This romance novel was apparently the best-seller of the year 1910, so I thought I would test the durability of its appeal. What immediately struck me was that this tale of the young English gentry working through the difficulties of their love lives in order to reach the safe haven of engagement and marriage is exactly the kind of thing that P.G. Wodehouse was parodying (there is even an eccentric Duchess with peculiar taste in pets here); so even if nobody actually reads The Rosary these days, it has a certain legacy. It is well enough written - I certainly ...
Today was my first session at the gym without Richard my PT. The session takes around an hour but there's a lot to do, stretches, warm up, main work out which consists of leg press, shoulder press, squats, lat pull down, split leg squats - three reps of each, then onto a real selection of cardio workouts, then abs and core work and finally the coll down and more stretches. I have to be honest, I still ached in my arms and legs from Mondays PT session, but I knew I had to work through this if I am to ...
I had the great pleasure of opening the new Firhill Respite Unit for people with Learning Difficulties and Complex Needs yesterday. The unit replaces the old Currie centre which, while getting terrific Care Commission reports for the quality of service provided, was no longer physically fit for purpose. The new building accommodates eight residents for short breaks providing an opportunity to make new friends and experience new activities and provides much need rest for carers. The new centre looks fabulous with much better equipment and the chef is a qualified pâtissier! It doesn't get much better than that!
I have raised parents' and residents' concerns about inappropriate parking at West End schools on various occasions in the past. Following implementation of the safer parking arrangements at St Joseph's Primary School last term (see right), this afternoon I met with the Head of Primary Education, the Head Teacher and our local community police officer, to discuss how well the new arrangements are working. The results have been largely positive - there will always be some difficulties given the busy nature of Bellfield Street and the school's proximity to the junction with Hawkhill - but it is clear that the ...
Just back from an evening in Kinross at a Liberal Democrat candidates' hustings meeting for the Mid Scotland and Fife region ahead of next year's Scottish Parliamentary Elections. Err ... no, I am not a would-be candidate - I'm the returning officer! I'm also returning officer for the internal party election for the promising new North Angus & Mearns constituency, where we held the hustings meeting last Sunday evening. Tonight's meeting at the Loch Leven Community Campus was extremely well attended and it was great to listen to a group of experienced and impressive people wanting to represent the party ...
I mentioned here three weeks ago that I had been interviewed for 2020 Visions: The Political Future, broadcast on Resonance 104.4FM. Well the podcast is now available, and you can listen to the programme – which also includes contributions from the likes of Labour's Jon Cruddas MP, human rights activist Peter Tatchell and ConservativeHome co-editor Jonathan Isaby – here. Naturally they saved the best for last (ahem), so my four-minute segment starts at about 35 minutes in.
Please tell me what you think are the funniest moments in the history of cinema. This one is one of my favourites:
And so another visit to Lord Bonkers draws to a close. This evening I walk by the shore, trying to ignore the entwining tones of clarinet and vuvuzela. Suddenly Ruttie rears from the water with what can only be described as a spoony look on her face: goo-goo eyes isn't the half of it. She lollops across the field, making a beeline for the Hall and it is all I can do to keep up with her. Skirting the cricket pitch in front of the old place (she is nothing if not a lady) Ruttie bursts into the my walled ...
Stephen Cole has rarely disappointed me, and I thought that this was one of the better Doctor Who audiobooks out there: read by Arthur "Rory" Darville, whose own character isn't actually in it, we have the Eleventh Doctor and Amy getting mixed up in an environmental protest in the Orkney Islands and discovering, inevitably, that there are aliens behind the new technology involved. But it's not quite your standard alien invasion story - turns out in fact to be rather a clever plot, assisted by excellent sound effects and other incidentals. Strongly recommended.
The Russians call it Kompromat - the use by the state of sexual accusations to destroy a public figure. When I was attacked in this way by the government I worked for, Uzbek dissidents smiled at me, shook their heads and said "Kompromat". They were used to it from the Soviet and Uzbek governments. They found it rather amusing to find that Western governments did it too. Well, Julian Assange has been getting the bog standard Kompromat. I had imagined he would get something rather more spectacular, like being framed for murder and found hanging with an orange in his ...
As a (very) young boy I remember watching the longest Day whilst sitting at my granddads knee. For those who don't know, the Longest day tells the story of the first 24 hours of D-Day and is based on the book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan. The film now sits in my DVD collection but my utter fascination with one story amongst the many Cornelius Ryan tells is still as fresh as that day - and that is the story of Bill Mullin Bill Mullin was the personal piper to Lord Lovat the commander of the 1st special ...
Wed 25th
21:28
August Books 27) Mistress Blanche: Queen Elizabeth I's Confidante, by Ruth Elizabeth Richardson
This book is about the woman who might possibly have been at the back of Richard Curtis's mind as he wrote the character of Nursey, played so memorably by Patsy Byrne in Blackadder II. Originally from the bilingual county of Herefordshire, from a long Welsh-speaking lineage (as were her cousins the Cecils) she happened to get assigned a position in the household of the baby princess Elizabeth when in her mid-20s, and by the time Elizabeth took the throne a quarter century later was basically the only survivor of the early days. She lived to her early 80s, dying in ...
If you haven't done it already you should click on the image below and sign up to support Take Back Parliament, the people campaigning for a YES vote in next May's fairer votes referendum. [IMG: Take Back Parliament] In contrast to the NO campaign stick-in-the-muds, the YES campaign is a genuinely grassroots movement... people up and down the country coming together to push for the Alternative Vote - a fairer, better way to elect Members of Parliament.
My occasional bits of research into the life of my ancestor continue, here with a lengthy account of a military expedition against the Earl of Desmond in June 1580, which took him and the Lord Deputy from Limerick right across what we now call County Kerry, as far as Dingle. I have cut and pasted this from an online edition of Selections from Old Kerry records : historical and genealogical : with introductory memoir, notes and appendix, edited by Mary Agnes Hickson and published in 1872 by Watson and Hazell of London. The notes in parentheses are hers; there is ...
... If you are serious about saving money in local councils, why don't you begin by stopping your councillors resigning after just 13 days meaning yet another by-election at a cost to local taxpayers of about £5,000.
PistonHeads writes: imagine our surprise to hear from both Aston Martin and Jaguar that one of the nation's most admired liberals spent much of yesterday getting his kicks from a range of Britain's finest supercars
There was a very good article in the Guardian this morning by John Harris, questioning overexcited Labour claims that the Lib Dems are variously in crisis, about to split or about to become extinct: Yes, this year's Lib Dem conference will have its moments. The comprehensive spending review and January's VAT rise will jangle nerves, and there remain two big mysteries: what happens if the AV referendum is lost, and how - or whether - the coalition will decouple before a 2015 election. But here is what far too many people are missing: that even if the most malign accounts ...
Stockport Cats Protection rescues and rehabilitates cats and kittens and have been based on a farm in Bramhall for the last 19 years. Now they need to find somewhere new, or they may have to close. They're looking for a small area of land to rent or buy where they can set up 6 cat pens and a cat-proofed outdoor area. It could be part of a farmyard or an unused corner of a park or garden, but it needs to be in the Stockport area (close to Bramhall would be ideal). They have to move by the beginning of ...
One of the strongest of the many reasons for celebrating the defeat of the Labour government earlier this year was its determination to being in national identity cards. Do not forget, incidentally, that one of their chief advocates was Andy Burnham in his days as a junior home office minister. The arguments in favour of the cards were varied and weak, but the most absurd of all must have been that used by the Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods. We must have identity cards, she has consistently argued, because administering them will make jobs in her Durham constituency. And she did ...
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott is clearly not put off by coalition from his pursuit of Tory donors and their tax statuses. Today it is Jon Wood, whose tax affairs have been in the papers with Lord Oakeshott saying, "Now is the time to take big money out of British politics". You can read more here.
I've blogged previously about the plans to build a theatre in Clifton Terrace, near Finsbury Park station. The planning application has now gone in and you can view it on the Islington Council website. Comments for or against the application must be submitted by 2nd September to planning or Sarah Ricketts, Planning Department, London Borough of Islington, 222 Upper Street, London, N1 1XR. The application's reference number is P101570.
Apologies for the lack of blog activity this last week. I had an extended trip back home and have been barbequing rather than blogging, but then again with the current weather, I am glad we made full use of the sun whilst it was briefly around! My Dad will be in Boston next month and was telling me that the US has introduced a service charge for the visa waiver programme. Since January 2009, British Citizens who have travelled to the USA under the Visa Waiver Programme have been required to apply for ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). Until ...
The "new" IFS report repeats substantially what they said at the time of the Emergency Budget.Firstly from a tax perspective the budget is progressive. It in fact is more progressive than Labour because of the CGT increases.Where the debate exists is on the treatment of benefits. The biggest factor is whether the change from RPI to CPI should be considered to be regressive or not.The above
The five names of the shortlisted comedians for the 2010 Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards have been announces. They are (clockwise from top left): Sarah Millican - who was the 2008 Best Newcomer Bo Burnham - who started doing his comedic songs on YouTube (he's only turned 20 in the last week) Greg Davies - Who plays Mr Gilbert, head of sixth form, in the Inbetweeners Josie Long - won the BBC Young Comedy Award at the tender age of 17 Russel Kane - who recently pointed out there were too many Russel's in comedyHere's a little glimpse of each of ...
This is an absolute classic! Unbelievable! A candidate for the mayoralty of Providence, Rhode Island – Chris Young – is given the solid gold opportunity of a couple of minutes on local television. Let's just say, charitably, that he didn't do his chances of election much good with this appearance...
A flagship One Wales pledge to give grants to first time buyers so as to make their homes more energy efficient has been quietly dropped by the Welsh Government due to a lack of interest. More details here.
Whilst Ed Miliband had come out with some broadly positive wording about supporting marriage equality previously, his article today in Pink News shows his now unambiguous support. Thus all five Labour leadership candidates now offer a much more progressive view on LGBT rights than Gordon Brown. They aren't perfect, and personal positions aren't party policy. But this is brilliant step forward on the road to freedom. Well done Labour. I think you might be getting back on the right track. Now about your stances on civil liberties.... If you feel benevolent and particularly generous, this writer always appreciates things bought ...
Conservative councillor David Craggs has resigned today, less than a fortnight after winning the by-election in River Ward, Medway. Kent News reports: The Gad's Hill headteacher stood down from his position earlier today. Yourmedway approached Mr Craggs for a comment and was told that a full statement detailing the reasons behind his resignation would be released later this afternoon. However, we are led to believe that Mr Craggs was told he must choose between serving as a special constable, a position he has held for 17 years, and a Medway councillor. Conservative Craggs gained the seat from Labour in the ...
It's a great delight that the Cameron famil have put the wonderful community of St Endellion, Cornwall well and truly on the map, by giving their daughter the third name of "Endellion". After a long stint at Bude, Cornwall, our much loved priest, Canon Walter Prest went to be priest at St Endellion. It's got a wonderful church and holds famous annual music festivals. And of course, we ought to remember the words of Sir John Betjeman: St. Endellion! St. Endellion! The name is like a ring of bells. I travelled late one summer evening to Cornwall in a motor ...
Personally, I find it a bit fiddly navigating to the Liverpool conference paperwork on the main party website, so I've uploaded the two main booklets to Scribd for my own convenience. In case you find them useful too, here they are: Lib Dem Autumn 2010 Conference - Agenda Book Lib Dem Autumn 2010 Conference - Directory Book The Liverpool conference documents page on the party website has other documents on it too and you can find that page here.
Note from Herts Highways to local engineering team: Veolia Water main repairs works at the above location have not gone to plan and are likely to continue until at least Friday (27th). We did discuss the possibility of closing the site down and returning at a later date but felt the additional disruption this would cause would not be well received locally. Given the continual issues with leaks in this locality we agreed it would be best for works to continue until the problem is resolved. The temporary four way signals they are using are causing increased congestion at peak ...
If you're still with me, I'm referring to the report today by the IFS which is saying that the last Government Budget was "regressive". However, the government (of which my party is part of) are arguing that the budget is "progressive" and the analysis by the IFS was "impartial". So who's right? Actually – as ...
Wed 25th
17:24
Come on, let's face it: The first budget was a categoric, gimungous FAIL for the Liberal Democrats
The Institute of Fiscal Studies have certainly had time to do their spreadsheets. And they have said the last budget hit the poorest the most. That's "end of" as far as I'm concerned. Let's stop messing around with nerdish jiggery-pokery. You can't argue with the IFS. You might try. But you're wasting your energy. Nick Clegg rejected the IFS analysis and 'complained that the IFS report didn't take into account other changes the government plans to make which he claimed would increase fairness'. That is Alice in Wonderland stuff. How the heck can you take into changes that haven't been ...
OK I admit it. If the Liberal Democrats were in opposition I think I would argue that the Institute for Fiscal Studies report was a sign that the Labour government is not progressive. So I guess this means that the coalition budget is also not progressive within the confines of the report study. At least I never used the IFS report released during the Gernal Election campaign on rated unspecified cuts in spending to claim that the Liberal Democrats had the best result as I only believe the report showed how all parties where not telling the full story on ...
The left has gone a little bit mad over the IFS briefing note that claims Osborne's June was regressive, rather than progressive as he claimed. To be fair, so has the right. They're both engaging in the traditional political game of yelling 'But!' when the other says 'Ha!'. Impartial commentators (which, as a Lib Dem, ...
I've done a bit of tidying up of my account on Facebook today. I replied to some messages and requests, updated my profile and, yes, trimmed my friends list. As a result, and so not to offend anyone I may have removed, I thought I would post the note I wrote about social networking for my personal website here: A note about social networking Managing your online life can become complicated, so I have developed my own particular way of dealing with social networking sites and services. I am on Facebook but I use it in a very restricted way. ...
The Institute of Fiscal Studies has come out and said that the measures in the Coalition Budget passed in June would hit the poorest hardest and are regressive. This is not what I as a Liberal Democrat want to hear, but how accurate is their assessment? The Government's side of things is that they think the IFS is being selective, by not factoring in things which boost employment prospects and reductions in Corporation Tax which give an incentive to companies to invest here and create jobs. The difficulty on this one is that there's no real way of measuring what'll ...
Part 14 of blogging my way through my first reading of Atlas Shrugged. You can find the first part here. Chapter 14: The Sanction of the Victim The title of this chapter refers to Rand's argument that socialism functions by fostering a moral climate in which the successful feel guilty for their success and so ...
...will I see you at the DiscWorld Convention over the weekend? (I expect to be around most of Friday and Sunday, and Saturday afternoon and evening.)
I have been quiet for some time, reflecting (for this is my personality trait) on the proposed referendum on a change to our antiquated 'first-past-the-post' (FPTP) voting system. The AV referendum is hardly ideal, and does not offer a truly proportionately representative alternative. It is simply a step along the way - and arguably the best deal that could be extracted by the LibDem leadership after the election, a deal with the Labour Party never having been a serious proposition. But now that the LibDems are in the position they are, many other equally pressing matters of State are calling ...
A sentence from this blogpost at Labour uncut has caught my eye and really amused me The Conservative MP for the Labour seat of Dudley South is the millionaire heir to the Keltruck haulage fortune, Chris Kelly. Huh! The Conservative MP for the Labour seat? Actually I shouldn't fake surprise as the local Labour party here in Hull still claim some of my Lib Dem colleagues who have been councillors for 8 years are sitting in "Labour seats!" Clearly there is an element of denial in the blogpost which does make it quite amusing but I have to say it ...
There is a myth that a desire to balance the books is a virtue only of right-leaning governments. There is myth that those who want to shrink the state are more concerned than others about how the state raises money. Deficit deniers in one corner – state shrinkers in the other. But Liberal Democrats can act to reduce the deficit and be positive about the role of the democratic state. What prompts any given government to run a deficit is usually circumstantial, prompted and encouraged by economists reading the runes. Reaganomics was based both on huge deficits and reducing the ...
Just received a comment from an anonymous reader of this blog asking whether we could put "Narcissus Road" on the heading to the blog along with all the other roads. The reason its not on the heading is -it's been carefully worked out - this "Spotlight" blog covers Fortune Green ward (with occasional cross posting with West Hampstead's Spotlight blog) but the roads at the top of this one are all in Fortune Green, whereas Narcissus Road is with all the other "West Hampstead ward" roads at the top of the West Hampstead blog? Confused? Not surprisingly as the ward ...
This morning's Western Mail has an excellent two page spread on blogging in the run-up to the Media Wales blog awards. But did they really have to refer to me twice on one page as being 50 and then call me a 'veteran'? It is no wonder that I am feeling old today.
Just before the election debate with my fellow candidates in April, the Institute for Fiscal Studies released a report in which, although criticising all three parties, praised the Liberal Democrats for being clearer than the other parties about where cuts could come and plans for government. Naturally I gave this report a mention during one of my replies. Hence we can't really now criticise the latest report which says the budget will hit the poorest hardest. Instead we should welcome this word of warning and see what we can do about it. Of course as the junior partner there is ...
I appreciate the title of this post may seem at best ironic, at worst like sour grapes, after the 3-0 drubbing at Eastlands on Monday night but it started swimming around my head before that match had even kicked off. I was listening to the Sunday Roast on BBC Radio 5 Live and on that programme, a City fan said he worried that all the money was "sucking the soul out" of the club. I thought to myself "you're right – it's already happened at Chelsea". Here's the thing: it's not the so-called "fans" who latch onto these clubs when ...
Some recommended reading for Lib Dem Councillors and local campaigners this week: It being the "silly season", much of the press has been full of silly defection stories that we won't bore you with here. More serious political coverage continues to focus on the imact of finanical savings. The Municipal Journal's coverage included two articles: Council productivity lags far behind private sector, survey claims, and The axe comes to local quangos Inside Housing magazine reports on the impact of the changes to grant to local authorities for traveller sites in: Home to Roost In the last couple of days the ...
Last week I wrote about how ridiculous I felt it was that we would get the Winter Fuel Allowance next year when we don't need it. Thinking about it further, I had thought that it would be great if rather than just give the money to charity, if the Government was going to insist on giving it to us, we could actually give it to someone in real need, like a family with a disabled child, for example. Thanks to Micheál, who commented on the original post, I know that this has already been thought of and put into practice ...
It is clearly absurd for anyone to be better off on benefits than in work. The solution most commonly proposed (whether explicitly or not) is to make benefits harder to obtain and/or to reduce their level. There is no particularly strong evidence to suggest these approaches might work. Even if they did, they would lead to the creation of an even larger and more alienated under-class than we currently have, with all the social dangers the follow. A better approach would be to try to integrate more of the unwaged and low-paid properly into society. Currently, a significant proportion of ...
Following the resignation of Jacki Ellis-Martin, there is a vacancy on Launceston Town Council. This will be filled either by a by-election or co-option. A by-election can be triggered if ten electors petition the returning officer. If this doesn't happen then the Town Council will invite anyone interested to make themselves known and will consider who to co-opt at a future meeting. The last time there was a vacancy there were at least five applicants, but no by-election was triggered.
We are formal owners of the state by all democratic and business criteria. So ask yourself how involved do you feel in the running of your local police force, school, hospital etc. or national decisions on where tax is spent or even if we go to war. We, as citizens maybe unwilling, and even incapable, ...
[IMG: martin wise] This was raised a few months ago, to howls of sour grapes from the councils Labour benches, probably because they hadn't thought of it, anyhow as I understand it, having this morning bumped into the TDC deputy leader Martin Wise, Hoops it is and although not noted for aesthetics I feel it will be a cheap but effective enhancement to the general appearance of the Harbour Arm. [IMG: hart] It will be interesting to see how Cllr Clive Hart, reacts, will he quietly let it go, or can we expect him to thrust himself once more into ...
House is approaching cleanliness. Gas safety check tomorrow. Won't have the whole house done by then, but at least the kitchen and living room should be ok. Byron is healing ok. The bottom third of his wound is not healing as well as the rest because it's where his leg bends, but it's still ok. Roxy's skin thing is not mange or anything TOO nasty; she's had some sort of a sting on her back and had an allergic reaction to it, so SHE'S on medication now too. Mat has (temporarily) left me, and I am all alone in the ...
I see that the recently appointed Lord, (John) Prescott is campaigning to become Labour Party Treasurer. He is quoted by the BBC as saying that "The treasurer has got to say to the central body, you cannot keep on spending, we haven't got it". He has even talked about the possibility of the Labour Party ...
Prestwich Festival and many other important community projects may be at risk after an annoucement that Bury Council is to cut all Local Area Partnership Grants in the current financial year. The Conservative-led Council has announced that there will be no Area Partnership grants for Prestwich - or any other parts of Bury this year. This is a grant scheme which has been run by the local areas for the last ten years. In Prestwich the grants have funded projects throughout the community, with the support for Prestwich Festival being the most visible in recent years. Local Liberal Democrat Councillor ...
[IMG: Mia Sofia Pizza Express pizza] On 3rd September I'm heading over to Chingford and Woodford Green Liberal Democrats to lead the discussion at a pizza and politics event about what's coming up at the party's Liverpool conference. The event is for Lib Dem members and starts at 7:30pm. It costs £6, for which you get pizza and the chance to discuss the party's policy and strategy with other Liberal Democrats. It is primarily for members of the local party, but if you are a Lib Dem from nearby, you'd be most welcome to come along too. Please sign up ...
Thanks to libellum for spotting that the LJ version of my last post was locked. It wasn't intended to be, and the DW version isn't - I can only assume there was a glitch in the cross-poster. Now fixed.
A flagship One Wales pledge to give grants to first time buyers so as to make their homes more energy efficient has been quietly dropped by the Welsh Government due to a lack of interest. The scheme was introduced as a compromise in the One Wales Agreement in place of one of Plaid Cymru's top seven manifesto pledges to provide cash to help people buy their first home. It was to operate as a pilot scheme available to local authorities in certain areas and to be offered as an energy efficiency grant for first time buyers. People buying new build ...
Last night Josie not only won Big Brother 11 but then re-entered the house for Ultimate Big Brother.
Last year this award was won by Jo Swinson for the genuine and prolific way she used (and continues to use) Facebook and Twitter, giving a glimpse into her real life as well as her public duties. This year, I think that it's going to be hard to beat Nick Barlow, Liberal Democrat Colchester Councillor for #nickcleggsfault on Twitter which was his way of dealing with the onslaught of ridiculous tabloid smears on Nick Clegg in the wake of his fantastic performance in the first Leaders' Debate. Within hours, it had caught on and Nick was being blamed for everything ...
Last night I went along to Haig Ave for the first time this season to see Southport take on Altringham in the Premier League of the Conference League. I must admit I will go more often if the standard is as high as it was last night. This is the top flight of non league football-next stop Division 2. I was impressed that the passes found their man and Southport played some neat possession football. Altringham, perfectly understandably, set out their stall to defend and rely on break away counter attacking. Southport had clear chances especially in the first half, ...
Using the official information on which MP is attending which fringe meeting, this is how the autumn 2010 conference league table looks: 15 Vince Cable 14 Sarah Teather 13 Paul Burstow Andrew Stunell 12 Simon Hughes 11 Norman Baker 10 Tim Farron 9 Jeremy Browne Steve Webb 8 Chris Huhne 7 Ed Davey Lynne Featherstone Don Foster Andrew George 5 Malcolm Bruce Julian Huppert John Pugh 4 Danny Alexander Alan Beith Lorely Burt 3 Nick Clegg Stephen Gilbert Michael Moore Ian Swales Jo Swinson 2 Annette Brooke Duncan Hames Martin Horwood Charles Kennedy John Leech Roger Williams 1 Gordon Birtwistle ...
...we work hard to improve public transport and there is no sign of that happening any time soon in the current climate with many services earmarked for cuts and reductions. I can see where the local councils who are considering the scheme ... Continue reading →
The Institute for Fiscal Studies have concluded that the coalition's first budget is regressive. That my party voted for it is sad. But I still haven't heard of a viable progressive alternative, and still think that the Lib Dems made the situation better than it would otherwise have been. It's not surprising that a budget cutting government services hits hardest those who use those services most. The NHS's budget is protected, so the next biggest spending government department is the Department of Work and Pensions. Cuts there mean fewer benefits, and the poorest suffering most. These are Conservative measures, and ...
As you can see from my last two blog posts I'm campaigning for the payoffs made to outgoing Government Ministers to be abolished. And it seems I am not alone: using the Coalition's crowdsourcing 'Spending Challenge' website, 227 people have rated my idea, collectively giving it a score of 4.7 out of five. You can rate my idea too by going to THIS webpage, but first of all here's my argument: Currently, and this has been the case for almost the last 20 years, Ministers get a lump sum of three months' pay if they are sacked, resign or happen ...
There's a standard approach people take to reports. If the report happens to back up our position, it's right – and we certainly don't need to go as far as reading or critically appraising it to figure it out. If it goes against our view, there's probably something dodgy about it. Human nature – can't beat it. And so it is with today's report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Depending on how you read it, or which claims you want to pluck out, the report says that the 2010-11 budget is regressive, or perhaps slightly progressive. Here at ...
I've been a bit worried about Vince Cable recently. Whenever he's been on the Government front bench, he's always looked like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has the banks to sort out, a weighty challenge, but it's good that there are some perks of the job, all in the name of supporting British business, of course. Last year I posted about his appearance on Desert Island Discs in which he said that his luxury would be an Aston Martin. Yesterday, he got to drive one on a visit to Aston Marton's HQ in Gaydon, ...
[IMG: Rock Road Library] Cambridgeshire County Council is looking to save £2 million from its library budget — about 30%. On Monday (August 9th) they launched a consultation on different services and facilities. There is a series of public meetings and roadshows as well as a questionnaire at libraries and online at the County's webpage. Views are sought on the following cuts: possible new shared and/or externalized management and support self-service machine and greater use of volunteers streamlining the mobile library service new support for Library Access Points a review of library provision in the city and surrounding area as ...
According to the official election results, Wolverhampton South West saw more votes cast than there had been ballot papers issued. [IMG: Wolverhampton sign] At the count there were 40,160 votes totalled up in the general election in May. However, the official records show that only 40,094 ballot papers should have been in the count, 66 less than the number of votes counted. This is not a simple matter of a typo in the official records, because Wolverhampton Council has confirmed that these two figures are the ones official staff calculated at the count. As to why the Returning Officer declared ...
I was out walking with my dog last night, along a route I've not used for a while. I came across the following sign: [IMG: County Road, not one I think Driving Instructors will be using] County Road, not one I think Driving Instructors will be using I don't think that it's one a driving instructor will use or any normal vehicle! My wonder is why they haven't just called it a byway?
[IMG: image184104332.jpg] All, For the past couple of months Richard and I have been carrying out our monthly surgeries in the town centre rather than at Clark House. It's proved popular with local people - so we intend to continue! Don't worry if you have something private to discuss - one of us will take you round to the council office to talk with you. If the weather's awful we'll stay in Clark House - but the light rain didn't put us off this month! The surgeries are every second Saturday of the month, from 10am to noon. You can ...
What matters most in politics - How the decisions made will affect people? Or which parties happen to have announced which policies? If you're the IFS, it seems you think the latter matters more. The IFS have taken the government's Emergency Budget from June in isolation and shown that the policies announced in it will have a regressive effect on their own. However, the public won't simply be affected by the June Budget. The previous government also held a Budget just a few months earlier in March. This has two implications: 1. The policy decisions from June weren't made in ...
As a long term 'greeny' sort of person Climate Change and future Climate Chaos worries me. Along the road I've become a parent and have even more interest in helping create sustainable future for them and their peers. A great Friends of the Earth report in March 2006 "A bright future - Friends of the Earth's electricity sector model for 2030" showed clearly that relatively simple policy changes would ensure a much safer and greener energy future for us all. It placed heavy reliance on encouraging Combined Heat and Power and phasing out nuclear power stations. Combined Heat and Poweris ...
I'm no economist. I'm not going to get into micro-analysis of the Budget or today's IFS report. But I think those Labour supporters jumping to proclaim the general wonderfulness of the IFS, should remember what they thought of the IFS when they were in government.
[IMG: The Zimmermann Telegram book cover] America was finally tipped into declaring war against Germany in 1917 following the release of the Zimmermann Telegram, a message from the Germans proposing an anti-American alliance to Mexico which would see Mexico take back Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Barbara Tuchman's lively account of the affair was first published in 1958 and it is a tribute to the popularity of the book that it was turned into an audio book just this year. The book is based on an impressive grasp of the detailed evidence. At times the description of what people were ...
One of the Liberal Democrat policies is that the UK National DNA Database should only store DNA records for proven criminals. I didn't feel that comfortable with this policy as currently holding records for everyone the Police come into contact with has helped them fish for perpetrators. I had thought DNA evidence infallible. That was until reading about a study to compare DNA labs and 'experts'. It transpires that new techniques using tiny DNA samples is not black or white but very grey and actually subjective in the evidence it gives. Also shown that all DNA evidence has to be ...
date specified in canon 25 August 2006: Maria Jackson and the annoying Kelsey team up with Sarah Jane Smith to thwart the invasion plans of the Bane and rescue the young Archetype, who is adopted by Sarah and renamed Luke. (As seen in Invasion of the Bane, SJA 2007)
Another good thing about Bridgnorth is the Severn Valley Railway, which run for 16 miles from the town to Kidderminster. This is one of my favourite preserved lines, not least because it forms a useful link between two towns. Mind you, the Shropshire Star was recently speculating about the route being extended northwards from Bridgnorth to Ironbridge.
I should have posted on this earlier, this morning's BBC Radio Kent's Breakfast programme is broadcast from Margate's Harbour arm, I'm going along to see if I can get my twopenny worth in, since they are discussing regeneration and the Turner Contemporary, still by the time you read this it will be Sunday morning, but you can still read my past thoughts by clicking here for Turner Contemporary and here for regeneration thoughts. Still you can trawl through the archive 1300 other post on varied topics any day.
Six years ago Hull schools were ranked the worst in the country for gaining good GCSE grades. After yesterday Hull schools are likely to be in the top 50. This is great news for Hull kids, great news for Hull schools and great news for Hull's reputation. When I was the Councillor who was responsible for schools in 2002 what struck me was the number of people who were willing to make excuses for poor performance. Many people would say that Hull kids could never achieve good results because of Hull's demographic base and because of the poverty that exists ...
Over on Digital Spy yesterday, the Gay Spy blog promoted the latest issue of Attitude - the 'Issues' issue. This is the cover: So what jumps out at you about it? Is it the picture of Danny Miller? Or is it the headline to the left: "We've found the secret to being Gay and Happy". Really? I didn't know that the two were such elusive bedfellows. I know lots of people who are gay, sorted and reasonably well grounded. I know people who aren't gay and aren't happy. Personally, I take offence. Though perhaps I'm being too sensitive. Or perhaps ...
A couple of weeks ago I brought you 1940s America in colour. Now, thanks to a tip from Damian Walker, and the Library of congress I bring you colour and black & white images of Russia from 1905 - 1915. I have to say this isn't the easiest of sites to navigate around but well worth the effort. The Prokudin-Gorskii Collection
Oh come on, like I could resist posting this: It's a bit like ASCII art, but done with D6s. Must've taken a lot more patience than I could manage. From [IMG: [livejournal.com profile] ] karohemd. PSA: I am away for a few days as of about an hours time when I get on the bus, I'll be staying at my sister's, and I'm not taking the laptop, I'll likely use hers to check in, but I won't be online at my normal frequency. Devon types!Having completely lost track of who reads this that's still in Devon, well, no set plans, ...
The Labour Uncut site highlights an interesting diary item from last Wednesday's Independent concerning David Milliband's campaigning activities during the General Election campaign: Some weeks ago I wrote that a source from a rival campaign accused David Miliband of running for Labour's top job in pre-season. Said source has finally got back to me with the additional information he/she promised: Miliband (D)'s itinerary for 25 April, when he visited Burnley, Blackburn, Bolton South East and Manchester Withington to meet Labour "members and supporters". Why, asks the anonymous source - whose candidate trails Miliband (D) - was he in safe seats ...
The stage is set for a refurbishment of the Maltings Arts Theatre and St Albans City and District Council is asking residents to give their views on how the venue and its programme of drama, music, film and other arts can be improved. The Council is planning to refurbish the arts venue and to provide access to film, live theatre and other events and an upgraded café/bar and a digital lounge to be used for film club events, arts workshops, specialist arts training sessions and business meetings. It would like to hear from residents and users about what they like ...
If anything symbolises the excesses of the "grab what you can" attitude of the Labour years, it has to be the cowboy clamper. One company recently even contrived to sue a restaurant owner in Andover for loss of earnings, because that restaurant owner was warning customers about his operation. "If you carry on to warn people away from the car park causing me loss of earning I will have to issue a county court summons in the region of £150 for each day you do this." That's what the letter actually said. Produce nothing. Spoil peoples' day, giving them a ...
