Embed from Getty ImagesI watched the 1945 Ealing period drama Pink String and Sealing Wax the other day. In it, the always-wonderful Googie Withers entangles a young Gordon Jackson in her wiles, only to be defeated by his father Mervyn Johns. It's a striking film in that the major characters are all unsympathetic, and an unusual one for Ealing in that the Jackson and his siblings' dreams of escape to a better life come to something. Usually at Ealing such escapes were strictly temporary, whether they were Alec Guinness's technological breakthrough in The Man in the White Suit or the ...
Sat 6th
16:42
Like Mr Bumble, one master of Brixworth Workhouse ended as an inmate of his own establishment
Replying to a comment on my post on Brixworth, I referred a the writer to a page on Brixworth Workhouse. Having done a little more research on the place, I have found a story with strong Dickensian echoes. In the final chapter of Oliver Twist, Dickens tells us what becomes of his characters in later life. Charley Bates, for instance, seeing what has befallen his criminal associates, resolves to mend his ways and, after toiling as a farmer's drudge and a carrier's lad, finds himself "the merriest young grazier in all Northamptonshire". Others are not so lucky: Mr. and Mrs. ...
MAGA is waking up to the fact that it has been conned. Almost everyone else knew years ago that Donal J. Tump is a con artist whose talent lies in feeding prejudices with lies that people want to believe. But in America—as in most countries—there is a socially conservative and fiscally liberal base of voters who are frightened of change while anxious about their bank balances. The Democrats and old school Republicans had failed them. Trump convinced them that he had the answer with his "Make America Great Again" campaign. Proof of the MAGA's disillusionment came this week in the ...
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 20% (+2) 14% (-1) 11% (-1) 18% (+1) 31% (nc) -17% (4th, vs Ref) 3/12 GB ...
Sat 6th
08:27
Professor Thomas Seyfried and the question as to whether cancer is primarily nucDNA or mtDNA
Professor Thomas Seyfried and the Question: Is Cancer Primarily Nuclear DNA or Mitochondrial DNA? Professor Thomas Seyfried argues that cancer is mainly mitochondrial rather than purely nuclear/genetic. Below are the key experiments supporting the view that cytoplasmic/mitochondrial factors, rather than nuclear mutations alone, drive the malignant phenotype. Nuclear Transfer Experiments (Cancer
Dundee Libraries' At Home Library Service is designed for people living in Dundee in their own home, sheltered housing or care home. If you or someone you care for is convalescing, have difficulty getting out independently, or would simply benefit from getting library resources delivered to your door please contact the service - find contact details using the link at www.leisureandculturedundee.com/library/athome Resources include ordinary and large print books, talking books and large piece jigsaws. Library staff will call you initially to discuss your interests and let you know when your first delivery will be.
Swansea's Brangwyn Hall is a major venue in the city, but it is mostly known for the artwork that adorns its walls. The Brangwyn Panels (also known as the British Empire Panels), comprising 16 monumental paintings, are popularly considered Sir Frank Brnagwyn's most significant achievement. They were initially commissioned for the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords and were hotly pursued by both Cardiff and Swansea. As the Glyn Vivian website records the ensuing battle ended with Swansea winning the bid: The building of the new Guildhall was underway and the city council proposed raising the Assembly Hall ceiling ...
It was a sad day today for Gateshead Liberal Democrats. Our former chair and treasurer, Andy Coleman, passed away suddenly in November, aged only 48. His funeral was today. Andy had been a key activist over the past few years. He did not want to be a councillor but the focus of his activities was within the party itself. Rather than be a candidate, he did the job of election agent. He was
Yesterday's council by-elections were a mixed crop. Lib Dems had a gain, a loss and 2 holds. The overall picture is unchanged from last week - Labour and the Conservatives are doing appallingly badly, the momentum is still behind Reform, the Greens barely registered (but they inadvertently helped Reform win in one contest) and the Lib Dems, as previously, had a mixed night. So here are the
Gunthorpe Bridge on the A6097 is the only road crossing of the River Trent between Nottingham and Newark. Built in 1927, it replaced an earlier toll bridge that opened to traffic in 1875. In this video, Trekking Exploration- subscribe and like, my pretties - goes in search of the toll house and of the bridge's abutments on either side of the river.
The mark of a stupid person is not their inability to understand things. It is their thinking they understand something that much smarter people do not. Which means I myself must be extremely stupid, because I think I understand, roughly, what causes inflation and yet Lord Mervyn King implies he does not, or at least the central bankers of the world don't. King is so much brighter and more accomplished than I am in this field of study that there is not a metric to capture it. Moreover, Gillian Tett, a quite terrifyingly accomplished FT writer who has been on ...
This week, there were six local by-elections, of which three were Liberal Democrat defences. In Watford, we secured a decisive win and defended this borough council seat. Congratulations are due to Councillor Callum Robinson and the local team for winning in Watford. Watford Borough Council, Tudor Liberal Democrats (Callum Robertson): 821 (52.6%, +4.3) Reform UK: 433 (27.2%, +17.8 ) Conservative: 148 (9.3%, -10.5) Labour: 111 (7.0%, -16.4) Green Party: 77 (4.8%, new) Liberal Democrats HOLD In East Devon, we were able to ensure this seat remained Liberal Democrat, with a solid win over Reform UK. Congratulations are also due to ...
"Whether it is the private contractors paid enormous sums of public money to bring prisoners to court failing to bring prisoners to court, or technology procured at vast public expense simply not working, or entire court buildings being shut down because the roof is falling in, the Crown Courts every single day endure absurd, entirely-fixable inefficiencies which contribute significantly to the backlog of work."The Secret Barrister explains that abolishing most jury trials will not touch the main causes of delay in the legal system. Paul Bernal argues that banning children from social media is a very bad idea: "For the ...
All the debate in the press on the "right" to a jury trial in England (and Wales?) has been interesting from a Scottish perspective. In Scotland, the vast majority of criminal cases are tried in the local Sheriff Court and an accused has no right to a jury trial in the Sheriff Court. Rather, it is the prosecutor and not the accused who decides whether there will be trial before a jury. To explain.... In Scotland, the there are three levels of first instance criminal courts: The Justice of the Peace Courts (minor matters with very limited sentencing powers). The ...
The principal authority council by-elections this week started off with a rare Tuesday contest: Long Eaton North (Derbyshire) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: ➡] RFM: 28.1% (-7.7) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 27.2% (+4.2) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 21.8% (-2.7) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 11.8% (+4.5) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 5.8% (-3.6) [IMG: 🏘] DCP: 5.3% (New)Reform HOLD.Changes w/ 2025. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-12-02T23:57:31.335Z Congratulations to new councillor Fran McElhone. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here. These by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections as it's ...
Saturday 6th December From 10am - Land O'Spex Christmas Family Workshops at Gallery 48, West Port - Festive crafts with Cara Findlay and Sooz Gordon. Your workshop hosts will guide you in creating seasonal mark making and paper-based crafts. Easy activities for all the family to enjoy. Booking is essential - please visit https://landospex.com to get your free tickets (limit to 4 per person). Choose from one of three sessions - 10am to 10.45am/11am to 11.45am/12noon to 12.45pm. 10am to 12 noon - Harris Academy Christmas Fayre - including stalls - all welcome! 10am to 12 noon - Festive Crafts ...
There is a pattern developing here. The Guardian reports that UK Labour Ministers are seeking to ramp up police use of facial recognition to fight crime and are asking people how it should be used to form new laws. They are proposing a 10-week consultation that will ask for views on how the technology should be regulated and how to protect people's privacy, as well as creating a regulator to oversee police use of facial recognition, biometrics and other tools: Policing minister Sarah Jones described facial recognition as the "biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching" saying that it ...