"At its core, A Christmas Carol is the transformation of a man without empathy, to a man with empathy. It accomplishes this through forcing the character Ebenezer Scrooge to remember the past, witness the present, and to consider the future. It is through seeing other human beings as human beings with lives equal in worth to his own, that forms the basis of Scrooge's transformation."Scott Santens sets out the science behind Charles Dickens' famous story. Barbara Speed on the shocking scale of the abuse perpetrated by the Jesus Army: "The ... coroner returned an open verdict, but noted his 'concern' ...
I do not know about you, but I have had a great Christmas so far. My family is a bit scattered. Our son and his wife went to spend Christmas and the new year with Valentina's family where she comes from. Our youngest daughter lives in the Outer Hebrides where transport can be so bad in December that they make their Christmas visit in October. Our big girl lives in Wallasey and she and her family came over to see us on Christmas Eve for a full roast with trimmings etc. Although I am a traditionalist. The idea of Yorkshire ...
[IMG: An Islington street light which has just turned on] A street light that came on just after I got my phone out. It happened to me again, just before Christmas. Out walking in the gloom, I saw a streetlight that wasn't on. I ran through my usual checklist. 'Are the other lights nearby on, showing it is dark enough that this one should also be on?' 'Have I reported this one before?' 'Who does this fault need to be reported to?' 'Which app or email is the best for them?' 'Which pocket is my phone in?' And then, just ...
The Independent reports that farmers across the country are celebrating after Sir Keir Starmer caved in following months of pressure and watered down plans to tax inherited farmland. The paper says that under the plans, announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves last year, farmers were to be charged 20 per cent on agricultural assets above £1m from April 2026, but on Tuesday, Labour said it was raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5m, meaning that most farms would not have to pay it. This u-turn follows months of protests and campaigning, with farmers fearing that family-run farms would be worst affected: ...