4) Melody Griffiths, Crocheted Throws & Wraps (London: Cico, 2009, ISBN 9781906525). 3) Julie Hickey, Quick & Clever Handmade Cards (Cincinnati: David & Charles, 2004-2009, ISBN 9780715316603). Thanks to reading How to Make an American Quilt, I'm in a crafty sort of mood at the moment and on the lookout for project ideas. Of the two books, Griffiths' has the more interesting projects, I think, but Hickey's has clearer instructions. I suppose she has the advantage of a I spent a good hour puzzling over the instructions for one of Griffiths' throws before I realised that (a) the panel that's ...
Just before the new year the 'No to AV' campaign proudly announced a list of 111 Labour MPs (at my count) who proclaim their allegiance to the current status quo voting system for electing MPs. The 'No' campaign's lack of basic research has been highlighted by Stephen Tall on Lib Dem Voice for the inclusion in the list of a number of Labour MPs who are supporting the case for reform. But perhaps when the 'No' campaign gets round to reading these MPs records on expenses they may regret the publicity they've given them and wish they'd done a bit ...
Wed 5th
22:36
Tory Council Cabinet Member on Chidren's Centre Charges: "I didn't know much about what I was signin...
A leading member of the Conservative Cabinet running Bury Council tonight admitted to "not knowing much" about a programme of charges set to be introduced at Bury's Children's Centres, despite signing off the decision to introduce them. The admission came at a meeting of the Council's Internal Scrutiny committee, which exposed some worrying weaknesses in the decision making processes at the Town Hall. The issue itself is controversial. I can see the arguments on both sides. There is a need for the Council to raise revenues, and this is one way. On the other hand, Children's Centres are very popular, ...
Today I've officially launched my campaign to be National Union of Students' Vice President (Further Education) - a role in which I'd represent the views of almost 5 million students in the UK. Through my 1½ years as Students' Union President of Amersham & Wycombe College, which I was instrumental in forming, there's been many ...
Whilst we are more than able to give ourselves bad publicity, in fact I sometimes wonder if we have appointed a secret but really very able 'Alaster Campbell' figure with a remit of 'make us look really amateurish and twits', the media are really so very against us. The "Surgerygate Tapes" of 2112 proved that we were under serious, sustained attack. The Sun, for example will adorn a coalition bad news story with a picture of Nick Clegg and conversely a good news story with David Cameron; everyday! That constant drip, drip, drip of Lib Dem negativity has much more ...
Back when I was an undergraduate I spent two years living in the "Colony", the sprawl of buildings owned by Clare College at the foot of Castle Hill. The central building of the complex is a late Victorian mansion called Castlebrae, which had the following inscription on a plaque in the front hall: This house was originally the home of DR AGNES SMITH LEWIS (1843-1926) and DR MARGARET DUNLOP GIBSON (1843-1920) Inseparable twins, tireless travellers, distinguished Arabic & Syriac scholars. Lampada Tradam. [Let me hand on the torch] I never went much to Castlebrae (see melancholy footnote at the end ...
Oh dear. The front page of today's Independent wasn't at all pleasant for those of a liberal disposition... But, even taking into account the fact the figures the Indy story is based on were slightly wide of the mark, there is some good news buried away in para 17: At the same stage after Lady Thatcher's 1979 election win, Labour was four or five points ahead in the polls but still went on to lose the next three elections. So, don't lose heart right now, because we're only 1/10th of the way into this Parliament (and god, that means a ...
The Gormenghast trilogy did well in my 2011 reading poll, so I've got underway; I realised that I have in fact read the first two books, so this is my first reread of 2011. Titus Groan starts with the birth and ends with the first birthday celebrations of the heir to the grand, tradition-bound castle of Gormenghast; every grand fantasy citadel since owes something to Mervyn Peake (thinking, most recently in my reading, of Isse Tower in Cecilia Dart-Thornton's The Ill-Made Mute, but there are many others). Peake weaves a grand miasma of doom and foreboding over the sterile rituals ...
Those of us who have and interest in coins will remember the 1973 fifty pence piece. It had a ring of hands on the reverse with one female hand amongst the others. It was to commemorate the European Economic Community. The one female hand was to represent Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. However, it features ...
Wednesday I am not sure I trust my new mobile telephone. This morning I dialled Mike Hancock's office at Westminster, only to be put through to a number in Moscow! Previously at Bonkers Hall... Monday: Lembit in the jungle Tuesday: Not Terribly Bright middle-class children
The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, Defra, is inviting views on the governance of the 10 English national parks and the Broads, which are assets being considered for sweating by the government. Fair do, you may think, since everything is being looked at, but we leave such matters to those in Whitehall and Westminster at our peril. These glorious beauty spots are our national heritage and we owe it to generations to come to assure their survival in pristine form. I'm pleased to read that the proposal is to retain an independent National Park Authority (NPA) for each of ...
One of the disadvantages of having travelled the length and breadth of the country is that you get to meet a lot of people. Now I know what you're thinking, "He means advantages, doesn't he?". And normally, you'd be right. But not always... The news that John Warman, the councillor for Cimla on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, has defected to Labour has triggered a touch of regret on my part. You see, during the Presidential campaign, Ros and I went to Cimla, to meet John, Frank Little and Des Sparkes, and some of the small, but committed, group ...
Simon Hughes has an article in tomorrow's issue of the New Statesman: It will be a five-year job. And we will be able to go to the next election proud of what we have achieved. The alternative to coalition was a single-party Conservative government. I have no doubt about which I prefer. And no progressive British voter should be in any doubt about which is preferable for Britain. This is the coming of age for Liberal Democrats. The coming of age has its challenges - but we will deliver.
Last week I posted to Lib Dem Voice what I thought to be an accurate list of the 100+ Labour MPs who had proudly announced they would be opposing electoral reform in the May referendum. I assumed it must be accurate... after all, the list was taken directly from the No2AV campaign's official website. Surely they would have checked with each MP before publishing their name, I thought. Not carefully enough, it turns out. As Left Foot Forward has highlighted, five Labour MPs named by No2AV as opponents of electoral reform have been listed incorrectly — take a bow Barry ...
Back in November I blogged about tough enforcement action Reading Borough Council was taking against a rogue landlord. However, when discussing issues in the private rented sector it is important also to highlight the examples of good landlords we have in the Town and this week I was pleased to hear that the first local landlord has become accredited via the National Landlord Association's accreditation scheme. Last year the Coalition Council took the decision to join the NLA's scheme as it offered better value for money for taxpayers, and importantly offered more benefits to tenants and landlords than running our ...
Throughout the festive season, LDV has been offering our readers another chance to read the 12 most popular opinion articles which have appeared on the blog since 1st January, 2010. The top most-read LDV op-ed of 2010 was by former contributing editor (and former party member) Richard Huzzey, and originally appeared on 9th December ... Opinion: Richard Huzzey – "I resign" Vince Cable and Nick Clegg have pursued a strategy that has resembled a poorly-scripted comedy as much as a bitter tragedy in the past month. This week we have reached the final act of a farcical and disastrous process ...
Still too sick to blog properly (not properly sick, just drained from fighting a mild infection while having to work), but I *will* be 'live-tweeting' (along with many others) my reactions to the 'classic' Doctor Who story Earthshock at the hashtag #cdwearth. We start watching the DVD at 7:30PM. Join us... I won't be live-tweeting ...
The Wikio rankings are out for January 2011 and sadly only 8 Scottish blogs remain in the top 100 as we bid farewell to the Cute Greek Baby and to Stephen. Again, I nag any Scottish political bloggers who haven't registered with Wikio to do so - for example I mean you Set in Darkness, you Midlothian Liberal and you, Burdzeyeview, you Bellegrove Belle, you Paul Edie, you James Taylor, you Joan McAlpine, you Love and Garbage and you Indygal. If you haven't registered with them, already, please do so here. So here are the rankings: 1. And Another Thing ...
I posted to Lib Dem Voice this afternoon Paddy Power's OTT press release — claiming that "Victory for the Lib Dems in Oldham is now as unlikely as Manchester United finishing at the bottom of this year's Premier League with Roy Keane in charge!" — challenging the bookmaker to put their money where their mouth is, and offer me the same odds for both outcomes. Here is the full text of my email to Ken Robertson of Paddy Power plc: Dear Ken, Thanks for the communication. Given your statement, "Victory for the Lib Dems in Oldham is now as unlikely ...
I watched with horror a tv programme called helicopter heroes on itv 3 (or some channel like that). Now I'm really into tv docu-soap style medical programmes. Watching the paramedics zooming around in a helicopter in the mountains etc. Marvellous! I thought it would all be high drama stuff. Yet one call out was for a toddler who had had too much sun. Now an overheating child, this can be serious stuff - but ultimately fully preventable. The grandmother seemed to have lost the plot. Given that she brought up her daughter did she not use common sense and reflect ...
BT has announced the results of their Race to Infinity competition, and unfortunately we're not among the winning communities. It's hard to get official figures but it seems that we only had a couple of hundred votes out of more than 15,000 households. The communities they've named will be first in the queue, but there will be other opportunities. In fact we've been talking about this in a meeting today, saying that we have to use any new developments as a lever to get broadband speeds increased. Thank you everyone for getting in touch - we'll keep up the pressure ...
On Sunday night I was on The Westminster Hour with Tim Montgomerie (of ConservativeHome) and former Blair advisor John McTernan talking about the political prospects for the three main parties in 2011. You can listen again on the BBC website here. It was the first time I'd been interviewed at length by Carolyn Quinn (newly on Twitter), and she went up (even further) in my estimation - she has a great knack of filling in the gaps between what different people are saying so that the overall piece has a thread and progression to it. Almost like a conductor joining ...
It's now been 4 weeks since Ivan Lewis wrote to all the Lib Dem councillors in Bury (copying the letter to the Bury Times) criticising the government's plans to increase university tuition fees. I oppose the government, even though my own party is part of it, so I told him that, and that I favoured government funding instead. I asked him what his favoured position was, since the Labour party doesn't have one. I did receive a reply (which you can read here) but it didn't answer the question of what Ivan Lewis thinks or wants as a solution to ...
Homeopaths who recommend remedies for the prevention of serious infectious diseases are now coming under the spotlight Homeopathy is under real pressure following recent developments, highlighted in a hard-hitting report by BBC TV science correspondent Pallab Ghosh on last night's Newsnight programme. Not for use in animalsIn December the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) in the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - which governs the use of medicines in animals - made clear that homeopathic treatments could only be classed as medicines, and thus prescribed by vets, if they were able to demonstrate efficacy. Homeopathic products cannot ...
Tonight at 7.30, the lovely Doctor Who DVD people tweeting @classicdw invite everyone to watch 1982 thriller Earthshock, and I can see why. Ask any fan for the 1980s' most exciting stories, and it's bound to come up: brilliant direction; shock Cybermen return; Moffat-style 'past Doctors' clips montage; masses of action (and death); and a memorably tragic ending. Yet I never know if I'll find it thrilling or disappointing to watch - and that's not because of the collision of a certain member of the cast with planet Earth, but of Beryl Reid with the machismo stomping through the story. ...
Wed 5th
16:49
Planning Committee - 4/1/2011 - Part 6 - Stanley School playing field & Pensby Infant School. Al...
Items 4 and item 7 were taken together. Cllr Knowles asked if it was an all weather pitch and was told no, it would be a grass pitch. Cllr Johnston asked if the car park would be retained and was told yes. Cllr Mitchell proposed that item 4 be approved with Cllr Kenny seconding. All ...
Wed 5th
16:39Planning Committee - 4/1/2011 - Part 5 - Tall Trees (Vyner Road South), Bidston - New Nursery and ca...
Next to be considered was a planning application for a nursery in Vyner Road South. Cllr Realey asked for the plans to be displayed especially the separation from neighbouring properties and where the proposed entrances would be. Cllr Elderton asked what the separation distance to the nearest property was. The answer given was 32 metres. ...
The committee then considered another application about another shop front. Cllr Blakeley wished the committee a Happy New Year. He stated that the reason he had asked the committee to consider this application is that the applicant had submitted the application and with complete disregard for planning guidance had continued with the work. He said ...
Alan Johnson said on Radio 4 yesterday that Labour would cut 60% of the forecast UK deficit of around £152 billion by raising tax (his predecessor, Alistair Darling wanted to cut it by 33% this way) (hat tip to Liberal Conspiracy). The rest of the deficit would be reduced through cuts. At last - Labour ...
Cllr Elderton pointed out that the photos didn't illustrate the colour. Although it seemed garish were there no sustainable reasons to turn it down? The answer given was no, it doesn't require consent because it replaces one of the same size and illumination, so Wirral Council had no control in this matter. Cllr Elderton asked ...
Cllr Gerry Ellis (a councillor for Hoylake and Meols) addressed the committee with regards to item 6. He was passing on points made to him by 5 or 6 groups & individuals. He had no objection to a dance school and thought it was wonderful that the building was being used in this way as ...
The <A for last night's Planning Committee can be found on Wirral Council's website. All councillors usually on the committee were present. The minutes were agreed, there were no declarations of interest and no requests for site visits. The first item for consideration was the extension of a planning consent for a dry silo ...
There were only 103 votes in it back in May, a statistic the voters of Oldham East and Saddleworth may have noticed one or twice on Elwyn Watkins' Lib Dem by-election campaign literature. But, according to bookmakers Paddy Power, the race is over. As The Guardian's Andrew Sparrow acerbically notes on his essential daily live-blog, "I'm normally reluctant to quote bookies, because their press releases are cheap bids for free publicity which normally don't tell us anything very new" — before breaking his own rule to quote a press release from Paddy Power (also received by the Voice): "Victory for ...
President Obama's Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is to leave the role, it has been confirmed. Along with David Axelrod, Gibbs was a key component to Obama's widely praised Presidential campaign. Mr. Gibbs is going to become a consultant and speaker upon leaving his current role in February. He is the second member of the core Obama team to leave the White House in recent times, former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual recently left in order to run to be Mayor of Chicago. This perhaps shows a desire for Obama to reignite his Presidency after a difficult first half of his ...
I read with some amusement and no few chortles of recognition Paul Sagar's piece for Liberal Conspiracy on why he's not renewing his Labour membership. His argument is, broadly, that he doesn't actually enjoy the experience of grassroots political campaigning – the squirming on the doorstep, the often cretinous colleagues, and the naked tribalism. All ...
It is always welcome when someone wanders on to your patch and looks at it with fresh eyes. That is why I found George Monbiot's article in yesterday's Guardian so stimulating (available here). Not that I entirely agreed with him, but I think he is right to pose unconventional questions about British housing policy. Monbiot's ...
I'm a union member and the proudest achievement for me as a Lib Dem will be the introduction of equal pay once and for all to Reading. Was it Labour who delivered it? Was it hell. They were too busy playing off one union against another and protecting their own self-interests to do the right thing for the hard working council staff they crapped all over whilst in power. Don't take my word for it, why not read what the unions had to say last April before the election. Bear in mind that what Unison are describing here is the ...
Because with the removal of the RSS button and the status bar, both of which I use a lot (and so does my wife), and the fact that extensions now opens as a webpage, instead of an options dialogue, we are only seeing downsides... Thankfully the add-ons to put the RSS button back and reintegrate a statusbar have already started arriving, so the problem is easily fixed, but it's still annoying. [IMG: Dreamwidth] [IMG: Livejournal] [IMG: Blogger] [IMG: Facebook] [IMG: Tweet this] [IMG: Delicious] [IMG: Flattr this] [IMG: LibDig] [IMG: Bit/ly] [IMG: StumbleUpon]
Some sad news for Welsh Lib Dems today, with Lib Dem county councillor John Warman defecting to Labour. The BBC's Betsan Powys reports: John Warman, a Neath County councillor has "come home to Labour" after 30 years as a Lib Dem. It's clear he always very much felt and sounded like a Labour politician anyway and his is hardly the high profile defection Labour might have hoped for. But if politicians who defect tend to be seen as opportunists, it has to be said Mr Warman didn't much look like one this morning. He just looked fed up and too ...
There's something about any mention of private education that brings out the worst in our opponents on the left. The eyes start twitching, the lips quiver, their fists clench in impotent rage, before bashing out polemics that equate spending your own money, on your own children, with harming the poor. There is no sanity in this position. The notion that identical lessons taught in the same establishment become good or evil depending on whether the teacher is paid by the taxpayer or the parent is nonsense. Even if private education is a privilege and generally better than state education, which ...
In the middle of last night (or early this morning) I listened to a fascinating "Tea interval" interview on Test Match Special. Aggers, for it was he, interviewed one Ashley Kerekes, a young nanny who likes knitting from Massachusetts USA with, up until a few weeks ago, zero knowledge of cricket. In fact, there was no reason whatsover for Ms Kerekes to be in Australia or for Aggers to interview her except that her Twitter name is @TheAshes. But what a wonderful, crazy thing! This young lady, and her boyfriend, have been plucked from the deep snow in Eastern USA ...
[IMG: Nicholas Coombes and David Martin at St. John's Field] With the coalition government devolving more power to local people, B&NES Council has been able to revise its growth plan. The Labour government had insisted on thousands of extra houses which would need to have been built on the edge of the city. The council has changed its 'Core Strategy' document to reflect local needs, but it is still not perfect. Cllr Nicholas Coombes said "Council has passed this plan for public consultation before it is signed off. I am pleased with the overall direction of the strategy, but there ...
Labour tweeter and blogger @shibleylondon tweeted this 'Just seen the shocking HMV news. Tory and LibDem lies are coming home to roost.' This is in relation to the closing down of 60 shops by the HMV group. Now I know there may well be man things you could blame the coalition government for. but it is not fair to blame the government for everything that happens. I also don't blame the last Labour government for Virgin becoming Zavvi and Zavvi later closing all their high street stores (selling the same products as HMV). Firstly the government austerity measures had not ...
Orange Clove Mead Recipe, this could be the perfect Christmas drink!
'Lib Dem support hits all-time low' shouts the front page of the Independent today. It's a bit of a rum story for two reasons. First, because it's not true — though I recognise that's rarely a reason for a newspaper not to run a story. Those who doubt my word can read Anthony Wells' UK Polling Blog post, pithily titled: Lib Dem support NOT at all-time low. And, secondly, because even if it were true it's not really news — we all know Lib Dem poll ratings have taken a battering. We also all know how fickle have been the ...
Yes, I know I said light, but I thought it was worth flagging up to you that there's a consultation going on here by the body which now runs MPs' Expenses. They want to know what we all think about what MPs should be able to claim for. The consultation document is lengthy - 61 pages - flagging up all sorts of issues. A brief scan, though, makes me think that the people who really matter, MPs' constituents and their needs who they are there to serve, don't figure too highly. There's plenty reference to taxpayers and making sure that ...
Old habits die hard it seems, perhaps especially so for Conservative ministers. Despite the localism bill supposedly signifying the government's intentions to get off local councils' backs, local government minister Bob Neill has still apparently found time to write to council leaders demanding to know how they will provide better refuse collection services over the Easter bank holidays, compared with the recent Christmas period. The lesser likelihood of heavy snow across the country in late April than in December might help, and I'm not aware that there has been any great problem with Easter refuse services that warrants the time ...
Please see below for various info and advice opportunities on the following topics: BEAT THE CHILL CENSUS JOBS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN PRESTWICH LIBRARY COMMUNITY PROJECTS LOTTERY FUNDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE KILL THE CHILL CAMPAIGN Step 1 - Do you feel cold in your home? Step 2 - Are you having to choose between eating and heating this winter? Step 3 - Contact Bury Council's Energy Team and leave the rest to then - phone 0161 253 6366/6367 or email: energyshowhouse@bury.gov.uk CENSUS 2011 - TEMPORARY JOBS Census 2011 is recruiting to fill a range of temporary jobs. For further information visit www.censusjobs.co.uk ...
Thanks for all the suggestions on which eBooks I should read on holiday. I didn't get through as many as I would have liked (crappy flights and too many pre-lunch cocktails!) – but here's what I did read and what I thought of them. Anathem [IMG: Anathem] Neal Stephenson's Anathem By rights, I should have loved this book. But I didn't. I couldn't even get 5% of the way through. Perhaps it was the deliberate use of overcomplicated language, or perhaps because it feels like it's an n-th generation copy of A Canticle for Leibowitz – I just couldn't get ...
I read with interest Betsan Powys' BBC blog today about a Welsh Lib Dem defection to the Labour Party in Neath Port Talbot. I can't say that I know Cllr John Warman. His face doesn't register with me and I've been an active member and conference go-er now for nearly a decade so Betsan is right when she says that he his hardly the high profile kind of defection that they'd love to welcome to their ranks. The Welsh Liberal Democrat response I felt struck the right measured tone. I don't like it when political parties go all personal after ...
Welcome Manor Ward BlogWelcome to a new Sefton Lib Dem blog from our colleagues in Manor Ward. I'm sure the team their, John Gibson, James Lundy and Andrew Shields will be an excellent addition to the blogosphere.
Finally the Visiter has posted a report on Southport's game against Gateshead on Saturday. This was by far Southport's best display of the season. The Gateshead Club has also posted a report. Man of the match was J P Kissock of who I suspect we shall hear much more.He was a former Everton Trainee of whom many expected great things. Certainly on Saturday he could do no wrong and turned in a match winning performance.
VN Towers has been well and truly struck down with Ashes fever the last few weeks. Last night we settled down, excited to watch Alistair Cook claim another century. Cook cruised quite comfortably to 99, before flicking the ball of his pads and into the hands of nearby Philip Hughes, who jumped in the air claiming his victim. Cook didn't move. He didn't move because the ball had bounced a good couple of inches before it got to Hughes. Cook knew it, Hughes knew it too. Clarke, fielding at slip, may be forgiven for not having seen the bounce. Maybe. ...
Just in case you're missing me, here's a link to the Scottish Roundup I did on Sunday which includes everything from resolutions, to predictions to instructions on how to build an igloo. Let's hope we don't get the chance to put that one into practice for a while.
I see that the S&B cricket club in Birkdale has been awarded the prize of hosting the four day county match between Lancs CCC and Notts CCC. I hope the home-side do better than when Mansfield came to Haig Ave. It promises to be a great occasion and I would guess that the crowd will exceed the attendance for a normal county match at Old Trafford! The S&B ground-which I could see if I perched on my roof-has hosted many memorable county matches over the years and it is good to see it confirmed as a venue for Lancs CCC ...
Speaking of my occasional writing at Prospect Magazine's online presence (see previous post), I was surprised and gratified to discover one of my articles on their end-of-year online content roundup. I'm officially no.9 on their top ten list of online-only articles! See! It's important to bear a few things in mind here: first of all, ...
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever. Crunchy numbers A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats. A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog ...
Happy New Year! I forgot to say that I wrote another piece for First Drafts, Prospect Magazine UK's blog. It's called Shouldn't students put voting ahead of activism?, which was (I thought) a fairly uncontroversial thing to suggest. Here's an extract: Students' tendency to self-disenfranchise may contribute to their willingness to express themselves in alternative ...
Recommended reading for Lib Dem councillors and local campaigners in the last week and over the Christmas break: The biggest news in the last couple of days has been the VAT increase. The BBC considers: Is the VAT increase regressive? Lib Dem voice reports: The VAT rise: a refresher course for Labour In local Government: The Guardian reports on criticisms of local government causing "bed blocking" (delayed discharge) from hospitals: Bed blocking on the rise as care cuts leave elderly stuck in hospital The MJ reports on Eric Pickles' attempt to simplfy how we understand local government funding: CLG map ...
Lib Dem Manifesto p.89 "We will introduce fixed-term parliaments to ensure that the Prime Minister of the day cannot change the date of an election to suit them." The Fixed Term Parliaments Bill, which legislates for fixed term Parliaments, is in the process of going through Parliament. Lib Dem Manifesto p.87 "We will give people a real say in who governs the country by introducing fair votes." The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill is currently before Parliament. It provides for a referendum on the Alternative Vote, a new, fairer electoral system, most likely to be held in May. Lib ...
I was delighted to be invited as a guest speaker to the Cardigan and District Soroptimists International monthly meeting last night. The actual invitation came during my Mayoral year back on May 1st - they're that orgnaised! The theme on which they wanted me to speak was 'Community - near and far' with particular interest in my experiences of the local community after my year as Mayor. It was an informal 40 minute talk with a Q&A at the end in which I spoke about the communities that shaped me as a child such as my primary school in Whitland, ...
I just finished this catalogue cover, I was inspired but the boring nature of stationary items to make an alternative magical world..
After waking, he checked his portable communication device, which instantly gave him the latest score in the Ashes Test from Sydney, confirming that England were on course to win the match, and with it, the series. He went downstairs and picked up his portable reading device, selecting a book from the list of hundreds it ...
Gerry Rafferty, who died yesterday, had been one of my favourite singer-songwriters ever since I rather belatedly got into music in my mid-to-late teens. Of four artists I was particularly devoted to, I eventually managed to see two play live - so it was eerie this morning to be woken by the Today Programme's 6.30 headlines with one of them, Tom Robinson, quoted in a tribute to the other, Gerry Rafferty, as "an inspiration to a generation". You probably know him from Baker Street (the one with the saxophone solo) and Stuck in the Middle (the one without the ear). ...
[IMG: HMS Ark Royal sails into the Clyde for the last time. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Defence] HMS Ark Royal sails into the Clyde for the last time I am rather a sceptic about some of the excitable points which are made about how, particularly thanks to social media, the world is meant to be changing in an unprecedented and accelerating way. Previously I've pointed out how fifteenth century technology is still hanging on despite repeated predictions of its demise and how, despite frequent claims to the contrary, the iPod's rate of take-up compared with that of radio is ...
I've been rather busy and so have not kept up with the blogging recently. Many thanks to Simon Shaw for stepping in to the breach with some excellent posts tracking the council's failure to deal with the snow and presenting positive alternatives to them. I have a posting half written on 'Dowd's dilemma ' which is related to Occam's razor in so much as the most straight forward explanation is probably correct. So when you ask why haven't Labour resigned their cabinet posts on Sefton council seeing as they are clearly are in opposition -you don't have to go into ...
Just popped in to say that blogging will continue to be light until Monday 10th. I doubt I'll be completely silent, but Anna is still on holiday so I want to have some fun with her. Normal service will be resumed next week.
The Scottish Government's decision not to release the remaining Town Centre Regeneration Funds for Brechin is a disappointing decision The SNP Government has really let down people in Brechin again. By denying them access to over £900,000 of funding, it will be a bitter blow for attempts to give Brechin's town centre a much needed boost. Given that the money was already budgeted, the SNP must explain where the money has gone and where they have spent it instead of Brechin. The whole Town Centre Regeneration Fund has been handicapped by the SNP from the start. A sensible proposal for ...
When the Queen opened the New Academic Building at the LSE in November 2008 she, whose extensive personal investments had suffered badly, seized the opportunity to ask one her hosts, Prof Luis Garicano, "Why did no one see it coming?". His reply, as he reported it later himself in the Guardian's Response column, was that "the situation got out of hand because those working at every point in the lending chain were eager to continue doing the job they were paid to do: mortgage agents generating loan requests in exchange for a nice commission; banks granting the loans they knew ...
Building up traffic to a local party or councillor website is much like building up a delivery network: it brings big benefits, but it's not the sort of thing you can do overnight. They are both best achieved by making slow and steady progress over a period of time. Steadily work your way down the list over the next couple of months and by the time this May's election campaigns proper kick off you should really notice the difference. Make sure the site is listed: there are numerous websites and blog directories, but generally only two really matter for political ...
So Lib Dem support is down to 11 per cent. That's what you get from going into coalition with a 'marmite' party which divides people between slavish loyalty and outright hatred. I know what my view is...That's also what you get when you start to do stuff in government, rather than spending 90 years carping on the sidelines. This rating is apparently the lowest it has ever been for the LDs but my mildly ossifying brain can recall a rating back in the bad old days of the 1980s of just 2% - surely the political equivalent of flatlining. This ...
Last night I received a very sad email, it was from Jeremy Ambache to let me know that he has resigned from the party. Doubly sad I guess because he, unlike me, supported the coalition. As someone who has devoted 30 years to the party his decision has not been taken lightly and cannot be dismissed as a fit of pique. Whether those on the right who are extremely comfortable with the way things are going, like it or not, as others have pointed out 68% of the membership see themselves as on the left of the spectrum and yet ...
I have a confession to make. Well not so much a confession as any of you who knew me in the 80s will know I walked around school, blazer sleeves rolled up, the hair as big and up (as an athlete could have it without causing blindness by sweaty hair gel), and a dash of colour in the paper clips on the label. Any one who has seen me since will know my aversion to still wearing anything covering the end of my arms as a result. Yes I was a New Romantic. I modelled myself a bit on my ...
Back in December I reported my school run potholes. As I drove to school today, after what has felt like the longest two week Christmas holiday ever (sick monsters, housebound due to snow etc), I decided that I would do a mental update on my daily car assault course. I was really pleased that the first of the five reported had been fixed. I had had an email between Christmas and New Year to inform me that is had but it is always good to see the reality. But to my despair that is the only one. I have had ...
One issue likely to dominate 2011 is housing, and the changes to tenure in particular should get a rough reception from Liberal Democrats in Parliament. An idea from Number 10 not the Coalition Agreement, they seem to come from a misunderstanding of how social housing works in the 2010s. My ward had at the last count some 28 different social housing providers; largest of all (despite the efforts of the Labour Government) the Council, and many with isolated and scattered estates. I think I can honestly say that no ward in the West Oxfordshire (constituency of the Prime Minister) would ...
Although the recent thaw has helped to reduce the extent of icy roads and footpaths across the city, there are still areas causing residents difficulty. Residents in Bankmill Road have contacted me about the state of the road and pavements in the street and also in the pathway that runs from the street to Rosefield Place that residents use to get to the Blackness Road shops. A number of the residents are elderly and the icy paths are causing real problems - one resident with mobility problems has not been out the house in the past five weeks. I have ...
Welcome to a new Sefton Lib Dem blog from our colleagues in Manor Ward. I'm sure the team their, John Gibson, James Lundy and Andrew Shields will be an excellent addition to the blogosphere.
Liberal England: Against Lighter Later It's nice to be agreed with on occasion :D (tags: thought sensible) VAT: can't they lie any better than this? - Mark Steel This is another one I wish I didn't agree with. (tags: government, thought) Migration & wages: more evidence Another myth busted. Not that the Daily Fail will take a blind bit of notice.. (tags: myths immigration) YouTube - Everythings Amazing & Nobodys Happy This is the truest thing I have seen all week. (tags: funny technology thought truth) Metropolitan Police face legal action for kettling children during tuition fees protest | UK ...
Here are the dates for the 2011 meetings of the Castle Neighbourhood Action Panel: January – Tuesday 25th at 2:00pm February – Wednesday 23rd at 5:30pm March – Thursday 24th at 9:30am April – Tuesday 26th at 2.00pm May- Thursday 26th at 5:30pm June – Thursday 23rd at 9.30am July – Monday 25th at 2.00pm ...
It's January, so the government's bank levy has come into force. The basic details are that it is a o.05 per cent levy on bank balance sheets, but rises to 0.075 per cent in 2012 and the details of how it works are designed to encourage banks to rely more heavily on more stable sources of funding in the future. Expected to bring in £2.5 billion a year, the revenue is pretty small compared to the estimated costs of the financial crisis overall (even if future sales of the government's bank shareholdings are factored in). However, at a time when ...
Here we go again! The Independent and other media report this morning that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), which has faced complaints from MPs for its tough new expenses regime, has launched a public consultation about what members are entitled to. This is despite the fact that Ipsa has barely got underway, that it was set up after an extensive review and that the bureaucracy that has led to so much criticism has started to settle down and staff are learning how to work with MPs rather than against them. Why open up all the old issues again now? ...
If Cameron and Clegg learn the lessons of Obama's failures and make sure they don't emulate them, whilst pledging to learn the lessons of his undoubted legislative achievements, then maybe they and he will both be celebrating re-election in a few years time.
Contractors have started work on our new children's play area near the pavillion on Scholes Field - here's what it will look like when completed. Scholes Field Playbuilder scheme
This week it's "Q"... and I don't have any CDs from artists with Q in their name. I have opted, therefore, to go with a track from an album I used to have on cassette: Finley Quaye's Maverick A Strike. Here's Sunday Shining - a track, like the album, which will always remind me of Ullapool. Finley Quaye - It's Great When We're Together on MUZU. Hope you enjoy! Guesses for "R" below please! AndrewP.S. If this looks familiar, it's because I linked to the video on this post. I make no apologies for repeating myself!
i) births and deaths 5 January 1929: birth of Norman Kay, who composed the incidental music for An Unearthly Child (1963), The Keys of Marinus, (1964) and The Sensorites (also 1964). ii) broadcast anniversaries 5 January 1974: broadcast of fourth episode of The Time Warrior. Rubeish and the Doctor return the kidnapped scientists to the twentieth century; Linx kills Irongron and is in turn killed by Hal; and his spaceship explodes on take-off, destroying the castle. 5 January 1980: broadcast of third episode of The Horns of Nimon. The Doctor and Romana discover the source of the Nimons' energy, but ...
The Liberal Democrats have published a list of 67 manifesto commitments delivered or on their way to be delivered in eight months of government. This is the eighth and final part of that list: Lib Dem Manifesto p.94 – "We will scrap the intrusive ContactPoint database which is intended to hold the details of every child in England." The ContactPoint database was switched off on the 6th August 2010 Lib Dem Manifesto p.92- "We will implement the recommendations of the Calman Commission to give significant new powers and responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament." The Scotland Bill had its first reading ...
How did you find getting up for work yesterday morning. A bit dark and cold, wasn't it? If you would like it to have been an hour darker and an hour colder, then support Lighter Later. Me, I'm with Jennie Rigg.
There was an interesting interview with the new chairman of Blackburn Rovers on the radio yesterday. He sacked manager Sam Allardyce and replaced him with an inexperienced first team coach. This was for the short term and now it is longer term but the handling of the change of managers was not good for PR. The main news yesterday was that Rovers are interested in signing Ronaldinho and David Beckham but who is doing the organising? Just because you have plenty of money doesn't mean that you have a good team. It is a very good start but the manager ...
