LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Tuesday 21st August 2007

Presidential Indecision 2008

Current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that he will not being running for the presidency in 2008. Bloomberg, who recently registered as an independent (and thus left the Republican Party) Bloomberg said he won’t run, because he says “Nobody’s going to elect me President of the United States” and instead what he would rather do is “be able to influence the dialogue.” In other election news, after the 27th democratic presidential candidate’s debate, Senator Obama has announced that he will not be accepting anymore offers to debate candidates, for the time being. The senator stated that they were ...

A guide to Market Harborough

People often ask me what my home town is like. This website will tell you all you need to know: Market Harborough is located in a rural job of south Leicestershire, upon the River Welland. It is very completion to the Northamptonshire border, and is something like 15 miles (24 km) south of Leicester and 10 miles north of Kettering. The urban is near the A14 core thoroughfare and Market Harborough railway position is served by the Midland Main Line railway. There is also a field of the Grand Union Canal which terminates on the north section of the town. ...

The lengths some blokes will go to when showing off in front of girls

You just know that this had to have happened when a bloke was trying to impress a girl.

Camden Lib Dems' cookbook: "Serve a Liberal Helping"

Camden Liberal Democrats' new cookbook, Serve a Liberal Helping, will be published in September. This collection of recipes by Lib Dem luminaries and members, say the publishers, "captures the essence of the party's energy and joie-de-vivre". They suggest it is also the ideal cookbook for those who love to share great food in the midst of busy lives. Within its pages you can: learn from assorted members of parliament and councillors how to cook great food in a hurry;enjoy Charles Kennedy's recipe for a breakfast smoothie;discover the festive secret Lord Navnit Dholakia has not told his friends to this day;read ...

The importance of being Nice

… why women are paid less. Recent research has finally made official what we all knew already: that women asking for money are judged ‘less nice’ and are penalised. This has always been the case, in particular in the context of personal relationships. A common occurrence in divorce cases is the woman having spent her money on food, cleaning, petrol, house repairs and the man having bought the car, the house and all those things that actually stay and are not simply consumed. Another common occurrence, when the breadwinner is the woman, is that she supports her husband, pays for ...

My First Two Days at 18 Doughty Street

Well, they've been good. It's a good office to work in, full of people interested in politics (as you would expect from a political TV channel), making a nice change from my last workplace. I've made my first contribution to their Newsblog* and even appeared on Vox Politix which was a mistake for two reasons: 1. I didn't get home until 12.30am. 2. I was hopelessly inarticulate and ill-informed

The value of Mr. Micawber

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." An awful lot of Americans have just worked out that they are at the wrong end of Mr. Micawber's recipe for happiness, in fact the number of Home repossessions has jumped 93% in the last year. Despite the respite of the Fed's emergency rate cut on Friday, the markets are growing ever more nervous. The grouping of risk into complicated bundles like CDOs has made it a lot harder to identify where the potential credit losses ...

Tory nicks my post and doesnt credit it!!

At 19.00 hrs I posted that “the Cameron project is dead,” and Cameron could only win “if Brown screwed up”. At 20.55 a former aid to Thatcher John O’Sullivan said pretty much the same thing on Conservativehome, saying “Gordon Brown will probably win the next election and, if he does not, the likely reason is that he will have been defeated by events in the real world”, and “so “Project Cameron” has not really improved matters.” Rather rudely he didn’t credit me as a source but if the Tories need political advice from me they’re welcome to ask, then grovel ...

Slipping On A Straight Banana Skin

Staff at the UK Headquarters of biotech giant Monsanto will be eating only non-genetically modified products on their lunch breaks! Foods containing genetically modified soy and corn are no long...

The number one hit on this blog today ? "Cancelling Setanta Sports"

After my previous postings on the subject of Setanta Sports, when I received an e-mail from a senior member of staff in response claiming things were getting better, I expected the number of hits from people searching under the term "Setanta Sports Problems" to drop. It didn't, until today, when the favourite search term suddenly changed to "cancelling Setanta Sports". Somebody at Setanta really needs to get their backside kicked for the poor customer service they are offering there. It is clear that lies are being told, emails are not being answered and lots of people regret making the choice ...

Parking problems in Claremont Road and Stanhope Road

{Lynne Featherstone MP meeting residents of Stanhope Road and Claremont Road to discuss their parking issues} Received a late evening yesterday from Cllr Lyn Weber (Crouch End) about the residents of Claremont and Stanhope roads in the Highgate / Crouch End area who are now in a completely desperate situation re parking. What has happened is that with the advent of the Highgate Station CPZ, the Hillside CPZ (on the Islington side of the borough boundary) etc - this little enclave of roads finds itself much sought after. The still free parking there is now used by some people in ...

You have to laugh..

The office in which I am working this week has a TV screen on the wall tuned, with the sound turned down, to BBC News 24. So today has been enlivened by noticing, as I look up from my computer screen, the changing nature of the captions along the bottom. I admit, a smile did cross my lips as during the course of the day the captions changed from "Tory Hospital Campaign" to "Tory Hospital Apology"

Lord Bonkers' Diary: Tuesday

After Monday, naturally comes... TuesdayThe antics at Trent Bridge, involving as they did the scattering of jelly beans on a good length spot, cast dark shadows for those of us who remember Douglas Jardine’s notorious “Peanut Brittle Tour” of 1934-5. I spend the morning in my Library writing a stiff letter to the President of the MCC demanding that he put his foot down.More from Lord Bonkers on his own website and on this blog.

Deportation, EU Law and Human Rights

The Italian man convicted of murdering Philip Lawrence has been successful in avoiding deportation, horrifying many. Two things call for comment: Firstly, I understand that this must be an incredibly difficult time for the Lawrence family, and I know that anything they say on the matter is more than understandable. But I'm very uncomfortable that the xenophobia in other quarters increases so exponentially where criminals are concerned. If Chindamo had been born in England, Mr Lawrence's relatives would have had to live with the possibility that he could be released from jail in the future. The fact that he is ...

Equestrian Psychology: Worth a degree or not?

Research by some bloke I once met in a pub claims to show that we are wasting £40M a year on 'non-courses' at British universities - BBC coverage here, Taxpayers' Alliance report PDF here (500k). The report is good tub-thumping for foaming-at-the-mouth right-wingers, taking free kicks at courses like "Outdoor adventure with philosophy". However, I have to say I'm very sceptical of the idea you can save millions for free by axing them. There are only one or two courses on the Taxpayer's Alliance list which seem to be total nonsense. The others fall into two categories. On the one ...

Tim Garden’s Service of Thanksgiving

{tim-garden.jpg} Nearly 500 people turned up for the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Tim Garden (Air Marshal Professor The Lord Garden, KCB, MA, MPhil, FRAeS, FRUSI, FCGI) at Hampstead Parish Church this afternoon. Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell and Tom McNally, Leader of the LibDems in the House of Lords, led a phalanx of MPs and peers and there were representatives of the various different compartments of Tim’s diverse but well-integrated life: military, academic, political and media punditry. Unlike his widow Sue, Tim was not a churchgoer, and his cremation had been held privately earlier in the day. Thus the service was not ...

Frenchay Hospital A&E "not at risk" - pull the other one!

North Bristol NHS Trust has apparently told the BBC that Accident and Emergency services at Frenchay are not at risk. Are we seriously expected to believe that moving specialist services to Southmead isn't going to make things worse? Put that together with today's Department of Health funded study that your chances of survival are worse the further you have to travel... Yes, local accident facilities help minor injuries and certain conditions. But moving our main hospital miles away through some of the heaviest traffic in Bristol must be a wrong move. Steve Webb and local campaigners have been fighting this ...

How society has failed Frances Lawrence

Frances Lawrence has been doing the rounds on TV and radio today, expressing her outrage at the fact that her husbands murderer will not now be deported when he finishes his sentence. For liberals, issues such as these place us in a tricky position. No-one wishes to cause Frances Lawrence or her family any further grief, but what if pretty much everything she says is utterly wrong? First of all, the Human Rights Act is a sideshow here. The real issue is that we are members of the EU and as an EU citizen Learco Chindamo has freedom of movement ...

Walking round Warbreck

Back from a short holiday feeling very refreshed! Not quite so refreshed after a long delivery session in Warbreck ward, where there's a by election next month. Got a lot done though and a good positive response from the people I spoke to.

Name checked on the F-Secure blog

Have you recently had an email which looked like this? {f-secure-virus-email} If so delete it straight away. As per usual the give aways are the fact that you’ve joined something that you never visted. I got something similar this morning, and was sure I had read about this on the F-Secure blog. Checking their site I was right, so I emailed them the one I got as the details were different to those listed. Now the site is kindly name checking me. Thanks to ‘ew’ and Ryan for updates on the subjects used.

Homosexuality in America

The American election is still months away (approximately 14 and half) and the issues that will define the election are still being defined. But possibly one of the most argued issues in America, at the moment is the issue of gay rights and specifically Gay Marriage. On August 9th most of the democratic contenders for president participated in the first ever candidates forum devoted entirely to Gay issues, highlights of which can be seen here along with Jon Stewart's comments; Out of the 50 states, only 1 (Massachusetts) allows people of the same sex to marry, whilst 9 other ...

Cameron makes hospital howler

David Cameron has tried to justify that his list of hospitals facing cuts is correct whilst his own backbenchers are already going around apologising on behalf of their leader's gaffe. "Dave" claimed that 29 district hospitals are facing cuts to emergency and maternity services. However, it turns out that his figures, statistics and even hospital names are completely wrong ! One backbencher Tory MP Henry Bellingham was forced to apologise to staff at the local hospital in his Kings Lynn constituency, which he says David Cameron wrongly included on the hit list. he told the BBC "I wasn't consulted on ...

taxpayers alliance hits wrong target

The Telegraph and BBC are reporting much the same story that the Taxpayers Alliance has timed to coincide with the annual dash for university places. [The Telegraph has a pdf of the full list of evil vocational courses here] If their argument relates to vocational courses not being government funded, why have they been snobbish to only pick up the Salon Management etc. Surely they've missed the other highly vocational degrees of Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Physio. Why did they draw the line where they did? The TA seem to have also got their stats in a mix, and ...

Nick Clegg launches attack on "surveillance society"

See today’s Independent for news of Nick Clegg’s plans to take on Gordon Brown on the growing surveillance society. Of course, Dave’s Conservatives have abandoned the defence of civil liberties and personal privacy and decided to abolish the Data Protection Act (or rewrite, or reform, or, oh we’re not sure). Fortunately the Liberal Democrats aren’t so fickle, so there’ll be a motion debated at this year’s conference on curtailing the excesses of this growing surveillance society.

Another great reason to be agnostic

The Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia has grabbed his 15 minutes of fame and decided to resign from Amnesty International because Amnesty support a campaign to decriminalise abortion where the mother's life is in danger. What a brave man Michael Evans is. A man, celibate man one presumes, knowing that he will never have to face the danger of being made pregnant by a rapist or have his life put in danger because of pregnancy. Knowing this will never happen to him, he presumes to tell others what they should do. A real "do as I say, not as ...

Asylum seeker deportations drop again

Is the Home Office really only capable of doing one thing at a time? Asylum seeker deportations have dropped again this quarter, the Telegraph reports. And the government’s explanation according to the Press Association? A Home Office spokesman said the fall in the asylum removals was because officials were concentrating on deporting foreign criminals rather than would-be refugees. Clearly multi-tasking is just a step too far.

Historic buildings at risk

English Heritage recently published their updated register of historic buildings at risk. There are a number from my patch in Gateshead included on the register, including Ravensworth Castle. There is a strong family connection to Ravensworth (as well as simply representing much of this country estate on Gateshead Council). My great grandfather Henry Wallace was agent to Lord Ravensworth in the

Time for Cristiano Ronaldo to grow up ?

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United footballer banned for three matches for "butting" another player feels his three match ban is "unjust". He says " I am willing to resist the provocation - but only up to a limit!" This would, for all those who don't remember, be the same Ronaldo who provoked his club team mate Wayne Rooney in to reacting in the World Cup quarter final, ensuring England were reduced to ten men and therefore helping his team (Portugal) to go through to the semi finals. I think we can all accept as football fans and as Sunday morning ...

Conservatives bid to save non-existent hospital wards

Welcome to another story of slick organisation courtesy of David Cameron and co: You launch an NHS campaign. You promise to save Altrincham General Hospital’s A+E ward and maternity unit. Someone points out that, er…, the hospital doesn’t actually have either. You withdraw your promise and issue a new one, this time saying you are only going to save [...]

Alas , Poor Paris, I Knew Him Well, a Liberal Democrat Cat of Excellent Jest

Life's been too busy to blog for the last few weeks, but I'll probaly start writing again soon. At the moment we're mourning the loss of Paris, one of our fine pair of brother cats. As you can see, he was always interested in our Lib Dem leaflets.... but he had a weak heart, and even though he had 350 ml of fluid drained from around his lungs, more fluid came back in a few days... he's now

He's got no hair but we don't care

Unfortunately I missed the thumping Spurs win on Saturday as I was at a wedding, but it looked a great performance all round. Jermaine Jenas put in one of his outstanding performances, Malbranque had a blinder and Adel Taraabt was apparently awesome. My friends Kirsty & Tim got married in a temple at Stowe Landscape Gardens, which was a lovely venue - then the reception was at the theatre in Tring, the day went very well despite the rain. The night before, I went up to friends Gill & Stu and we ended up in Reflex, the 80s club, in ...

Amnesty International

I have long been a supporter of the work of Amnesty International. But the recent decision of Amnesty that its definition of human rights should include access to abortion has made me think about my support. The issue has caused a storm in the Catholic Church and the Rt Rev Michael Evans, Bishop of East Anglia, has become the first high profile Catholic in England to quit Amnesty as a result of

Pete Doherty

So, he's back in the news again. I was amused a few weeks ago to see a regular sketch in a comedy show (was it the new Harry Enfield one, I can't remember?) where every time there is a Metropolitan Police press conference they give figures on the amount of officer time they've spent arresting Pete Doherty. And it is a bit of a joke. I wonder if any of our MPs (or perhaps our putative mayoral candidate) might take up the idea and see if the Metropolitan Police could produce figures for just how much the police and courts ...

I am receiving your blazer loud and clear, Tompkins

I do hope this is just a silly season story. The Guardian reports: A school uniform maker said yesterday it was "seriously considering" adding tracking devices to its clothes after a survey found many parents would be interested in knowing where their offspring were ... Trutex ... commissioned an online survey for 809 parents and 444 children aged between nine and 16. It said 44% of the adults were worried about the safety of pre-teen children and 59% would be interested in satellite tracking systems being incorporated in schoolwear. While nearly four in 10 pupils aged 12 and under were ...

Lib Dems to launch attack on "surveillance society''

Good news in the Independent this morning: the Liberal Democrats are going to launch an attack on Britain's "surveillance society'' at our Conference in Brighton next month. This is good news, firstly, because we are clearly in the right. The newspaper lists some of the areas of concern that the Lib Dems will highlight: The CCTV cameras that have sprouted up in every town and some villages, at a ratio of one for every 16 people, making Britain the most "watched" country on the planet.The DNA database, "the largest in the world", which has data on 140,000 innocent people, with ...

DNA double standards

The party has had a lot to say in recent years about this government’s record on keeping DNA samples. This is all neatly summarized at the Lib Dem campaign microsite “Protect innocent people’s DNA.” One key injustice is that your DNA can be stored in the national database even if you are not guilty of any crime. [...]

Guardian: "Lib Dems are right on Iraq"

Writing in today’s Guardian, Polly Toynbee, who discussed the issue of Iraq with Ming Campbell yesterday, declares the Liberal Democrats “right, right and right again about the Iraq war”. The Liberal Democrat leader, Menzies Campbell, wrote to Gordon Brown yesterday: “The current level of British casualties is unacceptable. What is being achieved by the continuing British presence? Our troops are severely restricted in what they can do and they are subject to unreasonable risks. There is now a clear recognition that the objectives of their mission cannot be achieved … Is it the case that our continuing presence in Iraq ...

The wisdom of Jack Straw

Apparently gun crime is due to absent dads. Perhaps jack Straw is right. I would be tempted to ask Mr Straw what role dad's have in their children getting involved in drugs, but that would be churlish, wouldn't it ?

A cosy consensus?

Rafael Baer's piece in Sunday's Observer ("Enough of the big conservations. Let's have a fight") is an entertaining and provocative critique of the notion of 'consensus' in British politics. It also finds immediate application in the week's news: the Independent's "Liberal Democrats launch attack on Brown's surveillance society" claims that such plans "threaten to wreck Gordon Brown's hopes of a cross-party consensus to tackle the threat of terrorism". But as Baer points out,"Everyone can agree that blowing people up is bad. Once that is settled, the tricky issues haven't gone away. Either you think draconian measures are justified by the ...

John Redwood’s figures are ten years out of date

It goes from bad to worse for John Redwood and the Conservatives on data protection. As if it wasn’t bad enough that their recently published policy proposals document manages to flip flop between four different data protection policies between start and end of the document, it’s now turned out that their cost figures are ten [...]

Hello 82.118.116.193

Domain Name keme.net ? (Network) IP Address 82.118.116.193 ? (KeConnect ADSL Subscribers) ISP KeConnect Systems Limited Location Continent : Europe Country : United Kingdom (Facts) State/Region : Suffolk City : Ipswich Lat/Long : 52.0833, 1.1667 (Map) Distance : 62 miles Language English (U.S.) en-us Operating System Microsoft WinXP Browser Firefox Mozilla

Massive Response

I have just returned from my holiday to find that hundreds of responses to the Burgess Park survey have been flooding in to our office. We are putting more copies in the cafe and out side our office in the Old Library on Wells Way so that everyone can have their say. More came through in the post today and people have been filling it in on-line. I’m looking forward to seeing the results. We have a tame market researcher called Liz (who used to work for MORI) who is going to be helping us to analyse the data.

Misuse of blue badges

I really get cross when I see cars parked in disabled bays with no sign of a blue badge. My mother has a blue badge and I know just how helpful it is when I take her out anywhere in the car. Anyone who uses up one of these valuable spaces when they are not entitled is acting in a thoroughly anti-social way. But it seems that the abuse does not end there. Non-disabled people 'borrow'...

TfL: irony alert

A visit to the Transport for London website will offer you this: {tfl1} Which takes you to this: {tfl2}

Indy mood for a fight

This morning’s Independent reports that the Liberal Democrats are to launch a major offensive on the surveillance society – highlighting our leviathan DNA database, intercept warrants, state agency data sharing and sprawling network of CCTV cameras, amongst other issues. If the appalling national ID card scheme and accompanying database are actually to be implemented, the compromising of our privacy will be entrenched, perhaps irreversibly. Leading the fight against the invasive state requires a consistency, muscularity and ideological conviction that only a liberal party can provide. Perhaps Ming will yet prove to be our liberty angel?

Fresh food on-line

I have resisted so far buying my groceries on-line, even though it would be more convenient. Nothing can beat scrambling for the last bunch of Fair Trade bananas, racing other shoppers for the least congested till and dragging half-a-dozen re-usable carrier bags across a crowded car park and into the back of the car. I am though sorely tempted by this latest initiative, an on-line farmers' market. There are some very good farmers' markets in Swansea, not least the one in Mumbles, but these only appear once a month. The opportunity to access the same quality and freshness all-year round ...

Development Quality Committee

At Development Quality Committee last night, councillors discussed around 20 planning applications. I moved refusal of a couple in the West End, including an application for a proposed advertising unit in Riverside Drive. Being immediately north of the waterfront, I felt the siting of this was inappropriate, partly because of the adverse effect on the amenity of the locality but also because of public safety on such a heavily trafficked road. In a tight vote, my motion was successful by two votes.

It’s all happening in the private members’ forum

If you haven’t been to Lib Dem Voice’s private forums much recently, you may be missing out. Recent posts include How Lib Dem bloggers can get on Radio 5 Whether we ought to have a re-run of last year’s blogmeet in Brighton Top campaigners’ advice on how to run community canvass week in your constituency How to get new people [...]

Squirrels at my courgettes!

Red squirrels are a rare site nowadays. I remember seeing some on the old Watergate pit site near the village of Sunniside where I live many years ago, before the site was reclaimed as a park. And in the Derwent Valley, efforts have been made to conserve them.But at my home in London, we are plagued with the grey variety. There are some very large and mature trees in the back garden where these

In defense of 'Mickey Mouse degrees'

Three cheers for Universities UK, who have today hit back at those siren voices who have been systematically grabbing cheap headlines by attacking legitimate degree subjects. They have responded to a report by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, an umbrella group that lobbies for lower taxes and allegedly highlights public sector “waste” to support its case, which has singled out two Welsh institutions – the University of Glamorgan and the Welsh College of Horticulture – for issuing “non-degrees”. The Western Mail tells us that Glamorgan’s science-fiction and culture degree, and equestrian psychology, available as a foundation degree at the Welsh College of ...

Attacking the surveillance society

Today's Independent newspaper reports that the Liberal Democrats will be taking up one of the themes of this blog and be launching an attack on Britain's "surveillance society": n a strategic break with the Prime Minister, Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, and his home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg will launch their offensive at their party conference next month. They have decided that Mr Brown's clear support for an extension of detention without charge beyond 28 days for terrorist suspects has destroyed any hope of a cross-party deal. But they claim they are also responding to public anxiety highlighted ...

Family Law issues in Southern Australia

The link is to a story in Southern Australia where lie detectors are suggested for picking up false allegations. The issue of handling false allegations is a very important one. Sometimes people know what they are saying is not true. However, sometimes people believe what they are saying is true, but it is not. That is the real difficulty with some medical evidence. The doctors believe what

Dis-qualified of Tunbridge Wells

A Tory Councillor in Tunbridge Wells has apparently been disqualified for failing to sign her papers of acceptance..... I'm guessing the time limit is three months, and that has expired since the locals in May. Anybody know what the story is there then? Anyway, the seat is evidently declared vacant, and there is to be a by-election in 3 weeks. So, no doubt that committed Tory, and Tunbridge Wells resident Iain Dale will be rowing back on his blogging output in order to help his party's candidate by knocking on doorsteps and delivering leaflets ahead of the resulting by-election on ...

In other people's hands

Over the last few months I have got used to my life being in other people's hands. I have to say it's been a leap of faith for me, being someone who has always firmly believed in making one's own luck and not relying on others for the future! But, here I am again, waiting for the turn of hand (this time the Big Lottery) that will decide what I am to be doing for the next few years. It has been frustrating to not be able to go and talk face-to-face with the committee who are deciding on the ...

MEP found guilty of fraud charges

Ashley Mote MEP (South East England) has been found guilty of 17 counts fraud after being accused of dishonestly obtaining more than £70,000 in housing benefit, council tax relief and income support.

Which is the least likely company in the world to go GM-free in its own cafeteria?

I think you can see the rest of this story coming … Monsanto, one of the world’s leading producers of GM foods, would, I think, be pretty near the top of most people’s list of “firms least likely to switch to GM-free food”. And yes, you can guess the next bit … more details here.

Is it possible to like a Tory?

Political discussion often gets round to an interesting dichotomy. Is it possible to hate someone's political views but like them as a person? I have to say that I have found several examples where this is possible. One particular local Tory, who I have rubbed along with, is excellent company when recounting his days in the Army in the jungles of Borneo. If I had ever met Alan Clark I suspect

Legend of Birmingham returns

I’m a bit behind the gossip here, but I’m sure anyone who enjoys the odd night out will join me in welcoming back the Que Club!

TalkSport presenters rapped for homophobic comments

I’m very disappointed to read about the behaviour of two TalkSport presenters earlier this year. According to BBC News, Mike Mendoza commented on footballers making appeals over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, saying, “paedophiles in general are the type of people that surely would not follow football… not many gay people to the best of my knowledge are great football fans” Then a month later, Garry Bushell made light of gay rights activist Peter Tatchell being arrested during a protest, saying, “I think there are a lot of things to put right in this country before you go around preaching ...

Lib Dems, The Suggestion Party

When Ming Campbell took over the Liberal Democrat Party, he stated that we would no longer be making polite suggestions from the sidelines but hammering on the doors of power. Todays letter from Ming to the PM sadly showed that there has been little change in this direction. Far from hammering down any doors down, Ming “urged a reappraisal” of strategy, he asked the government to think again. Whilst I am not against polite political discourse the time to ask the government to simply think again has long passed. They should have thought again before the conflict, they didn’t and ...

The Last Tuesday Society

{selina-hastings.jpg} In London, life is moving East, my friends. First it was the artists who decamped to Hoxton and Shoreditch. And now the literary crew has followed. Last night I attended a Hendrick’s salon (generously sponsored by the eponymous gin-makers) at Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green, one of the ‘happening’ new venues in the capital. Lest anyone get the wrong impression, these evenings are much more than just cocktails and high tea (with strawberry scones and fairy cakes); there is serious content. I attended a number of these events in their previous incarnations at the Café Royal in Regent Street, and ...

Hello Grundisburgh!

To the person in Grundisburgh, Suffolk who keeps coming back to this posting HELLO! To the rest of you - check out emails from Tories in Suffolk as well as Norfolk.

Warwickshire Greatest Ever XI vs. PCA Masters XI

A Warwickshire Greatest Ever XI against a PCA Masters XI at Edgbaston on 31 August.

‘Mr Balloon’ Gets Back to Blandness

This morning’s interview with David Cameron was a typical example of the pointless tedium now provided by the Today Programme’s once-sharp cross-examinations of senior politicians. Bland evasions and trad-Tory dog whistles by Conservative Leader? Check. Lumbering efforts to make pre-prepared cheap points by Jim Naughtie, so he misses the live slips? All present. Not in any way illuminating, nor remotely as entertaining as Mr Cameron’s shell-shocked performance a fortnight ago, in which he fell spectacularly to pieces. Yes, I’m afraid today’s Today was merely dull, which was a definite step up for the beleaguered ‘Mr Balloon’. Remember the last time? ...

Tuesday 21st August 2007

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