Came home after Westminster Hour to ponder how to help Alexandra Park School (APS). Out of the blue, and after they had been told there were no more bills to come, the school has been presented with a bill for over £400,000 for alleged 'variations' in the PFI contract going back up to seven years. Similar bills are with several other Haringey PFI schools. This is on top of an expected increase
...I'm going to take a shot at it. I see Tia MacGregor, one of the pair of new Tory councillors on Oxford City Council has been a media-whoring, trying to get another opportunity in the local rag to justify the unjustifiable. I notice in her latest self-defense New Tory Councillor Defends Her Move (from thisisoxfordshire) she no longer mentions her earlier suggestion that she was seduced by Tory policy on the NHS. read more
And quite possibly Cat of the Year too. Well done, Otto: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom Of The Opera is one of theatreland’s most anticipated events.But, I can reveal, a bizarre mishap means that it is likely to be longer than expected before it reaches the stage. Lloyd Webber, 59, was working on the score at his computerised grand piano when his six-month-old kitten Otto clambered into its frame and managed to delete everything he had written so far.Note too the story about Lembit and Welshpool railway station lower down the page.
Now that I’m on a bit of a theme here, just a quick reminder of the pain, suffering and humiliation already endured for the good people of Somerset in bringing the Tour of Britain to Somerset and in the creation of Bike Somerset, a national first on both counts! Who remembers the joyous day last year when they asked me to cycle over the Blackdown Hills, and dared me to wear the T-Mobile team colours! Then, this weekend, they ‘volunteered’ me to do the Tour of Wessex Ride….. I ...
The South East’s Selection Committee held its first meeting on Saturday afternoon, with Ken Cosslett (Regional Candidates Chair, South Central) elected as Chair and Mike Wheatley as Vice Chair. The other members of the Selection Committee are Prue Bray, Vera Head, Chris Jennings, Season Prater, Jamie Sharpley and Margaret Ticehurst. Mark Valladares, appointed as Returning Officer by [...]
I've decided to revive my blog and frankly, in the light of what I had to put up with from certain elements in the Shepway Liberal Democrats in recent times I am rather sorry that I ever agreed to delete my old one. A core Liberal value is freedom of speech and it is that freedom I intend to exercise. If this bothers anyone they have two choices: put up with it; orsue.Life is simply too short to be forced into silence and there are too many human rights abuses going on in the world, examples of ...
As part of an ongoing programme of getting to know London’s multifareous communities better, this evening I visited the Alevi Cultural Centre in Dalston, along with three executive members of Hackney Liberal Democrats and Islington Turkish Cypriot Councillor, Meral Ece. As well as offering legal and welfare advice to the sizeable Turkish-speaking population in the [...]
It was another local Liberal Democrat campaign day today, and this time I was off to Wood Green and Noel Park. My main allotted patch was Sky City - above Wood Green Shopping City. It is always so weird going up there as you suddenly find yourself up and away in a city in the sky, with paved external walks just like a normal estate - but you are on top of the shops. Anyway - very successful -
Graham Brady, the MP who took the principled and dignified decision to quit the Tory front bench over his disagreement with "Dave" over the grammar schools issue has spoken again on the subject, referring to the Conservative Party's policy on the subject as "absurd". What has got to be a worry to Dave, is that people like Mr Brady, who now feels free to speak, will give courage to those in the Tory party who share his views and it will add to the negative publicity the Tories are receiving. Certainly, the is not the Tories Clause Four ...
Crack of dawn it was off to Highgate Village to get ALL the Sunday papers ahead of my first paper review on Sky with Adam Boulton and John Kampfner (New Statesman). I wanted the papers in good time to have a decent look through them. The main story I raised was the appalling tale from The Observer about how the Government is trying to hide the true cost of identity cards. Now, nice Gordon has
Dani was in ‘nest building overdrive’ today so I escaped to the garden to get away from the decorating. I was distracted by this which looked rather splendid. If only I could work out how to work the focus on the camera you would be able to see the bee in the foreground rather than [...]
In an attempt to catch up with the threads of debate on the blogs I happened upon Jeremy Hargreaves piece on getting into fisticuffs with Ming at conference. As you might imagine I couldn’t quite let that go without comment. I am still, it has to be said, learning the ropes on FPC – however, I think I have attended enough meetings now to begin to get a handle on things. Firstly, I know of members of the said committee who despair as they see it as nothing more than a rubberstamp for the Shadow Cabinet. Secondly, there is ...
Yes, I know I am an old softie, but Heartbeat and a new Midsomer all in one evening! To borrow a phrase from Stephen Fry, it will be like "swimming in chocolate".
Apologies in advance for the lack of links in this post, but I am enjoying the novelty of a Centerparcs coin-operated computer, the keys of which require forty-two pounds of pressure to work. There was I thinking they would be all wi-fied-up. The Sunday Telegraph reports an ICM poll which shows David Cameron as weak in comparison to Gordon Brown [33% v 53%], and less competant as a leader [29% v
Spare a thought for Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, a good man whose only failing was to misjudge a vital U-turn. Sir George was the admiral of the British Mediterranean Fleet in the 1890s, as famous for his innovative tactics and communications as he was for his brash and abrasive style. He met with an unfortunate end. His two lines of battleships were steaming off the coast of Lebanon when he ordered them to turn 180 degrees. Sadly, Tryon ordered the ships to turn too quickly, and his flagship HMS Victoria was rammed amidships by another ship trying to ...
Norwalk is up the Connecticut coast north of New York and the members of Kingston Choral Society are all up here staying with members of Fairfield County Chorale. Last night we staged a joint concert in the local Town Hall. It was just wonderful singing with so many voices and both choirs really enjoyed the experience. Fairfield's Music Director, Johannes Somary, conducted us in a...
The Liberals have lead a successful campaign in Bulgaria's first European elections, where more than 200 candidates were campaigning for the 18 MEP positions available. Despite a rather disappointing turnout of around 30%, ELDR member parties, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and the National Movement of Simeon II (NMSII) earned a total of 5 seats in the European Parliament.
Taking Liberties is a film out on limited release this Friday (8th June), a exploration of New Labour's attacks on civil liberties in the name of security - see it at your local cinema if you can! If you can't, they also have published a tie-in book which expands on the film. See also: BBC News on Taking Liberties
Despite the 1st XV's not unexpected hammering by the Springboks, yesterday was actually not such a bad day for England rugby. First, lets not forget that England led at half time yesterday and were in touch in both tests well into the second half. Take away the effects of altitude and the widely reported virus that rampaged through the touring party, neither of which will be a factor in France
I blogged a little while ago about crocs, having seen them on the Ward Walkers stand at RCN Congress. My brother-in-law's parents have just got back from America, where they bought little Tamsin a little pair of her own. I don't think they were inspired to get them by reading my blog though. Tamsin and my sister are both asleep at the moment, and Chris is out shopping. Which has given me a bit of time to do some council work - now onto some work for my job. What an exciting Sunday, eh? 
My Rees-Mogg monitoring continues. For those who need reminding, Jacob Rees-Mogg is the Conservative candidate for the newly created seat of North East Somerset. His sister Annunziata, a potted plant, is candidate for the neighbouring constituency of Somerton and Frome. Jacob’s popularity is souring to new heights, and he now has a Facebook group dedicated to electing him electing him. I’m not sure. The Labour incumbent, Dan Norris MP, seems to have quite dubious judgment and apparently enjoys being physically assaulted by his constituents - but should a man this ludicrous really be allowed to brush his own teeth, let ...
If it were not for the fact that I do not control our armed forces and such an exercise would only end in tears due to superior numerical opposition, I would have declared war on China yesterday. The ...
My two connections with Ditchley Park amount to having had to liaise with the estate in a former life about whether the Christ Church Beagles could roam over their land and "starring" as an extra in the Peter Cook version of Black Beauty, some of whose outdoor scenes were filmed in front of the house itself. And yes, the great man did cadge a cigarette off me - but I don't think I actually made it into any scenes! But I have never been invited along, as Jonathan Fryer has, for a high powered Ditchley Foundation event ...
Boris Johnson has admitted trying cocaine at University, though like Bill Clinton, in improbably claims not to have inhaled. Of course, in his university days he was a contemporary of David Cameron, both were members of the Bullindon set, not unknown for trashing restaurants and taking intoxicating substances in large doses (future leaders of the country, don't you know ?). So when are the stories going to come out about Dave. Are the rumours that Labour have something on Cameron which they are saving for the General Election true ?
I guess this is one of my favourite political slogans ever. I would not normally promote a campaign by a Tory candidate but this one by Mr Forse who is standing for a seat on New Forest District Council is certainly causing a stir Apparently this is a delayed poll from the May elections caused by the death of one of the candidates. The strap line across the bottom of his leaflets as shown in the picture above (VOTE FORSE X) has and probably will continue to be misinterpreted! Full story here on Sky News.
Another week of LDV’s Golden Dozen, and another weekend in which Stephen Tall is globe-trotting to exotic locales for a well-earned rest. Which means me standing in for this fifteenth edition of the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (27th May - 2nd June), together with five of note you might [...]
Thursday last week was the Graduation Dinner for our students at Edge Hill. I have been teaching first years and second years this year, so none of mine were graduating. But it was great to see the students from the other courses - journalism, advertising etc - celebrate their success. And next year I'll be there to celebrate with some of the students I've taught.
That's the topic of my latest newspaper column - for Asian Voice this time: When I conduct my surgeries (where people come to meet me to raise issues), I have one of my assistants with me to take notes. It so happens this is usually a man.More often than not, when an older Muslim gentleman comes to see me, he will address his remarks to my male assistant.And no matter how many times I say to him
Well, well - Gordon’s claim to have left his control freakery behind and to now be a shining example of openness, accountability and honesty in politics hasn’t lasted very long. Put to the test on IDs cards, he’s decided keeping the costs secret is best after all. There had been freedom of information requests from both [...]
Reports in today's papers indicate that Gordon Brown's brave new world is not actually going to be that new after all. Firstly, the Observer tells us that hardline anti-terror laws are to be proposed by Gordon Brown - including an extension of the 28-day limit on detention without charge. This is the Chancellor's way of saying that he is going to be even more forceful than Tony Blair. It is also a signal that he is going to take on his party's left wing head on, particularly deputy leadership candidate, Peter Hain, who has described such measures as 'macho ... 
Tuesday: It cannot have escaped your notice that Mr Balloon seems to have accidentally hit the "RESTORE FACTORY SETTINGS" button on the Conservatory Party. They're crazy, they're unlikeable, they're split worse than the Beatles after Yoko and they're parking in disabled parking places like they think they own the country again. It is just like old times. What is REALLY crackers about all this is the issue that they have chosen to go into MELTDOWN over. Whether or not there should be more selection-by-brainpower Grandma Schools. Hello! None of you GO to state Grandma Schools! ...
Oh dear. The Sunday Telegraph has done a survey of 50 Conservative council leaders, and found that 41 of them are unhappy with David Cameron’s grammar school policy and the way it was presented. By comparison, his MPs are dancing in the streets with joy - only 50% of them told the Sunday Telegraph that [...]
A new poll has been printed in the Sunday Telegraph and aside from the headline figures, it raises some questions for the Tories and David Cameron. Firstly, lots of Tories will now jump in and attack me stating the poll still has the Tories well ahead of Labour (5% ahead- 37% to 32%). But the poll also asks important questions about leadership abilities and in this area Gordon Brown scores higher than Cameron, and that has to be a worry to the Tories. .Tory Strategy Not Working For many months the Tories have been running a strategy of trying to ...
Hat tip to Things and Stuff for pointing me the way of "The Weird converter", which can convert your weight in to any number of other things. I also weigh, for the record, just under 20% of the weight of a whale's testicle. Now that's a fact you could probably have lived without knowing. Try it out and see what the weirdest thing is that you can come up with.
Jock writes extensively about Open Capital at The 1909 Group blog, and how we could bring private investment into public assets without losing the public assets for one minute. A non-toxic alternative to PFI and privatisation, creating a return for investors without handing them control.
I’ve been spending this weekend at Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, at a conference on the future impact of the Internet. Ditchley works under ‘Chatham House rules’ — i.e. you don’t say who said what, or where, but you can transmit the gist. Accordingly, I shan’t say who my fellow participants are, nor what they have said, [...]
The Independent highlights the political row over the slight (very slight) rise in schools failing Ofsted inspections, with Sarah Teacher claiming it is a sign of children being failed. As a teacher I disagree with her summary of the situation. The reason slightly more schools are failing Ofsted inspections is because the way schools are inspected is now much fairer, much more transparent far less planned. When I was at a school inspected 6 years ago we had 12 weeks notice. As a result the curriculum was planned and altered to show the very best of what the ... | < | June 2007 | > | ||||
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