Hello Earthings,
How is it going down there?
As I write, I am somewhat exhausted! It has been the rentrée week at work and that’s always a bit tiring! Seeing new students, old students, even older colleagues, it’s very much about new beginnings and the approach of new endings as the previous year’s students start to hand in their thesisisises (I’m never happy with the plural of thesis being theses - that looks like the plural of these!).
Anyway, I digress for a change.
In this unique edition, we will be exploring:
science
permanent residence and Windrush
dogs
…and much, much more!
So, pull up a cone, sit back and let the wonderful world of my brain take you to places you never imagined going this week!
Take care of yourselves,
James x
Science #1 - 23andMe and Your DNA and Them
Not long ago, in the grand scheme of things, companies started offering DNA analysis by post. A lot of us were concerned about the privacy implications of giving your DNA to a private company (I don’t want to spoil this for anyone but, yes, it is about to become an ‘I told you so’) but our concerns were brushed aside.
Some countries, notably France, actually have a ban in place on these sorts of services. And here’s why both those countries and people like me were concerned…
One of the biggest players in the DNA testing market is an American company called 23andMe. The idea is that you spit in a tube, send it along with some cash to the company and then they tell you that your ancestors came from all over the place (like everyone’s ancestors) and you get to act all shocked that you are related to Ghengis Khan (aren’t we all?)
Anyway, they’re in a bit of trouble (and I’m not talking about the massive data breach that saw Chinese and Jewish customers targeted). No, they’re in the traditional ‘board of directors resigning and running out of money’ type trouble.
But, the good news is that, when you spat into the tube and sent your DNA and personal details to 23andMe along with some money, you agreed to the terms of business - which includes agreeing to the fact that your DNA and personal details are ‘saleable assets’.
So, if 23andMe does turn out to have the same DNA as a raft of other bankrupt countries, at least they can some raise some money by selling of the very building blocks of what makes you you, along with your personal data.
Reddit Groups for Expats
If you are an immigrant living in France like me, or are thinking about making the leap, I run two groups on Reddit.
The first is for anyone who has moved to France from abroad - either permanently or temporarily (but not necessarily tourists! There are groups for that!). It’s called r/Expats_In_France and it’s now got over 450 members and some really useful exchanges.
The other is specifically for people who have questions or want to chat about studying in France. It is called r/Study_In_France and you can get to it by clicking on that!
If you frequent Reddit, it’d be great to see you there!
Science #2 - Putting Cancer Specialists Out Of Work
If I was to start this part with ‘health news from Scotland’, all you lazy people will undoubtedly assume I’m about to post something about deep fried Mars Bars being bad for you. Fear not! It’s much more positive than that.
99% of cervical cancers are caused by the HPV virus and, ongoing research in Scotland shows that, since the first intake of 12 and 13 year old girls who were given the HPV vaccine back in 2008, the percentage who have cervical cancer is 0%. Now, you know how percentages work - we do rounding - so 0% could still be 0.1% or something. So let’s look at it another way, the NUMBER of women who were fully vaccinated who have been diagnosed with cervical cancer is ZERO.
I’m old enough to remember those who campaigned against the vaccine on the basis that it would encourage teens to have sex earlier. Where are they today…?
Students! Update your Email Addresses!
Niche bit of today’s newsletter but, if you are/were one of my students and you signed up with your institutional email address, don’t forget to update it to your personal email address on Substack - otherwise you won’t continue to receive your regular slice of newsletter goodness!
Keep Calm - Don’t Lose Your Head
These were taken by me in one of my absolute favourite parts of town - Clignancourt.
I checked after Bart hit that man - he was fine. No need to call anyone.
Good News Corner
It’s not all doom and gloom! Plenty of good things are happening - here are a few!
Not So Indefinite Leave to Remain
In its ongoing pursuit of making life impossible for anyone who isn’t a purebred Britisher, the UK government is pressing ahead with its plans to try to catch out permanent residence with a ‘wet stamp’ Indefinite Leave to Remain in their passport (or in an old passport).
Interestingly, it seems that His Majesty’s new Government is as unclear as Her Majesty’s previous Government about the meaning of the word ‘indefinite’ - preferring to use the unconventional definition of ‘I bet we can sneakily trip you up and then deport you’.
As a result of this ‘warm, welcoming and generous’ approach to immigrants who have spent a significant part of their lives in the UK, all non-digital residence proofs for immigrants will cease to be valid on 31 December 2024. A massive win for the Farage-tendency, I am sure we can all agree.
The genius of this latest plan to get rid of the foreigners is that a large proportion of those who have ‘wet stamp’ Indefinite Leave to Remains will be older and unlikely to know about this change because, guess what, the Home Office has no records of who actually has a wet stamp ILR!
It’s important to note that this also means that EU citizens who hold dual nationality - for instance Australian and German - but have been living in the UK on the basis of the wet stamp ILR rather than applying for EU settled status are now too late to apply - although late applications are allowed in some circumstances.
Congratulations to everyone who voted for this sort of crap.
For anyone else, here is some information on how to get a new digital eVISA - but the anecdotal evidence is that the delay is lonnnnnng, so get your applications in quick.
By the way, if you don’t get one in time, your access to healthcare and other government services may be restricted.
What a country!
PS The 3 Million, an anti-Brexit group that has been campaigning for the rights of EU and other citizens impacted by these post-Brexit changes has launched a petition. You can sign it here.
PPS You are essentially interned in the UK until you get your new eVISA. HMG warns “Do not travel internationally until you have obtained a proof of your immigration status”.
Dog News
It’s always difficult to pick the best part of a rentrée week but, anybody who was there will tell you, I reserved my happiest face for this chap…
This is Chaco - and he is the owner of two of my students (deep down, all dog owners know our place!) He’s named after Chaco Canyon in New Mexico - and is my new friend!
I don’t know how well Sally is going to react!
RIP Windrush Pioneer Alford Gardner
I could never do justice to the life of Alford Gardner. More people need to know who he was.
And, if they did, maybe the UK would start thanking those who built Britain rather than trying to deport them (see above)
Or maybe that’s just a pipedream.
…and, not for the first time, I had more to say but the green banner on Substack came up and told me that stop!
So, that’s your lot for this week!
Have a great one!
James x
PS If you enjoyed this (or anything else I’ve written/posted/whatever) recently, please share it and, if you really enjoyed it, I’m powered by coffee - you can buy me one here! :) Thanks!
PPS Last week, I checked forebears.io to find out where all the Barisics are. Here’s what it told me…
So, I leave this edition with a big shout out to the *checks notes* Barisics of Japan!