The Alfred Jewel is among the most famous of Anglo-Saxon objects. It was discovered at North Newton in 1693, not far from the abbey at Athelney, founded by Alfred the Great. Around the edge are the words AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (‘Alfred ordered me to be made’). Over the years the jewel has been the cause of as much speculation as admiration. Precisely what its purpose was has remained a source of much uncertainty. The jewel may have been the head of a pointer used for following words in a book. The original jewel is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and was made in about AD 890. This replica, which was made in 1901 to mark the thousandth anniversary of Alfred’s death, can be seen in the ‘Making Somerset’ gallery in the Museum of Somerset.
By Eleanor BradfordBBC Scotland Health Correspondent
29 February 2016
From the section Scotland
Image caption Romana was placed in a care home after suffering a brain haemorrhage at 23
Younger people with neurological conditions are being cared for in old people's homes, according to the charity Sue Ryder.
It said there is nowhere else for them to go because of a lack of specialist facilities. The Scottish government said it wants people to be treated in their own homes or as close to home as possible. Minister Jamie Hepburn said it plans to invest £250m a year to "protect and grow" social care services. Romana was placed in a care home for the elderly at the age of just 23, after suffering a severe brain haemorrhage when she was four months pregnant with her second child.
She couldn't see her children apart from short visits. "It felt very strange because everyone around me was so much older; I was a very young girl at the time, and I felt I had lost my family," she said. Image caption After two years at a Sue Ryder centre, Romana is preparing to move into her own flat After two years, the Sue Ryder charity heard of her case and offered her a place at their neurological centre in Aberdeen. With specialised rehabilitation, Romana learned to walk and live independently. She is now looking forward to having her own flat, and sleeping under the same roof as her children for the first time in seven years. Sue Ryder asked every local authority and health board in Scotland how many people with neurological conditions are being cared for in old people's care homes. Neurological conditions include Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Huntington's disease and brain injuries. Only a third of local authorities provided figures. They said 63 people under the age of 65 were being cared for in such an environment. If those figures were replicated across the remaining health boards it would mean about 250 people are in an inappropriate environment. They said a further 182 people aged over 65 with neurological conditions were in a care home for older people. Image caption The charity believes up to 1,000 people could be missing out on appropriate treatment Image caption The charity has called on the Scottish government to "take immediate action" The charity said this meant a total of nearly 1,000 people could be missing out on specialist treatment, support and rehabilitation. Sue Ryder's assistant director Scotland, Pamela Mackenzie, said: "Romana was quite a different lady when she first came. She was withdrawn and depressed and she really had been written off. "Older people's care homes do a great job for people in their 80s and 90s, but people like Romana need a different environment. Their conditions are quite different. "It is clear from our research that the needs of people with neurological conditions have largely been overlooked in recent years. "We urge the Scottish government to take immediate action to address these inequalities so people with neurological conditions get the chance of a better quality of life."
'Vital role'
The minister for health improvement, Jamie Hepburn, said: "Our 2016/17 budget sets out plans to invest a further £250m per year through health and social care partnerships, to protect and grow social care services, and invest £11.6m to implement self-directed support. "We also recognise the vital role specialist nurses play in patient care. This is why we committed £2.5m of recurring funding for specialist nursing and care, including up to £700,000 to specifically target MND care. "The health boards involved are currently recruiting additional nurses, or increasing the hours of existing nurses in order to fulfil our pledge to double the number of MND nurses in Scotland. "Some posts have already been filled and the remaining posts are expected to be filled by spring 2016."
Archaeologists have uncovered Britain's "Pompeii" after discovering the "best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found" in the country.
The circular wooden houses, built on stilts, form part of a settlement at Must Farm quarry, in Cambridgeshire, and date to about 1000-800 BC. A fire destroyed the posts, causing the houses to fall into a river where silt helped preserve the contents. Pots with meals still inside have been found at the site. Live updates about the dig and more stories from Cambridgeshire
Image copyrightCambridge archaeological unitImage caption Archaeologists work on a wooden platform as they uncover the houses Image caption Artist's impression of what one of the roundhouses might have looked like Image copyrightPAImage caption Archaeologist Selina Davenport helped uncover the dwelling An earlier test trench at the site, near Whittlesey, revealed small cups, bowls and jars. In addition, archaeologists said "exotic" glass beads that formed part of a necklace "hinted at a sophistication not usually associated with the Bronze Age". Textiles made from plant fibres such as lime tree bark have also been unearthed. What did Bronze Age Britons eat and other things the site tells us However, the roundhouses themselves are now being excavated. Archaeologists think they have found about five houses but are not yet certain.
Bronze Age Europe and Britain
Image copyrightBritish Museum TrusteesImage caption Gold cape discovered in Mold, north Wales - a supreme example of Bronze Age art
The Bronze Age in Britain lasted from between 2500 and 2000BC until the use of iron became common, between 800-650BC
It came after metalworkers discovered that adding tin to copper produced bronze, used for tools and weaponry which were much more hard-wearing
The Greek poems of Homer - though composed later - look back to a time when bronze weapons were used
In Britain, the Bronze Age lasted until about 800BC. Use of bronze seems to have coincided with fresh migration of people from the continent.
Classic Bronze Age remains include sophisticated axes, precious gold objects, and round burial mounds or "barrows" of which many can still be seen in Britain
BBC History - Bronze Age Britain BBC Bitesize - What was Bronze Age life like? The work to uncover the settlement is necessary because there are concerns the water level at the site could fall some time in the future, meaning the remains of the houses cannot be preserved in situ. Image copyrightCambridge Archaeological UnitImage caption The stilts that held the houses can be seen, together with collapsed roof timbers Image copyrightCambridge Archaeological UnitImage caption These preserved Bronze Age textiles were made from plant fibres Image copyrightPAImage caption A middle to late Bronze Age dagger was recovered from the site in 1969 Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, which is jointly funding the excavation with land owner Forterra, described the settlement and contents as "an extraordinary time capsule". He added: "A dramatic fire 3,000 years ago, combined with subsequent waterlogged preservation, has left to us a frozen moment in time, which gives us a graphic picture of life in the Bronze Age. "This site is of international significance and its excavation really will transform our understanding of the period." Image copyrightCambridge Archaeological UnitImage caption After analysing pots found at the site, archaeologists found some contained food Image copyrightTwitterImage copyrightPAImage caption Historic England said the site showed a "frozen moment in time"
'Unsurpassed finds'
David Gibson, from Cambridge Archaeological Unit, which is leading the excavation, said: "So much has been preserved, we can actually see everyday life during the Bronze Age in the round. "It's prehistoric archaeology in 3D, with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity." Image copyrightCambridge Archaeological UnitImage caption Glass beads found during excavation are thought to have been from a necklace Well-preserved charred roof timbers of one of the roundhouses are clearly visible, together with timbers showing tool marks and a perimeter of wooden posts known as a palisade, which once enclosed the site. While a number of Bronze Age settlements have been found in the UK, Mr Gibson said none had been as well-preserved as the Must Farm site. "Most don't have any timber remaining, just post-holes and marks where posts would have been," he said. "So far this is unique as we have the roof structure as well." He said there were some well-preserved similar dwellings at Loch Tay in Perthshire, but these were about 500 years later than those in Cambridgeshire, dating from the early Iron Age. Image copyrightCambridge Archaeological UnitImage caption Charred timbers can be seen lying over a collapsed wall Archaeologists digging two metres (6ft) below the modern surface at the quarry also found preserved footprints, believed to be from people who once lived there. Once all the retrieved items have been cleaned and documented they are expected to be put on public display.
The roundhouse would have looked something like this Celtic Crannog (Credit: Christine Westerback/CC BY SA 2.0)
But the fire and the roundhouse’s subsequent collapse into the river contributed to its extraordinary preservation. Like the intact structures found at Pompeii, the flames helped to carbonize and maintain the wooden beams. Silt at the bottom of the river prevented air and bacteria from chewing away at the wood. And because the inhabitants were forced to leave everything behind, virtually everything remains where they left it. Archaeologists are describing it as a time capsule.
“Everything suggests the site is not a one-off but in fact presents a template of an undiscovered community that thrived 3,000 years ago ‘beneath’ Britain’s largest wetland” — Mark Knight
Posts and rafters stick up from the ground, while footprints of the inhabitants can still be seen in the sediment. A charred roof of a roundhouse remains visible, as are tool marks and a perimeter of wooden posts that once enclosed the site. Experts say the excavations are revealing “the best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found” in the country.
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“A dramatic fire 3,000 years ago combined with subsequent waterlogged preservation has left to us a frozen moment in time, which gives us a graphic picture of life in the Bronze Age,” noted Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of heritage organization Historic England. He says the site is of “international significance,” and that it’s poised to “transform our understanding of the period.” The site, located at Must Farm near Peterborough, England, has already produced a treasure-trove of artifacts. Though the excavations are only half complete, the archaeologists have uncovered elaborate textiles made from plant fibers, along with small cups, bowls, and jars that still have their meals inside. The researchers also found glass beads that were attached to a necklace—a sophisticated item of jewelry not typically associated with the Bronze Age. This could mean that the inhabitants were at the upper levels of society.
These glass beads were once part of an elaborate necklace. “Must Farm is the first large-scale investigation of the deeply buried sediments of the fens and we uncover the perfectly preserved remains of prehistoric settlement,” said Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) Site Director Mark Knight. “Everything suggests the site is not a one-off but in fact presents a template of an undiscovered community that thrived 3,000 years ago ‘beneath’ Britain’s largest wetland.”
It’s prehistoric archaeology in 3D with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity.” — David Gibson
A human skull was also found at the site, but further excavations are required to determine if it belongs to a person who died in the fire. The team also plans to bring in a fire expert to determine if the fire was deliberate (e.g. the result of a hostile tribe) or accidental.
These textiles were made from plant fibers. Archaeologists have known about the site for decades, but it hasn’t been touched since 2006. Efforts to fully uncover the settlement were given an added sense of urgency after fears emerged that falling water levels could cause the remains to degrade quickly. The $1.58 million (£1.1 million), 4-year project is being handled by the CAU, who are being funded by Historic England. All items are being sent to labs for further analysis. A detailed paper is expected in a few years, after which time the items will go on public display. Similar European prehistoric wetland sites have been found before, but nothing quite like this one. Other examples include the ancient loch-side dwellings known as crannogs in Scotland and Ireland, the stilt houses of the Alpine Lakes, and the terps—human-made hill dwellings—in the Netherlands. “Usually at a Later Bronze Age period site you get pits, post-holes and maybe one or two really exciting metal finds. Convincing people that such places were once thriving settlements takes some imagination,” said CAU Archaeological Manager David Gibson. “But this time so much more has been preserved—we can actually see everyday life during the Bronze Age in the round. It’s prehistoric archaeology in 3D with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity.”
BatmanghelidjhCamila Batmanghelidjh, CBE (/kəˈmɪləbætmænˈɡɛlɨdʒ/; Persian: کامیلا باتمانقلیچ Kamylā Batmanghelych; born c. 1963) is an Iranian-born author and charity executive in the United Kingdom. She is best known as the founder of Kids Company, a charity which, until its financial collapse in August 2015,[1] worked with inner-city children and young people in the UK.
Batmanghelidjh was born in Iran. Her mother was a Belgian, whilst her father was the Iranian doctor Fereydoon Batmanghelidj. She was born two-and-a-half months premature, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, and she was not expected to survive. Her birth was not registered and the date was not noted.[2] Batmanghelidh believes that her severe dyslexia comes from her traumatic birth.[3]
She attended Sherborne Girls School, an independent school in Dorset.[4] She attended the University of Warwick where she received a first class degree in Theatre and the Dramatic Arts.[5] At the age of 25 she was employed as a part-time psychotherapist in a project in Camberwell, south London, funded by Children in Need.[5] She has claimed to have been practising psychotherapy for more than twenty years,[6] although she has apparently no formal qualifications on or membership in professional self-regulatory organisations with regards to psychotherapy.[7]
In 1991, Batmanghelidjh was involved in the formation of The Place to Be (now Place2Be), a charity working with troubled children in primary schools.[8][9] Place2Be had originated from a SouthwarkFamily Service Unit (FSU) "The Place to Be", placing a counsellor in a primary school.[10] Batmanghelidjh left the charity in 1995.[9] She was replaced by Benita Refson.[10] Place2Be now reaches 80,000 children, working in 235 schools across the UK.[11][11]
In 1996, after leaving the Place2Be, Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company, a charity that provided care to children whose lives had been disrupted by poverty, abuse and trauma. Originally a single drop-in centre in Camberwell, Kids Company claimed that it helped some 36,000 children, young people and families, although this figure is disputed and the organisation is said to have reached only 1,600 children.[16] The charity operated through a network of street level centres, alternative education centres, therapy houses and with over 40 schools in London and Bristol as well as a performing arts programme in Liverpool.[17] Deborah Orr, in an interview with Batmanghelidgh, reported in 2012 that fifteen independent evaluations of Kids Company had found that 96 per cent of children assisted return to education and employment and an "impact on crime reduction" of 88 per cent.[5]
In July 2015 a report by Newsnight and BuzzFeed revealed that public funding for Kids Company was to be withheld unless Batmanghelidjh was replaced.[18] On 3 July it was reported that Batmanghelidjh would step down as chief executive in the next few months and continue in a "presidential" role.[19][20]
On 5 August 2015, Kids Company closed its operations[21] less than a week after receiving a government grant of £3,000,000. The charity was given the money against the advice of officials, who had raised concerns about value for money and how it would be spent.[22] The charity had announced that it was closing down because "it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due”.[23]
Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper in August 2015, Camila Batmanghelidjh said she hoped Kids Company could make a comeback after some restructuring and once the media storm had died down.[24]
In mid-August 2015, Batmanghelidjh announced that she would be opening a food bank in Lambeth, south London. She said fifty former staff had volunteered to help run the pop-upKids Dining Room in Loughborough Junction to provide food for up to 3,000 children and young people. Approximately 200 people used the service in August 2015. [25][26]
