Tom Hanks is generally recognised as the nicest man in Hollywood, if not the entire planet. Now he’s starring in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, playing another public figure whose reputation is just as sterling – Fred Rogers, the late host of the award-winning and immensely popular children’s TV series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Hanks’s winning performance (nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actor award) as the beloved TV host has earned rave reviews and is likely to earn him a sixth Oscar nomination and possibly his third trophy. Assessing his screen alter ego, Hanks believes that kindness was the hallmark of Rogers and his legacy.
    
‘He had the three secrets to happiness,’ said Hanks. ‘Be kind, be kind and be kind. I think “kindness” becomes a buzz word. It ends up being diminished by the fact of what it means. But honestly, if you give everybody a fair shake, if you understand that the person that is serving you or filling up your gas might have had just ...

Paul Trembling writes crime novels – and has an unusual advantage in doing so: he knows what happens when a body is discovered. He is a CSI – (Crime Scene Investigator) – formerly known as SOCOs. He is the one with the camera, picking up the tiny bits of evidence, armed with gloves.

How did you get into that? Were you a police officer already?

There was a time when most SOCO’s (Scenes of Crime Officers) were ex-police officers, or ex-Forces. Often, they’d been photographers in the RAF or Navy. But I found a different route in. I was already working for the police as an Admin Assistant when they opened up a few posts to internal transfers. These were for Assistant SOCOs, with the limited remit of examining vehicles only – they didn’t have enough fully trained SOCOs to deal with all the low-level vehicle crime which was taking place then, so they created this post specifically to deal with it. I ended up staying in the job for fifteen years and eventually worked my way up to full S...

‘Are you up for this?’ I hesitated. ‘This’ was civil disobedience as part of the imminent Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests in London. OK, it was non-violent civil disobedience, but it could still get me arrested, a fine and maybe a criminal record. Having spent most of my 60-plus years being a law-abiding citizen, believing in the power of rational argument rather than loud protest, this was definitely outside my comfort zone. To say ‘Yes’ would alter my identity, both in my own eyes and in the eyes of my family...

Professionally, I had always been involved with the environment in one form or another.  Following my Physics degree, I had gone on to gain a PhD in Environmental Science. In 1991 I joined the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to help coordinate the teams of scientists who drafted the various chapters of the second IPCC report, eventually published in 1996. This was a dream job for me, matching my personal conviction that the environment is supremely...

Guohua Zhou of China stands at the start of her run up, composes herself, and sets off at full speed down the runway before taking off and jumping into the sand, landing nearly five metres away. Oh, there is one small detail that I forgot to mention. Zhou is totally blind. Imagine the courage it must take to launch yourself without being able to see where you’re going – talk about a leap in the dark! Someone lines her up and tells her when it is safe to go. A coach or assistant typically stands behind the sandpit shouting so that she can direct herself towards the sound. That helps. But it still requires courage to execute. It can go badly wrong. I once saw a blind long jumper lose the direction, veer to the side and literally take out the no-jump judge as he sat on his chair!

Zhou won the F12 long jump with a leap of 4.92m at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. These took place last year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with more than 1400 athletes from about 120 nations inv...

Colin Thackery is the 89 year old Chelsea Pensioner who won the nation’s hearts when he sang on Britain’s Got Talent. But he wasn’t just a novelty act – Colin won the show, taking home £250,000. While this might seem an unlikely feat for a grandfather who’s survived two heart attacks, it might be said that Colin’s entire life has led to that performance.

As a member of the Royal Artillery band, Colin performed all over the world, from Malta to Malaysia and Hong Kong to Korea. He sang on the USA forces radio network and, as a support act, he shared a stage with stars such as Danny Kaye, and Dixon of Dock Green actor Jack Warner OBE, who were brought in to entertain the troops.

Since leaving the army, Colin has sung with his local opera group, and in the dementia ward at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where he’s lived since the loss of his wife Joan. His autobiography, My Story: How Love Changed Everything is dedicated to Joan, whose picture he talks to every night. Sorted caught up w...

Dave Jones is a butcher from Barnsley whose community spirit is inspiring the nation. He offers help to those experiencing financial hardship, whether they need cooking equipment, food parcels, or a suit to wear to an interview. The assistance Dave can give personally is limited to his Yorkshire village – but his social media posts are retweeted thousands of times, motivating people across the UK to do good deeds in their local community.

Shying away from the limelight, Dave didn’t want to be pictured, but he did give us an insight into how we can all #BeMoreDave. Meet the man behind the tweets...

A few weeks ago, you posted a tweet offering to buy a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and a month’s electricity for a family who needed help. What was the outcome?

We helped three families. One had been moved to a safe house following a marriage breakdown: they were starting out from nothing. One woman had been evicted after her husband passed away, and the other one had hit rock bott...