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Game Of Thrones Creator George R R Martin Shares His Take On New Prequel House Of The Dragon

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In the past, George – who penned the original books on which both Game Of Thrones and House Of The Dragon are based – has not shied away from addressing parts of the TV adaptation of his fantasy works that he felt missed the mark.

Fortunately, he’s given the latest show his personal thumbs up.

“I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it,” the author wrote on his official website. “It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral – just the way I like my epic fantasy.”

Reassuring fans who might have been somewhat let down by Game Of Thrones’ last hurrah, he continued: “Just as with Game of Thrones, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them (only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling).

“I think the Targaryens are in very good hands. Anticipate away. I do not think you will be disappointed.”

House Of The Dragon is set 300 years before the events of Game Of Thrones, and will feature Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy and Paddy Constantine as members of the House Targaryen.

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Pharmacists Claim They Were Raising Concerns About The Supply Of Lateral Flow Tests ‘Weeks Ago’

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Pharmacists warned the government about supply of lateral flow tests “weeks ago”, according to the CEO of the Association of Independent Pharmacies.

Leyla Hannbeck told HuffPost UK that pharmacies were now at the forefront of this particular crisis, as the store of self-test kits has run dry shortly before the biggest social night of the year – New Year’s Eve.

She explained: “When pharmacists order, it doesn’t arrive or just one box arrives.

Some days, they go completely without. It’s just not sufficient, it’s very sporadic.”

Hannbeck said, despite the government’s claims that distribution and supply chain was still functioning, “none of it is working well”.

Nearly three quarters of pharmacies in London ran out of LFTs on Wednesday, according to the Evening Standard.

“They should have put proper plans in,” Hannbeck continued.

“A lot of stress put on our routine to manage this. We’ve been put at the forefront of this without any support.

“We raised it, we raised a few weeks ago – we were seeing people come in through the doors and we were seeing issues with supply and that it wasn’t enough.

“The government needs to manage supply and demand. It cannot continue for weeks to come.”

The gov.uk website shows that it’s not possible to order LFTs online either.

The gov.uk website is still advising people to pick up rapid lateral flow tests from a pharmacy
The gov.uk website is still advising people to pick up rapid lateral flow tests from a pharmacy

test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/

She predicted it was not going to get any easier in the weeks to come either, due to both the Christmas period and the change in government guidelines.

Daily testing is now in place for anyone who has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid, while the self-isolation period for positive cases has been shorted to seven days as long as the individual tests negative – on lateral flow tests – twice in a row.

Everyone has been encouraged to test themselves before socialising, too.

“People want to be responsible and follow the government guidelines – but there are no tests available,” Hannbeck pointed out.

She said it was “logical” that the demand would go up because of the government’s guidelines, but nothing was happening “in terms of managing supply”.

“You can imagine a kit with seven tests in it for a family of five – it will go immediately.

“We can’t continue with it – something’s got to be done.”

Hannbeck also claimed that the shortages are only going to continue as the general population continues to use LFTs for before they go to work, for normal livelihoods, returning from holidays, going back to school.

Hannbeck did tweet the UK’s Health Security Agency shortly before Christmas, claiming: “Your poor handling of the supply of lateral flow tests to pharmacies and the bureaucratic process around it has created a lot of stress for pharmacy teams and for patients during the busy Christmas period. You need to urgently resolve this.”

She also raised the same issue on December 16, tweeting: “Why on earth are pharmacies only allowed restricted supply of lateral flow tests (one box per day) when there is huge public demand?

“How are we supposed to manage when we don’t get the supply to ensure public can access? The government needs to sort this out ASAP.”

Health secretary Sajid Javid has admitted that the supply of lateral flow test kits will be “constrained” in the next two weeks.

In a letter sent to MPs on Wednesday, he said: “In light of the huge demand for LFTs seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system of certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout the day.”

He suggested MPs should encourage constituents towards their local pharmacists and then see if “their local authority is distributing tests” or find them at local community facilities.

Labour has accused the government of a “shambles”, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting calling for all NHS workers to get priority access to tests.

It is important to note that the government has promised to deliver eight million tests before New Year’s Eve.

A spokesman from UKHSA said: ”The UK’s testing programme is the biggest in Europe with almost 400 million tests carried out since the start of the pandemic.

“We are delivering record numbers of lateral flow tests to pharmacies across the country, with almost eight million test kits being made available to pharmacies between today and New Year’s Eve.

“We have made 100,000 more PCR booking slots available per day since mid-December and we are continuing to rapidly expand capacity – with over half a million tests carried out on December 23 alone and delivery capacity doubled to 900,000 PCR and LFD test kits a day.

“If you have not been able to get the test you need from gov.uk, please keep checking every few hours as more PCR and LFD tests become available every day.”

There has also been a worldwide shortage of LFTs and PCR tests in recent weeks.

The department for health and social care has been approached for comment.

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Nicole Kidman Calls Out ‘Sexist’ Question About Ex-Husband Tom Cruise During Interview

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Nicole Kidman called out a journalist’s “sexist” question about her ex-husband Tom Cruise during a recent interview.

The Australian actor was being interviewed by The Observer about her latest release, biopic Being The Ricardos, in which she plays late Hollywood actor Lucille Ball.

Nicole was speaking about her character’s relationship with Desi Arnaz – played by Javier Bardem – after the real-life married couple appeared on TV sitcom I Love Lucy in the US in the 1950s.

However, Nicole was not impressed when the journalist then asked about her previous marriage to the Mission Impossible star.

Of Lucille and Desi, Nicole had said: “It’s about a creative and romantic relationship that doesn’t work out. But from it come some extraordinary things. And I love that. I love that it’s not a happy ending.

“This film says you can make an extraordinary relationship thrive and leave remnants of it that exist forever,” she continued. “Yeah, that’s really gorgeous. You can’t make people behave how you want them to, and sometimes you’re going to fall in love with someone who isn’t going to be the person you spend the rest of your life with. And I think that’s all very relatable. You may have kids with them. You may not, but they were very much in love.”

The journalist then asked “with exquisite care” if Nicole was also referring to her marriage to Tom with her answer.

She then replied: “Oh, my God, no, no. Absolutely not. No. I mean, that’s, honestly, so long ago that that isn’t in this equation. So, no.”

The journalist claimed Nicole became “angry” and continued: “And I would ask not to be pigeonholed that way, either. It feels to me almost sexist, because I’m not sure anyone would say that to a man. And at some point, you go, ‘Give me my life. In its own right.’”

HuffPost UK had contacted a representative for Nicole Kidman and is awaiting a response.

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise pictured in 1992
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise pictured in 1992

Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images

Nicole and Tom married in 1990 and went on to adopt two children together, Isabella, now 29, and Connor, 26.

Tom later filed for divorce in 2001 citing “irreconcilable differences”.

Nicole previously described their divorce as a “major shock” in a 2006 interview with Ladies’ Home Journal.

“He was huge; still is. To me, he was just Tom, but to everybody else, he is huge. But he was lovely to me. And I loved him. I still love him,” she said at the time.

Being The Ricardos is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video.

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People Are Pointing Out The 2 Obvious Problems With The New Nightingale Surge Hubs

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NHS England will be setting up Nightingale surge hubs to cope with high numbers of Covid hospitalisations – but people have spotted a particular problem with this new strategy.

These “surge hubs” will be set up in eight hospitals across England in preparation for the expected rise in Omicron admissions in the coming months.

Each temporary unit will house around 100 patients and construction is set to begin this week.

Additional sites for 4,000 more beds may also be on the cards as hospitalisations in England have risen above 10,000 for the first time since March this year.

NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the new hubs are part of the health service’s response to Omicron and that the UK is now on a “war footing”, while health secretary Sajid Javid said the hubs might not need to be used but it’s good to prepare.

The hubs will be placed at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire, in St James’ University Hospital in Leeds, in Stevenage’s Lister Hospital, Tooting’s St George’s Hospital, North Bristol Hospital, Solihull Hospital, William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, and University Hospitals Leicester.

But there are two clear flaws with this new strategy.

Firstly, many have noticed that introducing Nightingale surge hubs to cope with increasing infections and hospital admissions seems at odds at the government’s refusal to introduce new restrictions before Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Restrictions are likely to be introduced in January when the government has access to more data about how severe Omicron symptoms can be, but the festive season is expected to have accelerated the variant’s transmission across the country.

The other major pressing is the shortage of employees to look after Covid patients.

NHS staff absences in London increased by 150% week-on-week in the seven days leading up to December 19, according to the health service’s data.

Critics have asked why the government is focusing on providing hospital beds rather than prioritising the NHS staff shortages.

Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing general secretary, also asked how these units would work with so many members of staff self-isolating.

She told Sky News this week: “You can set up all the hubs that you wish to set up but if you don’t have the nursing staff to actually care for the patients that are going to be placed in those hubs, that places more challenges on the nursing workforce.”

The NHS was already being squeezed after the health secretary made Covid vaccinations mandatory for all staff.

A shortage of rapid lateral flow tests is causing further concern as it means people will be unable to test themselves before socialising.

However, the government has promised to make eight million Covid tests available before Friday, December 31, which could help stop some transmission on New Year’s Eve.

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Jonathan Van-Tam Rips Off His Shirt And Tie On The BBC…And Becomes An Accidental Partridge Victim

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Jonathan Van-Tam went full Alan Partridge on Tuesday night while opening a lecture about viruses.

Speaking during one of the Royal Institute’s Christmas Lectures, the UK’s deputy chief medical officer signalled that he was stepping away from his usual position as a government adviser for the evening with a rather unusual stunt.

JVT, as he is known, began: “Many of you may have seen me giving public health announcements from the podium at No.10 Downing Street.”

″But tonight is different!”

And with that, he pulled off his shirt and tie (to reveal another shirt underneath) under a cloud of smoke.

After a short pause – where the camera zoomed in on the emotionless, silent crowd – he stepped towards the audience and explained: “Tonight I am speaking to you as a scientist and a doctor not a government adviser.”

Then, swiftly pointing at the camera, he said: “Tonight – we’re going viral!”

JVT on BBC Four for the Royal Institute's Christmas lectures
JVT on BBC Four for the Royal Institute’s Christmas lectures

And while he may not have been a hit with the audience, it seems JVT certainly made an impression among his online fans with his move away from serious Covid coverage.

He’s not the only public figure to accidentally replicate Steve Coogan’s satirical character – Alan Partridge, an inept, tone-deaf broadcaster.

Former health secretary Matt Hancock made a similar blunder when he released a video greeting his constitutents, although he did later deleted it.

Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley has also drawn regular comparisons with Partridge during his on air interviews, but he has since addressed the criticism.

He told the Metro: “I honestly don’t care at all. I think it’s quite funny. It’s part and parcel of doing the job that I do.

“I think some of the quotes are often made up to be honest with you, or they’re taken so ludicrously out of context, but I look at it sometimes and I think, ‘Oh that’s a bit unfair.’

“But I don’t mind, it’s all part and parcel of what I do. It’s fine.”

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Gemma Collins Confirms Engagement To Rami Hawash (We Think)

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Gemma Collins is set to walk down the aisle after confirming (sort of) her engagement to her boyfriend Rami Hawash (we think).

It’s the second time the former TOWIE star has been engaged to the businessman after he popped the question in 2013, before going their separate ways a year later.

But after rekindling their romance earlier this year, speculation that the reality star was engaged again started after she was pictured with a diamond ring on her wedding finger.

And it seems the rumours are true and Rami has indeed put a ring on it.

But this being the GC, the engagement isn’t quite officially official… yet, as Rami is still going through a divorce from his first wife.

Gemma Collins and Rami Hawash
Gemma Collins and Rami Hawash

Mark R. Milan via Getty Images

Asked if she has got re-engaged, Gemma told The Times: “Yeah, but we can’t really come out and say anything yet because Ram was married before and his paperwork has not come through, so until that’s officially signed, we’ve not said anything.

“They’ve not been together for two years. I know her, she’s got a partner, she’s as good as gold. There’s a child involved, he’s only three, obviously I love him to death. But until that paperwork’s signed I can’t come out.”

Gemma Collins (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Gemma Collins (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Mike Marsland via Getty Images

Earlier this year, Gemma spoke of her hope of becoming a parent with Rami.

“I am trying to have a baby,” she told Metro. “I have been with my partner for a while, we don’t use condoms now.

“I am 40 years old but if I was back out on the dating scene then I’d definitely be using one.

“The baby is going to be adored. I haven’t had a baby yet, but I speak as if I have as I am trying to cosmic order it up.

“I am going to be a chilled mum and I am not going to force my child into doing anything. It’s going to be so happy for me. The child is going to be like royalty.

“I have a fabulous partner now who I am very, very happy with. And he is good-looking. The child is going to be fabulous and amazing and I can’t wait.”

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Should We Really Consider Cutting Covid Isolation To Just Five Days?

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Boris Johnson is still resisting calls to reduce the isolation period for positive Covid cases from seven days down to just five.

The pressure is growing after the US made a dramatic change to its rules this week, having previously ordered those infected with Covid to isolate for 10 days.

Now asymptomatic Americans who tested positive can walk away after five days of isolation, but must continue to mask up for a further five days if they have not received their booster jab.

They do not have to test negative before leaving isolation.

At the moment, vaccinated and unvaccinated people in the UK can leave isolation only if they receive a negative result on a lateral flow test on both day six and day seven of their self-isolation, while unvaccinated people do still have isolate for 10 days if they have been a close contact of a positive case in the UK.

So why do people want to change the rules again?

Why are some pushing for five-day isolation?

  • It would enable more NHS staff to work, strengthening the UK’s frontline against the virus.

  • Approximately 40% of London’s NHS workers are currently in isolation, according to doctors.

  • Up to 800,000 people are thought to be in isolation across the country at the moment, according to The Times.

  • All public services, including bin collections and rail services, have been hit by staff shortages, so reducing the isolation period would benefit a range of industries.

  • Omicron is highly transmissible, but appears to trigger less severe symptoms.

  • The US centres for Disease Control and Prevention said its new measures will “ensure people can safely continue their daily lives”. It also claims that most people’s viral load drops off significantly after five days, making them less likely to be infectious.

  • Professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, Paul Hunter, told the BBC that Covid needs to become “effectively just another cause of the common cold” and so the isolation period needs to be reduced further. He wants five-day isolation periods where people could be released when they tested negative on a lateral flow test.

  • Theresa Villiers, a former cabinet secretary, is also pushing to reduce the isolation period. She told The Daily Mail: “With encouraging data on Omicron…we need some pragmatism to ensure there isn’t another pingdemic.”

  • Professor Tim Spector from King’s College London’s Zoe Covid app also backed reducing the isolation period to just five days to “protect the economy”.

Why others don’t support reducing self-isolation

  • Johnson already reduced the isolation period from 10 days to seven last week, and the effects remain to be seen.

  • The minister for disabled people Chloe Smith also told Times Radio that Downing Street is waiting to see how this goes, and that “we don’t have current plans to change from seven days”.

  • The UK Health Security Agency advised the government to cut the isolation period to just seven days, but it is has not yet recommended any further reductions.

  • Virologist at Warwick Medical School, Professor Lawrence Young, endorsed Britain’s current strategy and told The Guardian: “The approach adopted in the UK is sensible based on seven days and two consecutive negative lateral flow tests. These tests are a great way to determine if you are infectious.”

  • Professor of respiratory sciences, Dr Julian Tang from the University of Leicester, also said the US decision to make positive cases wear masks for five days after their isolation ends would only be effective if masks were worn conscientiously.

  • The government is already struggling to supply the country with enough lateral flow tests and PCR tests. Reducing the isolation period could therefore cause further problems.

  • Elsewhere in Europe, the self-isolation period remains much longer. In Germany, it is a full 14 days unless a PCR test comes back negative, or a local health office permits release. In France, positive cases have to isolate for 10 days.

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Boris Johnson’s Strange Explanation About Where He Spent Christmas Is Raising Suspicion

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When asked about his whereabouts for the last 10 days, Boris Johnson appeared to stutter before arriving at the bizarre answer that he had “been in this country” – immediately prompting speculation among his critics.

Speaking to a BBC News journalist on Wednesday during a tour of a vaccine centre, the prime minister was asked: “Where have you been for the last 10 days?”

Johnson replied: “I’ve been in…I’ve been…in this country.”

He appears to laugh slightly, before adding: “Where do you think?”

Before the reporter could reply, the prime minister said, “thank you”, and starts to walk away from the camera crew.

So it is not very surprising that people weren’t exactly impressed with Johnson’s latest hesitant answers on Twitter.

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Covid Latest: Boris Johnson Confirms 90% Of ICU Patients Have Not Had Their Booster Jabs

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Boris Johnson has told broadcasters that approximately 90% of the patients in ICU with Covid have not received their booster jabs.

During a tour of a vaccine centre on Wednesday, the prime minister said doctors had passed him the data about who had been hospitalised with the virus recently.

The prime minister said: “If you’re not vaccinated, you’re eight times more likely to get into hospital altogether.”

He continued: “The Omicron variant continues to cause real problems. You are seeing cases rising in hospitals.

“But it is obviously milder than the Delta variant and we are able to proceed in the way that we are.”

He claimed it was clear that the boosters are having an impact on reducing the severity of infection, before touching on his controversial decision not to announce any new restrictions ahead of New Year’s Eve.

“I think everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way,” Johnson said.

While restrictions have been tightened in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, England remains under ‘Plan B’ measures. This includes mandatory face masks in some settings, the use of Covid passes for indoor venues and working from home guidance – but no caps on indoor or outdoor gatherings.

Instead, Johnson urged the public, “take a test, ventilation, think about others – but, above all, get a booster,” in preparation of the annual celebrations on December 31.

The prime minister has been championing the renewed booster drive since the highly transmissible Omicron variant was first identified in November.

He even clashed with some NHS chiefs after he said he wanted every eligible adult to receive a jab by the end of the year – meaning the health service would have to vaccinate around one million people per day.

Johnson said on Wednesday that 2.4 million eligible double-jabbed people have still not taken up the offer a booster vaccine.

The UK also recorded a record number of Covid infections on Tuesday, with 129,471 people testing positive. This data does not include the figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland, due to a difference in reporting practices during the festive season.

However as the Omicron variant supposedly carrying a lower risk of hospitalisation and there is always a lag between infection and hospital admissions, the government has said it is waiting for further data before implementing further restrictions.

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Daniel Radcliffe Reveals He Had A Major Crush On Older Harry Potter Co-Star

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We only have a few days left to wait until the Harry Potter cast are reunited for their one-off TV special, and we’re already being teased with what we can expect from the 20th anniversary celebration – including plenty of cast secrets.

One of those is Daniel Radcliffe’s revelation that he had a major crush on one of the film franchise’s older stars.

Daniel, now 32, admits he had a soft spot for Helena Bonham Carter, who played Voldemort’s evil lieutenant Bellatrix Lestrange, and is 23 years older than the Harry Potter actor.

Daniel shared a note he sent to his British co-star during the forthcoming Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts TV special, after the two stars completed work on the ten-year franchise in 2011.

Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe

Charley Gallay via Getty Images

Reading his message aloud for the first time, he said: “Dear HBC, it was a pleasure being your co-star and coaster in the fact I always ended up holding your coffee.

“I do love you and I wish I’d just been born ten years earlier so I might’ve been in with a chance.”

Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Radcliffe backstage at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Radcliffe backstage at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

via Associated Press

And Daniel wasn’t the only Harry Potter star who had an on-set crush.

Emma Watson recalled the exact moment she “fell in love” with her former co-star Tom Felton during a tutoring session between filming.

Emma – who played Hermione Granger – reminisced about her crush on Tom, who played villainous Draco Malfoy.

“I walked into the room where we were having tutoring,” Emma recalled. “The assignment that had been given was to draw what you thought God looked like, and Tom had drawn a girl with a backward cap on a skateboard.

“And I just don’t know how to say it – I just fell in love with him. I used to come in every day and look for his number on the call sheet, it was number seven, and if his name was on the call sheet, it was an extra exciting day.

“He was three years above me and so for him he was like: ‘you’re like my little sister’.”

(L-R) Tom Felton, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis attend the New York premiere of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center on July 11, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
(L-R) Tom Felton, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis attend the New York premiere of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center on July 11, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Stephen Lovekin via Getty Images

Nothing ever happened between the two young stars, but Tom did admit that he knew that Emma had a crush on him.

Tom said: “I think I was in the hair and make-up chair and someone said something along the lines of, ‘Yeah, she had a crush on you.’

“I became very protective over her. Yeah, I’ve always had a soft spot for her and that continues to this day. There’s always been something that’s like, I don’t know, a kinship.”

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is available to watch on Sky and streaming service NOW (with an Entertainment membership) from New Year’s Day.

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