ABBAworld opens in London

by Katie Hammel on

Get ready, ABBA fans, because ABBAworld, the first official (and band-supported) ABBA museum has just opened in London.

The interactive museum will contain 25 rooms full of ABBA memorabilia, including behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, never-before-seen music videos and photos, and clothes, instruments, and personal belongings from each member of the band. In one room, you’ll even find the helicopter pictured on the cover of the “Arrival” album.

Visitors will have the chance to feel like a part of the group too, as they see images of themselves projected into music videos and photos and onto album covers (which fans can then access online afterwards). The can test their trivia knowledge with quizzes, remix their own ABBA tunes and even be a “dancing queen” up on stage with a holographic projection of the band.

The exhibit is open daily now through March 28. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster for £21.45 per adult and £14.30 for kids.

The exhibition is expected to visit other cities, but so far no others have been announced.

BA flights attendants trash good wine in protest

by Katie Hammel on

According to the UK’s Telegraph, the latest casualty of the problems between British Airways’ cabin crews and the company is vintage wine. Those involved in the alcohol abuse were members of the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (Bassa), which is part of the union that represents the airline’s 13,000 cabin crew. They say they destroyed the wine as a symbol of “passive resistance” against some of the new practices that British Airways has instituted.

The unhappy employees had planned on striking over the Christmas holiday, but thankfully, the strike was blocked by a judge.

Apparently, the flap all started when BA introduced some new cost cutting measures – which included firing hundreds of employees and freezing pay for current workers. As a result, the “disaffected” workers have stopped any of their own money-saving efforts onboard the airplanes. One worker was quoted in the Telegraph article as saying that “No-one is doing anything to help save costs any more. Whereas we used to keep unfinished bottles of wine in first-class to save money, now they’re routinely poured down the sink.”

Let’s hope the union and British Airways can resolve their issues soon. I hate to see good wine go to waste.%Gallery-76818%

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UK blanketed under record snowfall – but don’t just take our word for it

by Scott Carmichael on

The UK has been hit by one of the worst winter storms in decades. But don’t just take our word for it – check out this photo from The Nasa Terra satellite. Similar winter storms hit all over Europe, but this photo of an entirely white country looks unbelievable. For an even more impressive shot – click here to view a version of the photo taken from 250 miles.

Parts of the country will be getting another 10 inches of the white stuff, and grocery stores are starting to run out of essential products. The national energy operator has even warned of brief periods of natural gas shortages.

Of course, the storms have also been wreaking havoc on the various airports. Gatwick airport canceled over 400 flights on Thursday, and travelers stranded there described the place as the “airport from hell”.

Are you stuck in the UK? Flown through one of its airports? Let us know how you did in the comments below, or tweet including @Gadling.

Her Majesty the Queen no longer exempt from the hassles of airport security

by Scott Carmichael on

Queen Elizabeth II will soon become one of the last people on the planet to be subjected to the hassles of airport security. For some insane reason, her own government has decided that every single air traveler will have to be screened to be sure they are not on a list of known terrorists – and no exception is made for anyone.

The UK system is called e-borders, and is similar to current technology in place in the United States. Every single border passage will be logged, and travelers will need to provide their name, age, gender, date of birth and address.

How the Queen will be able to prove she is who she is will be challenging as she does not carry a passport, and is not required to. In the UK, all passports are issued “in the name of Her Majesty”. All I know is that I’d hate to be the one working the border crossing the day she passes through.

The new measures apply to anybody entering the UK – which includes all levels of VIP, including our own President. The measures even bring an end to the common practice of allowing VIP’s to travel using a pseudonym. Security experts are concerned that forcing high level VIP’s to use their own name will be a bigger security threat than the possibility of the Queen turning out to be a terrorist in disguise.

Mother accidentally smothers baby while breastfeeding on plane

by Scott Carmichael on

In what can only be described as one of the most tragic in-flight accidents I’ve ever head of, a 29 year old mother woke up to discover that she had smothered her four week old baby.

The mother had been breastfeeding the infant when she fell asleep. When she woke up, cabin crew were alerted by her screams in the business class cabin, and a doctor on board the plane was unable to resuscitate the smothered infant.

The United Airlines plane was bound for Kuwait, but made an emergency landing in London where medical staff were also unable to revive the baby.

This really is an absolutely horrible accident, made even more tragic by the fact that it nobody around her noticed anything.