What the papers said in the week ending 12 August 2023
The fightback against suffocating spread of new technology is finding voices: Smartphones aren’t the answer for all autistic people | Autism | The Guardian
Affection for loved transport, which works for people of all ages and places, asks for service to be ranked ahead of profit: Where have all the buses gone? Their neglect is an English national failure | John Harris | The Guardian
The cynical destruction of humble, quirky local landmarks will be challenged: Fire engulfs historic pub famed for being wonkiest in Britain | UK news | The Guardian
- Staffordshire police treating fire at Crooked House pub as arson | UK news | The Guardian
- Who ever heard of Himley? Now it is an icon: Why this lament for a burnt-out pub? Is it because Britain seems a bit of a Crooked House these days? | Marina Hyde | The Guardian
Health:
Walking is good for us – whatever the numbers: Walking just 4,000 steps a day can cut risk of dying from any cause, analysis finds | Health | The Guardian
- But best look where you are going: People texting while walking more likely to have accidents, study confirms | Mobile phones | The Guardian
- It is amazing what you learn when you have a grant to research common activities.
Screening for common cancers is effective: Screening programme has prevented 20,000 cases of bowel cancer in England | Cancer | The Guardian
Poor sleep is linked to poor health and early death, and is more common amongst those who are not well off: Britons living in deprived areas have poorer sleep quality, study finds | Sleep | The Guardian
- We could do something about this
Air pollution is reducing the effectiveness of medication for infections: Air pollution linked to rise in antibiotic resistance that imperils human health | Antibiotics | The Guardian
- We could do something about this. But we need the will to do it, and for this to be acted on by governments: Attitudes to the poor are based on a myth | Poverty | The Guardian
Benefit cap punishes children by forcing them into poverty | Benefits | The Guardian
The environment:
We have Earth, Wind and Fire: Hundreds of scouts sickened at World Scout Jamboree due to extreme heatwave: ‘This is the first time in more than 100 years’ (yahoo.com)
- Firefighters battle blaze raging for fourth day in southern Portugal | Portugal | The Guardian
- Hawaii fires: a visual guide to the explosive blaze that razed Lahaina | Hawaii fires | The Guardian
- Storm Hans causes havoc in Norway with heaviest rain in 25 years forecast | Norway | The Guardian
Are these forces we can do something about?
The cost of everything:
Councils are stretched beyond coping with basic needs: Yorkshire council warns of budget crisis as deficit reaches £47m | Local government | The Guardian
Young people are compromised in planning their education. Families will help them. Geography poses additional difficulties for some: University is out of reach for poor rural students | Universities | The Guardian
Another household name looks likely to be lost to competition: Wilko suspends home deliveries as it holds talks on rescue deal | Retail industry | The Guardian
Prisons:
We incarcerate more people per population than other European countries. Conditions in our prisons for residents of all ages, are already a scandal – and getting worse: The Observer view: Britain’s brutal and overcrowded prisons pose a risk to us all | Observer editorial | The Guardian
- We could do something about this
But there is hope in various guises:
Time and people will help: Where do you turn when your grief feels like too much? | Bereavement | The Guardian
Hazardous materials can be turned to safe use: US scientists turn old plastic into soap after fireside inspiration | Plastics | The Guardian
The beauty of natural events comes free: ‘Like a ball of fire’: Perseids meteor shower to peak this weekend | Astronomy | The Guardian
Older people will adventure: Hiker who died in Glen Coe mountain tragedy named | Scotland | The Guardian
And some will do good works in their latest years: Keith Neal obituary | Teaching | The Guardian
David Jolley. Chair of Christians on Ageing, in a personal capacity.
