Friday Five News 18/3/16

I found this INTERNATIONAL story today.  It’s uplifting especially for those who have missing pets – anything is possible.  Beats reading any of the depressing stories that still dominate the news.

The budget has dominated our LOCAL news this week.  I don’t profess to understand much of it but things that did catch my attention were the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks.  I’m not convinced this will reduce consumption that much but it’s not coming in until 2018 so we will have to wait and see. 

Another measure to be introduced is the plan for all schools to become academies by 2022.  In theory that’s a good thing as it gives schools greater say over how they are run and provides them with more money.  In practise it doesn’t necessarily mean improvements to results and when several schools are taken over by an academy chain it can become more about business than education.

There are also going to be more cuts in public spending and in disability allowances.  Although there seems to be some confusion over the disability changes and these will be fiercely contested by the Labour party.  We will have to wait and see whether that makes it through parliament or not.

In SPORT:  All eyes will be on Victoria Pendleton this afternoon as she takes part in the Cheltenham Racing Festival.  Victoria is best known for riding a bicycle saddle a part of GB’s Olympic team in 2012 but during this last year she has switched to a horse saddle and has been taking part in competitive events.  (With mixed success.)

I admire her for wanting to take up a new challenge but I’m not sure she made a good choice.

The ENTERTAINMENT for me this week will be the BBC’s Sport Relief event tonight.  This is usually entertaining but it is interspersed with some harrowing stories of the projects it supports here in the UK and abroad.  Lots of celebrities take part and some of them undertake really hard challenges. 

I was inspired by the comedienne Jo Brand’s walk across the country.  Jo is an unlikely looking walker, morbidly obese according to her trainer.  She also didn’t follow her training programme so perhaps wasn’t as prepared as she should have been.  But, despite difficult terrain and, sometimes, appalling weather conditions, she carried on and completed the walk in 7 days.  I guess you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other!

For MISCELLANEOUS  I picked this story about how things can go viral on the internet.  It features one of the ugliest dogs I’ve ever seen who has the unfortunate name of Tuna.

All links are courtesy of the BBC website. Opinions are my own.