November 2021 | Page 26

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her security , and has been told that she may need to employ bodyguards while on campus . She says that her academic career has been “ effectively ended ” by her former branch of the University and College Union which failed to support her .
The BBC was forced to make a correction after it failed to challenge a University of Sussex student union officer who falsely accused Stock of supporting anti-transgender statements and of supporting a declaration to , “ eliminate trans people in law .”
However , the Professor has been backed by the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission , Baroness Falkner of Margravine , who called the attacks disgraceful . The UK ’ s new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss , added her approval to Baroness Falkner ’ s comments , while the University has said it will not tolerate threats to “ academic freedoms .”
Earlier this year , the UK Government announced plans to crack down on issues around free speech at universities , launching the Higher Education ( Freedom of Speech ) Bill .
The row over Professor Stock came as a think-tank reported that one in three young people believe those who disagree with them on politics must be factually wrong . The UK group More In Common concluded that such people were not being taught enough about the importance of respect for others ’ opinions at school and university . The results came from polls and focus groups involving around 10,000 people earlier this year .
Travel News
Locals in the Essex village of Feering have been bemused by new bus stops which were erected during the Covid lockdown . It ’ s only since restrictions were lifted that a problem with them has become evident .
Each of the wooden shelters incorporates a bench for passengers to sit on while waiting for their bus to arrive . Such benches are usually located 20 inches ( 51 cm ) off the ground but these shelters have benches at 30 inches ( 76 cm ) above ground level .
The result is that even passengers who are six feet tall find their feet dangling in the air when they sit down . More seriously , many elderly and disabled people have found they cannot clamber onto the benches and have to stand when waiting at a shelter .
Essex Highways has promised to rectify the problem as soon as possible , thus begging the question about why it happened in the first place .
At Japan ’ s Narita airport , the nation ’ s second busiest , five flights were delayed recently after a turtle weighing two kilos was spotted taking a leisurely short cut across Runway A . The animal was removed by airport ground workers using a net .
According to the Ministry of Land , Infrastructure , Transport and Tourism ' s Narita Airport office , among the five planes delayed was an All Nippon
Airways ( ANA ) aircraft which had Hawaiian-style green sea turtle design on the fuselage . An ANA statement said , “ In Hawaii , sea turtles are seen as bringing good luck , and we hope this turtle that came to see the flight off signals a bright future .”
( We are reminded of the story of an aircraft captain who reported to Air Traffic Control that he had spotted a dead cow lying at the end of the runway as he took off . The ATC controller is alleged to have replied , “ Thank you . We will advise our caterers .”)
Meanwhile , it ’ s been far from bright for drivers in the UK who have been suffering fuel shortages at filling stations with news bulletins showing images of long vehicle queues forming on the nation ’ s streets . So it was unsurprising that , when a tanker was spotted in Wolverhampton in late September , car drivers started following the vehicle to whichever filling station was its destination .
By the time the tanker got to its destination in Northampton almost 70 miles away , its driver found he had a tail of 44 vehicles behind him . It was only when he turned his lorry into a building site that his followers realised he was not carrying fuel , but 44 tons of mortar .
When he got out to tell them , one frustrated motorist castigated him saying , “ You could have stopped and told us you weren ’ t a petrol tanker .”
And while we ’ re on the subject , BBC Breakfast appeared to make light of the fuel crisis by sending a reporter to a Stockport filling station on September 25 . His name ? Phil McCann . ( Really !)
Making plans for Nigels
Talking of names , if yours is Nigel you could be in for a free drink . Nigel Smith , who is landlord of the Fleece Inn in Bretforton , Worcestershire , discovered that , according to the UK ’ s Office for National Statistics , no babies were given the name Nigel in either 2016 or 2020 .
In 2019 , 432 Nigels joined him for a free pint so creating a new world record which he ’ s hoping to break next year during another Nige-fest at the pub . At present , he ’ s scouring the world to send invitations to people called Nigel with another free pint on offer to each Nigel who can bring proof with them . He ’ s also promising a prize to any parents who have named a child Nigel .
Nigel says that 1963 , the year he was born , was peak Nigel year in the UK . There were over 5,000 Nigels born along with him , and he ’ s now concerned that the name is dying out . He also says the unpopularity is down to ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage .
According to the Office for National Statistics , the most popular baby names in 2020 were Oliver and Olivia , the same as in the previous five years .
Muhammad is the most popular name for a baby boy , but it comes fifth in the rankings because of its various spellings . Traditional names including Gordon , Stuart , Carol , Sally , Sue , Jonathan and , of course , Nigel seem to be dying out of fashion .
I don ’ t believe it !
A drunk couple broke into a closed water park in Aldershot at 2.00am and decided to use a water slide without realising it had been blocked at the end with a steel barrier . After they hit it at speed , they were trapped for over three hours and had to be treated for broken shins and feet . The pair say they may take legal action because , they claim , it was too easy to get into the park and onto the slide .
A 45-year-old Italian man who attempted to rob a branch of Banco Sabadell in Alicante failed after his false leg fell off leaving him unable to run away and he was overpowered by customers . He was one of a pair of bungling thieves who burst into the bank at the end of September brandishing a
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