MOTORING

Just

Model: Range Rover Sport D350 HST Price: £85,995 Engine:6 cylinder diesel engine Pictures: media.landrover.comDrive...

It began with the smoke signal. A column of dark smoke beyond the trees bordering my extensive domain. "I wonder what that is?" I thought. Surely not a smokey exhaust. It's possibly the spontaneous combustion of some alternative energy source.

Or could it be a pipeful of O'SHAUGHNESSY'S RICH DARK IRISH MIXTURE? Or maybe a millionaire with a conscience burning all his money before adopting sackcloth and evangelical environmentalism. I wasn't kept in suspense for long. Trudging towards me with all the inevitability of a wet day in Wigan was a striking figure of a man. This is a car review not a short story by Tolstoy so I'll not dwell on descriptive details except to say that he was very tall and in matters of girth, almost as wide. He still retained a vestigial Mohican haircut, although it was now greyish compared with the strident cerise of his heyday. He wore a downcast expression. I knew him from old. This was none other than BILLY TALL PINES, former all-in wrestler of repute, now all in: six feet four inches of pure flab and pinkcheeked breathlessness. I greeted him cheerily. "Hello Squire! Could that smoke signal be connected with your arrival here?" "Too right mate" he gasped, pausing after his efforts in order to collect his breath. "My Sinclair C5 has gone up in smoke. It caught fire the moment I sat down on it. "I wonder why" I responded, glancing at his trouser seat which seemed mercifully unscorched. His weight presumably had precipitated some sort of fusion of sub atomic particles, prompting an inferno. I kept this surmise to myself. Can you give me a lift to my health farm in Wolverhampton? I'm booked in for a socially distanced Abyssinian Massage in an hour"

Range Rover Sport D350 HST...

Cutting it fine Squire" I said. But you're in luck. I've got the latest Range Rover Sport. A superbly adaptable and luxurious automobile guaranteed to whisk you to Wolverhampton in the time it would take to boil an egg. And an automobile capable like few other motor carriages of making you feel like a king - or should I say in deference to your illustrious past career in the ring, 'Chief' not King. "You can call me what you like, so long as you get me there in time." "Consider it done. Follow me" I replied. I led him to the stable block where, gleaming resplendently in the Spring sunshine was the Range Rover Sport. Red with a black top and cool looking black alloys, it was every inch the business and 'Ready! Aye ready!' for adventure. "Gosh!" exclaimed Billy. "I bet that didn't come cheap. "Not cheap at £85,995 but certainly cheering to the spirit. Climb aboard and experience true quality." He needed no prompting. Lesser vehicles would have tipped sideways under the weight but the Range Rover Sport is made of sterling stuff as befits a highly specified and accommodating motoring icon. It would take more than the likes of Billy to topple it from its perch. In a jiffy we were strapped in and relishing an interior which poets have described as 'the bee's knees' in luxury. Simply put, the Range Rover Sport delivers motoring in the grand manner. It represents the culmination of a trailblazing career of 4WD 'go anywhere' success offering every adjunct to off-road ability you could name. My model had the outstanding 350bhp6 cylinder diesel engine ably assisted by a 48 volt mild hybrid system to drive through an 8 speed auto transmission - all capable of giving over 31mpg. Drive gently and you will even see 40mpg! It's a combination that wonderfully juggles the sometimes contradictory imperatives of grunt, economy and eco-mindfulness. It is a clean, potent and satisfying answer to twenty first century first class motoring. Not only impressive looking, it insists on cosseting occupants in superb comfort. The phrase 'Elegant spaciousness wrapped up in engineering excellence and stylistic accomplishment ' although weighty enough, somehow is insufficient to do it justice. Perhaps a romantic soul perched high on a picturesque peak, where encircling sky stretches imperiously over the ground far below - maybe only such a one could ever possess an inkling of the sublime experience to be savoured within. For the driver it can spring forward like an unknown avatar of transcendental speed up to 140mph. Boy! Does it go! And stop too as suddenly as thought. Nothing

By Syd Taylor

Motoring Reviewer

shaking: just braking. And all this performance to be enjoyed within the leather-clad opulence of an interior more luxurious than a score of Pall Mall clubs decked out for decadence. "It is a classy motor" Billy exclaimed. "Better than your Sinclair C5?" I asked. But he wouldn't go that far. He had too many fond memories to commit to a full endorsement. As I dropped him off at the WOLVERHAMPTON ALL-IN WELLBEING CENTRE I sensed his disappointment at having to say goodbye to the Range Rover Sport. He had been forced to submit to the appeal of this knockout motor.

CyberFraud& online deceptions...

By Hatti Suvari

Reports on the increase of cyber fraud and online deceptions have become more frequent since the start of the Covid pandemic. Hatti Suvari, consumer advocate, law expert and Get Legally Speaking podcast host has been drawing attention to this since the first indication these activities were on the rise.

As we become more reliant on banks due to the decline in cash usage, banks ought to have a greater responsibility in safeguarding their customers against fraud. Increasing knowledgeable about consumer rights can help put pressure on banks to do the right thing by their users. Financial crime is always rife, but the pandemic has triggered an epidemic of cyber fraud. In its many different forms, from cold calls, text messages to email, there are evermore opportunities to be tricked into giving away personal information. Hatti has three general rules when it comes to scams: • STOP!– think to consider if this is genuine or if there is any reason you should have doubt • CHALLENGE!– cross-check the information through other means. Use a search engine to find the number for the organisation in question and ask them if the communication to you is genuine. • PROTECT!– Protect yourself by phoning your bank ASAP. If you are a small business, take pre-emptive protection and get insurance. If money has been stolen from an account as a result of replying or acting on a message which turns out to be a scam, there are several things you can do. • Contact your bank – they have fraud teams operating 24 hours a day. If you log the transaction with your bank as a fraudulent payment, the transfer can be blocked and prevented. • Even if you made the payment a couple of days ago, it isn’t the end of the battle. If it has moved from your account to another, your bank can still contact the other bank provider and communicate that it has been reported as fraud. They can then lock it down and freeze the account. Meaning there’s still a chance you could be reimbursed. • Take a hard line with your bank. Although they private organisations, they are obliged by law to help you, albeit to a certain extent. The introduction of the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which most banks have opted-in for, means that if you are victim of fraud, banks are likely to have to reimburse you.

Respected CEO appointed new health leader for Shropshire,

Telford & WrekinHe Services...

Respected Chief Executive Mark Brandreth has been appointed to lead the development of integrated health services in Shropshire Telford & Wrekin (STW).

The experienced leader has come through a “rigorous and competitive” recruitment process to be named Interim Accountable Officer for the STW Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Alongside that post, he will continue as Executive Lead for the STW Integrated Care System (ICS). He will take up the joint role on Monday 2 August, at which point he will step down as Chief Executive of The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) – a role he has held for the last five years. Mark has built a solid reputation for his work at RJAH – taking a Trust that was in breach of its licence with its regulator when he took over and rated ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission to one which is now rated ‘Good’ overall and ‘Outstanding’ for care. The Trust has also consistently received excellent feedback via the NHS Staff Survey and Adult Inpatient Survey during this period which is amongst the very best in the NHS.

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He also played a key role in the NHS response to the coronavirus pandemic, taking some time away from Shropshire last year to lead a number of national projects including the Nightingale Hospital programme. “I am delighted to have been appointed to this joint role leading the ICS and the CCG here in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin,” said Mark. “Working closely with colleagues in recent months, I have seen the passion and the desire to do things differently so that we can improve health outcomes and health inequalities for all of our population. I look forward to working with our outstanding teams to ensure we deliver world class health and care services for everyone within our borders. It has been a great honour to be the Chief Executive of RJAH and it is not an easy decision to move on. I am very proud of what the staff have achieved over my time here – I am very proud of the care we provide to patients.” Sir Neil McKay, Independent Chair of the STW ICS, said: “Mark has been appointed following a rigorous and competitive recruitment process, where he showed himself to be the outstanding candidate. “He is an experienced and inclusive leader who knows our system inside out – both its strengths and its challenges. I am delighted that he will be at the helm to guide us through these critical few months ahead as we move towards the ICS becoming a new statutory body from April 2022.” Dr John Pepper, Chair of the STW CCG, said: “Over the next few months we have a fantastic opportunity to make significant strides in giving our communities the services they deserve and need. I am sure we have the right person at the helm to realise this opportunity.” RJAH is immediately beginning the process of recruiting a new Chief Executive. Its Chief Nurse, Stacey Keegan, will serve as Acting Chief Executive when Mark leaves. Frank Collins, Chair of RJAH, said: “I must also offer my congratulations to Mark, who deserves this opportunity. “He has been at RJAH for over five years now, and, as we all know, has made a huge impact in that time - both at RJAH and, more recently, in the development of our ICS. His new role is a natural extension of that work. Recruitment of a successor begins immediately, and I am happy to appoint Stacey Keegan in the interim as acting CEO. It will be the second time that Stacey has assumed this position, having led the organisation in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic last year while Mark took up a national position to help shape the NHS response. She did a terrific job then and I am delighted that she has agreed to take on the acting CEO role again. I know that we are in safe hands.”