Snapshot of Stories
Hundreds of extra police officers will be on duty at the London Marathon later in a bid to reassure runners and spectators after the Boston bombings. More than 35,000 runners are due to take part in the race, which starts in Blackheath, south-east London. A 30-second silence will be held at the start line for the three people killed and more than 170 others injured by the bombs at the Boston Marathon on Monday. The Met Police says 40% more officers will be on duty than last year. The force said that it had reviewed security plans after the Boston attacks and that the extra officers would be used for “for reassurance patrols”. The marathon route, which is lined by hundreds of thousands of spectators each year, finishes near Buckingham Palace, passing some of London’s most recognisable landmarks, including Tower Bridge and Big Ben. Ch Supt Julia Pendry, who has headed marathon security for five years, has said this year’s police operation is “about making sure that people who come to London on Sunday feel safe when they are in the city”. She said more search dogs would be deployed and urged marathon spectators to keep their belongings with them to avoid sparking security alerts. But she added: “There is no link between the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon and there is no change to the threat level at this time to London.”
Have you ever seen something you wanted in a shop, tried it, checked the price online on your smartphone, found it was cheaper, and walked out? Welcome to the world of “showrooming”. “The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon” read the sign in a shop window shortly after the British camera chain went into administration. It was a dry reaction to a growing problem for “bricks and mortar”-focused retailers. Showrooming is said to have exacerbated the decline of high-profile brands like Comet. Gadget stores, bookshops and the cosmetics industry are all losing sales to showroomers, but solutions have proved hard to find. Kelly Buckle, 23, of Birmingham, sometimes spends more than £200 in a single shopping trip – but never actually gets as far as the checkout. “I can go in and smell a perfume and then find it online for £30 less,” she says. Research by design agency Foolproof found that 24% of people showroomed while Christmas shopping – and 40% of them took their business elsewhere. Camera chain Jessops may have suffered the effects of ‘showrooming’. Showroomers are not doing anything immoral. But the process can still be embarrassing. “I feel bad about it, especially when the staff have been helpful, but it’s my money,” says Buckle. Bricks and mortar shops have to pay rent, bills and staff salaries. Online retailers can offer cheaper prices because they don’t. We see them in the corner with their mobile phones, scanning the barcode on a book and finding it cheaper”
Nurses are “drowning in a sea of paperwork” with more than one sixth of the working week taken up doing non-essential paperwork, a survey suggests. The Royal College of Nursing poll of 6,000 nurses found 17.3% of their hours were spent on tasks such as filing, photocopying and ordering supplies. Most reported the amount of paperwork was getting worse and was now stopping them providing direct patient care. The government has said it wants to reduce bureaucracy by a third. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has already announced a review of bureaucracy, which is being carried out by the NHS Confederation and is due to report back in the coming months. The union said its survey showed a culture of “ticking boxes” had developed. The survey, which is being released on the eve of the start of the RCN’s annual conference on Monday, also found more than a quarter of nurses said their workplace did not have a ward clerk or administrative assistant to help with clerical duties. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: “These figures prove what a shocking amount of a nurse’s time is being wasted on unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy. “Yes, some paperwork is essential and nurses will continue to do this, but patients want their nurses by their bedside, not ticking boxes.”
Songs Played
Stereophonics – Indian Summer
KT Tunstall – Black Horse & Cherry Tree
Olly Murs – Army of Two
Florence and the Machine – Spectrum (Say My Name) (Calvin Harris Remix)
Heather Small – Proud
Tiao Cruz – Fast Car
Missing Andy – Feel Like This
Paolo Nutini – Candy
Hurts – Wonderful Life
XTC – Frivalous Tonight
Fun – Why Am I The One?
Alica Keys – Empire State of Mind (Part II)
Christina Aguilera – Genie In A Bottle
Davie Bowie – The Starts (Are Out Tonight)
Barenaked Ladies – One Week
Morton Harket – Scared of Heights
Charley Bird – Beside You
Four Tops – Reach Out / I’ll Be There
80s Hour
Orchestral Manouvres In The Dark – Electricity
John Farnham – You’re The Voice
Huey Lewis and the News – The Power of Love
Bananarama – Venus
Hall & Oates – Out of Touch
Roxette – The Look
Bon Jovi – Never Say Goodbye
Michael Jackson – Human Nature
Altered Images – Happy Birthday
Pet Shop Boys – Domino Dancing
Snippets from the week’s news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.
1. Quentin Tarantino prefers to listen to music on cassette.
2. James Bond was originally going to be called James Secretan.
3. Woolly monkeys can distinguish between hunters and other humans.
4. Where you stand in the lift reflects your social status.
5. The Ireland football team are banned from eating mushrooms.
6. Spanish language show Sabado Gigante is America’s longest running TV programme.
7. Moths not only use their wings but pivot their abdomen up and down to hover.
8. Roquefort was banned in Australia and New Zealand until 2005.
9. Admission to the Handlebar Club is dependent on the candidate possessing “a hirsute appendage of the upper lip with graspable extremities”.
10. David Beckham drops his H sounds four times less than he used to
