Greetings reader and welcome back to another round of who is the secretary responsible for charities this week?
In yet another government reshuffle, charities have been given its 8th secretary of state in under six years, Lucy Frazer. Michelle Donelan, we hardly knew ye.
Seatbelt dodging PM Rishi Sunak also announced this week he was ‘refocusing’ the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). It will henceforth be known as the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (also DCMS), which is what it used to be called for 20 years until 2017.
Former culture secretary turned chat show host Nadine Dorries mourned the loss of her beloved DCMS (2017-2023 version) before announcing that she was leaving politics altogether. In a trailer for her TalkTV show, Dorries said she was driven to resign by fellow Tory MPs who had "drank the Kool-Aid" when they ousted her buddy Boris Johnson as PM.
Not only that, it has still not been confirmed (at time of publication) whether Stuart Andrew will keep the civil society brief, or why he has two first names, but we digress.
As a wise friend once said, it would all be absolutely hilarious if we didn’t have to live through it.
Lonely doggy looks for a home this Valentine’s
Are you feeling the love forced upon you by commercialism this February? For anyone wondering, Diary is not at all bitter about the lack of gifts landing on their doorstep (but a box of chocolates would not go amiss).
Others are feeling rather lonely too as the heart-shaped holiday draws near. Namely, Jack of Hearts – an unlucky in love Jack Russell that has been in the care of Battersea for 200 days. (Diary has some suspicions on whether that is his real name).
Jack is looking for ‘the One’ that can give him a home this Valentine’s Day. Staff believe he has not been adopted yet because, despite his devilishly handsome good looks, he struggles with “formal handling and spending time alone” and is a little anxious.
However, staff are helping him be more confident in these areas so he can, quote, “become the best dog he can be”, which is very #girlboss of him. Or should Diary say #dogboss? A colleague once commented Diary would fare better by saying nothing at all, which was rather rude.
Penguins Rock drama
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has arranged a series of Valentine’s themed events at Edinburgh Zoo.
Visitors in the February half term will be invited to paint pebbles that the zoo's penguins will use to build nests when their breeding season starts in March – and the artists will be in with the chance of naming a chick if their pebble is picked.
Lindsay Ross, events and experiences manager at RZSS, said: “Penguin breeding season is always an exciting time at the zoo, and it will be even more special this year because our visitors will have the chance to be involved by decorating a pebble. Every year when keepers place the nest rings into Penguins Rock, we love to see the penguins dash off to pick out the perfect pebbles to woo their mate.
“The penguins are given a large selection of pebbles to choose from, but the gentoos will often steal the most appealing pebbles from their neighbours, which results in a fair bit of Penguins Rock drama.”
Forget Love Island, a webcam filming all of the penguins pebble drama will have us glued to our screens.
Charity Valentine's...boxing?
In Belfast, comedians are hosting a Valentine’s Day boxing event for charity – because nothing says love like beating the living daylights out of each other. For a romantic touch, they have called it a Valentine's Day Massacre.
The comedians and soon-to-be boxers are asking people to pay £5 to watch the stream, with all funds going to PIPS Belfast, which supports people affected by suicide.
Name a cockroach after your ex
In a slightly strange turn, the Sea Life centre in Bray is looking for names for its cockroaches and is asking for a small donation to the Sea Life Trust from members of the public to choose them.
The centre has suggested people name the creatures after their ex or simply a friend that looks like a cockroach (Diary may have added that last part).
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