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Jamaican reggae vocalist Bob Andy dies aged 75

Socially conscious singers hit version of Young, Gifted and Black reached No 5 in the UK charts with duo Bob and Marcia

Bob Andy, the reggae vocalist who performed a hit version of Young, Gifted and Black as part of the duo Bob and Marcia, has died aged 75 after a short illness.

His death was confirmed by his collaborator on that song, Marcia Griffiths, who told the Jamaica Observer he died at 8am on Friday 27 March.

Bob & Marcia reached No 5 in the UK in 1970 with Young, Gifted and Black, an uptempo recording of the Nina Simone original. They also reached No 11 in 1971 with Pied Piper, which spent 13 weeks in the charts.

Andy was born Keith Anderson in Kingston, Jamaica, and began his career in the groups the Binders and the Paragons before going solo in the mid-1960s. Recording in the legendary Studio One under producer Coxsone Dodd, he cut songs that would become reggae standards, such as Ive Got to Go Back Home and Too Experienced.

He also wrote songs that would be recorded by reggae stars including Gregory Isaacs, Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson, along with solo numbers for Griffiths, although their partnership ended when she joined the I Threes, Bob Marleys group of backing vocalists.

Young, Gifted and Black was just one of his socially conscious songs. Others, such as Fire Burning and Check It Out, castigated capitalism and the ruling classes. But he suffered from health issues, including migraines, and put music to one side for a number of years from the late 1970s onwards, broadening into acting. He also became an A&R for Tuff Gong records, the label founded by Marley.

As his health improved, Andy returned to music in the 1990s. In 2006, he was awarded Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government for his services to music.

Reggae DJ David Rodigan was among those paying tribute, writing on Twitter: We all loved you Bob Andy and we know how much you loved us, your legions of fans all over the world. At least you are at peace now; youve left us a truly remarkable repertoire of songs which we will all treasure for ever.

Welcome to the Departure Lounge. Destination: death

An ingenious job backed by the Wellcome Trust intends to assist individuals pertain to terms with their death

Images of sandy beaches, sun-kissed pool and azure blue skies shine from the window and walls of what seems a brand-new travel representative opening in a London shopping center. Web browsers might be shocked by the location, for it is a journey every one of us will one day take: death.

Look more carefully at the posters and it ends up being clear that the words are everything about “diing” (half of British grownups choose to prevent the word “death”, obviously). The Departure Lounge, in Lewisham, south London, is the creation of the Academy of Medical Sciences , whose objective is to promote biomedical and health research study. Death, it ends up, is among the most under-researched locations in health care, representing less than half of 1% of loan invested.

The concept of the Departure Lounge, describes the academy’s president Professor Sir Robert Lechler, is to allow visitors to ask any concerns they may have about the passing away procedure, and likewise to gather concepts and experiences that might notify future research study. “The finest time to have discussions about death most likely isn’t when you’re facing it, however well prior to,” he stated. Which is why a shopping center was considered a proper area– the hope is that the Departure Lounge will draw in individuals who may not be routine visitors to science museums.

Death has actually been a zeitgeist topic for some years now– witness the Death Caf phenomenon , the development of conferences and books on passing away and TELEVISION series like the current Ricky Gervais Netflix funny After Life. States Lechler, the discussion is ending up being more immediate. In other words, there’s more of it about. “Between now and 2040 we’ll see a boost of 25% in the variety of deaths each year,” he stated. And it’s more than numbers: the run-up to passing away is various. “We’re living longer, and the context of death is altering. Longer life implies we build up more long-lasting conditions, and individuals tend to be frail for longer,” he stated. “The danger is that individuals are going to pass away severely, instead of passing away well.”

Dr Katherine Sleeman, a palliative care specialist at the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s College London and a member of the advisory group behind the Departure Lounge, states clients typically wish to discuss death. “People call it the last taboo, however that’s not my experience. Health care experts can be afraid about raising the topic, however I discover clients are typically alleviated when it’s pointed out. They understand they’re passing away, and they wish to discuss it.”

Also much misinterpreted, she states, is that palliative care, far from spelling completion, can indicate better results. “Research reveals that when offered early, palliative care is related to less medical facility admissions, much better discomfort relief and lower monetary expenses to the NHS,” she stated. “I constantly state that my objective isn’t to assist you live longer, it’s to assist you live much better.”

On hand will be guides consisting of Yvonne Oakes, a previous palliative care nurse who now works as a “soul midwife” or end-of-life doula, supporting clients and their households. In her experience, many individuals have actually had unfavorable experiences of death with family members, and presume that when their time comes pain, seclusion and discomfort will be inescapable. That, she states, just isn’t real. “There is certainly such a thing as an excellent death. It comes mainly, I think, from accepting death instead of resisting it.” And The Departure Lounge, she hopes, will make it possible for individuals to begin to consider approval of death, “in a non-threatening, and unforced, method.”

Research into passing away, states Sleeman, truly matters and can make a genuine distinction. “Many individuals, which consists of academics and physicians, state: what’s the point of research study if it’s not going to lengthen life? That isn’t the point. Quality is important: research study is rather clear that the majority of people would select lifestyle over length of life.”

The Departure Lounge is supported by the Health Foundation and Wellcome Trust; more info at departure-lounge. org

Top ideas for an excellent death

Remember this is your death: it’s OKAY to think of what you truly desire and do not desire, and be clear about it.

Don’t hesitate to request for aid, and to accept aid if it’s used and you desire it. You do not need to have a hard time on alone.

Make amends for previous injures and dissatisfactions. Some individuals compose letters– you do not need to publish them.

Consider making a death strategy, which is the life-end equivalent of a birth strategy. Where would you like to pass away? Who do you desire with you– and who do you not desire there? Would you like music to be playing? Do you wish to prevent efforts to resuscitate you?

Be mindful that death includes loss, so there is undoubtedly going to be psychological discomfort, both for you and for those you like. That does not imply you can’t look for the delights in life, even as your health weakens. Life can have significance and satisfaction right approximately completion.

Yvonne Oakes

– This post was modified on 5 May 2019. An earlier variation estimated Prof Sir Robert Lechler as stating: “Between now and 2014 we’ll see a boost of 25% in the variety of deaths annually.” This has actually been fixed.

Scientists find genetic mutation that makes woman feel no pain

Discovery in 71-year-old Jo Cameron might help advancement of brand-new discomfort relief treatments

Doctors have actually recognized a brand-new anomaly in a lady who is hardly able to feel discomfort or tension after a cosmetic surgeon who was baffled by her healing from an operation referred her for hereditary screening.

Jo Cameron, 71, has an anomaly in a formerly unidentified gene which researchers think should play a significant function in discomfort signalling, memory and state of mind. The discovery has actually improved hopes of brand-new treatments for persistent discomfort which impacts countless individuals worldwide.

Cameron, a previous instructor who resides in Inverness, has actually experienced damaged limbs, burns and cuts, giving birth and many surgeries with little or no requirement for discomfort relief. She often leans on the Aga and understands about it not from the discomfort, however the odor. “I’m vegan, so the odor is quite apparent,” she states. “There’s no other burning flesh going on in your house.”

But it is not just a failure to sense discomfort that makes Cameron stand apart: she likewise never ever worries. When a van motorist ran her off the roadway 2 years earlier, she climbed up out of her automobile, which was on its roofing system in a ditch, and went to comfort the shaking young chauffeur who crossed her. She just discovered her swellings later on. She is non-stop positive, and in tension and anxiety tests she scored no.

“I understood that I was happy-go-lucky, however it didn’t occur to me that I was various,” she states. “I believed it was simply me. I didn’t understand anything unusual was going on till I was 65.”When Cameron had x-rays for a bad hip, #peeee

The minute of realisation came. From time to time her hip would pave the way, making her walk lop-sided. For 3 or 4 years, her GP, and after that the healthcare facility, turned her away due to the fact that she was not in discomfort. The x-rays exposed huge wear and tear of the joint when she was lastly scanned. “I ‘d not had a twinge. They could not think it.”

Cameron properly had her hip changed, coping on 2 paracetamol the day after. While she was in healthcare facility, medical professionals saw that her thumbs were warped by osteoarthritis. They right away reserved her in for a double hand operation, a treatment referred to as “agonizing” by one cosmetic surgeon. Once again, Cameron felt nearly no discomfort after the operation. A specialist, Devjit Srivastava, who was supervising her care at Raigmore health center in Inverness, was so shocked that he referred her to discomfort professionals at UCL in London.

In a case report released on Thursday in the British Journal of Anaesthesia , the UCL group explain how they explored Cameron’s DNA to see what makes her so uncommon. They discovered 2 significant anomalies. Together, they reduce discomfort and stress and anxiety, while enhancing joy and, obviously, lapse of memory and injury recovery.

The very first anomaly the researchers identified prevails in the basic population. It moistens down the activity of a gene called FAAH. The gene makes an enzyme that breaks down anandamide, a chemical in the body that is main to discomfort memory, feeling and state of mind. Anandamide operates in a comparable method to the active components of marijuana. The less it is broken down, the more its other and analgesic impacts are felt.

The 2nd anomaly was a missing out on portion of DNA that dumbfounded researchers at. Additional analysis revealed that the “removal” sliced the front off a close by, formerly unidentified gene the researchers called FAAH-OUT. The scientists believe this brand-new gene works like a volume control on the FAAH gene. Disable it with an anomaly like Cameron has and FAAH falls quiet. The outcome is that anandamide, a natural cannabinoid, develops in the system. Cameron has two times as much anandamide as those in the basic population

When the scientists discussed the anomalies to Cameron, a great deal of her past made more sense. The time she broke her arm as an eight-year-old and didn’t inform anybody for days, till the bone began resetting at an amusing angle. That she might consume scotch bonnet chillies and feel just a “enjoyable radiance” in her mouth. That she is constantly ironing herself, which her numerous cuts and burns recover so quickly.

“I was rather entertained when I discovered,” Cameron stated. “And then they informed me about these other things, the lapse of memory and the joy. I’m constantly forgetting things; I constantly have actually done. It’s great in great deals of methods however not in others. I do not get the alarm everybody else gets.”

Cameron’s mom felt discomfort usually, as does her child. Her kid, who brings the 2nd and more crucial anomaly, has actually a dulled sense of discomfort. He never ever takes pain relievers and regularly heats his mouth with hot beverages and food. Researchers believe that Cameron’s daddy might have passed the anomaly on to her.

James Cox, a scientist on the research study, stated that in severe cases, anomalies can lead individuals to feel no discomfort whatsoever. “This client does not have a total loss of discomfort level of sensitivity, however we do see that. When they are young, they generally bite off parts of the tongue, and parts of their fingers since they have not found out that it’s harmful.”

Cox stated of Cameron: “There’s a horrible lot we can gain from her. We can believe about gene treatments that imitate the results we see in her as soon as we comprehend how the brand-new gene works. There are countless individuals residing in discomfort and we certainly require brand-new analgesics. Clients like this can provide us genuine insights into the discomfort system.”

Cameron hopes that speaking about her condition may improve clinical development. “There might be more like me who are out there that have not understood what is various about them,” she states. “If they assist and go out with the experiments, it might do something to get individuals off manmade pain relievers and on to more natural methods of easing discomfort.”

Beatings, rape and non-stop work: UK women enslaved in forced marriages

Survivors state their predicament must be deemed contemporary slavery and the wrongdoers prosecuted

Betrayed by her own household, separated from the outdoors world and raped daily by her violent hubby, one desperate teen relied on a personal helpline.

The 17-year-old from the north of England initially satisfied her violent partner the day prior to she was required to wed the middle-aged male in Britain. She was 16 at the time, however her roadway to required marital relationship in the UK started years previously.

As a baby she was required to Somalia, where she went through the most severe kind of female genital mutilation, with no discomfort relief.

Disclosing her trick more than a years later on to a call handler at a forced marital relationship charity, she confided that on her wedding event night, her “other half” cut her open with a knife so he might skilled their marital relationship.

The susceptible teen is amongst countless forced marital relationship victims thought to be living as modern-day servants in Britain — and who professionals state need to be provided increased defense through making use of human trafficking laws.

In a call in 2015 she informed the human rights charity Karma Nirvana that she was being kept in your home and beaten and raped by her partner. However the abuse continued when she ended up being pregnant she believed she would be left alone.

Alex, a senior call handler who talked to the woman, stated: “After the preliminary call she sounded back to state she had actually gone through FGM once again, this time under the directions of her spouse. She was distressed and stated she would be avoided from seeing health employees throughout her pregnancy in case the FGM was discovered.”

She was talked through her alternatives however later on made one last call to state things had actually become worse and she might see no other way out. Alex stated: “Tragically, we never ever spoke with her once again. It’s most likely the most heartbreaking case I’ve handled.”

In 2017 the charity fielded more than 700 calls from under-18s. To name a few callers was a 22-year-old British lady consulting after a forced marital relationship in Pakistan. Her moms and dads were pushing her to work 6 days a week so her incomes would reach the needed limit to sponsor her foreign partner to come to the UK.

A 55-year-old lady took a trip to the UK from Pakistan on a check out visa prior to being required to wed her British company.

She stated he treated her like a servant, making her work non-stop and tracking her down when she attempted to run away. He extended the abuse to her children in Pakistan by buying members of the neighborhood to target them. Expert employees had the ability to promote on her behalf and she has actually considering that been given refugee status.

Ameera Jamil, a senior call handler, stated: “Victims hesitate to go to authorities for worry they will not be thought. Where they originate from such abuse may be endured or if the victim is a guy they would be mocked.

“Last week we had a call from a male in West Yorkshire who was given the UK by his British partner and was being abused by her household.”

The guy, who operates in catering, had actually stated: “My spouse makes me do all the household chores and takes my earnings. She is enabled to do as she pleases however if I wish to head out I’m questioned by my in-laws.”

Jamil stated: “It can take victims a long period of time to come forward, specifically if they cannot speak English and are being carefully managed.”

One lady from Morocco, who discovered herself a victim of domestic thrall in Britain, just handled to leave when she discovered another Arabic speaker.

“Her bro worked with the male her household required her to wed in 2016,” stated Selma Bayou of the Kurdish and iranian Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO), which supported the female.

After showing up in Britain, the 25-year-old found out the guy was gay and had actually wed her to conceal his sexuality from the neighborhood. He ran an effective company and made her tidy the workplaces at night after investing the day cooking and doing tasks for his big household.

She reported: “They treated me like a housemaid. I was made to consume alone and wasn’t enabled to leave your house other than to bring their shopping.”

One day while cleaning up for her hubby’s service, among his customers, a Moroccan female, asked her if she was OKAY and she had the ability to mouth “assist me” in Arabic. Later on the lady called IKWRO and she was discovered a location at a haven.

Bayou stated: “This was a normal case of modern-day slavery. Our consultants typically see this take place to females from northern Africa, the Middle East or south-east Asia. They come here on a spousal visa however are utilized for domestic bondage.”

Another survivor of “‘honour'” abuse stated there need to be more acknowledgment of forced marital relationship as a kind of modern-day slavery. At 16 she was required to wed an older Pakistani male so he might get a British visa. Back in the house in the UK with her partner, she was still a young teen when her life as a “an overdue house maid” started.

She informed the Guardian: “I needed to stop studying and was made to remain inside, cutting off ties with friends and family. Even the clothing I needed to use were sent out from abroad by my mother-in-law.”

Now in her thirties and a mom, she remembers how she suffered 13 years of domestic yoke and violence. She attempted to run away the marital relationship however her household pressed her to remain.

“They stated I would bring them embarassment. My uncle was the primary wrongdoer– he had terrific impact over the household and neighborhood,” she stated.

While she is lastly devoid of the marital relationship, the female and her kids still bring the psychological and physical scars. “The entire thing has actually affected extremely on my kids’s psychological health– all them experience trauma,” she stated.

“When I see them in discomfort I’m driven to spread out the reality. Individuals have to be held to represent these dreadful criminal activities. I do not desire anybody to suffer like I did.”

Another survivor has actually just recently released her narrative, Wings, to raise awareness of “honour” abuse and is requiring federal government policy to identify forced marital relationship as a kind of modern-day slavery.

Sunny Angel, who altered her name by deed survey to secure her household’s identity, was dealt with “as a sex servant and skivvy” by her in-laws in Liverpool after being required to wed a male with discovering problems when she was 20.