I swear, Holly, making a face mask is sew difficult
We must stop vulnerable kids being targeted by gangs
Presenting my homemade face covering. Yes, I know it’s an improvement on the usual column pic.
Inspired by Holly Willoughby on This Morning (the woman really could make any old rag look fabulous), I rustled this up from one of hubbie’s old shirts using a sewing machine
I got for Christmas 12 years ago but had never gotten round to removing from the box.
I’d love to tell you it was easy. But it was fiddly, frustrating and involved much swearing.
Hubbie says I should tie a scarf round my mouth instead. Not sure he’s thinking of my safety, to be honest.
The horrifying murder of 14-year-old London schoolboy Jaden Moodie, knocked off his moped and stabbed repeatedly, may seem like a distant crime.
But his suspected involvement with so-called “county lines” dealers is a terrible
Nae hugs, obviously – that’s still not allowed – but you can come into our garden/ back court/washing green/patch of outdoor space of whatever kind and have a short blether at a distance of two metres.
We’ll mark out the safe sitting areas with tape. Bring your own mask, gloves and sanitiser spray.
After 10 weeks of lockdown here at the Big Momma House, we’re beginning to feel like stray dogs in the pound, noses pressed against the window, desperate for attention and a mad runaround slobbering all over people.
The only folk who’ve been able to venture near us have been posties bringing bills, Amazon folk bearing boxes shaped suspiciously like wine bottles and the lesser-spotted supermarket delivery person who deposits shopping bags on the doorstep, then backs away like he’s left us a bomb.
Actual visitors have been in such short supply that we’re struggling to think of people we wouldn’t welcome now. Apart from Jackson Carlaw, leader of the Scottish Tories. He can jog on and irritate some other household.
If the weather holds (and, Phase One, you’ve somehow blessed us with sunshine), we could even throw a barbecue in celebration, though it will be a very small gathering (two households max) and it will have to be over quicker than it traditionally takes the charcoals to catch fire.
Plus, despite having read through the Scottish Government’s fulsome advice (under their “four phases for easing lockdown restrictions”), I’m still not sure we’re actually allowed to share grub.
And we can’t promise that one of the kids won’t sneeze on the rolls.
They’ve done it warning. Vulnerable kids across the UK are being recruited to sell Class A drugs in smaller towns and rural communities.
Last year, Crimestoppers reported a
600 per cent increase in calls.
Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands are being targeted by gangs. Too often kids are seen as “troublemakers” instead of identified as “troubled” and given help.
Jaden was found in a county lines flat
100 miles from home.
He had crack cocaine wraps on him and £325 cash. Police took him home but didn’t involve child exploitation services. Three months later he was dead.
There are now calls to establish a nationwide system to respond to suspected exploitation. It can’t come soon enough.