Although I think it was still right for al-Megrahi to released on compassionate grounds and sent home to die, the scenes of 'jubilation' on landing in Libya were wholly inappropriate. Even if you think he is innocent of the bombing of Flight 103 the scenes of celebration, albeit limited to a couple of hundred people at the airport, were unacceptable. Compassion for the families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing is equally important as compassion for the family of a dying man. There is nothing to celebrate in this very sad episode. {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Friday and the sun shone pretty well all day on the flower show. There are lots more photos of the flower show, click on this photo: southport flower show The ones in this page include; the Christina Hartley Trophy-she was the first women to be Mayor of Southport (and a Liberal to boot), The Mayor of Middlewich-who used to live in Southport (I was the County Councillor for Middlewich in the 1990s) her chain was given to the Town by Sir John Brunner the long time Liberal MP for that bit of Cheshire, his son-also John Brunner-was the Liberal MP ...
Amazing, really. On Sunday, I had some material for a Focus leaflet. Kathy, our County Group Leader helped me convert it into the finished product and, by Monday, with some help from Lib Dem Voice, I had sent it to the printer, the Chair of Ipswich Liberal Democrats, Tim Lockington. Today, it was ready, and so Ros and I drove to Ipswich to collect 1200 leaflets, the amount we thought would be needed. But where to deliver them? Cue 'Election Maps', a service provided by the Ordnance Survey for political campaigners, which allows you to trace the boundaries of your ...
A few months ago the Meteorological Office declared that the UK was in for a good summer with temperatures in August expected to be warm (something that has not really happened since 2005) and sunshine expected to be seen more often than not. This was greeted at the time with some relief by the UK tourist industry and a bumper summer was expected. Then a few weeks ago the Met Office declared that they were wrong and instead we could expect colder weather and showers. Now since they have made this announcement I cannot remember it raining here just North ...
Whilst I stand by my own blog post yesterday when I called for the release on compassionate grounds of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, convicted by involvement in the bombing of the Pan Am flight which exploded over Lockerbie, his orchestrated return to Libya was unfortunate,insensitive and unnecessary and enabled others to take the moral high ground. This though was not the fault of Scottish Government.
The Chairman of Gosport Conservative Association is the latest to show the party's true colours by making sexist comments in an interview for Channel 4 News. Alan Scard is overseeing the selection of a Parliamentary candidate for Gosport, to replace Peter Viggers MP who is standing down after claiming £1645 on his expenses for a duck house. When asked whether he would support David Cameron's appeal for more women in Parliament, Mr Scard said, "I suppose a woman...if they are attractive...I know it's a sexist thing to say but you could get the blokes saying 'Oh you know I would ...
Goldfinger (Live at Royal Albert Hall)
With the start of the new school term this week, my weekly surgeries started again last night at Blackness Primary School. If you click on the headline above, you can see the weekly surgery list. In addition to my weekly surgeries, this afternoon, Alison McInnes MSP, John Barnett & I held a joint surgery for the West End - at Blackness Library. Next week, during a visit to Dundee by Vince Cable MP, John Barnett will be adopted by the Liberal Democrats as our Westminster Parliamentary Candidate for Dundee West. John is without doubt the most experienced politician the LibDems ...
If you're not a regular reader of Total Politics magazine, then make sure you grab a copy of the September issue. The main feature is Iain Dale's interview with Ann Widdecombe MP which is superb. Those of you who know me will certainly agree if I say that Ann and I are not exactly cut from the same cloth... She has been an MP for longer than I've been alive and I admire her as a woman and as a politician. What strikes me about her in this interview is her courage and her integrity. She describes her plans for ...
Liberal Conspiracy has a blog post in which they write about how a Tory has claimed that he would pick a women candidate in Gosport if she was attractive. Now is it just me, or should a top Tory not be making comments like this on TV? Everyone knows Cameron is trying to be the leader of the nice party, but that is clearly not the case. I have said on this blog time and time again, the Tories are not a nice bunch to mix with as many including me will tell you. The Conservatives act like a party ...
It's not quite Swindon, but it has its charms too.
Putting everything aside, including caption competitions I think I should remind blog readers that Ramadan is starting today. As many will know Ramadan is a month in the Islamic calendar in which, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Nick Clegg, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats has send a message to Muslims wishing them a Ramadan Mubarak, and honouring them for all their charitable work that they do in Ramadan and all year round. Ramadan Mubarak to all readers of this blog from myself!
Pencarrow House The Seed at the Eden project Bodmin Jail Waterfall at Tintagel
This is what happens when I take a break from work: I make silly things and put them online. Into my head the other day pops the phrase "Three former Doctor Whos are we." No idea where that morsel came from, but within 24 hours I've recorded a song. Then I remembered Jason's great Doctor Who cartoons and within another day had made a video. Non-fans will find the lyrics a bit obscure, I'm afraid, but here it is anyway for your viewing pleasure:
CHT Peace Accord Implement to ensure justice for all Lord Avebury stresses need for strategic framework so none can reverse the process Lord Eric AveburyStaff Correspondent The government should have a strategic framework to implement the CHT Peace Accord and should implement it in such a way that ensures justice for all so that none can reverse the process, said Lord Eric Avebury. Avebury, co-chair of the International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, said this while talking to The Daily Star after a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club on the CHT Commission's recent six-day visit to the three hill ...
I am grateful to Jeremy Townsend for this post on Freedom Central, as a former student of history I found this site irresistible, the site concerns itself with the most requested files from the FBI under the American Freedom of Information Act. The list is as Jeremy describes, a who's who of the Twentieth Century, and [...]
Well, the votes are in... CityBus shouldn't be sold off. That's according to almost every one of the 290 people who took part in a recent online poll. The straw poll, conducted by Plymouth LibDems, confirms what already seemed obvious - that the overwhelmingly vast majority of local people do not want the council-owned bus company sold off.
I'm not likely to be at Liberal Democrat Conference this year, so I've been spared the task of reading through any policy papers. But, whatever my gripes may be with some party policy papers, I'm sure we'd have to go some way to achieve the levels of idiocy plumbed by the BNP with the proposals on single mothers going to their conference. More discussion of the ins and outs of the policy - and some of the process by which the BNP determines its policy, including a benhind-closed-doors conference - are on the Lancaster Unity website. As you might expect, ...
Just a quick note to congratulate Iraq war protester Brian Haw. According to capital news website Londonist, yesterday saw his 3,000th day of continuous protest against the invasion. 3,000 days ago today, Brian Haw left his Redditch, Worcestershire home and took off for London, where he parked himself across the road from the Houses of Parliament and began a one-man anti-war protest. It was June 2001, and Haw was protesting against British and American sanctions on Iraq; September 11th, the deployment of troops in Afghanistan, the Iraq invasion of 2003 and the global marches against it, the July 2005 bombings, ...
Guido is using the above image for his Friday caption contest, and I have to say the image above did really make me chuckle. D*** the Pr*** has suggested a caption that could be used, but I have a better one. Why not, this is how us ministers w***, whilst ordering civil servants? Anyway, Guido is giving away a prize for best caption where as all you will get from leaving a caption on this blog is the pleasure of entertaining someone. Have you already gone to Guido's blog, or are you still here?
Damian Green, the Conservative front bench immigration spokesman whose sparked a parliamentary storm, has won a four-month battle to have his DNA, fingerprint and police records destroyed. But in a statement the Metropoliton Police have told Greens Lawyers that he was being treated as an exceptional case.His DNA sample and fingerprints, taken when he was arrested, will be deleted within "a number...
10 days in Dhaka and the CHT, as co-chair of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission. Between us we visited all three districts - Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachuri -where we called on the Brigade Commanders, met civil society, and talked to people in the villages, both Adivasi and Bengali. Then in Dhaka we were received by the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, chairman of the Land Commission etc, and met MPs, NGOs, the diplomatic community and many others. Some progress is being made with the creation of institutions that are necessary if the Peace Accord is to be fully implemented. The Land ...
International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission Bangladesh Secretariat: 10/11, Iqbal Road, Mohammadpur, Dhaka 1207 chtcomm@gmail.com Embargoed till 3pm, 18 August 2009 THIRD MISSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS COMMISSION Press statement The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) appreciates that after 12 years since the signing of the CHT Accord some important measures have been taken to implement the Accord. These include specifically the setting up of the National Committee for Implementation of the CHT Accord, re-establishment of the Land Commission and the Task Force for CHT Refugee Rehabilitation Affairs, the cancellation of plantation leases that have not been properly ...
Seeing it in the paper today reminded me that I should mention the consultation that's currently going on regarding the plans for restoration and development of Castle Park. There are lots of ideas for what we can do with the park, but as the Heritage Lottery Fund decided it was too nice already to need a grant from them, we can't afford all of them. So, you can now read the various plans and ideas and fill in the questionnaire to help the Council decide what should be the priorities for the money we do have to spend on the ...
Every child deserves the right to a happy life free from the fear of violence and abuse yet tragic cases have highlighted the fact that current policies are failing. The issue of child protection has climbed further up the public agenda over recent months; as a result the Liberal Democrats have compiled a robust and considered response. Annette Brooke, Shadow Children's Spokesperson,...
Commenting on figures from the Office of National Statistics which show that UK public sector borrowing totalled £8bn last month, the first July deficit for 13 years, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "As the country fights its way through recession we are seeing a collapse in tax revenues." "We are now heading for a level of deficit this year even higher than the...
Iain Dale is a great big tease. There. I've said it. Last night he posted a tweet saying that the Total Politics blog results would be up "soon, morning". So those of us who were on Twitter, while we pretended that we didn't actually care, went into a bit of a spin wondering whether the list would go up last night or this morning. What he actually meant was both. At around 9pm last night, the list appeared without any fanfare on the Total Politics site. For a bunch of people who didn't care, the congratulations were very soon flying ...
Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats today sent his message to Muslims observing Ramadan. "As Ramadan comes round once more, I'd like to wish all Muslims observing the month my very best wishes. I have learned from working with Muslim communities across the UK - and indeed from the many Lib Dem councillors and candidates who are practising Muslims - that the fasting...
I forgot to post this up last week. Features lots of good music, plus a primer to Creative Commons and the legendary Al Ewing, writer of Judge Dredd and Murderdrome: Part two and all the "extras" can be found on the 441 Show website.
By Duncan Brack {reinventingthestatecover100} This article was originally published in Reinventing the State: Social Liberalism for the 21st Century. We are grateful to Duncan for allowing us to reproduce this article. Visit the Methuen website to purchase the latest edition of this book for the discount price of £10. The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity ... We reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, ...
In the Presidential election one of Barak Obama's key pledges was to reform healthcare provision.The United States is home to some of the best hospitals, most advanced medical research and leading hea...
Cardiff Student Lib Dems (who have a very good blog) have posted today about the release of the Megrahi. It is a well thought through piece that urges Lib Dems not to attack the SNP and try to make political capital out of what was a very difficult decision. However I want to take issue with something that CSLD say in their post: Don't get me wrong. When it comes to sentencing, I think families of victims or victims themselves should be involved in the process. However, after the process, the decision must be made according to the law. It ...
I happened to stumble across this website yesterday. Under the American Freedom of Information Act, the FBI has put up on its website some of their most frequently requested files. The list is an incredible who's who of twentieth century American history, politics and culture. Files on Martin Luther King's assassination, the Kent State massacre, the Hindenburg Disaster and the Columbine shootings are here, along with files on Einstein, Henry Ford, John Lennon, Elvis, the Hells Angels, the Ku Klux Klan, various dead Kennedys and more or less every vaguely left-leaning writer, political activist or other public figure. What you ...
In our last newsletter, we referred to "a few small plots have been purchased by people with the intention of delaying the Tesco development" at the Swan Centre Yardley and that "we are appalled by these 'spoiling' tactics". That may have been thought to refer to Mr Jeremy Knight-Adams who is a property developer and has had involvement in a number of major retail developments in the Midlands. He
Lots has been written about the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockabie bomber, particularly about what the United States thinks especially Hilary Clinton and the US Senators.
The list of candidates for the upcoming by-election in Sparkbrook has been released. Along with the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Respect, the seat will also be contested by the Conservatives, the Greens and one independent candidate. The Liberal Democrat campaign will be led by our candidate Naeem Qureshi and our Parlimentary candidate for the new Birmingham Hall Green seat, Cllr Jerry Evans. This by-election is due to the controversial financial tale of former Respect councillor Nahim Ullah Khan. That, together with the controversial timing of the by-election which falls around Ramadan, will make this by-election very interesting to watch as ...
Outraged shoppers last night rounded on Tory Councillor Melody Gall as she called for a £2 an hour parking charge for Chipping Sodbury . In a meeting discussing how to tackle the all day parkers who block up most of the parking in Chipping Sodbury, Melody Gall, a Conservative Councillor on Sodbury Parish Council ,repeatedly urged the solution of charging for parking, suggestiing £2 for an hour would discourage all day parking. Chris Willmore, a Lib Dem Councillor from neighbouring Yate who frequently shops in Sodbury, branded the idea 'bonkers'. She said "It would also discourage shoppers - the very ...
"As Ramadan comes round once more, I'd like to wish all Muslims observing the month my very best wishes. {nick_clegg_cheadle_mosque_2009} I have learned from working with Muslim communities across the UK - and indeed from the many Lib Dem councillors and candidates who are practising Muslims – that the fasting and Qur'an reading during Ramadan provide spiritual renewal and enlightenment. As friends and family are brought together every night, we also reflect on all the millions of people around the world who still go without food and clean water every day. We in the Liberal Democrats have always championed religious ...
Forest of Dean DC, Mitcheldean and DrybrookLD Sue Henchley 638 (55.1; +36.2)Ind 239 (20.6; -18.2)Con 195 (16.8; -5.8)Lab 86 (7.4; -12.1)Majority 399Turnout 32.4%LD gain from IndPercentage change is since May 2007Blackpool UA, StanleyCon 648 (32.8; -28.2)Lab 602 (30.5; +4.6)LD Michael Hodkinson 332 (16.8; +3.6)UKIP 203 (10.3; +10.3)BNP 192 (9.7; +9.7)Majority 46Turnout 36.4%Con holdPercentage
This week's report from NHS West Midlands shows that the rate of new cases of swine flu continues to slow across the region. Information provided indicates current impact on the local services.Key MessagesPatients presenting at primary care centres with influenza-like symptoms has decreased within the health economy over the last week. The number of people with swine flu admitted to hospitals in
Following on from the other day's twitter-related shenanigans and discussion elsewhere of just what use that medium has, along comes our Dear Leader to illustrate exactly the wrong way to use it. In a question he threw open to A-level students, just three replied, and one of them, one Joe Henthorn of Manchester, replied that now he'd scored 100% in History A-level[1], he'd eventually be gunning for Clegg's job. Urch. Nick down wit da kids there, marvellous. As for young Master Henthorn, who will be attending the University of Leeds - sign him up at once, Darrell! I like the ...
Time's ticking till close of nominations for the Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards, so here's a reminder of the categories and an exhortation to vote early! Nominate in any or all of these: • Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2008) • Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award) • Best use of blogging / social networking / e-campaigning by a Liberal Democrat • Best posting on a Liberal Democrat blog (since 1st September 2008) • Best non-Liberal Democrat politics blog • Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year To ...
So, a few days ago I wrote about how minimum unit pricing was not the most effective way of dealing with the problems of binge drinking and alcoholism. But, that doesn't mean that I'm blind to the problems that they cause. And it's a problem that is just as prevalent in Wales. Nearly 40% of adults in Wales admit to consuming more than the recommended daily limits for drinking and 20% admit to binge drinking. Even this statistic seems quite low to me and I suspect that there are many more who are simply not admitting it. Most people I ...
Just a quick update on the Credit Unions issue I mentioned yesterday - as with any good campaign, it now has a Facebook group for you to join and a Twitter hashtag (#NoCreditUnionLevy) as well. If you have information or ideas, please share them!
Updated at the bottom The attractive Real Women web site and the magazine-style policy proposal document are in grave danger of making Liberal Democrat policy making popular. In general, I have a major concern about the document in that it is full of proposals but has very, very little in the way of evidence and preamble to explain why those proposals are needed. Most Liberal Democrat policy documents do set out ample evidence as background to their proposals. In this document, there are a few snappy bullet points and a couple of women's stories. But apart from that, the document ...
Forest of Dean DC, Mitcheldean and Drybrook Blackpool UA, Stanley West Lindsey DC, Saxilby Ashfield DC, Hucknall Central
Whatever the POLITICAL right or wrong of the situation of Megrahi... the fact remains that the Scottish Justice Minister made a decision based on an ETHICAL consideration of the man's health. We abhorred Jack Straw when he kept the train robber in prison when he was soon to die. Yet now we abhor the Scottish Government for releasing a terrorist. We have heard from families of the victims, some of whom have said he should be released, some of whom have said he should not be released. But this raises an important point. And I am sorry to say, a ...
One of the biggest grips I have about the way that British politics operates is that there is such extraordinary inertia in the process of reform- pressure grows over a period of decades before necessary changes are made to our system of government. Though we are taught about the Reform bills of the nineteenth century as creating the a democratic franchise for the Parliament, the fact is that the modest reforms of the Reform bill of 1832 took decades of agitation before it was enacted, after having been first proposed by Pitt the Elder in 1786. It was still nearly ...
...and this one from Robert Fisk does just that. He has long railed against 'Western' attempts to impose our values on 'Middle Eastern' societies - the inverted commas are because this includes Afghanistan, which is about as far from the Middle East as Surbiton is. In this piece in the Independent he notes that the elections yesterday in Afghanistan are admirable but they are not quite the free vote we take for granted, as most people there will have voted along ethnic lines - quite reasonably since they live in a society which is run along ethnic lines. He concludes ...
This week in the Guardian's diary column Esther Addley is standing in for Hugh Muir, and she's chosen a book of the week, True Blue: Strange Tales from a Tory Nation, by Chris Horrie and David Matthews. Very unpleasant trends are emerging in two vignettes that paint Tory activists as racist and anti-Semitic. Who knew? The first scene takes us to Richmond: during the election campaign of 2005, when the book's undercover authors were canvassing for the local Tory candidate against the Lib Dems' Susan Kramer. Given a telephone cold-calling script, they were puzzled to find instructions to tell voters ...
The financial problems facing small business in North Wales still continues to be a pressing issue. Many local businesses are facing financial stress and ruin through the lack of support from banks. It is deplorable how some banks are withdrawing overdraft facilities overnight, putting both business and jobs at risk. We tax payers now own and have paid dearly for many of these banks and it is outrageous they ride rough shod over their customers who are trying to weather the economic storm. If not for us, the tax payer, these banks would have disappeared. This government should not let ...
I do love how the AA and the RAC Foundation can get headlines merely for stating the obvious on behalf of their nebulous memberships. Today, for instance, we learn that the AA are against cars being clamped by private companies, which the RAC Foundation also told us they were against about a month ago. Interestingly, the pictures BBC News use for both of those stories appear to be of the same car, just from a slightly different angle, which is somewhat apt. That's not to say that there isn't a problem with some of the private parking companies, though one ...
The Ministry of Defence is seriously considering turning its back on Rosyth dockyard and awarding the contract for the refit of our new super carriers to yards in France, Spain or Holland. A letter I received from the Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell confirms other confidential reports I have received. It reads as follows: "As part of the development work, a range of options to establish the best value for money solution are being examined; these naturally include undertaking the work in UK dockyards such as Rosyth." Only "include"! To even consider foreign yards when we have top notch facilities ...
Guido posted a blog post yesterday, about the Labour party and Tory party rounders game of Parliamentary bag keepers, and about how the Tories beat Labour. Labour is getting bad at politics, campaigning, online campaigning and now even rounders! Clearly Labour is doomed to win the next election, if they can't even with a game of rounders?
David Cameron needs to tread carefully. What does warning about the risk of default amount to when you are planning to become Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury?Who is he predicting is going to default? Presumeably, he expects Labour to be out of power in a year, and then for ever. He does not expect a default before next May, surely: if so, he could make himself even more wealthy with a straightforward bet on the UK's CDS market. So is he saying "The rate at which Gordon Brown is spending right now makes it quite possible that ...
My local MP, Jim Fitzpatrick, is in the doghouse in the eyes of many of my Muslim neighbours, having walked out of a wedding reception at the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel Road, because he was told that the event was segregated by gender, which meant that his wife would have to go to the women's room. Doubtless he [...]
So, it's the silly season again, and politicians are once more gripped by an irrational argument. No change there. But for those of us who study history, the latest furore over the NHS is positively nauseating, with people apparently split into the camps of those who decry its very right to exist, and those who suddenly pretend they haven't spent the last few years grumbling about how it's in dire need of reform. Part of this division is built upon a myth - a boil that needs to be lanced. We're so used to Labour politicians churning out the line ...
Look what I missed by going to Swindon. The Oxford Times review of this year's Cropredy festival said that for many Winwood's appearance was the highlight: The ex-Traffic man opened with I'm a Man and instantly showed why he has long been regarded as the ultimate musician's musician. Members of his top band were given all given opportunity to indulge in lengthy solos, with the man himself seemingly as brilliant on guitar as keyboards.Thankfully the sound system was worthy of such high-class musicianship as Winwood opened wide a stunning back catalogue with electrifying performances of Higher Love, Dear Mr Fantasy, ...
Cllr Brockway retained her seat last night as the Saxilby electorate returned as their representative.Full results: Brockway (Conservative) 722Pearson (UK IP) 62 Woolley (Lib Dem) 407
Wow. Especially the thunder. Wow. (Also on YouTube here.) Related posts:I've recorded a music video! With lots of verses! And a guitar! Before you watch it, you probably had better take a...Illegal file-sharing drops amongst music fans Not only is illegal file-sharing on the decline in Britain,...
Kalvis Jansons (the chap who created the Gordon Brown resign petition on the No 10 petitions website which is now at over 70,000 signatures and rising) has e-mailed me this morning with some interesting information. Apparently no new petitions are being allowed to be launched on the Number 10 website until Gordon Brown returns from his holiday on the 7th September (see below) In case you can't read it, the text says: Notice: Submission of new petitions will be closed until 7th September while the Prime Minister is away from Number 10. You can still sign any petition during this ...
This week Birmingham remembered one of its most famous sons, Matthew Boulton. The manufacturing and business guru and key member of the Lunar Society died 200 years ago. A short ceremony was held by his statue on Birmingham's Broad Street. The children from Ladywood's own TNT News were on hand to record the event.
Local MP Steve Webb has called for urgent Government action to tackle the spiralling level of unemployment in this area. Although it remains well below the national average, the number of people out of work and claiming benefit has more than trebled in the last year. Steve said, "It is a source of great concern that unemployment levels are rising rapidly in our area. There is a danger that the Government concentrates all of its attention on traditional unemployment 'blackspots' and neglects areas such as ours which have had low unemployment in the past but are now being hard hit ...
@markmurrayuk I see they've pulled the ads for the moment. Have installed myself now and looks ok. in reply to markmurrayuk # 3 new comments on "DavePress" and more http://bt.io/6PN # @markmurrayuk They've pulled it from the beta - at least the version I downloaded last night didn't have it. More in a msg on their site in reply to markmurrayuk # @paulwaugh Is it really bad news for Cameron? It lets him showcase himself as having changed from the old Tories in reply to paulwaugh # @simond Ah, everyone wants my old job title these days {:)} in reply ...
@markmurrayuk I see they've pulled the ads for the moment. Have installed myself now and looks ok. in reply to markmurrayuk # 3 new comments on "DavePress" and more http://bt.io/6PN # @markmurrayuk They've pulled it from the beta - at least the version I downloaded last night didn't have it. More in a msg on their site in reply to markmurrayuk # @paulwaugh Is it really bad news for Cameron? It lets him showcase himself as having changed from the old Tories in reply to paulwaugh # @simond Ah, everyone wants my old job title these days {:)} in reply ...
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has been released as I have previously blogged and now the presiding officer, Alex Fergusson at the Scottish Parliament feels it is acceptable to recall Parliament. Tavish Scott MSP was calling for the Parliament to be recalled last week to discuss the upcoming decision. No, his request was turned down, but not now the release has taken place we read on the BBC News website - "Holyrood presiding officer Alex Fergusson announced the move to bring back MSPs from their summer break, days after turning down an earlier request from the Liberal Democrats." Now I do not ...
It is only four weeks to the start of Federal Conference in Bournemouth but for those of us in Wales there is one more conference this year. That is the Welsh Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Wrexham from 16th to 18th October. This will be the first of a number of Conferences that will help to shape the Welsh Liberal Democrat manifesto for the 2011 Assembly elections. We will be posting a number of items in the run-up to this Conference giving information on how to register as well as details of fringe meetings and motions etc. This though is ...
On the 12 December 1988 I was about 5 minutes further towards London Waterloo than the Clapham Rail disaster occurred. On the Saturday of that week the 17th me and a friend were driving past Lockerbie on the then A74 at about 7pm. Wednesday the next week Pan Am Flight 103 came crashing out of the sky there. Also that Christmas while I was home I was out for a run, came in showered, went down to watch the news and saw a bomb had gone off in the last hour along my route of that night. December that year ...
Here are a series of shots which show the entrance of the ship Nordland (with accompanying tugs) into Fowey harbour on 12th August, with Point Neptune House (which is owned by a celebrity couple) in the background. On the face of it, Fowey can seem a rather twee up-market yachty "posh place" these days. But about a thousand large ships like this one enter and leave the harbour every year. So this is a reminder that Fowey is serious working harbour.
The 80th Southport Flower Show was opened by Christopher Biggins this morning. By all accounts he was a great hit last night at the charity event and this morning he was on the show ground very early. Volunteers who were there were delighted and impressed to see him. All day he was around the ground meeting punters, enthusing with exhibitors and stopping everywhere to have his photo taken with anyone who asked. Anyway judge for yourself, the video is of the opening: Altho this is the 80th show the first was in 1926 in the depth of another economic crisis-the ...
Yesterday my heading was "Best A level results ever?" So now that I have actually read the figures - guess what? They really are the best A level results ever. Am I prescient, or what? Every year a bigger percentage of the pupils who are taking A levels pass. Every year, without fail, there are concerns raised about "grade inflation", and about how a reform of the system might be necessary. This is now such a regular thing, a failure for it to happen might seem like an indication that the world is coming to an end. Of course, this ...
