No more BBC Sounds outside UK

My life has completely been changed. I finally lost my favourite app in Japan. I'd listened to the app for more than a decade.

BBC radio available outside UK after Sounds switch-off
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j1m721mp2o

[quote] A BBC spokesperson said: "BBC Sounds will now be available on the same basis as BBC iPlayer.
"Both services are restricted to a UK domestic audience, reflecting rights and associated considerations.[unquote]

This means I have to pay for BBC licence. VPN is not enough to access to BBC Sounds outside UK.

BBC podcasts and audio are now available on BBC.com

[quote] While many programmes are available on-demand on bbc.com/BBC app, not all BBC radio content will be available for on-demand listening. [unquote]

The new BBC rule allows us only live programmes. I have to wake up very early or stay up late to listen to my favourite programmes.

I'm absolutely gutted. Literally no words.

leave no stone unturned

She is the most famous preschooler. I've known she's missing more than a decade, but I haven't read her article because they seemed gossipy.

I found the title attracted me to read. It's a gossip, but thought-provoking. Her disappearance deeply hurt the relatively privileged family.
They've been coping with the tragedy and heartache over the years, but the former GP mummy developed early onset dementia.

Madeleine McCann: where the family are now, from Kate's moving memoir to the brother tipped for the Olympics
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/madeleine-mccann-parents-family-now-kate-memoir-brother-olympics-b1230983.html

<word>
threw a (fresh) spotlight on
tip [quote]Sean, a champion freestyle swimmer, is being tipped to compete in the next Olympics.
devout Catholics
detached house
frontline work < frontline worker
overprotective [quote] overprotective towards twins
revulsion
stem / stem from something [Collins]If a condition or problem stems from something, it was caused originally by that thing.
[quote]The second stemmed from the revulsion stirred up by my fear
to such an extent that / to the extend that / to the extent of
repulsive
soaring hospital admissions
bio - biography
immediate past-chair
mollycoddle
leave no stone unturned
experimental medicine
NIHR - National Institute for Health and Care Research

Very good twin children.

UCL saved Orwell

UCL has saved the Gollancz collection finally. phew.
Populism, vandalism, anti-intellectualism...have been penetrated broadly. It's an unpleasant social trend.

About 160 historic George Orwell papers saved for nation after outcry
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/09/about-160-historic-george-orwell-papers-saved-for-nation-after-outcry-gollancz-university-college-london

outcry
dispersal < disperse
libel
treasure trove
vault
bit by bit

Victor Gollancz
Orion Group - Orion Publishing Group
Hachette - Hachette Livre
Lagardère - Lagardère Publishing < Louis Hachette Group
languish
Rick Gekoski
Kingsley Amis
Orwell Archive < UCL
Richard Blair < Eric Blair

[quote]“I’m very pleased and relieved that the Orwell Archive has taken [the Gollancz papers] and that they’ve not been dispersed into the ether, gobbled by various collectors, never to be seen again.”[unquote]

good wine makes your blood good

Il vino fa buon sangue. 酒は百薬の長

This article contains a lot of useful medical and research words.

Drinking champagne could reduce risk of sudden cardiac arrest, study suggests
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/29/drink-champagne-reduce-risk-sudden-cardiac-arrest-study-suggests

<words>
sudden cardiac arrest, SCA
non-clinical risk factors
socioeconomic
exposome
genetic predispositions

Fudan University
UK Biobank

[quote]One of the study’s most intriguing findings is the cardioprotective effect associated with champagne and white wine consumption, questioning long-held assumptions about the specificity of red wine’s cardioprotective properties.[unquote]

The source of the article: Canadian Journal of Cardiology

Modifiable Risk Factors and Attributable Burden of Cardiac Arrest: An Exposome-wide and Mendelian Randomization Analysis
https://onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(25)00171-0/fulltext

Moving From Reaction to Prevention in Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Causal Clues and Caveats From Mendelian Randomisation Studies
https://onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(25)00203-X/fulltext

According to the research results, beer and cider are not bad for SCA. Expiration is important
Tobacco and unemployment are the worst risk factors.
It's sad that dairy and eggs are bad risk factors of SCA. I eat eggs and cheese every day.
We need to consider the research was conducted based on the UK data. They drink and eat much more than Japanese do.

Queen Elizabeth II memorial

I found this article, just I've read an article about '赤尾一夫'.
I didn't know that Norman Foster and King Charles have been in dispute. He is one of the five finalists.

Norman Foster on shortlist to design Queen Elizabeth II memorial
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/25/norman-foster-on-shortlist-to-design-queen-elizabeth-ii-memorial

skew
champion (verb)
moat
cauldron - Olympic cauldron < Olympic flame

Reichstag
Chelsea barracks
Qatari Diar
Quinlan Terry
Richard Rogers

1. Foster + Partners
Yinka Shonibare
Nigel Dunnett
2. Heatherwick Studio
Thomas Heatherwick - Routemaster
Halima Cassell
3. J&L Gibbons
Michael Levine
William Matthews Associates
Tom Stuart-Smith
4. Jamie Fobert Architects
Adam Lowe - Factum Arte
5. WilkinsonEyre
Lisa Vandy
Fiona Clarke
Gateshead Millennium Bridge


Foster + Partners, Heatherwick Studio, and others shortlisted to design Queen Elizabeth II Memorial
https://www.archpaper.com/2025/02/foster-partners-heatherwick-studio-shortlisted-queen-elizabeth-ii-memorial/

[quote]The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial will be located close to Buckingham Palace, in St. James Park next to The Mall at Marlborough Gate and includes the Blue Bridge [unquote]
[quote]The winning design team will be chosen by summer 2025. A final design will be announced in April 2026, close to what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday.[unquote]

A violin stolen in a pub

A violin! In a pub!!
I hope the violinist will reunite with the violin.

Musician seeks help to recover ancient violin stolen in pub
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c981d427d1ro

offload
on stand-by

Canonbury
Lorenzo Carcassi

There are some attractive pubs in Canonbury. There is a George Orwell's green plaque.

Kamikaze shoplifters

Why Kamikaze? It's similar as '闇バイト'.

Shoplifters 'out of control' and becoming more brazen, say retailers
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp82jvd3g54o

brazen
unsuspecting
in the line of duty
apprehend

[quote]offenders were becoming more daring because they don't see that there's necessarily any consequences. [unquote]

[quote]Ultimately when shoplifters start to see the levels of consequence more and more than we're seeing today… that will really change the tide. [unquote]

Police should show shoplifters the dire consequences.

The investigation has been reopened

Finally!! The name of the driver was unveiled. Claire Freemantle, 48.
She hasn't faced a charge?? Met Police is right to reopen the investigation for the victims' family. Poor girls.

Driver rearrested over girls' school crash deaths
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm27dg7e7ddo

epileptic seizure < epilepsy
seizure
behind the wheel / at the wheel
manifest [Collins]If you manifest a particular quality, feeling, or illness, or if it manifests itself, it becomes visible or obvious.
runs its course [Collins]to develop gradually and come to a natural end
unhindered << hinder> hindrance
line [quote] Our main priority is to ensure the lines of inquiry identified by the review are progressed.
Is this meaning? [Collins]If you say that something happens along particular lines, or on particular lines, you are giving a general summary or approximate account of what happens, which may not be correct in every detail.

[quote]At the time, her solicitor said her epilepsy had "never previously manifested itself" and Ms Freemantle "had always enjoyed good health".[unquote
I'm sceptical of the Freemantle's epileptic seizure. I shouldn't speculate, but had police investigated the history of her phone or dashboard camera???

Save The Prince Charles Cinema

At the moment, the petition has gathered 94,251 signatures. The target is 100,000.

It's legendary. The selection of the movies is nearly my preference. I like cult movies.
I want to sign on it on an emotional level, but I'm not a local resident.

I hardly go to movie theatre these days, or even I rarely watch movies recently.
Actually, I've come back to the movie theatres really recently. I watched a documentary of Japanese primary school and a drama of Trump at cinemas this month.
I might be influenced by stealth marketing. I'm a very easy target of marketing.

Cult London film venue Prince Charles cinema under threat of closure
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/28/prince-charles-cinema-threat-of-closure-london-cult-venue

span(verb) [Collins] If something spans a long period of time, it lasts throughout that period of time or relates to that whole period of time.
buck the trend [Cambridge]to be obviously different from the way that a situation is developing generally, especially in connection with financial matters
entitlement - remember!
mischaracterise
hinder

property words
break clause [Cambridge]in the UK, a statement in an agreement, especially one about using land or property, that allows someone to end the agreement under certain conditions before it would normally end
stewardship[Collins]Stewardship is the responsibility of looking after property.
London’s Central YMCA - I didn't know it's a gym
Criterion Capital, whose CEO is billionaire Asif Aziz

People who are only interested in practical things, such as wealth and money, destroy local society, tradition, history and culture. They are not educated liberal arts.

The 1954 Oxblood Gibson Les Paul

Guitar heroes understand each other. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Mick Ronson??

Rock legend Jeff Beck's guitar sells for over £1m
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgrxpg0nyyo
This article contains lords of interesting information, but no words.
rise to fame [quote]Jeff Beck rose to international fame as a member of the Yardbirds

I didn't know Jeff Beck performed in the legendary concert! Silly me!
[quote]He used it for the encore at the end of David Bowie's final performance as Ziggy Stardust in July 1973.[unquote]

Found it! That guitar!
The performance that caused a rift between Jeff Beck and David Bowie
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/rift-between-jeff-beck-and-david-bowie/

rift
troubadour
carve out
messianic < messian
see the light of day [Collins] to become known by or available to a large number of people
chagrin
detrimental
still have a ways to go
foil [Collins]a person or thing that gives contrast to another
where someone is coming from [Collins] you understand someone's attitude or point of view.

I understood what Beck said. Jeff Beck was a Guitar God. Mick Ronson was a king of glam rock guitarist.

byelection

The labour government has not been popular already. The Labour MP of the constituency doesn't have qualifications as a MP.
The popularity of Farage hugely contributes to Reform, contrary to what Musk said to him.
We have to choose better candidate and party, not more popular one.

‘I don’t trust them’: voters wary as Reform eyes possible Runcorn byelection
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/20/possible-runcorn-byelection-mike-amesbury-labour-reform

wary
ground war <> air war
showdown
altercation
colossal
outside [Collins](adj)remote; unlikely - an outside chance
a massive ask < a big ask [Collins]a task which is difficult to fulfil
screw [Collins]If someone says that they have been screwed, they mean that someone else has cheated them, especially by getting money from them dishonestly.
seethe - remember!
worse off
unassailable << assail
put off [Collins]to cause to lose interest in or enjoyment of

would think, would consider

cavalier King Charles spaniels
jack russells

JSO supporters in Westminster Abbey

I saw a woman who was protesting against cutting woods in Jingu no Mori by herself.
She played a recorded message from a speaker on her bicycle. She was also taking photos of the construction site. She looked an ordinary middle aged woman.
I'm against the development but I’ve never taken action apart from signing the petition on Change.org.

It seems to me that most protesters against developments or environment change are too serious and earnest like Greta.
The old ladies in the articles don't look like radical activists. People who support JSO are not always extreme.

Just Stop Oil activists spray-paint ‘1.5 is dead’ on Charles Darwin’s grave
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/13/just-stop-oil-activists-spray-paint-charles-darwin-grave

chalk paint
naturalist - Charles Darwin
mass extinction
preindustrial
Copernicus Climate Change Service
conservator

I took time to complete checking words, because I spent time reading Wiki of Charles Darwin and mass extinction. That's my problem of reading practice.

accent bias

I didn't know Black Country until the article! Stupid me!
I thought the Black Country of 'Black Country Rock' indicated about blues of the South of USA. 'Pack a pack horse' sounds something about Wild West.
I don't understand the meaning of the lyrics, but I feel the great masterpiece.

UK's hierarchy of accents: 'I thought mine made me sound stupid'
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyjdyj729ro

self conscious [quote]she began to feel self conscious, and avoided speaking up in front of the other students.
intimidated
sociolinguist < sociolinguistics
Sutton Trust
social setting
come down to sth
perceive
dialect
elocution
call in
hamper
caregiver
articulate
to take the piss out of someone
in the dock
on the whole

Catherine Tate - Lauren 'Am I bovvered?'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1zK8zRCPo

If I had gone to a University in the UK, I might have been discriminated by my strong Japanese accent!

I like Japanese accent such as Yoko Ono's. I like John Lennon's Scouse, too.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview Twickenham Studios. January 14, 1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toBRDmmh7_I

George Orwell £2 coin

I thought I wanted this coin at first site, but it would be difficult to get it.
It's 75th anniversary of his death this year. He died on 21 January 1950.

George Orwell to be honoured on new £2 coin by Royal Mint
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/13/george-orwell-to-be-honoured-on-new-2-coin-by-royal-mint

encircle
inscription
collectible coin ~ commemorative coin ~ uncirculated coin ~ proof coin
reverse <> obverse

<preposition> New!
[by]by Royal Mint
[with]concerned with / coincide with / share sth with sb
[about]feel about
[at] at the centre / buy at check-in for an additional £7.50 a coin
[to] pay sth to / according to / introduction to
[on] today – decades on from (adverb) /based on
[in] live in poverty / buy in [..] editions

I understood the meaning of the article after I learned from these sites
Royal Mint website
https://www.royalmint.com/shop/limited-editions/george-orwell/
Royal Mint Experience website
https://www.royalmint.com/the-royal-mint-experience/vip-tours/

[Quote]“There was truth and there was untruth.”[unquote]

British Christmas dinner

It's already been Yuletide. I kept the article in the reading list a week ago.
It's easy to understand, but a lot of English expressions in it.

Christmas dinner set to cost less this year
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnv3y61qq41o

checkout - at the supermarket checkout
lb - pronounce 'pound' < Latin 'libra'
digging deeper < dig deep
tot up (British)
all the trimmings < trimming
tighten their belts < tighten your belt
granule
icing
whopping - a whopping 26% increase
spud
lift [Collins]If you lift root vegetables or bulbs, you dig them out of the ground.
perishable - accent
stockpile
yellow sticker
meat joint

It's good to know
[quote] noting that supermarkets usually fight for customers with cut price "potatoes, carrots, parsnips, Brussels spouts".[unquote]
This is also good to know
[quote]While loss-leaders are good for shoppers, Mr Futter stressed these below-cost prices "don't show the true cost to the farmer" and can generate a lot of food waste. "People think that food is cheap to produce - that's not true."[unquote]
I didn't know that butter and cheddar can freeze to stock up.
[quote]Use your freezer: Christmas foods that freeze well include butter, meat joints and some cheeses like cheddar.[unquote]

I didn't know that there was a turkey farm near Slough. Turkey sounds American. I prefer roast beef and vegetables for Christmas.
I don't like 'Christmas essentials' which described in the article. I don't like turkey, pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing and mince pie...especially supermarkets' packaged one...yuck.

I was totally stunned by the sage and onion stuffing sandwich... it's traditional British food, indeed.
TRADITIONAL Sage and Onion STUFFING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5nQ3fM1bRE