It wasn’t all bad

An estate agent has flown from Land’s End to John O’ Groats on a paramotor, a motorised paraglider, which he described as “a parachute powered by a large fan and a lawnmower engine”. James Du Pavey, 35, completed the perilous 745-mile flight in 36 hours, with 11 refuelling stops and three emergency landings – a feat that he said had left him “absolutely ruined” and often in tears. He has, however, raised £10,620 for the Donna Louise children’s hospice.

A 25-metre-long tapestry depicting the history of the town of Royston, Hertfordshire has been unveiled, 25 years after the first stitch was made. More than 50 volunteers have contributed to the Bayeux-like Royston Tapestry, which spent a week on display at Royston Town Hall and will tour the country, before entering the Royston Museum’s collection. The painstaking record starts 140 million years ago, when Royston lay beneath the ocean, and goes on to depict Bronze Age burial mounds, Roman residents and the kidnapping of King James I’s dog by townspeople. It ends in 1742, with the discovery of the mysterious Royston Cave.

A South African Uber driver who was filmed by one of his customers singing opera has now been accepted for training by the Cape Town Opera. The video, taken in May, of Menzi Mngoma belting out the aria

La donna è mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto was spotted by a member of staff at the opera house after it was uploaded to Facebook, and went viral. The 27-year-old, who has mostly relied on online singing tutorials and practised in his car while driving around and waiting for passengers, released his debut single last week.