thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--How Bad Actually Is Coronavirus? We Compare Its Progress With Previous Global Virus Outbreaks

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The death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 1,018, and there are now 43,106 confirmed infections worldwide.
Governments around the world – including the UK – are scrambling to both prevent the disease spreading and to repatriate their citizens currently stranded in the Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak.
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Four more patients in England tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to eight and two GP surgery branches in Brighton have been shut following an outbreak in the city.
Health secretary Matt Hancock announced new regulations on Monday “to ensure that the public are protected as far as possible from the transmission of the virus” – giving the government extra control to fight the spread of infection.
It will mean people can be forcibly quarantined and will not be free to leave.
All in all, there is quite the global crisis on the boil. But how bad is it really?
A Chinese volunteer wearing the protective clothing disinfects a street for prevention of the new coronavirus and pneumonia during the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival holiday in Dongxinzhuang Village, China. SIPA USA/PA Images
For context, here’s how it stacks up to previous deadly outbreaks.
Let’s start with the latest on coronavirus
At the time of writing, 1,018 people – all bar two in China – have died in the latest outbreak and there are about 43,106 reported cases of infection.
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In Hong Kong, a 39-year-old man has become the first coronavirus death reported in the territory, and a 44-year-old man has died in the Philippines.
Around 470 cases have been reported in two dozen other countries.
The US, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia have imposed similar restrictions despite criticism from China and World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidance that such measures were unnecessary.
Its symptoms, including cough and fever and in severe cases pneumonia, are similar to many other illnesses.
The director-general of the World Health Organisation said this week the agency is still unable to predict where the outbreak is heading but that he believes there is still an opportunity to contain it.
SARS
You may have noticed that coronavirus has been compared a lot to SARS, and for good reason: SARS was in fact a coronavirus.
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Confused? Don’t be. Coronavirus is actually a family of viruses that includes the common cold.
This current outbreak of coronavirus was temporarily named “2019-nCoV” but that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily, so the generic family name has stuck.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was responsible for a global outbreak between November 2002 and July 2003. It was very similar to the current coronavirus. Crucially, while it was less infectious, it was also deadlier.
But the death toll from coronavirus has now surpassed SARS which only killed 774 people.
Statista Statista
But it’s difficult to compare the number of deaths during the SARS outbreak after the same amount of time, as Chinese authorities withheld information – a lesson they appear to have learned this time around.
No further cases of SARS have been reported since 2004.
Ebola
While the symptoms of SARS and coronavirus could be confused with a case of the flu, those of ebola most certainly can not.
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The virus severely affects the blood’s ability to clot, leading to often fatal uncontrolled bleeding.
As you can see from the chart above, it is far deadlier than coronavirus and during the West Africa outbreak between 2014-16 almost 50% of cases were fatal.
Only a global concerted effort led by the WHO stopped the virus from spreading beyond the African continent, although isolated cases such as Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey did slip through the net.
Spanish Influenza
To put all of these into perspective, it’s necessary to hark back to 1918.
Not only was humanity dealing with what was then by far the most deadly war in history, but an outbreak of influenza spread around the world and killed around 5% of the entire world’s population – some 50m people.
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There was barely a corner of the world unaffected with cases reported on remote islands in the pacific and even the Arctic.
What was particularly terrifying about this strain of the flu virus was that it was especially lethal for those in the normally healthy age bracket of 20-40 years.
Medicine was obviously more primitive 100 years ago and there was no WHO to coordinate a response, but scientists still aren’t quite sure why it was so devastating.
Infographic supplied by Statista.
(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated total deaths during the Spanish influenza were around 500m. This should have been around 50m.)


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--Rebecca Long-Bailey Through To Final Round Of Labour Leadership Contest

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Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey has secured her place on the final ballot, having won the endorsement of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
The shadow business secretary joins the current frontrunner Keir Starmer and backbencher Lisa Nandy in the next round.
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To make it onto the ballot put to party members, candidates have to win the support of three Labour affiliates - including at least two trade unions.
I am absolutely delighted to be nominated for leader by the @fbunational. Heroic firefighters put themselves at risk to protect us every day, and their union embodies the values of our movement. pic.twitter.com/d0yCTkFDVB — Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) January 29, 2020
Long-Bailey already had the support of the Unite union and the bakers’ union BFAWU.
Alternatively candidates can proceed by securing the nomination of 33 constituency Labour parties (CLPs).
This is the route Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, appears to need to take - but so far looks to be struggling.
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In a statement on Wednesday, the FBU said: “There can be no going back to the so-called centrism of New Labour – we never again want to see our party turn its back on workers, public ownership, and its own members.
“We will be actively campaigning for Rebecca. Only she has what it takes to transform the country, win back Labour’s heartlands, and put power back in the hands of working-class people.”
The FBU endorsed Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary and a favourite of the left of the party, in the race to be deputy party leader. The decision means he has made it onto the ballot of party members.
The current frontrunner in the deputy race is Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary.
Jeremy Corbyn’s successor as leader will be announced on April 4.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--Victoria Derbyshire Takes BBC Bosses To Task As She Live Tweets Meeting Announcing News Cuts

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Victoria Derbyshire has taken her BBC bosses to task during a meeting announcing cuts to the broadcaster’s news output.
The presenter was left “absolutely devastated” last week after finding out in The Times that her mid-morning current affairs show would be axed in a bid to save costs.
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As the BBC gathered staff on Wednesday to release official details of cuts to the news division, Victoria challenged the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, Fran Unsworth.
BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire PA Wire/PA Images
She is reported to have asked Unsworth if staff working on her show had been “lied to”, after it was reported the cost of the programme was too expensive to make “on a linear channel”.
According to the Financial Times and the Guardian’s media reporters, Victoria argued she’d never been told that the show’s linear audience (aka those who watch the show live on traditional TV) needed to grow, stating her belief that bosses have “ignored” the impact the show has on digital platforms.
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Derbyshire: You never told me you need to grow the linear audience... were we lied to?
Unsworth: No
Derbyshire: Really?.... you have ignored the digital figures Fran — Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) January 29, 2020
Victoria Derbyshire is currently asking BBC bosses if they lied to her and her team about the programme's goals. Unsworth says she is very sorry about the programme's cancellation: "I'm paid to make really difficult decisions about this." — Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) January 29, 2020
Unsworth responded by saying it was a “really, really, really difficult decision” to axe the programme and “would like to apologise” for the way its cancellation emerged in the press before Victoria was told herself.
As Victoria live-tweeted the BBC meeting, she doubled down on her claims she hadn’t been charged with growing the show’s linear TV audience.
She tweeted: “We were NEVER asked to grow the linear TV audience. Ever. We were asked to grow our digital audience - we did - our digi figures are huge (our successful digital figures appear to be an inconvenience to those making the decisions).
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“Our remit when we were set up: 1. Original journalism 2. Reaching underserved audiences 3. Growing the digital figures.
“We achieved all 3,” she added.
we were NEVER asked to grow the linear Tv audience. Ever. We were asked to grow our digital audience - we did - our digi figures are huge (our successful digital figures appear to be an inconvenience to those making the decisions) — Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) January 29, 2020
Our remit when we were set up:
1. Original journalism
2. Reaching underserved audiences
3. Growing the digital figures
We achieved all 3. — Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) January 29, 2020
Victoria also said that ahead of the presentation – entitled Modernising BBC News – the BBC’s Head of internal comms “just said to us all, ‘enjoy and relax’.”
“‘Cheery’ music in room like you hear when you’re your put on hold…..” she added.
Head of Internal Comms jst said to us all, ‘enjoy and relax’ https://t.co/sIs2msVXyY — Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) January 29, 2020
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Fran Unsworth arrives. Approx 130 in the room. Being streamed to staff elsewhere in BBC. ‘Cheery’ music in room like you hear when you’re your put on hold.... pic.twitter.com/1b4H1GHlMl — Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) January 29, 2020
BBC News has to save £80 million as part of financial pressures on the corporation, including paying for free TV licences for over-75s on pension credit.
Some 450 jobs are expected to go, while flagship BBC shows like Newsnight as well as radio bulletins will likely face cuts under the changes.
In a statement reacting to her show’s cancellation last week, Victoria said: “Absolutely devastated at the plan to end our programme (which I first learned about in yesterday’s Times).
“I’m unbelievably proud of what our team and our show have achieved in under 5 years, breaking tonnes of original stories (which we were asked to do); attracting a working class, young, diverse audience that BBC radio & TV news [programmes] just don’t reach (which we were asked to do) [and] smashing the digital figures (which we were asked to do).”
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She added: “I’m gutted particularly for our brilliant, young, ambitious, talented team - love ’em. And for all those people we gave a voice to. Love them too.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--Tory Divisions On HS2 Laid Bare As Boris Johnson Promises Decision 'Very Shortly'

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Tory divisions on HS2 were laid bare at prime minister’s questions as opponents of the high-speed rail link shouted down MPs urging Boris Johnson to back it.
Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake faced shouts of “no” from fellow Tories as he led the calls for the PM to give the green light to the £100bn project following a review.
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New Tory MPs Paul Howell and Kieran Mullan faced similar treatment as they insisted HS2 was important for their former Labour stronghold seats in Sedgefield and Crewe and Nantwich.
Responding, Johnson promised a decision very shortly.
He is expected to hold a crunch meeting with chancellor Sajid Javid and transport secretary Grant Shapps on Thursday to decide on HS2’s future.
But Downing Street said no decision would be made at the high-level meeting.
The final sign-off is set to be handed to a full meeting of the cabinet within the next two weeks.
The row came after it emerged that Network Rail boss Andrew Haines has warned of delays of up to 30 years on the east coast main line, serving London and Edinburgh via Leeds and York, if HS2 is cancelled or downgraded.
At PMQs, Hollinrake – who has organised a pro-HS2 letter signed by about 35 Tories, including ministers – asked Johnson: “Does the prime minister agree that we need to increase capacity in our railways in and between the north, the Midlands, the south and Scotland, and unless we want decades of disruption, the only way to do this is through the Midlands engine rail, northern powerhouse rail and HS2?”
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The Tory benches erupted into shouts of “no” as Johnson stood up to reply.
The PM said: “I can tell my honourable friend that we are not only building the northern powerhouse rail and investing in a Midlands rail hub but, as he knows, we are looking into whether and how to proceed with HS2.
“And the House can expect an announcement very shortly.”
PODCAST: Each week, the HuffPost UK politics team unpack the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond. Search for Commons People wherever you listen to podcasts and subscribe.
The review led by former HS2 Ltd chair Doug Oakervee, leaked to the Financial Times, found there is “considerable risk” that the high-speed rail project’s cost will rise by up to 20% from between £81bn and £88bn.
It was initially allocated far less – £56bn – in 2015.
The review also recommended that the second stage of the project, to take the line beyond the initial London-Birmingham link onwards to Manchester and Leeds, should be paused to probe whether it would be better to downgrade it to a mix of high-speed and conventional lines.
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But MPs like Hollinrake insist that the second stage must go ahead or the project would be pointless.
He told HuffPost UK last week: “If we have a change of heart now, you are still going to deliver HS2 to Birmingham.
“What’s the rest of the country going to think of that?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--Northern Rail Stripped Of Franchise After Years Of Passenger Misery

Liverpool, England - April 2, 2010: Northern Rail train in Liverpool Lime Street Station. Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. ilbusca via Getty Images
Northern Rail has been stripped of its franchise and taken back into public ownership, after years of misery for its customers.
The service has been plagued with problems and transport secretary Grant Shapps warned at the start of the year its days were numbered.
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Run by Arriva Rail North, it operates most of its services from Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Hull.
Its passenger satisfactions ratings are among the lowest in the country, yet travellers still faced a 2.7% hike in ticket prices this month.
In a statement to parliament, Shapps said the government would start operating Northern services through the public-sector operator, he said, referring to it as the “so-called operator of last resort”.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps with a Northern train PA Wire/PA Images
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“This is a new beginning for Northern, but it is only a beginning,” he said. “Northern’s network is huge and complex, some of the things which are wrong are not going to be quick or easy to put right.
“Nonetheless, I am determined that Northern passengers see real and tangible improvements across the network as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, the cabinet minister said that the current model of privatised railways was “failing to deliver”.
Over the past two decades of privatisation, passenger journeys have almost doubled, Shapps said.
“However,” he added, “it is clear that the current model is now struggling to deliver. Across the country a number of franchises are failing to provide the reliable services that passengers require.
“We know change is needed, and it is coming. The Williams Review is looking at reforms across the railway to ensure customers are at the heart of the system.”
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Northern’s franchise is the second to be re-nationalised, after the main intercity east coast service was brought into public ownership through the government’s “operator of last resort” in 2018.
Reacting to the news, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the move was “too little too late”.
“Millions of passengers have faced misery and delays yet this government has done nothing for years,” he said. “And now, despite their failure, another private transport company is getting a Tory bailout.
“So much for levelling up the north - this government seems intent to keep the north down,” McDonald continued.
“All failing rail contracts should be taken into public control as a major step towards uniting track and train.”
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About time. Delays & cancellations under Northern Rail have been getting worse and worse and worse. But Govt also needs a proper plan to invest in our northern railways, trains and stations so we get a fair deal. https://t.co/GRFNlVHaOc — Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) January 29, 2020
Meanwhile, Labour MP Yvette Cooper tweeted: “About time. Delays & cancellations under Northern Rail have been getting worse and worse and worse.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--Ricky Gervais Clarifies Supposed Caitlyn Jenner 'Run-In' At The NTAs

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Ricky Gervais has hit back at rumours of a supposed “tense run-in” with Caitlyn Jenner at this year’s National Television Awards.
On Tuesday night, both stars were in attendance at the NTAs, where Caitlyn presented an award and Ricky’s hit Netflix show After Life was up for Best Comedy.
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The following morning, the former Olympian’s I’m A Celebrity campmate Roman Kemp claimed on his Capital Radio show that he’d seen “the most awkward encounter ever” between Caitlyn and Ricky play out in front of him.
Roman told his listeners: “Ricky Gervais reaches out his hand and says, ‘Caitlyn, so lovely to meet you.’ Caitlyn literally looks out the corner of her eyes and goes ‘yeah’.”
Caitlyn Jenner zz/KGC-03/STAR MAX/IPx
He also suggested that Caitlyn’s disdain for Ricky Gervais was made clear during their time in the jungle, noting: “It came up a few times in the jungle. Someone would say ‘oh I love The Office’ and she’d just have this stare of just, like, ‘no’.
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“In Caitlyn’s mind, she has that constant hashtag of #RickyGervaisIsCancelledParty, do you know what I mean? That is it.”
However, Ricky has now insisted that the moment didn’t quite play out as Roman described it.
Ricky Gervais Ian West - PA Images via Getty Images
Responding to a tweet from The Mirror, Ricky wrote: “This is absolutely false. She was lovely and gracious.
“She said she loved my Golden Globes monologue & I said I loved her stint in I’m a Celebrity. And that was it. No snubbing. No awkwardness. No rudeness.”
This is absolutely false. She was lovely and gracious. She said she loved my Golden Globes monologue & I said I loved her stint in I’m a Celebrity. And that was it. No snubbing. No awkwardness. No rudeness. @Caitlyn_Jenner https://t.co/wo3cuwQVRH — Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) January 29, 2020
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Back in 2016, shortly after came out as transgender, Ricky faced backlashed when he joked about Caitlyn while hosting the Golden Globes.
During his opening monologue, Ricky said: “I’ve changed. Well, not as much as Bruce Jenner, obviously – now Caitlyn Jenner. What a year she’s had.
“She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes. She didn’t do a lot for women drivers, but you can’t do everything.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--Lisa Nandy Says No One In Labour Is Blameless For Election Defeat As Report Excuses Jeremy Corbyn

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Labour leadership candidate Lisa Nandy has said Jeremy Corbyn cannot be “exonerated” for the party’s crushing election defeat, after an internal report largely blamed it on Brexit.
Andrew Gwynne and Ian Lavery, the party’s election co-ordinators, told Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) on Tuesday it was “unlikely” Corbyn’s leadership or the domestic policy platform was at fault.
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The document, leaked to the Financial Times, said Corbyn had been the victim of an “assault” on his character “without precedent in modern politics”.
Gwynne and Lavery said it would be “unrealistic” not to conclude the divisions in the country over Brexit led to Labour’s defeat.
Appearing on LBC on Wednesday morning, Nandy was asked about the report and if “Jeremy Corbyn should be exonerated” for the result.
“None of us can be exonerated for the worst election defeat since 1935. We got it badly wrong on all sorts of issues,” she said.
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Nandy added the party got it wrong on Brexit as it “accepted the idea you pick a side”.
“I think we managed to hit the sweet spot where Remainers though we were Leavers and Leavers thought we were Remainers,” she said. “All over the county we were just losing hand over fist.”
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Labour went into the 2019 election pledging to hold a second referendum on any Brexit deal, and to include the option of Remain on the ballot paper.
The party’s NEC met yesterday to conduct a post-mortem of its election defeat.
In a separate submission to the NEC, handed to HuffPost UK, the party’s newly-formed team of specialist community activists argued they prevented “further destruction of the party” despite its election drubbing.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-29--This Is What It's Like When Your Heavy Baby Gets Stuck During Birth

HuffPost UK
In HuffPost Birth Diaries we hear the extraordinary stories of the everyday miracle of birth. This week, Danielle Bodicoat shares her story. If you’d like to share yours, email amy.packham@huffpost.com.
I’ve always had large babies, but my third was definitely the biggest of the lot. The older two had weighed 9lb 13oz and 8lb 6oz when they were born – and at the time, I read a lot of scare stories about birthing heavier babies. They were all quite negative, to be honest. But despite the few complications I had, I’d love women to know that it’s not always as bad as those fearful articles portray.
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I didn’t even measure big during the pregnancy with my third child. Ironically, my growth had actually slowed down on the charts, so I went in for a scan two weeks before my due date. That’s when I found out he was already measuring over nine pounds – the first indicator my son was going to be on the larger side. But I wasn’t surprised or concerned at that point.
Knowing my baby was going to be big, I had a rountine appointment with the consultant. This is where you talk through the risks, one of which is shoulder dystocia, when the baby’s head has been born, but one of the shoulders gets stuck behind the pubic bone. The baby can stop getting oxygen very quickly and, if that happens, I was told, the room would fill up with people to get the baby out – even if that meant breaking a shoulder. I started to worry a bit.
My son was 10 days late. I was at home taking my other two to bed around 7pm and as I walked up the stairs, I got what I thought was a contraction, but brushed it off – I’d had Braxton Hicks for weeks beforehand, so assumed it was that. They got strong really quickly, though, and I couldn’t ignore them. I’d had really quick births too, you see, so I knew that was a possibility.
My partner and I rang my mum to look after the kids and as soon as she arrived, she told us to ring the hospital – my contractions were just two minutes apart.
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It was 8pm when we got there. The midwife did an examination and went to read my notes, but I had to call her back in almost immediately as I was already feeling the beginnings of an urge to push. It was really painful – and in hindsight, I know why – but also because it was happening so quickly.
My midwife was pretty old school. Very no-nonsense, quite strict with me and bossy, you could say. But I almost needed that to cut through the fog of what was happening (and she actually apologised after, for being so firm).
I was just happy to be in the birthing unit I planned to be in, and got into the pool despite being told I’d have to deliver my son outside the water. I never had time to get out the water in the end. As I was labouring, I told my husband I needed to push – he had to quickly grab the midwife who was eating her sandwich outside. She came in as the head pushed out really easily.
But then the shoulders got stuck.
HuffPost UK Supplied
It was terrifying, everything the consultants had told me about, but it had never happened with the earlier births, which is why I thought I’d be okay. “I dunno if it helps, but he’s got black hair,” my husband said. Our first two are redheads.
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The midwife told him to hit the emergency button, and the room quickly filled with the resuscitation team. I was so glad I was warned about this – it kept me calm. “We need to get this baby out now,” the midwife kept telling me. But they couldn’t get me out the pool at this point. I was being held up and out as they tried to keep my son’s head out of the water – or he would have drowned.
My head was all over the place, and the midwife was getting firm. I didn’t think I had the energy left, but I was so scared of what would happen if I didn’t push him out – I really didn’t want intervention. I rested my elbows on the back of the pool and pushed down with everything I had. The shoulders eased. Behind me, the team were prepping everything for my son’s arrival.
As soon as his shoulders slid out, the rest of him followed – but he was completely tangled up in his cord. It was really long, around his neck and his shoulders. It was horrible to see. He was blue, his eyes were shut, there was no sound. The whole room fell silent.
The midwife cut the cord straight away and passed him to the resuscitation team. I remember hearing his cry, a long, loud, angry cry just a few minutes later and it was amazing to hear. I remember hearing the team talking about how big he was! Someone ran off to get the scales to weigh him, and even though I was in a fog I knew, as I heard them laughing, that everything was going to be okay.
I was lifted out the water on to the bed and had my first cuddle with him. It was comforting knowing that even though I had a big baby – he weighed in at 10lb 15oz in the end – and not everything went to plan, I still had the birth I wanted.
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My birth advice? Having a few mantras in my head really helped! One of the ones my mum told me, which really helped, was: “Every contraction is one step closer to meeting your baby”. She prepped me with a few!


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--This Morning Addresses Reports Of Eamonn Holmes 'Yanking' NTA From Phillip Schofield

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ITV has spoken out to dismiss reports surrounding a supposed tense moment between This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Eamonn Holmes on the NTAs red carpet.
On Wednesday night, The Sun published a story suggesting that as the This Morning team posed together after their awards win, a “furious” Eamonn was seen “yanking” the award out of Phillip’s hand so that Ruth Langsford could have a turn holding it in a group shot.
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Eamonn Holmes grabs This Morning's gong from Philip Schofield at NTAs https://t.co/6vpXkxLyvw — The Sun Showbiz (@TheSunShowbiz) January 30, 2020
However, a rep for the ITV daytime show has now insisted that the piece – headlined “I’ll Phil You In… Furious Eamonn Holmes yanked This Morning’s NTA out of Phillip Schofield’s hand for his wife Ruth in backstage row” – is “completely untrue”.
They told HuffPost UK: “All of the This Morning presenting team were in good spirits, visibly chatting together in their seats before and during the awards, and all celebrating afterwards.”
A spokesperson for Eamonn also denied that there were “issues” between the two hosts.
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This latest rumour is the latest in a long line of reports about supposed tension behind the scenes of This Morning, which ITV has repeatedly refuted.
Last month, the show’s editor was forced to speak out over claims that Holly Willoughby had privately fallen out with her co-host.
He said: “We have the smartest viewers watching telly and believe me they would be the first to notice any issues — they haven’t because there are none.”
Rumours have also suggested that Ruth Langsford had filed a formal complaint about Phillip’s conduct, which neither of them has addressed, despite HuffPost UK contacting the former’s representatives for comment.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--James Corden Pokes Fun At Cats As He Clears Up Rumours Carpool Karaoke Is Faked

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James Corden has poked fun at the recent backlash to the film Cats as he responded to claims that his Carpool Karaoke sketch is faked.
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Opening Wednesday’s episode of his talk show, the Gavin & Stacey creator conceded “this looks bad” but called it “fake news”, insisting he is at the wheel “95%” of the time.
He added that he always drives the car unless there is a safety issue.
James Corden in a previous Carpool Karaoke CBS
James explained said: “95% of the time I really am endangering the lives of the world’s biggest pop stars. But this is a TV show, not everything is real.
“Our show doesn’t tape after midnight – we tape at 5pm and pretend that it’s late.”
.@JKCorden finally comes clean about #CarpoolKaraoke pic.twitter.com/hOLOPcJO2E — The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) January 30, 2020
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Joking about the critical mauling Cats received while poking fun at the reaction to the Carpool Karaoke video, James – who plays Bustopher Jones in the big-screen musical – said: “I’m just shocked I’ve done something that upset people more than Cats.”
James Corden in Cats foxadhd
Executive producer Ben Winston previously set the record straight on the fakery claims, tweeting: “We only use a rig when we are doing a ‘stunt’ as part of the Carpool – when it would be impossible for James to drive!” Ben insisted. “This has occurred only maybe 4 times in 50 or so carpools… Safety is key!
“By stunt I mean – dance routines / costumes / props etc ! Dont worry too much though. I’m pretty sure there are bigger issues to worry about!”
Not true! We only use a rig when we are doing a "stunt" as part of the Carpool - when it would be impossible for James to drive! This has occurred only maybe 4 times in 50 or so carpools... Safety is key! https://t.co/kfJXqZqEHq — Ben Winston (@benwinston) January 23, 2020
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By stunt I mean - dance routines / costumes / props etc ! Dont worry too much though. I’m pretty sure there are bigger issues to worry about! 🤣 — Ben Winston (@benwinston) January 23, 2020
The Late Late Show’s Twitter account also poked fun at the controversy in a tweet:
guys, we don't even use a real car pic.twitter.com/O0sxMwNFtP — The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) January 23, 2020
Since he became host of The Late Late Show in 2015, James has taken a host of A-listers for a spin in the recurring sketch, including everyone from Sir Paul McCartney and Madonna to Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Margot Robbie Bumped Into The Cast Of Love Island At The Birds Of Prey Premiere And Had A Total Fang

Margot Robbie Bumped Into The Cast Of Love Island At The Birds Of Prey Premiere And Had A Total Fangirl Moment

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When you’re an A-lister like Margot Robbie – who has worked with the likes of Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Leonardo DiCaprio – you’d think your days of getting star struck would be behind you.
Not so, it seems, after the Hollywood star truly had zero chill after bumping in to some of the cast of last year’s Love Island at the premiere of her new film.
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Michael Griffiths, Jordan Hames and Lucie Donlan were all on the red carpet at the premiere of Margot’s latest big-screen outing Birds Of Prey on Wednesday night.
And given Margot confessed last year to being as obsessed with Love Island as the rest of us, she couldn’t hold her excitement in after spotting them at the event.
Margot Robbie bumped into the cast of last year's Love Island on the red carpet Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
Jordan Hames, Lucie Donlan and Michael Griffiths were at the premiere of Birds Of Prey Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
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The Oscar-nominated former Neighbours star was pictured holding her hands in the air as she approached the ex-Islanders, before posing for selfies and group paparazzi shots.
Margot posed with the gang for pap shots on the red carpet David M. Benett via Getty Images
Australian-born Margot first revealed she was a massive Love Island fan in 2018, revealing she was stunned that the contestants knew who she was, after they compared her to Megan Barton Hanson.
In an interview with Metro, she said: “The other night we were watching and I think it was Alex [George] who said that, and we all lost it! We were like, ‘oh my God they know who I am on Love Island!’
“We’d just finished drinking beer and eating crisps. We were saying ‘we’re so disgusting we could never be on Love Island we’re such fatties, they would never let us on’.”
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Margot haas previously confessed to being a huge Love Island fan Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
Margot could not have looked happier to meet the cast James Gillham/Shutterstock
Margot – who spends a lot of time in the UK after marrying Brit Tom Ackerley – later told the Daily Star Sunday: “I won’t know what to do when Love Island finishes. I mean, what will I watch? It’s literally the most addictive thing on TV ever.
“We have dedicated our summer to watching those guys. We are going to miss them.
“I love sitting down watching all these beautiful people have their dramas while I lie there on the sofa eating pizza and drinking beer.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Segment Of Trump's Border Wall Falls Over Into Mexico Due To Wind

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A segment of President Donald Trump’s signature border wall fell in California and onto some trees on the Mexican side on Wednesday amid high winds, according to footage from KYMA shared by CNN.
No one was injured in the incident at Calexico, California, about 100 miles east of San Diego.
PART OF WALL FALLS: The area is part of an ongoing construction project to improve existing sections of the wall. Read more: https://t.co/uu93kQPi52 pic.twitter.com/CuLExoPZdx — KION News 5 46 (@KION546) January 30, 2020
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“Luckily, Mexican authorities responded quickly and were able to divert traffic from the nearby street,” Carlos Pitones of Customs and Border Patrol told the Los Angeles Times.
He said the panels were newly installed and the concrete anchoring it in place had not yet cured.
CNN noted that winds of up to 37 mph were recorded in the area.
A day earlier, Trump had boasted about the strength of his wall.
“And we are now building that beautiful wall,” he said at a campaign event in Wildwood, New Jersey, on Tuesday. “This powerful border wall is going up at record speed.”
Trump made a “big beautiful wall” that extends across the entire border a key part of his 2016 campaign. He also vowed that Mexico would pay for it.
So far, most of the wall built ― including the segment that fell Wednesday ― has replaced older barrier segments. Trump claimed this week that about 100 miles have been built so far.
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Mexico did not pay for it.
Tom Steyer, seeking the Democratic presidential nomination to run against Trump, mocked him for the wall fall on Twitter:
"I own buildings. I'm a builder; I know how to build. Nobody can build like I can build. Nobody. And the builders in New York will tell you that. I build the best product." -@realDonaldTrumphttps://t.co/Ygj6vKqrdQ — Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) January 30, 2020
Others joined in:
A piece of the border wall toppled over on Mexican side. I guess Mexicans wanted their property back. They paid for it, after all. https://t.co/odNEt0Yb3d — Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) January 30, 2020
Dear Trumpers,
Here is your "great, big, beautiful wall"https://t.co/gLRRjcWBZx … — Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 30, 2020
Don’t worry, the Senate will declare it a perfect wall. https://t.co/8J4J0L1KfS — Schooley (@Rschooley) January 30, 2020
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This is the only thing with Trump’s name on it that couldn’t dodge a draft https://t.co/3A155kSZw8 — The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 30, 2020
Part of the border wall fell down on the Mexico side. They’re gonna make us pay for that. — Scott Linnen (@ScottLinnen) January 30, 2020
This feels like a metaphor for this entire Presidency.
The wind blew Trump’s big beautiful wall over and it landed on the Mexican side of the border. https://t.co/q407JuRNxS — Angry Staffer (@AngrierWHStaff) January 30, 2020
Newly installed panels from the US border wall fell over in high winds Wednesday, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border.
CLASSIC. https://t.co/fReo4Jgkcq — Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) January 30, 2020
So, breeze really took out a part of Trump's big beautiful, impenetrable border wall?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
A portion of the newly installed US border wall fell over on Wednesday during high winds, landing on trees on Mexico's side.https://t.co/1oC0RLahp2 — Covie (@roper_93) January 30, 2020
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This episode of arrested development really has it all. https://t.co/M0W80YhLJd — Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) January 30, 2020
"such a big, beautiful, powerful wall that nobody could get past..."
Unless they have a ladder.
Or there's a slight breeze blowing.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣https://t.co/HEpIJXEgfu — BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) January 30, 2020
TFW your big dumb border wall falls over while you're tweeting a racism pic.twitter.com/75D4H38nGC — Johnny, Certified Nobody (@Enjoneer01) January 30, 2020
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm laughing my ass off! https://t.co/Njcv4y9IAM — 𝘿𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙚𝙮 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙢 (@dumptrump33) January 30, 2020
Well we will at least be secure on non windy days. How did they all cross the border? Santa Ana’s.
Idiots.
Portion of US border wall in California falls over in high winds and lands on Mexican side - CNNPolitics https://t.co/AjaXmo1Aip — MikeFarb (@mikefarb1) January 30, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--The Most Detailed Video Of The Sun Ever Captured

Incredible Footage Shows The Sun In More Detail Than Ever Before
This is the sun like we've never seen it before. The footage, taken by a 4-metre long solar telescope in Hawaii, shows our closest star at its most detailed ever. Each cell of turbulent plasma you can see is roughly the size of France, giving some idea of the immense scale of our 5-billion-year-old solar neighbour.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--'Dinosaurs In Love': Musician Tom Rosenthal's 3-Year-Old's Song Really Cuts To The Core

Utro_na_more via Getty Images
A little girl’s moving story of some dinosaurs who fell in love and then became extinct has left the internet in absolute bits.
The emotional and incredibly poignant song, sung by three-year-old Fenn and performed with the help of her dad, London-based musician Tom Rosenthal, takes us through the last moment of a dinosaur’s life before the Big Bang.
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It is a song about love. It is a song about eating a balanced diet. And it is a song about the cruel, rapid nature of death.
If the last line, “But they didn’t get to say goodbye” doesn’t leave you on the verge of tears, then honestly we don’t know where your heart is.
The moving ballad has achieved huge levels of fame on social media, probably due to the fact it has the power to emotionally destroy us all.
There is so much truth behind such simple words.
Fenn, my nearly 4 year old daughter, recorded her first ever solo song today. She came up with all the words herself and I helped her a little bit with the tune. It’s called ‘Dinosaurs in Love’. 🦕❤🦕 pic.twitter.com/erCgG0sUvP — Tom Rosenthal (@tomrosenthal) January 28, 2020
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Spotify is already clamouring to get the track uploaded on its platform. But Fenn isn’t fussed about her newfound fame.
Rosenthal told CNN his daughter can “just about count to 20” so she doesn’t really understand that half a million people have listened to the song.
“I told her that her grandma liked it and she wasn’t that fussed about that,” he said. “She enjoyed doing it, she listened to it when it was done and then she was gone.”
Like many of us, Rosenthal was also impressed by his daughter’s grasp of science. He and Fenn are regulars at the Natural History Museum in London, but he hadn’t realised she was taking it in, he told Buzzfeed News.
The lyrics of the song go a bit like this:
Dinosaurs eating people,
Dinosaurs in love,
Dinosaurs having a party,
They eat fruit and cucumber.
They fell in love,
They say ‘thank you’.
A bing bang came,
And they died.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs fell in love,
But they didn’t get to say goodbye.
But they didn’t say,
Goodbye.
The end hit me like a meteor — Gecko (@geckoofficial) January 28, 2020
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--This Is What It's Like To Be British, Quarantined And Pregnant In China Right Now

Irene and Francis Lau took their three-year-old son Freddie to Beijing to celebrate Chinese New Year with family.
But instead of a fun-filled holiday, they found themselves near the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. Then, just as they tried to get back to Britain, they found their flight back to London, where they live, had been cancelled.
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Adding to the sense of crisis, Irene is 21 weeks pregnant.
“It’s double the risks for me. If I for any reason get sick it’s just double the risk,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“We try not to worry too much, we try not to panic, but it’s difficult to be at ease at the moment.”
The family had a flight booked on Saturday with British Airways but have were told on Thursday morning that it had been cancelled - with no further flights until March 2. Luckily they have been able to book another flight on China Airlines, which will leave on Friday.
Statista Statista
The government is still negotiating with Chinese authorities over a flight to evacuate British nationals from Wuhan – the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak. But in the Chinese capital the Lau family say they have had no help from the UK government.
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“We’ve tried ringing the embassy [in Beijing] but no one is picking up the phone,” Francis says.
The situation is surreal. “It feels a little bit like you are in a movie, like a ‘Zombieland’ movie or something, because you think: ‘Where is everyone?’” he adds.
“This is China, a population that has nearly 2bn people in the country.
“Where is everyone? It just feels a bit strange from previous experiences being in China.”
The family said they will self quarantine once they are back, and stay at home for 14 days with no contact with anyone without a face mask.
“We’ll be working from home for two weeks and our son will stay at home with us.”
The feeling of isolation is unlikely to abate even once the Laus are back in the UK. On Thursday Nick Gibb, the school standards minister, told Sky News the plan was for evacuees to be taken to an “NHS facility” on their return where they would be kept for 14 days to make sure that they do not have symptoms of the virus.
The death toll, which has risen to 170, is currently lower than the 348 people who died in China from Sars but the number of cases has jumped to 7,711.
Speaking of her worries about her son Freddie, Irene says: “It’s actually quite worrying because he is little and the only defence we have at the moment is to wear that face mask.
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“And he’s little. He doesn’t understand why he has to wear that and the consequences of not wearing it.”
The government anticipates flying out around 200 UK citizens who have been in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Britain Went To The Right – So I Left

Britain Went To The Right – So I Left

Britain Went To The Right – So I Left
After the referendum result on Brexit in 2016, fashion writer Sorcha McCrory began to question whether the Britain she was born and raised in was still the same. As Brexit dominated headlines, incidents of racism and blame began to swirl around the topic and in 2019 Sorcha moved to Copenhagen, Denmark as she felt that the UK was no longer a place where she could stay and wanted to remain a european citizen.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Harrods Security Guards Working 'Unpaid Overtime On Top Of 12-Hour Shifts' Vote To Strike

Harrods security guards voted in favour of strike action mychadre77 via Getty Images
Security guards and CCTV operators at the luxury department store Harrods have voted to strike over pay, with one worker citing unpaid overtime on top of 12-hour shifts and constant stress among reasons the row has reached boiling point.
Unite the Union said its members at the luxury department store are angry at being offered a below inflation pay increase and being required to work half an hour unpaid every day, to collect and drop off equipment at the start and end of their shift.
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One worker said security staff have to be “constantly on high alert” and deserved a pay rise that reflects the dedication they show to their jobs.
Workers are also disputing having to undertake an additional unpaid “training day” every eight weeks, and 97% voted in favour of strike action after a two-week ballot by the union resulting in an 84% turnout.
The walk-out is likely to begin next month and union bosses said they expect it to cause “a great deal of disruption” at the iconic Knightsbridge store.
Unite regional officer Balvinder Bir said: “The stonking majority in favour of strike action underlines our members’ strength of feeling on these issues.
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“Harrods management are now drinking in the last chance saloon. Only by making an improved pay offer and ending the injustice of unpaid work can they avoid strike action.
“If strikes go ahead then it will greatly disrupt the smooth running of the prestigious store and will embarrass Harrods’ brand nationally and internationally.”
The union said Harrods now had one final chance to return to the negotiating table with a renewed pay offer.
Unite secured formal union recognition for the security officers and CCTV operators earlier this year.
Before that, one anonymous worker said, security staff had not received a pay rise for five years.
“On paper we do a 12-hour shift, but the reality is we have to get there 15 minutes early to collect our rota, keys, DNA spray and radio, get changed and head over to whichever part of the building we’re stationed at that day,” they told HuffPost UK.
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“We’re the first and last people customers see, so we have to be very customer friendly. The nature of the store means you really do have to go above and beyond. But at the same time if someone comes in carrying a suitcase, or a coffee, we’re the ones who have to be the bearers of bad news and tell them they’re not allowed – and a lot of them don’t like it.
“We have an earpiece that we have to wear constantly, including on breaks, so we never actually get a break. And we also have to deal with missing children, shoplifting, first aid incidents, anything like watch snatches or thefts in the vicinity of the store. We’re first responders for things like terrorist incidents, so you are constantly on high alert. There is never time to switch off.”
The employee said security staff feel the pay rise offer presented by bosses this year “just isn’t fair” and fails to reflect the work they do.
The store netted profits of £171.6m in the year up to February 2019, with its Qatari sovereign wealth fund owners paying themselves a £125m dividend, according to the Retail Gazette.
A Harrods spokesperson said: “Despite almost 12 months of pay talks, which the business has conducted with Unite and its representatives in an open and collaborative manner, Harrods is extremely disappointed and saddened that Unite members within the Harrods uniformed security team have now voted to strike.
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“Whilst we had hoped to resolve this matter without strike action, the continued safety and security of our employees and customers is now our priority.”
The store said it is “confident that we will be able to continue to run our operations without disruption to our staff or customers, and will trade as normal throughout any strike action”.
“While Harrods respects the parameters of the industrial action, extra measures will be put in place throughout any strike action to ensure the safety and security of the store,” the spokesperson added.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Roxanne Pallett Marries In Secret: 'You Can Find A Happily Ever After Beyond Tough Times'

Former Celebrity Big Brother housemate Roxanne Pallett has revealed that she and her partner, firefighter Jason Carrion, have tied the knot in secret.
The pair were married in a private ceremony in New York, after beginning their relationship in the summer of last year.
She told The Sun: “I’m living proof that you can find a ‘happily ever after’ beyond tough times.
“To walk down the aisle in such a perfect fairy-tale setting towards my dream man, was the happiest moment of my life. I’m still floating on a cloud.”
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Roxanne Pallett entering the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2018 Mike Marsland via Getty Images
Although she rose to fame playing Jo Sugden in Emmerdale, Roxanne is now probably best known for her infamous stint in the final series of Celebrity Big Brother.
She appeared on the show in 2018, and made headlines when she accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of punching her “repeatedly” and “deliberately” in the ribs, which she later admitted had not been the case.
Roxanne had been engaged when she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, but this relationship came to an end in January last year.
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Upon leaving CBB of her own accord, Roxanne stepped down from her then-upcoming work commitments to take time out from the spotlight, and later revealed she’d been diagnosed with PTSD.
Roxanne said last year that her diagnosis had helped her “address the CBB outburst, and past struggles”, which include being trapped in a house fire as a teenager, a past abusive relationship and losing her best friend to suicide, shortly before the death of her grandmother.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Amanda Holden Appears To Make Subtle Phillip Schofield Dig On Instagram Amid Ongoing Feud

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Amanda Holden has seemingly taken another subtle swipe at Phillip Schofield on social media, amid their ongoing feud.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge first spoke about her beef with Phil last year, which is believed to stretch as far back as 2018, when Amanda reportedly expected she’d be invited back to fill in for Holly Willoughby on This Morning, only for the job to go to Rochelle Humes instead.
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While she’s since made a number of digs at the daytime presenter, her latest came when she commented on a picture of Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford at the NTAs.
“My faves,” she posted on a photo of Eamonn and Ruth holding their award, which many have interpreted as a deliberate dig at Phillip, as the couple host This Morning in his and Holly’s place on Fridays.
Towards the end of last year, it was reported that Ruth had made a formal complaint about Phillip’s conduct behind the scenes of This Morning.
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Although neither party has ever addressed this, Amanda said on her Heart radio show at the time: “I’m just gonna say that I really admire anyone that sticks up for themselves because it is not an easy thing to do.
“There is a tin opener and there’s a can somewhere and other people have found the tin opener. That’s all I’m saying.”
Phillip and Amanda first hosted This Morning together back in 2015 Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
ITV previously denied rumours of tension behind the scenes of the show, saying it was “deeply disappointing and unfair for Phillip to be the target of this sort of malicious gossip”.
The show’s editor, Martin Frizell, also told The Sun: “We have the smartest viewers watching telly and believe me they would be the first to notice any issues — they haven’t because there are none.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--I Lost My Husband Suddenly. Here's What Kobe Bryant's Death Taught Me About Grief

HuffPost UK Reuters
On Sunday, it was 40ºF out and I was waiting for a train in Cold Spring, New York. I was ill-prepared and freezing, wearing Jeff’s lightweight Patagonia jacket and my own t-shirt underneath, clumsily tucking my icy fingers into the sleeves that stretch below my knuckles (as all his sleeves do). It was the end of a day following what had been our regular Sunday itinerary: a hike, a local beer, a walk down a little town’s main drag before confronting the Sunday scaries awaiting us in the city.
With at least 15 minutes until the train would arrive to cart me and our dog back to Manhattan, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I took it out assuming my friend was texting about our evening plans, only to read a CBS Sports alert that the larger-than-life, invincible Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter accident.
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I’m not much of a basketball fan, but Kobe’s legendary status wasn’t lost on me, the sister of a devout NBA follower and the best friend of a Los Angeles native who wore Kobe’s number 24 jersey the day I met him and quite literally every day in college.
“Oh my god,” I said loudly to no one, shocked by what I’d just learned.
But then I was shocked again... to be shocked. Of all the people who understand how suddenly death can happen, I’m the first in line.
Courtesy of Kaylie Hanson Long Kaylie Hanson Long (right) with her late husband, Jeff, in 2018.
Less than two years ago, Jeff, my husband, was killed in an accident that sent waves through our community and upended my entire life. Jeff was larger than life and invincible in his own way: a mentor to countless young men in Connecticut and Washington, DC. A colleague known for amping up his team with encouragement and ice cream bars during otherwise dull meetings. A total goofball who loved to get a playful rise out of me before he left for work by pointing finger guns in our bathroom mirror and exclaiming, “YOU are a good-lookin’ guy.”
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That very good-lookin’ guy was hit by a semitruck on a sunny DC Saturday morning while riding his bike to his regular yoga class. I stayed in the hospital by his side, surrounded by doctors buzzing in and out of the ICU, as phones vibrated in friends’ pockets across the country with the news that the class president and lacrosse team captain-turned-Capitol Hill staffer and newlywed dog dad was fighting for his life in ways no one wants to imagine. Thirty-six hours later, their phones would vibrate again with the news that he didn’t make it. My Mr. Invincible was gone.
If you had asked me a week ago, “How would you react to the sudden death of a figure like Kobe Bryant, given what you’ve faced?” my honest answer would have likely been: “That’s devastating, and it’s sadly a part of life.”
“Less than two years ago, Jeff, my husband, was killed in an accident that sent waves through our community and upended my entire life.”
Sudden deaths of the kind that took Kobe and my husband ― fatal accidents during otherwise mundane activities that turn horribly wrong ― are rare. But they happen. “Shocked” would not be the reaction I’d expect from myself. Sudden death runs through my brain all the time, draining me even when I don’t quite realize it or want to admit it. It now defines me in many ways. I’m wise enough to know that to many, or maybe to all, I’m not just Kaylie anymore. I’m Kaylie “the girl whose husband, that popular guy Jeff, was hit by a truck, I have no idea how she’s surviving after he died, I couldn’t imagine.”
And yet shock is precisely what I found myself feeling on Sunday afternoon, which raised real questions for me about my own grief. The fact that I was shocked by a freak accident, the kind that stole my husband less than two years ago, produced a new kind of survivor’s guilt: If I was shocked, did that mean I... had forgotten about Jeff? Was I too distant from his memory? Had I done the unthinkable and “moved on”? If I was shocked ― just as millions of people whose husbands hadn’t been hit by trucks were ― what did that say about me?
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I believe it says that while grief that stops you in your tracks ― quietly and discreetly crying to no one when you step off the train at Cold Spring to discover that it’s exactly the kind of downtown Jeff would have wanted to take you to on date day ― is an outgrowth of sudden death, resilience can be a part of it, too.
“I certainly haven’t ‘moved on’ ― I never will. But I have slowly, messily and painfully moved forward. I’m also not normal, and neither is my ‘situation,’ as I awkwardly call it. But parts of my life are.”
I certainly haven’t “moved on” ― I never will. But I have slowly, messily and painfully moved forward. I’m also not normal, and neither is my “situation,” as I awkwardly call it. But parts of my life are. Like millions around the globe, I really need to fold the massive pile of laundry that’s sat by my bed for three days now. I’m wondering which is better, the cute jeans or the cute dress, for hinting “I think I might like you” just subtly and cooly enough over drinks. I plan to spend tonight ordering through Seamless and laughing along to John Mulaney’s new comedy special on Netflix if I finish my work on time. I really owe my retired father a phone call.
I wish Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa, their daughters and his whole family weren’t the newest members of the shittiest club in the world. More experienced members of this club, like me, can understand what his family is facing now and the isolation that’s to come, especially as other mourners may move forward more quickly.
But, at the same time, we have no idea what they’re going through at all because this kind of grief hits every person differently. They may face their own downtown Cold Spring moments that stop them in their tracks when they thought everything was going pretty much okay. They may have grief and the impact of sudden death running in the backs of their brains, draining them even when they don’t quite realise it or want to admit it. But hopefully, one day, they’ll also be shocked by the resilience that exists in all of us.
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Kaylie Hanson Long is the founder of KHL Consulting, a communications firm dedicated to advancing gender equality. She is a dog mom to her sweet hound, Layla. You can follow her on Twitter at @KaylieEHanson and Instagram at @KaylieEHanson_. This article first appeared on HuffPost US Personal.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Caroline Flack's Boyfriend Lewis Burton Addresses Split Rumours On Instagram

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Caroline Flack’s boyfriend Lewis Burton has insisted that he and the Love Island host are very much still together, despite recent reports to the contrary.
On Wednesday night, The Sun claimed that Caroline and Lewis had decided to end their relationship, a month after a judge forbade them from making contact with one another, amid the presenter’s ongoing assault case.
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However, he has now set the record straight, revealing that his and Caroline’s relationship is still ongoing.
“We ain’t split,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of himself and the former Strictly Come Dancing winner.
A screenshot of Lewis' Instagram story post. Instagram/Lewis Burton
He added: “Can’t wait to see you.”
Caroline is currently awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to charges of assault by beating at a hearing last month.
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The court heard that she allegedly hit Lewis over the head with a lamp as he slept at her north London home, though both parties have denied that this is the case.
In the last few weeks, Caroline has been keeping a low profile, revealing she’d been “advised not to go on social media”, and recently returned to the UK after spending some time out in the States.
Lewis Burton and Caroline Flack Instagram
However, she has posted a couple of times on Instagram, once to wish Laura Whitmore luck as the new host of Love Island, and again on Tuesday night, ahead of the National Television Awards, where the ITV2 dating show had been nominated in the Best Challenge Show category.
ITV2’s commissioning editor Amanda Stavri has made it clear that she’d be happy to see Caroline back at the helm of Love Island in the future.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Outrage As Wonga Borrowers To Receive Tiny Amount Of Compensation

Thousands of people owed mis-sold loans by defunct payday lender Wonga will get less than 5% of the compensation they are owed, administrators have said.
Nearly 400,000 eligible claims were lodged against the lender, which collapsed in 2018.
Wonga’s administrators, Grant Thornton, said they would be paying all unsecured creditors 4.3% of their agreed claim over the next four weeks.
Those who took out money with the payday lender have expressed outrage and frustration at the funds they are now due to receive.
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@GMB £484.30 I’m owed from Wonga.. My actual offer !!! £20.88 🤬 Absolutely shocking — Col (@Col82x) January 30, 2020
So let me get this right when a huge corporate company like wonga illegally obtains money from someone they only have to pay 4% back? Anyone wanna start a company with me and legally steal money from the poor? #reverserobinhood #wonga — Ted Betts (@TedBetts) January 29, 2020
Wonga OWE ME £2354! Imagine if I owed them that! Would it be ok to pay them less than 200 quid back? It’s disgusting — sineadovoxo❄ (@sineadreanne) January 29, 2020
Wonga had faced a barrage of criticism over the high interest it charged on loans and was accused of targeting those who were most vulnerable.
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In 2014, the firm introduced a new management team and wrote off £220m worth of debt belonging to 330,000 customers after admitting making loans to people who could not afford to repay them.
Just had an email regarding the #Wonga #refund - 4.3p in the pound from an 11k claim! Utterly disgusting to say the least — Ross Ferguson (@RossFerguson) January 29, 2020
Me: "Ooo, My #Wonga compensation Email has arrived."
Wonga Compensation Email: pic.twitter.com/4WfoZiNmSH — Alexander Jones 🇬🇧 ❤ 🇪🇺 (@BigAlexJones) January 29, 2020
Administrators had received 389,621 eligible claims from those said to have been sold unaffordable loans as of August 2019, according to documents filed with Companies House.
Got £35 when my claim was worth over £800 😂 Gonna donate it to the foodbank, I’m thankful I’m not in that lending circle anymore and £35 is a weeks shop for some people, hopefully it might help someone else survive until payday instead of turning to shitty payday loans... #wonga — Dani-Mia ❤ (@Mia54378897) January 29, 2020
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@MartinSLewis Question. Can you appeal against a claim amount from Wonga? I was owed £800 in compensation, and today was told my settlement fee is going to be around £30! I don't think that's right at all. Any advice welcome.#wonga — Josh Sherwin (@joshsherwin12) January 29, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Republicans Argue Impeachment Witnesses Would Just Be A Waste Of Time

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President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is hurtling toward a showdown over whether the Senate will call witnesses to testify ― namely, former national security adviser John Bolton, who has written a book manuscript that effectively confirms the quid pro quo at the heart of the impeachment charges.
Republican senators argue that calling Bolton or virtually any other witnesses would be a waste of time — because their vote won’t change. That argument is an accidental admission of the essential truth of this trial: Republicans are prepared to acquit Trump no matter what.
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Senator Pat Toomey, for example, said he was “very, very sceptical” that there would be a witness who would change his mind “about how I ought to vote on the final question.”
“For the sake of argument, one could assume everything attributable to John Bolton is accurate and still the House case would fall well below the standards to remove a president from office,” Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement Wednesday.
Graham’s colleagues have taken a similar stance. Senator Cory Gardner said that “I do not believe we need to hear from an 18th witness,” despite Bolton’s new information. Senator Ted Cruz similarly argued that the House had already made its case and “additional witnesses are not necessary.” Senator Jim Inhofe warned that calling witnesses would lead to a long string of people testifying and allow Democrats to “string this thing out.”
“Unless there’s a witness that’s going to change the outcome, I can’t imagine why we’d want to stretch this out for weeks and months,” Senator Roy Blunt said earlier this week.
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This is a far different stance than Graham and others took as recently as a few months ago when they suggested that there was simply a lack of evidence to support the charges against the president.
“If you could show me that Trump actually was engaging in a quid pro quo, outside the phone call, that would be very disturbing,” Graham told Axios in October.
Trump and allies such as Graham have continuously tried to narrow the scope of the impeachment investigation and direct attention solely to the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Although the call alone includes Trump bringing up groundless conspiracy theories and asking Zelensky to investigate a political rival, recent months have provided additional evidence and testimony that Trump directed a quid pro quo campaign to pressure Ukraine into launching a probe of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Republicans have been eager to ignore and suppress that evidence, especially when it comes to Bolton. Trump’s lawyers in the impeachment trial have argued that Bolton’s book draft is inadmissible and the White House has warned him against publishing it.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to reporters Tuesday as he leaves a closed-door Senate Republican caucus meeting after the Senate adjourned for the day during the impeachment trial. Drew Angerer via Getty Images
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Senators are expected to debate and vote on whether to call witnesses on Friday, with Democrats needing four Republicans to side with them in order for it to pass. If witnesses are allowed, it could extend the impeachment proceedings and start a fight over who should be required to testify.
The fact that allowing witnesses would take time came up repeatedly on the Senate floor on Wednesday, as Trump’s defenders cautioned that anything but a swift acquittal could tie up the chamber indefinitely. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said that if the Senate allows witnesses, his side would demand some as well, including the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Adam Schiff; Hunter Biden; and the whistleblower whose concerns about Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president brought the matter to light. Many Republicans have said they’d like to hear from Hunter Biden if witnesses are called.
Sekulow accused the House ― which was unable to obtain certain testimony and documents because the president blocked them ― of speeding through its inquiry and sending the matter to the Senate to figure out.
“Is that going to be the new norm for impeachment?” Sekulow said.
Schiff said the Trump team was trying to dissuade them from calling witnesses. He said the process would not necessarily be the slow one Trump’s attorneys warned of, because the Senate could vote to subpoena Bolton and would have Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, who is presiding over the trial, on hand to make quick decisions on whose testimony was material, whether to out the whistleblower and what part of a document was privileged. Schiff later pledged that House impeachment managers would not push back on decisions made by Roberts and challenged the defence to agree to the same. (Sekulow flatly rejected the idea: “We are not willing to do that.”)
If senators want a fair trial, they must approve witnesses, Schiff said.
“Don’t be thrown off by this claim, ‘If you even think about it, we’re going to make you pay with delays like we’ve never seen. We’re going to call witnesses that will turn this into a circus,’” Schiff told senators. “It shouldn’t be a circus; it should be a fair trial.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Vanessa Bryant Posts First Statement Since Deaths Of Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna

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In Vanessa Bryant’s first public remarks since the deaths of her husband, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, she thanked everyone for showering her and her family with support “during this horrific time.”
“There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now,” Bryant wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday evening, paired with a photo of her family. “I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved.”
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“We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon,” she went on. “I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them.”
Kobe and Gianna Bryant died unexpectedly when a helicopter they were in crashed in Calabasas, California, on Sunday, sending shock waves through Los Angeles and the sports community. Seven other people in the aircraft also died.
In her tribute, Vanessa Bryant paid her respects to the other victims of the crash. “We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately,” she wrote.
Kobe, a former player for the Los Angeles Lakers and a father of four girls, was 41. He and his wife had been married for 18 years.
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Earlier Wednesday, Vanessa Bryant had updated her Instagram profile with a photo of Kobe and Gianna holding each other in a loving embrace.
Like her father, Gianna was a dedicated basketball player. Kobe coached his daughter’s team and shared videos and photos of Gianna playing ball on his own Instagram account.
Kobe told the Los Angeles Times last year that Gianna was “hell-bent” on playing for the University of Connecticut and, eventually, the WNBA.
Vanessa Bryant asked the public to grant her and her family “the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality.”
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Hours after Vanessa Bryant shared her post, the Los Angeles Lakers released a statement about the devastating loss, sending their love to their former player’s wife and surviving children, Natalia, 17; Bianka, 3; and Capri, 8 months, as well as the families of the other passengers on the helicopter.
The team had not commented on the death except for a brief statement Monday, when they acknowledged the tragedy and announced that Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers would be postponed.
“Words cannot express what Kobe means to the Los Angeles Lakers, our fans, and our city. More than a basketball player, he was a beloved father, husband, and teammate. Their love and light will remain in our hearts forever,” read a message on the Los Angeles Lakers’ Twitter account Tuesday.
Echoing Vanessa Bryant, the team called for donations to the other families affected by the accident and highlighted Kobe Bryant’s legacy through youth sports at his Mamba Sports Foundation.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Fern Britton Splits From This Morning Chef Husband Phil Vickery After 20 Years

Fern Britton and Phil Vickery have announced they have split up after 20 years together.
The presenter and This Morning chef confirmed they had gone their separate ways in separate messages on Twitter, with both insisting the split is amicable.
Fern Britton and Phil Vickery Antony Jones via Getty Images
“After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways,” she wrote. “We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.
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“We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thankyou for your continued kindness and support.”
After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children . We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thankyou for your continued kindness and support. ❤ — Fern Britton (@Fern_Britton) January 29, 2020
After more than 20 years together Fern and I have decided to go our separate ways. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children. We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for you kindness and support P — Phil Vickery (@philvickerytv) January 29, 2020
The former This Morning and Ready, Steady Cook host married the celebrity chef in 2000 following her split from Clive Jones in the same year.
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Phil split from his ex Sarah Ann Lock in 1999.
The couple have a 17-year-old daughter, Winnie together. Fern also has twins Harry and Jack, and daughter Grace, with ex Clive.
Phil and Fern met on This Morning, when Fern hosted alongside Philip Schofield.
Fern Britton (left) and her husband Phil Vickery leaving the London Studios in central London, after her final day on This Morning television programme. PA Archive/PA Images
Speaking about the beginnings of their romance, Fern told the Telegraph in 2016: “The boys were four; Grace hadn’t even started toddling.
“I remember thinking at the time that nobody was going to take a 40-something woman with three kids.
“Then, one day at work, someone said, ‘Phil Vickery fancies you.’ And I went, ‘Remind me - which one is he?’
“Eventually, I kidnapped him, put him and his dirty washing - he was single at the time - in my car and drove him home. The next day, he baked me his irresistible gooseberry crumble.”
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She added: “He is my life’s great love, a really amazing husband, partner, friend.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Northern Rail Failed Us – It Deserves To Go, But We Need Something Better

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The transition from school to university is a difficult enough time, but for Keren Efoloko, the issue was compounded by the daily grind of unreliable train travel.
The 22-year-old lives in Manchester, but went to study psychology and sociology at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and thought it would be cheaper to commute.
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The constant delays and cancellations by Northern Rail led to her feeling fraught and constantly under pressure and culminated in her missing an important exam.
“It was hugely stressful and it affected my mental health.” she told HuffPost UK. “The big change in your life from school to uni is hard enough without heaping a load of extra pressure on it.
“I was commuting between Manchester and Preston three or four times a week in my first year of university and it was really difficult.
“Northern Rail’s services were regularly delayed or cancelled and it made me late for lectures.
“I knew I couldn’t rely on the trains so when I had a 9am lecture, I would wake up extra early and catch an earlier train just in case the one I needed was cancelled. The trains would be so late, at times I would feel tearful.”
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Keren Efoloko Aasma Day
On the day of a major exam, Keren, who now works as a mental health support worker, was dismayed to discover her train was cancelled and remembers feeling panicked and sick.
She called the university to tell them she was stranded and would not be able to get there in time to sit her exam. “I was worried they would think I was lying or say that I should have planned ahead in case this happened. I had revised really hard for this exam and felt very emotional and upset.
“But luckily, the university was very understanding and realised it wasn’t my fault. I was told to come in when I could and show the evidence about what had happened.
“I was allowed to do a written assignment instead of the exam.”
The ordeal of commuting by train was so problematic during her first year, Keren decided to move to Preston for her second and third years and live in halls of residence. “After all the hassle I had with travelling during my first year, I just could not bear the pressure of commuting any more.”
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Northern Rail’s unreliable service has had a deep impact on his life personally and financially, Muhammad Waheed, told HuffPost UK.
Mohammad Waheed Aasma Day
“Northern Rail’s services are hardly ever on time.” he said. “The other train services aren’t as bad – the issue is always with Northern.”
The 25-year-old is self employed. He supplies clothing to different places and travels by train regularly to places including Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington.
“The trains are delayed or cancelled all the time. Every day, it is the same old story. Even on the rare occasions when the train is on time, it suddenly stops in the middle of nowhere and you are stuck for ages.”
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Muhammad said he has lost out financially after missing appointments with clients who he wanted to talk about supplying clothing. “If you arrive late, they often can’t see you. Even though it is not your fault, they don’t want to listen to excuses.
“If I wasn’t self employed, I know I would have lost my job several times over by now through being late so much.”
Being unable to rely on regular and punctual train services also affects your personal life, says Muhammad, who is married with a four-month-old baby boy.
“I am always getting home late because of the problems with the trains and as a result, I am missing out on family time. Often, by the time I finally get a train home, my little boy has gone to bed so I can’t see him.
“On one occasion, I was in Warrington and was stood on the platform in the rain and cold. After four trains were cancelled, I ended up getting a taxi to Manchester which cost me about £60 to £70.
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“Northern Rail’s failures have affected me personally and financially and I am not surprised they have lost the franchise.”
As a working mum of two teenagers, Rebecca Johnson knows how delayed and cancelled trains impinge on her whole family.
Rebecca Johnson Aasma Day
She works in museums and regularly travels on trains for meetings. Her husband travels on Northern Rail’s trains daily for his work commute and gets the first train of the day as he knows it is the only one likely to run on time.
“Train travel around here is absolutely horrendous,” she told HuffPost UK. “We have these ridiculous old trains and there aren’t enough trains for the number of people and then they are notoriously late.
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“Northern is such an unreliable service that if people can avoid using it, they do. If I go to London or travel by train elsewhere in the country, the journey is beautifully smooth. It is just closer to home that the problems occur.”
Rebecca remembers once coming back from a family holiday abroad and finding the trains had been cancelled so having to pay for a taxi home instead. And she regularly finds herself having to pick up her teenagers from train stations after they find themselves stranded due to delays and cancellations.
“It really does impact family life in so many ways,” she said. “If my teenagers go somewhere on the train, I always have the worry about whether they will be able to get back.”
When Lizzie Leek was studying dance in Manchester, she had to travel from Chorley to Manchester Piccadilly three days a week. But the poor train services led to her often only going in one day a week and it affected her assignments and ability to attend choreography sessions.
Lizzie Leek Aasma Day
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The 19-year-old told HuffPost UK: “There were so many times that the trains would be cancelled or delayed and you just felt on tenterhooks all the time wondering if you would be able to get there.
“Some days, when trains were cancelled, I would have to get my mum to give me a lift, but this would mean her going 40 minutes out of her way.”
Zaynab Hussain, 21, recently finished college – a period of her life beset by the stress of unreliable trains.
“The worst experience I had was when I arrived half-an-hour late for a mock test which was at 9am,” she said. “Even though I explained the train was delayed, I felt it was not deemed to be acceptable. I cannot control the train service but it was affecting my attendance for my education.
“Rail transport should not be like this because people are paying for it but are getting a terrible service for their money. It is like they are robbing people.
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“Northern Rail failed us so it deserves to go. But we need something better in its place.”
Mohammed Ali, 21, is studying pharmacy at Huddersfield University and commutes there from Manchester. He says his punctuality is regularly impacted due to the unreliable Northern Rail service.
Mohammed Ali Aasma Day
“I am always arriving for lectures late and it makes you feel very stressed,” he said. “I found it particularly hard during exam season as I arrived five or 10 minutes late for some of my exams and this made me feel pressurised and the whole experience a lot more stressful.”
Recruitment consultant Will Adams finds the only way to cope with the unreliable train services is to constantly book a much earlier train than the one he actually needs.
Northern Rail user Will Adams Aasma Day
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“If I have meetings with clients, I always get an earlier train rather than risk being late,” he said. “My worst experience was getting stuck in Crewe on a train for about 40 minutes and the power went off and no one was telling us anything.
“I know sometimes things can happen, but the trains are just so unreliable and it makes life particularly difficult when you have a connecting train to get which you end up missing.”
Alison Richards Aasma Day
Alison Richards, 72, who lives in Warrington, says it’s ludicrous how atrocious the train services in the UK are compared to abroad.
She believes the dreadful public transport services make it almost impossible for people to leave their cars at home, as commuters are urged.
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“I travel by train to Manchester for shopping and often find the trains are late or cancelled,” she said.
“The worst experience I had was when I went to the platform about 5pm and trains kept getting cancelled so the platform became extremely overcrowded. It seemed dangerous and it makes you feel vulnerable.
“It makes you feel really sorry for commuters who must go through this ordeal every day.”
When Alison and her husband travel by train in countries such as Spain or Portugal, she says it is a completely different experience. “Train travel there is cheap and the trains are electrified and punctual.
“But in the UK, we are paying over the odds for an inferior service. It makes me feel quite depressed when we are supposed to be a first world country.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Here's What Happens To Your Body When You Overthink

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If you rehash past conversations, dwell on your choices or get trapped in a tunnel of “what if” scenarios, there’s a pretty good chance you’re an overthinker.
This widespread rumination and over-obsessing has become somewhat of an epidemic. One study found that 73% of adults between the ages of 25 and 35 overthink, as do 52% of 45- to 55-year-olds.
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Interestingly, research has found that many overthinkers believe they’re actually doing themselves a favour by cycling through their thoughts. But the truth of the matter is that overthinking is a dangerous game that can have a lot of negative consequences on our well-being.
As David Spiegel, the director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford Health Care, puts it, “There are times when the worry about the problem is a lot worse than the problem itself.”
Feodora Chiosea via Getty Images
Here’s what happens to your body when you overthink:
You’re less likely to take action
Overthinking creates so many options, choices and scenarios that you end up unable to make a decision — a concept called analysis paralysis.
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“You could get stuck in potential consequences that may not even happen, just worrying about certain outcomes, and that can paralyse us or freeze us from taking an action,” said Rajita Sinha, the director of the Yale Stress Center.
If you don’t try things, you don’t fail, which may be a potential concern ― but you also don’t succeed, she added. When you do finally move forward with a decision, you might wind up making the wrong one because you got so mixed up by all the competing thoughts.
“Your gut feeling or instinct gets overridden because you have so much other input … and you maybe end up not making the choices that are right for you in that moment,” said Laura Price, a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health.
Drazen Zigic via Getty Images
You’re less creative
Another study discovered that when certain parts of your brain and cognitive processes are quiet, you’re more creative. Overthinking — which can lead to a “mental rut,” as the study notes — can essentially cause you to get stuck and run out of ideas or new solutions. While some overthinking can lead to fresh, new ideas, it can also backfire and create mental roadblocks that make it challenging to think outside the box.
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And a study from Stanford came to the same conclusion. While hooked up to magnetic resonance imaging machines (MRIs), participants were asked to draw a series of images — some easy to illustrate, some difficult. The more difficult the images were to draw, the more the participants had to think, and the less creative their drawings were. On the flip side, the less thought involved, the more creative the drawings were.
In short, too much thinking seems to put a cap on creativity.
Your energy levels might drop
It takes a lot of mental energy to overthink. Your brain is generating so many different thoughts and scenarios that aren’t really going toward anything productive.
“Mental energy without any sort of physical outlet absolutely can make it fatiguing and make it feel like you’re exhausted because you spent so much time in your own head,” Price said.
Spiegel added that when we overthink and stress ourselves out, our bodies produce cortisol, the stress hormone. Over time, that constant release of cortisol can be depleting and cause burnout.
“It’s like running your car in the wrong gear. Your motor’s running but you’re not getting very far,” Spiegel said.
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fanjianhua via Getty Images
Your sleep may take a hit
Lots of overthinkers struggle with falling asleep, shuffling through thoughts rather than shutting down and getting some shut-eye.
Your body needs to get into a state of calm in order to sleep — your heart rate needs to go down, as does your blood pressure and breathing. Overanalysing can be arousing, especially when the thoughts are more anxious. This can pull you out of the soothing state your body needs to be in for sleep, according to Spiegel.
And once your sleep starts suffering, it’s easy to get stuck in a nasty whirlwind of exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
“If you don’t sleep as well, you have less energy, you get less exercise, then you sleep even worse,” Spiegel said.
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Your appetite might change
Overthinking can have a profound impact on people’s appetites. For some, it can suppress appetite, and for others, it can boost it — which is more common.
Spiegel calls this “worry eating,” and said people do it because it can be distracting or even soothing. Many people tend to go for the tastiest and unhealthiest things when they’re stressed, Spiegel said, noting there’s a reason high-fat, sugary foods are called “comfort foods.”
Additionally, cortisol — that stress hormone we talked about earlier — increases your appetite along with your motivation to eat, according to Harvard University.
Here’s how to control your tendency to overthink
Westend61 via Getty Images
The first step is to notice that you’re overthinking and become aware of what’s going on. According to Sinha, one way to think about it is if you have more than three potential, or “what if,” scenarios, you’re thinking about it too much.
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Next, you want to find a way to distract yourself and get into your physical body to free up your cognitive systems (think going for a jog or trying yoga). Price practices diaphragmatic breathing, or deep belly breathing, with her patients. This helps lower your heart rate, slow your breathing and get in touch with your body — which, in turn, clears your head.
She also recommended using a worry log: 20 minutes before bed, write down a list of everything you’re worrying about or have to do.
“The process of writing it down — not typing, but actually writing — has a processing effect to your brain to help get it out of that spin cycle,” Price said.
Talking to a therapist, friend or loved one can also give you a fresh perspective and realise that something that seems terrible or complex really isn’t so complicated after all.
Lastly, mindfulness or meditation can also help you reset and declutter your mind, according to Spiegel, though this will likely take a bit of practice and patience.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Even After 10 Years, Rebecca Adlington Is Still Being Trolled. This Is How She Manages

Martin Bureau / Getty Images / HuffPost UK Rebecca Adlington
Head In The Game sees athletes across a variety of disciplines speak candidly about their mental wellbeing – from occasional periods of poor mental health to ongoing, sometimes debilitating, struggles with mental illness. They also share coping mechanisms and the support they’ve turned to during their lowest points.
Rebecca Adlington was just 19 years old when she won two gold medals in Beijing, in the 400-metre and 800-metre freestyle swimming competitions, transforming her from average teen to Olympic legend overnight. The year was 2008 – making it the first Games since the launch of Facebook and Twitter.
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Soon, strangers began to write sexist comments about her online, largely focused on her appearance. More than a decade later, they are yet to give up.
“I will never, ever understand why someone wants to send a negative tweet to anyone,” Adlington tells HuffPost UK. “I didn’t understand what my appearance had to do with my swimming then, and 10 years on, I still don’t understand it now.”
The sudden fame was not something that either she or her family had anticipated. Even before she returned from Beijing, the tabloid press set up camp outside her family’s home.
“I felt scared – my family didn’t ask for that, and I didn’t ask for that either, so it felt like an invasion of privacy,” she says. “I didn’t even have an agent or a manager. We didn’t know how to handle it.”
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David Gray / Reuters
Adlington quickly realised an agent could help set some boundaries with the UK media. But the abusive, anonymous messages she received online were a new beast for Olympic athletes to deal with – and far harder to control.
Adlington describes the experience of being harassed online as “overwhelming”, adding: “It was definitely the trolling side of things that affected my mental health more than other stuff. I was a teenage girl, and I had insecurities about my body and the way that I looked, but it just heightened everything.”
The constant criticism cast a cloud over otherwise amazing days, she says, such as when she received her OBE in 2009.
“I was meeting the Queen, but the next day, seeing comments from people saying, ‘You’re too fat to wear that dress’, it tarnished such a brilliant day and something that I should have been so proud of,” she says.
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“It started to become a thing where every day, I was going into my wardrobe, trying to pick an outfit and thinking, ‘Is this going to make me look fat?’ It made me question everything,” she adds.
Adlington recalls feeling “on edge” when making public appearances, including the Pride of Britain Awards, where she was “paranoid about what was going to be said the next day”. Over time, she learned not to read the comments, but says a decade of trolling has taken its toll – she still sometimes turns down invitations because of it.
“I don’t go to a lot of events now – I probably go to two awards shows a year – because I don’t want to have a load of comments where people say, ‘You look fat in that.’ It’s made me not want to go to things, because I just don’t feel comfortable.”
Stuart C. Wilson via Getty Images Rebecca Adlington at the Pride of Birmingham Awards in 2018.
Away from the red carpet though, Adlington says her body confidence has improved, largely thanks to becoming a mum to her daughter, Summer, in 2015.
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“I think the human body is amazing, it’s given me a baby. I see it in a completely different way,” she says. ”When you become a parent in general, you’re so focused on trying to raise your kid that you don’t even have time to read the comments – I just don’t entertain the pettiness.”
Her mental health has also improved thanks to therapy, which she started in January 2019. Adlington met regularly with a sports psychologist when she was competing. But after she retired from swimming in 2013, she lacked that support, and she felt her mental health deteriorate, to the point where she was experiencing “debilitating” panic attacks.
DAVID HARTLEY/Shutterstock
“Physically I would feel quite breathless, and I was in floods of tears but couldn’t calm down,” she says. “And there was no reason for it either. It wasn’t that something had upset me – like when you watch a film and you cry.
“I was dead shaky, I would have to sit down, I would feel like I was about to pass out. But the biggest thing for me was the feeling that I couldn’t control it – almost like you’re drunk, in a way. You can’t stop it once it’s gone too far.”
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Therapy helped her explore the feelings behind her panic, but also learn techniques to control it, she says.
“If I’m driving and start to feel a bit panicky, it can be as simple as going through the alphabet naming animals. If I’m at home and I’m feeling it, I try to just acknowledge where I am by looking around the room and looking for five things in a certain colour,” she explains. “It’s simple stuff that I can even do with my daughter, but it brings you back to the room and gets you concentrating on something else.”
Armed with these techniques, Adlington felt able to stop therapy in the summer and hasn’t had an attack since.
She believes a major step in overcoming the attacks has been challenging her internalised stigma around mental illness, by acknowledging and accepting the way she feels.
“I wanted explanations of why I felt that way,” she says. “I would accept if I was having a tired day, or if I was having a day when I felt energetic, but I wouldn’t accept if I was having a day when I was feeling panicky. But they’re all the same, it’s no different.
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“So it was learning to say ‘I’m having a panicky day’ – acknowledging it, owning it and accepting it, rather than getting more worked up about it.”
Now, Adlington looks after her mental health by ensuring she takes five minutes out for herself each day. “I really love stupid stuff like lighting candles in the evening,” she says. “For others it might be taking a bath, reading a book or having your hair done. Whatever it is, you’ve got to take care of you.”
Visit HuffPost UK’s dedicated Head in the Game site to read our full series of daily interviews with sports people about their mental health and wellbeing.
Getty Images / HuffPost UK Head In The Game
Getty Images / HuffPost UK Head In The Game interviewees: (top, left to right) Frank Bruno, Jordanne Whiley, Becky Downie, Elise Christie, Andrew Strauss; (bottom, left to right) Rebecca Adlington, Liam Broady, Eniola Aluko, Marcus Trescothick, Jo Pavey.
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Useful websites and helplines: