Actually written on Christmas Day! It's been a bit strange to see St Alban's tower, Wood Street, London EC2 featuring in two major screen productions over the late few days. First of all it was in the last episode of Spooks on BBC1. Then yesterday we saw it in St Trinian's 2 where it was featured as the headquarters of a Secret Society led by the character played by David Tennent. It's a very unusual and wonderful place. It was a church until it was bombed in the war, then demolished leaving only the tower, which is now a private ...
http://twitpic.com/u29cs – 2 signs my holiday has – at long, long last – begun. Yay [IMG: :)] # Hmmm, to go or not to go –> JEDWARD LIVE @ THE REGAL IN OXFORD – Mon 21st Dec. Avail from http://bit.ly/57X1r5 <– anyone?? # ooohh, may have to watch Love Actually again now. (And this year without even thinking of complaining about the missing comma). # Joyous swear-filled pro-X-factor rant from Adam Bell http://bit.ly/5Fs9pE And for the record I like Joe and think The Climb is fab. # TY @andershanson for reminder of Avalanches' brilliance http://bit.ly/5UQ2vu Frontier Psychiatrist best track/video http://bit.ly/8NwbpU ...
http://twitpic.com/u29cs – 2 signs my holiday has – at long, long last – begun. Yay [IMG: :)] # Hmmm, to go or not to go –> JEDWARD LIVE @ THE REGAL IN OXFORD – Mon 21st Dec. Avail from http://bit.ly/57X1r5 <– anyone?? # ooohh, may have to watch Love Actually again now. (And this year without even thinking of complaining about the missing comma). # Joyous swear-filled pro-X-factor rant from Adam Bell http://bit.ly/5Fs9pE And for the record I like Joe and think The Climb is fab. # TY @andershanson for reminder of Avalanches' brilliance http://bit.ly/5UQ2vu Frontier Psychiatrist best track/video http://bit.ly/8NwbpU ...
My colleagues at work have decided to take my political education in hand. Knowing that I intend to give up the "day job" quite soon in order to be able to work more effectively as one of your councillors, and win North West Durham for the Liberal Democrats when the General Election comes, they have provided me with a political manual for Christmas. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" in the early 1500s. From it comes the term machiavellian, meaning everything devious that can be used in hanging onto power. Only my colleagues can tell you what their intentions were in ...
What a lot of people don't know is Her Majesty the Queen of England, is in fact a rampant libertarian. Every year Elizabeth II writes a secret libertarian draft of her speech which is quickly dismissed by courtiers. Well, this year Liberal Vision has obtained a copy of that draft and is proud to publish it here: Merry Christmas, What we really, really want for Christmas is the real proletariat revolution, libertarianism. Many would not think myself or my family to be, in any way, libertarian, yet my darling Phillip has been doing his bit for freedom of speech for ...
Christmas Day is probably a terrible day to upload a video if you want anyone to see it, and Christmas Day afternoon even more so. But as this video what I have made for you is very much a Christmas Day thing, there's not much option really. So here's my Christmas Message: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Probably my favourite picture of the year when it snowed in March and I got this from Kilburn Grange Park of the Kilburn Gaumont State. There is a crowd of people now enagaged in getting the State re-opened with community access as well as established as a new church. It's a huge venture and seems only right to feature it here given the season :-) Merry Christmas to the blog readers - one and all... Ed x
Throughout the festive season, LDV is offering our readers another chance to read the 12 most popular opinion articles which have appeared on the blog since 1st January, 2009. The twelfth most-read LDV op-ed of 2009 was by LDV co-editor Mark Pack, and originally appeared on 17th October ... Jan Moir: the dilemma for the PCC (and what you should say in your complaint) The reaction to Jan Moir's article about the death of Stephen Gately has been widespread and swift. Fuelled primarily by Twitter and Facebook, complaints about homophobia flooded in on the Daily Mail, the Press Complaints Commission ...
Just wanted to wish anyone who reads this happy Christmas, I hope you have a good day
This morning BBC News 24 had an assemblage of camcorder footage of the attack on the Pope. It's clear that his security was relatively good, in that, a second or so after the lady managed to get over the barrier, a security man in a suit ran at her and grabbed her very effectively round the midriff and was successfully pulling her to the ground (in a move any rugby fly-half would have proud of) as she managed to reach out a hand and grab the Pope (only just mind). Bear in mind that the Pope was wearing lots of ...
Merry Christmas everybody!
I'm writing this well in advance. I do not intend to be writing any fresh blog entries today. However, if you have come across this blog I can understand. I have spent a couple of Christmases on my own because of not being able to get time of work to make travelling back and forth either worthwhile or practical. So as you are here I'd better give you something worth looking at. So over to Tim, Graeme and Bill. That is Brooke-Taylor, Garden and Oddie or the Goodies with thier 1973 send up of the Great British Pantomime. If you ...
[IMG: xmaslist]
The West End Christmas Lights 2009 at Seabraes
[IMG: Christmas tree]
Have a lovely day!
Well the Chinese government has chosen to close down around 10 gay websites or their accounts have been deleted by web hosting companies, after being pressured by the Chinese government. It really is a bloody disgrace, I suspect that the majority of these websites had less material classed as offensive than some straight pornographic ones? Some of them were nothing more than information websites for sufferers of HIV. There are between 5million and 10million gay men (note men, not people so the full figure for gay people will be massive) in China, according to their own Ministry of Health, so ...
[IMG: Christmas tree] Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! Between today and 3rd January I'll be spending some time at home and some time visiting relatives around the country. I will be checking email and voicemail so you're welcome to give me a call or send me an email - just bear in mind that I might take a day or so to respond.
Thank you all for your continued readership and support of my little blog. Due to various events this year Christmas cards have been a little thin, in fact they are all written but have yet to be posted so you may well get them after Christmas, although as they say it is the thought that counts. For those that don't receive one this year, please don't be offended, those that know me well will realise why, but here is the picture we chose for this years card. So, Merry Christmas to one and all.
Good morning and happy Christmas, loyal LDV readers! I hope you're in fine voice as there's singing to be done. Join me in waking the neighbours, the kids or the lark with some a capella goodness. But first – the history, blogs and news: On this day in 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. On this day in 2003 British-built Mars probe Beagle was lost after failing to make contact with scientists. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that caught my eye from the Liberal ...
Nick Brown accused of festive smear over Clegg snap | The Sun http://bit.ly/6uZS9l <- Nice quote from @nick_clegg # RT @libdemvoice: New post: Massive $6bn lawsuit for repeated breaches of music copyright http://ldv.org.uk/17209 # @MarkHanson Can I tempt you with http://bit.ly/7p7AYp ...? in reply to MarkHanson # @greenwellys You can always sign up as a fan at http://bit.ly/7p7AYp in reply to greenwellys # @lookingred Much more @simond than me, but glad you like it in reply to lookingred # @Lucy_Watt Thanks for the RT. See you this evening in reply to Lucy_Watt # @NHSConfed_Niall Thanks for the FF in reply ...
The East London Advertiser is runing an online poll, asking Tower Hamlets residents whether they favour moving to a system of local government in which there is a powerful, directly-elected Mayor (as is the case in neighbouring Hackney and Newham). Next spring, local voters will be able to take part in a real referendum about ...
A few months ago I listened to food historian Ivan Day, on R4, explaining that the British heavily fruited Christmas Cake evolved out of an earlier sweet bread relative of the German stollen and Italian panettone, called a Twelfth Cake or King Cake. He supplied an eighteenth century recipe by a chef called John Molland. Twelfth Night cakes of various sorts are still made in parts of Europe and the USA, but the English version has died out. Since it is a yeast based recipe, I thought it would be interesting to adapt John Molland's recipe for a breadmaker, and ...
[IMG: 2009_1224StAHalfMarathonPoolC0014] Christmas Eve is always frantic in the Walkington household. I look with envy and disbelief at the serenity of other families. For us it is the day to decorate the house and tree, do the last of the Christmas shopping before the more talented members of the family take their voices and instruments to various church services. I have neither vocal not instrumental talent but I hope that all of you reading this will have or have had a splendid Christmas and that 2010 will be as good as it can be for you.
Political correctness is all around us but I am going to stick my neck out and wish you a merry Christmas. Some people, often the decision makers, seem to think that anything to do with Christmas is offensive to non-Christians. You hear all sorts of stories about the word Christmas being banned, and anything with any religious connection will cause offence. Ten years ago they had 'Wintervals' in Birmingham. I am sure that the person who made this decision would have taken it to avoid offending anyone. The result, of course, is offensive to Christians. A more common expression is ...
Christmas Day: Those Irony-meisters the Pet Shop Boys appear to have brought down the Curse of Ubastard, Evil God of Bad Timing, by releasing their Christmas single shortly before it in fact DOES snow at Christmas, paralysing all planes, trains and automobiles. Fluffy hugs especially to everyone who got trapped in the Chunnel or in Europe. We know how you feel; Daddy Richard's mummy and daddy went shopping in BASINGSTOKE. It took them EIGHT-AND-A-HALF hours to get home! Here's hoping you got safely home to your loved ones! Help yourself to a nice warming PIE and meanwhile... Run VT, daddy! ...
