A deaf and blind teenager is refusing to go to school after teachers banned her guide dog from the dining hall. Molly Watt, 17, says she was left to eat lunch alone in a separate room because another pupil who uses the canteen is allergic to the dog. So what we have here is a clash of disabilities. It should be easy to resolve, no, given that both parties are…
Catherine Johnson writes stories for screen and books for children. And she’s complaining about something. What, you ask? Well, I’d better let her tell you that… It seems like a boom time for black literature and drama. Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, which focuses on the life of a young girl in Nigeria, is shortlisted for the Costa first novel award next month. Pigeon English, the story of a Ghanaian boy…
Lord Judge’s comments at the Royal Courts of Justice today follow a call by the independent Homicide Advisory Review Group for the mandatory life sentence for murder to be scrapped. The group, whose members include former judges, lawyers and prison governors, claimed the compulsory life term was “outdated” and “unjust” and that judges should be given the power to determine punishment on a case-by-case basis. Or, in other words, ‘My…
…the fault of anyone but ‘the authorities’: Most of these teenagers have missed huge chunks of their schooling, and all of them have now been excluded from their mainstream schools. But their presence here today represents serious progress. This scene may look purposeless – a small group of boys are hanging round the front entrance, chatting with fizzy drink cans in their hands – but actually, this is authorised chill-out…
In her police interview Miss Elliott, who has been vocal in trying to save Greenwich University’s threatened Philosophy course, said: ‘I am sorry, I don’t have those morals. ‘If it was mugged off somebody then that is wrong, but I don’t care about Samsung they are a billion dollar company. ‘Phones 4 U are also a massive company, as long as it didn’t come out of some old pensioners pocket…
Police are investigating the ‘malicious’ destruction of a pagan stone circle destroyed in what they fear was a religious hate attack. Shocking! Police believe the attackers could have used crow bars and pick axes, with speculation that the attack could have been religiously motivated. Awful! Lampeter PC Richard Marshall told a town councillors meeting last week the site had been ‘maliciously taken apart’ and is now unsafe to use.He said:…
‘…while the worst are full of passionate intensity.’ The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats In the comments to Sean Gabb’s piece on Saturday, Stadtler draws our attention to a young man’s account of this incident on the London Tube: On the afternoon in question, I was making my way north to catch a train to the Hackney Empire and a theatre-reviewing assignment. It was hot and crammed. Irritation was…
…with yet more ‘Something must be done….for the children!’ legislation: ‘In memory of our son we will also be pushing for UK legislation to introduce safety measures, for instance fencing or child-safe pool covers for all in-ground pools.’ And is the Great British Public aghast at this further interference and unnecessary overhead cost? Why, no: When we had our pool put in they would not finish it until we had security…
A 96-year-old man has lost his appeal to get his driving licence back… and was landed with a £2,000 bill for his trouble. Edgar Parrett says he will have to sell his car to pay the charge, which covers the DVLA’s costs of following the case through court. Yes, because if you have the temerity to challenge the state’s decision, they then demand that you pay for it… Dr Stephanie…
Three cheers for headteacher Ms Sylvia Stronach! Sylvia Stronach banned 120 children aged between seven and 11 years from talking in the canteen because the noise levels had been ‘horrendous‘ and made it an ‘uncomfortable place to be for both children and adults’. Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! But of course, that didn’t sit well with some parents: Mr Smith said both he and his wife encouraged their children to write letters…
An angry mob gathered outside Jonathan Bloomfield’s home in Stanley Street, Grimsby, after footage of him abusing 18-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier Butch was posted on Facebook by a neighbour, as reported. And last Thursday, Grimsby magistrates banned him from keeping dogs for 15 years after admitting two counts of animal cruelty. And that would be the end of it. You’d think. You’d be wrong: Today, the 37-year-old father told the…
A teacher at the Ashcombe School has been criticised for comparing a deprived region of Romania to a Dorking housing estate. Oh..? Pupils were watching a video about the school’s charity work, which includes sending Christmas shoeboxes full of gifts to impoverished children in Romania, when the comments were made. Well, do tell us what was said, won’t you? Michelle and Kevin Miller, who live in Chart Downs, told the…
The ‘Guardian’ has a big article on the work of the YOI; it’s pretty much as you’d expect, and quite a long article, but several bits stand out. First, there’s the assumption that these youths are – and are entitled to be – passive observers, having things done for them, taking no part in their own rehabilitation or retraining. On-admittance interview with a staff member: (Prisoner:)”I can’t change my bedding.…
Len McCluskey in CiF: Wednesday’s public sector pensions strike is more than industrial action; it is a national day of rebuke. Really? I wasn’t aware that was one of the reasons allowed in the Employment Act for strike action. But thanks, Len, for making it quite so overt that this is regarded as an idealogical war, and not simply an industrial dispute… It also represents a resurgence of the trade…
One in seven children in London has not visited a green space in the last year, a shocking new report claims. Oh noes! Disaster! The Sowing The Seeds report, commissioned by the London Sustainable Development Commission, which advises the Mayor on green issues, is calling for local borough councils, planning authorities, schools, the Greater London Authority and other key bodies to reverse the trend. Errr, how? And more to the…
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