thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--25 Much-Loved Kids' TV Shows From The 90s You'd Probably Forgotten About

Do you remember these 90s kids' shows? BBC/ITV
While kids these days are increasingly turning to YouTube for entertainment, there was a time where we all rushed home from school to watch all of our favourite shows on CBBC and CITV.
A few of them such as Blue Peter and Newsround are still on air to this day, while 90′s favourites like Sabrina The Teenage Witch, The Demon Headmaster and Power Rangers are still very much in the public consciousness due to recent reboots.
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Many shows though were consigned to the TV vaults after their original runs ended – but with everyone enjoying some blasts from the past at the moment, we thought we’d have a good old rummage to unearth some oft-forgotten 90s classics for a serious nostalgia hit.
How many of these did you remember?
Spatz
Spatz was a sitcom set in a 1930s-themed fast food joint that aired on CITV from 1990 to 1992.
Many famous faces passed through the restaurant’s doors, including David Harewood, Rhys Ifans, Gary Lineker, Danny John-Jules and Nicholas Parsons, while former EastEnders star Samantha Womack also appeared as a member of staff.
Round The Bend
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There was a lot going on in Round The Bend. It was supposed to be a parody of Saturday morning magazine shows, and was set in a sewer and fronted by a grumpy crocodile called Doc Croc who linked between various satirical cartoons.
But we mostly remember it for its opening titles that began with viewers getting flushed down the toilet.
Zzzap!
Zzzap! was giant 18ft comic that had been brought to life, featuring ridiculous characters like Cutherbert Lily (he was “dead silly”), Daisy Dares You and Smarty Arty, who you might not have realised was played by Art Attack host Neil Buchanan.
Greenclaws
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Greenclaws was a friendly green monster who lived in a greenhouse and would grow a variety of fabulous seeds inside a Riddle Tree.
The whole premise of the show was pretty bizarre, but for many 90′s kids, Greenclaws was their answer to Alan Titchmarsh.
Tots TV
Made by the same people as Rosie & Jim, Tots TV featured three ragdoll friends – Tilly, Tom and Tiny – who lived in a country cottage together (quite where the adults were was anyone’s guess), as they regularly got up to mischief, taught us a bit of literacy, numeracy and some French, as well as doting on the donkey that lived next door.
Wizadora
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Long before Sabrina, there was Wizadora – a preschool show about a trainee wizard who had problems with getting her spells right.
She had many weird and wonderful friends, including a living scarecrow, a talking telephone and three sock puppets who lived in the drawers in her kitchen.
Miami 7
While S Club 7 are still remembered as one of the biggest pop bands of the late 90s and early 00s, they actually started out on kids TV, where they played fictionalised versions of themselves as a struggling group starting out in the US.
The first series acted as promotion for S Club’s debut single Bring It All Back, while later series relocated the group to LA, Hollywood and Barcelona.
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Count Duckula
Count Duckula was conceived as a spin-off from the popular Dangermouse, having been a recurring villain in the popular 80′s cartoon.
And while he was based on Bram Stoker’s vampire, this count – voiced by David Jason – was a vegetable-loving duck who was obsessed with becoming famous. He also had no fangs.
Playdays
Viewers would board the Playdays bus which would drop you off at a different stop each day.
On Mondays, we checked in with Why Bird in the lost property office, while on Wednesdays we caught up with Mr Jolly at the Roundabout Stop, while on Friday we’d pay a visit to Poppy the cat’s house.
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The Animals Of Farthing Wood
This very cute cartoon followed a group of wild animal pals who were forced to move to a park after humans drove them out of their own home, and gave us our first lessons in wildlife conservation without us even realising.
Cleopatra: Comin’ Atcha!
Any 90′s pop fan will remember the 10/10 classic Cleopatra’s Theme from the girlband of the same name. They achieved scored three UK top 10s and went on to support the Spice Girls at Wembley and ended up signing to Madonna’s music label Maverick.
At around the time of their debut release, the Higgins sisters – made up of Cleo, Yonah and Zainam – also had their own sitcom on CITV, in which they played fictionalised versions of themselves along with their mum and younger sister Terri.
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Dr Zitbag’s Transylvania Pet Shop
This wacky cartoon originally aired in France and was re-dubbed for a British audience in 1994. It saw scientist Dr Zitbag set up his own pet shop in an old castle after being fired from his job, creating new weird and wonderful animals in his laboratory.
The Riddlers
Over 20 years on from the series finishing, we’re still totally creeped out by The Riddlers, which focussed on the adventures of two humanoid puppet creatures Mossop and Tiddler, and also had the one of the most disturbing theme tunes for a kids show.
Are You Afraid Of The Dark?
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This Canadian series saw a group of kids get together in the woods to tell ghost stories, with each week’s episode bringing to life a different spooky tale.
We’ve got goosebumps again just thinking about it.
Short Change
Short Change was essentially a kids’ version of Watchdog, tackling a variety of consumer issues each week.
The show aired from 1994 to 2005, and over that time featured presenters including Ortis Deley, Angelica Bell Andi Peters and Zoe Ball.
Cone Zone
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Being a sitcom set in an ice cream parlour, Cone Zone was like a sister show to CITV’s previous comedy Spatz, except with less burgers and more wafers.
You might recognise The Crown and Doctor Foster star Victoria Hamilton as owner Zandra, while later series starred EastEnders’ Little Mo (aka Kasey Ainsworth) and Bad Girls’ Shell Dockley (aka Debra Stephenson).
Brum
Brum told the story of a small yellow replica car who would secretly leave a motor museum when the owner’s back was turned and get up to all sorts of adventures in the Big Town.
Each episode ended in the same way, with Brum just managing to return home to the museum before it was locked up for the night.
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Woof!
Based on the book by Allan Ahlberg, Woof! followed the adventures of a young boy who shape-shifted into a dog.
In what is the only comparison it bares to 00′s teen drama Skins, there were three generations of the show, each of which starred a different lad with this unusual condition.
Finders Keepers
While Fun House was undoubtedly CITV’s trademark gameshow, we’d argue that Finders Keepers was actually just as – if not more – fun, seeing two teams of friends having to raid rooms for hidden objects in a specially built house.
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Pinky And The Brain
Pinky And The Brain began life as a sketch on another of Warner Bros’ animated series, Animaniacs, but the characters proved so popular they eventually earned themselves their own show.
Each episode followed the two lab mice as they plotted (and failed) to take over the world.
Fully Booked
Everyone remembers Live & Kicking, but what about BBC Two’s Saturday morning kids magazine show, Fully Booked?
The show – which was hosted by the likes of Zoe Ball, Gail Porter, Tim Vincent and Vernon Kay over the years – was set in a hotel and would air in the summer months when L&K was on a break.
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Mike And Angelo
Prior to CITV’s other sitcom about aliens, My Parents Are Aliens, came Mike And Angelo, which saw alien Angelo befriend young boy Mike having crash-landed in his house (via a wardrobe) after leaving his home planet of Ptarg.
During the series’ 11-year run, there were four different ‘Mikes’ and two different ‘Angelos’.
Jungle Run
This late 90s game show was much like The Crystal Maze and was a natural successor to previous CITV series Fun House.
It saw a team of intrepid explorers having to complete a number of jungle-themed challenges to win time inside the temple and better their chance of taking home the top prize.
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Funnybones
This cartoon was an adaptation of the series of children’s books by Janet and Allan Ahlberg about two skeletons and their skeletal dog.
It was originally broadcast in Welsh, but was later recorded in English with comedian Griff Rhys Jones serving as the narrator.
Children’s Ward
As you might have guessed from the title, this drama set in the children’s ward of the fictitious South Park Hospital, telling the stories of the young patients and the staff who worked there.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--America Has Finally Found Someone To Convince Them To Wear Masks - Jason From 'Friday The 13th'

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The coronavirus is surging, and health authorities are pleading with people to wear a mask to slow the spread of the Covid-19 infection.
A new advert from Ogilvy Health uses someone who looks a lot like Jason, the villain in a hockey mask from the “Friday the 13th” films, to help take some of the stigma out of covering up:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--3 Signs Your Colleague May Be Secretly Struggling Right Now

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You may have a co-worker who is silently struggling right now. The global coronavirus pandemic is still affecting millions of people and has completely upended all our old ways of living and working, leading to a lot of extra stress we may not even be able to fully acknowledge.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the top job-related stressors during the pandemic include:
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Concern about the risk of being exposed to the virus at work
Taking care of personal and family needs while working
Managing a different workload
Lack of access to the tools and equipment needed to perform your job
Feelings that you are not contributing enough to work or guilt about not being on the front line
Uncertainty about the future of your workplace and/or employment
Learning new communication tools and dealing with technical difficulties
Adapting to a different workspace and/or work schedule
In other words, there could be many reasons your co-worker is off their game right now. Lisa Orbé-Austin, a licensed psychologist and executive coach, said the pandemic makes it harder for workers to disconnect from their jobs, and this is leading to burnout.
“I’m hearing a lot of fatigue,” she said. “People feel very tired, [they are] feeling a sense of disconnection from all of their roles, including parenting, and are just feeling not great at anything right now.”
Different colleagues are experiencing different realities with regard to social isolation and caretaking responsibilities. “What works for you right now is not likely to be what is going to work for somebody else,” said Liane Davey, a team effectiveness adviser and author of “The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Organization Back on Track.”
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Both experts agreed it is good to watch out for changes in behavioir that signal a colleague may need support. Here are some marked changes in behavioir to watch out for:
1. Your colleague is more distracted and absent.
Orbé-Austin said to look for unusual ways your colleague is showing up in the workspace.
“You can see them overly flustered in ways you’re not used to typically seeing them,” Orbé-Austin said. “They’re missing appointments or missing events, or they just feel scattered in a way that doesn’t seem normative for them.”
2. They’re moodier from the stress.
Everyone has good days and bad days, but a marked change in behaviour like edginess, frustration and irritability are signs to watch out for.
“Stress can show up as your co-worker seeming irritable, on edge, or even defensive. They may overly focus on worries and concerns, such as all the reasons why a project isn’t going well,” said licensed social worker and executive coach Melody Wilding.
3. They’re tired or overwhelmed from difficulty sleeping or pandemic anxiety.
“Just because someone looks like they are doing OK doesn’t mean that they are.” - Psychologist Lisa Orbé-Austin
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When people become worried about losing their jobs, as millions of Americans already have, they may prioritise work performance over other basic needs, making signs of struggle more difficult to notice.
“Some people have to prioritise their work, because it could be a salient identity component, but it also could be because they are afraid to lose the job,” said Orbé-Austin. “Just because someone looks like they are doing OK doesn’t mean that they are.”
Your co-worker may seem generally fine but may actually be grappling with stress in ways you don’t see. Changes in sleeping or eating patterns, feeling overwhelmed or burned out, and difficulty sleeping or concentrating are common signs that the stress of the pandemic is having an effect, according to the CDC.
Orbé-Austin said that if you notice one person struggling, it’s “likely they are the tip of the iceberg, and they are just representative of all the team struggling in some way.”
When you do reach out, don’t assume. Do ask questions about how people are working.
Assuming you know how people are doing or how they feel will not lead to a productive conversation and can put people on the defensive. But checking in is helpful.
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“Human connection has such an amazing stress buffering effect,” Davey said.
When you do reach out, Davey said, the conversation can focus on seeking to understand how the other person is working during the pandemic and what interruptions they face. These questions might include, “What do you think is the most critical piece of this [assignment]?” “What is your most precious hour of the day and what do you want to use it on?” and “What are you worried is going to fall off your plate?”
Davey said these questions help your peer or teammate think deliberately about the most important tasks and signal your own flexibility about how work should get done during the pandemic.
If you are a manager, Lara Hogan, a leadership coach and author of “Resilient Management,” recommends a weekly check-in to see what the folks on your team need.
Instead of broadly asking what an employee needs, managers should get more specific and offer two to three options. In a blog post with advice for managers during emergencies, Hogan wrote that this might sound like, “Hey, so it looks like this ticket still hasn’t been finished yet. We still need it done by Friday, but obviously things are bananas right now for everyone, so I’m eager to hear your thoughts: Would it be more helpful if a) we paired on it together, b) you took an extra 24 hours on it, or c) something else?”
Wilding advised proceeding gently if you are a manager checking in. “Start by asking, ‘How are you adjusting?’ or ‘How are you taking care of yourself?’” she said.
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“If there is something frustrating or concerning about a colleague’s performance, deal with it sooner rather than later.”
Davey also suggests framing your concern as a neutral observation rather than an accusation. For example, if your concern is a colleague’s repeated absence from team gatherings, you could say something like, “Hey, you didn’t say anything on the call, or you didn’t share your perspective on this presentation, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret your silence, so what are you thinking?”
If you are a manager, your job is to model vulnerability and accountability, so that direct reports know that “struggle is accepted, welcomed, understood in our relationship as long as it comes with a sense that you own this, you’re going to figure it out, it’s not just you giving up and letting your team down,” Davey said.
You can do this by sharing your own vulnerabilities and how you are working on them, with language like, “Here’s what I’ve been struggling with and here is how I’m figuring out how to deliver it.”
If there is something frustrating or concerning about a colleague’s performance, deal with it sooner rather than later. Davey said some of her clients say, “I can’t deal with this right now because we’re not [working] face-to-face.” But this inaction would be a mistake because small conflicts can become bigger frustrations that affect how you interact with a co-worker.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--'Morning Sickness' Can Strike At Any Time. Just Ask A Pregnant Woman

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When you’re pregnant, you can be bent over the loo with nausea and sickness at any time of day, which is why researchers have described the phrase “morning sickness” as “misleading” – and called for change.
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The scientists, from the University of Warwick, suggest we scrap the phrase altogether and instead refer to “nausea and vomiting in pregnancy” or NVP.
The researchers call for the change in a study published in the British Journal of General Practice, which is the first research to analyse the likelihood of these symptoms occurring at different times of the day.
The study shows that while the most likely time for pregnancy sickness to occur is in the morning, a significant number of women can experience symptoms at any time of the day.
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The researchers used data from daily symptom diaries kept by 256 pregnant women to gather their results.
While vomiting was most common between the hours of 7am and 1pm, nausea was common throughout the day and many pregnant women report vomiting as a symptom even into the evening. The most common hour for participants to experience nausea and vomiting was between 9am and 10am – 82% experiencing nausea and 29% vomiting at this time.
“Morning sickness is widely used by the general public, media and even healthcare professionals but it doesn’t give an accurate description of the condition,” said Professor Roger Gadsby from Warwick Medical School.
“If a pregnant woman experiences sickness in the afternoon she may feel that this is unusual and wrong, or if she experiences no vomiting but feels nauseated all day she might think she is not covered by the term ‘morning sickness’. And those women who experience severe symptoms feel it trivialises the condition.
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) can have a significant negative impact on the lives of sufferers, Professor Gadsby added. “It can cause, feelings of depression, of being unable to look after the family, and of loss of time from paid work. Very severe NVP called hyperemesis gravidarum is the commonest cause of admission to hospital in the first trimester of pregnancy.”
It is estimated that the annual costs of managing nausea and vomiting in pregnancy to the NHS in England and Wales are around £62m.
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The study authors said: “The continued use of the term ‘morning sickness’ could imply that symptoms only rarely occur in the afternoon and evening so that sufferers will have significant parts of the day symptom-free.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--The Unrivalled Joy Of Lazing In Parks Is A Positive Lockdown Takeaway

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“On a normal Wednesday, we’d be sat over there,” said my friend, gesturing towards the harsh grey tones of the beer garden opposite the field we were sat in. With its parallel rows of seating and uniform umbrellas, it was a sobering picture as we lay, legs akimbo, in the park.
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Socialising, at its purest form, hasn’t changed since lockdown restrictions were eased. Parks may have become the new pubs, but no matter where we are, we’re still mulling over the same stuff, right? Technically, yes – but if you ask me, sitting on the grass in a park is way better than being in a beer garden.
“Think of all the money we could’ve saved sitting in parks before lockdown!” another friend said. Why bother visiting a brewery or going cocktail making for entertainment when you can sack that off and lay in thick, green grass, instead?
Everyone I’ve said this to has struggled to give me a convincing rebuttal. More than just an adequate replacement for the pub, parks offer us the opportunity to come to terms with our weird new normal. Here’s why.
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It’s gleefully childlike
Starcevic via Getty Images
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Try rolling around or laying back flat to the ground. It’s essential while lazing in a park, if you ask me, and it’s actually good for your back (the laying on the ground part, not the rolling around part). Bottle of booze beforehand, optional.
Hear me out: meeting in parks is about more than just sitting. Meandering down narrow paths with the sole purpose of getting lost can feel like a mini holiday at the end of a static housebound day. And the presence of actual children extracts childlike tendencies from even the most adults of adults.
Think of the nostalgia. You may not have laid in a field with friends in a decade, but you almost certainly did as a child. And you’re likely to relish new memories made in a park today as much as you did back then – memories of family picnics, play dates, and hours running around in the sun.
It reconnects us with our local environment
David-Prado via Getty Images Smelling flowers is a highlight of the daily walk
We’re not venturing far from our houses, and with that comes a deeper appreciation and understanding of our local natural environment. Found parks you never knew existed? Me, too!
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Consciously or unconsciously, we’re further connected to these parks, whether that means we’re noticing our neighbours stroll past us, or in tune with the fact the rose beds are still flourishing well into June. Shouldn’t they be gone by now? Would you usually notice the life cycle of plants?
Even if you don’t feel like you’ve become more in tune, you probably have. And for many of us, this greenery is here to stay in our lives.
It brings us together
Paper Boat Creative via Getty Images Friends blowing bubbles in the park
“Who’s got a corkscrew?!” Ah, the lockdown corkscrew debacle that has defined park ambles for all of us this lockdown.
People scrap around in their bags, with a deep sense of shared concern, racing to find the closest one, working as a team. “Poke a stick in the top and push the cork in!” someone else suggests.
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Park life has us chatting to strangers more than we ever would in a beer garden while we’re sat two metres away. A smile as someone walks past, a nod at someone you sat near the day before, a laugh at a collective joke. The small things have brought us together.
For some of us, it’s more comfortable
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For those of us lucky enough to be physically able to sit in parks, changing positions every few minutes is an absolute delight.
Say a sentence to a friend, lay back, weight balanced on one arm, before surrendering to the grass entirely, eyes up to the sky, as they respond.
Then sit up, cross-legged, to make more of a serious point. Laugh later on, and relax back down again, legs stretched off into the sunny patch a few metres away – your head gloriously cloaked in shade.
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It’s cheaper
Alys Tomlinson via Getty Images
This is a bit of an obvious one, but why pay £6 for a pint when there’s tinnies in the park? Feeling concerned about the community? Shop local, or support a local brewery. Treat yourself to pricier refreshments than you normally might and you’ll still be quids in compared to the average pub session.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--Black Minds Matter Fundraiser Tops £500,000. 'We Can't Quite Believe It'

Supplied Agnes (left) and Annie (right) who co-founded Black Minds Matter.
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It was witnessing the huge mental health impact on Black British people of the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality in the US that made two friends from Bristol decide they had to do something to help.
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Agnes Mwakatuma, 26, and Annie Nash, 29, launched the Black Minds Matter campaign on June 1, a week after the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Their aim was to raise money – and awareness – to provide 12-week-long rounds of therapy for some Black people in the UK struggling with their mental health.
Within three days, there was funding for 24 rounds. Within a week enough for 340. A month on, the pair have raised a staggering £500,000 – which will fund 12-weeks of therapy for 720 people. Mwakatuma and Nash say they “can’t quite believe” the number of people and organisations that have donated.
The need is certainly there – in the same period, they’ve been inundated with requests from more than 1,000 people hoping to access this support.
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“We put together Black Minds Matter UK after noticing the mental health of Black people around us deteriorate at an alarming rate,” Mwakatuma tells HuffPost UK.
“We noticed issues such as Covid-19 and the unjust killing of Black people in America were bringing out so many different emotions from built-up anger, sadness and unprocessed trauma patterns amongst the Black community.
“We wanted to enable as many Black people [as possible] in the UK to be able to access free mental health support in the form of therapy sessions.”
As crowd-funders multiplied in the wake of events in Minneapolis, the pair chatted about “how amazing it would be if someone started a fund” for the this cause, too. ″We quickly realised that no change would happen unless we did it ourselves.”
“There has always been a need for an initiative that encourages Black individuals to seek out therapy by Black therapists.” - Agnes Mwakatuma
Black Minds Matter has three clear goals: to connect Black people with certified Black therapists, to improve mental health resources for the Black community through the NHS, and to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community.
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“There has always been a need for an initiative like Black Minds Matter that encourages Black individuals to seek out therapy by Black therapists,” says Mwakatuma. “Statistics very clearly show that Black people have faced racial injustice, higher unemployment and homelessness rates than white counterparts for decades.
“Now more than ever we are constantly being reminded of the fact that these issues are still very prevalent in our community. Black people need safer spaces to heal, to communicate and to address these traumas, without being faced with any barriers such as cultural differences, or traditional or religious beliefs.”
Black and minority therapists are currently underrepresented in mental health services and research has shown that if a Black person’s experience does not resonate with a white therapist, it can lead to misdiagnosis.
And while studies suggest Black people have a higher risk of severe mental illness than white people, detention rates under the Mental Health Act were four times higher in 2017-18 for people from a Black or Black British background than those from a white background.
This week, the newly appointed president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists warned that people from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background face a “triple whammy” of blows to their mental health, citing the disproportionate impact from Covid-19, the despair and hurt many people feel following the killing of George Floyd, and ongoing institutional racism in the NHS.
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Dr Adrian James said: “Racism is pervasive and can lead to a profound feeling of pain, harm and humiliation, often culminating in despair and exclusion. “The persistent and wide-ranging inequalities for people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK, increase their likelihood of being disadvantaged across all aspects of society.”
He pointed out that people from BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) groups are more likely to experience poverty, to have poorer educational outcomes, to be unemployed, and to come in contact with the criminal justice system – and these, in turn, are risk factors for developing a mental illness.
People from these groups are far less likely to access the right support at the right time, he added, calling for the impact of racism on mental health to be urgently prioritised by the prime minister’s commission on racial inequalities.
Early intervention is crucial for better mental health outcomes – yet waiting times for therapy on the NHS can range from weeks to months depending on where you live and the type of therapy you require.
This is where Black Mind Matters hopes to step in, say its co-founders.
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Mwakatuma says it is “shocking and saddening” that there has been so little research into the mental health of Black people specifically. She and Nash, who has a background as a mental health support worker, have found a limited awareness among some who have approached them about the services available, or some reluctance to engage with those services, especially at the early stage of mental illness.
“Most of the individuals who have reached out have explained that they haven’t had great experiences with the services that are readily available and sometimes worry that they might be going against what is deemed to be culturally appropriate,” Mwakatuma explains.
“The stigma around mental health in some BAME communities makes it harder for people to see therapy as an initial option or first step towards addressing any traumas. The way mental health is perceived amongst some of these cultures decreases the likelihood of individuals actually reaching out and getting the assistance they might need. Sometimes this is left almost too late.”
NHS England stressed that mental health services have continued to be available throughout the pandemic to those with existing conditions and “understandable feelings of stress and anxiety”.
A spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “It is important in the context of coronavirus that local services continue to adapt and maximise the mental health support provided to those who are more vulnerable. and anyone who is suffering themselves or worried about a friend or loved one should check nhs.uk for services in your area, including talking therapies and 24/7 crisis support.”
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The friends have been overwhelmed by the show of support and are urging people to help them continue to fundraise through their permanent donation page (the project was previously using a GoFundMe page).
They are now putting all their efforts into making that money count. Having spent the past few weeks vetting more than 40 therapists, Nash is focused on ensuring safeguarding for those who will soon be accessing this therapy.
“We want to make sure each therapist has the correct qualifications, is part of a board, has personal liability insurance, a recent DBS check, but most importantly resonates with Black Minds Matter’s mission,” says Mwakatuma.
Speaking for both women, she adds: “We still can’t quite believe the support we have received from various individuals from different backgrounds and organisations. We are truly excited to change the face of Black mental health and the services available to those of us in the UK.”
Further Resources:
Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--I Tried Sex In A Park During Lockdown. It Was Exciting, But I Wouldn’t Do It Again

zubada via Getty Images People relaxing on the grass field in the city park. BBQ area. Social distancing during coronavirus COVID-19 quarantine. Flat vector seamless pattern
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I don’t feel guilty. There, I said it.
To be clear, we had been respecting the rules and feeling anxious about the virus from the onset. But after spending the first half of lockdown at my boyfriend’s flat before heading back to my place, the idea of making one of our meetup picnics a little more intimate than usual came very naturally. At the time, meeting people from other households wasn’t allowed – the government still hadn’t planned for ‘social bubbles’.
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The idea was so romantic. I have had sex in public places before and was aware that the physical pleasure rarely lives up to the excitement of the whole experience – though I still vividly remember that orgasm at my friend’s pool party a few years ago. This time, reality was miles away from what I had imagined.
We had a plan: I made sure to wear a skirt, he spent days checking satellite views of Google Maps. We had a whole pack of condoms, when we barely needed one.
In my head, I had pictured a lush oasis in the middle of Regent’s Park; we would have walked to its most remote meanderings, found a little patch of grass hidden by flowers, and made love atop my red cotton beach towel.
It could not have been a more unrealistic depiction.
“It turns out very few areas of a central London park are secluded on a sunny weekend, especially during a pandemic”
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It turns out very few areas of a central London park are secluded on a sunny weekend, especially during a pandemic, and those spots a little out of sight are either used as toilets or covered in nettles. Still, I was delighted to share a fun experience with the man I love, who was already feeling me up during the pre-sex picnic in a crowded garden.
After our salmon sandwiches we set out to find The Spot. We held hands, giggling, wondering if others were up to mischief under that same sky. I felt I was part of some secret community, those who do naughty things in parks.
I quickly realised being able to choose was a real privilege.
After entering a portal of bushes, we found a fence and decided to follow it. I thought that no one would go to chill by the park limits, especially if there is no soft grass to sit on. That’s where we found two men laying down with all their belongings, enjoying some shade under a big oak amid sparse vegetation.
That was my reality check. The secret community of people doing naughty things in parks may be made of those who can’t be anywhere else. For some, sex in a public place is the only chance to experience intimacy.
If my dreamy oasis even existed in Regent’s Park, someone needed it more than us. I thought we should settle for a more uncomfortable space as long as it didn’t have any nettles or thorns. We considered those big patches of tall grass, but someone could have easily stepped on us even though we would not be visible from nearby paths.
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“The sex itself was much quicker than the search for The Spot. But when we finished we couldn’t stop smiling.”
We eventually ventured in an area covered with used tissues... then kept going until we found a fence overlooking the road, with a small locked gate probably used for maintenance. There were tiny logs between a recently cut tree and another fence, which had thick bushes on the other side.
We sat on two separate logs behind the trunk, hidden by some faint branches. We were constantly checking behind each other’s backs, stopped when some guy with an orange shirt came too close with his dog.
Around us I could see people walking on the road, hear them talking, laughing and playing music from their phones. If they only peeped over the gate, they would have seen us – although I thought if someone confronted us it would have been very hard to prove we were performing an act of public indecency with all our clothes on.
The sex itself was much quicker than the search for The Spot. But when we finished we couldn’t stop smiling. We walked back to the main bit of the park, aware we were walking among people who had no idea of what we had done. After months of making my own granola and wiping my phone with antibacterial gel in fear of the virus, I finally felt excited.
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I’m proud of it – just like I am of my other successful sexual adventures – but I know I wouldn’t do it again. Both out of respect for others and the park itself, but also because I now know it’s also awkward and potentially dangerous.
Having said all that, now that parks on lockdown have been crossed on the to-do list, we’re already thinking about what next – beaches, hiking trails, nightclub toilets? – in the years to come.
Giulia is a journalist in London


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--'Your Chewing Sounds Like Nails On A Chalkboard': What Life With Misophonia Is Like

Teeramet Thanomkiat / EyeEm via Getty Images "I thought I was alone because no one else I knew heard things the way I did," the author writes.
I look forward to the Golden Globes and the Oscars the way sports fans count down to the Super Bowl. But for me, going to the movie theatre was always more of a sport than an art.
I’d go armed with earplugs to block out the sound of potential popcorn crunching and candy wrappers rustling. I’d dress in my standard uniform: a hoodie to block out my peripheral vision so I didn’t actually catch anyone in the act of eating (yes, even the visual of someone chewing is a trigger for me, a painful reminder of how much the sound hurts my ears). I’d select a seat next to the wall with my husband sitting on my one free side as a buffer between me and potentially grating sounds. If I happened to sit next to a noisy stranger, I would know when to admit defeat and find another seat or simply leave the movie early.
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Until recently, I never realised my adaptive defence to these sounds was actually the result of an undiagnosed hearing condition I’ve suffered most of my life, one in which the background noises most people tune out — chewing sounds, gum popping, yawning, keyboard clicking, dogs barking, sirens and small plane engines, among others — sound like nails on a chalkboard or a smoke alarm in my ears, and evoke a fight-or-flight response in me.
From as early as I can remember, I’ve tried to hide this debilitating condition, not knowing exactly what was wrong. I can distinctly remember hearing the sounds my younger brother made eating breakfast every morning when we were growing up. Despite being in a closed bedroom all the way down the hallway and around the corner from the kitchen, the way he dragged his teeth across his spoon with each bite made me want to scream, to hit him. But, knowing that no one would believe I could hear that sound from so far away, I tried to hide my frustrations.
In school, I began avoiding making friends with kids who chewed gum and I loved teachers who forbade gum-chewing in class. Once, when I was driving my younger brother and he refused to stop chewing his gum, I kicked him out of the family van and made him walk the rest of the way.
I thought I was alone because no one else I knew heard things the way I did.
“I was elated to find a name for my suffering and was surprised to learn that others were bothered by the same exact repetitive sounds and movements as me.”
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That all changed two years ago when my son-in-law sent me an article about misophonia, with the question, “Is this you?” I Googled misophonia and discovered it is a recently identified neurological disorder. I was elated to find a name for my suffering and was surprised to learn that others were bothered by the same exact repetitive sounds and movements as me.
I learned that those with the condition are more often women, and, like me, their misophonia became more of an issue in their teenage years. As I read, I remembered the day I took the ACT and how I sat across from someone who had a cold and coughed and sniffed through the entire several-hour test. I hadn’t yet discovered one of my coping tools — earplugs, which I now never leave the house without — so I took the test pressing one shoulder to my ear while holding my pencil and plugging my other ear with my free hand.
To this day, I can’t think clearly when I’m hearing trigger sounds. My only thought is of the need to escape while begging “Please” to the universe, “Please make the sound stop.”
What I learned from reading and my own experience is that sadly, the more you are exposed to a particular sound, the stronger the trigger becomes, which is why misophonia sufferers are most often bothered by family members’ chewing sounds — the ones they hear the most often.
Over the years, my tolerance for my husband’s chewing, flossing his teeth, leg-twitching and typing has dwindled to the point of being nonexistent. Now, when I eat dinner with him, I sit at the far end of the table and wear earplugs. He flosses in another room, only types on his phone or keyboard behind a pillow or in another room, and tries very hard not to twitch his legs.
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After watching the documentary Quiet Please, which shows a mother who eats every meal in the pantry while her three children and husband eat at the kitchen table — and, in another family, a young adult daughter with misophonia who texts her mother from a different room because she can’t stand the noise when they’re together, I wept, realising how the condition can be even more extreme for some.
When my son-in-law sent me the article, I had been suffering more than ever from what I then called my “super sensitive ears.” A year earlier, we had moved to midtown Manhattan, on the west side, where the sounds of planes, helicopters, sirens and honking cars constantly bombarded me. I was living on the edge, pacing around the house with anxiety. As an escape, I dreamed of shooting paintballs at the helicopters and considered using what little energy I had left to try to get stricter sound pollution laws passed.
As I learned about misophonia, I grasped on to the new information I discovered like a lifeline. I explored cognitive behaviour therapy and sought out an audiologist who prescribed hearing aids that had been designed to distract me from my trigger sounds. Sadly, both the therapy and hearing aids resulted in higher anxiety and stronger reactions to my trigger sounds.
Discouraged, I soldiered on, trying out the solutions I’ve mentioned earlier along with some others, including hoodies to block visual cues, earplugs to block out painful sounds but not people talking to me, noise-canceling headphones for being outside around my worst triggers (city and air traffic), and keeping a fan on constantly inside the house to mute the sounds that caused my worst anxiety.
My new coping mechanisms have introduced challenges. For one, when I wear noise-canceling headphones to block out the sounds of the noisy outside world, obviously I can’t hear anyone I’m with. That has meant more planning and adjustments. When my husband and I rode the subway together, I would wear my headphones and, instead of talking to each other, we’d play Scrabble together on our phones. Since we’ve always loved taking long walks together, we’ve had to find quieter spots, such as in the Forest Hills area of Queens, where there are several miles of wooded and mostly peaceful trails. Instead of eating out, we would order take-out or eat when restaurants were less crowded.
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Besides my physical tools, the best mental coping tool I’ve received has come from my husband.
“Think about misophonia like having a bank account — in which having the emotional, mental and physical bandwidth to spend on triggers is in short supply,” he suggested.
By the end of the day, if I have been overexposed to trigger sounds, I am an emotional wreck, unable to think clearly, short-tempered and exhausted from battle. My husband suggested I spend my “trigger money” — that is, my emotional, mental and physical resources — wisely.
Fortunately, I am a writer and work from home. That means, most days, I’m inside my apartment and I can listen to whatever sounds I want, ones that don’t put a drain on my bank account. I play movie soundtracks while I write and listen to a lot of NPR and audiobooks while I cook, clean, do laundry and exercise. I even swim with a waterproof audio player.
But when I’m with other people, I inevitably have to listen to unwanted sounds; that is, spend my “misophonia money.” This means now I carefully plan my activities, making sure each day has trigger-free hours to replenish what I’ve spent on trigger sounds.
This planning may seem ridiculous. The symptoms may seem easy enough to dismiss. I’ve had plenty of people not take me seriously, which is why those of us with misophonia are hesitant to tell people what’s going on. But since I found out there’s a name for my disorder, I have started to slowly confide in a few close friends and extended family members. Their support and the support of my immediate family has been so rewarding that I feel less alone.
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My husband, adult children and their partners put up with fans running all over the house, even in the winter. My daughter and son-in-law, who are house-hunting, eliminated one area because it was too near a military base with constant helicopter noise. My husband makes sure I have earplugs in before he kisses me. Yes, even the sound of kissing drives me nuts.
I hope that someday, research organisations that I support with donations will discover a treatment or way to eliminate my worst triggers — sirens, planes, helicopters and motorcycles. Until then, I’ll continue to plan my days to keep my exposure to a minimum and otherwise endure sounds when I need to.
The way noises affect me and how I deal with them may seem extreme, but I’m determined to live a full life. Every day, it’s me against my trigger sounds, and I’d like to think I’m winning.
This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--A Minute Of Kindness: The Man Walking In Memory Of George Floyd To Bring His Community Together

A Minute Of Kindness: The Man Walking In Memory Of George Floyd To Bring His Community Together
Keenan Love has walked 46 miles to remember the life of George Floyd and try to heal the division in his Chicago community.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--France And Spain Among Quarantine Exemptions For Arrivals To England

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The quarantine policy for passengers arriving in England from “lower risk countries” will be lifted, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
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Spain, France, Italy and Germany are among those that will be exempt, and a full list of countries from which arrivals will not need to self-isolate for 14 days will be published later on Friday. The new measures come into force from July 10.
All passengers except for those in certain categories will continue to be required to provide contact information on arrival.
Meanwhile, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will exempt a number of countries from its advisory against all non-essential travel, which has been in place since March 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That change will come into effect on Saturday, allowing people to take holidays overseas with regular travel insurance policies.
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The DfT said the devolved administrations “will set out their own approach”, which means passengers arriving in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland “should ensure they follow the laws and guidance which applies there”.
The department indicated that reciprocal arrangements between England and overseas nations have not been confirmed, stating the government’s “expectation” is that a number of exempted countries will also not require arrivals from the UK to self-isolate.
It added the UK “continues to work closely with international partners around the world to discuss arrangements for travellers arriving from the UK”.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “Today marks the next step in carefully reopening our great nation.
“Whether you are a holidaymaker ready to travel abroad or a business eager to open your doors again, this is good news for British people and great news for British businesses.
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“The entire nation has worked tirelessly to get to this stage, therefore safety must remain our watch word and we will not hesitate to move quickly to protect ourselves if infection rates rise in countries we are reconnecting with.”
The DfT said a risk assessment has been conducted by the Joint Biosecurity Centre in consultation with Public Health England and the chief medical officer.
This considered factors for destinations including the prevalence of coronavirus, the number of new cases and the potential trajectory of the disease.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency and member of the Quash Quarantine campaign group, said: “There are still several obstacles to be overcome, namely ensuring Scotland support the planned changes, but this is a welcome boost for the travel industry at such a critical time.
“The traffic light system will bring clarity to holidaymakers and businesses wanting to travel overseas as well as to travel firms desperate for visibility on what they can offer for this summer and beyond.
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“It is remarkably good news that the blanket quarantine restrictions are being lifted from 10th July, and that the changed FCO travel advice will mean we can plan to go away from tomorrow.”
A spokesman for trade association Airlines UK said: “It’s a very welcome announcement and we’re pleased UK airlines will be able to re-start services to many key markets in time for peak summer travel.
“This gives a clear path to opening further predominantly long-haul destinations in the weeks ahead, and we look forward to working with ministers on measures to mitigate the risk from red countries such as via voluntary testing.
“There’s no doubt quarantine has had a devastating impact on our industry and whilst it’s welcome the Government has removed its blanket ban we would encourage rigour and science is applied in all future decisions surrounding our businesses.
“Aviation is vital to our economy and the huge increase in bookings over the past few days proves our customers are keen to get travelling again.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--Will The Public End Up Punch Drunk From Boris Johnson’s Changing Advice?

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The pubs hadn’t even opened and Boris Johnson already sounded drunk. “Contract taste... contact tasting... er testing, tracing... forgive me...contract, contract, contact tracing.” He got there in the end, to be fair. But how will the British public react as the PM’s coronavirus advice chops and changes as much as the words in his test-and-trace tongue-twister?
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We had yet more changes for England today. His ‘five tests’ for easing lockdown seem to be a distant memory, but we now have his ‘five principal components’ for handling local outbreaks of the virus: monitoring, engagement, testing, targeted restrictions and finally, as a last resort, lockdown.
Johnson seemed to be finally announcing what many have already assumed, that the UK’s national lockdown is largely over from tomorrow. Instead of closing all schools or all shops, there will be local actions. Or as he put it we will “move away from blanket, national measures, to targeted, local measures”.
Business welcomes this as partial progress, but the British Chambers of Commerce warned tonight that it will want to see “transparent statistical triggers, timing and a clear exit strategy“ out of local lockdowns. Transparency, canny timing and clarity have not exactly been on show in Leicester so far.
The run-up to the pubs and restaurant reopening doesn’t exactly instill great confidence among some in business either. Only yesterday, the government U-turned on plans to make everyone sitting indoors hand over their names to a register. Today, hours before opening, pubs were told they could not open at midnight but from 6am, with Rishi Sunak tweeting ‘pop the kettle on’.
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Today, the PM seemed confused himself about it, blurting out that the lead members of a group would have to “give their name and contact details of *everybody*, behind the bar, in the restaurant or wherever, gotta be done.” It turned out he misspoke and only the person who booked the table would have to hand over contact information.
Boris Johnson at Friday's coronavirus briefing with chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty. PA Video - PA Images via Getty Images
The real worry in the hospitality industry is that in fact even this limited opening may not stem the one million jobs expected to be lost in coming months. The British Beer and Pub Association said that it will be a surprise if even 10% of pubs are profitable because they are expecting most to loss-make or break-even.
A new survey for the i newspaper today also suggested the public are still very risk averse, with only 7% of people planning to visit a pub this weekend with 3% dining at a restaurant, 2% going to the cinema and 5% booking a haircut. Fewer than a third think they will go to a restaurant, pub, cinema or museum before the end of this month.
Some lifting of the lockdown was always going to involve complexity, but I wonder how many of the public are confused by the current rules. Will people realise they can’t meet lots of different friends indoors in a pub this weekend?
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Johnson’s own advice today summed up the complexity: “Don’t gather in groups of more than 6 outside or 2 households in any setting. Keep your distance from those outside your household – 2 metres if you can, 1 metre with precautions if you can’t.” That’s nowhere near as simple as ‘Stay Home’.
As for the move away from ‘blanket bans’, at least the PM acknowledged that’s exactly what the new foreign travel policy has ditched. The decision to allow travel from 59 different nations does indeed appear to confirm Priti Patel’s blanket quarantine was an awful policy. How many aviation or tourism jobs has it cost will have to be part of the post-corona reckoning.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, all but admitted the blanket ban was a crackers policy. “Quarantine makes most sense and can be used effectively when people are coming from countries which have a higher infection rate than we have here,” he said.
For months the PM has been claiming “we took the right measures, at the right time.” The quarantine fiasco - slamming the stable door closed long after the corona horse had bolted into the UK, then having to partly reopen it - doesn’t meet that test. Today’s move by Matt Hancock to finally routinely test staff and patients in care homes is another policy that many believe should have happened long ago.
Given how risk averse most people are, it’s still possible the public will stick to the varying and changing rules better than either Dominic Cummings or Stanley Johnson. As that candle is lit tomorrow evening on the steps of No.10 to commemorate the 44,131 people who have died in the UK, maybe we can hope the government really will finally start putting the right policies in place at the right time.
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Quote Of The Day
“He’s an original, that doesn’t mean that he’s always right. None of us are. But it does mean that he is free from groupthink.”
Michael Gove tells TimesRadio his view of Dominic Cummings
Friday Cheat Sheet
Boris Johnson revealed that community cricket is set to resume from July 11. He will announce next week the timetable for reopening swimming pools, gyms and nailbars.
Matt Hancock announced routine testing in care homes for English care homes. People over 65 or with dementia will be tested every 28 days and staff tested every week.
The R number for the UK is just below 1, at 0.7 to 0.9, new figures showed. In London the reproduction number is 0.8 to 1.1.
No.10 confirmed there would be a new televised afternoon media briefing from the autumn, led by a political appointee. The morning lobby briefing will continue as is, with the PM’s official spokesman - a civil servant - representing the government.
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The UK is spending $500m (£400m) on a stake in failed satellite firm OneWeb as part of a plan to replace the loss of the EU’s Galileo sat-nav system.
Historian David Starkey has lost positions at Cambridge and at Canterbury Christ Church universites for his “completely unacceptable” comments that slavery did not constitute genocide because “so many damn blacks” survived.
What I’m Reading
The Dangers Of No.10’s New Comms Plan - Institute for Government
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--Eight In Ten Elderly Care Home Residents With Coronavirus Asymptomatic, New Study Finds

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Around eight in 10 elderly care home residents with coronavirus were asymptomatic when tested, according to a new study.
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Experts said the results of the government-commissioned research were “unexpected”, considering age has been considered the “dominant risk factor for severity” of the virus.
The Vivaldi study analysed results from 172,066 residents over the age of 65 from 9,081 care homes in England.
They found 4% of those tested positive for coronavirus - out of these, 80.9% were not displaying typical symptoms associated with coronavirus, including a high temperature, new or continuous cough, and loss of taste and smell.
Sarah Harper, professor of gerontology at the University of Oxford, said the results showed “we need to be careful about the general assertions around the impact of certain population characteristics.”
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“Our early conclusions that younger people were generally asymptomatic, but older adults were less likely to be, has now been questioned,” she said.
“This survey further emphasises that the disease is complex and its progress and impact still unclear.
“There has been a general assumption in some media reports that Covid-19 was a death sentence for all older people – this study emphasises that many older adults as well as younger people can have the disease mildly.”
The study also showed higher levels of coronavirus among care home staff, particularly among temporary staff who work in multiple care homes or settings.
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have showed almost 20,000 care home residents in England and Wales have died with coronavirus in their care home or in hospital.
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Death certificates for 19,394 residents included the mention of “novel coronavirus” between March 2 and June 12, meaning Covid-19 accounted for 29% of the deaths of care home residents during this period.
Senior woman with facial mask,Covid 19. Sladic via Getty Images
The new figures released on Friday push the overall care home resident death figure 32% higher than the 14,658 deaths in care homes reported by the ONS on Tuesday.
The study also found that care homes in which staff receive sick pay are less likely to have cases of coronavirus in residents, compared with those care homes where staff do not receive sick pay.
Around 93% of care homes are thought to offer sick pay to their staff, meaning that employees at some 7% of homes are left without support should they fall ill, and may have been forced to choose between staying off work with symptoms, and being able to support their families.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--Boris Johnson Warns Public 'Enjoy Summer Safely' As Pubs Set To Reopen In England

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Boris Johnson has warned people to “enjoy summer safely” and keep to social distancing rules as pubs and restaurants were set to reopen in England.
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Leading a briefing in Downing Street ahead of “super Saturday”, when the lockdown is eased across England for the hospitality industry, he warned “we are not out of the woods yet”.
Cautioning the government “would not hesitate in putting on the brakes” if cases surge, Johnson said “businesses and their workers have put in a heroic effort” to reopen safely.
He added: “But the success of these businesses, the livelihoods of those who rely on them, and ultimately the economic health of the whole country is dependent on every single one of us acting responsibly. We must not let them down.”
Underlining that the lockdown had driven down the number of cases of Covid-19 “because everyone worked together”, Johnson added: “We will only succeed in reopening if everyone works together again, because we are not out of the woods yet.”
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Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, went further, adding: “If individuals, families and firms do not take them seriously, the possibility of a second wave goes up sharply.”
Are Kjetil Kolltveit puts up social distancing signs at the Chandos Arms pub in London ahead of 'Super Saturday' ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saying that a second spike was a “real possibility”, Whitty added: “There is no perfect time, there is no perfect, exact way of doing it [easing lockdown].
“What this is is an attempt to balance, as best we can, in a way that makes it possible for society to be as close as possible to normal, whilst living alongside this virus – which we will have to continue to do.
“This virus is a long way from gone. But, it is not going to be gone for a very, very long time.”
Johnson said the government has “all sorts of measures in reserve” in the event of a second wave, but that another national lockdown would be “the response of last resort”.
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Local lockdowns, like in Leicester, were likely to be more common in the future, the PM said.
“Instead of closing down non-essential retail and hospitality nationwide, we will only shut establishments locally as required,” he said.
“Instead of shutting all schools for most pupils, from September we will only shut those schools where it is absolutely necessary to control an outbreak.
“We need to move away from blanket national measures to targeted local measures.
“So, instead of locking down the whole country, we will lock down specific premises, or local areas where the virus is spreading.”
On Friday, the government also published its list of “travel corridors” after deciding which countries now have “a reduced risk” of coronavirus.
It means from July 10, people who live in England will be able to travel to countries without having to quarantine for 14 days when they return home.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--'The World's Gonna Know Your Name': Student's Viral TikTok Catches Disney's Eye

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Julian Bass asked the internet for help. It delivered.
The 20-year-old TikTok star shot for the stars and hit them on Thursday as he showcased his talents as a visual effects artist, filmmaker and performer in a now-viral video.
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Viewed more than 6.3 million times on Thursday alone, the clip uses an impressive range of visual effects to transform Bass into his “favoruite heroes,” evolving from a Jedi to Ben 10 to his ultimate fave, Spider-Man.
“If y’all can retweet this enough times that Disney calls, that’d be greatly appreciated,” he wrote.
if y’all can retweet this enough times that Disney calls, that’d be greatly appreciated pic.twitter.com/GrKlIRxg3J — Julian Bass (@thejulianbass) July 2, 2020
Twitter users obliged. And within 12 hours, Bob Iger, executive chairman and former CEO of The Walt Disney Co., was in Bass’ Twitter replies ― and he sounded pretty enthusiastic:
The world’s gonna know your name!!! — Robert Iger (@RobertIger) July 3, 2020
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And that’s not all. He also got a big thumbs up from Josh Gad, who voices Olaf in Disney’s hit Frozen franchise, Academy Award-winning director Matthew A. Cherry, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise director and screenwriter James Gunn, and thousands of new fans who threw their support behind him to become Disney’s next hero.
Give this man his own everything now https://t.co/3nVr36b0ap — Josh Gad (@joshgad) July 3, 2020
🙌 — James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2020
Amazing. Well done, and Disney called!! 👍🏿👍🏿🙅🏿♀ — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 3, 2020
C’mon Sony, live action Spider-Verse, ya got your Miles Morales! Let’s Go! pic.twitter.com/vQaGGLbzBX — Marvel Fan (@Marvel_Fan_3000) July 3, 2020
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The ambitious star-in-the-making also caught the eye of Sony, which owns the rights to the Spider-Man character in movies and shares it in an agreement with the Marvel Cinematic Universe owned by Disney.
Bass, a theatre student at Georgia State University, told HuffPost he’s been working on his filmmaking skills since he was 11 years old.
“I started out doing Lego stop motion videos and grew up reading a lot of comic books, so when I first started editing I was heavy into visual effects. I wanted to give myself every super power in the book,” he said.
Buoyed by his filmmaking accomplishments in high school ― he scooped up two national awards for his videos ― Bass said he continued to create shorts in college but felt discouraged when they didn’t break through. This changed when he started using TikTok, he said, where he’s accrued more than 680,000 followers since posting his first clips in late 2019.
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“I just wanted to have fun and learn some things along the way but clearly I’ve struck a chord and received such an overwhelming wave of support that I really can see my dreams right ahead of me,” he said. “I threw this tweet out today really as a joke, and to have the Disney chairman and all of these celebrities tell me that I’m doing it right and going in the right direction has never been more motivating!”
While Bass has worked to hone his prowess with digital effects, those skills were born “more so out of necessity in order to tell the wild stories I’ve got in my head,” he said. His true passion is his singing and acting, he said, and he’s not afraid to aim high. His dream role? Spider-Man.
“Just one shot to show ’em what I’ve got,” he said. “It was always something I used to joke about even as a little kid, but with Bob Iger in my replies, that might not be a joke anymore!”
His reply to Iger says it all:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--Boris Johnson Holds News Briefing Ahead Of Lockdown Easing

Boris Johnson Holds News Briefing Ahead Of Lockdown Easing
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leads a news conference a day before the latest easing of the coronavirus lockdown allows pubs, restaurants and hairdressers to open.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--Tim Westwood Allegations: Broadcaster Urged To Act Over Claims DJ Behaved Inappropriately With Fans

PA Images via Getty Images
Broadcast giant Global Media is under increasing pressure to launch an investigation into allegations made by both anonymous and named figures online that DJ Tim Westwood has behaved inappropriately with predominantly Black female fans – which he has strenuously denied.
The firm has come under fire, including by its own staff members, for failing to publicly address the allegations, and for keeping Westwood’s weekly radio show on air.
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Claims against the 62-year-old Capital Xtra presenter, who is considered a major figure in the UK hip-hop industry, appeared on Twitter last month under the hashtag #SurvivingTimWestwood. Westwood has said the allegations are “fabricated”.
In a statement released to HuffPost UK, he said: “I can categorically say that I have never had an inappropriate relationship with anyone under the age of 18. I am aware of attempts by anonymous sources to make fabricated allegations online. I can confirm that such allegations are false and without any foundation.”
But a producer at Global, which owns Capital Xtra and employs Westwood, told HuffPost UK that staff members are “outraged at the company’s silence on the issue” and said internal pressure, by way of conversations and correspondence, is being put on employees to stay silent.
A representative for Westwood confirmed to HuffPost UK that no complaints had been received at Capital Xtra.
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DJ Tim Westwood attends the launch of Puttshack in London last year SOPA Images via Getty Images
Westwood has not been convicted of any crime nor have any complaints been made to the police, as far as HuffPost UK is aware. The producer, however, wants to see Global publicly acknowledge that allegations have been made and commit to investigating them internally as part of its duty of care towards other staff.
“I think Westwood should be taken off air,” they said. “I’m surprised they didn’t take him off air while they look into the allegations. They should at least suspend him until they are sure they’re not compromising the safety of their other staff, especially the women. This is a great opportunity for Global to replace him with young and fresh talent.
“Many presenters across the brands are uncomfortable with the situation and the executives have personally told staff not to speak to the media, which is unprecedented,” the source said.
They added that Global’s silence has left staff members open to harassment about the issue from concerned members of the public.
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“A lot of people are shocked and angry that the company has not released a statement at least acknowledging the allegations,” they said. “Some staff have received harassment from people about why that is, which isn’t fair.”
Global has declined to comment on this.
So Tim Westwood has denied any improper behaviour. Tim, at your big age... pic.twitter.com/mIVpLCCL2g — Michael Morgan (@mikewhoatv) June 22, 2020
“A lot of female staff members – across all of the brands – are particularly shaken [because of the nature of the allegation] and feel it needs to be looked into more,” the source added.
This has been compounded by calls from members of the public for Global to address the claims.
The allegations online have led to a petition at change.org demanding an investigation by the mayor of London – who oversees the Met Police – and the police themselves into Westwood’s alleged behaviour towards Black female students.
The petition has amassed over 5,000 signatures.
A spokesperson for the mayor said: “We take all allegations of sexual assault seriously, but this is a matter for the police.”
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The Met Police was unable to provide information about whether officers are looking into allegations made against the star.
Internal correspondence at Global advised staff not to speak on the matter, and was described as “defensive” of Westwood, our source said.
Global Media – a privately-owned firm that has a stable of radio stations including Capital Radio, Heart and Smooth – recently came under fire for giving a platform to Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.
.@CapitalXTRA is a white-owned radio station that profits off Black music. They have a responsibility to address multiple allegations of their DJ - Tim Westwood - using his proximity to Black culture to access and victimise young Black girls. — Sister Outrider (@ClaireShrugged) June 22, 2020
Not sure why @global & @CapitalXTRA are silent on all these allegations swirling around from young black girls about Tim Westwood's predatory behaviour. They aren't going to go away unless they're addressed - immediately. — Carl Loben (@CarlLoben) June 22, 2020
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Hey @CapitalXTRA you’re very silent about @TimWestwood’s antics towards black girls. There’s been many young black women throughout the years coming out to talk about this man coercing them at minor ages by using alcohol etc. — YT: KIMBERLY MOYO (@thekimberlymoyo) June 23, 2020
HuffPost UK revealed that some staff members at Global had called for Farage to be sacked from his LBC show for his inflammatory remarks about Black Lives Matter campaigners.
Farage stepped down following public pressure and enquiries from HuffPost UK.
“Many concerns were directed towards Global on Twitter and these allegations are about abuse of Black women being perpetrated by one of their presenters,” our source said.
“Global has turned a blind eye and appears to have nothing to say [...] but claims to endorse Black Lives Matter. How is that not contradictory?”
In addition to claims being made using the hashtag #SurvivingTimWestwood, there have been allegations posted from both anonymous and named Twitter accounts that the DJ has made sexual advances towards girls aged under 18, and served them alcohol. Westwood has strenuously denied ever having an inappropriate relationship with anyone under the age of 18.
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A number of Black British public figures have raised concerns including model Leomie Anderson, presenter Grace Victory and DJ Funk Butcher.
Comedian Ava Vidal addressed the matter in an article and wrote: “Black girls are often not seen as worthy victims.”
Maybe the @TimWestwood conversation and the dismissive behaviour of @global is better suited for your own debating platform @LBC ....what say you @mrjamesob?! Is this discussion worthy? Why are Black women trivialised in instances of sexual assault?! 🤔 — Funk Butcher (@FunkButcher) June 22, 2020
@CapitalXTRA by you blocking people who speak on Tim Westwood you are showing your complicit in his continued abuse of young black girls you are absolutely disgusting and who still listens to your radio station anyway pic.twitter.com/ssD1PTMTbP — Head of the ‘justice league’ 🇧🇧🇯🇲 (@skinglo_afro) June 21, 2020
Westwood’s hip hop peers Rodney P and late rapper Ty Chijioke have previously made allegations about Westwood’s behaviour, referring to the DJ as a vulture in reference to alleged inappropriate behaviour around young fans. Westwood, 62, has denied ever having any inappropriate relationship with fans under the age 18.
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A second Global source echoed the claim that staff members were upset by the company’s silence on the issue.
“Global’s concern seems to be about protecting Tim which is, to a degree, understandable as he’s employed by them,” the source told HuffPost UK.
“With that said, acknowledgement is important and many staff feel the way they’re handling it puts them in a compromising position. Like, everyone’s uncomfortable.
“We are in the era of Me Too. What message is Global sending?
“Maybe Global is being cautious about fanning flames that could have legal consequences for them. Sometimes companies choose between what is safe legally and what is best morally.”
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Deeba Syed, senior legal officer at charity and legal advice centre Rights of Women, said employers in Global’s position should want to know if any criminal activity was happening in their workplaces or events, or if it was even unintentionally being facilitated by them, so they could take measures to prevent it.
“In cases of workplace historic sexual abuse claims, while employers are not legally obliged to do so, there is nothing to prevent employers conducting their own internal investigation to establish if any criminal sexual abuse has taken place and then use those findings to decide if an employee should be disciplined or dismissed,” Syed told HuffPost UK.
“Far too often we see employers assume they cannot take action or investigate allegations of criminal sexual misconduct until a prosecution has occurred. We encourage employers to work with the police to carry out their own internal investigations, in a way that does not prejudice the criminal process. Nor should employers assume they cannot take internal action if a criminal process does not result in a conviction, as employers only need to establish reasonable grounds to take disciplinary action against an employee.
“We’d like to see employers take a proactive role in investigating historic sexual abuse claims, in order to prevent the sexual abuse of women in the future.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--The Full List Of Countries Exempt From England’s Coronavirus Quarantine

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From July 10 people who live in England will be able to travel to countries without having to quarantine for 14 days when they return home.
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The government has drawn up the “travel corridor” list, published on Friday, after deciding which countries now have “a reduced risk” of coronavirus.
It features popular short-haul destinations such as Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, as well as long-haul locations including Australia, Barbados, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Vietnam.
Portugal, the US, China and Thailand are among the notable absentees.
Under current rules introduced on June 8, most travellers who arrive in the UK have to isolate for two weeks.
Today’s announcement means people living in England will more easily be able to take a summer holiday abroad.
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The lifting of quarantine restrictions when returning from international travel does not yet apply to people arriving in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.
PA
The full list of countries:
Approved destinations pose “a reduced risk to the public health of UK citizens” but the list will be kept “under constant review”, the Department for Transport said.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will exempt the approved countries from its advisory against all non-essential travel from Saturday, while the quarantine policy will be amended from July 10.
That means people who depart on Saturday and spend at least six days in one of the listed locations will not need to self-isolate on their return.
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Passengers will still be required to provide contact information on arrival in England.
The 14-day self-isolation policy for UK arrivals – bar a handful of exemptions – was introduced on June 8.
It was met with fierce criticism over the impact on the UK’s travel, tourism and hospitality industries.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-03--5 Times Boris Johnson Most Definitely Did Believe In Gestures

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“I don’t believe in gestures,” said the man who last year drove a Brexit-branded tractor through a styrofoam wall emblazoned with the word “GRIDLOCK”.
That man was of course Boris Johnson, who made the easily-disprovable statement on LBC radio on Friday morning while discussing taking a knee in support of Black Lives Matter.
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The PM said: “I do not believe in gestures, I believe in substance.”
LBC: "Would you take the knee?"
Me: "I don't believe in gestures, I believe in substance"#BorisHasFailedUK pic.twitter.com/O2RZ7FGVze — Parody Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson_MP) July 3, 2020
So, in the interests of stating the absolutely bloody obvious, here are 5 times in the very recent past that Boris Johnson has performed a grand gesture whilst simultaneously being criticised for doing little to nothing of substance on the issue.
The NHS
Johnson had absolutely no problem showing support and solidarity with the NHS during the first few weeks of lockdown, as he appeared on the steps on No 10 and clapped along with the nation for the Thursday ritual of Clap for Carers.
Here he is, surrounded by a multitude of lovely hand-drawn gestures in the windows of the house in which he resides.
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Of course during this period, there was quite a bit of focus on how the NHS would cope with a pandemic given the toll that years of austerity had taken on the health service.
Johnson of course did this every week except for the ones during which he himself was being tended to by the NHS, which brings us to...
Coronavirus
It wasn’t necessarily a gesture at the time, but Johnson made the act of shaking hands with coronavirus patients into one when he held it up as an example of how the virus would not stop going about his prime ministerial business.
“I was at a hospital the other night where I think a few there were actually coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands,” he said on March 3.
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Just over a month later Johnson would be in intensive care and those first weeks of March where his government refused to impose a lockdown would later be cited as a major factor in the UK’s massive death toll.
The biscuits
Last month Johnson appeared in a bizarre video in which he brandished an actual packet of biscuits at the camera while grinning like a small child who has just found said packet of biscuits.
It was all part of the pitch for a beneficial trade deal between the UK and Australia and New Zealand, something he said would bring the countries “closer together than ever before”.
Aside from the expected mockery of the country’s designated adult waving a packet of biscuits, there was the more appropriate criticism that he was concentrating on something that makes up an absolutely tiny amount of the UK economy and was therefore wasting everyone’s time on... what are they called again? Oh that’s right, pointless gestures.
Seriously? Wine, boomerangs, Penguins, Marmite, Vegemite and Arnott’s Tim Tams?
Well, that should add about ... {checks notes} .... 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000027% to our GDP
Well worth breaking European trade for. 👌pic.twitter.com/ksIGEWFeMk — Dr Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) June 17, 2020
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The push ups
Only a few days ago to prove he had recovered for Covid-19 the PM got on the floor during an interview with the the Mail on Sunday to prove he was as “fit as a butcher’s dog” and “full of beans”.
What a bizarre interview - “more Woking that woke” Boris Johnson is pure David Brent. Proves austerity was a political choice. And those cringey push-ups just make him look unfit to be Prime Minister. https://t.co/AnAr6EeMxc — Alice Perry (@aliceperryuk) June 28, 2020
The kipper
Yes, that picture you may have seen before you clicked on this piece is actually real. That’s Boris Johnson menacingly waving a kipper over his head.
The purported reason for this frivolously fishy fanfare was a claim that “Brussels bureaucrats” were behind rules about sending Isle of Man kippers by post, made at the final hustings of the leadership campaign which he went on to win.
The only problem was it simply wasn’t true – officials in Brussels pointed out the rules were set in the UK and EU food safety commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis reminded Johnson, a former Brussels correspondent, that the Isle of Man is not in the European Union.
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Boris, the Isle of Man is not bound to the #EU 'pointless and damaging' *red tape* in #foodsafety that we are proud of because it protects consumers.
You omitted to say that the Isle of Man is not in the EU. This packaging - #uk competence.
Yet another smoke. #fakenews https://t.co/8yv62TcoMV — Vytenis Andriukaitis (@V_Andriukaitis) July 18, 2019
And if we go further back in time, there are numerous other classic examples of Johnson making gestures, usually of the bumbling variety, as many an individual on social media were happy to point out on Friday.
Boris Johnson: “I won’t take the knee for #BLM because I don’t believe in gestures”
Also Boris Johnson: pic.twitter.com/X9IMcpk8ap — em green (@emilykgr) July 3, 2020
Here is Boris Johnson, posing for the camera while signing a letter confirming he was resigning from the cabinet because Theresa May's Brexit deal mean UK was heading “for the status of a colony."
But he doesn't believe in gestures. https://t.co/BNOMcFKeFe pic.twitter.com/NngpMFhyto — Patrick Smith (@psmith) July 3, 2020
Boris "doesn't like gestures"? Got a bus with bollocks written on it says otherwise. pic.twitter.com/lonPqaSGBj — beth forrest & a bowl of ennuitabix 🏴 (@bethwritesstuff) July 3, 2020
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Boris Johnson shows off his boxing skills with custom 'Get Brexit Done' gloves... 🥊🥊 pic.twitter.com/jft9RP5cpz — SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 19, 2019


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-04--Ghislaine Maxwell Would 'Never Say Anything' About Prince Andrew, Friend Claims

Four of the six charges cover Maxwell’s dealings with Epstein from 1994 to 1997, when she was in an “intimate relationship” with him, according to the indictment.
These include conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
She is further charged with conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Epstein died in prison in August 2019 before facing trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Audrey Strauss, acting US attorney for the southern district of New York, told a press conference that authorities would “welcome” a statement from the duke.
But a source close to the duke said he was “bewildered” by claims made by US authorities that he has not offered to co-operate with the Epstein case.
One of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by the financier, alleges the duke had sex with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17, still a minor under US law.
The duke categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Giuffre.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-04--Sadiq Khan Condemns 'Disgraceful' Attack On Police At Street Party

London mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned a street party in west London as “disgraceful” after seven police officers were injured.
Bricks and other missiles were launched at officers they tried to disperse the illegal rave on Friday night.
Officers clad in protective gear had arrived in White City to attend to reports of a disturbance and said they were met with further hostility and violence. Video shared on social media shows a huge group of officers running into the area.
They had cleared the area by around 1.15am and a section 60 order allowing officers to stop and search anyone in the vicinity was put in place.
Deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said seven officers had sustained injuries as a result of the clashes.
“Officers have responded to residents complaining about a large gathering, noise, anti-social behaviour and violence,” he said.
“These gatherings are illegal and also pose a risk to public health.
“The violence shown towards officers this evening was totally unacceptable and we will not tolerate it in any form. Officers encountered bricks and other missiles being thrown at them.
“Our robust police response demonstrated that we will police incidents like these firmly and stop those intent on causing harm or disruption to our communities.”
Khan condemned attacks on police at the event as “disgraceful”.
He said: “Violence against the police will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be caught and prosecuted.
“Extra police will be out today continuing to work hard to keep our city safe.”
Following a similar incident in Brixton on June 24, Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said the number of police injuries had affected “140-odd officers” over the three weeks prior, including those hurt during protests and counter-protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
The commissioner has vowed to shut down the “appalling” raves and Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the Brixton incident in June as “utterly vile.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-04--Earl Cameron, Pioneering Actor, Dies Aged 102

Earl Cameron – who helped break new ground in the acting industry as one of the first Black actors to appear in a main role in a British film – has died at the age of 102.
Bermudian newspaper The Royal Gazette reported that Earl had died on Friday evening. His agent later confirmed to The Guardian that the actor had “passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his wife and family”.
His children said in a statement: “Our family have been overwhelmed by the outpourings of love and respect we have received at the news of our father’s passing.
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“As an artist and as an actor he refused to take roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour. He was truly a man who stood by his moral principles and was inspirational.”
Earl Cameron outside Buckingham Palace after receiving his CBE PA
Earl was born in Pembroke, Bermuda, and moved to the UK around the time of the Second World War, after joining the British Merchant Navy.
He was inspired to break into acting after watching a West End production of the musical Chu Chin Chow, and ended up getting a bit part in the show, after asking a friend for help.
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“He said no,” Earl recalled to the Royal Gazette in 2018. “The show was cast but, strangely enough, three weeks later, he came by late one afternoon and said my big chance had come.”
In 1951, Earl landed a leading role in the crime noir film Pool Of London, which is often credited as being the first instance of a relationship between two people of different races being portrayed in a British film.
“I never saw myself as a pioneer,” he told The Guardian in 2017, while reflecting on his career. “It was only later, looking back, that it occurred to me that I was.”
Later in his career, Earl went on to act opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film Thunderball in the 1960s, as well as appearing in Doctor Who.
Earl on the set of Thunderball with Rick Van Nutter and Sean Connery Danjaq/Eon/Ua/Kobal/Shutterstock
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Earl’s more recent film appearances included small roles in The Queen and Inception, the latter of which was his final on-screen credit.
He was awarded a CBE in the 2009 New Year’s Honours List, as well as an honorary doctorate from the University Of Warwick four years later.
This article has been updated to include a statement from Earl Cameron’s children.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-04--5 Things To Know Before You Go Camping

5 Things To Know Before You Go Camping

5 Things To Know Before You Go Camping
With restrictions on international travel in place due to coronavirus, more Brits are opting for a staycation this summer – choosing the great British outdoors for their annual escape. Camping is booming as a result with outdoor shops and campsites seeing a surge in sales. But for those deciding to pitch up for the first time who may be a little unsure about what it entails, we spoke to camping blogger Shell Robshaw-Bryan for some tips.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-04--Jade Thirlwall And Baga Chipz's Coronation Street Impressions Are Actually Kind Of Brilliant

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Served! With Jade Thirlwall has seen the singer competing against a different drag queen in a culinary challenge each week, with the winner being decided by, in Jade’s words, “the OG queen, me mam, Norma”.
The show has seen Jade unveiling a string of hidden talents, and as she proved in the finale, she can now apparently add impressionist to her already pretty jampacked CV.
Baga Chipz and Jade Thirlwall in the final episode of Served! MTV
Unpacking their ingredients for the week, Jade and Baga agreed that they both “hate olives”, with the Drag Race star pointing out: “Gail from Coronation Street loves olives.”
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“D’you wanna see my Gail Platt impression?” an excited Jade asked, before leaning into the camera and uttering a confused “David?!”.
Baga then took the opportunity to show off her Deirdre Barlow impression, last seen during her time on Drag Race UK.
"David?!" MTV
As the series has gone on, Jade has held nothing back on camera, including during a video interview with Courtney Act and Melanie C, when she recounted the time she “literally shit herself” during a live performance.
“I was in a fishnet. Picture that,” she told the pair. “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that publicly, to be honest. But there you have it. I’ve just told a Spice Girl that I shit myself.”
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And it seemed there was almost a similar incident at the end of the last episode of Served!, when Jade got the giggles after asking her mother to end the show with a declaration of “that’s a wrap”.
"Don't – a little bit of wee has come out," Jade revealed MTV
“Don’t,” Jade said through her laughs. “A little bit of wee has come out. I can’t help myself… mam, you’ve got 20 seconds, honestly, or the fucking heavens are going to open.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-04--Three US Police Officers Fired After Reenacting Chokehold Of Elijah McClain

McClain was walking home from a convenience store last August when he was stopped by the three white officers. McClain was tackled and at least one officer put the young man in a chokehold.
Paramedics called to the scene injected him with ketamine to sedate him. The 23-year-old went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and died days later after being pronounced brain-dead. He was never accused of a crime.