Inspiration from depression

I spend a lot of time slagging off the BBC Breakfast News.

That isn't likely to stop any time soon, at least so long as the standards of reporting and editorial emphasis still lurk in the current barrel bottom they do.

However, it does serve a useful function on occasion in a) highlighting a barking bit of official numptiness (sadly, rarely taking on the individuals responsible and holding them accountable, and certainly not beyond the next day) and, b) on occasion bringing to one's attention a truly awesome individual.

Kate Spall is one such. She has taken on the system... and won. And she's prepared to do it for others. Poor woman has just been given a national task, but seems up for it. Frankly, she deserves all the funding she can be given... by private benefactors who are keen to get things DONE, and keep things out of the hands of the legions of parasites who work in 'public services' these days, and who are measured more on money they 'save' than any service they provide.

Cancer drugs: how to appeal

We're hearing the story of how one woman's campaign for better cancer treatment, following the death of her mother. Kate Spall's website is named after her mother, Pamela Northcott.
The Pamela Northcott Fund