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Watercooler Stories

Letter arrives after 56 years... Waist sizing spells police trouser woes... Ga. governor has 'safe' after-prom party... 'The Bean' dedicated in Chicago... Watercooler stories from UPI.
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Published: May 16, 2006 at 6:30 AM
By United Press International

Letter arrives after 56 years

LONDON, May 16 (UPI) -- A letter mailed 56 years ago has finally been delivered to Cambridge University in England.

The BBC said the handwritten letter, mailed March 3, 1950, was addressed to George Green at the university's Trinity College.

It reads: "George, will meet at Monty's next weekend. Is 2 p.m. acceptable? Love Gwen."

The college is checking its records to see if Green was a student.

A Royal Mail spokesman said the fact that the letter has a postmark makes is highly unlikely that it has been in their system for more than 50 years.

"It is possible that it may have got caught up in a large envelope and sent to a wrong address," spokesman James Taylor told the BBC. "It is certainly a strange one."


Waist sizing spells police trouser woes

GRAMPIAN, Scotland, May 16 (UPI) -- Police in Grampian, Scotland, have a problem with the more casual uniform the force is switching to next month -- many officers' trousers are the wrong size.

Officers who measured their own waists are believed to be at the root of the sizing mistakes, the BBC reported.

"Obviously, with the large number of officers -- over 1,200 officers -- who are being supplied with their uniform in one go, there's bound to be some mistakes and errors," said Grampian Police Inspector Ian Swan.

Work is under way to smooth out the uniform wrinkle, authorities said.

"I'm one of the lucky ones, I put down the right measurement and mine fit," Swan said.


Ga. governor has 'safe' after-prom party

ATLANTA, May 16 (UPI) -- Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has found his groove -- a "safe" after-party for the Brookwood High School prom and a formula he hopes to copy around the state.

In the governor's mansion ballroom, with the clock nearing 2 a.m., teenagers were lounging in shorts and jeans, T-shirts and camisoles, wolfing down Waffle House hash browns, guzzling an energy drink and the like. The governor ambled about, shaking hands, posing for pictures. Activities included basketball in a parking lot, karaoke on the patio and games on the lawn.

Perdue, wearing a black polo shirt, khaki pants, a Waffle House visor and a glowing neon necklace, certainly was no wallflower.

The Governor's Office chose Gwinnett County's Brookwood because of its extensive programs that promote responsible decision-making.

Not everyone was eager to kick it with the governor. About 240 of the school's 1,200 prom-goers attended. Buses were on hand to take them back to school at 4 a.m.


'The Bean' dedicated in Chicago

CHICAGO, May 16 (UPI) -- A 110-ton sculpture, popularly called "The Bean," was formally dedicated Monday in Chicago's $500 million Millennium Park to the strains of a jazz composition.

"Fanfare for Cloud Gate," was written by jazz trumpeter Orbert Davis and performed with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic brass section, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Maggie Daley, wife of Mayor Richard M. Daley, proclaimed it Cloud Gate Day in honor of the artwork

The sculpture's final $23 million price tag ballooned as big as its 42-foot-wide, 33-foot-high size, but the work by Indian-born sculptor Anish Kapoor has drawn critical praise as one of the premier pieces of public art in the United States, and has been compared to the city's famous Picasso sculpture downtown.

Topics: Anish Kapoor, George Green, George Will, James Taylor, Richard M. Daley, Sonny Perdue
© 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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