Ros and I are home now, after one of the Presidency's more epic journeys, nine hours from Stirling by train. Admittedly, it was supposed to be just seven hours, but you get my (snow)drift. The Presidency is more than just the meetings, the conferences, the dinners and the campaigning. That's actually just the bit in the middle, because you have to get there... and back... Take this weekend for instance. We set off from Euston just after lunch on Thursday, travelling three hours by train to Penrith. The journey was a smooth one, and we were on time. We were ...
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Last Sunday I achieved something that I always anted to do. I ran! Since June I have been trying to lose weight by regular visits to the gym and eating more sensibly. Then about 2 months ago a teacher at work had signed up to run 5k in aid of the RNLI. So I decided to sign up to work towards a goal. I then persuaded some of the Explorers at the Scout Group I belong to to join me.So last Sunday, I
If you enjoyed the film - where Johnny Depp sounds like David Bowie and you fear little Toby may break into a tap dance at any moment - on Channel 4 tonight, you will love this. This is a South Bank Show from 30 years ago which shows the preparations for the opening of the first London production of Sondheim's original musical. Watch the first part here and Youtube will guide you to the later ones. When Bragg celebrated and mourned the end of the South Bank Show, an edited version of this was shown. I was a little shaken ...
Reading the letters page of the local paper always sets my heart racing. If one of mine gets printed, there's always a risk that it'll have been edited to within an inch of its life and rendered meaningless or, worse, edited so as to mean the opposite of what I meant. If there's not one of mine been printed, it means the opposition have probably got one of their's printed (since 95% of letters to local papers seem to be from political people), which is of course even worse. The local Labour party round here have got into the habit ...
Some time ago my family and I committed to working toward the 10:10 agenda - cutting our CO2 by 10% by the end of 2010. Our electricity over the last 12 months has gone down by from an average of 8.9kWh per day to 7.kWh per day - saving of 11.5%. All our electricity comes from Good Energy which only used renewable eletricity genereation but even so we should use less. Next month I can work out how we've progress on the gas front and whether overall we're on track to meet our 10:10 commitment. Did you make this commitment ...
Monday: meeting with Dowlat Nowrouzi and her colleague from the National Council of Resistance of Iran, to discuss the current situation in Iran. They are particularly concerned at the moment about the siege of Camp Ashraf, where hundreds of their members are living in appalling conditions. The European Parliament has issued a written declaration calling on Baroness Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, to urge the United States to remove the PMOI from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, as the EU has done, and call on the United Nations to provide urgent protection to Ashraf residents. On November ...
The Campaign Director of the Yes to Fairer Votes Campaign, John Sharkey — who was recently announced as one of the Liberal Democrats' new working peers — was a guest speaker today at the meeting in London of the LibDems English Council, the body which looks at English party matters and brings together elected representatives from all the English regions. ...
Please keep warm As we go through one of the earliest ever cold weather spells, I do hope you are keeping warm. If anyone would like info on the Warm Front Scheme, those who qualify could upgrade their old boiler to a more efficient one, insulate your walls & loft & save energy, please contact me for details. Also please don't get cold worrying about heating bills, theres things that can be done. Contact me if you would like a Benefits check, or how to keep warm in this freezing weather. If anyone would like any shopping done, medication fetched, ...
Many of my little blogs regular readers will know that ice hockey is my faourite sport, so the fact that I have been asked and given an opportunity by Deadline News to write regular match reports is an amazing honour. This is the first, that was published last week, any constructive feedback by sports writers is very welcome. Edinburgh Capitals suffer from Devil of a time EDINBURGH CAPITALS 3 v 5 CARDIFF DEVILS Match Report: Andrew Reeves The Cardiff Devils were welcomed to Edinburgh on Sunday evening following a 5 - 2 victory over the Edinburgh Capitals in Cardiff on ...
This week in conjunction with National Empty Homes Week Reading Borough Council is urging residents to report empty homes to the Council so where possible they can be brought back into use. Residents can report empty homes via email emptyhomes@reading.gov.uk or call (0118) 937 0088. Please visit www.reading.gov.uk/housing for more information on how to report empty or derelict properties in Reading. There are around 540 private homes in Reading that have been empty for six months or more. 340 belong to individuals, 160 belong to companies and 80 belong to housing associations. In recent weeks officers have worked with property ...
Neil Woollcott gives a very accurate summary of a letter he received from Simon Wright MP this week in his blog, but I really want to know how the party has come to put Simon Wright in this position. I should declare that I consider Simon a friend. I went to his wedding, he came to mine. I've know him for 9 years and whilst I disagree with the coalition, I have always felt in the past that Simon shows good judgement. I feel though that at the moment, he is losing public sympathy over the student fees issue. The ...
I am pleased to report that following discussions at the recent Roman Way forum and Alamein Community Association I have now placed an order for a community notice board on Roman Way. The notice board will be managed by the Community Assocaition but available for all local groups to use. I am grateful to Alamein Community Association, Testway Housuing and Raglan Housing for their support for this project and to Testway Housing for offering to erect the noticeboard on their land. The balance of the funding comes from Hampshire County Council out of devolved funds avaiable for local projects. My ...
This morning three of us in our road went out and with shovels and brushes and cleared snow from the whole of our road. We cleared the driveways of some of the more elderly in our road and did the good neighbourly thing. I am obliged to my neighbours apposite and adjacent to me for the sterling efforts they put in. Despite all our hard work, the road that leads to ours, which is on something of a hill, had seen no efforts from locals to clear the road. So again, we did it and cleared a driveable route through ...
When I first came to Salford the waiting list for a council house was around 3000. Under a Labour government and a Labour council it grew by more than 15,000. Labour in Salford introduced a policy to enable the council to force developers to build affordable houses. Over a period of ten years that policy ...
Another succesful meeting of residents was held on 6th November. The meeting was attended by local councillors, the police and a neigbourhood warden and residents of Roman Way had the opportunity to quix al lon local issues. My thanks to Vic Pain of Trajan Walk for taking the notes of the meeting and transcribing them into a readable format. The notes of the meeting wil lbe circulated locally. Aa copy is also available through this link Notes of meeting 6th November The next meeting will be at 3:00pm on Saturday 8th January when I am hoping representatives of Testway Housing, ...
Decca Aitkenhead has an in-depth article on ITV's Daybreak, and more specifically Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles, in the Guardian's "Weekend". It is an excellent read. Bleakley and Chiles are incredibly frank about the woes of transferring to an over-hyped breakfast show. For example, Chiles observes: Normally I'm pessimistic about absolutely everything. But God forgive me my arrogance, I tried being positive with this, because I felt in my water that it was going to be a storming immediate runaway success. I'd been saying to Christine for two or three years, we should do a breakfast show together, the time ...
I get a bit sick some times of people (mainly from surrounding areas but a few from Prudhoe) constantly suggesting that Prudhoe is some kind of dead end town with nothing going for it. It has a lot more potential I'll grant people but even today on a very snowy day Windsors Bakery was full of customers buying their specialist breads and the cafe's were full of people having a well deserved cuppa. I popped along to the end of Front Street to that Prudhoe establishment, Balls of Prudhoe. This is a very good fish and chip shop and is ...
David Blunkett MP, Former Secretary of State for Education, said on his appointment as a patron of the No2AV campaign: "I want to do all I can to engage people, particularly young people, in voting, citizenship and democracy - not introduce a system that does the opposite and is unwanted, unfair and complicated." David Blunkett thinks young people are against more choice and stupid. As a former Education Secretary you would expect David Blunkett to have more faith in young people but based on his view, young people can't list in order of preference the numbers 1,2,3... so let's not ...
The Friends of Wighton Lunchtime Recital this Wednesday (1st December) features the Friends' very own Wighton Singers! The group meet regularly on Tuesday afternoons under the guidance of distinguished traditional singer Sheena Wellington and they will be presenting a lively programme of Scots and seasonal songs. The Recital, which is free to attend, runs from 1.15pm to 1.45pm in the Wighton Heritage Centre, Local Studies Department at the Central Library in the Wellgate.
The Airport Manager has contacted me to pass on apologies about the noise from the airport on Friday. As he explains : "Aberdeen airport closed due to weather and the north sea helicopters diverted to here that were in the air when it closed. We had 4 fixed wing flights divert to us and 9 helicopters in total. I am sure you will appreciate that this was unavoidable and had we not accepted them it would have been a flight safety issue for all these aircraft."
I have been writing for some time about the way that Nick Clegg is developing a liberal story. In the recent Hugo Young lecture speech he has set out his thoughts on how to tackle poverty and empower the individual through making sure that social mobility is not merely an aspiration but a reality.
With thanks to Rob and Martina : Set Up : And ... the fireworks! :
A guest post from one of my friends, Andrew Neale. Andrew (the one on the left) and I met on a fundraising walk in New York organised by Stonewall. I don't agree with Andrew's politics, but we met on a fundraising event trying to make other people's lives better. Andrew is one of those amazing people with a huge heart and works so hard to help others, whether it is in Preston or other parts of the world - a true amazing friend. I never bother readin other people's notes ... and I don't particularly expect many to read/care about ...
In a report on the BBC's website, a report says that Ed Miliband has said that Labour must reclaim the 'big society' idea. In the speech he talks about looking at mutual solutions. This trend is being explored by all three parties. It seems that the leader of the Labour party is still looking for a narrative to differentiate his party from the coalition as he has launched major reviews into Labour policy.
An ex-Midland 0-6-0 on the up Midland line at Market Harborough. The former LNWR lines (from Rugby and Northampton to Stamford and Melton Mowbray) passed on the other side of the signal box. Frustratingly, the Bonkers Hall Branch diverges just out of frame. This photograph is by Ben Brooksbank, who says he began taking shots of the railway in 1946. I do not know precisely when it dates from, but I would guess the 1950s. Even in the 1970s though, there was a daily mixed freight train like this (albeit drawn by a diesel) that set back into the goods ...
Ceredigion Liberal Democrats today met and chose our new candidate for the Welsh Assembly election next May. I'm absolutely delighted to report that that candidate will be Cllr Elizabeth Evans from Aberaeron, Or as she is more commonly known, Liz. I've known Liz for 7 or so years and have found her to be one of the friendliest, most genuine and hard-working people I know - and she's a liberal to the core. A Senior Caseworker for Mark Williams MP I've had the great fortune of having worked with Liz for 5 years since Mark Williams was first elected as ...
I was in Last Thursdays Bracknell Standard What Does Bracknell Think. This time the panel was asked, Students were protesting against proposed changes to university fees but, what started out peacefully, was marred by the invasion of the Conservative HQ at Millbank, acts of violence and vandalism. Protests happen in London everyday but don't make the news. What we want to know is whether the riot on Wednesday has actually managed to further the students' cause by drawing more attention to it, or has it hindered it? My response; I was heartened to see students on the streets, yes other ...
Before I start, please don't get the idea that I think any of this is actually important, because some really awful things have happened to people I care about in the last few weeks. Frankly a delayed train journey doesn't really count for much in comparison, but I have half an hour free before Strictly so I might as well tell you about it. You know what I'm like about snow and ice - or if you don't, utterly petrified just about covers it. Waking up to see a couple of inches of white stuff this morning did not make ...
In June this year, I asked several questions about the future of journalism. One question was, is Murdoch planning to cease production of the physical newspaper? I was referring to the Times and Sunday Times. Murdoch is now launching the Daily, the first major iNewspaper designed for the iPad. The delivery of news is changing, and changing fast.
Mandelson: the real PM? is an excellent an edition of Storyville. It that gives a fascinating insight into the run up to this year's election from Peter Mandelson's point of view. Click on this link to watch.
I like to get the chance to plug local groups - there's a wealth of stuff going on that lots of people know nothing about - and there may be someone interested in stamps or postcards reading this site who had no idea that they could find out more about these things here in Consett. The Consett Philatelic and Postcard Society meets at 7.00 p.m. at Citizens House, Station Yard (next to the Medical Centre) every 1st and 3rd Wednesday from September to April, and every 1st Wednesday through May to August. The next meeting will therefore be on December ...
Earlier this week Merseyrail announced they were not going to be re running the Christmas Cracker promotion. This was a scheme which allowed people to travel more cheaply on certain days and times in the run up to Xmas. It was aimed at people going into the City centre to shop. Merseyrail are saying that they won't do it this year because they are worried about overcrowding, because they don't "need" to do it (meaning the marketing objectives have been met) and that it makes less sense now to highlight late afternoon and evening on one particular day as there ...
Sat 27th
16:54
Lembit's exercise in harmless mediocrity - and Nigel Haver's High Tory visitation to the jungle
[IMG: Lembit Opik at the Roundhouse] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: salimfadhley As usual we've been glued to "I'm a Celebrity". Lembit was voted off last night. He's come across as a likable, sort of mediocre, character. He seemed to swim a lot in the pool. He said he had started to "find himself". I'm not sure if this will enhance Lembit's attempt to be the LibDems' London Mayoral candidate. He doesn't seem to realise that the more cheap TV he does, the more Liberal Democrat members will tend to see him as lightweight. As Jonathan Calder said, he ...
I swear I'm still doing meme entries. SO BUSY Anyway, it's now properly the Yuletide season, and I'm seeeing all my blogs stick up "give me your address if you'd like a card" posts, as is tradition. I'll reiterate here what I said last year: Please do not send me paper greetings* Instead, this year, I'm asking people to donate to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where my nephew is undergoing his second operation this week. A dollar or a pound or a euro, or whatever it is you'd spend on a card to me, is all I'm asking. If you ...
ReGenerate have been working in the Whiteway for two years now. During this time much good work has been done and now the Changes group is building up its skills ready to take on and continue the work. The Council and other partners in the Local Strategic Partnership have always been supportive of the process. At the recent Chairman's Community awards several members of the...
Reading Station Closure You may have heard that Reading Station will be closed between December 27, 2010 and January 2, 2011. This is to allow Network Rail to carry out some key work to signaling and the track around the station in preparation for full remodelling of the track and station. When completed in 2016 the extension of the station will mean fewer delays and the capacity for...
[IMG: 002.JPG] Thanks to everyone who came and said hello at this morning's Saturday Surgery. As you can see from the photo above, Cllr Donal O'Hanlon and Cllr Vic D'Albert joined me on our stall at the Longfield Centre, collecting signatures for our "Stop Parking Charges" petition and getting your views on top priorities for Prestwich. It was very cold this morning, bu that didn't deter us or the very many people out and about shopping locally in Prestwich. It was lovely to see people and get a reception much warmer than the weather. I must confess that for the ...
The Roundhill tree planting was well attended this morning despite the cold and snowy weather. We planted 100 small food trees - a variety to enable people to harvest food to make jams, jellies and chutneys in the coming years. Thanks to Woodland Trust for donating the trees; More Trees for Bath and NE Somerset for getting the trees and providing the expertise, The Council for...
48) Andi Clevely, ~Your Kitchen Garden Month-by-Month (Cincinnati: D&C, 2010, ISBN 9780715337677). Does what it says on the tin. It explains the basics of garden planning, crop rotation, when to do what, etc. There are also two projects suggested for each month, but to my mind these are often generic gardening topics rather than specific projects, "Coping with pests and diseases" being one such example. I would also have liked a bit more detail on some topics, such as pruning. Overall, though, I liked it. I have used it to plan my planting for next year, so we'll see how ...
Dear Nick, In delivering the Hugo Young memorial lecture, you raised the challenges that progressives face in times of fiscal constraint. We share your view that these are timely and important issues to discuss. We also found much in your lecture that we agree with. In particular, we welcome your commitments to localism, civil liberties and political pluralism. We are, however, concerned that some of the statements you made may be odds with the both the values and agreed policies of the Liberal Democrats. In your speech you make it clear that you view increased social mobility - not reduced ...
Yes, I've managed to finish National Novel Writing Month again, and have just passed 50,000 words. (Anticlimactically, the 50,000th word was a simple 'a') It was harder this year than the two previous times I've tried it (2006 and 2009) because it became clear to me after a few days that the idea I had ...
The other day, I offended a priest (unintentionally). As my irritation with the Vatican interference with the Italian legislative process grew, I suggested that it would perhaps be a good idea if the Vatican relocated back to Avignon. I was struck by my 'friend' suggesting that he would not criticise Judaism as I was criticising Catholicism. First of all, I was criticising the politics and
The referees' strike in Scotland reminds of something I wrote back in 2005: I am writing this listening to Arsenal vs Manchester United. Like all good Chelsea fans, I am hoping for a draw. The commentators are saying that the players and both benches are yelling at the referee every time he makes a decision. This typifies our modern inability to submit to any authority at all. I am reminded of David Mellor and his successful attempt to reinvent himself as a populist football pundit on BBC Radio Five Live. He did two things. The first was to do affect ...
Today's Guardian has a feature introduced as follows: "Ellen White took part in this week's protest. George Norman did not. We brought them together to thrash out their differences.An interesting idea. But guess which school George Norman used used to attend? Go on, guess. That's right. Eton. It's a classic pieces of polytoynbeeism. And so the poor old Guardian's decline into a comic for public sector workers steepens.
In David Laws book he notes that he was the first Liberal minister at the Treasury since Sir John Simon. Some may consider that an altogether happy precedent. Simon was after all one of the 'guilty men' over the appeasement of Hitler and he stayed in the National Government long after Archibald Sinclair led the Liberal party out. Simon's role as leader of the National Liberal which ended in his wish to join the Tories (which Churchill did not approve) was a key cause of the decline of the Liberal Party. As David Dutton his biographer write on the Liberal ...
I'm pleased that aging night club owner Peter Stringfellow, 70, has attempted to hand back his "totally unnecessary" winter fuel payment. Mr Stringfellow, famous for his sartorial elegance (see here if you dare), has penned a letter to Iain Duncan Smith requesting whether he can return the last ten years of the allowance. What this example shows is how absurd the British welfare system has become that it has enveloped so many individuals, including millionaire pensioners like Peter Stringfellow. Whilst he has quite sensibly proposed an opt-out to the system, anyone can return their unwanted allowance to the Department of ...
Residents will soon be receiving the second update on the regeneration of the Malls shopping centre. If you've been there recently you would have seen work is happening at a fast pace and to date I have not heard of any problems with noise or dust. Much of the canopy has been removed which appeared to give more light straight away. Decking has now been erected at the Robert Dyas entrance,
Earlier in the week I received a reply to the letter and petition I sent to Lib Dem MP Simon Wright. A copy can be seen in the photographs.It is probably what one would expect. Very woolly. Very uncommitted. Very much doing what the party leadership want.In one paragraph Simon still believes in free higher education, but dismissed it in another because we can't have all our own way in the
This morning's Western Mail reports that the introduction of super-fast broadband in Wales has been delayed because Welsh Government officials thought they couldn't access European cash. As a result, Wales is significantly behind Northern Ireland and even Cornwall in rolling out this major economic investment: Civil servants at the Assembly Government's Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) decided not to include broadband infrastructure projects in an application for Convergence funding - the highest level of European funding from 2007 to 2013 - because of the mistaken belief that spending on it would not be permitted. Yet officials working for the Northern ...
The Western Mail reports on an e-mail received by all Assembly Members from UK Immigration Minister, Damien Green this week telling us that we should not seek to take up issues with the UK Border Agency. Mr. Green explained that this is not a devolved matter and suggested that it would be best if we referred any casework to the local MP who, it is fair to say has access to hotlines, key civil servants and Ministers not available to AMs and thus are better able to get quick results, including stopping deportations in their tracks so that a case ...
Sat 27th
10:07
Lessons from successful politicians: How Canada's junior coalition partner went on to win more votes...
Jack Layton has been the leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada since 2003 and was the junior partner in a Coalition Government but has managed to take the party beyond the Coalition to win more votes and more seats with his party now near the party's all time high. Under his leadership, the ...
[IMG: Roding Liberal Democrats blog: screenshot] Having recently been over to train some of the Liberal Democrat group on Redbridge Council in blogging, it's good to see the Roding Liberal Democrats blog starting to pick up nicely at www.roding.mycouncillor.org.uk. One of my standard pieces of advice for blogging councillors is to see a ward blog as a long-term investment as it usually takes time to build up a good-sized local audience, but when you have such an audience the blog is an incredibly powerful and effective tool for getting news out quickly and feedback in promptly. From chatting to Gwyneth ...
As mentioned in an earlier post, the Community Safety Partnership attended Thursday's North Area Committee at The Manor to ask about priorities for the coming year. There was considerable discussion at the Committee about the options, and whether anything was missing. It wasn't possible to find a consensus! The five options are • Reduce Alcohol Related Violent Crime in the City Centre • Reduce repeat victims of Domestic Violence • Reduce cycle theft • Reducing re-offending • Reduce repeat incidents of Anti-social Behaviour If you have opinions on this then do go to the consultation website and have your say. ...
The former MP and soon to be Conservative Peer Howard Flight has told the London Evening Standard "We're going to have a system where the middle classes are discouraged from breeding because it's jolly expensive. But for those on benefits, there is every incentive. Well, that's not very sensible."
John Lennon once famously told a Royal Variety Performance: "For those of you in the cheap seats I'd like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!". I was quite amused therefore by this story from the Daily Mail a few weeks ago: Kate Harvey, spouse of Army Minister Nick Harvey, was bemused when MoD officials arrived to install a safe in their family home. Its purpose is to store classified documents, and the key to an MoD secure 'bat phone' which Mr Harvey keeps in case of a threat to ...
If you've come here expecting to find up to date news of Shipston and what I'm up to - you need to go to: philipvial.org If you've come here for cheap insurance on your car deal? You probably need to go somewhere ellse! I look forward to seeing you all at my new blog. Philip
i) births and deaths 27 November 1918: birth of Peter Tuddenham, who was the voice of the computer in Ark in Space (1975), the voice of the Mandragora Helix in The Masque of Mandragora (1976), and the voice of the Brain in Time and the Rani (1987). Blake's 7 fans remember him also as Orac, Zen and Slave. 27 November 1935: birth of Verity Lambert, who was the very first producer of Doctor Who. ii) broadcast anniversaries 27 November 1965: broadcast of "Devil's Planet", third episode of the story we nowcall The Daleks' Master Plan. The Doctor, Steven, Katarina and ...
I'm dreadful at setting goals. Personally and professionally, I drift to whatever takes my fancy. Planning what I want to have for dinner in the evening is an unfathomable prospect. I can't comprehend how friends can have calendars showing every meal for the week in advance. To me, that's a crazy, OCD-esque level of organisation. I am simultaneously bemused and full of admiration for people like SpaceKate – she has goal to get to space in the next 10 years. Comedian – and blogger for 9 years! – Richard Herring has asked readers what their goals are for the next ...
This is a variation on the cookie recipe that is particularly nice at this time of year. Makes around 24 cookies. 400g plain flour ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp baking powder pinch salt 160g unsalted butter (at room temperature) 85g light soft brown sugar 85g caster sugar 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten 120g white chocolate chips 80g ...
I'm naturally curious so I love people who expose me to new ideas or interesting ways of thinking about a subject. Here are the ten people I really admire and would suggest you check out. This list reflects my interests in marketing, entrepreneurship, writing, travel, buddhism, philosophy, music and politics. Six of them live in ...
'Labour big beasts say no to voting reform', goes the Guardian headline. Well they don't come much bigger or more beastly than Emily Thornberry. Labour activist Seph Brown has written that "Reading the comments of Emily Thornberry today, I fear that from the outset there are indications that the referendum on the Alternative Vote could ...
[IMG: st-annabel] ..from an equally unlikely place. Whilst masked students bunk off lectures and lessons, smash windows, lawlessly invade private property, hurl fire extinguishers from roof tops, vandalise,steal, and scrawl graffiti over buildings ..... a rather marvelous middle class flower arranger from Gloucester has been waging her own middle class revolt with infinitely more elegance. Annabel Hayter, chairwoman of Gloucester Cathedral Flower Guild, received an email last January stating that she and her 60 fellow flower arrangers would have to undergo a CRB check. Why ? Because they shared a toilet with the choirboys. If paedophiles had infiltrated the flower ...
I was speaking with someone recently who had made national as well as local newspapers because they objected to what the water board were doing. It was pre-united utilities but post water meters. The company decided that they wanted to cut off bad payers and she decided that she was going to fight them. Good for her. She described herself as a rebel but it's really hard to believe that anyone would put forward a proposal to cut off the water in the first place. Anyone who opposes such measures is not a rebel. The rebels are those who think ...
