Sports television, which started out in the 1950s as a crude but meaningful alternative to going to a game, was surely no adequate substitute for the die-hard football fan who wanted to be in the stadium.

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At the time it held a public consultation about the plans to develop this alternative facility to produce about 110, 000 tonnes of dried waste a year as a coal substitute.

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Echoing the concerns, Prof Allyson Pollock, director of the Centre for International Public Health Policy, said alternative providers, such as NHS 24, community pharmacists and ambulance personnel, were not a substitute for doctors providing traditional GP care.

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