No apology to make for Leo Varadkar ‘sexuality tweet’, says Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley, the Sinn Féin TD, said that his record on LGBTI issues “stands for itself”Brian Stanley, the Sinn Féin TD, has said he has “no apology to make” over a tweet in 2017 that referenced Leo Varadkar’s sexuality. Mr Stanley, chairman of the Dáil public accounts committee, has rejected accusations of homophobia over the tweet he sent when Mr Varadkar, now tánaiste, was elected Fine Gael leader. It read: “Yippee 4 d tory. U can do what u like in bed but don’t look 4 a pay rise the next morning.”The post has resurfaced following a controversy involving another tweet sent by Mr Stanley, celebrating historical IRA attacks on the British Army. Speaking at the launch of a committee report yesterday, Mr Stanley said that his record on campaigning on LGBTI issues “stands for itself”.
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:05 UTC
Fellowship of stars in fight for JRR Tolkien’s £4.5m home
With seven bedrooms and more than 3,300 square feet of accommodation, the former Oxford home of JRR Tolkien could not be more different from Bag End, the small hobbit-hole where Bilbo Baggins lived. Nevertheless, the property at No 20 Northmoor Road has just as special a place in the heart of Lord of the Rings fans, who are coming together to try to turn it into a literary centre in honour of the author. Sir Ian McKellen, Annie Lennox, Martin Freeman and Lord Williams of Oystermouth are among a group of celebrities and luminaries who are leading a campaign to raise £4.5 million for the project. The idea is to use the home, where Tolkien lived from 1930 to 1947 and wrote The Hobbit and
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:04 UTC
Coronavirus in Scotland: Anne Glover rails at Brexit link to vaccine approval
Professor Dame Anne Glover challenged the assertion that Britain’s departure from the EU was a factorOne of Scotland’s most eminent scientists has condemned UK ministers’ repeated attempts to link the UK’s fast-track registration of the coronavirus vaccine to Brexit. Professor Dame Anne Glover, president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, corrected claims by Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary, that the UK would have had to wait for European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval of the vaccine if Britain had not left the EU. Mr Jack joined a growing roster of UK ministers linking the speed of approval of the vaccine to Brexit this morning. Yesterday, Matt Hancock, the UK health secretary, told Times Radio that the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products regulatory Agency (MHRA) did not have to go “at the pace of the Europeans…because of Brexit”. Gavin Williamson, the
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:04 UTC
Where to buy property in Paris, France
Property prices in the French capital have plateaued this yearAs Ernest Hemingway used to say, if you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris, the city (its “moveable feast”) stays with you for the rest of your life. “Paris is an amusement park,” says Richard Pool-Jones, 51, before adding ironically: “I wish everyone from London could just move to Paris.”The Walton-on-Thames-born rugby player, who in 1998 played for the England national team, moved to France in the early 1990s after watching a film in which the actress Emmanuelle Béart was taking a shower. Covid-19 has had a big impact on the French property market ALAMY“But I was easily distracted then,” he says with a laugh, adding he went to study French and stayed for the food — and the wine. Pool-Jones moved to Paris in 1997, where he became vice-president and later coach
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
What’s on TV and radio tonight: Friday, December 4
For full TV listings for the week, see thetimes.co.uk/tvplannerViewing guide, by James JacksonWaterhole: Africa’s Animal OasisBBC Two, 9pmSo much TV natural history is now pitched at the orchestra-crashing end of the scale with a doom-laden environmental message to them that it’s a relief when a series comes along that simply shows you animals going about their business without any tragic subtext. Take Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis, which offers some Friday-evening wind-down TV as Chris Packham, Ella Al-Shamahi and a BBC film crew discover what happens with the wildlife when you build a waterhole in the middle of their patch. They’ve done this in the Tanzanian plains where ever-rolling cameras witness the comings and goings of warthogs, leopards etc across three
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Convatec is responding to treatment
Colostomy bags, catheters, dressings and creams for chronic wounds. And Convatec has made extremely hard work of its business of supplying medical products to those in need almost from the moment that it floated just more than four years ago. While the group has been a long time in the recovery ward it has been making progress. It may not be the stuff of sensation but its share price is quietly creeping back towards the value it had at listing. Convatec was created inside the American drugs group Bristol Myers Squibb in 1978 and, after several private-equity backed acquisitions, it listed on the stock market in October 2016 at 225p a share.
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Dublin firefighters on mission to plant native species across Ireland
Neil McCabe, left, Damian Bligh, centre, and Stephen O’Reilly are to plant 50,000 native Irish trees over the next yearThree firefighters are on a lifesaving mission to revive Ireland’s wild forests — with the help of old dance floors. Neil McCabe, Stephen O’Reilly and Damian Bligh, of Grown Forest, have bought parcels of land across the country to plant with 50,000 native Irish trees that will be guaranteed for ten generations and can be bought as presents for €25. The cards sent to those who receive the green gift will be framed with wood from long-gone dance halls, still bearing revellers’ stiletto and heel marks. Neil McCabe shows off some of the framed cards CONOR MCCABE/PAMr McCabe, 43, from Rush in Dublin, said the project aimed to make Ireland “wild again” and widen biodiversity. “This is a labour of love for us and we’re asking people to gift a native Irish tree, either to
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
‘Europa League does not motivate them’ – José Mourinho berates Tottenham Hotspur players
Bale scored from the spot on the stroke of half-time to give Tottenham an equaliser that their performance barely meritedJosé Mourinho questioned whether his fringe Tottenham Hotspur players have the motivation to play in the Europa League after they twice let an undeserved lead slip in clinching a place in the knockout stages. Mourinho said he noticed a similar issue in the group stage of the competition when in charge of Manchester United, adding: “I feel from my experience that some of the players feel that they shouldn’t be here.”Tottenham were lacklustre from the start but still managed to score three. However, after conceding the same number they need to beat Antwerp on Thursday to win group J and avoid meeting a club from the Champions League in the knockout stages. Mourinho only singled out Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Son Heung-min for praise.
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Buy the contents of Aynhoe Park, a legendary celebrity party house in Oxfordshire
Where can you see a white stag wearing a wristwatch, a dinosaur skull and a couple of caryatids from the Acropolis? Until January the answer is Aynhoe Park, a sumptuous chunk of 17th-century architecture in Oxfordshire, with gardens by Capability Brown and neoclassical interiors designed at the beginning of the 19th century by Sir John Soane. The Palladian stately home has for the past 14 years been a magnet for stars of film, music and fashion, the location for bashes such as Jade Jagger’s wedding, Matthew Williamson’s 40th birthday party and Noel Gallagher’s 50th. Its fantastical interiors — think Lewis Carroll meets Indiana Jones — have also been a backdrop to family life for its owners James and Sophie Perkins, and their children, Beau, 13,
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Supermarket sweep raises taxing issue
Rarely has a supermarket trolley dash been such a blast, not least for Rishi Sunak. Tot it up and that’s a £1.82 billion till receipt for the Treasury. First, that his corona business rates holiday was a hopelessly targeted bit of policy. And, second, that in this Amazon age the government can’t keep faffing about with business rates reviews: an issue also driven home by much of the high street keeling over, lately Arcadia and Debenhams. Yes, it’s understandable that bad policy gets made in a crisis.
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Coronavirus in Ireland: Exhausted and unpaid student nurses ‘are being exploited’
Jodie Milne, 21, said student nurses and midwives were "over stressed" and "burning out" in their placements, especially during the Covid pandemicStudent nurses are being exploited while on placement in hospitals due to lack of pay and are burnt out by the pandemic, a young worker has said. On Wednesday the government voted against a motion to pay student nurses and midwives. It would have reinstated the healthcare assistance rate of €14 an hour, ended student nurse fees and allowed the HSE to recruit more nurses. A rate of €14 an hour was introduced during the first wave of Covid-19 for healthcare assistants (HCA), including student nurses on their final-year internships. Other nursing students on unpaid placements were offered a HCA
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
‘Roman Abramovich was a friend as well as an owner’
It feels a little incongruous to describe the imposing defender that is Branislav Ivanovic as an orphan fawn and even more surreal to speak to the West Bromwich Albion centre back over Zoom and call him Bambi. That, though, is how a large section of football lovers regard the former Chelsea player since a famous post-match interview with Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves. Chelsea had just qualified for the 2012 Champions League final after a thrilling semi-final second leg away to Barcelona and Shreeves did not know if Ivanovic had definitely been booked at the Nou Camp — so he asked him live on air. When the defender confirmed he had been cautioned, Shreeves told him that he would miss the final. The Serb blinked, seemingly
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Court Circular: December 3, 2020
Clarence House3rd December, 2020The Prince of Wales this morning held a Meeting with Mr Imran Khan (Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan) via telephone. His Royal Highness afterwards held a Meeting for Waitrose Duchy Organic via video link. Their Royal Highnesses afterwards visited the 100 Club, Century House, 100 Oxford Street, London W1. Kensington Palace3rd December, 2020The Duke of Cambridge, Commodore-in-Chief, Submarines, this morning received Royal Navy submariners who are part of the Ceremonial Guard at Windsor Castle. St James’s Palace3rd December, 2020The Earl of
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
Are house raffles too good to be true?
A fortnight ago, Ian Garrick won a £1.15 million house in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, after paying £10 for 15 entries in a raffle raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Four years off retirement, Ian, a 56-year-old civil servant from Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire, entered the competition on a whim after seeing a Facebook advert. He lost his wife, Julie, to breast cancer five years ago, so an added bonus was the ability to support a cancer charity through the raffle. Ian plans to sell the four-bedroom house so he can make a fresh start with his three sons in a bigger place nearer to home. “A new house and new experience is exactly what we need,” he says.
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC
The pet dog nuisance
From The Times, December 4, 1920We have received a number of letters complaining of the nuisance caused by the growing habit of taking pet dogs into theatres and restaurants. As a rule, the culprits are women, and the dogs are animals of the variety that is broadly described as “toy”. Apparently there is no law forbidding the taking of animals into such places, but until recently there was an unwritten rule that a woman who wished to dine in public or visit a theatre, should do so without her dog. Now that rule is frequently disregarded. Attendants, both at restaurants and theatres, have very definite orders that no dogs are to be admitted, but either their hearts are soft or their eyesight is weak,
Source:The Times
December 04, 2020 00:00 UTC