Tag Archives: #HeadlineTherapy

#HeadlineTherapy Memories as Scillonian III nears its last season.

Thanks to David Dixon, Penzance and BBC Online News for the Headline

I believe boats have hearts, ferries are the best ever mode of transport . Whether pulled by a Victorian designed chain mechanism or a fully powered modern steam engine, the journey might last 10 minutes or as in the case of the Scillonian 4 to 6 hours depending on the weather.

It was a well planned effort for me to travel to the Scilly Isles on the Scillonian III , it wasn’t so much about the destination, more about the voyage. It was calm, but there was a significant swell and it seemed to me we were going out into the middle of nowhere.

We have a dog now and I don’t think he’d cope with it. I remember watching dogs go up and down the stairs of the ferry, they really weren’t too sure. It’s alien territory.

Still, I’m sorry to see the boat reach it’s end of useful life and hope that it finds a role, perhaps less taxing somewhere else and also it’s partner boat that carries freight to the Scilly Isles which will also be taken out of service .My hope is that they keep on , keeping on for some time albeit somewhere else and I look forward to seeing their replacements on the water.

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#HeadlineTherapy Scientists create plastic that completely dissolves in seawater within hours

Thanks to Eric Ralls and earth.com for the Headline.

The crux of this is that some human generated chemical bonds are resistant to being broken down by microbes and harsh saltwater conditions. Thus Nature cannot do what it is very good at doing and recycle and reuse everything on the planet (and the universe for that matter) down to the last molecule while we continue to thrust our man made products into landfill that then seeps into all areas of the environment.

Japanese scientists have been working on plant cellulose to make plastic packaging that can be broken down and I suppose to the layperson seems more natural.

So where does this leave us, basically we have too much packaging , and no matter how much we want to play around with the chemistry of packaging, what we really need is much less of it and we need to change our approach to having products on demand and one off use. Why not have a centre or a shop for bulk products that we can weigh and measure what we need.

We don’t want to spend the time doing this , convenience is king, when indeed will we have the time?

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#HeadlineTherapy Project to dry out Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House at ‘critical stage’

Than to the Andover Advertiser and the PA News Agency for the Headline

Hill House in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute in Scotland was commissioned in 1904 and features priceless interior design by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald. The interior and the house have been deteriorating over the years, as the rendering of Portland Cement , which was specified by Macintosh himself has proved permeable to the inclement Scottish weather and both the structure of the house and it’s interiors have been subject to water penetration.

In order to save it National Trust Scotland has been managing the project to preserve it. This has meant that in 2019 the building was surrounded by a giant metal box, to protect it from the weather and allow the rendering to dry out .

The next stage has now been reached and the rendering will be carefully removed, the remedial work done to protect the building and restore it to it’s former glory, knowing that the important collaboration by Macintosh and his wife will be protected from the elements for future generations.

The plan is to work towards reopening the house , no longer covered by it’s box in 2028 which is the 160the anniversary of Mackintosh’s birth.

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#HeadlineTherapy One of the most beautiful heritage railways in England is getting a world-first electric steam train- and it’s just 50 minutes from London.

Thanks to Vishnavi Pandev and Secret London for the Headline.

On March the 17th this year a new visionary electric steam train is being launched in Essex’s Audley’s End Enchanted Garden. The ride mimics an actual steam train , sounds and steam and all without the environmental impact of burning coal and boiling vapour.

Visitors will be able to enjoy a ride around the Spring Gardens in full bloom with bluebells and tulips while gazing from the authentic but brand new train called the “Steamless Revolution.” Sounds a nice day out.

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#HeadlineTherapy Chippy Tour reviewer praises Dam Lane fish and chips.

Thanks to Tabitha Wilson and the Warrington Guardian for the Headline.

Congratulations to all for celebrating the staple of many family dinner take- aways in the UK. If you have a good “Chippy” near you , you are very lucky.

Tasty , Crispy, light batter is very important and I can tell if the oil in the oil fryers is not changed regularly. Not sure I really want beef gravy with fish (sounds a bit overkill). In my youth it would have been curry sauce with chips , but now I love a home made tartar sauce which I can get down in Cornwall when the mobile fish and chip shop visits our Camping site. There’s something very special about a fish and chip shop coming to you.

Whatever way you look at it with the costs of running any food business any take-away is costly and so naturally price does come into the equation , particularly when you have a few mouths to feed. So it is still a modern day treat, not a staple.

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#HeadlineTherapy Moroccan Billionaire Anas Sefrioui commits $300 million to luxury mixed-use project in Abidjan

Thanks to Ayodeji Adegboyega and Business Insider Africa for the Headline

Being surrounded in our town in the UK by what seems like continuous housing developments being put in with inadequate infrastructure and what seems to be a “build them quick” mentality, it’s interesting to read that the same process is happening in the Ivory Coast at the behest of a Moroccan billionaire.

Abidjan sounds a fascinating city, having being built on various islands and peninsulas in the Έbriέ Peninsula.

The investment is being used to build a luxury mixed-use development in Abidigan’s Zone 4 district. The project will feature four 20 -storey residential towers, office space and a major shopping centre. It marks a strategic shift by Addoha Group ( owned by Morrocan the billionaire investor) toward higher-margin, premium developments across Africa.

It seems the same business model throughout the World, the scheme is expected to start generating revenue shortly, Addoha Group are moving away from supplying much needed low cost housing in the markets it operates in throughout Africa to more profitable high end developments that generate increased profits.

This model has been used in our town of Swindon and frankly has lead to a town centre that is deserted and has looked like a building site for thirty years, will we ever learn?

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#HeadlineTherapy Tube passengers targeted in text scam, court told

Thanks to BBC Online News for the Headline.

Large suitcases with “SMS Blasters” in them. In my day we used to get annoyed with “Ghetto Blasters”. Thankfully because the large suitcases being pulled along on the tube platform looked very suspicious, this scam was spotted. Within the suitcase was some sort of homemade electronic technology, probably based on a Raspberry Pi, which impersonates an actual phone tower.

Loads of people on the tube received texts saying that a parcel had been delivered to their house and to click on a link where they could retrieve it in exchange for a fee.A massive scam targeting a large amount of people. Some were bound to be fooled.

Apparently this scam is called “smishing” , well fraudsters , you were caught so you can “smish off!”

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#HeadlineTherapy Large cliff collapse closes South West Coast Path

Thanks to Ros Tappenden and BBC Online News for the Headline.

I love the South West Coast Path, I’ve walked a few miles on it , mainly in Cornwall. It always makes me feel in awe as I look out into the distance and see basically the sea with nothing between us and America. It just seems so utterly other worldly and to know that since ancient times people have looked over those cliffs too. Or walked on the beaches below, foraging or looking for shells or flotsam.

Unfortunately it will crumble , it will never stay the same. Perhaps that is the beauty of it. I know people have to be kept safe and warned not to go too near the edge and to be aware that there are crumbly bits and sometimes paths need to be closed and rerouted. It’s the very nature of nature and we must accept it. That is why Coastal Path’s are so beautiful, they are temporary.

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#HeadlineTherapy We won’t pay for Windsor state visits, council says

Thanks to Stuart Rust and Patrick O’Hagan and BBC News for the Headline

The cost of three State visits were paid for by Windsor and Maidenhead Council in 2025 and none of that money has been reimbursed to them.

Quite rightly, the local council for the area has said that they will no longer cough up any more dosh after the £350,000 they spent on three high profile visits with celebrities’ attending banquets at Windsor Castle were not reimbursed.

The the up and coming visit of the President of Nigeria would have to be funded from elsewhere. No garden parties for the local councillors this year, then ,to thank them for their efforts . King Charles will have to find someone else to pay for the party.

Funny enough, the Council would rather use the funds they are responsible for, for local services for the people who vote for them. It’s even been raised by the local MP in parliament that the money should be reimbursed, and in true Civil Service fashion , the practical monetary elements have been shoved aside and it’s been said the whole thing is under review and that a number of government bodies should contribute and they would continue playing ping pong with the idea until everyone forgot who was owed what. (they didn’t say that but that is what they mean)

Still surprisingly despite the likes of Celebrities likes of Sir Elton John, Dame Kirstin Scott and Mick Jagger attending for free, well maybe they as well as the King are short of the readies just like us. We are all commoners basically. Still someone has to pay and pay their taxes and council tax too. We all need a break don’t we?

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#HeadlineTherapy Plane ends up in ocean after emergency landing and all 55 people on board survive

Thanks to Sky News for the Headline

A plane , a Fokker 50 with 55 passengers and crew had to do an emergency landing in Somalia and overshot the runway and ended up in shallow waters in the Indian Ocean. Thankfully no one suffered any injuries which is truly miraculous as the wing of the plane snapped off on landing. Well done to the crew for ensuring everyone’s safety.

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