Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 12

12 TUESDAY 14 JULY 1992 itk-k EVENING STANDARD Creature comforts for great and small by Angus McGill WHEN Mrs Ruth Channing of Newdigate got home the other evening she found a small black creature flapping about in the hall Mrs Channing is not one to scream and jump on stools She picked it up and took a closer look It was a bat rather poorly by the lookofit What do you do with a black bat grounded in your hall? Mrs Channing made holes in a cardboard box popped her guest in it and took it to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Randalls Farmhouse in Leatherhead This is what people all over the South of England do travelling perhaps 100 miles to lodge an injured animal safely in this refUge Sometimes the animal is too big for a cardboard box a deer hit by a car perhaps or a snared fox In that case Simon or Jill Cowell will set off to fetch it in the family car Mr Cowell is a commodities Life in her hands Jill Cowell tends an orphaned fox at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Leatherhead pictures: denis jones Breast cancer success is near by Lois Rogers SCIENTISTS are on the brink of discovering the breast cancer gene inherited through families a genetics expert said today Discovery of the gene may provide the vital link to understanding what causes random cases of the disease and an ultimate cure British teams at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund are at the forefront of the worldwide race Britain has one of the highest death rates from breast cancer It kills 16000 women annually and there is an overall one-in-12 risk of any British woman contracting it About five per cent of the cases are due to the inherited gene but scientists believe this same gene could be randomly mutating in the sporadic one-off cases of breast cancer which kill many more women while 54 per cent splashed out on clothes and 30 per cent on cosmetics One quarter spent their money on presents One woman said: once bought a car when I was premenstrual and believe what I had done when I was in my phase" Another said: bought make-up and clothes and had haircuts regretted for Maryon Stewart senior adviser and founder of the advisory service said: decided to do the survey as so many women had mentioned their irrational spending pre-menstrually The extra financial burdens created as a result are causing further depression and guilt Some women actually leave credit cards and cheque books at home so they WOMEN buy cars they afford have disastrous haircuts and go on shopping sprees all as a result of premenstrual tension according to a report today The latest excuse will come as a relief to thousands of shopaholics who have looked on in helpless guilt as exasperated husbands count the carrier bags go to Harrods because of my hormones" will be the answer The report by the Nutritional Advisory Service says 72 per cent of women overspend in the days leading to their period It warns that these women are the ones leading a daily onslaught on the summer sales The recession has apparently done nothing to dampen their irrational extravagance news which may cheer a wet July Tuesday for broker in the City but he spends every minute he can working at the centre His wife does too She used to teach the clarinet but there is no time for that now Their idyllic 18th century home with its barns and stables set in three acres is completely given over to an arkfkl of animals and birds in trouble The centre costs £45000 a year to run and donations are nothing like that "What we want is a sponsor" said JilL The idea is that the patients should return to the countryside as soon as they are well and most do Two badgers orphaned as cubs are almost ready to leave so are 10 orphaned fox cubs Two injured squirrels and a lame rabbit are doing well too but the mouse with the broken leg died Hedgehogs are regular patients there are at least a dozen at the reftige Then there are birds of prey They have a treacherous enemy the french window Sparrowhawks and owls are always crashing into them If you find a stunned owl let it rest in a dark warm place said Jill This is probably all the treatment it needs although at the refuge it would get a drop of arnica a homeopathic remedy for shock Birds in trouble abound at Randalls Blackbirds and thrushes wrens and robins magpies and crows Magpies and crows? "You can hardly turn a magpie away just because it is a magpie" says JilL don't play God" No but there is a lot of the guardian angel about the Cowells and their helpers Six weeks ago 12 ducklings were orphaned by a lorry For the next few days they lived under an infra-red lamp in the hospital They graduated to the nursery pond and last week returned to their own pond The Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is run by Wildlife Aid If you need it ring 0372-377332 retailers Almost three-quarters of 100 women who took part in the WNAS survey admitted spending extra money for an average of 55 days a month during premenstrual tension While some spent as much as £175 a month others would spend only £2 but the average extra amount was £39 Nearly half the women admitted to spending more than they could afford and 37 per cent bought items on impulse The extra spending caused financial difficulties for 15 per cent and 16 per cent reported their spending sprees caused friction with their partners Chocolate and sweets were irresistible to 59 per cent of those interviewed Wayne star in a new world of chat Tom Cruise forms his own film company TOM CRUISE has formed his own film company and will produce and direct his own cinema projects The unnamed company is a joint venture with his agent of 11 years Paula Wagner The 26-year-old actor said: some time I have wanted to create a film company that would give me the opportunity to develop and work on a wider range of films some of which I would act in or direct wanted to find the right partner to make it work" replacement for retiring Johnny Carson Carvey better known in America for his mimicry of President Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot will also be available for special projects during the November presidential elections NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield said: MWe couldn't let Dana get away His career is as hot as it's ever been Wayne's World has grossed £66 million what else is there to say?" said Littlefield WAYNE'S WORLD star Dana Carvey 38 is being groomed for the top slot on American TV with a salary of £550000 a year to match The comic who shot to stardom as Garth in the cult movie is set to replace chat show host David Letterman on the NBC network Carvey has signed a deal with NBC for a project believed to be Letterman's late-night slot Letterman is stalling over a new deal with the network after being passed over as Tom Cruise: Business role Carvey in World.