La Reine des Metaphores

I do sometimes in ordinary posts but not !! in my poems. Imo that's not what poems are for.

Not sure about this - and I sing in choirs. Also not sure me singing Hoagy Charmichael's Lazy Bones to my father eased his offbuggering. Not at the moment itself nb.

‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmer Exclusive: PM’s outspoken attack on stoppages planned for 17-22 December risks inflaming tensions with medics * Keir Starmer: Resident doctors, a fair deal is on the table. Please do not strike at this moment of crisis for the NHS Keir Starmer has said it is “frankly beyond belief” that resident doctors would strike during the NHS’s worst moment since the pandemic, in remarks that risk inflaming tensions with medics. Writing for the Guardian, the prime minister made an outspoken attack on the strikes planned for 17-22 December for placing “the NHS and patients who need it in grave danger”. Continue reading...

‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmer

12th DEC 1965 THE BEATLES
RUBBER SOUL Began a 42-weeks on 🇬🇧 LP chart. The 2nd Beatles LP to contain only original material.
+ RECORDING RS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWTW...
@guillerm.bsky.social @onelivebadger.bsky.social @noyj.bsky.social @eelaware.bsky.social @dancingmonk.bsky.social

This is a careful, valuable piece of research demonstrating that cuts to non-disability benefits in the 2010s led to more people claiming disability benefits. Notable, though, that extra spending on disability support only undid a very small % of the original savings.

Junior doctors’ strike: most don’t back BMA walkout, poll reveals Only a third want to go on strike from Friday as Wes Streeting accuses the British Medical Association of being ‘out of touch’

www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

👏👏👏

I love that song - Scott Walker does it proud, but if you haven't heard Tom Rush singing it you are missing out. He also wrote it....and what a voice!

Flu effects ‘would be exacerbated’ by ‘unnecessary’ doctors’ strike, says NHS London medical director Is the NHS actually close to collapse? We talk with Dr Chris Streather, who's Medical Director for the NHS in London.

Flu effects ‘would be exacerbated’ by ‘unnecessary’ doctors’ strike, says NHS London medical director
www.channel4.com/news/flu-eff...

Phew!

Farage’s Reform UK attack on the young: austerity revisited Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK Ltd is taking aim at the young over the minimum wage, voting age and mental health support

Farage’s Reform UK attack on the young: austerity revisited

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK Ltd is taking aim at the young over the minimum wage, voting age and mental health support | Mark Cunliffe
@markcunliffe.bsky.social @centralbylines.co.uk

Trump sued by preservationists seeking architecture review over White House ballroom project President Donald Trump has been sued by preservationists seeking an architecture review and congressional approval over his White House ballroom project.

"The National Trust argues that Trump, by fast-tracking the project, has committed multiple violations of the Administrative Procedures Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, while also exceeding his constitutional authority by not seeking congressional approval for a project of this scale."

James O'Brien Daily Daily News Podcast · Updated daily · Welcome to the best bits of James O'Brien's LBC phone-in show. Listen back to all the highlights in a 60-minute bite sized chunk of his show with new episodes ever...

Streeting’s strategy.
Donald Trump’s disgusting racist lies about London & Sadiq Khan & the treasonous Brits cheering him on.
tinyurl.com/4rrn2mkx

Britain was built by innovators - from the Industrial Revolution to the World Wide Web.

And there couldn’t be a better place to HQ Vertical Aerospace than Bristol - the home of supersonic flight.

Brilliant to help celebrate the launch of their electric, vertical take off air taxi!

Fundament.

Agree. That guy seemed to have his beard right up his own fundamental.

What is wrong with librarians? Kind people who like books?

Charlie McCurdy, Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “England’s 1.5 million care workers provide a vital service to the country but are undervalued by society. A new Fair Pay Agreement provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve their lives and avert a deepening staff-shortage crisis. “The Government should get the new body up and running quickly and keep its initial focus on the core issues of pay, progression and training. The new body will also need teeth to ensure that the higher standards are enforced. “A successful Fair Pay Agreement for social care could provide a viable model for workers in other low-paid sectors like warehousing and cleaning. Getting it wrong risks squandering yet another opportunity to improve, rather than run down, social care.”

Adult social care workers provide a vital public service, but this is not reflected in their pay and job conditions.

So, it is welcome that the Government is creating the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body - our latest briefing note looks at how to ensure its success.

➡️ buff.ly/veEOJFN

👩🏻‍🎓 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦!!! £𝟯𝗯𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 ❤️

I’m proud that this Labour government is going to create 50,000 additional places for children with special educational needs (Send) in mainstream schools in England.

It will change lives.📚

See: www.facebook.com/share/p/1Qnk...

Outside Westminster bubble gossip and disgruntled Corbynistas getting their own back, what specifically do people find difficult about a working class man (with flaws) becoming PM?

Ah. Sorry to hear that.

Who or what is this young geezer waving his proverbial about? What does he know about the real world?

The Mayor of London walks along a street with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, accompanied by several officers during an evening patrol.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley stands with 2 Metropolitan Police officers outdoors.

The Mayor of London and Sir Mark Rowley speak with member of the public during a nighttime visit.

Yesterday, I went out with Sir Mark Rowley and local officers to see how they are working with businesses and communities to ensure everyone out and about is safe after dark.

I remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure a safe Christmas and safe 2026 for everyone.

Tory governments spent £325m on free schools that failed or disappeared More than £10bn was committed to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24, compared with £6.8bn for rebuilding existing schools

You’ll hear some pearl clutching from the Tories today. They should’ve invested in SEND or RAAC schools they left to crumble, instead they frittered cash away.

The Tories once claimed to be the party of pragmatism. Today, that mantle belongs to Labour.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Thank you. 🙏 I'm still trying to work out what I was getting at......having the flu may be to do with it..

Chart showing the proportion of social care providers reporting the main cause of staff leaving (left) and main difficult finding new staff (right): England, 2024 When social care providers were asked what the main cause of staff leaving was (the left-hand panel ), over one-third (35 per cent) responded better pay outside of care. Similarly, when care providers were asked about the main difficulty finding new staff, roughly three-in-ten (28 per cent) responded better pay offers outside care (the right-hand panel).

What is contributing to the staffing crisis in adult social care? Social care providers say the main cause is better pay elsewhere.

Learn how the Government can make the proposed Fair Pay Agreement and Adult Social Care Negotiating Body a sucess ➡️ buff.ly/veEOJFN

I am urging people to contribute to this consultation on Cherwell District Council budgets. I am concerned that Banbury Museum may see a reduction in funding from the Council, which would be damaging for our town.

www.cherwell.gov.uk/news/article...

Keep the short ones! There's such a skill in fitting an emotion/ambiguity into so few words.

Love it.....

Mapping Anglo-Saxon London: A Big Update A glimpse of London, 1,000 years past.

Major update to our map of Anglo-Saxon London... we've now added etymologies for each place name, so you can find out what your bit of London used to be called.... and why londonist.substack.com/p/mapping-an...