LibDem Blogs - Archived!

There are now less than two weeks to go.The BBC regularly use a billboard by my nearest train station to promote new shows, most recently Casanova. On the way out of the station today, I was chuffed to see this:The Beeb have also started running a new teaser trailer, with the TARDIS dematerialising in a tunnel full of flame. It's not on the BBC Doctor Who website yet but I guess it'll be up next week.It occurs to me that fans can't really refer to Hartnell as Billy any more lest hilarious misunderstandings arise. Especially when referring to Billy's goat ...

We would be very greatfull for any comments in relation to the poor piece of literature the Salisbury Liberal Democrat, public knowledge bureau let out earlier this week. It is unfortunate that the party has spent £1,000 of it's campaign allowance on this produce, as the 'tabloid' is more likely to be counter-productive, then a help to local Knowledge. The piece seems to set out to overwhealm the general reader with waves of sympathy for our efforts, rather than telling the people that the Liberal Democrats are going to seriously challenge the Conservatives and take the Salisbury seat in May. ...

One of the key aspects of the most recent "Prevention of Terrorism" Bill that makes me feel that it is more about the government wishing to play to the crowd rather than actually act to reduce the threat of terrorism is its name. It it had been called the "Control Orders" Bill or the "Reasonable Suspicion" Bill then opposing it could not have been skewed into a misrepresentation. The typical

One of the signs of my increasing age is that I often turn first to the obituaries when I open a newspaper. (And, as the old joke goes, if I am not in them I get up.) There is a good obituary of Dave Allen in today's Guardian, which reveals that his father (who died when Allen was 12) was a friend and drinking partner of Brian O'Nolan - better known as Flann O'Brien or Myles na Copaleen. There

Acording to a new report today everyone will be paying inheritance tax by the year 2105. This of course is based on the judgement that the average house price will rise to £1,000,000 whilst the inheritance tax threshold will stay the same.OK the later is unlikely to happen but this is exactly what the HBOS scare story today is claiming about the next 10 years.

The interesting bitAnyway, that summarised I can get on with discussing Rome which was significantly more interesting than either Frascati or (to the lay reader, at least) the intricate details of a conference on an ESA earth monitoring satellite that hasn't been launched yet ... or even me oohing and ahhiing over Hollywood interpretations of clothing worn during the 15th and 16th centuries by ladies of 'the night' in Italian cities.It is recommended in various guides that you don't try to cover all of Rome in a day and, well, TBH I'd agree. It's just in my case I'm used ...

Carry on Caesar is close enough, sadly I can't spell "Et toi Brutai" and my functioning Italian is limited pretty much to the crucial "Un Biglietti alle e ritorno a stazionale termini, per favore" (One return ticket to central station, please).I returned yesterday evening from a week in Rome. Or rather, about 1 1/2 days in Rome and the rest of the time in an industrial estate on the edge of a small town called Frascati, about 20 minutes out from Rome on the train. The boring bitI was, of course, at the aforementioned CryoSat conference at the European Space ...

The consensus seems to be that Labour blinked first by backing down on the anti-terror bill last night, offering a sunset clause in all but name. For Wales, this means that today's Conference will be very much business as usual, with MPs being available to attend. I can now concentrate on speaking against top-up and tuition fees instead of substituting for Simon Hughes on a photocall. More later.