A CURIOUS MIX OF BRITISH FOLK MUSIC AND AMERICAN POLITICS
The singer of We’ll Meet Again, who entertained British troops in World War Two, has died.
The singer was best known for performing hits such as We’ll Meet Again to troops on the front line in countries including India and Egypt.
Her family said they were “deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers”.
In a statement, they confirmed she died on Thursday morning surrounded by her close relatives.
Source: Forces’ Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn dies aged 103
As re-opening approaches, more and more pubs will be turning to new technology in order to keep staff and customers safe
When Wetherspoons made it possible to order food and drink to your table using only an app, pub-goers’ reaction was mixed. Traditionalists, to the extent that they were aware of the technology, lamented the erosion of the ancient custom of mingling at the bar. Younger customers enjoyed the service’s faceless convenience, revelling in their new ability to order unsolicited plates of peas to faraway friends.
That was 2017, which is three years and several lifetimes ago. During that time, other large pub chains have developed similar apps. Greene King have one; so do Brewdog, O’Neill’s, Harvester, and various other well-known chains. In-house software of this kind costs hundred of thousands of pounds to build, probably millions in some cases, but it is a sound investment [ . . . ]
Summer is near and with that the opportunity for outdoor activities, such as birdwatching. England and London in particular are great places for just that.
You might think that living in a city puts you at a disadvantage for wildlife watching. However, did you know that even in London you can enjoy a spot of birdwatching?
For city-dwelling bird lovers, the UK’s capital can be surprisingly rich in birdlife. Here, we’ll look at some of the best places you can go birdwatching in London.
What better place to go birdwatching than at a nature reserve? London is home to the Wash National Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve in England. You can easily catch a train to Kings Lynn near where the reserve is based.
It is particularly renowned for its range of wildfowl and waders. Expect to see species such as oystercatchers, curfews and Brent geese. As well as birds, the reserve is also home to one of the biggest populations of common seals.
You’ll also find plenty of birdwatching opportunities in London’s parks and open spaces. Even the parks in the centre of London can be a hotspot for bird life.
Regent’s Park is a great example, giving you the chance to see the likes of grey herons, tufted ducks, the red- crested pochard and the grey wagtail. There is even a designated walk you can go on to increase your chances of seeing the most birds on your visit.
You can also spot different bird species in open spaces such as Hampstead Heath and Little Wormwood Scrubs. These open spaces are home to more than 200 different species of birds.
There are a number of wetlands and waterways you can visit in and around London. The Thames is the best place to head to for a spot of birdwatching. Here, you’re likely to see cormorants, ducks and gulls.
You could also head to the Barking Riverside when the tide is low and the mud flats are exposed. Or, why not walk along the capital’s canals or visit an estuary?
These are just some of the best places you can go to experience London’s bird life. However, it’s also possible to spot birdlife on the main streets of the city. Birds such as pheasants, woodcocks and ducks have all been spotted in London’s main high streets. So, wherever you go, there’s a chance you’ll get to see both common and rare bird species.
Source: Best Places To Go Birdwatching Near London In The Summer | Shout Out UK
As scientists at the Jenner Institute prepare for mass clinical trials, new tests show their vaccine to be effective in monkeys.
In the worldwide race for a vaccine to stop the coronavirus, the laboratory sprinting fastest is at Oxford University.
Most other teams have had to start with small clinical trials of a few hundred participants to demonstrate safety. But scientists at the university’s Jenner Institute had a head start on a vaccine, having proved in previous trials that similar inoculations — including one last year against an earlier coronavirus — were harmless to humans.
That has enabled them to leap ahead and schedule tests of their new coronavirus vaccine involving more than 6,000 people by the end of next month, hoping to show not only that it is safe, but also that it works.
The Oxford scientists now say that with an emergency approval from regulators, the first few million doses of their vaccine could be available by September — at least several months ahead of any of the other announced efforts — if it proves to be effective.
Now, they have received promising news suggesting that it might.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana last month inoculated six rhesus macaque monkeys with single doses of the Oxford vaccine. The animals were then exposed to heavy quantities of the virus that is causing the pandemic — exposure that had consistently sickened other monkeys in the lab. But more than 28 days later all six were healthy, said Vincent Munster, the researcher who conducted the test.