thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--James Bond Boss Explains Why She's Not Considering Women To Replace Daniel Craig

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James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed that while she is casting a wide net in the search for the next 007, the role will categorically not be going to a woman.
It’s been well-documented that the upcoming film No Time To Die will be Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond, with speculation rife over who will replace him.
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However, in a new interview with Variety, Barbara suggested that she thinks casting a female star in the role would actually be doing women a disservice.
Barbara Broccoli David M. Benett via Getty Images
She told the magazine that the search for the next James Bond hadn’t formally started, noting: “He can be of any colour, but he is male.
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“I believe we should be creating new characters for women – strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it.”
Barbara added: “I think women are far more interesting than that.”
Daniel Craig at the Spectre premiere in Beijing VCG via Getty Images
Before we find out which actor will succeed Daniel Craig, there’s the small matter of No Time To Die, which hits UK cinemas in April.
Joining Daniel are returning stars Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris, as well as new additions to the cast Rami Malek and Lashana Lynch, the latter of whom plays a new secret agent who has taken over James Bond’s 007 codename.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Billie Eilish would be recording a new Bond theme for the film, making her the youngest artist to ever do so.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Ant McPartlin's Ex Lisa Armstrong Shoots Down  Reports About Divorce Settlement

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Ant McPartlin’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong has hit back at claims that she has been given more than half of his fortune after receiving a settlement in their divorce.
On Wednesday night, it was reported that the former couple had finally reached an agreement in their divorce proceedings, with The Sun claiming she would receive £31 million.
Ant and Lisa at the TV Baftas in 2015 Invision
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The tabloid claimed that the amount was “one of the biggest celebrity divorce settlements in British history”, claiming Lisa – who works as a make-up artist Strictly Come Dancing – was about to become “one of the richest women in the country”.
However, she has now shot down the reports, and even suggested that she was planning to take legal action.
When one fan on Twitter responded to The Sun’s article by telling Lisa the settlement was “more than well deserved”, she responded: “Nope a load of nonsense AGAIN... you’ll be hearing from my lawyers AGAIN…”
Nope a load of nonsense AGAIN.... you’ll be hearing from my lawyers AGAIN..... https://t.co/yBYKTSl745 — Lisa Armstrong (@lisaAmakeup) January 15, 2020
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Lisa then quote-tweeted an article by the Daily Star suggesting she’d “denied she is getting £31m in divorce settlement”.
“I deny it cos it’s not true…” she wrote back.
I deny it cos it’s not true.... https://t.co/oHUwgIiYf7 — Lisa Armstrong (@lisaAmakeup) January 16, 2020
Ant and Lisa were married for 11 years before they announced their split in 2018.
Since the split, he has entered a relationship with his personal assistant, Anne-Marie Corbett.
In an interview last year, Ant credited his new girlfriend with helping him turn around, following his arrest for drink-driving.
He said: “She honestly is the fundamental reason for the great change in my life. She’s been my rock. She’s a beautiful soul. We’re very happy.
“I’m in the best place I’ve been in my life, to be honest with you. It’s great.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Sex Education Cast Gets Nostalgic About Their Favourite Teen Dramas

Sex Education Cast Gets Nostalgic About Their Favourite Teen Dramas
Skins, The Inbetweeners and… Tracy Beaker? These are the shows the Sex Education cast watched in their teens.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--How To Cope When You Find Out Your Ex Has A New Partner

For three years, Meaghan was in an on-again, off-again relationship with one of her best guy friends. When she accidentally got pregnant, he supported her through an abortion. Just two weeks later, though, he hooked up with one of their mutual acquaintances. Then he ghosted Meaghan.
“As you can imagine, it was pretty agonising,” Meaghan, who asked that we withhold her last name for privacy reasons, told HuffPost.
Three months later, she found out he had gotten back together with his ex — the woman he would typically date whenever he and Meaghan were in one of their “off again” periods.
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Though running back to this woman was “super in character for him,” Meaghan said she was still shocked by the news.
“I tried to tell myself that he didn’t really love her and that he just needed something comforting to go back to while he navigated a difficult and lonely time in his life,” she said. “But underneath it all, I knew it didn’t matter. I knew we had to be done and that I had some painful emotions to process.”
Over time, Meaghan said, she’s been able to move forward; she’s finally come to a place where she genuinely hopes the two of them are happy together. But as anyone who’s been in this situation knows, finding out your ex has moved on with someone else can be devastating.
Jamie Grill via Getty Images When you see your ex in a new relationship, you’re forced to come to terms with the fact that things really are over between the two of you.
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“When we have given someone our heart, as well as the most intimate part of ourself, it’s excruciating to feel replaced or disregarded,” said psychotherapist Jeannie Ingram.
Even if you were the one to initiate the breakup and have no intentions of getting back together, watching your ex move on with another person can bring on distressing emotions.
“If you have any lingering attachment, you will have a resurgence of desire, anxiety and regret that’s often mysterious to you when you attempt to make sense of it intellectually,” said therapist Lisa Marie Bobby, author of “Exaholics: Breaking Your Addiction to an Ex Love.”
According to Bobby, one reason we may have such a hard time dealing with romantic rejection ties back to our hard-wired, evolutionary need to bond — and stay bonded — to others in order to survive.
“It’s not rational,” she said. “It’s simply a function of our monkey-mind survival drives doing their job to protect us.”
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How To Deal If You’re Having A Hard Time
martin-dm via Getty Images Once your ex is in a new relationship, any lingering hopes of you two getting back together are dashed.
Let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling
Don’t beat yourself up for caring still, no matter how long it’s been since you and your ex were together.
“Even if you and your ex dated eons ago and you think you should be ‘over it,’ the waves of grief often feel fresh because, really, they are,” said San Francisco-based marriage and family therapist Lynsie Seely. “You are facing a new part of the grieving process that you haven’t had to process yet.”
Try taking some deep breaths, cry if you need to, journal your feelings or open up to a confidant.
“What you’re doing is honouring how deeply your heart loved and can love,” Seely said.
But refrain from acting on those emotions
It’s only natural for jealousy and bitterness to crop up when you see your ex with someone new. Acknowledge those feelings, know that they’re normal and remember they will pass if you give them some time.
“Sometimes these feelings give us an urge to want to talk to our ex, criticise them and their new partner, seek revenge or try to compete with them in some way,” said Gina Delucca, a clinical psychologist in San Francisco. “While some of these actions might give you temporary relief from your feelings, they won’t help you in the long-run in terms of prioritising yourself and moving on.”
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Once you realise your ex is off the market, you may also experience a rush of desire or longing for this person, Bobby said. You may start to look back on your imperfect relationship through rose-colored glasses. But don’t get swept up in thinking these are signs you should actually get back together.
“It’s similar to having withdrawal symptoms from breaking your attachment to a substance,” said Bobby, clinical director of Growing Self Counselling and Coaching. “Just because you’re craving heroin doesn’t mean you should use it.”
Stop looking up your ex and their new S.O. on social media
It’s tempting, we know. But obsessively checking their Instagram photos is only going to derail any progress you’ve made in moving forward.
“Doing so just keeps you preoccupied with them and it makes it easy for you to make faulty assumptions about how their life is going compared to yours,” Delucca said.
“I tried to tell myself that he didn’t really love her and that he just needed something comforting to go back to while he navigated a difficult and lonely time in his life.” - Meaghan
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Figure out what excites you
Now’s the time to tune into what makes you tick so you can start focusing your energy on something productive. Perhaps you can revisit an old hobby you once enjoyed or try something new entirely — anything that “conjures a sense of excitement, meaning, or passion,” as Seely put it.
“Is there a new hairstyle you’ve been thinking about, a particular style of clothing you’re attracted to, is there a destination you’ve been meaning to visit? Go for it!” she said. “The time following a breakup is so much about rediscovering who you are in this exact moment and redefining your identity as an independent person.”
Come up with your own “letting go” ritual
“Throwing stones in the ocean to release your burden, safely burning an object that is symbolic of your relationship, imagine cutting an energetic cord that is connecting you to your ex,” Seely suggested. “Let whatever ritual you do mark the transition of an ending to a new beginning.”
Consider seeing a therapist
If you’re really struggling or engaging in unhealthy coping mechanisms, talking to a therapist about how this news has affected you can be beneficial. And even if you think you’re handling it OK, opening up to a counsellor could still be useful in your healing.
“It is understandable to be sad and hurt. If it turns into depression, dysfunction, relying on alcohol or other drugs, lack of self-care, it’s time to see a professional,” Ingram said. “Talking really does help.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Wendy Williams Apologises To 'The Cleft Community' After Comments About Joaquin Phoenix's Facial Sca

Wendy Williams Apologises To 'The Cleft Community' After Comments About Joaquin Phoenix's Facial Scar

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US talk show host Wendy Williams has issued an apology to the “cleft community” after comments she made about Joaquin Phoenix’s facial scar.
During a recent broadcast of her show, Wendy discussed Joaquin’s recent success in awards season, following his controversial performance in Joker.
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Wendy described the Oscar-nominated actor as “oddly attractive”, pointing out what she incorrectly described as a “hairline fracture” scar.
“He’s got one of those, what do you call it? Cleft lip, cleft palate,” she told the studio audience. “I find it to be very attractive.”
Joaquin Phoenix zz/DP/AAD/STAR MAX/IPx
She then hooked her finger under her top lip to demonstrate her point, in a move which drew criticism, including from Canadian sportsman Adam Bighill.
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Both Adam and his son Beau were born with a cleft lip, with the American football star describing Wendy’s behaviour as “hideous and offensive”.
Wendy Williams Manny Carabel via Getty Images
In response to this, an apology was posted on Wendy’s Twitter page, along with a message revealing her show had made a donation to two organisations which help those with the birth defect.
“We’re thinking about Beau today as he is in surgery,” the tweet – addressed directly to Adam – read.
“I want to apologise to the cleft community and in Beau’s honor, our show is donating to @operationsmile and @AmerCleftPalate and encourage our Wendy Watchers to learn more and help support the cleft community.”
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. @Bighill44 We’re thinking about Beau today as he is in surgery. I want to apologize to the cleft community and in Beau’s honor, our show is donating to @operationsmile and @AmerCleftPalate and encourage our Wendy Watchers to learn more and help support the cleft community. — Wendy Williams (@WendyWilliams) January 16, 2020
In an interview with Vanity Fair last year, Joaquin revealed his scar was not the result of surgery, but rather one he was born with.
This week, it was revealed he’d been nominated for an Academy Award for the fourth time, for his role in Todd Phillips’ Joker.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Hugh Grant Backs Prince Harry, Suggesting 'Tabloid Press Effectively Murdered His Mother'

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Prince Harry has received full support from Hugh Grant following his decision to “step back” from his duties as a senior member of the royal family.
Last week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made headlines around the world when they announced that they had chosen to work towards becoming “financially independent”, while continuing to “fully support” the Queen.
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Asked about this during an interview with SiriusXM, the Notting Hill star revealed he understood Prince Harry’s motivation, particularly given how the tabloid press treated both his late mother and now his wife, Meghan Markle.
“I’m rather on Harry’s side,” Hugh told the host. “The tabloid press effectively murdered his mother, now they’re tearing his wife to pieces.”
Hugh Grant being interviewed on SiriusXM Cindy Ord via Getty Images
Hugh, of course, was referring to the death of the late Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in Paris, where she was being chased by paparazzi photographers.
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In a 2017 BBC documentary, Prince Harry said of his mother’s death: “She’d had quite a severe head injury but she was very much still alive on the back seat.
“And those people that caused the accident, instead of helping, were taking photographs of her dying on the back seat.”
He also said in October that he feared paparazzi had begun treating his wife in much the same way they did his mother.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Samir Hussein via Getty Images
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” he said. “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person.
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“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
Since Harry and Meghan’s announcement, a number of high-profile British stars have showed the royal couple their support, most recently supermodel Naomi Campbell and chart-topping grime star Stormzy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--'Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villainy': Trump Hotel Trends After Bonkers Interview

Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who is now under criminal investigation, said on MSNBC that many of his meetings took place at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC.
He said many lawmakers, insiders and others just hoping to get the attention of Trump’s inner circle hung around the hotel.
“It was like a breeding ground at the Trump hotel,” Parnas told Rachel Maddow. “Every event would be there, so everybody would hang out there afterwards.”
Indeed, Washington-based accountability watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics tweeted that at least 217 members of Congress have turned up at the hotel.
The interview and the implications of Republican lawmakers and Trump insiders mingling with shady figures at the hotel caused #TrumpHotel to trend on Twitter, especially after MSNBC analyst David Corn compared it to the cantina at Mos Eisley from the first Star Wars movie:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Sex Education Season 2 Cast Get Nostalgic About Their Favourite Teen Dramas

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It’s been a long wait, but the second series of the hit Netflix teen drama Sex Education is finally upon us.
This time last year, Sex Education became a near-instant smash, going on to become one of the platform’s most-streamed shows of the year.
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It also became many young viewers’ first experience of a teen drama, so when HuffPost UK caught up with the cast shortly before the launch of series two, we were keen to hear which teen-based shows they were watching growing up.
Clearly the show that made the biggest impact on the young cast was Skins, which debuted in 2007, when Ncuti Gatwa – who plays Eric in Sex Education – was 14 years old.
We spoke to the stars of Sex Education ahead of series two's debut HuffPost UK
“I loved it,” Ncuti said. “It seemed, to me, that it was my generation’s first time [seeing] all these British kids on TV, just doing their thing. And I feel like it kind of shaped a generation a little bit. It had a big impact. You definitely wanted to be as cool as them.”
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“They were all just so cool… all of them,” agreed Tanya Reynolds, who plays Lily. “And my life was so different to their lives. I wasn’t out at raves, doing the drugs, having sex… I’m sitting at home with my mum watching Coronation Street, wondering, ‘where’s the party at?’.”
Kedar Williams-Stirling, who plays Jackson, added: “It felt like there wasn’t really anything on TV quite like it. And it was British, man, it felt real. It was fun and exciting and in-your-face and unapologetic, and a bit dirty.”
The cast of Skins pictured in 2007 Roger Sargent/Shutterstock
Break-out star Emma Mackey, better known to Sex Education fans as Maeve, recalled feeling “really bad-ass” when she first started watching Skins as a teenager, but admitted that it was a rather different youth show that stayed with her the most.
“I think I was very, sort of, CBBC-oriented until I was relatively old,” she told us. “It’s weird, I always talk about Tracy Beaker… but Tracy Beaker was such a good show.
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“I just thought it was really cool because it was all about foster kids and growing up and putting a bunch of kids with different backgrounds all in one space together and seeing how they grow up together. It’s kind of similar to what we’re doing but… not as much sex involved!”
Dani Harmer played Tracy Beaker in the hit CBBC show BBC
And while Asa Butterfield, who plays Otis, revealed he was more into “nature documentaries and anime” than teen dramas, there was one in particular that made an impact on him when he was growing up.
Asa said: “If there was one, it’d be The Inbetweeners. It was brilliant, and hilarious. It really stuck out to me because it was set in college, before I’d gone to college… and it was very funny.”
The second series of Sex Education debuts on Netflix on Friday 17 January. Watch our interview with the cast in the video above.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Now We Know What Sanders And Warren Said During That Post-Debate Exchange

Warren: “I think you called me a liar on national TV?”
Sanders: “Let’s not do it right now. You want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion.
Warren: “Anytime.”
Sanders: “You called me a liar. You told me ... Alright, let’s not do it now.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--In Rare Good News, Australia Says Endangered ‘Dinosaur Trees’ Saved From Devastating Fires

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Officials said Thursday that a stand of trees with ancestors that date back 200 million years was saved from a series of devastating bushfires, a glimmer of good news as the country continues to reel from the ongoing disaster.
New South Wales environment minister Matt Kean said a team of firefighters was deployed to a remote part of the Blue Mountains, about 120 miles northwest of Sydney, as a massive bushfire approached. Fire officials used planes to water-bomb the area and lowered firefighters into a remote gorge to set up an irrigation system to wet the ground and save the trees, called Wollemi pines.
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“Wollemi National Park is the only place in the world where these trees are found in the wild and, with less than 200 left, we knew we needed to do everything we could to save them,” Kean said in a statement Thursday. “The pines, which prior to 1994 were thought to be extinct and whose location is kept secret to prevent contamination, benefited from an unprecedented environmental protection mission.”
The Australian government has kept the location of the native Wollemi pines secret after they were discovered in 1994. New South Wales Government
The area hosts the only known natural cluster of Wollemi pines, which are colloquially known as “dinosaur trees” because fossil records show they date back as far as 200 million years. The species was thought long extinct until they were discovered by a park ranger about 26 years ago. The ranger, David Noble, thought the trees looked unusual and took a branch to be identified. Researchers later determined that they were Wollemi pines, which were thought to have died out about 2 million years before, based on fossil records.
Their location within a nearly 2,000-square-mile national park is kept secret to protect them from contamination or destruction.
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Firefighters water-bombed the region that's home to the pines and ventured to a remote canyon to protect them from approaching flames. New South Wales Government
Some of the Wollemi pines were charred, but officials said they were largely saved. New South Wales Government
Kean said some of the trees were ultimately charred by the flames, but the species had, so far, survived the devastating blazes. Most of the national park has been devastated by a mega-blaze known as the Gospers Mountain Fire.
“It was like a military-style operation,” Kean told the Sydney Morning Herald this week. “We just had to do everything.”
“Wollemi National Park is the only place in the world where these trees are found in the wild," Environment Minister Matt Kean said. New South Wales Government
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Forecasters expressed hope this week that rain would bring relief to areas hit by the ongoing bushfires. New South Wales Government
Other iconic species throughout Australia have not been so lucky. Researchers estimate at least a billion animals may have perished in the blazes, which have burned more than 15m acres and destroyed about 2,000 homes. Brush-tailed rock-wallabies, koalas, southern corroboree frogs and spotted-tail quolls have all been affected, prompting fears that some creatures could be driven to extinction by the fires.
At least 29 people have been killed by the fires, and despite some rain this week, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said Thursday there were still 85 bush and grass fires burning throughout the state.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--Sports Bras That Fasten At The Front – Here's 8 Of The Best

HuffPost UK =
Finding the right sports bra is no easy feat, especially if you’re doing more – ahem – bouncy exercise such as running, HIIT training or trampolining. Or, of course, when you’re big busted.
If you’re struggling to find something that works for you, why not try front-fastening sports bras?
They’re easy to get on and off, as they often close with a zip or hook fastening, meaning you won’t spend a frantic few minutes in the changing rooms wrangling with it before or after a workout.
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There’s loads of choice when it comes to style, colour and price too, so you’ll be sure to find one that suits your budget and taste.
Here’s eight of our favourite ones to shop now.
HuffPost UK Extra High Impact Zip Front Sports Bra A-G, Marks & Spencer
This animal print sports bra is designed for high impact activities, so you can stay secure and completely covered throughout your workout. It has non-padded full cups, with added stretch and a moisture wicking finish so you can hit a personal best with complete peace of mind. Available in sizes 34A to 36G.
HuffPost UK Enlite Bra Zip Front High support, Lululemon
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Enlite Bra Zip Front High support, Lululemon, was £78, now £39
Whether you’re working your way through the couch to 5K challenge or are already an experienced runner, this front zipped bra in brilliant white is soft enough to adapt to your shape but structured enough to ensure you feel comfortable but easy to move at all times. Available in sizes 34A to 36E.
HuffPost UK SYROKAN Women’s High Impact Wireless Cross Back Support Front Zip Sports Bra, Amazon
Bag this with next day delivery on Amazon if you’ve left buying any new fitness gear last minute. With a high neckline and back support, it offers full frontal coverage and is designed for medium to high impact activities such as running, cycling, tennis or boxing. Available in sizes 32A to 42DD.
HuffPost UK Triaction Wellneess Sports bra With Front Closure, Triumph
Bra experts Triumph have created this pastel pink style with a traditional hook and clasp closure mechanism, that’s both stylish and functional. It’s lightweight but supportive, and instead of wired, heavily padded cups, there’s a mesh lining. Available in sizes 32B to 40DD.
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HuffPost UK Shock Absorber Infinity Power Sports Bra, Slate Grey, John Lewis
Shock Absorber Infinity Power Sports Bra, Slate Grey, John Lewis, £40 This classic black sports bra covers all bases when it comes to coverage and comfort. There’s adjustable back straps, breathable cups and support from both the thick straps, Y-shaped back and the band below. It claims to help with high performance activities while managing moisture levels simultaneously so you won’t have to worry about dripping in sweat uncomfortably. Available in sizes 32B to 36F. Buy it now.
HuffPost UK Naturally Close Grey/Black/Pink Zip Front Active Wear High Impact Sports Bra, Simply Be
Naturally Close Grey/Black/Pink Zip Front Active Wear High Impact Sports Bra, Simply Be, was £22, now £16.50 Simply Be has a colourful range of plus size sports bras for those with larger busts, so you won’t have to compromise on style over substance. This non-wired stretchy style has thick racer straps to minimise pressure on your back, and when you’re done you can just stick it in the washing machine. Available in sizes 36C to 48DD. Buy it now.
HuffPost UK Domyos 900 Women's Fitness Cardio Training Zip-Up Sports Bra, Decathlon
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Domyos 900 Women’s Fitness Cardio Training Zip-Up Sports Bra, Decathlon, was £17.99, now £14.99 If you would prefer padded cups in your sports bra, pick up this pink and grey style which has built-in foam. Slip it on and off with one easy frontal zipper and head to your cardio classes with ease. Available in sizes S to XL. Buy it now.
HuffPost UK Printed Zip Front Sports Bra, George at Asda
Printed Zip Front Sports Bra, George at Asda, £9 For a style that won’t break the bank, this purple-patterned bra is stylish, easy to adjust to your shape and supportive in all the right areas while giving you change from a tenner. It’s going straight in our basket next time we’re doing the weekly shop. Available in sizes 34B to 42E. Buy it now.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--What People Get Wrong About Living With Both Anxiety And Depression

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Occurrences of depression and anxiety are on the rise ― so it’s no surprise that there are lots of people who also experience them simultaneously.
Many people are familiar with depression and anxiety on their own, but the challenges of dealing with them at the same time are less understood by those who don’t directly live with them. That can lead to a lot of misconceptions.
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skyNext via Getty Images A person can have anxiety and depression at the same time, which can lead to many debilitating symptoms like lethargy, rumination, panic and more.
HuffPost chatted with some individuals who have both anxiety and depression as well as mental health experts about what people commonly get wrong about living with anxiety and depression. Here are some of the most common offenders:
Myth: Anxiety and depression are completely unique disorders.
Sarah Johnson, medical director at Landmark Outpatient Services, a mental health clinic, said that anxiety and depression are “two sides of the same coin.” In other words, they both affect the same region of the brain (the amygdala, hippocampus and frontal cortex). Therefore, one can trigger the other.
“Anxiety may occur as a symptom of clinical depression. On the other hand, it’s also possible to have depression that’s triggered by an anxiety disorder, such as generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder or separation anxiety disorder,” she said.
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Myth: Both conditions are rare.
While it may feel at times like you are the only person in the world experiencing anxiety and depression, the reality is that many people are dealing with it too. Nearly 29% of people in the US, for example, will meet criteria for an anxiety disorder in their lifetime and 20.8% for a mood disorder like depression, according to Luana Marques, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
“If it is sometimes difficult for you to talk to family or friends about your experiences with anxiety and depression, consider talking to other people who are having similar experiences,” she said, noting that you can find support groups for people with anxiety and depression at the ADAA website.
Rowan Jordan via Getty Images
Myth: There is something wrong with you.
“I think the most common misconception about depression and anxiety is that there’s something wrong with the person, as if suffering isn’t a normal human emotion,” said Calum Hughes, CEO of Allied Corp, a research and development company focused on developing therapeutic solutions for those living with PTSD.
He highlighted the popular misconception that people with mental illness are “weak or can’t exist in normal society” and noted that mental health issues should be embraced just like any other medical issue.
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“You rarely hear of a stigma around people who have health conditions like diabetes; there shouldn’t be a stigma around depression and anxiety. They are real medical conditions that are treatable,” Hughes said.
Myth: You shouldn’t ask questions if someone tells you they have anxiety and depression.
“After I tell people I suffer with both, the conversation often ends there because they feel like they’re not supposed to ask questions out of fear of triggering me or making me uncomfortable ― or maybe they’re uncomfortable,” explained Chelsea Giacobbe, a consultant with anxiety and depression.
Giacobbe prefers that people inquire about her condition and ask her questions as opposed to tiptoeing around it.
“If I tell you I suffer from both, then I’m open to talking about it and answering any questions you have,” she said. “And you never know if something I say will help someone else in need that you encounter, or help you realise there is someone in your life crying for help without vocalising it or even knowing it.”
Myth: The only way to deal with the conditions is to power through them.
People often think that the best way of dealing with anxiety and depression is to just power through it or “fake it until you make it.” But that’s not always the case.
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Amanda Stemen, a licensed therapist and owner of Fundamental Growth, a therapy, coaching, and consulting business, stressed that it’s OK to feel the poor moods that come with the conditions. In fact, not allowing yourself to process negative emotions can often do more harm than good, she said.
“It’s often when we don’t allow ourselves to feel the physical sensations that come along with that, when we push them away, that it becomes something bigger,” she said.
Stemen suggested setting a timer for two minutes, experiencing the feelings, and noticing how they shift and change the next time you’re dealing with mood-related symptoms.
“While it’s scary to feel uncomfortable emotions because we’re afraid we’ll get stuck there forever, it’s actually avoiding our feelings that contributes greatly to depression and anxiety ― so feel the heck out of them,” she said.
kevinhillillustration via Getty Images
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Myth: Everyone with anxiety and depression experiences the same symptoms.
Anxiety and depression are umbrella terms that encompass a wide range of experiences.
“For some people, anxiety can look like worrying a lot about the future ... for other people it might look like having unexpected panic attacks weekly ... and for other people it might look like fear of specific things,” Marquest said.
Depression can also present as a wide range of symptoms.
“One person with depression might sleep all the time, have no energy and experience low mood, while another person with depression might feel irritable, experience appetite changes, and lose interest in activities they used to enjoy,” she said.
Myth: You always know if you have anxiety and depression.
“It seems absurd that someone won’t know they are feeling so afraid they suffer anxiety or so down they are depressed, or a mixture of both. But often anxiety and depression show up as symptoms we might not consider to be anxiety or depression at all,” said Winfried Sedhoff, a family physician specialising in treating mental illness.
He added that many of his patients don’t go in to get an official diagnosis until they start to experience physical symptoms of the conditions such as “regularly struggling to get to sleep, excessive worrying, chest pains, dizziness, feeling tired, and feeling washed out all the time without any apparent physical cause.”
“Many clients I have seen have been thoroughly investigated over months or even years for many physical symptoms that were ultimately typical symptoms of anxiety and depression,” he added.
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Myth: It’s something people can just “get over.”
Again, depression and anxiety are considered medical issues. Sometimes that requires treatment, care and time.
“Whether you’re taking medication or seeing a therapist, treatment for anxiety and depression is not a quick fix,” said Emily Guarnotta, a licensed psychologist who specialises in anxiety, depression and postpartum issues.
She added that successful treatment of simultaneous conditions involves changing long-standing thought patterns, beliefs and emotions and reconstructing new ones. All of this, of course, takes time. According to the American Psychological Association, half of therapy patients notice some improvements after 15 to 20 sessions, though some people take longer.
“It’s important to remain patient with the process and let go of any judgments about how long it should take to recover,” Guarnotta said.
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Myth: Anxiety and depression are just genetic.
Rob Scheidlinger, a licensed marriage and family therapist, said that it’s largely a myth that depression and anxiety run in families and therefore most people who suffer are predisposed genetically.
“While there is some evidence that there are a few causes of these disorders that are genetically carried, an overwhelming amount of current research states that most of the causal factors are environmental and situational,” he explained.
Myth: People saying they have both conditions are just being dramatic.
Cheryl Poldrugach, founder and CEO of Panic Aide, said she’s been called dramatic a lot when talking about her anxiety and depression.
“For those of us who truly suffer, it is life-altering. We lie to friends and family as to why we can’t go somewhere, lose friends for not showing up, lose jobs, miss school, etc.” she said, adding that anxiety and depression are a lethal mix and not to be taken lightly or prodded. “It is real.”
Carla Marie Manly, a clinical psychologist, said that those who suffer from anxiety and depression are generally far from dramatic.
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“In fact, my clients often suffer from embarrassment due to their mental health status and the often-uncontrollable nature of their symptoms,” she said. “Although some of the symptoms may appear to be melodramatic in nature to bystanders, there is no joy or attention-getting benefit in a dual diagnosis of anxiety and depression.”
Myth: These conditions will go away on their own.
Depression and anxiety can both be serious medical issues. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help for your mental health.
“Feeling depressed or anxious is a signal to your brain from your body that there is something going on inside that needs to be dealt with,” said Meredith Sagan, chief psychiatrist at Alo House Recovery Center.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--5 Awesome Cooking Shows To Watch Guilt-Free With Your Kids

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Who doesn’t love watching a cooking show? However, once you’re a parent,, what used to get you through your hangover on a Saturday or Sunday morning is now the accompaniment to hectic family life. The nice news is that cooking shows are good fodder for your kids. At least that’s according to research.
In fact, a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, suggests that children aged 10 to 12 are nearly three times more likely to make healthy eating decisions after watching TV cooking shows featuring healthy food. Reason enough to get them started young.
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There are, of course, loads of cooking shows about, but there’s a difference between a show that makes kids excited about the world of nutrition and one where Gordon Ramsay keeps shouting at people until they cry. So here’s our pick of the crop.
1) Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck
Arguably the greatest thing on YouTube, Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck follows the exploits of Sesame Street’s biscuit-loving beast and his chef sidekick Gonger as they run a hipster food truck, making different vaguely healthy snacks. Every episode works to a formula – they receive a request from a kid (or occasionally a celebrity – Zooey Deschanel, Ellie Kemper and Jenny Slate have all made appearances), realise they’ve eaten one of the key ingredients, visit the farm it’s grown on, put everything together and launch the finished product out of a trebuchet – but it’s amazingly watchable, thanks mainly to British puppeteer Warrick Brownlow-Pike’s hilarious performance as Gonger.
Watch Cookie’s Monster Foodie Truck on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel
2) My World Kitchen
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CBeebies’ My World Kitchen is a pleasant, upbeat look at food from all over the world, accompanied by the soothing tones of all round legend Ainsley Harriott. Learn how to make everything from Chilean sopaipillas to Australian meat pies. The whole thing is a delight, a genuine celebration of multiculturalism and trying new things, with a different adorable child making amazing-looking international food every time, plus there are sneaky educational bits about the history and geography of different countries casually sprinkled in.
Watch My World Kitchen on the CBeebies channel, website and iPlayer.
3) Nailed It!
The perfect antidote to, well, perfection, Netflix’s magnificent Nailed It! is a glorious celebration of failure, a tribute to not letting being rubbish at something stop you doing it. Contestants compete to make beautiful cakes, almost all of which end up looking absolutely awful, all while host Nicole Byer laughs her head off at their terrible efforts. It’s amazing, endlessly watchable with or without your children and weirdly inspiring.
4) Charli’s Crafty Kitchen
This absurdly popular YouTube show is hosted by a pair of young Australian sisters who make fairly healthy food about half of the time and ridiculous stuff the other half. Despite occasionally veering into tweeness, there’s some really great stuff here – mistakes are left in so there isn’t the veneer of flawlessness you sometimes get on YouTube, and you’ll get endearingly weird moments where the hosts confuse themselves and say things like “G’day, the main ingredient in this is a spatula”.
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5) The Great British Bake-Off


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--What Causes Dark Circles And How Do You Get Rid Of Them?

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Dark circles under our eyes are a bug bear for us all. Whether we blame too much partying, too little sleep, a stressful week at work or the jet-lag that follows a long-haul flight, they’re a universally recognised beauty woe.
Have you ever looked in the mirror, bleary-eyed, and wondered why they won’t just go away? Or blinkingly questioned what they are in the first place?
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Dr Justine Kluk, a consultant dermatologist, tells HuffPost that dark circles are a result of skin thinning. This can be hereditary, but is often simply part of getting older. “Thin skin is more translucent and reveals underlying muscle and vasculature, giving a purplish appearance,” explains Dr Kluk. In case you were wondering, vasculature is a fancy word for your blood vessels.
Increased skin pigmentation can also cause dark circles, she adds. “This is more common in skin of colour and in those who rub the eyes frequently, for example due to skin conditions such as eczema.”
This is also why makeup artists – or your mum – warn you about that fragile under eye area. By all means use concealer, but apply it gently or you could be working against yourself. Remember – pat your concealer, don’t swipe.
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We often associate under-eye circles with a lack of sleep, but as Daniel Isaacs, director of research at cosmeceutical skincare brand Medik8 explains, not getting enough rest doesn’t itself cause dark circles, but can exaggerate them.
“Sleep deprivation can cause your skin to become dull and pale, allowing for dark tissues and blood vessels beneath your skin to show,” he explains.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to improve both how much sleep you’re getting and the quality of it too, says Isaacs. “Between seven and nine hours of sleep a night is the recommended amount to avoid looking tired,” he says. “Putting down phones or tablets at night can also help, as it reduces blue light which is proven to disrupt our natural sleep cycle.”
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It’s not just your sleep routine that’s worth tweaking. UV exposure is also an influencing factor, says Isaacs. “Overexposure to the sun can cause your body to produce an excess of melanin, the pigment that provides your skin with colour. Too much sun — particularly for your eyes — can cause pigmentation in the surrounding skin to darken.” Dr Kluk advises protecting delicate under-eye skin by using SPF, and on sunny days, wear sunglasses. Here’s our guide to suncreams worth your time (and cash).
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Diet also plays an important part, says Isaacs. “While there aren’t any fast dietary fixes for dark circles, maintaining a nutritious anti-inflammatory diet of vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats can bring about visible improvements all over the body, including the eye area,” says Isaacs – something worth bearing in mind next time you’re doing your weekly supermarket shop.
Beauty and the bags
While you’ve probably mastered the art of covering up your bags with lashings of concealer and a bright lippy to distract from them – my personal favourite technique – how you remove your makeup is also worth considering, as Dr Kluk explains to HuffPost UK. “Treat the delicate eyelid skin with care. I would recommend using a gentle micellar water or dedicated eye makeup remover for taking off makeup, moisturise twice daily and avoiding vigorous rubbing.”
Simple’s Micellar Water (£4.94) is a fragrance-free, gentle formula that when soaked on a cotton pad, effectively removes all traces of stubborn mascara and feline eyeliner flicks.
HuffPost UK Louise/HuffPost UK
As for products to adapt into your skincare routine, Dr Kluk advises to look for creams containing retinol which help lighten dark circles discoloured by pigmentation. As a derivative of vitamin A, retinol minimises the activity of the enzyme tyrosinase, which stimulates melanin production in the skin and causes under-eye skin to darken in contrast to the rest of your face. La Roche-Posay Redermic [R] Retinol Eye Cream (£27) is fragrance free and designed for sensitive skin so you can steer clear of irritation.
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Peptides can also improve dark circles: they plump skin by encouraging the production of collagen, reducing how transparent the delicate under eye skin is, which in turn makes dark circles less visible. Try the Elemis Peptide⁴ Eye Recovery Cream (£38) which blends peptides, Omega 3 fatty acids and hawkweed extracts to brighten and replenish lost moisture. Dr Kluk does advise patience, however, rather than hoping for a quick fix overnight. Noted.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--What Is A Credit Score? Plus 6 Common Myths, Busted

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Almost one in five people believe checking their credit rating could have an impact on their credit score. But that’s not true. You can check your credit report as often as you wish without any impact. Myth number one, busted.
Money matters can be confusing, and finances puzzle the best of us – so if you’re as confused about credit ratings as we are, you’re not alone.
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We spoke to credit reference agencies, Experian and Equifax, to bust some commonly-held beliefs when it comes to the enigma that is a credit score and credit report (yes, they are two different things).
But, first up...
What is a credit score?
Glad you asked. In simple terms, a credit score (or credit rating, same thing) is a “statistical assessment of your creditworthiness” – basically, a score of how likely it is you’ll repay any money you’re lent. Your score will depend on how much you’ve accessed products like credit and store cards, phone contracts, and your overdraft.
You start building a credit history from the age of 18. Everybody has a credit score, even if you don’t know what it is, and it will be assigned to you by a credit reference agency (CRA) – an independent organisation that securely holds data about you. There are three main credit reference agencies in the UK: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they’re all authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
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There are hundreds of banks and lenders that contribute information to these agencies. Alongside that, the agencies will find out other things about you. Are you on the electoral register? Do you have any court judgments? Have you filed for bankruptcy?
All this information paints a picture of what type of customer you’ve been in the past, to give a reflection of what you’ll be like in the future. And your credit score is a handy way to sum this up.
Here’s where it gets a little confusing. Lenders can give you another credit score when they’re calculating whether to give you access to one of their products – for example, a bank when you apply for a credit card. They determine the score using a report from a credit reference agency and the information you provide on your credit application form.
“Every lender follows a different policy for credit scoring, so if an individual does not meet the criteria of one lender, they may still be able to get credit from another provider,” an Equifax spokesperson tells HuffPost UK.
Your credit history for the past six years is predominantly what affects your score. If you’ve used several lines of credit, and made expected payments on time, you’re likely to be in the lender’s good books.
A higher credit score indicates a lower risk to lenders. Those considered “low risk” typically qualify for a wider range of credit products, and are likely to end up securing the best deals. A lower credit score could mean lenders see you as too risky to lend money to, so it may impact your ability to get a mortgage or loan.
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Some factors that might impact your credit score include:
Total unsecured borrowing (this refers to money you borrow that isn’t secured against an asset you own, like your home) – the lower the better,
Number of late payments in the last six months – again, the lower the better,
Number of credit products applied for in the last six months – the fewer the better,
Whether you’re registered on the electoral roll – seen as a positive sign,
The number of court judgments you have – the fewer the better,
Credit invisibility – having little or no credit history can leave people with a poor credit score.
Now you’re up to speed, here are some common credit rating myths, busted.
Myth #1: Checking your credit rating impacts your score.
Checking your rating does not impact your score. Simply checking your score or report is called a “soft” inquiry, which doesn’t affect your rating. A “hard” enquiry however, such as when you apply for a new credit card, does affect it. So applying for lots of products in one go would probably ring alarm bells and bring your score down a peg or two.
You can check your credit score free of charge by signing up to a credit reference agency. If you want more detailed reports on your credit history, it’s likely you’ll have to pay.
Myth #2: You only have one credit score.
There is no universal credit score, explains Equifax. Each credit reference agency may give you a different score on a different scale, so you can have more than one.
As mentioned above, you can get a different score from an agency or lender. If, for example, you signed up to Equifax to find out your credit score and then applied for a credit card at a bank, the bank wouldn’t use the score given to you by credit reference agencies, it would come up with its own.
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“[The bank] would use your credit report information from the agency, your application details and any recent history of previous accounts with them to calculate a score for you,” Equifax says. “It’s this final score that helps them decide whether to accept you or not, and sometimes what the rate will be.”
Myth #3: Previous tenants can impact your credit score.
If the people who lived in your home before you had terrible credit scores, that does not pass on to you – but people believe this is the case, especially when living in rented accommodation.
The previous occupants of your address do not have any impact on your finances, states Equifax. If letters are coming to your address and they’re addressed to previous occupants, write on the front of the envelope that they don’t live there anymore and stick them back in the post box.
Myth #4: Being in a relationship links your credit scores.
You can’t absorb another person’s credit rating simply for being in a relationship with, or married to, them. People’s finances are only linked if they apply for joint credit together, such as a loan, mortgage or bank account, says Experian’s spokesperson. You can’t get joint credit cards in the UK, so they don’t count.
However, it’s worth noting that if you are linked to someone else because you took out a credit product together, and apply for credit in your own right, the lender can – if it wishes – review the credit history of the other person as well.
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If you previously took out credit with someone (say, an ex), but don’t share any joint accounts now, you can ask for a “financial disassociation” with the three main credit reference agencies. This will then de-link your credit report from the other person, explains James Jones, head of consumer affairs at Experian.
Myth #5: Anyone can see your credit score.
Lenders can see your credit report when you agree to a check – whether they can see your score will generally depend on the relationship they have with the agency. Other organisations can also review your report, usually with your permission, including landlords and employers, says Experian’s spokesperson – although what they see may be restricted.
Your partner can’t see your credit score – and vice versa – even if you’re financially linked. If you ask to see a copy of your credit report, you will not see your partner’s financial information – you will see their name, address, date of birth, the date you became linked and the account (lender name) you are linked by on your report, but nothing else.
The only way your partner can see your credit score or the contents of your credit report is if you physically share it with them.
Myth #6: You can’t dispute your credit score.
If you don’t agree with your credit score, you can let the credit reference agency know – it will then raise a dispute on your behalf and has the power to amend the record if the organisation that helped provide it (eg. a bank) agrees.
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“If they don’t, you can add your own comments to the entry [report], called a ‘notice of correction’,” explains Experian’s spokesperson. “If you are unhappy with your score, you should contact the agency that calculated it and they will try to help you.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-16--My Miscarriage Helped Me Build A Better Life

HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
“Have you been having any pregnancy symptoms?” the sonographer asked.
My husband and I laughed. “Well I’ve been throwing up for eight weeks, signed off work and have barely been able to function, so yes.”
The knowing smile I was looking for in response didn’t come. And as I looked up at the screen and the gaping black hole staring back at me from my twelve-week scan, I knew there was no longer anything to be cocky about.
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There was no baby. Just an empty sack, and my bruised ego. They called it a ‘missed miscarriage’ – missed because there had been no pain or any physical signs, just high hormone levels and a confused body cruelly producing all the symptoms of a healthy pregnancy.
If there hadn’t been pain before, there certainly was now. In the blur of that lunchtime appointment, I remember thinking how offensive that term was: “missed” implied I was too stupid to notice what had been happening to my own baby. The growing bump that I’d convinced myself of was, of course, non-existent and calling it “the baby” for all those weeks felt ridiculous now I’d discovered it probably hadn’t formed past the four-week mark. Perhaps I was stupid after all.
“It’s not that I was an awful person, just blissfully happy – and blissfully naïve.”
Before 8 October 2012, I felt untouchable. I had my dream job, found myself a wonderful man, had the perfect wedding, bought a house – of course a baby was next up. And so when ‘pregnant’ came up on the test I almost took for granted because, in my head, getting pregnant and having my happily ever after was a sure thing. I had never had my heart broken, had never lost anyone close to me and I’d never wanted for anything in life. Any disappointment I’d experienced before that day was a bad bit of feedback at work or a friend pulling out of a long-awaited date in the diary. Nothing raw. Nothing life or death. It’s not that I was an awful person, just blissfully happy – and blissfully naïve.
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“One positive you can take from this is that women usually get pregnant very easily after having a miscarriage,” the nurse told me a week later. I had just woken up from having my ERPC – ‘evacuation of retained products of conception’, another offensive term that made my trauma sound more like a routine clean out than my world turning upside down. I hung onto her every word, but I wasn’t part of the ‘normal’ society she’d painted such a hopeful picture of.
Getting pregnant again wasn’t the walk in the park I’d been promised. My ‘perfect’ world had suddenly been tainted. I became depressed, bitter, obsessed even. Shocked to the core, my whole outlook on life shifted considerably: I held a grudge against fertile friends, anyone with good news to share – baby-related or not – was pretty much black-listed, and it affected my marriage too. Every conversation was ruined by the ‘b’ word, and between the acupuncture appointments, hypnotherapy sessions, constant diet changes, temperature taking, and emotional breakdowns (not to mention all the dodging of friends with children) we were utterly exhausted. But among all of this, these two years of sheer sadness, something else was happening to me that I was unaware of: I was growing up.
Suddenly, I had a whole new level of experience in something I’d known nothing about before. This was raw, and nothing like the wedding magazine, love letter bubble I’d been living in pre-scan. Suddenly, I was able to provide first-hand comfort to others going through the same thing, if they ever wanted it. There was no longer this rose-tinted haze – my eyes had been opened to real life, and I realised it was actually doing me a world of good.
HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
Where I used to go in all guns blazing during conversations, I started to listen to people harder. For once I wanted to hear their stories, their opinions, their advice. I’d stop the usual channel-hopping and listen to the woman on TV talking about her recent ordeal, or the man on the radio describing how he was feeling. Suddenly I could relate – albeit usually in a roundabout way – but a life experience is a life experience, and I realised that to simply be listened to is the most valuable thing a person can do for the other. The listener learns from what they’re hearing and the person wanting to be heard feels less alone. And listening helped me feel less alone too. Pre-scan, I saw myself as a good person on the whole – but it’s almost as if I wasn’t qualified to be a better one until I’d experienced such raw pain.
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I upped my reading game too. Rather than thinking happy thoughts and dodging anything to do with fertility in magazines or newspapers, I discovered that forcing myself to be educated on what I had gone through was vital. I learned about why it happened and, more importantly, discovered that so many others were going through it with me. Forcing myself to read more, not just about fertility issues, also opened my mind to the significance of our complete lack of control – whoever you are, good and bad things can happen at any time, no exceptions. Take risks and enjoy life, I learned, because who knows? Who knew that having something so devastating happen to you could actually make your outlook on life a lot healthier – happier, even?
“Who knew that having something so devastating happen to you could actually make your outlook on life a lot healthier – happier, even?”
Fate played a part too. Things happened in my career – promotions, opportunities – that I would have missed out on if I’d had that baby. Any problem at work suddenly seemed trivial, which gave me the tools to deal with things rationally. I was no longer the stressed, everything-must-be-perfect employee, I was the one with a level head who knew first-hand that worse things could happen and that whatever the problem, it could get sorted quickly and calmly.
Let’s make one thing clear: if I had to go through it all again, I wouldn’t. But I genuinely believe the way I evaluate this thing called ‘life’ has benefited as a result and frankly, I’ll take all the positives I can from it. Not only am I more measured about dealing with the things that have come my way since – a significant death in my family, money worries, friendship issues – I am also now fully aware that nothing is perfect and nor do I want it to be. It’s fair to say that day shocked me into living my life with some much-needed self-awareness, and my head firmly screwed on.
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I’m now a mother of two. Even now I cannot believe I am typing those words – let alone how I got there. But despite the long list of new things to worry about that comes with being a mother, there hasn’t been a single day since having each of my beautiful children that I haven’t felt overwhelmingly fortunate to be in this position, nor will I ever take for granted again the sheer enormity of creating a life.
I’m not sure I would have taken the time to feel that if I hadn’t felt that first heartbreaking loss.
Philippa Pearne is a freelance journalist and editor. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Jess Phillips Interview: 'As Labour Leader, I Will Never Live In A Bunker. I Relish Rebellion'

Jess Phillips has proudly christened herself the “gobby cow” candidate fighting the race to be Labour leader.
Her campaign tagline might seem a bit in-your-face, but the campaigning Birmingham MP – who, when asked about her rivals for the top job, pointedly encourages them to “be interesting” – knows her audience and is winking at them.
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Whether it’s how she has battled Brexit, for new domestic violence laws, school cuts or Jeremy Corbyn’s perceived failures on anti-Semitism, the party’s moderates are buoyed by Phillips precisely because she refuses to be silent and compliant.
The former business manager for Women’s Aid has a big personality and it has seen her amass a 355,000 Twitter following that puts her competitors’ social media game to shame.
Yet despite some 14,000 new members signing up since the election, the Labour Party is still dominated by Jeremy Corbyn loyalists. Phillips has yet to secure union backing, although she is confident of reaching the next round with members’ backing, and faces an uphill struggle against left-wing frontrunners Rebecca Long-Bailey and Keir Starmer.
The 38-year-old would admit flying the flag for the party’s out-of-vogue moderates – but, like so many others in Labour, she’s weary of labels.
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“The strategy is genuinely to disavow the members of some of the things that they think about me,” Phillips told HuffPost UK after speaking at a rally in Bermondsey’s Ministry of Sound.
“Some of the rhetoric that you read about me is that I’m some sort of devil, the ultimate right-winger.
“People think the membership will hate me but that’s never been my experience.
“The strategy is to get out and impress people. That should be everyone’s strategy: be interesting.”
Her fear is that after Labour’s worst drubbing since 1935, the party’s biggest threat is not merely fresh defeats but complete oblivion.
“I am able to speak to the country and can stop the Labour Party from slipping into irrelevance, because right now that is a real, real risk,” she said.
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“The parliamentary pantomime is over. Nobody will be watching.
“We will only have a few seconds each day to reach people.
“From the back benches, I have managed to change the law. I have managed to frighten the Conservatives and I’ve managed to get the country to listen to me.”
While the Tories have had two female leaders, the party which claims to champion equality has failed to elect a woman to the top job in its entire 120-year history.
“Of course a female Labour leader would be symbolic,” she said, adding it “would end the embarrassment”.
“The parliamentary pantomime is over. Nobody will be watching. We will only have a few seconds each day to reach people.”
Should Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary and current favourite, have declined to stand?
“I’m not going to say that Keir Starmer should sit this one out but the idea that we have one man and four women – well, you would have to ask him how he thinks that looks,” she said.
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Her case is that a “Miliband 2.0” leader would be just as disastrous as “continuity Corbyn”. She supports some radical policies, such as rail nationalisation, but feels the party needs to take a mainstream approach to the economy if it stands any chance of regaining its credibility.
“We have to make an economic case that can reach people, that is about people’s lives and is about the fact that if we want good dignified decent public services that they have to be paid for,” she said.
Phillips was one of four siblings, her father was a teacher and her mother was deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation.
“My upbringing was alright. I don’t feel the need to pretend I lived in a grit pit in the middle of the road,” she said, in a thinly veiled swipe at fellow candidates who frequently underline the working class elements of their background.
“Sometimes we didn’t have enough, we sometimes did. I don’t want to paint some sort of picture as if it was terribly challenging. And I think it’s so patronising the way that has been done.”
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While her family were all involved in Labour – “I went to women’s liberation playgroup; we were part of every pressure group going” – Phillips didn’t enter politics straightaway. She first had two children, experienced life on benefits and cared for her dying mother.
Meghan Markle has ‘absolutely suffered racism’ Commenting on the burning issue of the day, the Labour leadership contender said the Duchess of Sussex, who with her husband Prince Harry decided to step down as a senior Royal, has been the victim of racism in the press. “She has absolutely suffered racism,” says Phillips. “It’s very difficult for people to understand a thing that isn’t overt racism. “Because it’s not just ‘is she a black woman’, she’s not British. She’s ‘a foreigner’, she’s ‘a foreigner she thinks she can come here and tell us’. So there’s a level of xenophobia in it as well as racism. “I imagine it was an incredibly difficult decision but I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors and I wish them well.”
Although she has never held a front bench role, Phillips resents the argument that she lacks experience.
“I bet you Boris Johnson or Chris Grayling never had to answer this question,” she said.
“I ran a multi-million pound service [Women’s Aid] that had contracts with four or five large government departments.”
Some would argue telling BBC’s Andrew Marr that she was open to the UK rejoining the EU in the future was a telling misstep of her lack of political experience.
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“It’s not like I had some sort of ‘jessforrejoin.com’,” she said. “What I said was that any PM who didn’t look at all the alliances that might be best for the country is not good leadership.”
File photos of (left to right) Labour MPs Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Clive Lewis and Emily Thornberry. Mr Lewis has abandoned his leadership bid for the party after falling short of the 22 nominations necessary from his fellow MPs. PA Wire/PA Images
Phillips is not uncritical of the Remain movement, saying that calls the People’s Vote excluded Leavers. She is quick to distance herself from pro-Remain figures such as Emily Thornberry, who have faced claims of sneering at Brexiteers and being too London-centric.
“I stood in front of a million people on the People’s Vote March and I said: ’Never ever anyone say that people where I live are stupid and don’t want exactly the same things that everybody in the crowd [does],” she said.
The Blairite tag, meanwhile, is not something she recoils from. Asked which Labour leader she most admires, she claims Tony Blair “won the most elections”, though as head of a minority government that mantle is Harold Wilson’s, but settles on Clement Attlee.
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“If you who grew up with the labour movement, like I did, you never ever get over the strides that the Attlee government made,” she said.
Phillips insists she would build a shadow cabinet filled with talent from all wings of the party, however.
“I think my leadership will be strong and certain and clear, while at the same time being open to dissent,” she says.
“I will never live in a bunker. I will always, if people have something to say and even if I don’t agree with them, give people a fair hearing.
“I relish rebellion and dissent and I think you have to listen to it. I’m not going to be the draconian ‘you don’t agree with me and you’re out’.”
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Phillips would also immediately expel anti-Semites if elected.
“The truth is that I don’t think that we can get over any hurdle until we reform our credibility and the place that we had as a party of equality and diversity,” she said.
“I don’t think we meet the test of being able to talk to the country until we get our own house in order first. It has to be the first priority.”
The crunch moment may come when the Equality and Human Rights Commission delivers its judgement on whether Labour is institutionally anti-Semitic.
Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell.
Could Phillips throw Corbyn out of the party he currently leads?
“It’s [the EHRC judgement] going to be a real reckoning for the Labour Party and there will be a huge amount of fallout,” she said. “But, look, I’m not in the business of scalping people.”
Instead, Phillips would make it her mission to win back Jewish people such as Luciana Berger and Louise Ellman, who deserted the party over the issue.
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“Luciana Berger is the test I set myself,” she says.
The 38-year-old says Labour would be open to figures who left, such as Chuka Umunna and Gavin Shuker, and even Tories.
“It’s an age-old principle, isn’t it, that people cross the floor,” she said. “It isn’t just the liberals, either. People cross the floor Conservative to Labour, and Labour to Conservative.
“I think that we shouldn’t be exclusive. We should welcome people.
“It wouldn’t be my aim to try and pull those [Umunna and others] people back right now. You’ve got to think about the future. But would you refuse them? No.”
Labour MP and leadership candidate Jess Phillips PA Wire/PA Images
Phillips would not have refused to serve Corbyn and hint at her ambitions besides the leadership.
“Had it been a job where I thought that I could genuinely use my voice to make a difference, like if Jeremy Corbyn had asked me to lead on domestic abuse or home affairs with regards to city-based gang violence, then, of course, I would have accepted,” she said.
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Getting Labour back to its winning ways may look an impossible task but Phillips thinks that Boris Johnson is beatable.
“Boris Johnson is Boris Johnson’s biggest weakness,” she says. “I think that the country knows that Boris Johnson is a liar and it is baked into the equation.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Prince William Thought A Photo Of Himself Was Princess Charlotte

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Prince William has a doppelgänger – and it’s his daughter, Princess Charlotte.
During a visit to the city of Bradford on Wednesday, William and Kate Middleton were shown a gorgeous dessert created in honour of their arrival at the Khidmat Centre.
The exhibit featured photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, all the way from their baby photos to their wedding day to the births of their children.
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WPA Pool via Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge inspect cakes as they visit the Khidmat Centre.
While examining the decadent desserts and intricate details that went into every fruitcake and cupcake, William’s eyes landed on a photo that he thought looked just like his daughter, Charlotte. When the creator of the red, white, blue and gold creation said that it was actually his baby picture, William simply couldn’t believe it.
“Is that me?” William repeated while looking at the photo. “Oh my goodness. Because that looks just like Charlotte. That is incredible ― I hadn’t seen that.”
Kate agreed that his picture in the “clever” design also looked so much like Charlotte.
The creator of the display did the work all on her own and said that it took her a couple of days to complete.
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WPA Pool via Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge inspect cakes as they visit the Khidmat Centre on Jan. 15 in Bradford.
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM via Getty Images Cakes, decorated with images of Prince William and Kate Middleton, are pictured during their visit to the Khidmat Centre in Bradford on Jan. 15, where they learned about the activities and workshops offered by the centre.
The visit to Bradford was the couple’s first public appearance since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced last week that they plan to step back as senior members of the royal family.
During the visit, the Duchess of Cambridge also shared that she and William likely won’t be expecting a fourth child.
“I don’t think William wants any more,” Kate told a royal fan, according to People.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Derek Fowlds, Star Of Heartbeat And Yes Minister, Dies Aged 82

British actor Derek Fowlds has died at the age of 82.
Derek was best known for his portrayal of Bernard Woolley in the satirical sitcoms Yes Minister and the follow-up Yes, Prime Minister.
His other credits included Heartbeat, in which he played Oscar Blaketon for its entire 18-series run and made one appearance in the spin-off show The Royal.
The news of his death was announced by his family on Friday, who confirmed he had died at Royal United Hospitals Bath, after suffering from pneumonia which led to heart failure caused by sepsis. He was surrounded by his family when he died.
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Derek Fowlds pictured in 2010 Dan Wooller/Shutterstock
His personal assistant and friend Helen Bennett said: “He was the most beloved man to everybody who ever met him, he never had a bad word to say about anybody and he was so well respected, adored by everyone.
“You couldn’t have met a nicer person ever, he was just a wonderful man and I will miss him terribly.”
On the set of Heartbeat in 2006 ITV/Shutterstock
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Derek began his acting career after training at RADA, making his West End debut in a production of The Miracle Worker in 1961, when he was in his early 20s.
The actor later became known for The Basil Brush Show, in which he appeared for eight series as a companion of the beloved fox character.
In more recent years, Derek appeared in minor roles in dramas like Casualty, and was one of the stars who made a cameo in the film adaptation of Run For Your Wife, opposite Danny Dyer and Denise Van Outen.
His final on-screen role was in 2017, appearing in an episode of the BBC soap Doctors.
Derek is survived by his two sons, Jamie and Jeremy, a cameraman and actor, respectively.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Sex Education Returns | Good Vibes Only

Sex Education Returns | Good Vibes Only

Sex Education Returns | Good Vibes Only
This week in entertainment… the second series of Sex Education returns to Netflix, Shrill is the new BBC show you should be watching, we cringe at the some of the weirdest awards season moments and Billie Eilish becomes the youngest artist ever to record a Bond song for No Time To Die.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--US Ambassador’s Moustache Inflames Washington And Seoul Tensions

US Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris ASSOCIATED PRESS
Amid a strained dialogue between Washington and Seoul over the prospect of reopening tourism with North Korea, one man’s facial hair has apparently become fair game.
More specifically, the moustache of Harry Harris, the US ambassador to South Korea has been targeted by some local media and anti-US activists, who have compared it with those of officials in the Japanese colonial government that ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945.
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Last year the Korea Times ran a piece entitled “the politics of US envoy’s moustache”, quoting Harris as revealing: “I wanted to make a break between my life as a military officer and my new life as a diplomat. I tried to grow taller but I couldn’t grow any taller, and so I tried to get younger but I couldn’t get younger. But I could grow a moustache so I did that.”
Some critics have attacked Harris more directly, with some even commenting on his Japanese-American heritage. Harris, who became a diplomat after 40 years in the military, was born to a Japanese mother and an American father.
In an interview with a local radio station, a ruling party politician compared him with a “governor general” of the Japanese government during the colonial period.
Speaking on Thursday, Harris also mentioned the public comments about his heritage and the mockery of his moustache - despite the fact that many famous Korean historical figures had similar facial hair.
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“My moustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here,” Harris said at the briefing on Thursday.
In a protest outside the US Embassy in December, for example, activists plucked the moustache hairs from posters of Harris’ face.
“I understand the historical animosity that exists between both of the nations,” Harris said of the lingering tensions between South Korea and Japan.
“But I am not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea — I am the American ambassador to Korea.”
Seoul and Washington have been at odds over a number of issues in recent years, including South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s desire to engage economically with the North, and a US demand that Seoul pay billions of dollars more to maintain its troops stationed in South Korea.
Harris told international media in Seoul on Thursday that it would be better for South Korea to run any plans to engage with North Korea through a joint working group established with the United States to avoid any “misunderstandings” that could trigger sanctions.
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That drew a rebuke from an official at the presidential Blue House on Friday.
“It’s very inappropriate for the ambassador to make such a mention in the media over remarks by the president of the host nation,” the official said, speaking to media on condition of anonymity.
Harris said South Korea was a sovereign nation and noted that tourism is not banned by international sanctions imposed on the North. But he said some aspects of a tourism program could potentially run into trouble with sanctions.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Panama Religious Sect Investigated Over Discovery Of 7 Bodies After Suspected Exorcism

A police officer approaches the persons allegedly responsible for the deaths of seven people, in Bocas Del Toro, Panama PANAMA PUBLIC MINISTRY/REUTERS
A religious sect believed to have been performing exorcisms is being investigated after seven people, including a pregnant woman and five of her children, were found in a mass grave in Panama.
Officials found the bodies in the indigenous region of Ngabe-Bugle, said Rafael Baloyes, senior prosecutor of the Bocas del Toro province of western Panama.
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In a video published by the office of Panama’s attorney general, Baloyes said the grave came to light after locals alerted authorities at the weekend about several families being held against their will in a local indigenous-run church where exorcisms were believed to have taken place.
“We’re talking about seven victims, six minors between the ages of one and 17,” Baloyes said. “Six from one family, the mother and her five children, and the mother was pregnant.”
On Wednesday, authorities rescued 15 people being held by the religious sect. Ten sect members were arrested on suspicion of responsibility for the killings, prosecutors said.
Those rescued from the church had suffered bodily injuries, according to Alexis Munoz, a senior police official.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Grammys' First Ever Female Chief Removed From Post 10 Days Before Ceremony Following Misconduct Alle

Grammys' First Ever Female Chief Removed From Post 10 Days Before Ceremony Following Misconduct Allegation

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Grammys chief Deborah Dugan has been removed from her position with less than two weeks to go until this year’s ceremony, following an allegation of misconduct.
Dugan – the only woman to ever hold the position of chief of the Recording Academy – was placed on “administrative leave” on Thursday, 10 days before the 2020 Grammys.
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In a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times, the board of the Recording Academy said the move came after a “formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team”.
Deborah Dugan Jamie McCarthy via Getty Images
They said: “In light of concerns raised to the Recording Academy Board of Trustees, including a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team, the Board has placed Recording Academy President and CEO Deborah Dugan on administrative leave, effective immediately.
“The Board has also retained two independent third-party investigators to conduct independent investigations of the allegations.”
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The statement continued: “The Board determined this action to be necessary in order to restore the confidence of the Recording Academy’s membership, repair Recording Academy employee morale, and allow the Recording Academy to focus on its mission of serving all music creators.”
This year's Grammys will take place in less than two weeks MJ Photos/Shutterstock
Hours after Dugan was placed on administrative leave, her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded with a statement.
“What has been reported is not nearly the story that needs to be told. When our ability to speak is not restrained by a 28-page contract and legal threats, we will expose what happens when you ‘step up’ at the Recording Academy, a public nonprofit,” her lawyer wrote.
Dugan was appointed the president of the Recording Academy after Neil Portnow left the post.
His exit came after a wave of controversy, which saw him suggest in 2018 that female artists needed to “step up” if they wanted to be nominated for Grammys, following a particularly male-heavy year.
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This year’s Grammys are set to take place in Los Angeles on Sunday 26 January, with Alicia Keys on hosting duties for the second year in a row.
Just behind her are fellow rising stars Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish, both of whom are on six nominations.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Patrick Stewart Admits He Once Watched Himself In Star Trek On A Hotel TV... But Things Did Not End

Patrick Stewart Admits He Once Watched Himself In Star Trek On A Hotel TV... But Things Did Not End Well

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As Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sir Patrick Stewart won a legion of fans the world over.
But despite being in one of the biggest TV shows of the 80s and 90s, the British actor has admitted it wasn’t something he went out of his way to watch.
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However, ahead of Amazon Prime’s Star Trek: Picard arriving on our screens, the star recalled one of the times he did actually catch himself in the iconic role.
Sir Patrick Stewart on The Graham Norton Show PA Wire/PA Images
During an appearance on Friday’s edition of The Graham Norton Show, the 79-year-old reveals he was “hooked” when he came across an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation on a hotel TV, but things didn’t end well.
Asked if he ever watches Star Trek, he says: “I don’t look for it, but occasionally I’ll happen upon it.
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“There was one night in a hotel when I was flicking through the channels and there was an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, so I watched it for a few minutes, and I got hooked.
“Then the waiter came in with my room service order and he looked at me, then looked at the television and I thought, ‘He is going to go away and tell the entire kitchen that it was the saddest thing he had ever seen – this guy upstairs alone, having room service and watching himself’.”
Sir Patrick Stewart attends the Star Trek: Picard UK Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 15, 2020 in London. Mike Marsland via Getty Images
Patrick also tells Graham that he didn’t initially want to return to the role of Captain Picard in Star Trek’s latest TV outing.
“It’s a big deal for me because I have so many times publicly said, ‘I’m done. Star Trek was wonderful, and it changed my life and my career, but I have said it all and there is nothing more to say’,” he explains.
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“I didn’t just want to say, ‘No. Pass,’ so I went to the meeting to explain to them face-to-face why I couldn’t do it. And then they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse!
“But there were conditions – no uniform and no Enterprise. They said they could live with that and they have made a huge commitment to the series. We hope it is amazing.”
Watch the full interview with Patrick on The Graham Norton Show on Friday 17 January at 10.35pm on BBC One. Star Trek: Picard debuts on Amazon Prime on 24 January.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Trump Wears Glasses? Photographer Snaps Rare Pic Of The Presidential Peepers

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President Donald Trump isn’t often seen wearing glasses in public, but it happened on Tuesday when a photographer snapped him in his limo reading something on his phone.
Doug Mills of The New York Times captured the rare moment as Trump headed for Air Force One on the way to a campaign rally:
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.@realDonaldTrump
reads his phone as he arrives in his SUV to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md. for a campaign trip to Milwaukee, WI. pic.twitter.com/01z5UJOD8H — Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) January 14, 2020
Wearing glasses, of course, isn’t unusual. Trump, however, has only rarely been seen in them.
When he’s at work in the White House, Trump often dictates tweets when others are around because he does not like to be seen wearing “the reading glasses he needs to see the screen,” The New York Times reported last year.
The newspaper said an aide will print out suggested tweets in extra-large fonts for Trump to sign off on.
He was last seen publicly wearing glasses in 2017, also through a car window:
President Donald Trump departs Trump National Golf Club, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017, in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The president also typically does not wear sunglasses. But he did don protective lenses to view a solar eclipse in 2017:
President Donald Trump looks up at the partial solar eclipse from the balcony of the White House on August 21, 2017. AFP Contributor via Getty Images
Except he also tried to view the eclipse without them:
President Donald Trump looks toward the solar eclipse without his protective glasses from the Truman balcony of the White House. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Eminem Slammed Over 'Disgusting' Reference To Manchester Bombing On New Album

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Eminem is facing a backlash over a crass lyric referencing the 2017 Manchester bombing on his new album.
On Friday morning, the 47-year-old rapper surprised fans with the sudden release of Music To Be Murdered By, his first new album since 2018’s Kamikaze.
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However, shortly after the album’s release, many listeners took issue with a lyric on the track Unaccommodating, which referenced the attack after Ariana Grande’s show at the Manchester Arena in 2017.
“I’’m contemplating yelling “Bombs away” on the game,” he raps on the song. “Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting.”
Eminem Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
The lyric in question is then followed by an explosion sound effect.
As the lyrical content began circulating on social media, many criticised the rapper for including a reference to the attack on his album, pointing out that people were still dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, which took the lives of 22 people, including young children…
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eminem literally just made a joke about the manchester bombing at ariana grande’s concert... that is just so fucking sick, y’all better not give this man any attention. people literally lost their lives, and you’re going to release music and try to make a profit off of them? pic.twitter.com/mKJo06RL9p — chris (mariestakis) (@sweeterheavens) January 17, 2020
eminem rly used a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 22 innocent fans, including CHILDREN, and gave ariana ptsd as a lyric in his song. and used a fucking bomb sound effect with it.
i’ve always liked eminem but this is really just...gross.
stream #circles instead pls — el 🇦🇺 STREAM CIRCLES (@imaginemiso) January 17, 2020
okay i’ve always liked eminem but i just lost all respect for him. wtf was he thinking pic.twitter.com/bDjwA2cmje — ★ nisa. ★ (fan acc) (@nisagrande_) January 17, 2020
This is so disrespectful, insensitive and disgusting.
Using a sad episode like the Manchester bombing, where fans were killed, parents were killed, innocent people were killed, is not ok.
I hope Eminem apologizes or puts down this song... I have lost all my respects to him pic.twitter.com/Am1noY6EUa — robert🥀🌙🖤 (@tayrianamila) January 17, 2020
always had respect for eminem but who tf makes a joke about a terroist attack that killed innocent kids and permanently wounded others? ariana still hasn’t healed from it either. i hope the 10 minutes of clout was worth it. pic.twitter.com/jFvxeuf4wK — ً (@biebseasons) January 17, 2020
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eminem stans are really trying to defend his joke about a terrorist attack that killed 22 people and gave ariana PTSD...literally bye — angie - circles out now !! (@fckinggrateful) January 17, 2020
Eminem dropped a surprise album on the day of Mac Miller’s post-death album to talk about his temptation to drop bombs and I quote as if he was outside an Ariana grande concert. The cheek levels are sky high. Only a white man could go this far in 2020. — 😎 (@BeyIneKno) January 17, 2020
Nah Eminem I was rooting for u but then heard that Ariana line... that’s shit ain’t funny — Elmira (@elmira_tchagop) January 17, 2020
This isn’t even funny, he’s using people’s deaths, a night that people went to see their idol and have fun in her concert but ended up passing away, as just a lyric. It’s disgusting. — Selenator4life (@Selenator4lif19) January 17, 2020
“I’m contemplating yelling bombs away on the game like I’m outside an Ariana Grande concert.”
Eminem literally just used a horrific terrorist attack that killed 22 innocent adults/children for a punchline in a song.
i am disgusted. pic.twitter.com/7QBjm4B773 — troy (@troyxvi) January 17, 2020
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bruh...even if eminem been known for being unapologetic, still doesn't excuse making insensitive comments about the bombing in ariana's concert....like.... people died and those who lived thru it will never be the same, mayheps some respect!?
pic.twitter.com/ItbhL9qX0D — Kat (@fentyzl) January 17, 2020
no offence but can @Eminem take the hint and FUCK OFF.
twice he’s done this now and it’s so disrespectful to ariana, the survivors of that night and victims and their family and friends.
can’t believe people still feel the need to be this low in life😷 pic.twitter.com/XYIy1XOspJ — Katie✨ (@afterlifegrande) January 17, 2020
they be letting eminem get away with everything. like the fact that he can sit here and do this knowing kids as young as 8 years old died and that so many people, including ariana, have ptsd and severe anxiety from this.. https://t.co/3b9lpL3SHl — sophia | urethra franklin (@sophiakingss) January 17, 2020
eminem is a washed-up has-been. that ariana lyric of his is just a pathetic attempt to get attention pic.twitter.com/Lxhn8TuNAu — ⓛ (@makeyoufeelCOLD) January 17, 2020
lets just fucking ignore the disrespectful shit eminem has done & focus our energy on more important things like supporting ariana. i hope to god she doesnt see any of this shit — kirstyn (@prxtectingari) January 17, 2020
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ok now that we already comment the shit that eminem did let's put him aside, he doesn't deserve all this attention. anyway, stream thank u, next by ariana grande and circles by mac miller. have a good night — gab (fan account) (@newclassicboy) January 17, 2020
I hope Ariana is surrounded by those she loves & is currently in a good state of mind because when she hears what Eminem said about her it’s gonna bring up a lot of shit for her & that trauma is scary:/ — 𝐓𝐎𝐗𝐈𝐂🥴 (fan account) (@iskinnylegendz) January 17, 2020
What’s more, this isn’t actually the first time Eminem has faced controversy over a reference to the Manchester bombing.
In 2018, on a freestyle track titled Kick Off, he was heard rapping: “Squashed in between a brainwashing machine, like an Islamic regime, a jihadist extreme radical, suicide bomber that’s seeing Ariana Grande sing her last song of the evening, and as the audience from the damn concert is leaving, detonates the device strapped to his abdominal region.
“I’m not gonna finish that, for obvious reasons.”
Ariana Grande Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
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The song was branded “disrespectful” and “vile” by Charlotte Hodgson, whose 15-year-old daughter Olivia Campbell-Hardy was one of the 22 people who died in the tragedy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Loose Horse Hitches A Ride On Cardiff City Bus

A frightened horse that somehow found itself stranded on a central reservation was taken to safety – on board a passenger bus.
Local resident Harley Paige and a friend were able to halt traffic on Thursday evening on the A48 in Wales and eventually coral the “shaken and soggy” animal onto a Cardiff-bound bus.
Inc 900
A loose horse on the 'mane' A48 Eastern Ave decided it wanted to 'stirrup' a little trouble but in doing so it risked falling 'foal' of the law.
It then decided to alight an @Cardiffbus
which was on it's way to the Heath Hostable!
Road now re open.#team1east pic.twitter.com/z7YyMWO1x3 — South Wales Police Roads Policing Unit (@SWP_Roads) January 16, 2020
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Paige wrote on Facebook: “Somehow we managed to stop the traffic with the assistance of some lovely people and some arm flailing on my behalf. Got the horse calm and listening.
“Then the bus driver asks, ‘shall we put the horse on the bus?’
“Well, why the fuck not drive, take it away!”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-17--Laurence Fox Tells BBC Question Time Audience Member 'To Call Me A White Privileged Male Is Racist'

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Actor and musician Laurence Fox clashed with an audience member during BBC Question Time after calling the UK a “lovely tolerant country” in response to a question about racism directed towards Meghan Markle.
Actor and musician Laurence Fox – best known for starring in TV drama Lewis from 2006-2015 – was part of the panel on Thursday night’s episode of the show, filmed this week in Liverpool.
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Discussing the controversy around the Duke and Duchess of of Sussex’s decision to step back from their duties as senior royals, the audience member posing the question said: “Let’s be really clear about what this is, let’s call it by its name – it’s racism.
“She’s a black woman and she has been torn to pieces.”
Laurence Fox: "I was born this way. To call me a white privileged male is racist"
WHAT THE SH*** #bbcqtpic.twitter.com/TqYb1xq2VG — Femi (@Femi_Sorry) January 16, 2020
Before she manages to finish her point however, Fox is seen shaking his head and stating: “It’s not racism,” responding to the woman’s assertion that “it absolutely is” with another dismissal of “no it’s not”.
He continues: “We’re the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe, let’s celebrate –” he adds, before being cut off by audience applause and further questioning.
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Fox adds: “It’s so easy to just throw your charge of racism at everybody and it’s really starting to get boring now.”
The audience member continues: “What worries me about your comment is you are a white privileged male” – which Fox cuts off with a dramatic groan and roll of the eyes.
He says: “I can’t help what I am, I was born like this, it’s an immutable characteristic so to call me a white privileged male is to be racist. You’re being racist.”
As is customary when it comes to Question Time it wasn’t long before the topic started trending on Twitter, where it’s probably fair to say his comments didn’t go down too well.
Of course, Fox had his supporters, but many people questioned the accuracy of his comments against the recent backdrop of racist abuse directed towards the royals, the Windrush scandal, and Brexit:
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a lovely tolerant country? oh right - a PM who calls black people 'picaninnies'. And the Windrush generation who are refused cancer treatment after 40 years of residence. Where you are punished for being poor and torn apart when you marry a Prince #Meghan #bbcqt — Prof Kate Williams (@KateWilliamsme) January 17, 2020
“We’re the most tolerant lovely country in Europe”. Laurence Fox 2020. Hey Laurence tell that to the windrush generation. Tell that to the Grenfell residents. Tell that to the Muslim Women called letterboxes by our PM. #BBCQT. pic.twitter.com/daMVs9tSEI — The boy from Bengal (@supernaturalbro) January 16, 2020
“We’re the most tolerant lovely country in Europe”. Laurence Fox 2020. I’ll just pop round and tell that to my 80 year old dad who just had to apply to remain in a country he’s lived in for 71 years. — Emilia di Girolamo (@EmiliaDG) January 17, 2020
The look Shami Chakribarti gives Laurence Fox is the same one lots of us are giving him about now.#bbcqt pic.twitter.com/9aBnQvJCyE — Steve Gray (@Kapt_Kopter2) January 16, 2020
Looks like it could be a racially motivated murder
Not possible sir, there is no racism in this country#bbcqt pic.twitter.com/0hZhZ50rmw — end of daves ❄ 🥕 (@davemacladd) January 16, 2020