TLE Meets: Billy Howie – The Sense of an Ending
By Linda Marric Last week I had the chance to meet with Billy Howle, star of a new film adapted from Julian Barnes’ Booker Prize winning novel The Sense of An Ending. The film is directed by the brilliant Ritesh Batra and stars Billy as the younger version of Tony, who also played by Jim Broadbent in later years. We spoke about the casting process Billy went through and a number of other things relating to his character in the...
Grotty basement room in Kensington sells for £175,000
A grotty basement room with exposed pipes and no planning permission has been sold for a staggering £175,000. The pint-sized space is on the lower ground floor of a large terraced property in upmarket Kensington, London. Enter the building and you're met by a lavish communal hall with impressive tiled floor, grand chandelier and imposing staircase. But the room offered at auction by Allsop doesn't have the same character features found in the of the property. With just 205sq/ft of...
Hooked Brits use their smartphone in the shower and even during sex
Women are more hooked on smartphones than men... making them vulnerable to problems at home, work and with friends, according to new research. A study of young people found an alarming one in five were either 'addicted' to their device or 'fanatical' about it. And females were most likely to fall into these brackets - making them prone to boredom. Their obsession could also be a sign of underlying conditions including stress or depression, warn scientists. They could be obsessed...
Britain’s most overgrown car “only has gearbox issues”
Here's Britain's most overgrown car which has been abandoned for three years - but only has gearbox issues. The Renault has been left on private land since 2014 and is completely swamped by wildlife. It now resembles something out of the film 'The Day of the Triffids' as nature grows around it. Locals in Plymstock, Devon fear the owner has abandoned the car and moved away. According to the landowner, the vehicle owner pays to keep it there, and describes...
TLE meets: Ritesh Batra
By Linda Marric After the success of highly acclaimed 2013 film The Lunchbox, and the accolades showered on him from film fans and critics alike, Indian director Ritesh Batra is back, this time with this brilliantly accurate and honest adaptation of Julian barnes’ novel The Sense of An Ending. This long awaited production, which stars amongst others, Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling and the excellent Harriet Walter is released this week. The film is sure to attract the attention of fans...
New NHS funding system is disastrous for breast cancer patients
By Danni Manzi, Head of Policy and Campaigns - Breast Cancer Care At the beginning of April, NHS England approved a new funding system for medicines that changes the way drugs, including those for breast cancer, are made available. The pros and cons have been widely debated, both before and after the decision was made, yet the real crux of the matter – the decision to have a £20 million threshold - has still not been explained by NICE or the NHS....
Watch/Listen – Grandparents claim alphabet toy bought for grandchild shouts “F**K”
Stuart and Diane Gravenell bought the LeapFrog Alpha Pup toy for £17 from Boots as a gift for their granddaughter Iris, The toy helps to teach young children the alphabet and phonics, as well as featuring three educational songs. But when the pair's daughter Jessica Sollars took the toy out of the box for Iris she instantly realised one of the songs had X-rated lyrics. A song that is supposed to say “One, two, chew on a shoe, three, four,...
A sad night in Dortmund – Could a more sympathetic compromise have been found?
On Tuesday night, Borussia Dortmund were due to face Monaco in the Champions League quarter final first leg at the Westfalenstadion. As you know, the Dortmund bus was subjected to three bombing attempts which, miraculously, only left one passenger, their Spanish centre back, Marc Bartra, hospitalised with a broken wrist. The game was an eagerly anticipated one – two vibrant, attacking sides spearheaded by talented young forwards without either possessing watertight defensive lines, were set to put on a spectacle...
Bus drivers told by text they were losing their jobs
A group of long-serving bus drivers were informed they no longer had jobs - by text message. Around 20 were given notice of redundancy by telephone - with a few being granted a call. A spokesman for the drivers said: "I know some drivers were told by text, others by the telephone. "A lot of these people have families to feed, and now they don't have jobs or an income - they feel cheated. "It's sad and unfair for all...