A former headmaster of a scandal-hit Catholic boarding school has resigned from a senior role at a Benedictine college of Oxford University.Father Francis Davidson is accused of covering up child sex abuse during his time at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands.He is quitting as monastic superior of St Benet's Hall.He was responsible at the Oxford college for the welfare of student monks.Fr Davidson's resignation follows a BBC Scotland investigation into physical and sexual abuse at Fort Augustus and its preparatory school in East Lothian, Carlekemp.Since the programme was broadcast on 29 July at least 30 more ex-pupils have come forward alleging abuse at the schools between the 1950s and 1990s.It brings to about 50 the total number of alleged victims who have spoken to the BBC.In total, 10 monks are now accused of physical abuse; four monks and one lay teacher of sexual abuse including rape; and three headmasters of cover-ups.'Cover up'One of those involved was Fr Chrysostom … [Read more...] about Former headmaster resigns over Fort Augustus abuse claims
Houston trade schools
Weekly papers: Boat raised and an ‘obscene’ pay rise
There is disgust in County Down over one of the "worst ever" incidents of fly tipping.More than 200 tyres were dumped at Saintfield Livestock Mart last week, the Down Recorder reports.Unfortunately the mart is to be used for a Christmas charity event this weekend. Because the offending tyres were ditched on private land Newry, Mourne and Down Council is not permitted to remove them.Local councillors are hoping CCTV will help police identify the culprit. "It is disgusting," said event organiser Joan Cunningham, but the setback has not dampened her spirits and her event is still all systems go.Also in the paper - an impressive sight on the seas.A fishing trawler which ran aground and sank off the Ardglass harbour has been raised from the seabed and taken to a Scottish port for inspection.The NI fishery Harbour Authority says an investigation into the sinking will be carried out. The trawler got into difficulty as it tried to offload its catch and a rescue operation was mounted. … [Read more...] about Weekly papers: Boat raised and an ‘obscene’ pay rise
Rise in hate crimes on children under 18 and many suffer in silence
Children as young as 11 are suffering in silence from bullying and racist name calling because of their race or faith, campaigners fear. And police forces have reported a 14% increase in hate crimes against children under 18 in one year, with 5,349 offences recorded with a racial, religious or faith-based element last year. Leading children’s charity, the NSPCC has seen a spike in counselling sessions about racial and faith based bullying after recent terror attacks. The number rose by over a third to 128 in April last year following the Westminster Bridge attack in March 2017, compared to the previous month’s 94. After the Brussels attack on March 22, 2016, Childline delivered 99 counselling sessions on racial and faith based bullying in the same month, a rise of almost 50% from February 2016, where it held 67 sessions. Children contacting the charity’s Childline said the abuse and negative stereotyping was so cruel they had self-harmed or the bullying in and out of … [Read more...] about Rise in hate crimes on children under 18 and many suffer in silence
Lord Marsh obituary
It used to be said of Harold Wilson, during his difficult early years in office as prime minister, that he looked in his mirror every morning and saw Dick Marsh. A charismatic young Labour MP who had already made his name in parliament, Marsh, who has died aged 83, was widely regarded as a possible future leader of the Labour party. He had impeccable qualifications for the post: a working-class background, further education at Ruskin College, Oxford, and a former career as a trade union official. He had been an office boy in the gloomy basement of Transport House, the Labour party headquarters, and had made influential political contacts through the Labour club at Oxford. He was a brilliant speaker, an impressive broadcaster long before the days of media training and a charming, humorous, likeable character. He joined the first Wilson government when it was formed in 1964, and within four years was a member of the cabinet as minister of transport. But his political career was swiftly … [Read more...] about Lord Marsh obituary
Tony Curtis
Adrian Wootton: Would you please welcome, Tony Curtis. [standing ovation] Tony Curtis: Hello everybody. Happy to see you all. It's wonderful for me to be able to see glimpses of these old movies [referring to clips of The Defiant Ones and Sweet Smell of Success]. It's very moving for me - there I am, a kid, and here I am, a man. Thank you for your kindness and your friendship. AW: Tony, welcome. Can we start at the start - can you tell us about how you became an actor and got to work for Universal? TC: Acting is something that we all practice at some time in our lives. We're different people to our mothers, fathers, our friends, people that we hung out together with, people that didn't like us or we didn't like them. We readjust ourselves. And as a boy in New York City, I was very aware of that. My parents were Hungarian immigrants; my father was a tailor and we lived in the back of a tailor store. And that was my first inkling of what it was like to be raised in America. It had a … [Read more...] about Tony Curtis