THE EVER-PRESENT DANGER WOMEN HAVE TO FACE EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES
WHEN I was 14, I was attacked as I walked home from school. A bloke put his arm around my neck and dragged me off the road into some undergrowth. He was strong and I was terrified. But I screamed and struggled and managed to get away because he heard people approaching.
If they hadn’t – I know he could have overpowered me. I was in my school uniform and it was broad daylight and while it didn’t wreck my life it did change forever the way I behaved around men. Back then it made me change my route to school. It made me conscious of who might be behind me. It made me carry my keys in my hand so I could poke out the eyes of anyone who came at me.
It made me conscious that even in our small community there was an ever-present and unseen danger lurking for girls and women.
And nothing’s changed. I still do all of those things – and more.Which is why the horrific case of Sarah Everard, 33, has hit me and millions of other women so hard.Why can’t we walk home from a friend’s house without being in fear of our lives?Why is the response to violence against women always that women have to change their behaviour – not that we have to chase down the perverts who hurt us?
Sarah’s family are devastated at the loss of their beautiful daughter who was murdered because she dared to walk home from a friend’s house at 9.30pm.
My heart goes out to her devastated family and to all the other families who have lost their daughters to perverted men who see women only as prey. The law has to stop them. Not with apologies, not with “talk” but with action.
RAT LEAST there have been no accusations of sharp practice in Oprah’s securing of her world exclusive with “Haz and Megs”. She got it fair and square; the veteran inquisitor has never been accused of dodgy dealings to land an interview. Unlike our own Martin Bashir, who continues to wallow in the mire of investigations into how he persuaded Princess Diana to grant him a face-to-face encounter for Panorama in 1995. It is alleged Bashir commissioned a graphic artist to mock-up bank statements; they purported to show Diana’s advisers were being paid to spy on her for MI5, and pass information to certain newspapers.
Total baloney, but enough to convince Diana’s brother, Charles, to effect an introduction to his sister. The rest is (tarnished) broadcast history.
Now the Met have said that after assessing the evidence, they won’t pursue the matter. But Earl Spencer’s former head of security, heavily implicated in the alleged faked documents, is now launching his own private prosecution. If he’s successful, Bashir could go to jail for fraud.
JWHEN I was a reporter for Anglia TV, a reliable staple on a quiet day could be unearthed in the region’s potato industry. “Judy,” my boss would call, “I want a two-minute film tonight on the humble spud. Get digging, haha!” “The humble spud” is what he always called potatoes; I do too, to this day. It’s just got a lot humbler, because Tesco is selling muddy spuds for the first time since the 1970s.
A trial began in more than 200 stores last week. It’s nothing to do with a retro look to the days before spuds, carrots, parsnips and other veg were scrubbed to supermarket perfection. It’s for cutting food waste. Leaving soil on blocks out light and slows decay, almost doubling their shelf life. Tesco will adjust scales so we only pay for spud, not mud.
SOARING pet ownership during the pandemic is putting pressure on food supplies for our furry friends.
Some 3.2 million households have gone animal crackers by welcoming an animal into their homes in lockdown.
But stores are struggling to keep up with demand for their grub.
The UK now has an estimated 17million pet-owning homes, said the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association.
Supermarkets are asking customers to be patient as they resolve supply issues due to the “unprecedented rise”. Sainsbury’s bosses apologised to regular buyers for a shortage of dog and cat food pouches this week.
And are encouraging shoppers to buy tinned or dry varieties.
Morrisons said it might not have “full availability for several months” but assured shoppers it has enough stock. Waitrose is also running low, while Tesco has seen strong demand.
The PFMA is celebrating the boom in new additions for companionship during the long national lockdowns but flagged up the need to be aware of what the responsibility entails.
Deputy chief executive Nicole Paley said: “Introducing a new pet to a household during Covid times can have repercussions or create unexpected difficulties.”
More than a third of owners described having a pet as like having a baby, while about a fifth of families with children said training the new arrival was challenging.
Five per cent who bought a pet during the pandemic have already given it up. But 74 per cent said it had helped their mental health during periods of isolation. People under 35 years old made up nearly 60 per cent of new pet owners.