Each week, Ben Hopkinson looks back at a serious, crazy, and happy news story from the past week.
Serious News
In a bid to save money, almost half of Metropolitan Police front counters are set to close.
The number of counters open will drop from 38 to 20, with only eight being 24 hours.
The cuts will save around £7million a year, as part of the wider effort to save £260million.
This has broken the pledge made by both the mayor and The Met to have a counter open 24/7 within each of the 32 boroughs.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist says: “It's inevitable that some of the choices we're having to make will change the way we police London and will be unpopular with some people. We need to make difficult choices and prioritise. This essentially comes down to us having to choose between keeping officers on London's streets, where they can respond to the public, or retaining the current position on all front counters, which may be a symbolic point of access but are largely underutilised, especially overnight”.
One of the closures proposed is local, being the Plumstead station – the rest are below:
-
Barking Learning Centre, Barking and Dagenham
-
Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets
-
Chingford, Waltham Forest
-
Church Street, Westminster
-
Dagenham, Barking and Dagenham
-
Edmonton, Enfield
-
Hammersmith, Hammersmith and Fulham
-
Harrow
-
Hayes, Hillingdon
-
Kentish Town, Camden
-
Kensington, Kensington and Chelsea
-
Lavender Hill, Wandsworth
-
Mitcham, Merton
-
Royalty Studios, Kensington and Chelsea
-
Tottenham, Haringey
-
Twickenham, Richmond
-
Wimbledon, Merton
Crazy News
Losing family or friends is a really upsetting time to go through, but the Southbank Centre hosted a grief rave last Sunday to help process bereavement.
Founded by Annie Frost Nicholson and Carlie Attridge, they wanted to “create a space where people can express their own individual grief but collectively join in and dance together”.
One element of the event is the Fandango Discoteca – a soundproof pod to be alone and listen to a song that reminds them of their loved one.
Someone who attended was Millicent Blackwood, who lost her mum almost four years ago and explained: “I grew up watching my mum dance in the kitchen when she was cooking Sunday roast. When I heard on the radio, there was this grief rave. What better way to represent my mum and celebrate her life”.
Happy News
Former classmates from Losse Primary School in Maidstone had a reunion after almost 60 years.
Retaking their class photo from 1966, were 14 of the original 36 students – after two friends went searching for five years.
Lynne Higson helped organise the gathering and said it was “wonderful to catch up and find out what everyone had been up to”.
Even their teacher, Shirley Arnold now 86, was present and gifted a book filled with everyone’s life stories, adding: “It has really made my day. I have looked forward to it and it was great to see so many smiling faces”.
Ms Higson says that Ms Arnold was “really strict, kept everyone in their place, but was lovely. She really grounded us. We wouldn't be the people we are today without her”.
Comments
Add a comment