Over at Is there more to life than shoes?
Denis and I decided to go out this afternoon and try to find a little bit of his past. We know that several generations ago an ancestor was the miller at Bowes. This was in the days of watermills which were commercially viable in today's parlance. So we set off under grey skies to follow the footpath along the side of the Greta towards Mill Race Falls in the hope of finding some traces of the
From Lembit's Daily Sport column: PIRATES could soon be in power in the UK! But they're not the swashbuckling Johnny Depp-type -- or even our uzi-wielding chums from the Somali coast. I'm talking about the Pirate Party -- the Swedish outfit who campaign for free file-sharing online. They're fed up of big fees being charged for music downloads, copyright being slapped on YouTube videos and internet usage being tracked. They won a couple of seats in Brussels and are now planning on standing in the UK general election next year. These buccaneers shouldn't be underestimated. They've got a big supporter ...
I had a Sunday wedding this week which means that Sunday and Monday have both been busy days. It is now 10pm and I have just finished working on the photos and they are now ready to go for printing, so apologies for the late posting. The topic for this blog is not from a Sunday newspaper as I have not had time to read one but the wedding was in Clapham and I have driven along roads where I am not used to driving. I can't remember exactly where this was but one roadsign gave me alternate smiley faces ...
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be confidential so I better not blab their name but we put up one of our members for an award at next month's party conference and to my delight (and theirs!) they've won! It's pretty tough sometimes being a LibDem in Westminster – we have no councillors out ...
David Cameron Bullingdon photo "dropped out of circulation" George Osborne, David Cameron, Boris Johnsonbefore they learnt to hide their true colours. Posted using
The Scotsman ran a story on Saturday using figures uncovered by Labour about how little Scottish ministers use the train and instead use the ministerial cars. To be fair the transport minister travelled by train over 100 times during the 2008-09 year, but guess what the next figure of usage down was? 75, 50, 40 no, nowhere near, it was a measly 14 and that was by the enterprise minister, Jim Mather, so they weren't journeys to his constituency then? But the sheer hypocrisy was from the environment minister, Roseanna Cunningham who managed to never use the train during that ...
There was a report in the Guardian today about plans to set up a new generation of technical schools. I am instinctively in favour of this move, because it suggests a recognition that different children and young people have different needs and interests, but what really struck me was the comments of the National Union of Teachers head of education. John Bangs said: "I just hope they are not a precursor to introducing selection at 14. Baker has an undoubted interest in the needs of kids whom he believes ought to be involved in some kind of occupational work and ...
For those of you who are uninterested in my increasingly recondite ramblings on comics, continuity, canon, quantum physics and Doctor Who, here's some music... Incidentally, I lose track of what I have and haven't included in these, but I hope there's always enough new stuff to keep people interested... Come To The Sunshine by Harper's Bizarre is ...
Carers and Personalisation Conference This conference took place in the conference suite at the Oval Cricket Ground. The focus of the conference was to look at the impact of the move towards personal budgets for users of social services on the unpaid carers of those users. Whilst the move to a more person-centred approach for social care has ...
blockquote>"The only thing I can think of to do in that situation is what I usually do, which is lie and pretend I totally meant that to happen all along. Like, instead of a real gun, it's a magic crime-solving gun, and how I always knew Despero's secret plan was to take over the universe. ...
...with it's 18 years of Conservative followed by 12 years of Labour rule then spare a thought for the people of Japan who have just ended nearly 54 years of one party government (bar 4 months). Dictatorships can last considerably shorter lengths of time than 54 years; nations can be formed (and blink out of ...
Whilst the Lib Dem's were campaigning against Homophobic bullying in schools at Mardi Gras, it seems Plaid and Labour fell out of love. You'd think that being in Government together would have made the two sides reasonably friendly. And that basic civility would mean that if they had stalls in the same area, say opposite each other the star crossed lovers that form our Government here in Wales would get along. Alas, should that be your hope, you'd find it cruelly dashed. Freedom Central have heard tale of a lovers tiff. Rather than gazing into each others eyes as the ...
Anthony Taylor's latest posting exemplifies this, right down to the strange use of the word "refute".
JW was ahead 123-118 at the last count almost a month ago and we've only had 3 rounds since then: 2-0, 2-0 and 0-2 to him, cumulative 129-120.
So what has Lembit Opik been talking about recently? Is it the NHS contraversary? Is it parliamentary reform? Is it the Megrahi? Is it Afghanistan? No, it is the so called 'silly season'. He uses the example of news coverage of the La Tomatina festival in a small Spanish Town, where they throw tomatoes at each other, as an example of the 'silly season', and how journalists need politicians to survive. In attempt of creating his own sort of news story, his sexist, misogynistic views come into play, as he sets out his desire for Nicole Ford to be dressed ...
The historical novelist Vaughan Wilkins must have had a huge following in the 1950s. At one time every secondhand bookshop in the country had a copy of the World Books edition of Fanfare for a Witch. For that reason, almost as a joke in fact, I started collecting his other books. Now I even have a couple of signed first editions. One of those other books by Wilkins is his anthology of odd historical snippets Endless Prelude. It contains the following from 1212 by Gervase of Tilbury: In our own time there befell a marvellous but well-known event to prove ...
This story on the BBC news website, explaining the virtues of the new EU legislation to ban 100w incandescent bulbs features plenty of quotes from the Energy Saving Trust, who explain why Compact Florescent Lighting (otherwise known as "the shitty bulbs they're going to make you use from now on, whether you like it or not") are completely awesome: According to the Energy Saving Trust, compact fluorescent lamps (energy-saving bulbs) use 80% less electricity than standard bulbs. They could also save the average household £590 in energy over their lifetime of between eight and 10 years, and if all traditional ...
If you haven't seen this before it's a fascinating bit of open space and history. We're in Hampstead on Rosslyn Hill nest to the Royal Free Hopsital and it's called the Heath Strange Garden. And sure enough quite literally it's a small garden that was the site of the Old Hampstead General Hopsital and is named after the man who founded that hospital in 1902 - Dr Heath Strange! Dr Strange lived at 2 Belsize Avenue, Hampstead, and is buried in Highgate Cemetary (I haven't been to track the grave down yet). Heath was married and he and his wife ...
Matthew Cain did an interesting post about the responsibility of bloggers recently. He makes some good points and it is worth a read. My understanding is that bloggers are responsible for what they post on their own blog and are subject to libel laws as anyone publishing articles in the press or other media would be. This seems perfectly fair to me and I am pretty careful about what I say about people, generally using my common sense. I wonder though if a different approach needs to be taken regarding the comments people post in the threads below blogs. I ...
Wales-on-line report that the Labour-Plaid Cymru Welsh Government have ordered Cardiff Council to drastically revise its proposed Local Development Plan (LDP), which sets out how the city should develop in the years to 2021, by planning to allow more house-building on greenfield sites. As it is currently drafted Cardiff's LDP seeks to maximise brownfield opportunities by using small sites, change-of-use and unidentified 'windfall' sites, to deliver an extra 8,000 homes in the City. However the Welsh Government say that this 'raises concerns regarding the delivery of affordable housing and infrastructure over the 15-year plan period.' They say that the plan ...
I haven't read the classic texts (Robert Mundell, for example) on currency theory, so this is very much busked from my own instinctive market understanding. For what it's worth. My letter to the FT, published 31st August, argued that whatever grim future awaits Iceland holds no auguries for Britain or other advanced nations. There's a basic mistake easily made when trying to interpret 'big' situations (say: whether the market will be repulsed by the USA's debt) with 'little ones' (whether a stranger would lend you a fiver): certain, rather important features of an economic situation cannot be abstracted away simply ...
OK, so basically, I will confess to enjoy reading the Daily Mail because it's full of hate, and hate can be fun to read. Third world (or however you may wish to call it) debt, access to clean water and human rights abuses etc, are all very noble issues, but, at the same time, can get rather boring. Once you've read about one genocide, you'll soon discover they're all really quite similar. I got to reading a wonderful Saturday commentary page by a certain Amanda Platell (I understand that she also writes for the Guardian giving a 'right wing perspective' ...
The final phase of The Mailbox development is nearing completion. Named The Cube, the mixed-use development will provide a new hotel, with more shops, offices, apartments, bars and restaurants around Birmingham's canal district. Many residents have contacted me to say the look of the building is nothing like they expected and could turn out to be an embarrassing mistake. It was a similar story when the Mailbox itself was constructed and of course when the silver disc covered Selfridges building opened. But in time, Brummies seem to have taken both to their hearts. So take a look at the artists ...
No thank you, but the Tories are offering Churchill and Thatcher ringtones. I don't want one but if any of my readers have a hidden passion for Thatcher or Churchill then follow the link!
52 post coming a little later, but for now here's some links: The big news for comic fans at the moment – probably the biggest of the decade – is that Disney have bought Marvel. This could be either a very good or a very bad thing for the comic industry. If Disney started insisting that ...
Here's a few snaps from the 31st floor of Cleveland Tower on Holloway Head. [IMG: Beetham Tower from Cleveland Tower, Holloway Head, Birmingham] Looking east, directly across Holloway Head at Beetham Tower, with New Street station and the Rotunda behind. [IMG: Looking north from Cleveland Tower, Holloway Head, Birmingham at the BT Tower and Jewellery Quarter] Looking north with the BT Tower and the Jewellery Quarter in the distance. [IMG: Looking north-west from Cleveland Tower, Holloway Head, Birmingham, over the Mailbox and Centenary Square] Looking north-west over the Mailbox and Centenary Square.
Over at Wales Online, Lib Dem Welsh assembly member Peter Black, the party's health spokesman, explains why an holistic approach to health-care is so vital. Here's an excerpt: Mental health and wellbeing services have historically been under-resourced in Wales and throughout the UK. Such a position is surprising given the incidence of debilitating mental health problems among the population. The figures are striking - one in four of us will suffer from a mental illness at some point in our lives, and one in seven will suffer to a sufficient degree to warrant therapeutic intervention at some level. The incidence ...
At the weekend I went to Glasgow for the 2009 EPOP conference: an academic conference looking at elections, political parties and opinion polls. Being a UK conference, it is dominated by British politics, though there is a strong sprinkling of papers about other counties which, apart from their inherent interest, helps guard against too parochial an approach. Several of the papers were about measuring campaign effects. Since the early 1990s there has been a big shift in the academic consensus towards believing that local campaigning has an effect on election results. In other words, as someone like myself would put ...
Are you spending half your August Bank Holiday Monday stuck in a traffic jam? Well, just think of it as extra vacation. Lib Dem research has revealed that the average British commuter spends the equivalent of 23 working days per year travelling to and from work; a Londoners' average yearly commute is 1,370 miles. Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson, who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics, comments: Commuting is often an incredibly frustrating experience, whether you are on a crowded train platform staring at your watch, crammed on to a bus or tube train or stuck ...
So California has a huge budget deficit, and the great state's Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, decides to hold a garage sale to cut it. Old police cars and bikes, goods confiscated from criminals, leather jackets, and more went under the hammer. And it raised $1.5 million. Not bad... ...until you find out that Arnie's deficit is $26 billion. So this impressive effort, which thanks to the Arnie factor (and a quiet bank holiday weekend) has made it onto the BBC's international news, has slashed 0.005% from California's budget deficit. Woohoo. Looks like California's Republicans are going to have to try a ...
Old school, analogue politics demanded that constituents turn up to their MPs' offices for surgeries if they were seeking their Parliamentarian's help. Then came street surgeries, when elected representatives turned up their residents' doorsteps to solicit casework. But Lib Dem Romsey MP Sandra Gidley has taken mobile surgery to a whole new level of comfort: The Sofa will be travelling around the Romsey and Southampton North constituency with Sandra Gidley MP. Come to one of Sandra's Sofa Surgeries, Sit on the Sofa with Sandra, and sign the I've Sat on Sandra's Sofa visitor book. Sandra's sofa even has a website: ...
...or how to block adverts like AdBlockPlus does except on your Windows Mobile phone whilst using Opera Mobile. Having used both AdBlock+ and Greasemonkey on Firefox, one of the things I noticed missing on Google Chrome was the ability to hide the adverts. Chrome by default doesn't support any plugins, so I went googling around for a solution and found AdSweep. Turns out that it is possible to have User Scripts in Chrome (the same thing really as Greasemonkey) and after some tweaks and a simple javascript file download the adverts were gone. Then yesterday I noticed a post on ...
Since I got involved volunteering with the Liberal Democrats, I have done a lot of things which I would not have done previously. I have knocked on people's doors to ask them to fill in surveys and spoken to total strangers about my political beliefs. This weekend, I did something else I never thought I would do. [IMG: Mardi Gras] I was invited to help out on the Lib Dems stall at the Mardi Gras, which was raising awareness of a Liberal Youth campaign. I had never previously seen the point of me going to the Mardi Gras, as I ...
...but he is pretty much bang-on when he says 'down with collective responsibility' and earlier when he railed against the imposed orthodoxy that the party system imposes on people. I am not convinced that the voters don't have a role that they play in reinforcement of this conformity as I have said before but ...
...An amusing but unfortunately true analogy by Liberty policy director Isabella Sankey, regrading the Labour policy to bring in some more pointless, unhelpful and stigmatising ASBOs, this time for alcohol abuse, otherwise known as a Drinking Ban Order. Writing in the Guardian today, Alan Johnson attempts to make it clear he is not generalising the whole of the youth drinking culture, but for those who do step out of line, even though he does not consider the reasons for why they may be doing so, will possibly face "banning from particular streets or areas, or even banning from buying alcohol ...
Come and hear Chris Huhne MP Shadow Home Secretary and Lib Dem Leadership contender at the Dunfermline Liberal Democrats Annual Dinner Friday 11th September Pitfirrane Arms Hotel, Crossford Tickets at £25 are available from the Lib Dem office on 01383 841700 or email info@dunfermlinelibdems.org.uk "A former financial journalist, who went on to make a fortune in the City, Chris Huhne has made much of the experience he gained before becoming an MP in 2005. He has certainly never lacked ambition." BBC website
Damar Thapa attended his British citizenship ceremony on August 19, 2009. The ceremony was attended by Tameem Ebrahim who was visiting Hong Kong. This ended a twelve year effort to have his status as a British national recognized by authorities. Damar became a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies in 1963 by virtue of birth in Hong Kong. In 1997, prior to Hong Kong's handover to China, he applied for a British National (Overseas) passport which was refused by British authorities on the grounds that they were "not satisfied that there are special circumstances which justify approval of this ...
I count a year wasted if it doesn't include at least one visit to Paris. In part because I love the City of Light which holds so many memories, in part because my children enjoy it so much. Watching my 11 year old tuck into Hareng, Saucisse d'Auvergne and Moules is a real pleasure and my 14 year old loves his Confit de Canard. But there is no question that the decline in the value of the Pound against the Euro has made France very expensive and Paris even more so. If you are going soon, 'Paris Pas Cher 2010' ...
Friday Writing in the Daily Tell-lie-graph, swivel-eyed Conservatory Mr Daniel Hangman makes a case for disagreement between members of political Parties: it's not a gaffe to disagree. So he should be allowed to say whatever pops into his pointy head. But in the SAME piece, he cannot resist a back-handed slap to "Labour and Lib Dem MPs voting - in defiance of their commitments, their constituents and, in most cases, their consciences - against a referendum on the European constitution." In other words: disagreeing with your Party is GOOD, unless you disagree with ME in which case it is COMPULSORY. ...
Last week I updated residents about the impending roadworks on East Dock Street and Broughty Ferry Road and their potential impact on the West End as trunk traffic from the Tay Road Bridge going north of Dundee will be diverted via Riverside Drive and the Swallow Roundabout (click on headline to view earlier story). At the briefing meeting I attended last week, we were advised that Twitter would be used as one means of updating residents and the site is now up and running at http://twitter.com/A92_EastDock_St Whilst this is an innovative approach by BEAR Scotland, I am pleased to say ...
The August polls until today are suggesting the following results on average: Conservatives 42 Labour 25 Lib Dems 18 if you run that through the UK Polling Report seat calculator it leads to a massive Tory majority, one that has been suggested by many others in the past. The problem is I am trying to live in hope, I don't want a Tory government and people like me are praying that Parliament is hung and the Tories don't win big. What will happen from now until the general election, unless Brown can pull something off at Conference then Labour will ...
And so we can expect the dawning of a new age of responsible drinking, following the introduction of so-called 'drink ASBOs'. Well, probably not. You see, the problem is that ASBOs are merely a way of delaying action. In order to get an ASBO, you must have committed an offence, right? If you haven't, society has no right to stigmatise you, does it? All right, so you've committed an offence. The police find you and arrest you, charging you with the offence. So, instead of prosecuting you and punishing you, you get an ASBO. Breaching the terms of the ASBO ...
Since I got involved volunteering with the Liberal Democrats, I have done a lot of things which I would not have done previously. I have knocked on people's doors to ask them to fill in surveys and spoken to total strangers about my political beliefs. This weekend, I did something else I never thought I would do. I was invited to help out on the Lib Dems stall at the Mardi Gras, which was raising awareness of a Liberal Youth campaign. I had never previously seen the point of me going to the Mardi Gras, as I am straight, and ...
Research by the New Local Government Network think tank using biographical information provided by the candidates and their parties has revealed that a quarter of new MPs after the general election are likely to be career politicians with little experience of business, public service or the professions. The Telegraph reports that one in four can be described as a "career politician," having had paid employment working in Parliament, or worked as an adviser to a senior politician whether as an employee or volunteer. Only 11.7 per cent of candidates have worked in the public services, including 2.6 per cent in ...
I remembered the Straw Man Institute the other day. Reproduced here, just in case the Sharpener site finally goes blunt and falls off the web. One of the problems of modern newspaper publishing is the question of how to fill the blank pages of the newspaper every day. After all, even though there's a lot of news out in the world, journalists only have a finite amount of time each day to turn reality into news, so sometimes they're glad when the news comes prepackaged for them and it's even better when it's not just a press release, but an ...
For those of you who don't know, we live in a back-to-back terraced house. This is the Victorian version of a block of flats (or apartment block, for those of you living in the colonies). In contradiction to what it says in the linked Wikipedia article, we have great light and ventilation (huge south-facing sash windows), and the construction of the building is much sturdier and thicker than anything post-war I have been in. None-the less, we are slightly affected by our neighbours. Because the walls are very thick Yorkshire stone, we're not much affected by noise, but we don't ...
James Graham had a piece on the Guardian's Comment is Free site over the weekend complaining that Nick Clegg had gone on holiday in August. But Nick has to take a holiday some time and it is not as if we don't have plenty of other people - Vince Cable, Chris Huhne, Charles Kennedy, Paddy Ashdown, Shirley Williams - whom the press would be very happy to interview instead. Besides, it is hard to think of a quieter political month than August. Or did James have it in mind that Nick should repeat Jeremy Thorpe's 1974 hovercraft visits to the ...
There was an interesting report in The Guardian recently which highlighted the results of a survey commissioned by age related charities regarding older women in TV. It found that 71% of the respondents were happy to see Arlene Phillips on their screens and 80% agreed that TV favoured younger presenters. I feel Arlene has had a very rough deal from the BBC. She was one of the judges on their hit Saturday night show "Strictly Come Dancing" but she is being replaced for the upcoming series with former winner and pop star (and much younger) Alesha Dixon. Before we go ...
While I was caught up in my sudden rush of green-moaning – a topic I will doubtless return to in the future – I didn't get a chance to post about an initiative being launched by the Lib Dems. It's called In The Know, which, I've gotta say, is an appalling name. It always helps if ...
Plugging away with the same message time after time may sound the obvious way to get your message over, but think how often discussions about what should go in a leaflet revolve around coming up with new things to say - or how when you look through the collection of leaflets from a campaign some people complain, "But they all said the same thing!". So let's look at Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech: an amazing piece of oratory and, surely, if you can utter such moving words, you don't need to repeat them time and again? Well, ...
One of the first groups of Ukrainian children from Chernobyl to visit the UK in years was hosted in Dunfermline over the summer. I've been working with the Chernobyl charities to persuade the UK Government to waive the VISA charges for these and thousands of other children. The Government don't charge Chernobyl children from Belarus but seem to think it is acceptable to charge for Chernobyl children from Ukraine. After a positive meeting with ministers in July I've heard nothing despite numerous calls. These charges are big sums for the charities but are peanuts to the Government. The charities have ...
Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats has launched a new campaign - In the know? Let us know!
Last week I showed you on of the ornamental lighthouses at the mouth of the River Nene near Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. Here is a photograph of the pair of them in the trees on either side of the river. The righthand one is the East lighthouse, Peter Scott's home in the 1930s. It is shown close up in the second photograph.
I may think I know the answer to this question. You may think you know the answer to this question. But in the world of legislation and regulation, it's not quite so simple as Hansard from February 1982 shows us: Sir Anthony Kershaw asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to classify the horse as an agricultural animal. Mr. Greenway asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce legislation to reclassify the horse as an agricultural animal; and if he will make a statement. Mrs. Fenner I see no reason ...
I've been reading reports of the Bournemouth University research on nutrition in hospital. I'm sorry to say that it came as no surprise to me to see the conclusion: "Hospital patients don't consume enough. If you are using food as a means of treatment then it's not working."I've never experienced prison food so I can't comment on that particular comparison, but I have had a great deal of
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Certain pro smoking groups are still trying to get the smoking ban amended to that people can smoke once again in pubs. Personal I like now being able to go for a drink knowing I will not have to wash all my clothes immediately the next day to remove the smell of smoke. However, some groups do have plans for designated smoking rooms which may make some sense. But if one thing is going to put me off supporting them it is seeing that these groups are using Anthony Worrall-Thomson on their adverts. Like Coral Vorderman, anything he does is ...
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary hopeful for Hastings & Rye, has called on the Conservative County Council to think again on Academies for Hastings. Nick has questioned Cllr Keith Glazier, the Cabinet member for Children's Services, about whether the recent news in the national press regarding the financial situation of British Telecom - the private sector ...
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary hopeful for Hastings & Rye, has called on local people to take part in the consultation organised by the British Parking Association to develop a Hospital Parking Charter. The BPA, which is based in Haywards Heath, requires submissions before 18 September 2009. Speaking after submitting his consultation return, Nick said, "Whilst I will ...
I read The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better whilst watching the last two seasons of The Wire and so Chris Grayling's claims last week that parts of the UK were beginning to resemble the Baltimore portrayed in that TV series did cause me to smile wryly. Grayling's prescription for tackling gang culture (leaving aside the completely ridiculous comparisons) amounted to little more than getting tough, cracking down on criminals and instilling more discipline in schools. By contrast, many of the points being made in The Wire - particularly the fourth season which focuses on the ...
I made a flippant aside on MEP Daniel Hannan last week, then spotted fellow Lib Dem blogger Mark Thompson taking a diametrically opposite view. I did the Liberal thing and chipped in to argue; forced to think harder about what I was writing, I came up with something more thorough and rather better in his comments thread. Mr Hannan can have his opinions (contradictorily, if he likes). So what? I can have mine, too. Free speech doesn't mean he should be immune from criticism. And if a politician implies different things about immigration to different audiences, gosh, colour me stunned. ...
