Parts of Bradford have been transformed into war-torn Britain for new Netflix drama named Six Triple Eight.
Six Triple Eight will tell the fascinating story of the 6888th battalion, the only all-women, all-black battalion during World War Two.
The area of Bradford named Little Germany has been transformed into war-torn Birmingham for the movie, with filming expected to start next week.
The Netflix boasts a star-studded cast, featuring big names such as Oprah Winfrey, Susan Sarandon, Kerry Washington and is being directed by Tyler Perry.
The 6888th Postal Directory Battalion was formed in 1945 due to a significant shortage of soldiers able to manage the postal service for the US Army.
The unit, consisting of more than 800 women, sailed to the UK in February 1945, arriving first in Glasgow before travelling on to Birmingham, where they would be based.
In Birmingham, they discovered piles of undelivered mail from US forces to loved-ones back home.
The 6888th Postal Directory Battalion./ Credit: Getty Images
Netflix said about the film: "Facing discrimination, unfamiliar land, and a war-torn country, they persevered and sorted over 17 million pieces of mail, reconnecting American soldiers with their families and loved ones back home".
The battalion created their own motto "No Mail, Low Morale" to show how vital they believed getting those letters delivered was.
Image: Wasim Hussain via Twitter
After sorting and successfully delivering the mail in the UK, the women were moved to France to begin tackling a second backlog. The unit was then disbanded after the war in 1946, and unfortunately received little recognition for their incredible work.
However, years later in 2022 President Jo Biden signed a bill for the women to receive Congress' highest honour - the Congressional Gold Medal.
The Government is investigating a number of companies for 'misleading' pricing practices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched three new consumer protection investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School over concerns that customers were not shown the total price upfront when buying things like train and coach tickets, holidays, or even driving lessons.
The investigations are part of a wider CMA clampdown on misleading pricing practices - in this instance, where mandatory charges are separated from the headline price, or added later in the buying process, which is known as drip pricing.
These practices leave consumers facing 'unexpected' costs or having to calculate the so-called true cost themselves.
Such practices can also impact competition between businesses, as a firm using drip pricing may falsely appear to be cheaper than a competitor pricing correctly, and therefore attract more customers.
Trainline is being investigated over whether all mandatory fees have been included in the upfront prices displayed to consumers buying tickets in advance on its app and website, while Virgin Atlantic's investigation will focus on whether mandatory resort fees and local taxes have been included in the upfront prices shown to customers buying package holidays.
Trainline and Virgin Atlantic are among the companies being investigated for 'misleading' pricing / Credit: Northern | Aric Cheng (via Unsplash)
RED Driving School is being investigated over how a mandatory booking fee and 'digital' fee have been displayed to people booking driving lessons - specifically whether these fees have been included in the total upfront price.
"At a time when many households are watching every pound they spend, it is important that people are not surprised by extra fees," commented Emma Cochrane, who is the Executive Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA.
"Clear pricing helps people compare offers confidently and choose the option that works best for them.
"Unexpected mandatory charges make this much harder, which is why the CMA initially put these firms on notice over concerns about their pricing practices and is now opening formal investigations."
The CMA says it's at the beginning of its investigations and has reached no conclusions about whether these firms have broken the law.
If it finds there has been an infringement of the law, the CMA can order businesses to pay compensation to affected customers or be charged up to 10% of global turnover.
Featured Image - PNW Productions (via Pexels)
News
Major new phone rule introduced at Wetherspoons after customers are ‘driven nuts’
Emily Sergeant
A major new phone rule has been introduced in all JD Wetherspoon pubs across the UK after customers complain of being 'driven nuts'.
The pub chain - which has nearly 800 branches across the UK - announced earlier this week that it has made the decision to ban people from playing music or videos out of their phones, and from taking calls on loudspeaker.
The ban, which has been introduced effective immediately, follows a rising number of complaints from customers about the noise - with owners saying sounds from smartphones and tablet computers had become an 'increasing problem' in recent years.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman, Tim Martin, says he wants Wetherspoon pubs to be 'an oasis of tranquillity and contemplation'.
A formal statement from the company announcing the ban reads: "Following complaints from customers, who are being driven nuts by other people’s videos and amplified phone conversations, Wetherspoon has asked customers to switch their phones to silent or to use earphones."
Wetherspoons has introduced a new phone rule at all its UK pubs after customers are 'driven nuts' / Credit: Allan Rohmer (via Unsplash)
Tim Martin added: "In order to avoid customers being driven chicken jalfrezi by a cacophony of sound, we are kindly asking phone users to pipe down."
Wetherspoon's ban follows a YouGov poll conducted last year questioning public opinion on a proposition made by the Liberal Democrats of introducing fines of up to £1,000 for 'headphone dodgers' who play music out loud on buses and trains.
62% of people, on average, said they would back this move if it was introduced.
The poll, which surveyed 6,815 British adults, found that almost three-quarters of those over 65 would support the fines, while those aged between 18 and 24 were split 47% to 43% in favour of it.
Early public reactions to Wetherspoon's ban appears to be overwhelmingly positive.
Clementine Hall -
7th February 2023 
