Where did the makers of Dr Who get the inspiration for Prime Minister Saxon (aka the Master) from? Any living person spring to mind? And what a stroke of genius to bring back the Master and Captain Jack at the same time in last week's episode. I'm in Dr Who heaven!
I have a habit these days of taking classic novels on holiday, starting them and then abandoning them in favour of lighter works picked up in a secondhand bookshops. This time I took Howard's End by E. M. Forster with me, though of course I read David Boyle's Leaves the World to Darkness on the journey to Norfolk. Then I picked up a collection of Auberon Waugh's Way of the World pieces from the Daily Telegraph. They are too gamy to be read in such bulk, but I did like Waugh's observations after the death of Robert Maxwell: ...
Today I was in Birmingham for the Liberal Democrat Local Government Conference. It was a very successful event with a packed agenda. Another reminder that whatever shenanigans are going on in Westminster and despite the vagaries of the national polls the Lib Dems local government base is in a robust state and means serious business. Highlights for me where the too brief conversations with
Save the Children published a report this week about our failure to get education to all children around the world. As their news release said: Save the Children's animated report reveals that at least 30 million children, most living in conflict affected countries, are still likely to be out of school by 2015, the target year for the Millennium Development Goals. The Story of the Future, the first ever animated report of its kind published today, shows that the current trend of providing education for just over 4 million extra children per year is not enough to reach the 2015 ...
Bizarre as it may seem, an anniversary edition of the classic board game Monopoly might be made available to mark the end of Tony Blair's leadership. Each of the cards, properties and events are to be beased on real events from the last ten years. An interesting take on one of the chance cards can be seen above. Click HERE to see what it relates to. Can anyone else suggest what the other Chance and Community Chest cards might be changed to ? {Posted by Picasa} 
Many thanks to everyone who has taken part in my online survey into the future of Parkland Walk. You can read about the survey results so far on my website.
Iain Dale reveals that an Observer poll tomorrow will show Labour up to 39%, Conservatives down to 36 % and LibDems down to 15%. I suppose it was inevitable that the "New Broon" effect would put Labour ahead eventually, especially after the Tories Grammarsgate debacle. It will be interesting to find out when the interviews for this poll were conducted, especially in relation to the "
I have just been watching the first part "The Rise and Fall of Tony Blair" on Channel 4. It was a remarkably clear summary of Tony Blair's period in office up to 2004. There was an exceptionally qualified cast of interviewees including Condeleeza Rice, Andrew Card, Stephen Wall, Sir David Manning etc as well Labour figures including Jack Straw, Neil Kinnock and David Blunkett. There was also '
We have had one of these newfangled toasters for some time. It has an electronic guide as to the intensity of toasting. Normally we use between 3 and 5. 5 gives a quite uniform level of toasting. 7, however, sets the bread on fire. We found this out this morning when a guest decided to toast some bread at level 7. The kitchen rapidly filled with smoke (although the newly rebatteried smoke
I have just returned from Birmingham, where I put in a flying appearance at the Lib Dem Local Government Conference at the ICC. Cllrs D'Albert, Andrew Garner and Pickstone were there from the Bury contingent, as well as me, although they were all there for the whole day whereas I turned up specifically for one hour session. I didn't drive all that way and back just fro an hour though - I did meet
So - Fortismere - our local educational star in the Haringey firmament - has decided to move out of our close-knit school community and change to foundation status. That will now go out to statutory consultation for a very, very short four weeks - so if you want to have your say have it quickly. My understanding of the 'informal' consultation results were that there were 70% against this move albeit from a rather small response rate of 6%. I stand to be corrected on those figures as they are from reportage and memory. The community is upset ...
Despite having spent the last week on holiday in Norfolk, I have not been idle on your behalf. It turns out that Lord Saville, who is conducting the extraordinarily long-running inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday, is a nephew of the children's writer (and hero of this blog) Malcolm Saville.
Welcome to the auditorium here at the Kellogg Conference Centre, Gallaudet University! We're currently debating topical resolutions, and have already adopted updated policy on Venezuela and Darfur, and are now in the midst of a debate over the Employee Free Choice Act, a piece of legislation which will encourage unions to sign up new members and obtain the right to collective bargaining for
Reviewing a new biography of Peter Mark Roget by Nick Rennison, Steven Poole notes “Roget studied medicine at Edinburgh University and began work at the wonderfully named Pneumatic Institution for Inhalation Gas Therapy, where he probably knew Coleridge, who loved to suck on the nitrous oxide”.
Janet and I invited everyone who was kind enough to help with the recent election round to ours last night for a "thank you" party. We had a fair bit of hilarity over the games of Jenga (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenga - and the photos!) Anyway, good time had by all and despite the 2am finish, a few of us were still up to delivering the West End FOCUS (Edition 61 - June 2007) to more West End households today. You can download a copy of this by clicking on the headline above.
Someone has been targeting me with silent phone calls during the night. Frankly this sort of behaviour is pathetic. If you don't like what I stand for then come and debate the issues. I'm fully open about my beliefs and opinions, and I'm always willing to discuss them and explore other points of view. If people aren't willing to do this, and instead try and resort to campaigns of harassment and intimidation, they have already shown the weakness of their position and just how small minded they are. I've had to report this matter to the police. They have ...
The Dunston and Teams by-election in Gateshead is underway and Labour's strategy for holding onto the ward is to talk up the BNP vote. I have just picked up the Labour leaflet in which the Labour candidate Gary Haley (who holds the record in the Gateshead Labour party for being defeated the most times at the polls - currently running at 5) claims "Not voting, or voting LibDem or Conservative
Before the Richard Hammond crash, Jeremy Clarkson often bleated on about having to fill out Health and safety" forms for BBC's Top Gear. Interestingly, despite all these forms, the BBC is criticised, by the Health and Safety Exceutive, on several grounds regarding the Richard Hammond accident. In fairness, the Executive also point to several precautions which saved Hammond's life. The Guardian
Every month we have a little family evening out. My wife works behind the bar at the "Blue Hour" at New Greenham Arts and our daughter and I go up by taxi to join her. Barb Jungr hosts the Blue Hour very wittily and skilfully. She is a fantastic "chantreuse" and I have learnt a great deal about the songs of Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and many others, by attending her sets. It was the end of the
I've always been at a bit of a loss to understand what some branches of Christianity has against the Harry Potter books. I used to work with a guy who loved them and read them to his class, then he joined a church who told him they were evil so he stopped. When he left the church, he read them again and realised what we all knew and that was that the churchhe had been a member of was wrong. In this case, a man has claimed to have got the ending of the book and is trying ...
I met Harold Wilson on August 17th 1990 at a musical review production on the Isles of Scilly. My wife and I were going to watch the gig racing that evening but it was chucking it down. So the only entertainment we could find was this review. There were only two tickets left, because it was only a few minutes before the production, and I was separated from my wife. The booking lady gave me a seat
If you are already a Christian baptised in a trinitarian tradition, all you really need to do to be "converted" to Rome, is to undergo the Sacrament of Reconciliation ("confession"). Now, of course, it's perfectly possible that in a twenty-five minute private audience this morning with the Pope, Tony Blair may have already done so. read more
I have discovered a hazard of blogging I did not previously anticipate. Yesterday, I blogged about Eric Faulkner's appearance, prior to Tony Benn, at Glastonbury. I embedded a YouTube video of Mr Faulner's former group, The Bay City Rollers, singing "Summer Love Sensation". As I made clear, I hated the Rollers' music. However, I checked the video by watching it. Lo and behold, nearly a day later
I have just sent the following review through to Amazon for Putting Voters in their Place by Ron Johnston and Charles Pattie. Johnston and Patties book is a gold mine for anyone trying to achieve elected office. The ideas are presented clearly and straightforwardly but with substantial academic rigour being applied. The book’s core thesis is that [...]
This week saw quite a lot of speculation on if there would be a Liberal Democrat in Brown's first Cabinet, it came out that talks were held between Gordon Brown and Ming and later the specific job of Northern Ireland Secretary was offered to Lord Ashdown. I am about to break ranks and say I think Ashdown should have not only taken the job but should have done so with Ming's blessing.
Conservative Home reports that Zac Goldsmith has 'won' a 'referendum' against Sainsburies opening a very small store in Barnes, Richmond. Oddly enough the Richmond Park Tories website doesn't cover the issue. Barnes was one of the few wards in Richmond which the Conservatives still held at the 2006 Council elections, so one might guess that in a General Election it's a fairly solid Tory area. Good to see that the Goldsmith billions are being spent on important matters of Conservative principle, like attacking business, rather than helping the Conservatives win elections. Also, plaudits on ConservativeHome might in fact ...
I must remind my brothers (both younger than me of course) of this fact next time I see them. Of course, I always knew it was true anyway.
Let's put things in to perspective. 170,000 people have paid £150 a ticket to go to a pop concert that last for three days. Is that news ? I wonder how many people go to pop concerts every week. With festivals happening every couple of weeks (Tea in the park, Reading, Isle of Wight, V Festival's), something like Glastonbury really isn't that unique or special. So why does the BBC and so many other news organisations believe that Glastonbury is the major news item ? Okay, so it's raining. I gather it is raining over large parts ...
You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t. That certainly seems to be the verdict of political pundits and illiberal elements as they pour opprobrium on the recent discussions between Gordon Brown, our next Prime Minister (acts of god permitting), and Sir Menzies Campbell about a role for Lib Dem peers in a Brown government. My view is that Diane Abbot (one of the more pleasant socialists) got to the heart of the issue when she said that such a deal would be “electoral suicide” for the Liberal Democrats. For our ...
There are a few stories doing the rounds in the media today about a Halifax report that the average council tax has doubled in the past ten years. I don't know why this is new news but there we go - a slow news day perhaps. Now, regular readers will know that I too loathe the council tax. It is massively regressive, with people in lower value properties paying a far higher proportion of their property's value in tax than those in higher value properties. But, what are people comparing it with? The BBC choses ... 
Regular readers of my old blog Liberal Legend (Mark 1) will recall that I highlighted the case of blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng who was jailed for leading protests against forced abortion and sterilisation in Shandong Province, China. Sadly it appears that, much as expected, Chen has suffered beatings in prison at the hands of fellow prisoners according to a BBC report for daring to try to appeal against his conviction on trumped up charges. Amnesty International has declared Chen Guangcheng a prisoner of conscience. The Chinese authorities should free him as he is yet ...
The Halifax has produced a report that shows that since 1997 Council Tax has almost doubled. This might be an interesting figure in itself, but it seems to be a report aimed at having a swipe at council when really it is the government that is to blame. What the Halifax needed to examine was how much the central government grant to councils had risen by during this period and had the grant increased to cover extra costs that councils have been forced to undertake as part of the government's plans to palm off responsibility to local councils. ...
As dawn broke over Brussels, Europe’s leaders staggered to a compromise deal on reforming the treaties that govern the Union – mercifully abandoning the dreaded word ‘constitution’, which I always thought was a serious mistake. One of the big pluses of the new agreement is that more powers will pass to the European Parliament, thus increasing [...]
Due to last night's trip to the theatre I missed the Newsnight interview with the Prime Minister in waiting. I'm watching it back on-line this morning and to my surprise I've been fairly impressed with his performance. He looks relaxed, seems on top of his brief and is generally answering the questions put to him, even if he is then pivoting back onto message (no shame in that). Interestingly the
This morning's Western Mail contains a two page spread speculating on what is going to happen next week with regards to the future governance of Wales. All three of the paper's political reporters conclude that the Rainbow Coalition will prevail over Plaid-Labour, albeit for different reasons. David Williamson says that the opportunity for Plaid Cymru to lead a government may not come again for a generation. He adds that a very different Labour Party will fight the 2011 Welsh elections, and Rhodri Morgan's successor will have spent months courting potential coalition partners. Plaid and the Conservatives know this, ...
Eastenders, the BBC's prime time soap, is running with two main stories. The first is the business with Dawn, Rob and May and the baby Dawn has had, May wanting to take it from her and Rob being an all round wimp. The story line has gone silly in recently, but this is due to the script having to be altered drastically so as to avoid similarities with the Madeleine McCann incident, as script writers had intended for Dawn's baby to be snatched by May. The second story though is about Stella marrying Phil and in particular Stella's rather ...
I was sent this link. This year Scouting is celebrating 100 years and Tony Blair, love him or loath him held a party in Downing Street. Some members of my Scout Group (41st Epping Forest) were there joining in the fun. There are more pictures on the BBC newsround website here.
Isn't it quiet at 9 am on a Saturday morning? I have never noticed before. It was only when I was dropped off in Loughton that I realised most people do sleep in at the weekend. And if it wasn't because I was heading off to do white water rafting with the scouts, i would have joined them in bed, well of course not in their beds, I would have been sleeping in my own. White water rafting is
I have recently been approved as a potential candidate for the European Parliament. Surprisingly I enjoyed the process. The party's assessment process can never be objective but the way assessors judge seems fair, thorough and transparent. By comparison, I was rejected in the 1970s without clear reasons by an ad hoc panel which included a woman who disliked me (and young people in general)
I've been involved in, indeed preoccupied by, selling my house and buying a flat. Both sale and purchase are now agreed and the deals are now in the hands of the lawyers, so of course nothing is certain. They manage these things differently in other countries. My house is not particularly expensive but although the estate agents promoted it as suitable for a first-time buyer, most young
Once again, I have been off the air for a few weeks. To paraphrase the late great John Ebdon, if you have been, thanks for looking. And sorry there was nothing to look at. I've been busy.
In case you missed it, Ming Campbell has written a detailed account of the week’s events over on his website, www.mingcampbell.org.uk
Just 21% of Tory MPs put the environment as their top priority, compared with 75% of Lib Dem MPs and a mere 40% of Labour MPs, says a survey for House magazine highlighted by ConservativeHome. So what is the Tory top priority? 81% said international security, 38% financial stability and 38% NHS privatisation reform. These are all of course valid political concerns, but putting them in that order proves a remarkable lack of understanding about the threats and opportunities environmental politics throws at us. read more
Debate is raging at Sussex University over the possible closure of one of the on-campus food stores. The cause of greatest ire seems to be the decision to replace it with a cafe. As far as I have ever been able to discover there is only one other ’supermarket’ on campus and that is pretty poorly [...]
I have now closed the poll and according to the voters at www.colin-ross.org.uk they really don't care who wins! The people with the highest vote were Hazel Blears and Jon Cruddus, Peter Hain came last. You can't tell it was mainly Liberal Democrats voting can you!
I've now switched to the Convention hotel, here on the campus of Gallaudet University and am somewhat astonished and incredibly pleased to find that they provide free wireless internet access, which in turn means that I am accessible 24/7. This means that I can continue my work as Secretary, Returning Officer, and all of the other things that I do, even though I'm 3,500 miles away (oh yes, and | < | June 2007 | > | ||||
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