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  1. Culture
2 December 2020

This England: Given up the goose

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare's Richard II, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the NS since 1934. 

By New Statesman

A man who got two pet geese for company in lockdown may have to get rid of them after complaints about their honking.

Sven Kirby, 34, has hand-reared the pets – Beep Beep and Norbert – who waddle around his house in nappies. A noise abatement notice from Leeds City Council now warns he must “prevent recurrence” by 8 December or face a fine of up to £5,000.

Sven, of Armley, said: “I love my geese. It almost feels as if social services are taking my kids away.” The council said he could appeal the notice.

Daily Mirror (Daragh Brady)

[see also: This England: Fast and loose]​

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Luxury labour

Tom Kerridge is selling a pre-made Christmas dinner for £380 – but you must cook it yourself.

Metro (Amanda Welles)


Counting sheep

Anne passed away at her home in Mere on 18 December 2018. Her love of her beloved sheep was a prominent feature in her life and Anne is buried in a white, woollen coffin made by a specialist Yorkshire firm using the fleece of three sheep.

The Blackmore Vale (Ruth Eyre)

[see also: This England: If a tree falls]

Magic mushrooms

Several carved wooden mushrooms have been removed from a park after a council received a complaint they looked “unnecessarily phallic”. The wooden features were carved out of tree stumps at Cwmdonkin Park in Uplands, Swansea, last winter by the council parks team.

Paul Durden, a co-writer of Twin Town, said many locals oppose the removal.

BBC Wales (Christopher Rossi)

Each printed entry receives a £5 book token. Entries to comp@newstatesman.co.uk or on a postcard to This England.

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This article appears in the 02 Dec 2020 issue of the New Statesman, Crashed

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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