Jottings from previous page
They also urge employers , including British government departments , to add gender pronouns to email signatures , to outlaw single sex toilets and changing rooms , and to run a “ rainbow laces ” campaign .
Membership to the scheme starts at around £ 2,500 (€ 2,900 ), which according to the Stonewall website , buys employers access to expert advice and resources to make their workplaces “ inclusive .” However , the advice being given is now under pressure by campaigners who have called for an inquiry into how the charity has had such an influence on Whitehall .
EHRC , Britain ’ s equalities watchdog , has cut ties with Stonewall ’ s scheme for woke workplaces after claims that it curbs free speech among staff . It is accused of encouraging public bodies and commercial businesses to adopt policies which create a “ culture of fear ” amongst workers .
The bells , the bells ...
The village of Kenton in Devon used to be the sleepy sort of village where you might well expect to encounter Miss Marple cycling to investigate another nasty murder in the vicarage . At its centre is the red sandstone All Saints Church which dates from the 14th century and boasts bells installed in 1900 which chime the hours and the quarters , happily disturbing the rural tranquillity .
Or at least it was until recently . Now the bells have had to be muffled following a single complaint from a couple newly arrived in the village who claimed that they were being kept awake at night by the noise .
Teignbridge District Council decided they were obliged to act and accordingly sent out an environmental health team who discovered that the sound of the bells was louder than legally permitted . Councillors then took action because they feared the imposition of a noise abatement order on the church .
Unsurprisingly , locals have been appalled that a complaint from a couple who have just moved to Kenton has had such serious consequences for a proud local tradition . They ’ re even threatening legal action and have called for the complainants to “ return to the city .”
However , the muffling of the bells continues while further sound levels are recorded , and there ’ s talk of raising money to install a mechanism which can silence the bells in hours of darkness .
As the furore continued , Chris Deacon , who has lived in Kenton for four years , eventually came out as the complainant and appealed for “ understanding ,” adding it had been “ disappointing that people have become angry at the situation , as opposed to reaching out with empathy .” He says he will be happy if the chimes continue within legal limits .
Animal news
A 15-hour Air India flight from Delhi to New Jersey was forced to make an emergency landing after passengers became alarmed by a bat flying through the cabin in agitated circles . Once the aircraft was evacuated , it was fumigated and the creature was found dead , although how it got in there remains a mystery .
Meanwhile , a live rabbit has been rescued from behind the dashboard of a van in Yorkshire . She escaped while being taken to her new home and made a bid for freedom by hiding in the vehicle ’ s bodywork . No amount of food would entice her out , so the fire brigade and RSPCA were called in and managed to rescue her after sealing off all escape routes and then dismantling the dashboard .
A bright orange bird found at the side of the A41 in Aylesbury was taken to a rescue centre where it was assumed to be an exotic species . However , it was quickly discovered that it was a herring gull covered in curry . Nicknamed Vinny ( as in vindaloo ) the bird was thoroughly washed and dried , and allowed to recover before being released back into the wild .
A happy ending for Matilada , a pregnant sow who escaped into a wood near Ollerton in Nottinghamshire . She was apparently seeking a safe nursery to give birth and duly produced ten piglets . The family was then spotted by a dog walker who alerted a local animal rescue group . Wold Farms Breeding Ltd , Matilda ’ s owner , finally captured them after three days of living rough and has handed them over for rehoming , rather than slaughtering the piglets as would normally happen when they reached six months old .
And finally the story of Titan who made a very slow bid for freedom from a garden in Suffolk . He was a mile from home when police caught up with him on June 4 , but it took three officers to manhandle him into their van . Titan is a 35-year-old African tortoise who weighs almost 60 kilos and has a shell measuring a metre across . His garden is protected by a fence a metre tall and how he got out remains a mystery , although his owner believes he may have been teleported ...
I don ’ t believe it
An Italian artist has sold an invisible sculpture for € 15,000 and has given the buyer a certificate of authenticity to prove it is real . Salvatore Garau from Sardinia sold the artwork , titled “ Io sono ” (“ I am ”) to an unidentified buyer last month . It is intended to be displayed in a square 150 x 150 centimetres in a private space without artificial lighting or air conditioning .
Its 67-year-old creator described the piece as a “ vacuum ” which is “ nothing more than a space full of energy .” It follows his earlier work “ Buddah in contemplation ” ( also invisible ) which was pictured on Instagram last month while on display in a square in Milan .
Spare a thought for …
… Ruby Goswell of Aldershot whose family have been sending her bottles of Baileys to cheer her up during lockdown . All went well until April when an Amazon van arrived to deliver her fortnightly treat and the driver demanded to see photographic identification , as detailed in the company ’ s terms and conditions for alcohol purchases . This left Ruby flustered because her passport had expired and she has no driving licence . After all , she is 94 years of age ...
… Noelia Novillo , a newsreader on the Argentinean TV channel Canal 26 who advised viewers at the end of May of the death of “ one of the most important writers in the English language ,” adding , “ for me the master .” Her comedy of errors continued , “ We ’ re talking about William Shakespeare ... we ' ll let you know how and why it happened .”
It appears that she had spotted news of the death of William “ Bill ” Shakespeare who died in hospital in Coventry on May 27 , aged 81 . Mr Shakespeare was in the news last December when he became the first man in the UK to receive the Covid vaccine .
The other William Shakespeare died in 1616 . Ms Novillo commented later , “ Everyone makes mistakes .”
Continued overleaf
24