. When the site is developed, the occupants will enjoy the benefits of living in a conservation area in a trendy part of Hackney, north London.
Filled in: William Lyttle built a maze of tunnels under his old home (Picture: Colin Davey)
Sitting himself: Andy Lewis (Picture: Caters)
Terrifying: Andy Lewis walks a highline 76m (250ft) above ground (Pictures: Caters)
Prince Charles’ 31-year-old uneaten wedding day toast sells for £230
lunging more than 245m (800ft) from the top of a cliff or 'slacklining' between two giant peaks isn't everyone's cup of tea. But for some thrillseekers, the discovery of what is being dubbed 'the world's biggest playground' has been a revelation. Adrenaline junkies travel from far and wide to fine-tune their climbing, slacklining and basejumping skills at the Fisher Towers playground. The amazing outdoor park has something for adventurers of all abilities, with rocks ranging in size from 11m (35ft) to the 245m (800ft)
Echo and Cottontail towers, which take five days to climb. Scott Rogers from Denver, Colorado, is just one daredevil who can't get enough of the park. The 24-year-old has spent more than 40 days testing his skills in Utah's Moab desert alongside friends Andy Lewis and Hayley Ashburn. Mr Rogers said: 'Spending time here is just unbelievable. There is nowhere else in the world you can have so much fun. 'Fisher Towers has been a playground for many people but it wasn't until recently that jumping off the towers became a priority.
Royal toast: Prince Charles' wedding day toast sells for £230 (Picture: Reuters)
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slice of toast left over from Prince Charles' breakfast on the morning of his wedding to Princess Diana has sold at auction for £230. The piece of bread was kept as a memento by Rosemarie Smith following the 1981 wedding, which was watched by 750 million people worldwide. Mrs Smith, whose daughter worked for the royal family for nearly three decades, described how she acquired the toast, which was kept on her shelf in a cup. 'At the time my daughter was a maid at the palace and one of her duties was to collect Prince Charles'
breakfast tray from outside his room,' she said in a press statement. 'I was with her in the corridor and saw that Prince Charles had left some toast on the tray. 'I had been thinking about a keepsake from the wedding and saw the toast and thought to myself: "Why not?"' The toasted breakfast treat was sold to a British buyer. A spokeswoman for the auction house added: 'The slice of toast went to a UK buyer. 'There were two telephone bidders fighting it out for the slice. It was exciting.