Just in

In the news today

As they say with buses, so it is with our continuous perusal of the UK’s national newspapers on behalf of Rusters around the globe in search of stories of interest. Occasionally – after a seemingly eternal wait, several come along in a bunch.

So it has happened today. Here are a selection of those I came across:

 

THE SACKING OF DEFENCE SECRETARY GAVIN WILLIAMSON

The big news of yesterday was the sacking of “Private Pike”, the youthful-looking and bumptious Defence Secretary over the leak to the Daily Telegraph from the National Security Council meeting that the Prime Minister had overruled advice from several senior ministers and/or security and Defence chiefs to allow the state-connected Chinese technology company Huawei to contribute to ‘non-controversial’ aspects of Britain’s forthcoming 5G mobile phone etc. roll-out.

[I should add at this point that the current position includes Mr Williamson strenuously denying that he leaked anything and demanding a public inquiry and/or criminal investigation, whilst others are calling for him to be prosecuted and lose his severance pay.]

It goes without saying that nobody enjoys putting the boot in to an unloved Minister of the Crown when they’re down more than the newshounds of what is still called Fleet Street, even though few if any of them are still based in it. Here are some of today’s juicier offerings:

Tom Peck in the – INDEPENDENT

Andrew Pierce in the – DAILY MAIL

Martin Kettle in the – GUARDIAN

James Wood in the – DAILY MAIL

 

ROCK HITS THE MOON

Most of us can recall a rash of “Saving the Earth from meteors” movies about twenty years ago in which actors such as Bruce Willis set off in NASA rockets to intercept asteroids (and similar) and deflect them off into outer space, or alternatively blow them up, in order to save the human race and thereby the globe on which we all live.

Here’s a report by Andrew Griffin upon something from very far away that recently hit the Moon, as appears today upon the website of the – INDEPENDENT

 

NEW LIKENESS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI DISCOVERED

Mark Brown, arts correspondent, on the news that a drawing of Leonardo by one of his students or studio assistants may have been discovered in the the Royal Collection by its head of prints and drawings Martin Clayton, as spotted on the website of the – GUARDIAN

 

CHOICES OF MUSIC PLAYED AT FUNERALS

Here’s a survey list of these as Rebecca Smithers reports upon of the tide of shifting fashions in popular ditties given airings at funerals – and, for what it’s worth, the most memorable for which I was ever present for was when Dennis Kirkland, sometime producer/director on the Benny Hill Show, had Jerry Lee Lewis’s Great Balls Of Fire played as his coffin departed the church on its way to be cremated – as appears today upon the website of the – GUARDIAN

 

RUDE PUBLIC SIGNS

It’s amazing what some people can get up to in order to enrich their lives.

This one tickled my fancy. Brendan McFadden reports on two gentlemen who decided to take selfies at the site of some ‘naughty’ place names as appears today upon the website of the – DAILY MAIL

 

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About Miles Piper

After university, Miles Piper began his career on a local newspaper in Wolverhampton and has since worked for a number of national newspapers and magazines. He has also worked as a guest presenter on Classic FM. He was a founder-member of the National Rust board. More Posts