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A brown bear in Kent receiving life-saving brain surgery (left) and the ‘Hardest Geezer’ running the entire length of Africa were among the uplifting moments of 2024 (PA)
A brown bear in Kent receiving life-saving brain surgery and the “Hardest Geezer” running the entire length of Africa were among the most eye-catching uplifting moments of 2024.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at a selection of positive news picks from the year.
– Boki the bear undergoing pioneering, life-saving brain surgery
Boki became the first brown bear on record to have brain surgery, according to Wildwood Trust.
The two-year-old, who lives at Wildwood Trust, near Canterbury, Kent, had been suffering from seizures which were believed to be caused by hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain).
Boki became the first brown bear on record to have brain surgery (Gareth Fuller/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Gareth Fuller
It was decided that brain surgery was the best option for Boki, who went under the knife in October.
World-leading veterinary surgeon Romain Pizzi, who waived his fee for the job, fitted a stent between Boki’s brain and abdomen to help him pass the excess fluid.
In November, the team said he was almost back to his normal self after six weeks of rehabilitation and recovery.
– ‘Hardest Geezer’ finishes mammoth challenge to run length of Africa
Russ Cook, from Worthing, spent 352 days taking on the huge challenge in Africa which saw him cover more than 16,000km, take some 19 million steps and pass through 16 countries while raising money for charity.
Mr Cook, nicknamed “the Hardest Geezer”, set off from South Africa’s most southerly point on April 22 2023, and faced visa complications, health scares and an armed robbery.
He completed the venture named Project Africa on April 7 2024 in Ras Angela, Tunisia’s most northerly point.
Russ Cook spent 352 days taking on the mammoth challenge in Africa (Russ Cook/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Russ Cook
The 27-year-old has raised more than £1 million for two charities, the Running Charity and Sandblast, the latter of which is a UK-registered charity raising awareness of the indigenous Saharawi people of western Sahara.
– Teenage girl becomes one of the youngest people to swim the English Channel
A 16-year-old girl became one of the youngest people to swim the English Channel in September.
Prisha Tapre from Watford in Hertfordshire swam around 21 miles (34 kilometres) from Dover to Cap Gris Nez in a time of 11 hours and 48 minutes while raising money for charity.
Prisha Tapre swam around 21 miles from Dover to Cap Gris Nez for charity (Paul Meyler/PA)PA Media - Paul Meyler
Prisha said she had been training for the day for a quarter of her life as she took up swimming aged 12.
The teenager said she was “really happy” to have raised more than £3,700 for Akshaya Patra UK, a charity with a mission to end hunger and food poverty among children in India and the UK.
– Young Ukrainian refugees ‘thriving’ and fluent in English after joining Scouts
Two young Ukrainian refugees who were “scared to talk” when starting school in the UK have said joining their local Scout group has helped them to learn English.
Artem Horchuck and Yehor Kremnov, both six, arrived in Gosport, Hampshire, in 2022 after their families fled Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Since their arrival the two have started school, joined their local Squirrels group, a younger branch of the Scouts, and are now integrated and thriving in the UK.
Artem Horchuck and Yehor Kremnov, both six, arrived in Gosport, Hampshire, in 2022 after their families fled Ukraine (6th Gosport Scout Group/PA)PA Media - 6th Gosport Scout Group
Mila Kremnova, Yehor’s mother, said: “We’re so happy because our children are in a safe place and they have the opportunity to study and have a normal childhood.”
– Eight-year-old completes ’emotional’ climb up highest peak in north Africa
An eight-year-old mountaineer from Cumbria said he felt “so proud” after completing an “emotional” expedition up the highest peak in north Africa with his mother.
Frankie McMillan has been regularly climbing mountains with his mother Basia, 40, since he was a toddler, and he became the youngest Briton to climb Mount Olympus in Greece last year.
In October, Frankie and his mother Basia climbed the 4,160m-high Toubkal in Morocco (Basia McMillan/PA)PA Media - Basia McMillan
Frankie has scaled more than 500 mountains and hills, including summiting Scafell Pike, the tallest peak in England, at the age of four, and completing all 214 Wainwrights in the Lake District.
In late October, Frankie and his mother climbed the 4,160m-high (13,500ft) Toubkal in Morocco.
The two were raising money for Anthony Nolan, a UK stem cell charity, in memory of grandfather Andrew McMillan, who died of myeloma, a form of blood cancer.
– Millionaire midwife still delivering babies a decade on from lottery win
A midwife who won the lottery is still delivering babies 10 years after becoming a millionaire.
Ruth Breen, 45, was on her lunch break at work at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan in 2014 when she checked her emails and discovered she had won £1 million on EuroMillions.
Ruth Breen is still delivering babies 10 years after becoming a millionaire (Anthony Devlin/PA)PA Media - Anthony Devlin
A decade on, the mother-of-one is still working for the NHS, although she has enjoyed splashing out on holidays to destinations such as Dubai, St Lucia and Mauritius.
Ms Breen still lives in the house she bought just before her win and says most of the new mothers she works with are unaware they are being looked after by a millionaire.
– 10-week-old steals show at Annie Mac’s Glastonbury set
The parents of a 10-week-old baby who stole the show as Annie Mac opened the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival in June have said they will play his moment of techno fame on his wedding day.
Baby Finlay was met with cheers as he appeared on the big screen multiple times while Irish DJ Mac opened Worthy Farm’s second biggest stage with an hour-long set of dance hits.
Baby Finlay stole the show as Annie Mac opened the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival in June (Tom Leese/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Tom Leese
Wearing his striped one-piece and ear protectors, the baby was met with a rapturous reception as he sat on his father Tom Kay’s shoulders as special effects on stage saw his image turn into a hallucinatory dance visual.
Finlay’s mother Rosie Lewis, 35, originally from Edinburgh, said the video will probably be played at his wedding and also 18th and 21st birthdays in years to come.
– Youngster wins year’s supply of crisps she campaigned to have back on shelves
A 10-year-old girl has been given a year’s supply of her favourite flavour of crisps after she successfully campaigned to have them back on the shelves.
Grace, from Edinburgh, decided to take matters into her own hands when she was unable to find her favourite haggis crisps in the shops.
Grace, from Edinburgh, with her year’s supply of haggis crisps (Mike Wilkinson/Taylors Snacks/PA)PA Media - Mike Wilkinson/Taylors Snacks
She wrote a letter to the managing director of Taylors Snacks, James Taylor, to ask if the company could bring back the popular haggis and black pepper crisps.
Having recently transitioned from Mackie’s Crisps, the company had planned to make the flavour available only during winter months.
The letter worked, with Perthshire-based Taylors pledging to have the crisps on sale all year round.
– Only Fools And Horses fan ‘reliving’ all 64 episodes through miniature town
An Only Fools And Horses superfan has created a miniature town as a means of “reliving the episodes” complete with the Nag’s Head pub, Sotheby’s and Del Boy’s three-wheeled Reliant Regal.
Kevin Jones spent close to three months, from October 25 2023 to January 17 this year, making his unique 00 scale take on Peckham – the classic BBC comedy show’s primary location – which he has called “Peckham town”.
The 38-year-old based in Cramlington in Northumberland, balanced the project alongside his job as a building site foreman and joiner. He crowdsourced ideas for the project online from hundreds of fellow fans on Facebook.
Kevin Jones spent close to three months creating his miniature ‘Peckham town’ (Kevin Jones/PA)PA Media - Kevin Jones
He started by putting some roads out on the layout before adding in the different models – which include miniature buildings linked to the show such as blocks of flats named “Desmond Tutu House” and “Nelson Mandela House”.
Other buildings include the “Tyler Street Bus and Coach Garage” and a shop called “Rock and Chips”, which references the British television comedy-drama Rock & Chips – a prequel to Only Fools And Horses.
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