As diagnoses of the condition continue to rise, an intriguing question is emerging. Could some people with these common symptoms not have ADHD at all, but another medical condition?
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A notetaking tool called “Notes” is helping staff in the Vale of Glamorgan complete paperwork more efficiently, cutting case submission times by 36 per cent and freeing up valuable hours for frontline care.
Jason Bennett MBE, head of adult services and the Vale Alliance at Vale of Glamorgan Council, said: “Beam notes wasnʼt launched in isolation; it was accompanied by our implementation of a “strengths based practiceˮ training package.
“Beam Notes allows practitioners to spend their time really getting to know the person, their strengths and personal outcomes. It allows the practitioner to be fully present during their conversations whilst the AI takes care of the draft notes and initial record keeping for the practitioner to build from later.
“We have also introduced compassionate leadership across the department and Beam Notes allows supervision to focus on the person and having a meaningful conversation.”
The “Notes” tool, developed by social-impact technology company Beam, automatically generates documents from recorded meetings.
Instead of typing or writing notes, staff record meetings with consent and let the AI handle the paperwork.
Social Services has been using the tool in adult services since a successful pilot in 2025 and has since rolled it out to children’s services.
A total of 484 staff now use it daily.
Data from the three-month pilot shows practitioners saved an average of 2.5 hours per week on admin, with the top third saving 3.5 hours.
One practitioner saved more than nine hours.
80 per cent said the tool allowed them to spend more time with service users, and 86 per cent wanted to continue using it.
Sian Palmer, a practitioner, said: “Before using Notes, I was always stressed about completing assessments, care plans and other paperwork because I knew it took me longer than some of my colleagues due to my dyslexia.
“Being able to speak my thoughts into Notes has significantly reduced my anxiety around paperwork.
“I can see a real difference in the quality of my case notes and assessments since using the AI notetaker.”
The tool is now used by other local authorities and public sector organisations to support frontline documentation across social care.
Human oversight remains in place, with staff reviewing and editing all outputs before they are entered into council systems.
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disease, it causes painful, boil-like lumps to form deep under the skin in areas such as the armpits and groin.
Don’t look up! The world is a mess. The sky could fall in any day. Unending wars, expanding humanitarian crises, rising authoritarianism, dysfunctional democracies, rampant racial and religious extremism, and unchecked lawlessness cast a dark cloud as the west’s new political year begins. Set all that against a backdrop of staggering global economic inequality, corporate and individual greed, irresponsible government indebtedness, dangerous AI gambles, climate breakdown and proliferating nuclear weapons, and a truly apocalyptic global outlook begins to take shape. It’s enough to make anyone shut their eyes, cover their ears and utter a Munch-like scream. And it’s only getting worse.
Democratic leaders who promise a better, safer, more optimistic future – what Britain’s freshly arrived prime minister, Andy Burnham, calls a “new era of possibility” – cannot escape this wider international context. Last week’s global bond market upheaval, sparked by external factors, left Burnham’s cash-strapped government struggling with sharply increased borrowing costs before he barely got started. The fact he chose Ukraine for his first overseas trip, while symbolically important, highlighted another grim reality. As a lead opponent of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, Britain now finds itself in a de facto state of war with Russia – and facing attack. Argentina, too, is eyeing UK defence vulnerabilities. These are not the sort of possibilities Burnham envisaged.
Little wonder some analysts believe a third world war has already begun. Those who say this is over-dramatic should consider the following snapshots of the state of the world in 2026. From Kyiv to Khorramshahr, Kordofan and Kachin, conflicts flare and subside but never seem to end. All-out Russian aggression in Ukraine, now mostly comprising daily attempts to murder and terrorise civilians, is into its fifth year. Trump has lost his Iran bet, but keeps killing and bombing with no end in sight. In southern Sudan, appalling atrocities go unchecked. In Myanmar, a people’s war against a brutal junta rages on. Israel’s response to the 2023 massacres has triggered an ongoing regional war embroiling Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Iran and the Gulf states. Worldwide, record numbers of people are displaced by conflict.
Increasingly interconnected, these wars threaten to merge into one uncontrollable global conflagration. The alliance system, key pillar of the post-1945 order, is eating itself. Donald Trump taunts Europe and Nato with tariffs, troop withdrawals, barbs and insults at a time of acute vulnerability. Canada and the US are at daggers drawn as the White House bully fatuously threatens Venezuela – or Greenland-style annexation. China aids North Korea, which also aids Russia, which aids Iran, which aids Hezbollah and the Houthis. In Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, China looms menacingly as partnerships with Washington fray. In Taiwan, fears of invasion grow, aggravated by Trump’s obsequious appeasing of Xi Jinping.
Everywhere you look, humanitarian crises caused by war, the climate crisis or natural disasters are producing chaotic mass migrations, malnutrition and disease. Increasingly, the suffering overwhelms a UN-led aid system crippled by US and UK funding cuts. In the fertile West Bank, 900,000 Palestinians, their homes and farms besieged by settler extremists, are now food insecure, the World Food Programme says. In Somalia, millions go hungry amid record drought and predicted El Niño-related flooding. Colombia and Afghanistan face similar perils. Humanitarian and human rights outrages take individual form, too. In Hong Kong, for example, an ailing Jimmy Lai, brave champion of free speech, languishes in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement, a tortured casualty of Chinese communism’s hatred of democracy and civil rights.
Skittish bond markets may be the least of the world’s economic and financial problems. Is a crash coming, reminiscent of 2008, only worse? The signs are ominous. The US just notched up a record $40tn in national debt. France, the UK, Japan and others are deep in the red, too. Unmanageable current-account deficits, rising inflation and the huge, draining diversion of investment into bloated AI tech companies all point to what market analysts cutely call a “disorderly correction”. By some estimates, the Nvidia chip-maker, plus Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, are “worth” about 23% of the entire US stock market. Meanwhile, unaffordable northern-hemisphere energy and food prices loom this winter, exacerbated by Trump’s Middle East forever folly. In the worst case, all this could translate into global recession and yet more political instability. It’s a gigantic bubble waiting to burst.
The existential hazards posed by the climate crisis and global heating should require scant elaboration after the terrifying Nepal-Tibet flood disaster. Similarly inimical to life on Earth, in an avoidable, human-made way, is the rapid proliferation of nuclear weapons, including so-called “battlefield” or tactical nukes that are more likely to be used in war zones such as Ukraine or Iran. All nine nuclear weapons states are expanding or modernising their arsenals, with China in the lead. Countries such as South Korea and Saudi Arabia weigh their nuclear options. And now this atomic arms race is expanding into space. There really seems no limit to humanity’s relentless, doom-laden drive towards self-destruction.
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The fundamental values of post-Enlightenment liberal societies are everywhere under siege. The rule of law is routinely flouted. While Putin and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu ignore war-crimes arrest warrants, Trump and his unctuous lickspittle, Marco Rubio, actively work to destroy the international criminal court. Across Europe, far-right racists, loons and bigots make political advances, seen again this weekend in the east German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Next year, France will approach its own fateful national reckoning. In the US, Trump, enabled by a supine majority in Congress and dishonourable supreme court justices, is constructing a “constitutional dictatorship” to subvert future elections, symbolised by a gross, 250ft-tall “Arc de Trump”. Let alarm bells ring: US democracy and the entire western democratic tradition are in dire peril.
What is to be done? Is any consolation to be had? First, key pillars of the post-1945 order, though badly battered, are still just about intact. The UN and most of its agencies, the international court of justice and collaborative, multinational western democratic alliances such as the EU, Nato and the G7 have so far survived the current tumult. Second, the age of tyrants is nearing an end. These angry old men are mostly headed for nursing homes, jail or the grave. May their legacies of fear and hate die with them. Last, younger generations in many “middle power” and developing countries, exemplified by India’s Cockroach youth protest movement, are making plain their revulsion and rejection of the way the world is now. Like Burnham, they believe passionately in the power of possibility and change.
The future lies not in the hands of political thugs and killers, of dictators and megalomaniacs, but in the hands of ordinary people everywhere. It depends on millions upon millions of individual daily acts of kindness, selflessness, faith and courage. So don’t lose heart. Keep your eyes open. Unblock your ears. And don’t look down!
From the food you eat and the pets you love to the surfaces you touch and the recreational areas you enjoy, deadly bacteria can be found almost everywhere.
The property is listed at £575,000 and is offered with no onward chain.
Accommodation is arranged over three floors.
An enclosed front garden, laid with artificial lawn and gated, leads to the entrance.
Inside, the entrance hall includes built-in storage and access to a ground-floor WC.
A versatile ground floor room can be used as a bedroom, dining room, or home office.
Built-in storage is provided, and French doors open onto the front garden, offering water views and natural light.
The open plan kitchen and dining area is fitted with contemporary wall and base units.
Granite worktops, an oven, dishwasher and washing machine are integrated, and there is an enclosed American fridge with ice maker.
Sliding doors connect the kitchen to the outside and bring daylight into the space.
A set of stairs connects the hall to the main first-floor landing.
Located here, the living room features a bespoke media wall and a bar area.
“Flooded with natural light,” according to the listing, the room’s main feature is its access to a private balcony.
The balcony offers “breathtaking panoramic water views across the surrounding coastline,” a standout aspect of the home.
On the second floor, the main bedroom benefits from water views and space for bedroom furnishings.
There are two additional bedrooms, both with built-in storage.
A family bathroom contains a corner shower, wash hand basin, and low-level WC.
Practicalities include useful storage across each level.
The home comes with one allocated off-road parking space, which has an electric vehicle charging point.
Plas Taliesin is described in the listing as a “sought-after” development, with access to local amenities, schools, and coastal walks.
Transport links are available locally.
Blood pressure tablets are some of the most widely prescribed drugs in the UK – but many patients are not taking them as instructed.
The Met Office has forecast the weather for Wales today.
It says: “A rather cloudy start with outbreaks of rain moving northeastwards.
“Turning dry and brighter towards lunchtime, with plenty of sunshine developing for the afternoon.
“Breezy but feeling warm in the sunshine. Maximum temperature 25 °C.”
Harri Grace, an actor-turned-producer from south Wales, blends documentary and drama in The Cycle Of Love, a heartfelt exploration of love and humanity. Grace has long worked in the field of documentary on projects such as The Walk, which followed a Syrian refugee processing her war trauma via a giant puppet; From Devil’s Breath, a timely documentary about Portuguese wildfires and their aftermath, co-produced by Grace and Leonardo DiCaprio; and Lost And Found, a study of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar made with regular collaborator, director Orlando von Einsiedel.
Grace and von Einsiedel’s latest film, The Cycle Of Love, was made with the backing of executive producer Priyanka Chopra Jones amongst others. Having premiered at Telluride Film Festival in 2025, it’s now about to get a UK release, and tells the story of PK Mahnandia, a young Delhi street artist played by Chirag Lobo.
In 1975, PK sketched a Swedish woman, Lotta Van Schedvin. Their paths appear to be starcrossed: she was on the hippie trail travelling through India when they met. Destiny, PK believed, had brought them together, and over the weeks their bond deepened. When Lotta left to return to Sweden, they promised to meet up again; Lotta failed to appear, so PK decided to cycle the 6,000 miles from Delhi to Sweden to find her.
The film uses interviews and reminiscences between the two of them, cleverly keeping them apart throughout the film, to maintain a sense of suspense. This present-day material is blended with reenacted footage brought to life by Chirag Lobo’s PK and Maria Lind’s Anee-Charlotte, both of whom add weight, chemistry and believability to this fantastical tale.
The journey takes PK through eight countries, including Afghanistan and Iran; he does portraits along the way to help finance his trip, battles the extremes of weather and relies on the (plentiful, it turns out) kindness of strangers. The film also casts a light on the horrors of the caste system, a rigid societal structure which, though outlawed, still holds sway. PK is a Dalit – an untouchable – and his encounters with fellow Dalits and their hardships are heartbreaking.
Nevertheless, his positivity constantly shines through, both in his interviews and in Lobo’s charming personification of his younger self. In a world where darkness seems suffocating, The Cycle Of Love is a welcome testament to positivity and love and well worth taking a ride upon.
The Cycle Of Love is in cinemas from Fri 18 Sept.
words KEIRON SELF
Analysts looked at the price rises in the last five years and warned that a fish supper could become an occasional treat if the cost continues to shoot up
Fish and chips could cost £18 for a portion by 2030 if prices keep climbing at the recent rate, putting more pressure on household takeaway budgets.
Forecasting analysts at playcasino.com calculated the forecast by applying the recent rate of increase to the average takeaway fish supper price. The forecast uses the average UK takeaway fish supper as the closest available proxy for standard battered cod with regular chips from an average UK chip shop.
The workings use the five-year window behind the projection only. Between 2019 and 2024, the price rose from £6.48 to £9.88. That represents an average yearly rise of 10.5 per cent between 2019 and 2024.
If that rate is applied to the 2024 price of £9.88 and compounded through 2030, it could cost £18. The average takeaway fish supper then reached £10.28 in 2025 and £11.17 in 2026, according to later price reports.
Jon Long, a chip shop owner in Wimborne, Dorset, charges £11.70 for cod and chips. “I think the price is pretty reasonable, I have seen fish and chips as high as £18 for takeaway,” he said.
He says he makes around £2 profit per serving, which includes money for himself and any improvements to his shop. He says that the Russia-Ukraine War, the inflation surge after the Covid-19 pandemic, and higher hospitality costs are all to blame.
Around 7,210 fish and chip shops operate across the UK, according to industry body Seafish. The forecast comes amid fresh attention on fish and chip inflation, with recent coverage tracking the cost of the staple as it moved close to double its 2019 level. At £18, Britain’s favourite chippy comfort food could become an occasional treat rather than an easy takeaway for many households.
The site’s price-tracking method keeps the projection tied to the observed 2019 to 2024 movement rather than presenting £18 as a guaranteed menu price. The underlying price points came from reports by the BBC and the Independent. The 2019 and 2024 figures were used for the calculation.
Odds experts said the projection depends on the recent rate continuing, so £18 should be read as a conditional outcome rather than a certainty. Changes in food costs and consumer demand could leave actual menu prices above or below that mark by 2030.