We knew Derren Brown had not really predicted the lottery numbers in advance. And we knew it was most unlikely he would tell us how it was done. He is, after all, an illusionist, and illusionists don't give away the tricks of their trade. But we were entitled, particularly given the build up it was given, that he would deliver an entertaining programme yesterday evening. As it turned out, it was merely dull - not remotely worthy of the publicity. Brown has a certain slacker charm - think of him as the Ben Goldacre of the Magic Circle - but ...
I was down in London this afternoon so could not attend the demonstration. There are reports on the BBC and Leicester Mercury websites. This video was produced by Leicester Civic Society to encourage people to attend. You may also be interested in their earlier video giving the background to the controversy.
his one's going to be quite a short one, and more of a rant than a coherent statement. Put simply, I am sick of comics reviewers referring to Grant Morrison's work (and various others like him) as being post-modernist in some way. In a way, it's an understandable claim – Morrison is clearly extremely influenced ...
The Sun reports: Cat burglar Jaffa shows off his collection of cuddly toys - all purr-loined from nearby homes. The nine-year-old Siamese has baffled owners Ashley and Myra Cooper by bringing home the trophies almost every day. They have no idea where he gets them. Not only that: he comes from Market Harborough. Well done, Jaffa.
Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron have been assiduously courting the trade unions. Brown went first with a 'peace summit'; "Gordon Brown sought to soothe trade union anger by hosting a three-hour meeting at Chequers to reassure 15 union leaders that forthcoming cuts in public spending would not lead to wholesale job losses in the public ...
I absolutely love this video. It is a spin off of David Cameron referring to his upper class past, and his desperate attempt to appear as though he connects with the ordinary person on the street. The video also relates to the stories today around Cameron again saying that the election is not in the bag for the Conservatives. People have pointed to how this strongly relates to Cameron's concerns that the public don't really trust him as a person, because of his background and opportunisitc attitudes. Well how can you blame them, after all, they are right! Anyway, enjoy ...
Liberal Democrat Voice have started an excellent feature called The Friday Five. Yesterday's selection included this absolute hoot from Tabloid Watch: Today's Littlejohn column includes a story about Kate Pong in Shropshire, who gave birth to five babies who were named Beyone, Barack, Bobbi, Tyra and Earl. Here's the Mail's 'star' columnist: "My first reaction was that this must be a wind-up, probably placed for a bet by someone at the swine flu hotline with nothing better to do. We rang The Times advertising department and they assured us it was genuine. There's no mention of a Mr Pong, or ...
There's no one more than me that wants to stop the abuse of children and adults. I'm sure I'm up there with every Liberal Democrat in this. So why do I feel extremely uneasy at the new puritanism that is being unleashed in our society. I refer to the excellent posting by Alison Wheeler. I checked the ISA ...
Fantastic news - Camden Council is joining the 10:10 Campaign. The decision will be announced at Full Council on Monday night. That's great because Camden is the top rated council in the country and so hopefully this news will encourage other councils to sign up. But it also makes me really happy because the campaign was the brainchild of Camden filmmaker Franny Armstrong and most of us on the 10:10 Team are from Camden. Much credit is due to the Lib Dem Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Keith Moffitt, who led the internal discussions. Camden didn't join the 10:10 launch ...
In the lead-up to this year's Lib Dem autumn conference in Bouremouth, Lib Dem Voice is conducting a survey of our Forum for party members on the recent political and economic crises – asking about what you think, and also your perception of how the party has dealt with them. The survey has been designed jointly with the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr), to tie-in with a conference fringe event on the theme, 'The end of politics as we know it?', (1pm, Tue 22 Sept) with a panel comprising Ming Campbell, Shirley Williams, Charles Clarke and, erm, me. Carey ...
I often seem to hear people saying that 50% of people going to university is too many, because the economy doesn't need that number of graduates. I may sometimes have said something like it myself, in fact. Today I had a reminder of why that is the answer to the wrong question. It was the last tutorial for my current batch of Open University students. I teach a first-year law course, in an area of East London that is probably rightly described as deprived, and the profile of the students reflects that. Of the core group who persevered with the ...
localism, surveillance state
Just to give a quick plug to the Lib Dem candidate in the Bedford Mayoral by-election, Dave Hodgson. I believe that this is only the second Mayoral by-election in Britain after North Tyneside in 2003 so it's about time that the Heath Robinson creation that is the fabled Lib Dem by-election machine got to work on one. So good luck to Dave, and I might even see you on the streets of Bedford at some time in the next month if I can make it over there.
A very funny post from The Futility Monster. My, how I laughed.
So, the mighty blues, Chelsea FC keep up their 100% unbeaten record in the 2009/10 season with another victory away at Stoke City. It took a last minute goal from Florent Malouda to get the deserved win for Chelsea, despite a bad first half for us when we went behind after 32 minutes with a goal headed in by Abdoulaye Faye, fortunately Didier Drogba was on hand to equalise just before half time (in injury time). Read the full match report. This fifth victory in a row means we sit pretty at the top of the league still and good ...
Heresy Corner has written a most interesting article about the requirements being imposed on people applying to study or undertake social work. Entitled "No subs allowed" it notes that even though the personal sexual activities and preferences of an applicant would be very unlikely to have an impact of the quality of their work — indeed there are studies to show the reverse is true — people engaging in consensual BDSM behaviour are being blocked from the profession, despite the government seeking to increase the number and quality of social workers.
Newbury Real Ale festival in full swing about an hour ago. It was great to see so many people - especially "young" people" - there. It was also good to see a large queue for the cider and perry. The throng spilled out onto Northcroft field, and many were watching the cricket. I watched a couple overs myself. I don't think I've seen such a defensive field.
Welcome to a new occasional series covering what academics have to say about politics, elections and public opinion. As with most things in life, academic research comes in various flavours, including the good, the bad and the stating the bleeding obvious (though investigating 'what everyone knows' does have a role, as just sometimes it isn't true after all). Today's selection is about the order in which names appear on ballot papers can affect election results. First, we have some venerable research from the last 1970s which, after highlighting that way back in 1910 there was concern in the US about ...
As on Saturday, the Jewellery Quarter throws open its doors with open days at Key Hill Cemetery, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, St. Paul's Church, St. Paul's Gallery, the Pen Room and the RBSA. In addition, check out the following... SUNDAY - 11AM, 12PM, 2PM - GUIDED CEMETRY WALKS Key Hill Cemetery Looking at those buried in the cemetery from Birmingham's past including the Bird family, Joseph Chamberlain and Robert Lucas Chance. SUNDAY - 3.00PM - VOICES OF CITY OF BIRMINGHAM CHOIR RBSA 2nd Floor Gallery Mini-Concert SUNDAY - 3.00PM - THIS BEAUTIFUL THIEF St. Paul's Gallery Intelligent indie ...
The highlight of Sunday will be sets from Reverend & The Makers, Athlete and Birmingham's own Johnny Foreigner, all live in Centenary Square. Also worth checking out is "The Fear of Queer", a performance exploring homophobia from the Pink Space Theatre Company, ahead of November's SHOUT Festival. SUNDAY - 2.30PM - BELLY DANCE ELEMENTS The Flapper Release the Goddess within. Bellydancing with a Bollywood mix! SUNDAY - 3.35PM - THE NATIONAL SAXOPHONE CHOIR OF GREAT BRITAIN Birmingham Conservatoire - Adrian Boult Hall Sax to the Max. Auditory and visual saxophonic treat. SUNDAY - 4.00PM - PINK SPACE THEATRE COMPANY The ...
I note her posting on the lapdancing club First from the posting: And then to the presentations by objectors. First up Cllr Dave Winskill (LibDem) who gave the background to the campaign, described the location (and in the end it is the location that makes this application ungrantable - if that's a word) and put the application ...
It is my local Councillor, PPC and good friend Robin Lawrence's 40th Birthday celebration today. He is having a 40th Birthday BBQ and I have been roped into cheffing.
So - finally - the licensing meeting to decide the fate of the lap-dancing club application at the Music Palace in Tottenham Lane, Crouch End, happened last Thursday evening. The gallery was packed, literally packed, with those who had come to support those objectors who were presenting their case to the licensing committee to try and get this application refused. The Chair started by asking the applicant's representative to distinguish between lap and table dancing - which in the end it transpired was not hugely different - other than lap dancing was direct to the client's lap (sort of obvious) ...
Not as in Watergate, or any other scandalous -gate, but a gate that buses go through..... Far too many lorries drive along Elm Road, Gosbury Hill, Orchard Road and Orchard Gardens in Hook. Most are taking a short cut to or from the Cox Lane Industrial Estate. There is, of course, a lorry ban in the residential roads. The Council has tried a number of strategies to stop the unwanted traffic - there are road signs at various places, and the businesses on the industrial estate have been telling drivers to use the approved route via Jubilee Way. But nothing ...
Fresh Squeezings from the veins of the internet!Save Your Breath for Running Ponies has an open letter to the newly-discovered giant rat. I love So you might be feeling a little bit bewildered right now, Bosavi Woolly Rat, having never seen people before and now all of a sudden you meet them and they adore you. But I think you should know that in terms of rats, you're kind of an anomaly. People generally don't like your kind, my giant rodent friend. You give them the creeps and they sort of assume you're out to infect them with diseases, chew ...
From OUTeverywhere website: The area of "soft intelligence" has expanded. The police in one area might have felt that had case a good case but could not proceed, but kept the information anyway for enhanced CRB checks, but the information stayed with them. Do we know what this includes and where the line is drawn? Will there ...
It is good to see progress towards the setting up on a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme for the Logie area. Following the recent AGM of Logie Residents´Association I attended, the Tenant Participation Officer has written to all residents in the Estate to update them. She writes: "The idea we have at the moment would be to run the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme along with the Logie Residents' Association, with the Association being the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator. We already meet on the first Tuesday of every month in the Sheltered Lounge in Lime Street at 7pm and Neighbourhood Watch could become a standing ...
Sat 12th
13:56
Why you still don't know what Party Committees are up to (part 4) - is there an easy answer to the d...
For anyone else considering using a blog to reach out to interested parties, it makes for a depressing spectacle. If the outcome is to provide a platform for rather aggressive, insistent and often ill-informed criticism, why put yourself through it? Given that most committee hands are doing it with the aim of achieving an improvement in how the Party operates, and give up their own time, and money, to do it, you might understand why such personalised criticism hurts all the more. I haven't forgotten the individual who accused me of being a 'lackey of my wife'. The fact that ...
Was The Guardian's Martin Kettle right yesterday to argue, as per his article's headline, The biggest problem for the Liberal Democrats is illiberal Britain. It was a long, thoughtful piece - and, hey, it's much better to be talked about than not, especially if you're a Lib Dem - but, still, it was at best a partial explanation. Let's start with the positive stuff. First of all, Mr Kettle acknowledges the various ways in which the party has "been right on so many issues": By so many yardsticks, the Lib Dems deserve to be higher in the polls than they ...
The Irish Marriage Equality campaign have produced this excellent video to aid their cause seeking equal civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. It has even got the support of the Irish Labour Party. The Scottish Campaign for Equal Marriage could well try something similar to get the message across in such a charming and appealing way of just how the inequality still exists through the 'equal' but different approach that has been taken in the UK, so far. Hat tip to Slugger O'Toole.
The Grauniad, bastion of liberal values. But also a newspaper which today gives vent to a number of unsubstantiated smears against the Lib Dems in an article by Steven Morris – Liberal Democrats accused of dog whistle politics over Gypsy claims – which buys hook, line and sinker into the spin from Labour and Tory HQs. The Grauniad's story focuses on Islington (though cheerfully throws a few other snide half-truths into the mix to legitimise turning a local issue into a story for a national newspaper – of which more later), and the recent proposal by Islington Labour party to ...
Due to quite a few offensive comments over the last few hours, I've had to introduce comment moderation. This is a bit oof a shame but I'll try and approve comments as fast as possible.
[IMG: Tax-expired van in Ridge Road] This week I got a call from an annoyed resident of Ridge Road about a large commercial vehicle that had been parked in the street for many months. The resident had reported the vehicle to the Council, but got no response. I took a look and contacted the appropriate department. The tax disc has now expired so I think the Council will now be able to take action. The parking problems in the area are very bad – so it really annoys residents when businesses use Stroud Green as a car park for their ...
As you may have heard by now Derren Brown was predicting the lottery balls on Wednesday, like many people I thought it was a load of pish as it obviously cannot be done. Will Howells set this blog up for me and now he is a true phenomenon in his own right, comedian, singer and a Doctor Who fan so - take it away Will.
So, this morning I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed at stupid o'clock, even though I will be working till midnight tonight, so I could go and participate in what is laughingly referred to as an Action Day. For those of you who are not politically active, an Action Day is when a whole bunch of activists get together to deliver leaflets to a given area. After about an hour or so of having my knuckles scraped by ridiculously snappy letterboxes, and falling over on uneven paths, and generally feeling pretty battered and bruised and grumpy, I got to a ...
Just listening to `Inside Politics` on R4. The main focus is on the Trade Unions relations with the Labour Party (or rather the weakening of those relations). Jane Kennedy MP (Liverpool Walton) commented that Unison have suspended donations to Labour and thus to her constituency Labour Party. She mentioned that there is a `close fight with ...
The Freedom Central team will be meeting up at Federal Conference to discuss how we can further develop this site. People are very welcome to join us or leave comments on how they would like to see things change. We'll be meeting on Saturday 19th September at 15:30 for an hour somewhere near the Connaught Hotel where there is food. As I've not been to Bournemouth since 2004 I'm open to suggestions on where to go. Sunday also sees our 'unofficial' Welsh night. Held in the salubrious but affordable surroundings of the local Weatherspoons between 20:00 and 22:00. We'll be ...
Saturday 5th September The most important thing that Paul Walter will ever write. Sunday 6th September Peter Black AM debated about debating the BNP Sara Bedford wrote about why "No Platforming" is no solution. I couldn't agree more. Cicero's Songs thought that on Lockerbie, the wrong target is being shot at. Monday 7th September Christopher Lovell questioned how much you should actually talk about on your blog. The Half-Blood Welshman counted the cost of voting. Includes a fascinating ancedote about Arthur Balfour I had not heard before. Tuesday 8th September Sara Bedford asked if The Daily Mail is guilty of ...
First we may not be able to drive them to sports or other clubs without a criminal check, now they may lose some of their factual television output due to over reactionary Government clampdowns. A leaked memo from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)is aiming to ban children from appearing on TV unless they are singing, acting or dancing. The aim is noble because of some of the reality shows that have shown children such as Channel 4's Boys and Girls Alone, but the implications yet again go far further than Labour seem to think, or have thought. ...
This Saturday's trio of videos doing the rounds takes as its topic Minnesota's new Senator, Al Franken, who eventually took his seat after a load of legal wrangles – as we covered here and here earlier in the year. Al Franken was a controversial choice for a politician since he already had a career as a comedian and polemicist – you may be familiar with such fence-sitting, equivocating titles as Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them) and Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot Unsurprisingly, the American right hate him. Now, however, he is Senator – and proving ...
I blogged before about the UK citizenship test, that many UK citizens would fail. Since then I came across this piece, on Labour Home of all places, describing the realities of the test process for would-be citizens. (I should add that it was the test's location in Islington, not the article's location on Labour Home, that ...
I have been thinking all morning about proposals by the Plaid Cymru Health Spokesperson, Helen Mary Jones to dismantle the Welsh Ambulance Service and pass responsibility instead to each of the seven new Local Health Boards. I have to say that I am still undecided as to whether it is a good idea or not and, in a way this blog post is me thinking out loud. My first reaction to the idea was 'oh no, not another reorganisation', and it is true I think, that for Plaid Cymru in particular, the first port of call when looking for solutions ...
The Institute for Welsh Affairs has warned that Wales could become virtually invisible on television schedules unless Government money is pumped into broadcasting. Currently, less than one in every 2,000 hours of television broadcast in the UK consists of English-language programming made for Welsh audiences but the IWA believes that this level, amounting to 0.048%, will shrink to almost nothing without Government intervention to ensure more programmes are made in English that cater directly for Wales. Figures produced by Ofcom in 2008 indicated that, of the 2,483,495 hours of television broadcast in the UK, only 1,193 were made in English ...
Doctors have warned that Wales is facing a critical shortage of GPs as it emerged that one in five of them is over 55. In parts of the South Wales Valleys, up to 40% of GPs are reaching retirement age with few signs of younger doctors eager to take over their jobs. Figures published by the Welsh Assembly Government reveal that 21.5% of GPs in Wales are now 55 or over but the average age of doctors leaving the profession is 52 for men and 46 for women. They also reveal that the three-month vacancy rate for GPs has risen ...
Willie Rennie has been elected (unopposed) as the new chair of the Liberal Democrats' Campaigns and Communications Committee (CCC). His predecessor, Ed Davey, announced he was standing down earlier this year. Willie brings a strong campaigning pedigree to the role, being not only a Parliamentary by-election victor himself (and anyone who can remember the political circumstances of January 2006 will, after shuddering a little, recognise just how strong a candidate he was) but also a former Campaigns Officer with a good record of victories. Having a Scot in the role should help ensure that feathers stay unruffled over how the ...
A recently revelation that Heatherwood in Ascot (serving Bracknell, Crowthorne and Sandhurst) at one point had a debt of £20million. This debt was revealed during this weeks healthcare scrutiny committee when it was explained that a surplus of £2million in April 2008 then become a debt of £20million by April 2009, but because of a number of cost improvement programmes this will now be reduced to £10million by April 2010. This sum of £10 million seems to me to be a huge number to find for Berkshire East Primary Care Trust that manages a budget of almost £500million. The trust ...
We need a new TV series in the mould of Dallas or Dynasty. Just as they burst out of a recession economy to wow the world with glamour, glitz and conspicuous consumption, surely something similar would work today, given the audience a dose of high-end trash to amuse them in times of austerity. What's needed is a series that combines fabulously rich people with the machinations of giant global businesses. Something that features a set of glamorous and luxurious locations spanning the globe. Then, of course, you just need some ridiculous plots, things so outlandish that no one would believe ...
The Manifesto Club has published Attention Please, which it describes as "a photobook of unnecessary, absurd and patronising safety warnings in public space, submitted to us by members of the public over 2008-9". The campaign group's website goes on:The collection contains submissions from all over the world, and also from individuals including the Turner prize-winning artist Grayson Perry. Images include: a sign outside a Sussex beach reading 'Caution - uneven surfaces'; an official smoking area in a Walsall supermarket car park; a Krakow tram's ban on music and ice-cream; a warning outside a Tooting cemetery that 'all memorials have the ...
Picture the scene. You're a newcomer to the Houses of Parliament. You've recently started a job working for an MP as their research assistant. The days are long, the pay is piss poor. You need the toilet. So, being a normal human being, you go and find one. There are plenty of them about, so the search doesn't ...
As many of my regular readers will know I blogged in August about this fascinating boat, and if you scroll under the actual blog posting many of you have been keeping us all up to date with the future travels of Le Grand Bleu after it left Leith Harbour here in Edinburgh. No sightings though since it left Sandown Bay 5 days ago, so if anyone knows where it is please let us know as there are a few of my readers following it, if only for fun.
At the start of this month I blogged about the average manhood being 8inches, and that Glasgow is king of above average in the UK coming in at 8.5inches when it comes to condom sales across the UK. This morning I am here to tell you that Scots are also the best groomed in the UK (in case you are wondering why I am up at this unearthly hour, my little cat, Zennor, woke me up and then insisted I got up, non animal lovers will think I am bonkers and animal lovers will know exactly what I am talking ...
I have written about Ian Huntley in an earlier blog but I am going to write about him again because of a government initiative which has been driven by his crimes. In October we will have a new vetting and barring scheme which relates to people who are employed and work with children or vulnerable adults and it doesn't matter whether the work is paid or voluntary. There are changes that have been implemented already because of Ian Huntley and checks are being carried out. You are required to undergo an enhanced CRB (police) check if you wish to work ...
