Last week, the inevitable happened. The latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics showed that net migration to the UK now stands at 273,000 for the year to September, a massive drop of almost 50,000 from the previous year. In truth, these results should surprise no one. Given the result of the Brexit vote, the endless negative migration headlines in the press and the increasing levels of xenophobia, it’s fair to say that the UK isn’t exactly rolling...

There have been countless columns written about pollinators and their importance and impact on our daily lives and why they should not be underestimated. This topic has become more and more imperative as pollinator numbers have seen a dramatic decline. Over the past fifty years we have seen the localised disappearance of the large garden bumblebee, Bombus ruderatus from Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. The first of this year’s busy bees are beginning to emerge, so what can we do in...

A Freedom of Information request has revealed there has been a massive rise in the number of London’s hungry who have been criminalised and jailed for stealing in order to eat, with the majority of cases pertain to the hungry and homeless taking waste food from supermarket bins. Where will this end? It is only a matter of time before the homeless are jailed and criminalised for their failure to find a home and for causing an offence by sleeping on...

This adorable seal spends its days cuddling — a stuffed toy that looks like a “mini me” version of itself. The seal, believed to be called Hiyori, was given the plushie toy by zoo staff and it was clearly love at first sight as he couldn’t stop hugging it. Super cute photos have surfaced on the internet of the smitten seal holding his new best friend in a loving embrace, and letting the miniature toy ride on its back. The...

By Michael McNulty Maybe you run a weekly Friday Film Night round your place where you invite your friends and screen a film. Only problem is you haven’t got a clue what to screen tonight. Well, worry not, here’s this week’s Forgotten Film Friday pick and it’s a good’un. The Motorcycle Boy Reigns sprayed across a brick wall squeezed between shots of passing clouds opens Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film, Rumble Fish. Coppola jokingly dubbed it an art film for...

When Mike Dean blew the final whistle on life at the Boleyn Ground the thought at the back of everyone's mind was that irrespective of finance or form, life as a West Ham fan was about to irreversibly change. For some that feeling had set in long before Winston Reid scored the last ever goal and the sound of fireworks reverberated across the historic terraces. Mabel, a 100 year-old fan who has been a life-long supporter had woke up that...

A record number of people in the UK are on zero hours contracts, which are very controversial as they offer no guarantee of work, leading to income instability. These contracts are widely used by retailers, restaurants, leisure companies and hotels. These worrying figures follow on form a report we covered yesterday that over 5 million children will suffer child poverty by 2022 as households face a squeeze on wages. Now the number of workers who are on zero hours contracts...

By Linda Marric Kelly Reichardt Is fast becoming one of the most iconic director of her generation, her features have been hailed as some of most beautifully crafted and understated pieces of filmmaking of the last decade. In Certain Women, which was adapted from three different short stories by Maile Meloy, Reichardt delves into the lives of three different women living in Livingston, Montana and brings us a unique look at rural America from a fresh perspective. Earlier this week,...

Less than a week since SpaceX announced they will be sending two private citizens to the moon, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has told The Washington Post he plans to set up Amazon-style delivery for "future human settlement" of the moon. Bezos said he wants to encourage NASA towards developing "incentives in the private sector to demonstrate a commercial lunar cargo delivery service" by 2020, essentially lining up an Earth to Moon equivalent of Amazon Prime. The billionaire boss already owns private space travel...