thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--Lorraine Kelly Sticks Up For Tom Hollander After Interview Is Branded A 'Car Crash'

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Lorraine Kelly has jumped to the defence of actor Tom Hollander, following his interview on her daytime show.
During Friday’s edition of Lorraine, the host spoke to Tom and his co-star Tom Taylor about their recent appearance in the BBC drama Us, although unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go smoothly.
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First of all, there was some slight confusion over which “Tom” Lorraine was directing her questions to – not that it mattered, because it soon emerged that only one of them could actually hear her.
“I’m sorry Tommy!” Lorraine said. “It’s all these communication problems isn’t it? It’s like when you’re Zooming your pals and everyone’s like ‘what?’”
Lorraine Kelly speaks to Toms Hollander and Taylor about their show, Us ITV/Shutterstock
Viewers quickly picked up on the rather awkward interview, as did numerous media outlets, with headlines including “Lorraine Kelly battles through ‘car crash interview’ with ‘grumpy’ Tom Hollander” and “Lorraine Kelly’s interview with Tom Hollander and Tom Taylor is branded a ‘car crash’”.
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Sticking up for Tom Hollander on Twitter, Lorraine tweeted in response to one such story: “I actually thought he was adorable - zoom calls can sometimes be tricky.”
I actually thought he was adorable - zoom calls can sometimes be tricky. https://t.co/j9ZFza2sgp — Lorraine (@reallorraine) October 9, 2020
This isn’t the first time in recent history that Lorraine has been in the centre of an awkward moment on her show, though.
Over the summer, she found herself digging a hole when she slated the new film version of Cats to Bonnie Langford, only to discover her niece was among the cast.
“Can I say, she was brilliant but the rest of it was not so good,” Lorraine quickly backtracked. “But she was fabulous!”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--More Than 7,000 University Students Across The UK Now Have Coronavirus

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More than 7,200 university students and staff have been reported as testing positive for coronavirus in recent days, bolstering calls to let them go home without being liable for rent.
The figures come as thousands of students are being forced to self-isolate miles away from their friends and families in efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
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Several universities have switched to online teaching and are providing support in the form of delivering food parcels and medication, and loaning laptops and other equipment.
While there are no official lists of infections at higher education institutions, many universities are publishing the figures themselves. As they are self-reported, the true number is likely to be higher.
UCU regional official Iain Owens said: “The huge rise in the number of students with Covid-19 makes the efforts by universities minister Michelle Donelan to downplay the seriousness of the outbreak even more staggering.
“It is time for the government to take a serious grip of the crisis, properly support students, and provide a coordinated plan to allow all them to return home if they wish once it is safe to do so.”
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Most recent figures for students who have self-reported with coronavirus (not cumulative) Manchester University – 1,366 (September 23 to October 6)
Newcastle University – 1,003 (week ending October 7)
Nottingham University – 624 (week ending October 2)
Northumbria University – 619 (week ending October 7)
Sheffield University – 588 (week ending October 8)
Leeds University – 555 (week ending October 4)
Universities minister Michelle Donelan was criticised after her comments about coronavirus figures for Northumbria University at a House of Commons education committee meeting on Tuesday.
Labour MP Apsana Begum made reference to the 770 students that Northumbria University confirmed had tested positive for Covid-19 as of October 2, describing it as a “really big outbreak”.
While Donelan acknowledged it was “challenging for students involved”, she claimed the figure had been misreported in the media. She said: “That figure was actually those who had obtained Covid, contracted Covid from August, not over the weekend or the last few days, and it also included their London campus and their campus in Amsterdam as well. So the real number was only just over 200.”
In response to the increasing COVID-19 infection rate in Newcastle & the impact this is having on our community, we’re temporarily delivering all teaching online from tomorrow for an initial 3 week period with a review on 23rd October https://t.co/rUgFtbJ4wF pic.twitter.com/EcNSZBdG7g — Newcastle University (@UniofNewcastle) October 7, 2020
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However, a spokesperson for Northumbria University confirmed to Research Professional News that all 770 of the cases reported by the university on October 2 related to students at its Newcastle campus – and did not include anyone at its London or Amsterdam outposts.
A statement on the university’s website says the figure represents the “cumulative number of students who have reported testing positive since they started to return to university for the start of term in mid-September”, meaning it does not include all individuals who had contracted Covid-19 since August as the minister suggested.
On Friday a university spokesperson said: “These students are all now self-isolating. Their flatmates and any close contacts are also self-isolating for 14 days in line with government guidance, and have been advised to contact NHS119 to book a test as soon as possible should symptoms appear. Those affected live in different student and non-student accommodation.
“We have put in place a self-reporting system to openly encourage staff and students to self-identify if they have been tested positive, and to report if they and their close contacts need to self-isolate. This approach is part of our overall plan to proactively and positively manage the health, wellbeing and safety of our staff and students, and deliver a safe campus experience.”
Around 64 universities across the UK have had at least one confirmed case of Covid-19, analysis of university responses and media reports by the Press Association suggests.
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One lecturer, who asked not to be named, told the news agency: “I feel heartily sorry for the students.
“They’ve essentially had no choice but to come to university, and sit in their rented accommodation, often rented from the university, and stew.
“I suspect not all but many are getting nothing, and probably less, out of their uni experience than they would in the relative safety of their homes.
“After all, who could have predicted that bringing thousands of people together from all over the country, and other countries, in confined spaces would not risk an explosion in infections?
“It was sheer lunacy and a lot of staff are angry about it, and not just because of how it affects them.”
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Nottingham University was under fire this week over a leaked email to all staff asking them to “deprioritise” current work, volunteer as online contact centre advisers and provide assistance in student halls.
Solidarity with @UniofNottingham colleagues tonight, who just received this truly shocking email from management 🤯
Staff asked to 'deprioritise' current work and become "Contact Centre Advisors" taking calls from locked-down students and angry parents 😡
A new low 👇 pic.twitter.com/vN49OVRLwx — USSbriefs (@USSbriefs) October 7, 2020
A spokesperson from the university told HuffPost UK: “The university is setting up a new contact centre, in addition to our existing helplines and information, to support students, parents and staff with advice about our measures to support and protect them.
“We are asking for staff volunteers, who will know our community best, to help out where and if their other duties allow. We recognise that all of our colleagues are doing incredibly busy jobs and are grateful to those who can spare the time to help.”
Last month, Nicola Dandridge – chief executive of the Office for Students (OfS), the higher education regulator in England – said it would be “looking very closely” at the quality of education being provided by institutions.
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Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said institutions must be clear with students on what teaching conditions they can expect and if this changed.
“What we can’t have is a situation where students don’t know what’s going on, that they’re locked in their halls of accommodation, and can’t get hold of food,” she said.
She said students had “legal rights as consumers” and could raise complaints with their university and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
Asked if students should receive a refund of tuition fees she said it was “a question for government”.
But Johnson’s spokesperson said: “Universities are autonomous and they set their own fees.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--‘It’s Not Black History If It Does Not Include The LGBTQ+’

‘It’s Not Black History If It Does Not Include The LGBTQ+’
In this episode of ‘Black Voices HuffPost UK’ LGBTQ+ pioneers, issues around coming out and the unique experiences black people face are discussed. Host Yinka Bokinni is joined by UK Black Pride Co-Founder Lady Phyll, the BBC’s first ever LGBT correspondent Ben Hunte and Rob Berkeley, co-director of ‘BlackOut UK’, a not-for-profit for black gay, bi and/or trans men of African descent in the UK.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--One Year Ago, I Survived The Halle Synagogue Terror Attack. Here's Why I’m Worried About the Left

A man wearing a kippa stands in front of wreaths at the synagogue in Halle, eastern Germany, on the first anniversary of the terror attack RONNY HARTMANN via Getty Images
Last year, I travelled with a group of other young Jews to the city of Halle, Germany, to observe Yom Kippur with the local community.
A few hours into the service, a neo-Nazi terrorist armed with guns and explosives tried to slaughter us. All of us inside the synagogue survived, largely through sheer luck, but tragically the killer succeeded in murdering two innocent people nearby.
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And yet, it’s the left that worries me, and more specifically a set of pernicious tendencies that have crept into our discourse in the past few years. I say this despite (or rather because of) the fact that I am decidedly left-wing myself.
Under our very noses, the mainstream left has drifted away from universalist compassion towards a cruel tribalism that we have long associated primarily with the right.
This should terrify all of us, and for several reasons.
The first and perhaps most obvious cause for alarm is that we are betraying our principles. This is inherently dangerous.
Although the left does not pose the kind of imminent violent threat that the far-right does, we are nevertheless moving towards an extremism of thought that historically has often ended in bloodshed.
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The second and more immediate cause for alarm is that as we become increasingly intolerant of dissent, we also become increasingly intolerable to dissenters. The result? They move toward the right.
And finally, with fascism on the rise across the globe, a strong and effective left-wing is our only hope of avoiding catastrophe, and at the moment, we are tragically far from meeting the challenge.
If you have read this far and are already forming defensive judgements, I implore you to keep an open mind and read on. Below I will very briefly note some of the most alarming behaviours I see on the left:
Condemning the smallest infraction with the same intensity as the most grievous violation. Being insensitive and ignorant in matters of race, gender, and sexuality is undesirable, but is categorically different from hate. When theft receives the same capital punishment as murder, we remove the disincentive for a thief to become a murderer.
Ignoring intention. As a Jew, I have experienced innumerable hurtful interactions that we often call “microaggressions”. Except that “aggression” implies intention, and often the malicious intention simply wasn’t there. If someone is being careless about where they walk and as a result they step on my toes, it is fair to be angry at the pain that their carelessness caused me. But to accuse them of deliberate aggression is unfair and will only make them defensive – and rightly so.
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Equating victimhood with righteousness. If we want to redefine racism as necessarily including a power differential, fair enough. But in practice what this often means, is that unacceptable behaviour on the part of an oppressed minority goes uncriticised. As much as I was appalled at the offensive remark that a Jewish acquaintance once made about non-Jews, I was even more horrified that a mutual friend defended them, saying: “It’s okay because she has suffered a lot of oppression.” Beyond the obvious double standard here, I also find this incredibly patronising, as if our suffering leaves us unable to tell right from wrong.
Evaluating others based on their identity rather than on the merits of their ideas. How many of us progressives in the last presidential election supported Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, the latter of whom much better represented our progressive values, simply because we didn’t want “another old white guy”? Tragically, head to head polls showed that Bernie would have had much better odds to beat Trump.
An indifference to the suffering of people who are designated as privileged. #JewishPrivilege was a despicable social media campaign carried out by white supremacists that ignores the oppressions of Jews. But the fundamental logic they used, that any group with perceived privilege deserves contempt, is all too familiar on the left today. If we see compassion and kindness as conditional on oppressed status, then we have already lost the battle of ideas.
Not distinguishing between understanding and endorsing. The causes of right-wing extremism are complex and variable, but not necessarily beyond comprehension. Often beneath the hatred lies a legitimate grievance that has gone unaddressed and so is left ripe for exploitation by a cynical demagogue. Not only is it possible for us to understand a hateful person’s point of view without agreeing with it, it is absolutely necessary if we want to have any chance of making change.
Categorising others as either with us or against us. This one is particularly personal to me as I recently had a falling out with a friend who determined that because I don’t share their specific approach to social justice, I must be neo-liberal despite my insistence that I am vehemently opposed to neo-liberalism. This friend is not lacking in intelligence, education, or good judgement, but rather, like many of us on the left, has been seduced by a highly reductive world view that demands moral purity.
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Across the globe, the looming spectre of fascism has come roaring back, and I know first-hand the fatal consequences of such an ideology. But what should truly alarm us all is the left’s failure to effectively push back against this rising tide, and its counterproductive methods to do so.
The author, who has asked to remain anonymous, is a Jewish American based in Germany.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--Chris Evans Blasts Donald Trump After Confusing Statement About Coronavirus

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Chris Evans has hit out at Donald Trump, following the president’s latest, rather confusing, statement about coronavirus.
The Marvel star has been one of Trump’s most vocal celebrity critics in recent times, particularly in the wake of the US leader’s remarks about the Covid-19 pandemic, following his own diagnosis.
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On Thursday, the POTUS shared what was potentially his most confusing statement about the virus to date in a Twitter video, in which he was heard saying: “We’re taking care of our seniors. You’re not vulnerable but they like to say you’re vulnerable. You’re the least vulnerable but for this one thing, you are vulnerable. So am I.”
Trump speaks to senior citizens about COVID: "You're not vulnerable, but they like to say the vulnerable, but you're the least vulnerable — but for this one thing you are vulnerable." pic.twitter.com/eyZDRwur1p — The Recount (@therecount) October 8, 2020
And evidently we weren’t the only ones left scratching our heads, with the Captain America star coming for Trump on Twitter.
“His brain is a scribble,” he wrote, in the early hours of Friday morning, alongside a clip of Trump’s bewildering video.
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His brain is a scribble. https://t.co/YrchdjDA50 — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 9, 2020
Chris was similarly critical of Trump earlier in the week, when he urged Americans not to be “afraid” of Covid.
Chris Evans Albert L. Ortega via Getty Images
“Don’t be afraid of Covid?!” Chris questioned. “You’ve been under round-the-clock care by the best doctors using the best drugs. Do you really think everyone has access to that?!
“Sadly, I’m sure you’re aware of that disparity, you just don’t care This is reckless to a shocking degree, even for you.”
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Don’t be afraid of Covid?!
You’ve been under round-the-clock care by the best doctors using the best drugs. Do you really think everyone has access to that?!
Sadly, I’m sure you’re aware of that disparity, you just don’t care
This is reckless to a shocking degree, even for you https://t.co/H8CGlD9DcZ — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 5, 2020
He previously retweeted a message from a doctor blasting the president after he was taken on a drive-by to greet supporters outside of the hospital where he was being treated, days after his coronavirus diagnosis.
“Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days,” the message read. “They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theatre. This is insanity.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--Beatles Paul McCartney And Ringo Starr Remember John Lennon On 80th Birthday: 'I Still Miss You Man'

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I love this picture, it reminds me of the bond between us. Happy 80th John. Love Paul #JohnLennon #LENNON80


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--Workers At Locked Down Firms Will Get Two-Thirds Of Wages Paid, Rishi Sunak Announces

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The government will pay two-thirds of the wages of workers whose firms shut over autumn and winter due to local or national coronavirus lockdowns, Rishi Sunak has announced.
The chancellor on Friday expanded the UK-wide job support scheme he announced in September to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds a month, ahead of an expected announcement on new local lockdown plans early next week.
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Sunak will also boost the generosity of cash grants to businesses in England that are closed in local lockdowns, which the Treasury said could benefit hundreds of thousands of businesses including restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, and bowling alleys.
The announcement comes alongside “intensive engagement” with local leaders in areas, mainly in the north, that look set for tougher restrictions.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham last night insisted on “no restrictions without support”.
The new scheme will be open to firms that are legally required to close as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, and is intended to protect jobs.
From November 1, when the furlough scheme ends, the government will cover 67% of any worker’s salary up to a maximum of £2,100 a month at companies required to close, and they do not have to work any hours to be eligible.
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Sunak said: “Throughout the crisis the driving force of our economic policy has not changed.
“I have always said that we will do whatever is necessary to protect jobs and livelihoods as the situation evolves.
“The expansion of the job support scheme will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to temporarily close their doors, giving them the right support at the right time.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak ASSOCIATED PRESS
The new programme is more generous than the main job support scheme, which requires staff to work a third (33%) of their hours to qualify for a maximum of two-ninths salary support from the government, but that scheme is open to firms that are allowed to stay open.
Closed businesses will only be eligible to claim the more intensive support while they are actually subject to restrictions, and employees must be off work for a minimum of seven consecutive days before their employer can ask for cash.
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Larger firms will still be asked to pay National Insurance and pension contributions.
But the Treasury estimates this will only affect half of eligible companies, and that even these will on average be paying 5% or less of any worker’s salary.
The scheme will be in place for six months, with a halfway review point in January.
Meanwhile, the new cash grants will be payable every two weeks and linked to the business rate valuation of the company applying.
Companies will now receive up to £3,000 a month, rather than up to £1,500 every three weeks, and they will be eligible for payment after being closed for only two weeks rather than three.
Small businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or below can now claim £1,300 per month; medium sized businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 can claim £2,000 per month; and larger businesses can claim £3,000.
The Federation of Small Businesses’ national chair Mike Cherry called the plans “game-changers”, adding: “It’s welcome to see them adopted today.
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“We will work with government on clarity on where and when any new restrictions will apply, and clear, accessible small-business-friendly guidance to make sure this help gets to those facing a lockdown of their business premises.”
Director general of the CBI, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, said: “The steep rise in infections in some areas means new restrictions to curb numbers feel unavoidable.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--The Line Of Duty Cast Bust Some Moves On TikTok, And It Goes Exactly How You'd Expect

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Given they are currently bubbled up together on set in Northern Ireland, the Line Of Duty cast are having to come up with new ways to keep themselves entertained during their down time.
And like many of us did during lockdown, Martin Comptson and Adrian Dunbar are now discovering the joys of TikTok, thanks to co-star Vicky McClure.
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The trio – who play DS Steve Arnott, Superintendent Ted Hastings and DI Kate Fleming respectively on the BBC cop show – busted out some hilarious moves on the video sharing site.
Sharing the clip, Vicky wrote: “Breaking these two gently into TikTok! When I’m down I’m gonna watch this on loop!!” along with a laughing emoji.
She also tweeted it, adding: “Good day at work with my besties!”
Earlier this week, the show’s creator and writer Jed Mercurio sparked a theory about series six among fans, after tweeting a series of behind-the-scenes pictures.
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Some eagle-eyed fans noticed a tiny detail in the snaps that suggests one character has either been demoted, or is heading undercover.
#LineofDuty6 Another great week of filming in Belfast pic.twitter.com/VFU4Z5DiCp — Jed Mercurio (@jed_mercurio) October 5, 2020
Filming on the sixth series of Line Of Duty resumed in August, having previously been suspended after four weeks back in March, due to the pandemic.
Bosses are aiming to complete filming in the hope of airing the series in early 2021.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--‘I Was Living In A Hostile Environment’: Being LGBTQ+ And Homeless

‘I Was Living In A Hostile Environment’: Being LGBTQ+ And Homeless
At 16, Faz and his brothers became housing insecure when their mother died. For Faz though things became even tougher when their identity presented issues and they struggled to find alternate living arrangements. After the local authority failed them Faz was essentially homeless until finding emergency shelter at the AKT emergency ‘Purple Door’ accommodation for LGBTQ+.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-09--John McDonnell Warns Keir Starmer It's A 'Mistake' To Abstain On Controversial Spy Powers

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John McDonnell has warned Keir Starmer it is a “mistake” to order Labour MPs to abstain on controversial laws that give MI5 and police undercover operatives the power to commit crimes.
The former shadow chancellor was, along with Jeremy Corbyn, one of 20 Labour MPs to defy Starmer’s orders and to vote against the legislation this week.
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He described the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill, which will put into law for the first time an exemption to allow undercover informants working for the police and MI5 to commit crimes, as “unsupportable”.
And he urged Starmer to give Labour MPs a free vote in future divisions on the legislation, describing it as a “matter of conscience” because it deals with life and death.
Campaigners have long called for informants’ shadowy practices to be put in law, as long as there are safeguards to explicitly exclude murder, torture or sexual violence.
But the bill is deliberately vague on this as ministers fear that terrorists or others will be able to expose undercover agents by setting them tests against a “checklist” of crimes.
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Starmer has said he will try to amend the Bill but McDonnell stressed: “I just can’t see what amendment would enable Labour to vote for this legislation and therefore if you can’t vote for it, and it is so serious, you just have to vote against”.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell Andrew Yates / Reuters
On Labour’s apparent plans to continue abstaining on the laws if it cannot pass amendments, McDonnell told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast: “I just think it’s a mistake.
“On issues like this, they are matters of conscience, they are dealing with life and death in some instances and certainly in terms of extreme emotional and physical harm that could take place as well.
“I think actually you do have to take a decision and you have to stand up on these ones.
“If the Labour frontbench doesn’t do that, that’s a matter for them, but I’ve made it clear that I won’t vote for this legislation.
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“And I can’t see how it could be amended to make it in any way effective in those terms.
“I do not see how we can sanction state agents, whether they be military, police or others, or undercover agents, to perpetrate murder, rape or torture in our names.”
McDonnell described the timing of the Bill’s introduction as “extremely suspicious”, despite a recent court case on the issue, and speculated that Boris Johnson and his chief aide Dominic Cummings may be trying to undermine Starmer’s attempts to paint himself as a patriot.
And he called on Starmer and other party leaders to give their MPs a free vote.
McDonnell said: “I think it is, to a certain extent, Boris Johnson and Cummings and others playing politics with this.
“Keir quite rightfully has, in his conference speech, made it clear about his own personal patriotism and what the party stands for in that respect.
“And I wonder, I just speculate, whether these Bills were brought forward with a view to try and undermine some element of that.
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“If it is a grubby political exercise like that by the Tories I think it’s despicable.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--5 Fibs You Were Told This Week

5 Fibs You Were Told This Week

POOL New / Reuters
While many of you are rightfully concerned about shortages of toilet roll, here at HuffPost UK we’re more worried there aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to cope with 2020.
The supply of such words that were not already overused before last week took an absolute pounding with the news Donald Trump had contracted coronavirus.
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The latest bombshell revelation to rock the year led to the mournful conclusion that we’re close to just having had enough of news.
too much news, frankly — Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) October 2, 2020
There is too much news. — Barry Burden (@bcburden) October 2, 2020
Too. Much. News. — Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) October 2, 2020
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And that before we even consider some of the absolutely insane reaction to Trump’s diagnosis.
Was it a Chinese assassination attempt?
Could Trump catching COVID-19 technically be viewed as an assassination attempt on our President by the Chinese? — DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) October 2, 2020
Will the virus survive Donald Trump?
President Trump won't have to recover from COVID.
COVID will have to recover from President Trump. #MAGA — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 5, 2020
And why doesn’t Joe Biden go out and lick some door handles in the White House?
The Trump campaign is now attacking Biden for...not contracting coronavirus.
“He has experience — now — fighting the coronavirus as an individual. Those firsthand experiences, Joe Biden, he doesn’t have those." pic.twitter.com/Qk0Qc8l6q9 — Tim Hogan (@timjhogan) October 5, 2020
Of course the answer to all these questions is “holy shit America, please can you just get a grip and stop being so utterly mad”.
Anyhoos, back to our regular programming...
The great gift of austerity
Chancellor Rishi Sunak this week claimed a decade of austerity had helped the government deal with the huge economic impact of coronavirus.
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The chancellor said the divisive policy pursued by David Cameron was “absolutely the right thing to do” in response to the 2008 financial crisis, and meant the government was in a good position to respond to Covid-19.
This is a fib. Quite a big one in fact. And here’s why.
In October 2019, an extensive report two years in the making placed the US and the UK first and second respectively in a global ranking of countries’ pandemic preparedness.
Even more impressively, Britain led the world in a sub-section on a country’s ability to respond rapidly and halt the spread of of devastating diseases.
But clearly this hasn’t helped one jot as evidenced by the fact we’re the worst-hit country in Europe.
And this is because the despite high scores elsewhere, the UK scored abysmally in a section which looked at how well a country can actually implement the plans it has.
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One of the report’s authors, Priya Bapat of the Economist Intelligence Unit, told HuffPost UK: “When you look at high income European countries, the UK has the lowest doctors per capita than any of those countries except for Poland.
“There’s been huge underinvestment in the NHS and that’s shown itself in the number of health care workers per capita.”
This underinvestment has of course been thanks to a decade of austerity under a Conservative government.
The government random fib generator careers test quiz
Rishi Sunak caused a bit of an uproar this week when he suggested musicians, actors and artists whose work had been affected by Covid should consider “fresh and new opportunities”.
That’s it. I’m retraining as Chancellor of the Exchequer — Sue Perkins (@sueperkins) October 6, 2020
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If anyone needs to retrain it’s them shower of CUNTZ c’mon you know LG x — Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) October 6, 2020
In order to find out exactly where one should focus their energies during their upcoming careers search, the government helpfully set up a little personality quiz of sorts.
Less helpfully, it appeared to be mostly useless as our political editor Paul Waugh found out.
That govt website just gave me my alternative careers. pic.twitter.com/iLj4SH7Hin — Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) October 7, 2020
these are some very intense career swap suggestions for a woman who spends all day on the internet, writing about celebrities and television pic.twitter.com/xNNhjXaGpj — Rachel McGrath (@RachelMcGrath) October 7, 2020
Boris Johnson’s windy revolution
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson pledged that every home in the country will be powered by offshore wind within 10 years, whilst mocking those who had previously doubted the technology.
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Yet it’s hardly a secret that the PM himself has spent years campaigning against it, writing in 2013 that it couldn’t “pull the skin off a rice pudding”.
Instead, Johnson has constantly advocated shale gas as the means to power Britain and avoid relying on energy imports.
Shale gas has since failed to take off but Johnson never failed to grasp an opportunity to knock renewable energy.
Later in 2013, he wrote a column for The Sun on Sunday titled “Turbines won’t do job.. let’s go nuclear,” in which he described wind farms as a “disease” that have blighted Britain’s countryside and the UK should instead, you guessed it, embrace fracking.
“It is a good 20 years since I last drove all the way to Scotland and in the interim something unbelievable has been done — in our name — to our green, pleasant and precious countryside. I mean the windmills, the turbines… whatever they are called,” he wrote.
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“I mean the things that look like some hideous Venusian invasion, marching over the moors and destroying the dales. The colossal seaside toys plonked erratically across our ancient landscape.“
The PM’s magic money tree
On Tuesday Boris Johnson said people on low incomes will receive £500 a week from the government if they have to self-isolate. Wowsers.
Only it’s not true. Under the policy, it is a one-off payment of £500 for the entire 14-day period.
This by itself my seem like a relatively insignificant fib but is actually just one of many times the government has appeared confused by its own policies.
Last week the PM was forced to apologise as the government’s handling of local lockdown measures in north-east England descended into farce.
And if that wasn’t enough, here are a load more.
Aaaaaand finally...
There are a multitude of potential entries for this week’s US mention, but we’ve decided to go with one from Eric Trump, who continues to maintain a perfect record in never saying anything remotely useful in public during his entire time on earth.
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This week he claimed during a radio interview in North Dakota that his father “literally saved Christianity”.
How did he do this? We literally have no idea and neither does Eric.
Here's the audio of Eric Trump listing "he literally saved Christianity" as one of his father's accomplishments in office. pic.twitter.com/uJG6YUPAbq — andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) October 6, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Northern Leaders Slam Rishi Sunak's 'Insufficient' Local Furlough Plan

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Leaders in the north of England have slammed the chancellor’s plans for a local furlough scheme as ‘insufficient’, claiming it would disproportionately harm low-paid workers.
Backtracking from plans to cut off the furlough scheme completely, Rishi Sunak announced on Friday that the government will pay two-thirds of the wages of workers whose firms shut over autumn and winter due to local or national coronavirus lockdowns.
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But with thousands of workers living under local lockdowns in the north of England – many of whom working in hospitality potentially face a total shutdown of their industry under tougher restrictions – leaders in affected areas have said they “cannot accept” the government’s stance, which they claim falls far short.
At a press conference on Saturday Greater Manchester’s Labour mayor Andy Burnham, speaking alongside leaders from Liverpool, Sheffield and Tyneside, said: “We were told yesterday the financial package that would accompany any new system of restrictions, as announced by the chancellor yesterday afternoon, was final and non-negotiable. And I have to say, we cannot accept that.”
“This package only appeared late in the day, and at the start of the week there was not going to be any financial package at all. Following pressure from mayors and other leaders that changed.
“But the analysis we have done of that package, and we’ve took time to digest what the chancellor had said, the conclusion we have reached is this package is insufficient to protect our communities as we go into the rest of the autumn and the winter.”
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From November 1, when the furlough scheme ends, the government will cover 67% of any worker’s salary up to a maximum of £2,100 a month at companies required to close, and they do not have to work any hours to be eligible. The previous scheme covered 80% of a worker’s salary, up to £2,500 a month.
Burnham said the new scheme would hit those on the lowest salaries the hardest, adding: “These people can’t choose to pay two-thirds of their rent or two-thirds of their bills.”
He also suggested the timing of the proposals could leave people without any financial support for several weeks, with some first payments only due in December.
“That would leave people with no money for a period of six weeks and could push them into debt and severe hardship.”
Labour’s Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool city region, said the city was “in the same boat” as others in the north of England.
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He said: “We are actually talking about lives and livelihoods.
“Imposing new restrictions without also providing adequate funding and support is simply not acceptable.”
Rotheram said the government should be offering to return to the 80% scheme,
He said: “If 80% was the right benchmark in March, nothing has changed. If it’s right then, it’s right now, adding government “can’t do lockdown on the cheap”.
A further 13,864 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK were reported on Friday, and 87 more deaths were confirmed of people who died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.
Nottingham has the highest rate in England, with 760.6 cases per 100,000 people – a huge jump from 158.3 per 100,000 in the seven days to September 29.
Knowsley has the second highest rate, which has leapt from 391.1 to 657.6 per 100,000, while Liverpool is in third place, where the rate has also increased sharply, from 419.0 to 599.9.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--In Pictures: Hurricane Delta Hits Storm-Battered Louisiana With 100mph Winds

The US has been hit by its tenth named storm this year, breaking a record that has stood for more than a century.
Hurricane Delta churned into a corner of southwestern Louisiana repeatedly battered by storms this year, sending residents scurrying out of harm’s way.
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A fallen tree and a house which were damaged by Hurricane Laura are seen as Hurricane Delta approaches on October 9 in Cameron, Louisiana. Go Nakamura via Getty Images
The state is still reeling from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Laura, a category 4 hurricane that hit in August.
Delta made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, packing maximum sustained winds of 100mph, at 6pm on Friday near the town of Creole, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) reported.
Within hours, its sustained winds had diminished to 75mph and it was on the verge of being downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm.
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Trees damaged by Hurricane Laura are seen as Hurricane Delta approaches. Go Nakamura via Getty Images
Streets were deserted in the nearby city of Lake Charles as residents fled, filling hotels or taking shelter away from the path of the Delta, which struck weeks after Hurricane Laura plowed ashore as a Category 3 storm in late August.
“In this community, there are a lot of homes that were damaged (by Laura), and so a lot of people are concerned about staying in that structure again,” Lake Charles mayor Nic Hunter said in an interview.
A pickup truck drives through flooded road as Hurricane Delta approaches in Lake Arthur, Louisiana. Go Nakamura via Getty Images
Laura, which came ashore with 150-mph (241-kph) winds, “is still very fresh and very raw and I think that had something to do with more people evacuating for Delta,” Hunter added.
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Delta is the tenth named storm to have hit the US in 2020 so far, breaking a record that has stood since 1916.
Utility poles damaged by Hurricane Laura are seen as Hurricane Delta approaches. Go Nakamura via Getty Images
Schools and government offices were closed and officials in a dozen parishes called for evacuations. Residents boarded up windows, sandbagged doors and moved out of the storm’s path.
Energy companies cut back petroleum production in the Gulf of Mexico by about 92%, or 1.7m barrels per day, by Friday midday, the most since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 100 offshore platforms and hobbled output for months.
Michael Roberson, 46, is framed by debris from Hurricane Laura, as he watches the arrival of Hurricane Delta from his doorstep in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Adrees Latif / Reuters


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Nicola Adams On Strictly's First Same-Sex Pairing: 'I Don't See What The Big Deal Is'

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Nicola Adams has spoken about her upcoming stint on Strictly Come Dancing, insisting she doesn’t think it’s “a big deal” that she’ll be partnered with a female professional on the show.
The Olympic boxer is set to make history during the upcoming run of Strictly, competing as part of the long-running dance show’s first ever same-sex pairing.
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Speaking ahead of her dance floor debut, Nicola was asked why she had requested a female partner, explaining: “Just for diversity I guess. And I wanted to do something different and I didn’t see what the big deal would be with pairing with another female.”
The gold medallist also pointed out: “You go to nightclubs and girls dance with girls all the time, professional dancers dance with girls all the time, so I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
Nicola Adams BBC
Nicola added: “It’s really good to be able to show diversity for the younger generation as well to be able to see somebody from the LGBT community.
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“They might be as well, so it’s nice for them to be able to think to themselves, ‘That could be me one day, dancing on Strictly.’
She also confirmed that she’d requested not to wear dresses for her routines, explaining: “I’ll be in trousers, different types, maybe shorts, full length.
“I like to keep surprises though, I want to surprise everyone.”
Strictly’s first same-sex coupling has been a long time coming, with fans calling for the show to feature a pair of two men or two women for years.
The announcement that Nicola was to be paired with a woman was met with widespread praise, although the BBC revealed soon after that they had received some complaints.
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Standing by their decision, a spokesperson said: “Strictly Come Dancing is an inclusive show and is proud to have featured same-sex dancing amongst the professional dancers in group numbers in previous series.
“We have stated, in the past, that we are open to the prospect of including same-sex pairings between our celebrities and professional dancers, should the opportunity arise.
“Nicola Adams requested an all-female pairing, which we are happy to facilitate.”
Strictly Come Dancing launches on 17 October, with the first live show taking place the following week.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Make Face Coverings Compulsory Outdoors And In Offices, Doctors Say

Face coverings and masks should be compulsory outdoors in cases where social distancing is impossible, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
A range of stronger, clearer measures should be brought in quickly to halt the rapid spread of Covid-19 infections amid a second wave of the pandemic, the doctors’ union warned, adding that the public is in danger of losing faith in rules due to the government’s “inconsistent” messaging.
As the government prepares to unveil a new three-tiered system of coronavirus restrictions on Monday, the BMA has published a list of recommendations it says could reduce the nation’s level of infection while providing people with the confidence they need to go out safely and boost the economy.
The BMA’s suggestions also include modifying the rule of six so only two households can meet and making mask-wearing mandatory in all office.
The union’s chairman, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said the inconsistency of the government’s messaging once the first lockdown was lifted had played a part in the resurgence of the virus.
He said: “The infection has risen following rapid relaxation of measures and with the Westminster government letting down its guard – as recently as August, the government was encouraging people to travel, go to work and mix in restaurants and pubs.”
“The government has a duty to regain the public’s confidence and faith in measures being taken to get the spread of the virus back under control. It must also provide the financial support businesses need to enable them to make premises and settings Covid secure while providing clear rules on what ‘Covid secure’ means.”
Dr Nagpaul added there was “inconsistency” in directions relating to the wearing of facemasks and how and when to mix socially.
He said: “With admissions to hospitals for Covid climbing rapidly in parts of England, there is an opportunity for the Westminster government to bring in simple stronger restrictions alongside the introduction of its… three-tiered approach.
“We have drawn on a range of expertise from within the BMA to publish a set of recommendations which we feel, if introduced very quickly, could have a positive effect.”
The BMA’s recommendations include:
Modifying the current Rule of Six with the rule that only two households can meet, and those should not exceed 6 people, ideally outdoors rather than indoors;
Making the wearing of face masks mandatory in all offices and working environments, unless you are working alone;
Making people wear masks in all outdoor settings where two-metre distancing is not possible;
Providing financial support to businesses, retail and hospitality settings to enable them to make premises Covid secure and provide clear rules on what ‘Covid secure’ means;
Providing medical grade masks, free of charge, to those who are over 60 or in a vulnerable group, as recommended by the World Health Organisation;
Providing masks free of charge to those who are exempt from prescription charges and also at the entrance of all public settings if a person has not brought one;
Adding more functionality to the NHS Test and Trace app to give people more detailed information on infection rates in their area including actual figures of rates of infection and trends.
Dr Nagpaul added: “We know that with the right public behaviour and renewed public confidence, the infection can be brought under control, given that we had less than 500 new cases a day in mid-July.
“We are having to swallow a very bitter pill of the infection continuing to spread at a perilous rate.
“Stronger measures brought in now could be a far sweeter pill in the long run for far more people.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the government’s measures have been guided by the advice of experts “at every stage” of the pandemic.
“We have been clear from the outset that public compliance with self-isolation rules and social distancing measures is absolutely crucial to preventing the spread of the virus.
“We have introduced financial support to help people self-isolate and simplified social distancing rules, through the rule of six and our ‘Hands. Face. Space’ campaign … our response ensured the NHS was not overwhelmed even at the virus’ peak, so that everyone was always able to get the best possible care.
They added nearly 700,000 people “who may otherwise have unknowingly spread coronavirus” have been contacted via NHS Test and Trace and told to isolate.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande And Jennifer Hudson To Team Up For New Christmas Collaboration?

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Listen, we get it. It’s October. And usually in October, we’re not ones for basking in festive cheer.
However, with cheer of any description in pretty low supply at the moment, we’ll take what we can get, and if the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, is going to bestow us with an early present, then you can bet we’re going to grab it with both hands.
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On Friday evening, the All I Want For Christmas Is You singer teased what looks to be a new Yuletide collaboration, sharing this photo on Twitter, alongside a tree emoji:
It didn’t take fans long to work out that “AG” and “JH” most likely stand for Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson, and let’s just say… there was some excitement:
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ARIANA GRANDE AND JENNIFER HUDSON?? pic.twitter.com/VSDS1z9cgT — Mariah’s Number Ones (@givingyoume) October 9, 2020
Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson?
Are you trying to kill us???? — Alex Goldschmidt (@alexandergold) October 9, 2020
SANTA TELL ME REMIX?! — T. Kyle 🏳🌈 (@tkylemac) October 9, 2020
Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, and Jennifer Hudson coming to save 2020 with a Christmas song like: pic.twitter.com/GDX1OpvRW3 — Yael 🎗 (@yourstrulyael) October 9, 2020
IM CRYING NO WAY @ArianaGrande AND JENNIFER HUDSON!!!!! pic.twitter.com/MiqXDMNelx — manriah canary (@ManriahC) October 9, 2020
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UGHHHH WE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR THE COLLAB OF THE DECADE pic.twitter.com/yv11SY11YE — dean 💗 #TheRarities (@deepestdaydream) October 9, 2020
MARIAH CAREY SAVING 2020 AND CHRISTMAS WBK pic.twitter.com/kztI0fKIGw — Brian | #TheRarities (@briann250) October 9, 2020
ARIANA AND JENNIFER HUDSON AHH — NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR MARIAH CAREY (@ANTFERNY) October 9, 2020
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Obviously, at the moment, all we have to go off is a photo of three directors’ chairs, so it’s tough to decipher exactly what the trio have up their collective sleeve for us this Christmas.
However, fans have been speculating that it could be a new remix of Mariah’s signature hit All I Want For Christmas Is You – which she previously re-recorded with Justin Bieber in 2011 – or a new version of Ariana’s own festive track Santa Tell Me.
Either way, October or not, we are ready for whatever it is that Mariah has in store for us. Even if it’s just a new crisp advert.
Could Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson be about to serve up a Christmas miracle? Shutterstock
After what’s been – let’s just say it – a pretty rubbish year for most of us, there is already a fair bit to look forward to this Christmas, including the new Netflix film Jingle Jangle, which stars Forest Whitaker and John Legend.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Illustrations To Help With Your Mental Health

Illustrations To Help With Your Mental Health
Dr Emma Hepburn is a clinical psychologist who started off using hand drawing to explain mental health concepts in her clinic. But after getting a tablet to draw with, she started creating illustrations and animations and sharing them to a wider audience on social media. Hepburn has just released the book ‘A toolkit for modern life: 53 ways to look after your mind’.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Britain's Got Talent 2020 Final: Here's How It's Going To Work This Year

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As you may have noticed, this year’s Britain’s Got Talent semi-finals have been running a little differently to usual.
For one thing, they’ve been taking place weekly in October, whereas this stage of the competition usually airs over one week in the late spring.
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There’s also been no studio audience, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with fans instead watching the pre-recorded show at home being shown on a slightly Black Mirror-esque “audience wall”.
Well, the moment has finally come to crown a new BGT champion, and here’s how this year’s three-hour (yes, three-hour) final going to work…
Singer and comedian Jon Courtenay is the bookies' favourite to win this year's series Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock
Who are this year’s Britain’s Got Talent finalists?
The first five of the finalists were chosen by the judges during each of the pre-recorded live shows. They are variety act Steve Royle, dancing duo Aaron and Jasmine, magician Magical Bones, comedy singer and performer Jon Courtenay and stand-up comic Nabil Abdulrashid.
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Five more acts – one from each of the semi-final shows – has also been selected by the public. They will be revealed at the beginning of Saturday night’s live show.
Comedian Nabil Abdulrashid is among this year's finalists Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock
Will the show be live?
Partly. The 10 acts have pre-recorded their performances ahead of time for safety reasons, but the winner will be selected via public vote, and announced live by Ant and Dec at the end of the show.
Is there an audience?
No. Due to coronavirus restrictions, producers made the decision to scrap plans to have a studio audience, although to help create more of an atmosphere, fans at home will watch each of the acts live, offering applause, cheers and probably some gasps too.
The "audience wall" behind Ant and Dec Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock
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Who are the judges?
As ever, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams will be there to offer their critiques, but there is one slight tweak to the judging panel this year.
Because of travel restrictions, Simon Cowell was originally supposed to be appearing via video-link, but after an injury led to him undergoing back surgery, he’s been temporarily replaced by former BGT champion Ashley Banjo.
David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Ashley Banjo Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock
Is there anything else to look out for this year?
While viewers cast their vote, they can look forward to a performance by cast members from various West End musicals, including Les Misérables, Phantom Of The Opera and Mary Poppins.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Sacha Baron Cohen: Trump's 'Conspiratorial Madness' Threatens US Democracy

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Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, whose upcoming sequel to the madcap 2006 mockumentary Borat is set to be released later this month, has penned a stark editorial in Time magazine condemning coronavirus conspiracy theories and questioning the future of democracy in the United States.
Sacha, who previously blasted the spread of misinformation and hate speech on social media last year, wrote that the “toxic brew” of conspiracy theories had only grown worse during 2020, largely due to the president.
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“Donald Trump — who averages 23 lies a day and is the world’s greatest superspreader of coronavirus conspiracies — has caught the virus himself,” Sacha wrote.
“He has a dutiful ally in Facebook — the greatest propaganda machine in history. And this is a time when Americans are especially vulnerable to lies and conspiracies. This trifecta has created a whirlwind of conspiratorial madness.”
Sacha Baron Cohen at the Golden Globes earlier this year VALERIE MACON via Getty Images
Sacha listed a number of recent Trump rants — including theories that China deliberately spread the coronavirus and mail-in voting will result in voter fraud — and argued that the American public has been told, “without any sense of Orwelian irony, to deny the very existence of our external reality”.
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“Conspiracies are lethal — to our health and to our democracy — and Election Day is now only weeks away,” he wrote.
“Even as Trump is being treated for Covid-19, he continues to rage-tweet lies and conspiracy theories so fast, it’s virtually impossible to correct them all ... The fate of U.S. democracy now rests with voters and whether they stand up in record numbers and choose truth over lies.”
In the conclusion of his piece, Sacha described a close call while secretly filming his Borat sequel in June.
At the time, he masqueraded as a right-wing singer at a conservative rally in Olympia, Washington, and pranked willing participants into singing a number of racist lyrics — including lines about injecting liberals with the “Wuhan flu”.
When the joke was revealed and the rally participants — many of whom had semiautomatic weapons — tried to stop Sacha from leaving, the comedian wrote that he feared for his life.
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“I was fortunate to make it out in one piece,” Sacha concluded. “The next few weeks will determine whether America will be so lucky.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Trump Takes Sham 'Health Assessment' In Bizarre Fox News Appearance

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Donald Trump said he feels “really good, really strong,” yet declined to clearly state whether he had tested negative for the coronavirus in a remote, televised “health assessment” performed on Fox News by Dr Marc Siegel, a frequent Fox News contributor.
The president said he’d been “medication-free” for the last eight hours in his appearance on host Tucker Carlson’s show on Friday night – his first on-screen interview since contracting the coronavirus. He later revised that claim to say he had taken “pretty much nothing” and had taken his “final doses of just about everything” that day.
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Asked if he had been tested for the virus on Friday, Trump dodged, saying “I have been retested and I haven’t even found out numbers or anything yet — I’m at either the bottom of the scale or free.”
Siegel, a pro-Trump internist in New York City, remotely interviewed Trump, who was filmed at the White House, and noted it was “not officially a televisit.” The doctor has previously spread misinformation about coronavirus in his appearances on Fox News.
Trump described his state while at the hospital last weekend as “tired, you didn’t have the same energy level.” The president credited the fact that he “got there very early,” noting that “one of the doctors thought it would have gotten a lot worse” if he had not.
Trump tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday of last week and was hospitalised for three days over the weekend. Since he returned to the White House on Monday – flouting public health guidelines to quarantine for at least 10 days following the onset of Covid-19 symptoms – the president has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the illness, calling it a “blessing from God” that he was infected and telling Americans “don’t be afraid” of the virus.
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The coronavirus has killed over 213,000 people in the US so far this year.
Trump claims he is no longer taking any medications as of this morning pic.twitter.com/qn8ICrv2js — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 10, 2020
In the Fox News interview, Trump also addressed his widely criticised drive near the hospital to wave to supporters while still hospitalised, saying “it was a great display of love out there” and that he wanted to “go out and say hi.”
Trump also claimed that his Secret Service agents – two of whom were in the car with him, risking their health – had “no problem” with it.
“I love the people of this country and I thought it would have been very disrespectful... if I didn’t go out and at least give them a wave,” Trump said. “I’m very glad I did it.”
Friday’s Fox News interview extended Trump’s recent tour of right-wing media shows, including phone calls into Sean Hannity’s Fox News program on Thursday and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh’s show earlier on Friday.
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Meanwhile, since Trump left Walter Reed hospital on Monday, his medical team has not held a single press event where reporters could ask questions about the president’s health.
In Friday’s Fox News interview, Trump was asked whether he knew where he’d caught the virus.
“I don’t know. They had some big events at the White House, perhaps there,” the president said. ”You know, people have contracted it all over the world.”
He went on to downplay the virus yet again, saying that while it’s a “contagious disease,” people “generally get better from it,” and that in regard to coronavirus-related closures, “the cure is worse than the problem itself.”
Last month, the White House was the location of a coronavirus “superspreader event,” per Dr Anthony Fauci. Following the September 26 Rose Garden celebration for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, multiple attendees tested positive for the virus, including the president, first lady Melania Trump and two Republican senators.
Over two dozen people connected to the White House have tested positive in recent days, including former adviser Kellyanne Conway, current adviser Stephen Miller and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who remains hospitalised.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Mick Fleetwood Surprises TikTok Star Behind Viral Dreams Video

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Dreams truly keep coming true for Nathan Apodaca, the man whose groovy interpretation of a Fleetwood Mac classic has made him an internet superstar.
Two weeks ago, Nathan ― who goes by @420doggface208 on TikTok ― posted footage of himself lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams while riding a skateboard and sipping from a bottle of cranberry juice.
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Though simple in its execution, the 22-second video went viral and has since been viewed more than 69 million times on TikTok and Twitter.
It also prompted a streaming spike for Dreams, which originally appeared on Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 masterpiece album, Rumours.
According to Billboard, the song garnered 8.47 million on-demand streams in the US last week, an increase of 125% compared with the previous week.
I don’t use this verbiage often but this is a whole vibe. simple as that pic.twitter.com/NfdLsgLkxu — DrewFrog (@DrewFrogger) September 25, 2020
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Last weekend, Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood got in on the fun, too, posting his own take on Apodaca’s moves as his debut TikTok post.
On Thursday, the two men were virtually united in a joint BBC News interview, at which point the drummer personally thanked Nathan for having revived interest in his band’s 43-year-old song.
“We owe you,” Mick said. “It’s such a great story, and so needed in days that are really challenging. It makes people smile, and I’m so happy to be part of it.”
After congratulating Nathan “on a wild, wild skateboard journey that has led us to talking today,” he added, “You’re right in my heart.”
Speaking to Andy Cohen on Sirius XM that same day, Mick said bandmate Stevie Nicks, who wrote Dreams, would’ve saluted the social media star on his success, too.
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“She must be celebrating right now,” he said. “It’s great to be connected unexpectedly. That’s what I think is so cool about this. It’s not all super-planned and super-anything.”
It turns out, virtually meeting Mick Fleetwood wasn’t the only surprise Nathan received this week.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Trump To Host In-Person Event At White House A Week After Hospital Stay

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Donald Trump plans to resume in-person events this weekend, little more than a week after he was airlifted to Walter Reed hospital to treat his coronavirus symptoms – and just five days since he was discharged.
The US president will attend an in-person event Saturday on the South Lawn of the White House, according to multiple reports. He is expected to speak “to peaceful protesters for law and order” from a White House balcony, ABC News reported Friday.
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Hundreds of people are expected at the event, per The New York Times.
Two days later, on Monday evening, Trump will hold an in-person campaign rally in Sanford, Florida. He promised it will be “very BIG.”
Will be in Sanford, Florida on Monday for a very BIG RALLY! https://t.co/TTOlHJT8kr — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2020
Trump revealed last Friday that he had tested positive for Covid-19 just hours after a close aide, Hope Hicks, said she had come down with the virus.
He was flown to the presidential hospital suite Friday evening for symptoms that included a fever and difficulty breathing, but checked himself out three days later to return to the White House – putting staff there at risk.
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It remains unclear whether Trump’s appearance will adhere to CDC guidelines. The agency says people with Covid-19 are safe to be around others 10 days after their symptoms first appear if they have been fever-free for 24 hours and their other symptoms — aside from the possible loss of taste or smell — appear to be getting better.
The White House has not been forthcoming about the date of the president’s last negative coronavirus test, and we do not know precisely when he began to feel sick.
Walter Reed Hospital’s Dr Sean Conley gave Trump the all-clear to resume public events by this weekend in a letter released Thursday, despite previously warning that a patient’s symptoms can suddenly worsen in the second week of their illness.
Conley, however, has admitted to offering a particularly rosy view of the president’s condition in prior remarks to the press.
“I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” he explained. “And in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.”
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Numerous other people in Trump’s orbit have also announced they have the virus, including first lady Melania Trump, former adviser Kellyanne Conway and current adviser Stephen Miller.
Several of those who became sick had attended the president’s Supreme Court nomination ceremony for Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday, September 26. Although the event was partly held outdoors, few people were spotted wearing masks on the lawn or at an indoor gathering afterward.
This coming Saturday will be the first time Trump has held a public event since announcing his illness.
The president has sought to boost his public image through multiple phone interviews with conservative media, prerecorded videos and a long series of all-caps tweets that have led to speculation about the possible effects of any medication he might be taking. During a Friday interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Trump said he was no longer taking any medication for his illness.
Trump has also pushed for an in-person debate with Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden, whose campaign had agreed to participate in the virtual set-up announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--How One London Hospital Is Preparing For A Second Wave Of Coronavirus

“We were the first – and arguably hardest – hit hospital in the first wave.”
When coronavirus first gripped the UK back in the spring, it was Northwick Park Hospital in north-west London that found itself at the centre of the crisis – and completely battered by its force.
“The virus hit us like a tidal wave,” said John Ross, a nurse consultant in the hospital’s A&E.
“People were terrified of getting sick or getting their families sick and we just didn’t know a lot about the virus at all,” Ross said. “This time, we know a lot more about it.”
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Like hospitals across the country, Northwick Park has spent the summer and early autumn months – which saw a temporary lull in coronavirus cases – preparing for a second wave of the virus that has already killed more than 42,000 people in the UK.
“The first time round, it hit us like a tidal wave and we were doing things as we were going along,” Ross explained. “We were having meetings every day and we were problem-solving. Every problem that came up was new and we had to find a solution for it.
“This time, there’s a lot more evidence for everything. There’s a lot more preparation and planning going in.”
This is apparent from the moment you enter the hospital as a patient – over the past two months, there have been huge structural changes to the A&E department.
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The hospital's A&E department has effectively been split into two. Patients without Covid symptoms are sent to the 'amber emergency department'. LNWH NHS Trust
“We now effectively run two A&Es in one,” Ross said. “You have your ‘likely Covid’ A&E and your ‘unlikely Covid’ A&E.
“So if you come to A&E with a broken leg, you should never come across a patient who is symptomatic with Covid because we have put new walls up, new doors up, new one-way systems up.”
He added: “We are very segregated. Our staff members don’t mix areas. So if you’re assigned to a non-Covid area for the day, you stay in that area for the day and vice-versa.”
There has also been a different sort of division taking place.
Northwick Park has risk-assessed staff to find out who – due to factors that make them high-risk – should not be on the front line in the battle against the infection, explained medical director Martin Kuper.
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“We are working through exactly which staff we would mobilise into different areas if there was a full blown second wave,” he said.
During the first wave of the pandemic, hundreds of NHS staff died after being infected with the virus. It has since been recognised that BAME people, and those with underlying health conditions, are at higher risk of catching – and dying from – coronavirus.
And big changes have been underway when it comes to Northwick Park’s critical care provision, which has been “significantly” expanded.
“[This is] both in terms of what we have available as a baseline and the areas we would use if necessary if the numbers were to increase again significantly,” Kuper said. “We have had a lot more time to plan exactly where we would site critical care.”
Entrance to the 'red' A&E which is for patients with suspected Covid-19 LNWH NHS Trust
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The influx of coronavirus patients to Northwick Park was so overwhelming that, on March 19 – four days before Boris Johnson put the UK into lockdown – the hospital was forced to declare a critical incident.
By mid-April, 48 patients at Northwick Park and its sister hospital, Ealing, were on mechanical ventilation with Covid.
Despite soaring recent infection numbers, that figure at least remains much lower than it was – so far. Latest figures show two patients on mechanical ventilation in the hospitals.
Meanwhile, Northwick Park “has more than doubled” its critical care equipment compared to the stock it had at the start of the first wave, he added.
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For Kuper, it feels as if Northwick Park – and the NHS in general – is better primed for a second wave of coronavirus infections than it was back in March.
“We have had more forewarning of this and we are better prepared,” he said.
“It’s also worth saying that our management of Covid has improved – lots of research has been done. For instance, we now know that steroids, which are relatively cheap, do help.
“So I think we will be in a better position to hopefully reduce some of the severity of illness we saw last time.”
But not every preparation for a second wave has been a physical or medical one, explained deputy chief nurse Helen Hardy.
At the “harrowing” height of the first surge in Covid-19 cases, there was a focus on staff debriefing with one another and sharing their worries, she said.
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This is something leaders want to hold onto as the hospital faces the possibility of cases soaring once more.
“As we move into the second wave, people are still quite anxious and worried,” Hardy said.
“It’s about reminding them about how far we have come and all the things we now know and can put in place.”
But for certain members of staff who were hit hardest by the first wave of coronavirus, preparations for working this winter look very different from those of their colleagues.
A&E nurse consultant John Ross with nurse Franco Palo, who survived coronavirus earlier this year LNWH NHS Trust
Franco Palo, a senior charge nurse at the hospital, was diagnosed with Covid-19 in April – and is still battling to recover from the virus that left him fighting for his life in the intensive care unit, and get back to the job he loves.
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After being rushed to Northwick Park Hospital and intubated by his colleagues, Palo was unconscious for five weeks.
He remembers nothing about being transferred to the Royal Brompton Hospital, where he was attached to one of the UK’s five specialist ECMO machines in a bid to keep him alive.
After weeks of the machine oxygenating his blood for him, he was transported back to Northwick Park, where he has worked for almost two decades.
It was there he finally woke up – still attached to dozens of tubes and wires. “It was a blessing to wake up,” Palo said.
It was another two weeks before he was well enough to leave the ICU – and another fortnight on top of that before he was eventually allowed to go home to his family.
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But months after his emotional departure from the hospital, Palo is still recovering from the battering Covid-19 gave his body – and working towards being well enough to get back to work and support the NHS in its hour of need.
Walking is hard, though he can now do a mile unaided. “I’m trying really hard not to use my stick,” Palo said. “I’m still wobbly, so if I’m on a long walk I need someone to accompany me.”
His consultant is also trying to avoid putting him on dialysis after coronavirus “kicked my kidneys very hard”. “I’m on lots of medication and there are lots of things I can’t eat,” he said.
“I really want to go back to work – I have been telling everybody that I really want to work.
“But the problem is the risk – my consultant and my GP agree that I should take a few months off work for now until they are really happy I can manage myself.”
He believes that he will be back in the hospital in uniform my December – though he admits he’s unlikely to be able to return to frontline duties.
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For John Ross, the knowledge that NHS staff now have about coronavirus – including staff like Palo who have felt the effects of the pandemic first-hand – is a double-edged sword.
“The first time, the biggest thing was the unknown,” he said.
“This time, we know a lot more about it. People have been through it once before, so that gives them a degree of assurance that they can do it again and they know what they’re doing.
“The other side of that coin is – we have done it before and it was a Herculean effort. It was the biggest challenge of our careers. The thought of us doing that again and it potentially being worse is obviously very daunting. So knowing it has already happened is good and bad.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--65% Of Britons Want State Subsidies Shifted From Fossil Fuels To Green Energy

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Boris Johnson is facing fresh calls to slash taxpayer aid for fossil fuels after a poll found that two in three Britons want Boris Johnson to shift subsidies away from oil and gas firms to support renewable energy instead.
Labour stepped up its demands for an overhaul of government tax breaks for the North Sea as the newly released YouGov/Global Witness poll, shared exclusively with HuffPost UK, underlined public concern that not enough is being done to tackle the climate emergency.
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Nearly two thirds (65%) of the UK population want to see the government shifting the subsidies it currently provides to domestic oil and gas firms to instead support the expansion of renewable energy and increasing the energy efficiency of people’s homes. Less than in one in 10 (7%) opposed such a shift.
More broadly, 67% want to see the UK as world leader on climate change, with majorities across all age groups, regions, genders, political parties and both sides of the Brexit vote (remain 83% and leave 56%).
With the UK set to hold the next round of global climate change talks in Glasgow next year, the poll results match growing campaigns for the UK to radically change its subsidies for fossil fuels, with domestic gas in particular receiving VAT cuts that electricity – which can be renewable – lacks.
The Johnson government launched a review last month of its oil and gas licensing regime, which could herald a big shift in policy since the Cameron government opted to get as much fossil fuel out of the ground as economically possible.
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Since 2016, the UK has operated a legally binding policy called “Maximising Economic Recovery” (MER) that compels the Oil and Gas Authority to “take all steps necessary” to ensure that the maximum value of oil is recovered from under UK waters.
Climate change campaigners argue that the policy, plus a system of tax perks for the gas and petroleum industries, is incompatible with the Johnson government’s wider commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Critics say that the Oil and Gas Authority regulator is only now considering the net zero target and the government’s industrial strategy does not mention the need to retrain and redeploy oil and gas workers.
A consultation into the strategy ended in July and revised version is expected to be presented to business secretary Alok Sharma this autumn.
Scotland’s economy has long relied on fossil fuels, but the YouGov poll also found that three quarters of the Scottish public were unaware of UK government’s “Maximising Economic Recovery” policy, to extract as much oil and gas as is economically viable.
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Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of the Scottish population would like to see the Scottish government training and skills spending go towards the renewable energy sector, whilst amongst 16-24-year-old voters, the environment and the climate was the most important issue.
Ken Penton, UK climate campaigner at Global Witness, said: “Off the back of a period of great political upheaval in the UK, with sharp divides, it’s welcome news that protecting the climate is one issues that unites everyone.
“The simple fact is you can’t be a global climate leader if you plan to carry on maximising the amount of oil and gas you produce, rather than support the growth of the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.”
Penton said that as the host of the UN Conference of Parties (COP) conference in 2021, the UK would be judged not on its rhetoric but on action on curbing the oil and gas industry.
“This starts with scrapping the Maximising Economic Recovery policy that dictates the UK explore for and extract as much oil and gas as is economically viable. If the UK is to meet its own climate obligations, it cannot dig for any further fossil fuels beyond what is already in existing operational fields,” he said.
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Boris Johnson pledged to boost offshore wind energy in his Tory conference speech this week, though critics said he failed to commit the billions needed for a serious investment in the sector.
Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead also made clear that the polling underlined that the public agreed the current strategy needed to change.
“Labour has made clear the government’s Maximising Economic Recovery strategy for oil and gas is untenable as it stands, and inconsistent with the ambition to meet net zero emissions,” he said.
“We must focus instead on a just transition to a decarbonised energy sector, which recognises the different role oil and gas will play in future industry, and that creates high-skilled, green jobs.”
The department of business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) refuses to describe the current tax breaks for fossil fuels as “subsidies”, even though an EU report last year found that £10bn was effectively spent shoring up the industry, compared to £9bn for renewable energy.
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A BEIS spokesperson said: “We want to ensure the UK has the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth and we have already cut emissions by 43% since 1990 and were the first major economy to commit to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“We will continue our global leadership on tackling climate change by hosting the next UN climate conference COP26 in 2021.
“The UK does not have any fossil fuel subsidies, and we are exploring how to make the gas network cleaner through the Green Gas Levy and have just announced plans for even more of our electricity will be provided by clean, green wind power.”
The UK has signed up to a G20 summit commitment to rationalise and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies across the globe that encourage wasteful consumption.
It says that the independent Committee on Climate Change has recognised the ongoing demand for oil and natural gas, including it in all scenarios it proposed for how the UK meets its target for achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
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The oil and gas sector supports 270,000 jobs across the UK, but the green economy has the potential to support 2 million jobs by 2030, even on government estimates.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--Punished For Baby Loss: How Miscarriage Forced One Woman Out Of Her Job

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Lucy* was 10 weeks pregnant when the bleeding started. After three years of trying for a baby, the realisation she was miscarrying was utterly devastating. But if the physical and emotional toll weren’t enough, Lucy’s agony was compounded by another factor: her boss.
Initially, he was sympathetic to the miscarriage, but his attitude soon changed as he realised she would probably be trying for another baby. Even while she was off sick following the loss of her pregnancy, she felt pressure to return.
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On her first day back at work, she was stunned by her boss’s words to her. “I’m trying to run a business here and people are trying to hit targets,” he told her. “If you’re going to sit there being sad and bring the office down, you can go.”
Lucy’s ordeal had begun soon after she discovered she was pregnant. Longing – and trying – for a baby for several years, she had been poked and prodded with enough tests to be told it wasn’t going to happen without IVF. So when she found out she was pregnant naturally, it was a huge shock.
“I was quite emotional about the whole thing because it was the culmination of quite a few years of trying.” said the 38-year-old, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.
Lucy worked for a recruitment agency and had been brought in to set up a new division. Her relationship with her boss was great. He valued her opinion and she felt very much “part of the inner circle.” However, things changed quickly after she realised she was pregnant. Suffering from terrible morning sickness, Lucy says she “looked absolutely horrendous”. One morning, her boss called her into the boardroom and asked her if she had a drinking problem.
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“I was so shell shocked by it because I was in this whole kind of state of feeling really fragile because I was pregnant – and I was also trying not to vomit. “I just blurted out that I was pregnant. I felt I had no choice and that the only way to defend myself was to explain the reason why I was sick all the time. Other than my husband, he was the second person to know.”
Her boss, who had never had anyone pregnant working for him before, was surprised by her news, Lucy says, but initially quite positive and supportive.
However, all that changed a few weeks later when Lucy miscarried at work.
“I started cramping and went to the toilet and I saw that I was bleeding. It was obvious I was probably miscarrying,” she says. ”I was completely beside myself and panicked and was hysterical. I called my husband and he came to get me and I went to the hospital and they confirmed it.”
KATARZYNABIALASIEWICZ VIA GETTY IMAGES The pain of miscarriage is emotional as well as physical
When Lucy texted her boss to explain, she was signed off work. However, every day of the following week, she received work emails and text messages from him. At first she replied, feeling responsible and a sense of ownership towards her division. But it quickly became too much – and she asked if she could deal with things when she was back in the office.
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“I felt under enormous pressure that whole week to go back to work sooner than I was supposed to,” she tells HuffPost UK. “Something people don’t realise about miscarriage is that it’s an incredibly physically painful experience. You bleed, you’re having contractions and you have to pass a foetus.”
And when Lucy returned, only a week later and still emotionally reeling, it became apparent her boss’s attitude had changed. While she’d been off, he had brought on a member of staff to her team for her to train up in her role, assuming that she would be trying for another baby straight away.
For her part, she just wanted to get on with her job without anyone knowing her personal issues but she soon discovered her boss had told a lot of people. The situation escalated. She began to feel ostracised and excluded.
“I would be crying every single day, going in, driving to work,” she says. “It was the atmosphere and the toxic culture.”
kieferpix via Getty Images
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She had reached a point of no return and decided she needed to leave. But when Lucy told her boss, he exploded, saying he knew she was planning on leaving and should have told him sooner. Before resigning, she had taken advice from an employment solicitor who told her she had a case for constructive dismissal.
“But to be honest, I was so worn down by the whole experience, I felt completely drained. There was just no way I felt I could do that,” she says.
Instead, Lucy gave her boss a month’s notice which he threatened not to pay, telling her to go that day. She said she would but he had to pay her what she was entitled to. Eventually he did. “I just had to steady myself and hold my nerve,” Lucy says. His parting words were: “Make no mistake, I will destroy you,” she adds. “I started laughing which infuriated him more.”
Advised again to pursue constructive dismissal, she decided she didn’t want to go down that route.
“I knew I was going to be starting IVF a couple of months later. The thought of going through tribunal and IVF at the same time when I had already miscarried – I just couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to bring on any more stress.”
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An Equality and Human Rights Commission report estimated that 54,000 women a year are pushed out of their jobs due to pregnancy or maternity leave.
This is almost double the number identified in similar research carried out in 2005. The research showed that 77% of working mums had encountered some form of discrimination in the workplace and 44% said they earned less than they did before they had children. Figures also showed that 33% of employers said they would avoid hiring a woman of childbearing age.
Doreen Reeves, employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon law firm, who made a podcast featuring Lucy’s story, says having a child should be a wonderful time for a woman, but discrimination from employers can turn it into an ordeal, with many women noticing employers’ attitudes changing dramatically for the worse.
Slater and Gordon Doreen Reeves, employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon
“Although treating an employee unfavourably for being pregnant or a mother is unlawful, it is still something we see regularly,” Reeves tells HuffPost UK.
“This biased behaviour can come in many forms: exclusion from important meetings or business decisions; openly ridiculed for having ‘baby brain’ to being pushed out of the business or dismissed.”
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Cases become more complex in situations like Lucy’s. ″Legally speaking, a woman is not classed as pregnant if she has suffered a miscarriage and if this occurs before the 24th week of pregnancy, entitlements to maternity, paternity or shared parental leave or pay will cease,” Reeves explains, adding that most people instead take compassionate leave or sick leave, if certified by a GP.
“If you are signed off for a pregnancy related illness, you are then protected from pregnancy discrimination for the two weeks following the end of the pregnancy,” she adds.
″After that, if you can show you have been treated less favourably than a man who has taken sick leave, you could have a case for sex discrimination.”
Joeli Brearley Joeli Brearley, founder and director of Pregnant Then Screwed
Joeli Brearley, who lives in York, is the founder and director of Pregnant Then Screwed, which she set up after she was sacked by voicemail from her job the day after she told her employer of her pregnancy when she was four months pregnant with her first child. Since then, she has been on a mission to raise awareness of workplace discrimination and to help other victims of it.
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Brearley tells HuffPost UK that Lucy’s story is not uncommon. “The key point is that her employer had absolutely no empathy for her situation – and this is something we hear a lot,” she says.
“When a woman has a miscarriage and informs their employer, the employer knows their intention is to have a baby and bias and discrimination can kick in.”
Women, while entitled to time off sick after a miscarriage – face a Catch-22 scenari, because by telling their employer, they are more likely to face bias, at the very least, if not full-on discrimination, but they don’t have the protection from the law that a pregnant woman would. “It is illegal to sack someone if they are pregnant or on maternity leave. But it is much more difficult to prove discrimination when you have had a miscarriage,” she says.
“We have had women tell us they have been sidelined at work after having a miscarriage as their employer feels they will be distracted from their job.”
Ruth Bender Atik, national director of The Miscarriage Association, tells HuffPost UK that it is really important for women to know that once they are pregnant, they have protected status by law. If a woman has a miscarriage and takes leave from the point when it happens, without a break, that is classed as pregnancy-related sickness and she cannot be discriminated against.
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But if a woman has a miscarriage, has time off and then returns to work, either due to pressure or her own volition, but needs further time off at a later date, it is no longer classed as pregnancy-related and is not protected in the same way.
Bender Atik agrees that the other major issue is women not wanting to tell their manager or boss that they have had a miscarriage for fear it might negatively affect their job or career prospects.
She says of Lucy’s experience: “From her perspective, it is an incredibly sad story, compounding the loss of her baby with discrimination and ultimately, the loss of her job and all it meant to her.
“From the employer’s point of view, it is very short-termist in its thinking. The best way to get the best out of your staff is by supporting them through difficulties and then you increase their loyalty and commitment to the company.
“This experience of a woman feeling forced out of her job after a miscarriage is a sad indictment on the position of women in the workplace.”
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Lucy has now had her happy ending, becoming a mother. She has also decided to retrain and change her career and says she is in a better place. But every time she thinks of her former workplace and what happened, it still upsets her.
“I prefer to talk about motherhood discrimination rather than maternity discrimination,” says Brearley from Pregnant Then Screwed. “It is discrimination from employers that occurs because a woman has a uterus. And one of the most common forms of discrimination is bullying and harassment.”
She adds: “We need to change this narrative that pregnant women and women who have children are a burden to businesses as it’s simply not true.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-10--How I'm Turning The Coronavirus Crisis Into A Winter Of Personal Contentment

franckreporter via Getty Images This is the ideal time to get outside and get moving – both in an urban or rural environment.
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing, so get yourself a sexy raincoat and live a little,” Billy Connolly once said.
As we all face the prospect of a long cold winter trying to deal with the ongoing Coronavirus crisis and the collateral damage of economic uncertainty, we need to find ways of taking the sourest of lemons and try to find ways of turning them into lemonade.
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With uncertainty comes a need to think positively and with agility. So rather than just hunkering down indoors over the winter, if possible let’s turn a Covid winter of discontent into a winter of contentment. The winter of the great outdoors.
“I refuse to get downhearted and beaten by this virus. I will play by the rules, but I will adapt.”
Let’s walk together, maximise the opportunities for outdoor socialising, create winter gardens, visit outdoor cafes and pubs with heaters and rugs, drink warm cider and mulled wine. Let’s try and use the winter season to turn this mess on its head with some positive intent.
I refuse to get downhearted and beaten by this virus. I will play by the rules, but I will adapt. I will continue to enjoy my life, meet my friends and family, even if it means that I meet them in the wind and rain. The virus will only defeat our spirit, if we choose to let it.
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So as the days get shorter and the Covid restrictions look likely to continue right through the winter, it would be easier to just stay indoors and hunker down for winter, but it’s actually the ideal time to get outside and get moving – both in an urban or rural environment.
“Let’s start a muddy boots campaign. Let’s explore the great outdoors. Let’s have a winter of contentment rather than a winter of discontent.”
Considering the likely indoor restrictions due to Covid, there should be a huge campaign to get the public exercising and socialising outdoors this winter – whatever the weather.
I’m going to try and have the best winter ever. I’m going to run in the rain and walk in the mud. I’m going to get a warm and sexy raincoat and get all windswept and interesting.
Let’s start a muddy boots campaign. Let’s explore the great outdoors. Let’s have a winter of contentment rather than a winter of discontent.
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Many people spend workdays indoors under fluorescent lights of computers during the working day and then the glow of television screens in the evening.
This has been exasperated during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Going outside takes away the sedentary nature of staring at a screen, adds natural vitamin D and gets us our required levels of exercise.
Also, in terms of Covid, being outside in open spaces reduces the risk of infection. Respiratory viruses get more diluted in air and get dispersed by wind, so the risk of virus transmission would be lower than indoors.
Going outdoors during daylight can also do wonders for boosting our immune system and protecting us from illness. Taking time in the great outdoors activates a group of mental functions that include our ability to learn new things, to process information and to pay attention. It creates mental wellbeing through mindfulness.
In a 2018 report from University of East Anglia it was revealed that “exposure to greenspace reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, preterm birth, stress, and high blood pressure”. Populations with higher levels of greenspace exposure are also more likely to report good overall health, according to global data in the report involving more than 290 million people.
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Alfresco living benefits all ages. According to Harvard Medical School, a study published in 2008 found that “children with ADHD scored higher on a test of concentration after a walk through a park than after a walk through a residential neighbourhood or downtown area”.
So as Billy Connolly advised, get yourself a sexy raincoat, go outside and live a little. The time is now to create a winter of outdoor contentment, even in these discombobulating and worrying times.
James Melville is a freelance writer.