The comedian David Walliams performed the impressive feat of swimming 140 miles of the River Thames from Lechlade to Westminster. That is still a long way short of the swims undertaken by Martin Strel, a 56-year-old Slovenian.
— After swimming the length of the Danube (1,866 miles), the Mississippi (2,360 miles) and the Yangtze (2,487 miles),Strel was challenged to swim the Nile but dismissed it as ‘not challenging enough’.
— He swam instead 3,272 miles down the Amazon, employing a support team to pour buckets of rancid blood into the water in order to distract the piranhas.
— His next project is the Colorado, which is shorter but has faster rapids.
What about the workers?
Miners and steelworkers once dominated the Trades Union Congress. But which industries have most trade unionists now?
Largest Proportion of Unionised Workers
Education 54%
Public administration and defence 52%
Electricity, gas and water supply 45%
Professional occupations 45%
Health and social work 42%
Smallest Proportion of Unionised Workers
Hotels/restaurants 4%
Agriculture, fisheries and food 7%
Real estate 11%
Wholesale retail and motor trade 12%
Sales/customer service 13%
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