The Daily: September 20

We scour the news so you don't have to.

The Dam Busters composer’s last unheard songs to be aired
Three songs composed by Eric Coates, the man responsible for the infamous Dam Busters theme tune, are to be aired for the first time in his home town of Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. The songs were written by a young Coates before his time at the Royal Academy of Music, and will be performed in a special concert staged by the Eric Coates society. The pieces, titled ‘Love’s Philosophy’, ‘To a Maiden’ and ‘Tit for Tat’, were discovered when Ann Parsons inherited the hand written songs and sent them to the society. Peter Butler, secretary of the society, spoke of their surprise, saying, “naturally I accepted the offer not knowing what to expect” but “when they arrived at our chairman Geoff Sheldon’s house he rang with great excitement to say that they were indeed originals”. It has been confirmed that the three songs, dedicated to Sybil Walsh, have never been published or played in public before.

Animal news
36 Giant African Land Snails almost bought Glasgow airport to its knees earlier this month. Customs officials discovered the stash of snails in the luggage of a Nigerian man entering the country from Amsterdam. After failing to provide a permit for the creatures,  each measuring 15cm in length, the snails had to be seized. Scottish border official Murdo MacMillan said that stopping the snails from entering the country prevented them from “posing a risk to our native plants and wildlife”. The incident comes after three men were arrested on a flight from India for trying to smuggle live monkeys in their underwear. The Scottish snail smuggler escaped with a warning but without his snails.
Denis the cat from Luton, Bedfordshire, has carved a reputation for himself as a real life cat burglar. Nicknamed Denis the Menace, the two year old cat has a habit of returning  home to his bewildered owners with stashes of his neighbours clothes and household goods. His owner Lesley Newman described how “he has completely filled two boxes, I would say he has taken over 100 things now”. During his 18 -month collecting spree Denis’s findings have included men’s boxers, seven car sponges and a Barbie doll.

Four-year-old raises hundreds for charity
Four-year-old Calvin Graves is a budding artist whose sketches have made it much further than the fridge door. In fact, so far, Calvin has raised £200 with his drawings - money he plans to donate to the African Children’s fund. The-four-year old was inspired to help the charity when he saw images of “poor little boys and girls who did not have any food to eat or clean water to drink.”  After learning that top artists can earn hundreds for their pictures, Calvin set upon using his drawings to give other children a better life. The African Children’s Fund raises money to help children overcome hardship and to help provide education in areas such as Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Uganda.

Shortlist for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize announced
The prestigious children’s comedy award the ‘Roald Dahl Funny Prize’ has announced its shortlist today. Nominees include Frank Cottrell Boyce, who collaborated with Danny Boyle on his triumphant Olympic opening ceremony, for his sequel to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and David Wailliams. The comedian’s book, ‘Gangsta Granny’, sees his third nomination for the prize, for which he is going head to head with names such as Mark Lowery and Phillip Reeve in the 7-14 category. The nominees stand to win £2,500 when the winners are announced on 6 November.

Lost Dennis Hopper prints to go on show
More than 400 prints by Easy Rider star Dennis Hopper are to be displayed for the first time in Berlin. The exhibition, entitled Dennis Hopper- The Lost Album, features portraits of artists such as Andy Warhol and David Hockney alongside celebrities like Tina Turner. The prints were originally intended for a Texan exhibition in the 70’s but were eventually put into storage. Hopper’s daughter, Marin, described the exhibition as “a very intimate portrayal of his thought process as an artist.” The prints will be on display at Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau museum from the 20 September until the 17 December.