Dogs have long been man’s best friends but has another four-legged animal now replaced them? Goats don’t have a particularly good reputation, due to the fact they are known to headbutt you and chew up your belongings. However, they are a lot smarter than you might think. Scientist have studied them and found that they communicate much better with humans than they were expected to. An experiment was set up at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats in Kent, where they put...

The National Union of Students has criticised the government's decision to replace grants paid to students from low-income families with loans. Starting today students from families with annual incomes of £25,000 or less will not be able to apply for the £3,387-a-year grant to cover living costs. Instead, they will be forced to apply for a maintenance loan. The NUS has criticised the "disgraceful" move, saying it will mean poor students will be saddled with a lifetime of debt. NUS vice-president Sorana...

The honour list system is under scrutiny again after leaked documents indicate ex-PM David Cameron, is handing out honours as a reward to friends. News of this leaked list, handed to the Sunday Times, has provoked calls of “cronyism” and inevitable calls for a radical overhaul of the controversial system. The new PM Theresa has said she would not get involved and will not halt these new honours. The newly crowned PM, was pulled into the debate as she has...

It’s a little hard to explain .... but we’ll get there in the end. Time’s what we’ve got plenty of you see. Those noises from next door? Just to wet the whistle, in a manner of speaking. Gets the old adrenalin flowing. It’s Masher. We call him that but he’s getting pretensions, wants to style himself Olaf the Great. Not that he’s Scandinavian or anything – in fact he comes from Wales – but Welsh is torture to pronounce –if...

The backlash against Byron burger chain has stepped up another gear, after protestors released thousands of live cockroaches and other insects into two of its burger outlets. The branches, Shaftesbury Avenue and Holborn restaurants in London, were attacked on Friday evening and both were forced to close after the infestation. This move was in retaliation to an immigration sting against its own staff, which saw 35 people removed from the UK, who had been working illegally. The staff from Albania,...

A delicious, healthy recipe.

By Deborah Hodge As a previous television addict I can map out the time of year according to big shows that mainstream media feeds us. Britain’s Got Talent begins the year nicely and the X Factor winner is announced just before Christmas. Yes, we really do have our lives mapped out by television. It used to “feel like Christmas” on the cold evenings. That elusive feeling we crave from our childhoods. A sense of routine and safety: I remember it well....

A new study has studied how much poverty impacts on the UK economy and the results are shocking. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who conducted the research, have reported that the national cost is £78bn, which costs each taxpayer a huger £1,200 a year. Poverty is categorised as living on an income which is less than 60 per cent of the median. The JRF looked at how these people’s needs create demand on various government services. Without even taking benefits into...

The gap between property prices in England and Wales and London has closed significantly according to a new data set released by Land Registry in conjunction with the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The average price of property in England and Wales reached £221,832 in May, now standing at almost half the price of Greater London (£472,163). This compares to previously released Land Registry data from March when property in London was three times more expensive than the rest of...