Monthly Archives: July 2020

Wrexham doctor speaks of personal battle with COVID-19 and how the disease robbed him of seeing his dying father – Wrexham.com

Posted: July 5, 2020 at 10:01 am

A senior doctor today told of his personal battle with Covid-19 and how the diseaserobbed him of seeing his dying father.

Wrexham Maelor respiratory consultant Dr Stephen Kelly revealed how most of his colleagues became infected with coronavirus and risked respiratory failure and death, simply for doing their job as they battled the pandemic.

And he told how unreliable tests meant in the early weeks we moved many false negative patients to safe areas where they were likely to haveinfected other patients.

The British Medical Association Welsh Consultants Committee member also issued a stark message about funding, saying he didnt know how the public had put up with the level of NHS service over the last 30 years.

Sat in his office Dr Kelly nodded to a window to his left as he explained how his father Gary, 77, had been ill for some time and lay in a ward just a few hundred yards away.

He said his father had not contracted the virus but it stopped Dr Kelly from being able to visit up until his death in May.

He said: I can pretty well see the building he was in from here. Its not a place I normally go to, so literally he spent a month, month and a half just a few hundred yards from my office.

I would literally walk past the ward going to other parts of the hospital. I didnt see him until he passed away I got there too late for him ultimately. Thats sad but its an experience lots of people have had.

I suppose its hard whenyoure walking past the ward but its not easy when youre at home and cant come anywhere near the hospital that experience is very tricky for people.

Dr Kelly told how staff quickly had to learn how to don and doff PPE from colleagues who had worked with Ebola and be fit tested for face masks as they ran up to five wards at the height of the crisis.

He revealed how early swab testing of patients was not as reliable as they would have liked.

We learned as patients came in, so some things we could have done better with hindsight, he said.

We initially did not know how sensitive the swab tests were and in the early weeks we moved many false negative patients to safe areas where cross infection then likely occurred.

Now, if we suspect Covid-19, we swab and swab again.

He said the disease was unlike normal influenza and staff became good at spotting Covid patients.

He said: We could see those at risk of being ventilated on the day they came in, but I was caught out by several patients who had been very ill seeming to get better for a couple of days to then suddenly crash in the now recognised cytokine storm and need ITU.

I learned not to be reassured until seeing 3-4 days of improvement.

Dr Kelly said he had to make difficult calls to people but then felt guilty because people were so nice to him. Two of those calls stood out, he said.

I cant forget telling a soldier just leaving his house to help build a rainbow hospital that his father was not likely to make it to the end of the day, and one to an elderly lady to tell her that her husband was deteriorating when I knew her son was also ventilated on ITU and at serious risk, Dr Kelly said.

Most of his colleagues caught the virus as they treatedpatients with many medical staff feeling there was not enough PPE to go round initially.

Dr Kelly said national PPE guidance matched the stock they had rather than what they needed to be safe.

He added: The false belief of safe patient areas filled with those early false negative patients led to inadequate protections for staff and close working conditions likely spread the virus among us quickly.

Many of us faced the very real risk of respiratory failure and death, simply for doing our job.

Thankfully my wife and I recovered after a few quite unpleasant days and our two children had no symptoms despite high exposure.

However he said the way the service got things done, in a way hed never seen before filled him with hope the NHS can work in a better and faster way, with more funding from those who hold the purse strings.

Dr Kelly, who has been at Wrexham Maelor for 16 years, pulled no punches about lack of NHS funding.

He said: Before Covid-19 we lacked staff, beds, were swamped with patient numbers and my actual take home pay was less per day than 16 years ago when I was still at the bottom of the salary scale.How we will be able to function with Covid-19 still here and needing so much more working space to allow safe practice and let alone catch up with months of inaction will be the real hard work.

So at the next election perhaps clap a door stepping politician in the face to wake them up to provide the funds and allow a service the country can really applaud.

I dont think its terribly politically incorrect for me to say you go to hospitals, were not flush with beds, were not flush with staff.

Being completely apolitical, I dont understand how the British public has put up with the kind of level of service in the NHS that they have for the last 30 years.

By Jez Hemming BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme)

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Ephemerisle is Burning Man on boats in the Sacramento River Delta – San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: at 10:00 am

Id just finished chopping up a watermelon with a dull hatchet on the wing of a floating platform called Siren Island when a party boat named The Entanglement motored over to offload a group of half-naked passengers.

Guests of Siren Island, a two-tiered wooden isle affixed with four spindly maple tree branches, were relaxing in the late-afternoon sun on the calm waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. They took turns plunging their hands into a steel basin of black lagoon mud then spreading it on one anothers skin limbs, torsos and faces. The dozen or so passengers aboard The Entanglement had spotted the action from across the channel and were eager to indulge themselves.

Permission to come aboard? one hollered.

It was about 5 p.m. on a cloudless day at the height of summer one of the last days of the annual weeklong floating festival known as Ephemerisle. The event, which just concluded its tenth year, draws a menagerie of watercraft and makeshift rafts to a remote corner of the delta for what is, depending on whom you ask, a weeklong art party, a spiritual retreat from earthbound society, a social experiment in self-governance or all of the above.

One longtime Ephemerisle-goer, Adam Katz, described it in an email: The gathering is all of the inconvenience of Burning Man, plus the risk of drowning.

At the center of Ephemerisle (pronounced eh-FEM-er-ile) was a one-of-a-kind craft, planned on land then assembled on the water and housing dozens of grungy delta campers. It was the multilevel island called Elysium, a compendium of barges, docks, platforms and pontoons all anchored and lashed together into a 3,000-square-foot Frankenmarvel of aquatic engineering. Among its amenities were an outdoor kitchen with gas grills and running water, a living room area replete with fireplace and antler mount, sleeping platforms loaded with camping tents and, to one side in a neat row, four orange portable toilets.

Off one end of Elysium, across a 20-yard floating plywood track, was a massive black tugboat covered in camping tents, the sides of its hull draped with tractor-size rubber tires. Another short dock led to a row of boats tethered in a solid floating block. There were smaller, independent islands of various forms with fun names like the Washed Up Yacht Club, DIYsland and Siren. But Elysium was the event hub, the sun around which the Ephemerisle solar system orbited.

There is no central leadership at Ephemerisle, no entry fee or sign-up sheet, and no admission tickets.

Theres this roll-up-your-sleeves, were-just-gonna-build-it attitude that shines through here, said Tom W. Bell, a law professor at Chapman University in Orange County and author who attended Ephemerisle the past two years. Its a very Silicon Valley ethos: Were just gonna do this. Its everywhere here.

The people who put together the islands arent just building a temporary respite. Many Ephemerisle participants view the event as an evolving experiment in competitive governments that could serve as proof of concept for a future in which human civilization migrates into the ocean. To them, each gathering represents an opportunity to inch toward a new vision of society.

The island of Elysium at Ephemerisle in 2019.

Early on, I was informed that the founding principles of Ephemerisle were long lost, and the only surviving rule from the events first years is the most important: No Dying.

The area of the delta where the event takes place is overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard and San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office and patrolled by local police boats. For several years including this year authorities have been called to respond to medical emergencies (in my reporting, I didnt hear about any deaths at the event), but by and large, the floating colony has maintained a strong measure of self-reliance, a trait hardcoded into the events DNA.

Ephemerisle was founded in 2009, the brainchild of an ex-Google engineer named Patri Friedman (grandson of the late Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman), as a small-scale trial run of a concept called seasteading. A year earlier, with funding from tech mogul Peter Thiel, Friedman had founded the Seasteading Institute, an advocacy and research group that consults with governments around the world on creating new jurisdictions.

Imagine a future of floating man-made island-states, each independently governed and economically self-sustained. A person could select from a range of options on where to pledge citizenship, based on their taste for that colonys philosophy and lifestyle. That was the genesis of Ephemerisle.

The original intention was: Hey, we want to make new countries on the ocean, Friedman said. That sounds really hard. What if we can find an incremental path? What if we start a festival on the ocean where people get together for a week and live under different systems?

But launching full-fledged atolls on the rollicking Pacific would have demanded a level of engineering savvy and, in Ephemerisle parlance, saltiness that participants just didnt have. So Friedman and a large group of friends settled on an out-of-the-way estuary a short drive from San Francisco where currents are chill, access is easy and boat traffic is minimal. Then they started building.

Seren JV Elston (top) and two friends aboard Siren Island at Ephemerisle in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Seren JV Elston (top) and two friends aboard Siren Island at Ephemerisle in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Seren JV Elston (top) and two friends aboard Siren Island at Ephemerisle in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Seren JV Elston (top) and two friends aboard Siren Island at Ephemerisle in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Ephemerisle festival is Burning Man on boats in the Sacramento River Delta

The learning curve was steep that first year, Friedman said. He built a small wooden pyramid out of hardware-store materials, buoyed it with empty water jugs, stuck a motor on one side, strapped on a life jacket and set sail. But there was so much drag that the thing barely moved. After a while puttering along, he got bored, tried climbing one of the pyramid pillars and flipped over.

I swam to the shore, Friedman said. I had my cell phone in a waterproof bag and called for rescue and they brought me in.

Other participants fared better, and Friedman spent the week on a houseboat. In a short video documentary of that first year, you can see glimmers of unique crafts and a community spirit taking shape. Still, the end result a collection of houseboats and some rickety wood structures was a far cry from the grandiose ideal of a floating libertarian Waterworld.

I am not entirely certain I can see the throughline between this and the ultimate end seasteading goal of independent freeholds out in international waters, Brian Doherty, an early Ephemerisle participant, said in the documentary. Seasteading, to be viable moving forward, has to have all of the aspects of a human civilization. The most important aspect of which is it has to be productive, not merely consumptive.

Friedman officially gave up on the event a year later to focus on the Seasteading Institute. But the seed had been planted, and Ephemerisle has carried on without Friedman at the helm. (He has attended for fun several times since then.)

The gathering has shape-shifted each year since, depending on who shows up and what creations they bring.

Ephemerisle founder Patri Friedman floats on a homemade pyramid raft at the inaugural Ephemerisle event in 2009.

Dubbing the event Burning Man on water wouldnt be quite fair, although there is crossover between the two communities, a similar bohemian aesthetic and a certain appeal among alternative thinkers and audacious engineers. Its less a gathering of seasoned sailors (though there are some delta rats) than a weeklong DIY raft-up of free-spirited city dwellers in funky outfits. Self-expression and its accoutrements are rampant.

Toward the end of the festival in July, I spent a day exploring the gathering on a Jet Ski. It takes place at the tip of Mandeville Point, about 15 minutes (give or take) from Korths Pirates Lair Marina, south of Isleton. Unlike the setting at Burning Man, Ephemerisle is within easy reach of civilization. While launching my boat, I spotted festivalgoers loading up on water jugs and bags of ice at a local shop. More waited for a ferry pickup from a person at the event. A small group loaded a barge with art supplies and building materials, including a small maple tree in a wooden planter box. One woman in the group planned to install it in a buoy and set it free on the delta.

Bounding through the channels, the gathering wasnt hard to spot. I throttled down to cut my wake and take in the scene.

On one motor yacht, people took turns diving off the high bulwark. A man in a small skiff cruised the channel on a gust of wind. Someone had fashioned an old RV shell into a small houseboat. On the black tugboat, a man in a Speedo played what sounded like a recorder while a shipmate on deck behind him fumbled around in a VR headset, arms outstretched. Sunbathers lazed about. Many people were napping in houseboats or below decks, avoiding the sun and recovering from the previous nights party. A long black craft called Venom Sound Ship made endless loops through the fractured colony of boats, spouting dance music.

Several people I spoke to heard about the event through the Burning Man community. Some, like Tom W. Bell, are compelled by the seasteading element. Others, like Venom Sound Ship captain Scott Rizzo, regularly appear at maritime events around California. A few stumbled upon it and were intrigued enough to stick around.

Martha Esch, a tan woman moored on the shore of the channel in her cabin cruiser, first attended Ephemerisle three years ago after learning about the gathering while attending a nearby Fourth of July fireworks show. Several young people from the Bay Area I spoke to learned about Ephemerisle via Facebook.

One foursome on a houseboat had never heard of the event but happened upon it during their vacation in the delta and wound up hanging around for the spectacle.

We have binoculars, so weve been keeping ourselves busy, said Sandy Carter, calling across the water from the rear deck of the boat, where she and three friends were sipping cocktails and playing cards. Someone had motored over to them when they arrived and explained the gist of the gathering. Most of us dont know what Burning Man means but well go home and look it up on our phones, Carter said.

About 50 yards away, a couple dove off the rear of a boat and began swimming across the channel to Elysium, where an ad hoc presentation forum was getting under way. A handful of people busied themselves preparing Siren Island to receive guests while an enormous freighter coasted across the channel just south of the gathering.

Overall, the attitude was live and let live. Some people had been living the life all week, others were new arrivals, just in time for the closing party. Boaters helped each other with building projects and resupplies and were generous with invitations to host visitors. Katz, the longtime festivalgoer, summed up the vibe to me in an email: If they came for Ephemerisle, theyre part of Ephemerisle.

Ephemerisle founder Patri Friedman.

The event in July would have felt fractured and unmoored if not for the gravitational pull of Elysium, the big island at the center of the gathering.

While most boats at the festival kept their captains and maybe a small handful of guests, Elysium was responsible for boarding and feeding dozens of campers for as long as a week. That kind of operation doesnt come together without careful planning and, above all, rules. For that, the island represented the closest embodiment of the seasteading ideal upon which Ephemerisle was founded.

To me, rules are to Ephemerisle what art is to Burning Man, Friedman said. He called the process of forming cohesive group identities and drawing parameters around acceptable conduct and behavior Ephemerisles artistic spirit.

All of those challenges thats the heart of the festival, Friedman said. Some people will get it and be enthusiastic, and some people will ignore it and party.

Tom W. Bell is the former. His book, Your Next Government?,is an account of how special jurisdictions may come to replace nation states. He has consulted on seasteading proposals in French Polynesia and elsewhere. I want to be involved in this experiment in governance, Bell said. I want to see how it happens in this highly decentralized, truly voluntary environment.

He signed up to work as a guide on Elysium at night, during party time. The basic job description: patrol the island, hand out flashlights and whistles to guests who may need them, and make sure no one hurts themselves. Its risk mitigation, he said.

Bell worked in tandem with a greeter, who walked new arrivals through initiation and presented them with documents to sign which focus in part on the importance of enthusiastic consent among people on the island and handed them a wrist band. Its really border control, Bell said. We have to protect our boundaries so no one comes and hurts the people we have there.

(I couldnt get a firmer read on the inner workings of Elysium because of one of the islands core principles: No Media.)

Previously, the area where the greeter met new arrivals was called the immigration station. Some people were questioned about consent in a way that felt like interrogation, Katz wrote in an email. It broadened the divide between islands and made some people feel very unwelcome. Elysium later dropped the immigration station name. Arrivals this year were greeted at a welcoming station.

At one point during his stay this year, Bell encountered a greeter in what looked to be a heated exchange over the islands documentation with a woman whod just arrived. He sat down to help ease the tension, patting the greeter on the back. I want them to see he has people on his side, and I say to him, Youre doing right here. Youre protecting the people who are taking the huge risks to put this place together, Bell said. After that, the woman and her partner signed the paperwork.

I dont know if that helped. But I think thats how governance works here, Bell said. Its not about goose-stepping these people off the barge. Lets do this in a gentle, sociable way."

One of the things I love about this is it plays out, on a very small scale, the issues we deal with on a national scale, Bell said. Who does government perfectly? No one. If humans are involved, its going to be a mess.

The floating festival of Ephemerisle takes place each year at Mandeville Point near Isleton in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The festival in 2019.

A stream of dance beats flowed over the warm delta channel as The Entanglement, loaded with passengers and outfitted with a makeshift DJ booth, made its way toward Siren Island.

Boaters are taught to dock by lining up their bow parallel to the docking platform, approaching slowly, then swinging in their stern. But The Entanglement approached the low bow of Siren Island head-on, landing with a hard thud and crunch of party-boat metal grating against the islands redwood planks.

Hey! Serena JV Elston, Siren's creator, hollered at The Entanglement. She turned to me. This is the s I hate.

In no time, the boatload of partiers had hopped onto the islands flat nose, straining the ballast of the pontoons supporting Siren and causing the island to pitch and yaw. The islands wings began taking on water, house music from The Entanglement playing over the commotion.

Elston, a woman with wild wavy brown hair and wearing a blue bathing suit, turned to the small crowd, instructing them to spread out and distribute their weight. The Entanglement shifted into reverse, ripping a plank off the island with a loud crack.

OK, time for you to leave! Elston yelled to the skipper, a blond man with headphones around his neck. You dont even have bumpers, dude!

Many, if not most, Ephemerislers live full-time on land, so inter-vessel visitations can have a bumper-boats quality. Making human life happen on the water is a fundamental challenge of the event, and without proper instruction, Ephemerisle participants muddle through on messy experience.

In hosting visitors to Siren Island nonstop, Elston was keenly aware of that knowledge gap. She pointed to a cleat at my feet tangled in a thin silver chain that a visitor had attached with a small combination lock to secure his kayak. This is exactly what Im talking about, Elston said. What the f is that?

A man with curly hair named Adam replied: Its people bringing their terrestrial s with them.

People build Siren Island at Ephemerisle in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta while a cargo ship passes in the background.

Whether Ephemerisle is growing or shrinking is tough to say. There are no ticket sales or census numbers, and while longtimers say there was a big drop-off several years ago when the local houseboat rental industry folded, numbers appear to have bounced back a bit. Best guess? Its roughly stable, with at least a few hundred participants each year.

In many ways, it has come to inhabit the purpose assigned by its creator: a hodgepodge of flotsam and philosophy that amasses at the same time and place each summer, with certain communities gaining strength and stability while neglected ones atrophy. It draws people who are curious and audacious enough to give themselves over to a communal experience with no central leadership. Your safety net is your neighbors.

Yes, there are glow sticks, tents, onesies, didjeridoos, psychedelics, dubstep, mohawks, fishnets, tattoo stickers, cuddle puddles, pirate flags, dreadlocks, gurus, Buddhists, DJs, Buddhist-DJs and armchair libertarians galore. Why wouldnt there be?

Theres also live improvisational music sets, collaborative art projects, ad hoc engineering solutions, presentation forums, deep conversations, communal sunset howlings, bonds forged and a constant swirl of innovative ideas and institutional wisdom.

Some people I interviewed think the spirit of Ephemerisle is dead or irrelevant, the core principles rendered moot, the excitement of venturing into unchartered waters neutralized. To others, its alive and intact, buzzing with activity and brimming with potential. But cultural phenomena are fluid and amorphous, and a persons perspective on their potency and authenticity depends on the timing and circumstances of an individuals point of entry. Whats clear is that the experience is special to everyone who goes whether thats to party or to dabble in low-level world-building.

In my short time there, I found that I was most happy when I was contributing. Hacking away at the watermelon under the warm sun on Siren Island, ferrying a friendly stranger over to Elysium, sharing information about the event with the people I encountered. Everyone had an opinion, everyone was trying to figure Ephemerisle out what it was, what it is, and what it could one day become.

***

Early on my first day at Ephemerisle, before the snafu with The Entanglement, I jet-skied over to Siren Island to say hello to Elston. Reclining on the bow was a pale, naked woman with long wavy ginger hair and gray eyes Botticellis Venus, I thought. My approach was too fast and before I could maneuver Id set the nose of my boat on a collision course with one of Sirens wings.

Thump.

A few strangers on the island shot dirty looks my way. Heat flashed into my cheeks and a pang of embarrassment wrenched my stomach. I was so clearly a newb, a kook, a landlubber so obviously not salty dead weight at an event that needs all the buoyancy it can get.

I stammered out a few quick apologies. At the bow, Venus seemed unfazed.

Eh, she shrugged. You live, you learn.

Gregory Thomas is Travel Editor at The Chronicle. Email: gthomas@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @GregRThomas.

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Ephemerisle is Burning Man on boats in the Sacramento River Delta - San Francisco Chronicle

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Brexit fishing battle: Britain and Ireland ‘to clash over ownership of tiny rock’ – Express.co.uk

Posted: at 9:59 am

The latest round of Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU finished a day early this week, with significant differences still remaining between the two sides. A statement from the UK's chief negotiator David Frost confirmed he is still committed to coming to a principle agreement for a future trade deal this month. This round of talks was the first to be held face-to-face since March, which, according to Mr Frost, injected extra depth and flexibility to our discussions".

However, negotiations are still at a standstill in several key areas.

Sticking points between the two sides include the so-called "level-playing field" to ensure businesses on one side don't have an unfair advantage over the other fishing rules and the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

As tensions are set to rise in the incoming weeks, unearthed reports shed light on what could be another tortuous Brexit battle.

The Irish border is one prominent area but another is Rockall a rock with a colourful history of claim and counterclaim involving the UK.

Rockall is situated in a remote part of the North Atlantic and is about 160 nautical miles west of the Scottish islands of St. Kilda and 230 nautical miles to the north-west of Donegal.

The uninhabited rock is 25 metres wide and 17 metres high and is actually the remnants of an extinct volcano.

The tiny islet has been the source of an ownership dispute involving the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Iceland.

The dispute has not been so much about the ownership of the rock but the potential for oil and gas reserves in the surrounding seabeds and the lucrative fishing grounds.

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Rockall fishing is reportedly a multi-million-pound industry with a large supply of haddock, monkfish, and squid.

According to a recent report by IrishCentral, last year, Scottish authorities claimed that Rockall was a UK territory and attempted to prevent Irish fishermen from coming within the 12-mile international limit.

The Irish government, on the other hand, contended that the island was not subject to an international boundary as it was simply a large, uninhabitable rock in the middle of the ocean.

Irish claims are backed up by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) 1982.

The law states that rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.

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Consequently, Irish boats have fished in the area for well over 30 years.

The Scottish Government, in turn, claimed that it has never been legal for other nations to fish within 12 miles of the islet.

The UK first claimed ownership of Rockall in 1955, but Ireland, Iceland, and Denmark have long challenged that ownership.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney took a firm stance on the issue in June last year and said that Ireland had never recognised British claims to the island.

He said: "We have never recognised UK sovereignty over Rockall and accordingly, we have not recognised a territorial sea around it either. We have tried to work positively with the Scottish authorities and to deal with sensitive issues that flow from it in a spirit of kinship and collaboration."

Scotland's Fisheries Minister Fergus Ewing told BBC Scotland at the time: "This is a routine enforcement matter to ensure that illegal activity within the UK's territorial waters, namely within a radius of 12 miles of the islet of Rockall, ceases.

"We have been engaging with the Irish government for a considerable length of time because we would prefer that this matter is resolved by discussion and negotiation amicably, and that remains the case."

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The All-American Glory of Yacht Rock – National Review

Posted: at 9:59 am

Kenny Loggins performs in Las Vegas, Nev., in 2002. (Ethan Miller/Reuters)Saluting the mellow sound that signals all is right with the world.

They say jazz is Americas musical signature: As Ken Burns wrote, the genius of America is improvisation, our unique experiment a profound intersection of freedom and creativity. . . . Nowhere is this more apparent than in jazz the only art form created by Americans, an enduring and indelible expression of our genius and promise.

Stirring words. Jazz is inventive, vibrant, and complex. Everything about it is great, except the way it sounds. Listening to jazz is like trying to chase down a housefly. Theres a reason why only French tourists pretend to like it. To quote a more honest writer, John OFarrell: Music is a journey. Jazz is getting lost.

Americas truly sublime musical innovation is Yacht Rock. Savor the wit of that oxymoron: How hard can you rock if youre on a yacht? The boat itself rocks like a baby, not like Led Zeppelin. So Yacht Rock is gentle, but it cant be sad. There is no moping on a yacht. If you want to be glum and wear black, get off the boat and go find a jazz club. Not that anyone would ever invite you on their yacht in the first place.

The essence of a Yacht Rock song (my Spotify playlist is here) is that you can picture it being blasted on the deck of a yar and saucy watercraft circa 1981. Girls in cut-off shorts and bikini tops toss their arms in the air and say, Whoo! while the owner and host a guy named Brad or Chad or Gary, who struck it rich with, say, a string of Camaro dealerships and is himself a sort of Camaro in human form high-fives the guests, bites his lower lip, and moves a little off the beat, occasionally interjecting, Awesome, man! Brad or Chad or Gary drinks only the classy beers such as Lowenbrau or Michelob and has a cooler stocked with colorful wine coolers for the girls. Only his one very special lady will be present later when he opens up a perfectly chilled bottle of Aste Spumante. His captains chair is made of rich Corinthian leather.

Yacht Rock isnt what youd call real rock, angry rock, rock with a point or an attitude or a message or even a smirk, because Brad or Chad or Gary is just here to have a good time (and here is on earth). There is no edge to Yacht Rock any more than there is an edge to the round, rolling sea. However, Yacht Rock is not Loser Rock or Wimp Rock. It may be smooth, but it isnt limp. When the Yacht Rock is blasting out of the JVC boom box, the sun is shining, the girls are swaying, the waves are rolling, and all is well. Any song about lost love or thwarted longing or the girl that got away is inadmissible unless it reminds Brad or Chad or Gary about that time he almost met Cheryl Tiegs in Puerto Vallarta, and hell tell you about this incident at length.

The line between Yacht Rock and Wimp Rock is, alas, being eroded daily by the programmers of Sirius XM, whose Yacht Rock station (Channel 105 at the moment, and also available on the app if you happen not to be driving much these days). Siriuss Yacht Rock station is a sort of National Archives of Yacht Rock, one of Americas greatest innovations since the development of the backyard bug zapper. But thanks to some programmers inability to grasp that no one wants to listen to ow-my-broken-heart songs on a yacht, Channel 105 Rock is programmatically almost indistinguishable from Channel 17, the Wimp Rock station dubbed the Bridge. Bridge over whiny waters, that is. The Bridge is nothing but moany-groany lovey-dovey songs by the likes of Air Supply and Bread and America, and I love it inordinately. But Im not playing anything as embarrassingly low-T as Baby Im-a Want You on a yacht, unless I want to invite mutiny.

Yacht Rock has to have a pulse; its got to make you feel like youre scything through the waves while youre enjoying a classy snack like cottage cheese on melba toast. Its got soul, but not real soul, just the blue-eyed kind. You cant play Marvin Gaye on a yacht because Marvin Gaye was a genius. The Eagles are not Yacht Rock: Theyre too great. Same for The Police and The Rolling Stones. (Most Europeans are automatically disqualified anyway; a European on a yacht conjures up an image of a 200-foot monster docking in Nice and skippered by a man named Baron von Ruprecht of Wienerwald. Who can party down in a white dinner jacket while holding a snifter of brandy?)

Yacht Rock is the unchallenging, mood-brightening background music of the ordinary Chad who struck it rich enough to get a starter yacht, albeit not rich enough to compete with Baron von Ruprecht, who had a 200-year head start. America is the land where anyone might get rich enough to own a yacht, and so Yacht Rock is a celebration of America. It makes you lift your foam beer-can insulator to the cerulean skies and bawl out, Meet you all the way or Yah mo B there.

Yacht rock has its own Lennon and McCartney, except they are named Loggins and McDonald. I know what youre going to say, but Ive done the research and it turns out that Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald are not the same guy. McDonald offered a foretaste of the smooth-it-down Eighties on the Doobie Brothers Takin It to the Streets (1976). This was the first hit single ever sung by McDonald, and was there ever a more adorable track about urban unrest? If you blasted that over loudspeakers in the midst of an actual riot, the looting and smashing would stop immediately, and everyone would beg you to stop ruining the mood. As McDonalds profile was rising, Loggins came by like the guy in the Mr. Microphone commercial: Hey good lookin, Ill be back to pick you up later! Soon the pair were collaborating on What a Fool Believes, (1979), which despite being about a loser is just bouncy enough to qualify as Yacht Rock rather than loser rock. Loggins and McDonald combined again for This Is It (1979), a spectacularly non-specific paean to get-er-done Americanism on the cover of which Loggins is depicted holding what appears to be a magical glowing orb obviously the mystical power cell of Yacht Rock. With Im Alright, the following year, Loggins crafted a tune that was not only the perfect Yacht-Rock track, complete with misspelled title, but inspired the perfect Yacht-Rock conversation: Did anyone see Caddyshack ?

The summer of Caddyshack 1980 was Yacht Rocks annus mirabilis. Along came a third natural master of styrofoam wave-coasting: Christopher Cross. Released at the tail end of 1979, his eponymous rookie album became the lodestar of Yacht Rock, containing both of the quintessential examples of the form. Not only did Cross come up with Ride Like the Wind, which actually sounds like the internal soundtrack playing in Brad/Chad/Garys mind as he rips across the water (and features McDonalds epic backup vocal), but at the same time gave us Sailing, a song without which no one ever would have thought up the term Yacht Rock. Sadly, Cross would later become a casualty of Wimp Rock with Arthurs Theme (The Best That You Can Do) and Think of Laura.

Yacht Rocks subtle distinctions sometimes elude even dedicated students of the form. For instance, Fleetwood Macs You Make Lovin Fun (Fun! Lovin!) is Yacht Rock. Fleetwood Macs Go Your Own Way (cutting, bitter) is not. Rockn Me (Steve Miller Band) is Yacht Rock. Rock the Casbah (The Clash) is not; its too good.

References to actually being on a boat definitely add Yacht-Rock cachet, because no one will ever accuse you of being too obvious on a boat; if anything, use of irony on the water will earn you nasty looks and maybe an order to clean out the bottom of the cooler. But Rock the Boat (Hues Corporation) is not Yacht Rock, its disco. Its a dance song. On a yacht, you dont dance, you dance around. Big difference. Dancing requires skill, or at least rhythm. Dancing around you can manage even if youre a Camaro in human form. Cool Change, with its serene lyrics about sailing on the cool and bright clear water, is Yacht-Rock splendor despite being an import, from Australias Little River Band. Australia, though, is the most American of all overseas countries big, confident, friendly, and party-minded. Australia is Americas honorary little brother. Love Will Find A Way is pure yachty bliss, not only because of the gentle, undemanding optimism of the song, not only because of the not-too-fast-buddy tempo, but because the band that performed it was Pablo Cruise. Pablo Cruise! They might as well have called themselves Boaty McBoatface.

Yacht Rock lyrics are not allowed to be profound, equivocal, or thoughtful. Paul Simon and Carole King are not Yacht Rock. Acceptable Yacht-Rock sentiments include:

While you see a chance, take it.

Ride into the danger zone.

Were still havin fun, and youre still the one.

Believe it or not, Im walkin on air!

You make-a-my dreams come true.

And if your yacht hasnt come in yet? Not to worry; all of these songs make the ideal soundtrack for backyard barbecuing, which is basically yacht-rocking on land. The ideal accessories are a badminton set, a Weber grill, a Coleman cooler. Get out the Bluetooth speaker, bring it into the yard, and revel in Americas glorious Yacht-Rock inheritance.

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Pride-inspired accessories you can rock all year round – Hindustan Times

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‘The Office,’ ’30 Rock’: All the TV shows to pull blackface scenes – Los Angeles Times

Posted: at 9:59 am

Several TV episodes and scenes featuring characters in blackface have been pulled from streaming and syndication in recent weeks as Hollywood confronts its racist past and present.

Last week, Tina Fey made headlines by asking NBC to remove episodes of 30 Rock featuring blackface, and issuing a controversial apology for pain they have caused. Other scripted shows, including Community, The Office, Scrubs and The Golden Girls, have since followed suit in an effort to erase racist tropes and images from their histories.

Late-night TV also has been forced to address blackface scandals after sketches with the hosts of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live performing in blackface resurfaced.

Fallon apologized for making the unquestionably offensive decision to wear blackface while impersonating fellow comedian Chris Rock for a 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch, while Kimmel apologized for appearing in blackface multiple times on The Man Show, which ran from 1999 to 2004, apologized weeks later.

Notably, multiple animated series, including Central Park, Big Mouth and Family Guy, have vowed to recast Black characters originally voiced by white actors.

With viewers increasingly dependent on streaming platforms rather than physical media, the editing and removal of these scenes and episodes leaves little trace of their existence. As such, The Times has compiled a list of streaming TV shows that have recently edited or removed episodes featuring blackface, along with synopses of the racist imagery and stereotypes contained therein.

David Cross, left, and Bob Odenkirk at a screening of their show W/ Bob & David at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles in 2015.

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

On June 15, comedian and actor David Cross announced that Netflix had decided to pull a sketch from his and Bob Odenkirks W/ Bob and David that featured Cross in blackface.

The sketch, titled Know Your Rights (Season 1, Episode 3), saw Cross character, Gilvin Daughtry, give an absurd how-to lesson on maintaining your rights in the face of police harassment. Appearing at first sans blackface, Gilvin interacts with a police officer (Keegan-Michael Key), who stops his car briefly and then lets him pass.

When Cross character rolls up to the checkpoint again in blackface, the same police officer exasperated by Gilvins repeated attempts to provoke him defers to his colleague, who attacks Gilvin with pepper spray and a taser.

Rue McClanahan, left, Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur and Betty White of The Golden Girls.

(ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images)

Hulu removed a 1988 episode of The Golden Girls featuring Blanche (Rue McClanahan) and Rose (Betty White) wearing mud facial masks.

Mixed Blessings (Season 3, Episode 23) saw Dorothys (Bea Arthur) son, Michael (Scott Jacoby), introduce himself to the mother of his fianc, Lorraines (Rosalind Cash), who is concerned about Lorraine marrying a white man.

Unaware of the family meeting, Blanche and Rose stumble into the room in matching brown mud masks. This is mud on our faces, Rose says, explaining their appearance to their guests. Were not really Black.

Yvette Nicole Brown, left, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs and Jonathan Banks face Ken Jeong in NBCs Community.

(Justin Lubin / NBC)

Also scrapped was an installment of Community titled Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Season 2, Episode 14).

Netflix pulled the episode, which saw Ken Jeongs Ben wear a white wig, blackface and body paint while participating in a roleplay game with his classmates. At one point in the game, Pierce (Chevy Chase) refers to Ben as Blackface and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) asks whether the study group is just going to ignore that hate crime?

Steve Carell, left, John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson in The Office.

(Justin Lubin / NBC)

On June 26, The Office creator Greg Daniels confirmed to Variety that a scene from Dwight Christmas (Season 9, Episode 9), featuring a character in blackface, had been edited out.

The scene took place during an office holiday party thrown by Dwight (Rainn Wilson), who dresses up as the Dutch gift-giver Belsnickel and taps his assistant, Nate (Mark Proksch), to accompany him as Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter, a racist character from Dutch folklore.

Prior to edits, Nate was briefly seen walking through the Dunder Mifflin parking lot wearing blackface with red lipstick before immediately turning back at Dwights last-minute request. Dwight calls him off after being scolded by Stanley (Leslie David Baker) when his colleagues learn of Belsnickels racist origins.

Zach Braff in Scrubs.

(Dean Hendler / NBC)

On June 23, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence confirmed on Twitter that plans to pull blackface episodes were already in the works. Hulu subsequently removed three episodes.

In My Friend the Doctor (Season 3, Episode 8), J.D. (Zach Braff) appeared in blackface during a fantasy sequence in which he imagines himself as his best friend, Turk (Donald Faison), in a romantic situation with Elliot (Sarah Chalke).

In My Jiggly Ball (Season 5, Episode 4), Chalke wore blackface during another fantasy sequence in which J.D. imagines her character as half Turk and half Elliot while playing video games on the couch.

And in My Chopped Liver (Season 5, Episode 17), Turk and J.D. arrived at a fraternity house in white face makeup and blackface, respectively. Are you sure this isnt offensive? J.D. asks, to which Turk replies, Buddy, relax. These are my guys, all right? As long as youre with me, theyre going to find this funny. But when J.D. is met at the door by several Black fraternity members, they arent amused, yanking him inside to beat him up and throw him out.

30 Rock stars Alec Baldwin, left, Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan.

(Mitchell Haaseth / Associated Press )

At executive producers Fey and Robert Carlocks request, four episodes of 30 Rock have been removed from Hulu, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play and syndication.

In Believe in the Stars (Season 3, Episode 2), Jenna (Jane Krakowski) wore blackface while swapping identities with Tracy (Tracy Morgan) in a social experiment to prove who has it hardest in America: women or Black men.

Live Show (Season 5, Episode 2), the East Coast edition of 30 Rocks first live episode, featured a sketch in which guest star Jon Hamm gets a hand transplant from a Black man who was executed. The show also referenced the unfounded racist conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States with a fake Fox News ticker that read, Exclusive Interview With Kenyan Liar.

Christmas Attack Zone (Season 5, Episode 10) saw Jenna wear blackface again when attending a costume party dressed as former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann. And Live From Studio 6H (Season 6, Episode 19) saw Hamm wear a wig and blackface again alongside Morgan in a parody of the racist radio and TV program Amos n Andy.

Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney, left, Kaitlin Olson, Charlie Day, Danny DeVito and Glenn Howerton.

(FX)

Hulu and Netflix U.K. have each taken down five episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

In Americas Next Top Paddys Billboard Model Contest (Season 4, Episode 3), aspiring actress Dee (Kaitlin Olson) presented two racist characters, Taiwan Tammy and Martina Martinez, for her fledgling web series. Their offensive portrayals including wigs, prosthetics and fake accents prompt Charlie (Charlie Day) to remark, This is so racist.

Dee Reynolds: Shaping Americas Youth (Season 6, Episode 9) saw Mac (Rob McElhenney) wear blackface while impersonating actor Danny Glover as Murtaugh in Paddys staging of Lethal Weapon 5. Paul Walter Hauser also appeared in blackface while playing a high school character in their version of the movie, while Frank (Danny DeVito) wore a braided wig while portraying a Native American crime boss.

The Gang Recycles Their Trash (Season 8, Episode 2) saw Dee reprise her racist Martina Martinez character in brownface makeup while trying to incite an uprising among Black and Latinx sanitation workers.

The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6' (Season 9, Episode 9) saw the pub crew stage a sequel to Lethal Weapon 5, with everyone returning to the same racist costumes plus Dee in full blackface as Murtaughs daughter.

And finally, in Dee Day (Season 14, Episode 3), Frank and Mac dressed as Martina Martinez and Taiwan Tammy, respectively, at Dees request.

British comics Julian Barratt, left, and Noel Fielding star in The Mighty Boosh.

(BBC)

Netflix has cut a scene from the second season of the British series Peep Show, in which Jez (Robert Webb) wore blackface and remarked to his girlfriend, It just feels almost wrong. Are you sure this isnt racist? to which she replied, Were breaking a taboo, of course it feels wrong. Weve got boundaries to smash, Jeremy.

Two other British shows, The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen, have been removed from Netflix entirely because they both featured Black characters played by white actors.

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'The Office,' '30 Rock': All the TV shows to pull blackface scenes - Los Angeles Times

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Author says 2400-year old coin artifact may be proof that Atlantis is real – EconoTimes

Posted: at 9:59 am

Atlantis is one of the most popular myths in history, with many wondering whether the city is actually real, based on the stories that have been told over time. An author and researcher may have unraveled the mystery behind the mythical city through a 2,400-year-old coin that archaeologists have discovered.

The author of Atlantis Revealed, Christos Djonis, has his own theory of the ancient city through a 2,400-year-old coin that was discovered by archaeologists around 20 years ago. According to Djonis, the story of Atlantis was a legend passed on, and its inspiration may have been derived from the Americas. In May, Djonis spoke about this theory in the Ancient Origins channel on Youtube, saying that according to the texts of Plato, Atlantis was in the Mediterranean as opposed to the Atlantic or some other place.

Roughly 20 years ago, in 1996, Mark McMenamin, a professor of geology, discovered and interpreted a series of enigmatic markings on the reverse side of a Carthaginian gold coin minted in 350 BC as an ancient map of the world. In the center of this world map, there is a clear depiction of the Mediterranean Basin, an image to the right of it is interpreted to represent Asia, while the image to the left is interpreted to represent the American continent, recalled Djonis.

The same kind of world map would also be found in other specimens of the coin, said Djonis. He then revealed that the coin also happened to be minted around the same time Plato told the story of Atlantis and how there is a large continent across the Pillars of Hercules.

Previously, a historian claimed that the mythical city may have been submerged along the coast of Britain all this time. According to historian Matthew Sibson, there is a big chance the city may be found in Rockall, and the man-made features found in the water pose as possible evidence of a lost civilization.

Sibson went on to explain his claim, also referencing the texts from Plato that describe the mythical city. Sibson noted that the size of the city, as described by Plato may have been exaggerated, and rather it is an island than a city that would lead to other islands that would be the way to the opposite continent, which would be the Americas across the Atlantic ocean. Rockall would match the size and would serve as a way to get to the Americas through Iceland and Greenland.

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Author says 2400-year old coin artifact may be proof that Atlantis is real - EconoTimes

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Coaches must remember kids coming back to sport just want to have fun again – Echo Live

Posted: at 9:59 am

"BASKETBALL is a pretty simple game, basically. It's about bouncing a ball, shooting hoops and being in a happy place."

That, according to Mark Scannell, is what youngsters missed during the sporting hiatus. That is what they badly need now.

Basketball can be fairly complex of course, extremely tactical from a coaching perspective and technically challenging for those on the hardwood. A tight basketball game in the closing stages is an intoxicating blend of chess and athletics.

Scannell feels the priority for anyone dealing with young players as sport returns from lockdown is just moving and having fun. For youngsters on the court, that is dribbling their Spalding basketball or making it swish through the net. Pure hoops.

"I was reading the interview with [Cork U20 football manager] Keith Ricken this week and he summed it up perfectly, it's not the sport itself we missed the most it's the camaraderie and the sense of community."

For the former Ireland senior and current Glanmire coach, there's no better way to "have fun and learn together" than basketball camps.

The northsider and Dublin's Mark Ingle organise thecamps every summer. They usually cater for 350 teenagers in a residential setting but in the current climate, they had to be called off.

To fill the gap, a Cork version ofRip 'n Runwill take place in late July in Fr Mathew's Arena on Model Farm Road.

"We know that kids and parents are looking for an outlet and to get back to some small sense of normality. We'll be very restricted on numbers, we'll operate junior [eight to 12] and senior [U13 plus] slots with a maximum of 50 in each.

"We'll be dividing all the players up in half-courts, pods basically and they'll use their own basketballs. We'll sterilise in between the sessions and the coaches are very experienced."

The likes of Glanmire duo Claire Rockall and ine McKenna will be on board, while legendary Irish and Belfast Star point guard Adrian Fulton will make an appearance as well.

"Myself and Mark Ingle have learned a lot over the years from the Spanish approach to the game and the likes of Francis and Ciarn O'Sullivan out in Ballincollig, building on the fundamentals and passing on a love of basketball. Nothing needs to be complicated for young players.

"You be very innovative without making the game confusing."

Scannell is clearly refreshed after the unexpected break. He is heavily involved in sport on every level, from his success with Glanmire to working as a rep for Teamwear Ireland and through schools coaching.

"We all just had to adjust for the few months and we'll still be adapting from here on. It's about baby steps for now but in Cork I'm confident the basketball crew are experienced enough, the administrators and coaches, to find a way to get everything up and running for the new season.

"It'll be a 'new norm' but there are always options."

School sport seems an obvious issue, given the uncertainty about how they will function from September.

"We may have to run blitzes rather than games from week to week. Buses and having kids change from uniforms into their gear for training and matches are going to be a factor. It's different with clubs where you can drop them off ready to go."

A regional format is on the cards for the Women's Super League, while there are questions marks over the facilities for many teams and the availablity of American players going forward for all.

"There is a lot to be finalised but it's better to stay positive."

Check outhttps://www.ripnrun.com/news/ripnrun-cork-camp for more.

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Coaches must remember kids coming back to sport just want to have fun again - Echo Live

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RED WHITE AND CHIC: 4th of JULY SHOPPING GUIDE – vmagazine.com

Posted: at 9:58 am

A curated selection entirely coded to the trio of colors on our nations flag!

A curated selection entirely coded to the trio of colors on our nations flag!

Although one would never do an entire ensemble of red, white, and blue, one can still add festive touches to your 4th of July ensembles with these fabulous pieces! Broken up into 3 categories with a focus on each color, find a curated selection of some of the chicest and wearable pieces to rock all summer long!

RED

Miu Miu Satin Jacquard Dress ($2,970)

This floral printed satin jacquard dress is the perfect slip on and go ensemble for any summer activity!

Available HERE

Giorgio Armani GA Patent Leather Shoulder Bag ($1,295)

Made from soft, patent leather in a column construction in a firey red shade, this Giorgio Armani bag features a subtle embossed logo with an adjustable strap and removable chain, making this gorgeous little carryall one of Vs top picks for summer bags!

Available HERE

MSGM Frayed Sliders In Fabric ($300)

These vibrant red sandals from MSGM, composed of natural leather with front ruffling and a square toe, will be your go-tos all summer long, transforming your look from casual to dressy in a flash.

Available HERE

Follow Suit: The Chelsea ($150)

A perfect trio of our nation's colors, Follow Suit has the cutest one-piece swimsuit to rock all summer long! The NYC based swimwear line creates high-quality swimsuits that are sustainably made, keeping you looking ethically chic! From using digitally printed fabrics to minimize water waste and regenerated fabrics, Follow Suit is a new brand to watch!

Available HERE

WHITE

Mehry Mu Maria Box ($388)

Composed of white calfskin leather and rattan, the Maria Box bag by Mehry Mu is one of this seasons hottest accessories! Plus, a portion of all sales will be donated to Turkish charity Krmz ocuklar Dernei, who are committed to supporting child protection and providing education, shelter, care, and most of all love to disadvantaged kids.

Available HERE

Loewe Wool Embellished Sweater ($890)

This luxurious and plush sweater from Loewe is perfect for those cool summer nights when you just want something cuddly to wear at home or at the beach. The gorgeous cream color is very versatile, complimenting many pieces in your wardrobe.

Available HERE

Bottega Veneta Wide Leg Pants ($1,490)

Need a pair of wide-leg pants for the season? Look no further than these from Bottega Veneta. The crisp white color will add a touch of elegance to any outfit you throw on this summer!

Available HERE

Prada Leather Slingback Loafers ($850)

A perfect pair of slingbacks, courtesy of Prada. The white slip heel heels are the ideal grab-and-go choice when polishing up a summer outfit, easily going from day to night!

Available HERE

BLUE

Fendi Baguette Bag ($2,790)

The iconic Baguette bag from Fendi gets transformed with a touch of royal blue lamb leather and an all-over FF motif. Meant to be worn on your shoulder or as a crossbody, the multifunctional bag is one of this seasons most wanted!

Available HERE

Gucci Ruffled Slik Crepe de Chine Shirt ($1,400)

A classic silhouette from the house of Gucci gets a summery touch, with a vibrant shade of summer sky blue!

Available HERE

Salvatore Ferragamo High Waisted Pants ($590)

Sophisticated and fun! These high waisted trousers from the house of Salvatore Ferragamo will bring that pop of color and energy everywhere you go!

Available HERE

Giuseppe Zanotti Sophie ($650)

The ULTIMATE summer party sandal, courtesy of Giuseppe Zanotti! These electric blue heels are the chicest and exciting way to dazzle up your ensemble!

Available HERE

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RED WHITE AND CHIC: 4th of JULY SHOPPING GUIDE - vmagazine.com

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The Big Thank You…to Northampton Borough Council, collecting our rubbish, looking after the vulnerable and keeping us safe – Northampton Chronicle…

Posted: at 9:58 am

For the past month, the Chronicle & Echo has been working with organisations across the town and wider county to pull together a celebration of just some of the key workers and volunteers who have made a difference during lockdown.

Here we feature some of the staff at Northampton Borough Council who were nominated for The Big Thank You.

Northampton Borough Council Single Homelessness Team - Front row left to right: Amanda Wilson, Tara Scarth, Michael Bradshaw; Back row left to right: Sian Knight, Joe Middleton, Tom Eastman-Thoy, Michelle MellorThe Single Homelessness Team moved all known rough sleepers off the streets into two hotels before helping them to move on successfully into settled housing.

Northampton Borough Council Food and Safety and Licensing teams - Liz McCarthy, Karen Young, Mark Radley and Louise Faulkner. These staff members from the food and safety and licensing teams, working with members of the Neighbourhood Warden team, have worked to ensure public safety by providing advice and support to businesses on social distancing requirements and taken enforcement action in the small number of cases where advice was ignored.

Northampton Borough Council Community Safety and Engagement team - Vicki Rockall, Amy Midson, Nicola Ferns, Debs Burns, Debbie MacColl, Aimee Luck, Jamie Wells. Over the past 13 weeks, the team has developed and coordinated Northamptons Community Resilience Hub aiming to deliver on protecting our most vulnerable residents. We have worked with more than 100 community and voluntary groups to ensure that support is in place for each resident that has requested help. More than 1,000 vulnerable people in Northampton have requested help and have been supported.

Northampton Borough Council Call Care team - Annabelle Purdie and Catherine Powell. Call Care have been contacting some of their more vulnerable customers during Covid to make sure they are being supported

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The Big Thank You...to Northampton Borough Council, collecting our rubbish, looking after the vulnerable and keeping us safe - Northampton Chronicle...

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