thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-14--Tory MPs Urge Government To 'Look Again' At A-Levels Algorithm That Downgraded Poorest Students

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A former minister led calls for the government to rethink computer modelling that disproportionately downgraded the A-level results of poorer students.
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Tim Loughton, a former children’s minister, said in a post on his website on Friday he had urged education secretary Gavin Williamson to “look again” at the algorithm used by the regulator Ofqual in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown.
The results sparked a furious backlash from youngsters, teachers and parents this week, after almost 40% of results were downgraded, with private school students benefiting in comparison to those at state schools.
Though the number of passes and top grades increased overall, some students’ predicted marks were slashed by up to two grades.
It has left thousands scrambling for a university place via clearing and many others blocked from taking up long-hoped-for places at top institutions.
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Loughton admitted “hugely disappointed students” were now in “extraordinarily distressing” circumstances, despite their hard work.
He went on to say: “I have made the point to ministers that they should look at the algorithm again for those who have missed out on their place in further education, and also that assessed exams/mocks be the primary basis for appeal.”
Williamson made an eleventh hour concession on Wednesday to allow students to appeal and base their result on their mock exam grade if the final result was worse.
It came after a major U-turn by the Scottish Government saw its downgraded results for Highers exams revoked.
Thousands of young people also took part in a protest outside Downing Street on Friday, calling for Williamson to resign.
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Rob Halfon, chairman of the Commons’ education select committee, meanwhile, called on Ofqual to urgently meet with schools.
“I am worried about it because some figures suggest that disadvantaged students have been penalised again,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One.
“I am also worried about further education colleges because they have been improving in recent years and yet they seem also to have suffered under this grading system.
“If the model has penalised disadvantaged groups this is very serious and if it has disadvantaged colleges that has to be looked at. Ofqual will have to adjust the grades.”
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson leaving Downing Street, London, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson reshuffles his Cabinet. PA
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He later told HuffPost UK the government should “broaden the appeals system” and ensure that all charges for any appeal were scrapped.
He said: “The government needs to make it absolutely crystal clear, to universities particularly, that they have to be flexible, without a shadow of a doubt, given what has gone on.”
Ofqual has insisted the algorithm was fair.
Shadow education secretary Kate Green, meanwhile, warned there could be a “deluge” of appeals and it may prove impossible to get them all processed in time for September start dates.
“I am concerned that if we have a deluge of appeals, which I think is quite likely given the fiasco we have seen over the last day-and-a-half, there just won’t be time for students to have those appeals processed and completed, and universities will fill up those places,” she told The World at One.
She added: “As a one-off measure, we have to do something for these young people otherwise we are writing them off for the whole of their life chances.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-14--Miley Cyrus Felt 'Villainised' By The Press After Liam Hemsworth Split

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Miley Cyrus has said she felt “villainised” by the media following her divorce from Liam Hemsworth.
In August last year, Miley and Liam announced that they had split for the second time, less than a year after tying the knot.
Shortly afterwards, the Midnight Sky singer was forced to deny rumours the break-up was due to infidelity on her part, and in a new interview with Apple Music, she has admitted she thinks she was given an unfair time in the press around the time of the split.
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“I felt like my story and my narrative had kind of been told for me over the past year,” she explained. “Obviously I went through an extremely public break-up and, even more than that, a divorce, and with someone that I had been with for 10 years.”
Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus at last year's Met Gala Jennifer Graylock - PA Images via Getty Images
Miley continued: “I felt kind of villainised. I also felt like I kind of shut down, because it was kind of, respectfully, below me to engage with the press and the media at that time.
“It felt like I would rather be able to articulate this experience in a poetic way that also I can put back into my art. I never really have engaged. I’ve only played with the public and the perception in that way.”
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She and Liam eventually had their divorce finalised in January 2020, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their break-up.
During the Apple Music interview, Miley also spoke about other difficulties she’s faced in recent times, in addition to her divorce.
Miley at a Tom Ford fashion show earlier this year Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
She recalled: “Talking about growing pains, I really had to deal with kind of the loss of my home in Malibu (in the California wildfires).
“I had to deal with the loss of a love in my life. I had to kind of be human and experience and grow, but then I wanted to tell it directly from my mouth and not from the idea of the public perception, because my story throughout my career has been told through the public perception a lot.
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“I think I just want to regain that power. I think a lot of women are doing that now.”
Earlier this week, Miley confirmed that she and boyfriend Cody Simpson had split after just under a year together.
Speaking to her fans on Instagram, Miley said: “Right now two halves can’t make a whole and we’re individually just working on ourselves to become the people that we want to be.
“Like everybody else at this age we are just deciding what we want to do with our lives. So don’t make it some drama story if next week we are out hanging out or getting pizza, we have been friends for ten years and will continue to be friends so don’t make it something that it’s not.”
Cody Simpson and Miley Cyrus pictured grocery shopping in April JishPhoto/Shutterstock
On Friday, Cody sent a congratulatory message to Miley following the release of her latest single Midnight Sky.
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Miley is now single, having briefly dated reality star Kaitlynn Carter prior to getting together with Cody.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-14--Exclusive: Exam Board Gave Entire Classes Of Law Students Each Other's Grades

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An exam board is “urgently” investigating after it scrambled the grades of entire law classes, failing students who were tipped for the best marks and giving flying colours to the lowest performers.
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Pupils in at least two colleges received completely different results from the ones they had been expecting, while many others are still waiting to receive their marks – a day and a half after they were due.
The cancellation of exams due to the coronavirus pandemic has meant BTEC Nationals – vocational qualifications that can be taken in place of A-levels – are basing this year’s results on completed assessments and teachers’ predicted grades. Teachers were required to submit their students’ grades in a list, ranked in order of best to worst.
But HuffPost UK has learned the exam board, Pearson, somehow turned these lists upside down by mistake.
Pearson, the body that runs BTECs, confirmed some students had received “incorrect” results and said it was working to resolve the issue “urgently”.
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One teacher told HuffPost UK the appeals process could take “several weeks” to be resolved, leaving her pupils “confused” and “upset”.
Elizabeth, who teaches applied law, knew something was wrong the moment she received the results: her class of 48 students had received an average Merit grade for their BTEC results, while her previous classes had an 83% Distinction* to Distinction grade.
“I knew there was an immediate issue, so I went into the list and I clicked on the student ranked number one and I saw she had been given a fail, then I went to number two and I realised they had been given a near pass.
“Our worst students have got the best grades, and our best students have the worst grades.”
“Then I went all the way down to the bottom to the student that I had ranked last, and that student had been given a Distinction* and I saw quite a few who had been ranked at the bottom had been given a Distinction – that’s when I realised they had flipped the entire list.”
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Elizabeth worried at first it was her who had made the mistake. Her next thought was how her students would react. “I know a lot of them were very anxious because they couldn’t complete the exam, they were worried that we were going to give them a bad grade. Then what next went through my head was, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to blame me.’”
She turned to a Facebook group of other teachers to ask if any of them had experienced the same problem. “They all came back to me saying they had similar issues where BTEC had flipped the ranking that we had provided them with.
“So our worst students have got the best grades, and our best students have the worst grades.”
When she informed Pearson of the mix-up, she was told to appeal using the standard appeals process, which she says is “pretty complicated”. “What frustrates me the most is that now we have to fix a problem that the exam board made.
“We now have to go for a really long process of an appeal that was not our fault and wait, on average, four weeks to get the response for something that should have been done correctly in the first place.”
Since Thursday morning, she has received emails from her “confused”, “upset” and “discouraged” students “asking what they did wrong”. “It makes you feel bad when you know their real grades should actually be a lot better.”
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Pearson, the body that runs BTECs, confirmed some students had received “incorrect” results and said it was working to resolve the issue “urgently”. Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
As a teacher, she felt she and her pupils had been “100% let down” by the exam board. “It’s infuriating because you’ve seen the students work so hard for the entire year and then when it’s supposed to pay off and when they’re supposed to get the reward, you’re meant to congratulate them on what they’ve done – but you can’t because it’s all confusion and it’s all gone wrong.
“My biggest concern is if a teacher is not familiar with the BTEC course, they might not be aware there’s been a mistake and it could affect those students.
“It could have a massive effect on where they then go on to with regard to the next stage of their lives, whether it be university or apprenticeship, et cetera.”
Around 250,000 students completed BTEC Nationals last year, compared to about 300,000 who sat A-levels in 2018. Around 20% of university students in England are accepted solely on BTEC qualifications.
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HuffPost UK has spoken to another teacher at a separate college who said the grades her students received “bore absolutely no resemblance to our previous success in Applied Law, nor to our ranking that we sent to BTEC”. They were unable to comment further.
A spokesperson at Pearson said: “As a result of additional quality assurance checks, we have identified some students who have received incorrect BTEC Level 3 National results. We are working closely with the students and centres involved to resolve this issue urgently and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.”
It has also been revealed that BTEC students who were due to receive their results on Thursday morning are still awaiting their results in what some have described as a “shambles” and an “absolute nightmare”.
“I feel so powerless. Basically we’ve been fucked over.”
Pearson initially blamed the colleges for the delay, telling the Times Educational Supplement “a few centres didn’t meet our deadline for submitting grades”. But HuffPost UK has spoken to several colleges that categorically deny they missed any deadline.
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A representative at the City of Liverpool College confirmed their pupils had been impacted by the issue, and that the college had met all cut-offs for submission.
Many pupils who have still not yet received their BTEC results are waiting with pending conditional university offers.
Lucy Jackson, 18, said the situation had left her “very stressed and anxious and very frustrated” after a “sleepless night”. “The delay and possible downgrading on results mean I could miss out on a clearing spot. This could mean that I have to defer going to university for a year, which is not ideal.”
Another parent told HuffPost UK their family was “really stressed out” by the experience. “I am angry for this generation of students,” one said. “They had to cope with teaching stopping suddenly and this is their future at stake.
“As parents we have to support our children and I feel so powerless. Basically we’ve been fucked over.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-14--The Tories Are Protecting An Alleged Rapist – We Mustn't Let Them

Exteriors of the Houses of Parliament in London, UK Brian Bumby via Getty Images
It’s now been over a week since news broke of a Conservative MP accused of rape by a former parliamentary aide.
To date, the party have refused to suspend him, despite repeated calls from women’s groups, campaigners and fellow MPs. Chief Whip Mark Spencer said that the rape allegations against the MP were being taken seriously.
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Not seriously enough to warrant a suspension so that others could be safeguarded, it would appear.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his party’s decision not to suspend the MP as he was waiting for “police to decide whether they wanted to make charges”.
In any other profession, anyone accused of serious sexual offences would face immediate suspension followed by an investigation.
“The only message we are receiving is that the rights of the accused are above the rights of the alleged victim.”
Johnson’s continued refusal to suspend will not inspire confidence among either campaigners or survivors of sexual violence.
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The latest England and Wales rape statistics make for alarming reading. In the year 2019-2020, police recorded 55,130 rapes, but of this figure, only 2,102 resulted in prosecutions, with 1,439 convicted.
If we compare the latest numbers against figures for the same period three years previously, the overall figure has increased by a third, yet convictions have halved.
This is not the first time the government has fallen short in its commitment to keeping women safe and holding perpetrators of sexual violence and abuse in positions of power to account for their misbehaviour.
In 2018, I wrote about Theresa May restoring the whip to two MPs suspended following accusations of sexual impropriety so that she could win a no-confidence vote triggered against her by her own party.
Of those two MPs, Charlie Elphicke has since been convicted of three counts of sexual assault against two women in 2007 and 2016.
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Former MP Andrew Griffith, found to have sent some 2,000 texts to two young female constituents while a sitting MP, insisting they call him “Daddy” and demanding explicit photos of them, was allowed back in to help prop up May’s tenuous grip on power.
As a campaigner and activist, I have always been very vocal in my desire to see more women, especially from a BAME background, enter politics and make positive changes from the top down.
Sadly, the more we are faced with stories such as this latest one, where MPs accused of serious sexual crimes are able to use their power to hide behind, the more difficult it is to promote Parliament as a safe and secure place to work in.
That a culture of misogyny and impunity is allowed to thrive – with the “old boys network” acting to protect one another – will push more women out of politics and deter others from seeking a career in politics and public life.
The latest accusation of sexual assault has been raised as a concern in a joint statement released by the Centenary Action Group, a UK based cross party coalition working to improve women’s representation in politics, The Fawcett Society, a charity campaigning for gender equality, and the Trades Union Congress.
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In addition to calling for the immediate suspension of the rape-accused MP, the statement is also calling for the appointment of an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor appointed by both the House of Commons and the Conservative Party to support the alleged victim. Our full demands can be found here.
As a former employee of the House of Commons, I have a unique insight into how complicated and difficult it is to report your abuser, especially if they are a sitting MP.
You are ostracised and often targeted by members of your political party, so-called friends will try to dissuade you from coming forward and scare you with stories of media witch-hunts, your mental and emotional health will take a real battering and, often, the end result will hardly justify the brutal fight for justice.
Only two years ago, a House of Commons report found that nearly a fifth of Westminster staff had experienced some form of sexual harassment in a single year. Our Parliamentarians preside over the law on criminal assaults and workplace safety for all of us when their own Houses are not in order.
Each time a victim comes forward to make a complaint, they are not only taking on their abuser, but also the very institutions that give the abusers their platform and power. These institutions should not be further used to give protection to the abusers.
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“Until we change the culture of protecting those who choose to abuse their positions of power, we will never be able to truly hold them to account.”
Until both the Palace of Westminster and the Conservative Party take strong decisive action and suspend the aforementioned MP, at least until the police have concluded their own investigation, the only message we are receiving is that the rights of the accused are above the rights of the alleged victim.
Some may argue that we have come a long way in the past five years in protecting women working in Parliament, with a new independent body set up to handle complaints of bullying and harassment by MPs in 2019, while Dame Laura Cox’s 2018 report helped shed a spotlight on some of the experiences that women like me went through.
But it seems that these changes, although steps in the right direction, are not nearly enough when a person accused of rape can still continue to work and enter and leave a work environment that employs some 650 members of staff.
Until we change the culture of protecting those who choose to abuse their positions of authority and power after they are accused, we will never be able to truly hold them to account. And yes, this does mean starting with our government.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Donald Trump’s Latest Claim About Helping Women Gets Ripped Apart

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Donald Trump drew stinging backlash on Friday with his boast on Twitter that he’d “done more for WOMEN than just about any President in HISTORY!”
Trump also proposed in his post, ahead of the 100th anniversary on August 26 of the 19th Amendment granting women in the US the right to vote, building “a BEAUTIFUL STATUE in Washington D.C. to honour the many brave women who made this possible for our GREAT COUNTRY.”
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I have done more for WOMEN than just about any President in HISTORY! As we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of women’s voting rights, we should build a BEAUTIFUL STATUE in Washington D.C. to honor the many brave women who made this possible for our GREAT COUNTRY... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2020
...Congress should send me H.R.473 ASAP and make this happen! It will INSPIRE all women to continue being bold and brave in achieving their DREAMS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2020
Twitter users doubted the sincerity of Trump’s statue suggestion.
Some reminded the president of his past offensive rhetoric against women.
Trump only this week called senator Kamala Harris “nasty” and a “mad woman” after presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden named her as his running mate in the 2020 election.
Trump also described representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a “poor student” and accused her of yapping, prompting the progressive lawmaker to challenge the president to a grades fight in response.
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Critics also noted the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that have been levelled at Trump.
Speaking on behalf of most women... you're full of shit. — Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) August 14, 2020
Donald Trump on how to treat women:
"You have to treat 'em like shit." https://t.co/ZltVnhLI3R https://t.co/2DJUlUKweJ — Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) August 14, 2020
A statue is great and all, but how about funding the Postal Service so that women can actually vote? https://t.co/G8X6F6sbwG — Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) August 14, 2020
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Hoo boy this is just too much for this nasty woman on a Friday afternoon. https://t.co/O5Tn7APFsQ — Nicole Schuman🍕 (@Buffalogal) August 14, 2020
Do you hear that sound??? That’s the sound of my jaw hitting the floor over this gaslighting nonsense... https://t.co/CQZW03xMRD — Melissa Blake (@melissablake) August 15, 2020
CORRECTION: "I have done more *to WOMEN ... " https://t.co/ayLwtIIsIw — Greg Schindler (@Schindizzle) August 14, 2020
Biden is leading 2-1 among female voters and it appears Trump's plan to remedy that is to build a statue. https://t.co/7ElOhbzdnk — Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) August 14, 2020
I think you meant, “more TO women.” There I fixed that for you. Also, instead of a statue, let’s pass the Equal Rights Amendment. https://t.co/V1q6l5wc17 — Dan Rather (@DanRather) August 14, 2020
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“I just start kissing them. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the covfefe. You can do anything.” — Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) August 14, 2020
Here’s an idea: stop opposing putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 https://t.co/YcgoXYxsKo — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (@SenatorShaheen) August 14, 2020
he wants to build a statue of jessica rabbit to honor women's suffrage, doesn't he https://t.co/CSXS7QkIQl — Emmy Bengtson (@EmmyA2) August 14, 2020
This would make a good statue... pic.twitter.com/c1WhzrumXE — Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) August 14, 2020
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If he were at all serious (which of course he isn't), Donald Trump could visit this statue only a couple of miles from the White House and pay his respects to a brave and pathbreaking woman, educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune, at East Capitol and 12th St. N.E., in D.C. https://t.co/6AULcuntY8 pic.twitter.com/54rCTXAvNd — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 14, 2020
On Ivanka Trump, your daughter
"She does have a very nice figure ... if [she] weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." -Trump — Justin Pearson (@pearson_justin) August 14, 2020
Or you could put Harriet Tubman on the 20 dollar bill, for example? https://t.co/Wy84SSVdsh — Jason Segel (@jasonsegel) August 14, 2020
How do you commemorate all great women in our history with one statue?
What are you envisioning? A generic vagina? — Misha Collins (@mishacollins) August 14, 2020
... i don't even know where to begin with this... https://t.co/lJN9HzHt96 — Voto Latino (@votolatino) August 14, 2020
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RIDICULOUS LIE
Trump doesn't even try to keeps his lies within the realm of possibilities. Trump has done NOTHING for women apart from subject them to his sexist attitudes & behavior. Trump's insecurity is such that women, especially intelligent & strong women, terrify him! — MURRAY 🗽 (@murray_nyc) August 14, 2020
You won't even put a woman on money. https://t.co/ECGAMpNECu — Schooley (@Rschooley) August 14, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Ryan Reynolds Urging Young People To Stop Partying Amid The Pandemic Is Peak Ryan Reynolds

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Ryan Reynolds has answered a call for help to urge young people in his native Canada to stop partying during the pandemic and well, it’s peak Ryan Reynolds.
The Deadpool star responded to a request from British Columbia premier John Horgan, who has been trying to get the message out to young Canadians that Covid-19 cases have spiked in the province.
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Ryan Reynolds Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
In a video from a press conference, shared on Mr Horgan’s Twitter page, he said: “This is a call out to Deadpool right now. Ryan, we need your help up here. Get in touch with us.”
We need young people to understand that now is not the time to go to large parties. @VancityReynolds & @Sethrogen - please help spread the message to stop the spread of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/u9SodpRnxu — John Horgan (@jjhorgan) August 12, 2020
The actor quickly replied with a voice message to Mr Horgan, which he shared on social media.
“I’m not sure it’s a great idea, frankly,” he began.
“I don’t think they want medical advice from guys like me, no sir. Unless it’s plastic surgery, which, a lot of people don’t know this, but I used to be Hugh Jackman.”
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Called your office. Left a message. pic.twitter.com/CGp2IZagrD — Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 14, 2020
The actor added: “Young folks in BC, they’re partying, which is of course dangerous.
“They probably don’t know that thousands of young people aren’t just getting sick from coronavirus, they’re also dying from it too.
“It’s terrible that it affects our most vulnerable. BC, that’s home to some of the coolest older people on earth. David Suzuki (the environmental activist), he lives there.
“My mom, she doesn’t want to be cooped up in her apartment all day.
“She wants to be out there cruising Kitsilano Beach looking for some young 30-something Abercrombie burnout to go full Mrs. Robinson on. She is insatiable.
“I hope young people in BC don’t kill my mom frankly. Or David Suzuki. Or each other. Let’s not kill anyone. I think that’s reasonable.
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Referencing his wife Blake Lively, who is best known for her role in Gossip Girl, he said: “I don’t think I’m the guy to deliver this message. I love parties.
“My favourite thing to do is sit alone in my room with a glass of gin and the first 32 seasons of Gossip Girl.
“That’s a party. Threw my shoulder out the last time I did that.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--UK Weather: Flood Warnings As Thunderstorms Set To Batter UK Over Weekend

Thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast to lash the UK over the weekend, triggering warnings of flooding and travel disruption.
The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for large swathes of England and Wales on both Saturday and Sunday.
Flooding could cause roads to close, while extreme weather may damage buildings and cause power cuts and cancellations to train and bus services.
Forecasters also expect the weekend to be much cooler, following a week of hot and humid weather, with top temperatures reaching the mid-twenties.
The south of England and Wales are likely to be the wettest areas, with frequent lightning, gusty winds and heavy downpours with 30 to 40mm of rain possible in less than an hour, according to the Met Office.
Five flood alert warnings have been issued across the West Midlands by the Environment Agency.
Matthew Box, a Met Office forecaster, told the PA news agency: “Saturday will begin mostly cloudy for most areas across the UK but as the day goes on showers will start to break out in the south and south east of England.
“As the day progresses further there’s a chance of some rumbles of thunder and potentially some hail and lightning.
“The risk of thunder will start to push further north on Sunday, with central parts of England and Wales facing heavy rain and the chance of flooding.”
However, areas in Scotland and north western England and Northern Ireland are expected to stay dry with a few sunny spells, following a week of heavy rain.
Box attributed this to winds, causing an “east-west” split in northern areas.
The weather warnings for parts of England and Wales are likely to be in place going into Monday.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--David Beckham Gets His Miami Vice On For Hilarious 80s-Inspired Sketch With James Corden

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The 80′s revival starts here.
If anyone can pull off a brilliant white suit and a mullet, David Beckham can.
Or maybe not.
The football star donned the eighties-tastic get up when he spent a couple of hours of downtime with his mate James Corden.
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The pair channeled their inner Sonny and Rico from the 80’s show Miami Vice in a sketch for James’ Late, Late Show in a nod to David’s preparation for the new season with Inter Miami CF.
The sketch also saw the pair hit the gym for a work out, where David showed off his impressive skipping skills.
James less so.
Earlier this week, David shared side-by-side photos on Instagram, showing him strike a pose in the same style as a photo-shoot he took part in back in 2005.
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David revealed it was his aspiring photographer son Brooklyn behind the camera on this occasion, rather than photographer to the stars Annie Leibovitz.
“Same look, few more grey hairs 15 years on,” David joked. “Having some fun with @BrooklynBeckham recreating this shot from 15 years ago by the legendary @annieleibovitz.”
The shoot was a hit (we think) with wife Victoria, who replied: “This is the best post I have ever seen!!! It is EVERYTHING.”
Watch David and James’ full Late Late Show sketch above.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Barack Obama Criticises Donald Trump's Attack On Mail-In Voting

The previous day, he admitted that preventing the agency from receiving emergency congressional funding would hamper mail-in voting.
“They don’t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So therefore, they can’t do it, I guess, right?” he said at his Covid-19 press conference. “Are they going to do it, even if they don’t have the money?”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Schools In England Will Be Able To Appeal Exam Grades For Free, Education Minister Confirms

Schools in England will be able to appeal against A-level and GCSE grades free of charge, the education secretary has confirmed.
Gavin Williamson said it would be a “shocking injustice” if cost stopped appeals being made on behalf of pupils with a “strong and legitimate” case.
Appeals against grades vary between exam boards, with charges of up to £150 for an independent review, and costs are refunded if the appeal is upheld.
There were 3,205 appeals against grades granted for GCSEs, AS and A-levels for exams sat in summer 2019, equivalent to 0.05% of all entries, and 16% – of 516 grades – were changed, according to figures from Ofqual.
Williamson’s announcement came amid further criticism of the government’s handling of the exams system, after thousands of pupils in England had their results downgraded.
Protesters gathered outside Downing Street on Friday chanting for Williamson to be sacked, a call echoed by some opposition MPs.
And the Royal Statistical Society has written to the Office of Statistics Regulation to ask for a review into whether “the models and processes adopted by the qualification regulators did in fact achieve quality and trustworthiness”.
But Boris Johnson has insisted he has confidence in Williamson and described the system as “robust”.
Conservative MPs voiced concerns about the process used by exam regulator Ofqual to moderate A-level results, with Sir Robert Syms suggesting the Westminster government may have to follow Scotland’s lead if the appeals procedure failed to deal with the issues.
The SNP-led administration at Holyrood opted to allow results estimated by teachers to be accepted.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also said he is considering a legal challenge against Ofqual over the “unfair” A-level results process, given the impact on pupils in his region.
Outlining how the government did not want to deter schools from appealing, Williamson told the Times: “I do not want a youngster to feel they are in a situation where there is a strong and legitimate case for grounds for appeal, but an appeal is not made on grounds of cost.
“That would be a real, shocking injustice.
“You will have obviously a large number of appeals. But I would rather have a strong, robust fair appeals process that makes sure that youngsters get the grades that they deserve as against being in a situation where there is an injustice that carries on.”
Williamson again said there would be “no U-turn” on the grading system, claiming this would “severely erode” the value of qualifications and lead to grade inflation.
Ofqual has said that a “rare few centres” put in “implausibly high judgments”, and said that an appeals process is in place to correct any mistakes.
Shadow education secretary Kate Green said Labour leader Keir Starmer had called for appeals to be made free over 24 hours previously.
“But once again, this government have been far too slow to act and have failed young people,” she said.
“The government must now go further and allow students to use teacher assessed grades to ensure they can get the results they deserve.”
Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Layla Moran called for Williamson to step down from his role with immediate effect.
She said: “Gavin Williamson is an education secretary out of his depth and out of excuses. He must take responsibility for his mistakes and step down with immediate effect.
“Our young people and our country cannot afford these blunders to continue into September, ahead of a potential second wave.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Coronavirus Could Kill Off Some Of Britain's Oldest Curry Restaurants

“People think it’s another recession. It’s a pandemic and it will take us years to come out of this. It doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere.”
Ahmed Ahad owns City Spice – one of the most decorated restaurants in London’s famous Brick Lane curry district.
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He isn’t the only one who’s concerned. Across the borough of Tower Hamlets in the capital’s East End, Covid-19 is undoing generations of hard work in family-run curry houses.
The area is home to a 37% south Asian population, which is made up of a large concentration of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani people. Many of them migrated to England in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
Among them was Mahaboob Narangoli’s father, who came came to England from Kerala, India, in 1970 and began working at the Halal Restaurant in Aldgate, near Brick Lane. His father slowly took over the business and left him to take over in 1986. The business is one of east London’s oldest Indian restaurants.
But competition for that title is dwindling every year. According to the latest research by Runnymede Trust, Brick Lane’s 35 curry restaurants as of 2014 had dropped to 20 by 2019. The spread of coronavirus within an already declining industry has put further strain on those who are left.
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Narangoli told HuffPost UK: “Covid-19 has impacted the business very badly.
“99% of our customers come from the City [of London, the capital’s financial district nearby] and in the last few years there has been an influx of tourism.”
Mahaboob Narangoli's father Usman Abubakar in the 1970s at the Halal Restaurant near Brick Lane. Mahaboob Narangoli
With City workers sent home at the beginning of lockdown in March, “we have lost trade from all sides, lunch and evening service”.
“It is a loss for any business owner,” he added, “so I’m not sure when it will be normal again.”
In its first three weeks of reopening in July, business was down 80 to 90%.
But after a tweet from Narangoli’s daughter Mehnaz about her father’s struggle for customers, there has been an outpouring of support. “It’s getting better now, since the tweet had gone viral, and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” he said.
Narangoli praised the government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme. He said it was a “good incentive” and “it’s bringing in new customers like young people” to the restaurant.
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“Many of the customers were reluctant to take the discount as they thought it was from us and they were aware we were struggling and without any business,” he said.
Halal Restaurant near Brick Lane Mahaboob Narangoli
But City Spice owner Ahad says Eat Out To Help Out is “only working in the suburbs”.
“In central London,” he said, “customers are few and far between as there are no City workers or tourists.
“Our future is bleak at the moment, for many curry houses on Brick Lane.”
Ahad, who has been in the business for more than 18 years, told HuffPost UK: “People need to understand that this will take years to recover and will not be gone away by tomorrow morning.
“This is our entire livelihood.
“If the current situation continues till Christmas we will have lost an average total of £600,000 to £800,000 for the whole year – which we will have to write off.”
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City Spice located on Brick Lane Ahmed Ahad
Other restaurant owners have a more “optimistic” view of the future for curry house owners in the UK.
Syed Pasha used to run a restaurant and is now editor-in-chief of Curry Life magazine in Tower Hamlets – the east London borough that includes Brick Lane and Aldgate. His magazine is distributed to over 7,000 south Asian curry houses across the UK.
Pasha and his brother, Syed Ahmed, ran Memsahib curry house in Nottingham in the 1980s. They were forced to sell the business amid the recession in 1980 to 1981.
He believes the primary reason for the decline in curry houses in Brick Lane is the “high rents which have driven many businesses out of the area”.
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He said Brick Lane receives a “lack of positive publicity”, with accusations of “touting” – but is “optimistic” about the future of curry houses in the UK.
“If you walk through Brick Lane now, you can see more hairdressers than curry houses – it’s evident this is due to gentrification.”
Syed Pasha and his brother Syed Ahmed in their restaurant Memsahib. Syed Pasha
The future of curry houses is “positive” and “many have survived through the recessions of the 1980s, ’90s and even in 2008,” he added.
“If you look at the suburbs, towns and villages around the country, people still have love for curry houses and authentic food.
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“The coronavirus has impacted the whole industry, not just curry houses.
“Even big restaurants and curry house owners are under pressure to offer services like takeaway and deliveries like smaller curry houses.”
Although the Eat Out To Help Out scheme has been proving popular – diners used it 10.5m times in its first week alone – there is still criticism on the regularity and longevity of the customers coming to curry houses.
After visiting curry houses in areas such as Bedfordshire, Pasha has found “some restaurants have been complaining about customers coming in the week but being quieter on the weekends – which is their busiest time of the week”.
Birmingham’s Balti Triangle was the name coined by Birmingham City Council in the 1990s connecting a cluster of balti houses in Stoney Lane, Ladypool Road and Stratford Road. Many Pakistani Kashmiris migrated to Birmingham during the 1970s and ’80s and initially opened curry houses to cater for their own communities.
Zafar Hussain’s family-run Shabab’s Balti restaurant has been in the triangle area since 1987. His father migrated to Birmingham from Kashmir, and Hussain eventually took over 22 years ago.
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Shabab's restaurant on Ladypool Road Zafar Hussain
He said: “We did well offering a takeaway service, but now it’s over, the footfall isn’t quite what it was. Some balti houses have closed as a result, because there just aren’t enough customers coming out to eat.
“On July 4, when we were set to reopen, we had bookings that would have filled the restaurant twice. But we had 75% no-shows and cancellations.”
Restaurateurs elsewhere in the country have expressed the fear of losing their name and reputation.
Firoz Ali, who has run Barton Bangla Brasserie in Preston, Lancashire, for 14 years, told HuffPost UK there are times where “we have to take a loss so our customers don’t forget who we are”.
Firoz Ali next to actor Tom Watt Firoz Ali
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“I feel there has been a lot of mixed messages and advice from the government concerning social distancing,” he said. “Some wear masks and some don’t. It’s confusing our customers.”
He also expressed concerns about the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, saying it had “deflated our weekend trade and given a lot of uncertainty around bookings”.
“We have lost on average 30% of our business while we were open as a takeaway and since the restaurant has opened we have become a 50-seater rather than a 110-seater to be in line with the government guidelines on socially distancing.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Renters Face Homelessness As End Of Coronavirus Eviction Ban Looms

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Thousands of renters across the country are facing potential homelessness as the government’s eviction ban lifts in a matter of days.
As many people’s incomes plummeted at the start of the crisis it quickly became clear that renters needed protection from eviction – especially as banks responded to the crisis by offering mortgage holidays which benefitted many landlords.
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After a period of uncertainty, the government set out plans for a block on evictions in March – which was set to last until the end of June. When charities warned that its end could result in a sudden cliff-edge for renters facing homelessness, it was extended until August 23.
This time, however, there is no such such extension on the horizon.
Landlords have still been able to issue Section 21 notices, but nobody could be forced out of their home throughout lockdown as the courts remained closed. It means that some tenants – whether they have fallen into arrears or not – have spent months knowing they will eventually be made homeless.
Despite working as a carer in a residential home throughout the Covid-19 crisis Ali Almeamari, 29, from Bristol, and his housemates were served a Section 21 and must find a new place to live by September 17.
They were given notice of their eviction several months ago, after a dispute over a leak at the property led to them notifying the council about their landlord’s conduct, but have been able to remain in their home until now as a result of the ban on evictions throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
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He said: “This has been literal hell for us, two of us are carers and we’ve had issues with the bathroom. The upstairs bathroom doesn’t work any more, which the landlord tried to fix by doing the downstairs shower which you can barely fit in – we need to shower every day before and after work.
“With the stress of trying to find a new place during a pandemic and all going backwards and forwards with his lawyers – we couldn’t have got through it without Acorn, I don’t know what we would have done.”
Without access to housing, and the shower facilities he needs for work, Ali may be forced to take leave while he searches for a new home in Bristol’s already intensely competitive rental market.
He said: “It’s just been so stressful, we can barely sleep. We don’t have much time to look for a new place and there are so many people in the same boat, it’s a very sad situation.
“It’s just absolutely horrible that this is happening on top of everything else.”
According to figures collected by YouGov, on behalf of housing charity Shelter, some 230,000 private tenants across the country have fallen into rent arrears since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, with almost half a million in arrears in total.
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Small business owner Daniela and her partner James, a freelance musician, have also been served with a Section 21 notice and told that they must vacate their Liverpool home by September 7.
Their income has dropped drastically as a result of lockdown and, despite trying to speak openly with the agency and landlord about their financial situation, were told of their impending eviction with no warning in June.
“If we don’t have the means to pay the rent then we’re not going to be able to afford a big move,” Daniela explained. “I don’t really know what they expected when we told them we were in a bad place financially. Unfortunately they can do pretty much whatever they want, the law is on their side.
“We can’t leave on the expected date, it’s not safe to even look for a house at the moment and rents are up so it’s really difficult.”
Unable to move, Daniela and James are expecting to face further legal action after September 7, at which point courts will once again be reopened allowing landlords to repossess their property via a repossession order.
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Beyond seeking free legal advice from several renters organisations, they have been unable to prepare for the impending upheaval. They’re unsure about how courts could process repossession orders amid the pressures of Covid-19, and so have no idea if they will be made homeless in the coming weeks or months.
“Almost the worst part is not knowing,” Daniela said. “It’s already stressful enough as it is, September 7 is creeping up on us, and we still don’t know if we’re going to be homeless in one, two, three months.
“It’s really a disgrace that the landlord and the agency could agree to do such a thing during a pandemic.”
Beyond the practical concerns of being forced out of their home during Covid-19, Daniela and James have also been left dealing with the emotional and mental toll of the situation.
She said: “It’s anxiety-inducing, any person would be upset and distressed – it’s very hard to even put it into words at the moment.
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“All I can do is try to focus on my business, but August is the slowest month of the year and sales have been quite low. My partner is also at home and looking for work, but there are so few jobs out there at the moment. We’ve tried to apply for help, but we’re not really eligible for anything.
“We want to leave as soon as possible, but we want to do it within our terms and when it’s safe, and when we can afford to. It’s been absolutely exhausting, and we’re at this point through no fault of our own.”
Renters union Acorn has launched the Housing is Health campaign in response to the crisis sparked by Covid-19. Itcovers six key demands; a permanent Section 21 eviction ban, rent waiver for the duration of the crisis, the cancellation of current evictions, government protection for mortgage holders to prevent renters from being evicted, equality for lodgers and an extension to the current eviction ban.
In Scotland the ban on evictions has been extended for another six months, and campaigners are urging leaders in the UK to take similar steps to prevent a sharp increase in homelessness.
Aidan Cassidy, Acorn’s branch organiser in Bristol, told HuffPost UK: “Getting evicted in the middle of a pandemic is a health issue as well as a housing issue.
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“We’ve even heard cases of health workers being evicted during a global pandemic by their live-in landlords. One of our members who is a health worker recently told me that her landlady was out clapping for her at 8pm on a Thursday and then the next day told her she had to be out in seven days.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Marge Simpson Fires Back At Trump’s Campaign Adviser For Comparing Her Voice To Kamala Harris

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We never expected Marge Simpson to get involved in politics, but this is 2020 and so yeah, literally nothing surprises us any more.
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The war of words kicked off on Wednesday when Ellis tweeted: “Kamala sounds like Marge Simpson.”
Kamala sounds like Marge Simpson. — Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) August 12, 2020
How terribly grown up.
Marge evidently wasn’t having any of it and has now fired back in a specially recorded video, saying she feels “disrespected”.
Marge Simpson The Simpsons/Twitter
“I usually don’t get into politics,” Marge begins. “But the president’s senior adviser Jenna Ellis just said Kamala Harris sounds like me.
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“Lisa said she doesn’t mean it as a compliment. If that’s so, as an ordinary suburban housewife, I’m starting to feel a little disrespected.
“I teach my children not to name-call, Jenna.”
Yeah Jenna.
Marge signs off: “I was gonna say I’m pissed off, but I’m afraid they’d bleep it” (They didn’t).
Watch Marge let her have it below...


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Katie Price Updates Fans On Seriousness Of Feet Injuries After Undergoing Six Hour Op

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Katie Price has shared an update after surgeons spent six hours operating on her broken feet.
The reality star broke both her feet and ankles in an accident on holiday in Turkey earlier this month.
On Friday evening, the reality star shared a photo from her hospital bed at London’s Chelsea and Westminster hospital with her boyfriend Carl Woods by her side.
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The mum-of-five thanked medical staff for their care and explained the op took longer than expected because of the seriousness of her injuries.
“Wanted to update everyone who has been sending all the beautiful messages to me,” Katie began.
“So I’ve had my 6 hour op. Unfortunately more procedures was needed when they entered my feet than thought, but I’m lucky I have the chance to one day get on my feet again.
“Chelsea Westminster hospital nurses doctors have been amazing and the surgeons totally have my up most RESPECT and absolutely FANTASTIC very professional and have been very honest and straight with me to make me actually sink in my head the seriousness of my injuries.”
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Katie then thanked her boyfriend, adding that she’d found a man who she would be “spending the rest of my life” with.
“MASSIVE THANKYOU and massive Thankyou to @carljwoods for constantly fitting me around his work and being by my side,” she wrote.
“Loving knowing I’ve found the man that has surprisingly ticked every box I could only dream of a man to be like and knowing I’m spending the rest of my life with him.”
Two weeks ago, Katie revealed on her YouTube series that she had sustained serious injuries after jumping over a wall at an amusement park in Turkey, and wouldn’t be able to walk for three to six months.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Boris Johnson's France Quarantine Causes Unnecessary Suffering To Families Like Mine

A line of mobile homes and caravans leaving the Port of Dover, Kent, as travellers try to get back from France to avoid quarantine restrictions. Gareth Fuller - PA Images via Getty Images
Last night, many people in France were frantically emptying the contents of their holiday home’s fridge into the bin and shoving luggage into the boot of the car. Others were rushing to the airport, while buying plane tickets online, or elbowing their way through Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar.
Government advice released at 10pm on Thursday set a countdown of 30 hours for people in France to travel back to the UK, or face a 14-day quarantine if they arrived back after the clock struck 4am GMT on Saturday.
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But we, in France, are the lucky ones. On July 25, people in Spain woke up to the news that if they wanted to travel to the UK without quarantining, they’d have to do so by 11pm that same night.
“Europe’s invisible boarders are suddenly glass sliding doors to be snuck through.”
In an economy stretched tight, and still being unpicked at the seams, holiday-makers in France will lose money. This weekend, they’ve faced the unenviable choice of weighing much longed-for holiday time against 14 days of quarantine on their return in the UK.
The French tourism industry, already down €30-40 billion this summer, will also be hit hard for the foreseeable future. We will, at some point, have the ability to travel again. But who will have the confidence to?
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Meanwhile families like mine, with members in Europe and the UK, find themselves separated in ways it was hard to believe possible a few months ago.
Europe’s invisible boarders are suddenly glass sliding doors to be snuck through, to see loved ones when timing and health measures allow.
I have a ticket for a two-week trip from Paris (where I live) to London (where my family lives) in September. I booked it a month ago, full of confidence that numbers showed France had beat back coronavirus.
As the UK government says, current figures show that’s not quite true. For the second day running, over 2,500 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in France in 24 hours. For the past seven days, the rate of infection has been over 20 cases per 100,000 people.
And I have three choices. Do I start packing my bags right now as I write this on Friday evening, and go to the UK tonight, even if that means I’ll have to quarantine when I come back to France?
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Do I rebook my tickets for a future date, choosing at random from a drop-down calendar the date when I think quarantine-free travel might be allowed again?
Or do I leave my ticket as it is, and place my hope in the young people of France, now being blamed for propagating the virus, taking a more serious attitude towards social distancing measures to reduce numbers?
Here’s a worrying thought – am I one of the young people in France who has been so lax? If I do go home, will my parents in their late 60s and early 70s feel it’s safe to see me?
And what does the 30-hour time limit even mean? If it’s unsafe for me to travel from France on Saturday, how can I be sure I won’t put friends and family in danger if I travel on Friday?
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Unfortunately, 30 hours doesn’t leave time for steps which might provide answers to the most pressing questions – like taking a Covid-19 test.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and blood tests are now widely available in France, with results available in 24 hours. But with the UK government’s announcement coming at 10pm on Thursday, even if everyone who wished to travel had got tested on Friday morning, none of us would know whether we were infected until after the 4am deadline had passed.
A negative test result wouldn’t make any difference to current UK quarantine rules in any case. The science available – testing and the StopCovid tracing app in France – has not been suggested as a possible route out of country-specific quarantine.
What we have is a blanket ban on the whole of France (even if infection rates differ around the country), an indiscriminate 14-day quarantine rule and an arbitrary time limit that makes it impossible to make the “right” decision.
Deep into the European Covid-19 crisis, the UK government position on quarantine shows no more nuance than it did seven months ago.
Only slightly more frustrating is the French government’s response of a reciprocal quarantine “with regret.” At least the UK quarantine is based on data, rather than retaliation.
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This leaves families like mine, split across borders, with more questions than answers.
And the questions at stake are the sad and worrying kind that have become familiar to so many of us during the Covid-19 crisis. I’d like to know when I’ll be able to see my parents again. Or meet my best friend’s eight-month old baby. I haven’t been home since Christmas and I miss it.
In the end, I decided to stay. But should I have gone?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Forget The Hotspots, Here's How To Plan A Day Trip That Delivers

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You’re reading our series Summer’s Not Cancelled, which celebrates summer in this new normal. From rediscovering nature and time with friends and family, to virtual festivals and unforgettable staycations – summer’s still here, it’s just different.
Packed like a sardine on Bournemouth or Brighton beach? No thanks.
We’re all desperate to get away at the weekends or at the first glimpse of sunshine, but when everyone else in the country has the same idea it’s sometimes hard to escape the masses. Thankfully, a relaxing day trip can be possible when you apply the right know-how.
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The Lake District is overflowing, the Cotswolds should be renamed choc-a-bloc-wolds, and you can’t reach Cornwall without getting stuck on the A30. But get your head out of autopilot mode and consider the roads less travelled.
Here’s how to nail a holiday, close enough to home to be easy, but far enough away from the maddening crowds for you to really unwind.
Do your homework and think outside the box
GordonBellPhotography via Getty Images Deal flower festival.
Heading to Whitstable and Margate? Why not take a short detour to find out what’s the deal with, well, Deal. It’s a fantastic alternative located right next door between Dover and Ramsgate that tends to have fewer crowds. This special seaside spot offers up plenty of quaint tea houses, cute Georgian houses, beaches dotted with wooden fishing boats, art galleries, and even a castle.
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It’s worth doing your homework around other popular spots in the country and find out what nearby areas you can check out while you’re in the area that might not be such a magnet for crowds. Swap busy Brighton for pretty Alfriston. Trade overcrowded Stonehenge for historic Avenbury. And get there nice and early to enjoy it before everyone else arrives.
Take the road less travelled
Aleksandrs Goldobenkovs via Getty Images Black Mountain Pass
Did you know the UK has more than 200,000 miles of road ready to explore? Get raring to go behind the wheel in either your own car or a rental. Road trips make for the perfect post-lockdown escape, allowing you to social distance from others more easily. Drive through the country’s surprisingly picturesque road system and take in breathtaking landscapes from the comfort of your seat.
From country lanes bordered by hedgerows to serpentine roads through glorious peaks, even a stretch of motorway tarmac shadowed by towering gorges, dream of driving on some of the UK’s most scenic routes, like Norfolk Coast or Black Mountain Pass in Wales. And try to avoid the M25 at all costs.
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Explore the unexplored
daverhead via Getty Images
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Overcrowding in beauty spots can become a big problem, but it’s easy to forget that over 90% of the UK isn’t built upon. Many of us are itching to seek out quieter areas and have a greater appreciation for the natural beauty around us. This new, adventurous spirit can help struggling local businesses in rural areas.
Take the Lake District. It might hog all the spotlight, but why not consider the North York Moors, arguably one of the most underrated UK national parks. What the North York Moors lack in elegance they make up for with sheer rugged power. Expect wild, windswept and desolate vistas. Worried about 2m distancing? Here you can have two miles.
Or go discover one of the UK’s 34 designated “areas of outstanding natural beauty” that’s not already on your radar, the Mendip or Quantock Hills in Somerset, say. Just don’t come ill-prepared. Be sure to pack the right type of footwear, wear suitable clothing and bring snacks, lots of snacks.
Embrace walking and cycling like never before
Andy-Coleman via Getty Images
There’s no better way to awaken from your lockdown slumber than striding it out on a stretch of coastal footpath or powering up hills on a bike with the wind in your hair. Now that we’re a cycle-loving nation, why not try killing two birds with one stone on your next trip away? Combine exercise, fun-filled activities and taking in the sights at the same time.
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Love the Cotswolds but not the crowds? Prepare to be bowled over by Bewl Water’s outstanding natural beauty on the Kent / Sussex border instead. Get the best of both worlds by taking the cycling paths into forests and calming lakes. while around the reservoir, there are boat cruises, fishing and watersport activities that the whole family can enjoy. Take this time to focus on the activity at hand to properly unwind. Mindfulness doesn’t get better than this.
Pack a picnic
Peter Cade via Getty Images


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Apple Farmers Face Crunch Time, As Coronavirus Bites Hard

HUIZENG HU via Getty Images
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In the depths of lockdown, with restaurants closed and major events cancelled, farmers struggled to sell and distribute their produce. Masses of strawberries and potatoes were reported to have gone to waste. Not only were there fewer buyers, social distancing and ‘stay at home’ meant a shortage of pickers, too.
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The reopening of restaurants for sensible amounts of visitors in early July helped kickstart the food sector’s ecosystem, providing more opportunities for producers to make sales. But farmers are still absorbing the short and long term effects of Covid-19 on their businesses, while also harvesting their crops.
This includes establishing how social distancing will work on the ground at harvest time; how supply and demand will be affected by new consumer eating habits, such as restaurant no-shows; and how a lack of workers travelling from mainland Europe will affect production – a possible dress rehearsal for Brexit.
The next seasonal British fruit to arrive in season is the apple, with a picking season from August until November. Apple farmers say it is too early to know exactly how badly they will be affected by fallout from the pandemic – but they are already concerned.
British Apples and Pears Apple picking season starts in mid-August, but some orchards are reporting a lack of pickers
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The cost of producing the fruit has risen in line with the rise in the cost of living by 14p per kilo over the past five years, and this surge has been compounded by Covid-19, according to analysis by Andersons. The research suggests producers face higher costs than ever in 2020 – and the most challenging landscape ever for harvesting and selling.
“We have to get enough money for our quality produce due to the high costs of casual labour and packaging,” says Richard Smedley from the Four Elms fruit farm in Devon, painting a picture of the current landscape for orchard owners.
“There are limits for mechanisation on harvesting apples and at near £10 an hour [for staff] you start realising the problem.”
Talk of food waste may surprise those used to hearing talk of how, as consumers, we’ve wasted a lot less food than usual under lockdown.
Empty supermarket shelves and supply issues forced us to savour the stuff we did have in our cupboards. And the nation took to cooking from home with collective zeal.
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But the problem facing the apple industry follows on from the situation producers faced earlier in the season, when rotten fruit and veg piled up after social distancing measures made it impossible to pick the produce on time – despite there being demand from the public.
British Apples and Pears Apple pickers often travel from mainland Europe, but this year many are not returning to their seasonal jobs because of the virus
“There has been the challenge of recruiting essential seasonal harvest workers,” a spokesperson from the British Apples and Pears Assocation, which represents apple producers in the UK, tells HuffPost UK.
While some producers have managed to recruit local British pickers to help with the harvest, others may suffer from a lack of staffers from mainland Europe who are unable or unwilling to travel to the UK under the current restrictions.
British farmers need around 70,000 workers to work jobs typically picked up by migrant workers, says the British Growers’ Association. Some of the producers HuffPost UK spoke to suggested the British work ethic doesn’t always compete with the attitude of pickers from mainland Europe, who they say are more willing to work longer days with fewer breaks.
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Setting aside that controversial debate, British pickers new to the job do require training and an easing in period – time out from frontline picking that is likely to impact productivity and, by extension, lead to a hit in sales, farmers say.
“Growing a crop of apples requires a lot of work and care, including knowledge of the size of fruit and colour, attention to detail all the way from orchard to the cold store, through to the pack house and packaging,” says Smedley.
British Apples and Pears The industry has invested £100 million in streamlining production - but the crucial issue of finding pickers remains
Even if producers find the staff, there’s the issue of social distancing. Packing apples, says Smedley, may be even tougher than actually picking them.
“We’re conscious of how we’re going to maintain distancing in the pack house,” he says. “We’re looking at that at the moment, trying to put extra equipment in. We’ll try and work with less people in the building.”
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Once the apples are out of producers’ packing rooms, they need to be found homes. The Apples and Pears Association aren’t expecting a supply chain problem now that restaurants, and most other buyers, are in business again, but it does warn that Bramley apple processors have already been affected by the loss of prepared meals contracts.
The industry is arguably well-placed to ward off the challenges presented by Covid-19: apple and pear producers have cumulatively invested £100m in new technology over the past decade to streamline production processes, although that investment hasn’t necessarily gone towards resolving workforce issues.
“We undoubtedly are facing a challenge, but we are ever optimistic about our future,” say a spokesperson for the association.
“The NFU (National Farmers Union) is working with the government on key issues like the seasonal workers permit scheme which will ensure a source of crucial harvest labour in the future.”
Another challenge is the cancellation of major seasonal events which were big revenue drivers. Attempting to gain back some visitor footfall, producers are staging smaller events instead to encourage visitors to spend directly.
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“The majority of our sales are through the two-day National Apple Festival that we host here,” says Sara Smile, operations manager at Brogdale fruit farm in Kent, which is also home to the National Fruit Collection.
“Due to the current situation we cannot put on any of our major events. That is why we will struggle with the harvest.”
Smile has organised a range of events to compensate, including family picking days, cooking demonstrations, cider tastings, produce stalls, pick-your-own days and have-a-go juicing. “Visitors can enjoy a day on the farm and take home some of our 2000 varieties of apples and pears,” she says, adding: “[they’re] all pre booked and socially distanced with numbers limited.”
Relying on local buyers to sustain business has become more important than ever, say producers, who insist weaknesses in the supply chain can be overcome by encouraging people to shop locally, rather than relying on food that has travelled far.
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This may be boosted by a growth in people buying direct from farmer or wholesale suppliers, rather than supermarkets, or signing up to fruit and veg box subscriptions – buying behaviour that boomed in early lockdown.
Brogdale says it’s also grateful to local restaurants, such as Macknade food hall, which has branches in Faversham and Ashford and has kept up its weekly orders of fruit, helping sustain the orchard’s income through the pandemic.
“Brogdale is hyper local to us – just down the road – and we have collaborated in the past on other projects,” says Rosie Collins, marketing manager at Macknade – in turn, she says, it has connected Brogdale with Wasted Kitchen, which uses waste from the food halls to produce dishes to be sold in-store and delivered around Faversham, Whitstable, Canterbury and Herne Bay.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--Is It Possible To Have A Healthy Relationship With Social Media?

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“Social media is bad for your mental health” – it’s a phrase we’ve heard over and over again. The stresses of lockdown have driven more of us to take breaks from networking sites, and the rise of digital detoxes shows just how damaging our social media habits can be for our wellbeing.
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During the pandemic, some people have witnessed – perhaps more than ever before – abusive and hateful messages online. Throughout this period, JK Rowling attracted criticism for her comments on trans issues, and rapper Wiley made the news for his anti-semitic outbursts.
This prevalence of hate led the EU Commission to prepare new guidelines in an attempt to eradicate hate speech on social media by making platforms more transparent, according to Tech Crunch. But how can we cope in the meantime, if our social media feeds are affecting our mental wellbeing?
ViewApart via Getty Images
Be active about when you engage – and when you don’t.
Social media is becoming harder to ignore, so it’s almost essential to manage it properly. Is it even possible to have a healthy relationship with the online world? Social media expert and psychotherapist Dr Aaron Balick believes so.
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“The important thing is to be active about the way you engage with social media and not passive,” says Dr Balick. “This means managing your notifications.”
Ideally, says Dr Balick, you should turn off notifications and only check social media when you choose to – rather than habitually looking at your feed. “Be vigilant as to how it makes you feel,” he says. “If it makes you feel depressed, stressed or anxious, come off straight away and give yourself a break.
“Also, think about which feeds are more nourishing to you, and which less so, and plan accordingly.”
Luring ourselves off from social media takes some getting used to – many of us check our feeds whenever there’s a quiet second. And the phenomenon of the ‘zombie scroll’ epitomises the problem: users scroll for hours for quick, instant hits of dopamine released when they get a like, comment or follow.
“We tend to be addicted to being stimulated by information, checking our feeds at every quiet moment, which stops us having quiet moments that are actually necessary for positive mental health,” explains Dr Balick.
You should have a social media detox when socialising with friends, too. Put your phone out of sight, he suggests. “If you find yourself getting anxious when you can’t check social media, this may be an indication of a dependency, and you should wean yourself off. Come off a platform if it brings you no joy.”
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HuffPost UK Dr. Aaron Balick
Diversify the content you’re consuming
Once you have a more balanced approach, it’s time to think about the content you’re taking in. Having your own views backed up by 100% of your feed isn’t necessarily healthy, as it doesn’t provide an authentic view of the world.
Diversity is important, even if you disagree with what another user thinks, says Dr Balick. “It’s important we peer outside our filter bubbles every now and then, but it should be done with an open mind and curiosity.”
“Each person should make their own judgements about this, as peering into some bubbles can be distressing and upsetting,” he adds. “So if you’re going to do it, do it with a purpose and be ready.”
That purpose may be to educate yourself why other people share beliefs you can’t understand, and to humanise those people, or to simply gain a broader understanding of conversations going on outside your own friendship circle.
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“It can also be a source of important information as to how other people think and feel, so engaging in that can be informative, but also challenging. If you do this, do it to learn, and not pick fights,” warns Dr Balick.
Monitoring new additions to your feed is important, he adds, as they may throw up hateful comments unexpectedly, or make you feel anxious or nervous. It’s important to keep a critical eye on new followers, and old ones too.
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Acknowledge that you may get upset
Feeling upset on social media is, often, inevitable. Even if you run a tight ship with your feed, users re-sharing posts from others on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook may mean you’re exposed to content you find hateful.
“Don’t engage with trolls or haters if you can,” says Dr Balick. “They live off the energy of kicking up a storm. Gently mute and get on with your life.” Although, he adds, “dissociating from an attack is easier said than done”.
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If possible, “put some distance between yourself and the attack,” he says, which may mean working up a defence mechanism, denouncing attacks as childish, or reading more about why people feel they are safer to be hateful behind screens. Whichever works for you.
“Remember, these attacks often have very little to do with who you are, and more to do with someone getting some anger off their chest,” he warns. It may feel personal, but it often isn’t.
While there’s joy to be extracted from online conversations, the relationships that can be built and nurtured in the digital sphere are often limited. “Social media isn’t often the best arena to have rational discussions about different points of view, which are important discussions to have,” urges Dr. Balick.
“Always prioritise face-to-face encounters,” he says, and importantly: “Find other ways to share ideas and work through differences that aren’t on social media.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--What We Know About Covid-19 Antibodies Is Changing. Here's What's New.

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So much has changed since the first cases of the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, with masks and social distancing now becoming the norm of everyday life (or they should be, anyway). But perhaps the most fluid part of the pandemic has been in trying to understand and predict the virus’ life span to begin with.
“This is such a complex disease that even immunologists can’t fully know everything about it,” said Christine Bishara, an internal medicine physician and founder of From Within Medical in New York.
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One of the areas that’s been confusing most recently is Covid-19 antibodies ― proteins found in the blood that signal if you’ve had a past infection and therefore have built up immunity from the virus. Here, experts explain how the knowledge around antibodies has changed, how accurate tests are and what the latest research behind antibodies tells us about a future vaccine.
Antibodies do disappear, but it’s completely normal
“When our body is exposed to a virus, it goes through a very complex immune response, which includes different types of cells including B cells and T cells,” Bishara said. T cells help regulate the activity of B cells, while it’s the B cells that produce the antibodies that attach to cells that have been infected by a virus.
However, these antibodies take time to appear once you’ve been infected with any virus, including the coronavirus.
“It typically takes one to three weeks to see antibodies,” said Steven Schnur, a cardiologist and internist at Mount Sinai Medical in Miami and founder of Imhealthytoday.org, a doctor-designed programme for helping workplaces reopen from the pandemic safely. “Once they do appear, antibodies tend to wane after three months.”
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But this doesn’t mean that once antibodies start vanishing you’re no longer immune to the coronavirus. That’s because those B cells and T cells that have been created in response to the virus have long-lasting memory and immunity, regardless of what your antibody levels drop to, Schnur said.
F.J. Jimenez via Getty Images Experts say it's unlikely you can catch COVID-19 again after you've recovered.
Many who may have been ‘reinfected’ with coronavirus likely never recovered in the first place
Right now, experts say it’s pretty unlikely that you can catch the virus again after you’ve recovered.
“There are a lot of anecdotal stories, but research has not found any individuals that have been truly reinfected,” Schnur said. “When people get sick again after six weeks or two months it’s really the same virus and same initial infection that has lingered longer than 10 days.”
Viruses can tend to be dormant for a bit, which can make them more drawn out symptomatically, Bishara added. This is supported even further in the characteristics behind those T cells and B cells.
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“When the body generates an immune response [to a virus], T cells remember in case of a possibility of future reinfection, so that if presented with the virus again your body recognises it and knows how to handle it,” Bishara said.
Antibody testing seems like a good idea in theory, but may not be entirely accurate
There are a few flaws in antibody testing that are now coming to light. First, there were a number of antibody tests that shipped to labs and medical offices in the US without any review from the US Food and Drug Administration. Results of the tests varied, making it impossible to confidently tell patients whether they had antibodies.
But even antibody tests currently on the market aren’t as accurate as the medical community would like to see.
“A majority of antibody tests are checking for B cell types, specifically the antibodies immunoglobulins G (IgG) and M (IgM),” Bishara said. “Those are the ones that usually appear after an infection, but they take some time to do so. Part of the problem comes from when an antibody test is given, because if the body hasn’t developed these antibodies yet, the test may come back as a false negative.”
Those who are asymptomatic may also have an issue when it comes to testing because the body isn’t launching as big of an immune response as someone who presents with more severe symptoms. A small study from China published in the journal Nature Medicine found that 40% of patients who were asymptomatic or had very mild symptoms and tested positive for the virus did not show any antibodies in the blood.
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“For someone to think that they can walk around without proper precautions because they have antibodies is inaccurate,” Schnur said. “Whether or not you think you have antibody levels, you still need to social distance and wear a mask.”
However, if you’re still set on getting an antibody test, Schnur recommends one done as a finger stick (and double-check that it’s not on the FDA’s “removed” list). If you get a positive test, do another one at a different lab to confirm.
“Only if you have two positive results from two different labs is the positive predictive value over 90 or 95%,” he said.
FotoDuets via Getty Images Experts say the coronavirus doesn't appear to mutate as fast as some other viruses, meaning a vaccine would be effective longer.
Decreased antibody levels in the body won’t affect the efficacy of a vaccine
Vaccines in general have a sliding scale of longevity depending on the type of disease it’s for, Bishara said. Diseases like smallpox and polio have been essentially eradicated with a single vaccine dose, while the flu vaccine is required every year. Just because the coronavirus antibody levels may decrease over time doesn’t mean a vaccine won’t be effective. It all comes down to whether the virus is able to mutate.
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“When it comes to the flu, someone may still get the flu even if they’ve gotten their flu shot because of its ability to change,” Schnur said, “though that person may not suffer symptomatically the same as someone who didn’t get the vaccine at all.”
Since the coronavirus is still so new, it’s impossible to know how much it will modify itself. But Schnur said as of right now it looks like it doesn’t mutate as fast or as often as something like influenza, meaning a vaccine would be effective longer.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-15--I'm 57 Years Old And My Father Just Disowned Me For Being Gay

Courtesy of Jake McPherson The author in 2019
There is a moment burned into my memory.
It’s the 1970s and I am a teenager. The TV is on in the living room, my parents are in their recliners, and I’m sitting on our brown plaid sofa. We are watching Barbara Walters interview Anita Bryant, a prominent anti-gay activist.
Walters asks Bryant what she would do if her child came out as gay. Bryant’s response is immediate and harsh: She says she would disown her child.
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I don’t remember exactly how Walters responded, but it must have been with something like disbelief, because my father, referring to the news anchor, said, “She just can’t understand that, can she?”
But I understood: My parents would disown their son if he was gay. My parents would disown me if they knew I was gay. So I retreated as far as I could into the closet I was hiding in, and I resolved to never tell anyone my secret.
My family attended a fundamentalist church whenever its doors were open. They preached that God loved everyone ― except homosexuals. Gay men and lesbians were irredeemable. There was no salvation for me. There was no love for me.
I finished high school still deep in the closet and chose to attend a fundamentalist-affiliated university. The closet there was very big and contained many students. I know this because looking back, I realise that many young men made passes at me. Sadly, I was so scared and repressed that I honestly didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but now I can only smile at my naiveté. If I had known then, I’m not sure how I would have reacted.
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Courtesy of Jake McPherson The author participated in the usual rites of growing up including high school dances. Here he is, age 15, with a date in the spring of 1979. This was a few years after he had seen Barbara Walters interview Anita Bryant.
But one supposed vice that I did embrace while at that religious college was drinking. I loved it. I was sure I seemed sophisticated holding a glass of liquor, but, even more importantly, drinking allowed me to stop worrying about my sexuality, at least for a bit, and that feeling was heavenly. I had found serenity, I thought. But what alcohol really gave me was a new way to continue to repress my sexuality – a new way to hide from the world and convince myself that it couldn’t see who I really was.
I reached the pinnacle of repression when I married a woman. I honestly loved her. She was and still is a wonderful woman. We lived together for many years and parented three children, all while I continued to drink. And drink. And drink. I was miserable, and at some point, the martinis just didn’t bring joy or peace – real or pretend – anymore.
I realised that all those years of drinking were killing me. I was killing myself. The tragic part was that I felt so low, I really wished for death. I just couldn’t take it – any of it – anymore, and I clearly saw that I had to end the life I had been living one way or the other. So, in 1998, when I was 35 years old, I came out to myself and my wife.
My wife reacted with love and told me to find myself. I didn’t immediately tell our children since they were still very young at the time.
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In 1999, I joined Alcoholics Anonymous and began the work of cleaning up my messy life. Thank heavens for the joy and support I found in those meetings. I was finally facing who I really was and accepting it. Sometimes I was even able to laugh at myself. I was gay and always had been! Who did I seriously think I had been fooling by pretending otherwise? But I had fooled many people, even myself, and it felt incredible to no longer spend all of my time and energy keeping up that facade. It was also at AA that I first revelled in drag, and my alter ego, Miss Constance Havoc, was born. Then, in 2000, my wife and I separated, a necessary but still gut-wrenching event for both of us.
In 2001, I called my mother and came out. She was horrified. She didn’t say anything about how this would affect my relationship with my father and her, but she was very upset. I always assumed she told my dad, but I never directly asked. For the past 19 years, I never thought my dad didn’t know I was gay. Our weekly phone calls continued as they always had, although I never overtly mentioned any of the men I was dating. I thought that I was keeping the peace and that because I wasn’t discussing my new life with him, he was too.
“It never occurred to me that my mother had kept the truth about my sexuality from my father.”
At one point, I lived with a man and my mother even met him. She was polite but distant, and whenever she was in the same room with him, she almost held her breath. Still, it never occurred to me that my mother had kept the truth about my sexuality from my father.
At some point in the last two years, my niece gave my father an iPhone, which he was especially excited to learn to use so that he could receive photos of his great-grandchildren. From there, it was only a matter of time before he joined Facebook and, I’m assuming, discovered my profile, which shows me as an out and proud gay man.
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On Jan. 4, 2020, at 9:56 a.m., my phone rang. It was my father calling. When I answered, he told me, “It’s about this homosexuality. Your mother and I can’t condone that. You are not to contact us in any way ever again.”
My heart was pounding harder than I imagined was possible. My vision blurred. I felt like I was being physically attacked. Before the call ended, my father added, “Am I making myself perfectly clear?” I told him he was and hung up.
There I was – disowned at the age of 56 because I’m gay.
One of my daughters, who was visiting me at the time, cried when I told her about the call. She immediately began to consider how this would affect her relationship with her grandparents. I texted my other children, my therapist, my psychiatrist and a few more people I am close to. They immediately offered me their support. My son was in such disbelief that I had to repeat what had happened several times. My other daughter was also upset and reassured me that she loved me. Everyone I reached out to was shocked, but they also made it clear they wouldn’t abandon me. They all wanted me to know that despite my parents’ rejection, I am loved unconditionally by them.
Because I came out as a grown man, I hadn’t faced many of the difficulties that other LGBTQ people face early on in their lives. Being disowned by my parents had such an unbearable weight to it. It felt like I was boxing and got punched right in the head, and now I was out cold on the mat.
Over the following weeks, I had nightmares and they all involved my father. I took a few days off from work. I switched to weekly therapy sessions and monthly visits with my psychiatrist. I started attending AA meetings again, and when I revealed what had happened, the other members of my group were all supportive.
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By late April, the nightmares stopped. I went on a handful of dates with a new man I’d met and we’ve been texting daily while we’re separated by our state’s Covid-19 stay-at-home order. I’m working from home and the break has actually been good for me. I can work at my own pace. My life feels like it’s on an even keel for the time being.
Of course, not everything has felt good. At one point my 24-year-old daughter called me in tears and asked if I would ever disown her. She honestly wondered if she could do something that would cause me to stop loving her. I began to cry too as I made sure that she knew my love for her is and always will be unconditional. I do not know if I can ever forgive my parents for the trauma they have inflicted on my children.
Ultimately, my children have been the key to beginning to heal. This experience has made it clear that I have a relationship with each of them that cannot be broken by anything my parents have done or may do in the future. My children accept me completely, and I feel grateful that I’m able to share my life ― and who I really am ― with them. I tell them about the men I date. They’ve seen me perform in drag. And, I’m happy to say, they tell me about their lives too. We don’t judge each other and we hold each other in the highest regard.
“My 24-year-old daughter called me in tears and asked if I would ever disown her. She honestly wondered if she could do something that would cause me to stop loving her. I began to cry too.”
Recently, I had a chance to talk to my oldest friend about being disowned at the age of 56 by a 90-year-old man. “It’s ridiculous,” we both said at the same time. As I continue to heal, I am less shocked and less hurt and, really, all I can think is, this is ridiculous. I’m an independent adult. I have a full life. I’m finally able to be who I really am. What could my father possibly think he’s accomplishing?
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Then, just a few weeks ago, the most beautiful thing happened.
My mother, who is suffering from dementia, sent me a card for my 57th birthday. It was obvious that my father had nothing to do with it. Inside the card, there was a note that read, “We love you.” There was no preaching. No venom. And, even more incredibly, it was the first time in my life that she used the word “love” without being prompted. Because of her dementia, her critical self has disappeared and, at the age of 89, it appears she’s turned into the loving mother I never had.
Sadly, I do not feel I can reach out to her. My father would intercept anything I sent her, and he always answers the phone so I can’t call. But I’m going to keep this beautiful card as a reminder that somewhere inside of her, she holds love for me and that, maybe, it’s never too late to find and receive and send out love into the world ― exactly as you truly are.
Despite everything we’ve been through, that feels like a gift. I think I’ll accept it.
Jake McPherson trains certified peer specialists in mental health. This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal
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