Free libraries and book exchanges are one of life’s little joys. So we’re sad to say that all book swaps at London Underground stations have been removed.
Apparently, they are a fire hazard. Which is strange, because I travel by Tube, and every station has a little container of free newspapers, the 'Metro', which despite being made of paper, don't appear to be the same risk.
Maybe because TfL employees count as newspaper staff? Who knows?
The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of blocking a whistleblower who repeatedly raised the alarm about carer’s allowance from giving evidence to an independent review of the scandal-hit benefit. The DWP staffer was told by a senior official it was inappropriate to share with the review their knowledge of the inner workings of a system that has become notorious for its often cruel treatment of unpaid carers.
Exactly the sort of thing a review would need to know in order to be effective, in other words.
The review will examine how hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers ended up with huge debts and in some cases a criminal record for mostly minor and accidental breaches of carer’s allowance benefit earnings rules. Approached by the Guardian last month with evidence that officials had rejected requests from individual staff members to make submissions to the review, the DWP said there was “no blanket ban” and it wanted “everyone” to contribute.
Liars all…
However, when the whistleblower, Enrico La Rocca, subsequently reapplied for permission he was told by the DWP’s personnel department that it would not be appropriate for him to give evidence.
And why?
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) general secretary, Fran Heathcote, criticised the DWP for blocking frontline officials from testifying. She said: “It made no sense at all to stop our members at DWP giving evidence to the review. These are the very people the review should be hearing from.” She added: “They are the workers delivering the services and have the evidence the review needs to hear. Stifling their testimony looked like they had something to hide.”
They almost certainly do.
A new survey shows that diners are routinely baffled by items they see on dessert menus. Only 35% of the 2,000 British adults surveyed recognised the term ganache, while only 13% could say what a tuile was.
Moreover, 40% could not define mousse, three-quarters had no idea what a coulis was, and up to 80% would give up if confronted by the word posset.
Who on earth did they ask? I bet they all recognised 'slushie' and 'McFlurry' though!
This ignorance extends to savoury dishes as well. Other surveys have revealed that frequently misunderstood menu terms include terrine (a coarse paté), crudo (raw, basically), lardo (an Italian cured pork product), and en papillote (cooked in a paper parcel).
These are all foreign words, I note. Why ask this, and not English regional delicacies, such as cranachan, or bara brith?
Unless the whole idea was to paint the UK population as unsophisticated yokels to make your readsrship seem well-rounded and give them a sense of superiority and...which paper was this published in again?
Ah...
