lifestyle
Did You Know?
Keep your hands on the wheel
Police will soon be able to more easily prosecute drivers using a hand-held mobile phone at the wheel after the government strengthens existing laws to further improve road safety. It is already illegal to text or make a phone call (other than in an emergency) using a hand-held device while driving. Next year, laws will go further to ban drivers from using their phones to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists or play games. This will mean anyone caught using their hand-held device while driving will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their licence. There will be an exemption to the new law for drivers making a contactless payment using their mobile phone while stationary to ensure the law keeps pace with technology. This exemption will cover, for example, places like a drive-through restaurant or a road toll, and will only apply when payment is being made with a card reader. It will not allow motorists to make general online payments while driving.
Pass the popcorn!
Showcase Cinemas has announced that customers are now able to hire an entire cinema screen to themselves to host their own private screening with friends and family. Guests will experience big screen immersion like never before, with no one else in attendance other than their specially selected list of lucky friends and family - providing all those in attendance with an unmatched viewing experience. Private hire costs start from £140. For more information see showcasecinemas.co.uk
A survey commissioned by the British Nutrition Foundation revealed that almost half of British adults (49%) are not aware of the government’s recommendation to consider taking vitamin D supplements during the autumn and winter months. Vitamin D is essential for keeping our bones and muscles healthy, and also for supporting normal immunity. While we can get some vitamin D from our diet, the main source is sunlight exposure on the skin. During autumn and winter in the UK, UV levels from the sun are not strong enough for us to make vitamin D in our skin.
GET INTO TEACHING Graduates applying to train as teachers in high-demand subjects will receive thousands of pounds in tax-free cash bursaries under government plans to recruit and retain world-class teachers. A total of £129 million is available for trainee teachers starting in 2022/23, which includes increased bursaries of £15,000 for languages, geography and design and technology, and £10,000 for biology – in addition to the existing £24,000 bursary or £26,000 scholarship for maths, physics, chemistry and computing. This follows an announcement by the Prime Minister that teachers of maths, physics, chemistry and computing in the first five years of their careers will receive salary boosts of up to £3,000 – to support the recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects.
32 Life in... Orpington January 2022
Bringing home the bacon (sandwich) The bacon butty has been named the UK’s favourite sandwich, beating off fierce competition from other popular sandwich fillings, according to new national research. The recent study, conducted by Foodhub, a food ordering app, found that one in five Brits (20%) opted for bacon as their favourite sandwich filling, with cheese (18%) falling narrowly behind. In third came cheese and pickle (15%), with ham and cheese missing out on landing in the top three.
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