Another Birmingham TV series that’s worth a look | Brief letters
2 DAYS AGO - Marilyns and Norma Jeane | Veganism | BBC Gangsters | Screen tourism | Boris Johnson’s puppyIt’s Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Marilyns and Norma Jeane | Veganism | BBC Gangsters | Screen tourism | Boris Johnson’s puppyIt’s unusual for Pass notes to get it wrong, but Marilyns were, indeed, thought to be named after Norma Jeane (G2, 3 September). They are defined as isolated peaks with a prominence above 150 metres and first appeared in Alan Dawson’s book The Relative Hills of Britain (1992). The name is said to be a play on their better-known cousins, the Munros. Whether there is any other link between prominences and Marilyn Monroe is a matter of conjecture.Colin BarrUlverston, Cumbria • Regarding the “vegan halo” (G2, 3 September), someone told me he had become vegan “to save the planet for my six children”. A child apparently creates 58.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, and each infant produces almost 4,000 used disposable nappies that are sent to landfill. Perhaps a “vasectomy halo” might be more fairly bestowed?Kathleen RobertsHarrogate, North Yorkshire Continue reading... Collapse
Downing Street gets new resident – a dog named Dilyn
3 DAYS AGO - Johnson and Symonds adopt Jack Russell cross abandoned by puppy farmerA momentary distraction from Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Johnson and Symonds adopt Jack Russell cross abandoned by puppy farmerA momentary distraction from what is likely to be a hugely turbulent week in politics has arrived at Downing Street, in the form of a 15-week-old puppy.The Jack Russell cross, which has been named Dilyn, was chauffeured into the prime minister’s residence in a different kind of red box on Monday morning. Continue reading... Collapse
Paw diet: can vegan food and insect kibble really win over our pets?
5 DAYS AGO - Plant-based alternatives and pellets made of grubs are on sale in the UK. But do they pass the Expand
5 DAYS AGO - Plant-based alternatives and pellets made of grubs are on sale in the UK. But do they pass the taste test?The climate crisis, as well as health concerns, has prompted a growing number of people to change their diets, becoming flexitarian – eating meat only occasionally – or switching to entirely plant-based diets. So it was only a matter of time before their pets followed suit.Rover, Max and Ludo are now the target of an alt-meat makeover as the pet care market – which is worth more than £6bn a year in the UK alone – gets a 21st-century overhaul backed by high-profile investors. Related: The trouble with fake meat Related: Are alternative meats the key to a healthier life and planet? – Science Weekly podcast Related: Vegan food becomes UK’s fastest growing takeaway Yora insect protein kibble (pellets), £13.99 for 1.5kgLily’s Kitchen bedtime biscuits with honey, yoghurt, chamomile and Passion flowers, £2.99 for 100gPedigree gravy bones original £1.72 for 400g box Continue reading... Collapse
Walter Chandoha's purrfect cats – in pictures
14/08/2019 - In 1949, Walter Chandoha adopted a stray kitten New York. When he began taking pictures of his new Expand
14/08/2019 - In 1949, Walter Chandoha adopted a stray kitten New York. When he began taking pictures of his new pet, Loco, he was so inspired by the results that he started photographing kittens from a local shelter, thereby kickstarting an extraordinary career that would span seven decadesWalter Chandoha. Cats. Photographs 1942–2018 is published by Taschen Continue reading... Collapse
Rose McGowan to make directorial debut with dog animation
12/08/2019 - Actor and #MeToo activist says her cartoon Pomerania will focus on race, breed and classismThe Expand
12/08/2019 - Actor and #MeToo activist says her cartoon Pomerania will focus on race, breed and classismThe actor Rose McGowan is to make her directorial debut with a politically charged cartoon feature about dogs.McGowan, who is about to perform in a one-woman show at the Edinburgh festival, revealed more details about Pomerania to the Hollywood Reporter. Related: Rose McGowan: 'I miss performing. My career was stolen' Continue reading... Collapse
The Art of Racing in the Rain review – Kevin Costner as a lovable pup
08/08/2019 - Costner voices the inner monologue of a golden retriever in this three-hankie weeper with Milo Expand
08/08/2019 - Costner voices the inner monologue of a golden retriever in this three-hankie weeper with Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda SeyfriedThere comes a time in any critic’s life when you have to suppress whatever footling objections you have had, and salute the Kevin Costneraissance. You have to bow down to the pure demonic inspiration of creating a sentimental live-action family film about a lovable golden retriever, whose grouchy inner monologue is voiced by none other than Kevin Costner. You have to put your hands up and say: I get it. The dog looks adorable, intelligent and sad-eyed, and just as owners look like their pets, so dogs in weepie movies based on runaway New York Times bestselling books start to look like the veteran ex-romantic leads doing the voice – ie Costner. The morphing process is inexorable and by the closing credits, it’s basically Kevin Goldenretrievster we’re talking about, without CGI or the pointy ears that Judi Dench has to wear in Cats. Related: Pick of the Litter Collapse
The cat man of Aleppo: rescuing battle-weary Syrian strays
06/08/2019 - Mohammad Aljaleel carried on looking after homeless cats in the midst of an aerial bombardment of Expand
06/08/2019 - Mohammad Aljaleel carried on looking after homeless cats in the midst of an aerial bombardment of Aleppo. He has since set up a dedicated sanctuary and veterinary clinic for stray felines Continue reading... Collapse
If I can pay for dog food, everything is fine': comedians on their pets
23/07/2019 - As the Edinburgh festival approaches, Ed Byrne, Susan Calman, Stevie Martin and others on why Expand
23/07/2019 - As the Edinburgh festival approaches, Ed Byrne, Susan Calman, Stevie Martin and others on why their pets are friends, companions and a source of inspirationComedians are needy, so of course we get dogs – they’re always pleased to see you. My cardigan corgi suits me: short legs, Welsh, doesn’t like walking. He’s called Ci, which is Welsh for “dog”. He’s so sweet, but the thickest dog I have ever had. Weapons-grade stupid. His fur is blue merle and other mad colours, as if he has been Frankensteined together from different types of dog. We say he is like a pig dressed as a fox that thinks he’s a dog. He snuffles like a pig and has a tail like a fox. People see him and say: “Oh! What … is … this?!” Continue reading... Collapse
Playing cat and mouse over posh nosh | Brief letters
21/07/2019 - Sajid Javid | Iranian crisis | Cafod | Feline eating habits | Holidays | Izal |• In his first 12 Expand
21/07/2019 - Sajid Javid | Iranian crisis | Cafod | Feline eating habits | Holidays | Izal |• In his first 12 months as home secretary, Sajid Javid sent 8,637 people back where they came from.Prof Becky TunstallUniversity of York• Our 19th-century forebears would have excavated a canal across the UAE by now (Report, 20 July).Michael HeatonWarminster, Wiltshire Continue reading... Collapse
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Landlords charge 'pet rent' to recoup losses after ban on unfair fees
2 DAYS AGO - Practice has emerged since new law designed to save renters in England moneyLandlords are charging Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Practice has emerged since new law designed to save renters in England moneyLandlords are charging “pet rent” running into hundreds of pounds a year in an attempt to recoup losses from a ban on unfair letting fees enforced by the government this summer.The new practice means tenants with animals are being charged up to £50 a month additional rent for a single pet, adding considerably to the cost of housing at a time when more and more families are priced out of buying and rely on rented homes. Continue reading... Collapse
We pensioners can’t strike but we can revolt | Brief letters
4 DAYS AGO - MPs protest | General strike | Custard tarts | Van slogans | Rousseau’s dog | Vegan petsWhy can’t Expand
4 DAYS AGO - MPs protest | General strike | Custard tarts | Van slogans | Rousseau’s dog | Vegan petsWhy can’t MPs just stage a mass sit-in in the Commons (Cross-party politicians call for an alternative parliament to fight no-deal Brexit, Letters, 31 August)?Pam LunnKenilworth, Warwickshire • I’ve ruled out a revolution because they always end in bloodshed and tyranny so the only answer is a general strike. If parliament refuses to operate then so must everyone else. It’s a bit of a problem for us pensioners though.Brenda EdwardsGrange-over-Sands, Cumbria Continue reading... Collapse
I launched a TripAdvisor for dogs - something new was needed for owners
5 DAYS AGO - ‘The thought of leaving Charlie broke my heart. That was the inspiration behind my business’Name: Expand
5 DAYS AGO - ‘The thought of leaving Charlie broke my heart. That was the inspiration behind my business’Name: Adele PemberAge: 29Income: £5,000 per yearOccupation: Starting up new businessI bought Charlie about six years ago – he’s a jack russell cross chihuahua and he was the runt of the litter. He was the size of my hand, and I immediately thought: “I have to have him.” Continue reading... Collapse
Dogfishing: why you should beware the man who poses with his pets on a dating app
13/08/2019 - That Tinder picture of a nice, caring guy posing with his adorable best friend might not quite be Expand
13/08/2019 - That Tinder picture of a nice, caring guy posing with his adorable best friend might not quite be everything it seemsName: Dogfishing.Age: In human years, 20-45. Continue reading... Collapse
Dog funerals may sound self-indulgent, but there should be no shame in pet grief | Grace Dent
10/08/2019 - I intend to follow the example of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux – and mourn my menagerie Expand
10/08/2019 - I intend to follow the example of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux – and mourn my menagerie with prideThere are two ways to feel about Jennifer Aniston and her ex-husband Justin Theroux reuniting for an elaborate funeral for Dolly, their 12-year-old, pure-white German shepherd. The first is to splutter at the photos of billowing incense, and the dog’s corpse laid respectfully on white linen strewn with rose petals, before quacking something about bloody self-indulgent Hollywood celebs who value a pet’s life more highly than a human’s.The second is to be momentarily wobbly-lipped, recalling small friends now departed of one’s own. Four paws; waggy tail; many, many eaten slippers – our own personal idiots, taken too soon. OK, wobbly-lipped, but at the same time fascinated by this new turn in pet-owning culture. Because, are pet funerals a thing now? Dog eulogies? Post-cat official mourning periods? Is this the new normal? Should I begin saving for elaborate closing ceremonies for my Collapse
Catch him if you can: 'Eno the Emu' on the run in North Carolina
07/08/2019 - Pet bird’s whereabouts unknown after escaping several weeks ago despite multiple sightings and a Expand
07/08/2019 - Pet bird’s whereabouts unknown after escaping several weeks ago despite multiple sightings and a local wanted posterA pet emu, know to the residents of North Carolina and, increasingly across the US, as “Eno the Emu”, is still on the run, at least five weeks after slipping out of its enclosure and making off into the woods.Though there have been multiple sightings, the bird’s whereabouts are currently unknown. Last month, county wildlife officers were sent to “corral this emu, which did not work”, according to animal services spokesperson Tenille Fox.Click below to learn about an emu on the loose in @OCNCGOV that is drawing worldwide attention and the Board's unanimous vote to approve an incentives package for a planned expansion of the ABB plant in Mebane. https://t.co/Um2tz0M7gS pic.twitter.com/Q21JY9fd8r Continue reading... Collapse
Britain’s Giant Pet Food Factory review – catty in all the wrong ways
01/08/2019 - Snide narration and spiteful humour make a dog’s dinner out of this look inside the Mars factory Expand
01/08/2019 - Snide narration and spiteful humour make a dog’s dinner out of this look inside the Mars factory in Melton MowbrayWhen it comes to documentaries about factories, British viewers have an impressive amount of choice. If Gregg Wallace in a hairnet shouting about biscuits isn’t enough to put you off Inside the Factory, for example, you can see just how mass-produced food ends up in our shopping baskets. Watching factories at work can be mesmerising in terms of showing off their technical wizardry, like a giant game of Mouse Trap, or in the strangely comforting repetition of it all, like a fidget spinner, if your memory stretches back to those halcyon days of 2017. You might think Britain’s Giant Pet Food Factory (Channel 4), then, is a steady bet for an hour of solid entertainment. It takes the odd appeal of factory TV and combines it with animals – which, as our dog-packed schedules suggest, we also love to watch. But it drains all the joy out of both, and ends up as an ad-friendly slog Collapse
The mother of all annoyances | Brief letters
22/07/2019 - Ursula von der Leyen | Drugs and Scotland | Sajid Javid | Ofsted | Cats | Free newspapersHow many Expand
22/07/2019 - Ursula von der Leyen | Drugs and Scotland | Sajid Javid | Ofsted | Cats | Free newspapersHow many more times will the Guardian tell us that Ursula von der Leyen is the mother of seven (Report, 19 July)? Why are female politicians still subject to this kind of characterisation? Generally we only get told about male politicians’ families when they choose to use them as photo opportunities, or when there is speculation about how many children they have with their wives and how many with their mistresses. Please change your style guide to ensure that these unnecessary details are deleted before they reach the press.Liz ReasonCharlbury, Oxfordshire• Whether Scotland’s appalling drug problem is Westminster’s fault, as Simon Jenkins maintains (Journal, 19 July), is open to debate. But it makes one wonder just how successful the much-lauded “public approach” to the reduction in Glasgow’s knife crime really was. How could a public health approach have ignored the prevalence of drugs?Stan Collapse
Cat food: should you spend more on posh brands?
20/07/2019 - We look at the options from the budget to the pricey and ask: what’s the difference?Something of a Expand
20/07/2019 - We look at the options from the budget to the pricey and ask: what’s the difference?Something of a revolution is under way in terms of what we eat, with growing numbers of people opting to go vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian. But what about the food we give to our pets? What’s in it, and is it worth spending more on premium brands?My two cats are generally not fussy eaters, but last year, after one became ill, I started to look into the ingredients in their food. Continue reading... Collapse
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Advisers advise, but do ministers decide? | Brief letters
3 DAYS AGO - Dominic Cummings | Tory rebels | Brexit stockpiling | Dogs’ diets | Second Hand SeptemberThe Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Dominic Cummings | Tory rebels | Brexit stockpiling | Dogs’ diets | Second Hand SeptemberThe sacking of the chancellor’s special adviser, Sonia Khan, by the prime minister’s special adviser, Dominic Cummings, has turned Margaret Thatcher’s famous maxim, that “advisers advise and ministers decide”, on its head (Report, 31 August). Clearly in Boris Johnson’s Downing Street, advisers now decide without reference to ministers, as Sajid Javid was reportedly unaware that Khan’s dismissal was even planned. It took Thatcher 10 years to be “tripped up” by a minister–adviser disagreement; it has only taken Johnson five weeks.Steve GriffithsWatchet, Somerset• If Boris Johnson wants to deselect any Tory rebel MPs (Report, 2 September), surely progressive political parties should respond by allowing them to stand unopposed.Don MacdonaldLondon Continue reading... Collapse
Passports, pets and GB stickers: the Brexit advice issued to Britons
4 DAYS AGO - The Get Ready website uses multiple choice questions to offer tailored information‘Get Ready for Expand
4 DAYS AGO - The Get Ready website uses multiple choice questions to offer tailored information‘Get Ready for Brexit’: government launches information blitzRenew your passport earlier than planned, buy a GB sticker for your car, and prepare to wait four months before you can take your pet ferret on holiday: this is among the advice offered by the government’s new Brexit website for British citizens planning to travel to the EU after 31 October.The Get Ready site, which is accompanied by a major advertising campaign, launched on Sunday and unequivocally states that Brexit will happen by the end of next month. It asks users a series of multiple choice questions and spells out the precautions that individuals should take immediately to make sure they are prepared for the UK to crash out of the EU without a deal. Continue reading... Collapse
The rights and wrongs of training your baby like a dog | Letters
22/08/2019 - Readers respond to Chitra Ramaswamy’s review of a Channel 4 programme that featured techniques to Expand
22/08/2019 - Readers respond to Chitra Ramaswamy’s review of a Channel 4 programme that featured techniques to make children behave betterI was surprised at Chitra Ramaswamy’s strongly worded condemnation of C4’s Train Your Baby Like a Dog (G2, 21 August). Perhaps I’m naive, but I found Jo-Rosie Haffenden, the animal trainer, to be sensitive to the needs of these children and their parents, who were, like so many of us, unaware of their failure to meet their children’s basic needs for attention and safety. Many viewers would – I think – have learned a lot.It seemed clear to me that Haffenden’s extensive experience with dogs made her highly sensitive to the animals’ basic needs, and that these translated naturally to humans. Why does it so offend Ramaswamy (and the others who wanted the show stopped before it went on air) to allow for the possibility that we humans might share common psychological traits with animals and that dog-training skills might be transferable to humans? Continue reading... Collapse
The number of fake assistance dogs is exploding – but who are the owners behind it?
13/08/2019 - It’s easy to get your pet designated an emotional support animal. But abuse of the system takes a Expand
13/08/2019 - It’s easy to get your pet designated an emotional support animal. But abuse of the system takes a toll on those with genuine needsAccording to her owner, Nick, 40, Rosie – a 50lb, eight-year-old yellow labrador retriever – is a very good girl. (Both man and dog are using a pseudonym for reasons which will be soon made clear.)Much of Rosie’s goodness is inherent, by virtue of her being a dog. But Rosie is not just a lovable creature, she is a helpful one, too. Rosie can open Nick’s fridge for him. She can press handicap door activation buttons, heel off-leash on busy New York sidewalks, and she’s even dabbled in a little search and rescue. She exhibits extreme self-control, especially when wearing her assistance animal vest, which she knows means she’s on duty. Related: Student says she flushed 'emotional support hamster' after Spirit Airlines denied passage Continue reading... Collapse
Our neighbours’ yapping dogs are driving us mad. What can we do?
10/08/2019 - We’ve politely mentioned it, but it just goes on and on. The noise is so bad that my wife is Expand
10/08/2019 - We’ve politely mentioned it, but it just goes on and on. The noise is so bad that my wife is thinking of selling our homeEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.We live in a terraced house and the neighbours’ two yapping dogs are driving us mad. We’ve politely mentioned it, but it just goes on and on. It’s so bad that my wife is thinking of putting our home on the market. What can we do before taking this drastic step? Continue reading... Collapse
Why would a woman marry her dog?
31/07/2019 - Elizabeth Hoad and her dog, Logan, tied the knot live on This Morning earlier this week – and Expand
31/07/2019 - Elizabeth Hoad and her dog, Logan, tied the knot live on This Morning earlier this week – and they’re not the first to do soA woman married her dog. Eamonn Holmes gave the bride away. The groom, a golden retriever, wore a top hat. Love Island’s Kem Cetinay acted as a ring-bearer. It played out live and like a David Lynch fever dream on ITV’s This Morning on Tuesday. One viewer called it “deeply uncomfortable viewing”. “There has to be law against marrying your bloody dog,” tweeted another.There is, actually – the only legal marriage is between two human beings – but there were a few giveaways that this was not a solemn occasion. Alison Hammond, officiating, struggled to keep it together as she called for those present to voice any “bones of contention” as to why Elizabeth Mary Frances Hoad and six-year-old Logan Humphrey the Second should not be wed. No one said the obvious – “How long have you got?” – but Logan did offer a Tim-from-The-Office-style haunted look to camera.The moment Collapse
Sydney's lord mayor orders ratcatchers to cull rodents over rare disease killing dogs
22/07/2019 - Clover Moore says construction boom has stirred up rats that potentially carry leptospirosis Expand
22/07/2019 - Clover Moore says construction boom has stirred up rats that potentially carry leptospirosis bacteria Sydney’s council ratcatchers will double their efforts to thin a growing rodent horde that is potentially responsible for the deaths of seven dogs due to a rare disease spread by rodent urine.Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that can kill dogs in 48 hours and is also fatal to humans, had never caused a canine death in New South Wales. But in the past three months there have been seven. Related: Rare disease spread via rat urine kills seven dogs and leaves dozens of Australians ill Continue reading... Collapse
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