The scrutiny process - a system of committees to check on council performance and to propose new policies - has never worked well at Dacorum. There are no officers or financial resources provided to support scrutiny, for example. Worse still, the foundations of the system, the temporary and informal investigatory committees called "Task & Finish Groups", have not been given clear enough objectives and have lacked both structure and the discipline either to complete their work in a timely manner or to make clear action-oriented recommendations to the portfolio-holders. This lack of support and general vagueness has meant that they ...
[IMG: kearsney abbey grdns2] I find that parks in cities are more welcoming just for the simple reason that there more precious and more populated, it seems whenever I visit my local park, the chances are that I'll be the lone person walking through who hasn't thought to bring along a mutt for company, and the ubiquitous plastic bag to collect what ever dogs like to leave behind. [IMG: kearsney abbey grdns3] Its a pity, parks already ain't what they used to be, during the 80's 90's well tended sometimes elaborate formal flower beds that used to decorate parks disappeared ...
I've just remembered that back in April I predicted that, whatever the overall outcome, there would be a maximum of four women Conservative councillors in Kingston after the election. (There were only two of them before May) Of the 21 Tory councillors elected in May, precisely three are women.
I had it mind to write a post moaning about an article in this morning's Guardian. It was an account of Jonathan Ross's farewell to the BBC by Zoe Williams. The moan was not about Williams' habit of pretending to be a teenager when she writes, though there is an annoying example of it in the piece: Of course, any event in which David Beckham takes part, and speaks for a period of time, and appears to be enjoying himself, or at the very least, not in hell, that's news, right?Why does a 37-year-old educated at Godolphin & Latymer School ...
Andy Crick has a major problem with the coalition government: "My problem is that, notwithstanding some of the measures in the budget, like the dodging of a meaningful capital gains tax increase, I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with much of what is being done. This is a difficult position to be in when I want to maintain my independence and critical faculties." If you missed Zac Goldsmith's extraordinary performance on Channel 4 News last night, hurry over to Caron's Musings for the video and some sensible comment. Another fount of good sense, The Wartime Housewife, strikes a blow against Outnumberedism. ...
The government announced this week that it plans to review the cost of the BBC licence fee with the possibility of the cost being reduced. Its one of the things that can really raise people from their armchairs in this country and get people talking. I often find myself talking to my friend Mike in ...
It seems as though my blog post regarding the Level 42 fans and ex band members who deem it appropriate to resort to playground antics and offensive comments towards another band member has ruffled a few feathers in Level land. However, I did receive the following 'apology' from the 'uber fan' in question. I think ...
Liberals accept that sometimes regulation is required to correct the market for example the an imbalance between corporate power and responsibility in the banking industry because it effects the wider society and government becomes liable to carry the burden of underpinning the sector and the economy at unimaginable cost . One area that needs a radical solution in the form of regulation is in the payment of one company to another. So often I hear of companies who's resources have already been diminished by the recession and unable to access credit, being caught between a rock and a hard-place - ...
I have visited Gaddesby twice before. The more recent occasion, though it is some years ago now, was to play chess for the Leicestershire in the village hall here. We played most of our home games in the old Leicester City Council staff social club, but for some reason we played our match against Nottinghamshire here. The hall took some finding today. It is a modern - perhaps 1960s - building on the outskirts of the village. I had no memory of it, but for once I have a clear memory of the game I played there. I was Black ...
I believe absolutely that climate change is happening and we need to act quickly and decisively to counter its effects, but I am not a fan of the vilification of those people who are sceptical of climate change. As a good liberal I don't like people to be picked on because they don't endorse mainstream opinion. But if someone is a climate change-sceptic, they do have the responsibility to argue their case. And I read a report in the Guardian today (you can read it HERE) that would make unwelcome reading for anyone arguing against the existence of climate change. Let me ...
Not one for rewriting something when someone else has done it far more eloquently than I ever could, I refer you all to Caron Lindsay's excellent post regarding Zac Goldsmith's meltdown on Channel 4 news the other day. There is also a link to video footage of the actual interview itself so that you can ...
I've just got round to watching Zac Goldsmith's infamous interview on Channel 4 News last night. By the way, a huge thank you to those lovely people at Channel 4 for making it so easy for the entire blogosphere to access and embed the clip. It almost made me think that it wasn't a real interview at all - just one of these films you'd play at a media training day and ask people to spot the mistakes. The madness of the situation is that according to sage that is Mark Pack, the law is quite imprecise in the areas ...
This summer sees the launch of the No. 1 Smithery building at The Historic Dockyard in Chatham. A partnership between the Historic Dockyard Trust, the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum, this sympathetically restored building now houses a stunning collection of maritime models and art while providing a cultural exhibition space and hands-on educational entertainment for families. Inside the original shell of No. 1 Smithery, there are a series of climate-controlled storage cubes housing the model collection, the restored Pipe Bending Floor, a static exhibition, National Museums Maritime Treasures and an art gallery for travelling exhibitions, kicking off ...
Local club West Didsbury & Chorlton FC are currently applying for floodlights at their ground in order to secure entry into the Vodkat League, aka North West Counties League. The fllodlight application has concerned local residents, but shock news reaches us that the FA Leagues Committee have vetoed the clubs move up. There was objections from the club's current league, the Manchester League, and those have stopped it in its tracks. The question is....without a need for floodlights, will the club pursue its application.
I was out again this morning to visit constituents and talk to them about the Coalition as well as any local issues they wanted to raise. I had a very enjoyable three hours with conversations ranging from fair votes to the history of Whickham to my family's history. I was even invited in by the current owners of a house where my great great grandfather lived (the house was built for him in 1902).
From You Tube, here's footage of a 1997 radio jingle recording session in Dallas, Texas. You have to feel sorry for the singers and technicians - hearing the things that often in a short space of time must do your head in. The studios concerned are PAMS, who are world famous for their jingles. The five singers pictured are, from left to right: Brian Beck, Greg Clancy, Dan Alexander, Kay Sharpe and Abby Anderson. It has been said that the voices of those five singers have been heard on more radio stations than the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the ...
Bob and Anna disappeared yesterday afternoon to Maplins, excitedly clutching the sale catalogue. They both have a huge fascination with lights and this year's collection alone has included solar power fairy lights, light strings and mood lights. Not to mention the laser thingy that projects things on to the side of the house. This is what they came back with yesterday. How cool is that? Not bad for £12.99
An interview with Louise Bagshawe, the novel-writing Conservative MP for Corby and East Northants, in today's Times produces what for me is the quote of the week... even if this is the week that saw the publication of the Mandelson memoirs. Her quote: "From a very young age I'd stage palace coups with my dolls and sentence them to death, play elaborate political games with them, while everyone else was doing tea parties." It brought a smile to my face :)
From the FT: Visits to The Times' website have dropped by two-thirds in the weeks since News International, the media group controlled by Rupert Murdoch, began to implement its paywall strategy, according to new data. Interestingly, most of that decrease happened in the weeks before pay-for-view when users were being asked to register to read articles. Visits to the Telegraph website have increased markedly during all this. The News International strategy appears to be to attract higher advertising revenue through having a "higher quality" readership which will be more attractive to advertisiers. However, this is a bit risky, says the ...
There has been at best, a muted response among Lib Dem members to the graduate tax proposals announced by Vince Cable on Thursday. There appears to be a general agreement that these proposals are better than the status quo but not really 'progressive' and that the only really Liberal outcome is so-called free education. It could however be argued that this phrase is a misnomer. Nothing is free. It may be free at the point of use, but it still has to be paid for. The suggestion of its advocates is that it be funded through general taxation, and specifically ...
This is the third of the series of audio plays by Simon Guerrier produced by Big Finish as part of their Companion Chronicle series, bringing back Jean Marsh as the short-lived Sara Kingdom, who originally appeared in Doctor Who for a few weeks at the end of 1965 and start of 1966, paired with Scottish actor Niall MacGregor as Robert, a constant visitor to the far-future house in the fens which appears to be haunted by Sara's ghost. Knowing that this was about to come out, I revisited the previous two plays, Home Truths and The Drowned World, which both ...
I was on the beach this week and one thing that struck me was the site of Samphire growing so abundantly on the beach near to the Pier. In fact, I believe, Southport has become a bit of a destination in terms of Samphire harvesters who are taking to our shores in droves armed with sharp knives and black plastic bags. Samphire is an edible plant that grows on the edge of salt marshes and beaches click here for More information on Samphire. Samphire is now back in vogue as a very health addition to the diet and I believe ...
Andrew Natsios was in charge of the US Agency for International Development from 2001 to 2006, and he knows what he is talking about in this 80-page essay (summary here, also covered by Laura Freschi here). His basic argument is that USAID is now running so scared of the multitude of government bodies to which it is accountable that the effort put into compliance with the petty bureaucratic requirements of Washington bean-counters is squeezing out actual, you know, aid work. (I was referred to Freschi's synopsis of Natsios by John Ashworth's mailing list, which is mainly of interest to Sudan-watchers ...
Defence spending is a particularly emotive issue, especially for a country at war - in fact by 2011 our forces will have been at war since the millennium for longer than WW1 and WW2 combined. We can still see that our forces are lacking equipment for their current role and have largely been under-funded by Labour who forgot that government has a duty to save taxpayers lives before saving taxpayers money. Thus we have seen insufficient funding of our forces for the tasks they have been compelled to perform in the national interest (so called) whilst at the same time ...
At the Hay Festival this year one event that I went to was Douglas Hurd and Edward Young talking about their book Choose Your Weapons: The British Foreign Secretary 200 Years of Argument, Success and Failure. It was a brilliant discussion, with Hurd showing a level of knowledge and understanding of foreign affairs that was impressive, and also making his arguments with great clarity and thought. One nice moment was when the panel were asked if they felt that the Iraq war was still damaging the United Kingdom in Eurovision. Edward Young replied that he felt we lost this year ...
I'm not the biggest fan of Microsoft. Both my original Xboxes now run Linux, I've converted my laptop and computers to Ubuntu, and I generally laugh in the face of Microsoft's increasingly desperate attempts to stay relevant. So it was with great mirth that I went along to a BizSpark event a few weeks ago. Microsoft were going to be showing off their latest "innovation" – Windows Phone 7. I went along expecting to hate it and, instead, found myself curiously drawn to it. Take a look at the emulator for an interactive demo. I played with the demo hardware ...
Actually, I've not trawled back that far – just five months, February this year, when the Lib Dems' Chris Huhne launched a salvo on The Guardian's Comment is Free against the Alternative Vote as a means of electoral reform: [The Alternative Vote] is very similar to first-past-the-post in two key respects. Because it is based on single constituencies - a virtue for its proponents, who say they prize the constituency link - the parties continue to select one candidate each, and the voters only have one choice for each party. ... Conservative opposition to electoral reform gives the lie to ...
I said recently that Nick Clegg needs to start thinking about the proposition he is going to take to the country at the next general election. In a recent speech, Clegg has done just that. The speech clearly sets out his view of what modern liberalism is. In the speech he stakes a claim to the political territory that goes from James Purnell to David Cameron. There are probably some in his party who would rather be to the Left of Purnell and others who would take issue with his view of the State. Given the broad coalition that the ...
Delightful visit to Muswell Hill children's library to open it now it has been restored to its former glory. You really have to go there to see how fantastic it now is. The roof has huge, ornate sky-light type windows in - glorious - but in all the years I did my surgery there when I was a Muswell Hill councillor - you would never had noticed - as the dirt and grime of years obscured their magnificence. The walls had always been peeling and decrepit - and an old mural across the length of one wall was dingy and ...
Liberal Vision provides a blast from the past with a letter to the Times in 1932; apparently they didn't blog in those days! The letter is from four economists including Hayek who argue that stimulating the economy might not be such a good idea... Devil's Knife reports on a debate he participated in at the IEA with a full transcript of his speech. In it he makes the case for friendly societies. David Thompson set out in April why he doesn't mind that much if he lives in a market anarchist or classical liberal society. I spotted the post last ...
Tomorrow, Sunday 18th July, the Tayport Instrumental Band will play on the bandstand at Magdalen Green from 2pm to 3pm. Next Sunday (25th), at the same time, the Dundee Instrumental Band will perform on the green's bandstand. On 1st August, Tayport Instrumental Band returns at the same time and on 8th August, its the turn of the City of Discovery Brass Band, with the Arbroath Instrumental Band on 15th August. It is great to see another series of summer Sunday Band Concerts taking place on Magdalen Green.
This is absolutely hilarious! What a pickle! A simple answer would have sufficed - but, instead, mud and hair flies. It's absolutely pathetic! Zac Goldsmith could do well to remember the advice of that wise old owl, Denis Healey: It is a good thing to follow the First Law of Holes: if you are in one, stop digging. .. Mark Thompson makes some good points about this: The problem is that the performance makes Goldsmith look arrogant in my eyes and of many others who watched it. In the end I was cringing, willing him to move on to the ...
I am sure I am not the only one who finds it astonishing that our Labour MP Jim Dobbin managed to write a whole letter on the budget without one single mention of the terrible financial situation that his Government left us with. Not one mention of the £5000 a second that our country is ...
There's an appreciation of the life of West End resident John Berridge by David Torrance, in today's Herald - see http://tiny.cc/berridge. John passed away last month and the obituary in today's Herald (together with an earlier one in the Scotsman) highlights his distinguished academic career, his significant contribution to Scottish devolution, and his many interests, including painting and birdwatching. John was one of my politics lecturers at the University of Dundee in the 1980s. Many years later, it was a pleasure to be invited by John to open Dundee Art Society's summer exhibition last year and present the Roseangle Cup ...
Simon Hughes MP (Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats) has responded, via Youtube, to my Yoosk question on, you guessed it, marriage equality. Whilst it's a bit of muddle he does confirm that he understands the difference between civil partnerships and marriage and that he does want us to work towards marriage equality. Good times! If you feel benevolent and particularly generous, this writer always appreciates things bought for him from his wishlist
There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader ... Here's Mark Pack, my Co-Editor at Lib Dem Voice, posing as a very un-glum councillor while out campaigning recently. What do you think he might have been saying or thinking? The winner of our most recent caption competition, the "Ed Davey in fete worse than death" edition - according to The Voice's judging panel of one - was this one by Nigel Bennett, with an honorary mention to this one by Steven Acres. Got a photo of a proiminent Lib Dem ...
Zac Goldsmith's interview on Channel 4 is either an amusing satire or a warning shot across the Conservative's PR bows. It's a perfect example of how to demonstrate contempt for accountability: Change the subject and run down the clock (he claims the right to a full 12 minutes to discuss the process by which he was booked, clearly a frivolous use of time - I expect MPs to have a bit of spine). Attack the questioner (refusing to answer questions until we've dealt with an already well known interviewer's moral character is also pointless). It's ok because everybody else does ...
The allegations made against Zac Goldsmith highlight three areas of electoral law where the law leaves considerable latitude for interpretation and where the usual clarity that comes from an accumulation of case law is missing because of the paucity of cases that have considered the issues. The first area is the question of reusable materials. If, for example, a local party buys some clipboards they may end up getting used over several elections and also outside of elections for activities such as street stalls. What therefore should the cost be to an individual campaign of using the clipboards? Calculations involving ...
Part 5 of my blog of reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time. You can find the first part here. Chapter 5: The Climax of the d'Anconias The chapter opens with the discovery by the Peoples' Government of Mexico that the d'Anconia copper mines they'd nationalised in the previous chapter were worthless. No decent ore ...
The Parliament Square protesters have lost their appeal against eviction. Some people are very pleased that their will be no more peace camp or Democracy Village because they see it as unsightly and not a good image for tourists. Others think it should stay because it is a good image for tourist to see democracy and free speech in action. Personally I full somewhere in the middle (yeah I know typical Lib Dem). I believe in the freedom to protest but I also believe the camp itself was becoming a bit of a mess. So I'm torn. How about a ...
I've lifted this picture from Anne McLauglin MSP's blog. I hope she doesn't mind. I know that many of you reading this won't be able to go because you live too far away. It dawned on me that you could show your solidarity by lighting a candle, wearing a yellow ribbon and posting it to the Facebook group in their support. Maybe we could also change our FB and Twitter avatars too. Every time I look at my lovely 11 year old, I feel so much for Florence. Separating me from my daughter would be the worst thing that could ...
This week has seen renewed efforts to ban the burqa both in our country and in France (a country I can see from the end of my road!). Whilst the British story is more of a legislative joke, the tone of Philip Hollobone MP is pretty offensive. As a MP he doesn't really have the right to pick and choose which constituents he will meet and talk to just because of what they are wearing. We must stand up and point out the ridiculous nature of the suggestion he wants to ban people from wearing an item of clothing and ...
As readers know I have been keeping an eye on the coalition negotiations going on in the Netherlands. It does appear that the 'purple' coalition favoured by our friends in D66 is now a serious runner. This would bring together VVD the (market) liberals who are the biggest party with Labour, D66 the (social) liberals and the left Greens. The various parties do seem to have kept their conversations private but there is an feeling of momentum about events. I was interested in the 'off stage' advice of the former Labour leader Ms Ter Horst: She.... reveals herself to be ...
An opposition party can only be truly effective via the media. Government has its own spin and PR, but the opposition must cultivate this through good press stories for them and bad ones for the government. Blair understood this better than anyone and used it to great advantage in the dying days of the Major administration, mostly through the fanaticism of Alastair Campbell. Fast forward to today and a small party perpetually in opposition is now in government. When in opposition, projecting a clear party line was a key goal. For the Lib Dems in government, this seems to be ...
As a long time Level 42 fan with a long history of following the band and collecting all manner of recordings and memorabilia, I was eagerly anticipating the release of the 30th anniversary box set. I got mine this week and have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the acoustic tracks released especially for this edition. However, ...
The blogs and Twitter were ablaze last night with talk of Zac Goldsmith's interview with Jon Snow on Channel 4 News last night. He had been invited on to discuss allegations about his election expenses in Richmond Park. However the encounter turned into a bit of a car crash for Goldsmith when he spent the first six and a half minutes of the interview repeatedly accusing Channel 4 of having lied about arrangements for previous interviews. Here is the encounter: I am not an expert on electoral law but having read a number of posts about this it looks like ...
In the 1980s John Cleese recorded a famous party political broadcast for the Liberal/SDP Alliance about the merits of proportional representation. Courtesy of YouTube and a US electoral reform group, here it is: You may also note that it was back from when party political broadcasts (PPBs) could last up to 10 minutes and usually did. As John Cleese demonstrates, when done well the full 10 minute format could let an issue be explained and argued in detail without becoming boring. It also gives us even longer to enjoy John Cleese's jumper.
Sat 17th
09:45
Why I disagree with the Lib Dems and fully support university tuition fees (and the Coalition)
I could write an in-depth article explaining my support for University tuition fees, but I see I've done so a number of times already.* So I'll confine myself to making three points: 1. The nature of party, and especially coalition, politics. I've seen a handful (and only a handful) of Lib Dems saying abot various issues over the past two months, "That's it for me, I cannot support policy X, I'm resigning my party membership". Well, that's their choice, of course. But to resign from a political party because you disagree on any one single issue strikes me as odd ...
One my my favourite pieces of news these past few days is this gem, which illustrates why – maybe – we have to be a little cautious about consulting the people too regularly... ... a Pew Research Center poll released Friday showed that nearly half of Americans incorrectly think the government's bank bailout was enacted ...
Because I am poorly and have no spoons, I got into a fight I possibly shouldn't have started last night, with someone who winds me up with his sexist behaviour at regular intervals. I'm not going to link to it, because I don't want this post to be about that specific incident, but about the generality. It ended up with him saying to me that I have no right to complain about him not linking to women's views unless I, personally, spoonfeed him women's views to link to. Now, my instinctive reaction to that is to think fuck you! Why ...
Sat 17th
09:20
The Saturday debate: are public elections the only ones political parties should fight?
Here's your starter for ten in our Saturday slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate: Why should a political party restrict itself to fighting public elections? Why not also take part in the myriad of other elections that exist, including those for directors of companies? Instead of complaining from the sidelines about how a council behaves, we fight elections to change its decisions and methods. The same logic could apply to companies, hospital trusts, housing bodies and may more, all of which – like the bodies we fight elections for – have significant power over communities ...
[IMG: burka] The fallout from France's recent decision to ban people wearing the burka in public epitomises the irreconcilable divide between conservative (with a small c) and liberal ideology. Those truly committed to a liberal agenda should oppose calls for the government to further dictate what we can and can't wear in public. Firstly, this isn't a debate about religion, security or multiculturalism. It's about individual liberties. Many Conservatives opposed the smoking and hunting bans on precisely these grounds. They seem to have forgotten these noble principles when it comes to this issue. But civil liberties don't just extend to ...
I came across this meme while browsing my visitor stats and thought I should try it out. Much though I dislike Amazon, it does have some fun bells and whistles, including the listing of Statistically Improbable Phrases from any book where they have got adequate access to the text and interesting enough results. I've pulled out a few from books I have read so far this year; can you identify any of them? 1) salted meal, sacred salt, great laurel, father river 2) punishable assault, marrow wound, notice that the suit, full outlawry, fifth court, old beardless, nine neighbours, lesser ...
With the possible exception of the New Statesman the entire British media, including the BBC, seems to have accepted as fact that the British economy is in a parlous state, that "savage cuts" are necessary. that the coalition is right to boast of its courageous "tough decisions" and that we must all (actually mainly the bottom 20%) suffer for the greater good in the future. Those of us who believe otherwise are beginning to feel like the odd man out in John Stuart Mill's celebrated "all mankind minus one." Fortunately there are still some sane voices. On the 8th July ...
I don't like much of what I know about Zac Goldsmith. But I think that the media coverage of his alleged dubious election expenses should be seen in the context of the bizarre and arcane requirements of British election law. I have twice myself been a candidate, and twice an election agent, in UK elections between 1990 and 1996. I was frankly stunned at the mismatch between the actual costs of the campaign and what was required to be declared to the authorities. This was also the time when Joe Hendron, the MP for West Belfast, was found to have ...
The second part of the Holtam Commission's report on the financing of Welsh devolution has proved to be a bit of a slow burner, having a bigger impact in Scotland than it did here in Wales. One of the reasons for that is the aspirational nature of the report. With the exception of Rhodri Morgan's outspoken and strong opposition to tax-raising powers most Welsh politicians have filed it away for later. After all we have a referendum on law-making powers to fight first and then the battle for a reformed Barnett formula. The struggle for fiscal responsibility is something we ...
I've spent the last two days (Wednesday / Thursday) attending the annual strategic planning event for "Team Bury". (Team Bury is the Council, and its partners in Bury - the police, NHS, fire, colleges, voluntary sector etc). via burytv.net
i) births and deaths 17 July 1925: birth of Hugh David, who directed The Highlanders (1966-67) and Fury from the Deep (1968). According to legend he was also approached as an actor about playing the role of the Doctor back in 1963, but turned it down. ii) broadcast anniversaries 17 July 1965: broadcast of 'Battle of Wits', third episode of what we now call The Time Meddler. The Monk is luring the Viking fleet to attack; and Steven and Vicki discover, to their amazement, that he has his own Tardis.
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TEMPORARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MEASURES IN VARIOUS ROADS IN ST ALBANS NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads, except for access and to prohibit all vehicles from waiting at any time on both sides of these lengths of roads whilst works are in progress:- 1. that length of A4147 Catherine Street/A4147 Folly Lane, St Albans from its junction with the A1081 St Peters Street/A1057 Hatfield Road roundabout north westwards and westwards to ...
Many Eyes: Every Doctor Who villain since 1963 - updated Not sure about the data - Sharaz Jek surely only in one story? - but a neat idea (tags: doctorwho)
Sat 17th
01:02
New Spotify Playlist: Tim Hardin Covers (Scott Walker, Small Faces, Colin Blunstone...)
I'll be back to my Who And Batman blogging tomorrow, now all my computer/work/illness/exhaustion problems have finally been sorted (PEP 2 will be a little later than planned too because of those, but it *is* coming...). But a brief discussion with Burkesworks in the comments from my linkblog led me to do this. We were ...
A bit later than usual - give me a break, I'm busy, why don't you? - here are last month's figures... Readership returned to its usual levels, with 2,394 visits during the month, compared to 3,653 in May (down 34.5%, or 32.3% adjusting for the uneven number of days), and 1,867 in June 2009 (up 28.2%). Income from advertising fell back again, to 95p, down from £2.01 last month, and from last June's £1.43. As a result, my first cheque from AdSense is now expected to arrive in April 2014. Oh yes, my Wikio ranking is 190 (General, up twenty ...
I wrote about the hosepipe ban last week and I suspected that the waste that we would hear about would be caused by domestic users. The call is now for every home to be fitted with water meters. Well it doesn't seem to have stopped raining since the ban came in and many Lancastrians have also been affected by flooding. It is fairly obvious that we need water. It is vital for life and if we charge for the amount that we use then it is going to hurt those with young families who are not in the best position ...
