Category Archives: #HeadlineTherapy

Thanks to Andy Jones and the Dorset Echo for the Headline.

This Headline links very well to the Headline about “The Grand Atlantic Hotel” in Weston Supermare except this time it’s a Saudi Investment Company who are letting the fabric of a classic Art Deco building from the 1930’s deteriorate. The hotel is at Bowleaze Cove and has beautiful views of the bay. The building in it’s prime would have fitted in well on the set of Poirot.

It is a listed building and has also been recognised as a “Building at Risk” by the Twentieth Century Building Register. A new roof was put on it in 2024 but no work has been done on it since and it is deteriorating further and beginning to look unsightly surrounded by wire fencing.

A campaign to save the hotel known as “The Riviera ” has been launched by Tess Shepherd who had her wedding there. The local MP Lloyd Hatton is also working with the Council to bring the Hotel back to life which has gained support from local people.

AI Generated Image

Thanks to BBC News Online and their live coverage which covered the story from all angles.

I have empathy with everyone caught up in this “early release scheme”. I have chosen the Probation Officer’s view, as they are the ones who are responsible for supervising the released prisoners where the release scheme requires it. It seems that they have been given a significant extra work-load without any increase in resources.

One of the biggest problems is that many people on the early release scheme will have no fixed address , so how do you contact them about appointments, missed appointments or even just to ask how they are doing?

Let’s face it overcrowding in Prison’s did not happen overnight and maybe for some prison was definitely the wrong place to be, but you can’t just pass the problem along to someone else as I believe is the case with the Probation Officer.

Responsibilities and Possibilities should have been clearly defined otherwise this “Early Release Scheme” will fail , and ex-prisoners will return to the already overcrowded prisons and we’ll be back to square one.

Namaste and Thank you for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Chris Mason from BBC News Online for the Headline,

Terrorists are scary people and there’s no doubt that we should be aware of the threat they pose.

However, as an ex-Mayor of Manchester who doesn’t know much about rural life, there is a lot of rural crime around, particularly when the price of diesel has gone up astronomically due to the situation and uncertainty surrounding Iran’s status. Yes perhaps Iran did play a role in the attempted theft of diesel if the rise in prices motivated those men.

Perhaps it is worth the effort of driving all the way down from London in three white vans to rob the well-heeled farmers that are distracted by a ploughing competition and perhaps have kept their eye off the ball with protecting their assets, such as quad bikes, diesel storage and any other agricultural implements that they can get there hands on.

As Wes Streeting said about the farmer who initially rang the Police after trying to contact base security and on the “special number ” they were given by the base for emergencies such as this one. Only for it to ring and not be answered. That they only had “a partial picture” of the situation. A pretty scary partial picture if you are confronted by three white vans blocking the road and masked men running around. One of whom gets scared and rings the Police himself, perhaps thinking the farmer is going to run him down in his 4×4. That police call should be interesting evidence.

Yes ,Politicians on all sides, perhaps you have access to information that we don’t and we rightly so can only have a” “partial picture”. However, this Headline is pretty abhorrent. Even weapons of mass destruction need evidence( Tony Blair didn’t come too well out of that ).

Prime Minister Burnham should be more responsible and should let the Security Services do their job and also ensure that those living near the base have their needs respected. Why else give them a “special telephone number” if you don’t plan to answer it? Meanwhile stop this gainsaying and making statements which in reality are heightening people’s fear.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Rachel King and Town and Country Magazine Online for the Headline.

Apparently wearing white is not just for brides or first Communion celebrants, but also it is an exclusive privilege for Princesses and Queens from Catholic Countries to wear white when meeting the pope. Fewer than ten women in the World hold this privilege.

This was a surprise to me as how do you define a Catholic Country for one thing? There must be less than ten as only ten women can officially greet the pope in white at present.

The meeting took place in Metz in northeastern France near the borders of Germany and Luxembourg. President Macron and First Lady Macron hosted the meeting , the First Lady not being Royalty was dressed in black as is the required etiquette for a commoner.

What came to mind with this for me was a joke by the late great comedian and raconteur Dave Allen, who talked about a wedding dress for a bride which was white , but with little blue spots.

I’m pretty sure the Pope didn’t care what anyone was wearing, but seriously wanted to get the message across that war and famine was causing inevitable migration of populations and that understanding was needed on the fate of these unfortunate people.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Kate Whannel and BBC Online News for the Headline.

I just don’t understand how any politician, Senior or Not so Senior can justify gifts from external sources. I mean have we forgotten that there is no such thing as a “free lunch”. In the real world it just doesn’t happen that anyone gives anything away for free.

So why are we satisfied that everything is above board , just because MP’s list what perks they have been given by a deadline decided by Parliament. It’s meaningless when trying to understand whether Politicians are being bought by Corporations like News Corp. What can they possibly be discussing. Kemi’s plans for the Country, surely it’s us and her Party she should be telling not News Corp and why Greece for Heaven’s sake? Did Boris Johnson drop by?

Apparently it’s OK as long as the figures are published in the latest register of members financial interests , in which MP’s must report gifts worth more than £300 within 28 days of receipt.

This is just blatant nonsense , I don’t care if Andy Burnham is a keen football supporter, his job does not require him to attend football matches . As he did for Everton’s first game of the season in the director’s lounge no less, listing on the register a gift of £677.34.

No, Mr Burnham that was not necessary or deserved. You should have paid for yourself and then we could all be sure that the Football Leagues are not benefitting from some “understanding” between Politicians and Football business dealings. We are all aware that Football is big business.

The register is just a record kept by administrators, in truth there should be more questioning of the why and wherefore of these “gifts”. The damage probably is already done and a list does nothing to prevent it.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏

Thanks to the Annika Hammerschlag and the Independent Online for the Headline

Alaska pollock supplies is the world’s second-largest fishery, and supplies global food chains, providing key fish ingredients into their products. I like pollock and I am quite happy to eat it as an alternative to cod.

Unfortunately though pollock nets often catch other marine life, in the industry this is known as bycatch. One species affected is the Chinook Salmon which is a traditional catch of Native communities along the Yukon River. They have been stopped from fishing legally in order to preserve the Salmon so they don’t disappear.

Ocean researchers attribute the salmon collapse primarily to rising sea temperatures and shifting ocean conditions, however, the bycatch factor may be adding to what is already a precarious situation for wildlife.

The Pollock fishermen have not just ignored the problem , in fact they communicate with each other when they are at sea to identify salmon concentrations and will stop fishing to allow the salmon time to do whatever salmon do at sea. Every pollock vessel also carries a salmon excluder, a specialised device offering salmon an escape route from the net.

Bycatch and possibly damaging the ocean floor are Political hot potatoes which have all-party backing from local politicians. So the big players in Pollock Fishing are being careful and are gathering data to see the impact that their efforts to supply Global Demand for their fish are having on the smaller operators on rivers and coastal outlets who fish for crab and halibut.

Also I suspect that as fishermen they respect the sea.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏