What the papers said in the week ending 20 March 2021
As we move into the second year of the Covid-19 Pandemic it is gratifying to see that some progress in righting the Windrush wrongs is being belatedly made: British nationality law reform aims to remove Windrush anomalies | Windrush scandal | The Guardian
The losses consequent upon the pandemic:
- Include aid to poorer countries and the closure of VSO projects in 14 countries: Voluntary Service Overseas set to exit 14 countries after aid budget cut | Voluntary sector | The Guardian
- Closure of well-loved shops – Even the hugely popular Thorntons; Thorntons to close all its UK high street stores putting 600 jobs at risk | Thorntons | The Guardianf
- Thorntons departs the high street, leaving behind childhood memories | Thorntons | The Guardian
- The NHS faces a backlog of work which will require additional funds: Services at risk unless NHS England gets £8bn extra funding within days | NHS | The Guardian
- It is claimed that some loss of life might have been avoided if restrictions had been applied earlier and kept on longer Delaying England’s winter lockdown ’caused up to 27,000 extra Covid deaths’ | Coronavirus | The Guardian
These months have left an indelible mark on our lives, but should we be creating a memorial to them and especially to the lives lost? We need to mark the countless lives Covid has claimed. But how to do it? | Coronavirus | The Guardian
Expenditure:
- Government borrowing has risen to new heights – but still far short of that seen in the 1940s when there was a war to be fought and major changes of how we were to live after it Covid pushes UK government borrowing to record February high | Government borrowing | The Guardian
- Funds are to be used to stockpile nuclear warheads: Cap on Trident nuclear warhead stockpile to rise by more than 40% | Trident | The Guardian
- This is not seen by everyone to be a wise use of resources in our present situation This is a defence of white elephants, not the realm | Defence policy | The Guardian
Other matters:
The Beano and Dennis the Menace endure from the post-war years: Beano hero: Dennis the Menace turns 70 | The Beano | The Guardian
We learn that Neanderthals may have been brutish but their interaction and interbreeding with Homo sapiens was associated with a surge of creativity Neanderthals helped create early human art, researcher says | Archaeology | The Guardian
It is believed that Sperm Whales demonstrated community learning in changing their strategy from that which had been successful when attacked by Orcas but made then easy prey to harpoonists: Sperm whales taught each other how to avoid 19th century whalers’ harpoons | World News | Sky News
The hum of hummingbirds is understood to be a function of the upbeat of their wings Scientists unlock secret of why hummingbirds hum | Biology | The Guardian
Llandudno is set to see more Kashmiri goats on its streets as the rules of lockdown stopped a planned contraceptive project: Welsh goat population rockets after Covid cancels contraception drive | Wales | The Guardian
People are eager to spend on leisure activities and outdoor holidays when restrictions are eased: Britons will go on £50bn spending spree when Covid rules are lifted – report | Consumer spending | The Guardian
- ‘We’re up for it’: RNLI lifeguards prepare for busiest ever summer | UK news | The Guardian
- Meanwhile spending of time and money on indoor games is unhealthily vigorous Lockdown boredom drives UK video games market to £7bn record high | Games | The Guardian
Many people are contemplating different lives and planning to move away from cities to pleasanter environments Cornwall overtakes London as most searched location for UK movers | Housing market | The Guardian
Books continue to offer comfort and education. The vogue for picture books for grown ups is extending the pleasure A Nobel winner turns to picture books: ‘It is a powerful, primeval way of telling a story’ | Books | The Guardian
David Jolley
