Each week, Ben Hopkinson looks back at a serious, crazy, and happy news story from the past week.
Serious News
Wednesday saw the long-awaited Grenfell inquiry following the devastating fire that took the lives of 72 people in 2017.
The report claimed that the disaster was the result of cladding by “dishonest” companies, successive government failures and a “lack of” leadership and strategy at the London Fire Brigade.
All the deaths were avoidable, as a group representing the bereaved and survivors are shown that they were “failed by calculated greed”.
However, there is still a way to go on the investigation – final decisions on potential criminal charges will not be made until 2026, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Crazy News
After a postcard was finally delivered 121 years after it was posted, a woman has met her long-lost family members for the first time.
Arriving at Swansea last month, Helen Roberts has stayed local to the area – being close to her grandfather's childhood home.
Her grandfather was brother to the sender, Ewart, and the recipient, Lydia.
Helen was tracing her family tree online when she received a message after the postcard appeal was shared.
The message on the postcard read: “Dear L. I could not, it was not possible to get the pair of these. I am so sorry, but I hope you are enjoying yourself at home. I have got now about 10/- [shillings] as pocket money not including the train fare so I am doing alright. Remember me to Miss Gilbert and John. With love to all from Ewart”.
A few weeks ago, Helen and her sister Margaret met with Ewart's grandson, Nick, and Lydia's great-granddaughter, Faith.
Speaking of the reunion, Helen said: “It was great on Wednesday, meeting two members of my extended family who I'd never heard of before, let alone met. This has enabled me to close a few loose ends and find out more about my grandfather's siblings.”
Happy News
Lego is paying out of its own pocket to increase the amount of recycled plastic to 50% within the next two years.
The effort is estimated to increase the cost of the Danish firm's production by around 70%, as the CEO stated its bottom line will bear the burden as it hopes that continued investment will allow other companies to follow suit.
There is an eight year strategy in place that amounts to more than $350million to replace up to half of the fossil fuels with a sustainable resin from used cooking oil and recycled plastic.
Lego kits are not cheap as it is, and this will increase the cost up to threefold, but passing these costs onto the consumer is not an option – so CEO Christiansen and the board have decided to take it from the company's revenue instead.
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