Fantastic evening on Tuesday. Jenny Tonge – former Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park and now a member of the House of Lords – came to give a talk on 'Palestine – where do we go from here' at the White Rock Hotel. The Hastings Friends of Yatma asked if I would invite Jenny, and ...
For the first time for many years I won't be at the LibDem Autumn Conference next week, which might seem perverse, given that this is the first time in my lifetime that my party has been in government. However, I was offered a lecturing tour of the Arab world (including a part of Sudan that I ...
The following clause has been proposed for the Identity Cards Bill: (1) This section applies to a person who— (a) is a transgendered person, (b) has not been issued with a gender recognition certificate, and (c) is living in both the birth gender and the acquired gender. (2) The Secretary of State must make arrangements for the issue to any person falling within subsection (1), on the application of that person, of two copies of a passport or some other form of identity document of comparable standing, one in the birth gender of the person and the other in the ...
There is an extraordinary story on the Daily Telegraph website this evening (and, I believe, on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper). It reveals that Jonathan Djanogly, a justice minister and Tory MP for John Major's old seat of Huntingdon, hired a firm of private detectives to conduct an undercover investigation into his aides and colleagues. The Telegraph says: Investigators employed by Mr Djanogly used subterfuge to trick several people, including the MP's constituency agent, into discussing their concerns about the politician. Their findings were set out in a private report sent to the Huntingdon MP in July 2009 which ...
From the same source (I think) as the spoof Visit California ad comes this latest Visit Cornwall video. Next time, I hope he manages to make it up as far as Lanson!
Health and Safety briefings aren't they just such an irritating feature of modern life, you know you go to a meeting, training session, whatever there's a fair chance someone will point out, how to leave the building in the event the fire alarms sounds, it's just possible it could be the most the important thing you ever listen to or indeed ignore at any public gathering. I mention the above because last night it was clear to me that if Thanet Council, cannot even manage to open a door at the start of a public meeting what else are they ...
The idea that the editor of a national newspaper would not insist on knowing the sources of a controversial story before he published it is absurd. That is why it is so hard to believe that Andy Coulson was not aware the News of the World journalists were engaged in phone hacking. But will it be such a disaster for David Cameron if Coulson is forced to resign? When Coulson went to work for him, the appointment was widely seen as marking a change in Conservative strategy. Coulson would provide some red meat for the redtops, in contrast to the ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] (for Telling everyone about the ELC's genderfail, Getting angry with the deputy chief whip; Bitching sbout Our Glorious Leader, Resigning from Liberal Conspiracy, and being reassuring about coalition).
Tonight we held the third full meeting of the Launceston Community Network Area panel. This brings together Cornwall Councillors, parishes, the Town Council, police, health service and anyone else who wants to turn up. The theme for tonight's discussion was traffic and transport. We were joined by Graeme Hicks, the Cornwall Cabinet Member for highways, as well as some of his officers. Many thanks to Graeme for coming along. One of the major gripes that I raised was the ridiculous cost of bureaucracy imposed by Cornwall Council and the Government. As regular readers will know, it takes 11 people and ...
Dodington Parish Council has received a £10,495 funding boost from SITA Trust to fund a project called 'Track to the Top'. The money will be used to rebuild a well-used public path in the Local Nature Reserve. Until now the path to the upper meadow has had no drainage, resulting in water flowing across the path and, in the winter, making walking extremely slippery and dangerous. Wapley Common is a beautiful area of open and wooded land which lies between the Shire Way estate in Yate and the hamlet of Wapley in the rural southern edge of Dodington Parish. "The ...
Noon today saw the inital First Minister's Questions of the 2010-11 Holyrood session. And it was really, really weird. For the first while it looked as if Alex Salmond and Iain Gray had been kidnapped and replaced by actors - or robots, in fact. Actually actors is better, because robots would have done a better job. It's not so much that the tone was remarkably civilised for FMQs, but that it looked more as if they'd rehearsed it to death beforehand. There was no enthusiasm for what they were saying. It all seemed so contrived. Iain Gray's topic was the ...
This is a joint posting by Left Foot Forward, ConservativeHome and Liberal Democrat Voice [IMG: Litmus] The leading blogs of left, right and centre, Left Foot Forward, ConservativeHome and Liberal Democrat Voice have teamed up to publish a special, limited edition newspaper - Litmus - looking at the key issues facing Britain today, which will be distributed at the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat Party conferences. It may not have been the Internet election that many had predicted but websites and social networks played a greater role than in any previous election. The blogosphere, in particular, grew up. A medium ...
Still sneezing and coughing as well so I missed the long planned Presentation of the Freedom of the Borough to The Rifles - the start of the process was started by John when he was Mayor. John tells me it was a splendid event, honouring the men from the 3rd Batallion back from Afghanistan. Also of course paying tribute to The Rifles past, present and future. There may be more to read on...
[IMG: The garden] Great news for residents of Elyne Road, Quernmore Road and Stapleton Hall Road who don't want a new development at the end of their back gardens: The Council's planning department have refused permission for a 5 bedroom house in a green area between these roads. As I mentioned in previous posts, I've been helping residents to object to the proposal that is completely inappropriate for this quiet green space. The planning department's judgement is on the Council's website and it is clear that the 41 objections and the petition did make an impact. I'm pleased to see ...
It's repulsive. "It is possibly time for us in a new way to actually stand up, confront terrorism," Mr Jones told reporters. This is hypocrisy; how is the burning of the Koran, a sacred text for Muslims, not an act of religious terrorism? Granted, it is not perhaps on the 9/11 scale but it's still an offensive act which will encourage terrorism not prevent it. Obama described the plans of Mr Jones as a "recruitment bonanza" for Al-Qaeda. Obama also pointed out that if the burning did go ahead in Gainesville, Florida it would endanger US troops in Afghanistan and ...
When I heard the news yesterday that David Cameron's father had died, I felt great sympathy for him. I lost my father in 2o03 and I can sympathise with him at this moment in time. Whatever your political colours, taking a step back and looking at what he's had to contend with in his personal life over the last 18 months, it's been a rollercoaster ride that few can surely, properly comprehend. Since the start of 2009 he has had to contend with the death of his eldest son, becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becoming a father for ...
Guido Fawkes reports that the appointment of Robert Chote as chief of the Office of Budget Responsibility was "out of left field" but that it shouldn't have been unexpected because of certain connections Chote has. Putting aside that part of the story, Fawkes isn't clear if he didn't expect. Normally if Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes, predicts something he then tells everyone he got it right. He also likes to argue that the 'dead tree' press (his phrase, not mine) gets it wrong and he is far better placed to get it right. Clearly, he isn't reading his FT closely ...
A quick update on my post about Brighton Green councillor Jason Kitcat, who is facing disciplinary action over putting footage of a council meeting up on YouTube. He's posted the latest news over on his blog, and it is good to see that he is getting support from across the political spectrum: ConservativeHome's local government blog had yesterday posted a supportive piece which Local Government Minister Grant Shapps MP then tweeted a link to, adding his own view: Surely no justification for reporting a Cllr who seeks to promote openness to the Standards Board Indeed! The comments on the ConservativeHome ...
Is this a wind-up? One could be forgiven for thinking that. This, last night, was Phil Davison of Minerva, Ohio, USA at a meeting of the Stark County Republican Committee, making a pitch to become the party's nominee for Stark County treasurer. He failed. What is quite extraordinary is that this man has, as he boasts, a "Master's degree in communication". Presumably, communication delivered with a sledge-hammer, that is.
I noticed something this evening whilst teaching that actually filled me with a real sense of pride and joy. I looked at my handwriting on the board (for a word I had been asked to spell) and I knew it was the right spelling, it was legible and I had helped a student progress in their knowledge of English. Why was this such an achievement for me a now professional English as a foreign language
11th - 25th September: Photographic Exhibition Photos4Peace 2003 - 2010: A photographic exhibition by Chorlton resident Penny Krantz. A selection of photographs exhibited at Penny Krantz's local library in Chorlton. Many of her photos are taken from the perspective of a participant in protests - against the Iraq War, for Palestinian justice, and for nuclear disarmament. This selection features many taken locally.
From here: A Statement on the Issue of the Proposed Burning of the Qu'ran by Extremist Minister Terry Jones Greetings to all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ As the Islamic world comes to the end of Ramadan, we wish all Muslims, especially Muslims of Sudan, congratulations, good will and blessings on Eid ul‐Fitr. May the Lord God bring peace and love to our land. As an Archbishop and Primate, and on behalf of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, I categorically denounce the suggestion of Terry Jones to publicly burn the Qu'ran on the anniversary ...
It's very difficult for me to summon up any great affection for Piers Morgan. But he does that job very well for himself. But, say what you like about him, it is a massive achievement for him to succeed Larry King. It is a very well deserved appointment. It's great to see a Brit getting the gig. Morgan has proved himself to be an excellent interviewer of the old school. Like Parky – he actually listens to the answers. That could be because, like Parky, he has been a journalist for a great part of his life. You have to ...
The Coalition is winning the argument on the economy, so say the polls. Presumably this is great news for those Lib Dems who actively support the necessary and vigorous deficit cutting drive in the new politics. There is a sense ... Continue reading →
Apparently the male habit of leaving the loo seat up is really annoying. You wouldn't know it living in my house obviously; not because Mrs Wrongmo is a repetitive nag but because I live in a shed and use a ... Continue reading →
Police are appealing for witnesses after an 81-year-old woman had £110 stolen when she opened her front door to a man and woman posing as officials from Age Concern. The couple called at the woman's home in Crispin Close, Beddington, yesterday (Sunday 5th Sept) at around 2.00pm. The resident who had been watching TV put the chain on the door and asked who was calling. The couple said they were from Age Concern and flashed some ID. On being allowed in, the female suspect asked to go to the toilet and for a cup of water leaving the other suspect ...
The Koran burn-threatening pastor is at the "Dove World Outreach Center" in Gainesville, Florida. This is irony you couldn't buy. Sarah Palin has made an excellent comment on the controversy. I never thought I'd write that! Here it is: Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation — much like building a mosque at Ground Zero. I would hope that Pastor Terry Jones and his supporters will consider the ramifications of their planned book-burning event. It will feed the ...
Thu 9th
18:13
LibLink: Stephen Gilbert - Why we must be fighting for full same sex marriage equality now
Over at Pink News, Lib Dem MP for St Austell & Newquay Stephen Gilbert writes in support of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) marriage equality and explains why LGBT rights organisations should be fighting for marriage equality now. Here's an excerpt: As a society we have set a standard for people who want to show they are in a committed relationship, for people who want to show that they have found love and wish to remain together until death do them part. We call it marriage. Why should we deny that institution to people who wish to show that ...
Wishing all my Muslim friends and readers greetings as they celebrate Eid.
Up at 6 a.m. this morning to finish reading the government White Paper on the NHS, first issued at the end of July. Then off to Hertford for a 10 a.m. meeting to hear the comments from the County Council's Adult Care Department on this disappointing document. I need to digest what I've learned but at first glance it would appear that the public involvement in our NHS is going to be far less than most of us were hoping for. And with statutory health scrutiny by county councillors being abolished it looks as though we're going backwards. Instead of ...
There was an Opposition day debate yesterday on 'crime and policing' – an opportunity for Labour to lay out their angst about the Coalition plans for policing. But that is not the focus of the first part of this post. During the opening speech from Alan Johnson, former Labour Home Secretary, he said this: "The Home Secretary (Theresa May) has been careful to have only one LibDem in her team, and she is a very good Minister (me), but the Government have not allowed her anywhere near the important stuff in the Home Office.' (I was on the bench with ...
Why is it, I wonder, that the apparently toothless media - which has largely been pathetic at holding the government to account in recent years (with the obvious exception of the expenses scandal which was sold to them) - and has always been happy to hitch a ride on the back of the blogosphere whenever it can - has turned so violently on one Guido Fawkes? (Well turned on him - not sure about the "violently"). Across the last week or so a story has emerged of a cabinet minister sharing a bedroom with a junior aide, then appointing that ...
"Beijing's plans for renewable energy could blow a hole in Britain's eco-industry", wrote Sunday Times writer Danny Fortson (5/9/10). I struggled to understand the angle of the story: surely we should be delighted to know that rather than more dirty coal powered plants polluting the atmosphere and choking China's population, she is now investing in wind power with a vengeance? By the end of last year, China already had an installed base of 25GW which is a fifth more than all of Europe. And by 2020, her government expects to generate 150 GW from wind turbines or 6 times more ...
Labour leadership candidate David Miliband has been boasting on Twitter about his five point plan for gender equality. Well three of the five points are internal Labour Party stuff, and the other two involve Parliament's working hours and nicking our policy on flexible working and sharing parental leave. He even qualifies that with an "over time". Nothing about equal pay, tackling employment discrimination, body image issues, portrayal of women in the media, violence against women, all the things tackled in the Real Women policy document debated at last year's Liberal Democrat conference. In contrast, Miliband's approach seems tokenistic and irrelevant. ...
There's an interesting advert on the TV at the moment for Kentucky Fried Chicken, promoting their new "Kentucky Jack" with the slogan "a taste of the deep South." It's interesting because, last time I looked, neither Kentucky (where the chicken comes from) nor Monterey (in California, where Monterey Jack cheese comes from) is anywhere near the deep South. And yet the advert can go and call it that anyway because, well, it's on TV and people will believe it. I don't really care whether people mistakenly believe that a chicken burger fried in their local takeaway is actually from Alabama ...
There has been some speculation that the Government is prepared to walk back on its commitment to end child detention. I want to say, clearly and on the record, this is not the case. Nick Clegg has rightly described the locking up of children for immigration purposes as a moral outrage. More than 1,000 children were detained in this way during Labour's last year in government, often for months on end. Today, the charity Medical Justice has published a report documenting the physical and psychological harm that children suffer in prolonged detention. It makes grim reading. They studied 141 cases ...
The long awaited opening of Maesdu Bridge will take place today at 4pm. There is still some minor work to take place over the next two weeks but I am informed that these works will need little or no traffic management.
Today in Edinburgh, Liberal Youth Scotland launched their campaigns for the following year: Freedom and Fairness, and Making Scotland Stronger. LYS President Kristian Chapman said: "It's been a painstaking process, taking the initial campaign ideas from the members through to these fully formed campaigns, but it's very rewarding. I'm really looking forward to seeing these campaigns through, and continuing our fight for all young people across Scotland." [IMG: Liberal Youth Scotland] With the General Election over and the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative Government firmly bedded in, LYS and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have Holyrood firmly in their sights. In the previous ...
Thank goodness! Five Conservatives who tried to rig the postal vote to get 2005 Tory General Election candidate Haroon Rashid into parliament have been sent to jail. Five men have been put away, including two former Tory councillors, Reis Khan and Jamshed Khan. The others now in prison are Mohammed Sultan, Mohammed Rafiq and Alyas Khan. It's taken a long time for justice to be done but I really hope the message from Judge Bartfield gets through to people who try to cheat their way to victory: "Our way of life in this country is based on democracy. If the ...
Left Foot Forward has posted a link to the campaign to end legal loan sharking. The title of the campaign is a little misleadering as the Labour MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy is actually calling for a cap on the charge for credit. However this is a better idea than a total ban. This will still allow credit lending to continue and will not stop these loans. Many People on low income need these loans to help them live from day to day. The early day motion also calls for alternative sources of affordable credit. This is a must as ...
Southwark has received 8 Green flag awards for its parks and open spaces. It failed this year to get a Green flat for Nunhead Cemetery. Fingers crossed for next year. Its winning parks being - Dulwich Park, Bermondsey Park Gardens, Brimmington Park, Paterson Park, Peckham Rye Park, Russia Docks Woodlands, Southwark Park, Sunray Gardens. Also worth noting Walworth Garden Farm won a Green Pennant award. Southwark also received a Gold award in the London in Bloom overall and a Gold for Dulwich Park. Well done to everyone making this happen - friends groups, officer and users for taking care when ...
Thu 9th
13:15Opinion: our MPs need to be demonstrating consensual politics and challenging opponents on AV
Based on my timeline on Twitter I was not the only Lib Dem member paying attention to the AV debate in Parliament and getting frustrated at some of the comments made by Labour and Conservative MPs against the alternative vote referendum. I can't have been alone in noticing a significant absence of Lib Dem MPs being as engaged in the debate in Parliament as I was on Twitter. This got me thinking - are we doing our best to minimise unforced errors and build relationships with those we will be campaigning alongside in the AV referendum and to limit Yes ...
Concern is growing amongst councillors, staff and local community organisations that Bury Council is considering scrapping Local Area Partnerships. Already meetings of Partnership Chairs for the rest of the year have been cancelled and they have axed funding to the LAP's. To be honest if the Tories were to scrap them I wouldn't be at all surprised. Despite reviewing LAP's a number of times they have never managed to fully commit to taking them forward and properly developing them. This is partially down to their approach to area partnerships and for that matter any devolved structures - they don't really ...
I watched GMTV quite a lot (though my choice was always BBC Breakfast). This week, in the interests of research, I have been watching ITV's alleged "new" "Daybreak". The content of Daybreak is more or less the same as GMTV. So I want to concentrate on the set, music and logo. You will see a theme developing, as I go through each element in turn: 1. The backdrop It sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? Start a fresh programme with a backdrop of London. "London Tonight" have been doing it, presumably in the same studio, for years (but they ...
Not related to the rest of the post: Yesterday I taught my first business English class (I won't mention the companies name etc just in case there might be an issue with that.) which means that I have now taught Kids, Teens, Adults and Buisness lesson (all I need is for some babies and one-to-one classes and I will have a complete set (compared to the length of time it took me to get a complete
[IMG: Flame in the Streets cover] Tense situations at home and at work during the painful adjustment to a multi-racial society in post-war Britain is this 1961 British film in a nutshell. It sees a white trade unionist standing up to racism at work at the same time as having his own beliefs questioned by the news that his daughter is hoping to marry a Jamaican immigrant. It stars John Mills and is set over a few hours on Bonfire Night, November 5th. Made shortly after the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, it addresses racism head-on, as as this clip ...
In an interview with the Western Mail, published this morning, Plaid Cymru's leader firmly hitches his wagon to the Labour donkey for a second bite at the One Wales coalition. According to Martin Shipton, Ieuan Wyn Jones effectively ruled out out the possibility of a "Rainbow" coalition involving Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats after next year's National Assembly election. He says that when pressed on whether it would be possible for Plaid to go into coalition with the two parties at Westminster who were imposing swingeing spending cuts Ieuan said: "Let's be honest. I think that does make ...
Nick Clegg this morning delivered a speech outlining the need to reform now in order to promote mobility and prosperity in the future. "It falls to our political generation - and to this generation as a whole - to take the necessary steps now for a better, fairer future. Reform and change today is necessary if we want mobility and prosperity tomorrow. That's the horizon shift we need. That's what the Coalition Government is about." You can read the full speech here. Rick
The Guardian today carries a story, Government climbdown on detention of children in immigration centres, which — if it were accurate — would have Lib Dems hopping mad. Thankfully, it's not accurate. It was six weeks ago, at his first acting stint at Prime Minister's Questions, that Nick Clegg formally announced that (as per the Lib Dem manifesto and Coalition agreement) the practise of child detention would end: It was simply a moral outrage that last year the Labour government imprisoned, behind bars, 1,000 children who were innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever. This coalition government will once again restore a ...
Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, plans to burn the Quran on Saturday (9/11 in the backward American usage). Many have quoted Heinrich Heine, who in 1821 was referring to the burning of the Qur'an during the Spanish Inquisition: "Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings." The Nazis proved him right, burning his books in Berlin's Opernplatz a century later
I am conscious that my previous posting was a little flippant. I don't apologise for that a nonsense report deserves that sort of response. I am aware, however, that I don't spell out where I think the Hull economy can grow in the next 10 years. This is the post to make up for that. I don't call this my vision or plan for Hull. The free market will adapt and create jobs better than I can plan for it. Never the less this is where I think business and job creation in Hull will go in the medium to ...
There is much that has been written about the efficiencies of business and how government can learn from the private sector. While this is true, there are other areas which offer an unparalleled effort in achieving collaboration and partnership between those who hold power and those who don't in attempts to create a more democratic ...
People are our biggest asset - a very common statement. The need to cost our people assets in more concrete ways is acknowledged by many industry experts, especially as the knowledge economy continues to grow coming out of the recession. People are now recognised as the key to competitive advantage and as a result they need to be logged as both business assets and liabilities. In 2002 the previous Government began to be concerned that the UK was falling behind in productivity levels, leading to worries about the competitiveness of UK businesses. They began to think that UK businesses could ...
I'm working from home today putting together a training session for the Liberal Democrats conference in Liverpool, the first one since we formed a coalition government. An email from my Labour MP, Mark Lazarowicz pops into my inbox. "As you may know, the new Coalition government has made a wide range of proposals for constitutional change. The first of these is the proposal for a referendum on a new voting system ('the alternative vote'), as well as reductions in the number of MPs and reorganising constituency boundaries for the election of MPs. There was a debate on these proposals on ...
JAM BUSTING - the great commuter challenge! - Jam Busting
In Southwark under the Lib Dems we devolved a proportion of the highway and lighting renewal budgets. £175,000 for each of the eight community councils in this financial year - the last set by Lib Dems. We now have to decide how to spend this money in the Dulwich Community Council area covering East Dulwich, Village and College wards. What roads surfaces, pavements and street lighting do you think need renewing as a priority?
It's definitely not like me to write two posts about David Miliband in one day, but he's provided me with the material. I was shocked by the lack of judgement in his tweet above during PMQs yesterday. Equating the Claudy conspiracy with the allegations against Andy Coulson case, covering up complicity in murder as regards unproven allegations on phone tapping which the Police are continuing to investigate is surely unbecoming to a man who thinks he's got what it takes to be Prime Minister. This is a prime example of failing to engage your brain before you tweet, but I ...
Saturday sees Liberal Democrats from across Suffolk gather in Henley, just north of Ipswich, for a county training day. I'll be there as part of Team Mid Suffolk (if it's good enough for our nation's capital, it's good enough for paradise), and am looking forward to discovering what is expected of me, as opposed to what I expect of myself. Add to this the presence of Keith House, who heads the Liberal Democrat administration in Eastleigh, who is expected to whip us up into a frenzy of campaigning activity (I may be exaggerating just a touch here...), and it should ...
Part 19 of blogging my way through my first reading of Atlas Shrugged. You can find the first part here. Chapter 19: The Face Without Pain or Fear or Guilt Another filler chapter, the main point of which appears to be that Rearden discovers that d'Anconia used to be Dagny's lover and gets angry about ...
Southwark runs several current and closed cemeteries - Nunhead Cemetery, Camberwell Old Cemetery, Camberwell New Cemetery. The issues around illegal dumping of building materials nearly resolved with the planting of new bushes etc taking place in October. It's taken over 18months to get this sorted. Southwark has only one years supply of spaces for burials. Officers have options to suggest to provide more burial spaces of either reusing common graves if they obtained Home Office approval - this involves adding 2foot above the current plots (which are only 4 foot deep) with their initial thoughts being using lots of concrete ...
Here's a very informative little vid from the good people over at Reason detailing moves in the US to outlaw Menthol cigarettes: The move to ban Menthols, and other "flavoured smokes", marks the transition to an outright ban on the sale of cigarettes. But I'm just astonished that politicians are moving in this direction. DO THEY LEARN NOTHING? I'll say it again. DO THEY LEARN NOTHING? When has prohibition ever worked? It hasn't/still isn't. So why are we even going down this path? Looks like the 2020s are going to be marked with prohibition just like the 1920s was. And ...
Just watched a very interesting video of psychologist Mark van Vugt fusing evolutionary history and science to show how the evolution of leadership affects us all. Some interesting ideas I took from it include: That democracy may have started in ... Continue reading →
As Ed Maxfield wrote about last month, the LibDem conference in Liverpool will see a consultation session on the party's strategy and priorities. Penned by Gordon Lishman, the paper is a good starting point for debate and goes through the obvious yet important questions, such as how does being in government change the party's approach. Being a paper from Gordon it also places many of the questions in a broader context, with nods towards history, community politics and the variations in political perspective across the UK. Reading through it, there was one section I found particularly welcome, and one rather ...
Sue McGuire has published Keats' Ode to Autumn. Strange that Keats did not mention the smell of woodsmoke and burning leaves in Autumn's bonfires. I looked up how he came to write it. He was in Winchester. Surely they had woodsmoke ? I also think the year starts in Autumn when the academic year begins and woodsmoke used to hang around Cambridge. It was the right time to start eating crumpets
"We will end the detention of children for immigration purposes"So says the Coalition's Programme for Government on page 21 and this is what I expect to happen, despite today's story in the Guardian saying the Government is climbing down on this I'm having trouble trying to find the actual answer to Greg Mulholland referred to in the article. However, it's clear from Hansard that only on Monday of this week, Damian Green confirmed in a written answer that the Government was committed to ending child detention. He told Peter Wishart: The Government have been clear in their commitment to end ...
Sir Cyril Smith pictured with Paul Rowen (former MP for Rochdale) and Charles Kennedy MP As most of you reading this will already know, former Liberal and Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale, Sir Cyril Smith, has died on Friday 3rd September aged 82. Our first thoughts must be with Sir Cyril's family at this sad time. The people of Rochdale have lost a formidable champion today and the Liberal Democrats have lost someone who has been an outstanding influence on the party locally, regionally and nationally for over 40 years. North West Euro-MP Chris Davies knew Cyril Smith for more ...
The BBC reports: Nick Clegg has sought to calm fears over the impact of spending cuts, insisting they will be spread over four years and not implemented immediately. The deputy prime minister told the BBC he understood "people's anxieties" about October's spending review, likely to see departmental budgets cut by 25%. But it was wrong to say a "Sword of Damocles" would fall overnight and cuts would be spread out until 2015. He said extra financial support would be available to vulnerable areas. You can listen to Nick's interview with John Humphrys on BBC Radio 4′s Today Programme here. If ...
Regular visitors to this blog will have noticed a distinct lack of postings over summer for which I apologise. The seasons and months mean different things to different people and I'm sure each of us have our favourites. Summer to me is children and picnics whilst my favourite season must be Autumn with its approach heralded by the month of September. To many people the start of Autumn hints at the approaching year end but to me September represents the start of a new phase of your life. I think it must be related to the start of the new ...
The Friends of Longford Park are very pleased that Stretford Brass Band have agreed to play Longford Park again on the 12th September. Music from Stretford Brass Band will be performed between 2pm until 4pm in the art deco shelters rose garden Longford Park. Refreshments available. More details at http://folp.org.uk Forthcoming Events:- Quiz Night 8th October Ceilidh 2th November Carol Sunday 12th December
According to Labour Uncut - http://labour-uncut.co.uk The Deputy leader of the Conservative Group on Sandwell Council has quit the party and joined Labour saying the behaviour of gaffe prone Michael Gove made her "ashamed to be a Conservative."
I'm giving the Spectator a wide berth at the moment for reasons stated here. But Alex Massie's blog post pretty much sums up my feelings after a painful Tuesday evening spent watching Scotland play football.
I am in deepest France- La France Profonde- although my journey here was rather hampered by the usual French strike- in this case Air Traffic Controllers. I was only delayed, but plenty of flights from all over Europe into Toulouse had been cancelled. The ostensible reason for this outbreak of radicalisme was a proposal to raise the retirement age in France to 62. Since the de facto retirement age in the UK is already creeping up towards 67, it is hard to feel much sympathy. As BBC radio was quick to point out a couple of days ago: the French ...
Last night's Evening Telegraph highlighted the continuing situation regarding the 'switch-off' of real time bus information in the city, an issue I first mentioned back in February. As I indicate in the article, the Head of Transportation at the City Council has advised me that correcting wiring faults has been a challenge given the confined space the wiring is situated in and it may be a few weeks until all displays are back working properly. The approach taken - targeting the City Centre and other high-use bus shelters first - is sensible. However, I am anxious that we see the ...
Today is the 15th anniversary of the day my Granny, Annie Souter, passed away. It's also the 4th birthday of this blog. I don't think I deliberately started the blog on a day which will forever be linked with one of the most pivotal figures in my life, but I like to think it kind of chose me. My second post on this blog was titled simply Annie Souter: Today is the eleventh anniversary of the death of my wonderful Granny, Annie Souter. She was the most patient, gentle and kind lady. I spent such a lot of time with ...
The vandalism that resulted in around £11 500 of damage to cars at Barnetts Motor Group on Riverside Drive at the weekend was totally mindless. I hope that anyone who saw anything suspicious around the motor group's compound on Riverside Drive or in adjacent Riverside Approach over the weekend contacts the police with any information they may have. The garage area is well-lit and it is to be hoped that the police get some leads about who perpetrated this disgraceful vandalism. I have written to Paul Barnett, the Motor Group's Managing Director, to express my anger at this disgusting act ...
Further to my meeting with National Express Dundee earlier this week, the bus company has kindly given me their press release being issued today about the bus service changes it is introducing from 7th November. I paste below the relevant parts of this to the West End area : Service changes from Sunday 7 November: Service 5a / 5b: Broughty Ferry to Ninewells Hospital • Significant changes have been made to the timetable to build a more reliable and punctual service. It will also be renumbered as 5 to create a simpler network • It will provide an improved frequency ...
On Wednesday September 8th 2010 the Business Secretary Dr. Vince Cable laid out his plans for the future of science and technology funding in the UK in a speech as Queen Mary, University of London. I'd like to contribute to the debate the speech has sparked, in two parts - Part One looks at two concepts likely to be at the heart of the Coalition Government's approach to science funding; the
The next Eighth Doctor Adventure in sequence after Longest Day (and the parenthesis of Legacy of the Daleks). A fairly standard romp - exploitation of alien planet (turns out the dreamstones of the title are similar to the rocks in Sherri S Tepper's 1987 novel After Long Silence / The Enigma Score), with the wrinkle that the Doctor and Sam are apart for almost the entire book and remain parted at the end. There is one memorable tentacular alien character, Aloisse. But nothing very outstanding about this one.
Yes, I confidently (if reluctantly) predicted marriage equality was a distant dream and that whilst the fight would go on, results would be slow in coming. Well, in recent months, I think things have started to pick up and the dialogue has changed from people saying "civil partnerships are enough" to people such as Labour leadership candidate Diane Abbott saying: "Firstly, it was a mistake of us to only offer civil partnerships to same-sex partners, when full marriage equality was what was needed." That is progress. Thanks to Ben Cohen and his Pink News, Sunny Hundal on Liberal Conspiracy, and ...
No do not adjust your screen, it's true. The two most powerful women in US politics have found an issue they can agree 100% on. Well getting there...sort of. Yesterday US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was reported as saying the Koran burning was 'disrespectful' and 'disgraceful'. Today the former Republican vice-Presidential candidate said it was an 'unnecessary provocation'. See what I mean about sort of agreeing. It's a little diluted but heading in the right direction. Her full comment was: "People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and ...
Yesterday I mentioned the film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, whose director has just died. A reader tells me it is about to be released on DVD. As I once discussed, the film has a soundtrack featuring both the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. That is because Steve Winwood was in the process of leaving the former and forming the latter just as it was made. Anyway, I shall clearly have to buy it. In the mean time, take it away...
As worked out by redfiona99, chilperic and miteque (also Christopher and Geoff over on Facebook) I'm spending a few days in Chişinău, the capital of Moldova. Vrei sa pleci dar nu mă, nu mă iei, nu mă, nu mă iei, nu mă, nu mă, nu mă ie!
So the BBC has commissioned, sorry used licence payers money to buy, a report looking at how "resilient" local authority areas are to economic shocks. As an aside I am not sure how this is a justifiable use of the licence fee money given that the Audit Commission can give most of the information they have used for nothing but some interesting points raise themselves. Some of the methodology used is quite frankly laughable. In fact the basic premise that you can measure economic resilience of a local authority area is very novel. Local economies do no not respect political ...
i) births and deaths 9th September 1960: birth of Hugh Grant who played the Twelfth Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death (1999). (What do you mean, it's not canon?) 9th September 1968: birth of Julia Sawalha, who played Emma in The Curse of Fatal Death (1999). (Exactly.) ii) broadcast anniversaries 9th September 1967: broadcast of episode 2 of Tomb of the Cybermen. The expedition explores the vaults, and the Cybermen awake! 9th September 1978: broadcast of episode 2 of The Ribos Operation. The Doctor and Romana escape the shrivenzale, but are captured by the Graff Vynda-K, who orders their ...
The resurfacing of Old Hall Road in Gatley has been completed - the section from Pendlebury Road to near Leyland Avenue looks great now. A new dropped kerb has also been put in at the top of Old Hall Road, by the Gatley Road pedestrian crossing. This is the first part of the improvements to that corner. The scheme, for an improved "puffin" pedestrian crossing and changes to the pavement on both sides, is now being advertised, so will come back to councillors for approval soon - probably October.
I quite like decaffeinated coffee. If I drink it in copious amounts my head doesn't ache as it would if I drank the same amount of normal coffee. Also it enables me to sleep well* at night. However, why am I a confessed tea drinker on the whole defending coffee of the decaffeinated variety? The reason is that a Vatican official Father Gonzalo Miranda, a bioethics professor at Regina Apostolorum University, travelling through Mexico has said: "A gay relationship is like decaffeinated coffee, you do not wake up". Other benefits of course of de-caff are you are less strung up, ...
Lembit Öpik may be in the political wilderness for the time being but his legacy lives on if this report on CNN is any guide. They say that a small asteroid passed within the moon's distance from the Earth on Wednesday morning, and another will do likewise later in the day. The double encounter is an unusual event that shows the need for closer monitoring of near space for Earth-threatening encounters, according to NASA. Donald Yeomans, who is the manager of NASA's Near Earth Program, which tracks potentially hazardous asteroids and comets within 28 million miles of Earth, says that ...
There is a perverse topicality in the suggestion from the BBC World Service that it might be necessary to terminate the BBC's Burmese language service, as it is currently celebrating its 70th year of existence. It is only right and proper that the World Service (which, unlike the domestic BBC is funded by the Foreign Office, not by ...
Nancy Pelosi is in Canada today and tomorrow to discuss the tar-sands issue in a series of meetings with Canadian politicians, campaigners and oilmen. She is accompanied by democrat congressman Ed Markey. Both Pelosi and Markey are known for their support for environmental causes, so this bodes well.
My letter was published in the Morecambe Visitor yesterday. What was particularly interesting for me was that I gave a reference in the letter to this daily political blog. I'll make sure I check the stats to see if it made a difference. Anonymous wrote recently to criticise the number of followers to the blog. I don't know his or her motive in doing so but I would be happy to have one person read it. In fact it is a record of my daily thoughts that I can look back on myself. Letters are generally read by one person, ...
