Unrelentingly kind, Oxford-educated mum got four years' jail because she rented a safe house to Just Stop Oil

OPINION: Louise Lancaster is described by Theo, her son, as "unrelentingly kind". He added that, "In almost any situation she will put others first." Louise Lancaster is the kind of person who is the backbone of  Britain.

She studied maths at Oxford. She is smart and decent and normal and is the kind of person that Britain should be proud of and protect. But she was jailed for four years because she rented a safe house for Just Stop Oil, the group campaigning against the government's inactivity to deal with climate change properly.

Louise Lancaster and family in a selfie. Image: Louise Lancaster on the left.

Other protesters were jailed for four years and the organiser, Roger Hallam, was jailed for five years. This was a peaceful protest. It is unheard of to be jailed for five or four years for a peaceful protest. Her ex-husband, Tim, said that she expected to be convicted and jailed and was prepared for it emotionally. And she prepared her family for it as well. Because she was thinking of others again.

Just Stop Oil protesters storm 18th green at Travelers Golf Championship (72nd hole)

Nevertheless the family was shocked at the sentence. Tim said: "To get a sentence that is way longer than you would get for violent crime [the average UK sentence for violent crime is 21.6 months]. It feels terribly unjust."

Destruction of democracy in the UK in silencing climate change campaigners

The sentencing took place under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 which was amended to allow for harsher punishments to these sorts of protesters. For people like me, the increased power to judges to hand out more severe punishments for peace protests is almost a fascist act. It's drifting towards a Russia-like situation. It's entirely unacceptable.

It did not come naturally for Louise Lancaster to be involved in a Just Stop Oil protest campaign. She just felt something had to be done about the lack of activity in dealing with global warming. She must have given it a hell of a lot of thought. Initially both Louise and her husband joined marches and signed petitions and wrote to their MP.

They thought people were noticing but they decided that they weren't and at one stage, Louise said to her husband: "Look, we did all of that and nothing changed. We have to do something else."

About 2020 she started to see non-violent direct action as a way of getting the government's attention. And so she became involved in Just Stop Oil's activities. It led to 4 years in jail which I would think will be commuted to 2 years or even less. She is quite happy to be in jail actually and has got her vegan diet organised in prison at last.

She has reassured her kids and has a smile on her face. When her kids saw her off when she went to prison they gave her a hug. Verity, her daughter, burst into tears while "Mum broke into a massive smile".

She told Verity that she was going to be fine and that she will be helping other women in prison fill out forms and would do some online courses and work on her pullups!

She is a lovely woman and this horrendous judge, Judge Christopher Hehir, did the government's bidding and put her in prison for four years because she rented a safe house for the campaigners. She also organised some climbing equipment. She was behind the scenes. She's now front and centre in the mainstream news.

And everything she's done and the punishment she received SCREAMS injustice. Britain has become an unjust place riddled with petty crime. The police don't tackle any shoplifting and they hardly tackle burglaries. Theft, fraud and even large-scale crime is rampant in the UK and it is undermining society. Almost none of it goes punished but Louise Lancaster was severely punished for trying to tell the government to do something about global warming. It is turning justice on its head.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Woke movement has shifted our tolerance of cruelty in chasing perfection in competition

The woke movement is an evolving phenomenon. It originally meant being alert to racial prejudice and discrimination. It's use expanded to encompass awareness of various social inequalities including sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression.

In 2024, 'woke' is often associated with social justice activism and progressive politics. Focusing on identity politics and systemic issues like white privilege and advocacy for marginalised groups and challenging social norms. 

The word "woke" has become divisive. Some people dislike it; others support it passionately. It's an important concept and it has altered society in Western countries. Supporters emphasise its importance in highlighting injustice while critics view it as promoting excessive sensitivity or political correctness.

But in my view, its meaning has broadened and it's influence has broadened to encompass the lowering of acceptance of abuse and cruelty in chasing perfection in competition.

This can be seen in various ways currently with the castigation of Charlotte Dujardin who used a lunging whip to abuse a horse when training in dressage. It was horse abuse, no doubt about it and objectionable but the horse was not hurt and Charlotte Dujardin's achievements have been trashed. She's been banned from competing in the Paris Olympics, she lost the chance to achieve another gold medal and she has lost her funding by the UK authorities.

What she did was not unusual. Deploying a long whip to train a horse to raise its feet in a stationary trot called the piaffe is not unusual but she overdid it. There are other aspects of dressage which are today probably deemed unacceptable such as the position of the head which is alleged to damaged ligaments and impede breathing. This was seen as a fair practice; now it is not.

As an extension of that, in the Paris Games, modern pentathletes will ride horses for the last time. At Los Angeles in 2028, the equestrian event will be replaced by an obstacle course of high walls, rope swings and scramble nets. The change came about because in 2021 a trainer punched a horse called Saint Boy. A scandal followed and Los Angeles threatened to drop the whole sport. This ended the 19th century concept of the pentathlon using a horse.

We can extend the concept of woke further because in the UK, the BBC's most popular show, Strictly Come Dancing, is going through an existential crisis because three professional dancers have been implicated in abusive treatment of their amateur, celebrity competitors when training them too hard. One complained and then another complained and the professional dancers are being investigated. They've lost their contracts with the BBC and their careers are harmed.

At the moment there's been no findings by the investigation and therefore these are allegations but the cultural change brought about by the woke movement has, I believe, infiltrated areas such as this BBC show and altered the mindset of the competitors to the point where they will no longer accept what they perceive as bulling and abuses, as inequality, as unfairness, when seeking dancing perfection. It's a change in societal norms in the competitive areas of life and entertainment.

The argument is that people in general and those that watch these competitions should be prepared to accept lower standards in the interests of protecting the welfare of horses in the case of the Olympics and the celebrity competitors in the case of Strictly Come Dancing. It's a fine balance between seeking excellence and how far you go in that quest and how much you put competitors through in achieving excellence.

In the case of people they will do it voluntarily initially. In the case of horses and other animals it's even more important because they do not give their consent. 

I would argue that the Dujardin alleged abuse is more fundamentally wrong than any abuse against a person in seeking perfection and that would apply to many other Olympians such as those representing China. 

Chinese gymnasts are picked at a very young age. The take them young and shape them as children putting through highly rigorous training programs leading to physical punishments and injuries. China can do this because it's a quasi-dictatorship. People do what they're told to do and they become accepting of it.

But in the West, in democracies, they have the power of self-expression due to equalities bestowed by the democratic process emboldened by the woke movement.

Postscript: in the paper today there is a story about Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man. It actually concerns one of his offspring, his boy who transgendered to become his daughter and who has named herself Vivian Jenna Wilson. Musk said that his son "had been killed" by the "woke mind virus". He claims that he has lost his son and that he is dead and he blames the woke movement. His daughter, Jenna, blames him for being an absent and cruel father who criticised her femininity and queerness. An example of the way that the "woke" concept polarises people's views including within a family to the point where the family is broken.

Key Points:

• There's no single, universally agreed-upon definition of "woke."
• Its usage is often subjective and depends on the speaker's perspective.
• The term has become a lightning rod in cultural and political debates.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Child rapist allowed to compete at Olympics while an equestrian who gently whipped a horse is banned?

Dujardin banned from Olympics while van de Velde is allowed to compete by Michael Broad

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This is a short note on something which troubled Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning. LBC is a popular British radio station and Nick Ferrari is a very popular, long-standing presenter on that station. He saw a disconnect or a lack of equality in the way two Olympians have been treated by the authorities.

Charlotte Dujardin is all over the news because she was secretly videoed using a lunging whip on a horse being trained for dressage, ridden by a young rider. This is a very long whip which might at worst sting a horse but it's a fairly benign training instrument which is an extension of the arms. That said she made a terrible mistake in whipping this trainee horse. She admitted it. But her illustrious career as a former gold medallist is in tatters because of the revelation.

She's been banned from going for another gold medal which would have made her Britain’s most decorated female Olympian in her own right. And she has lost funding from the UK authorities. Her reputation is in tatters as mentioned.

She's not been been charged with any animal welfare offence. And therefore she not been found guilty of a crime. Although we don't know whether she regularly used that kind of whipping treatment in her training programs. There is no suggestion that she did but the fact that she was filmed doing it might arguably indicate that she has used the method before.

What did Charlotte Dujardin do to force her to withdraw from the Olympics? - click this for her full story.

But set against that bleak picture for Charlotte Dujardin, we have the story of Steven van de Veld, a convicted child rapist who was convicted of raping a British 12-year-old girl in 2016. He was subsequently tried and convicted and has been punished according to the law. And he's allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics. The IOC is facing calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at these games.

There is growing outrage at the presence of Steven van de Velde in the volleyball competition. Some senior people believe that it is irresponsible of the authorities to allow him there. It sends the wrong signal to the world at large. And there's an argument that even though he has served his sentence and been punished he should not be allowed to compete because the Olympic Games is about creating a harmonious environment. It's about promoting high standards. It's about excellence in sport and in general behaviour. These are top athletes who are influencers.

Many of them who are awarded gold medals will be strong influencers in the future of young people in particular and this underscores the need for them to be of good character.

There is an argument for banning Van de Velde from the Olympics and if that had happened it would put him in line with the ban of Charlotte Dujardin. It would make more sense. At the moment there seems to be a high degree of inequality between these two athletes and the application of different standards.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Do cat deterrent 'Doff Stop Cats and Dogs Scatter Granules' work?

Doff STOP Cat and Dog Scatter Granules cost £3.97 at Asda, which is a very small price to pay if you are a gardener and you don't like neighbourhood cats coming onto your garden. You will find countless numbers of tricks and tips about stopping cats coming onto gardens. 

Does cat deterrent 'Doff Stop Cats and Dogs Scatter Granules' work? Not very well or hardly at all is my opinion based on reviews.

I think the whole thing is overhyped myself because the best way to do it is by shouting at a wandering cat and looking aggressive but not harming the cat. This will put them off and eventually they won't come back as the link the place with danger. Or the ultrasonic deterrent is the best, working about half the time (see link below).

Do ultrasonic cat deterrents work? - click on this link for info about a pretty go deterrent and there are some other links below for more info.

But this particular product is currently in the news so I thought I'd just check it out. The claims are no doubt slightly extravagant and one has to be sceptical about cat and dog repellents.

In years of studying these products, I can say pretty confidently that most of them don't work very well or hardly at all. The news media like to report on them. And that assessment would apply to this product.

Real, sensible backyard cat deterrents without gimmicks - click for a sensible discussion.

I chose Amazon on as my source of reviews where the product achieves 3.4 out of 5 which is poor. A lot of the reviews report that it didn't work. The ones that gave four or five stars said that they thought it worked but they posted their review quite early on and therefore were unsure as to the long term benefits.

Rue is a plant that may work as a cat deterrent when crushed

And they are granules so if it rains they going to be damaged and ineffective I would guess. They're designed to last for a fairly short time anyway and they work by giving off a highly perfumed odour which is meant to deter cats and dogs.

Odour repellents of all kinds are not that effective despite the sensitivity of the noses of both cats and dogs partly because the fade quite quickly in time.

Cats and dogs are meant to find the smell 'repulsive' but being sceptical as I am I doubt it applies to all cats anyway. Perhaps if a cat smelled the granules from about 2 inches some cats might be repelled and disgusted but does it apply to all domestic cats? Cats are individuals. Some are more sensitive to deterrent smells than others.

Other than using the ultrasonic deterrent which can hardly be heard by people, or waving one's arms around and making a noise, an additional deterrent would be to plant the right kind of shrubs which cover the entire ground in the flower beds. Cats won't go into those. This of course might not please a gardener because they want to plant pretty flowers and they want to participate in gardening rather than have a low maintenance garden.

Are citrus fruits a good cat deterrent?

Some plants are quite prickly and they can be usefully employed in flower beds as a deterrent. That's about it. My recommendation is don't bother with these granules.

I would like to say that when I state that ultrasonic deterrent works moderately effectively I am basing that on scientific research. That's not hearsay or subjective reviews but hard science.

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Ryan Reynolds jokes Taylor Swift sued him for using her cats in ‘Deadpool 2’

I have stolen the title from a website called NME. The story is a bit of fun. Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift are buddies I believe. So Ryan is taking the Mikey when he said that Taylor sued him for not asking her permission to put photos of her cats on his T-shirt. 

In a recent Sirius XM interview (July 19), Reynolds discussed featuring Swift's cats, Meredith and Olivia, on a T-shirt in his 2018 film. The sequel, Deadpool & Wolverine, is set to hit theatres this week (July 26).

“Yes, I had a T-shirt made. Yes, of [Swift’s cats] Meredith and Olivia on Wade’s shirt,” Reynolds explained during the interview. “Yeah, you know, just little details, that’s all.”

He was asked if he'd got permission and his jokey response was:

 "No, I was sued. I lost everything in that one. And getting sued by a friend is tough to swallow. Also, she has just a lot of very, very powerful lawyers. I found out later those are just the paralegals. The real lawyers didn’t even bother with it. But…I would never do such a thing." Meaning wear a T-shirt with Swift's cats on it."

Here is the video of the podcast (nice location) where the conversation took place.

Taylor's cats get everywhere. There's probably more gossip about her cats than about 90% of the celebrities in the US! 😉💕😃

Ryan Reynolds is a Canadian-American actor, producer, and businessman. He's renowned for his charismatic and often comedic roles, but he's also proven himself as a dramatic actor.

He gained widespread popularity for his portrayal of the irreverent superhero Deadpool in the eponymous film franchise. His witty and self-aware performance in the role solidified his status as a Hollywood A-lister.

Beyond Deadpool, Reynolds has starred in a variety of films, including romantic comedies like The Proposal, action flicks like Blade: Trinity, and even dramas like Buried. He's also known for his entrepreneurial ventures and sharp wit on social media.

Taylor Swift is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter known for her candid lyrics and evolving musical style. Rising to fame as a country artist, she's transitioned seamlessly into pop, showcasing her versatility and immense talent. Her dedicated fanbase, the "Swifties," is a testament to her global influence.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.