Catherine Meyer-Funnell

  The govern ment have asked people not to gather in crowds or leave flowers for Prince Philip due to the Covid-19 risk. People have been gathering and leaving tributes outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle since his death was announced earlier today. Royal security guards at Windsor Castle have said that the flowers outside will be cleared this evening and brought into the courtyard for the Royal Family and the Queen to see. Floral tributes outside Windsor Castle They said the family love seeing displays but they would not be able to come out and see anyone due to the coronavirus regulations. The official notice of his death has been removed from the front gates of Buckingham Palace after large crowds gathered to pay their respects. The Two Brewers pub next to Windsor Castle has pictures of Prince Philip in the window The Royal Family have also urged the public to stick to the coronavirus guidelines. A statement from a Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Although this is an ...

  A petition has been launched to erect a statue of Prince Philip in London, following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death this morning. The  petition  was started on change.org by Save Our Statues after Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Queen’s husband of 73 years died peacefully aged 99. The statement on the website said: The Duke of Edinburgh served our country for 78 years, serving 13 in the Royal Navy & then 65 as Britain’s longest serving consort, including 22,000 engagements & supporting 780 organisations. “We say there should be a prominent statue of the Duke in London to recognise the above, as well as his great personal dedication and support to Her Majesty the Queen.” At time of writing almost 800 people had signed the petition. The duke had previously been admitted to hospital on 16 February where he remained for two weeks. He was then transferred to St Bart’s hospital for treatment for an infection and heart condition after which he was discharged on 16 ...

  A new community survey has been launched to discover how people have been coping with their mental health during the pandemic. South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust created the survey as part of its South London Listens campaign. South London Listens is part of a new mental ill-health prevention programme bringing together NHS Mental Health Trusts, Healthwatch, Public Health England, Black Thrive, Citizens UK and other community partners. More than 5,700 south Londoners have already shared their experiences of their mental health struggles with South London Listens at listening events. It is hoped the new survey will draw attention to the biggest issues to come out of the campaign. The Trust is encouraging everyone from south London to take part. Chair of South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust Ann Beasley described the last year as an exceptionally challenging time for everyone with some communities affected more than others. Trust chief executive V...

Anti-social behaviour in   Hammersmith & Fulham   has angered residents and caused them to complain. Large groups have been gathering along the riverside and sitting on private walls in Bishop’s Park and Fulham Reach, upsetting inhabitants who have accused them of smoking cannabis and urinating publicly. Security patrols have been installed along the river walkway but the area has remained busy since the coronavirus restrictions easing and the weather warming. Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris represents the Palace Riverside Ward on  Hammersmith & Fulham Council  and has lived in Fulham for 25 years. She said: “People are frightened, in some cases, to go out. “People are allowed out there if they use the river walk and it’s public, so they should be able to do that. “But it’s not acceptable to be drinking in these areas in public, or urinating in front of residents.” The river path is a public area, however there are still some restrictions in place, such as a b...

 This is not an article in the traditional sense. It is not an argument but rather a plea, a crying out for us to find a solution to a problem that seems to be dividing the fashion world. Neither side has currently offered up a feasible fix, yet their greatly opposing stances on this issue has only caused shoppers and fashion fans like me to feel even more guilty and confused about what I should be buying and wearing. What I'm talking about is slow vs. fast fashion. Fast fashion is one of those uncomfortable truths that has always existed on the periphery of our consciousness; we always knew deep down that the people who made our clothes didn't have the happiest lives or earn the most money, yet we managed to push it down. It happened in a far away place, it wasn't our fault, it was probably exaggerated or inaccurate information. But this year the Boohoo factory scandal in Leicester  made it harder for us to ignore it. All this negative publicity might have been the first s...

  Being able to worry about the future is a luxury. It may seem a strange statement to make, given the current state of the world. A recent art installation of a ‘Climate Clock' on a Manhattan skyscraper, a Doomsday style countdown on how long we have left to reduce our emissions enough to give Earth a 67% chance of staying below the 1.5 ° C of warming that scientists say is crucial to avoid catastrophic natural disasters like floods and wildfires states we have just over seven years. But this contemplation of an abstract and still preventable future peril will not be high on the list of priorities of those struggling to make it through each week. The move towards a more sustainable and considered way of life is necessary, yet it has a tendency to feel like quite a big commitment. The cost of saving the world is more than just financial - it takes time, energy and ambition. Initially I had planned to write this piece on how unattainable this goal can feel to many people. When there...

When we were all stuck in lockdown, what did we do? What indeed do we spend much of our weekends and free time doing? The concept of leisure is a relatively new one, given that most of our ancestors spent all their time and energy just trying to survive, but nowadays (especially in the surreal world that is 2020) we find ourselves with a lot of time to fill. This is in itself a good thing; the problems start to arise when we begin to feel pressured by the sheer volume of choices we have to make - and how that can spill over into other areas of our lives.  Perhaps this is something that only I and my fellow neurotic Type A's struggle with, but every single app and feed we are plugged into is streaming information at us 24/7, and keeping up with the cultural and political zeitgeist is starting to feel like a job in itself. The mood  du jour  now has the potential to change with greater rapidity than ever before; no sooner has a particular TV show or writer become this centu...

  8th May 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day, that wonderful day in history marking when almost 6 years of brutal and bloody war in Europe finally came to an end. The sheer relief felt by the millions who had endured through a level of conflict never before seen would surely be unimaginable to the British public these days. Naturally we use occasions such as this and Remembrance Day every year to remember the huge sacrifices that were made and be grateful for the alliances and peace in Western Europe that exist today.   The strength of character exhibited by those who lived through the war, their determination, courage and resilience are qualities we can all aspire to emulate. I remember as a child being visited by war veterans at primary school: they shared their extraordinary experiences with us, reminding us every time that there is 'no glory in war'. What they had been through was so traumatic, affecting them deeply for the rest of their lives, that they were d...

  ‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes’. So wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1789, ironically only one year before his own passing. The topic of mortality is one that has become especially pertinent topic during the coronavirus pandemic, and it does not generally sit well in a society so determined to avoid the subject. The general feeling is that life is good and death is bad, and must be prevented no matter what. We cannot believe our friends and family will not live forever, because life without them is too jarring a thought for us to contend with. Back in the day we would have seen death and lived with it in a way we no longer feel able to do so. The wonders of modern healthcare are of course an improvement on this, but is it possible we have lost something in the process? Keeping someone alive at all costs is not always the kindest thing to do, in fact in some situations it is nothing short of cruel. Terminal illness, the losses that become more...

Cosmopolitan article by Jennife Savin   As I sit writing this at my kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon, a blue sky shining above and upbeat 90's dance music blaring through headphones, it would be easy to paint a picture of my life as relatively carefree and easygoing. I'm planning on making chilli con carne for dinner, I have no need to get up early tomorrow and I have nothing more pressing to do than take my dog for a long walk in the countryside. Idyllic perhaps, if you're not a 24 year old degree-educated extroverted young woman who had to cancel her plans to travel to Australia earlier this year and has all but abandoned her hopes of moving back to London to become a journalist (which is me in case you hadn't guessed). I'm currently unemployed, having left my most recent supermarket job in hopes of finding something better, and I live with my family in a small village in one of Britain's many Brexit voting backwaters. I feel as if I am constantly stifling ...

  Why are so many people on Tinder? Sex. Pure and simple. Not that everyone would admit to that of course: according to the Big Tinder Project carried out in 2015 there are no less than thirteen different motives for people being on Tinder, with the most popular being amusement. The rest ranged from curiosity, to an ego boost, socializing and even finding love came in at number four. Casual sex only ranked at number eleven. But if we really explore the desires behind these reasons they all stem from the same basic need: to enjoy attention from someone of your preferred sexual orientation. It may be true that not all flirting leads to intercourse, but no one could deny the kick we get out of interacting with someone we find sexually attractive. Because if it was our conversation we wanted to be stimulating, we would just talk to our friends right? Recent data has revealed that Tinder has 57 million users across the globe, is available in 40 languages and is accessible in 190 count...

Before 2015 Ashley Madison was not a familiar name in the public consciousness, yet thanks to a hacking scandal which saw the personal details of its members exposed and widely publicised, the site has received its fair share of bad press. Its basic principle is allowing people to discreetly connect and enjoy extramarital relationships, a premise which has sparked debate about whether such a website should even be allowed to exist. It serves as a sordid promotion of infidelity, destroys families, and undermines the love and trust that form the basis of every good relationship. Or does it? Now it has addressed its problems with security and tightened up its safety precautions, should we learn to accept or even welcome such websites as part of dating in the modern world? Ashley Madison has a diverse pool of members, starting from age 18 and going up to 55+. It is accessible to both men and women, and while the registration process does not require its users to divulge a huge amount o...

  Although lockdown measures are beginning to ease and life is starting to look a bit more normal, most of us would agree that there are still lots of lovely things we’re missing out on – holidays abroad, concerts, sports events, even just a night out on the town. It is important for us to remember that the good times will come around again and in fact they might feel even better than before. For instance, life’s simple pleasures will not be so taken for granted - giving your mum or your best friend a hug will be, at least at first, so much more meaningful than in a pre-coronavirus world. Six months ago, we would never have thought that our physical closeness to each other could be so heavily restricted, and hopefully in the not too distant future it will seem an equally strange idea that our interactions could be so limited. Being able to walk out of your front door and go down the street without thinking about wearing a mask or keeping socially distant – how incredible that will ...

'You're cancelled'. It doesn't sound like the right thing to say to a person. We cancel appointments and dinner dates, not people. Yet whenever someone, particularly a celebrity or somebody prominent in the public eye, voices an opinion deemed unacceptable it has become ever so easy to block them out on social media and call into question everything they have ever done or said. It is possible to come back from being cancelled, but the indiscretion will never be forgotten. It is a cloud shadowing the glory of their former achievements. In a world where everything can now be documented and filed away ready to be dragged out into the light at any random point in the future, it simply feels unsafe to voice a controversial opinion.  At this point I feel I should clarify what I mean by cancel culture. There is a difference between a genuine criminal being prosecuted for their misconduct and a public figure on Twitter making a stupid thoughtless comment. Harvey Weinstein canno...

Face masks have become mandatory in shops, takeaways and cafes, having already been compulsory on public transport for a number of weeks. And I for one am relieved. Not only does this rule allow for more consistency and clarity as to whether we should wear face masks or not, it seems as if our government are now listening to the advice of doctors and scientists. Our politicians have finally started to show some degree of leadership, rather than backing away from all responsibility – in other words they are actually doing their job. In this rather scary and confusing time it is a comfort to feel like there are some guidelines in place to help protect us. Critics have voiced their concern over the restrictions these rules will impose on our lives, when really this more ordered approach is far more likely to get us out of this mess and back to our pre-coronavirus existence as quickly as possible. If there is any way that masks might reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading and protect us ...