Daily Mail - 07.08.2019

Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Page 15

NOT LOOKING LOOKING

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The eyes have it: Why staring at a hungry

seagull could stop it stealing your chips

Winged thief: As the researcher looks away, seagull approaches the chips Battle of the wills: But this gull curbs its sly ways as the researcher stares it down

THEY are the menace of seaside holidays,

brazenly snatching ice creams and chips

right out of people’s hands.

But it seems the way to save your snacks

from thieving seagulls is to look them

square in the eye.

Using a bag of chips as bait, researchers

found that six out of 19 herring gulls,

almost a third, did not dare to try to sneak

a bite while being watched – but all did

when the scientist was looking away.

Even those bold enough to try to steal

the chips were much more nervous about

doing so. One bird took the food within six

seconds when a researcher was looking

away, but waited the five-minute duration

of the experiment without touching the

chips when she stared in its direction.

Scientists believe the birds have learned

that those who make eye contact are

more likely to chase them away – so a

warning glance is all that is needed to

deter them. The study, published in the

journal Biology Letters, examined seagulls

across Cornish costal towns.

The number of herring gulls declined by

60 per cent between 1969 and 2015, but

they are now on the rise again in seaside

towns and cities.

By Victoria Allen

Science Correspondent

joked that Parsons, who was said

to have been struck down by a

bad back, was with a ‘masseuse’.

The episodes were being recorded

at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

for broadcast on August 19 and 26

as part of the show’s 85th series,

which began airing on Monday.

A Radio 4 producer told the audi-

ence packed into the BBC tent: ‘We

apologise, Nicholas is ill tonight.

I’m sorry we hate to disappoint but

Gyles Brandreth will bravely cover

both of tonight’s recordings.’

A source close to the programme

said: ‘It’s nothing serious. He’s

just got a bad back.’

Parsons, who has hosted more

than 930 episodes of the comedy

panel game since it started in

December 1967, is due to begin a

four-night run of his show Nicho-

las Parsons’ Happy Hour at the

Edinburgh Fringe tomorrow.

Brandreth, 71, a regular guest on

Just A Minute, started the

programme by joking: ‘Nicholas

can’t be here tonight as he’s

auditioning for Naked Attraction

on Channel 4.’

Parsons missed a recording for

roles, he became a television regu-

lar on The Benny Hill Show and

hosted the long-running ITV game

show Sale Of The Century.

He has been married to his sec-

ond wife, Ann, since 1995 and

received a CBE in 2014 for services

to charity. The BBC and a spokes-

man for Parsons were contacted

with a request for comment.

Parsons, 95, misses

Just A Minute for only

second time in 52 years

HE has been the much-loved

radio show’s host for all of its

52-year run.

But Nicholas Parsons was absent

from a recording of Radio 4’s Just A

Minute last night for only the sec-

ond time in its history.

The veteran broadcaster, 95, was

forced to pull out of taping two epi-

sodes after falling ill.

It meant writer Gyles Brandreth was

called in to ensure panellists Paul Mer-

ton, Lucy Porter, Ed Byrne and Fred

MacAulay spoke without hesitation,

repetition or deviation. Brandreth

By Susie Coen

Hosts: Nicholas Parsons, right, with Gyles Brandreth

the first time ever in April last year

because of flu. Brandreth also

stood in then to host two shows.

Parsons made his acting debut in

1947. Following a number of film

There have been 939

episodes of Just A Minute, in

which guests must speak for

60 seconds without hesitation,

repetition or deviation

The BBC had wanted Jimmy

Edwards as host but he was

unavailable. Nicholas Parsons

reluctantly took his place

The pilot show featured

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Derek Nimmo, Clement Freud,

Wilma Ewart – a neighbour of

Parsons – and Beryl Reid

Freud appeared a record

544 times. He once spilt a

glass of water over Gyles

Brandreth to distract him

Kenneth Williams was the

fastest-speaking panellist, at

6.1 words a second

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939 episodes, no hesitation

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