Noble Prize for Literature

Newsflash! King Richard has also just awarded himself the Noble Prize for Literature.

Grand Book Prize

King Richard has created the Grand Book Prize in response to being snubbed by the Man Booker Prize.

Last night He presented Himself with the inaugural award for Thrashings From My Father.

Bookies favourite was Freetannia: My Struggle.

Freetannian Alien Spotters target MK

An alien 'shopper' is inexplicably drawn towards the group, sensing their empathy.

A team of alien spotters from Freetannia hit the ground in MK on Tuesday in a sweep for a suspected alien influx. Freetannia's own branch of SETI (Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) is keen to establish good relations with alien civilisations. King 'Dickie' Frobisher is reported to be keen to expand the microstate's influence into deep space and feels that there is potential for trade. Recently he remarked that Freetannia is keen to acquire an alien fusion reactor and could possibly trade tea and biscuits in return – which are thought to be scarce beyond the orbit of Pluto.

The team, using special scanners, reported that they were successful in identifying a substantial number of aliens though most were disguised as MK shoppers. The team leader commented “There are certainly a lot of very odd people around and some of them are definitely aliens”. A Milton Keynes Council source refused to comment on how many aliens occupied local council seats but one resident admitted “they're definitely from another planet”. The sweep continues.

They walk amongst us.

Freetannia learns from MK's 3D Cinema

Freetannians benefit hugely from the microstate's willingness to apply leading-edge science in the public sphere – men can become pregnant and flashers, shunned in many countries, have a status akin to Morris dancers in Freetannia due to genetic modifications which render them more furry than frightening. Nevertheless, one technological advance which as eluded Freetannians thus far is the concept of 3D cinema.

King Richard Frobisher has engaged a team of experts to look into this and last week a test audience was sent to MK to experience it directly. This puzzled the MK authorities somewhat, since Milton Keynes distinctly lacks a 3D cinema. However, the Freetannian scientific team had been struck by the fact that 3D audiences often report the experience as 'seeming real' or 'as if you were in the film'. The team therefore dispatched the test audience to the shopping centre in Milton Keynes on the basis that a similarly 3D experience would be had, saving much-needed research funds in the process.

This proved successful. After some time watching the to-ing and fro-ing of the MK public the test audience reported that it did in fact 'seem real' and they had the distinct impression of actually being there. “Quite scary really, especially when they come straight at you” remarked one audience member.