In the late-80s Dame Sue Ryder started a local hospice at Thorpe Hall - a Grade I listed building thats now facing serious money problems. She got the place cheap and collected everything from beds to waste-baskets; showing real commitment to help dying patients
The current funding situation looks bad: hospices need same tax breaks as NHS gets (they dont have it now). The care quality difference is clear - hospital deaths happen behind screens in noisy wards while hospice staff can spend more time with patients; giving better pain-control
Good palliative care at the end of our days should not be an option‚ but a given
About dying with dignity‚ Lord Carey (who led Church from 91 to 02) writes that pain relief needs more attention. The debate gets complex when we talk about assisted dying; which some see as kind while others oppose it
A Russia-linked ships actions near Norfolk coast raised eye-brows: they dumped 300 tons of maybe-bad cargo in the sea. The Maritime Agency said it was least-harmful spot - but many dont buy this excuse
Some fun-facts about old-time sports:
- Wigan Grammar had a fives court from 1920s
- Irish towns had handball alleys
- The Kinnaird Cup was for Eton fives players
Heat-pumps discussion got hot: one writer says his works fine but others worry about noise in city areas. A pensioner points out that gas boilers are cheaper quiet and more practical
Cultural clothing debates show interesting sides: Lord Hugo Manners got online hate for Nehru jackets while another writer got nice responses wearing Asian clothes like lungis and Jinnah hats