thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Boris Johnson In ‘Jobs For The Boys’ Row Over Plan To Give Top Commons Post To Ally

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Boris Johnson is facing a “jobs for the boys” row over his plan to install a senior Tory ally as the chair of a powerful committee that scrutinises the government.
The prime minister is coming under pressure to delay or ditch plans to appoint veteran backbencher Sir Bernard Jenkin to head up the liaison committee, once the House of Commons returns from its extended Easter recess next week.
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The ‘super-committee’, which is the only committee with the power to summon the prime minister before it, is made up of chairs of 37 different select committees and since 2010 has chosen its own chair from among its members.
But there is growing anger among Labour and even some Conservative MPs that Downing Street will use a whipped vote next Wednesday to effectively pick who is in charge of the body tasked with grilling the PM directly three times a year.
Unlike other committee chairmen, Sir Bernard would not be elected in a secret ballot but would instead be simply installed by a government motion, backed by a three-line whip.
The move would also cost the taxpayer an extra £16,422 a year as Sir Bernard would have to be specially added to the committee and given a chairman’s salary, on top of the usual MP’s wage of £81,932.
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Government whips tried to get the appointment passed on the nod just before parliament rose for Easter, but several Labour MPs shouted ‘object’ to trigger a formal vote at a later date.
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has scheduled the vote to take place next Wednesday, when few MPs are likely to be present in person due to the requirements for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sir Bernard lost out on his bid to become chairman of the Commons defence select committee earlier this year and as a result would not normally be eligible to sit on the liaison committee.
Labour MP Kevin Brennan, a member of the DCMS select committee, said the planned appointment looked like a “consolation prize” for Jenkin.
“Doing ‘whatever it takes’ to protect jobs during the coronavirus outbreak should not include creating jobs for the boys, when millions are facing losing their own jobs,” he said.
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“The government choosing its own chief scrutineer is like a pupil getting their homework marked by their chosen classmate.”
The liaison committee has the power to grill the prime minister three times a year on any subject, but despite entering No.10 last July Johnson has not yet appeared before it.
Sir Bernard Jenkin Empics Entertainment
The prorogation of parliament led him to cancel a scheduled appearance last year and the committee has not been formed since the election.
A Labour select committee chair told HuffPost UK: “We’ve got nothing against Bernard personally. But the government trying to appoint somebody through the whips process totally goes against parliamentary accountability.
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“We expected it to be a Tory. If it had been Greg Clark, Tom Tugendhat, Tobias Ellwood, Mel Stride [chairs respectively of the science, foreign affairs, defence and Treasury committees] at least they would all have been there as chairmen of their own committees. It would have been perfectly consensual.
“The real outrage is that the government have delayed setting up the liaison committee just so they can get who they want as its chair. And with coronavirus, this is a time when parliamentary scrutiny is more important than ever.”
One Tory select committee chair said: “The whole reason we become select committee chairmen is because we are not ‘yes’ men or women. It looks like the government trying to take control of the liaison committee and run it the way they want to run it.”
Another chair was more cautious, pointing out that with a majority of 80 the government was in a powerful position. They said: “The most important thing is that the liaison committee is established and up and running.”
In the meantime, some committee chairmen are trying to find alternative ways to work together to scrutinise the government.
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Jeremy Hunt’s health committee included as ‘guest’ members on Friday other committee chairmen including Tugendhat, Yvette Cooper and Clive Betts.
Previous liaison committee chairs, Sir Andrew Tyrie and Sarah Wollaston, were both Tory MPs but seen as strongly independent of government.
Leading Brexiteer Jenkin backed Johnson for the Tory leadership last summer, but his friends point out that he proved a robust scrutineer of the government when he was chairman of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee.
Sir Bernard has in recent days been pushing for ministers to subject themselves to public evidence sessions, conducted via video calls from select committees chairmen.
Brigid Fowler, of the Hansard Society, the independent body that analyses parliament, said: “I do think that if the government moves its motion as it stands, and it goes through, that would be a retrograde step.
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“The point of the Wright reforms a decade ago was to allow select committees to emerge as a more independent source of scrutiny, less under the control of the government and the whips. This is obviously a step backwards.
“It reminds me of the row over prorogation. It’s process overreach, going a step too far and all of a sudden it becomes a much bigger issue than it would otherwise.”
Hannah White, of the Institute for Government think tank, added: “The response to coronavirus is a cross-government effort shaped by political decisions about difficult trade offs for which the prime minister has taken a high degree of personal responsibility.
“The glaring absence of the cross-cutting scrutiny which the liaison committee would normally conduct through evidence sessions with the prime minister is deeply unfortunate right now, given the potential benefits of explaining and testing government policy.
“Doing away with the longstanding convention that the liaison committee has the right to choose its own chair makes it seem as if the government is nervous of facing robust scrutiny at a time when testing government policy is more important than ever.”
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In a hint that there could be movement from the government, it is understood that a new Commons business statement on Tuesday could set out further details.
A Commons spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost UK that if Jenkin were to be appointed he would be entitled to the £16,000 top-up to his MP’s salary.
Such an extra payment was “payable where the liaison committee chair is not already paid a salary for chairing a select committee”, they said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--When Will Keir Starmer Grab His Chance To Change Labour's Record?

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Wanna Be Starmin Somethin’
When a new leader is elected, the party and public usually give them the space and platform to define themselves.
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Keir Starmer, who took the helm at Labour just two weeks ago, has been afforded neither.
Not only are the headlines constantly dominated by coronavirus, his party’s never-ending war over factionalism and anti-Semitism has burst back onto the agenda. And the new leader has punted any reckoning over the internal splits into the future.
Or as one party insider put it: “In Keir’s mind, a fuck up happens when you do something but in politics fuck ups can also happen when you don’t do something.”
The leaked dossier – alleging senior staff undermined Jeremy Corbyn and made abusive comments about members – makes for grim reading.
Questions are swirling over general secretary Jennie Formby (who commissioned the report) and how the document, which cites private WhatsApp messages and names both staff and Jewish people who lodged complaints, found its way into the public domain.
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The GMB and Unite unions are at loggerheads. People named are preparing legal claims.
Starmer told MPs just last week “we are one Labour Party”, but the truth is that his movement is more divided than ever.
Anti-Semitism broke through as a doorstep issue at the last general election and revelations about bullying and behind-the-scenes machinations seem to pile up week by week.
While he has issued a statement and committed to an internal investigation, many insiders fear the new leader is too detached and has failed to grasp the broader PR risk.
“We have become the nasty party and Keir has to change that,” said one member.
Starmer’s allies say his background leading the Crown Prosecution Service means he will be cautious and balanced.
It may be that the leader wants to face down the toxic elements of his party in a “Neil Kinnock moment” centre stage at a conference.
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But, with the EHRC soon to report on its probe of Labour’s anti-Semitism, one thing is for certain and it’s that the issue of party discipline will continue to haunt him.
Quote Of The Day
“I won’t be booking a summer holiday at this point. Let’s put it that way.”
– Transport secretary Grant Shapps on whether the coronavirus lockdown will be eased in time for summer getaways.
Cheat Sheet
A new coronavirus vaccine taskforce has been announced by the government, following a warning the UK could end up with the highest death rate in Europe from the disease.
Doctors and nurses have been urged by the government to reuse pieces of personal protective equipment as the NHS faces “extreme shortages”.
Campaigners have threatened to take legal action against the government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak in prisons. Two charities, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust, argue justice secretary Robert Buckland has been “too slow and too limited” in his efforts to reduce the risk to inmates and staff.
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What I’m Reading


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Small Businesses Left Struggling To Survive After Being 'Abandoned' By Insurers

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Small businesses across the UK have been “abandoned” by their insurers amid the coronavirus outbreak, with owners left facing an uncertain future.
HuffPost UK has spoken to a number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) who have had their business interruption claims denied after insurance companies insisted the wording of their policy documents meant they weren’t covered.
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These reasons range from owners being told that Covid-19 “wasn’t an incident”, to refusals to pay out because there wasn’t a specific outbreak on the premises, to interpretation of the use of the word “plague” to mean only specifically the bubonic plague.
On March 17, chancellor Rishi Sunak made it clear that businesses with pandemic cover should be protected by insurers, stating: “For those businesses which do have a policy that covers pandemics, the government’s action is sufficient and will allow businesses to make an insurance claim against their policy.”
But just weeks later many of those SMEs now say they have been let down by the very safety net they believed would save them.
The Rio Cinema in Dalston Rio Cinema
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The Rio Cinema, which has been open in Dalston since 1915, survived the Spanish Flu pandemic in the early 20th century and two world wars, but faces an uncertain future as a result of the coronavirus.
According to the company’s policy with Hiscox, executive director Oliver Meek believes the cinema should be covered under its extended business interruption coverage – but the insurers have since insisted that this isn’t the case.
“When James Bond was pulled until November it was a big warning sign – we knew then that it was very likely we would be closing, so we contacted our insurance broker who told us that we’d quite clearly be covered,” said Meek.
“We closed on March 10, and put in a claim through our broker, after which there was quite a long silence from Hiscox,” he explained. “It was in that time that we started to hear of small and medium-sized businesses like ours being refused.”
While the business interruption insurance appeared to cover issues such as a pandemic, the Rio Cinema was refused because no damage actually occurred at the premises as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
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“Evidence of Covid-19 at the cinema would constitute damage,” Meek explained. “There would have had to have been an outbreak at the cinema and they wanted basically a petri dish with the virus in it for us to be able to claim, but that isn’t specified at all in the policy.
“We have a denial of access clause which basically says that if you’re denied access to your premises by the government or local authority you’re covered – but they said that clause was intended to cover situations such as the police cordoning off the surrounding area due to a gas leak or fire.
“Again, we’ve got specific clauses in our policy about gas leaks and about fires – insurers are very specific about what they out in their cover and they haven’t been here so obviously we’re very frustrated about this.”
The Rio has been a registered charity since the 1970s, and at one point was Hackney’s only cinema. Championing independent film and the community, it regularly hosts schools and holds a dementia-friendly screening once a month for local care homes – but the financial hardship caused coronavirus threatens to limit what they can do even once they reopen, even with the support of their members.
Meek added: “The building has an amazing history of survival, but like all businesses we need money in the bank when we reopen – the business as we knew it isn’t going to come back overnight.
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“We don’t know what’s going to happen, and at the moment there’s nothing coming in – money is only going out. That’s why we need the support of the policy we thought we had.”
The Rio Cinema isn’t alone – since the issues with accessing business interruption insurance came to light, more than 100 companies have contacted the Hiscox Action Group, set up to help struggling organisations and businesses in the face of their insurers’ denials.
Daniel Duckett is the owner of the Lazy Claire Patisserie in Belfast, which has also been refused a business interruption payment by Hiscox.
The café has been given the £10,000 grant made available by the government, but with six staff on the payroll and no indication of when restrictions will be lifted, Duckett is working with other businesses to get the insurance payout they believe their policies state they are entitled to.
He said: “We are still waiting on the job retention scheme, and as a small business we do have a lot of outgoings that need to be covered.
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“We were expecting to grow our revenue again this year, but things have changed so much that it doesn’t look as though we’ll get back to anywhere near that even when we reopen. This is why we took out the business interruption insurance, and why we really need it now.”
Duckett is also part of the Hiscox Action Group’s steering committee, reaching out to as many SMEs as possible in order to make sure they are represented and informed when it comes to pursing the insurance payouts they were expecting to be able to fall back on.
He added: “There’s sections in their [Hiscox’s] response that actually do bolster our claim. For instance, it says: ‘These sections only cover business interruption losses where they result solely from an interruption to your business caused by a denial of access due to restrictions by the government or public authority’ – which is exactly what has happened in our case.
“Those losses that we are facing are directly because of the action from the government. But then it goes on to say ‘the restrictions that government has imposed are part of his national response to reduce the impact of coronavirus. They were not issued following or in response to an occurrence of your or any specific location, placing them outside the scope of this policy.’
“The policy itself does not define what sort of response the government is allowed to make. We really believe that the wording in our policy is key.”
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The action group has written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) asking it to look into the conduct of Hiscox amid the crisis.
The FCA said it was unable to discuss individual firms, but pointed to a statement released on Wednesday that stated “most policies... do not cover pandemics and therefore would have no obligation to pay out in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.” However, the FCA does add that “there are policies where it is clear that the firm has an obligation to pay out on a policy” and should be “settled quickly”.
A spokesperson for Hiscox said: “We understand these are incredibly difficult times for businesses and we are paying claims that are covered by the policies we issue fairly and quickly.
“Our core policies do not provide cover for business interruption resulting from the general measures taken by the UK government in response to a pandemic.
“We review every case individually, and if any customer has concerns about the application of their policy, we encourage them to get in touch with us directly.”
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But it’s not just Hiscox customers who have been impacted. SMEs across the country have been left high and dry after it turned out that their business interruption insurance policies didn’t cover Covid-19 for a variety of reasons.
James Ollerenshaw opened The Drawing Room salon in Spitalfields, east London, with his business partner Oskar Pera about six years ago. Like all other hairdressers and barbers across the UK, it was forced to close his doors when the extent of the crisis became clear in March.
Staff in happier times outside The Drawing Room salon in Spitalfields The Drawing Room / James Ollerenshaw
The business had taken out extended business interruption cover with Covéa, under which they thought they would be protected by a major crisis such as Covid-19.
“One of the first things we didd at the start of this outbreak was look at our insurance documentation,” Ollerenshaw said. “It was clear that two things needed to happen – we needed to be closed by the authorities, and Covid-19 needed to be listed by the government as a notifiable disease – and both of these things happened before the end of March.
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“That claim would have made all the difference to us when it comes to surviving this crisis as it would cover our costs and lost profits for a period of three months, so we put in a claim.
“That’s when we were told by Covéa that they weren’t recognising Covid-19 as a notifiable disease, even though the government had put it on their official list.”
Ollerenshaw explained that as coronavirus was not on the government’s list when the policy was written, Covéa would not retroactively add it to their list of diseases.
A spokesperson for Covéa said: “In common with the vast majority of commercial insurance policies, our standard business interruption cover is intended to compensate businesses for losses incurred as a result of their being unable to trade because of physical damage to their premises and not because of forced closure by the authorities.
“In some cases we also offer an extension covering such closures but this typically applies only to certain specified contagious diseases and, as Covid-19 is not one of those diseases, cover is not provided for the current situation.”
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Ollerenshaw has since penned an open letter to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and launched a petition with more than 1,500 signatories calling on insurance firms to honour claims from struggling small businesses.
The salon owner said he had heard from a business owners across the UK who had all been left without support after insurance companies deemed that the policy wording in their documents didn’t actually cover Covid-19.
In one instance, he said, a business owner who had the term “plague” in their policy documents, presumed to cover infection disease outbreaks, was told that they weren’t covered as the use of the word actually referred to the bubonic plague – most commonly associated in Europe with the Black Death in the late middle ages.
He added: “The insurance industry must begin with an assumption of validity when assessing organisations that purchased extended business interruption cover. That’s not all companies, because most business interruption cover is for damaged premises. But it’s for those that have this extended cover.
“Secondly, they should be taking a fair and flexible approach to interpreting policy wording. They shouldn’t deny a claim because of obstructive or narrow definitions of what constitutes a plague or a public incident.
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“Thirdly, the industry needs to continue to deal with claims fairly and swiftly. Like many businesses, we’ve paid our premiums for years only for us to be completely let down.”
The ABI has been accused of abandoning small and medium-sized businesses when they’ve needed cover the most, closing ranks around the industry to protect it from business interruption claims even while promoting flexibility for customers who have taken out motor or travel insurance.
A spokesperson for the ABI said: “Insurers understand that this is a very worrying and uncertain time for all businesses. Each claim will be examined on its merits by the insurer according to all the policy wording and we can’t comment on any specific insurance contract.
“While most business insurance does not cover for pandemics, overall UK insurers expect to pay over £1bn in Covid-19-related claims. This includes travellers, some businesses, cancelled school trips, event organisers, families organising weddings and in other areas of life.
“Unfortunately, no country in the world has an insurance market that is able to offer widespread pandemic cover. Forcing insurance companies to pay for risks that aren’t covered in contracts would be a shortcut to their insolvency. Given the sheer scale of economic impact, extensive pandemic insurance cover can only happen with some form of government support, and we need a debate about how this can best be achieved in the future.”
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Lisa Keenan, who owns the Perfection Wax Boutique in Wishaw, Scotland, is one of the signatories to Ollerenshaw’s petition calling for insurance firms to honour coronavirus claims. Her business interruption cover, taken out with Beazley, was denied because – according to the insurers – the specific wording of her policy documents meant she wasn’t covered.
Lisa Keenan, pictured centre. Lisa Keenan
Although the policy does cover her for denial of access within one mile of the business premises, insurers told Keenan that the UK-wide lockdown was not covered under this clause.
“It’s incredibly stressful – we’re only a tiny team but I’m responsible for making sure everyone gets paid, that we can reopen when this finally passes,” Keenan said.
“The insurance I’ve paid for, which I believed would help us if it ever came to this, would go a really long way to making sure we survived this period.
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“Instead, it feels as though we’ve been abandoned.”
The refusal letter, sent to Keenan earlier this week, stated that Covid-19 can’t be defined as a public incident under the terms of the policy, adding: “There must have been an identifiable event or occurrence and such event or occurrence must have happened at a particular time and in a location that is very close to your premises (specifically, within the one mile radius).
“The outbreak and gradual spread of Covid-19 is not an ‘incident’ in this sense. Rather it is a gradually growing state of affairs which originated elsewhere.”
Keenan added that she’d put off applying for the government business grant she was entitled to because of the advice that it might impact her insurance claim, but without immediate access to either form of support she has been left stranded.
“On a weekly basis I’m trying to find the money to pay my staff because they’re relying on me, so it’s just put a huge pressure on me.
“We don’t know – nobody knows – when this is going to end.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--NHS Staff Told To Reuse 'Single Use' Protective Equipment Because Of 'Extreme Shortages'

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Doctors and nurses have been urged by the government to reuse pieces of personal protective equipment and work without full-length gowns as the NHS faces “extreme shortages”.
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Updated Public Health England guidance to NHS workers issued on Friday suggests staff should consider the “reuse of personal protective equipment” where necessary, even if designated by the manufacturer as a single-use product.
It states: “Where there are acute shortages of , and where it is safe to do so, the HSE [Health and Safety Executive] approves the sessional and reuse of PPE.
“Some of the PPE the NHS Covid-19 ensemble is designated by the manufacturers as being single use.
“However, the HSE recognises that some compromise is needed to optimise the supply of PPE in times of extreme shortages.”
The guidance had previously stipulated long-sleeved disposable fluid repellent gowns should be worn when treating Covid-19 patients.
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But if the gowns are not available, clinical staff are now advised to wear “disposable, non-fluid repellent gowns or coveralls” or “washable surgical gowns”, with aprons, and to wash their forearms afterwards.
Earlier on Friday, health secretary Matt Hancock said he was not able to guarantee hospitals would have enough protective gowns to get them through the coming weekend.
He said he would “love to be able to wave a magic wand” and have enough PPE “fall from the sky in large quantities” but this was not possible due to a global shortage.
Satyrenko via Getty Images
The government has been unable to say how much personal protective equipment is still lacking in the fight against coronavirus, as the number of NHS staff confirmed to have died of the illness continues to climb.
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As of Thursday, 27 NHS staff are known to have died after contracting coronavirus.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted: “Hospitals set to ‘run out’ of gowns by Monday.
“Week after week we hear of problems in PPE getting to the frontline despite what ministers tell us at Downing Street press conferences.
“This ongoing failure needs fixing and ministers must explain how they will fix it urgently.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “New clinical advice has been issued today to make sure that if there are shortages in one area, frontline staff know what PPE to wear instead to minimise risk.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Government Faces Legal Action Over 'Slow And Limited' Response To Coronavirus In Prisons

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Campaigners have threatened to take legal action against the government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak in prisons.
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Two charities, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust, argue justice secretary Robert Buckland has been “too slow and too limited” in his efforts to reduce the prison population and mitigate the risk of the virus to prisoners and staff.
The government says as many as 4,000 prisoners could be let out up to two months early to create more space – but as of Tuesday, only 18 had been released.
Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in almost half the prisons in England and Wales, and at least 13 people are thought to have died after contracting the illness.
A total of 255 prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus in 62 prisons as of 5pm on Thursday, the Ministry of Justice said.
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Some 138 prison staff have also contracted the virus in 49 prisons as well as seven prisoner escort and custody services staff.
There was also an “outbreak” of the disease at HMP Wymott in Lancashire over the weekend and inmates are being moved into single cells.
As of April 3, there were 82,589 inmates behind bars.
The two charities have sent the justice secretary a letter from their lawyers warning of a possible application for judicial review.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League, said: “The secretary of state has accepted publicly that the number of people in prison must be reduced significantly in order to save lives. However, this has not – and cannot – be achieved by the measures that the government currently has in place.
“The rate of infection is accelerating, and the window of opportunity to protect people is vanishing. Ministers must rise to this challenge and act immediately to avert a public health catastrophe.”
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Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Everything good about government action in tackling this emergency has been characterised by being early and decisive.
“On prisons, by contrast, it is a story of too little, too late. The scientific and operational advice couldn’t be clearer – if ministers are serious about following it, they must go much further, and do it now.”
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced single-occupancy temporary prison cells will be built in the grounds of seven jails in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
So far, there are plans for up to 2,000 temporary cells which will be used by low-risk category C and D offenders.
Self-isolating or symptomatic prisoners and those who have tested positive are put in a cell on their own, but those who have not displayed symptoms may still be sharing cells with other inmates.
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The MoJ has also pledged to release up to 4,000 low-risk prisoners on temporary licence in a bid to ease overcrowding, as well as pregnant inmates and mothers behind bars with babies.
All offenders must pass a risk assessment before their release is approved.
So far, four out of 4,000 have been temporarily freed, but prisons minister Lucy Frazer said there were plans to release a significant number this week.
In addition, some 14 pregnant inmates and mothers with babies out of around 70 have been temporarily freed, she added.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have robust and flexible plans in place keep prisoners, staff and the wider public safe based on the latest advice from Public Health England.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--UK Launches Coronavirus Vaccine Taskforce To 'Accelerate' Research

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A new taskforce to accelerate the development and manufacture of a coronavirus vaccine has been announced by the government, following a warning the UK could end up with the highest death rate in Europe from the disease.
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The Department of Health and Social Care said a total of 14,576 patients have now died in hospital after testing positive for the illness in the UK.
Business secretary Alok Sharma said on Friday the new body would aim to “rapidly accelerate” the creation of a vaccine to make sure it was “widely available to patients as soon as possible”.
The taskforce, which ministers said will bring together government and private business, will be led by chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance and deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said the government was “working flat out with businesses, researchers and industry to find a vaccine as quickly as possible”.
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“The UK is world-leading in developing vaccines. We are the biggest contributor to the global effort – and preparing to ensure we can manufacture vaccines here at home as soon as practically possible,” he said.
The announcement comes as researchers at the University of Oxford said British volunteers could be given the first dose of a potential coronavirus vaccine within the next week.
They hope to have one ready for clinical trials soon, and as part of their preparations the team aim to have at least a million doses available by about September.
Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at Oxford University who is leading the team, said a vaccine could be available for use by the general public by the autumn.
However, she said there is always an unknown and scientists can never be sure vaccines are going to work.
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Earlier on Friday, Professor Anthony Costello of University College London’s Institute for Global Health said the “harsh reality” was that the UK “was too slow with a number of things” and deaths here could reach to 40,000.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Watch Live: Alok Sharma Holds Daily Coronavirus Conference

Watch Live: Alok Sharma Holds Daily Coronavirus Conference
Business secretary Alok Sharma leads the daily coronavirus briefing following the announcement that lockdown will continue for three further weeks. It comes as the number of people who died in UK hospitals nears 15,000 and the NHS could run out of gowns over the weekend.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Quiz Makes Us Wonder How Well We’d Do On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? | Good Vibes Only

Quiz Makes Us Wonder How Well We’d Do On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? | Good Vibes Only
As Quiz retells the story of the coughing major on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the Good Vibes Only team tested themselves against the questions given to Britain's first winner Judith Keppel.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Quiz Takes Us Back To A Simpler Time | Good Vibes Only: Lockdown

Quiz Takes Us Back To A Simpler Time | Good Vibes Only: Lockdown
This week in entertainment… The HuffPost UK ents team find themselves locked down and looking for an escape from the news, which means it’s perfect timing for ITV’s new drama based on the famous coughing Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Scandal to hit our screens. The team also showcase what’s been giving them joy this week.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Michael C. Hall's Acting Superclass | Good Vibes Only

Michael C. Hall's Acting Superclass | Good Vibes Only
The ents team guides you through what they're watching while on lockdown, with Ash making a discovery about the talents of Michael C. Hall, star of Netflix's Safe.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Sam Smith Addresses Backlash Over 'Quarantine Meltdown' Photos

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Sam Smith has spoken out after facing a backlash over a photo they posted about the stresses of being on lockdown.
Last month, Sam shared photos of themself going through what they described as the various “stages of quarantine meltdown”.
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Although intended as a joke, the photo went down badly on social media, with many pointing out the Oscar-winning singer is far more privileged than many who have been hit hard since the coronavirus pandemic.
In the last few weeks, the photo has repeatedly been brought up during discussions about celebrities’ behaviour while in self-isolation.
Sam Smith in their now-deleted Instagram post Instagram/Sam Smith
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Speaking about the backlash during an interview on the Heart breakfast show, Sam insisted they “didn’t mean any malice” with the post, noting that the humour they intended to show hadn’t been “picked up very well”.
“It was probably bad timing of me, but I use my social media as if it’s just my friends on it,” they insisted. “I posted with my humour and stuff, but it just didn’t get picked up very well, but I didn’t mean any malice by it at all.
“You know me, I’m always sharing all of my feelings all the time and trying to be as human as possible but sometimes maybe people can read it wrongly but that wasn’t really meaning it in a malicious or nasty way, I was just trying to be myself.”
The post in question appears to have been removed from Sam’s Instagram page.
Sam Smith performing at Mardi Gras in Sydney back in February Brendon Thorne via Getty Images
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Sam announced last month that they were postponing their forthcoming third album, which was originally titled To Die For, but will now be given a new name in light of the pandemic.
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“I have done a lot of thinking the last few weeks and feel that the title of the album and imminent release doesn’t feel right, so I have come to the decision to continue working on the album and make some important changes and additions,” they explained.
On Friday, Sam debuted the latest release from the as-yet-untitled album, a duet with Demi Lovato, named I’m Ready.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--UK Coronavirus Deaths Increase 847 In 24 Hours To 14,576

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The number of people who have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus has risen to 14,576 – an increase of 847 over 24 hours.
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The figures cover the period up to 5pm on on Thursday, but the true number of deaths may be significantly different. Here’s a quick primer on what all the different numbers mean and how to understand them.
Meanwhile, as of 9am on Friday, 108,692 people have tested positive for coronavirus – an increase of 5,599 in 24 hours.
Some 21,328 tests were carried out, despite health secretary Matt Hancock telling the coronavirus press conference on Thursday there was capacity for 35,000 a day. He blamed the underused capacity on lack of demand.
Of the 738 new deaths in England announced today:
138 occurred on April 16
320 occurred on April 15
109 occurred on April 14
The figures show 154 of the deaths took place between April 1 and April 13, and the remaining 16 deaths occurred in March, with the earliest newly recorded death taking place on March 21 – nearly a month ago.
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NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem examinations to be processed, and for data from the tests to be validated.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Sneering Is Becoming Our New National Sport – And It's Ugly

Just weeks after the inception of the Be Kind campaign, trolls have been attacking Sam Smith for finding lockdown difficult. Sam Smith/Instagram
What is there to talk about during lockdown? National stereotypes suggest we all love a good chat about the weather, back when “outside” was somewhere we saw more than once a day. For many of us, “So, what have you been up to?” has become a question that can only yield a certain number of repetitive responses, involving baking attempts or Netflix binges.
Perhaps it’s unsurprising then, that in the absence of our usual staples, chat about the “idiots” who continue to flout the rules of this strange situation has become our go-to small talk.
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Maybe you’ve made a comment or two about the “sheer selfishness” of the people photographed in packed parks over the weekend, or the “madness” of those panicked shoppers who continue to leave our supermarket shelves bare.
Maybe you’ve seen tutting Facebook statuses or spent half an hour on the phone to a relative, discussing the “few” ruining it for the “many”.
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
But while idiots certainly do exist, much of the disapproval doing the rounds asks us to make snap judgements without context. When certain papers tell us about these “terrible, selfish” people who are still out breaking the rules, while most of us sit patiently at home, it gives us the buzz of feeling morally superior without a shred of analysis as to why green spaces might still be busy, or how to engage with people confused about the rules.
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Worse still, we’re happy to adopt this judgemental stance even with people who aren’t committing any social distancing crimes. Simply expressing any kind of negativity about having to remain at home can be enough to invite derision and spite in the current circumstances. Singer Sam Smith, for instance, found themself at the centre of a social media storm for daring to have a bit of a public cry about the challenges of isolation recently. Critics compared this unfavourably to the efforts of war veteran Captain Tom, who has recently completed 100 laps around his garden to raise money for the NHS – as if lauding one must mean shaming the other. So much for the #BeKind movement...
We have to fight this knee jerk reaction. I know we’re missing the usual sporting and cultural events that might distract us this year, but sneering cannot become our new national sport.
Because as desperately important as social distancing is, it’s equally important that we don’t sleepwalk into an authoritarian state where we are constantly denouncing our neighbours.
Those people out in the park? Maybe that’s the first time today they have left their tiny flat with their three fractious children. That group of people who don’t look related? Maybe they are housemates enjoying their daily exercise as a household. That woman with the full trolley? Maybe she’s shopping for vulnerable relatives.
When we allow ourselves to make decisions from this position of incomplete information we run the risk of actively making harmful mistakes – like the misguided writer of a note to a neighbour, warning her she was using her car too frequently and encouraging her to “protect the NHS”. The driver in question was using her car to travel to work each day – as an NHS nurse.
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Of course the #stayhome messaging matters. We have to do our bit for the sake of the NHS and our most vulnerable people. But the best way to do our bit, is to do precisely that: our bit. We can’t possibly understand the unique circumstances of everyone we see in online photos designed to provoke outrage, and our outrage doesn’t benefit anybody anyway.
If people who are trying to do the right thing feel demonised regardless, then they are less likely to keep bothering. Our need to prove our own virtue by looking down on other people might end up being actually harmful.
Let’s save our scrutiny for those who are actually in charge of managing this pandemic, and continue to hold them to account where necessary – not those who, like all of us, are just struggling to get through it.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--China's Handling Of Coronavirus Must Face Scrutiny, No.10 Says

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G7 leaders want China to answer questions over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Downing Street has said.
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Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said how Covid-19 took hold and “why it wasn’t stopped earlier” should be made clear as part of a “deep dive review” suggested by foreign secretary Dominic Raab.
It comes amid criticism that Beijing has failed to be transparent about the scale of the outbreak and the government’s response, with Wuhan today raising its death toll by 50% as a result of “belated, missed and mistaken reporting”.
The UK will work with “international partners” on scrutinising China, Number 10 confirmed after G7 leaders took part in a conference call meeting on Thursday.
The G7 includes the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US.
At the Downing Street press conference on Thursday, Raab demonstrated a marked change in tone with Beijing, saying it would not be “business as usual” after the pandemic and there was “no doubt” China would face a probe.
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“I think there absolutely needs to be a very, very deep dive after the event review of the lessons - including of the outbreak of the virus - and I don’t think we can flinch from that at all, it needs to be driven by the science,” he said.
French president Emmanuel Macron, who also took part in the G7 call, took a similarly hardline tone, saying it was “naive” to suggest China had dealt well with the crisis, adding in an interview with the FT that things “happened that we don’t know about”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), meanwhile, has praised China’s response.
US president Donald Trump, however, has repeatedly criticised Xi Jingping and, in a shocking move during the outbreak, has withdrawn America’s funding of the WHO.
Chinese President Xi Jinping talks by video with patients and medical workers at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Downing Street’s official spokesman said of the G7 call: “They obviously discussed, as the foreign secretary set out, the need to learn the lessons of how the virus came to be spread.
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“The virus obviously began in China, I think that is accepted as being the case, and I think we will want to look very carefully with our international partners, at why the outbreak happened and why it wasn’t stopped earlier.”
He added: “I think you can expect us to work with our international partners on that.”
Raab, who is deputising for Johnson as first secretary of state, took part in the G7 call on Thursday.
Johnson is continuing his recovery at Chequers and he is not doing government work and has not had any calls with foreign leaders.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Victoria Beckham Opens Her Adorable Childhood Album As She Celebrates 46th Birthday

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Victoria Beckham has given fans a peek inside her childhood photo album as she celebrates her 46th birthday.
Posh was clearly feeling nostalgic on Friday, as she shared pictures of herself as a small child in an Instagram post to mark her big day.
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Referring to the lockdown, she said the occasion is “perhaps a stranger birthday than usual”.
She added: “But I am so grateful to be safe and well with David, Cruz, Romeo and Harper while missing Brooklyn and all my family I can’t be with today.
“I know we will all be dancing together in spirit to my playlist tonight!”
Victoria announced earlier this week that she would be marking her birthday with a virtual celebration on social media.
She’ll be handing over the reins of her Instagram account to DJ Fat Tony, who is set to play a selection of her favourite songs live.
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Ahead of that, Victoria announced that the family were heading out on a bike ride as part of their government mandated exercise.
Husband David also shared a celebratory post on Instagram with pictures of his wife throughout the years.
Leading on one of her in her Spice Girls days, he wrote: “Happy birthday mama we love you so much and hope you have the most amazing day.”
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Sons Romeo and Cruz also posted on the photoshairing site.
The Beckhams have been isolating in their family home in the Cotswolds during the coronavirus outbreak, while their eldest son Brooklyn is in the US with girlfriend Nicola Peltz.
All of the family have been keeping their social media followers amused during lockdown, with Victoria left unimpressed earlier this month when David decided to add his own unique touch to her protective rubber gloves, which she’d earlier dubbed her “new best friend”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--What Does The World Health Organisation Do?

What Does The World Health Organisation Do?
Drawing the ire of President Trump has brought the World Health Organisation back into the public glare. But what exactly is the health body and how are they important in circumstances like the coronavirus pandemic?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-17--Norman Hunter, 1966 England Defender And Leeds United 'Icon', Dies Aged 76

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Former England and Leeds defender Norman Hunter has died, aged 76.
Hunter, who made 28 appearances for the Three Lions and was part of the 1966 World Cup-winning squad, was last week admitted to hospital with the coronavirus.
In a statement, Leeds United said the club was “devastated to learn of the passing of club legend Norman Hunter at the age of 76”.
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“He leaves a huge hole in the Leeds United family, his legacy will never be forgotten and our thoughts are with Norman’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”
Meanwhile, the England team tweeted a statement saying: “We’re extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Norman Hunter at the age of 76.
We're extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Norman Hunter at the age of 76.
Norman was part of our @FIFAWorldCup-winning squad and won 28 caps for the #ThreeLions. All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and supporters at this time. pic.twitter.com/K7XQ2c7nJl — England (@England) April 17, 2020
“Norman was part of our @FIFAWorldCup-winning squad and won 28 caps for the #ThreeLions. All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and supporters at this time.”
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Former England striker Gary Lineker said: “Sad news: Norman Hunter has passed away. Grew up watching that great @LUFC side of which he was a huge part. This awful virus was one crunching tackle too far but he’ll be biting yer legs somewhere. RIP Norman.”
The Professional Footballers’ Association said: “All at the PFA are deeply saddened to hear of Norman Hunter’s passing. Football has lost a legend and we join the entire football community in mourning this loss.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Reese Witherspoon Reflects On 'Embarrassing' 2013 Arrest: 'I Did Something Really Stupid'

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Reese Witherspoon has reflected on her 2013 arrest for disorderly conduct, admitting she’s embarrassed by the incident.
Seven years ago, Reese and her husband Jim Toth were driving in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was pulled over by the police on suspicion of drink-driving.
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While Jim later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, the Legally Blonde star was also arrested when she got out of the vehicle to confront the officers in question, despite being instructed not to by the police.
Two weeks after the arrest, Reese gave her first interview about the arrest on Good Morning America.
She insisted at the time: “It’s just completely unacceptable and we are so sorry and embarrassed. We made a mistake and it was something that will absolutely never happen again.
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“We thought we were fine to drive and we absolutely were not. We know better and we shouldn’t have done that.”
Reese pictured after her arrest in 2013 Kypros via Getty Images
Reflecting on Reese’s Good Morning America appearance on the I Weigh podcast, presenter Jameela Jamil said: “You apologised and shamed yourself in a way that was so fucking refreshing to me. I loved your apology.”
“But I did something really stupid,” Reese interjected. “It was so embarrassing and dumb. But you know what, turns out I breathe air. I bleed the same way. I make dumb decisions. I make great decisions. I’m just a human being.”
The Oscar-winning star continued: “I was always really feisty, my mum called me feisty. Sometimes it was well-directed and sometimes it was not.”
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Reese at an Oscars party earlier this year Toni Anne Barson via Getty Images
Following her arrest, Reese’s lawyer pleaded no contest to the charges, and she was required to pay a total fine of $313 (£250), which included court costs.
After being found guilty of his DUI, Jim Toth was required to perform 40 hours of community service, in addition to a $600 (£479) fine and mandatory alcohol awareness classes.
In recent years, Reese has made the jump into TV acting, co-producing and starring in Big Little Lies as well as last year’s Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--The Wild Joe Exotic Moment With A Tiger, A Bear And A Very Spooked Louis Theroux

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Long before Joe Exotic became the star of the hit Netflix series Tiger King, he was the subject of a BBC documentary that featured an astonishing moment involving a bear cub and a tiger cub he’d placed in the same enclosure.
The tiger seriously spooked broadcaster Louis Theroux, as he interviewed Joe Exotic for his 2011 film Louis Theroux Meets America’s Dangerous Pets.
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“This is scary,” admitted Theroux, as the tiger repeatedly jumped up at him:
Joe Exotic was also nipped by the big cat in the clip the BBC shared online on Thursday, at one point screaming out: “Oh shit, that one hurt.”
He also debated the merits of keeping animals in captivity with an analogy about people who use wheelchairs.
Check out the video here:
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The full episode is available to watch on Netflix UK & Ireland, which shared other segments from the documentary on YouTube:
Louis opened up on Instagram last week about spending time with Joe Exotic, who is serving 22 years in prison for (among other charges) trying to hire someone to kill wildlife sanctuary owner Carole Baskin.
Answering fans’ questions, he said enjoyed his time filming with Joe, but he “wasn’t always relaxing to be around though”, noting he was “an emotional dude”.
“He was worried about the angle of our documentary. He pulled access for a bit, then we talked him back,” Louis recalled.
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“Another time I remember him freaking out because we filming near the chimpanzee enclosure and the chimps were going nuts and flinging shit at one of the keepers. I just remember hearing on the keeper’s radio, ‘I want those BBC guys out of there! I don’t want them filming the chimps going crazy!’”
“The most troubling thing he said was probably that if the park went bankrupt he would kill all the animals,” Louis responded to another question, saying in another reply that Joe “didn’t seem to have active vindictiveness in him but he was fixated on certain people to an unhealthy extent”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Tiger King Star Responds To Bizarre Theory That He's Carole Baskin's Husband

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Just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder, Tiger King reaches a new Lowe.
If you’ve seen the Netflix documentary, you know the series introduces Jeff Lowe as the person who takes over the G.W. Zoo from Joe Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic.
However, a bizarre viral conspiracy theory now holds that Jeff has another secret connection to the story ― as Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin’s first husband.
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Before Carole married her second husband Don Lewis, the man who went missing in 1997, she was married to another man, Michael Murdock. A side-by-side photo going around the internet claims that man is actually Jeff Lowe, and that Carole hired him to frame Joe Exotic.
Jeff Lowe in Tiger King Netflix
Joe Exotic is serving a 22-year prison sentence for charges that include a murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin.
Hear me out: Carol’s 1st husband is “Jeff Lowe” -con artist. He & Allan kill Don. Carol pays them money she inherits. Yrs later Jeff frames Joe for Carol, both get off, cover up yrs of coercing, they take down all the Tiger Kings & build the world’s biggest attraction by Winstar. pic.twitter.com/nZkatT9H7X — Haley Herzog (@HalesHerz) April 5, 2020
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In a recent Reddit AMA, Jeff was asked about the theory, and he had a rather vulgar response, which you can see on Cameo:
Carole Baskin is not my type, and if I was stuck on a deserted island with only one woman, and it was Carole Baskin, I would fuck a coconut. So it would not be, it would not be Carole Baskin. I’ve seen the side-by-side pictures and I think they look as much, they look more like John Finlay and Joe Exotic’s love child. That’s a big negative on Carole Baskin and me.
In addition to Jeff’s denial, Joe Exotic has been implicated in enough wrongdoing that it’s not like he really needs to be framed. During the Reddit Q&A, Jeff also claimed that Joe Exotic had “sexual relations” with animals in the park.
Jeff Lowe is no saint, either, supposedly wheeling tiger cubs around inside suitcases. That was just one of the things Reddit users trolled him about during the AMA.
Jeff Lowe did an AMA on Reddit and everyone just roasted him 😂 pic.twitter.com/LzD7zwiITQ — Andy Giles (@ahgiles7) April 15, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Liam Payne Apologises After Solo Song Is Accused Of 'Fetishising' Bisexuality

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Liam Payne has apologised to those who were offended by a song on his debut solo album, which was accused by some critics of “festishing bisexual women”.
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During the album cut, Liam is heard singing: “Lovin’ the way that she’s turning you on, switching the lanes like a Bugatti Sport, nothing but luck that she got me involved, yeah.
“Flipping that body, go head, I go tails, sharing that body like it’s our last meal.”
Liam Payne at The Sun's Military Awards in February Barcroft Media via Getty Images
He then continues: “She said we’re young and we’re stupid, she said, ‘come on, boy, let’s do this’, make every day my birthday, let’s celebrate, like oh my gosh, she do things you won’t believe.”
Addressing the backlash for the first time, Liam told the Daily Star: “I am sorry to anyone who got offended by certain songs or different things on the album, for sure.
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“It was never my intention with any of the writing or things I was doing. I was just challenging myself in different areas.”
He added: “Looking back on it now, it was just a moment in time for me.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Liam admitted that making his first album was a “confusing time”, stating: “I was going through a lot of personal things that I didn’t speak about a lot; with song writing, stage fright and being scared of the future.”
Before Both Ways came under fire last year, Liam described the song as his favourite on the album, suggesting the lyrics are about being open-minded in the “world of ‘love is love’”.
“People [are] becoming much more understanding about the way love is,” he said. “And rightly so.”
Liam also insisted the song is not based on his own experiences, adding: “I don’t know who in the studio had actually been in this situation, because I certainly haven’t, but it was an interesting song to write.”
A spokesperson for Liam declined to comment on the controversy when contacted by HuffPost UK shortly after the song’s release.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Ian Hislop Blasts Eamonn Holmes Over Comments About 5G And Coronavirus

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Ian Hislop has laid into Eamonn Holmes following the This Morning presenter’s recent comments about the debunked theory that 5G is a potential cause of the coronavirus outbreak.
During Friday night’s Have I Got News For You, Ian was asked for his thoughts, after Eamonn said earlier this week: “What I don’t accept is mainstream media immediately slapping that [theory] down as not true, when they don’t know it’s not true… it’s very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative. That’s all I would say as someone with an inquiring mind.”
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When host Victoria Coren Mitchell asked the panellists whether there was any truth to the theory, Ian insisted: “No, no. And one of the giveaways is that Eamonn Holmes said it might be.
“It’s always worth having those key indicators flashing and Eamonn Holmes is certainly one of them.”
Ian Hislop Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Shutterstock
Ian continued: “The other thing was, when he was questioned about it, he immediately said that this wasn’t being challenged by ‘state media’.
“Now, as soon as someone talks about the British press as ‘state media’, you know they’ve been on the internet too long. It really is time for them to go out in the garden, have a bit of sunshine, and stop believing complete rubbish.
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“And the idea that a 5G network can give you a virus is not merely an opinion, or an interesting conspiracy, it’s just bollocks.”
Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes during Tuesday's edition of This Morning ITV
“I want to clarify some comments that some of you may have misinterpreted from me yesterday, around conspiracy theories and Coronavirus and this involved the roll out of 5G,” he began.
“Both Alice Beer and myself agreed in a discussion on this very programme on fake news that it is not true that there is a connection between the present national health emergency and 5G and to suggest otherwise would be wrong and indeed it could be possibly dangerous. Every theory relating to such a connection has been proven to be false and we would like to emphasise that.”
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Eamonn continued: “However, many people are rightly concerned and are looking for answers, and that’s simply what I was trying to impart yesterday but for the avoidance of any doubt I want to make it clear there’s no scientific evidence to substantiate any of those 5G theories.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Eight Things You Need To Know About Coronavirus Today

A senior clinician at the country’s maiden Nightingale hospital has called for military expertise to help protect the mental health of staff and volunteers at the “exhausting” facility.
Professor James Calder, who had a 14-year military career, said it was crucial to call on veterans who have worked in challenging situations around the globe as the UK rapidly expands its hospital care capacity to deal with the unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Calder, 52, from Winchester, added: “Being a clinician it’s been incredibly impressive looking at how a very effective, high quality intensive care unit has been set up in – effectively – a warehouse.
“Somebody said you’re on the train and laying the tracks ahead of you as you are going along – and that’s absolutely right, you just have to make sure the train doesn’t go too quickly and run away with you.”
He said part of the success has been through dedication to staff welfare, many of whom are working “pretty exhausting” 12-hour shifts.
But he said Nightingale workers have borrowed a technique deployed on military operations where staff are paired with a buddy upon arrival for their shift, encouraging them to look out for one another throughout.
He said: “If you have eyes with each other when you first go on a shift, you introduce yourselves, and speak to each other after the shift. If they get upset, have a difficult time with a patient or a death, they sit down and have a cup of tea. It worked very well in the past in the military and it’s working very well here.
“We are using their knowledge over many years working with the military to produce a package that is safe for our staff.”
Prison release scheme paused after six inmates freed too early


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Sam Smith '100%' Convinced They Had Coronavirus Before Divisive 'Quarantine Meltdown' Post

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Sam Smith has said they are “100%” convinced they have had coronavirus.
The Oscar-winning singer is currently self-isolating with their sister, and said that shortly before lockdown was implemented in the UK, they had been experiencing symptoms of Covid-19.
“I didn’t get tested but I know I [had] it, 100% [had] it,” they told Zane Lowe on Apple Music.
“I’m just going to assume that I did because everything I’ve read completely pointed to that. So yeah, I think I definitely had it.”
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Sam Smith at the NRJ Awards in France last year Marc Piasecki via Getty Images
They continued: “As soon as I had it, my sister five days after me started getting the same symptoms. So me and her just isolated for three weeks because we knew. It was clear. Because I’ve got an older nan and stuff, so we didn’t want to risk anything.
“I got it about two weeks before the UK really hit. Well, I think I got it. I don’t 100% know. But I got it and then as everyone was kind of really on lock down, that’s when I got over it, luckily.”
During their period of self-isolation – days before lockdown measures were introduced in the UK – Sam shared an Instagram post joking about the situation, going through what they suggested were the the various stages of “quarantine meltdown”.
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The post went down badly on social media, due to the chart-topping star’s privilege compared to others affected by the coronavirus outbreak, and has repeatedly been held up as an example of celebrities’ behaviour during the crisis.
Sam Smith in their now-deleted Instagram post Instagram/Sam Smith
Addressing the backlash for the first time on Friday morning, Sam insisted: “It was probably bad timing of me, but I use my social media as if it’s just my friends on it. I posted with my humour and stuff, but it just didn’t get picked up very well, but I didn’t mean any malice by it at all.
“You know me, I’m always sharing all of my feelings all the time and trying to be as human as possible but sometimes maybe people can read it wrongly but that wasn’t really meaning it in a malicious or nasty way, I was just trying to be myself.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Quiz Writer Eyes Sequel Set 20 Years After Charles Ingram 'Coughing Scandal'

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Quiz writer James Graham has admitted he’d up for a writing a follow-up episode about Charles and Diana Ingram’s life in the present day.
The three-part ITV drama concluded earlier this week, telling the story of the “coughing scandal”, which saw the Ingrams found guilty of cheating their way to the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
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It’s since been reported that the couple is planning to appeal their conviction almost 20 years, with James admitting that if the case were to go to court, he’d be keen to pen a sequel to his hit drama.
He told The Sun: “It may go back to court, in which case episode four will be coming to you soon.
“It would be a ‘20 years later’ story, looking at what’s happened to that family in the intervening period.”
Fleabag's Sian Clifford and Succession star Matthew MacFadyen led the cast of Quiz Matt Frost/ITV
James added: “As someone who has been fixated on this story since he was 18 years old, I’ll be keen to see how their story unfolds.
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“And I can’t pretend that I wouldn’t pick up the phone to ITV and go, ‘Do you think there’s something in this?’”
While Quiz left many viewers questioning the Ingrams’ sentencing, one man who was less than convinced by the drama was former Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant.
Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant ITV
Chris – who was portrayed in the series by Michael Sheen – recently told Radio X: “It is a drama, it’s not factual. So most of those conversations were made up because that’s what playwrights do.
“I mean the bottom line is he’s a rotter and a cad and a bandit and he was guilty. No question in my mind at all that he was guilty!”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--When Should Schools Reopen? The Coronavirus Question Facing Leaders Across The Globe

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Children attending nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools in Denmark began returning to their classrooms this week, as the country became the first nation in Europe to reopen schools following a month-long closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The decision comes with a certain amount of risk. To prevent the coronavirus from spreading in schools, Danish health authorities issued strict hygiene and social distancing rules. Desks must be spaced out, children are allowed to play only in small groups during break times, and toys, tables, door handles and other surfaces must be disinfected at least twice a day.
In many schools, classes are being held outdoors so students and teachers can maintain a safe distance from each other.
“We’re all a bit nervous, and we’ll have to ensure that we stick to hygiene rules,” Elisa Rimpler, of the Danish Union of Early Childhood and Youth Educators, told the BBC. “We have a lot of washing hands during the day. We don’t have masks, and we have to keep a good distance from each other, so that’s a very difficult task.”
Despite these challenges, the question of when and how to reopen schools has become a primary concern for public officials around the world – not only because students who don’t have access to digital tools outside classrooms risk falling behind, but also because allowing children to attend school could also free their parents to return to work.
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Other nations will soon follow Denmark’s lead. Norway plans to open kindergartens on April 20, followed a week later by primary schools. In Germany, students will start to return to school on May 4. In France, president Emanuel Macron announced this week that schools would begin to reopen on May 11. “This is a priority for me,” Macron said.
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen speaks to pupils as she participates in the reopening of Lykkebo School in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 15, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix Denmark / Reuters
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison called on teachers to return to schools and be the “great heroes” of the country, and the premier of New South Wales is considering a system for rotating students through classrooms, according to HuffPost Australia.
In the UK, as well, where a nationwide lockdown has been extended until May and government officials have resisted any discussion of how restrictions may be relaxed, reopening schools may form a central part of any eventual exit strategy.
“From my understanding, there is a very strong desire by government to get the schools open,” Linda Bauld, a public health professor at the University of Edinburgh and former government adviser, told HuffPost UK. “Then the question is: do they have a phased return? For example, do they only allow half the class to go in and they teach for half a day? And then they rotate and the other half of the class go back in the afternoon? That seems to me possible.”
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She added: “I think that in order to get more of the working-age population, the parents, at a better level, even if they’re still working from home, schools are going to be a priority.”
In Denmark, not all schools are open yet. Classes haven’t resumed in about half of Denmark’s municipalities, and about 35% of schools in Copenhagen have requested more time to prepare. All primary schools are expected to be open by April 20, while middle schools and high schools are not expected to open until May 10.
Some Danish parents are choosing to keep their kids at home. An online petition whose name translates as “my child is not a guinea pig” has garnered approximately 18,000 signatures, according to Agence France-Presse.
Italian politicians have been eager to discuss plans for “phase two” of their country’s coronavirus response, when lockdown restrictions may start to be lifted. Lucia Azzolina, Italy’s education minister, said this week that schools would remain closed for the time being, however, because the risk of spreading the coronavirus was too high.
“The possibility of reopening in May is becoming increasingly distant,” Azzolina said, according to HuffPost Italy.
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Italian Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said the possibility of reopening schools in May "is becoming increasingly distant." Remo Casilli / Reuters
Doctors and teachers in other countries have also expressed concerns about reopening schools. The president of the Federation of French Doctors, Jean-Paul Hamon, said this week that sending children back into classrooms represented “an unnecessary risk”.
“Children do not necessarily follow instructions – they will naturally play together and they risk bringing the virus home,” Hamon said.
Katharine Birbalsingh, a headteacher at a school in London, told the BBC that opening schools would be inherently risky, and that public officials should acknowledge that.
“The fact is, social distancing in schools is simply impossible,” Birbalsingh said. “If [officials] say: ‘Look, we understand that there’s a risk, and we know what we’re asking you teachers, and this is what we need you to do – we need you to do your duty and go out and do this for the country. It’s in order to jumpstart the economy, and people need to go out and get their children into schools’ – that’s what needs to be said,” she said.
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In the United States, teachers and parents may decide that sending children back to school is a risk worth taking.
“I think a lot of parents would consider it and be willing to run some risk to themselves,” bioethicist Zeke Emanuel told the New York Times Magazine recently. He stressed, however, that parents, teachers, and school administrators be allowed to opt in to any decision to restart schools.
President Donald Trump issued guidelines to states on Thursday, outlining a three-phased approach to reopening society in parts of the country where coronavirus infections are low. Reopening schools would be part of phase two.
More than half of US states have ordered or recommended cancelling classes for the remainder of the school year, according to an Education Week survey. Some governors, however, are thinking about getting students back into classrooms.
“We are working on [specifics] and will be talking about this in the days ahead,” Ohio governor Mike DeWine told CNN. “We will be dealing with the schools shortly, probably early next week.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--20 Stars Who've Gone To Hilarious Lengths To Cure Their Lockdown Boredom

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Once you’ve done PE with Joe Wicks, taken part in your 100th Zoom quiz and baked another unsuccessful batch of banana bread, you can start to run out of ideas to fill the days with during lockdown.
But not for these celebrities.
This lot have found rather hilarious ways of alleviating their boredom...
1. Nicole Scherzinger taught boyfriend Thom Evans how to “loosen up his buttons” and it went a little too well
2. This is how Olly Murs woke up his girlfriend Amelia one day...
...and then followed it up by dunking her in a pool (it’s amazing they’re sill together after that, tbh)
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3. Kim Woodburn has taken to reading out erotic fiction to her followers, which is all kinds of iconic
4. Love Island’s Iain Stirling and Laura Whitmore definitely have a future in gymnastics when this is all over
5. Who needs Joe Wicks when you’ve got Paddy and Christine McGuinness?
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6. The Derry Girls have been taking shelter in their mammy’s airing cupboard
7. Loose Women’s Denise Welch has brought a whole new meaning to Dancing On My Own
8. Amanda Holden “wheelie wanted to dress up” to take her bins out
9. Which prompted this inspired copycat video from Alan Carr
And Mandy then upped her game by donning her wedding dress to tend to her sprawling lawn
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She’s also been combining baking and working out in a rather unique way
10. Perrie Edwards and footballer boyfriend Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain mastered this staircase routine
And the singer then put on quite a show as she channelled Eliza Doolittle
11. Alison Hammond’s TikTok efforts were interrupted by her teenage son
12. Ant and Dec have been trying some home workouts, with one taking things more seriously than the other
13. Robbie Williams dug out his old Rock DJ pants for a Tiger King inspired routine
14. Speaking of Tiger King, we can only applaud this fancy dress effort from Diane Buswell and Joe Sugg
15. Capital Radio’s Roman Kemp transformed into Rowena Kemp
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16. Dancing On Ice champ Jake Quickenden has been wanting to Break Free so much he dragged up as Freddie Mercury to push the hoover round
17. Shirley Ballas has been reading stories wearing a fez, because at this point, why the hell not
18. Love Island’s Chris Taylor played the mother of all pranks on housemate and former co-star Jordan Hames
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19. While fellow Islanders Siannise Fudge and Luke Trotman have slowly become the king and queen of TikTok with their routines


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--We Can Learn A Lot In Coronavirus Lockdown From Prisoners Of War

While we cannot compare lockdown to the suffering PoWs faced, we can learn lessons. Reuters
Before Covid-19, the last time so many British people were held in confinement for an unknown length of time was during World War II: these were the more than 170,000 British prisoners of war (PoWs) captured by the Germans and Italians between 1940 and 1945.
They were detained in prison camps for up to five years. Housed in cramped conditions with meagre rations, these men found themselves far from loved ones and the comforts of home.
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What these men went through is in many ways incomparable to our enforced confinement today. But there are significant parallels that we can learn from during our more comfortable, and briefer, period of constraints.
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Lessons from our fighting forefathers provide us with inspiration, comfort and hope. The good news is that our emotions and behaviours to date have been normal reactions to an abnormal world. The bad news is that the longer it continues, the more our mental health will suffer.
Soldiers fighting during World War II never contemplated capture. They thought they would come home unscathed or anticipated death. It was an unexpected and unpleasant surprise for PoWs to find themselves incarcerated in prison camps. The worst part was not knowing how long they would be held for or whether they would survive.
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There are similarities to our predicament. We never expected Covid-19. Only a few weeks ago a national lockdown was inconceivable. The uncertainties associated with not knowing how long the crisis will last – or if we will live – are deeply unsettling.
Historian Dr Clare Makepeace analysed the diaries of British PoWs, written during their confinement. She reveals they are remarkably free of despair or animosity towards their captors. They are also uninterested in recording details of daring escapes.
Instead, a different picture emerges: routine boredom, unerring hope that their incarceration would soon end, a boundless use of creativity to get them through each day to keep them sane, and irritation with their fellow captives. These same descriptions in diaries of yesteryear are found on practically every social media feed today.
“The good news is that our emotions and behaviours to date have been normal reactions to an abnormal world. The bad news is that the longer it continues, the more our mental health will suffer.”
Just like us, there was a sense of optimism that their captivity would be over in a matter of weeks rather than years. In 1941, PoWs thought the Nazis would be defeated in months. In April 2020, many people think Covid-19 will be conquered in weeks. Both they, and us, cling to any hope that our nemesis will be defeated quicker than it can be.
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Just as many PoWs bettered themselves by getting fit or creating lavish amateur dramatics productions, we have Joe Wicks and the National Theatre online to help us do the same.
Zoom or Houseparty help us connect with relatives, while the PoWs had to rely on the occasional letter or parcel. But, just like them, it still takes acts of imagination to feel what it is like to touch or smell our more distant family members. The cruellest deprivation of all is the inability to hug our loved ones.
In our current lockdown, we can relate to the daily struggle of having to be in continuous close proximity with other human beings for long periods of time. Snores, sniffs, talking loudly and a hundred other habits and mannerisms would grate prisoners nerves. Things that in normal life would be unnoticed became fixations of frustration and resentment.
The longer-term picture for us will also likely follow theirs. During their time incarcerated, the mental health of many PoWs suffered. Although they couldn’t settle on a single phrase, popular terms included “going Stalag happy”, having “barbed wire disease” or “Kriegy weariness”.
The causes were claustrophobia, the inability to get away from others and the monotony of imprisonment. The symptoms included depression, irritability, lethargy, poor concentration, fits of temper, and memory loss. These could come on suddenly, last days, and were experienced anything from once a week to every two months. On occasion it would result in suicide.
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For many today these symptoms might already sound familiar.
We haven’t invented our term for “going Covidcrazy”. However, like the PoWs who eventually returned to the ordinary world after their release, we too will need support to ease us back into “normal” life again.
The government must start planning now for the coming wave of mental health issues, otherwise we risk opening up a new front in the battle to reduce coronavirus suffering in the long term.
We can’t compare what we are going through to what wartime PoWs suffered. That would belittle their years of deprivation.
Yet, our plight, while evidently easier than theirs, does draw many parallels. Some we can learn from, some we can gain hope from and some we must beware of, and act upon, for a better future.
Richard Stokoe lectures at the University of South Wales on planning for disasters and civil contingencies and on strategic leadership. Joanna Bourke is an author and professor of history at Birkbeck.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Here's How Celebrities Are Keeping Their Kids Busy During Lockdown

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Never has it been more obvious that celebrities are just like the rest of us than during lockdown.
We might feel we’re going slightly mad, stuck at home with our children, but it’s a small comfort to know that we’re really not alone – and that even Stacey Solomon is struggling.
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The mum-of-three posted a shot on Instagram on Mother’s Day of her with her children and the message: “I know it’s hard, Mama. I know it can be hard to get up every day and have these little people rely on you. I know it’s hard to feel like sometimes your world is so small. I want to remind you, you are the world.”
Solomon also shared a candid snap a week ago of herself sitting in a paddling pool with her third son, Rex, 11 months, saying: “We decided to get the paddling pool out today – we were going to wait until Rex’s birthday next month but knowing our luck it would snow.” She said he climbed in and out of it “all day” – other than when he was sleeping.
And she isn’t the only celebrity to divulge what she’s up to with her kids during self-isolation.
Amy Schumer shared this adorable video of her son – previously named Gene Attell Fischer until she realised it sounded too much like ‘Genital’, so changed it to Gene David Fischer – watching his first movie with his dad. The movie?
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Fantastic Mr. Fox, of course.
Holly Willoughby showed that she’s putting her baking skills to the test during isolation, by making an ice-cream birthday cake for her daughter, Belle.
The mum-of-three shared a photo of herself next to her little girl, with the caption: “Today’s project... making an ice cream cake for Belle’s birthday on Tuesday... Never done it before, will report back once we reveal it!” And if the ‘after’ pictures are anything to go by, it was a stone cold success.
Unlike Dawn O’Porter’s ‘melty’ cupcake bakes. We’ve all been there, Dawn
Gemma Atkinson shared this highlgy relatable image of her trying to work from home with partner Gorka Márquez and baby Mia, nine months. “Working from home is going well,” she quipped. “Thank you to Gorka for having 3 solid hours with Mia in between making our tea... which clearly he’s coping well with.”
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Andre hasn’t been the only celebrity turning to music and dance to see his family through isolation – Ashley Banjo shared this amusing video to Instagram of himself and his heavily-pregnant partner Francesca Abbott dancing (kind of) – in their dressing gowns.
The couple gave birth to their second child, baby boy Micah, at the end of March, and the dancer shared this adorable photo of the family of four.
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Even the royal family are struggling to balance with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge admitting on breakfast TV – via a video call, what else? – that they haven’t even told George, Charlotte and Louis it’s the Easter holidays. Kate also revealed they’ve been indulging in a bit of indoor camping – like other families.
Meanwhile, our real queen Amanda Holden has been getting into the spirit of a sunny lockdown by taking part in a cartwheel contest with her daughter, Hollie. She posted this cute video to her Instagram page. She also posted a speeded-up video of the process of dyeing Hollie’s hair rose pink.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--Zero-Waste Cooking Recipes: How To Use Up Leftover Ingredients

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Since lockdown came into effect last month, procuring certain staple ingredients such as eggs and flour have become about as hard to find as hand sanitiser. Panic buying means many have more than they need, which in turn risks more food waste.
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But this needn’t be the case. Give old ingredients from the back of the fridge a new lease of life, transform them into something delicious and don’t waste a drop, crumb or leaf of what’s in your kitchen.
We spoke to three zero-waste chefs for their recipes that make the most of underused, wilting or stale items for sustainable eating.
Pasta with Broccoli Smush
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cooking time: 5 mins
Thom Eagle Pasta with Broccoli Smush
This southern Italian way with pasta works with pretty much any green vegetable but using the stalks of broccoli or cauliflower gives a satisfying creaminess to the sauce, as well as a pleasing efficiency. Depending on the size of your broccoli this will probably make more smush than you need – the leftovers are very good on toast.
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Ingredients:
150g pasta (spaghetti, penne, orecchiette)
1 head of broccoli
A good splash of extra virgin olive oil
4 salted anchovy fillets
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 dried chilli
50g grated pecorino, plus more to serve
Method:
1. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Separate the florets from the broccoli, slice them in half and put to one side. Cut the stalk in quarters lengthways and then into slices as thick as a pound coin.
2. In a shallow pan big enough to hold all the pasta, gently heat the oil with the anchovy, garlic and chilli until the anchovy melts and the garlic begins to sizzle. Fish out the chilli.
3. When the water comes to a fast boil add the stalk and cook for five minutes, then add the florets and cook for three minutes more. Scoop all the broccoli out of the water with a slotted spoon straight into the sizzling oil, followed by a splash of the cooking water.
4. Bring the water back to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente (two minutes less than the packet says is a good rule). While it cooks, keep the broccoli at a simmer, crushing it with a wooden spoon and adding a splash more water if it dries out. By the time the pasta cooks, you should have a pale green cream.
5. Drain the pasta, keeping a mug of the starchy cooking water, and add to the broccoli pan with the grated cheese. Toss well, adding a splash or two of the cooking water to loosen and emulsify the sauce. Check the seasoning and serve with more grated cheese.
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Recipe from Thom Eagle, Chef at The Little Duck, a fermenting kitchen and wine bar in East London. His new cookbook Summer’s Lease: How to Cook Without Heat, published by Quadrille in Hardback at £16.99 is out June 2020.
French Onion Soup
Serves: 3-4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 55 mins
Robin Gill French Onion Soup
A storecupboard French onion soup, which can be made with only a handful of ingredients and the flavours are so hearty and rich. It’s also a great way of using the ends of things that might otherwise have gone to waste such as sourdough that might be going a little stale or a block of cheddar that’s been sitting in the fridge. This recipe brings back great memories, I actually learnt it from Raymond Blanc when I worked at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, from the great man himself.
Ingredients:
50g butter
2 kg onions, I used a mix of shallot, white and red onion (peeled and sliced thin)
4 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced thin)
300 ml white and red wine (boiled for 2 minutes or reduced by 1/3)
1.2 litre chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and I like to use a generous pinch of white pepper
A dash of Worcester sauce
Splash of sherry
2 bay leaves
2 sourdough slices
150g gruyere or a good cheddar, grated
Method:
1. Take a wide bottomed pan and place on a medium to high heat, add the butter and once melted and foaming adds the garlic and all the onions, add the salt and stir, cover with a lid and continue to stir, the salt will help extract the moister from the onions after 10 minutes remove the lid and turn the heat to halfway.
2. Continue to cook and use a flat wooden spoon to scrape the caramelised areas of the bottom of the pan. This may take up to an hour to get a lovely dark golden brown colour, a good tip is to take the pan off the heat and the steam will help deglaze the pan, this is where all the flavour is.
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3. When happy with the onions, add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and the sherry, add the bay and wine, cook for 5 minutes, then add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Heat through the soup set the grill on high, toast the sliced bread pour soup into the bowl, float the toast on top and cover with the grated cheese, place the bowls under the grill until the cheese melts.
Recipe from Robin Gill, Head Chef and Director at The Dairy, Sorella and Darby’s, a group of small-plate dining restaurant in various London locations with a seasonal menu.
Ricotta Dumplings
Serves: 2 | Prep time: Cheese 10 hours, Dumplings 15 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins
Matthew Scott Ricotta Dumplings
If you’re like me and drink a lot of black coffee, then this recipe is a great shout for using up any milk surplus taking up valuable quarantine fridge space. The ricotta will keep for around 3-5 days, it’s incredibly delicious and you get lots of bonus points for making your own cheese. Take a bow.
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Ingredients:
For the ricotta:
1 litre milk
20ml White distilled vinegar or lemon juice
Pinch of salt
For the dumplings:
300g of homemade ricotta
Pinch of nutmeg
250g fine semolina
30g of Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 egg yolk
Method:
1. Heat the milk to 93 degrees and stir in the vinegar or lemon juice. Stir the mixture together and allow the pan to sit for around 10-15 minutes.
2. Separate the curds from the whey and place into cheesecloth. If you don’t have muslin/cheesecloth, you can alternatively use a fine sieve.
3. Leave the curds hanging for around 10 hours. The longer you leave the curds, the firmer your ricotta will be. Taking it off earlier can result in a softer end product which is great on toast with lots of cracked pepper.
4. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, finely grated pecorino, egg yolk and nutmeg together. Season with salt and pepper. At this point, feel free to get creative and chuck some extra flavour in. Whatever tickles your fancy: chopped herbs, fresh chilli and lemon zest.
5. Wet your hands. This is going to make your life much easier to form nice little balls out of your mixture. Put the fine semolina into a tray and place next to your bowl. Place another tray next to this.
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6. Roll the balls in the semolina and generously coat ensuring there are no patches where the ricotta is still visible. This will ensure an even skin all the way around your dumpling once set.
7. Place all of your finished dumplings onto a clean tray and dust with extra semolina. Refrigerate for 12 hours in the fridge to allow the semolina to set around the ricotta.
8. Drop into a pot of salted boiling water for around 2-3 minutes or until they float. Serve.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-18--The Wondrous World Of Nature Is Right In Front Of Us – And We've Never Appreciated It More

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Everywhere we turn, nature is thriving. It’s a powerful reminder that while we’re at a standstill, the earth still turns. The show must go on.
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As we spend more time indoors, many of us are finding a newfound – or somewhat revived – appreciation for the natural world. The blossoms that weren’t there this time last week, the sprouts of green where branches were once bare. Bees, butterflies and birds out of hiding, continuing as normal.
Where once you’d be bombarded by travel photos on Instagram, it’s now full of nature – photos from people’s government-sanctioned daily outings to the park, pictures of forests filled with bluebells, close-ups of vibrant-coloured petals. We are, quite literally, stopping to smell the roses.
“I think people are looking at nature with new eyes at the moment,” biologist Professor Adam Hart, from the University of Gloucestershire, tells HuffPost UK. “With so many of us unable to be ‘out’ in nature, there seems to have been a collective realisation of how important it is to our lives and our wellbeing.”
Hart says he’s seeing lots of people on Twitter engaging with nature in their gardens, or showing delight at discovering insects, spiders, slugs and other creatures that often get ignored.
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I never really appreciated London’s green spaces enough before. This strange Spring has given me a much greater appreciation for nature and the beauty that’s all around me; beauty I usually ignore in my rush to get to the pub! pic.twitter.com/CUbTB7QcJC — Georgia Arlott (@GeorgiaArlott) April 9, 2020
During lockdown, Marcio Delgado, 40, has explored his north London garden more, rather than just staying indoors. He’s also paying attention to his surroundings during dog walks at the local park.
“It’s surprising how everything has always been there – the birds, unusual flowers, old trees – we just didn’t take the time before to appreciate nature in its simplicity,” he says. “I’m posting it on Instagram, as a permanent reminder to pay attention to it in the future, even when the world goes back to normality.”
Wildlife charity the RSPB has witnessed an increase in social media engagement since lockdown. “This may be because people are looking online for more of their social life right now,” says a spokesperson. It also might be because people are “starting to notice the natural world in a whole new way”.
Giordano Cipriani via Getty Images
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Nature has always been there, ticking over in the background, but many of us have been too busy to take in its beauty. But now, we have more time to kill – especially those who’ve been furloughed.
Holly Pither, in her mid-30s and based in Oxfordshire, has been focusing on nature on her daily run, as well as at home. “I’ve seen an abundance of wildlife whilst out,” she says. “I hear the birds sing when I wake up, deers walk into my garden and generally it all seems so much more peaceful.”
And Beth Stone, 28, from south London, has enjoyed watching the comings and goings of feathered friends while she works. “I’ve recently become a bird enthusiast,” she says. “We’ve bought 13 kilos of bird seed and installed a bird feeder on our patio at the start of lockdown.”
Stone has also rotated her desk to get a better view of her feathery visitors – “lots of goldfinches – probably more than 10 a day at the moment – a few robins and sparrows. I’m not far off getting a bird-watching guide I reckon.”
David Briard via Getty Images
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We may also be noticing the natural world a little more because there’s less traffic on the roads and fewer planes in the sky. We can actually hear nature’s voice – the birdsong, the sound of rain, the wind in the trees.
Cara de Lange, 46, from south west London, is enjoying the birdsong during lockdown. “Every moment of the day I listen out to the different tunes the birds are making and it brings me such peace and calm,” she says. “I find the singing of birds soothing and maybe now it’s quieter, I’ve started to notice it more.”
The time of year surely also plays a part in the collective renewed interest in the natural world. If it were winter, would we be enjoying nature as much? Probably not. “Spring is always an exciting time when everything seems to come back to life,” says RSPB. “We see birds all around us collecting material for their nests, hedgehogs waking up from hibernation, and toadlets emerging from ponds.
“At times like this, when many of us are inside for large portions of the day, the natural world can seem more precious than ever.”
I nearly cried on my run today because of how beautiful the nature around me looked 🌱 pic.twitter.com/EDpzpfGK1K — Cass (@CassGowing) April 16, 2020
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Nature may also be providing an antidote to our feelings of anxiety and stress right now, offering a chance to be mindful and stay in the present moment. The outside world is so good for us, in fact, that in 2018, doctors in Shetland prescribed birdwatching, rambling and beach walks to help treat mental illness, diabetes, heart disease, and stress.
We can’t ignore the science. Multiple studies have also found nature-based activities like gardening and walking in parks to be beneficial to mental health. A review in 2016 found they can contribute to reduced anxiety, stress and depression. And in a separate study, King’s College London researchers found being outdoors, seeing trees, hearing birdsong, seeing the sky, and feeling in contact with nature were associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing.
Interestingly, the beneficial effects of being in nature impacted people positively for up to seven hours afterwards.
Why does nature have this positive effect on us? “It’s appealing to your different senses – you’ve got the smell, the feel, the sights of flowers and new bulbs coming up, the sounds,” says Lesley Ludlow, counsellor and chair of BACP’s Private Practice Executive.
“Our lives are suspended at the moment but nature is carrying on. You go out and as far as nature’s concerned, it’s business as normal. Bulbs are coming up, leaves are growing on trees, life is sprouting.”
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“It’s calming, more than anything,” she adds. “You can switch your mind off.”
Nature has so much to offer, but will people remember how much it gave to us, once all of this is over? Professor Hart hopes so.