thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--What It Feels Like When You And Your Two-Year-Old Both Have To Wear Diapers

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“Diaper!” my two-year-old daughter says, pointing at my pink Depends. “That’s right, honey,” I say, forcing a smile, “Mommy wears a diaper sometimes. Just like you.”
I pick her up and sink onto the bed, breathing in her sweet scent as I rock her tiny body. I am so tired that even standing up seems impossible. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” I whisper, trying to convince myself.
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It’s not okay. It hasn’t been okay since my daughter was born, pushing me into a major flare of ulcerative colitis that has left me weak and sick — a hollowed-out husk who spends her days on the toilet, retching into a red toddler potty when the pain gets too intense.
At this point, I’m a veteran of ulcerative colitis, a chronic, as-of-yet-incurable disease similar to Crohn’s disease. My symptoms can include everything from stabbing gut pain and bleeding to sore joints, fatigue and “urgency” — otherwise known as pooping my pants.
Anyone #blessed enough to have an inflammatory bowel disease gets to play with a roulette wheel of lifestyle changes and medications — from relatively mild, aspirin-like pills (only nine a day!) to roid rage-inducing steroids and immunosuppressants. I have itty-bitty cameras shoved up my butt as frequently as most people visit the dentist and I ‘get’ to abstain from coffee, alcohol and all sorts of different foods, depending on how I’m doing.
But nothing could have prepared me for the multi-front war my body decided to wage after my daughter was born. IBDs are horrible for men, but women suffer from additional physical volatility whenever our bodies have hormonal shifts. Monthly periods can bring on or decrease symptoms, but pregnancy and post-pregnancy can be the catalyst for intestinal armageddon.
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I had plans today. I want to leave the house. We need groceries and fresh air and human contact, and I am getting weird. Or weirder. On the days I do venture out, I look like a possum caught in a street light — equal parts wide-eyed wonder and hissing defence. My world is small. I’m sick and I’m boring and I’m terrified I’ll poop my pants.
It’s not as if the fear is ungrounded. At this point, I’ve lost track of the times I’ve had an accident and staggered home in a sobbing walk of shame. So many times — in the car, out walking and even during a work presentation. Just the week before, I’d forever besmirched a Forever 21 dressing room.
“At this point, I’ve lost track of the times I’ve had an accident and staggered home in a sobbing walk of shame. So many times — in the car, out walking and even during a work presentation.”
I denied my need for diapers until I couldn’t any longer. It took my husband frog-marching me into Walgreens and shooing me from the bulky, nursing-home diapers to silence my protests over the price.
“I think we can afford the better diapers, sweetie,” he said, handing me a pack of underwear-style Depends. “I mean, really,” he said, crossing his arms, “if you’re gonna have to wear diapers, you might as well get the best.”
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Though incredibly supportive, my husband has only one request. “Please don’t come to bed wearing those things,” he says, shuddering, on a night I forget. “On the list of mood-killing outfits, that has to take the cake.”
As the frequency in which I wear them increases, I am beginning to obsess about building a better diaper. “This is awful for the environment,” I complain, embarrassed to see the trash filling up with our household’s diapers. “What I need is a rubberised diaper cover to wear over my regular underwear.”
“I could probably sew you one,” my friend Becky suggests, perking up at the idea of such a weird crafting project. “We’ll see,” I say, knowing I’ll never follow through. I don’t want to commit to a lifetime of diapers. I want to stop wearing them.
I close my eyes and try to sleep, but my daughter, like all good toddlers, will not be denied. She bats at my face and demands a story. Eventually, I sit up and convince myself to move. “Do you want to go to the store?” I ask. She nods.
I evaluate the situation. It’s been two hours since I’ve eaten or drank anything, so I may be able to make it. I’m thirsty, but I know ingesting anything would be a mistake. Better to take this window and leave while I can.
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We drive to the toy store to buy a present and for ten minutes, it feels like a success. Here we are, having a typical mother-daughter moment playing with toys. How picturesque. How wholesome. How—
—No. Not here. No.
I pick up my daughter and run to the cashier, squeaking a request for the bathroom key as my kid writhes angrily in my arms. We shuffle strangely through the store, pausing and starting in our own stop-action short. I find the bathroom, fumble with the key, and throw myself onto the toilet, grateful to make it. My daughter, meanwhile, stops fussing and examines the real, working, miniature toilet about five feet away from the big one where I now sit.
Looking over at me, she yanks down her own pants and pull-up and hops onto the seat. She perches on the edge for a second, looking very proud of herself, then edges backward just as I yell for her to stop.
In slow motion, I watch her fall into the potty, her legs kicking furiously as she screams and flaps her arms. I try to stand up but I can’t move to help her. She’s in no immediate danger, but I feel horrible watching her flail and cry, her body half inside the toilet, as I sit there, tethered and helpless.
Eventually, I am able to get up and help her out, holding her shirt under the hand dryer while my body pulses with spent adrenaline. Exhausted, I escort her to the front of the store, stopping every few feet to ask her to put something down.
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During our slow march, I look around at the other parents. On the surface, they look fine. Some frayed edges, maybe. The inkling of wrinkles around the eyes, hair unsculpted, bodies a little soft. But fine.
I look basically fine, too, like any other mom in the store. You can’t tell I’m sick by looking at me. But I don’t exactly look healthy, either. I now weigh what I did in 7th grade, and my gaunt, pale face makes me look older. It’s strange being this thin. People assume I’m athletic when the only running I do is to the toilet.
“So many of us are backpacking invisible burdens. We don’t get T-shirts that say, 'Please be nice, I am barely hanging on.'”
Stranger still, I draw appreciative glances from men seemingly too enthralled by my body to notice the haunted look in my eyes. I want to scream, “I’m wearing a diaper under this skirt!” but in the land of aspirational “heroin chic,” “incontinence chic” can’t be too far behind.
Ahead of us, another toddler wreaks havoc on a display. His mom gives me a look like, “Kids. Sheesh,” and I meet her eyes with a smile. I wonder what it would be like to just worry about raising your kid and all the joys and annoyances that come with. Instead, I worry about where the next bathroom is and how long I can stand without collapsing. It doesn’t seem fair.
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But what do I know of fair? I don’t know what she or any other mom is going through. They could be agonizing over money or dealing with divorce. They might be day-drinking away the stress or struggling with their child’s special needs. So many of us are backpacking invisible burdens. We don’t get T-shirts that say, “Please be nice, I am barely hanging on.”
I finally make it outside and use my last bit of strength to wrestle my daughter into her car seat. I collapse onto my own seat and lay my head down on the steering wheel, pressing my cheek against the cool plastic. I don’t know whether to laugh or sob or scream and smash things. But I do know I have to keep going. What other choice do I have? There is no “off” button for ulcerative colitis or parenting. I don’t get to just stop and say, “This has been fun and all, but I’m done now.”
So I pull my head up, turn to pat my daughter’s little leg and slowly, steadily make my way home.
This article first appeared on HuffPost US Personal


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--What Happens To Your Body When You Give Birth Multiple Times?

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Sue Radford, the mum of Britain’s biggest family, is planning for the birth of her 22nd child.
And while the Radfords may be a little unusual in having quite so many kids, a surprising number of us are having more than the national average of 1.75 in a lifetime. In fact, according to the ONS, 70,000 families had more than five children in 2017.
So what are the effects on a woman’s body when she gives birth multiple times? Is it damaging – or even, dangerous?
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Well, it’s not always as simple as assuming that the more children you have, the greater the effects, according to consultant obstetrician Dr Daghni Rajasingam. She told HuffPost UK women’s bodies respond very differently to pregnancy and childbirth – and this can depend on factors including genetics, age, weight and unknown complications.
“Recovery can be very varied based on whether a woman has had a vaginal or caesarean birth, whether it was a multiple birth (such as twins) and whether there was any tearing,” she said.
But some doctors warn that as the number of births increases, so does the potential harm to the mother – and the child. One doctor said the more pregnancies a woman has, the greater the risk of a negative outcome. Doctors worry these women may haemorrhage after delivery, said Dr. Lois Brustman, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Columbia University.
This is because the uterus – which is a muscle – can get stretched more each time a woman is pregnant. “As a result,” she told LiveScience, “after a woman has had many pregnancies, the muscle has a hard time contracting after the placenta separates. This creates a risk of bleeding.” She also said scar tissue from previous pregnancies can cause problems with the placenta, including the risk of premature birth.
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Dr Dorothy Shaw, a clinical professor in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of British Columbia in Canada, told CNN there was a “clear connection” between countries that have a high fertility rate, where women have six to seven children, and maternal mortality rates.
“Once you get past two to three children, the risks increase for complications.” - Dr Dorothy Shaw, a clinical professor in obstetrics and gynaecology
Shaw believes this could be linked to ‘maternal depletion syndrome’ – where the mother doesn’t recover from the loss of key nutrients between pregnancies – and uterine rupture [tearing of the uterus]. “Once you get past two to three children, the risks increase for complications,” she added.
In 2014, a study by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found women who have four or more children double their risk of heart disease. At the time, lead author Dr Monika Sanghavi said while the findings added to the body of evidence that changes associated with pregnancy may provide insight into a woman’s future cardiovascular risk, it was “not a recommendation for women to only have two or three children” and deserves further attention. More research is needed, they suggested.
So how many children is it possible – and safe – for a woman to have in a lifetime? The answer isn’t clear-cut. “I’m not sure the uterus has a limit,” said Brustman.
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If you’re planning to have a big family, there are things you can do to protect your body, says Dr Rajasingam, who’s also a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
“We recommend that women maintain good health, eat a balanced diet, avoid fatty and sugary foods, and exercise regularly before, during pregnancy and after birth,” she says.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--My School Gets Abuse For Supporting LGBT Groups. But We Won’t Back Down

Courtesy of Woodside High School HuffPost UK
This month my school, Woodside High School, will be the first in London to get a permanent rainbow crossing. We are delighted about it – but we also know it is likely to be a matter of days before it is vandalised.
We are very open about our stance on equality and diversity. This month, for LGBT History Month, we have a rainbow flag flying high for all to see, and had you visited us during Black History Month, you would have seen one celebrating that flying also. We do a great deal throughout the year challenging the stigma around mental health, celebrating Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history, disability history, commemorating the Holocaust, marking anti-bullying week and so much more. Our students speak openly and courageously about the importance of challenging prejudice in all its forms. However, despite all of this, the topic we get the most amount of pushback on is the topic of LGBTQI+.
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Last year when our student equality group put up the rainbow flag for the first time, we had members of public complaining to the school – people who do not have children attending Woodside nor, in some cases, people who even lived in the UK, felt they ought to comment upon it. We received tweets and emails and messages on the school’s Instagram page about it – a flag – and there seemed to be something powerfully triggering about the visibility of what we call our ‘Woodside Pride’ to a number of people.
“Visibility gives our students the space to open up, and to grow up to be kind, compassionate, engaged adults.”
The disturbance that visibility causes is something that I understand all too well. At a school years ago, as deputy head, I was summoned to the head’s office once and asked to be less visible in my own LGBT identity. I was told that I “really didn’t need to talk about it quite so much” and that it was not pertinent to my role as a teacher – despite my responsibilities including student voice, school behaviour, community engagement, SMSC and overall safeguarding and pastoral lead. How encouraging our school community to challenge prejudice and have responsibly guided conversations about the issues present in young people’s lives today, issues around racism, bullying, identity, self-image, confidence, expression, should exclude any mention of the LGBTQI+ community I am still confused about, but that was what I was told to do.
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Visibility is powerful. Only this week a student was challenged about something he said that strayed into homophobia and he said that I was the only gay person he knew and I was okay. A grudging acceptance from a teenager in a tricky situation that helped a broader, far more important conversation about prejudice. Visibility – through our rainbow flag, through our Stonewall Gold School Champion status, through our clear and open stance on equality – can cause us problems, but it can also be a wonderful thing. It gives our students opportunities, it attracts amazing people to our school community, it gives us all the space to be ourselves. Visibility is powerful because it gives our staff and students the platform to have these critical discussions, to give students the space to open up, and to grow up to be kind, compassionate, engaged adults who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to stand up not just for themselves but for others also.
“There are students at Woodside who have attempted suicide because they have been so fearful of telling their families who they really are.”
We have a number of staff and students who have specifically chosen to come to our school because of our values, and that is something I am enormously proud of. And in a world where there seems to be a rise in people accusing organisations of adopting causes as a way of ‘virtual signalling’ or superficially supporting issues, of ‘rainbow washing’, let me be clear: what we do saves lives. There are students at Woodside who have attempted suicide because they have been so fearful of telling their families who they really are. We have children who have been attacked by family members, who self-harm and who torture themselves daily because they are ashamed. The rise of hate crime in our society is something they are acutely aware of, and outside of our school walls, they know all too well just how vulnerable they are, and how vile people can be.
It is easy to feel hopeless and despair at the lack of progress we seem to be making. For despite the increase in LGBTQI+ people being represented in the media, the impact of that does not seem quite so powerful when faced with a terrified 14-year-old, locked into an ambulance for his own safety whilst his raging family members who forced him to go to so-called ‘gay conversion therapy’ are beating the sides of the vehicle. I sat in that ambulance with that child, at 11pm at night, and tried to make him feel safe, all the while trying to push the memory of being a child and my own family taking me to the doctor and asking him to ‘fix me’ when I told them I was gay. In that moment not much seemed to have changed.
However, much has indeed changed, thank goodness, and the removal of toxic laws like Section 28 means that as a head, I can ensure that no child at Woodside is taught to hate, and for that I am extraordinarily thankful. So, while I know that what we do at Woodside is not always well-received, it is transformative, and we will continue to fight the good fight.
Gerry Robinson is headteacher of Woodside High School in Haringey, London


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Wildlife Markets Are Ticking Time Bombs For Coronavirus Outbreaks

Dozens of species that rarely, if ever, come in contact with one another in the wild ― fish, turtles, snakes, bamboo rats, bats, even foxes and wolf cubs ― are confined in close quarters, waiting to be butchered and sold. The animals are often stressed, dehydrated and shedding live viruses; the floors, stalls and tables are covered in blood, faeces and other bodily fluids.
This is the scene at many of China’s so-called “wet markets,” where a poorly regulated wildlife trade thrives and creates conditions that experts say are ideal for spawning new diseases.
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“You could not design a better way of creating pandemics,” said Joe Walston, head of global conservation at the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society. “It’s really the perfect mechanism, not just for the Wuhan coronavirus but for the next ones that will undoubtedly emerge sooner rather than later.”
The Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people in central China, is the suspected source of the current outbreak of a novel coronavirus that so far has killed 811 people and infected more than 37,000. Although far less deadly than the flu, which kills up to 61,000 people in the US alone each year, the new coronavirus is particularly concerning for scientists as it has not been previously seen in humans.
Like the 2002-03 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in southern China that infected 8,098 people and killed 774 worldwide, the new coronavirus is believed to have originated in bats and jumped to humans through another species. Experts recently zeroed in on pangolins, endangered armadillo-like creatures and the world’s most poached and illegally trafficked mammals, as the possible intermediary host, as The Washington Post reported on Friday. But independent scientists have questioned the research implicating pangolins.
Along with common domesticated animals and farm-raised species like ostriches and turtles, wet markets often process and sell rare, sometimes even imperilled, wildlife. Pangolin scales and other wild animal parts are used in traditional Chinese medicines, and the consumption of exotic species has become a status symbol in parts of mainland China ― all of which has helped fuel illegal hunting around the globe.
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“There are a number of endangered species that get mixed into these markets,” said Peter Knights, the CEO of WildAid, a San Francisco-based organisation working to end the illegal wildlife trade. One example is the yellow-breasted bunting, a critically endangered songbird and a delicacy in southern China.
The human health threat isn’t so much subsistence hunting of wild animal meat or the presence of any single exotic species at markets, but rather commercialisation of the wildlife trade, Knights said. Each new species brought into a crowded market represents another set of pathogens and viruses, increasing the risk of cross-species transmission. Making matters worse, he said, is deforestation, which exposes humans to new areas, the wildlife that lives there and the viruses the animals carry.
“You’re inviting disaster,” Knights said of mixing species in such large markets. “We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had more of these things.”
Although the current focus is on China, similar live animal markets are also found in Southeast Asia and Africa. In Africa, cases of Ebola are associated with the hunting and processing of bush meat. And in the United States and other Western countries, food processing methods have resulted in numerous health issues, from cases of mad cow disease to outbreaks of E. coli and hepatitis A.
Shoppers wearing face masks purchase seafood at a market on Jan. 28, 2020, in Macau, China. Anthony Kwan via Getty Images
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Last week, the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus a global health emergency, with confirmed cases in more than two dozen countries. In response to the outbreak, China temporarily banned the sale of wild animals in markets, restaurants and through online retailers. But the country is facing growing calls at home and abroad to shutter its wild animal markets for good.
“I would predict that unless there is rapid and real action taken to shut down the trade in wildlife in wet markets, we can expect this to happen again in the near future,” Walston said.
Others argue that banning such markets would drive the wild meat trade underground, and that increased regulation would be a better approach, The New Republic reported.
A top committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued a statement last week, acknowledging that the epidemic is “a big test of China’s governance system and capabilities” and vowing to address “shortcomings in public health.”
“It is necessary to strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban and severely crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade, and control major public health risks from the source,” the statement reads.
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Although not specifically due to wildlife markets, an estimated 60% of all known human infectious diseases and 75% of emerging pathogens originate in animals, according to the World Health Organisation. That includes everything from botulism and dengue to rabies and Zika virus.
The current lethal outbreak comes against the backdrop of a rapidly worsening global extinction crisis that scientists warn poses a direct threat to human well-being. A United Nations report last year found that species are dying off at a rate up to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years, and that up to 1 million land and marine species could be wiped out by human activity if present trends continue.
The United Nations released a draft biodiversity plan last month that urges world governments to protect 30% of all lands and oceans by 2030. Negotiators are expected to begin reviewing that proposal later this month at the UN’s biodiversity talks, which were recently relocated from China to Italy due to coronavirus concerns, as Climate Home News reported.
Walston sees some irony in the unfolding coronavirus crisis. He said that while people have long viewed species loss as a tragic but inevitable part of development, it is now clear that it is a driver of emerging pandemics, which Walston called “one of the great health and economic challenges of our world today.”
Researchers at Auburn University hypothesised in a study last year that the emergence of infectious diseases in humans is linked to habitat loss.
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While many questions remain unanswered about the Wuhan coronavirus, it has similarities to SARS, from its origin and genetic makeup to its apparent link to human-driven species loss.
“A major lesson from SARS,” a 2004 report published by the Royal Society concluded, “is that the underlying roots of newly emergent zoonotic diseases may lie in the parallel biodiversity crisis of massive species loss as a result of overexploitation of wild animal populations and the destruction of their natural habitats by increasing human populations.”
The impact of the coronavirus has rippled far beyond China, restricting travel to and from the country but also causing cities like New York to see major declines in tourism. An Australian economist who calculated that SARS cost the world economy $40 billion told Bloomberg the coronavirus could cost as much as four times as much.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--This Is How Therapists Look After Themselves

artbesouro via Getty Images
Just like we all have physical health, we have mental health, too. It’s a measure of our state of mind and can fluctuate day to day – or hour by hour.
How much sleep we’re getting, how stressful work is, whether we’re exercising and what our diet is like can all impact our mental health. It may also vary depending on whether we have a diagnosis of a mental illness – yes, the two are different, but often conflated.
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Sometimes, it can be hard to know how to look after our minds – so, who better to ask than therapists themselves?
“In the first lecture of my counselling diploma, we were asked who is the most important person in the therapy room,” recalls counsellor and psychologist Philip Karahassan. “Everyone put up their hands and said ‘the client’. The lecturer said, ‘You’re all wrong.’ The most important person in the therapy room is the therapist, as if the therapist is not okay, then you can’t help anyone.
“And that has always stuck with me. In order for me to be good at the job, I need to make sure that I feel safe, secure and happy.”
So how does he – and three other therapists – stay mentally well while juggling their day-to-day lives?
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Stay nourished and hydrated
Karahassan, a member of Counselling Directory, always ensures he’s got fresh water in the therapy room to stay hydrated – and keep his clients hydrated – throughout the day.
He’ll also eat when he needs to. “You’d be surprised how emotions are dictated by your diet, he says. “A lack of nourishment can have a big impact on how you feel about a situation. Make sure you eat nutritious food and don’t drink too much coffee – something that, in my youth, I was guilty of.”
Always be on time
Karahassan will always leave extra time to get to work or an event so his mindset is right. “If you’re running late for anything it can leave you feeling disempowered, fragile and rushed,” he says. “Therefore, I make sure I arrive half an hour early, just in case there’s a train delay.
“Otherwise, I won’t be in the right headspace [at work]. This gives me the best chance of getting there in a calm and stable emotional state.”
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Keep a healthy work-life balance
Counsellor and psychotherapist Natasha Page says a good work-life balance is key to staying well – particularly because she meets a lot of people at work who talk about distressing aspects of their lives.
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She’ll make sure she has enough days off to recuperate – as she works for herself, she can tweak her schedule to suit her needs. This may not be suitable for everyone, but Page recommends looking into flexible working if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your job.
When she’s not working, she’ll spend a lot of time with family and friends and always socialise on her days off – this could be going for a walk in the park or having a cuppa. “That connection is really important,” she says.
Move more
Eve Menezes Cunningham, a BACP-accredited therapist and author of 365 Ways To Feel Better, says yoga works wonders for her mental health. “Sometimes it might be what I deem a ‘proper yoga practice’, other times it’s one or two poses,” she says. The Cat-Cow pose is one of her go-tos, she says, as it’s an easy way to connect with the breath and stretch the spine.
Keeping fit, in general, is good for us physically and mentally. Aerobic exercises – including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening and dancing – have been proved to reduce anxiety and depression.
Page also exercises to improve her state of mind. Last year, she took up tennis and says it’s been a great way to work out, but also a rewarding social activity. “You always feel good afterwards,” she says.
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Mironov Konstantin via Getty Images
Get outdoors
For psychotherapist Lucy Fuller, a Counselling Directory member, the most important thing for her mental health is to remove herself from everyday life into nature. This might be walking in the forest, along the beach, by a river, or in a local garden or park. She’ll try to go somewhere at a time when it won’t be crowded.
Fuller recommends walking slowly and really looking at the beauty of nature. “If you see buds starting to emerge on the branch of a bush, stop and really look at all the minute details of the bud,” she says. “Smell the air around you, feel the temperature of the day and then slowly continue to walk until you find something else interesting to look at in detail.”
This is what some call a mindful experience, she adds. “It’s really just a way of slowing down your thoughts and connecting with your surroundings in a way that refreshes the mind and body.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--The Best Anti-Ageing Eye Creams For Men For Dark Circles And Puffiness

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Prices and availability subject to change.
HuffPost UK Louise/HuffPost UK
While getting old is certainly a privilege, we’d prefer to skip the fine lines and wrinkles thankyouverymuch.
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Eyes are one of the biggest giveaways of age, as skin sags and loses radiance, not helped by a lack of sleep, how you sleep and environmental stressors that can exasperate dark circles and puffiness.
However there are solutions to be found in many an eye cream thanks to a helping hand from ingredients like retinol, caffeine and peptides.
Easy to slot into your skincare routine and small enough to bring with you on planes, trains and everything in between, they’re a no brainer addition. Here’s nine of the best to get you started.
HuffPost UK Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Serum, Feel Unique
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Retinol is widely considered the gold standard anti-ageing ingredient, with claims it can improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and all that fun stuff. While it’s a particularly strong ingredient that should be used carefully around the eyes, Murad has helpfully concocted a retinol-rich eye cream that’s gentle enough for everyday use, day and night.
HuffPost UK Lumene Arctic Hydra Care [Arktis] Moisture & Relief Rich Eye Cream, Feel Unique
Tested in Arctic conditions, this rich cream from Finnish brand Lumene both claims to relieve that tight feeling dehydrated skin annoyingly comes with and reduce the appearance of those dreaded crows’ feet.
HuffPost UK SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Eye Complex, Look Fantastic
If you prefer your products in a pot, pick up this one from SkinCeuticals that will help with a loss of elasticity in your delicate under eye area. And as a bonus, it also has a radiant finish to brighten up dark circles. We’ll be buying this by the bucketload.
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HuffPost UK Drops Of Youth™ Eye Concentrate, The Body Shop
A handy one for the gym bag, this rollerball stick is a faff-free solution to tired eyes that can be making you look and feel older. It’s refreshing, especially if you stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes before (top tip), and the ball applicator means less tugging on your under eye skin, which too much of can aggravate dark circles.
HuffPost UK Boots Ingredients Caffeine Eye Cream, Boots
Boots is venturing into the world of ingredient-led affordable skincare, and while not dissimilar to the The Ordinary, for change from a tenner, we’re not complaining. Ditch the cups of caffeine and look for it in your eye cream instead, it claims to decrease puffiness and smooth skin.
HuffPost UK Tata Harper Boosted Contouring Eye Balm 2.0, Cult Beauty
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For lovers of luxury, you can’t get much better than Tata Harper. This rich balm can be used sparingly so you’ll really get your money’s worth. Using a natural retinoic acid, it promises to diminish the appearance of wrinkles and work to improve damage done from UV rays and environmental aggressors. And let’s face it, we could all do with a bit of gold on our bathroom shelves.
HuffPost UK No7 Early Defence Eye Cream, Boots
If fine lines, crows’ feet and wrinkles have only just started to become a concern of yours, then reach for a tub of this. The lightweight cream absorbs quickly, comes with a handy pointed applicator which can be used to directly apply it to the skin - hygiene first - and the formula made up of vitamin A and lipopeptides claim to help keep the first signs of ageing at bay.
HuffPost UK Avène Physiolift Eye Contour Cream, Boots
If you’ve got sensitive skin, such as eczema ridded-eyes, Avène is your best bet. It’s fragrance-free and non-irritating to reactive skin. Pat, don’t rub, across the under eye socket every evening for a smoother, plumper appearance.
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HuffPost UK Paula’s Choice Resist Anti-Aging Eye Cream, Feel Unique


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Has Boris Johnson Just Used HS2 To Kill Heathrow Airport Expansion?

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Project runway yet 2B decided
You could tell it was a big moment because the prime minister had actually brushed his hair and smartened himself up. And when Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that his cabinet had finally approved the HS2 rail project (or at least the first stage of it), he wore his broadest smile since he won the 2019 election with a landslide.
Despite all the talk of 60 or more Tory rebels opposed to the hugely expensive new London to Birmingham link, in the end there was a mere smattering of criticism from his own benches. And the PM looked as unruffled as those famous blond locks. His line about ‘2B or not 2B’ (the second phase of the plans) not being the question was funny precisely because it was a play on the Hamlet-style dithering and self-doubt that Johnson says afflicted the UK for too long.
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I counted around half a dozen backbenchers who expressed unease at the decision, but most of them spoke more in sorrow than anger. Bill Cash spoke of his constituents’ ‘bitter disappointment’, others talked of worries of ‘blight’, but all were focused on how to ameliorate the impact of the HS2 decision rather than halt it. After a decade of campaigning, Victoria Prentis caught the mood by talking about the need to recognise ‘gracious defeat’.
“I didn’t hear a peep of dissent...there were random remarks over how to make it better,” Johnson told broadcasters later. He was in fact referring to the Cabinet meeting that endorsed the rail project, rather than his own backbenches, but it was a handy description of both.
In the chamber itself, Johnson seemed to relish the one real flash of opposition as Andrew Bridgen said HS2 was “unloved and unwanted, and has been grossly mismanaged”. The PM hit back that “every great infrastructure project” faced early opposition by naysayers, citing the Treasury’s unhappiness over everything from the 2012 Olympics to Crossrail. “We have got to have the guts and the foresight to drive it through,” he said. That was a flash of steel that won’t have gone unnoticed by the new intake of MPs.
There was plenty of spin to go with the substance. His new phrase “High Speed North”, an attempt to rebrand the second phase of the project while lumping it together with east-west links in the north, will fool few sceptics. His refusal to say when the second phase would be completed, or whether a parliamentary bill for it will be passed before the next election, was less than reassuring. Issues like the ballooning £106bn cost were waved away with almost airy disdain.
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A claim that the extra HS2 capacity will “drive down prices for the consumer” looked like a hostage to fortune. The money for buses was indeed welcome, but as Jeremy Corbyn rightly pointed out, this comes after a decade of Tory bus cuts that slashed routes and led to higher fares. For cyclists, the worst was kept till last: just £350m would be spent on 250 miles of cycle lanes (compared to Andy Burnham building 1,800 miles in Greater Manchester alone).
And yet as the serried ranks of ‘Red Wall’ Tories (it’s still quite something to hear so many northern accents on the government benches) welcomed his announcement, the PM’s grin grew wider. Here was a man as much in control of parliament as he was of his party, the “Brexity Hezza” finally having his own grand projet to rival Michael Heseltine’s Docklands or the M40 motorway extension.
Boris Johnson looks on during a visit to Curzon Street railway station where the new High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project is under construction in Birmingham ASSOCIATED PRESS
But to my mind the most revealing comments in the entire Commons session today came when Johnson riffed about the merits of not just extra capacity but faster journey times. It’s worth quoting in full this section: “Passengers arriving at Birmingham Airport will be able to get to central London by train in 38 minutes, which compares favourably with the time it takes to get from Heathrow by taxi, a point I just draw to the attention of the House…”
Yes, Birmingham Airport will be as easy to reach from central London as Heathrow. He added that HS2 was “also considerably faster than the Piccadilly line”, a knowing reference to the fact that the Tube journey to the capital’s western airport takes nearly 50 minutes. For good measure, the PM said of a third runway at Heathrow: “I see no bulldozers at present, nor any immediate prospect of them arriving”.
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Former infrastructure minister Jim O’Neill let slip earlier today that he used to joke to Mayor Johnson that if HS2 went ahead, he could “forget Heathrow and Gatwick...you could do the airport expansion at Birmingham International” instead. Judging from the PM’s remarks today, that’s not a joke any more, it’s a deadly serious proposition.
It would be a typically Johnsonian solution, to dig himself out of one political hole by digging up the ground somewhere else entirely - and using one long-delayed infrastructure plan to kill off another. If I were the City backers of Heathrow expansion, I’d be extremely worried tonight.
Quote Of The Day
“The 21st century this United Kingdom still has the vision to dream big dreams and the courage to bring those dreams about.”
Boris Johnson on why HS2 is going ahead
Cheat Sheet
Coronavirus was officially named Covid-19 - as it emerged that two inmates are being tested for it in a prison in Oxfordshire.
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen played hardball over Boris Johnson’s desire to have an Australia-style aka WTO terms trade deal with the EU. “If this is the British choice, well, we are fine with that without any question.”
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Former Tory minister turned London Mayoral candidate Rory Stewart launched #ComeKipWithMe, asking Londoners to invite him into their homes to show the city through their eyes. He will bring a sleeping bag and a box of chocolates for each host.
No.10 said the government made ‘no apology whatsoever’ deporting 17 convicted criminals to Jamaica. The PM’s press secretary warned that “the Westminster bubble” reaction to the flight proved just why a review of judicial review cases was long overdue.
What I’m Reading
Macaulay Culkin Is Not Like You - Esquire
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Coronavirus: Two Prisoners Tested For Infection In Oxfordshire

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Two prisoners in Oxfordshire have been tested for coronavirus, HuffPost UK understands.
The inmates at HMP Bullingdon, which is located near Bicester, are being kept in isolation from other prisoners after displaying signs of the virus.
Sky News reported one of the prisoners had been transferred from a Thailand jail. They are both said to be suffering flu-like symptoms.
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As of Tuesday evening, a total of 1,358 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK, of which 1,350 were confirmed negative and eight positive, the Department of Health said.
HMP Bullingdon near Bicester, Oxfordshire Google Maps
Boris Johnson said the UK should be “confident and calm” over the threat of the virus.
The prime minister praised the response of the NHS and said anyone concerned should “simply follow their advice”.
Meanwhile, Steve Walsh, the businessman at the centre of a UK outbreak of coronavirus, thanked the NHS for his treatment and said he is “fully recovered”.
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Walsh, 53, from Hove in East Sussex, who is still in quarantine at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, picked up coronavirus while at a conference in Singapore.
On his way back to the UK, he stopped off for several days at a French ski chalet, where five Britons were subsequently infected with the virus.
He is also linked to at least five further cases of coronavirus in the UK, including two doctors, one of whom worked at a Brighton surgery that has closed its doors.
Walsh is also linked to one male patient taken ill in Majorca.
Speaking from hospital, Walsh, a cub scout leader, said in a statement: “I would like to thank the NHS for their help and care – whilst I have fully recovered, my thoughts are with others who have contracted coronavirus.
“As soon as I knew I had been exposed to a confirmed case of coronavirus, I contacted my GP, NHS 111 and Public Health England.
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“I was advised to attend an isolated room at hospital, despite showing no symptoms, and subsequently self-isolated at home as instructed.
“When the diagnosis was confirmed I was sent to an isolation unit in hospital, where I remain, and, as a precaution, my family was also asked to isolate themselves.
“I also thank friends, family and colleagues for their support during recent weeks and I ask the media to respect our privacy.”
It comes as the World Health Organisation announced a name for the new coronavirus – Covid-19.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference a name was decided that “did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease”.
Also on Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock told MPs in the Commons that new funding was being launched immediately “to support any urgent works the NHS needs for the coronavirus response, such as the creation of further isolation areas and other necessary facilities.”
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Public Health England is working to trace the small number of contacts of the two doctors, including a Brighton GP, who were among the four new cases announced on Monday.
In Brighton, Patcham Nursing Home said on Tuesday that it has “closed to all visitors” after one of the infected GPs visited a patient there about a week ago.
A spokeswoman for the care home said no one was unwell and the closure was a precaution.
The County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton also remained closed after it emerged one of the doctors working there had contracted the virus.
A second branch of the surgery also closed but Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed they would reopen soon following “deep cleaning”.
Another surgery in Brighton, The Haven, said it was closed “due to unforeseen circumstances”, although there was no confirmation whether it was linked to the outbreak.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Coronavirus: Here's How The NHS Is Fighting The Spread Of The Infection

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More than 7,690 people have so far been tested for coronavirus in the UK, with 19 confirmed cases in the country.
Schools and GP surgeries have closed, and England’s chief medical officer has warned that it is “only a matter of time” before the illness spreads further.
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Public Health England is in charge of ensuring all possible measures to contain the potentially deadly infection are put in place. So when a patient returns a positive result, what do those on the frontline do next?
Information gathering
The first crucial step in preventing the spread of the virus is to piece together the exact movements of the infected patient following the onset of symptoms – a process known as contact tracing.
Where have they been? Who have they visited? Who are their family members, friends, work colleagues and acquaintances?
Carried out by experienced public health protection teams, this fact-finding mission allows experts to quickly reach as many people as possible to inform them they may also be at risk.
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Risk assessment
Once a patient’s connections have been established, public health officials carry out an individual risk assessment on each person they are known to have had contact with.
Contacts will then be categorised as high risk or low risk.
Closely-connected people, such as family members or those who have spent a prolonged period in close proximity to the patient and are deemed high risk, may be asked to self-isolate for 14 days. They will also have a daily contact assessment of their health and will be tested for the virus.
Others who may have had more fleeting contact will be given advice on symptoms to look out for and what to do if they start to feel unwell, including emergency contact details.
Anyone who reports symptoms after exposure to the virus will be assessed and offered testing.
What counts as ‘close contact’?
“Close and sustained contact” means those who have been within two metres of a “confirmed clinical case” for 15 minutes or more.
Public Health England says those who have not been in close contact with a positive-testing patient do not need to take any specific action.
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BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 11: The Deneway branch of the County Oak Medical Centre, Warmdene surgery, is closed amid coronavirus fears Chris J Ratcliffe via Getty Images
What about people travelling from abroad?
Those who have travelled to Cambodia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, northern Italy, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand or Vietnam in the last 14 days, or believe they may have Covid-19 or been in contact with someone who does, are advised to call the NHS 111 helpline.
PHE follows the exact same contact tracing process in suspected cases entering the UK, applying its information-gathering from the moment of arrival in the country, and uses translators to make sure everything is fully understood.
How effective is the system?
PHE’s protection team follows the same rigorous process when dealing with any infectious disease and its methods are tried and tested.
They have been used in the past to contain outbreaks of measles, one of the most contagious diseases.
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Some of the earliest cases of coronavirus in the UK were uncovered as a direct result of contact tracing: for instance, the four identified in a single day on February 11.
“Our priority has been to speak to those who have close and sustained contact with confirmed cases, so we can advise them on what they can do to limit the spread of the virus,” said a PHE spokesperson.
What happens next?
When confirmed cases are healthcare workers – for example, the two diagnoses that led to the closure of two linked GP surgeries in Brighton – teams work on identifying all of the patients they may have had contact with.
“As soon as they were identified, we advised them to self-isolate in order to keep patient contact to a minimum,” the PHE spokesperson added.
They will also identify all patients and other healthcare workers who may have come into close contact. Only a handful of further cases have been identified since, suggesting the spread from these cases was successfully contained.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--First Same-Sex Wedding Takes Place In Northern Ireland

First Same-Sex Wedding Takes Place In Northern Ireland
Belfast couple Robyn Peoples, 26, a healthcare worker from the city, and Sharni Edwards, 27, a waitress originally from Brighton, became the first same-sex couple to get married in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's prohibition on same-sex marriage was eliminated by the central government after a vote by British lawmakers when the province did not have a sitting government.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--'We Are Equal': Northern Ireland's First Same-Sex Marriage Takes Place

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Northern Ireland’s first same-sex marriage has taken place. Sharni Edwards, 27, and Robyn Peoples, 26, married on their sixth anniversary.
The couple wed at a ceremony in a hotel in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm. They’d booked a civil partnership ceremony for the date, months before the landmark law change in the region on 13 January 2020 – but decided to turn the event into a wedding ceremony.
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Ahead of the wedding, Peoples said the pair wanted to send a message that “we are equal”.
“Our love is personal, but the law which said we couldn’t marry was political,” she said. “We are delighted that with our wedding, we can now say that those days are over.
“While this campaign ends with Sharni and I saying ‘I do’, it started with people saying ‘No’ to inequality. By standing together, we’ve made history.”
Charles McQuillan via Getty Images
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Edwards, a waitress from Brighton, didn’t even know the law was different in Northern Ireland until she moved to Belfast from England: “We feel humbled that our wedding is a landmark moment for equal rights in Northern Ireland,” she said. “We didn’t set out to make history – we just fell in love.
“We are so grateful to the thousands of people who marched for our freedoms, to the Love Equality campaign who led the way, and the politicians who voted to change the law.
“Without you, our wedding wouldn’t have been possible. We will be forever thankful.”
Liam McBurney - PA Images via Getty Images
Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Finance Minister Conor Murphy, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and Justice Minister Naomi Long commented ahead of the first same-sex marriage ceremony.
“This day has been a long time coming and is a result of many years of campaigning across these islands,” said Long.
“There have been many campaigns to promote the cause of equal marriage, and while Sharni and Robyn celebrate taking their vows, I have no doubt many others will also be celebrating this milestone in the recognition of equal rights.”
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Same-sex marriage was eventually legalised as a result of a law passed last year by Westminster MPs who stepped in and acted on the controversial issue during the powersharing impasse at Stormont.
Charles McQuillan via Getty Images
O’Neill said it was a very good day for those who want to marry the one they love. “So when you’re in love and you want to get married, you now have the ability to do so and that is right and proper,” she said, speaking at Stormont.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Coronavirus Now Has An Official Name – This Is Why That Matters

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The new coronavirus that has killed over 1,000 people in recent weeks has been named Covid-19, the World Health Organisation has just announced.
While this may seem a strange thing to trumpet at this late stage in the outbreak, there is a very good reason for it – potential stigma.
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🚨 BREAKING 🚨
"We now have a name for the #2019nCoV disease:
COVID-19.
I’ll spell it: C-O-V-I-D hyphen one nine – COVID-19"
-@DrTedros #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Kh0wx2qfzk — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 11, 2020
The director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a press conference a name was decided that “did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease”.
He said: “Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatising.
“It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks.”
The Covid-19 outbreak is the first that has tested new WHO guidelines on naming such viruses.
Previous outbreaks such as MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and swine flu led to the stigmatising of geographical areas and certain animals.
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In 2009, Egyptian officials ordered the culling of all pigs even though the animals didn’t spread the virus.
And MERS wasn’t exactly a great form of advertisement for countries in the Middle East even though it was reported across the globe.
What the WHO was trying to avoid by the naming of Covid-19 was the moniker of Chinese flu or Wuhan flu sticking, which can potentially lead to the stigmatisation and ostracisation of people from China or Wuhan – something that has been seen already regardless.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Airbnb Host Cancelled This Taiwanese Student’s Booking Over Coronavirus Fears

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A Taiwanese student claims she was discriminated against after her Airbnb accommodation was cancelled at the last minute due to a host’s fears over coronavirus.
Louise Hsin-Yuan Peng landed in the UK earlier this month, ahead of a three-month research project, and contacted the owners of her pre-booked accommodation to let them know she was on her way.
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But on the train from the airport, she received a message from her hosts telling her they had cancelled her booking with “deep regret”, as they had to “err on the side of caution” following World Health Organisation (WHO) warnings about the spread of the deadly virus.
“I had not visited China, or been anywhere near Hubei province [where the virus originated],” the 31-year-old Yale student told HuffPost UK.
“In fact I have been living in the USA and spending a lot of time in Tokyo in the last year. I only visited Taiwan very briefly to renew my US visa.
“Taiwan has had a very small number of cases compared to other countries, so why would they think I posed a risk to them?
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“I had nowhere else to go, no access to phone data and had to jump on a random train to access WiFi, so I could try to get in touch with friends who might be able to help me.”
Louise Hsin-Yuan Peng Louise Hsin-Yuan Peng
As of February 9, Taiwan has reported just 18 cases of coronavirus, with no fatalities, and is not flagged as an area to avoid by the Foreign Office.
“I ended up sleeping on a friend’s floor for my first night in the country,” Louise said.
“I contacted Airbnb and told them I felt I had been racially discriminated against, and the person I spoke to acknowledged this and said he was very sorry it had happened.
“Since then, they have agreed to refund me and reimburse me for all the expenses incurred due to the cancellation, including an Uber, hotel and a second Airbnb reservation I had to make.
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“They also offered a $500 coupon for future use. I think this makes sense and I do appreciate the gesture to compensate for my loss.”
Louise Hsin-Yuan Peng's request for help after her Airbnb was cancelled. Louise Hsin-Yuan Peng
After posting an emergency call for help on Facebook, Louise, a media and film studies student, has since managed to find somewhere to stay until later this month.
She added: “If I hadn’t been able to find a friend who was able to help me, I would have been in a dangerous situation, in a strange country, with no access to the internet or phone data, and completely homeless.
“I’ve since heard of other Taiwanese people who have had their accommodation cancelled for similar reasons, although not quite as last minute as this.
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“But it is clearly happening to other people and it is completely unfair.”
There have been eight confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, and all people affected were “closely connected”, the Department of Health said.
An Airbnb spokesperson said: “We take cancellation issues seriously and rigorously enforce a non-discrimination policy. We investigate all reports of discrimination and take appropriate action when necessary, including up to removal of users from the platform.
“Cancellations related to the novel coronavirus outbreak need to observe our internal policies, local and international official guidelines and recommendations.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Boris Johnson Backs HS2 Rail In Decision Which Will Split Tories

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Boris Johnson has defied Tory opposition to approve the controversial HS2 high-speed rail link, despite a review estimating its cost could balloon by tens of billions.
The prime minister gave the green light to the north-south link after discussing it with the cabinet on Tuesday morning.
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The first stages of the railway from London to Birmingham to Crewe will go ahead as planned, but Johnson signalled there could rethink about the further links north to Leeds and Manchester.
Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Johnson said it would help “fix the spine” of the country.
Johnson’s decision will cause anger among dozens of Tories who are opposed to HS2.
But it will equally be welcomed by a group of around 40 colleagues who lobbied him to keep it on track.
Johnson told the Commons: “Our generation faces an historic choice.
“We can try to get by with the existing routes from north to south, we can consign the next generation to overcrowding, standing up in the carriageways.
“Or we can have the guts to take a decision... no matter how difficult and how controversial, that will deliver prosperity to every part of the country.”
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The PM took his decision despite the opposition of his most senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, to the project.
It comes after a review by HS2 Ltd chairman Douglas Oakervee found that the project could cost up to £106bn, but concluded that “on balance” it should continue.
HS2′s original budget was £32.7bn at 2011 prices. The National Audit Office warned last month it was impossible to “estimate with certainty” what the final cost could be.
It was due to open in December 2026, but HS2 Ltd chairman Allan Cook said last year it would be “prudent to plan for an opening between 2028 and 2031”.
Johnson stressed that despite “poor management” he believes in the “fundamental value” of HS2.
But he vowed to take “decisive action” to “restore discipline” to the project.
He will appoint an HS2 minister to oversee the project and help bring down costs.
HS2 Ltd will deliver the first phase will go ahead as planned at current costs of £35-45bn, Johnson said.
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Johnson said: “If we start now, services could be running by the end of the decade
“So today the cabinet has given high speed rail the green signal. We are going to get this done.”
A separate company will be set up to look at the redevelopment of Euston station in London and the extension of HS2 to Manchester and Leeds, the PM signalled.
Johnson added that before these designs are finalised and legislation is introduced, the government will “introduce an integrated plan for rail in the north”.
And he stressed this would not be an “either-or” choice between HS2 and northern powerhouse rail to link Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds across the Pennines.
“Some have suggested delaying or even cancelling HS2 in order to get northern powerhouse rail done more quickly.
“But I want to say to you, Mr Speaker and to the House, this is not an either-or proposition.
“Both are needed, and both will be built as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible.”
A handful of Tory MPs raised concerns about Johnson’s decision but there was no major revolt on the Commons floor.
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“I think people in years to come will look back on this project and just say they could have done it so much better”
Conservative MP @Mike_Fabricant, part of the #HS2 Review Group of MPs
Read more: https://t.co/s4xToSxkjV#r4today pic.twitter.com/qZtRjvpaAR — BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) February 11, 2020
Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant warned the railway will cause “immense” damage to the countryside.
Andrew Bridgen for North West Leicestershire told the chamber HS2 is “unloved, unwanted and has been grossly mismanaged”.
Buckingham MP Greg Smith said the railway would cause “blight” to communities up and down the route, “not just on the landscape, but people’s lives”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned that Johnson “promised so much in the general election” to people in the Midlands and the north, but they will be “sorely disappointed when they see what actually happens”.
He claimed the government has “proved itself unable to manage infrastructure projects properly and incapable of keeping a lid on the cost”.
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The Confederation of British Industry welcomed the decision with chief UK policy director Matthew Fell saying it was “exactly the sort of bold, decisive action required to inject confidence in the economy”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Exes-You-Forgot-Dated Bradley Cooper And Renée Zellweger Reunited At The Oscars

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Hollywood’s biggest night also happens to be your best chance at running into a former flame if you’re dating and famous.
Former couple Renée Zellweger and Bradley Cooper – who, we’ll admit, we had completely forgotten dated once upon a time – reunited at the 2020 Oscars on Sunday night, nearly a decade after they split.
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The two were photographed next to each other at the ceremony, where Renée picked up the Best Actress trophy for her performance in Judy while Brad was there as part of the producing team behind the most-nominated film of the evening, Joker.
Renée Zellweger and Bradley Cooper at the Oscars Kevin Winter via Getty Images
While the pair have never publicly acknowledged their years-long relationship, Brad and Renée quietly dated from 2009 to 2011 after first working together on the supernatural thriller Case 39.
“I can’t say enough about her,” Cooper told Entertainment Tonight back in 2009, while promoting their film.
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“I just love her. I [loved] coming to work. I love acting with her. I can learn so much from her.”
Renée was similarly full of praise, saying: “[Bradley]’s a great, great actor. I just got so excited, not believing that I was going to go to work with him.”
That year, Renée spent the festive season with Bradley and and his parents, and the couple later moved together to a $4.7 million home in Pacific Palisades, California.
A proud Renée even sat in the front row with Bradley’s mother and father during his particularly emotional Inside the Actor’s Studio sit-down. And she reportedly skipped the 2011 Golden Globes at the last minute to be with the actor and his family when his father died shortly before the ceremony.
Renée on the Oscars red carpet Steve Granitz/WireImage via Getty Images
On Sunday night, Renée stunned on the Oscars red carpet in a white silk one-shoulder Armani Prive gown. Bradley skipped the arrivals altogether, but was seen in the auditorium during the ceremony.
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Last year, he walked the carpet hand-in-hand with Russian model Irina Shayk, with whom he shares a nearly 3-year-old daughter, Lea de Seine, where his film A Star Is Born was nominated for eight Oscars.
Bradley and Irina then split in June 2019 after four years together.
Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk arrive at the 2019 Oscars. MARK RALSTON via Getty Images
February has been a month for bumping into exes for Bradley. Earlier this month, he and Shayk posed for a picture together at the British Vogue and Tiffany & Co. Fashion and Film Party.
And this year’s awards season has also been responsible for another big reunion, after Jennifer Aniston was snapped chatting to ex-husband Brad Pitt during the Golden Globes last month.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Talk Dirty To Me: How Audio Porn Is Awakening Our Sexual Fantasies

maxkabakov via Getty Images
You’re reading How To Get Off, our series celebrating bodies, pleasure and fantasy.
“I’ll f*** you so good, I promise, I will, I will… thank you,” says an obsequious staffer, eager to please his manager (“ma’am”) as he attends to everything she needs ahead of a work conference. Soon, things get smuttier, and this man begins to describe how his “sexy boss” is pleasuring him. Then, accompanied by audio effects of heavy breathing, licking, groaning and skin-slapping, the narrator describes, not without some imitated obstacles, a sex scene.
I can’t actually see what’s going on, but it sounds like I’m the one being called “ma’am” and I don’t not like it.
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Audio erotica is a booming industry, if not in money terms, then in tech’s race to grab the female millennial market this visual-free format is primed for.
‘Yes Ma’am’, the sweetly euphemistic title of this particular story, is hosted on Quinn, launched last year by Caroline Spiegel, the sister of Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel. Her company has raised close to a million dollars and is in pursuit of more, much like sexual wellness app Ferly, which also launched in 2019 and has raised a similar amount. Dipsea is the market leader, after setting up in 2017, and raising $5.5m as of 2019.
While each of these sites produces and hosts different types of audio erotica, others are diversifying their offering. Do You, a relative newcomer, aims for further intimacy with the listener by texting sex scenes over to them. But who is listening and what do they get from it? And how, in turn, does this impact what sort of zero-nudity, highly-explicit, middling-budget smut is being created?
maxkabakov via Getty Images
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“I discovered audio porn last year and I listen to it about once a month,” says Rachel, 22, from Surrey, who says she enjoys a male voice narrating a BDSM scenario. She prefers audio erotica, in part, because it’s more accessible to stream on a slow connection, telling HuffPost UK: “I live with my parents at the moment and the internet is rubbish, so visual porn isn’t an option for me.”
Accessibility, to a really different degree, is also an issue for John, 31, from the Midlands. He is blind, so, of course, “pictures don’t help me in the slightest.” What John likes about audio erotica, he tells HuffPost UK is that it is “one-on-one, with the reader painting the pictures with her words and her inflection.”
Dr Karen Gurney, a clinical psychologist and psychosexologist, sees audio erotica as a real gift to her and her clients. This is partly because it is accessible to people like John, and partly because it encourages the use of imagination. “Audio erotica triggers arousal and desire, and research shows it does this almost as well as visual porn, and more effectively than reading erotica or using fantasy,” she says. And this is backed up by the research into what turns women on that inspired platforms like Dipsea in the first place.
“Audio erotica triggers arousal and desire, and research shows it does this almost as well as visual porn.” - Dr Karen Gurney
Quinn, which is profile-based, allows direct communication between creators and users. “I’m passionate about assisting women to explore and embrace their sensual and erotic nature in a respectful and loving manner,” reads the blurb for Harry, a British male voice on the site, who regularly checks in with listeners on what scenario he should record next. “You come in, throw her up against the wall and show her just how much you missed her,” responds a fan.
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Subjects are tagged according to voice, participants, atmosphere and acts, catering to a spectrum of sexual orientations that may or may not match your IRL leanings. What’s more, in an era where we’re oversaturated with screentime, accessing erotica through headphones helps support users’ imaginations rather than override them – and crucially leaves your hands free.
Audio suits a range of people, Dr Gurney says, as “it provides a strength of story which doesn’t take so much concentration, so appeals to people who haven’t found a visual porn that works for them, or those who want to develop their fantasies, making a note of what turns them on.”
The reason why audiovisual porn can’t do this so well, she says, is because “most mainstream porn can be quite misogynistic”.
maxkabakov via Getty Images
Rough sex is the norm in mainstream porn, with male pornographers creating stories that rarely take into consideration women’s pleasure – or pain. As Rachel explains: “There are certain kinks that turn me on but it’s more comfortable for me to imagine them than to watch another woman being beaten up.
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“I don’t think any shame should be attached to visual porn,” she adds, “but I feel it a lot less when I’m listening to audio. It just feels a bit healthier.”
Anna, 27, from London feels similarly. She listens to women’s voices narrating heterosexual sexual scenarios on Dipsea about twice a week, and remembers that when she used to try visual porn, “I couldn’t understand it as being pleasurable, because I enjoy something more loving and passionate.”
As a survivor of sexual violence, she adds: “Seeing someone in pain isn’t conducive to me enjoying myself.”
It sits uncomfortably with me when John admits that he enjoys “nonconsent” and “violence” in his audio erotica because I’m not keen on either being fetishised, but I also appreciate that audio porn depicting these themes is far further from their actuality than visual porn.
There’s an important discussion to be had about how violence in porn impacts real-life sexual behaviours. Regardless of how you feel about this debate, at time where more people are considering where their other pleasures in life – food, clothes, travel – come from, ethical porn is something many users are looking out for.
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“There are lots of people who would prefer to get their erotica whispered in their ear than read it.” - GirlOnTheNet
The obstacle to pursuing ethical porn, explains Dr Gurney, is often price. “The problem of porn is you have to pay for it to get good quality.” Audio erotica, however, is relatively cheap to make. GirlOnTheNet, who started off writing erotic stories, is now an independent audio erotica producer, using Patreon so her users pay for the audio that will often be tailored to their desired (Harry of Quinn – latest story title, ‘Let’s Make A Baby’ – is also fundraising there).
“Initially, it was an accessibility thing,” explains GirlsOnTheNet of her work – in her case, for blind people. “The eroticism gets lost when these stories are read aloud in a robot voice.” But after narrating some of her blog posts, “it took off”, she says. “It seems there are lots of people who would prefer to get their erotica whispered in their ear than read it,” she says. Now, she tailors her content to audio, something which John values over the stuff he used to get from old-school sex phone lines. As he puts it: “Recorded content gives performers the time to edit and include sound effects, which greatly enhance the experience.”
That kind of audio mix will be familiar to anyone with a podcast habit – and, indeed, there are several podcasts, such as Kiss me Quick, presented and narrated by California-based Rose Carraway, that serve up audio erotica, too.
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These days, anyone with a webcam, some genitals and a hand can make porn. But, says GirlOnTheNet, “there are ethics, casting and cost issues with visual erotica that you don’t get with audio.” As an example of good audio, she cites the UK-based Molly Moore, who blogs at Molly’s Daily Kiss and also uploads real-life sex stories to her website.
In a society where those who create sexual content – be it the winners of literature’s Bad Sex Awards or sex workers – are routinely mocked and stigmatised for their efforts, Yes Ma’am’s creator, Anonyfun35 (with his supposed PhD in “Ache Linguistics”) has the freedom to make all of those slurpy, sucky noises and still show his face in public.
The accessibility, imagination and ethical boundaries of audio erotica all mark it out as a valuable prospect for those seeking an alternative to mainstream porn on the route to titillation. And for all these aspects, it carries a certain sophistication. The Hoxton, an upmarket hotel chain with branches across the world, wouldn’t dream of installing the pay-per-view porn channels that lesser hotels are known for. But the London outpost is teaming up with Dipsea for a limited period to allow guests to dial-in to hear some audio erotica.
While a spokesperson for the hotel explains this is part of a wider programme of “cultural discovery” and “unique experiences” for its guests, Gina Gutierrez, co-founder of Dipsea, tells HuffPost that “audio is special because it’s so powerfully imaginative” – adding that the company wants to make “more beautiful, considered and design-forward choices.” And what could be more beautiful, considered and design-forward than the visuals we create on the canvas of our minds? Yes, sir!
How To Get Off is our answer to Valentine’s Day, celebrating bodies, pleasure and fantasy – whatever your relationship status. We’ll be exploring what really gets us off in 2020, looking at sexual awakenings, toys and erotica, and real-life experience.
Getty / HuffPost


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-11--Coronavirus Outbreak Shut Downs Second Brighton GP Surgery. Here's The Latest

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Second GP surgery branch in Brighton shuts down
Nursing home in Patcham closes to visitors
Some schools closed
Matt Hancock announces new NHS funding and powers to force people into quarantine
A second GP surgery branch in Brighton has been shut following the outbreak of coronavirus in the East Sussex city.
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The County Oak Medical Centre on Monday closed “because of an urgent operational health and safety reason”, following reports a member of staff there was one of those infected.
On Tuesday morning it emerged that a second branch of the surgery – located less than two miles away – has also been closed.
A sign fixed to the door of the Deneway branch says: “The surgery is closed due to organisational health and safety reasons.
“Please contact 111 if you need to speak to a health professional.”
Speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday outside County Oak Medical Centre where she is a patient, a 43-year-old mother-of-four from Brighton said: “I was here on the 3rd and the 5th and they will not tell me the risk even though I am immunosuppressed with lupus.”
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She said she has called 111 several times but was told “the risk isn’t known” and to stay in for 14 days if she feels at risk.
“Nobody knows anything. It’s a farce. Everybody is worried about it.
“No-one can protect themselves and we can’t protect the public.
“I am going to ring 111 and [Public] Health England until I get some answers.”
The pharmacy at County Oak Medical Centre will reopen today, staff confirmed, but the surgery is expected to remain closed.
A school in Southampton has also closed for two days over concerns about the virus.
St Mary’s Independent School said the “precautionary” closure came after “members of the school community” became ill, having recently travelled to China.
Parents of pupils at Bevendean Primary School in Brighton have been told absences will be authorised after one of its staff was found to have been in contact with a person advised to “self-isolate” over the virus. The school is otherwise open.
A #Brighton primary school has said one of its staff has been in close contact with a person who has been advised to 'self-isolate' over the coronavirus. #Bevendean Primary is staying open but says it will authorise absences if parents want to keep children away from school. — BBC Sussex (@BBCSussex) February 11, 2020
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As of Tuesday afternoon, a total of 1,358 people have been tested for coronavirus, of which 1,350 were confirmed negative and eight positive, the Department of Health said.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the spread of coronavirus “will get worse before it gets better” as he announced greater powers and funding to help tackle the spread of the disease.
In a Commons statement, he told MPs: “Dealing with this disease is a marathon, not a sprint. The situation will get worse before it gets better.”
Hancock said the risk to the public “remains moderate” and the eight patients with confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK are receiving “expert care”.
Tracing those who have been in contact with the first four cases is “now complete” and tracing those who have been in contact with the remaining four cases is ongoing, he told MPs.
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On new powers to force people to remain in quarantine, he said: “The powers are proportionate and will help us slow down the transmission of the virus and make it easier for NHS and public health staff to do their jobs.”
Hancock also announced new capital funding for the NHS if they need to create “further isolation areas and other necessary facilities”.
He said: “Today I can announce to the House the immediate launch of a capital facility to support any urgent works the NHS needs for the coronavirus response such as the creation of further isolation areas and other necessary facilities.”
Hancock told MPs: “The NHS has the capability now to cope with the very highest level of intensity and isolation with 50 cases and the capability to expand that to 500 cases and to do that without an impact on the wider work of the NHS.
“But of course, if the number of cases get bigger, then we will need to take further steps.”
Meanwhile, Patcham Nursing Home in Brighton said on Tuesday it has closed to all visitors after one of the infected GPs visited a patient there about a week ago.
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A spokeswoman for the care home said: “It is important to state that no-one at the home is unwell.
“However, following the closure of the local GP surgery, as a precaution we have closed the home to all visitors.
“As a responsible care home and employer, we have put in place our own checks on residents and staff and Public Health England has confirmed it is happy with our actions.”
‘Fully recovered’
The businessman linked to several cases of coronavirus in the UK has been named as Steve Walsh, who said he has “fully recovered” from the illness.
According to several reports, the 53-year-old said in a statement: “I would like to thank the NHS for their help and care – whilst I have fully recovered, my thoughts are with others who have contracted coronavirus.
The Grenadier pub in Hove, East Sussex, one of the locations visited by the Brighton businessman, Steve Walsh, who has been diagnosed with coronavirus. The public house has said it has been told by Public Health England there is "minimal ongoing risk of infection to either guests or staff" PA
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“As soon as I knew I had been exposed to a confirmed case of coronavirus I contacted my GP, NHS 111 and Public Health England.
“I was advised to attend an isolated room at hospital, despite showing no symptoms, and subsequently self-isolated at home as instructed.
“When the diagnosis was confirmed I was sent to an isolation unit in hospital, where I remain, and, as a precaution, my family was also asked to isolate themselves.
“I also thank friends, family and colleagues for their support during recent weeks and I ask the media to respect our privacy.”
A statement from the Scout Association said: “We are aware that Steve Walsh from the Brighton area who volunteers with the Scout Movement is suffering from coronavirus. He contracted the virus while out of the UK.
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“This volunteer has not been to any Scout meetings since his return to the UK.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-12--Matty Healy Responds To Reading And Leeds Backlash Pledging To Only Perform At Festivals Committed T

Matty Healy Responds To Reading And Leeds Backlash Pledging To Only Perform At Festivals Committed To Gender Equality

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The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has pledged that in future he will only perform at festivals committed to gender equality.
On Tuesday, the line-up for this year’s Reading And Leeds Festival was announced, with many criticising the fact that only a handful of female acts would be appearing on stage over the course of the three-day festival.
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When Matty responded to her to suggest that headliners Rage Against The Machine were a “dope booking”, she said: “Rage would be a dope booking if they used their leverage to demand equality on the bill.
“Any act with power that isn’t doing that, yet is speaking out against inequality, is failing to understand the game-changing role they could play in this situation.”
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Matty on stage in Australia last week Martin Philbey via Getty Images
Laura then urged the singer to “add a condition to your rider that says you’ll only play festivals that commit to X% (ideally 50%!) acts that include women and non binary performers”, which he then quote-tweeted, revealing it would be something he was committing to in the future.
“Take this as me signing this contract,” he wrote. “I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets. But from now I will and believe this is how male artist can be true allies.
“I’m sure my agents are having kittens right now but times up man people need to act and not chat thanks for the kick up the arse Snapes you’re making a difference.
“Point is that Reading and Leeds with more women would be honestly the best festival in the world that place is vibeyyy.”
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Take this as me signing this contract - I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets. But from now I will and believe this is how male artist can be true allies ❤ https://t.co/1eaZG2hEze — 🥾🌍 (@Truman_Black) February 12, 2020
Yeah fuck knows and I’m sure my agents are having kittens right now but times up man people need to act and not chat thanks for the kick up the arse snapes you’re making a difference https://t.co/ykp2k4kiMx — 🥾🌍 (@Truman_Black) February 12, 2020
Point is that Reading and Leeds with more women would be honestly the best festival in the world that place is vibeyyy. Let’s not judge people and give the benefit of the doubt that people are going to start to listening ❤❤I can feel the change !! — 🥾🌍 (@Truman_Black) February 12, 2020
The 1975 have performed at Reading and Leeds Festival multiple times in the past, including last year, when they headlined.
This year’s headliners include Stormzy, Liam Gallagher and Rage Against The Machine, with Brit nominee Mabel, rapper Lady Leshurr and the indie band Bloxx the only female acts scheduled to appear on the festival’s main stage.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-12--Line Of Duty Cast Get To Work On Series 6 – Here's Everything We Can Tell You About It

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To say Line Of Duty fans are eager for the sixth series would be an understatement.
A new season was originally set to air in 2020, but the pandemic put paid to that when filming had to be shut down mid-way through filming last March.
Production eventually wrapped at the tail end of last year, and the countdown is now officially on until Line Of Duty returns to our screens.
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If you’re thirsty for more info about series six, here’s everything we can tell you...
How did the cast manage to film?
Prior to the pandemic shutting down production, the Line Of Duty cast had already shot four weeks of material on location in Belfast.
Everyone was subsequently sent home while the UK entered lockdown, and show-runners desperately tried find a way for filming to resume safely.
The cast of Line Of Duty series six: (L-R) Adrian Dunbar, Kelly Macdonald, Martin Compston and Vicky McClure BBC
After much speculation, including whether the cast would have to re-shoot what had already been filmed, things finally got back on track in September.
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Production was able to resume with strict measures in place, including cast members bubbling up while filming away from home in Northern Ireland, and regular Covid testing.
Filming wrapped at the end of November after what executive producer Simon Heath called “three [months] of shooting under the most trying of circumstances”.
The show’s creator Jed Mercurio had previously ruled out incorporating coronavirus into the plot, adding: “We’re not a show that is similar to the soaps where there’s a possibility of bringing the actual subject of corona into the storyline, where that could make it slightly easier for them to adapt to it, whereas it’s currently not in Line Of Duty’s world.”
So, remind me – how did series five end again?
Series five revolved around the hunt for mysterious organised crime boss “H”, who was believed to be a high ranking police officer.
But after Ted Hastings was arrested, the final episode revealed that “H” didn’t actually exist at all, and legal counsel Gill Biggeloe had been framing the Superintendent.
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Biggeloe had also tried to frame Hastings for as "H" BBC
From a closer examination of DI Matthew Cottan’s dying declaration, it was then confirmed that “H” was actually a clue, indicating there are four high ranking officers in league with organised crime.
So far, Cottan, ACC Derek Hilton, Biggeloe have already been unmasked, with another still at large...
Cottan was using his hand to communicate with Morse code in his dying declaration – a detail that had been missed before BBC
So what will series six be about?
While the specific plot of series six has not been confirmed, it is highly likely the hunt for the fourth officer in league with organised crime will be central to it.
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There’s also a heap of unanswered questions left over from the end of the fifth series.
While Hastings was cleared of being “H”, there’s still a question mark over whether he is corrupt, after he was seen giving a bundle of cash to John Corbett’s wife.
A spokesperson for Line Of Duty confirmed to HuffPost UK that suspicions about Hastings had been left deliberately vague ahead of the sixth series.
Who is returning to the cast?
All three lead actors, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, are back as DS Steve Arnott, DI Kate Flemming and Superintendent Ted Hastings.
DI Kate Flemming, Superintendent Ted Hastings and DS Steve Arnott are all returning BBC
Although they are the three officially announced to return, there are other characters likely to appear as well.
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Series five ended with OCG member Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper) attending a police interview seemingly set on embedding himself in the force to carry on with the gang’s work from the inside.
OCG member Ryan Pilkington applied for a job in the police BBC
Let’s not forget that Biggeloe (Polly Walker) is still alive and living under a new identity after helping police with their investigations, while organised crime gang member Lisa McQueen was given witness protection after sharing information on the OCG, now working to help teens avoid crime.
Rochenda Sandall, who played McQueen, later admitted she didn’t think we’d seen the last of her character, telling Digital Spy: “If you think about it, nobody who’s gone for immunity, in the whole series, has ever got away with it.
“Myself and Ryan [Pilkington] are the only two OCG members left and I know about his police school... so I don’t think it’s the end. I hope it’s not the end. But I won’t know until the time comes!
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“I definitely think there’s an open door for Lisa.”
Rochenda Sandall is Lisa McQueen BBC
Who is joining the cast?
Kelly Macdonald will play Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, whose suspicious conduct will be investigated by the police anti-corruption unit.
DCI Davidson is the senior investigating officer of an unsolved murder, who Jed Mercurio described as “the most enigmatic adversary AC-12 have ever faced”.
Kelly Macdonald in Line Of Duty BBC
Kelly follows in the footsteps of previous AC-12 adversaries DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James), DI Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes), Sergeant Danny Waldron (Daniel Mays), DCI Roz Huntley (Thandie Newton) and DS John Corbett (Stephen Graham).
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Kelly is best known for her roles in Trainspotting, Gosford Park, Boardwalk Empire and, most recently, The Victim and Giri/Haji.
There’s also a new arrival in AC-12 with the addition of DC Chloe Bishop, who is played by Shalom Brune-Franklin.
Shalom is best known for playing Private Maisie Richards in BBC drama Our Girl and Morgana in Netflix’s Cursed.
Shalom Brune-Franklin (second right) is joining AC-12 as DC Chloe Bishop BBC
What else has been said about series six?
Martin had his first script through for the new series in December 2019, and admitted that he was “scared” by it in a cryptic Instagram post.
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As you would expect with Line Of Duty though, the show is shrouded in mystery.
However, Martin did let slip during an interview with the Radio Times that there is a major revelation in the fourth episode that he was waiting to find out the conclusion to.
He told the publication: “For this year, I think we’ve filmed [episodes] one and two, and as a cast, we’ve got [the scripts for] three and four, and Jed is writing five and six and we haven’t seen them, and there’s a bombshell at the end of four and I’m desperate to find out what happens.”
After the BBC show’s creator Jed Mercurio posted the a set of on-set images from filming in Belfast back in October, some eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice a tiny detail in one of the shots.
#LineofDuty6 Another great week of filming in Belfast pic.twitter.com/VFU4Z5DiCp — Jed Mercurio (@jed_mercurio) October 5, 2020
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They picked up on the fact DS Arnott was not wearing police stripes on his epaulettes, suggesting that he was now working as a police constable.
Previously, he has been a detective sergeant, which is indicated by three white stripes worn on an officer’s shoulders.
A PC usually just has their collar number, which Arnott is seen wearing, pointing at the possibility the character will either be demoted or be working undercover in the new series...
Stevie boy demoted to PC? pic.twitter.com/pDQ2nBVPts — DW Gareth (@d_wgareth) October 5, 2020
Or undercover? — Elaine (@laneychich) October 6, 2020
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There’s an extra treat for fans this series too
The BBC has announced that series six will have a one more episode than usual, consisting of seven instalments instead of the usual six.
To celebrate, the BBC released a sketch featuring Hastings demanding “more from Arnott”, before he says: “How about an extra episode, gaffer?”
Listen up, fellas. When the gaffer asks for more, you better deliver.
#LineOfDuty returns for Series 6 with an extra episode (7 instead of 6). Coming soon to @BBCOne and @BBCiPlayer. pic.twitter.com/6An7jywJI1 — BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) February 2, 2021
Responding to the video on Twitter, Jed Mercurio joked that AC-12 were “losing their touch” so he had to “give them an extra hour to close the case”.
Most importantly, when will Line Of Duty series six air?
There’s no official date as yet from the BBC, but it did say series six will be “coming soon” when news of the extra episode was announced.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-12--Here Are Pics Of Siba, The Supremely Extra Winner Of The Westminster Dog Show

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Siba, a standard poodle, has been crowned Best in Show at the 2020 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
The prim pooch was selected from seven finalists on Tuesday in New York’s Madison Square Garden, having beat out more than 3,000 other dogs entered in the competition from around the world.
Siba claimed her throne by posing regally among her trophies and ribbons.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Siba, the standard poodle, wins Best in Show in the 144th Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS Siba struts ahead of the Best in Show competition.
After winning the non-sporting group on Monday, the chic poodle celebrated with a grilled chicken treat from McDonald’s, according to her handler Chrystal Murray-Clas.
Apparently, the young lady is a very particular eater and dines exclusively on chicken. She won’t accept any other meat, vegetables or even turkey, Murray-Clas told NBC Philadelphia. After her big win Tuesday, Murray-Clas said her reward would be simple: more chicken.
“We think she’s beautiful and has that special something,” she told reporters. “I can’t see any drawbacks of this breed. They’re just wonderful.”
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Siba is the 12th dog from the non-sporting group to win Best in Show, and she’s the fifth overall win for the standard poodle breed in the competition, which is in its 144th year.
Bourbon the whippet finished second. Siba’s five other worthy opponents were Bono the Havanese, Wilma the boxer, Conrad the Shetland sheepdog, Vinny the wire fox terrier and crowd favourite Daniel the golden retriever.
Here are the 7 finalists!
Who would you name Best in Show? 🥇 #WKCDogShow pic.twitter.com/T6KaLrpVd4 — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) February 12, 2020
While the crowd rooted for Daniel, social media users were quick to hail their new queen.
Siba the poodle won Westminster Dog Show and immediately lay in front of her trophies like the queen she is pic.twitter.com/yQaLssZzim — Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) February 12, 2020
She was on point! Congratulations Siba! Queen! 👑 https://t.co/VGUACOq4Ak — LaWanda (@lawanda50) February 12, 2020
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-12--This Is What Happens To Your Brain When You Orgasm

This Is What Happens To Your Brain When You Orgasm
We know they feel good - but what exactly do they do to our brains? We asked sex therapist and neuroscientist Dr Nan Wise, author of Why Good Sex Matters, to explain exactly what happens when we orgasm, from how our brain registers pleasure to the health benefits behind the Big O.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-12--Revealed: The 16 Best Pubs In The UK

Revealed: The 16 Best Pubs In The UK

Each year, over 200 Camra branches select their pub of the year. These then go through to a regional competition to select the 16 top pubs, which are then whittled down to four finalists – one of which becomes the winner.
Each place is judged on its atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, community focus and the quality of the beer, so you can be sure they’re well worth a visit.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-12--Why You Really Should Go For A Walk This Lunchtime

When it’s cold outside and you’ve got a pile of work to get through, it can be tempting to hunker down and eat lunch al desko. But sitting all day is not good for your body – or your mind.
We already know that sedentary lifestyles can lead to a long list of physical health problems, from back ache, muscle weakness and slow digestion to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. But new research based on teenagers highlights the negative impact it can have on mental health, too.
Spending long periods of time sitting each day is linked to an increased risk of depression, according to the new study led by University College London – but walking could counteract the impact.
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nadia_bormotova via Getty Images
The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, analysed the sitting behaviour of more than 4,000 young people aged 12, 14 and 16, then looked at instances of depression once they reached 18.
The period of time teens spent sitting per day increased as they aged, going from an average of seven hours and 10 minutes at the start of the study to eight hours and 43 minutes by the end.
The researchers found that every additional 60 minutes of sedentary behaviour per day was associated with an increase in depression. Those with consistently high amounts of time spent sitting at all three ages had 28.2% higher depression scores by age 18, the researchers said.
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However, walking could make a difference. The study found that an additional 60 minutes of light activity (such as walking) each day could significantly lower the risk.
While the study focused on teenagers, its results serve as a reminder to adults about the dangers of sitting all day – particularly as so many of us sit in front of a screen for eight-hour stints.
“We found that it’s not just more intense forms of activity that are good for our mental health, but any degree of physical activity that can reduce the time we spend sitting down is likely to be beneficial,” said the study’s lead author, PhD student Aaron Kandola.
“We should be encouraging people of all ages to move more, and to sit less, as it’s good for both our physical and mental health.”
You don’t need to wait for spring to enjoy a lunchtime or post-work stroll, so what are you waiting for? If you’re able to, wrap up warm and get those steps in.
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Useful websites and helplines: