News about Neil Pearson

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Confucius says, 'Whoever believes there is nothing to fear but fear itself has never worked with Mancunian teenagers.' Actually, it wasn't the Chinese philosopher of 2,500 years ago, although he was the first person to advocate mass education. That quote comes from another sage of great wisdom, the comedian Jason Manford, who is not only presenting his afternoon quiz The Answer Run on BBC1 but has joined the cast of school soap Waterloo Road. Manford plays Steve Savage, a mentor sent to keep an eye on the school's new acting head, Joe Casey (James Baxter).

Queen Camilla revealed that she takes part in 'Silver Swans' dance lessons for seniors during a visit to The English National Ballet in east London today. The Queen, 77, who is patron of the organisation, shared that she is not only a fan of dance 'in any form' but also dabbles in ballet herself while making a short speech on the occasion of the company's 75th birthday.

The reception marking Book Aid International's anniversary at St James's Palace in London was attended by some 100 guests, including the charity's president Nigel Newton and Lady Caroline Simmonds, the daughter of its founder. Camilla has been patron of the charity since 2022 and set up her own online book club during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Book Aid International has sent more than 37 million books to schools, libraries, prisons and refugee camps around the world since its founding in 1954. In an impromptu speech made after she had spoken individually to guests, Camilla told of the 'very, very big difference' being made to people's lives by the accessibility of books.

According to WSJ, Cindy Picos, a Auburn, California resident, was dropped by her home insurer, CSAA Insurance, after they obtained aerial photos of her roof. She was even refused access to the images because she expressed in admonition that "I thought they had the wrong house." Our roof is in excellent shape.' Her story related to other homeowners' sentiments and indignation, such as Marilyn Smith and CJ Sveen, whose policies were rejected after the insurance company monitored their homes by drone. Insurance companies aren't uncommon for insurance companies to investigate risks using drone technology and high-altitude balloons, often without the owner's knowledge.

As a new stage revival starring the original cast, a classic Channel 4 sitcom from the 1990s will be back. Donkey was in the fictional television newsroom of GlobeLink News from 1990 to 1998. It followed the staff, led by editor George Denney, and made up of characters including Gus Hedges, Damian Day, and Sally Smedley.