thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Jeremy Clarkson Reveals Painful (And Embarrassing) Bee Farm Incident: 'It Was Dying In My Underpants

Jeremy Clarkson Reveals Painful (And Embarrassing) Bee Farm Incident: 'It Was Dying In My Underpants'

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Jeremy Clarkson has found out the hard way that owning a bee farm is a risky business.
The former Top Gear presenter has recalled a very painful – and embarrassing – incident that happened on his farm, which is home to 250,000 of the honey-making stingers.
Speaking to The Sun, Jeremy revealed one stung him on the bum after getting caught in his beekeeper suit, admitting he thinks the bees “hate” him.
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Jeremy Clarkson leaves the Noel Coward Theatre in London after watching a performance of "Quiz". PA
He said: “Even though I wear my full bee suit they worked out how to get into it. I don’t want to be lavatorial, but last time I went there, they normally get me on the ankle — the bit between the training shoe and the bottom of the suit.
“They’ve worked out that’s literally my Achilles heel. But this time I wore Wellingtons and I thought, ‘Ah that’ll stop them’.
“The bee got in the bottom, crawled up the Wellington, up the jeans trouser until it got between there and my T-shirt where it found an interesting crack, down it went and then stung me. And when you’re in a bee suit you can’t get the bee out.”
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He added: “I knew it was there dying in my underpants. I just thought, ‘God this honey better sell’. It does taste nice.”
Jeremy’s farm adventures are being filmed for a new Amazon Prime series, following the success he has had with The Grand Tour on the streaming service.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Eric Trump Busted For Fake Video Of Someone 'Burning 80 Trump Ballots'

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Eric Trump was busted on Wednesday for tweeting a fake viral video of what he claimed was someone burning dozens of ballots cast in favour of his father, US President Donald Trump.
The president’s son ― as the 2020 election was still yet to be decided ― retweeted a video that purported to show a man torching 80 ballots for Trump in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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Burning 80 Trump Ballots https://t.co/NGC2naMHhR — Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 4, 2020
The City of Virginia Beach, however, debunked Eric Trump’s post.
“Those were sample ballots,” the city responded to Trump on Twitter.
Those were sample ballots. Addressed this yesterday. https://t.co/yprxQ7Icqn. — Virginia Beach (@CityofVaBeach) November 4, 2020
In a statement on its website, city officials said: “A concerned citizen shared a video with us that ostensibly shows someone burning ballots. They are NOT official ballots, they are sample ballots.”
Officials noted “the absence of the bar code markings that are on all official ballots” in a screenshot from said video.
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“The ballots in the video were sample ballots. Fire investigators are looking into the illegal burning,” they added.
The account that originally posted the clip has now been suspended.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Trump 'Hereby Claims' Michigan And Inspires Massive Twitter Snark

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US President Donald Trump attempted to claim without evidence that he won Michigan on Wednesday, but he seemed to succeed only in inspiring Twitter critics to new heights of snark.
It all started when the president posted two tweets announcing that he was claiming victory in the Wolverine State as well as Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina before they were officially called.
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We have claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which won’t allow legal observers) the State of Georgia, and the State of North Carolina, each one of which has a BIG Trump lead. Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact,..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
.....there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
Twitter put a notice on both tweets for being misleading, especially because none of those races had been called.
For that reason, many Twitter users found the president’s victory claim dubious at best.
I'm no constitutional expert, but I'm pretty sure this isn't how it works. https://t.co/NgrfXvL88O — Sharky Laguana (@Sharkyl) November 4, 2020
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The 2020 election is not the moon.
To be clear, there is no winner yet and you cannot just decide to declare victory because you want to. https://t.co/ohoaVtUZeV — Megan Pratz (@meganpratz) November 4, 2020
Today I learned that you can just "claim" states before votes are done being counted like you're planting a flag. #Election2020 https://t.co/I30wJ0TdmO pic.twitter.com/AbAcMz76q0 — Drew Scofield (@DrewScofield01) November 4, 2020
I wonder if Trumps thinks that the Electoral College is an actual school, where you can claim states like school kids on a bus trip claiming "same seats." I mean, it's an explanation. https://t.co/RGsUeHjx27 — Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) November 4, 2020
One Twitter user wondered what law allows a candidate to call “dibs” on a state.
Y'all I can't believe we all missed the "Dibs" section of federal election law. https://t.co/8pN5Yhn5FF pic.twitter.com/XwHVPIxovf — Ryan Famuliner (@RyanFamuliner) November 4, 2020
However, the president’s tweet ― especially his use of the flowery “hereby claim” phrase ― did inspire others to use his same dubious logic to make their own unlikely dreams come true.
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I hereby claim the White House, Mar-a-Lago, and Trump Tower in the name of Spain. https://t.co/xqhFn5ywH7 — Dana Nuccitelli (@dana1981) November 4, 2020
I have claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, Mordor (which won't allow hobbits), The Shire, and Rivendale. Moreover, I hereby claim the Lost City of Atlantis for good measure too. So let it be written, so let it be done! https://t.co/e7xfmk2oDe — Nomadic Matt (@nomadicmatt) November 4, 2020
I have claimed Chris Evans for husband purposes. That's how this works, right? I can just make shit up and pretend it's truth? https://t.co/iUtvlO6F5Z — Elizabeth Cotignola 😷 🍁 🇮🇹 (@LaDiavolina) November 4, 2020
I claim this planet in the name of Mars! https://t.co/ZOyVZ7S4jV pic.twitter.com/fDIvn2pCuV — Nicholas Weaver (@ncweaver) November 4, 2020
I claim this baggy jacket is my king's robe.
I claim this rock is a diamond and want a million dollars for it.
I claim this wig hat is a crown, and will defend it to my dying breath... https://t.co/rKO1iT6Ma4 — Karen DaltonBeninato (@kbeninato) November 4, 2020
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I claim that I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman. https://t.co/ofUp0whERa — Shelby "VOTE TODAY" Young (@shelby_young) November 4, 2020
I hereby claim health insurance — Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) November 4, 2020
I have claimed, for Deeply Selfish and Unqualified Reasons, a spot in the NASCAR field at Circuit of The Americas https://t.co/gytK4xmyXD — Alanis King (@alanisnking) November 4, 2020
One person did have a suggestion for Trump if he wanted to see if this magical thinking approach really works.
At this point, he should try claiming Greenland and see if that works. https://t.co/V0bHRW4Gya — Dave Lauer (@dlauer) November 4, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Man Charged With Rape And Kidnap Of Teenage Girl

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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Promise Made, Promise Kept: Trump Said He Would Cheat, And He's Now Trying To Do So

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US President Donald Trump is quickly delivering on a late campaign promise: cheating by trying to stop the count of legally cast ballots that would likely hurt his chances.
Trump spelled out his plan on Sunday, promising to send “our lawyers” into Pennsylvania to end counting there, and he repeated complaints about vote counting generally early Wednesday from the White House: “This is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner, so we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court.”
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This came after weeks of trying to broadly delegitimise any election result that did not return him to the White House for a second term: “The only way they can win is to cheat, in my opinion,” he told Fox Sports Radio in September.
Anthony Scaramucci, a longtime Trump friend, then briefly the White House communications director and now a fierce Trump critic, said Trump’s pre-election statements likely worked against him. “Telegraphing what he was doing caused there to be a major rush of voting,” he said. “He is unwell. Very sick guy.”
On Wednesday, Trump’s campaign, which for four years falsely accused 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of refusing to accept the results of that election, took multiple steps to refuse to accept the results of Tuesday’s election. This included lawsuits to stop the lawful counting of votes in Pennsylvania and Michigan, demands that news organisations withdraw projections that Democratic nominee Joe Biden had won Arizona and outright claims that Trump had won Pennsylvania.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware. Carolyn Kaster/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The campaign even staged a news conference in Philadelphia, where local elections officials are continuing their count of more than a million mail-in ballots. “This is absolute fraud,” declared Eric Trump, without offering any evidence, while his father’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he would conduct an investigation into how many dead people had voted.
Trump followed up personally with a Twitter post saying that, “for Electoral Vote purposes,” he was claiming the states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan.
There was, in fact, zero evidence that anything inappropriate was occurring in the vote count. States frequently go well past election night to count ballots, particularly in high-turnout races. And in the cases of Pennsylvania and Michigan, Republican state lawmakers refused requests from Democratic governors and elections officials to permit the counting of mail-in votes before Election Day, so that it would not take as many days afterward until a result could be announced.
Trump’s demand that vote counting cease immediately would also have the effect of disenfranchising ballots from military service members overseas. In Pennsylvania, those ballots can be counted if they arrive by November 10, and in Michigan by November 17, as long as they have been sent by Election Day.
The Biden campaign, meanwhile, expressed confidence that vote counts, when finished, would deliver them Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada, more than enough to cross the 270 electoral vote threshold for victory.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--US Election Results: The Latest On Joe Biden And Donald Trump

Joe Biden appears to have an increasingly clear path to the White House as his advantage over Donald Trump was extending – but the two candidates are taking starkly different approaches in their messages to the US public.
There is still no clear winner in the contest as counting the ballots in six states spills over into a third day.
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Biden is urging his supporters to show patience and faith in US democratic system as it grinds out a result, while Trump is sowing doubt and confusion – as well as legal challenges – on those very same processes.
How’s it looking for Biden?
Biden entered Thursday on the front foot, with vote totals released late on Wednesday appearing grim for Trump.
The Biden campaign said on Thursday morning that it believes “victory is imminent”, as it wrote on a slide in a video briefing. “Our data shows that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said. If his lead in Arizona holds, Biden is just six Electoral College votes away from victory, having secured wins in Wisconsin and Michigan. He needs either one of Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, or his home state Pennsylvania, to reach the necessary 270 to claim access to the White House.
Questions remain around five states. Arizona: The Associated Press and Fox News both projected a victory for Biden on election night, but no other network has since. The gap has narrowed during continued vote-tallying, but Biden still leads by nearly 70,000 votes. An update is expected at 2am GMT on Friday.
Georgia: Biden has eroded much of Trump’s lead, to less than 13,000 votes. There are around 47,000 remaining uncounted ballots.
Nevada: Biden leads by about 12,000 votes, with an estimated 11% of ballots still uncounted. There will be no more votes released today, with daily updates coming at 5pm GMT, including on weekends.
North Carolina: Trump leads by more than 75,000 votes, with an estimated 95% of votes counted. He appears to be in a strong position to win the state.
Pennsylvania: Biden still trails by slightly less than 107,000 votes. However, he closed the gap considerably as counting continued in the populous state Wednesday. Given current trends, many observers expect Biden to ultimately win the state. The Pennsylvania secretary of state said “we definitely could” know the winner of the state late on Thursday night or early on Friday in the UK.
Biden is leading the popular vote by nearly 3.5m votes, with 72,691,278 to Trump’s 69,231,960 as of Thursday morning. See the latest results.
How’s it looking for Trump?
According to AP’s tally, Trump is behind on 214 Electoral College votes and needs all four battleground states – Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania – if he is to stay in the White House.
What has Trump said?
Trump has long sought to undermine the credibility of the voting process if he lost. Since Tuesday, he has falsely declared victory, accused Democrats of trying to steal the election without evidence and vowed to fight states in court.
Our lawyers have asked for “meaningful access”, but what good does that do? The damage has already been done to the integrity of our system, and to the Presidential Election itself. This is what should be discussed! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
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In a series of tweets that were flagged by Twitter as “misleading”, Trump falsely declared victory in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.
None of these races have yet been decided.
.....there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
The president announced that “we will be going to the US Supreme Court, we want all voting to stop”.
Trump provided no evidence to back up his claim of fraud and did not explain how he would fight the results at the Supreme Court, which does not hear direct challenges.
Later on Wednesday he claimed that it was “very strange” that “surprise ballot dumps” had eroded his overnight lead in key states.
“How come every time they count mail-in ballot dumps they are so devastating in their percentage and power of destruction?” he said.
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Trump’s son Eric has also been vocally sowing doubt the election process, claiming the continuing counting of votes amounted to “corruption”.
He added: “They’re stealing the election from you.”
Trump, Donny Jr. & Eric keep crying “They’re stealing the election from you.”
They’re inciting violence and if any of these racist, MAGA Proud Boys take it to the streets and hurt anybody… these 3 clowns must be held directly accountable.#Elections2020pic.twitter.com/ZFSctA3KbL — Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) November 5, 2020
What legal action is Trump taking?
In a bizarre and contradictory manner, the Trump campaign team is suing to stop counting in some states while extending it in others.
In Michigan, the Trump campaign said it filed suit in state court on Wednesday to halt vote counting, alleging that the campaign was denied access to “numerous counting locations” across the state to observe the opening of ballots.
In Pennsylvania, the campaign moved to intervene in a case that has already been before the US Supreme Court once. The campaign said it is engaged in two other lawsuits intended to stop the counting of ballots immediately by challenging the state’s implementation of first-time voter identification rules and, by appealing a case that failed on Tuesday, claiming the campaign’s observers were not allowed proper access to watch the counting of ballots.
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In Nevada, where Trump also trails, his campaign is pushing for the state to keep counting the votes, although that may soon change when absentee ballots start to come in under the extended ballot receipt deadline.
More lawsuits are expected to be filed in Nevada and North Carolina. The campaign is also pushing for a recount in Wisconsin.
What has Biden said?
While stopping short of declaring victory, Biden launched a website for a transition to a Democratic-controlled White House.
His team called it buildbackbetter.com and declared “the Biden-Harris Administration can hit the ground running on Day One.”
I’m confident that we will emerge victorious.
But this will not be my victory alone.
It will be a victory for the American people. pic.twitter.com/ZqJBVsQuQf — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 5, 2020
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He said: “I am not here to declare that we have won. But I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners.
“Once this election is finalised and behind us, it will be time to do what we have always done as Americans, to put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us [...] to unite, to heal, to come together as a nation.
“I know this won’t be easy. I’m not naïve – neither of us are. I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our county on so many things, but I also know this as well: to make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies.”
Biden’s campaign chief Jen O’Malley Dillon claimed the Democrat was on a “clear path to victory” and would “garner more votes than any presidential candidate in history”.
Among the remaining undeclared states, Georgia is a “toss-up” and North Carolina is “really tight” but “probably leaning towards Trump right now”.
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Why has it taken this long?
Voting concluded as scheduled on Tuesday night, but many states routinely take days to finish counting ballots.
Huge numbers of people voted by mail because of the pandemic, making it likely the count will take longer than usual.
Results from Nevada are expected around 5pm GMT on Thursday, while Pennsylvania is not expected to finish for several days.
What are Trump’s supporters doing?
As Trump threatened to sue over what he alleged was a “stolen” election, his supporters in some states gathered to demand counts be stopped – while in others they insisted all ballots be counted, mirroring an inconsistency in the Trump campaign's own attempts at legal action.
After the president claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots in states such as Michigan had fraudulently favoured opponent Joe Biden, fans of the president appeared at the TCF Centre in Detroit shouting “let us in” and “stop the count”.
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Local media reported raucous scenes as Republican counters attempted to enter the building, alleging they were being unfairly kept out – a claim denied by local Democrats also kept outside.
In stark contrast, pro-Trump demonstrators showed up at counts in Nevada and Arizona demanding that all votes be counted.
Outside the counting centre in Maricopa County, Phoenix, a crowd of Republican supporters, some armed, gathered shouting “count the votes” and “Fox News sucks”, after the right-wing TV network earlier called Arizona in Biden’s favour.
Observers from both parties were inside the election centre as ballots were processed and counted, and the procedure was live-streamed online at all times, PA Media reports.
Several sheriff’s officers blocked the entrance to the building, and the vote-counting went on into the night, Maricopa County Elections Department spokesperson Megan Gilbertson said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Gillian Anderson Discusses Challenge Of Playing Margaret Thatcher In The Crown

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Gillian Anderson had to put her views about Margaret Thatcher out of her mind while portraying the Iron Lady in The Crown, she has revealed.
The Sex Education star said the show will get under the skin of the former prime minister, capturing the “human being” behind the notoriously tough politician.
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Gillian will debut as Thatcher in the fourth series of the hit Netflix drama, which is released later this month.
Gillian Anderson plays Margaret Thatcher in The Crown's fourth series Des Willie/Netflix
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, who named the actor among their women of the year, about the role, she said: “I had to get to a point where it’s nothing to do with my opinions of her policies, of her actions.
“It is only about her as a human being and her motivation as a politician and as a mother.”
Gillian also discussed working with her partner Peter Morgan, who created the series.
She said: “For our sanity, and actually for the benefit of the relationship, we had very clear boundaries: ‘I am not going to comment on the script, but you are not allowed to comment on the performance.’”
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The former star of The X-Files said she is good at “compartmentalising” her life and is able to switch off from her roles.
“I think I learnt that quite young, being a young mother, in a really intense TV series where it was either full on on-set, or I was in my trailer having to shut the door and no longer be that person but be mum,” she said.
Gillian is joining the cast of The Crown for the fourth series alongside Emma Corrin as Princess Diana.
Lesley Manville and Elizabeth Debicki will be playing Princess Margaret and Princess Diana, although it’s yet to be confirmed who will be appearing opposite her as Prince Charles.
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The December issue of Harper’s Bazaar is on sale from Thursday, while The Crown’s fourth series will debut on Netflix on 15 November.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Here In America, It Feels Like We’re In The Calm Before The Storm

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American voters have been repeatedly told that 2020 is the most important election in decades.
Certainly, when I moved to the US from the UK two months ago, 3 November was a date I’d circled in the calendar. “What a time to be in America!”, everyone had said to me as I wished them goodbye.
On Tuesday, election day, I received several messages from friends asking what the mood was like on the streets and whether I was worried about the possibility of rioting when the results were announced. I would have loved to have impressed everyone back home by sharing a pithy story that encapsulated a wave of feverish public sentiment.
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Yet in reality this Tuesday felt no different to any other. The streets were quiet on a beautiful, cloudless day, and if you avoided the television coverage the election could have passed you by entirely. Occasionally I overheard people talk about it in the park, but it was merely to confirm to each other they’d long since sent their postal vote. The sense of fulfilment at having conducted their civic duty had already dissipated, leaving a void on the day itself.
All they could do was wait. California has voted Democrat at every election since 1992, and was correctly predicted to do so again. While I drove past a Trump rally a few weeks ago in the east of the state, in Silicon Valley where I live, you would be hard pushed to find someone hoping that he will be reelected. And if you did, they wouldn’t have a campaign poster on their front lawn, as so many Biden-supporting neighbours have chosen to do in recent months.
Going into the election there were two overriding trends from the people I’ve met here. The first concerned their frustration with the Electoral College and the fact that the fate of their preferred candidate lay in the hands of citizens in just a handful of states. The second was the fear that, if he did lose, Trump would not go quietly. Like a drunk uncle at a wedding they hadn’t wished to invite in the first place, they wanted Trump to be shown the door with the minimum of fuss.
Judging from his comments on Tuesday night – where he alleged, without evidence, that there had been “major fraud on our nation” and indicated his intention to see the matter resolved in the Supreme Court – the worry is if he is kicked out of the White House, he’ll go down swinging.
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“People here and around the world hoped that this election would deliver a powerful rejection of Trump’s policies and leadership style. That evidently hasn’t been the case.”
Where that leads remains to be seen and the uncertainty weighs heavily on people across the country. What appears most likely is that weeks of court cases and legal appeals lie ahead. Following such a long and bitter campaign, many people here are already weary of the election – they urgently need the long-awaited new stimulus package to help protect jobs and to fund programs designed to limit the spread of Covid-19. But no progress will be made on this front until questions over the election result are answered.
Should Trump wish to kick up a storm, we have seen that in his time in office he will leave no stone unturned to get his way. At this stage, if he was to tell his supporters to go on strike or protest the result in the streets, would anyone really be surprised?
People in the US and around the world hoped that this election would deliver a powerful rejection of Trump’s policies and leadership style. That evidently hasn’t been the case. Instead, if Biden does enter the Oval Office, I’m concerned he’ll face a battle to gain the trust of half of the population, many of whom will feel disenfranchised and worried about what the next four years will hold for them.
In Silicon Valley, residents here were hopeful Biden would gain a clear-cut victory. The fact that it’s close gives Trump the leverage to act with obduracy. No one wants to see a repeat of the controversy that surrounded the Bush versus Gore election result 20 years ago, but the longer the uncertainty continues, the higher the anxiety levels will rise.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Christmas's Answer To Clap For Carers Is Coming

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Thousands of people across the country are still determined to spread some Christmas cheer by taking part in a mass bell ring on Christmas Eve.
The Worldwide Christmas Eve Jingle, as it’s being called, asks communities to gather on their doorsteps and ring bells for two minutes at 6pm on Thursday.
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The campaign also encourages people to “give someone a bell” if they are likely to be alone on Christmas in a bit to help those who are lonely or isolated.
There are a number of Facebook groups organising local bell ringing, but the idea originated in Harrogate, North Yorkshire after local resident Mary Beggs-Reid shared her idea online.
More than 445,000 people have signed up to take part in the event through Facebook since Beggs-Reid’s original post and she has now teamed up with the Christmas Together campaign to tackle loneliness.
Holly Jane Codling/PA Holly Jane Codling/PA
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“We’ve got nearly half a million on the Facebook group, but so many people say they’ve delivered the idea to hundreds of their neighbours that aren’t on social media, so I think we’re now probably in our millions doing it all across the UK,” Beggs-Reid, 41, told PA.
“Especially with the recent news, this is more needed now than ever… It was just a simple bell-ring to start with but it’s evolved into so much more, so that for two minutes on Christmas Eve nobody feels alone.”
It’s hoped the event will reignite the community spirit of Clap for Carers during the first lockdown, and give us all something to look forward to.
Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds contacted Beggs-Reid to say they would like to ring bells on Christmas Eve themselves. The festive campaigner has a call scheduled with the pair later this week.
“It’s unbelievable to be speaking to him,” said Beggs-Reid. “We didn’t even think we’d get our street, our town, maybe Harrogate at best, so to get the Prime Minister as well doing it is just wonderful”. She wasn’t expecting the email, she said. “I had to keep checking that it wasn’t spam!”
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Inti St. Clair via Getty Images
Elsewhere, friends Lauren Sinclair and Terri Niven, from Falkirk, are encouraging people to take part in Scotland, with a Facebook group that’s gained more than 284,000 signups.
“Covid may have taken our 2020 but it can’t take Christmas,” Sinclair told Metro.co.uk. “No one can take our own doorsteps off us and the thought of hearing masses of bells ringing at 6pm on Christmas Eve is giving us all goosebumps.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Merry Crispmas! The Best Festive Crisp Flavours Of 2020, Ranked

nevodka via Getty Images
Unsatisfied with the classic ready salted or cheese and onion crisp flavours? Well, crisp makers have pushed the boat out this year to bring you some much-needed festive cheer in the form of holly jolly flavour editions.
A stroke of culinary Christmas genius? Or taking it that one step too far with something absolutely no one asked for? I can’t quite decide.
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Either way, I wanted to try them out – all of them. I taste tested seven different Christmas crisp flavours – so, buckle up as ’tis the season for snacking.
Here’s the ranking, from worst to best.
M&S Collection Pigs In Blankets
M&S M&S Collection Pigs in Blankets Hand Cooked Crisps
Pigs in blankets are arguably the best item on the Christmas dinner table (even the veggie and vegan ones). What I look for in a pig in blanket is a meaty sausage wrapped in smoky, crispy bacon that’s lightly charred from the oven’s flames – but what I get from these crisps is nothing but pure sadness. They’re far too sweet – to the point your teeth hurt and your poor tastebuds are obliterated. In my opinion, crisps should always be savoury or delicately paired with something sweet for balance and this bag is true far cry. These aren’t just any crisps, they’re M&S crisps – and they should be banned immediately.
Rating: 3/10
Available in M&S stores and online at Ocado at £1.75 each for 100g.
Kettle Christmas Truffled Cheese And Sparkling Wine
Kettle Kettle limited edition Christmas truffle cheese and sparkling wine
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These crisps come with a big hit of cheese that’ll smack you in the face – and a delicate hint of sparkling wine. There’s an actual sparkling, tingling sensation, which I must admit, I’m not the biggest fan of. And, of course, there’s no getting away from the truffle. Sadly, the truffle flavour is too overpowering and there’s something about the balance in this combination that seems slightly off. But if you’re big into truffle, ignore everything I’ve said so far and dig right in, you’ll probably love them.
Rating: 5/10
Available at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-Op stores at £1.99 each for 135g.
Tesco Sausage Roll Puffs
Tesco Tesco Sausage Roll Flavour Puff
Wait, since when has sausage rolls been considered ‘Christmas’? Am I missing out on something? Anyway, I digress. Instead of being fried, these are baked for a light crunch that melts on the tongue. Think of them as a moreish sausage version of a Wotsit, minus the cheese and more meat. A decent crisp that deserves a seat at the festive snack spread, but flavour-wise there’s room for improvement – it’s slightly lacking that umami oomph and on the underwhelming side.
Rating: 6/10
Available in Tesco stores and online at £1 each for 150g bag.
Walkers Sausage Roll
Walkers Walkers Limited Edition Sausage Roll Flavour
Another sausage roll contender – but these crisps are essentially the smoky bacon Walkers flavour, rebranded and repackaged as a sausage roll; only a touch sweeter with hints of sage, thyme and paprika. They’re both supposed to taste like the same animal, so similarities are to be expected, but jokes on you, brain – these are vegetarian. I feel slightly cheated by this stunt crisp and I thought this British meaty snack had legs to go far in life. But hey, a bonus half point is rewarded for their work to help raise money for The Trussell Trust and support food banks, with 5p from every pack sold being donated.
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Rating: 6.5/10
Available in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-Op stores at 69p each for 32.6g single pack and £1 multipack.
Co-Op Roast Turkey And Stuffing
Co-op Roast Turkey and Stuffing Hand Cooked Crisps
Want a Christmas dinner without the washing up and expense? Enter: Co-op’s turkey and stuffing flavour crisps, made with British potatoes and a classic turkey, sage, thyme, and onion stuffing flavour seasoning. When you open them up, you’re treated to a lovely turkey gamey aroma. They taste like the real deal –it’s the meaty full-works, trapped inside a humble potato. There’s a delicate saltiness that’ll make your hand automatically gravitate towards the bag for more. Christmas in 2020 isn’t cancelled, it’s found inside this bag and it doesn’t contain any sprouts.
Rating: 7/10
Available in Co-Op stores and online at £1.70 each for 150g.
Waitrose Christmas Iberico Ham And Fig Chutney
Waitrose Waitrose Christmas Iberico Ham & Fig Hand Cooked Crisps
Trust Waitrose to come up with the poshest flavour combination ever known to mankind. Despite the boujie ingredients, the iberico ham offers a deep, nutty, aromatic taste. It’s paired alongside a syrupy fig chutney that cuts through the richness with its honey-like sweetness. There’s no overbearing flavours here, a fine balance where one complements the other in perfect harmony. That in itself is no mean feat. Normally, I’d say bulk-buying is wrong during a pandemic, but these unprecedented times call for having a secret snack stash collection when that crunch craving hits.
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Rating: 7.5/10
Available in Waitrose stores and online at £2 each for 150g.
Lidl Rosemary And Wild Garlic
Lidl Lidl French Camembert with Rosemary & Wild Garlic
For those looking for a new take on the regular cheese and onion, look no further. Sprinkled with woodsy aromatic rosemary bits and soft wild garlic flecks, these crisps have a rich and creamy mouthfeel that’s ridiculously cheesy. So cheesy, in fact, it’s practically a whole cheeseboard packed into a hand-cooked crisp. A worthy addition to any festive snacking table. Try pairing it with your actual Christmas cheeseboard for double dose of Camembert because, why the hell not? It’s 2020 and we deserve it. Just be sure to brush your teeth or chew some gum afterwards because this is some pretty pungent stuff.
Rating: 8/10


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--12 Ways We Plan To Find Joy In This Second Lockdown

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Now we’re in another lockdown in England, many of you may be feeling that familiar sense of dread that comes with knowing you’re going to be staying at home as much as possible for the next month.
As people writing about Covid-19, day in day out, we know finding joy and positivity can increasingly hard to come by. And that’s why small pleasures are so important.
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Ahead of the four-week lockdown, here are the self-care practices, everyday rituals and hobbies that HuffPost UK staffers will be relying on for a little boost throughout the remainder of 2020.
Working through my record collection
Ramzy Alwakeel, head of news: I’ve been collecting records since I was a kid and one of the biggest joys I’ve found during lockdown has been making time to listen to them. I played some on regular repeat before, but others I hadn’t taken off the shelf in years – so I made the deeply uncool decision to go through my entire collection in alphabetical order. It’s already reminded me about some stone cold classics I’d forgotten (The Beloved, Animal Collective) and since I’m still only at Beyoncé, it’s plausible this will all be over before I get to Thom Yorke in 700 records’ time, which is sort of comforting.
Going for winter walks with a hot water bottle
Amy Packham, life editor: One thing that always cheers me up (but I know I won’t want to do as much in winter), is going outside. Some days it’s cold, rainy, dark and gross, but I don’t want to let that put me off. I’ve got a big winter coat, scarf, umbrella – and one extra thing I’ll be bringing is my hot water bottle, tucking it into my jeans to keep warm. I did this for a long two-hour walk the day after lockdown was announced. It was so cosy and made the walk much more enjoyable.
Giving my nails a glam-up
Angela Hui, life reporter: I’ve been doing my own nails for years (I’m self-taught). Since lockdown, I bought myself a UV lamp, gel builder, brushes, polishes – the works basically, because I’m still wary of going to nail salons. Normally, I’m a nail biter and gnaw my nails until dust, especially when I’m stressed, bored or out of habit. But when I’ve got lovely long talons, I bite a lot less and I feel like I’ve got my witchy powers back. To unwind and de-stress, I love to put mindless TV on in the background and focus on making my nails look good. Being away from screens, keeping my hands busy, focusing on the task at hand and also nail ~self care~ has been such a lifesaver to me.
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Angela Hui Self care, nailed.
Getting dressed up every weekend
Aasma Day, north of England correspondent: When lockdown happened the first time around, making an effort with how I looked was the last thing on my mind. I dressed in the first thing I grabbed, didn’t bother straightening my hair and make-up was very minimal, if at all. On the rare occasion, I did make a little effort with how I looked – and soon realised what a great boost it gives you. So this lockdown, I’m determined to get dressed up one day every weekend. I’m going to make a real effort, wear something nice and straighten my hair – even if it’s just to sit around watching TV with my husband and children or having a Zoom chat with friends. I’ll even stick on a pair of heels to totter around the house. If this pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that life is too short for “saving things for best.”
Having honest chats about how I feel
Adam Bloodworth, life and entertainment reporter: In pre-pandemic times, it was easy to robotically answer “fine thanks” when anyone asked how you were. Then the pandemic happened, and no-one was just “fine”. One of the self-care habits I’ve gotten into is exercising both of these things: listening and speaking as truthfully as I can, as best as I can, about how I’m feeling. Telling people I feel a bit rubbish one day, in all honestly, and hearing it from them back, has been revitalising: we’re all in this together and sharing moments of genuine emotional connection more often with more people we value is a really good daily habit to get into.
Reading every day
Chris York, senior reporter: I’ve bought a big pile of novels and I’m making sure I read for at least an hour a day, before bedtime.
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fotyma via Getty Images
Finger-knitting woollies for my little girl
Lauren Gosling-Powell, senior video producer: During the last lockdown I discovered finger-knitting, got a bit cocky, and proceeded to make about five and a half terrible oversized cardigans and hats for my new baby. I bought bundles and bundles of wool online like I was setting up my own business. Now they sit there mocking me in the corner of the room, and my little girl goes off to nursery dressed like 1990s Puff Daddy. But hey, I don’t care. Finger-knitting is relaxing and I love it, plus we have plenty of excellent photo album fodder to get out and embarrass her with in 20 years.
Focusing on the small wins
Becky Barnes, audience editor: I know it sounds very much back to basics, but I’ll be trying to do small things that give me a sense of accomplishment, like making my bed, opening my curtains and having a shower. Most importantly, I’m going to make sure I go outside every single day. Going into the second lockdown, there’ll be less daylight than last time and I’ll be pushing myself to get fresh air, sunlight and exercise whatever the weather. My top tip for any time of adversity is to be kind to yourself and treat yourself like you would a best friend, so I’ll be trying to put that into practice.
Changing my desk setup
Rachel Moss, life reporter: I’ve changed my desk (and my view) for lockdown 2.0 in a bid to re-energise myself when working from home. Instead of sitting at my dining room table in the darkest corner of my flat, I’ve bought a small folding desk and placed it by the patio doors to my shared garden. It means I’ll get a blast of mood-boosting sunlight each day and I’m already enjoying waving to neighbours who pass by. I plan to keep the bird box outside topped up with seeds and will be adding fresh flowers to my weekly shop. Everything feels brighter when you’re closer to nature.
Rachel Moss Spot the robin.
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Dancing in my living room
Brogan Driscoll, life and commercial editor: I used to dance because I wanted to, now I dance because I need to. BC (Before Covid) I’d dance at parties, in friends’ kitchens, in muddy fields at festivals – now our tiny living room is the dance floor. It’s also where we work and eat. Dancing has been my saviour throughout lockdown. If either me or my boyfriend is feeling down or stressed, we crank up the music and dance around like idiots for a while. The more we throw ourselves into it, the greater the relief – and it never fails to make us laugh. 9am or 9pm, it doesn’t matter. I just wonder what the neighbours must think – maybe I’ll invite them over once this is all over.
Crocheting a blanket
Sarah Turnnidge, news reporter: Throughout the pandemic I’ve been teaching myself to crochet, and a couple of months ago I started on a massive blanket that I knew would take me months to finish. I’m not even halfway through, but when I’ve been reading bad news all day it’s so nice to sit down in front of Netflix (this project has already seen me through all of New Girl and half of Gilmore Girls) or put a podcast on and keep busy without the impulse to scroll through Twitter.
Chewing the fat with my mum


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--I Live Alone. This Is My Survival Guide For The Second Lockdown

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I remember the feeling very clearly. The rising panic in my chest when Boris Johnson announced the first national lockdown on the evening of March 23.
I had held it together until then, but the reality of hearing the words broke me.
It was hard to name exactly what I was feeling but as someone who lives on her own, my standout concern was not knowing when I would get my next hug.
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So I did what any good 30-something journalist with mental health struggles would do: I tweeted. And loads of wonderful people sent messages of support.
I know now, more than six months later as we face another national lockdown, that people like me who are single and live alone were forgotten by the first lockdown’s rules. And don’t get me started on the mental health impacts.
This time round, we’re getting to keep our support bubbles and are allowed to meet one person outside. And I find myself feeling much calmer as a result, even as I try not to dwell on the anger I feel that these two things would have made my first lockdown so much more bearable.
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In March and April, the weight of the restrictions, especially the limitations on trips outside, left me feeling scared to go out. Like periods of dark depression before Covid, all I wanted to do was hide under the duvet, shut the curtains and go to sleep. Sometimes I wished I would close my eyes and never wake up.
But I did wake up, every day, and I did get up and I did go outside and I did keep going. And somehow 2020 has become a year that I have not only survived. At times I have even thrived.
I am aware of my privilege: I have somewhere safe and warm to live, I have a job and can work from home and money is not a worry. I have no dependents and my physical health is generally good. But I do suffer with my mental health and have done for 20 years.
My first step to surviving this year was being grateful for this privilege, but also recognising that my feelings were valid. It was hard to ask for help when everyone else was also suffering but I reached out to my friends and family network, offering my own support as well to colleagues and neighbours.
And, as we take on Lockdown 2.0, I’m remembering: we’ve done it once and, together, we can do it again.
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I’ve decided to go back to basics – taking each moment at a time, not looking too far ahead, and really really being my own best friend. Living by the advice that I give to everyone I care about: be kind to yourself. Friends, family and colleagues have proved a lifeline, but so are the radio, podcasts, books and organisations like the Blurt Foundation, Action For Happiness, Sunday Assembly and Museum of Happiness.
I’m going to focus on the small things and take it one day at a time. Thankfully, I don’t have to feel alone this time because I have permission to stay in my support bubble with my sister, brother-in-law and niblings (niece and nephew). I can also go for lunchtime walks with my neighbour friend who I met in lockdown and meet others people outside, one at a time. I have permission to have proper human interaction. Thanks Boris...
Here are some other things I will be putting into practice. Everyone is different but I am sharing them as tips in the hope they help.
1) Work out what your priorities are and say no to anything that isn’t manageable. It’s ok to say no.
2) Treat yourself with the care you would a best friend. You deserve it.
3) Be kind to yourself. From going along to the Museum of Happiness’s self-care check-ins, I’ve learnt the best question I can ask, especially in times of need, is: “What is the kindest thing I can do for myself in this moment?” Sometimes the kindest thing I can do for myself is not the easiest; get out of bed, make bed, go outside, exercise, make nourishing food.
4) Find a mantra that works for you. Call me basic (or just a Fleabag fan) but mine is: “This too shall pass.” Quite often, well nearly all the time for me, sleep helps. Time helps. It also helps to pause before acting on strong emotions. See how it feels in an hour, 24 hours. Are you still going to feel that way in a week?
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5) Make a playlist of songs that uplift you. Sing at the top of your lungs and dance like no one’s watching.
“You don’t need to put pressure on yourself to lose weight or get really buff. But get outside and move in whatever way feels good for you.”
6) Rediscover your passions and do them as much as you want to. There is no expectation to write a book or finish a masterpiece. Find what feels good and do it for as long as you want to. During lockdown, I’ve done more writing but I’m not expecting myself to reel off a book. I’ve read more, but I’m not going to beat myself up if I don’t read for a long period of time. I’ve discovered new recipes and cooked more, but I’m not going to criticise myself if I need to order a takeaway.
7) Ask for help. It’s okay not to be okay. Sometimes sharing it makes it feel a lot better. Find ways to be there for your loved ones – phone calls, emails or even letters. Share that uplifting playlist with them. Kindness makes you feel good.
8) Move your body. No, you don’t need to put pressure on yourself to lose weight or get really buff. But get outside and move in whatever way feels good for you. With all this time at home, we need fresh air, nature and sunlight more than ever.
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9) Make time for escapism. Switch off the news. You don’t have to watch the press conference if you’re not a journalist. If you’re a journalist you don’t have to watch it if you’re not on shift. Find TV shows, films, podcasts and books that transport you to another world and let your mind rest.
Finally, here are some recommendations of things that have given me hope.
As a single woman, the newsletter that’s kept me going is Nicola Slawson’s The Single Supplement, and as someone who lives alone, I thoroughly recommend Francesca Specter’s Alonement podcast too. I’ve also launched a good news newsletter for HuffPost UK, The Brightside, focusing on uplifting news only, and you can sign up here.
As I look ahead to 2021, I’ll be using Project Love’s Goodbye Hello journal for the fourth year running, and hoping for a better year.
The next four weeks, or however long this lockdown lasts, aren’t going to be easy, but if you are living alone through this, please know that you’re not alone.
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Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Bonfire Night Toffee Apple Porridge Is The Breakfast Dish You Need To Try

Diana Miller via Getty Images
Porridge is a breakfast staple, but it doesn’t have to be plain and boring. Start the day with this comforting, high-fibre bowl that’ll keep you going until lunchtime.
Break out of your breakfast routine and spruce up your oats with the addition of autumnal apples and an extra drizzle of sweet honey – the perfect breakfast for Bonfire Night.
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Hanenne Madi, from Rowse Honey, says this is is the perfect cosy breakfast recipe to make with your kids, no matter what age they are. “For those with young children, ask them to help you measure out the ingredients, break up the nut pieces, and drizzle the yummy honey at the end,” she says.
“If your child is a bit older, ask them to chop the apple pieces – but make sure you’re always there to supervise. Not only does getting the kids involved make them more likely to try new foods, it also helps them develop fine motor skills and improve their maths by learning about measurement units and numbers.”
The added dash of cream elevates this into luxury territory and gives the porridge a silky texture. Sounds delicious – and it’s pretty simple to make.
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Bonfire Night Toffee Apple Porridge
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 25 mins
Rowse Honey Bonfire Night Toffee Apple Porridge
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Ingredients
120g of porridge oats
1 litre of milk
4 apples, cored and sliced
160g Rowse Honey
80ml/125g double cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter
8 tbsp crushed pecans
1 tsp of sea salt.
Method
1. Whisk honey, cream, butter and salt in a pan on medium to high heat until the mixture bubbles slightly.
2. Keep stirring for around 20-25 minutes – the mixture should reach around 120°C and become thicker.
3. Add the apple slices to the pan, stir to coat and turn the heat off. Leave to cool.
4. Put the oats in a non-stick pot with the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until thickened and the oats are soft. Turn the heat off.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--Trump Launches Furious, Baseless Legal Assault As His Chances Of Victory Diminish

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As his path to victory continues to evaporate, US President Donald Trump is moving to stop key swing states from counting absentee ballots by filing legal challenges that could drag on the election even if Democratic opponent Joe Biden is named the projected winner by news organisations.
On Wednesday, as Biden’s vote shares in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia crept up on the strength of mail-in ballots, the Trump campaign began to file multiple suits in those states. While the legal filings may not say so directly, these lawsuits will all hinge on Trump’s false theory that the valid votes being counted in these states are somehow fraudulent. Trump has repeatedly, and falsely, cast suspicion on absentee ballots and promised early Wednesday morning to go to the US Supreme Court to stop ballots from being counted.
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There is no merit to these claims of fraud, nor any evidence presented. But the Trump campaign is pushing ahead anyway.
In Michigan, the Trump campaign said it filed suit in state court on Wednesday to halt vote counting, alleging that the campaign was denied access to “numerous counting locations” across the state to observe the opening of ballots.
In Pennsylvania, the campaign moved to intervene in a case that has already been before the US Supreme Court once. The campaign said it is engaged in two other lawsuits designed to immediately stop the counting of ballots by challenging the state’s implementation of first-time voter identification rules and, as an appeal of a case that failed on Tuesday, by claiming the campaign’s observers were not allowed proper access to watch the counting of ballots.
More lawsuits are expected to be filed in Nevada and North Carolina. The campaign is also pushing for a recount in Wisconsin.
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Trump’s legal effort is confused and contradictory. In Michigan, he is suing to stop ballots from being counted ― even though he trailed Biden in the state as of Wednesday afternoon. In Georgia’s Chatham County, the Trump campaign also asked a judge for a pause, and The Associated Press reported the campaign is “considering peppering a dozen other counties around the state with similar claims around absentee ballots.”
In Nevada, where Trump also trails, his campaign is pushing for the state to keep counting the votes, although that may soon change when absentee ballots start to come in under the extended ballot receipt deadline.
Trump’s personal lawyers, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative advocate Jay Sekulow, are being dispatched to key states to lead the legal response.
The Biden campaign said that it will win the election when all votes are counted and will defend that victory from any legal effort to stop votes from being counted.
“His mission is to attack the democratic process; our mission is to defend it,” Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer said on a press call Wednesday.
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President Donald Trump claimed that he had already won the election, speaking from the East Room of the White House early on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Absentee ballot receipt deadlines in certain states are likely to emerge as a key area for legal challenges in the coming days, although they might be irrelevant if Biden’s margins are too big in those states for the additional votes to be a determining factor. The deadlines in Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania were extended to allow absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to still count if they arrive at the relevant board of elections a certain number of days after Election Day.
The Nevada legislature passed and the governor signed legislation to provide for an all-mail election during the coronavirus pandemic that included extending the deadline to allow ballots postmarked by Election Day to count if they arrive up to seven days afterward. The measure also deems ballots with no clear postmark to have been postmarked on Election Day.
In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court ordered ballots postmarked by Election Day to be accepted up to three days after the election.
And in North Carolina, the state Board of Elections and a state court reached an agreement to extend the receipt deadline until nine days after Election Day.
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The Trump campaign sought ― and failed ― to overturn the extended deadline in each state before November 3. Their challenges to the Pennsylvania and North Carolina ballot receipt extensions came closest to succeeding. In both cases, their challenges went to the US Supreme Court, where four of the conservative justices suggested they would be open to reversing the orders extending the ballot receipt deadlines based on a radical theory that only state legislatures may change their state’s election laws.
While these challenges barely failed at the US Supreme Court in October, they could have a different result now. When they were heard, Trump’s most recent Supreme Court pick, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, did not take part in either case. Were she to join the other four conservative justices who questioned the receipt deadline extensions, those orders could be nullified and tens of thousands of ballots invalidated.
The ballots cast during these extended periods, however, may not matter at all if Trump loses the Electoral College and the presidency before they are even counted.
Other legal efforts to stop votes from being counted or to toss votes that have been cast may be harder to advance. On Wednesday, a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania Republicans challenging the process that the state’s county election officials used to allow voters to correct errors on their ballots went before a federal judge appointed by President George W Bush. The judge looked dimly on it.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-05--The Aftermath – Listen To Running Mate, Our Election Podcast For Brits

Running Mate is a US election podcast – just for Brits.
On our election day(s) special, host Graeme Demianyk speaks to HuffPost US colleagues SV Date and Emily Peck about what happens now as the result stll hangs in the balance.
With key battleground states still yet to declared, when will the world get an outcome and find out whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden are president? Despite the drama and trauma of election night, the delay was predicted and in common with previous ballots.
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We also look at whether the “worst case scenario” of Trump attempting to “steal” an election is on the cards after the president falsely claimed “a fraud on the American public” and then announced that he is “going to the US Supreme Court” to stop the counting of votes.
Also up for discussion is how Biden failed to secure a landslide after 250,000 Americans died amid Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus, and whether this election sounds the death knell for polling.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--Can Boris Johnson Build Bridges With Joe Biden After His Trump Love-In?

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Eyelids drooping and chin on his chest, Boris Johnson’s slumped frame on the front bench of the House of Commons was a picture of repose. Having had barely a couple of hours sleep during a long night watching the US presidential election, the prime minister could perhaps have been forgiven when he appeared to stifle a yawn at the end of a long parliamentary day.
Four thousand miles away, as the tantalisingly tight American votes were counted, it was the man Donald Trump had ridiculed as “Sleepy Joe” who looked like he was on course for the White House. And through all the twists and turns of Biden’s electoral college pathway to victory, Johnson and his team were determined to scotch the impression that a Democrat triumph was some kind of wake up call for his own post-Brexit government.
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After Johnson took over in Downing Street in 2019, the president famously said: “He’s tough and he’s smart, they call him Britain Trump. And his people are saying that’s a good thing.” With hopes of a new US-UK trade deal to offset – at least politically – the loss of trade with the EU, the PM has certainly gone out of his way to gladhand Trump in recent years.
Yet Johnson has also been careful to distance himself from the president when needed, avoiding formal shoulder-to-shoulder photocalls when the UK hosted the Nato summit last year in the election campaign. Crucially, Johnson’s team also realised that Biden was a serious contender soon after he looked likely to steamroller the Democrat primaries early this year.
An Americaphile like many of the British political class, the prime minister stayed up late, snatched some sleep and then got up early again as he was hooked on the coverage from the US. After watching the results in his and partner Carrie’s flat upstairs in No.11 Downing Street, rather than his formal office in No.10, Johnson later headed to his weekly prep for PMQs knowing the outcome was on a knife-edge.
It was a scene mirrored by Keir Starmer, who went to bed at his Kentish Town home after the Florida result seemed to swing things for Trump. The Labour leader then rose early at 4am before seeing the gradually better Biden news dripfeed in through the breaking dawn. Starmer and his top team shared each update via a WhatsApp group titled “Let’s Go Joe”, complete with a photo of Biden wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses.
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Many on the group, including Starmer, were nervous at various apparent setbacks for the Democrats. “It felt like Hillary all over again,” one insider said. But one young staffer who had been in the US in 2016 told the group that the result was very different this time and the outcome was “not in doubt”. Their confidence buoyed the group and as daylight arrived, Starmer’s mood lightened too as Biden did indeed edge ahead in key swing states he needed.
What surprised both Labour and the Tories however was the language Trump then used at his East Wing mini-speech, declaring there had been a “major fraud”, wanted to stop the late votes from being counted and said “we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court” to fight it. Steeped in legal propriety, Starmer decided he had to make an issue of the remarks later in the Commons.
The Labour leader had made plain that his shadow cabinet should be scrupulously neutral in the hours before the election, a stance that caused some backlash from the party’s leftwing. But Trump’s fraud claim, itself fraudulent, plus the large number of votes already in, gave the party licence to go for the president. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy warned it was a “very dangerous moment” and Stamer raised the topic at the start of PMQs.
Johnson, ever keen to keep his options open, had actually started the weekly Commons session with his own joke about the overnight US events. Referring to “the result of a heavily contested election”, he wished the Speaker a happy anniversary on his own elevation to the chair, with an added Trump-style tribute for “making the speakership great again”.
When Starmer urged him to get serious and condemn Trump’s stop-counting remarks, the PM stuck to protocol and said “we don’t comment as a UK government on the democratic processes of our friends and allies”. Like the ghost at the feast, Trump’s name came up in three different questions to the PM but he stuck firmly to his neutral stance.
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Privately, Labour accepts that Downing Street can’t openly criticise a sitting president about his remarks when the results haven’t finally been counted. In fact, No10 and the Foreign Office had been prepared for the whole issue of legal challenges to the US result. “We had good reporting from the BEW (British Embassy in Washington) that it would be closer than the polls suggested,” one senior figure said.
But a conscious decision was also made not to refrain from talking about the process at all, and foreign secretary Dominic Raab pushed the envelope of protocol by saying “we have full confidence in the checks and balances of the US system to produce a result”. That was seen by some as a gentle nod towards those saying the count was indeed legitimate.
Senior Tories outside government made plain too that the party had a certain distaste for Trump’s approach. Raab’s predecessor Jeremy Hunt said: “The reputation of democracy is at stake and the world is watching. Please proceed carefully.” Foreign affairs select committee chairman Tom Tugendhat added: “Democracy relies on trust that the election is fair. President Trump’s comments undermine that trust even as the counting continues.”
The wider British disdain of Trump was further evident when NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens acidly told Radio 4 that he “couldn’t remember” the president – who once infamously talked of putting the health service “on the table” in trade talks – thanking the NHS for developing the dexamethasone drug treatment that had helped him recover from Covid.
Former premier Theresa May added her own apparent swipe at the president, and flirted with support for Biden, when she tweeted that “sadly, today also marks the US leaving the Paris accord — the world’s foremost attempt to build consensus on climate change”.
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In fact, May put her finger on one of the key areas of joint working that Johnson hopes can bear fruit with a Biden presidency. The UK chairs the next round of the COP26 climate change talks in Glasgow next year and it’s in both countries’ interests to use it to make a big breakthrough in not just restoring the Paris accord but building on it.
Britain also hosts the G7 summit next year and plans to develop a ‘D10’ of democratic nations made up of the seven big western countries along with South Korea, India and Australia. The group will also serve as a counterbalance to China’s growing power, part of one legacy of Trump’s hard-headed approach to Beijing that both Johnson and Biden increasingly share.
Similarly, the UK kept the Iran nuclear deal “on life support” during the Trump years, one official adds, pointing out that Biden had himself helped negotiate the deal for president Obama. With Biden’s hands likely to be tied on domestic policy, his foreign policy is seen as being perhaps his defining mission and the end of Trump’s “America First” fits with the UK’s own support for multilateral international organisations.
One UK government insider says: “If you look at what a Biden administration is going to try and do in terms of re-engaging with the world and what our very clear foriegn policy priorities are, we can be quite excited about what the UK and the US are going to do in the next four years.”
Allies of the PM also gently point out that back in 2008 he was one of the few Tories to publicly endorse Obama rather than Republican rival John McCain. They are also at pains to play down the row with Democrats over the Brexit plan to break international law, when Biden and Nancy Pelosi warned against anything that would breach the Good Friday Agreement.
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Raab, who met Biden’s close ally Chris Coons on a trip to Washington weeks ago, has tried to build bridges to reassure the Democrats that there will be no threat to peace in Northern Ireland. “The internal market bill is going to get resolved in London and Brussels, not Washington,” one insider says, and some believe the whole Brexit trade issue will be sorted before Biden is even inaugurated in January.
One hindrance that Raab had in getting to meet Biden was his campaign’s strict insistence that it wanted no foreign engagement, even from a friendly power like the UK, because of the Russia interference in the 2016 election. Johnson himself has never met the former vice president. But that ban on foreign links has affected Labour too, denying its activists their traditional role of embedding with the Democrat presidential campaign this year.
Starmer’s team has however maintained strong contacts and it was those links to the Biden team that fed a steady stream of “keep calm” messages to the Labour team overnight on Tuesday. One message made clear that Biden’s post-election speech projected confidence in their numbers. “Trump’s statement about the election being ‘stolen’ because of the prospect that votes will be counted suggests they know they’ve lost and need to try and win through disenfranchisement.” Coming days will test that to the limit.
Some in Labour hope that Starmer can pull off a similar message of unifying leadership in 2024, the ‘no-drama-Starmer’ approach matching Biden’s essential ‘boring is good’ themes. But while Labour are relieved at the prospect of the end of the Trump era, they are firm on not reading too many lessons for British politics, given how different the two countries are. “It’s a very different environment, we never forget that,” one aide said. “It’s too simplistic and wrong to see a read-across.”
Still, on campaign techniques, phone apps, digital tech and other areas lessons are being learned. And with Covid likely to be lingering when the UK holds its own postponed local and Mayoral elections next year, tips on using postal votes (or “absentee ballots” as the Americans call them) to target younger as well as older voters are being shared. Johnson may be getting closer to Biden, but Labour hope their own long road back to power starts in 2021.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--First Dates' Celebration Of The Show's Biggest Ever Successes Is Guaranteed To Raise A Smile

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With all of the uncertainty around the US election, and a lot of us staring brand new lockdown measures in the face, it’s understandable that the current news cycle might be starting to weigh on you.
For those in need of a pick-me-up, First Dates has taken us all on a trip down memory lane at some of the couples who found love on the Channel 4 reality show, in a bid to put a smile on our faces.
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After a special episode celebrating the show’s biggest success stories aired last week, First Dates took advantage of the “how it started/how it’s going” meme, with a string of posts celebrating the people for whom romance blossomed in the show’s famous restaurant.
First off, there was Will and Fran, who are now engaged, after meeting on the show in 2017…
Then there was Ibiba and Aarron, who first appeared on First Dates in the show’s early years, and welcomed their daughter, Aziza, a year later…
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Adam and Dan also appeared on First Dates during one of its first series back in 2015, and as of 2019, were planning their wedding…
And finally, there was Hema and Ajai…
Despite Hema admitting to Ajai on their first date that she wasn’t 100% sold on his moustache, the pair stayed in touch after their appearance on the show. And now? They’re literally married.
First Dates first burst onto our screens in 2013, and has since ran for a total of 15 series, as well as Valentine’s, Christmas and celebrity specials.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--The QAnon Supporters, Gun Advocates And Online Bully Elected In The US

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The polls have closed and America is still counting up the winners of election night. But as officials continue to process ballots to see who will be president, a number of individuals who have openly flirted with conspiracy theories, racism, sexual abuse and even violence are celebrating victories.
Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia (Republican)
Greene, who is very far-right, will be seated in the 117th Congress. Linked to white supremacists and anti-government militias, she has made racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic comments on Facebook.
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Greene cruised to victory in the general election, essentially running unopposed in Georgia’s heavily white, Republican and gerrymandered 14th District after her followers terrified her opponent into dropping out of the race.
Marjorie Taylor Greene ASSOCIATED PRESS
The wealthy gun-toting Greene, who co-owns a construction company started by her father, received endorsements from ultraconservative Trump-aligned members of Congress. She was also embraced by Donald Trump and took money from a political action committee connected to his chief of staff Mark Meadows.
She promoted her campaign by posting pictures of herself online holding an assault weapon, in one instance next to photos of Democrats Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Facebook considered the post an incitement to violence and took it down. Greene also talked about socialists and “cultural Marxists” tearing America apart. She said Black people should look at Confederate monuments as symbols of progress. She called George Soros, who is a Jewish Holocaust survivor, a Nazi collaborator. In more recent videos and posts, she has attacked everything from the Black Lives Matter movement to the use of facemasks to protect against the coronavirus.
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But it was her devotion to the amorphous ever-mutating glob of conspiracy theories known as QAnon, which Greene embraced in 2017, that received the most attention. QAnon is based on the belief that a prophetic government official known only as “Q” has inside knowledge about a secret “deep state” plot against Trump, who is revered as a god-like figure waging a holy war against his enemies.
Lauren Boebert of Colorado (Republican)
Boebert, a restaurateur and gun rights advocate, appeared on two online shows hosted by QAnon supporters and said that she was “very familiar” with the conspiracy movement and that she hoped it “is real.” If it is, she said, “then it can be really great for our country.”
Lauren Boebert ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boebert closely allied herself to Trump, attacking Democrats on everything from what she called job-killing proposals on fossil fuels to coronavirus restrictions to unrest in Democratic-led cities.
She pledged to protect gun rights and appeared at her rallies with a Glock pistol strapped to her hip.
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Aaron Coleman of Kansas (Democrat)
A 20-year-old Democratic candidate who admitted circulating nude images of a schoolgirl ran uncontested in Kansas House District 37, garnering 3,496 votes.
He declared his success in a Facebook post on Tuesday night, calling it a “victory for the working class”.
Multiple women have publicly accused Coleman of abusive behaviour, NBC reports.
In August, Coleman was asked about a newspaper report which said he obtained a nude picture of a girl and threatened to distribute it if she did not send further images. When she didn’t, he did so. When asked about the incident, Coleman told AP news: “They’re accurate.”
Coleman ran a liberal platform that included universal health coverage, eliminating college tuition, defunding the police and legalising marijuana. But he received more attention for a social media post suggesting he would “laugh and giggle” if a former GOP state lawmaker died of Covid-19, another post endorsing abortion up to the moment of birth and a third acknowledging that allegations that he engaged in online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn were true. He apologised for the comments and said his past behaviour targeting several middle-school girls was that of “a sick and troubled” 14-year-old.
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Greg Gianforte of Montana (Republican)
Republican Greg Gianforte has won the race to become Montana’s next governor.
Gianforte, who serves as Montana’s lone member of the US House, defeated Democrat Mike Cooney.
The seat was up for grabs as Democratic governor Steve Bullock was termed out and instead ran for the US Senate.
Greg Gianforte ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gianforte, 59, was endorsed by Trump and known for body-slamming a reporter in 2017. He will be Montana’s first Republican governor in 16 years.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--MPs Approve Second National Lockdown In England Despite Tory Rebellion

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The second national Covid lockdown in England is set to go ahead after MPs voted to approve new regulations to enforce it.
Boris Johnson managed to fend off a backbench Tory rebellion over the fresh restrictions, thanks in part to Labour’s decision to support the nationwide move.
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MPs voted by 516 to 38, a majority of 478, to endorse the 2020 Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations, which will last for a month until December 2.
The rules will come into force at one minute past midnight, after the House of Lords approves them later on Wednesday.
Under the raft of new draconian regulations, the public will be heavily restricted from leaving home and from mixing with other households.
New rules on care homes mean that visitors will have to pass through a holding area before meeting a relative.
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In schools, pupils in England over the age of 11 will have to wear face masks in hallways and corridors for the first time.
The margin was comfortable despite a string of Conservatives warning the PM that the new curbs were not justified and would harm the economy more than they would ease the health crisis.
Former premier Theresa May was the most eye-catching of the rebels, one of 55 Tory MPs who failed to back the government.
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and former minister Steve Baker were among the 34 rebels who voted against the lockdown. A further 21 Tories, including May, abstained.
Johnson had earlier said he “absolutely understands” the concerns about the curbs and was not imposing them “lightly”, but he stressed that they were essential to protecting the NHS from being overwhelmed.
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That warning was underscored earlier when NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens announced that the equivalent of 22 hospitals were now filled with Covid patients, as he put the health service on its highest emergency alert level.
But he failed to satisfy a string of Tory MPs who claimed they had been forced to vote in the dark without any economic impact assessment.
In a withering speech, May accused Johnson of choosing data to fit his coronavirus policies, as she insisted the Government must reveal the economic cost of lockdown and its impact on mental health.
Johnson was not in the chamber to hear the criticism, as he opted to leave shortly after she got to her feet and acknowledged that she did not “envy” the decisions facing him and the Government.
It was reported that he later wrote a note of apology to May for having to leave during her speech for an urgent meeting.
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Duncan Smith attacked the weekend leaking of the lockdown plan to the media, saying the leaker should be sacked and “strung up to dry”.
“I thought the leak is appalling, that … whoever did it should be sacked, strung up to dry, come here to apologise, grovelled out the door on hands and knees and beaten on the way out, frankly.
“It is appalling because what they did was bounce the Government, and they bounced the Government because I’d like to think that the Government would have then spent its time investigating the data that was being presented to them that has now subsequently unravelled in the last few days.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--UK Records Almost 500 Covid-19 Deaths In 24 Hours

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Almost 500 Covid-19 deaths have been registered in just one day, the latest government figures reveal.
On Wednesday the deaths of 492 more people were recorded, bringing the UK’s total death toll to 47,742.
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Of those, 388 were reported in England, 50 in Scotland, 44 in Wales and 10 in Northern Ireland.
It is the first time since May 19 that the daily death toll has exceeded 450 and comes just a week after deaths exceeded 300 a day on Tuesday, October 28.
On Saturday the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK surpassed one million, with 25,177 revealed to have tested positive in a 24-hour period on Wednesday. The total number of cases now stands at 1,099,059.
England is set to enter a month-long national lockdown on Thursday amid a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures released on Tuesday morning reveals that the weekly coronavirus death toll in England and Wales has rocketed by 45% in just seven days – with 978 people dying after contracting the virus in the week to October 23.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--Mark Ruffalo Schools Donald Trump Over Mail-In Ballots After US President's Latest Twitter Tirade

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Mark Ruffalo has taken it upon himself to try and explain to Donald Trump how mail-in voting works, as the current president awaits the results of the US election.
Having already falsely claimed victory in the election on Wednesday morning, despite all the votes legitimately cast having not been counted, and the result not yet being clear, Trump later tweeted that he was unimpressed with the way things were turning out.
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“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled,” the US leader wrote.
“Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted. VERY STRANGE, and the ‘pollsters’ got it completely & historically wrong!”
Donald Trump CHRIS KLEPONIS/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Responding to the US leader’s tweets, the Avengers star – who has been a vocal critic of Trump since he first ran for president in 2016 – insisted: “It’s not strange. It’s mail in Ballots and Absentee ballots during a pandemic. We haven’t finished counting the votes. Be patient.”
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He added: “There are millions of uncounted ballots. Let the process happen. We have been doing this a long time.”
Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled. Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted. VERY STRANGE, and the “pollsters” got it completely & historically wrong! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
How come every time they count Mail-In ballot dumps they are so devastating in their percentage and power of destruction? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
It’s not strange. It’s mail in Ballots and Absentee ballots during a pandemic. We haven’t finished counting the votes. Be patient. There are millions of uncounted ballots. Let the process happen. We have been doing this a long time. #CountEveryVote — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) November 4, 2020
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The president is questioning why mail-in ballots skew toward Democrats so heavily after he spent months casting doubt upon their security, scaring off his supporters from using them. https://t.co/NAG5kfkzZU — Adam Kelsey (@adamkelsey) November 4, 2020
Mark also retweeted a message from ABC reporter Adam Kelsey, which read: “The president is questioning why mail-in ballots skew toward Democrats so heavily after he spent months casting doubt upon their security, scaring off his supporters from using them.”
Mark Ruffalo James Veysey/Shutterstock
Shortly after Trump sent his tweet, Twitter added a warning message to it, which read: “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”
Mark has been a critic of Trump throughout his four-year presidency, tweeting during the first presidential debate of 2020: “Trump lied about Covid 19 and now 200k people are dead. He is lying tonight.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--Boris Johnson Appears To Snub Theresa May As Ex-PM Criticises Government Over Lockdown

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Boris Johnson appeared to snub Theresa May by leaving the Commons as the ex-prime minister began a speech demanding more evidence for England’s new Covid-19 lockdown.
The former premier criticised Johnson’s use of modelling by scientists which predicted as many as 4,000 deaths a day to back up his decision for a lockdown until December 2.
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She also called for more data on mental health, domestic abuse and the economy, and accused the PM of selecting data to show the public that supported his policy decision.
But before the Maidenhead MP got a chance to confront her successor during a debate in parliament, he got up and left the chamber.
The PM left the chamber as his predecessor @theresa_may began to speak on the new restrictions, she shrugs it off pic.twitter.com/5M2yiNE3N9 — Direct Politics (@Direct1Politics) November 4, 2020
May, who looked bemused by Johnson’s exit, told the Commons the graph used by chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Chris Whitty was flawed.
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She said the trajectory outlined in the graph would have meant 1,000 deaths were being recorded every day in late October, which was not the case.
“So the prediction was wrong before it was even used,” she said, addressing her concerns to health secretary Matt Hancock, who was on the frontbench.
“And this leads to a problem for the government – for many people it looks as if the figures are chosen to support the policy rather than the policy being based on the figures.
“We need these proper analyses. We need to know the details behind these models. We need to be able to assess the validity of those models.”
Theresa May speaking out about lockdown measures in the Commons after Boris Johnson left the chamber
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May also raised concerns about a lack of data on the cost of the government’s Covid-19 decisions, including on mental health, domestic abuse, non-Covid-19 treatments, “possibly more suicides” and to the economy.
She told MPs: “Jobs lost, livelihoods shattered, businesses failing, whole sectors damaged. What sort of airline industry are we going to have coming out of this? What sort of hospitality sector? What sort of small independent shops will be left?
“The government must have made this analysis, made this assessment: let us see it and make our own judgements.”
Asked if the government would provide analysis of the impact of lockdowns, as requested by May, No.10 said the implications were “considered at every stage” of the decision-making process.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The prime minister, the chancellor and the government have been clear throughout about the cost, not just to the economy from the measures we’ve been forced to put in place, but also the impact they have on mental health, and both of those things have been considered at every stage when we’ve been deciding what action we need to take.
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“In the future, as we consider future measures required, that will continue to be the case.
“We fully understand the toll which this virus is taking on livelihoods but also people’s mental health, and that’s why we’ve provided packages of support for mental health groups to ensure people can access the help they need.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--'Me Voting In 2016 vs. 2020' Meme Perfectly Sums Up The Last 4 Years Of Donald Trump

Social media users summed up the toll the Trump era has taken on them with a mocking meme.
As voters went to the polls on Election Day, people on Twitter used the “Me Voting In 2016 vs. Me Voting In 2020” trend to show how their attitudes to voting have changed since Donald Trump became president.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--Lana Del Rey Issues Expletive-Heavy Response After Fan Suggests She Voted For Donald Trump

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Lana Del Rey issued a rather blunt reply after one fan suggested that the singer voted for Donald Trump in the US election.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, as America waited on news of the results of the US presidential election, one Lana fan wrote on Twitter: “I just KNOW Elizabeth [referencing Lana’s real name, Elizabeth Grant] voted for Trump, I wish I could look up her voting records. Something doesn’t sit right with me.”
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The Video Games singer – who has publicly spoken out against Trump on multiple occasions in the past – then wrote back simply: “Go. Fxck. Yourself.”
Go. Fuxk. Yourself. — Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) November 4, 2020
Another fan then shared a short clip of a live stream Lana took part in while the results of the vote were being announced in different states.
In the clip, she can be heard commenting: “That’s a lot of red.”
Responding to the video, Lana accused the fan in question of deliberately choosing a “misleading” clip to make out that she was in support of the Republican party, writing back: “Stupid.”
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Choosing this misleading clip out of the entire livestream Isn’t going to get you more livestreams — Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) November 4, 2020
Stupid. — Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) November 4, 2020
In 2017, Lana said that the rise of Trump had made her feel less safe as a woman, comparing his administration to the “fall of Rome” in an interview with Pitchfork.
“Everyone I knew felt safe [under the Obama administration],” the Grammy-nominated star said. “It was a good time. We were on the up-and-up.
“Women started to feel less safe under [Trump] instantly. What if they take away Planned Parenthood? What if we can’t get birth control?
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“When you have a leader at the top of the pyramid who is casually being loud and funny about things like that, it’s brought up character defects in people who already have the propensity to be violent towards women.”
Lana Del Rey Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP
More recently, Lana told the New York Times: “By the way, I’m grateful to be in a country where everyone can have their own political views. I’m really not more of a liberal than I am a Republican — I’m in the middle.”
The singer has courted controversy numerous times in the last few months, including in October, when she sported a mesh mask to attend a book signing.
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Prior to that, she faced a huge backlash earlier in the year, when she suggested many of her fellow female artists had been rewarded for singing about themes that she’d been criticised for in the past.
When many pointed out that the majority of the artists she’d singled out for their success – including Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat – are women of colour, the singer came under fire online, later denying accusations of racism.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-11-04--We Couldn't Afford To Have Another Baby. Here's Why We Did It Anyway

Brian Jones The author wanted a big family but put it on hold to
The morning I walked into my obstetrician’s office to confirm my pregnancy, my bank account was overdrawn by more than $900. Anxiety coursed through my body as I sat in the waiting room listening for my name.
Would I owe a copay? If so, would they let me write a check so that I didn’t have to deal with the embarrassment from my debit card being declined? Would the overdrafted funds reverse back into my account once my bank realised I didn’t have enough money to cover the $1,200 mortgage payment I’d just made? Oh, God, what if they did and we went 30 days late on our mortgage? Would we lose our house?!
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Overdrawing our bank account to cover our mortgage at the end of the month wasn’t anything new. We’d been struggling to get ahead of our finances for more than a year. No, the thing that was new was the baby we’d only recently found out was growing inside of me. The one who had me sitting in a doctor’s office that I couldn’t even afford to drive to, let alone pay for.
My husband and I had always wanted a big family. We talked about it a lot in the early days of our relationship. But, as the years went on and we lost our financial footing, all our talk became just that: talk.
We decided to put the idea of a third baby on the back burner while we tried to get ahead of our bills. Instead of progress, we struggled with unexpected costs that put us further into debt. Eventually, we decided to take the “baby talk” off the stove entirely, opting to pack it away out of sight so we wouldn’t have to think about what we were missing out on by not expanding our family of four.
Then, on an impossibly humid afternoon in May, I felt the all too familiar sweaty nausea that had accompanied my first two pregnancies. A long-forgotten pregnancy test from under my bathroom sink confirmed what I already knew: I was pregnant.
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When I told my husband the news just a few moments after seeing the second pink line appear on the test, he just laughed. “Of course you’re pregnant,” he said before giving me a kiss and shaking his head.
I’m sure he had the same ticker tape of concerns running through his mind that I did: Could we actually afford to have another baby? Was this going to be a huge mistake? Had we just doomed ourselves to a lifetime of financial uncertainty?
They were questions we never got a chance to answer. Just as abruptly as we found out we were pregnant, we found out that we were not staying that way. I was pushing my shopping cart down one of the aisles at our discount grocery store when my miscarriage began.
The abrupt end to my pregnancy was heartbreaking for our entire family. Even though we’d barely been scraping by, we’d all rallied behind the idea that we could make it work. Wasn’t the fact that I was pregnant without even trying a sign that this baby was meant to be?
I knew when I found out I was pregnant at 37 that there would be some increased risk, but the idea that I could lose my baby as quickly as I found out I was having it never crossed my mind. After all, I’d already carried two babies to term. Why would this one be any different?
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The aching in my heart was a physical thing. The loss of our baby was so abrupt, and so unexpected, that it felt like a surprise wave had crashed into me and pulled me under before I’d even known that the water could get choppy. It took my breath away and left me scrambling to find my footing in a life I no longer recognised as my own.
One night, after our kids were in bed, I confessed to my husband the unspoken fear that had been weighing on my mind. What if I couldn’t have any more babies?
The idea that we could actually lose our opportunity to grow our family had never crossed my mind when we talked about waiting until our finances were better. I hadn’t factored my dwindling reproductive years into the equation as I tried to balance our family budget. I assumed we had time to wait until conditions were right; now I feared the moment for a choice had passed us by altogether.
There’s a saying: You never regret the child you decided to have, only the one you talked yourself out of.
Those words banged around my head incessantly in the days that followed my miscarriage. So much so, that they were the very words that I used to explain to my husband why I thought we should start trying again as soon as we could.
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Whether he agreed with my reasoning, or felt the clock ticking as I did, I’ll never really know. What I do know is that he said yes, and a month after we’d lost our surprise pregnancy, we found ourselves surprised once more by a second set of double pink lines.
Although we weren’t financially ready, we were excited.
We knew a third child was going to stretch us thinner than ever before, but as we had already learned over the years, things can change in an instant. We thought we were ready for whatever was coming. We’d made it work so far. What was the worst that could happen?
The answer to that question came a few short months later.
In March, when I was 37 weeks pregnant, the governor of Pennsylvania made the unprecedented move to lock down the state in order to stem the rise of Covid-19 cases. A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has made its way to America and completely changed everything about our day-to-day life.
It’s been more than a year since I found out I was pregnant, and six months since I gave birth. The entire world has changed during this time. The U.S. has been brought to its knees by the pandemic, with tens of millions of people unemployed, and no end in sight.
It’s funny how the thoughts and concerns I had while waiting for that first appointment with my OB were so far removed from the ones I had while pacing the delivery room at the hospital. I didn’t worry about our finances; our situation had changed during the nine months that took us from Point A to Point B. No, instead I worried about whether one of the masked nurses was carrying the virus, or what would happen if we picked it up and took it home to our daughters. I agonised over what would happen if our son was born with it. Money never even crossed my mind.
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It rarely does anymore. Not because our finances are so improved that it doesn’t matter (that couldn’t be further from the truth), but because there’s just so many more pressing things to worry about.
We’re lucky that our financial situation isn’t a life-or-death concern. We always have food in our refrigerator and health insurance to offset any medical emergencies that arise ― two things so many Americans are without right now.
I’m sure our circumstances will change again (and again and again) over the years. Change is par for the course when it comes to being a parent. You make the best choices you can in the moment, with the information you have, while simultaneously trying to predict the future.
It’s what we did last fall, and it’s probably what we’ll continue to do until the day we die. Sometimes it all goes wrong, and we make the wrong choice, or get blindsided by a complication we never saw coming. But sometimes, like this time, we get lucky, and it all works out.
At least it has for now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.