Weird science in Hull and huge vegetables in Harrogate
There are just 200 days to Brexit today. March 29 is the date set for UK to leave the EU but there’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip, so the saying goes and we’ve witnessed more than a few already but as negotiations intensify over the coming weeks, expect more. While the deadline for departure may be the best part of a year away, in reality, there’s little over a month until the EU summit on October 17 and 18, which is when a final agreement is meant to be ready.
Recommendations for changing parliamentary boundaries are expected to be published today. The UK’s four boundary commissions submitted their reviews to government last week. Ministers are expected to publish the findings today. The proposals would cut the number of MPs by 50. With the basic annual salary of an MP being £77,379, it represents a potential saving to the taxpayer of over £3.8m.
The Duke of Cambridge will attend an event to celebrate the Tusk Rhino Trail. The rhino trail is a Londonwide art installation that celebrates the rhino and draws attention to the critical threat facing rhino populations across Africa due to a global poaching crisis. Each of the 21 rhinos that make up the trail has been specially designed and decorated by internationally renowned artists ahead of World Rhino Day on September 22.
Meanwhile, the Duke of York will be on an official visit to Budapest. The programme will include official meetings with The President of Hungary, Janos Ader, and the Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto.
On Saturday, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will turn 34.
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington. President Donald Trump will mark the solemn 17th anniversary of the attacks at a special ceremony in Pennsylvania. There will also be a remembrance event in London, the annual BGC Charity Day. In the 9/11 attacks, 658 friends and colleagues and 61 Eurobroker employees of BGC were lost in the World Trade Center. Celebrities from sport, music, film and TV will assist licensed brokers with multi-million pound deals to raise money for charity.
Robotics and the end of the universe, climate change, the spoken word and UV Yoga - just some of the subjects which will be examined in detail at this year’s British Science Festival in Hull, which begins tomorrow and runs until Friday. Thee will be over 100 events hosted by leading scientists, artists, performers, academics and local community groups. If you’ve ever wondered what it sounds like inside a black hole, what noise a tree makes, how the universe evolved to the present day or even what dogs think, then this could be worth a visit.
Tomorrow, there will be a Zero Emission Vehicle Summit hosted by Government. The focus will be to agree “global support and collaboration that will transform the development of the zero emission vehicle market”.
A splash of colour to round off the week - Friday sees the return of the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground. The three day event is a gardener’s dream, with everything from border planting ideas to a ‘battle of the giants’, in which growers compete to see who has the biggest veg.