GWR apprentices take over train route to Exeter
'Great example'
The event, organised with Exeter College, aimed to inspire the next generation of rail professionals. Onboard apprentices engaged with passengers, distributing flyers and goodie bags, and providing advice on apprenticeship opportunities.John Laramy, principal of Exeter College, said it was a "great example of what can be achieved when a college and fantastic employer work together to create something truly sector leading".
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BBC News
28-07-2025
- BBC News
Croydon Council tackles anti-social behaviour with outdoor gyms
More outdoor gyms are to be introduced by Croydon Council in a bid to tackle anti-social council is also seeking to introduce more dog-walking zones and to deter cut-through riding on affected most by drug use and other issues, such as Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, will be is despite the financial pressures on the council, which has declared bankruptcy three times since 2020 and asked for a government bailout in February. Scott Roche, Croydon cabinet minister for streets and environment, said: "If a park gym is being used properly, you're not going to have people smoking weed there."We think outdoor gyms are a more strategic and inclusive use for a park. They're cheaper to introduce than new playgrounds, and they help tackle anti-social behaviour."However, he admits that change is slower than he would like, and says money is the greatest currently has 10 outdoor gyms, spread across the borough's 127 parks and green spaces. The news comes as Mr Roche and mayor Jason Perry opened a newly resurfaced path in Norbury area remains affected by e-bike misuse and rough sleeping, and speed bumps have been promised to deter cut-through Mr Roche said "we are restricted because it is a public space".Jenni Rodgers, leader of Friends of Norbury Park, said the path marked progress, but that the park still "needs something here that people want to see".A flood alleviation scheme for the area, which would protect 340 homes from flooding and boost biodiversity, has stalled since the pandemic.
Spectator
25-06-2025
- Spectator
The hidden value of notes
'You asshole,' was my friend's cheery greeting when we met in Ludlow. I'd mucked up the time. Reconciled, we walked to his place and on the door was a note he'd left me, scrawled on a card with an image of him mimicking Philip Larkin proudly sitting on a border stone: 'Just a note that you are an asshole. Call.' Stuart, a collector of manuscripts, showed me a recent acquisition, a note by Sir Edward Elgar, graced with a self-portrait featuring, my friend is sure, an immodestly large penis. I think it's his coat tail. We debated the iconography while listening to 'Nimrod'. Notes are often discarded – who hasn't inherited, in the bottom of a trolley, a forlorn shopping list? But they have a long history. Their ephemerality was generally guaranteed on ancient wax tablets, scraped down for reuse. A fair few survive, however, bearing the abandoned sums or grammar of some bored Etruscan child from as long ago as the 7th century bc. An Etch a Sketch is more fun, perhaps, with its erasable text. Ironically, Keats's epitaph, 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water', is inscribed in obdurate stone in the Protestant cemetery in Rome. Notes that endure often do so when they are associated with something else of value. Exeter College, Oxford, has a fine scribal manuscript of The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius. Bonus: its owner, Petrarch, has carefully composed his notes in the margins. There is a strong academic interest in 'scholia' – not just annotations in important early texts but layered commentaries on the annotations themselves. If everything has been plumbed in the canonic texts, look to the edges. The hurried informality and often surreptitious nature of a note written on the hoof can tell us much about a particular historical moment. During the first world war it was forbidden to record cabinet discussions. Lewis Harcourt did it all the same, jotting down, under the table, character sketches of Winston Churchill, among others. Notes are not always penned. Printed notices are a form never meant to endure beyond the immediate purpose of laying down some edict or announcing the start or end of a life, but usually flogging something. The Bodleian has the earliest example of print advertising in English. Dating from 1477, Caxton's jobbing piece was intended to gee up enthusiasm for a less than thrilling priest's manual. It promises that the buyer will have a copy 'good chepe'. It's worth a few bob. The note can have a degree of scholarly credibility. The journal Notes and Queries, established in 1849 and dedicated to 'readers and writers, collectors and librarians', is still going strong. Entirely devoid of theoretical nonsense, it invites short observations on, and responses to, points of influence and other marvellously arcane literary niceties. These days we still occasionally scribble stuff down on trusty paper – tomatoes, loo roll, milk, 1 btl Tia Maria, 8 btls wine – but we commit most of our scraps to the digital realm. I am writing this note for Notes On…on the Notes app on my tablet while glancing at my phone for a note from my daughter. Snapchat is the only way I can reach her and she's made sure her laconic observations vanish soon after I have read them. Etruscan kids, modern kids. Plus ça change.
Daily Record
17-06-2025
- Daily Record
Lemur at West Lothian zoo claims Guinness World Record
The ring-tailed lemur called Stumpy celebrated not only his 39th birthday but also recognition as the oldest living lemur in captivity. Staff at a West Lothian zoo have celebrated a world record after an adorable lemur in their care made it into the Guinness book of World records. The ring-tailed lemur called Stumpy celebrated not only his 39th birthday but also recognition as the oldest living lemur in captivity. The mature primate, whose slightly shortened tail is what led to his name, is described as 'a firm favourite with staff and visitors' alike. He was born in June 1986 in Surrey before moving to Scotland and has resided at Five Sisters since 2005. He currently lives there with two of his sons, Red, aged 21, and 20-year-old Julian – themselves both a respectable age for their kind. Five Sisters' Senior Animal Keeper, Gemma Varley said: 'He loves to sunbathe and eat fresh browse (his favourite is willow) and he loves sweet potato. 'Stumpy's birthday is a big event. He celebrates with his sons and enjoys a bit of birthday cake made from special primate pellet. 'While he does have some arthritis, he has been blessed with good health. He does need some extra care, such as daily medications for his arthritis, weekly weigh-ins and his scent glands often overgrow, but he allows us to trim these voluntarily through positive-reinforcement training. Over his lifetime, Stumpy has done his bit for lemur conservation and public engagement by siring a total of 11 offspring. His progeny have gone on to produce 25 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. All six great-grandchildren now live at Attica Zoo in Greece. GWR's Senior Managing Editor, Adam Millward, who worked with the zoo on the verification process, was delighted by the final result. He said: 'Reaching such a grand age –we're talking living well over a decade beyond what is typical for your kind – is impressive for any species. With this record, there's now no question that Stumpy has truly earned his stripes! 'I hope he enjoyed his special day – and paws crossed we hear from Five Sisters Zoo again for the big 4-0 next year.'
