
BBC's Hull building submits plans to change unsafe cladding
Documents sent to Hull City Council said that a number of fire safety measures had been put in place at the nine-storey building, which opened in 2004.These included new evacuation procedures established by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, which have been communicated to all residents. Other measures included a 24-hour waking watch at the site, ensuring the building was patrolled at all times by two trained fire marshals. The alarm system in the building was being changed to immediately notify the fire service should it be triggered, rather than a 999 call needing to be made.Residents have also been told they must not smoke on balconies.Before and after elevations submitted to the council suggested there would not be any noticeable visual changes if the work was approved, the LDRS said.Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

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Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Clearing out my late father's home was a revelation
I visited my late father's house in January. I was there to 'clear it out', to pick through the detritus of his life with a vulturous eye and determine what was worth saving and what was for the dump. It was my first time back since the funeral. The house looked the same as it had when he died; the only thing missing was him. I didn't know my father very well when he was alive. I couldn't tell you his favourite song, or where he had been on holiday, or the names of his friends. I have no idea what his ambitions were, what his greatest achievement was, or what motivated him. I don't know what made him cry, what made him laugh, what made him think. The memories of my father are sparse and they are fractured. Returning to his house in January, I hoped his possessions might build a better picture of the man I once called Dad. As it turns out, there wasn't much to find: a few tea-stained mugs, some old Gloria Estefan CDs, and diplomas for courses that no longer exist. But as I rifled through my father's past, something caught my eye. It was a Spanish language textbook: España Viva. The book, published in 1987, was designed to accompany the BBC Television series of the same name. Standing on the landing in my dead father's house, I held the well-thumbed, nicotine-stained book in both hands and stared at it. I was confused. My father had never once mentioned learning Spanish. In fact, he had never shown any interest in Spain or Spanish culture — apart from Gloria Estefan, and she was born in Cuba anyway. Inside the book were dozens of paper scraps, his handwriting, nearly as illegible as mine, scrawled all over them. And then I found it. Nestled between two pages was a leaflet for a Spanish language course in Salamanca. The brochure was so old that it still asked for payment in pesetas. Beneath the words 'The best choice: Spanish in Salamanca' was an image of Plaza Mayor. I recognised the image because in 2014 I too had taken a trip to Salamanca to learn Spanish. I stayed there for a week with a family who spoke no English, and I visited the language centre every day. I had never told my father about that trip, and he had never told me about his. But by picking up that knackered old textbook, a new connection was formed between me and my father. We had both gone to the same city in Spain with the same purpose in mind. He could have gone to Madrid or I could have gone to Valencia. But we didn't; we both went to Salamanca, albeit 17 years apart. And without finding that textbook, I would never have known. • Talk? No — my male friends and I just swap Instagram Reels I took the book along with a vintage Austin Reed leather shearling jacket that happened to fit me perfectly. As I rode the Tube home, I thought about what my father had left me: a dog-eared Spanish textbook and a jacket with a pocket full of used tissues, a dental receipt and a Tanning Shop freshening wipe. It wasn't much, but it was something, and it was something physical. I held the book and jacket on my lap, and a thought occurred to me: this is what my father left me; what will I leave behind? • Tracing my roots in the household clutter See, we live in an increasingly materialistic yet immaterial world. Physical possessions have taken the back seat, their value replaced by the incorporeal world of the internet and the cloud and everything else that exists but can't be held. And while the digitalisation of our lives has given us unlimited access to information, it has also broken our connection to the real world, the tangible world, the world that we can touch, taste, see and smell. Last year, I was mugged. My phone got snatched by some kid in a balaclava. And being the slave to technology that I am, my whole life was on that phone. And being the idiot that I am, none of that life was backed up. I lost every image, every note and every video. I lost the voicemails my father had left me before he died. I lost every photo I had ever taken with my girlfriend; I lost every text I had ever sent her. All of it was gone in a matter of seconds — the online equivalent of a house fire that leaves nothing behind but soot and ash. But it's not just me whose worldly possessions have moved from the physical to the intangible. Who gets film photos developed? Who buys notebooks and writes by hand? Who sends letters instead of emails? Who bothers to pay with cash? In each of these examples, the digital alternative is more efficient. But the digital version is also devoid of character, and it says very little about who we are as people. • I grew up with an older, single mother. I can't imagine Christmas away from her As invasive as it sounds, you can get a good idea of a person by going through their things. Step inside a person's home and a whole world is elicited: the books they keep, the memorabilia on the mantelpiece, the albums stacked along the shelf, the photos on the wall, the mound of journals in the attic, the chewed-up baby blanket from their youth now hanging in the kitchen like a priceless painting. As much as we hate to admit it, our possessions define us. I'm not talking about the monetary value of these possessions. A childhood teddy under a pillow says more about a person than the Alfa Romeo parked outside. Asgard on his trip to learn Spanish in Salamanca Technology is brilliant. It has done so much for the world — most of it good. But we can't allow the physical souvenirs of our lives to disappear entirely, otherwise what will be left of us when we're gone? When I was 15 I worked as a volunteer at a nursing home. Many of the residents had advanced Alzheimer's. Walking along the corridors, I would stop and look at the display cabinets outside their rooms. These cabinets were the SparkNotes of their lives: photos, scraps of paper, letters from late partners, estranged lovers and lost children, little glass menageries from friends long gone. A resident's whole life in a square box. Sometimes a resident would enter their room and stop to observe their own display cabinet, and they would remember who they were, however fleeting that remembrance was. At the time, I found these possessions moving. Now I see them as essential. So, to answer my previous question: what will I leave behind? In the 2020 film Nowhere Special James Norton's character — a window cleaner dying of cancer — is reluctant to leave anything behind for his three-year-old son for fear it will only hurt him more. In the end, he leaves a memory box: a plastic container of letters, photos and a window wiper so his son will know what his father did. It wasn't much — nor is a Spanish textbook from 1987 — but it was something, and it was something physical. And while the world encourages us to declutter and to transfer our lives online, I will endeavour to hold on to the few precious physical items I own, even if they are of no value to anyone else — and I hope that one day I too will get the chance to leave them behind.


Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
NADINE DORRIES: Lucy Letby wants to see me. I filled in the paperwork six months ago. So who's blocking my prison visit - and why?
More than six months ago, Lucy Letby applied for me to be put on her 'approved visitor' list. I was sent a form in the post by Sodexo Justice Services which runs HMP Bronzefield where she is held. I dutifully did what was requested of me: filled in all the details, attached a photograph to the form, popped a signed spare in an envelope and returned it all, special delivery.


Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Emergency alarm to sound on all phones on anniversary of the Blitz
An emergency alert will be sent to all mobile phones in the UK to test the country's preparedness for danger to life. At 3pm on Sunday Sept 7, the texts will be sent out to approximately 87 million mobile phones in the UK. The alert will coincide with the 85th anniversary of the start of the Blitz, which began on Sept 7 1940. During the test, phones will vibrate and make a loud siren sound for about 10 seconds, even if they are set to silent. A message will also appear on phone screens, making it clear the alert is only a test. The Emergency Alerts system is used to warn if there is a danger to life nearby, including extreme weather, and will allow vital information and advice to be sent to people rapidly in an emergency. It will be the second time such a test has taken place. The first was in April 2023 as part of a government commitment to familiarise the public with the alerts. Countries such as Japan and the USA also test similar systems. Since April 2023, five alerts have been sent, including during major storms when lives were at risk. The largest use of the system happened in Scotland and Northern Ireland when approximately 4.5 million people received an alert during Storm Éowyn in January 2025, when a red weather warning over risk to life was issued. In December 2024, 3.5 million people across Wales and the South West of England received an alert during Storm Darragh, which killed two people. Other activations have included when an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered in Plymouth and during flash flooding in Cumbria and Leicestershire. Potential to save lives Before the test, the Government will run a public information campaign to notify people that it is taking place. Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the alerts had the potential to save lives. 'Just like the fire alarm in your house, it's important we test the system so that we know it will work if we need it,' he said. A new Resilience Action Plan, published on Tuesday, will improve the way the Government prepares for and responds to emergencies. A website will provide information on 'simple and effective steps' people can take to be more prepared. These include working out the best escape route from home in the event of a fire or flood and keeping a hard copy of important phone numbers in the event of a power cut. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is investing £370 million to better secure the UK's telecommunications networks through research and investment in new technology and infrastructure. The National Situation Centre and the Devolved Governments are also going to sign a data-sharing Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that every nation in the UK has the best available information to prepare and respond to crises.