Sally Adams obituary
My mother, Sally Adams, who has died aged 73, worked for many years at Papworth hospital in Cambridge, where she was a sister in the intensive therapy unit and was one of the nurses who cared for Keith Castle, the UK’s first successful heart transplant patient, in 1979.She worked at Papworth from 1975 to 1990 (except for a two-year spell at Treliske hospital in Truro in 1986-88).Then she switched to bereavement counselling until her retirement in 2019.Sally was born in Royston, Hertfordshire, to Betty (nee Pigg), a dinner lady, and Alan Whitmore, a lorry driver.Sally attended the local Meridian school, where she decided early on that she had to be a nurse.
After completing her training at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge in 1973, she became a district nurse,She joined Papworth two years later, was promoted to be a sister in the ITU within a year, and spent much of the rest of her time at Papworth looking after transplant patients,When Castle’s pioneering heart operation, carried out by Terence English, attracted interest around the world, she had to deal with reporters climbing the trees outside the ward, trying to get a glimpse inside,She also set up Papworth’s first care of patients at end-of-life group with a colleague, Sylvia Reid,In 1991 Sally was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and as a consequence decided to retrain as a bereavement counsellor, a job that would be less physically demanding.
Thereafter she worked at St Julia’s Hospice, Hayle, in Cornwall, where she pioneered a bereavement service for grieving relatives and set up the Rainbow Room, a space for families filled with books, sofas and a PlayStation.While working at St Julia’s she studied for a degree in counselling at Exeter University, which she completed in 2007.Two marriages – to Tony Hall (1971-74), and Richard Bloss (1975-88) – ended in divorce.Sally was married to her third husband, Ian Adams, from 1990 until his death in 2023.She met Ian in 1989 at a Christian retreat centre, where, after overhearing him loudly holding forth on how to bring up children, she walked over to inform him that he was “talking a load of crap”.
They were brilliant verbal sparring partners and had a relationship that was full of happiness.She is survived by her three children – Simon, from her first marriage, and Marc and me from her second – by Ian’s son, Alex, and by five grandchildren.
Qantas attack reveals one phone call is all it takes to crack cybersecurity’s weakest link: humans
All it can take is a phone call. That’s what Qantas learned this week when the personal information of up to 6 million customers was stolen by cybercriminals after attackers targeted an offshore IT call centre, enabling them to access a third-party system.It is the latest in a series of cyber-attacks on large companies in Australia involving the personal information of millions of Australians, after the attack on Optus, Medibank and, most recently, Australia’s $4t superannuation sector.The Qantas attack came just days after US authorities warned the airline sector had been targeted by a group known as Scattered Spider, using social engineering techniques, including impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access, and bypassing multi-factor authentication.While companies may spend millions keeping their systems secure and software up-to-date to plug known vulnerabilities, hackers can turn to this form of attack to target, often, the weakest link – humans
Buy now, pay later loans will now affect US credit scores – what does that mean for consumers?
A new change to buy now, pay later loans means borrowers’ credit scores may see a change, which has worried some users of the loans.“I have a feeling that I’m just not going to have as much access to spending power and zero or really low APR rates,” said Nicole Nitta, a 31-year-old Las Vegas resident, who uses BNPL and shared that she already does not have great credit.Fico, the credit scoring company used by most US lenders, announced on 23 June that they would include BNPL loans, which play “an increasingly important role in consumers’ financial lives”, to help lenders more “accurately evaluate credit readiness”.For users of companies like Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna, the new calculation could benefit them because it allows them to build their credit – if, of course, they pay back the loans on time, experts say.Nitta first used BNPL for essentials in 2021, like non-perishable food items
Elon Musk’s ‘America’ party could focus on a few pivotal congressional seats
The new US political party that Elon Musk has boasted about bankrolling could initially focus on a handful of attainable House and Senate seats while striving to be the decisive vote on major issues amid the thin margins in Congress.Tesla and SpaceX’s multibillionaire CEO mused about that approach on Friday in a post on X, the social media platform he owns, as he continued feuding with Donald Trump over the spending bill that the president has signed into law. On Saturday, without immediately elaborating, the former Trump adviser announced on X that he had created the so-called America party.“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” wrote Musk, who is the world’s richest person and oversaw brutal cuts to the federal government after Trump’s second presidency began in January. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring they serve the true will of the people
Minister demands overhaul of UK’s leading AI institute
The technology secretary has demanded an overhaul of the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute in a wide-ranging letter that calls for a switch in focus to defence and national security, as well as leadership changes.Peter Kyle said it was clear further action was needed to ensure the government-backed Alan Turing Institute met its full potential.In a letter to ATI’s chair, seen by the Guardian, Kyle said the institute should be changed to prioritise defence, national security and “sovereign capabilities” – a reference to nation states being able to control their own AI technology.The call for new priorities implies a downgrading of ATI’s focus on health and the environment, which are two of three core subjects for the institute, alongside defence and security, under its “Turing 2.0” strategy
Australia 21-18 Fiji: international rugby union Test – as it happened
But for now, I’ll leave you with Angus Fontaine’s match report from Newcastle. Thanks for joining me today, enjoy the Lions in a couple of weeks.All eyes now on the Lions. The tourists have a midweek clash against the ACT Brumbies, then they’re up against the Invitational XV on Saturday. After that we have a week’s lead-in to the opening Test
Wallabies score late to snatch win against surging Fiji as Lions await
The Wallabies have got their 2025 season off to a victorious start and struck a crucial blow in the quest to win the 2027 World Cup at home with a tense 21-18 triumph over Fiji in Newcastle.The 79th minute shading of their fierce south Pacific rivals ignites Australia’s hopes ahead of the first Test against the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane on 19 July.The result was only decided by a late try by captain Harry Wilson but buries the demons left by the Flying Fijians’ cataclysmic defeat of Australia at the 2023 World Cup. It also sends a warning shot to the world that Joe Schmidt’s rebuilding side are again a force to be reckoned with.Dave Porecki, who was captain in that 19-23 defeat at Saint-Étienne, started the exorcism
Sally Adams obituary
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