A little bit of good news goes a long way in cutting through less encouraging headlines and lifting our spirits. Here, we round up six good things that have happened this week (from Monday 6th November), to make you smile, laugh and feel hopeful…
World’s loneliest sheep rescued
After going years without being clipped, Fiona’s wool weighed 20lb.
After being stuck on a rock for the past two years, the ewe – now named Fiona – has been rescued by a band of volunteers.
Fiona was stranded at the foot of cliffs in the Scottish Highlands before being rescued in what has been called an “epic mission”.
The rescue group, The Sheep Game, said: “She is in incredible fettle. Britain’s loneliest sheep is lonely no more.
“We’ve named her Fiona and she’s now safe and well and heading to a well-known Scottish farm park. The rescue was EPIC!”
Fiona was first spotted by Jillian Turner in 2021 when she was kayaking between Balintore and Nigg, before seeing the ewe in the same place the following year. Now safe, Fiona has settled into a comfy life at Dalscone Farm in Dumfries.
Thousands to be offered drug to prevent breast cancer in England
Tens of thousands of women in England could benefit from a drug that helps to prevent breast cancer.
The drug, called Anastrozole, has already been used for many years to treat the disease. Now, it’s also been licensed as a preventative option as well.
Recent trials show the drug can reduce the incidence of breast cancer by almost 50% in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk of the disease.
Better still, the tablet is off-patent, which means more than one company can make it and the drug can be distributed fairly cheaply – around 4p per day per user. An estimated 289,000 women could be eligible for the drug.
Health Minister Will Quince said he was “delighted” the drug had now been approved to “help prevent this cruel disease”.
A Yorkshire nature reserve improves access for wheelchair users by using recycled materials
Richard Hampshire, warden at Yorkshire Water’s Tophill Low Nature Reserve.
Yorkshire Water has improved accessibility at Tophill Low Nature Reserve in East Yorkshire, allowing wheelchair users to access parts of the site for the first time.
The firm has used 25,000 tonnes of recycled soil and other materials to create accessible viewing platforms. The materials, which otherwise would have been sent to landfill, were left over from a £31m improvement project at the nearby water treatment works.
The materials have also been used to create new natural habitats at the reserve. A new amphibian pond has already been colonised by the great crested newt, while the site has also gained a hibernaculum for grass snakes and a bat roost tunnel.
Reserve warden Richard Hampshire said: “The scale of plant and landscaping was immense and saw the reserve briefly closed to the public.
“However, the habitats and visitor experience created is brilliant with wheelchair users able to see into the reservoir for the first time since it was built.”
Assistant warden Amy Watsham added: “It’s great we’ve been able to reuse the material and turn it into something good.”
Prisoners in England are being taught to train assistance dogs for the community
In November 2021, HMP Doverdale, a high-security, Category B prison in Staffordshire, became the first adult men’s prison in England to run a full-time dog training course.
Using a team of professional dog handlers (and foster volunteers who care for the dogs on evenings and weekends), the programme trains assistance dogs for the community. At the same time, it gives men who are serving significant sentences the skills and qualifications they need to become dog trainers and handlers.
Puppies from the Restart Dogs project are paired up with prisoners who teach them helpful skills, such as carrying items and opening doors.
The programme’s first graduate dog, Nika, has been placed with Alfred Peterken, a young man with autism.
“Nika’s brilliant,” says Alfred’s mother, Tabitha Peterken. “When she feels a meltdown happening … if it’s going on a bit too long, she’ll just take him outside. We’ve been able to sit in cafes and have drinks, which he didn’t do before.”
Woman wins prestigious award for saving injured seals
Larbalestier with her award.
After spending nine months using her Airbnb as a makeshift hospital to care for injured seals, Lizzi Larbalestier decided this simply wasn’t enough. So Lizzi, her husband, and other volunteers have built a fully functioning seal hospital from the ground up in Cornwall.
The new facility has ten pens, while the couple’s home facility had just six. Now in their third birthing season of operation, Larbalestier is expecting around 100 seals to come for rehabilitation each year. The demand is huge – last year alone saw 3,000 calls to respond to injured or displaced sea life.
Larbalestier is also a member of the Surfer’s Against Sewage campaign and Ghostnetbuster, and as a result of all her dedicated environmental work, she has now received the prestigious Animal Action Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
“The Animal Action Awards are our long-standing commitment to honour and herald the animal heroes that make an impact,” stated Azzedine Downes, president and CEO of IFAW. “I’m thrilled we are now able to showcase inspiring people from all across the globe – from all different walks of life.”
A 93-year-old gardener teaches primary school children how to grow food
In Cambridgeshire, 93-year-old Don Bradshaw grows produce for his local community fridge. The garden he uses was recently opened by the Fenland Association of Community Transport, a group which shares food and helps prevent waste.
Mr Bradshaw said he was “amazed at the interest” shown by the Year 6 pupils from All Saints Interchurch Academy who visited recently.
Former farmer Mr Bradshaw, who has been “working with Mother Nature” since he was six years old, asked the children to aerate the soil in a raised bed before showing them how to sow seeds and plant on marigolds.
He said he hoped the session would inspire the children to “carry on doing a bit of gardening in the future”.
One of the pupils who visited, Hannah, 10, said: “I found out that carrots have seeds, I never knew that. I thought they were like potatoes.”
She planned to “ask Santa for a hoe and a rake” so she could grow some vegetables of her own next year.
The festive artisan edit
Bone China Mug in Robin
Porcelain Angel Decoration
Woodland Reusable Christmas Crackers
Luxury Personalised Christmas Stocking in Velvet
Traditional Robin Gift Tags – Set of 4
Christmas Cards – Mixed Pack of 6
Personalised Christmas Stocking
Linocut Bauble
