May 20, 2026

The Felled Sycamore Gap Tree to become art

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: the felled Sycamore Gap tree is becoming a national art project, with six shortlisted artist teams using the preserved, seasoned wood and a public vote helping shape its legacy, aiming for completion by 2028. CrossSense is developing AI-powered glasses for people with dementia, using an assistant called Wispy to recognize objects, label them in-lens, and give audio guidance; trials found three in four patients reported a significant quality-of-life improvement, and the product could be available by 2027. A two-year-old red fox stowed away on a cargo ship from Southampton to New York and was transferred to the Bronx Zoo. Detroit’s RoboWar features giant robot performers and real robots. In Sydney, a lace monitor lizard was found sleeping between pallets in a warehouse and was removed by a snake catcher.

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Kalaroga Shark Media. Hey there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

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good news stories. I remember a few years ago. It

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was twenty twenty three some jerks cut down the famous

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Sycamore Gap tree. Well, now that's being turned into a

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national art project, with the public playing a direct role

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into decigning its legacy. Six artists and creative teams have

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been shortlisted to transform the preserved wood into a major

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public artwork, with the final piece expected to be completed

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by twenty twenty eight. The tree, which stood beside Hadrian's Wallen,

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was one of the most photographed in the UK, had

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a lot of significance from many people. Annie Riley from

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the National Trust said, over the past two years, we've

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heard extraordinary stories about what the Sycamore Gap tree mented people,

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from moments of celebration of milestones to quiet memories of loss,

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connection and reflection. It became more than a tree. It

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became part of the emotional landscape of the nation. The

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wood has been stored and seasoned for twenty eight months

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and is now ready to be used in the final artwork.

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Riley said, we always wanted to make sure that the

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tree had an extraordinary legacy. The vote is now the

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opportunity for the public to help shape the ongoing story.

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They'll announce the design very soon, looking forward to hearing

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what that is. A new pair of AI powered glasses

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is design to help people dementia live more independently, could

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be available by twenty twenty seven. A company called cross

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Sense says the glasses use an aisystem called wispy to

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recognize objects, project labels onto the lenses, and provide audio

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guidance for everyday tasks like getting dressed, making tea, or

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managing household chores. The system is adaptive. It learns how

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each individual completes task and a just as the condition progresses.

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In trials, three out of four patients reported a significant

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improvement in their quality of life. Carol is seventy years

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old than one of the test users. Carol lives with dementia, said,

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I thought it could be an amazing concept with the

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potential to provide real, reliable support for people like me,

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helping to compensate for the cognitive skills we gradually lose

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as dementia progresses. A red fox pulled off an international

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journey worthy of a movie. The Red Fire stowed away

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in a cargo ship and traveled thirty four hundred miles

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across the Atlantic from Southampton, England, to New York City.

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The two year old male fox weighed around eleven pounds

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and was discovered aboard a ship carrying automobiles that had

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departed on February fourth and showed up in the Port

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of New York on February eighteenth. The crew found the

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red fox mid voyage. After arrival, US Customs and Border

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Protection transferred the red Fox to the Bronx Zoo. Keith

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is the Bronx Zoo Director of Animal program He said,

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he seem as be settling again. Well, it's gone through

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a lot. How the fox got on a cargo ship,

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no one knows. Do you like fighting robots? Kind of interesting.

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When Detroit's robo War took place in the back of

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a church in a part of town dotted with industrial

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lots and fast food stores, performers dressed as giant robots.

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Art has founded both the church and the Interactive Combat League.

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Art says, we have these nine foot tall metal gladiators

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that shoot exploding projectiles at twenty rounds per second. The

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show runs every few months. It's called robo War. Whart

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says Detroit has more robots than any other place in America.

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He does point out that the Robo War and the

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Church are two separate enterprises. Robo War also features real robots,

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some robot dogs, and some smaller humanoid robots that dance

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had posed for pictures. At one point during the show,

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there's a robot competing in a dance off against a

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human at the live event. In the human verse robot

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to dance off. Most people are rooting for the human

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and in Sydney, some warehouse workers got a surprise they

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noticed a large lace monitor lizard sleeping between palettes of

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bar fridges. The lizard apparently made itself comfortable inside the warehouse.

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Snake catcher Daniel was called in a remove of the lizard.

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A shared video of the rescue pulling the sizeable male

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lizard out from behind the palettes posted on social media.

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He wrote, this big unit had been spotted a few

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times now and got the order to move on today.

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So if you're a lizard, maybe don't nap between commercial

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refrigeration equipment palettes. So you're five new story short today.

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I have an awesome day