Historic Vancouver post office artworks saved, cleaned up and will be reinstalled
Historic post office artworks, including one that was long hidden from view, will have prominent public locations in the redevelopment


Orville Fisher's mural for the Vancouver Post Office at 349 West Georgia, which opened in 1958. The mural depicts the way mail has been moved, such as by stagecoach, train and plane. It will be installed in a new mixed-use project at the site. PHOTO BY CHERYLE HARRISON

Many Vancouverites remember the giant bas-relief sculpture of a postman that used to grace the southwest corner of the Vancouver post office at 349 West Georgia.

But few know that artist Orville Fisher also did a magnificent mural for the building.

It was tucked away in the employee entrance. “It was in a really crummy location,” said the artist’s son Ron Fisher. “Not only was it behind glass, but it was behind two layers of glass. There were two sets of doors.”

The post office building is being rebuilt into The Post, a giant multi-use development with retail, office and residential space. Two towers are being added on top of the existing 1958 structure, which has been gutted during the renovations.

Ron Fisher is married to former Vancouver Sun columnist Nicole Parton, who recently emailed me to ask what had happened to Orville Fisher’s post office mural.

Numerous murals like this has been lost over the years — Fisher, E.J. Hughes and Paul Goranson produced a mural for the B.C. pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in San Francisco that vanished after the fair.

But in this case, four historic artworks were saved and will be installed in the new project: Fisher’s mural, Paul Huba’s bas relief The Postman, a Huba tile mural of a mother and child, and the cornerstone.

“The Postman is going back on the outside of the building,” explains Don Luxton, the heritage consultant for the project. “We’re not sure about the (location of) the cornerstone, it’s going to go in the public areas. The mural and tile mural are going up basically where Homer Street opens up, it’s going to be a food court/public area.”

This will finally give the masses a chance to see the Orville Fisher mural, a lovely piece that blends a variety of images in muted colours.

“It’s supposed to represent all the different ways of carrying mail and messages,” explains Ron Fisher, who lives in Qualicum Beach. “The big symbol in the middle is the god Mercury, who was the messenger of the gods. All around it is everything from diesel trains to steam trains to airplanes to boats, sailing ships and the Pony Express, that kind of thing.”

Moving murals and bas-relief sculptures is a complicated business, so conservator Cheryle Harrison was brought in.

Each artwork presented a challenge. The Fisher mural, for example, turned out to be painted on canvas that had been “adhered to the wall.”

“We had protective tissues and layers put on, then we brought it down and rolled it onto large drums,” she said. “It was in four sections. Didn’t know that until I got up there and started working on it. I found it to be very dirty, but in pretty good shape. It has had some repairs to it in the past.”


Paul Hub’s bas-relief of a letter carrier at the old Vancouver post office was installed in 1958. It will be re-installed in a new mixed-use project at the site. PHOTO BY NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

Moving The Postman meant bringing in “specialized lifting equipment.”

“It’s made out of granite, ruby granite,” Harrison explains.

“So it’s quite beautiful, (but) it has a cornerstone which weighs like 8,700 pounds. That’s gives you an idea of some of the weight. There were different ways it was attached, so it (was done in) different stages, detaching each one of the stones before the corner one.

“We had forklifts and small cranes, and (bigger) cranes for moving them.”

The art works are now being conserved, cleaned and stored in Harrison’s Nanaimo studio. The Postman may be reinstalled this year, but on the Hamilton Street side of the building, not the Homer Street side. The first tower should be done in the spring of 2022, the second in fall of 2022, and the project will open in 2023.

Fisher graduated from the Vancouver School of Art in the 1930s, joining fellow students Hughes and Goranson in a mural company. They did a giant mural for First United Church at Gore and Hastings, but it was lost when the building was torn down.

Their big break was the commission for the San Francisco World’s Fair. The trio painted a 12-part mural depicting a “specialized and typical form of British Columbian industrial, social or sporting life.”

According to a 1939 Vancouver Sun story, Fisher did the mural’s sections on railways, highways, agriculture and commercial fishing; Goranson did shipping, mountaineering, lode mining and tree falling; and Hughes concentrated on big game hunting, sport fishing, First Nations community life and tractor logging.

They went to San Francisco to install it, and received a cheque. Fisher was nervous about walking around with it, so he hid it in a dresser in his hotel room.

The following morning the trio hopped on a train back to Vancouver.

“I think one of them asked about the cheque and my dad’s face went really white,” said Ron Fisher. “They got off the train at the next stop” and went back to the hotel to get it.

All three became acclaimed war artists during the Second World War. The Canadian War Museum says Orville Fisher was the only Allied war artist to land with the troops in Normandy on June 6, 1944. A Fisher painting of Juno Beach on D-Day has been issued as a stamp.

After the war, Fisher (1911-1999) taught at the Vancouver School of Art, while Goranson (1911-2002) worked as a set designer for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. E.J. Hughes (1913-2007) went on to become one of B.C.’s most famous painters, and his 1946 painting Fishboats, Rivers Inlet sold for $2,041,250 at a Heffel auction in 2018.


Artist Orville Fisher at work on the mural he did with E.J. Hughes and Paul Goranson for the British Columbia section of the Western States Building at the San Francisco World’s Fair in 1939. The photo is dated Feb. 3, 1939, and was taken by San Francisco photographer J.K. Piggott. Vancouver Sun


Artist E.J. Hughes at work on the mural he did with Orville Fisher and Paul Goranson for the San Francisco World’s Fair in 1939. Vancouver Sun


Artist Paul Goranson at work on the mural he did with Orville Fisher and E,J. Hughes in 1939. Vancouver Sun


Section of the mural done by artists E.J. Hughes, Orville Fisher and Paul Goranson for the British Columbia section of the Western States Building at the San Francisco World’s Fair in 1939. Vancouver Sun

https://o.canada.com/news/local-news/hi ... einstalled

[Fatima99]

Drunk man sparks police rescue after getting trapped in bin truck outside McDonald's


It is understood the unnamed victim had climbed a ladder on to the vehicle's side and dived in before getting lodged inside the lorry's waste compartment, which was full of rubbish



A drunk man needed to be rescued after getting trapped in a bin truck full of rubbish.

The unnamed man had to be freed by police after getting stuck inside the lorry's waste compartment outside a McDonald's restaurant in the US.

It is understood he climbed a ladder on to the vehicle's side and dived in before getting lodged inside with the refuse.

Officers in Oklahoma revealed the victim could not remember how he got there - or even who he was, the Mirror reports.

Detailing the unusual incident in a post on Facebook, Enid Police Department said officers responded to reports of a drunken man becoming lodged inside a bin lorry on Monday.

Police rushed to the scene at the Oklahoma McDonald's at about 4.45am.

The truck driver said that the man, who has not been named, had climbed up on to the side before leaping in.

The back half of the lorry was said to be full and could not be opened without "endangering the man inside," according to reports.

Police said: "Officers spoke with the man, who would not identify himself or explain how or why he was inside the back of the trash truck.

"So, we did what anyone else would do: We called our neighbours at the Enid Fire Department and asked to borrow a ladder."

[BigGlen]

The Virtual St. Patrick’s Day Fest Actually Sounds Pretty Cool



In the States, St. Patrick’s Day usually involves consuming inadvisable quantities of whisky, Guinness, and/or corned beef, dying a river green, getting pinched and, for many, making a clear point of staying home.

And sure, that’s all part of it. But it seems to us that celebrating a country of such staggering artistic, literary, and musical heritage should involve some, you know, actual culture. From Oscar Wilde to U2, Irish steppers to politically-incorrect leprechauns, there’s a lot we can credit to the Irish.

Which is why we’re excited about the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day festival, which for the second year in a row and for obvious reasons, will be virtual. In lieu of the blowout parade that typically draws crowds of over 500,000 to Dublin, the fest has been reimagined into a dynamic six day extravaganza from March 12-17 with over 100 virtual events—all of them totally free, and all of them something we’d actually want to check out.

https://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/

There’s storytelling with Eddie Lenihan who, besides having a glorious beard, is what’s known as a seanchaithe—one of the few traditional Irish lore-keepers remaining in Ireland. The author and cultural preservationist is really into folk tales, fallen angels, and supernatural beings but really, Eddie down for anything, and that’s why he’s often called a national treasure.

You can take a virtual walking tour of Oscar Wilde’s Dublin, which includes readings of his works, or learn willow weaving in the traditional manner of the Aran Islands, the three rocky islands in western Ireland’s Galway Bay. No willow to be found around your home? Find some stiff wool, or just sit back and enjoy the brogue.

There’s Irish food history, comedy by up-and-comers, socially-conscious dance, and poetry. Plus a “Dodgy History of Ireland,” an animated series on famous Irish people and historical events including pirate queen Grace O’Malley, gambler Buck Whaley, and the man of the hour, St. Patrick. Most intriguing is the story of St. Brigid, whose hits include changing bathwater into beer for a leper colony, and providing enough beer for 18 churches from just one barrel—a miracle which earned her consideration as one of the patron saints of beer.

And there will still be a parade, although virtual. To participate, you can learn costume-making and choreography from professionals, hear from artists and engineers about the art of pageantry, make a cool eagle mask or Celtic headpiece, then put it all together, take a picture and hashtag it so everyone can admire your handiwork.

It all caps off with the Barróg Lá Fhéile Phádraig—the St. Patrick’s Hug—on the night of March 17th, gathering the best of Irish traditional players and singers for a cozy fire-lit evening of music, pre-recorded in Dublin’s famous pub venue Whelan's. The evening would definitely pair well with a glass of Irish whiskey.

[PennySerenade]

Timmins, Ontario man makes shocking discovery in thrift store find



TIMMINS -- A trip to a local thrift shop can sometimes give you more than what you bargained for, and that's exactly what happened to a Timmins man.

Rick Picard recently bought himself a stereo cassette player, but when it wasn't working, he decided to do some tinkering.

“I purchased a 1970s Sansui cassette deck and I’ve had it home for a couple of days," Picard said. "So Sunday I had nothing to do so I took it apart so I could find out what was wrong with it."

He was hoping to play some of his favourite tunes, but the song coming out of the deck was off-key, to say the least.

He unscrewed the top, saw some foam and then he saw a board. He lifted both up and much to his surprise, he discovered a Ruger .22 calibre semi-automatic pistol inside.

"A bunch of things were going through our minds like why? What? Why is it there?" Picard said. "So we (he and his wife) talked for a little bit and ended up calling Timmins police to see what we should do. They advised us not to touch it because we didn’t know if it was loaded or not, so we left it as is and they sent an officer over and he safely removed it from our house."



Timmins police said Picard did the right thing by calling them. The gun will be sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for testing.

“They will determine whether or not the firearm has been used in a recent crime," said Marc Depatie, communications coordinator for the Timmins Police Service. "There’s a database of those things that have to be matched up against the firearm so that may not be able to be determined depending on the origin of the firearm."

If the gun is Canadian, all restricted firearms must be registered by make and model numbers and police will try to track the original owner down.

Failing that, police say they'll assume the gun came from outside the country.

[hija]

Circular economy: Ikea has pledged to buy back customers’ old furniture



The world’s largest furniture brand will soon buy used goods from customers as part of a drive to become more sustainable.

Ikea’s ‘buy back’ scheme was originally due to launch in the UK in November, but was delayed due to the pandemic. The company has said it will reboot the scheme when retail reopens at the end of the current UK lockdown.

The ‘buy back’ scheme offers customers up to 50 per cent of the original value of their unwanted items in the form of Ikea vouchers. Ikea will resell the used items. The brand already does this in Stockholm, where it opened its first secondhand furniture shop in 2020.

“The climate crisis requires us all to radically rethink our consumption habits,” said Pia Heidenmark Cook at Ingka Group, Ikea’s holding company.

[lush]

Landowner And Conservation Groups Protect Nearly 5,000 Acres Of Elk Habitat In Utah
March 11, 2021*

Nearly 5,000 acres of prime elk habitat in northcentral Utah is now forever protected thanks to a conservation-minded landowner, the USDA Forest Service, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL), and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Photo credit: Louis Arevalo

"This action by the Simonsen family to place a conservation easement on their land to protect its wildlife values speaks volumes to their understanding of and dedication to elk and other wildlife," said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. "We appreciate and salute them as well as our partners at FFSL who will manage the easement."

The property, divided up into two separate nearby tracts, is roughly 40 miles east of Spanish Fork in the Wasatch Mountain Range. Bordered on three sides by the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, it provides spring, summer and winter range for elk and is also a crucial calving area. Additionally, it is an important migration corridor for elk and mule deer alike.

While the acreage features four different types of forest stands including aspen, it also consists of several miles of the Left Fork and Middle Fork of the White River plus miles of perennial and intermittent streams, meadows and riparian areas with ponds benefiting many bird, animal and fish species.

"We appreciate the Simonsen family, FFSL, and RMEF for their support and commitment to private forest resources in the state of Utah. The conservation easement provides important habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife species," said Janet Valle, USDA Forest Service, Forest Legacy and Forest Stewardship Program manager. "We are thrilled that the USDA Forest Service, Forest Legacy Program could help with this conservation effort."

Founded more than 36 years ago, RMEF has conserved more than 8.1 million acres for elk and other wildlife.

[johngriffen]

(Image courtesy of goldie0608)

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
THURSDAY MARCH 18
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -5)
2:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them to under a minute, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[Fatima99]

Ancient Biblical Scrolls and Rare Coins of ‘Immeasurable Worth for Mankind’ Discovered in Desert Cave

Dozens of rare parchment fragments that are over 1,800 years old have been found in a remote cave in the Judean Desert.



“For the first time in approximately 60 years, archaeological excavations have uncovered fragments of a biblical scroll,” said local authorities, and they contained passages from the books of Zechariah and Nahum—portions of the Books of the Twelve Minor Prophets from the Hebrew bible and Old Testament.

The scroll was believed to be the writings of Jewish rebels who fled to the hills in Judea after the ancient Romans rebuffed one of their many revolts.

These discoveries have been uncovered as part of a daring official excavation by the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) to prevent the cave from being looted by artifact hunters.

On the scrolls, most of the words are written in Greek—the local language following the conquest of the area by Alexander 500 years before—with only the word ‘God’ written in Hebrew.

In an announcement, IAA called the process a “complex and challenging” operation, and the finds “of immeasurable worth for mankind.”

Also discovered were a trove of ancient coins minted by the rebels attempting to create a stable state.



The mummified remains of a 6,000-year-old child, thought to be a girl, were also uncovered.

And a giant, woven basket was found. Suspected to be around 10,500 years old, it dates back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period and is thought to be the oldest completely intact basket in the world.



The complex operation included employing drones and reaching virtually inaccessible areas. The mouth of the cave is about 260 feet, or 80 meters, below the lip of a cliff, down which the excavators and scientists were required to rappel.

It’s the type of terrain feature in the Judean Desert that years ago revealed the remarkable Dead Sea Scrolls, and other relics found in the infamous ‘Cave of Horror’ that contained 40 skeletons.

Book returned to New York library was 63 years overdue



A woman who checked a book out from a New York library in 1957 mailed the overdue volume back to the facility with a $500 donation.

Betty Diamond, 74, of Madison, Wis., said she checked out Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger, a collection of Paul Bunyan stories by Glen Rounds, from a Queens Public Library branch in 1957.

Diamond said the book ended up lost among her own books, and she came across it over the years, but was unsure what to do with a book that was so long overdue.

Diamond, who teaches literature at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, said she recently decided to make amends and mailed the book back to the library branch in Auburndale with a $500 donation to cover any late fees.

Nick Buron, the chief librarian of the Queens Public Library, said the donation was unnecessary, but appreciated. He said the library stops charging fees after seven years.

Buron said an estimated 11,000 library materials currently in circulation are seven or more years overdue, but the 63-year overdue book was a once-in-a-lifetime arrival.

A book recently was returned to the Cape Breton Regional Library in Nova Scotia, Canada, after an even longer period of time: 82 years.

The copy of The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting, was returned by Jordan Muscyscyn, who found it stashed away in the attic while doing renovations on his recently purchased home in Sydney, Nova Scotia, home.

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/03/17 ... 616013506/

[goldie0608]

Yo-Yo Ma Gives Surprise Performance at the COVID Vaccine Site After Getting His Second Jab



A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but when it comes to a shot in the arm, there’s nothing more soothing than a little music to get the job done—especially when it’s being performed by world-class cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

That’s just what some lucky folks getting their COVID-19 vaccinations were treated to at Berkshire Community College’s field house clinic after Yo-Yo Ma received his second inoculation dose.

While waiting out his 15-minute observation period, Yo-Yo Ma sat down to play a masked and socially distant impromptu concert for his fellow “inoculees.”

“[He] wanted to give something back,” Richard Hall of the Berkshire COVID-19 Vaccine Collaborative said in an interview with The Berkshire Eagle.

After the college published footage of Yo-Yo Ma’s anti-virus-vaccination performance to their Facebook, the post (ironically) went viral—but in a good way.

This mini-concert isn’t the first time Yo-Yo Ma has employed his music as a calming force during the pandemic. The day of his second inoculation marked one year to the day for a series of performances he’d launched with the hashtag #SongsOfComfort.

“In these days of anxiety, I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that gives me comfort,” he tweeted in March of 2020. The first selection in his #SongsOfComfort series was Dvorák’s Going Home.

But the clinic gig wasn’t Yo-Yo Ma’s debut pop-up pandemic performance, either. Last September, he joined up with classical pianist Emanuel Ax for a live-stream virtual concert aimed at giving solace to essential workers, which the pair followed up with a string of spontaneous on-the-spot concerts for folks working on the pandemic frontline.

“This is really dedicated to all the people who are going through tough times,” he told Reuters. “Lost people who are pushing through, leading the strenuous life, and for the longest time not knowing if there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

And if you’re still having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Just close your eyes, keep moving forward, and let the music guide you instead.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=526128358788999

[PennySerenade]

Cloven-hoofed mystery: Bathurst streets suddenly bristling with mobs of deer

'We don't usually get a lot of deer here,' mayor says of downtown herd that's become the talk of social media



A set of videos and photos posted to Facebook has sparked excitement and chatter on a subject that, to many New Brunswickers, might seem unsurprising.

Deer spotted on the street? Isn't that kind of like spotting sand at the beach?

But these photos were taken in Bathurst, which is not exactly a hotspot for deer and hasn't been for many years.

In the wildlife management area surrounding that northern New Brunswick city, deer hunting is closed, deer sightings are occasional, and deer mobs are downright rare.

So when Tyler Ells saw a small herd of about 20 of the cloven-hoofed creatures prancing through the downtown core last week, he was agog.

He grabbed his phone and snapped some photos and a video, then posted them on Facebook.

Photos, video shared more than 4,000 times

Almost immediately, the comments started coming in.

"Wow! Now that is beautiful!"

"Wonderful!"

By the next day, his photos had been shared more than 3,000 times.

By the weekend, they had topped 4,000 shares, still climbing.

Ells said he was surprised by how much attention the post got but agreed it was "definitely an amazing sight."

"It's not very often you see them on the roads like that," he said.

Acting Mayor Lee Stever said he has had a couple of "deer mob" sightings lately as well.

"We've all seen them in the past few weeks, almost every day," Stever said. "And it's funny, because they're right in our busiest section of town."

Stever said seeing that many deer, particularly in the streets, is "very unusual."

"The odd time you'll get a moose here," he said. "But not deer. There hasn't been deer hunting in northern New Brunswick for at least 30 years, so it's nice to see that the herd is strong and coming back."

Stever said there have been no complaints whatsoever from residents — aside from a few people worried the animals might get hit by a vehicle — and he has no idea what's driving them into the city.



The Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development said there has not been a surge in the deer population numbers in the Bathurst area, despite what the street-herd sighting might suggest.

"Deer numbers are average this winter compared to the previous winter," department spokesperson Nick Brown said in an email.

Brown said it's not unusual to see a few more deer in and around Bathurst as melting snow increases their ability to get around and "search for food," but he noted the volume of deer in the downtown core could be a safety issue.

"The main public safety concern with high deer densities near urban centres is an increased risk of deer-vehicle accidents," Brown said.

That's something Bathurst Coun. Penny Anderson worries about as well.

Anderson said she has seen deer struck by cars in the Tetagouche Hill area, about five kilometres from the downtown.

"There's a very high volume on that stretch of road," she said.

Given the sheer volume of deer roaming the downtown lately, Anderson worries those deer, too, could be at risk of being struck.

Anderson said she often sees deer in her own neighbourhood near the Gowan Brae golf course, but even she was surprised by Ells's downtown deer photos.

"It was quite the sight," she said.

"I saw this too!"

[Fivetide]

Girl, 8, throws mattress from burning home, jumps to safety


An eight-year-old girl tossed a mattress out a third floor window before jumping to escape
a fire in her family’s Chicago home. (Chicago Fire Department photo, Twitter)

An 8-year-old Chicago girl whose mother was at work somehow managed to toss a mattress from her family’s third-story window during a fire and then jump onto it to safety, a fire official said Thursday.

Firefighters who arrived at the burning apartment on the city’s South Side just before midnight Wednesday found the girl safe outside. They were able to rescue two younger children who were inside, including the girl’s 5-year-old brother, who was at the window poised to follow his sister, and a 2-year old boy, the fire department said.

District Chief Frank Velez told the Chicago Tribune he was impressed by the girl’s quick thinking in a life-or-death situation, calling her idea “quite innovative.”

“You’d be surprised on what an individual can do when you’re in that sympathetic and parasympathetic stage of fight or flight. ... They’re thinking to save themselves one way or another and obviously you have to give a credit to the kid for really thinking of something like that,” Velez said.

Police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli said there were no charges pending against the children’s mother, explaining that a neighbor was babysitting them. Velez, however, said he did not know if the neighbor was in the apartment when the fire began.

Velez said the three children were taken to Comer Children’s Hospital to be evaluated for smoke inhalation, and that their conditions had been stabilized. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

[hija]

Spain agreed to trial a four-day working week



Advocates of a shorter working week have long argued that it would bring many benefits to society, including boosting productivity, improving equality and reducing emissions. This week, Spain became the first European country to be swayed by the idea, agreeing to trial a 32-hour week with firms that are interested in the experiment.

Details of the trial are still being fleshed out, including how many companies will be involved and how long the trial will last. However, the Spanish government is reportedly considering covering the costs incurred by participating firms (if there are any costs) as they switch to a shorter working week. Employee pay will be unaffected.

“With the four-day work week, we’re launching into the real debate of our times,” said Iñigo Errejón of the leftwing Más País party, which proposed the idea. “It’s an idea whose time has come.”

[BigGlen]

The 6 Best Hangover Cures (Backed by Science)



1. Eat a good breakfast
Eating a hearty breakfast is one of the most well-known remedies for a hangover.

One reason is that a good breakfast can help maintain your blood sugar levels.

Although low blood sugar levels are not necessarily the cause of a hangover, they’re often associated with it

Low blood sugar could also contribute to some hangover symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue and weakness

In fact, some studies also show that maintaining adequate blood sugar could mitigate some of the bodily changes that occur with alcohol consumption, such as the buildup of acid in the blood.

Excessive drinking can throw off the balance of the chemicals in your blood and cause metabolic acidosis, which is characterized by an increase in acidity. It could be associated with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and fatigue.

In addition to helping reduce certain hangover symptoms, eating a healthy breakfast can provide important vitamins and minerals, which may become depleted with excessive alcohol intake.

Although there is no evidence to show that low blood sugar is a direct cause of hangovers, eating a nutritious, well-balanced and hearty breakfast the morning after drinking may help reduce hangover symptoms.

2. Get plenty of sleep
Alcohol can cause sleep disturbances and may be associated with decreased sleep quality and duration for some individuals.

Though low to moderate amounts of alcohol may initially promote sleep, studies show that higher amounts and chronic use can ultimately disrupt sleep patterns.

While a lack of sleep does not cause a hangover, it can make your hangover worse.

Fatigue, headaches and irritability are all hangover symptoms that can be exacerbated by a lack of sleep.

Getting a good night’s sleep and allowing your body to recover may help alleviate symptoms and make a hangover more bearable.

3. Stay hydrated
Drinking alcohol can lead to dehydration in a few different ways.

First, alcohol has a diuretic effect. This means that it increases the production of urine, leading to a loss of fluids and electrolytes that are needed for normal functioning.

Second, excessive amounts of alcohol can cause vomiting, leading to an even further loss of fluids and electrolytes.

Although dehydration is not the only cause of a hangover, it contributes to many of its symptoms, such as increased thirst, fatigue, headache and dizziness.

Increasing your water intake may help alleviate some symptoms of hangovers and even prevent them altogether.

When drinking alcohol, a good rule of thumb is to alternate between a glass of water and a drink. Though this won’t necessarily prevent dehydration, it can help you moderate your alcohol intake.

Afterward, stay hydrated throughout the day by drinking water whenever you feel thirsty to reduce your hangover symptoms.

4. Have a drink the next morning
Also known as “hair of the dog,” many people swear by this common hangover remedy.

Though it’s largely based on myth and anecdotal evidence, there is some evidence to support that having a drink the next morning can lessen hangover symptoms.

This is because alcohol changes the way that methanol, a chemical found in small amounts in alcoholic beverages, is processed in the body.

After you drink alcohol, methanol is converted into formaldehyde, a toxic compound that could be the cause of some hangover symptoms.

However, drinking ethanol (alcohol) when you have a hangover can stop this conversion and prevent the formation of formaldehyde altogether. Instead of forming formaldehyde, methanol is then safely excreted from the body.

However, this method is not recommended as a treatment for hangovers, as it can lead to the development of unhealthy habits and alcohol dependence.

5. Try taking some of these supplements
Though research is limited, some studies have found that certain supplements could ease hangover symptoms.

Below are a few supplements that have been researched for their ability to reduce hangover symptoms:

Red ginseng: One study found that supplementing with red ginseng reduced blood alcohol levels, as well as hangover severity.
Prickly pear: Some evidence shows that this type of cactus could help treat hangovers. A 2004 study found that prickly pear extract decreased hangover symptoms and cut the risk of hangover severity in half.
Ginger: One study found that combining ginger with brown sugar and tangerine extract improved several hangover symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Borage oil: One study looked at the effectiveness of a supplement containing both prickly pear and borage oil, an oil derived from the seeds of starflower. The study found that it reduced hangover symptoms in 88% of participants.
Eleuthero: Also known as Siberian ginseng, one study found that supplementing with eleuthero extract alleviated several hangover symptoms and decreased overall severity.
Keep in mind that research is lacking and further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of supplements at reducing hangover symptoms.

6. Avoid drinks with congeners
Through the process of ethanol fermentation, sugars are converted into carbon dioxide and ethanol, also known as alcohol.

Congeners are toxic chemical by-products that are also formed in small amounts during this process, with different alcoholic beverages contain varying amounts.

Some studies have found that consuming drinks with a high amount of congeners could increase the frequency and severity of a hangover. Congeners may also slow the metabolism of alcohol and cause prolonged symptoms.

Drinks that are low in congeners include vodka, gin and rum, with vodka containing almost no congeners at all.

Meanwhile, tequila, whiskey and cognac are all high in congeners, with bourbon whiskey containing the highest amount.

One study had 95 young adults drink enough vodka or bourbon to reach a breath alcohol concentration of 0.11%. It found that drinking high-congener bourbon resulted in worse hangovers than drinking low-congener vodka.

Another study had 68 participants drink 2 ounces of either vodka or whiskey.

Drinking whiskey resulted in hangover symptoms like bad breath, dizziness, headache and nausea the following day, while drinking vodka did not.

Selecting drinks that are low in congeners may help reduce the incidence and severity of hangovers.

The bottom line
While there are many well-known hangover cures out there, few are actually backed by science.

However, there are several science-backed ways to avoid the unpleasant symptoms that follow a night of drinking.

Strategies include staying hydrated, getting plenty of sleep, eating a good breakfast and taking certain supplements, all of which could reduce your hangover symptoms.

Also, drinking in moderation and choosing drinks that are low in congeners can help you prevent a hangover in the first place. (CNN)

[lush]

Heartwarming moment schoolgirl, 16, is told she and her sister, 23, WON’T lose their family home after facing eviction because the tenancy ended when their mum died of Covid

+ Mother-of-five Kyra King died aged 48, just weeks after contracting coronavirus
+ Her daughter Courtney Johnson legally became guardian of her sister Milly, 16
+ They were told they couldn’t take over tenancy of family home in Staffordshire
+ But the housing association has now reversed the decision following a petition

Published: 07:42 GMT, 18 March 2021 | Updated: 07:57 GMT, 18 March 2021*

Video has captured the heartwarming moment a 16-year-old girl is told she can stay in her family home after facing eviction when her mother died of Covid.

Mother-of-five Kyra King died aged 48 last month after contracting coronavirus, leaving her daughter Courtney Johnson, 23, to take legal responsibility for her 16-year-old sister Milly.

Ms King had rented a four-bedroom property in Cannock, Staffordshire, for 15 years but the tenancy ended when she died.

But mother-of-one Courtney was told she could not take over the tenancy, meaning Milly was forced to sleep on the sofa at her home, which she shares with her three-year-old, her partner and his two children.

Now, following an impassioned appeal and petition which was signed by more than 25,000 people, Sanctuary Housing has reversed the decision and allowed the sisters to live in their mother’s home.

Courtney Johnson, pictured left, is to legally become the guardian of her sister Milly, following the death of their mother, Kyra King, pictured right





Video captured the emotional moment 16-year-old Milly was told she could remain in her family home, with her big sister

Courtney told her little sister Milly that the housing association had made a u-turn, and captured her emotional reaction on camera.

Courtney said: ‘We got the house! I just can’t believe it. We’re over the moon, Milly can’t stop crying.

‘[Sanctuary Housing] said that it was the law that they couldn’t give us it and that they’d just been doing their jobs but they’d looked again and the decision had come back quicker than they expected.

‘It just means so much to us.’

Support worker Courtney added: ‘It means everything to me and Milly to live in my mum’s house. This is our family home, where our memories are.

‘The house that I’m currently renting, it’s a brand new house and I love it. But I don’t care about all that. It’s the memories and my sister’s welfare that means more to me.’

Mother-of-five Kyra fell ill with Covid over Christmas and was bedbound from New Year’s Day. She was later rushed to hospital after suffering with breathing difficulties.

She was eventually placed in a coma but died on February 2 after developing pneumonia.

Courtney added: ‘The day she passed away I had all my siblings with me and we were just setting up a Zoom meeting because even though my mum was in a coma, they said that she could hear us.

‘Within 20 minutes we had a phone call to say ‘any minute now she’s going to have a heart attack and her brain’s going to shut down’.

‘So we had to go to the hospital and turn the machine off.’


Courtney, who is herself a mother of one, had been told she could not take over the tenancy of the long-term family home in Staffordshire



The family appealed to Sanctuary Housing to reverse the decision and garnered 26,000 signatures on an online petition

Kyra also left behind son Jordan, 27, a 10-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son, who are now living with their father, who is also Milly’s father.

Courtney said: ‘It was my mum’s wish that Milly live with me, she wanted to stay with me and that’s the agreement I have with her dad, who lives nearby and is very supportive.’

A spokesperson for Sanctuary Housing told Birmingham Live: ‘We understand how deeply upsetting recent events have been for the family. Given the exceptional and highly complex circumstances, we have taken a compassionate view of this matter and used our discretion to offer Miss Johnson the opportunity to take on the tenancy.

‘In reaching our decision, we have taken account of stakeholder views and given careful regard to the 16-year-old sibling who wants to remain in the home where she has lived for almost all her life. We will now work with Miss Johnson to ensure her family can move into this property as soon as possible.’