Your commercial news round-up: heating, Google, Harry and Megan, Turner prize and strikes

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With Christmas just around the corner, here in the UK the weather seems to be finally catching up with the season! In non-weather-related news, Google has revealed its most searched word of the year, the 2022 Turner prize winner was announced, and viewers got their first look into Harry and Meghan’s new Netflix series. Plus, a mini strike update for the winter.

• Temperatures across the UK have dropped below zero this week. More than three million low-income households cannot afford to heat their homes, according to research, as “dangerously cold” weather arrives. In response, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has urged government officials to increase the basic level of support for those in need. According to their analysis, around 710,000 households will struggle to pay for warm clothing, heating and food, even with a new £25 payment set out by the government.
   
• Google has announced that the most searched word of the year globally is ‘Wordle’ in its annual year in search report. Released in 2021 by Josh Wardle, the simplicity of ‘Wordle’ has amassed a large group of fans. Unsurprisingly, ‘World Cup’ took second place, followed by ‘Queen Elizabeth II’ and ‘Ukraine’. The report also looked at googles searches through several major categories, including celebrities, athletes, sport and more.
   
• Today (December 8, 2022) the much-anticipated documentary series Harry & Meghan has been released. The series comprises a series of interviews with the couple as they explain how they navigated their step back from royal life. The six-part documentary about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is directed by Liz Garbus. Prince Harry introduced the series by saying “[w]e know the full truth” and warned that it deals with "discrimination".
   
• Artist Veronica Ryan wins the 2022 Turner prize for work that includes her tribute to the Windrush generation. The prize itself is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for visual arts awarded to a British artist. Ryan created the first permanent artwork in celebration of those who migrated from Caribbean countries to the UK between 1948 and 1971, labelled the Windrush generation after the ship MV Empire Windrush. At 66, she’s the oldest person to win the prize and already has an OBE to her name. The jury awarded the prize for the “personal and poetic way she extends the language of sculpture”.
   
• December is set to be a month of various strike dates from various public services. With inflation reaching a 41-year high at 11.1%, thousands of employees have voted to strike to gain a “real-term increase” in pay. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has announced strikes between 13 December to 7 January. Individual rail operators’ strike dates differ, so ensure you check individual providers’ websites before you travel. In the healthcare and public services sector, 10,000 ambulance workers are set to strike on the 21 and 28 December, while postal workers are set to strike on December 1, 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and Christmas Eve.

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