Video also available on YouTube, here. Today, for the first time, Central Line passengers at Stratford have a choice of Westbound platforms. [Sunday 5 September 2010] Train doors open on both sides: the right hand side for London Overground and National Rail services; the left for a faster change onto the Jubilee Line, DLR, or to exit the station. For more photos and information on the new platform read David Lew's excellent post here. It's another sign that the 2012 Olympics are getting closer; the next step being the opening of Stratford International DLR extension this autumn.
There was some good news at the lastest monthly Acocks Green Police tasking meeting with crime down by 15% in Acocks Green over the past year (compared to a much more modest fall of 2% in the West Midlands as a whole in the same time). Calls to the Police about Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) have fallen even more, though it remains a major problem in particular streets within our community. The very lastest news was that two burglars had been arrested in the Gospel Estate in the morning of the meeting. Issues raised by residents at the meeting for ...
The BBC reports: The Metropolitan Police has said it may reopen the investigation into claims of phone hacking by the News of the World if it uncovers new evidence. Assistant Commissioner John Yates said officers would consider any new information – and examine if further action should be taken. A former reporter on the paper has claimed the paper's former editor, Andy Coulson asked him to hack into phones. Mr Coulson has denied using or condoning the practice while editor... One reporter – Sean Hoare – said he had been personally told by Mr Coulson to intercept phone messages. In ...
This week's guest at an event organised by the UK Section of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) in the London offices of the European Parliament, was Maajid Nawaz from the Quilliam Foundation, an organization designed to challenge extremism, promote pluralism and inspire change. Like another of Quilliam's leading figures, the author of 'The Islamist' (and ...
Just for your info/entertainment, by-election pages now show ward/constituency boundaries. Check out this example from St Paul's ward, Winchester. They also now show up if you 'like' a page on Facebook (also from St Paul's). [IMG: Ward icon for St Paul's - Winchester]
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Wikio: 1 (4) Liberal Democrat Voice No change 2 (17) Mark Reckons Falls 4 3 (35) Caron's Musings Falls 3 4 (45) Craig Murray Falls 6 5 (46) Liberal England Rises 3 6 (48) Mark Pack Rises 5 7 (53) Liberal Vision Rises 4 8 (56) Miss S B Rises 10 9 (63) Stephen's Linlithgow Journal No change 10 (68) Quaequam Blog! Rises 1 11 (75) Peter Black Rises 8 12 (79) Liberal Burblings Rises 8 13 (82) Lynne Featherstone Rises 7 14 (85) Millennium ...
After all the shouting and pain and gut wrenching embarrassment, the summer is over and the hockey has begun. On Saturday night, the Steelers played host to Cardiff Devils, what a game it was! After a dismal season, things had to improve and how they did. From the first face off until the final second, 3800 people witnessed a truly passionate and committed performance from every player in a Steelers jersey. The only disappointment was the quality of the officiating. Virtually any contact was being pulled up around the goal. 59 minutes were dished out to the Steelers but it ...
I happened to hear Anthony Seldon (Blair's biographer) talking about that biography on the BBC this morning, and - apart from saying you learned nothing new from it - he listed three things in particular which the book should have shed some light on, but didn't. 1. Why did Blair join the Labour Party? Worth wondering that one. Was it really from conviction - if so, what was he convinced about? 2. Why did his decade in power achieve so little? OK, peace in Northern Ireland and devolution to Scotland and Wales, plus the banking bubble - but what else? ...
...this Wednesday. If you like the 1960s, advertising, politics and good drama then take a look. Here is a link to a review of season 3.
I recently received a usful reminder from the County Council that here in Consett we have the YMCA who are able to collect items that may be of use to other households such as furniture/beds, carpets, computers, electric cookers, fridges and freezers, washing machines, mobile phones, TV/audio, small electrical items, bicycles, garden equipment, tools, textiles and house clearances. Please remember the following: Furniture/beds must be free from stains and tears and comply with current fire regulations All electrical items should be free from rust, reasonably clean, have intact seals and have been working the last time they were used Items ...
The summer recess draws to a close tomorrow. The opening piece of a legislation is the very important, second reading of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. Simon Foster, member of Take Back Parliament West Midlands and Lecturer in Politics, has written very coherent argument for why we should support AV for Commons and ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] My colleague Simon Shaw has just skipped off to France for three weeks-just as a leaflet arrived back from the printers. Before he left he wrote this article examining the Liberal Democrat performance since the General Election. It features at No 3 in the Lib Dem Golden dozen this week, which in essence means that according to their clever counting widget it was a very popular item last week. Well done Simon and we will do our best to get the leaflet out before you return.
At the new 'Parc Y Scarlets' rugby stadium in Llanelli, the Ray Gravell inspired wording 'West is Best' is indelibly marked in the seating. It's a sense of self which I have shared and felt throughout my life. Of course I would. I'm a Pembrokeshire boy, educated in Carmarthenshire who for the past 10 years has lived in Cardiganshire. Like most people, I am fiercely proud of my roots and mine are very much in the soil of west Wales. When I think about it, the 3 constants that make this part of the world very much my own ...
In case you don't know a new site called Political Innovation has been launched. Its aim is to encourage political innovation by putting people in touch with each other. There are various ways to get involved, just take a look at the website.
For a while now I have been writing occasionally on here about Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosures, and the sometimes questionable information included on them. My posts about the inclusion of allegations subsequently proved false, and of decades old minor convictions and cautions has generated more comment on this site than anything else I've written about. CRBs have also prompted dozens and dozens of people from all over the country to write to me with their own stories, some of them truly heartbreaking. Teachers, social workers, nurses, all effectively barred from gaining employment or waiting in fear for an employer ...
In a previous post, I have wondered how to define a category of bloggers. I have never quite known how to categorise Guido Fawkes. He currently sits under libertarian but previously I had him as a commentator. But perhaps he is a campaigner or something else entirely. Any suggestions welcome.
[IMG: Portrait of a Lady Blogging, after Vermeer] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com I'm a great fan of Peter Preston's Media page in the Observer. There is something about Peter Preston's writing style which is quite distinctive and refreshing. A sort of punchy rhythm which is very personal to him. It's typified by this today: Guido Fawkes belongs to a proud British pamphleteering (and now blogging) tradition that goes back as far as Thomas Nashe. He is Pope's "child of dirt that stinks and stings". He's a scribbler with a terminal and a net. And he ...
One of the reasons some people write a diary, I suspect, is so that they can review it later and get an insight into themselves of the past. Likewise, this blog is a great way of me reviewing my old self. Quite accidentally I tripped over a post from August 2006 and, now as a Liberal Democrat, that very-Tory post is just crying out for a critique. This may seem odd to some readers, so I apologise now for gazing at my navel (albeit my navel, four years ago). I shall make it more odd by referring to 2006 Gavin ...
Today was the Bristol International Kite Festival and despite some overcast and showery weather, there was still a full programme of displays, choreographed "ballets" and mass ascensions. By happy coincidence, today is also the 5th and therefore time for my monthly contribution to Stephen's 5 on the 5th. So no prizes for guessing that I've not gone with the nominated theme ("The Blues") but have instead chosen some of my pictures from today. Butterflies Delta Serpent with Box Kite "Spinning Bowls" "Spirit in the Sky" Garfield, some cows and a dog Andrew
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 185th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (29th August – 4th September, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. ...
[IMG: fifty-five/three-sixty-five] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: wolfsavard From the FT (free registratoin needed): A threatened Conservative rebellion on voting reform - which could have raised serious tensions within the coalition - looks to have been averted after intense pressure by the Tory whips. David Cameron told whips to ensure the coalition did not suffer its first defeat in the Commons on Monday night, when Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister, presents a bill allowing a referendum next May on adopting the alternative vote to elect MPs. The push appears to have worked, with prominent rebels telling the Financial Times ...
Before TV broadcasts became the norm after the Second World War, parties - and particularly the Conservatives - made their own films and even had portable cinematic projection equipment which toured the country showing them. I saw a clip from a 1930s Conservative propaganda film a few days ago. Its animated cartoon could still be used now with only minimal changes, as this screenshot shows: [IMG: 1930s Conservative film] It is this long record of being attacked for economic incompetence that helps explain quite why New Labour - with its fear of raising income taxes and its love of cuddling ...
Chatham and Aylesford Liberal Democrats joined the Twitter revolution this weekend.It is hoped that the twitter feed will provide a useful online link between the activities of the association and a wider audience.If you wish to follow Chatham and Aylesford Liberal Democrats, their twitter username is @CandALibDems.
The value of experience in any industry is to identify when something apparently new turns out to be an idea that has been rejected by a previous generation- often for a reason that is fundamental and fundamentally obvious, but which is discounted by a current generation of managers. For some reason, probably because the turnover of staff is so rapid, the City of London seems particularly adept at forgetting some hard learned lessons from the past. Experience in the City takes second fiddle to innovation. Innovation in finance is part of the fundamental warp and weft of the whole business. ...
Applications are now invited from potential LibDem Mayoral and Assembly (GLA) list candidates for London, which will hold its next round of city-wide elections in 2012. Interested individuals can request an application pack from the Returning Office, Patrick Mitchell, at prmitchell - prmitchell.hat.ntlworld.com.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) or 6 Palfrey Place, London SW8 1PA. Completed applications must be received by 24 September. London has benefited from a big influx of new members over recent months - by far the biggest growth of any UK region. Moreover, ...
Putting the Wikio rankings out on a Sunday? I don't know! Anyway, I thought I'd put them up while I had a few spare minutes to make me feel less guilty about lying on the sofa all afternoon watching the BTCC, Formula Renault and Ginetta races from Knockhill. I wish we'd been able to go there but it's just as well we didn't have tickets given how sick we've been this week. So, without further ado, here are September's positions: 1. And Another Thing (8) Tom stays top of the Scottish blogs holding the same position as last month2. Cute ...
... but I think God may believe Stephen Hawking is necessary.
Starting 25 September 2010 5 Bath City Centre - Whiteway Wessex Connect New service operating between Whiteway and City Centre (Grand Parade) via Lower Bristol Road. Operates every 30 minutes at morning peak, every 20 minutes off peak, Monday to Saturday...
I met Cyril a few times and I liked him. Sad to hear of his passing ...
Maybe it's just the way my mind works, but when I saw this tweet from the soon to be doomed to defeat Ed Balls' Cheerleader-in-Chief, my first thought was to speculate that that was why nobody could get any grit for the roads last Winter - because he had it all. I'm not sure grit, or abrasiveness, is a quality I relish in a political leader. I don't want them too slick or smooth or insincere either. We had enough of that with Tony Blair to last a lifetime. I just want politicians to be open, honest, genuine and willing ...
Some site housekeeping notes follow... As those who know me well will attest, I don't really do or get technology. This site exists simply because I love writing, not because I love the geekery needed to platform it. Though I 'built' StephenTall.org myself, it wouldn't exist without the inspiration of others (the similarities it shares with Mark Pack's site are not co-incidental), nor without some outside assistance (Robin Fenwick helped ensure the masthead photo was done neatly and tidily). Still, I do try. So in the last week — partly inspired by Denise Wakeman's 24 Impressive Blog Plugins You Should ...
Results are out all over the net, best source is here. The fiction winners were all born (as far as I know) between 1958 and 1972 - indeed, the Best Novel Award was shared by two writers both born in 1972, China Miéville (for The City & The City) and Paolo Bacigalupi (for The Windup Girl). Four of the five are first-time Hugo winners (the exception being Charles Stross). All five are men (in contrast to 2009 and 2008 where the honours were equally divided). Thanks to Bacigalupi having won the Nebula earlier this year I now also have to ...
Anyone who has read Nicholas Jones's previous books – especially Soundbites and Spin Doctors (1995) and Sultans of Spin (1999) – will look forward to a new tome from the BBC's former political correspondent, who has proved himself to be an acute observer of the Westminster scene, and a fearless revealer of politicians' trade secrets. Campaign 2010, Mr Jones's new work, is billed by publisher Biteback as "political theatre brought to a fresh level". Can it live up to such hype? Sadly – and it genuinely pains me to say it, as I have high regard for his earlier works ...
In the last week, I've played two ARGs around London. Using Alternate / Augmented Reality is an amazing way to discover – or rediscover – a city. The Real GameThis is still in "beta" so I can't say too much about it. It's a spy game with a twist. You and your partner race around London solving clues. All the while you are being chased by a "Dagger" team whose aim is to solve the same clues, find you and photograph you. Running around London solving riddles is fun in of itself – but what heightened the experience was the ...
Tomorrow sees the second reading debate on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010. This is the legislation which will allow the referendum on changing the voting system and which could lead to the creation of a cross-border Devonwall seat. Much of the focus for those of us in Cornwall has been on the latter issue - that we may, for the first time, have an MP whose constituency includes parts of Devon and Cornwall. This is because the Bill proposes a very strict limit on the number of electors in a constituency. Every seat (except two - and ...
I spent some time looking at the IFS analysis published about a week and a half ago about the budget.Their analysis is now on their website via the news release which is here. The report itself is available via this page.I wrote an article for the Guardian's Comment is free section which is hereI think a lot of the coverage of the IFS report was additionally misleading. I think the IFS could have
From, needless to say, the Shropshire Star.
Today's Scotland on Sunday carries a story about how the Scottish Conservatives are licking their wounds because they've been left out in the cold since the General Election. Apparently David Cameron has spoken to Alex Salmond 5 whole times and to Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie a total of, well, 5 times less than that since entering number 10. If I were feeling cruel, I could say that he was making sure he kept in touch with the leader of the de facto coalition we've had at Holyrood since 2007. The Scottish Tories have reduced themselves to be little more ...
There is an interesting piece by Andrew Rawnsley in this morning's Observer in which he outlines the dilemma facing the five candidates for Labour leadership - embrace the Blair legacy or reject it. Rawnsley makes the valid point that whatever his faults Tony Blair knew how to win elections, and he did so by grasping that political parties must constantly renew themselves to keep up with events, the world and the voters. His key insight was that centre-left parties win and hold power only by creating a broad appeal which embraces not just their natural and traditional supporters, but also ...
The detailed study below is from the British Academy and takes an expert look over the planned new system for drawing up Parliamentary boundaries. Its conclusions generally concur with the views of those on both the administrative and political sides of electoral administration who I've been talking to recently about the new system. That has been in preparation for some work I am doing with the English Liberal Democrats and Campaigns Department to coordinate the party's boundaries work. It will be kicking off with a meeting at the Liberal Democrat Liverpool conference with representatives from the different English regions, Scotland, ...
Over at the Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have jointly penned an article marking the start of the new political year by re-asserting the Coalition's determination to reform British politics. Here's an excerpt: We came together to change our country for the better in every way. And as we go about fixing our economy, society and political system, our government's purpose will be to make two major shifts in our national life. First, our decisions will be taken with eyes fixed firmly on the long-term. This is a horizon shift for government, moving away from short-term obsessions towards ...
Sitting here in Northern Ireland seems the right place to be to read about the fact the the Basque separatist terror group Eta have declared a 'ceasefire' via a video statement. Like the IRA here they are putting their hopes in democracy from now on to gain their independence. Founded in 1959 their move today to seek a democratic solution by declaring a ceasefire, which it is not clear if is temporary or permanent, must be looked at as a major step from the North Eastern Region and indeed the whole of Spain. In the historical context the first IRA ...
In response to recent complaints like this about litter in the Hawkhill area, I contacted the Head of Waste Management at Dundee City Council about the matter : Since the opening of the Tesco's store and various food outlets I have found that there is more and more litter appearing in the area - I am quite happy to pick this up when there are bins available but there is only one small lamp post bin outside Duke's Corner. I have had the following positive response from him : I will have this area monitored and if additional bins are ...
Back to the Welsh hotel that gave us Joe Jones. This was on the tape too.
In this morning's Observer Antonio Maria Costa, outgoing executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, accuses those who advocate "a radical new approach" as a means to reduce substance abuse of being "deluded" and says "those in favour of legalisation have lost sight of health as their priority." http://bit.ly/bOcPmo I'm sorry Antonio, but you either haven't been listening to or you have failed to understand the motivations of the progressive section of reform advocates who favour strict controls. As a member of that group I find your juxtaposition of "those who dream of a world free ...
I can't pretend to have been gripped by the events of the summer within the Labour party, but much like Ultimate Big Brother, I have been slowly sucked in a bit. I am not foolish enough to think that this contest is exactly like Big Brother, a greatest hits of the figures from the last ten years who will soon fade from my memory - one of these five might be Prime Minister one day. Notionally, I could join Labour between now and Wednesday ('defect' in political jargon), and actually have a vote in this, but that isn't likely to ...
The problem with being out of power is that people accuse the party of not being capable of being in power and of having high and mighty ideas that in reality are not practical. This practicality of policy takes a tougher test when spending needs to be cut. The reality test is something Labour may have to consider at some point during the next few years as you can't campaign on making cuts later if there is not a recession and that time has passed. Of course I would say that Lib Dem policies were practical and great steps have ...
On re-starting my blog, I looked over my earlier posts. President Obama was taking over in the Oval Office when I began this blog and my initial posts covered this momentus event. Those blog posts were understandably full of relief that the reign of 'Dubya' had come to an end and optimism that Obama's was about to begin. But, 18 months on, what went wrong? Looking back now, it's incredible to see how such hope has turned to cynicism. Obama's popularity numbers are typically low (admittedly similar to those of Clinton and Regan mid-way through their first terms) and there ...
South Gloucestershire Council and the other three councils that make up the West of England Partnership are currently putting together the Joint Local Transport Plan for the next 15 years. There will be a consultation event in Yate Shopping Centre on Tuesday 7 September from 11am to 3pm. Residents can complete a questionnaire at www.transportmatters.org or pick up a paper copy at the library, where you can also read the draft plan. The consultation deadline is Monday 4th October. Update - All completed questionnaires will be entered into a free prize draw to win a day out at one of ...
The Sunday Independent reports that the former head of the Army has accused Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of letting down British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan: They say that in his new book, Leading From the Front, General Sir Richard Dannatt branded Mr Brown "malign" for failing to fund the armed forces adequately and said Mr Blair lacked the "moral courage" to make his then chancellor deliver the money that was needed: In his book, Gen Dannatt says that evidence for Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction - the official justification for Britain's involvement in the 2003 invasion ...
The latest in my reports of Stockport's elections from 1974 onwards, 1994 was an important year for the Lib Dems and (although I wasn't on the scene) for me too, with hindsight. The Lib Dems won Cheadle ward for the first time, as well as taking Bramhall East and West. In the process, Patsy Calton - later MP for Cheadle - joined the council, as did my good friend and colleague Brian Millard, who would go onto lead the council before his sad death in 2009. In 1993 we saw two future MPs (Patsy Calton and Anne Coffey) win seats ...
From Stockport Council: Stockport Council is launching a month long appeal to raise the profile of the flooding disaster in Pakistan to give the borough's residents the opportunity to support the victims. The flooding has had a devastating effect on millions of people's lives in Pakistan and funding is urgently needed for aid to help those affected. The Council is urging employees, residents and community groups to organise fundraising events to raise much needed funding for the UK Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) throughout September. Council employees have already held a number of fundraising events to raise money for the appeal. ...
If the Sunday Independent is right and UK Ministers are to issue licences to farmers in England to cull badgers in an attempt to curb the spread of tuberculosis in cattle herds, then this government is about to make a momentous mistake. The paper says that the Government will launch a public consultation later this month on the precise details of the scheme, which would allow landowners who can prove the measures are necessary to cull and vaccinate badgers over an area of at least 50 square miles. This move is being taken despite a decade-long study, costing £35m, by ...
Two people working for the most powerful media corporation on the planet are jailed for the illegal hacking of phones belonging to members of the Royal Family, but suspicions remain that more people w...
We can do not better this morning that reporduce part of the Wales on Sunday's Spin Doctor column as evidence of how it is really hard to believe anything that politicians say on live radio interviews: SO how was the relationship between Mr Tony Blair and Mr Gordon Brown during New Labour's time in government? April 2006: The then Welsh Secretary Peter Hain hits out at the media for running invented stories about a rift between the pair - a rift, he says, which is entirely invented by journalists. "A lot of the media obsession in this seems in a ...
As Tony Blair appears in the political spotlight once more, to launch his book, A Journey: My Political Life. The reception he received in Ireland was not quite what he had expected, his security team (which we are still paying for) kept him in the car until they had put up their missile blocking special shields - umbrellas - and then he suddenly appeared surrounded spectacularly by about 8 or nine of his protection team. Given he was doing a public book signing and there did appear to be a lengthy queue, one can only assume that they were either ...
A number of Welsh Assembly Members have spoken out strongly against prostitution and in particular international sex trafficking. They must have been pleased therefore to see news of a police raid on a flat in Cardiff's plush Century Wharf complex which was focussed on freeing victims of this sex trade. It is a testament to how hard Assembly Members work that, in common with other residents in this complex, the many who have flats there had not noticed anything suspicious.
Sun 5th
09:40
A letter to the Daily Mirror regarding MPs whose former partners now work as prostitutes
Dear Will Payne at the Daily Mirror, If you're going to run a big exposé about how an MP's wife is working as a prostitute, do you think it might be worth mentioning before the very last line of the article that the couple separated in February (before the MP in question had even entered Parliament)? I realise that, had you made it clearer, it would have been obvious that you only ran the story in a cheap and rather sad attack on the Tories, and to have the excuse to print pictures of the woman in question in her ...
I finally managed to take in the excellent Argentinian film The Secret in their Eyes yesterday. I am a big fan of Ricardo Darin it's star. His performance in the Son of the Bride was superb and his con man act in Nine Queens was great fun. This one did not disappoint. In the introductory note the Filmhouse describes it as Almodovar meets Lives of Others. High praise indeed and I think that is a pretty fair assessment. The Secret in their Eyes romped home this year with the Best Foreign Language Oscar. Unlike the Best Picture Oscar which is ...
The welcome: The Home Office is to announce a review of extradition arrangements, including those with the US and EU countries following high-profile rows over the way they are operating. The main impetus has been the row with Washington over the Gary McKinnon affair, in which the 43-year-old has been accused of hacking into US computer systems. But the review will also look at the operation of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). [More in the full report in The Guardian] And the downright bizarre: Geographically mixed-up Algerian hackers made themselves look rather silly by defacing the website of an English ...
The welcome: The Home Office is to announce a review of extradition arrangements, including those with the US and EU countries following high-profile rows over the way they are operating. The main impetus has been the row with Washington over the Gary McKinnon affair, in which the 43-year-old has been accused of hacking into US computer systems. But the review will also look at the operation of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). [More in the full report in The Guardian] And the downright bizarre: Geographically mixed-up Algerian hackers made themselves look rather silly by defacing the website of an English ...
Whilst Mr Blair dodges eggs and slippers to sign copies of his take - on his time; a useful reminder how things were shaping up back in 2003. John Pilger's special documentary 'Breaking The Silence - Truth and Lies in the War on Terror'. I can't say that I agree with all Pilger's commentaries but this report does a fine job of dissecting the truth and the lies; the discrepancies and hypocrisy of ideologically driven war. Most poignantly of all it shows how we had already sowed the seeds of failure in Afghanistan (and why in my view we should ...
This is a bit of an improvement from the previous annual: most of the stories are well told and make sense (even if the first two have basically the same plot) and the artwork looks more like the characters - Pertwee's Doctor again particularly good, Jo not quite as good (but better than last year) and Brigadier and Master seen only obscurely. The non-fiction filler material is particularly low-grade, with the feature on Christmas in 2003 oddly memorable. The best story, oddly enough, is "Menace of the Molags", the second of the two strips, both of which credited to one ...
i) births and deaths 5th September 1964: birth of Stephen Greenhorn, writer of The Lazarus Experiment (2007) and The Doctor's Daughter (2008). ii) broadcast anniversary also 5th September 1964: broadcast of "A Bargain of Necessity", fifth episode of the story we now call The Reign of Terror. Ian is rescued; the Doctor attempts to rescue Susan; but is forced to cooperate with Lemaitre instead.
At the time of writing, I've just arrived home from seeing Avatar... at last. Although I've previously seen Toy Story re-rendered into 3D, and also Shrek Forever After, this is the first live action film I've seen in the format. Not only that, it was, of course, filmed in 3D and not merely "upscaled" in post-production as, say, Alice and Wonderland was. The film had been a labour of love for James Cameron for years and that can be seen in the fantastic world he has created. Pandora is beautiful planet with its own unique flora and fauna much of ...
Recently it has been reported in the local press and also on the local BBC, that a local Town councillor has been suggesting that the name of Gainsborough be changed to be Gainsborough Upon Trent. A Facebook group has been set up Where unfortunately the councillor has been subjected to personal attacks, I don't condone these but fully understand the depth of feeling, this town has been constantly run down by some people who reside here and also by outsiders. I have lived in and around Gainsborough all my life, and love this place. Yes, it has it's problems, ...
With less than a fortnight to go before the Earl's Court ward byelection in Kensington & Chelsea, London, dozens of LibDem campaigners have been hitting the streets in support of local champion and LibDem candidate Linda Wade, who is fighting to win a seat vacated in rather unfortunate circumstances by longstanding Tory Councillor Barry Phelps. The ...
Regarding that heavy thinking, I've been doing? Well part of it involves the content of this post, which I recommend you read. If you read nothing else today, read this: Great, Now I Hate Everybody, by Harriet J. A long but fantastic post about how to incorporate ideals into your day to day life. There's a larger social/political/cultural structure at work when you try to live your feminist ideals, something bigger than you and your relationship with another individual. Sometimes the structure and your daily life can't be separated viably. But other times, it's just you and another person, and ...
I particularly enjoyed the last contribution on Any Answers yesterday. A staunch Conservative supporter came on to challenge the two answers from panellists who didn't like Margaret Thatcher. She thought that Mrs Thatcher was a marvellous leader and Gordon Brown was a terrible person who has done a lot of damage to the country. It wasn't the fact that the lady who made these comments chose to be so prejudiced but that she chose to preface her comment with "without being biased at all". Not only has she decided that Margaret Thatcher and Gordon Brown are extreme opposites, but she ...
