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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:48:37 GMT
F Marian McNeill, in her 1929 classic The Scots Kitchen advises a cupful of water, a pinch of salt and a handful of oatmeal
The word of Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws was assuredly not to be trusted on most things. On one subject, however, Robert Louis Stevenson's miserly old miscreant spoke true. "They're fine halesome food – they're grand food, parritch," he pronounces to his nephew David. And who, these cold December mornings, can disagree? Everything has its own season, and winter is porridge time, the part of the year when the inner warmth of a good bowl of porridge really can beat the outside cold, sustaining body and soul for more hours than more fashionable breakfasts – and more healthily too. Not everything that swells and bubbles on the hob in the name of porridge is the real thing, though. Merely adding boiling water to a supermarket cardboard pot purporting to be porridge may be convenient, but it hardly approaches the nourishment or satisfaction of the homemade variety.....
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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:31:11 GMT
Writer of hit ITV sitcom suffered injuries in fall at respite home
Ronnie Wolfe, the writer of hit ITV sitcom On the Buses, died on Sunday, aged 89, after a fall on Thursday at a respite home in London.
Wolfe enjoyed a career spanning several decades with writing partner Ronald Chesney. Their credits also included Yus, My Dear and The Rag Trade. The pair – known as The Other Two Ronnies – graduated from radio to TV and film.
Wolfe's wife Rose said: "It has been a really, really sad last few days and a quite horrendous and totally unexpectedly sad end for a guy who was so funny in life.
"He was the most incredible husband and we had 58 years of superb marriage harmony.
"I acted as his secretary and PA and typed and computed for him doing all the work he ever put out."
Wolfe worked with some of Britain's most loved comics and actors including Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Sheila Hancock, Beryl Reid, Thora Hird and Benny Hill.
Chesney said: "We were together 50 years –.....
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GUARDIAN Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:00:00 GMT
Life wouldn't be so dandy for the Scottish pandas without the world's biggest internet site for retailing scales, based in the Greater Manchester town. Guest blogger Steve Thompson of the Bolton News waves the flag.
There is an urban myth that when the Titanic sank, the Bolton Evening News ran a story with the headline: No One from Bolton Lost in Titanic Sinking.
There is a long, proud history in regional journalism, of finding such tenuous local links to the most unlikely of stories — and here is another.
The scales used to weigh the two Chinese pandas, which arrived in Edinburgh this week, were designed and supplied by a company from Bolton.
The weighing scales, which were installed in the purpose-built enclosure in June, will be used to monitor the health of 16-stone female Tian Tian and 20-stone male Yang Guang, who are the first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years.
Gail Hounslea, managing director of Bolton-based online retailer Scalesexpress.com, says:
We......
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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:21:59 GMT
Despite making it to the top spot this week, bookmakers suggest the X Factor all-female group won't still be there at Christmas
It has almost become a Christmas tradition, albeit one wrapped in a curse: the X Factor final takes place in late December, and the winner releases a single which goes on to become the festive chart topper.
Almost, because only once in the last six years has it not happened – in 2009, when a concerted campaign against the programme saw Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name pinch the top spot from winner Joe McElderry. And a curse because, more often than not, the winner then fades into chart obscurity.
What future awaits Little Mix, this year's winners, has yet to be decided. Although their song went to No 1 in the singles chart on Sunday, bookmakers' odds (12-1) suggest it won't be there on Christmas Day. Instead, a 100-strong choir made up of the wives of servicemen on tour in Afghanistan is the favourite (1-10) after achieving a record.......
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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:30:01 GMT
European Recycling Company says it cannot pay more to the charity because margins are very small
Shoe recycling banks set up across the UK to benefit the Variety Club are delivering less than £4.50 each a year for the charity's good causes, a Guardian investigation has revealed.
The thousands of tonnes of footwear given in aid of the entertainment industry's charity for sick, disabled or disadvantaged children are sold on by a private company owned by a German clothes recycling magnate. But the European Recycling Company (ERC) confirmed that in 2009 it gave just £5,500 to the Variety Club while published accounts suggest it had made profits of more than £350,000.
In 2011 the donation was set to be more than £30,000 from 7,000 collection points, the charity said. Donors voiced surprise at the size of the charitable contribution and called for the amount given to be written clearly on the recycling points.
"The ratio is ridiculous," said Bozena Przybyla, 56, who was giving a......
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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:40:14 GMT
Aidan Burley's behaviour was offensive and foolish, says party, as Labour accuses PM of dithering over rising star
A Conservative MP, who had been destined for rapid promotion by David Cameron, has been sacked as a ministerial aide amid reports that he was involved in the preparations for a Nazi-themed stag party in France.
Aidan Burley, 32, was sacked as parliamentary private secretary to the transport secretary, Justine Greening, after the Mail on Sunday reported he had hired a replica SS uniform worn by the groom.
Burley, who was highly regarded by the prime minister, ran into trouble last weekend when the Mail on Sunday reported he attended a stag party for an Oxford contemporary at the French alpine ski resort of Val Thorens. Groom Mark Fournier, 34, was pictured in an SS uniform making a Nazi salute.
Downing Street initially declined to take any action against Burley, who captured Cannock Chase from Labour at the last election, after he wrote a lengthy letter of apology...
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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:43:47 GMT
Ed Miliband is swimming against a strong anti-Labour media tide. But if he can win the battle of ideas, many of his troubles will blow away
British politics is, and always has been, a village of random brutality, a larger school playground in which someone is always being beaten up behind the bike sheds. The gang chooses the victim almost unconsciously before moving on to the next. Some careers end on the ground. Others survive the experience and grow stronger. Which takes us to the case of Ed Miliband.
Nick Clegg may be roughed up by the Tory press fairly regularly but, with fewer outings in the Commons, doesn't suffer the same personal attacks. Ed's performances at prime minister's questions are deemed rubbish; we're told he lacks charisma and that his party should be way ahead in the polls; and that he needs to be replaced, pronto, by Yvette Cooper, or Ed Balls, or his brother David, or… well, pick your own.
Long ago, I coined the phrase "Zen politics" to describe his eerily..
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GUARDIAN Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:04:58 GMT
Highlands gamekeepers say freelance 'lampers' shoot indiscriminately at night after snaring animals in spotlights
Gamekeepers have attacked the steep increase in the "immoral" culling of deer at night by stalkers who are paid a bounty for every deer they shoot.
Professional gamekeepers claim that deer are being inhumanely culled across Scotland, and are often left wounded or orphaned because freelance stalkers rely on being paid a bounty of up to £145 a head, rather than on a regular wage, and shoot at night without proper control.
Figures released to the Guardian by Scottish Natural Heritage, the government's conservation agency, show the number of deer shot at night has increased by nearly 50% in the last three years, while the overall number shot has fallen.
In 2008/9, 6,710 deer were shot at night, jumping to 9,933 last year. However, in the same period, the overall number of deer culled across Scotland fell from 98,893 down to 95,424. Night-time licences were also up,......
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GUARDIAN Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:18:00 GMT
• François Baroin: UK economic situation 'very worrying'
• Mario Monti's government wins vote over austerity plans
• Irish economy shinks
• Miliband accuses Cameron of 'economic vandalism'
4.08pm: Ben Brogan, the Daily Telegraph's Deputy Editor, is in fine form today on the deterioration of relations between the UK and France. He kicks off with that Telegraph favourite - a war story:
The last time France was in deep trouble, Winston Churchill offered to merge our two countries and make common cause against the Germans, who had driven what remained of French authority from Paris.
That proposal was rejected, leading to the Vichy government, but was a sign of the strong bonds between the two nations. Brogan continues....
A spat between London and Paris is always good sport, and should not undermine the fundamentals of what is an exceptionally strong relationship. But our two economies are so embedded in each other, and our economic interests so entwined, that what appears to be...
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GUARDIAN Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:46:00 GMT
European court of human rights upholds British doctor's indecent assault conviction in landmark ruling
Hearsay evidence can be used as the sole means of securing a criminal conviction where no other evidence is available, the European court of human rights (ECHR) has ruled.
The landmark decision, reversing a previous finding by the court, avoids a head-on judicial collision between the UK supreme court in London and the judges in Strasbourg.
The decision from the grand chamber of the ECHR, which deals with appeals against rulings, shows that the court has listened to objections raised in London and refined its position in the face of strong objections from British lawyers.
It is, however, only a partial vindication for the British government. The European court upheld the conviction of one appellant, Imad Al-Khawaja, and said that his right to a fair trial had not been breached. But in a second case, that of Ali Tahery, it ruled that his conviction for stabbing had been unfair..
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GUARDIAN Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:15:48 GMT
The reliable Transatlantic Trends survey shows that scepticism about immigration is strong, but the picture is not all negative
Immigration arouses passion and debate like no other issue. Across Europe, human rights groups, flamboyant populists and tabloid media jostle over every new bit of data or opinion poll. The issue doesn't look set to fall off the political landscape either. With elections fast approaching in France, the US and Germany, candidates on both the left and right are thinking hard about how to connect their campaigns with public anxieties over immigration.
The problem, however, is that these debates are typically characterised by misinformation and prejudice. Too often, surveys and opinion polls ask misleading questions, or are manipulated to meet the demands of particular interest groups. This is why the results of the latest edition of a reliable survey of what ordinary citizens think about this issue are so important. The Transatlantic Trends survey explores..
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GUARDIAN Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:07:36 GMT
Sinn Féin deputy first minister for Northern Ireland's relative is one of two men believed shot by republican dissidents
Martin McGuinness's nephew is one of two young men believed to have been shot by republican dissidents in Derry.
Sinn Féin and the SDLP condemned the apparent "punishment shooting", which occured on Tuesday evening in Northern Ireland's second city.
One of the victims, Ruairi Canning, is the nephew of McGuinness, the Sinn Féin deputy first minister of Northern Ireland. His father, Marvin Canning, is facing charges over alleged dissident republican activity.
Both men were shot in the leg at High Park, in the Creggan estate. They are understood to be in a stable condition in hospital.
The Sinn Féin Derry assembly member for Foyle and member of Northern Ireland's policing board, Martina Anderson, said the shooting had angered people in the city.
"The PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] is the only organisation that should be investigating and dealing....
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GUARDIAN Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:24:22 GMT
Guidance from lord chief justice means journalists no longer have to make application to tweet, text or email from courts
Journalists no longer have to make an application to tweet, text or email from courts in England and Wales following guidance issued by the lord chief justice, Lord Judge.
"Twitter as much as you wish," he said as he delivered the guidance which takes immediate effect and covers the use of electronic devices including phones and small handheld laptops for live text-based communications.
The guidance extends that issued last December and now also allows members of the public to tweet, but they, unlike journalists and legal commentators, must seek permission from the court in advance.
Judges retain full discretion to prohibit any live text-based communication from court in the interests of justice, and permission from court may be withdrawn "at any time".
"A fundamental aspect of the proper administration of justice is open justice. Fair, accurate and, where..
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GUARDIAN Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:48:15 GMT
Lord Justice Leveson says inquiry will investigate all aspects of tabloid misconduct, not just the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone
The judge running the Leveson inquiry into press behaviour dismissed claims on Wednesday that the Milly Dowler case was the only reason why his inquiry had been set up.
Lord Justice Leveson said the evidence of tabloid misconduct collected during his month of hearings would dispel any such doubt.
David Sherborne, the lawyer representing the Dowler family and other victims of the News of the World's phone-hacking, told Leveson when the inquiry hearings opened: "It's very important not to lose sight of the fact that firstly the accessing of Milly's voicemails by the News of the World is not in dispute. It was admitted, and it is an outrage. But secondly, it is not the only reason why this inquiry is being heard into the practices, culture and ethics of the press."
Leveson replied: "Oh, Mr Sherborne, if anybody had any doubt about that, I anticipate....
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GUARDIAN Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:33:12 GMT
Old Vic, London
Michael Frayn must have the subtlest mind ever applied to the writing of farce. And with Noises Off, first seen in 1982 and now gloriously revived, he has created not just a flawless theatrical mechanism. In his portrait of a slowly disintegrating stage production, Frayn reminds us that beneath the order we seek to impose on our own daily lives lurks a terrifying abyss.
But it would not do to get too solemn about such a riotous event. What one does notice is that Frayn prepares the ground perfectly, by recreating the final rehearsal of one of those basic British farces he doubtless saw as a young reporter.
Entitled Nothing On, it is filled with fluster, sardines, slamming doors, illicit nookie and fake sheikhs. Frayn also carefully delineates a recognisable array of theatrical types supervised by a wearily exasperated director. The cast includes a seasoned drunk, a honey-tongued scandalmonger, a veteran who can never quite synchronise lines and moves, and a.......
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