thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--How Spinning Around Saved Kylie Minogue And Saw The Pop Princess Reclaim Her Crown

It could have all been so different.
At the turn of the millennium, Kylie Minogue found herself in the pop wilderness.
In 1998, her experimental and personally fulfilling – but ultimately commercially underwhelming – Impossible Princess album failed to light up the charts in the way the Aussie star had become accustomed, and saw her dropped by her label, Deconstruction.
After languishing in the bargain bins, Kylie signed to a new label, Parlophone, in 1999, with both parties in agreement that a return to her pop roots was the way forward, and the search for a hit began.
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Kylie found herself back on top at the start of the millennium thanks to Spinning Around. Parlophone
“She had been single-mindedly in pursuit of something that was going to be a stand-out, bash-it-out-the-park record,” producer Mike Spencer reveals. “That was her target and that was my aim too.”
Fresh from his chart success as a member of 90′s band Definition Of Sound and remixing one of Parlophone’s other acts, Beverley Knight, Mike was tasked with helping to reinvent Kylie for a brand new decade.
“I was obsessed with having a number one in the millennium,” he laughs. “I was consumed by it!”
Mike admits he jumped at the chance to work with Kylie, even though “she wasn’t really on the map at that stage”.
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“It’s a strange one because she was obviously at a weird point in her career,” he says. “To my mind she remained an icon. She had a publication of just her photographs, and I remember looking at it at Christmas in 1999 and being reminded how iconic she was, even though her career had been on the back foot.
“There was no hesitation for me to do the record. It was kind of out of my lane so to speak, which is kind of why I was asked to do it. I wasn’t a natural fit, I wasn’t a big-shot producer at all.”
“I was properly starstruck! I really was. I was going ‘fucking hell, I’m meeting Kylie Minogue!’"”
In January 2000, Mike was on a plane jetting off to Los Angeles to meet the icon he’d seen in that photographic book just days earlier.
“I flew out to LA really early, on the third or fourth of January and met her the following day in a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard near Ocean Way Studios, which is where we were working,” Mike recalls.
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“I was properly starstruck! I really was. I was going ‘fucking hell, I’m meeting Kylie Minogue!’ And of course she had no idea who I was.”
Mike remembers that he and Kylie were on the same page from the off.
“As much as my determination to score a goal on the millennium [with a number one record], it was dwarfed by Kylie’s gritty, single-minded determination to achieve the same goal,” he says.
“Sometimes in music those kinds of convergent agendas can really be powerful. We were coming from such different perspectives and positions but we had one simple goal… and to make a great record, let’s not forget. It was music-focussed.
“We were quite clear about the desire to really make a difference... for her to resume and regain the crown that she felt she should have. So we were both on a mission.”
Parlophone
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Once in the studio, Kylie’s focus and commitment to the job in hand never wavered.
Mike explains: “Around that time it wasn’t rare for the driver to stay outside the studio doors and the tour manager to be tapping his watch going ‘your time’s up, get the vocal down quickly’. I figured that’s what she’d be, but she wasn’t at all.
“And the more professional, experienced artists get the [singer/producer] dynamic, because they need your expertise, so she was very happy to defer to me on decisions as to whether she was singing out of tune or performance-based stuff.
“She’d keep going, there was no reticence about going at it again or doing more or working hard. She was single-minded and really focussed about what we needed to achieve.”
At this point in her career, Kylie had over 10 years of studio experience under her belt, and according to Mike, it showed when they came to recording.
“She’s a very able singer in the studio,” he says. “I put mics in front of some people and after the first few takes you’re going ‘shit!’. That wasn’t the case with her.
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“Part of her determination was that she’d done the groundwork and she knew what she was doing and knew what she wanted. So yeah, consummately able, focussed and professional.”
The result of those studio sessions was Spinning Around, which put Kylie squarely back on the dance floor and built on the success of the pure pop crafted by Stock, Aitken and Waterman that had made her a global star.
But Kylie 2000 was an altogether slinkier proposition, and Spinning Around was the perfect embodiment of – to quote the song itself – her new direction.
Kylie Minogue - Spinning Around Parlophone
From the swirling string intro to the defiant lyrics about reinvention (something Kylie certainly knows a thing or two about), the song ended up sounding very different from the original demo, which was first intended for a never-released Paula Abdul album.
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“The song in its original form was much slower,” Mike reveals. “It was almost an R&B style, it came from that era. It was profoundly different. She did have an idea of what she wanted and felt like it needed to [sound] and I felt that too.
“But to get back into the mainframe would mean we were going to have to do something that had some risks attached. And it did.”
At the time, the charts were full of electronic-based singles like Darude’s Sandstorm, ATB’s 9am (Till I Come) and Toca’s Miracle by Fragma, but Mike eschewed the fashionable for something a little more classic – and nostalgic.
“What I did was I went the other way,” he says. “Submerged into the DNA of Spinning Around is a band. I recorded it as a band: real drums, real bass, real guitar. And then did it as more of a kind of funk, four-on-the-floor funk house. I was trying to throw it back the other way which seemed to make sense for Kylie as a comeback. And there would also be a sense of nostalgia and a kind of good time, hands in the air moment.”
In fact, the direction of the single was so successful that it played a huge part in influencing the sound of its parent album, Light Years.
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Kylie Minogue - Light Years Parlophone
“I think part of the diversity of the music on [Light Years] was born not so much of a series of educated choices but rather the fact that it was evolving during the process,” Mike says.
“That would have been her and the record company experimenting with a sound that hybridised what she’d been doing with Deconstruction with what she saw as her moving forward. Spinning Around cut across that.
“I reckon there would have been a lot of scrabbling around behind the scenes to bring that album in and probably change some aspects of the aesthetic to suit Spinning Around. I was given pretty much carte blanche to do what I felt was right.
“Sometimes when making a record or single I’m given a load of other surrounding tracks to give me an idea of what they’re aiming for. It wasn’t that I wasn’t given that direction, rather they didn’t want to box me in. It was more ’can you do something that would be a record in its own right?’, and that’s what we did.”
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Spinning Around was an instant chart success around the world when it was released in June 2000, and made Mike’s – and Kylie’s – dream of a number one hit come true, although Mike admits they both had a good feeling about it.
“I was pretty confident – very confident – that we were going to have a hit record.”
“I’d go as far to say that prior to release I was confident that we would have a number one,” he says.
“I think it would have been a quiet confidence [from Kylie]. None of this was ever celebratory because that’s almost kind of jinxing something.
“One of the things about any creative endeavour that makes it so exciting is those moments in the studio when you think you’ve got a hit on your hands – and I’ve been wrong on numerous occasions! So it’s not like I’m delusional enough to think that happens every time, it’s a pretty rare occurrence
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“I was pretty confident – very confident – that we were going to have a hit record.”
And this was before the now iconic video – featuring a very famous pair of gold hot pants – had even been filmed. So what did Mike make of the now legendary video clip?
“I thought it was great,’ he says. “It was actually part of her conviction and confidence and single mindedness to be what she was going to be. It further supported and reinforced this sense of ‘I’m back’. It was a statement video.
“And again, there are risks attached to that. If you have something that doesn’t work then suddenly everything’s wrong with it. You’ve got a glitzy pop video, a glitzy pop record, a level of objectification in the video, you’ve got all sorts of problems that you would encounter if it didn’t work, but it did and that was a risk that she was prepared to take.”
That said, Mike admits that at the time he felt the video sometimes overshadowed what was a great pop record – and one that he had helmed.
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“I felt sometimes the success of that record was unfairly attributed to the gold hotpants and the video,’ he says. “It was part of it, part of her expression, part of who she is and who she was and what she was able to do, so I saw it as significant, but I wanted the record to stand up in its own right, and it does.”
And how does he think Spinning Around fares, two decades since its release?
“I really thought the Fever album was great and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head is a genius record. At the time I thought that eclipsed Spinning Around,” Mike admits. “To be honest it did – it was a bigger record, it reached a bigger audience and it was part of her upward trajectory and confirmed her position at that point.
“I felt at the time it made my record… I question some of the things we see as a virtue now, like using real instruments and trying to combine throwing it back and looking forward at the same time. But now I can see that it does [stand the test of time] and I think it was a relevant record for her and in its own right.”
He adds: “Inevitably when you’re involved so closely with any creative output you’re going to question it, regardless of [whether] it’s a success. But I’m proud of the record.”
And have there been any Kylie singles Mike wishes he’d had a hand in since Spinning Around?
“All The Lovers,” he states. “Really love that song. But I think she’s made lots of other records that I think are really good.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--We’ve Been Hosting Two Refugees During Lockdown. Here’s What We’ve Learned

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Vector illustration of multiethnic crowd of people in medical masks in trendy flat style. Nadzeya_Dzivakova via Getty Images
This week marking Refugee Week, it’s been difficult not to think about the refugees and asylum seekers who have largely been forgotten in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Stranded far from family and friends in a strange country without any money and no roof over their head, many have had nowhere to turn.
Just two months before Covid-19 forced Britain into lockdown we, two retired academics in our 80s, welcomed into our home the wife of Omari*, a refugee we have been hosting since last summer.
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I and my husband first met Omari in August 2019 through Refugees At Home, a national UK charity that connects people with a spare room with refugees and asylum seekers in need of accommodation. We were keen to support a refugee as we are highly aware of the difficulties of settling as a newcomer in a new land because we came to Britain in 1960 from South Africa. Our own parents had escaped poverty and persecution in Eastern Europe and landed up as Jewish refugees in South Africa. My father was one of the First World War generation who, at the age of 12, was forced to flee in order to avoid the Russian army which was forcibly conscripting any young Jewish men they caught, many no older than him. Plus I had chaired the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA) for many years, and been active in the anti-Apartheid movement.
We warmed to Omari, a political refugee from Ethiopia, immediately, when he joined us. A dedicated marine engineer, he was forced to abandon his home country – having to make the enormously painful decision to jump ship in London with his wife Aisha (not her real name) still in Ethiopia.
“Unable to find a job and with nowhere to stay, Omari landed up sleeping on trains, buses and in train stations.”
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Once here, Omari managed to secure a university place but, four months into the degree, it turned out that the university’s student finance office had given him the wrong advice and enrolled him on a course he wasn’t eligible for. No longer able to continue, Omari found himself homeless and pursued to immediately pay back his tuition and student loan.
Unable to find a job and with nowhere to stay, Omari landed up sleeping on trains, buses and in train stations. Eventually Omari secured accommodation through Refugees at Home and, after a few months, moved into a room in a shared flat and, last summer, had new offers from two universities for a master’s course. As fortune would have it, we live in South London, a short distance from one of the universities that offered Omari a place. We offered him free lodging and food to enable him to attend university in London. The other benefit? We were happy to also host Aisha* once she got her reunification visa.
It did not take long for Omari to settle in with us. A kind, thoughtful, calm and caring man,Omari quickly endeared himself to the rest of the family too – having someone else in the house brought a great piece of mind to all of them. Always cleaning up after shared meals and sorting out repairs to long-standing problems with equipment, like the fridge and computers (he is after all an engineer),Omari quickly became a treasured member of the household.
But despite the progress he had made, Omari still had major worries about Aisha. She was living in a remote part of Oromia where the Ethiopian security forces were waging war on Oromo separatists and treating civilians brutally. Roads and all means of communication were being regularly cut off and crops deliberately burnt down to starve the local population.Omari made multiple approaches to the Home Office to find out about Aisha’s visa but got nowhere until our local MP got involved.
“It is impossible for us to imagine the emotions they felt as they hugged each other for the first time in three years.”
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Even after Omari secured the visa, getting a message to Aisha of the visa proved a major challenge – Oromo was then in the midst of serious communication blackout. Omari’s stress was made all the more acute because he knew that if Aisha did not collect the visa within the required 28 days she would lose it. Once he finally reached her, she managed to fly out on a ticket purchased with the incredible generosity of strangers who heard about her case.
Omari was reunited with Aisha at Heathrow one cold morning in late January. It is impossible for us to imagine the emotions they felt as they hugged each other for the first time in three years.
Despite arriving with no English and having never been beyond Ethiopia, Omari’s wife adjusted remarkably quickly to her new surroundings. Arriving just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, she and Omari had to contend with the difficulties of entering lockdown with us. Concerned about the risk of transmitting the virus to us, they quickly took it upon themselves to isolate completely and not venture beyond our house and garden.
Having only met six months before lockdown, we have all coped remarkably well - helped by the fact that we have food delivered to the house. For us, Omari and Aisha’s presence has been both welcome and reassuring given our isolation from our family and friends. On their part, Omari’s in a safe place to keep studying through lockdown, while Aisha, unable to attend any English classes, has been teaching herself online. From their perspective they could not think of a better place to be and they hope to be with us for the foreseeable future. Omari very much hopes to do a doctorate after completing his master’s degree. This, he admits, he would never have dreamt of doing without our support and his other hosts through Refugees at Home.
Clearly having strong academic abilities and interpersonal skills there is no doubt in my mind that Omari will go very far in the future whatever he chooses to do. As one of his previous hosts puts it to us: “While Omari is very modest, his dreams are not. However hard he has been pushed back he has always had a vision that is about more than survival.”
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Omari and Aisha’s resilience, persistence, and at the same time gentleness, has been a lesson to us all.
As told to Lara Marks.
*name changed for the safety of the refugees


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--The School Day Could Soon Be Longer. Is That The Right Solution?

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The school day may be extended in September to help children catch up on the lessons they’ve missed during the pandemic, according to reports.
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Ministers are discussing plans to make teaching time longer from the new term. These so-called “bolt-on” sessions are likely to take place at the beginning and end of the school day, after warnings that two million children have done less than an hour of work a day during lockdown.
An open letter signed by 1,500 paediatricians called on Boris Johnson to make the reopening of schools a “priority” – or “risk scarring the life chances of a generation of young people”.
But is making the school day longer the right solution? We asked the experts.
lakshmiprasad S via Getty Images
A key issue is that longer school days may not suit all children, says Liat Hughes Joshi, an author and parenting expert. “We do desperately need to find a way for children to catch up – especially the disadvantaged who don’t have access to the tech needed to home school, or a suitable environment to work in,” she tells HuffPost UK.
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“But the problem is finding a solution that suits all. There are plenty of young children who cope fine with longer days, in wrap-around care, and there are some who would find it too exhausting.”
A cautious approach
Child psychologist Amanda Gummer, of Dr Gummer’s Good Play Guide, says while some children have thrived during lockdown – with individual attention and successful home-learning – many have not. Schools are in a great position to help children catch up, she believes, but it needs to be done carefully.
“Children have missed more than just curriculum-based education during lockdown,” she says. “Opportunities to develop skills such as sharing and turn-taking, negotiation and teamwork have all been reduced, and the lack of outdoor exercise will have had an impact on some children’s physical fitness.”
So, she says, if longer school days do come in, it’s important staff understand young children’s concentration spans and energy levels – then plan the day accordingly. This could mean having several short breaks throughout the day to keep children energised, or balancing practical work with written work. It may also mean switching between group tasks and individual working.
“I’d urge the decision makers to look at play-based initiatives and family activities.” - Child psychologist Amanda Gummer
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Dr Gummer suggests extracurricular activities – such as art, culture, and creative clubs – could also play a great role in schools to enrich classroom learning for kids and keep their attention for longer.
“Helping children develop holistically is, in my opinion, more important than catching up on a term’s worth of curriculum learning, especially in the primary years," she adds. "I’d urge the decision makers to look at play-based initiatives and family activities to really support those most severely impacted by the school closures."
Justin Setterfield via Getty Images Earlham Primary School
Quality not quantity
But some experts aren’t convinced a longer day is the most productive solution for children. Developmental cognitive psychologist and early years specialist Dr David Whitbread has his concerns.
“We know that after a full day at school, under the current timetable, children go home mentally tired and in need of a break, so I would question the value of simply adding further lessons onto the existing school day,” he says.
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The key to enhancing the speed of children’s learning, he believes, isn’t to simply increase the time they are being taught, but to enhance the quality of their learning experience. “If the government is planning to require teachers and children to just do more, under the same conditions, then I would not predict a massively successful outcome,” he says.
“In fact, if anything, this could just make matters worse.”
Dr Whitbread says rather than making promises to extend the school day, the government should set up an advisory board – like SAGE – made up of leading educational researchers, teacher trainers, headteachers and teachers.
“We need to support the educational needs of all children, with particular regard for those children from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he says. “The present situation, and the measures to deal with it in the most productive ways going forward, is complex and needs to be guided by the science and the education profession – and not by politicians.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--How Does Covid-19 Affect Your Immune System?

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As we’ve learned more about coronavirus, we’ve also become aware of the many ways it can impact the human body – not only can it harm the lungs, but also the heart, the kidneys, the liver. It can cause digestive issues, increase the risk of blood clots. Some end up with skin rashes, others suffer relentless fatigue. And then there are those who didn’t even know they had it.
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While we still don’t fully understand all the ways in which coronavirus interacts with our immune system – and why the immune system tends to go into overdrive in some cases, causing even greater problems – we can run through the basics in terms of how the body reacts to the virus when exposed.
How does your immune system fight Covid-19?
When Covid-19 enters the body, it attaches to our cells, hijacks them, and then creates copies of itself to invade even more cells. Our immune system kicks in to try and stop this. First up, it sends out its frontline defence – the ‘innate immune response’ – to deal with the intruder.
This is the default response to any virus entering the body. As part of this initial response, inflammatory proteins called “interferons” are released, which have antiviral functions. The aim is to stop the virus in its tracks – though we don’t actually know how well this first response works in fending off infection.
ZOONO3 via Getty Images
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The issue with Covid-19, which scientists are still learning about, is that it is proving to be quite sneaky. In a meeting of the government’s Science and Technology Committee, Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at University of Oxford, explained that coronavirus can go undetected by our body’s ‘innate’ immune response.
“They are quite cunning, these little guys,” he said of the virus. “They actually have a system for avoiding the interferon response and that means that the innate immune response is, from the beginning, rather disabled.”
While the innate immune system is trying (and sometimes failing) to fight off the virus, it also ‘talks’ to the more specific ‘adaptive’ immune response. This is your body’s tailor-made solution for dealing with Covid-19, and involves the release of B-cells, which produce antibodies, as well as T-cells, which kill infected cells. This can take a week to kick in.
In most people, the adaptive immune response does the trick. But in a small group, their condition will deteriorate and they will require hospitalisation. By this point, the virus may have wreaked havoc on the lungs. It’s at this fragile stage that the body’s immune system can also go into complete overdrive.
“For some reason the natural brakes of our immune system fail and the inflammatory reaction overshoots,” explains immunologist Dr Jenna Macciochi. When this happens, high levels of cytokine (chemical signalling molecules) are released, which usually tell the body to activate inflammation to try and contain the virus.
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But the high levels can result in something called a “cytokine storm” – where inflammation occurs and fluid builds up in the body, and the immune system is attacking healthy tissues. This can result in blocked airways, overwhelmed organs, and can potentially lead to multi-organ failure and death.
As Professor Daniel Altmann, from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, explains: “It’s not so much a matter of some people are damaged by virus versus others damaged by excessive immunity – more a horrible cocktail of many elements.”
So, how can we boost our immune system?
Experts are now trying to figure out whether they can prevent a patient’s immune system from overreacting at this crucial point. There is also a focus on treatments which reduce inflammation, including dexamethasone, a cheap anti-inflammatory steroid which has been found to reduce deaths from the virus.
Experts caution against the claims of any wonder supplements. “Most immunologists would not necessarily adhere to some of the health food industry claims that there are supplements to enhance immunity,” says Prof Altmann.
“Healthy people with good nutrition tend to have a healthy, functioning immune system, and unhealthy people with poor nutrition tend to have a less functioning immune system,” he tells Huffpost UK.
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“One aspect of this of relevance here is that people with high BMI do less well with Covid-19, and obesity is known to raise the set-point of pro-inflammatory immune responses which may contribute to enhanced disease.”
Dr Macciochi advises people to adopt a healthier lifestyle if they do want to help their immune system. “It’s all about the small, long term habits,” she says.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Britain's Going Back To Work. But I Don’t Know If I’ll Have A Career To Return To

Rawpixel via Getty Images Rows of red seats in a theater
You’re reading Working It Out, our series exploring the future of work and wellbeing after coronavirus – from office life to working from home.
I am proud to have worked in the theatre industry for 27 years – with 23 of those spent on the lighting team at the English National Opera.
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I get a kick out of seeing months of work come together on stage and being part of the creative and technical delivery for each production. There’s great satisfaction seeing and feeling the audience’s reaction to what is happening on stage and there’s nothing like being part of a massive scene change that occurs in seconds with all the crew, performers and stage management working together. It’s like magic.
But that all changed on 16 March when our team, working onstage preparing to open our new production of Rusalka, were told the theatre was shutting down operations there and then. We all headed home to an unknown future.
Since then the difference between economic hardship and a radical and rapid life change has been the fantastic Job Retention Scheme (JRS). This welcome support has allowed the ENO to attempt to stabilise its financial security, and placing myself and my colleagues on furlough.
“Am I going to lose everything I’ve worked years for? What will I do if this all collapses?”
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While I am extremely grateful for the short-term reassurance, I now live with daily anxiety: when I can go back to work? How long can my company survive? How will I manage if the JRS is adjusted down or stopped altogether? Am I going to lose everything I’ve worked years for? What will I do if this all collapses?
It’s hard dealing with the indefinite and unknown future ahead. Sometimes I can’t bear thinking about it at all and speaking with friends and colleagues always seems to end on “we will see”. Taking part in weekly Zoom catch ups with colleagues and tuning in to industry webinars keeps the feeling that it’s not all over, and there is recovery ahead going. But still, the idea that without doing anything wrong I could lose it all is devastating and it’s hard to comprehend years of work just ending like this.
Without support ultimately it will mean unemployment at 51 with no prospects in my industry as it collapses around me. After a full and independent working life this is terrifying; I love my work, I want to work.
The savings I have are already disappearing and will not last long, even with cutting back as much as possible. Lender Payment Holidays will help but ultimately, I am facing a decline into debt and having to sell my home. I will get to a point where recovery will be extremely difficult, I will be on my own.
I have colleagues who have families and/or are self-employed. They work in large theatres, small theatres and the hire and supply companies that help us create work that makes our country a world leader. All of us face our livelihoods and years of work coming to an end with a precarious future ahead.
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“Theatre making has always been on tight margins and those margins are getting tighter by the day. Help is needed before we run out of the means to carry on.”
The recovery of theatre looks to be a slow and gradual process. The reserves that theatres and theatre companies have are running out. Theatre making has always been on tight margins and those margins are getting tighter by the day. Help is needed before we run out of the means to carry on. If we lose theatre, we lose the live experience of storytelling, the ability to share in that human contact and imagination.
What these times have proved is that the arts are vital to wellbeing. We’ve all turned to screens at some point during this with performing arts taking place on them, with creative and technical arts being used to make them. It’s human to need entertainment, distraction, an escape. It’s human to need to create. That is what we lose if we let the arts collapse.
I need, as does everyone in this industry, the government to work with companies, unions such as mine, Bectu, societies and associations to focus on how we are to survive and create, build, protect and maintain.
For the sake of our national cultural wellbeing and heritage, our creative prowess, and most importantly of all the thousands of bright and highly skilled people who entertain, thrill, excite, challenge and inspire us, we need to focus on creating work by keeping us going rather than killing work by letting us go under.
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The idea I could go from being part of a vibrant company that has weathered many tough times to not being part of it at all or seeing it disappear and become a subject of nostalgia is heart-breaking. All the work I have done, all the challenges, emotions and experiences that I have had and am still optimistically looking forward to... how can I deal with going from being in the thick of it, to nothing, in a matter of months?
Andy Cutbush is a lighting supervisor with the English National Opera


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Here's What Your Hotel Stay Will Look Like From July Onwards

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Hotels are officially able to reopen from the 4 July – and big chains, as well as boutique hotels, are keen to open their doors after a three-month hiatus.
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Your experience at a hotel isn’t expected to change massively, but there will be some notable differences. One of the most obvious is that the general vibe of hotels will be a lot quieter, as only so many people will be allowed in reception, restaurants and other shared facilities at any given time.
For those clamouring to put a getaway in the diary, patience is key. It’s likely hotels will have a phased reopening. Travelodge, for example, will reopen a few hotels to the public from July 4, with a view to reopening everything by the end of the month.
So when you do go to a hotel, what will it be like?
Socially-distanced receptions
The past few months have been a learning curve for Travelodge, as 51 hotels remained open to support key workers. They installed perspex screens in reception areas and added social distancing stickers to the floor. Spokesperson Shakila Ahmed says a limited number of people have been allowed in reception at any one time to avoid crowding.
Some hotels, like Bovey Castle in Devon, are amending check in and out times, so there won’t be crowds in reception at peak times and, in designated areas, there will be one-way systems to prevent guests and staff crossing paths.
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Multiple hotels also plan to have less furniture so there will be a more open (or sparse) feel to public areas. And IHG, which owns Holiday Inn, says with lifts, only one person, or people from the same household, will be allowed in at any one time.
New levels of cleaning
Hotels are gearing up to enhance existing room-cleaning services, as well as the regular cleaning of customer touch points throughout buildings – think lift buttons, door handles and banisters.
In guest rooms, cleaners will disinfect light switches, door handles, TV remotes, coat hangers and thermostats. Some hotels, like Hilton, plan on providing disinfecting wipes for guest use, too. Meanwhile housekeeping services are likely to be optional, as guests might not want staff entering their rooms.
St Ermin’s Hotel in London has a 98-point cleaning procedure in place, which includes steam cleaning and having a 72-hour gap between guests staying in a room. And IHG will offer individual guest cleaning kits on request, which include face masks, hand sanitiser and sanitising wipes.
Changes to facilities
Some hotels will close their fitness centres and gyms for cleaning multiple times a day, as well as pool areas. Expect fitness equipment to be more spread out, meaning fewer people will be able to use the gym at once.
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Accor, which runs the Mondrian, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis hotels, is considering repurposing bedrooms and meeting rooms to create private office and intimate co-working spots – the aim being to enable safe working spaces for people unable to work from home or offices.
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Goodbye to buffets
Travelodge’s restaurants have been closed during lockdown, but they’re likely to open when the chain reopens to the public. There’ll be more of a focus on takeaway food – such as the breakfast box service, and stone-baked pizzas in boxes – in addition to ordering room service.
IHG has ditched the buffet setup in favour of a “grab and go” breakfast option and a la carte room service.
A spokesperson at Bovey Castle says they’ll be closing some of their dining rooms and adapting dining options, such as modifying room service and ceasing to offer buffets. “We will be managing table reservations so guest arrivals are spaced more evenly to prevent tables arriving together,” they added.
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Upping the technology
Accor has a facility for guests to communicate with hotel staff using WhatsApp, whether that be for room service, housekeeping or reservations.
The hotel chain is also trialling digital key technology, enabling guests to book a room, check in, access their room, and order and pay for food and drink, using their mobile phone. Hilton has a similar scheme in place using its Honors app.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Less Than 1% Of Government Funds To Remove Cladding From Private Buildings Paid Out

A high-rise building is seen with cladding in the process of being removed. EMPICS Entertainment
Less than £1.5m of £200m allocated to remove dangerous cladding from high-rise buildings in the private sector has been handed out, a damning report by the UK’s spending watchdog has revealed.
An analysis by the independent National Audit Office (NAO) has found that government plans have “lagged behind (their) own expectations” when it comes to stripping tall buildings of the same flammable cladding that covered Grenfell Tower.
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As HuffPost UK reported last week, 300 buildings are still undergoing work to remove aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding - three years after the west London tower block fire.
Ministers aimed to complete the remediation of all buildings by this month, but the target has now been moved to mid-2022. The coronavirus pandemic, which has halted work on 60% of at risk buildings, is likely to cause further delays.
In its report, the NAO revealed the glacial progress of getting work carried out on privately-owned buildings, which has been blighted by difficulties in identifying who is responsible.
By the end of April 2020, the Department for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had paid out £1.42 million (0.7%) from the £200m private sector fund. By comparison, £133 million (33.3%) from the £400 million social sector fund had been allocated.
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Officials at the MHCLG identified a total of 455 buildings over 18m tall covered in ACM. In total, 155 of these buildings have had all of the ACM cladding removed, and 300 are still undergoing work to be cleared of the material. Removal work has not yet begun on 160 of these high-rises.
The NAO noted that work has been particularly slow on private sector buildings, of which only 14% of the 207 identified have had the cladding fully removed by May 2020.
This compared with 68.5% of the 54 student accommodation blocks and 48.7% of the 154 social housing buildings which had been fully remediated by the same point.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “MHCLG has made progress in overseeing the removal of dangerous cladding from many buildings, particularly in the social housing sector.
“However, the pace of progress has lagged behind its own expectations, particularly in the private residential sector.
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“It has a long way to go to make all high-rise buildings safe for residents.”
He added: “Going forward it is important that the department successfully manages the administrative challenges of funding building owners to carry out remediation work, particularly given its intention to commit a further £1 billion in full by the end of March 2021.”
In total, the government has committed £1.6bn to carry out work on all affected buildings because of the stalemate between the state, building owners and developers over who should pay for remediation. But the long delays are causing misery for people living in tens of thousands of homes affected by the scandal.
Last week, a parliamentary committee warned fixing all serious fire safety defects in high-risk residential buildings could cost up to £15 billion.
In addition to the buildings covered in ACM, another 1,700 are thought to have cladding which could potentially be unsafe.
The flames which rapidly engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in June 2017 were fuelled by its ACM, which had a polyethylene core, the inquiry into the disaster has previously heard.
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The cladding system had a heat combustion akin to diesel and close to lighter fluid, the hearing was told.
Last month, HuffPost UK reported that the government cash does not cover the temporary fire safety measures those in dangerous buildings have been forced to implement just to stay in their homes.
The most common measure is 24-hour fire wardens, or round-the-clock waking watches. Freedom of Information requests showed at least 380 blocks of flats have watches in place, costing some people as much as £840 a month. HuffPost UK also revealed how thousands are facing “astronomical” hikes to insurance premiums.
An MHCLG spokesman said: “We are clear that building owners must keep their residents safe and we are providing them with unprecedented support to do so.
“The Government has provided £1.6 billion to ensure unsafe ACM and non-ACM cladding is removed swiftly from high-rise buildings, and is bringing forward the biggest change in building safety in a generation.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Full School Return Is Now A Test Of Boris Johnson’s Path To Near Normal

Boris Johnson joins a socially distanced lesson during a visit to Bovingdon Primary School in Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead. Downing Street
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Arms length decision making
A new phase has dawned, has it not? On the Nando’s coronavirus scale, the UK today finally shifted from hot to medium. We’re not quite at lemon and herb yet, but the move from Level 4 (virus cases ‘rising exponentially’) to Level 3 (virus cases in ‘general circulation’) was undeniably a big moment.
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Judging from Boris Johnson’s upbeat media appearances, the shift in official Covid-19 status was the best birthday present he could have had (even better than these cookies he looked slightly underwhelmed by). “I think we are now moving into a different phase as we go forward into the autumn and to the winter,” he said, smiling broadly.
The formal lowering of the alert level also seemed to give him the confidence to go much further than before on the issue of school reopening. Asked if kids could go back five days a week after the summer break, he said that provided classrooms could be made safe, the PM said: “I want every child, every student, every pupil back in September and I’m sure we can get it done.”
That language was a significant notch up from the caution of schools minister Nick Gibb hours earlier, when he said “the clear intention” was to have all children back. The National Education Union pointed out it wasn’t clear how Johnson “simply hoping will be enough in itself to achieve that goal”.
But education secretary Gavin Willliamson went even further at his No.10 press conference, changing an intention and a desire into a concrete promise. “We will bring all children, in all year groups, back to school in September,” he said. This was not a slip of the tongue, it was on the script he read out. To make sure we got the message, he repeatedly talked of the “full return” after the summer holidays.
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As any fule kno by now, the simplest way to get all children back at the same time is to increase the 15-pupil bubble to a 30-pupil bubble. And Williamson confirmed his plan was centred on “expanding those bubbles to include the whole class”.
Reducing the social distancing rule from 2m to 1m would also help teachers hugely to do their daily job, something the PM again hinted was imminent (“watch this space”). Pupils and teachers will literally (though not educationally) have an arms-length relationship, but at least face-time in the classroom will replace the inadequate remote learning that has taken place to date.
As well as his “will” pledge, Williamson revealed that the DfE would be issuing fresh guidance in the next two weeks on how schools can prepare for a full return. Given that the 2m rule looks now certain to be reduced within the next fortnight, it all feels like the PM has made his mind up to not just follow his roadmap out of lockdown but possibly even accelerate through it.
When the passenger quarantine rules are formally reviewed on June 29, many expect travel corridors to be put in place too. Add in the expected opening of hairdressers and even some pubs, hotels and restaurants on July 4, plus a possible extension of ‘family bubbles’ to include two-person households, and you can see where this is heading. By the end of this month, Johnson clearly wants us to all have a much sunnier outlook on the future.
Of course, the country will need more than the birthday optimism of the PM to get us there. Today, the R number for the virus seemed stubbornly high for the UK as a whole, and even London was close to or at 1. The test and trace figures were still worryingly low this week too.
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But as the absence of any medic next to Williamson today told us, the government now seems convinced that these are political as much as scientific decisions (Johnson behaved as if we were at Level 3, long before today). The Johnson and Whitty/Vallance axis now feels like another arms-length relationship in action.
And don’t forget that September is nine weeks away. If the number of cases of Covid-19 continues to fall at its current rate, by then the Alert level could be reduced to that desired lemon-and-herb Level 2 (‘cases and transmission is low’). The PM is clearly hoping we’ll all be ready for a cheeky Nando’s by then. As long as we wash our hands thoroughly.
But there is a big gamble in all this, and not just in health terms. It’s possible that despite all the social distancing changes, UK firms will have been so hard hit by the sheer scale of the pandemic that they still lay off large numbers of workers. Johnson obviously wants the ‘new normal’ to be ‘near normal’ for many of us. If unemployment jumps, life won’t seem normal at all for many.
Quote Of The Day
“We have to start thinking of a world in which we are less apprehensive about this disease.”
Boris Johnson
Friday Cheat Sheet
The UK’s coronavirus alert level has been downgraded from 4 to 3, its chief medical officers have said, a level that allows a “gradual relaxation of restrictions” (which have already started).
The latest daily increase in the number of deaths in the UK from Covid-19 was 173, bringing the total death toll to 42,461.
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South Asian people are the most likely to die from coronavirus after being admitted to hospital in Great Britain, a new study has found.
Apple told the Times it did not know the UK was working on a “hybrid” version of the NHS coronavirus contact-tracing app. The firm took the unusual step of saying it was also unaware of an issue regarding distance-measuring, raised by Matt Hancock.
Sir Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is to step down from his role “at the request” of Boris Johnson, ahead of its merger with DfID.
Racist provocateur Katie Hopkins was banned permanently from Twitter.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Meet The Queer Drag Kings & Queens With Down’s Syndrome

Meet The Queer Drag Kings & Queens With Down’s Syndrome
Drag Syndrome are a collective of LGBTQ+ drag kings and queens with Down’s Syndrome. In a time where conversations about disability and representation in the queer community are being had the group of performers have become icons. In this video Drag Syndrome artists Justin Bond and Nikita Gold talk about being the representation that the queer disabled community needs and also what it’s like to find success and fans in the UK and around the world.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--All Children In England 'Will' Return To School In September, Education Secretary Says

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Children of all ages in England will go back to school in September, the education secretary has confirmed for the first time.
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Gavin Williamson’s pledge went further than that of Boris Johnson, who said earlier on Friday that it was “absolutely” his intention for children to return on a five-days-a-week basis.
Williamson also revealed the government is looking at creating larger bubbles to allow class sizes to expand beyond the current maximum of 15, which is proving a major obstacle to the reopening of schools.
He told the daily Downing Street briefing: “School is vital for every one of our children.
“That is why we will bring all children in all year groups back to school in September.
“While many children have already returned to school, I do understand that there is anxiety still among parents.
“I want to assure you that the wellbeing of your children is the absolute top priority for every single one of us.”
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On bubbles, he said: “We’ve been creating bubbles of children in the classroom, creating a protective environment for those children.
“Currently that is at 15. What we would be looking at doing is expanding those bubbles to include the whole class.”
He said signs that the level of infections was falling further, with the UK’s coronavirus alert level reduced from 4 to 3 on Friday, meant ministers could work on “making sure every child returns to school”.
Screen grab of Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (COVID-19). PA
Williamson added: “We recognise there is still going to have to be protective measures put in place to make sure children are safe and make sure that teachers and all those who work in school are safe as well, and that is why we are going to be issuing further guidance in the next two weeks.”
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The education secretary, however, stopped short of committing to a return to full-time five-days-a-week school for every child, saying only that he was “absolutely signed up to the fact that we want to bring every child back in every year group in every school”.
Earlier, Johnson said “provided we can make classrooms safe” he wants “every child, every pupil, every student, back in September”.
Pressed on whether he wanted every pupil to be able to go back five days a week rather than for alternating weeks, Johnson said: “I do. I’m making no bones about it, I think that’s the way forward for our country.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Katie Hopkins Permanently Banned From Twitter, Social Media Firm Confirms

“I do not want to pay to feed other people’s kids. You are welcome to. Thank you, Katie Hopkins.”
In response, Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt told her: “He’s done more for this country in 24 hours than you have your entire life. Bow before a king.”
Her suspension comes after a petition calling for her to be removed from the platform passed 70,000 signatures. She has been re-tweeted many times by Donald Trump.
According to Twitter’s website, that policy prohibits promoting violence against or directly attacking or threatening people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, age, disability or serious disease.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Watch Live: Gavin Williamson Gives Daily Coronavirus Briefing

Watch Live: Gavin Williamson Gives Daily Coronavirus Briefing
The UK Education Minister addresses the nation and answers questions on the current state of the pandemic, after 173 more deaths are recorded in the past 24 hours.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Sandhurst Earns Millions Training Cadets From Nations With 'Terrible' Human Rights Records

Officer cadets at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, Berkshire, during the sovereign's parade which marks the completion of a years training for 190 officer cadets from the UK and 30 from 17 overseas countries. Yui Mok - PA Images via Getty Images
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The UK’s Sandhurst military officer training academy is earning increasing millions from training foreign students, many of whom come from countries with “terrible” human rights records, official data shows.
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The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst earned more than £6m from foreign students in 2019-20 – a decade high that took total earnings to more than £40m over the last ten years.
Many of the cadets trained at Sandhurst over the last decade come from countries listed as human rights “priorities” for the government, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Afghanistan.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who obtained the figures using a freedom of information request, said many of the cadets would be “learning from our best and then taking these things back to regimes that repress their population and trample all over human rights”.
She raised particular concerns about training cadets from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The UK last year suspended new arms deals with Saudi Arabia after a court ruled they were illegal because ministers did not properly assess whether British-made weapons were part of bombing campaigns in Yemen that critics say violate international humanitarian law.
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A man holds posters denouncing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hailing killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a protest outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in central London. PA
The Middle Eastern kingdom was also the target of international outrage following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018, while the regime is increasingly executing its own citizens.
Bahrain has become one of the most repressive Middle Eastern countries since violently crushing a pro-democracy “Arab spring” movement in 2011, according to Freedom House.
The monarchy has “systematically eliminated a broad range of political rights and civil liberties, dismantled the political opposition, and cracked down harshly on persistent dissent concentrated among the Shiite (Muslim) population”, according to the US NGO.
Ahead of armed forces week, which starts on Monday, Moran told HuffPost UK: “People will look at this and think why are we selling weapons to Saudi, training Bahrainis and then sitting there while they oppress their population.
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“Shared military training with our allies is a fantastic resource, but it is time to stand up for the values we talk about so much – democracy and human rights.
“British forces provide some of the best military training in the world, but the privilege to train with our top class troops should be reserved to those foreign armed forces who share our values and our strict adherence to humanitarian law in combat.
“I believe we need to end the training of overseas royals from regimes with terrible human rights records at Sandhurst.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The British Army has a long-standing history of promoting core values to all personnel including integrity, human rights and accountability.
“At Sandhurst there is no exception. It has an extensive and proud tradition of training overseas military and civilian personnel, many of which bring a variety of experiences and unique skills.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Tory Ex-Campaign Manager Suspended Over Tweet Saying MP Should 'Go Back To Pakistan'

Labour MP Naz Shah PA Archive/PA Images
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The Conservative party has suspended a former campaign manager for “blatant racism” after a tweet was posted from her account suggesting a Bradford-born MP should “go back to Pakistan”.
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Theodora Dickinson, who also worked for Vote Leave, is accused of tweeting: “If racist Naz Shah hates this country so much why doesn’t she go back to Pakistan?”
Disgusting.
In a now deleted tweet, former Conservative Party campaign manager, @TheaDickinson asks @NazShahBfd "why doesn't she go back to Pakistan"
ICYMI she also posted an Islamophobic conspiracy theory after Christchurch terrorist attack & no action was taken by the Party pic.twitter.com/L3pk9qf297 — Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) June 19, 2020
The Tories had been criticised for failing to take action against Dickinson when she shared an Islamophobic conspiracy theory on Twitter after the terror attacks on two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist, who killed 50 people.
But she has now been suspended following her alleged tweet about Labour MP Shah.
I a statement to HuffPost UK, Dickinson said: “I am very sorry for my comments earlier today.
“I fully recognise how offensive it was, which is why I deleted the tweet almost immediately, though of course this does not excuse posting it in the first place.
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“It was crass and insensitive. I have written to Ms Shah offering an unreserved apology.”
A Conservative party spokesperson said: “Theodora Dickinson has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.”
Shah said: “This kind of blatant racism will not deter me from speaking out. Quite the opposite – it just reinforces why it’s necessary to fight vile bigotry and intolerance and makes me more determined.”
It came after the Muslim Council of Britain criticised the party’s failure to take action previously.
“The Conservative Party’s lack of action for the last 15 months after Ms Dickinson shared an Islamophobic conspiracy theory in response to the Christchurch terrorist attack shows a serious problem with the party.
“Now Ms Dickinson tells a Muslim MP: ‘Why doesn’t she go back to Pakistan?’ Will this latest blatant racism elicit action?
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“The party must reflect and consider why it chooses to ignore widespread concerns about its institutional Islamophobia – if a truly independent inquiry is not enacted with its recommendations implemented, there will be a drip-feed of these stories for a long time to come.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Spread Of Coronavirus Across UK Shrinking But R Rate Remains At 0.7 To 0.9

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The rate of spread of the coronavirus infection across the UK is shrinking, figures published by the government on Friday show.
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For the UK as a whole, the current growth rate is minus 4% to minus 2% and the estimate of the reproduction number, referred to as R, remains at 0.7 to 0.9.
The growth rate reflects how quickly the number of infections are changing day by day.
If the growth rate is greater than zero then the disease will grow. If the growth rate is less than zero then the disease will shrink.
For example, a growth rate of plus 5% will grow faster than one with a growth rate of plus 1%.
It is different than the R rate, as R shows whether the epidemic is growing or shrinking – but not how fast.
It comes as the government lowered its coronavirus alert level from four to three – after the UK’s chief medical officers agreed the transmission of the illness is no longer considered to be “high or rising exponentially”.
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Boris Johnson has said the alert level would be determined primarily, but not entirely, by the R rate.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said the move was a “big moment” for the UK, and showed the “government’s plan is working”.
Boris Johnson has previously said driving the R down is key to any further easing of the lockdown measures.
But his decision to lift some restrictions in England at the beginning of June caused some confusion as the Covid-19 alert level remained at four – which the government previously said would mean restrictions remaining in place.
It has five tiers from level one to five based on the spread of Covid-19 through the country.
At level five, transmission is high or rising and there is a risk healthcare services will be overwhelmed.
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Level four means the epidemic is in general circulation and transmission is high or rising exponentially.
Level three is when the epidemic is in general circulation and gradual easing of restrictions can take place.
Level two is when the number of cases and transmission is low and “no or minimal” restrictions are required.
Level one means coronavirus is no longer known to be in the UK.
There is a time lag in the calculations, with the government scientists’ latest R value relating to what was happening two to three weeks ago.
If R is greater than 1 the epidemic is generally seen to be growing; if R is less than 1 the epidemic is shrinking.
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R measures the number of people, on average, that each sick person will infect.
An R number of 1 means that on average every person who is infected will infect 1 other person, meaning the total number of new infections is stable.
If R is 2, on average, each infected person infects two more people.
If R is 0.5 then on average for every two infected people, there will be only one new infection.
At the start of March the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the R in the UK was between 2 and 2.5.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Boris Johnson Says Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Should Not Be Banned

Boris Johnson, pictured with his partner Carrie Symonds in the stands during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations match between England and Wales, is a keen rugby fan. Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
Rugby fans should not be banned from singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Boris Johnson has said.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has announced a review into the use of its anthem because it is “sung by many who have no awareness of its origins or sensitivities”.
The prime minister said he “certainly didn’t think there should be any sort of prohibition” on singing the song and that he would “love” to hear the song in its entirety.
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He added: “Frankly I think what people need to do is focus less on the symbols of discrimination... all these issues that people are now raising to do with statues and songs and so on – I can see why they’re very emotive, I understand that.
“But what I want to focus on is the substance of the issue.”
The song is believed to have its roots in American slavery and its credited author is Wallace Willis, a 19th century freed slave from Oklahoma.
The “sweet chariot” is thought to refer to the Underground Railroad, the freedom movement that helped Black people escape from Southern slavery to the North and Canada. In the 1800s, the song was often sung as an expression of the desire to be released from slavery.
Johnson was asked about the song during a visit to a school in Hertfordshire.
He replied: “As for Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, nobody as far as I understand it seems to know the words – whenever I go to a rugby match… before we start complaining about Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, I’d like to know what the rest of the words are.
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“You go: ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, coming for to carry me home’, and then it all dies out. How does it go on? That’s my question.
“I certainly don’t think there should be any sort of prohibition on singing that song. My curiosity is why don’t people seem to know the rest of it – I’d love to hear the rest of it.”
An RFU spokesperson said: “The Swing Low, Sweet Chariot song has long been part of the culture of rugby and is sung by many who have no awareness of its origins or sensitivities.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--‘I Was Ready To Die Just To Be A Mum.’ The Hidden Heartbreak Of Sickle Cell Disease

tommaso79 via Getty Images
June Matthews was 19 when she met her dream life partner. He was perfect, their families were close and, early on, the couple talked about having their own kids. Then, three years into the relationship, he ended it.
“He was my first love,” she says. “It was quite a huge shock because we had even gone into the doctors to discuss the possibilities of starting a family – finding ways in which we could actually have children without bringing so much pain into their lives.”
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Supplied June Matthews
It wasn’t the first time she’d been rejected. When Matthews started dating as a teen, she struggled to form long-term relationships because every time she told a boyfriend she had sickle cell, they either found out they also had the trait or she would end up being ghosted.
Sickle cell disease is caused by a gene that affects how red blood cells develop. Symptoms begin showing from early childhood and while the disease is lifelong and requires medication, many patients lead relatively normal lives. Others, like Matthews, experience ‘sickle cell crises’ – painful episodes that can last for several days – and may also need to be hospitalised.
Those with ‘sickle cell trait’ carry the gene that causes the disease without actually developing it, but if a partner is a carrier, their children are at risk of having the disease. One in 76 babies born each year in the UK have the trait, while 15,000 people have sickle cell disease. It is most commonly detected during pregnancy screening – or soon after birth with a heel-prick test.
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Matthews was one when she was diagnosed. Now 37, she will soon undergo a hip replacement operation due to complications from avascular necrosis – the death of bone tissue due to a lack of blood supply – a debilitating condition that is one of the possible side effects of sickle cell anaemia.
“Sickle cell can kill,” she tells HuffPost UK. “You can get organ damage, a stroke, heart failure – so many horrible things. I’m living with a lot of pain.”
But Matthews nurses a deeper-seated pain beyond her physical condition: the agony of wanting children and not being able to realise her dream.
Not only is trying to conceive difficult to balance with treatement, but pregnancy with sickle cell disease is extremely high risk, leading to potential complications ranging from still birth and miscarriage to pre-eclampsia and maternal death.
Black mothers are already five times more likely to die as a result of complications in pregnancy than white women. And with sickle cell disease more prevalent among Black people, it is a major issue in the Black community when it comes to dating and starting a family.
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Vauxhall MP Florence Eshalomi, 39, found out she carried the sickle cell trait while pregnant with her son. The mother of two inherited it from her mother who lived with the disease and eventually succumbed to it. Though Eshalomi’s son doesn’t have the trait, her daughter does.
City Hall Florence Eshalomi MP.
“It was a shock to me,” she tells HuffPost UK. “My mum was one of 12 kids, same mum and dad, and the only child with the disease. Some of my aunts have the trait; the disease doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t pick who it affects.”
Despite her mum having sickle cell, it hadn’t occurred to Eshalomi to get checked. “When I found out and asked my mum why she didn’t tell me, she said, ‘you’re fine, you’re healthy, you’re healed in Jesus’ name.’ I think she didn’t want to worry me and my sisters to put this fear in my head that you can’t get married and have kids.”
Doctors insisted Eshalomi’s husband also get checked. “It was almost a sigh of relief when we got the letter back to say it was clear, because in my head I knew that there’s no way we could pass on the disease to [our daughter]. But I knew that because I’ve got the trait, she could inherit that. Which she did.“
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Both Charlene Taylor, 27, and her partner have the sickle cell trait. But while she had always known she was a carrier, her partner only found out he was too when she became pregnant with their first child, who was born in 2017.
“In the Black community, it is common for people not to enquire about their family health history as they should,” says Taylor, a stay-at-home mum from south London. “So it’s difficult to pick up whether this gene runs in your family or not. People just go about their lives until they meet someone with it or you get tested – and you’ve got it. Then it just hits you.”
When the couple went along to a prenatal screening to discuss her partner’s status, Taylor was shocked to hear the nurse talk through abortion as a solution. “I held my composure because I know she was trying to just be helpful, but I didn’t feel helped… who are you to say the child shouldn’t be born and shouldn’t have a chance?”
“I had to explain to her that I was told I couldn’t have kids; so to be then told I should abort because the child could have an illness that can actually be managed. I said: I’ll take my chances because I don’t know when or if I will have another one.”
“There’s always fear surrounding having future kids... a one in four chance of having a child with sickle cell is a big chance.” - Charlene Taylor
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Their son Travis was born without sickle cell, which Taylor describes as a “relief”. A year later, she fell pregnant with twins. “Reality set in when we found out they had sickle cell,” she says. “In my mind I was thinking this could’ve been avoided if I didn’t have them. At the same time, I love them; they’re my kids. I just thought, it is what it is.”
Taylor now attends quarterly hospital appointments with twins Chris and Kevin. The 1-year olds need to drink more water than the average child to help blood-flow and avoid clotting. But aside from the need for twice-a-day medication, she says they are normal happy babies. “They crawl, they fight and everything any other normal baby would do. Nothing has stunted them.”
Nor has she ruled out having more children. “There’s always fear. One in four is a big chance [but] I wouldn’t say no to having another child because they may have sickle cell.” But she hasn’t told the whole of her family about the twins’ condition, because she doesn’t want any stigma attached to them. “They can still do anything that any other kid can.”
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Michael Ogun, who mentors those living with sickle cell disease, wants to fight that stigma.
Diagnosed at birth with Haemoglobin SC– a milder form of sickle cell – the 28-year-old Londoner leads a relatively normal life, seeing a haematologist just once a year and living with what he describes as “occasional pain”.
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But when he was dating his future wife, he discovered she had beta thalassemia trait, a genetic blood disorder that can cause anaemia. “That combined with my sickle gene can pose really big problems for a child,” he says.
Though it wasn’t a deal-breaker for them, throughout his wife’s pregnancy, the couple agonised over whether their future child would inherit one of their blood disorders. “It was a combination of worry, anxiety and a degree of guilt,” says Ogun. “As much as I talk about things being relatively normal for me, I get crises, I have mild symptoms that stay with me; it’s still apparent in my day to day life. I am experiencing this – so why would I then bring another child into the world to then experience the same thing.”
In the event, their son, now three, was born healthy and the couple are hoping to extend their family, applying through the NHS for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, a pioneering IVF procedure aimed at parents with an inherited condition that could be passed on to a child.
If their application isn’t successful they will try to conceive naturally and hope for the best, says Ogun. They are also open to adoption – even of a child with sickle cell. “I can at least relate in a way that only someone with sickle cell can and try and be a positive impact on their life.”
“One man once said after he disclosed his condition to his partner – he never heard from her again.” - Anonymous
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Ogun has counselled a lot of people who have been ghosted by prospective partners. “One man said after he disclosed his condition to his partner, he never heard from her again,” he tells HuffPost UK, adding that the problem is one of perception. “I think people feel that you’re almost like a ticking time bomb for sickness or you’ll be a burden; or that you’re not normal, in a sense, or they’ll equate it with disability,” he says. “The problem with that is sickle cell is a spectrum disorder, which impacts people at varying severities.”
Somewhere on that spectrum is Adeola, who speaks to HuffPost UK from her hospital bed after being admitted with another sickle cell crisis. Following a string of bad reactions to transfusions, it is now unsafe for her to receive blood except in life-threatening circumstances.
“My body was attacking itself, killing all of my red blood cells and the blood cells that got transfused last September,” the 26-year-old teacher, who did not wish to give her surname, explains. “As a result, I am in and out of hospital.”
Adeola Adeola
Transfusions are a common necessity for pregnant mothers with sickle cell disease – just one worry that nags at Adeola, who wants to start a family someday. “Obviously you’re carrying for two when you’re pregnant, so you need more blood in your body, I’ve known people who have gone into comas after they’ve given birth. Most of the time they induce us earlier than usual, too.”
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Last year, she dated a guy whose behaviour abruptly changed once she disclosed her illness. “As soon as I said I had sickle cell, he started moving funny,” she says.
“I didn’t like the way he handled it; it was a bit childish but that’s on him. I’m not gonna take it as something against me because a lot of people aren’t educated about it anyway,” she adds. Nor is she overly concerned about having a child with the trait, as someone who lives with – and manages – the full illness.
Anne Welsh who has written a book about her own experience of sickle cell disease, entitled Pain-Less, says: “It’s very difficult for a person who lives with sickle cell to fall in love if you want to submit to your feelings for someone you know carries the trait or people who may not carry the trait but need to do the test to confirm, they might just have it. And now you’re deeply in love.”
Anne Welsh Anne Welsh
Welsh, a 39-year-old mother of two, was diagnosed when she was just three and in addition to the intense pain she endured as a child, she felt ostracised throughout her adolescence and early adulthood – something that severely impacted her confidence when it came to dating.
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“Once I told people I had sickle cell, I was disregarded,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“It can hit in a such a way where you are in hospital for months; forgotten to society, forgotten to a lot of people.” - Anne Welsh
“Some were interested but the fear was at the back of their mind. All I could see was I was this person who was not fit for anybody to date. A lot of men wouldn’t want to date me as soon as I say I have sickle cell or when they saw me having a crisis. It can hit in a such a way where you are in hospital for months; forgotten to society, to a lot of people.”
Welsh went on to find love and is married with two children, though the journey was precarious. During her first pregnancy, she was hospitalised for four weeks before giving birth to her son five weeks early.
Throughout her second pregnancy, she experienced heightened pain, itchiness and jaundice – and was eventually diagnosed with liver problems. Yet, she is determined to live life to the full. “Living with sickle cell can disadvantage you so much. I’d say all the time: ‘Why can’t this illness just let me be me?’”
Anne Welsh Anne Welsh in hospital.
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Welsh, whose husband is white, believes Black people are more stigmatised for sickle cell within the Black community than outside it. “To say I wasn’t more comfortable because my husband was white would be a lie. He didn’t make sickle cell a big deal,” she says. “Black people have seen people suffering from the disease first hand; we don’t want to be affiliated. Some of the Black boys I grew up with would say they wish me luck finding someone. I felt like a leftover rotten egg, the one no one’s gonna touch.”
Acknowledging sickle cell as a very live issue, Africlick, a new dating app for professionals and creatives of African and Caribbean heritage, has actually factored it into its matching algorithm.
Sign up to the app and it will ask you for your genotype (with an option to say ‘I don’t know’). “We don’t show your genotype on your profile because that’s personal information,” says founder Dayo Akinrinade. “However, along with things like age and location, we can prioritise matches based on the user’s preferences.”
Dayo Akinrinade Dayo Akinrinade
Akinrinade is keen to stress the app does not rank people without the trait above those, such as herself, who carry it, and that she does not want to promote health-based prejudice.
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“If someone signs up and says they have sickle cell, we want to offer more personalised matchmaking,” she says. “It’s not for us to police or decide who is matched with who, but if we can prioritise that in who you’re seeing and then offer a private offline option, with introductions to help, then that would be useful.”
“My partner said, 'If I lost you because we’re trying to have a child, I wouldn’t be able to recover. You’re more important to me than any child.’” - June Matthews
June Matthews finally met her Mr Right four years ago without the need for an app – but not before a lot more heartache. “There have been three occasions where it’s been the end of a potential relationship that could’ve led into something beautiful because I have sickle cell,” she says.
“I was just like, I’m done with this – I can’t let my heart fall for someone and then get rejected for something that I have no control over and something that I didn’t bring upon myself.”
She and her new partner want to start a family but in order to conceive, she will need to stop taking the drug that has dramatically improved her quality of life: hydroxycarbamide – a pioneering but potent chemotherapy medication that decreases the number of crises in sickle cell patients.
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Her doctor advised she needed to stop the treatment she has been having for five years for a minimum of three months. “I’ve always wanted to be a mum,” says Matthews. “So I thought, okay, it’s part of the sacrifice. I want to do this and any child would be worth the suffering and pain.”
But did not even make it to the third month off medication – instead battling for her life in intensive care after developing acute chest syndrome. Doctors feared multiple organ failure and were concerned Matthews would not pull through. She did, but the crisis left her with major retinopathy, which could lead to vision loss, and further damage to her lungs and bones.
Still desperate to be a mother, Matthews did not go back on hydroxycarbamide even then – and suffered two more massive crises. “After the second crisis,my partner said ‘If I lost you because we’re trying to have a child, I wouldn’t be able to recover. You’re more important to me than any child.’ So, we painfully made a decision that maybe we’re not going to be parents.
Overcome with emotion, she says: “I’ve had such a bad year. I’m still struggling with my own health. It’s just too difficult at the moment for something that was so high on the agenda. It’s sore to talk about, but I am definitely considering other options.”
Matthews reflects: “I know of ladies like me who are on the same medication, younger and older, who have said they don’t think they’ll ever get to come off the medication, because it’s changed the quality of their lives. It makes me think there are even more women out there dealing with the fact that they will probably never be mothers – simply because they want to live.”
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For more information and support, visit the Sickle Cell Society website or call its helpline numbers, open Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Downton Abbey Star Phyllis Logan’s Dressing Gown-Clad Husband Crashes Lorraine Interview

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We’ve all had our embarrassing moments on video calls over the last few months, but for Downton Abbey star Phyllis Logan, hers happened on live TV.
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The actor was appearing live on Lorraine Kelly’s Good Morning Britain slot on Friday, when she was interrupted by her husband, who was clad in just his dressing gown.
Viewers of the ITV breakfast show saw fellow Downton star Kevin McNally wander into the back of shot with a cup of coffee for his wife.
Phyllis Logan got a surprise during her live Lorraine interview ITV
Lorraine and Phyllis promptly burst into hysterics as Kevin then noticed he was on camera.
He joked: “Can you keep it down, I’m trying to sleep.”
Kevin then pulled up a pew to have a quick natter with Lorraine about what he and Phyllis have been up to in lockdown.
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The host later admitted Kevin had caught her eye, telling Phyllis: “Aw it was so nice to see you and Kevin in his dressing gown. I have got a wee crush on him.”
Lorraine and Phyllis had a good laugh after Kevin crashed their interview ITV
During the interview, Lorraine was also keen to get an update on a possible sequel to last year’s Downton Abbey film.
However, Phyllis admitted she hadn’t heard any news just yet, explaining: “We’d love to do another one, but of course things are so tricky at the moment. There may be moves afoot, but who knows. We’ll find out in due course. Fingers crossed it does.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Sir Ian Holm Remembered By Fellow Actors Following His Death, Aged 88

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The acting world has paid tribute to Sir Ian Holm, following his death at the age of 88.
The Oscar-nominated actor – known for playing Bilbo Baggins in the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies, among numerous other high-profile roles – died on Friday, after what his agent described as a “Parkinson’s related” illness.
Following the news of his death, a number of his fellow actors have been paying tribute, as have organisations like Bafta and the National Theatre.
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Sir Ian Holm at the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey PA
A statement posted on Bafta’s Twitter read: “We are very sorry to hear of the death of Ian Holm. Nominated for 6 BAFTAs in his wide-ranging and successful career across TV and film, he is pictured here winning the Supporting Actor award for his role in Chariots Of Fire in 1981.”
We are very sorry to hear of the death of Ian Holm. Nominated for 6 BAFTAs in his wide-ranging and successful career across TV and film, he is pictured here winning the Supporting Actor award for his role in Chariots Of Fire in 1981. pic.twitter.com/x3OduDwoJe — BAFTA (@BAFTA) June 19, 2020
The National Theatre wrote: “We’re very sad to hear that Ian Holm has passed away. He was an extraordinary actor and we have wonderful memories of his performance at the National Theatre as King Lear.”
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We're very sad to hear that Ian Holm has passed away. He was an extraordinary actor and we have wonderful memories of his performance at the National Theatre as King Lear (1997).https://t.co/SRB4hTO2lh
📷 John Haynes pic.twitter.com/NyX0YzzlM9 — National Theatre (@NationalTheatre) June 19, 2020
Stars including Robert Webb and Eddie Izzard have also been sharing their memories of Sir Ian on social media:
The great Ian Holm is dead. Wonderful actor and it’s so sad to see him go. Farewell, you did great work Sir -
Lord Of The Rings and Chariots Of Fire star Sir Ian Holm dieshttps://t.co/CsxtqV4M4J pic.twitter.com/BiM4PV6lTf — Eddie Izzard (@eddieizzard) June 19, 2020
I was sorry to hear this - what a splendid actor. He even managed to make F.R. Leavis sympathetic in a BBC2 Screen Two with, I think, @FredrikSewell as an annoying student. He could be very funny too. https://t.co/thQcNfYgpy — Robert Webb (@arobertwebb) June 19, 2020
RIP Ian Holm, a genius actor who brought considerable presence to parts funny, heartbreaking & terrifying. Thanks for Bilbo, Napoleon (twice), Sweet Hereafter, Big Night, Brazil and, of course the iconic Ash. "I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies." pic.twitter.com/tO9tcydVUK — edgarwright (@edgarwright) June 19, 2020
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Such sad news that the wonderful actor Ian Holm has died.I spent a few short months with him at the RSC in Stratford in 1966 and we played tennis together.A sweet man. — John Challis (@BeingBoycie) June 19, 2020
I was lucky enough to play Regan to the brilliant Ian Holm’s Lear. And then he agreed to be patron of my drama school. It’s been an honour sir. God bless . #ArtistsTheatreSchool — Amanda Redman (@redman1_amanda) June 19, 2020
We all have favourite memories of the wonderful #IanHolm. For me, he epitomised Sunday nights when I was 10 years old, the joy of his performance as Pod Clock in #TheBorrowers tinged with the sadness of impending school. #RIPIanHolm pic.twitter.com/vWGAZJkHux — George Rainsford (@georgerainsford) June 19, 2020
We’re grateful for every moment Sir Ian Holm spent at our Studios. His spotlight may have gone out, but his legacy shines on. pic.twitter.com/aDM8QBZrPc — pinewoodstudios (@PinewoodStudios) June 19, 2020
Remembering Ian Holm, a masterful performer of Shakespeare's plays. https://t.co/oLxge4tvg6 — ShakespeareInstitute (@ShakesInstitute) June 19, 2020
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Long before playing Bilbo Baggins, Sir Ian’s role as Sam Mussabini in Chariots Of Fire earned him a special award at the Cannes Film Festival, a Bafta award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He later found a new audience in the 1990s in the role of Pod in the TV adaptation of The Borrowers.
Sir Ian’s other screen credits included The Fifth Element, Alien, The Sweet Hereafter, Time Bandits, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Madness Of King George.
He was also a celebrated theatre star, winning critical acclaim for his role as King Lear at the National Theatre in 1998, as well as a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor as Lenny in The Homecoming.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--UK Records 173 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours, Bringing Total To 42,461

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The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 42,461 – an increase of 173 over 24 hours.
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Since the end of April, the government’s daily announcement has included people in care homes and the community, rather than just in hospital, who have died.
But only those who had tested positive for Covid-19 are included, meaning anyone who died with a suspected case won’t be recorded.
The figures cover the period up to 5pm on Thursday.
It comes after the number of people who have died in hospitals across the UK, as well as care homes in Wales, after contracting the virus rose by 57 in 24 hours.
That increase consisted of 46 in England, six in Scotland, four in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--A Minute Of Kindness: The Teacher Delivering Free School Meals

A Minute Of Kindness: The Teacher Delivering Free School Meals
Zane Powles has been making sure his students get their free school meals and checking in on their and their families wellbeing by personally delivering to their doors. Since lockdown began in Grimsby, Zane has walked over 400 miles delivering 5000 free school meals.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Boris Johnson Says He Wants All Children Back At School Five Days A Week From September

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Boris Johnson has said it is “absolutely” his intention that children of all ages should be able to return to school by the autumn on a five-day-a-week basis.
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The prime minister also said people should “watch this space” when asked whether the existing two metre social distancing restrictions could be cut.
On Friday the government announced a £1bn fund to help pupils catch up with learning.
Speaking during a visit to a school in Hertfordshire on Friday, Johnson said “provided we can make classrooms safe” he wants “every child, every pupil, every student, back in September”.
Pressed on whether he wanted every pupil to be able to go back five days a week and not one week on, one week off, Johnson said: “I do. I’m making no bones about it, I think that’s the way forward for our country.”
He said: “We have to start thinking of a world in which we are less apprehensive about this disease.
“Yes it has been a horrible shock for the country and for the world, and I think the British people have worked incredibly hard to drive it down.
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“But we are starting to make some real progress with test and trace, with treatments for the disease, and I hope, as we go forward into the autumn, people will be much, much more confident.”
Johnson has repeatedly hinted he wants to cut the current two metre social distancing rule.
“Of course, on the social distancing measures, as I’ve said: ‘Watch this space’,” he said.
“We will be putting in further changes as the science allows. I think that’s what the public also wants to see, they want to see us working with the reality.”
His comments came after the UK’s coronavirus alert level was lowered from level 4 to level 3.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Devastated Family Pay Tribute To Sisters Stabbed To Death In London Park As Police Search For Attack

Devastated Family Pay Tribute To Sisters Stabbed To Death In London Park As Police Search For Attacker

Undated comp of handout photos issued by the Metropolitan Police of sisters Bibaa Henry (left) and Nicole Smallman PA
The heartbroken family of two sisters stabbed to death by a stranger in a London park say there are “no words” to describe their pain, as police continue to hunt for their killer.
The bodies of Nicole Smallman, 27, and 46-year-old Bibaa Henry were discovered next to each other in Freyent County Park in Wembley on June 7.
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It came after the pair had met up with friends in the park on June 5 to celebrate Henry’s birthday.
The sisters’ family said: “The pain we feel as a family is so deep no words can express how we are feeling.
“This has had a devastating impact on our lives and each day gets worse to think our daughters, Bibaa and Nicole, are not with us and that they have been brutally killed by someone.”
Elder sister Henry was a senior social worker who was a “passionate advocate for safeguarding vulnerable children and families”, they said, adding: “Bibaa was just barely five foot but she had the heart of a lion and a smile that would put Blackpool illuminations to shame.”
Smallman’s parents said she “was a joy from the moment she entered this world”.
They said: “Nicole saw beauty in everything; she had a very calm and positive attitude towards most things in life.”
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The Met Police has released new photos of the sisters at the park before their murders, calling on members of the public who may have seen something – or have CCTV or dash-cam footage – to get in touch.
Handout issued by the Metropolitan Police of photo taken by two sisters who both died from multiple stab wounds in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north London PA
Police said the pair were in “good spirits” and “taking selfie pictures, listening to music and dancing with fairy lights” until at least 1.13am on June 6.
People had left their celebration throughout the evening, with the sisters ending up alone in the park by around 12.30am.
Their last contact with friends and family was about 1.05am, police said. Calls to the victims at around 2.30am went unanswered.
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Officers said that Smallman and Henry’s attacker – who was male – received significant injuries during the incident.
“Have you noticed a loved one, neighbour, colleague, friend or acquaintance with a significant unexplained injury, to their hands in particular?” police asked in an appeal published on Friday.
The bodies of the two women were found next to each other shortly after 1pm on June 7, with a post-mortem examination later revealing that they both died from multiple stab wounds.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, who is leading the investigation, said: “The victims were much loved sisters who were very close despite their age gap. They were surrounded by friends and family and it’s unimaginable what they are going through.
“So please do contact us with any information you may have which could assist, no matter how small. Someone out there knows something. I would ask them to look into their conscience and question their protection of an individual who has robbed a family of two beloved women.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-19--Sir Ian Holm, Lord Of The Rings Star, Dies Aged 88

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The actor was well known for playing Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings trilogies.
His agent, Alex Iriwn, confirmed he “died peacefully” in hospital on Friday morning.
Alex said Ian’s illness was “Parkinson’s related”.
Ian Holm pictured in 2008 Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment
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In a statement, he added: “[Ian] was a genius of stage and screen, winning multiple awards and loved by directors, audiences and his colleagues alike.
“His sparkling wit always accompanied a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely”.
Sir Ian Holm in Lord Of The Rings New Line Cinema
Ian Holm was born on 12 September 1931 in Goodmayes, Essex.
Inspired by seeing a production of Les Misérables as a boy, he secured a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1949, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Ian was given a knighthood in 1998 PA
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His role as Sam Mussabini in Chariots Of Fire earned him a special award at the Cannes Film Festival, a Bafta award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He also found a new audience in the 1990s in the role of Pod in the TV adaptation of The Borrowers.
Sir Ian’s other screen credits included The Fifth Element, Alien, The Sweet Hereafter, Time Bandits, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Madness Of King George.
Ian Holm with wife Sophie de Stempel PA
He was also a celebrated theatre star, winning critical acclaim for his role as King Lear at the National Theatre in 1998, as well as a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor as Lenny in The Homecoming.
Sir Ian was married four times, most recently to Sophie de Stempel, and had five children.