Silence!

SILENCE....I KILL YOU!

Elderly People sign given makeover

The new sign is the brainchild of Cumbria Tourism and it has been placed on the summit of the aptly-named Coniston Old Man mountain in the Lake District. The couple depicted on the sign have straight backs and both carry walking poles in contrast to the traditional sign in which an old man carries a walking stick and supports an elderly woman. The sign, one of 10 erected in the Lake District, has been created by artist Steve Messam. He said: ''Life doesn't stop at a certain age and there are a lot of active visitors regularly climbing and walking here that are a world away from the image of the elderly people depicted on the existing road sign. ''Equally, there's a new younger generation of people getting into outdoor sports as well so it doesn't matter what age you are - there's an adventure here to have.'' The sign was put in place by Cumbria-based climber Leo Houlding, 29, who has scaled Mount Everest as well as the Old Man of Hoy off the coast of the Orkneys. ''This reminds people what they can do in the Lake District's higher, wilder places,'' he said. Among the other new signs is one at the top of Scafell Pike - England's highest mountain - which welcomes visitors to the Lake District. Another is one on the perilous rocky Striding Edge ridge of Helvellyn mountain which instructs walkers: ''Don't Look Down - THRILL.''

Bubble Talk

"After trying to feed me penguins for four days," says Paul, who was photographing on Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula, "this massive female leopard seal started showing classic signs of frustration by blowing bubbles at me." Despite her size (nearly three metres – 10 feet – long), Paul didn't feel this was aggression and so kept on shooting. He concluded that she was not just trying to offer him penguins to eat but, more importantly, making an attempt at communication, trying to figure out what his intentions were. "It was, and probably will be, the most amazing wildlife encounter of my career."

Raindrop Refresher

This is a category for photographs of animals that are not mammals or birds - in other words, the majority of animals on Earth. Most of them behave in ways that are seldom witnessed and little known or understood. So this category offers plenty of scope for fascinating behaviour. After a summer shower, András headed off to his local forest to take photographs. He specializes in pictures taken around his home near Lake Velence in Hungary – in particular, close-ups. In a sunny glade, he noticed lots of red ants running up and down a flowering common mallow, feeding on the sugar secretions of aphids sucking from the buds. Here, one of the ants sips from a raindrop balanced on a mallow petal. "The beauty of macro-photography," says András, "is the worlds it reveals – all the activity going on in miniature that you otherwise would never see."

The Storybook Wolf

When José Luis realized he had got the shot of his dreams – one that he had even sketched on paper – he couldn't quite believe it. From the start, his fear had been that the wolves would be too wary. Iberian wolves have always been persecuted by people who see them as a threat to game and livestock (which they hunt when natural food is scarce) but also because of ignorance and superstition about the supposed danger they pose. Even though they have always lived close to humans, there are no verified incidences of them attacking people. In Spain, the population of Iberian wolves – a subspecies of the grey wolf – is thought to number 1,000-2,000 in the north, with a few tiny, isolated populations in the south. José Luis risked a slow shutter-speed to reveal the moonlit sky and conjure up the atmosphere of the place. He switched from using his Nikon D2X to a Hasselblad so he could get the exact framing that he had in mind. What José Luis hopes is that his picture, "showing the wolf's great agility and strength", will become an image that can be used to show just how beautiful the Iberian wolf is and how the Spanish can be proud to have such an emblematic animal.

Police told to mind their language

The "Evenin' all" greeting made famous by TV character Dixon of Dock Green could be consigned to the history books by official guidance that advises police officers to take care when referring to the time of day, it has been reported. According to one police force, "evening" is a "subjective" term that can vary depending on a person's culture or nationality. Other words that officers are urged to take care when using include "child" and "homosexual", the Sunday Telegraph reported.

How To Make A Halloween Pumpkin Special

My Step Grandson:The Chav