thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Rishi Sunak's Coffee Cup Is 'Worth The Same As Two Weeks Of Statutory Sick Pay'

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Rishi Sunak has again been urged to raise statutory sick pay for Covid-hit workers as Labour pointed out his own £180 coffee mug was worth the same as a fortnight of the benefit.
In Treasury Question Time in the Commons, Labour MP Andrew Gwynne slammed the £95.85-a week sick pay rate, which even health secretary Matt Hancock has admitted he could not live on.
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The chancellor repeatedly refused calls from shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds to hike the payment, despite new evidence that it was a deterrent for many workers who fear that they will be left out of pocket if they self-isolate with coronavirus symptoms.
With Covid-19 cases soaring across the UK, government advisers have said that failure to comply with home quarantine has been helping to drive the increase as the virus spreads though communities.
Sunak first unveiled his “supermug” in photos taken on the eve of his summer statement to parliament.
On his desk was the Ember Travel Mug, reportedly a gift from his wife, Akshata Murthy, the daughter of a billionaire businessman, which retails for up to £179.95 online.
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The reuseable cup allows users to “set an exact drinking temperature and keeps it there for up to three hours, so your coffee is never too hot, or too cold,” according to its advertising blurb.
Rishi Sunak and his £180 coffee mug HuffPost UK
Gwynne said: ”Tackling the Covid crisis relies on us all doing the right thing, but for many that’s just an impossible choice.
“Can the chancellor even begin to imagine how impossible that is, to bring up a family for a fortnight on about the same amount as the cost of his £180 hi-tech coffee cup?”
Shadow chief secretary Steve Barclay said that changes to the speed of payments of sick pay were among a “suite of measures” taken to help those in need. Sunak himself stressed that he had improved the flexibility of sick pay.
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Dodds added afterwards: “I asked him [Sunak] to put himself in the shoes of a low paid worker who would be expected survive on £95 a week. The chancellor refused to answer that question.
“There does seem to be a lack of basic understanding of the reality of people’s lives right now. And that’s problematic because it’s hampering the effectiveness of test, trace and isolate at the very time when we really need it to be working, when infections are rising in the UK.”
New figures on Tuesday showed a rise in unemployment claimants to 2.7 million – a 120% rise since the lockdown started – and the number of people on payrolls had shrunk by nearly 700,000.
Sunak did hint at possible “creative” replacements for the furlough jobs support scheme, telling the cabinet that unemployment was his “number one priority”.
“Indefinitely keeping people out of work is not the answer,” he said. “But rest assured we will be creative in order to find ways of effectively helping people.”
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New documents from the Sage (scientific advisory group for emergencies) committee found that less than 20% of people in England fully self-isolate when asked to do so, and that mass testing would be of no use unless this percentage rose.
The poorest are the least likely to self-isolate because they cannot afford to stay home, the scientists suggested: “Self-reported ability to self-isolate or quarantine is three times lower in those with incomes less than £20,000 or savings less than £100.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Coronavirus Test Centre In Kent Closed Because Government Needs Land For Brexit

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The government has shut down a coronavirus testing centre in Kent because it needs the land to prepare for Brexit.
The revelation comes amid widespread shortages of Covid-19 tests, prompting warnings that NHS staff are being forced off to stay off work because they cannot be diagnosed.
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Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves told HuffPost UK the decision was a “disgrace” that “puts communities at risk”.
Downing Street confirmed the site at Ebbsfleet international station has been closed after a letter leaked to the Local Democracy Reporting Service showed HMRC needs it for “EU Exit”.
The government passed regulations in 2019 to give planning permission to use one of the station’s car parks as a holding centre for lorries where customs checks could be carried out.
No.10 said the region was served by a new testing centre in Rochester, which opened earlier this month.
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But it comes after NHS Providers said a lack of testing is contributing to health service staff absences, putting services at risk and impacting on preparations for the winter pressures of Covid-19 and seasonal flu.
That followed widespread reports from people across England claiming they were unable to book tests or were being offered tests hundreds of miles away.
Last week HuffPost UK revealed emergency workers were being turned away from testing sites, with 1,500 cars turned away from sites across England on just one day.
Senior Labour MP Reeves said: “The closing of the Ebbsfleet site – when the system is under so much strain, and sick people are being sent on wild goose chases to get a test – is a disgrace.
“It puts communities at risk and just typifies this Tory government’s shambolic and incompetent approach to planning, both on Covid-19 and our transition out of the EU. It really isn’t too much to ask that ministers co-ordinate their last-minute lorry parks better, and not close much needed testing centres that are so vital for tackling this pandemic.”
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Cars are directed at the drive-in coronavirus testing facility at Ebbsfleet in Kent Gareth Fulller - PA Images via Getty Images
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “People in Kent will be horrified to learn that the Covid testing facilities we so desperately need have closed, only to make way for a parking lot.
“Public health is now coming second to Brexit, thanks to Boris Johnson’s reckless approach to negotiations. This will cause grave concern across the country.
“The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for the best possible deal with Europe and to ensure that we avoid a no deal catastrophe. This government must start putting the national interest first.”
A No.10 spokesperson told reporters: “We have set up regional test sites at great speed and they reflected the immediate availability of security and access.
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“The testing site at Ebbsfleet is closed and a new regional testing site is operating very nearby in Rochester, ensuring operations can continue as needed.
“Final decisions on in-land sites (for Brexit) won’t be made until we establish the extent of the new infrastructure that will be delivered at ports.”
Ministers discussed efforts to increase testing capacity at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Boris Johnson on Tuesday.
“Capacity is the highest it has ever been but we are obviously seeing significant demands for tests. We continue to strive to increase capacity,” the spokesperson said.
They would not repeat the prime minister’s claim that the UK has a “world beating” test and trace system, saying only that it was “one of the biggest testing systems in the world”.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke Jailed For Two Years For Sexual Assaults

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Former Dover MP and “sexual predator” Charlie Elphicke has been jailed for two years for sexually assaulting two women.
The disgraced 49-year-old father-of-two showed no emotion as judge Justice Whipple sentenced him to an immediate prison term for three counts of sexual assault, following a month-long trial which heard trained lawyer Elphicke lied to police, senior Tories, and his wife.
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It has since emerged that his 20-year-old daughter, Charlotte, had become estranged from him, while his wife, Natalie Elphicke, announced on social media that she had ended their 25-year marriage less than an hour after his conviction at Southwark Crown Court in July.
Sentencing him on Tuesday, the judge said: “You’re a sexual predator who used your success and respectability as a cover.”
One of Elphicke’s victims, in a statement read to court, described the psychological harm she suffered, adding: “I still remember how he made me feel, I still know those feelings of fear and helplessness.”
The other said she routinely could not trust men, but took comfort in the conviction, saying: “I feel heard. Thank you.”
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In a statement, Elphicke said he would appeal against the conviction, adding he was “innocent of any criminal wrongdoing”.
Prosecutor Eloise Marshall QC previously described Elphicke as “an accomplished liar”, and said witness testimonies from the complainants were “almost identical” to each other, despite being from two women who did not know each other.
The court heard how the first offence took place when Elphicke invited a woman in her early 30s to share a drink with him while his children were asleep and his wife was away with work in the summer of 2007 – the first time she had been absent since the birth of their son.
The woman said Elphicke asked her about bondage and sex, then kissed her and groped her breast before chasing her around his home.
Breaking down in court, she told jurors: “I was just shocked – really, really shocked.
“He was saying really bizarre things that are embarrassing, like: ‘I’m a naughty Tory.’
“He was trying to grope me and trying to grab my bum.”
The second complainant said Elphicke also tried to kiss her and then groped her when they met for a drink in Westminster in April 2016.
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Today’s verdict is one that brings profound sorrow. It ends my 25 year marriage to the only man I have ever loved.
I would ask for some personal space and time to come to terms with the shocking events of the last 3 years.
I will not be commenting further. — Natalie Elphicke MP (@NatalieElphicke) July 30, 2020
He then told her: “I’m so naughty sometimes.”
The victim said: “He had his mouth open, continually trying to kiss me.
“It was like a disgusting, slobbery mess.”
She said she spurned Elphicke’s sexual advances, telling jurors she was physically repulsed by him, and that Elphicke told her he had “not been happy for years” in his marriage.
She said he assaulted her again the following month when he ran his hand up her thigh towards her groin.
Elphicke said he kissed the first victim because he initially felt it was something they both wanted.
He told jurors he was “besotted” with the second complainant, but denied assaulting either of them.
Elphicke became a government whip under David Cameron’s premiership in 2015, but returned to the back benches when Theresa May came to power the following year.
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He had the party whip suspended in 2017 when allegations of sexual assault first emerged, but it was controversially reinstated a year later for a crucial confidence vote in then-prime minister May.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Ant, Dec And Cat Deeley's SM:TV Screen Test Shows Just How Far They Came As A Trio

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There’s currently a lot of excitement in the air among 90s kids after Ant and Dec revealed they’d filmed a special documentary with Cat Deeley looking back at the story of SM:TV Live.
But on Tuesday, fans were transported back to where it all very first started for the Saturday morning trio with a look at their original screen test – and it’s fair to say they came a long way during their time working together.
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Cat had a blast from the past when she appeared on This Morning, after hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield revealed how the daytime show had a surprising connection to SM:TV.
It turns out Ant, Dec and Cat filmed their first screen test together for SM:TV in the This Morning studio in 1998, with the footage then played during Cat’s interview.
Ant, Dec and Cat during their SM:TV Live screen test in 1998 ITV
It saw her introducing herself to Ant and Dec, who were then better known as PJ and Duncan, before they made a series of awkward jokes.
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Cringing at some of her lines, Cat repeated: “A ‘fresh and funky show’?!”
She added: “I don’t remember anything about it at all. I just remember we were on your set.
“You always check out your barnet and what you’re wearing, and I’m alright, I’m having an All Saints moment. But then Ant has got his fringe and Declan has got this big collar. But I’m very Brummie at the time.”
Cat previously said that it took her, Ant and Dec a while to make the show a success after it launched, admitting they were initially “rubbish”.
Ant Dec and Cat Deeley on SMTV Live ITV
Writing in The Big Issue’s Letter To My Younger Self column, she said: “People forget, when we started SM:TV we were rubbish. And nobody watched it at all.
“It only stayed on air because Nigel Pickard, who was in charge of ITV kids’ programmes at the time, said: ‘We’ve got nothing else to fill the slot with. I know they’re rubbish now, but I think they’ve got something; let’s just keep them on, no one’s watching anyway.’
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“So we had this amazing luxury, where we were all learning together. And because we were surrounded by a brilliant crew it came together, there was a lovely chemistry between myself and Ant and Dec.
“Also, we all genuinely really liked each other.”
Ant, Dec and Cast hosted SM:TV Live together for three years, before the Geordie duo stepped down in 2001, with Cat later hosting with the likes of James Redmond, Tess Daly and Brian Dowling.
SM:TV was known for its unpredictable – and usually fairly chaotic – live studio segments, which included recurring features like the quiz Challenge Ant, the game show Wonky Donkey and Chums, a weekly parody of Friends.
The one-off documentary will look back at the story of the hit Saturday morning kids show and how it came about and will air later this year.
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During an appearance on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Ant said they would love to host a one-off special of SM:TV Live on a Saturday morning, but “doesn’t know if we can” in the current circumstances.
The presenting duo were previously tipped to have been reuniting with Cat for a one-off instalment of SM:TV in 2018, to commemorate the show’s 20th anniversary.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--BBC Admits Failing To Meet BAME Leadership Target

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The BBC has failed to reach its 2020 target for Black, Asian and minority ethic (BAME) leaders, the broadcaster has admitted.
In a briefing on Tuesday morning to outline the corporation’s annual report, new director-general Tim Davie told journalists that the organisation must “do better on diversity”.
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The BBC launched a report in 2018, “Reflecting the ethnic diversity of the UK within the BBC workforce”, that committed to a 15% BAME leadership target by 2020.
It also pledged to appoint at least two BAME members on every senior leadership group by the end of 2020.
This came as June Sarpong was appointed the BBC’s first director of creative diversity.
She told BBC Radio 4′s The Media Show last month: “I think the BBC, like many big media organisations, is diverse at sort of entry level. But certainly not diverse enough in terms of mid-level and senior leadership, not at all. I think anybody would agree and accept that.
“If you look at the targets that we’ve set ourselves, we’re not hitting them in the way we would like and so there’s a concerted effort being made to try and address that.”
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The annual report, which covers April 2019 to March 2020, also shows that there has been an increase in levels of trust and perceptions of the accuracy and impartiality of BBC News, with a higher proportion of people choosing BBC News as the source they trust most.
However, BAME groups have reported lower levels of BBC usage than their white counterparts.
mikeinlondon via Getty Images
Last month HuffPost UK revealed that the BBC has been labelled “institutionally racist” by its own staff members in a two-part investigation.
Dozens of current and former Black employees from departments across the corporation gave worrying accounts ranging from being denied career development opportunities to being bullied and then silenced by an ineffective complaints procedure.
We were also told that morale is at an “all-time low” among Black BBC staff who were banned from publicly supporting Black Lives Matter but watched on as their employer defended its use of the N-word.
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Davie expressed an intention to “talk to staff” about these allegations, “go through the whole procedure” and take appropriate action.
Responding to a question from HuffPost UK on Tuesday, he said: “This has to be an environment that’s truly diverse, truly inclusive. I think overall the BBC can be proud of its record – but (that’s not to say that) an organisation our size, there will be issues, there will be things to deal with.
“Things like that, we’re not ignoring them – any BBC staff know this now – we will fully investigate and take action as necessary.”
Christian Rummel via Getty Images
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The report also identifies that there is a risk that the BBC “fails to adapt, capitalise and provide high quality, relevant content and services to all license fee payers including underserved audiences (Black, Asian and minority ethnic)”.
To represent the public better, the BBC set out a Creative Diversity Commitment to prioritise £100m of the existing TV commissioning budget - and £12m of the existing radio budget - over three years from 2021/22 towards diverse and inclusive content.
It has also set a new mandatory 20% off air diverse-talent target in all new network commissions from April 2021.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Gary Lineker Tops BBC's List Of Highest-Paid Stars For Third Year Running

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The BBC has published its annual report of its highest-earning stars, with Gary Lineker topping the list for the third year in a row.
Since 2017, the corporation has been legally obliged to disclose all of the employees who are earning more than £150,000 a year.
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On Tuesday, the 2020 report was published, which listed the Beeb’s biggest earners.
The report confirmed that Gary had earned at least £1.75 million in the period until the end of March 2020, the same figure as in the previous year.
Gary Lineker arriving for The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London. PA Archive/PA Images
It was also reported on Tuesday that Gary would be taking a 23% pay cut in future, after a signing a new five-year deal with the BBC.
In second place on the list was Radio 2 breakfast presenter Zoë Ball, who earned at least £1.36 million, followed by Graham Norton on around £725,000
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This year’s top 10 includes more female talent than previous years, with Lauren Laverne and Fiona Bruce named for the first time, alongside Zoë and fellow radio DJ Vanessa Feltz, who previously featured in 2019.
Zoë Ball Stuart C. Wilson via Getty Images
However, while there is more representation for women among the highest earners, the list is still predominantly white, with no BAME talent among the top 10.
The top 10 list is as follows:
1. Gary Lineker (£1.75 million – £1,754,999) 2. Zoë Ball (£1.36 million – £1,364,999) 3. Graham Norton (£725,000 – £729,999) 4. Steve Wright (£475,000 – £479,999) 5. Huw Edwards (£465,000 – £469,999) 6. Fiona Bruce (£450,000 – £454,499) 7. Vanessa Feltz (£405,000 – £409,999) 8. Lauren Laverne (£395,000 – £399,999) 9. Stephen Nolan (£390,000 – £394,999) 10. Alan Shearer (£390,000 – £394,999)
It should be noted that the list excludes money earned through BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial arm, which is behind shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Antiques Roadshow, as well as scripted series Doctor Who and EastEnders.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--These Are Your Redundancy Rights If You've Been Furloughed

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With the end of the furlough scheme looming, more than nine million workers across the country are facing career uncertainty. And for some, the end of the government scheme on October 31 may mean redundancy.
If a company wishes to make more than 100 employees redundant, by law they have to launch consultations at least 45 days in advance. This means the final day to start proceedings is Wednesday September 16, in order to make redundancies by November 1.
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Citizens Advice is already helping someone every two minutes with one-to-one redundancy advice, so it’s urging workers to know their rights, as numbers are only expected to rise.
If you’ve been furloughed and think you may be facing redundancy, here are five things you need to know.
Westend61 via Getty Images
1. You’re entitled to full redundancy pay
Even if you’ve been furloughed since March, you’re legally entitled to redundancy pay based on your regular wage. Do not accept a payout that’s 80% of your usual salary.
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Workers are entitled to statutory redundancy pay – whether they’ve been furloughed or not – if they’ve been an employee for two years. The amount you will get depends on your age and how long you have worked for the company.
Statutory redundancy is currently set at:
Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22
One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41
One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
The length of service is capped at 20 years and weekly pay is capped at £538. You can find out how much redundancy pay you’re entitled to using this online calculator.
You may lose out on statutory redundancy pay if you turn down a suitable alternative job from your employer without a good reason – talk to a union rep or Citizen’s Advice for support on this.
Your employer may also pay extra money on top of the statutory amount you’re entitled to – this is called contractual redundancy pay. Some employees may be entitled to contractual redundancy pay even though they’re not entitled to statutory redundancy pay, so check your contract.
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2. You’re entitled to a notice period
If you’ve worked for your employer for at least a month you’re entitled to a paid statutory notice period – yes, even if you’re currently furloughed.
If you’ve worked there for more than a month but less than two years, you have to be given a week’s notice. For two years or more, it’s a week for each full year you have worked, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. You may be entitled to a longer notice period as part of your employment contract, so make sure you check it.
Your notice period only starts when your employer says you’ll be made redundant and gives you a finishing date – not when your employer says you’re at risk of redundancy. Your employer might decide to give you notice pay instead of your notice period – this is called ‘pay in lieu of notice’.
3. You’re entitled to holiday pay
Check how much holiday you have left. You’ll be paid for any holiday you have left over when you leave, even if you haven’t been to work for the past six months. This should be at your normal rate’s pay, even if you’re currently furloughed on 80% of your pay.
You can ask to take holiday during your notice period, but it’s up to your employer to decide if you can take it then. Your employer can also tell you to use up any holiday you have left over, but they must give you notice. The notice must be at least twice as long as the holiday they want you to take.
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4. You can’t be unfairly made redundant
There are rules to protect you from being discriminated against, and for being picked for redundancy due to an unfair reason. Previous research from Citizen’s Advice found parents, carers, disabled people and those who previously shielded are at least twice as likely to face redundancy than the rest of the working population. You shouldn’t be made redundant on these grounds.
If you suspect you may have been discriminated against in the redundancy process, Sarah Hexter, an employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon recommends keeping a record of events, discussions and communications from your employer.
“Confirm any decisions in writing where possible,” she told HuffPost. “Seek legal advice as soon as possible, as the timescales for taking action are very short and you will need to act on any potential employment tribunal claim within three months.”
5. You might be entitled to benefits
Sadly, unemployment may be a reality for some currently furloughed. The latest figures show the number of UK workers on payrolls has fallen by 695,000 since March. There’s been an increase of 76,000 in the number of unemployed young people aged between 16 and 24 over the past year.
If you find yourself in this position come November, know what benefits you’re entitled to. You may be entitled for Job Seeker’s Allowance, for example. How much you’re entitled to depends on your age, income and savings, but the maximum caps are set at:
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Aged up to 24: up to £58.90 per week
25 or over: up to £74.35 per week
Couples (both aged over 18) up to £116.80 per week


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Kobna Holdbrook-Smith On The Power Of Storytelling To Lift Spirits In Times Of Strife

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, winner of the Best Actor in a Musical Olivier award in 2019 for his role in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, has told HuffPost UK he has never felt so seen.
Following the eerie silence of deep lockdown in March and April, the Black Lives Matter protests in May signified a drastic change of pace: there was still a pandemic on, but the killing of George Floyd meant empty streets were now full with thousands of furious protestors.
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“As a Black man I’ve never felt as seen, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt quite as sceptical,” he tells HuffPost UK. “On the one hand I’ve seen so many people talking about Black Lives Matter. On the other hand is it just a social media fad?”
By anyone’s standards, 2020’s news cycle has been a giant, pressing weight.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Tina Turner at the press night for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical in London. Kobna played Tina's abusive husband Ike, for which he won the Best Actor in a Musical Olivier award David M. Benett via Getty Images
But for people of colour, who are statistically more likely to be the targets of police brutality, 2020 earmarks an opportunity for change.
“I really, really strongly believe in people’s rights to grow, to learn, to move away from what they didn’t know before,” says Kobna, reflecting on the movement. “It’s really important that people are able to go, ’Oh wait a minute, I’ve never done something before, and now I see it differently and I’m going to do something different.”
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An activist alongside his acting work, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith starred in Mary Poppins Returns as lawyer Templeton Frye in 2019 and on Marvel’s Dr Strange in 2016 with Benedict Cumberbatch, whom he had already starred alongside in Hamlet at the Barbican in 2015 (Kobna played Laertes, Benedict was Hamlet).
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and US actress Adrienne Warren pose on the red carpet upon arrival to attend The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London NIKLAS HALLE'N via Getty Images
In his latest role, Kobna hopes to respond to the upsetting news cycle by focusing on a more positive aspect of the tumultuous events: the way storytelling can bring us together in times of strife. And the sense of community and family values that have supported many of us through the lockdown.
One of the actors involved in the Yahoo STO4IES podcast, Kobna has recorded Polly Tumpkin’s Pumpkin, a story about a young girl called Polly and her father who enter a pumpkin growing contest.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, David Oyelowo and Zoe Saldana have also recorded episodes for the series without taking a fee - as the podcast is raising awareness of the work of The GEANCO Foundation, an organisation raising money and offering support for Covid-19 relief in Nigeria, where doctors have gone on strike over low salaries and hazardous working conditions.
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These stories aim to connect wider audiences with the uniquely challenging story of life right now on the African continent.
“I’ve got quite a romantic view about art and its ability to connect with people,” says Kobna.
“It has this bridging function that no one can deny. If you see something, a work of art, a painting, you listen to something, you enjoy something that was made up: it did not exist before someone invented it and then you connect to an imagined feeling: you and the creator, your imaginations meet in the middle.
“Humans are the only ones that make stuff up because they’re enjoyable, and that to me is the nature of art.” - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
“It’s especially wonderful in theatre, there’s this confederacy where the audience and the makers come together and say, ‘okay, so we all agree we’re in Venice in 1600s, right? Right? Okay, then off we go.’ It tickles me pink each time.
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“I genuinely think it distinguishes humans from other animals, because we’re the only ones that make stuff up,” says Kobna.
“Other animals use tools, other animals have social interactions, they have matching sexual practices, there are loads of things about us and other creatures that overlap but we’re the only ones that make stuff up because they’re enjoyable, and that to me is the nature of art.”
Acting is also a successful means of representing marginalised groups in society. “With art, you can see people,” says Kobna.
“Representation has a really important function. It’s not the ultimate function, and we don’t want to get into the realm of saying, ‘oh well we have to behave in a certain way in order to please the White powerful people,’ but we do have an opportunity in the stories we imagine, to include [representation of people from different backgrounds]...”
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He uses Game Of Thrones as an example of how the entertainment industry is in a confusing place right now with representation. “I often quip about it,” he says.
“People think Black people in Game of Thrones is somehow unrealistic. But this programme is full of dragons?” - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith on the confusing place we're at with diversity in TV and film
“People think Black people in Game Of Thrones is somehow unrealistic. But this programme is full of dragons? How are dragons less crow-barred in than Black people, or people of colour?”
Industry insiders say there is already some change afoot. Executives are finally involved in more constructive conversations around ways to actively diversify the film and TV industry, say diversity groups like The TV Mindset, which has flourished in the wake of Black Lives Matter.
Perhaps soon we can hope that dragons will be the unusual inclusions in TV shows - not minority groups.
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Kobna finishes by offering a further assessment of how art can help. “The power of art is art is very soft, it requires vulnerability. It also requires complicity,” he says of the the relationship between audiences and actors.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Man In 'Life-Threatening' Condition After Being Shot With A Crossbow In Uxbridge

A man in Uxbridge is in a life-threatening condition after being shot with a cross-bow.
Police were called to Pield Heath Road in Uxbridge, London, on Monday, where a man was found with an abdominal injury caused by a crossbow arrow.
Metropolitan Police said the 33-year-old was rushed to a west London hospital with “critical injuries”.
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His condition is being treated as life-threatening, officers said.
No-one has been arrested over the incident and enquiries continue.
Cordons remain in place at the scene.
Witnesses, or anyone with information, should call police on 101 quoting CAD 7227/14Sep. To remain anonymous, please contact Crimestoppers.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Sweat And Heavy Breathing In Hot Weather Comes With A Covid Warning

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As the temperature increases this week so does potential risk of transmission of Covid-19. We breathe more heavily and sweat more when it’s hot – and so we need to be prepared.
When you’re wearing a face mask or covering, beads of sweat can run down the lower part of your face and chin. Sweat, unlike heavy breathing, is not considered a factor in coronavirus transmission. But here’s what to be aware of.
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“Sweat is not a means of transmission, but we should all be careful,” Juan Gestal, professor of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Santiago de Compostela told Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia. “As a preventative measure, we need to wash our hands after use and avoid touching our eyes, mouth, or nose during use.”
Sweating cannot directly transmit the virus, but it “may make your mask slide down and constantly putting it back in place with your hands isn’t recommended,” Dr Roland Krzentowski, president of Mon Stade, a centre specialising in health, sport and performance in Paris told HuffPost France.
Your face mask might not filter as well
Heavy breathing (with or without a mask) is an added transmission factor because it increases the number of droplets ejected through the mouth and nose. With the heat, our breathing gets faster and more intense, as it does when we exercise. The humidity generated by deeper breathing can cause masks to lose their filtration capacities.
“When you breathe heavily, you’ll notice that the mask enters your mouth more often and bothers you,” Stéphane Gayet, public health and infectious disease specialist at the CHU in Strasbourg, told the Parisien. “There is a greater risk of you lacking oxygen and with that, a temptation to take off the mask or lift it up so you can breathe more easily.”
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It’s important not to touch your mask or reposition it with your hands, if you can avoid it. It’s also recommended to avoid touching your face with your fingers, even to wipe away perspiration. A single-use wipe that you then throw in the rubbish is a better – if not green – alternative, or you can use a mist spray to cool off your forehead and neck. Avoid sharing water bottles.
Change your face covering more often
Be careful to keep your mask dry. When it’s wet “the static electricity in the fabric fibres that stops the droplets of spit disappears, and the droplets pass more easily,” according to the French Association of Standards (Afnor). It’s recommended that you change your mask more regularly than every four hours to ensure that it isn’t too damp from heavy sweating.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Cat Deeley’s Incredible Story About Mariah Carey On SM:TV Is The Stuff Of Legend

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Mariah Carey is known as much for her diva antics as she is for all of those classic hits.
This is the woman who admitted to playing a live version of her song Fantasy so that her twins could hear the applause of a standing ovation as they entered the world.
Incredible.
Or how about the time she reportedly stormed out of President Obama’s inauguration ceremony because she wasn’t on the same table as the First Couple?
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Legendary.
But despite her demands, Mariah isn’t above getting stuck in when duty calls – something Cat Deeley has receipts for.
Cat has recalled the time Mariah played her bridesmaid and walked her down the aisle on her faux wedding day in the last ever episode of Chums when she appeared on SM:TV Live back in 2001.
Yes, this actually happened. YouTube
And we were not prepared for the behind-the-scenes secrets the presenter let us all in on during an appearance on Monday’s The One Show.
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“She actually went to Virgin Brides herself to pick that monstrosity of a dress but she wanted to be in lavender satin,” Cat recalled.
It gets better...
“As I was standing waiting to go on set, she fluffed my dress. I said, ‘Mariah what are you doing? What you doing Mariah?’ And she said, ‘You’ve got to look beautiful, it’s your wedding day!’”
Wow.
Cat added: “She’s nuts and brilliant.”
During an interview with Zoe Ball on her Radio 2 show, the pair revealed they’d already recorded a nostalgic one-off look back at the hit children’s show, which will be airing later in 2020.
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“There’s definitely an SM:TV reunion,” Dec explained. “We’ve filmed a show looking back at the story of SM:TV and how it came about.
“That’s going to be on later in the year. We’ve recorded that already.”
Asked whether a one-off return for SM:TV Live could be in the pipeline, Dec added: “We should just do another one time. Just do it. But do it 9.25 on a Saturday morning for three hours, get some bands on.”
He added that while he and Ant would “love to do it”, he “doesn’t know if we can”.
Cat Deely and Ant Dec Rex
Ant and Dec hosted SM:TV Live with Cat Deeley for three years, eventually stepping down in 2001, around the time they began presenting Pop Idol on Saturday nights.
SM:TV was known for its unpredictable – and usually fairly chaotic – live studio segments, which included recurring features like the quiz Challenge Ant, the game show Wonky Donkey and Chums, a weekly parody of Friends.
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The presenting duo were previously tipped to have been reuniting with Cat for a one-off instalment of SM:TV in 2018, to commemorate the show’s 20th anniversary.
However, these plans were seemingly quashed when Ant decided to take some time out of the spotlight to focus on his recovery, following his arrest for drink-driving.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Family Of Carole Baskin's Late Husband Air Appeal Advert During Her Debut Dancing With The Stars App

Family Of Carole Baskin's Late Husband Air Appeal Advert During Her Debut Dancing With The Stars Appearance

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The family of Carole Baskin’s missing ex-husband aired an appeal advert during her debut appearance on Dancing With The Stars on Monday night.
Carole – who shot to fame earlier this year when she appeared in the hit series Tiger King – married Don Lewis in 1991, and he went missing six years later.
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Don was later declared legally dead in 2002, with the big cat enthusiast repeatedly denying claims that she was involved in his disappearance or death, including on camera in the Netflix documentary.
On Monday night, Carole made her first appearance on Dancing With The Stars, and during one ad break, Don’s family made an appeal for anyone with information about his disappearance to come forward.
After emotional messages from his daughters, Gale, Lynda and Donna, a family lawyer then said: “Don Lewis mysteriously disappeared in 1997. His family deserves answers; they deserve justice. Do you know who did this or if Carole Baskin was involved?”
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A reward of $100,000 (£77,800) has also been offered.
In a statement issued to Metro, Carole later said: “Someone (a reporter I won’t name) made sure that I knew about it 10 minutes before going out on the dance floor tonight and you can see that it did not keep me from bringing the best performance of my two weeks of learning.”
Carole is one of 15 famous faces competing on the current season of Dancing With The Stars, with rapper Nelly, Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe, Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and Cheer coach Monica Aldama also among the contestants.
Carole Baskin on Dancing With The Stars ABC
For her first routine of the new run, Carole and partner Pasha Pashkov performed a Paso Doble to Eye Of The Tiger (obviously), but came in at the bottom of the leaderboard with just 11 points.
The UK version of the show – Strictly Come Dancing – is set to debut on BBC One in October, with the 12 celebrities taking part having now been revealed.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Priti Patel Has An Absolute Nightmare Trying To Defend 'Rule Of Six' And Covid Testing

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Priti Patel squirmed her way through a series of brutal interviews on Tuesday morning, as she tried to defend the government’s Test and Trace system in the face of mounting criticism and reports of massive failings.
People in hotspot areas and even NHS staff are being forced to stay off work and self-isolate because they cannot access coronavirus tests for themselves or family members, health leaders have warned.
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Helpfully, Sir John Bell who has been overseeing the government’s antibody test programme and advising ministers, told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme exactly what is currently going wrong.
He said: “I think what’s going wrong is the second wave.
“A month ago they had spare capacity in testing – significant spare capacity – but I think what has been underestimated was the speed at which the second wave would arrive, but also the pressure put on the system from children returning to school, and the testing demands associated with that, and people increasingly out and about.
“So, I think they are definitely behind the curve in terms of getting the necessary tests for what we need today.”
But in stark contrast to Bell’s candour, the home secretary insisted tests were available and everything was largely OK.
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The ‘reality’ in Bolton
One particular area of concern is Bolton where the infection rate is the highest in England, and residents have complained of long delays in trying to book a test and in some cases being offered appointments in other areas of the UK.
Responding to the criticisms put forward by BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker, Patel said: “Well I think the reality is...”
Walker interrupted: “That is the reality. You can’t get a test in Bolton at the moment. In fact, in the worst 10 coronavirus hotspots in England at the moment, there are no tests available.”
Undeterred, Patel continued to dispute the facts on the ground: “Well you’ve already heard me say tests are available. You’ve heard me say as well particularly in local lockdown areas, I’ve seen this myself, I’ve seen the teams working on this.
“Mobile testing is going in, capacity is going into local areas where lockdowns have been undertaken and are taking place. So it’s wrong to say tests are not available, new booking slots are being made available every single day, mobile testing slots are being made available and on top of that, home testing kits are being issued across the country but specifically in local lockdown areas.”
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Dan Walker - The people in Bolton can't get coronavirus tests?
Priti Patel - Test are available... it's wrong to say tests are not available..
Head in sand about the testing fiasco. #BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/QafT5OBZqh — Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) September 15, 2020
Mingling and grousing
After the already infamous ‘Rule of Six’ came into force yesterday, Patel was asked if two families of four stopping for a chat on the way to the park constituted “mingling”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is mingling. I think it is absolutely mingling.
“You have got to put this in the context of coronavirus and keeping distance, wearing masks.
“The rule of six is about making sure that people are being conscientious and not putting other people’s health at risk.”
Patel added: “Mingling is people coming together. That is my definition of mingling.”
single and ready to get arrested if I mingle — Esther Webber (@estwebber) September 15, 2020
Commentators were quick to highlight a story HuffPost UK revealed yesterday which described how the government has exempted grouse shooting and other “hunting” with guns from the restrictions.
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In response to one question on LBC, Patel suggested someone could “theoretically” have a birthday party on a grouse shoot.
Scenario 1
-Family meeting friends on street could be ‘illegal mingling’ and might be fined by police, says Priti Patel #r4today
Scenario 2
-30 friends gather to shoot grouse.
Perfectly ok. Go ahead
A mess — Paul Johnson (@paul__johnson) September 15, 2020
Priti Patel tells #Today if a family of 4 comes across another family of 4 in the street who they know & they stop for a chat they are “mingling” & have committed a criminal offence. This is complete nonsense & we risk a total breakdown on #COVID19 rule compliance. — Anna Soubry (@Anna_Soubry) September 15, 2020
Nick Ferrari on the Rule of Six: "I could have a birthday party on a grouse shoot?"
Home Secretary Priti Patel: "Theoretically, you might want to give it a go. It's not my cup of tea, I will be honest about that." — Theo Usherwood (@theousherwood) September 15, 2020
Mixed blessings for Priti Patel’s neighbours
Speaking to Sky News, Patel said she’s “rarely at home” these days, but added: “I saw something that I thought was inappropriate then, quite frankly, I would call the police.”
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Clearly describing the act of dobbing in neighbours, she said: “It’s not dobbing in neighbours,
She added: “It’s all about us taking personal responsibility.”
Watch out, if you live next door to Priti Patel 👀
“If I saw something that I thought was inappropriate, then quite frankly I would effectively call the police. It's not about dobbing in neighbours, I think it's all about us taking personal responsibility.“ — Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) September 15, 2020
Dobbing in the government
Patel was also forced to defend the controversial clauses in the Internal Market Bill, which last week the government admitted would break the law in a “limited and specific way”.
In an exchange with LBC’s Nick Ferrari and after admitting she would call the police if she saw people breaking the ‘Rule of Six’, Patel was asked what the public should in other cases of law-breaking.
Ferrari said: ”“Who do I call when the government breaks the law?”
Patel replied: “I think you’re conflating two fundamentally separate issues. You are speaking about acts of Parliament and interpretations of international treaties and domestic law.
“The two are completely separate.”
At least we know she is capable of honesty "in a limited and specific way" — CuparArab (@CuparArab) September 15, 2020
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And back to those pesky reports on testing...
The home secretary also faced a grilling over testing on the BBC’s Today programme, where she still refused to give a straight answer on why hotspots are having problems with testing. Here’s part of her interview with Mishal Husain:
Patel: “At a local level... Public Health England (PHE) is working with trusts to prioritise individuals and make sure that those who absolutely need the test are getting the test.” Host Mishal Husain: ”But they’re not home secretary. Council leaders in Bolton are in the highest levels of prevalence in the country and they are having problems with testing.” Patel: “Well I think the key thing to point out right now is it’s PHE working not just with the NHS but with local authorities to pinpointing the actual hotspots. The government has data down to the postcode, where the hotspots are. Husain: “So why is it going wrong then?” Patel: “Well mobile testing units are being put in place. This is an issue of capacity and demand. Husain: “Yes, but we knew there would be more demand when children went back to school, didn’t we?” Patel” Of course, and that demand is growing and that capacity is growing on a daily basis.” Husain: “Just not the point it’s actually needed...” Patel: “The capacity is growing.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--John Boyega Quits Jo Malone Role After Being Cut From Chinese Version Of Advert He Directed

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Last year, Jo Malone debuted a new advertising campaign directed by and featuring the Star Wars actor, which showed him walking around Peckham, where he was born and raised, dancing with friends and spending time at home with his family.
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A reshot version of the ad featuring actor Liu Haoran in similar scenes was recently unveiled for the Chinese market, with a spokesperson having since apologised for what they described as a “misstep”.
Posting on Twitter, John explained his decision to leave his role at the company, stating that “dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone”.
John Boyega PA
“I have decided to step down as Jo Malone’s global ambassador,” he wrote. “When I joined the brand as their first male global ambassador last year, I created the short film we used to launch the campaign. It won the Fragrance Foundation Virtual awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign.
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“Their decision to replace my campaign in China by using my concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for me, without either my consent or prior notice, was wrong.
“The film celebrated my personal story– showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family. While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors , dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone.”
We are thrilled to announce that our Jo Malone London Gent film featuring @JohnBoyega is the proud winner of The Fragrance Foundation Virtual Awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign. #ScentofAGent #TheFragranceFoundationAwards pic.twitter.com/rNZpTVXLB6 — Jo Malone London (@JoMaloneLondon) August 27, 2020
He added: “It’s back to back but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong. Stay blessed people.”
I have decided to step down as Jo Malone's global ambassador. When I joined the brand as their first male global ambassador last year, I created the short film we used to launch the campaign. It won the Fragrance Foundation Virtual awards 2020 for Best Media Campaign. — John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 14, 2020
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Their decision to replace my campaign in China by using my concepts and substituting a local brand ambassador for me, without either my consent or prior notice, was wrong. The film celebrated my personal story– showcasing my hometown, including my friends and featuring my family. — John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 14, 2020
While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors , dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone. — John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 14, 2020
It’s back to back but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong. Stay blessed people ❤ — John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 14, 2020
A tweet shared on the official Jo Malone page said: “John Boyega is an incredible talent, artist and person and we were proud to have him as part of our Jo Malone London family.
“We respect John’s decision and we wish him all the best.”
John Boyega is an incredible talent, artist and person and we were proud to have him as part of our Jo Malone London family. We respect John’s decision and we wish him all the best. — Jo Malone London (@JoMaloneLondon) September 14, 2020
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In a statement issued on Monday, a Jo Malone representative said: “We deeply apologise for what on our end was a mistake in the local execution of the John Boyega campaign.
“John is a tremendous artist with great personal vision and direction. The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated.
“While we immediately took action and removed the local version of the campaign, we recognise that this was painful and that offence was caused.
“We respect John, and support our partners and fans globally. We are taking this misstep very seriously and we are working together as a brand to do better moving forward.”
John previously retweeted a message from a fan which read: “This is the ad John Boyega came up with and directed. It is great. Now, this man needs to be properly compensated for the thievery! No apology is good enough.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Trump’s Ex-Lawyer Really Regrets Not Smacking The President In The Head

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Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen wishes he had smacked Trump across the face after he made lewd comments about his daughter.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Cohen’s daughter, Samantha Cohen, said when she was 15 that Trump noticed her walking off a tennis court and said, “Look at that piece of ass.”
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He reportedly added, “I would love some of that,” only to have Cohen inform him the woman in question was his teenage daughter.
The now-president didn’t seem too bothered by the mistake, telling him, “That’s your daughter? When did she get so hot?”
When Cohen appeared on “The View” Monday to promote his new book, “Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump,” Joy Behar asked about the incident.
“Why didn’t you sock him in the face at that moment? How could you let that slide?” she wondered.
Cohen attempted to blame his behaviour on Stockholm syndrome, the condition where victims feel trust or affection toward their captors.
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“Well, I wouldn’t have liked to have said it, I would have liked to have smacked him across the side of the head. I never would have allowed anybody to speak to or about my daughter in such a disrespectful way,” Cohen said. “I did just because, you know, as so many people would say, let Trump be Trump, and that’s the problem.”
He then explained that he wrote his book to “get people to open up their eyes and to see the individual for who he really is.”
You can see the exchange below.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Trump Campaign Uses Russian Fighter Jets In 9/11 'Support Our Troops' Ad

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Donald Trump’s campaign was caught again engaging in the careless use of stock photos, this time posting an image of Russian fighter jets in a “support our troops” ad.
The ad from Trump’s fundraising committee ran September 8-12, including on the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Politico reported. It said “SUPPORT OUR TROOPS” and depicted soldiers in silhouette in the foreground with aircraft behind them:
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A Trump ad used a picture of Russian military jets https://t.co/HcbA6wEe3a — Blake News (@blakehounshell) September 15, 2020
But the aircraft are Russian.
“That’s definitely a MiG-29,” Pierre Sprey, who helped design both the F-16 and A-10 planes for the US Air Force, told Politico. “I’m glad to see it’s supporting our troops.”
Trump and his campaign have had repeated issues with misusing stock images over the years. In 2015, early in his presidential campaign, Trump shared an image of himself with troops inside the US flag, except the troops in the image were Nazi soldiers from WWII:
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In 2016, Trump posted a video supposedly showing US military veterans, only the video was from a neo-Nazi account on Twitter and the troops were Soviets.
The stock photo flubs go beyond military issues. Earlier this year, then-campaign manager Brad Parscale shared an image supposedly of Air Force One flying over a NASCAR event; the image was really from 2004.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Trump Has Head-Scratching Solution For California Wildfires : 'It Will Start Getting Cooler'

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President Donald Trump touched down in California on Monday to survey the wildfire damage and immediately launched into his usual talking points about poor forest management while denying the role of climate change.
Trump arrived in Sacramento as more than two dozen major wildfires burned across the state. More than 2 million acres in the state have burned this year, a nearly 2,000% increase in land burned compared to this time last year.
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At a roundtable discussion about the wildfires, California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said Trump’s focus on forest management was obscuring the grim reality that climate change was behind the historically high temperatures and years of drought.
“It will start getting cooler. You just watch,” Trump fired back at Crowfoot, adding, “I don’t think science knows actually.”
Minutes before, when Trump had just disembarked his plane, reporters repeatedly asked him to acknowledge how climate change has influenced the situation. But Trump wouldn’t budge on his claims that the disaster is simply a matter of cleaning up the state’s forests.
Trump speaks during a briefing on wildfires with local and federal fire and emergency officials in Sacramento, California. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images
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“I think this is more of a management situation,” Trump said to one of the reporters. “If you look at other countries, if you go to other countries in Europe, Austria and Finland and numerous countries ... they don’t have problems like this,” even with “explosive” trees.
“When trees fall down, after a short period of time they become very dry — really like a matchstick ... and they can explode,” he continued. “Also leaves. When you have dried leaves on the ground, it’s just fuel for the fires.”
For the last three and a half years, the Trump administration has denied and downplayed the role of climate change in driving extreme wildfires in the West. During the wildfires that plagued California in 2018, for example, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told KCRA-TV that the inferno had “nothing to do with climate change,” only to declare days later that “of course” it’s a factor.
Instead, Trump and his team have spent their time threatening to withhold federal relief funds for California, using the disasters to push partisan policies and working to boost logging on millions of federal acres. The president has also repeatedly blamed California’s wildfire problem on the state, claiming that it has failed to properly manage ― more specifically, “rake” and “sweep” ― its forests. The reality, however, is that the federal government owns far more of the state’s 33 million forest acres than the state does ― and it is on those federal lands that some of the state’s largest fires have burned.
“We acknowledge our role and responsibility to do more in that space,” governor Gavin Newsom said at the roundtable Monday. “But one thing is fundamental — 57% of the land in this state is federal forest land, 3% is California [land].” He stressed that California needs support from the federal government in order to address the infernos.
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Earlier on the airstrip, Trump had nothing to say when a reporter asked him if he viewed climate change as an issue in California at all.
“You’ll have to ask the governor that question. I don’t want to step on his toes,” said Trump, who regularly picks fights with Newsom over his policies.
The only time the president came close to acknowledging that climate change is real was when he took a jab at other countries.
“When you get into climate change, well, is India going to change its ways? Is China going to change its ways? Is Russia?” he asked, concluding, “We’re just a small speck.”
The United States is one of the world’s biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing more than both India and Russia combined.
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While the president has shown little sympathy for the Democratic state of California during its yearly bouts with wildfire, he has stood ready to assist red states facing disaster. His favouritism for states that helped elect him in 2016 has been on full display in the run-up to the 2020 election.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--The Bad Original Game Of Thrones Pilot Had A Hilarious NSFW Moment

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At this point, the case of the terrible, horrible, very bad original Game of Thrones pilot is well documented.
Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been candid about their expensive misfire, jokingly threatening star Kit Harington that images of it could come to light.
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Ahead of the show’s final season, HuffPost even reported on one of the original pilot scripts available in Texas A&M’s Cushing Memorial Library, going over differences between the script and what aired.
Of course, the episode was saved through reshoots, and the rest was thought to be history. However, we’re now getting some hilarious new details about HBO’s bad pilot, and they’re straight from the horse’s mouth.
Emilia Clarke in "Game of Thrones." HBO
In Entertainment Weekly’s excerpt from their own James Hibberd’s upcoming oral history, Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Untold Story of the Epic Series, George R.R. Martin, author of the original books, highlighted some major differences between Khal Drogo and Daenerys’ first wedding night and the final version.
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In the original pilot, the love scene unfolded between Jason Momoa’s Drogo and Tamzin Merchant’s Daenerys. (Merchant was later replaced by Emilia Clarke in reshoots.) Martin recalled:
So we’re by this little brook. They tied the horses to the trees and there’s a seduction scene by the stream. Jason Momoa and Tamzin are naked and “having sex.” And suddenly the video guy starts to laugh. The silver filly was not a filly at all. It was a colt. And it was getting visibly excited by watching these two humans. There’s this horse in the background with this enormous horse schlong. So that didn’t go well either.
Yeah, apparently Dany’s horse couldn’t wait to raise its ... erm ... sword for the couple.
As also noted in HuffPost’s reporting, Martin said that the wedding night sex was originally consensual between Dany and Drogo, which is more faithful to his story and vastly different from the rape that happens in the HBO pilot that aired. But that may be about all the first pilot got right.
Elsewhere in the excerpt from Hibberd’s book, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, looked back on that original experience, saying, “Nobody knew what they were doing.” Iain Glen, who played Jorah Mormont, said that Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s wedding was originally shot at night, meaning a lot of money was spent to see “absolutely f—k-all.” Benioff remembered that when his family saw the pilot, you could tell “they were bored.”
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The showrunner shouldn’t feel too bad though. Judging from Martin’s story, the pilot at least left someone pretty excited.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--NHS Staff Forced Off Work Due To Covid Testing Shortages, Hospital Bosses Warn

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NHS staff are being forced to stay off work and self-isolate because they cannot access coronavirus tests for themselves or family members, health leaders have warned.
Hospitals in Bristol, Leeds and London have raised concerns about the lack of tests available to staff, according to NHS Providers, which represents NHS trust leaders.
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It claimed the lack of testing is contributing to staff absences, putting NHS services at risk and impacting on preparations for the winter pressures of Covid-19 and seasonal flu.
It comes after widespread reports from people across England claiming they were unable to book tests or were being offered tests hundreds of miles away.
One doctor claimed two NHS doctors were unable to go into work because of a lack of testing, despite continually checking the website through the night.
Last week HuffPost UK revealed emergency workers were being turned away from testing sites, with 1,500 cars turned away from sites across England on just one day.
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There is no COVID testing in west London at all today - neither walk in nor drive thru.
Which means *two* NHS doctors cannot go to work - at a time when COVID cases are surging.
They checked all through the night.. 2am.. 5am.. Still nothing.@matthancock this is disgusting. pic.twitter.com/a5ktv0OUcl — Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) September 11, 2020
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said: “It’s clear that there are current capacity problems with the testing regime.
“Trust leaders from Bristol, Leeds and London have all raised concerns over the weekend about the lack of testing availability leading to greater levels of staff absence.
“It’s not just access for tests for staff members themselves, it’s also access for their family members as NHS workers have to self-isolate if their family members are unable to confirm if they have Covid-19 or not.
“The problem is that NHS trusts are working in the dark – they don’t know why these shortages are occurring, how long they are likely to last, how geographically widespread they are likely to be and what priority will be given to healthcare workers and their families in accessing scarce tests.”
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He added NHS trusts were also concerned about the impact of shortages on patients who need to be tested for coronavirus before being admitted for hospital treatment.
“We’re aware of a small number of examples of patients being unable to get such tests, which cuts across trusts’ ability to restore services in the way they have been asked to do,” he said.
A lack of coronavirus tests for NHS staff is leading to staff absences and services being put at risk, hospital bosses have warned. Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
“The government response has often been to rely on a random, impressive sounding, overall statistic – the number of tests performed or PPE (personal protective equipment) items delivered – or to set out a bold future ambition – a world class test and trace service by June, or a moonshot testing regime at some point next year,” he said.
“Both approaches ignore the operational problem at hand. Neither helps the frontline organisations that actually have to deal with the problem.”
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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said testing capacity has been targeted at the hardest-hit areas following a rise in demand.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Here's What Chris Evans Has To Say About That NSFW Nude Camera Roll Leak

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Now that Chris Evans has your attention, he wants to remind you to vote.
The Avengers star set off a social media frenzy over the weekend when he reportedly posted an Instagram video featuring a game of Heads Up that inadvertently revealed the contents of his camera roll.
It was quickly removed but not before some of his 5.7 million followers caught a glimpse of a penis pic and a raunchy meme.
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On Monday, Evans enlisted the help of the face palm emoji as he embraced his mishap for a noble cause:
Now that I have your attention
🤦🏻♂🤷🏻♂....
VOTE Nov 3rd!!! — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) September 15, 2020
He certainly did get attention from fans and friends alike. While many fans offered support and urged others to respect the actor’s privacy, his Avengers co-star Mark Ruffalo had some cheeky words of comfort:
.@ChrisEvans Bro, while Trump is in office there is NOTHING you could possibly do to embarrass yourself. See... silver lining. — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 13, 2020
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And his brother Scott Evans poked fun:
Was off social media for the day yesterday.
So.
What’d I miss? — Scott Evans (@thescottevans) September 13, 2020
His Monday evening post earned him a pat on the back from his Knives Out director Rian Johnson, on-screen mom Jamie Lee Curtis, fans and other Twitter personalities.
My boy! Proud of him. Got MY attention! — Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) September 15, 2020
I’m sure every mathematically possible pun is already in the mentions so I’ll just say LISTEN TO THIS MAN.
(And pull that lever)
(Oh man) https://t.co/fOQ66A5ZLU — Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) September 15, 2020
chris evans
🍆
く|)へ
〉 bloomberg spending
￣￣┗┓ $100m in florida
┗┓ ヾ👨🏻🦳ｼ
┗┓ ヘ/
┗┓ノ
┗┓ https://t.co/cXS18bi4bb — David Mack (@davidmackau) September 15, 2020
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Harry Potter Star Robbie Coltrane Defends JK Rowling In Trans Row

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The writer has attracted strong criticism for her comments on gender identity, but denies she is transphobic.
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The row has been reignited following early reviews of her latest book, Troubled Blood, which centres around a cisgender male serial killer who dresses up as a woman to murder his female victims
Robbie Coltrane KI PRICE/INVISION/AP
Robbie, who played gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, has suggested people are too easily offended.
He told Radio Times: “I don’t think what she said was offensive really. I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.
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“They wouldn’t have won the war, would they? That’s me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, ‘Oh, get over yourself. Wise up, stand up straight and carry on.’”
The 70-year-old said he did not want to go further because, “I don’t want to get involved in all of that because of all the hate mail and all that shit, which I don’t need at my time of life”.
J.K. Rowling Greg Allen/Invision/AP
In June, JK commented on an article titled, Creating a More Equal Post-COVID-19 World for People Who Menstruate, pushing back against the headline for not referring to those who get their periods as just ‘women’.
She tweeted: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
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The tweet sparked a wave of backlash from the LGBTQ community and its supporters, accusing her of erasing trans people, and reminded the author that transgender people, non-binary people and gender-nonconforming people can also menstruate.
Following a backlash, JK stood by her comments, arguing “it isn’t hate to speak the truth”.
The 55-year-old author added: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
Many stars of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies spoke out in support of the trans community following JK’s comments including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Eddie Redmayne.
Daniel, who became a worldwide star after playing schoolboy wizard Harry in the blockbuster adaptations of the beloved book series, stated “transgender women are women”.
Useful websites and helplines:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Number Of People On Unemployment Benefits In UK Soars To 2.7 Million

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The number of people on unemployment-related benefits in the UK has reached 2.7 million – an increase of 120% since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In the three months from the end of March to July, unemployment increased by 62,000 to 1.4 million, making the rate of unemployment increasing to 4.1%.
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It marks the first time the jobless rate has increased since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Figures also showed the number of people on payrolls shrank by 695,000 between March and August due to the impact of the pandemic, as employers cut jobs ahead of the winding down of the government’s Job Retention Scheme.
The rise in unemployment has particularly impacted young workers, with an increase of 76,000 in the number of unemployed young people aged between 16 and 24 over the past year, the ONS said.
ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: “Some effects of the pandemic on the labour market were beginning to unwind in July as parts of the economy reopened.
“Fewer workers were away on furlough and average hours rose.
“The number of job vacancies continued to recover into August, too.
“Nonetheless, with the number of employees on the payroll down again in August and both unemployment and redundancies sharply up in July, it is clear that coronavirus is still having a big impact on the world of work.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week

Recently my 4 yo has said she doesn’t like it when I work (because I’m away from her). I’ve explained that I work so she has food and clothes, and we should be grateful. Today she’s playing “work,” and I hear her telling her sister loudly: WE HAVE TO WORK TO KEEP FROM STARVING.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--What Being A Fat Sex Worker Taught Me About Men And Desire

Luis Alvarez via Getty Images
Many times, when I tell women I used to do sex work, they look me up and down and say, “Really?” I probably get this reaction because I’m 5 feet 3 inches tall and weigh 230 pounds, and I don’t fit their preconception of what a sex worker looks like.
There are a lot of preconceived notions about sex workers held by the general public, and one of the strongest among them in my experience is the belief that sex workers all look like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and that men only desire a sex worker who is skinny.
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I’m here to tell you that’s all false.
I don’t by any means have a perfect physique and am what my doctor calls “obese.” I have a big, round tummy covered in pink stretch marks, saggy boobs, areolas that my first boyfriend said looked “like pepperonis” and a moustache that requires regular waxing. I’m human and imperfect, and I worked as a successful escort for more than a decade.
I started as a full-time escort on the now-defunct Backpage.com. I did not advertise myself as a “BBW” escort ― just merely an escort, like any other girls on Backpage. I never had any problem attracting business.
Last year, I went to a strip club to audition to be a dancer. The manager clearly found it amusing that someone like me was trying to get a job as a dancer, and he told me that I was “too big.” Given what I know from experience, that a lot of men prefer women my size, why wouldn’t a club want to have as much diversity as possible to appeal to as many clients as possible? To me, that’s just good business sense.
But the heteronormativity of strip clubs is one example of the way men police other men’s desire. The club is like a fishbowl for “acceptable” desire, where most of the performers are thin women without visible imperfections and god forbid they hire more than one woman of colour per club. Strip clubs in and of themselves are only a microcosm of the world at large, reflecting the values of the larger heteronormative white supremacist patriarchal American culture that exists and proliferates far beyond the club.
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What I learned from my many years as an escort is that men spend a lot of time posturing for other men around desirability. In private, it’s often a very different story, as men feel like they can express their desire freely.
Anyone can be a sex worker. There are no beauty prerequisites. Are there shitty beauty standards based on white supremacist patriarchal culture? Yes, indeed. But sex workers who don’t fit into a narrow box can and do make very good livings all the time. There’s a market for every body type, although it’s true that not every market is equal.
When I was volunteering for a sex workers union in Kolkata, India, I met a woman in her 80s in the red light district there who was still working as a sex worker and had many regulars. Is it easier if you’re 25? Probably. But that absolutely does not mean that whether you’re 25 or 85 that there aren’t men who want to be with you. The difference is that men (as a unit) don’t want you to know that men (as individuals) don’t necessarily want a Playboy playmate.
That said, it has to be addressed that racist, colonialist and transphobic beauty standards are an absolute reality and all too often dictate men’s sexual preferences (especially cisgender white men) in ways that truly negatively affect the most marginalised. The woman of colour with the deeper toned complexion gets passed over at the brothel, or the transgender girl who doesn’t quite “pass” doesn’t get as many website inquiries as the girl who does. While everyone can be desired, it has to be said that many women — women of colour, trans women and especially trans women of colour — have added barriers and hurdles that more privileged women — white and cisgender — do not have to navigate.
White workers and cisgender workers and especially white cisgender workers have an infinitely easier time marketing themselves precisely because these identities are centred, while identities that do not fit this are deemed “other” and face more barriers to earning a steady income.
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But the truth ― in the quiet of my bedroom when I’m sitting with a client ― is that men really do desire all kinds of bodies.
In this way, especially as someone who is a survivor of abuse by many, many different men and has very valid reasons not to trust men, learning this has made me feel free to meet men not with hate and mistrust but with the knowledge that men do not always have to be the enemy. That maybe as much as patriarchy has hurt me, maybe it hurts men in some ways, too.
Maybe I was wasting far too much energy on hiding my belly or making the guy turn off the lights during sex or going to the bathroom 10 times during a date to make sure my makeup still looks immaculate. Society lied to me. There are men who desire more than just the Pam Andersons of the world.
And the real secret ― that I think men really want us women to know, when they don’t have other men watching them ― is that letting oneself be seen as flawed and human is completely and utterly desirable. And letting myself be unapologetically seen and desired is one of the greatest gifts sex work has given me.
This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--I Just Moved To California. It’s Like I’ve Arrived Into The Apocalypse

Courtesy of the author HuffPost UK
“Wow, what a time to arrive,” chuckled the 7-Eleven shop assistant as he looked out of the store windows to the semi-darkness outside. We smiled ruefully in response. It was 2pm.
Moving continents in the midst of a pandemic has not been without its challenges, so when we touched down in San Francisco last Tuesday it already felt like we’d done the hard yards.
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That evening we arrived in Palo Alto in preparation for my wife’s new job at Stanford University. Predictably, I woke prematurely the following morning due to jet lag. Looking through the slats in the blinds of our Airbnb, the sky had an unmistakable orange hue. I assumed it must be sunrise and privately congratulated myself for having the good fortune to witness such a delightful Californian welcome.
But as I lay there over the next 30 minutes, the light didn’t alter. I looked at my phone and was disconcerted to see the weather forecast wasn’t predicting sunshine, but smoke. I didn’t even know that was a setting. During the hours that followed, rather than getting lighter, the sky turned redder and darker. By the afternoon, California’s wildfires had caused the sky to resemble the angry, dying light of a distant sunset.
While we were taken aback by the colour of the sky, we assumed that this had perhaps been a common side effect of the fires that had featured in the news bulletins of recent weeks. We didn’t want to reinforce the British stereotype of always talking about the weather the first day we got there, so instead deployed another and adopted a stiff upper lip.
Courtesy of the author HuffPost UK
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However, as we walked into town it was clear this was unusual by anyone’s standards. The main street has been temporarily pedestrianised to allow restaurants to arrange tables – all two metres apart of course – on the road so businesses can operate outdoors while indoor dining is prohibited. Few people were tempted by the prospect of al fresco dining though. It was hard to blame them; the epicentre of Silicon Valley suddenly looked like it belonged in an episode of Black Mirror.
It’s safe to say this wasn’t how we had pictured our first day. It was both sad and unsettling to see our new hometown, which evidently had so much going for it, almost devoid of life under an ominous, otherworldly sky that was in equal parts compelling and intimidating.
The drama of Wednesday’s radiant sky hasn’t been replicated since, but the air quality has worsened considerably. As the San Francisco Bay Area is surrounded by forest fires, it’s afflicted by the smoke regardless of which way the wind blows and, on Friday, California had the poorest air quality of anywhere in the world.
Health warnings were issued advising residents to “stay inside, keep windows and doors closed, and keep your indoor air purified.” Some office workers received free respirators from their employers while a staff member at Stanford University used the institution’s online forum to enquire about the “best ways to remove hot ash from outside work surfaces”.
“As new arrivals, we were ill-prepared for the smoke’s detrimental health effects and have neither respirators nor indoor air purifiers. Without them it’s impossible to avoid the harmful particles that irritate your airways.”
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The fires in California are the worst on record. In total six of the largest 20 blazes ever recorded in the state are currently raging and, with several weeks of the wildfire season remaining, three million acres of forestry have already been destroyed.
The previous record was 1.8million acres, which burned during the devastating wildfires of 2018. During those months, many residents bought respirators to cope with the poor air quality and so are better equipped to deal with the pollutants in the air this time around. As new arrivals, we were ill-prepared for the smoke’s detrimental health effects and have neither respirators nor indoor air purifiers. Without them it’s impossible to avoid the harmful particles that irritate your airways. Upon our return from brief trips outside for food, our throats feel sore, so it’s disconcerting to reflect that the air quality is probably not much better in the small converted garage that we now call home.
Putting aside the elephant in the room of the glowing orange sky above, the other observation we made on Tuesday was that everyone in Palo Alto wears masks – even to walk along the street. This is because, back in May, Palo Alto city council issued an emergency order requiring all members of the public to wear face coverings outside their home. This strong stance was in stark contrast to the numerous government U-turns back home.
The author's partner, in Palo Alto, California Chris Atkin
Before we arrived we’d read that California had the highest number of Covid-19 infections of any state in the US. We had also seen coverage of the vehement protests in the country opposing the lockdown restrictions. So we anticipated there would be some fairly liberal interpretations of the rules. Yet it has been quite the opposite.
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We’re keen to meet our neighbours properly, but they have a one-month-old baby and are understandably cautious given the maelstrom around us. As a result of the pandemic and the wildfires, we can neither meet our prospective friends inside nor out, so for now, we merely wave at each other from the window.
Settling in a new country is never easy, and the unique circumstances have added additional challenges. Though it has bought us time to overcome the jet lag, it feels strange to move to a faraway land with so much to offer, and have to sit inside as the Golden State burns around us.
Chris Atkin is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisjat


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Going For Gold: The Best Baby Names If You Want To Raise A Winner

ELENA BESSONOVA via Getty Images
If you want to raise a little winner, give them the name of a medal-holding, superstar. A group of researchers have done the hard work for you, gathering the top names of champions from across the worlds of sport and entertainment.
They then analysed the first names of Academy Award winners to Wimbledon champions, to see which ones were most likely to be successful.
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We have a wealth of baby name inspiration on HuffPost UK Parents, and you might just make your child a star with one from this top 10.
LSOphoto via Getty Images
John
From Oscar winner John Wayne, to BAFTA winner John Cleese – not to mention Grammy and Brit award winner, John Lennon. John means ‘God is gracious’.
Kim
Meaning ‘noble’ or ‘brave’, winning Kims include Brit winner Kim Wilde, Oscar winner Kim Basinger and former Wimbledon champ Kim Clijsters.
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David
Former BBC Sports Personality of the Year David Beckham is a sporting champ, as is Olympic athlete David Boudia. David means ‘beloved’.
Mary
Mary, meaning ‘beloved’ or ‘rebelliousness’, suits Mary Kom to a tee – she’s a 6-time World Amateur Boxing Champion, and the only woman boxer to win a medal in all seven world championships
George
George Clooney, George Ezra and George Michael all achieved fame and fortune. Not surprising, when George means ‘earth’ or ‘soil’, and ‘hard work’.
John M Lund Photography Inc via Getty Images
Laura
From professional golfer Laura Davies, to British cyclist Laura Kenny, the name aptly represents the embodiment of victory and strength.
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Tom
Tom Daley is an English diver, TV personality and double World champion in the 10-metre platform event. His name means ‘innocence’ or ‘simplicity’.
Jennifer
Jennifer Hudson won a BAFTA for best supporting actress for Dreamgirls in 2007, and Jennifer Lopez was given a ‘Legend Award’ at the World Music Awards in 2010. The name means ‘the fair one’.
Paul
Paul, meaning ‘small’ or ‘humble’, doesn’t entirely suit acting legend Paul Newman, or singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, but it might bring similar success.
Jessica


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-15--Kids And 'Long-Haul' Covid-19: What Every Parent Needs To Know

Yevhenii Orlov via Getty Images COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children. But some parents are sounding the alarm over the impact "long COVID" can have.
In mid-March, Amy Thompson’s daughter, Amber, called her from a shift at Starbucks and told her mum she felt a tickle in her throat she couldn’t get rid of. Within hours, the student had a fever and a nonstop cough. After some struggle to find a site that would take her, Amber tested positive for Covid-19.
Amy took care of her daughter as best she could, sometimes putting earplugs in at night so she could get some rest while her eldest child coughed and coughed. She waited for Amber to get better.
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Six months later, that still hasn’t happened, Amy, a 44-year-old mum of three told HuffPost.
“We’ve seen I can’t tell you how many different doctors. She’s been hospitalised five times at four different hospitals because I just keep searching for people who can help us,” she said. “She’s seen a cardiologist, she’s seen an infectious disease doctor, we just saw a rheumatologist. They do acknowledge this is some sort of post-viral thing that is happening.”
But none of them, so far, has been able to help.
As the Covid-19 pandemic plows ahead, “long-haulers” have gained greater attention, shattering the narrative that in all but the most severe cases, the virus generally runs its course in two or three weeks. In “long Covid” support groups and a growing number of articles and personal essays, long-haulers describe an illness that has saddled them with a range of physical and mental symptoms for months on end.
But what is it? Why are some people affected by symptoms they attribute to the coronavirus for weeks and months, while others aren’t? How common is this experience? And what about children, who have been largely spared by the most severe outcomes of Covid-19, but whose lives can be upended by these possible long-term effects? What does “long Covid” look like for them — and how can parents struggling to help their children get answers?
“I’d say we know very little at this point,” said Dr. Sam Dominguez, a paediatric infectious diseases expert and medical director of the microbiology lab at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “What we do know is that most kids get better after their initial illness and do just fine ... but we don’t have a good handle on this idea of: ‘Do some kids have long, persistent symptoms?’”
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“It clearly is a thing,” echoed Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of paediatric infectious diseases with Stanford University Medical Center and chair of the American Academy of Paediatrics’ committee on infectious disease.
But it’s unclear what’s causing that “thing.”
Coronaviruses are not believed to be latent viruses, which incorporate themselves into a person’s DNA and stay with them, like the chickenpox virus, Maldonado said. Most people will “clear” the virus from their bodies, but the timeline on that can vary. Some people may take months, she said, for reasons that are unclear.
“The other possibility is that it’s reinfection, which is probably not as likely, or it’s an immune, long-term systemic response to whatever the virus triggers,” Maldonado said. “I think that’s going to be the most likely reason why we’re seeing these ‘long-haulers,’ but it remains to be seen.”
“[My daughter] has been sick on and off for nearly 150 days and we have no real guidance from medical professionals who have firsthand experience with this disease.” - Kate, mom to a 12-year-old "long-hauler"
The relative newness of Covid-19 — and of the experience of long-haulers — makes finding appropriate care deeply frustrating, if not impossible, as parents and children bounce from one type of doctor to the next. And it’s important to understand the full range of possible outcomes for children infected with the virus, even if longer-term, post-viral complications are relatively rare.
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“[My daughter] has been sick on and off for nearly 150 days and we have no real guidance from medical professionals who have first-hand experience with this disease,” said Kate, a 35-year-old from Massachusetts who preferred to use only her first name.
Her 12-year-old’s primary care physician is “wonderful” but has no idea how to treat the child’s symptoms, which include sudden, four-day bouts of fevers, nausea, shortness of breath and tachycardia, causing her heart rate to jump.
“As we speak, she has a 100.6 fever and woke up in tears [with] severe neck pain,” Kate said.
Of course, the stories from paediatric long-haulers run counter to what is generally true of children and Covid-19, which is that the more serious outcomes — namely, hospitalisation and death — are uncommon. According to the most recent data from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is really the sole organisation tracking US paediatric Covid-19 data, there have been more than 500,000 cases in children in the US, or just under 10% of all Covid cases in this country. The vast majority of those did not require hospitalisation.
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children or MIS-C is a rare syndrome that experts generally believe is an overly strong immune system response to the novel coronavirus in some children that can cause life-threatening complications, but it is separate from these long-haul reports. That, too, is rare.
“Kids don’t get sick very often, and they tend not to get very sick when they do get infected,” Maldonado emphasised.
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Long-haul parents like Amy do not want to spark panic among other parents. She has seen, in her own home — among her own children — the dramatically different paths Covid-19 can follow. When Amber got sick, the family was advised to behave as though they, too, were infected (they were unable to get tested). Indeed, Amy, her husband, and their two other children also developed symptoms but after a few weeks, everyone was pretty much fine. Except for Amber.
Amber now spends much of her time in a wheelchair, having developed extreme pain in her hands and feet. She is having seizures. She has dropped out of college this semester and is no longer working.
Her parents are still looking for answers. No one has been able to tell Amy what is happening to her daughter or why. No one has been able to tell her how it might be tied to her daughter’s initial infection with the virus — or what can be done to help her get better.