The Joy of Six 1023

"We are in a dystopian present, where a few private equity backed providers own an outsized share of non-LA [local authority] children’s homes and foster care capacity. They have not done this by developing and nurturing provision or risking their own money. Instead they borrow money, often from each other, at high rates of interest to buy multiple children’s homes and private independent fostering agencies. They assign the debt they have taken on to the company they have bought – leveraged debt, as it is called - then charge the cost of this debt’s interest to the LAs through their fees." Andy Elvin exposes the scandal of the residential children's care market.

David Letts, who runs a small domestic lighting shop in Market Harborough, writes about the impact of Brexit on his business: "Generally, costs have risen about 20 per cent. Some products are now as much as 40 per cent more expensive. No EU traders are fully certain what the extra charges are or will be. So they make it up and just hope to be on the right side when the customs bill arrives."

Jathan Sadowski is a Luddite and wants you to be one too. "The Luddites wanted technology to be deployed in ways that made work more humane and gave workers more autonomy. The bosses, on the other hand, wanted to drive down costs and increase productivity."

"I wonder whether we are doing a bit of disservice to our children by trying to organise a lot (too much?) for them." Michael Siewniak asks an important question.

"Some sections of the 'All You Need is Love' generation moved beyond Flower Power – a cultural revolution and notions of personal liberation - towards the pursuit of an international political revolution." Dave Haslam looks back at the Angry Brigade, Britain's forgotten urban terrorists .

"Conceived as a prequel to the oft-filmed classic ghost story by Henry James, The Turn of the Screw, it tells the story of what went on at Bly House when the sinister ghostly couple, Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, were still alive." Jane Nightshade on The Nightcomers (1971), which was directed by Michael Winner and starred Marlon Brando.