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By United Press International
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Celebrity gardeners battle over design

LONDON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Two celebrity gardeners in England claim rights to a design hailed as one of the "most innovative" at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.

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The turquoise pool with a Jacuzzi, topped by an oval pavilion, included a nude model covering her private areas with a watering can. Irish gardener Diarmuid Gavin accuses Andy Sturgeon of copyright infringement over the design, The Telegraph reported.

Gavin's creation, "Torpedo," features a capsule-shaped garden pavilion with a glazed room built around a steel frame covered in wood. A seat and hot tub were inside.

Gavin, who appears on the BBC2 show "Home Front," has filed a lawsuit in the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, claiming Sturgeon has "taken and implemented" his design.

Sturgeon's solicitors called Gavin's claims "wholly misconceived and wrong."

The judges awarded the Gold Medal to Sturgeon's design.

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Fliers can send banned carry-ons, on

CHICAGO, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Chicago air passengers who don't want to give up cosmetics, perfume or that special bottle of wine at security checkpoints can send the banned items by mail.

The Transportation Security Administration has confiscated and tossed millions of tubes of toothpaste, bottles of shampoo, aerosols and other liquids and gels since ratcheting up security in October. Passengers trying to carry-on more than 3 ounces of a liquid or gel have to hand over the prohibited items, but now they have an option.

Mail Safe Express has set up six credit-card only kiosks in terminals at O'Hare International Airport that, for a fee, allow a passenger to place banned items in bubble-wrap envelopes, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Passengers can mail the items to themselves or to their destinations. They also have a $10 option of picking up the banned items at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport later.

The pilot program will be evaluated after 60 days.

Similar programs have been tried at LaGuardia Airport in New York and Bush International in Houston.


Workers go too far with camel

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Workers at Turkish Airlines pooled their money to buy a camel to sacrifice in celebration of the delivery of 100 aircraft.

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They sacrificed it at Istanbul International Airport. Then they divided 1,543 pounds of meat among themselves, reported Hurriyet newspaper.

Camel is commonly eaten in Turkey, and animals, usually sheep, are sacrificed. An example is the Festival of Sacrifice, symbolizing the prophet Abraham sacrificing his son as God told him to do.

But officials aren't upset about the sacrifice or camel cuisine; it's that the workers didn't ask to do the rite that was seen as wrong, Hurriyet said

A spokesman for the airline told the BBC workers "didn't ask permission."

Belgin Alisan of Turkish Airlines said the workers went "too far," and that shocked officials.

The worker who organized the camel-share is suspended while an investigation takes place.


Church decides kids and candles don't mix

CHELMSFORD, England, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A 259-year-old Christmas tradition involving children carrying candles in a Chelmsford, England, cathedral has been changed so no one's hair catches fire.

The Christmas Eve event -- Christingle -- at Chelmsford Cathedral involves children forming a circle, each holding an orange with a candle in it, The Telegraph reported.

This year, church officials said they would replace burning candles with fluorescent glow sticks, as some parents last year expressed concern their children's hair would catch fire.

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Member of Parliament Eric Pickles lamented the move, saying Christmas was becoming dull and homogenized, the newspaper said.

"Health and safety will ban everything. I would be kind of interested to hear when the last time an orange and a candle set fire to a child's hair," Pickles said.

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