First News: Lucky coin found on Lord Nelson's ship

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LUCKY TREASURE FOUND

A 127-YEAR-old lucky coin has been found aboard Lord Nelson’s warship, HMS Victory.

The Victorian coin was placed underneath the main mast of the Royal Navy ship to bring good luck to those on board.

The 127-year-old coin found on Lord Nelson's ship (photo: NMRN)

The mast is the tall upright post on a ship that holds up the sails. The tradition of placing a coin underneath it dates back thousands of years, but is still carried out by sailors today.

The lower main mast of HMS Victory being lifted from the ship (photo: NMRN)

The coin would have been worth a quarter of a penny back in 1894 (it was known as a farthing), worth 0.1p in today’s money.

The discovery of the lucky coin was only made earlier this year when restoration work was carried out on the famous ship. It has since been restored and is now on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth.

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CYCLING CHALLENGE

By Mark

During lockdown I started cycling with my dad. We soon reached 50km (31 miles) and I felt that I could reach 100km (62 miles) by summer.

While training, friends suggested I could do it for charity. So, I chose the RSPCA, as it was doing something I’m passionate about: caring for animals. A lot of animals can suffer terribly from being misfed, mistreated and being homeless. This is a difficult fight for the RSPCA alone, so I want to give it a hand.

Mark with his family

On the day we were joined by my cousin, Hugh. At around 50km we had a picnic with other relatives. Throughout the ride, I felt great as I was doing it for a good cause, but at around 92km I started feeling tired.

As we approached our neighbourhood, we had to go round three times to make the distance, which was really tough.

When we got home, I saw we’d raised £722. I was very pleased about it and that I’d finished my first 100km ride. I had never thought it would be such a tough ride, but I still had a smile on my face, as many people supported me and I’m glad I didn’t let them down.

DIARY DATES

OCTOBER 31

HALLOWEEN

The spookiest day of the year is here, with people donning costumes, picking pumpkins and celebrating with friends. The end of British summertime also falls on this date this year, so the clocks will go back an hour.

OCTOBER 31

COP26

The UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) kicks off in Glasgow. Leaders from across the world will come together to discuss ways to tackle climate change and save the planet.

NOVEMBER 4

DIWALI

The five-day festival of lights begins, and is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains worldwide. It coincides with the Hindu New Year and aims to mark new beginnings.

Beautiful traditional Diwali lamps with background effects of colorful lighting      (photo: iStock)

QUICK NEWS

More than 3,000 pine hoverfly larvae have been released in Cairngorms National Park to boost their numbers. The flies are an important pollinator but haven’t been seen in adult form in the wild in Britain for over eight years.

Pine hoverfly larvae (photo: RZSS)

Filming has begun on a brand-new film about Roald Dahl’s famous character, Willy Wonka. Timothée Chalamet plays the title role in Wonka. Other stars include Matt Lucas, Olivia Colman and Rowan Atkinson.

Timothée Chalamet is seen as Willy Wonka during filming for the upcoming movie 'Wonka' (photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

WEEKLY PUZZLESee how many words of three or more letters, using the middle letter in each one. And can you find the word that uses all the letters?Last week’s puzzle answer: preferred