Underwear care advice is just pants | Brief letters

So, we are supposed to throw away underwear that is more than six months old and wash the rest at 60C (Do we really need to replace our underwear every six months?, 23 February). There is no consideration of the ecological cost of adding to the mountain of discarded clothing, the cost of producing more cheap underwear and the added cost of heating water to 60C. Also, there is no evidence shown that wearing such underwear is harmful. I don’t know how I made it to the age of 77.Kathleen HooperPenistone, South Yorkshire The Bafta ceremony made it clear that, to its shame, the BBC sees the slogan “Free Palestine” as far more offensive than the most disgusting racist term in the dictionary – and acted accordingly (BBC producers say they ‘didn’t hear’ N-word slur as ‘working in a truck’, following second Baftas apology, 23 February)

‘Tics are involuntary’: people with Tourette syndrome on Baftas outburst

It was an incident that sparked a furore: during Sunday’s Bafta ceremony Tourette syndrome (TS) activist John Davidson made several outbursts, including shouting the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were presenting a prize on stage.Among others to comment on the incident were actors including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Jordan in The Wire.Writing below a post about the incident on Instagram, Foxx said Davidson’s use of the N-word was “Unacceptable”, adding: “Nah he meant that shit”, while Pierce wrote on the platform X: “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throatted [sic] apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur

Government accused of caving in to building lobby amid plans to shake up housing sector in England

The government has been accused of bowing to lobbying by housebuilders, in proposals that would prevent English local authorities from pursuing improvements to low-carbon homes standards.Under a consultation on planning rules, councils would be issued with guidance that would effectively limit their scope to demand builders construct new homes within their areas to the highest possible standards.These changes to the National Planning Policy Framework would benefit housebuilders, which could be assured of the same standards across England, but would bind the hands of councils, some of which have declared a “climate emergency”.Ministers have yet to publish separate much-delayed rules for the future homes standard (FHS), which requires new homes to be built with low-carbon equipment such as heat pumps, high-grade insulation and solar panels. But there are fears that the FHS will not go far enough

Tell us your experience living with Tourette syndrome

Controversy erupted at the Baftas award ceremony after the BBC initially failed to edit out the N-word spoken involuntarily by John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome (TS).In a statement Davidson said he was “deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning”. He added: “I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette’s community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so. I chose to leave the auditorium early into the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”We would like to hear from people who are affected by Tourette syndrome (TS), and in particular those who have vocal tics involving swearing (coprolalia)

Baby boy born to UK mother after womb transplant from dead donor

A baby boy named Hugo is the first child to be born in the UK to a mother with a womb transplant from a dead donor.Hugo Powell was delivered at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea hospital in London weighing 3.09kg (6lb 13oz), after his mother, Grace Bell, received a transplanted womb from someone who had died.It is the first birth in the UK using a womb from a deceased donor, with only two previous cases reported in Europe.Bell, an IT programme manager, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare condition resulting in an underdeveloped or missing womb

My maddening battle with chronic fatigue syndrome: ‘On my worst days, it feels almost demonic’

At the Croydon secondary school I attended in the late 1990s, the deputy headmistress was a stocky woman with a military haircut who patrolled the corridors in voluminous outfits patterned in shades of brown. The outfits were much discussed, not charitably, by the teenage girls in her charge – as was her voice, which made you think of a blunt knife being drawn across a rough surface. Thirty years later, I can still hear that terrible voice refer to my “mystery illness”. In truth, the deputy headmistress never actually spoke those words – they were included in a typed letter she sent to my parents concerning my prolonged absence from school. Still, the indicting force of five syllables is as distinct in my ear as if she were looming over me