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Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
People are only just realising why Marmite jars have flat sides – and it's leaving them stunned
Scroll down to find out exactly why the design choice was made FLAT FACT People are only just realising why Marmite jars have flat sides – and it's leaving them stunned Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HAVE you ever looked at a jar of Marmite and wondered why it's got flat sides? Well, the reason for the design choice has now been unveiled - and it's leaving people stunned. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 People have been left stunned after discovering the reason that Marmite jars have flat sides Credit: EPA 3 It's apparently to help Marmite lovers get every single drop out of the jar Credit: Alamy 3 Radio 1 DJ Greg James was among those who was entirely unaware of the reasons for the jar design One Marmite fan took to social media site X, formerly Twitter, to share the little known fact, as he wrote: "It took me years to realise that near-empty Marmite jars should be kept on their side so you can get the last of it out more easily. "That's why the jar is flat at the sides!" And the post quickly caught the attention of another Marmite fan - Radio 1 DJ Greg James. Greg shared the original post on his own socials, as he admitted: "Today is the day my life changed forever". Others were equally stunned by the discovery after it was shared on Facebook, with one writing: "My life has been a lie!" "Never knew that," another marvelled. "Awesome idea," a third raved. "Been doing it for years, one last small knife-full usually left," someone else said. Not everyone was convinced by the explanation though, with one insisting that the flat area helps "spread the contact area when shrink wrapped in their bulk packages to reduce possibility of glass breakage". "If the jar didn't have a flat spot, the contact point between the jars would be miniscule and therefore much more prone to stress fracture during transport," they added. How to make Marmite Roast Potatoes "Pretty sure the design is more for bulk packaging than anything else, but I've always used it for the last bit," another wrote. And some people used the post to share their own methods for getting every little bit out of the Marmite jar. "Put the jar in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes," one wrote. "All the excess round the sides will slide down to the bottom!" "Put warm water in the jar to dissolve all that marmite goodness and add it to gravy or casserole etc," another suggested. "Nah, pop in some hot water & use those last bits as a stock!" a third commented. What foods should you ALWAYS keep in the fridge? THE 'King of Bread' Paul Hollywood has said you should never keep bread in the fridge. But what foods SHOULD you store in there? According to EUFIC, The European Food Information Council, these are some of the main foods you should always ensure are kept in the fridge. Apples Berries Butter Cheese Eggs (boiled or unboiled) Fish (cooked or raw) Fresh herbs Lemons Meat (cooked or raw) Milk Oranges Pickles (if opened) Salad leaves Tomatoes Yoghurts When contacted for confirmation of the design explanation, a Marmite spokesperson told Fabulous Online: "Marmite lovers will go to any length to enjoy every single drop. "And while the jar's flat sides weren't originally designed for this, with the return of Marmite Squeezy it's now easier than ever to spread the love to the very last drop."
Scotsman
12-08-2025
- Scotsman
Rural schools in Scotland suffering 'exodus' of teachers
Rural schools are suffering most from an exodus of teachers, an MSP has said, after a report came out showing high job insecurity among the profession. | Shutterstock Almost half of teachers responding to a report on teaching said they face either supply-only work or unemployment for the next year. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rural schools are suffering most from an 'exodus' of teachers, an MSP has said, after a report came out showing high job insecurity among the profession. Scottish Conservatives MSP Alexander Burnett, who has campaigned for saving nurseries and schools from closure across Aberdeenshire, said the Scottish Government urgently needs to address what he called 'the continuing scourge of temporary contracts' in teaching. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alexander Burnett MSP has warned rural schools are suffering the most from an exodus of teachers after a new report found 80 per cent faced insecure employment over the last year, with only 12.5 per cent moving into permanent posts for the upcoming term. | Scottish Conservatives The politician's comments come as a report by grassroots organisation Scottish Teachers for Permanence (STP), a group dedicated to advocating for job security and stability for more than 4,500 teachers across the country, published alarming responses to a recent survey on job security in the profession. Answers from 555 respondents found 80 per cent faced insecure employment in teaching in Scotland over the last year. The report showed just 12.5 per cent of teachers interviewed are moving into permanent posts for the upcoming term. Almost half, (47.9 per cent) said they face either supply-only work or unemployment for 2025-26. Teachers interviewed came from some 30 different regions all over Scotland, from Fife to Orkney, the Highlands to the Scottish Borders, with authors saying the geographic spread demonstrates that employment insecurity transcends urban–rural divides and affects every Scottish local authority area. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The largest cohort (42 per cent) was teachers between 25 and 34 years old. An overwhelming 80 per cent (446 respondents) work primarily in primary education, with secondary representing 12.6 per cent. Some 60.4 per cent of teachers responding to the survey said they believe their professional service is not recognised by local authorities in recruitment. The STP report said 42 per cent of those who responded to the survey have two or more years of continuous experience in teaching. Mr Burnett said the findings will particularly impact rural regions, some of which struggle with recruitment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish ministers said local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teachers. They acknowledged there is a challenge around recruitment of teachers in certain geographical areas. Mr Burnett said: 'These alarming findings highlight the deepening crisis that exists within the Scottish education system, particularly in our rural schools,' the MSP for Aberdeenshire West said. 'Teachers are at the end of their tether, and it is time the SNP government urgently addressed their concerns. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We cannot allow a situation to continue where teachers are struggling to put food on the table, while schools in regions such as Aberdeenshire are struggling to recruit teachers. 'Many are also uncertain over what their future employment prospects are after completing their probation period amid the continuing scourge of temporary contracts. 'Losing them will significantly hamper literacy and numeracy levels, as well as limiting opportunities for pupils to learn foreign languages and technical skills. 'The Scottish Government must take notice of these findings by giving teachers secure employment in rural areas so every child has the same educational opportunities, regardless of where they live.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Scottish Government pointed to a £186.5 million sum it is giving to local authorities this year to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and maximise the number of teaching posts available. A spokesperson said: 'It is encouraging to note that the number of teachers in our classrooms has increased by more than 2,500 over the past decade and the number in permanent posts has remained stable at more than 80 per cent over the past 10 years. 'We recognise there is a challenge around the recruitment of teachers in certain geographical areas, and we are taking action to address this. For example, through the Preference Waiver Payment, probationary teachers can receive up to £8,000 if they opt to complete their probation anywhere in Scotland, particularly in remote or rural areas.'
Scottish Sun
09-08-2025
- Scottish Sun
How elite WW2 special forces unit the Chindits smashed Japanese supply lines in Burmar ahead of anniversary of VJ Day
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THEY were the lions of the jungle – 10,000 British troops led by an eccentric genius. With their distinctive slouch hats, the Chindits were the highly trained special forces who fought the Japanese, often hundreds of miles behind enemy lines, deep in the steaming, fetid jungles of the Far East. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 The Chindits greeting a rescue plane in a picture taken for Life magazine Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 8 Maverick British military leader, Brigadier Orde Wingate Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd 8 Only two British Chindits are left alive, one of whom is Sid Machin Credit: Paul Edwards Next Friday marks the anniversary of VJ Day, when, after six years, World War Two finally ended with the Allied victory over Japan. By the time Japanese Emperor Hirohito officially surrendered on August 15, 1945, the war in Europe had been over for more than three months and the 365,000 British troops fighting in the Far East became known as the 'Forgotten Army', after its operations in the Allies' Burma campaign were largely overlooked by the Press at the time. Today, 80 years after that victory, only two British Chindits are left alive — 104-year-old Charlie Richards and Sid Machin, 101. Sid, of Christchurch, Dorset, will be among nearly three dozen VJ veterans, aged 98 to 105, who will attend a national service of commemoration hosted by the Royal British Legion on August 15. Against the odds The veterans will certainly not be forgotten when they join the King and Queen at the moving ceremony at Staffordshire's National Memorial Arboretum. The royal couple will pay their respects in the Arboretum's Far East corner, which includes a monument to the Chindits. In early 1942 Burma's then capital, Rangoon — now called Yangon — was overrun by Japanese forces intent on pushing north to invade India. A maverick British military leader, Brigadier Orde Wingate, came up with a daring plan to create a multi-national force of lightly equipped men, who would work in small teams hundreds of miles inside enemy territory. Oddball Wingate often gave orders in the nude and sported a straggly beard, supposedly to keep mosquitoes away. When dressed, he ate raw onions which he often kept in the pocket of his filthy uniform, and he would dangle a large alarm clock from his belt to remind his men that time was against them. World War Two veterans come together to mark the 80th anniversary of their victory Wingate named his highly trained troops after the only creature in Buddhism that is permitted to use force — Chinthe, the lion-headed dragon that sits outside every sacred pagoda in Burma, now known as Myanmar. His men, including Major James Lumley, father of actress Joanna, called themselves the Chindits. Flying in by glider, they set up strongholds behind enemy lines from where groups of men would attack the Japanese, often with bayonets drawn, in hand-to-hand combat. A constant stream of transport aircraft brought in supplies that included not just ammo and food but also mules to carry equipment. I have never before listened to anybody who so compelled my attention, who dominated his audience Col Charles Mercer Light ambulance planes would land on remote airstrips hacked out of the jungle to evacuate the wounded, three at a time. Despite early setbacks, the Chindits' bravery and tenacity against the odds raised morale and showed how British soldiers could live and fight in the jungle. They also attracted the attention of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who called Wingate 'a man of genius'. Col Charles Mercer, who died recently aged 105, recalled: 'He was quite a small man, not very military in bearing. "I have never before listened to anybody who so compelled my attention, who dominated his audience. "He was a fearless, inspiring leader.' 8 Sid today, aged 101 Credit: Paul Edwards 8 The Chindits comprised 10,000 British troops led by an eccentric genius Credit: Alamy 8 Wingate's unit adopted a strategy of near silence to avoid alerting the enemy Credit: Alamy Veteran Chindit Charlie, who was 22 when he joined the unit, recalled how, after six months of hard training, Wingate told the men they were 'on the adventure of a lifetime'. But he also warned them: 'Many of you are going to die, or suffer wounds, or near starvation. All of you will meet hardship worse than anything you have imagined.' Charlie and Sid took part in Operation Thursday, when 85 gliders towed by US aircraft took off on a moonlit night in March 1944 to pass over 7,000ft peaks to land 150 miles behind the front line. The Chindits had been ordered to relieve comrades who were holed up in a jungle base codenamed White City, but they came under attack almost every night. Whispers were the order of the day and even this made us a bit nervous and alert to every sound Veteran Charlie Richards So many soldiers on both sides died that the stench of death was overwhelming. Charlie, from Kettering, Northants, recalled: 'The whole place was getting so putrid because of the number of Japanese bodies outside the perimeter that the pilots of incoming planes said they had no need of maps for the last few miles — they could smell their way in.' Wingate's unit adopted a strategy of near silence to avoid alerting the enemy, and Charlie said: 'The rule was, everyone spoke softly, even sergeants. "Whispers were the order of the day and even this made us a bit nervous and alert to every sound.' In our main picture, taken by a wartime photographer from Life magazine, a group of Chindits wave joyfully at their RAF rescue plane but they had been told: 'Cheer, but don't make a sound.' 8 8 The Army's current 77th Brigade badge echoes the Chindits Credit: Handout The casualty rate was still brutal. Of the 400 men in Charlie's column, just 140 were unscathed. The rest were either dead, wounded or struck down by disease. Wingate, who by then was an acting Major General, died in 1944 in a plane crash aged 41. At the time he was carrying a nomination for a Victoria Cross for Chindit Lt George Cairns, who had had his arm hacked off with a sword by a Japanese soldier. Cairns, 30, killed the soldier, picked up the sword and carried on fighting. Just before he died from his wounds he said: 'Have we won? 'Did we do our stuff? Don't worry about me.' Because the nomination was lost in Wingate's plane wreckage it was five years before Cairns was awarded his medal posthumously — the fourth VC given to a Chindit.
