Creating yourself

NHS nurses have slammed the government's proposal of a 'pitiful' 1 per cent pay rise after Rishi Sunak warmed Britain will be paying off Covid debts for decades. The Royal College of Nursing said nurses should be getting 12.5% more and said the government should expect a "backlash" should the suggested pay rise goes ahead. A staggering 1 million people will be dragged into paying the higher rate of income tax by 2025 thanks to the Chancellor's plans, they warned - taking the total to 5 million. Paul Johnson, from the IFS, warned that further tax rises are likely to lie ahead and said it was a "tale of two budgets" as the Chancellor extended several support packages including furlough for months to come. He said the tax burden is set to rocket to levels not seen since the 1960s, and warned gloomily: “It is possible we'll see even bigger ones over the next few years”. Mr Johnson said: “Take account of the cuts to planned spending announced in the Autumn and Santa Sunak, … [Read more...] about Budget 2021 news – NHS nurses’ FURY at ‘pitiful’ 1% pay rise after covid created toughest year in living memory

Greece's tourism minister has said Britons hoping for a summer holiday in the country can start booking as it prioritises giving the COVID vaccine to the inhabitants of around 40 small islands. The islands, which each have a population of less than 1,000 people, include Halki near Rhodes, Kastellorizo off the Turkish coast, Meganisi in the Ionian Sea and Kythira in the Peloponnese peninsula, according to the Daily Telegraph. Larger destinations such as Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu will be targeted once Greece's tiniest islands have been vaccinated, the newspaper said. However, UK government has said the earliest date people from England can travel abroad for a holiday is 17 May - that is provided the four tests for easing lockdown are met. Follow live COVID-19 updates from the UK and around the world Advertisement Greek tourism minister Harry Theoharis told the Telegraph: "If you're going to send a medical team to an island with a small population, … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Greece invites Britons to start booking holidays as it targets 40 islands for vaccinations

MORE than 17,000 earthquakes have been recorded in the south-west of Iceland, in the Reykjanes Peninsula, during the past week. People living in the area have been advised to be extra careful due to dangers of landslides and rockfall. Many of the larger earthquakes have even been felt in Iceland's capital city, Reykjavik (where over half of the population lives), which lies only 27km away. This has led to heightened concerns about the effects of even larger earthquakes and also of a possible eruption from the Krýsuvík volcanic system in the area. South-west Iceland has a track record of centuries of calm, which we know can be broken by turbulent periods of intense earthquake activity accompanied by volcanic eruptions. It looks like we are entering the next turbulent period. The most recent earthquake swarm is in fact the latest in a period of significantly heightened seismic activity that started over a year ago. The shaking of the Earth is the most obvious … [Read more...] about Giant Iceland volcano system may erupt after 17,000 earthquakes recorded in a week

THERE are some tedious cleaning tasks we know we have to do daily - like wiping down the hob or scrubbing the loo. But even though we do a load of laundry most days, we can't remember the last time we drained our washing machines. After discovering she should be doing this task roughly every six weeks, one savvy woman has revealed her easy method which keeps mess to a minimum. Giving her followers a step-by-step guide, the woman explained how she originally saw the "life hack" recommended by TikTok user Terra Bee. She wrote: "Lived on my own for five years and never knew this." As nothing would fit under the washing machine's plug, the woman simply lay a towel around it absorb the smelly water. She then unscrewed the plug and wiped any lingering cleaning products on the towel. "Not as bad as I expected," she wrote. "Will 100% do this regularly from now on." According to the experts at Home Revolution , you should drain your washing machine once every six weeks … [Read more...] about Cleaning fan shares mess-free method for draining washing machine and it’s blowing people’s minds

Lockdown has been a nightmare... but for singer Paloma Faith it did lead to her dream family. The star was on the brink of ­giving up in her bid for a second child after five failed rounds of IVF sapped her both physically and mentally. But things changed when lockdown came – and last month she welcomed her second daughter with partner Leyman Lahcine. Paloma, 39, says: “I feel like you know for yourself what your boundaries are and I actually knew I’d had enough after three goes. Then lockdown happened and I thought, ‘What else am I going to do?’ I’ll have ­another go – and then it worked.” Next thing was to come to terms with the pregnancy and birth itself – after revealing that her first labour was so tough it was as if she had been “to the gates of hell”. Paloma says: “My last birth was so wild. It’s a bit like when you do your driving test and you don’t want to tell anyone when it is. “Everything went wrong – she was early, it was a big bloody mess, on many levels. … [Read more...] about New mum Paloma Faith says lockdown led to her dream family after infertility hell